Chapter 280: Deep Respect
Dana's trip to the Land of Water yielded results far exceeding expectations. His mood was naturally good, and he secretly decided to give the Land of Water's supply order an 11% discount instead of 10%.
That extra 1% was for his slightly bumpy friendship with Kirigakure.
However, leaving immediately after a successful negotiation would seem too utilitarian and might make the Mist suspect deception in the trade deal. So, Dana spent two more days sightseeing in the Mist Village, under the guise of "inspecting local products."
Actually, as an island nation, the Land of Water's products were indeed quite different from the continent's and likely wouldn't lack buyers. But as Dana said, most were raw materials or natural resources with low added value. Some raw materials might even take a trip to the Land of Lightning and return as finished goods for the Land of Water to buy back—the most typical example being the United Iron & Steel Company buying iron ore here, turning it into weapons, and selling it back.
Since countries didn't have their own currencies, the trade balance of the ninja world couldn't fully apply past-life economic theories, but the issue of added value was universally true.
During these two days, Dana enjoyed a leisurely time, eating seafood, drinking coconut water, and ordering Ameyuri Ringo to run errands all over the place.
After leaving the Land of Water, Dana didn't return to the capital directly. Instead, he went back to Kumogakure. He had agreed to meet his Old Man in the village; the trip to the Land of Iron was as important as the one to the Land of Water, and there were many things to discuss.
Counting the days, he hadn't been back to the village for a month. He missed it a little. Unfortunately, Asuka Castle needed him now. For a long time to come, he would need to be stationed there. After meeting his Old Man this time, he would have to go back.
Maybe in the future, the center of gravity would shift back to Kumogakure. After all, this was the foundation, housing various laboratories and intelligence departments.
However, when his Old Man returned, Dana learned that the situation in the Land of Iron wasn't looking good.
"The Iron Daimyo refused to give any verbal promises. That guy is slippery..."
Dana felt somewhat helpless. The Land of Iron was indeed harder to persuade. Under the current circumstances, all Daimyo Courts were hostile toward the Cloud. The Land of Iron wasn't traditionally in the Cloud's sphere of influence; they just had good relations in recent years.
It seemed the accumulation of goodwill over the past few years wasn't going to be enough.
"What about Mifune?" Dana asked.
The Third Raikage pursed his lips. "Refused to meet me alone. Said everything depends on the Daimyo's Office."
Compared to ninja, samurai had a closer relationship with the Daimyo. This result wasn't unexpected.
In the Raikage's office, Dana looked at the map of the ninja world again.
The Land of Iron's position was too unique; it was a pity they couldn't secure it. They could only hope the words "Neutral Nation" held a bit more weight than in his past life, and that they wouldn't block the Cloud while letting Iwa through.
If that really happened, the Cloud wouldn't mind turning the Land of Iron into a battlefield.
If you dare let Iwa march east, I'll just fight Iwa inside your territory.
But strategic planning was one thing; execution was another. You couldn't expect every idea to become reality.
That would be a wishing machine, not planning.
At this moment, the Third Raikage looked at the third person in the office. "Are you not going to say a word? Are you playing a statue? State your opinion."
A burly figure huddled behind a small desk, staring blankly into space. "Yotsuki Arashi thinks both of you are right."
Yes, the third person in the Raikage's office was Arashi. Recently, the workload for the Cloud had risen exponentially. Even though responsibilities were split between the Raikage's Office and Asuka Castle, the pressure was immense. Accurately speaking, the workload in the Raikage's Office was even heavier. Considering future changes, the Third Raikage dragged his eldest son, Arashi, here to cultivate him after Dana was stationed in Asuka Castle.
Arashi sat at Dana's old desk, passively accepting the Third Raikage's tutelage. He had been on the job for a week, and his state for the entire week was basically: "What am I doing?" and "What are you doing?"
"Are you an idiot?!"
Arashi: "I think you're right."
"Well, Arashi might be tired. Don't get excited, Old Man."
Dana quickly smoothed things over with a smile. His brother's talent certainly wasn't bad—he was the Fourth Raikage in the original timeline, after all. His current bewildered state was simply because the person groomed as the heir all along had been Dana.
For a considerable time, Arashi had been a pure ninja, focusing mainly on missions. He was completely in the dark about village governance. Add to that the difficulty of the work during this special period, and you get his current state.
It was like dragging an honor student who specialized in fine arts for ten years to suddenly do advanced calculus. Anyone would be confused.
