Business is Boomin

Yasahiro seemed to be on board with the grocery store at this point, his remaining concerns seemed to be focused on self defense. While he seemed to agree that the hired shinobi were a step in the right direction, he also seemed to want to ensure that Shichiro was capable of protecting himself, drawing his blade and going through a few a few strokes to demonstrate the basics of swordsmanship. Shichiro would nod at the gesture, taking a moment to appreciate its purpose before listening to the komekage’s suggestion of blacksmith.

Shichiro was interested but elected to allow the komekage to continue his speech, but before he’d been able to make a comment the village leader had shrugged and moved onto the next topic. The dark haired man had now finally moved to address the one topic they were here for, listing out two potential properties for the pair of brothers to purchase. The first, appeared to be an empty lot near the military district, and the second appeared to be a run down warehouse in a popular section of the village. Both solid options, each with their own advantage.

On the grocery side of things, purchasing a warehouse in a popular part of town would be good for the business, but the higher traffic could also be perceived as a risk to their Other operation. Meanwhile, with the other lot being empty and near the military district it would allow them to build from the ground up, allowing for hiding spots, but it would also be In a less popular part of town, which would be bad for the grocery side of thing.
The brothers had a choice to make, and it seemed it would come down to whether they cared about the groceries or the opium more in the initial days. Shichiro pondered before a second before looking towards his older brother. “Well I for one could go either way, what do you think shinji?” He’d say wondering if his brother was thinking the same as him. It would probably be better to with the old warehouse in terms of suspicion, but their other operation could benefit greatly from being built from the ground up.

To Shichiro’s surprise however, Shinji didn’t even seem to hesitate with his answer. “Well the warehouse of course?” He’d say almost disappointed in Shichiro for not seeing what he apparently did. “It’s the option that gets us up and running quicker, and the faster we turn a profit the better He’d explain in a manner that seemed as though he was already growing tired of the situation.

“…RightShichiro would agree, the decision made sense. Time was of the essence for them on both ends of the operation, and construction could delay them weeks. It was best to buy an established property. “Well, you heard the man, it appears we will be taking the warehouse, time is of the essence!”

He’d say extending his hand towards the komekage, “Now, lets talk price!” He’d say eager to close the deal, and deciding that he’d ask more about the blacksmith in question after they’d come to an agreement.

WC: 522
TWC: 3027

"The warehouse it is then," Yasahiro cocked his head in the direction of the residential district. "The rent is 5,000 ryo a month, and we'll also need a deposit for the last month—fully refundable, of course. Typically, we'd be asking for twice that, but the place is definitely in need of some TLC."

Truthfully, one could say that about much of the village's infrastructure.  The buildings in Tanbogakure fell into two categories: the older buildings from before the founding of the village were readily identifiable by their thatched roofs and the newer buildings which one could identify by their slipshod construction standing as a testament to the rapid growth of the village as of late. The idea of a set building code did not yet exist in the newly formed village; zoning, inspections, and proper construction all stood as obstacles against explosive growth, and who was Yasahiro to stand in the way of progress?

"How does that sound?"

He glanced back to the two brothers, expecting some kind of back and forth. For whatever reason businessmen made a bad habit of negotiating on each and every point. Hopefully, these two were a bit different; the dance of offers and counteroffers was more tiring than a bout or two in the ring against a skilled opponent.

The two brothers made eye contact as the Komekage finished his question before shinji nodded, seeming to approve of the price.
Well it sounds like a steal to me!

5000 Ryo seemed a more than reasonable rate, if Shichiro remembered right they were paying nearly 11000 for their property back home. And if the komekage’s mention of the warehouses condition was true, it would seem to explain the difference in price. He would of course, need a deposit as well.  the younger of the Hashimoto brothers would pull out his wallet, retrieving from it 3k in ryo before motioning to his elder brother to pay the rest.

“Sorry, I don’t like to keep all that much money on me, but Shinji here is a little less worrisome”

Once the two had handed Yasahiro the agreed upon amount, Shichiro would breath a sigh of relief. “Well, now that that’s all sorted out, how about you tell me more about this blacksmith” He’d question intently. Yasahiro had seemed to speak highly of him earlier in their conversation and Shichiro had been in the market for a new blade ever since his had broke a few months back. It would be nice to know a place that could sell him a quality sword. “I’ve been thinking about it since you mentioned it. It probably would do me some good to learn some basic self defense” He’d say modestly downplaying his own skill.

