Naruto : Blazing Legend

Chapter 27: Business Is Not Easy

The acrid smoke from Hiruzen's pipe curled through the Hokage's office like incense at a funeral. Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed with interest as he watched the old man's weathered face.

"You want to test them yourself?" Hiruzen's voice carried the weight of someone who had buried too many young shinobi. He took another drag. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

Orochimaru's smile was all sharp edges. "Jiraiya and Tsunade are still in the village. I'll need their assistance to properly evaluate our little lambs."

The Third Hokage's shoulders sagged slightly. Three days. Forty-three corpses. The forest reeked of death and unfulfilled potential. If this generation couldn't produce something worthwhile, those deaths would be nothing more than waste—meat for the earth.

"Very well," Hiruzen said, his voice hollow. Politicians like them had long since learned to count bodies like currency. The genin had been warned: no limits, life or death. They'd chosen their path with eyes wide open.

The Will of Fire burned bright in speeches and propaganda, but it cast long shadows. Some hearts grew cold in that darkness. It was the price of power, the cost of survival.

---

Evening painted the Forest of Death in shades of rust and shadow. Rei flexed his fingers, feeling the satisfying weight of seven stolen scrolls. Three Heaven, four Earth—more than enough to pass. But why settle for enough when you could profit?

The next morning found him and his teammates in a small clearing, their makeshift merchant stall looking absurdly out of place among the blood-soaked trees. The irony wasn't lost on him—selling salvation in a place designed for slaughter.

The first customers were predictably stupid. Three desperate genin who saw the scrolls and immediately began plotting theft. They cursed Rei's team as idiots before launching their assault.

Rei almost felt sorry for them. Almost.

The fight lasted thirty seconds. Now they hung from a dead tree like ornaments, their own scrolls adding to Rei's inventory. Sometimes the best advertisement was a demonstration.

The second group was smarter. They approached with careful respect, eyes darting between the displayed scrolls and the three bodies swaying in the breeze.

"One price, three million ryo," Rei announced with the casual confidence of someone holding all the cards.

The square-faced Konoha shinobi's face flushed red. "What?! Why don't you just go rob someone!"

Rei's grin was sharp enough to cut glass. "We already did. The scrolls came from robbing. Do you want us to rob you too?"

His teammates avoided eye contact, pretending they didn't know him. They'd been convinced last night when he'd laid out the math—one scroll, three million ryo, split three ways. That was enough explosive tags to level a small village.

The kunoichi of the group, pretty in that dangerous way that got people killed, stepped forward. "We... we don't have that kind of money."

"No problem," Rei said, his voice oily with false sympathy. "Credit exists for a reason. You can write an IOU. I don't think anyone would dare default on a debt to Uchiha Rei."

The name carried weight, and not all of it was pleasant. The Uchiha were known for their persistence in collecting what they were owed.

---

In the monitoring room, Hiruzen watched the scene unfold with the detached interest of a man who had seen too much. Thirteen teams had passed so far—a respectable number, considering the carnage.

When Rei's team had first set up their stall, Hiruzen had been genuinely surprised. Entrepreneurial spirit in a death match? It was either brilliant or insane. Possibly both.

The three idiots who'd rushed the stall had earned his contempt. Did they think they were facing academy students? The number of scrolls alone should have warned them off. Natural selection in action.

Now he watched with growing interest as the pattern repeated. How many fools would fail to recognize their own limitations? How many would walk willingly into the jaws of death?

The third group—Uchiha Izumiyama's team—had managed to acquire three scrolls through more conventional means. They were rushing toward the tower, desperate to avoid being last.

"I wonder how many have finished already," Izumiyama muttered, his thoughts inevitably turning to his rival. "That bastard Rei better not have beaten us."

His subordinate's voice cut through his brooding. "Izumiyama-san, situation ahead."

They scattered, Sharingan activating in crimson spirals. What they found defied comprehension.

"Izumiyama-san!" Rei's voice carried across the clearing with entrepreneurial enthusiasm. "Need any scrolls? Fresh stock, competitive prices—three million ryo each. Guaranteed authentic, no vengeful previous owners!"

The casual mention of previous owners sent a chill down Izumiyama's spine. The three corpses decorating the nearby tree served as a grim reminder of what happened to dissatisfied customers.

"You have this many scrolls?" Izumiyama couldn't hide his disbelief.

Four scrolls for sale meant Lie's team already had their pair. The bodies proved they could handle multiple enemy teams. The math was simple and terrifying.

Damn it. He might actually be stronger than me.

Izumiyama wasn't stupid. Pride was a luxury he couldn't afford in the face of hard evidence.

"What's the big deal?" Rei slung an arm around Izumiyama's shoulders with practiced familiarity. "We've got both types. Already sold three—business is booming! What do you need? For you, special price—fifty percent off!"

The casual mention of three sales hit Izumiyama like a physical blow. He'd fought tooth and nail for three scrolls, and this bastard had sold three? His face went through several interesting colors.

"We don't need anything," his subordinate said quickly, recognizing the danger signs. "We already have what we need."

"Suit yourself," Rei said with a shrug. "Take care, Izumiyama-san. Come back anytime—I'll give you the family discount!"

As they walked away, Izumiyama's composure finally cracked. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he bit back his rage.

"I'll crush him in the finals," he promised through gritted teeth.

He had no way of knowing that Orochimaru was already planning to change the rules. Fate, it seemed, had a sense of humor.

Back at the stall, Rei watched them go with philosophical resignation. "Third group that just walked away," he sighed. "Business really isn't easy."

In the monitoring room, Hiruzen took another drag of his pipe. The smoke tasted of ash and bitter amusement. These children had no idea what they were walking into.

But then again, none of them ever did.

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