"Then what can you offer me?"
Baki and Pakura froze, caught off guard by Uchiha Gen's bluntness.
"A… a large sum of money," Baki offered quickly, though his expression tightened.
Gen's face darkened, and a mocking sneer tugged at his lips. "Heh, do I look like someone short on cash?"
"Who would complain about having too much money?" Baki pressed, forcing a calm tone.
"I do." Gen leaned back, arms folding loosely. "I can have as much as I want."
Between his official salary and the Uchiha clan's financial help over the past two years, he wasn't hunting for ryo. He wasn't rich to the point of decadence, but in a world where countless wealthy merchants lived at the mercy of shinobi blades, he could always make money if he ever needed it.
If he wanted wealth, he could simply take it.
Baki: "…"
Pakura: "…"
Extravagant didn't even begin to cover it. They had heard the Uchiha clan lived well, but to this extent?
"Then what do you want…?" Baki asked cautiously, wary that Gen might demand something outrageous...something beyond their authority to grant.
"Gifts should cater to the recipient's tastes." Gen's voice was smooth, deliberate. "And I already mentioned mine. You should reflect on it carefully."
His words hung in the air. Then, without further explanation, he stood and turned to leave. "Today's negotiation ends here."
The flap closed behind him, leaving Baki and Pakura staring at each other in stunned silence.
If you have preferences, why not just say them outright? Why force us to guess? Was it supposed to be fun?
For Uchiha Gen, it was.
Being the riddler was far more amusing than being the guesser.
But for Sunagakure, there was no choice. If they wanted better terms, they had to play his game.
Back in the Sand camp, Baki and Pakura gathered several sharp-minded jonin into the council tent, determined to unravel Gen's cryptic hint.
Ninja memories were sharp, and jonin even more so; Baki and Pakura could recount their entire exchange with near word-for-word accuracy.
"As the saying goes, many eyes see more clearly." Baki folded his arms. "So let's hear it. What did Uchiha Gen really mean?"
The group mulled over the conversation until one jonin raised a hesitant hand.
"I… I may have an idea," he said cautiously.
"Then speak. Even if you're wrong, say it. Why the hesitation?" Baki frowned.
"Right. Just know—I don't mean any disrespect," the jonin said, coughing lightly.
"Too much preamble. Out with it."
"…I think that person has taken a liking to Lady Pakura."
"Ah?!"
Gasps rippled through the tent. Pakura's eyes widened, her voice sharp with disbelief.
The jonin pressed on, emboldened now that the words were out. "Think about it. During negotiations, he hardly mentioned any real preferences… but he went out of his way to compliment Lady Pakura—her beauty, her figure, her bearing, her strength, and even her tongue."
"Frankly, just praising her eloquence would have been enough. But he stacked compliment after compliment. Doesn't that strike you as unusual?"
"And, well… what he said wasn't wrong."
Every male jonin in the room rolled his eyes so hard they nearly strained.
Shameless flattery… why didn't I say it first?
The truth was, Pakura was one of the most admired women in Sunagakure. Beautiful, strong, elegant, and rare as a female jonin, she was the dream of countless shinobi. Admirers, secret and open alike, were everywhere.
In this world, where ninja children inherited potential from their parents, shinobi bloodlines were highly coveted. And female shinobi, especially powerful and attractive ones, were rarer still. A kunoichi like Pakura was naturally treated like a goddess by her peers.
Most genin and chunin didn't even dare think about her.
But jonin, more than a few harbored feelings, including Baki himself. When he'd been assigned to work alongside her, he'd secretly celebrated his luck.
"And don't forget his age," the jonin continued. "He's sixteen, isn't he? The age of fiery youth. Of course his thoughts might… wander."
Baki and several others reluctantly found themselves nodding. Put in Gen's shoes, it did make a certain amount of sense.
But even if it was reasonable—did they really have to hand their goddess over just to secure negotiations?
The room turned heavy.
Pakura herself was silent, her face unreadable. Inwardly, her heart tangled with mixed emotions. Pride at her own charm. Embarrassment. A flicker of annoyance.
If this truly was the key to compromise… what choice did she have?
Finally, she broke the silence. "Perhaps it isn't as serious as it sounds."
Her voice was steady, though a trace of color rose on her cheeks.
"Uchiha Gen may be powerful and sharp, but he's still young—his experience with women is limited. Perhaps… perhaps we don't need to pay such a high price to sway him."
Her gaze dropped, thoughtful. "I'll review our village's intelligence on kunoichi operatives. The Hidden Sand has used beauty before, to draw out secrets."