"I object!" An angry snarl broke everyone from their reverie. "She is a rogue ninja! She should be detained!"
Pakura turned to the right as one of her eyebrows rose upward in a completely unamused fashion while her eyes landed on Rasa who was standing up, preparing to attack.
"If I remember correctly... in the documentation of the Sunagakure, I am a dead ninja, not a rogue one." Pakura replied in a cold tone, "After all, you did send me on a suicide mission and then wrote me off as an unfortunate casualty. It's not my problem that I survived your blatant attempt at sacrificing me because I was your strongest political opponent." She sneered, stopping Rasa in his tracks, his eyes worriedly glancing at the Daimyo who now listened with quite intense interest, angrily narrowing his eyes at what he just heard. Unimpressed, Pakura simply continued, "Don't worry, Rasa. This convention would last for a few days. I am sure we can make time with the Daimyo to discuss why exactly you so stupidly broke one of the very few laws that still apply to the Kazekage."
In the back of the hall, Rei smirked. He couldn't wait to see that conversation. After all, any Kage was exempt from many laws of the land. That however didn't mean they could do whatever they wished. There were still a few laws they had to abide by. Not willfully sending ninjas to their death without a good reason or a good benefit showing for it was one of them. Unfortunately for Rasa, an attempt to kill one of the biggest threats to him keeping the position of Kazekage was NOT a good enough reason.
Normally, Rasa would face no repercussions no matter what he did but right now, they were in front of the only man who was figuratively speaking higher than him in the political pecking order. Having Pakura reveal this little incident in front of the man... well.
Staring at the angry but silent Rasa as he stupidly stood, confused about what he should do, Pakura deemed he didn't have anything more to say and turned back towards the Wind Daimyo, "I think we should get back to discussing the reason why we gathered here today before the rude interruption." She then retrieved a document from her pocket and gestured for a nearby servant to take it and bring it to the Daimyo since she couldn't approach closer due to the rules. "That is our offer. I am sure you will find it more than generous."
Everyone stared in silence, eagerly awaiting Daimyo's response while he took the document from his servant and started to read it. Only Kuroto Hasagawa and Karano Kyo stared in star-struck disbelief that somebody indeed dared to try competing against them. The same disbelief started to slowly morph into a foreboding sense of dread the more the Daimyo's lips started widening into a smile as he read Pakura's offer. They obviously knew that the Wind Daimyo wasn't pleased with them having the contract for rice imports. Seeing the same man smiling as if Christmas came sooner than he expected when a counter-offer was provided... yeah, they really didn't like what they were currently witnessing.
Finally done with the document, the Wind Daimyo softly chuckled and his eyes landed on the leisure form of Pakura as she indifferently stood in front of him. The Daimyo couldn't help but appreciate the sight of her, both her physical beauty for which he so relentlessly sent offer after offer to her a few years prior and the fact she yet again pulled him out of a dastardly hard situation.
'Saving me from trouble again, huh?' The Daimyo pursed his lips in amusement and averted his gaze towards the crowd, "Anyone else wishes to participate in the competition for the Rice Import Contract for the Wind Country between the Uzushio Trading Company and the Hasagawa Family sponsoring the Rice Country representative?" He firmly asked and waited for a few seconds. When nobody reacted, the Daimyo smiled, "In that case, I declare the Uzushio Trading Company winner!"
Pakura knowingly smirked.
Karano Kyo gritted his teeth, thinking about how to mitigate this disaster. He knew returning to his master with the message that the money flow from the Wind Country would stop would earn him some very painful moments as a test subject for his master's scientific endeavors.
Unlike Karano who took the declaration with calmness, Kuroto Hasagawa turned red and only barely managed to keep his voice in line, "WH-at!?" He took several calming breaths, remembering that yelling at the Daimyo would most likely not help his case, "May I ask why we lost?"
The Daimyo looked at him and nodded, "Naturally. That is your right." He passed the document to a servant who took it towards Kuroto. "As you can read from the official offer from the Uzushio Trading Company, they offered ten times the amount of rice you provided in the last five years for half of the price you asked for." He informed Kuroto with unusual barely veiled giddy amusement. "Therefore, by the rules of this convention, the contract goes to them."
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It was a complete truth too. Pakura's offer was EXACTLY half of the price and EXACTLY ten times the size of what Karano offered through the Hasagawa Family. Only an idiot wouldn't notice that simple fact and what it meant. Pakura must have known weeks before the start of the convention what figures would Karano and Hasagawa try to push for in order to reach such a result.
'There must have been a rat!' Kuroto realized as he clutched the document, frantically reading it. His most lucrative business was just stolen and he could not contest it! If it was just a bit more than their offer, he could do it. But there was no way they could cover ten times the currently promised amount of rice. He was screwed and he knew it.
Pakura smirked at the face he was making, 'Clearly, they didn't meet Konan yet. As if there was information she couldn't acquire with a reasonable amount of effort.'
"But... how can they produce so much!? It is obviously a sham! Uzu Island doesn't even have sufficient space for so much farming!" Kuroto screamed, causing others to start muttering. It has to be said, the amount of rice Karano imported from the Rice Country was massive. It might not have been enough for the whole of the Wind Country but it easily covered 20% of its consumption alone. Ten times that... It was a bit unbelievable.
Pakura just snorted at the blatant accusation, "Our farms were created by partnering with the Biri-Biri company. Their space expansion seals are quite handy for farming on limited space. You are also forgetting that the Uzumaki clan are masters at sealing arts. We can produce a lot more than what we offered to the Wind Country. It's just that the Wind Country doesn't need more than the currently offered amount." Pakura then sharply turned towards the seated guests, "By all means, if you are interested in buying more rice or other kind of crops, contact the Uzushio Trading Company." Pakura was very aware that many representatives of various countries were present at this event. It wouldn't hurt to make a free advertisement like this, no?
And with that, she turned back towards the Daimyo, slightly bowed before leaving back towards her seat at the far end of the hall.
"Well, then, let's move on." Daimyo's eyes twinkled with amusement, "Since our staple food is already covered, the next item discussed is the import of..."
Tuning out the Daimyo and ignoring the various stares, Pakura finally reached her seat and sat down next to Rei, snuggling into his side, "Well, that was fairly easy. At least one of our goals is finished. With this, our other goals will be a lot easier to achieve." She contently whispered.
For them, the convention that would drag on for a few weeks yet, already ended. There was no real reason to take a bigger chunk of the import contracts after acquiring the one for rice. It's not as if they did all that for money.
"Don't let anybody say there is a better way to control a country than to provide what they need most." Rei agreed, gently kissing her cheek. "Next target..."
"Rasa." They both giddily chorused together.
It was time to start rocking the boat called the Wind Country at its core.