There was no need for the Komekage to know more about that side of him, in fact that kind of information could put his whole operation in jeapordy.

WC: 267
TWC: 3294

Fanning through the stack of ryo to ensure both its authenticity and the proper count, he nodded along with the more talkative of the two's preference for a lighter wallet. Such a habit would serve the man well in Tanbogakure. There were more than a few ways to lose a small fortune in the up-and-coming village whether it be through drink, gaming, or theft. Yasahiro, for his part, lost more than a bit of ryo to all three upon first arriving in Rice Country, and he expected that the two brothers would as well, but a little hardship went a long way.

"Definitely, you'll want to head on back down to the residential district," he pointed towards the gates. "The shop is hard to miss; huge anvil out front and a smelter out back. Rin will take care of you, she's as good with a blade as any smith back in the Land of Iron. Just try not to let her upsell you on anything, I ended up with a set of knives I never use on my last trip there."

The trio came to a stop back in the courtyard once more.

"If nothing else, learning to defend yourself will be an experience worth having. It's one of those things you hope never to have to use but is useful to know," the samurai shrugged. Dying for lack of self-defense knowledge was, unfortunately, commonplace in the shinobi world.  "I'll be sending some papers over to your address later in the week to get both you and your brother officially registered in our village. It's a bit tedious, I know. However, if you could get it back to my office as soon as you can it would be very helpful."

A younger aide emerged from the castle and hurried over to the Komekage's side. In hushed tones, the aide explained an incident in the southern fields. A field on fire, a missing farmer, and blood at the scene—it had to be the work of Zukumiki's men. The warlord's raids were becoming more and more aggressive with each passing day, something had to give and soon.

"Ah, Shinji, Shichiro," he gave a half-bow of acknowledgment to both men. "It's been a pleasure, but it seems that I need to go attend to my business. Best of luck with yours, I look forward to seeing the new storefront."

Accompanied by his aide, the leader returned to the imposing castle for what could only be a more in-depth report on the incident.
---
Exit.
TWC: 2780
Granting Shichiro Hashimoto Academy Student rank in Tanbogakure, will be listed as a civilian in any official documents
+ 1179 words towards Heavenly Body, fully trained (821 words + 1179 word = 2000/2000)
+ 1601 words towards Telepathy Seal
+ 54 ap from max stat training

Yasahiro shuffled through the money Shichiro had given him, perhaps to check its authenticity, perhaps to validate the amount. The young Hashimoto wasn’t sure, but he couldn’t really blame him. Rent was typically a large sum of money and it was always good business practice to ensure your customers money was good. He’d do the same if he was on the other end. A few moments passed before the Kage finished his inspection, apparently deciding that the payment was valid and nodding to suggest so before giving directions to the blacksmith he had spoken of earlier in their conversation.

The blacksmith was located in the residential district, apparently near where his grocery store would be set up, and according to the Kage had a distinct look to it which would be hard to miss. The Kage then stopped walking which prompted Shichiro and Shinji to do the same. The dark haired village leader would then agree that having knowledge of self defense would be experience worth having, before a woman came running from the castle before whispering something in the mans ear.

Shichiro’s eyebrow raised curious as to what they were talking about, but it didn’t seem he’d find out today. Yasahiro upon hearing whatever the woman had to say turned to the brothers and announced that he was going to have to take care of something. Apparently cutting there meeting short. The announcement didn’t really matter to Shichiro he’d gotten what he’d come for and the less time spent in the presence of the village leader the better. Frankly interacting with the man was a risk in and of itself.

“Of Course, You’ll have to come by when we open shop” He’d say maintaining niceties before leaving.

WC: 288
TWC: 3582
Claiming: Mastery over A Rank shadow imititation for reduced handseals (2500)
Wep Spec (1000, taught by Yasahiro)
35 stats to viger 53+35 = 88
and academy student rank

also giving gary 3k. 10500 - 3000 = 7500

Approved