Dana believed that after some training, Arashi would be able to share their father's burden.
Declining the invitation from his Old Man and Arashi to work overtime, Dana left the Raikage building. As he walked away, he heard the crackling sounds of the two self-electrocuting to stay awake. He felt a bit guilty, but having rarely returned, he didn't want to pull an all-nighter here.
It was probably past mealtime at home, and he didn't want to trouble the chef to cook again. Then he remembered he had a Supreme VVVip Black Card—a wedding gift from Konan.
Fishing out the hand-drawn card from his ninja pouch, Dana rubbed his chin and muttered to himself, "Honestly, I'm quite curious... let's go check it out."
He remembered helping Hiroto's family choose the shop location, not far from the "Will of the Cloud" statue in the New Kumogakure. Dana told his subordinates to go home and rest, then walked alone toward the location in his memory.
Walking along the main road, he saw the shop. Long banners and flower baskets celebrating the grand opening hung at the entrance, though they looked a few days old.
Standing in front, the sign read: "Rain Inari."
The girl at the door had clearly never seen such a tall and muscular customer. She was stunned.
"G-Guest... are you here to dine?"
Is he here to smash the shop? Or is there a Big Eater Challenge I don't know about?
The girl was likely an ordinary person hired for the job and didn't recognize Dana. Dana smiled gently. "Yes. Do you have any seats?"
The girl blushed, realizing this customer was not only tall and strong but also handsome.
"If you are dining alone, there are counter seats available."
"Then please lead the way."
As a legitimate and somewhat high-end restaurant, "Rain Inari" wasn't noisy. Dana followed the girl past a few private rooms, which were relatively quiet.
Interestingly, due to his height, he couldn't see the faces of the people sitting in the private rooms, only their legs and lower bodies.
Conversely, the people inside couldn't see his face either, only a remarkably tall and strong chest passing by their door.
However, no matter how mysterious he tried to be, when he arrived at the counter, the two chefs in the back recognized him immediately.
"Dana-kun?"
"Ah! Dana-sama!"
Dana smiled and greeted them. "Long time no see, Mrs. Uzumaki, Lady Kohaku."
The ones busy behind the counter were Hiroto's mother and Konan's mother.
Although he had heard about it, seeing two female head chefs was rare. Especially since both were still quite charming women, which could be considered a unique feature of "Rain Inari."
In terms of closeness, he was naturally more familiar with Hiroto's mother. He used to mooch meals at Hiroto's house often as a child; she was an elder who watched him grow up.
"Welcome! I asked Hiroto to invite you when we opened, but he said you were stuck in the capital."
Dana smiled. "I was indeed in the capital. just got back today, but I won't stay for long."
Hiroto's mother stepped forward. "What do you want to eat? Auntie will make it for you!"
Kappo-style dining meant sitting at an open kitchen counter where the chef provided food based on the customer's taste and requests. Among the two chefs at "Rain Inari," Konan's mother was mainly responsible for dishes with Rain Country characteristics—which Dana had often tasted during the "Gokuraku no Yu" era—while Hiroto's mother handled more conventional dishes, her skill equally high.
Clearly, Hiroto's mother knew Dana's taste better after all those mooched meals, so she volunteered.
Dana didn't stand on ceremony. "Auntie, you know me. Just plenty of meat. Also, I want to eat eggs today."
"Understood! Haven't tasted Auntie's cooking in a while, right? Look forward to it!"
She began preparing the meal.
While waiting, three small heads popped out from the side.
"See? I told you it was Dana-sama."
"It really is!"
"Really!"
Dana turned to look. It was Yusuke Akahoshi, Ganseki, and Akane.
The Crystal Release twins were very recognizable.
"You guys are eating here too?"
Yusuke said, "Kayo-nee's mom and Konan's mom opened this restaurant together. Of course we have to come support it. It's our second time; the food is great."
Ganseki: "Great! Great!"
Akane: "Tastes extremely good!"
Behind the counter, Konan's mother smiled. "Thank you for the compliment."
Yusuke explained further, "I saw someone super tall pass by the door just now. I was curious, so I used my Red Eye to check and recognized you."
Dana asked, "Are the three of you eating alone? I remember you aren't in the same squad. You seem to be in the capital's 'Team Good Morning'?"
Yusuke replied, "I just came back to the village the day before yesterday. Some clan matters."
The twins spoke up.
Ganseki: "We are here on a date!"
Akane: "Yes! A three-person date!"
Dana sucked in three breaths of cold air.
Deep Respect!