Chapter 257 Blood Pond Sorrow Likes to Make Friends [Combined Chapter]

After looking between the two people who were talking happily for a few times, Sarutobi Sasuke, who was thinking over and over again, asked tentatively, "You two... could it be that you knew each other before?"

"Of course," Xue Zhi Chi Shang sat down next to Ling very naturally, speaking in a familiar tone, "We recognized each other when we first met - but Mr. Sarutobi, when did you get to know Ling? We were able to meet privately even when the situation was so tense... Haha, we have a close relationship."

Sarutobi Sasuke's forehead suddenly jumped, his body unconsciously tensed up, and he felt something was wrong. [I didn't fucking bump into someone's hand, did I? ]

"Yes, Shang is a worthy opponent..." Ling's shoulders drooped, his hands folded, leaning on his cane and sword, with an ambiguous smile on his face, "It's a pity that you don't seem to intend to be friends with me."

"Don't say that. I like you very much and want to be friends with you—" Xue Zhi Chi Shang also chuckled, "I just don't want to be betrayed by my friends, so I always keep some tricks in mind... But if it's you, I can make an exception."

"I'm really grateful, but let's not do it." Ling's smile faded a little. "I can convince myself to be tolerant of hostile people and work together for mutual benefit, but I'm not tolerant enough to trust them... To be frank, as a friend, you are worse than Qianshou."

"puff."

Blood Pond Sorrow looked expressionlessly at Sarutobi Sasuke, who was using dry coughs to hide his smile, and narrowed his eyes slightly, "It seems that Mr. Sarutobi knows something?"

Sarutobi Sasuke looked at the remaining confusion on Blood Pond's face and couldn't help but let out another muffled laugh, "No, no, no, we can't afford to offend either of these two tribes. I don't dare to know."

But even so, Sarutobi Sasuke was already rolling on the ground with laughter in his heart - which ninja in the Land of Fire didn't know about the grudges between the Senju and Uchiha? To say that they were fighting to the death was an understatement.

The Blood Pond is the first in the ninja world to force an Uchiha to give such an evaluation as "a worse partner than the Senju".

Thinking of this, Sarutobi Sasuke simply couldn't bear it anymore, and slapped the table and laughed, "Sorry, hahahaha - I just remembered something happy, hahahaha!"

"Being happy is a good thing, but Sasuke..." Ling turned to the direction where Sarutobi Sasuke was, "I thought you wrote to me this time just to express your gratitude for what happened last time, but now it seems that you want to introduce someone to me?"

"No, I did come to express my gratitude." Sarutobi Sasuke understood that Ling was setting a stage for him, so he stopped staying at the door of the store and also walked to the table and sat down. "But my new colleague is too clingy, and as a senior, I can't refuse, so I can only let him follow."

[Were we being watched?... Well, although the daimyo made a bad move, the consequences were very beneficial to both of us.]

Thinking of this, Ling stopped tapping the hilt and said, "As a senior, this is really difficult for you... But this shouldn't affect the two of us, right?

Although I have less to do now than before, my schedule is still very full, so can we not waste time and get it over with quickly? That way I won't have to rush so much, and you'll have enough time to deal with your clingy junior."

Sarutobi Sasuke understood Ling's implication, glanced at Xue Zhi Chi Shang who had completely focused his attention on Ling again, and narrowed his eyes, "Of course, anyway, I just want to express my gratitude to you, tell me, if what you want is within my ability, I will try my best to think of a way."

"Well... then help me order a large batch of Nishijin fabrics? As the year is coming to an end, I want to help my people find some nice kimono and haori fabrics."

Sarutobi Sasuke was stunned. For a moment, he was not sure whether the other party was discussing something with him or really asking for payment. "Well, I can still help you with a small amount, but a large amount... that thing is very expensive."

"You don't need to pay, you just need to help me find a way. Although we rely on commissions to make a living and our income varies, we still have this little bit of spare money." Ling's smile spread. "Nishijin Ornament [Annotation 1] is precious, but with your relationship with the daimyo... Hehe, don't say you can't do it."

"This is difficult..." Sarutobi Sasuke folded his arms and closed his eyes, pretending to be in trouble, "That thing is in short supply among the nobles every year."

But at the same time, his mind was frantically searching for all the information he knew - he had already confirmed that Ling was negotiating with him by using metaphors.

[Nishijin weaving... should be a reference to antiquity. The clothing making should be related to the person or ninja clan he wants to talk about. Let's not talk about the person for now, the ancient ninja clan of the Land of Fire...] Sarutobi Sasuke still frowned slightly, tapping his arm with his fingers from time to time, [Is it the hagoromo? He wants me to mention the hagoromo more in front of the daimyo? Well, let's confirm it again.]

Thinking of this, Sarutobi Sasuke looked up at Ling and said, "After all, Nishijin weaving only looks good, and those nobles buy it because they are proud of their status. It is a waste for you to buy this kind of fabric to make clothes for your clan. Ninjas are rough and have no time to study the twists and turns of the nobles.

Your traditional rivals may not be completely ignorant of this, but they won’t delve into it so meticulously—not to mention that this kind of fabric is not suitable for sports, so don’t spend your money to complain.”

"Hehe...you outsiders may not know that although our two tribes fight fiercely, we will also go to the other clan's civilian market to hang out during the truce period at the end of the year," Ling's smile spread, "Because at that time neither side will fight, so we have to find a way to suppress the other side in momentum, and the best way is naturally to work hard on clothing.

Even if the other party can't understand, there are naturally black market personnel and merchants who can understand. As long as they spread the news to the nobles, our easy commissions will come to us like snowflakes next year... After all, there are always people who are willing to pay a lot of money for what they think is mutual understanding."

[Does he want me to expose the Hagoromo clan to the daimyo and make them oppose the Senju clan again? Could it be that the Uchiha clan is beginning to feel powerless against the Senju clan and wants to form an alliance with the Hagoromo clan?]

Sarutobi Sasuke's expression remained unchanged, and he even wanted to talk to Ling about the price of Nishijin Ori. "And if this thing is done, it will be equivalent to losing the trust of the Senju clan. If I want to persuade the clan to leave the model of house ninja, then after the family is no longer supported by the nobles, there must be a strong enough backing. The Senju clan has always acted properly, knowing when to advance and retreat, and they are very tolerant. They should be the most suitable choice.

Ha, the current crisis and future hidden dangers... The Uchiha family is really good at giving people problems, but this is indeed what they should do. After all, I want the Uchiha clan to attract and share the attention of the Blood Pond clan. If I don’t help them find a helper, it will be difficult to achieve the goal.

And with this balance, the relationship between the two sides will become more complicated and more stable, which will also be beneficial to the actions I want to take next... Well, let's do it. 】

After making up his mind, Sarutobi Sasuke stopped the meaningless conversation and got back to the point, "Okay, okay, you're really stingy, five hundred thousand is five hundred thousand, I'll go and negotiate for you, but at most I can only get twenty or thirty rolls of Nishijin weaving, this stuff is really in great demand - do you really want me to pay for it out of my own pocket?"

"But didn't Sasuke come to thank me this time? If you want to thank me, then at least show some sincerity, right? After all, I helped you so much."

Ling raised his eyebrows slightly, "Not to mention, I also introduced you to a new friend. To be honest, Sasuke, you have more than one thing to thank me for."

Sarutobi Sasuke curled his lips, "Okay, okay, I can't argue with you, so let's do this. It will take me at least ten days or half a month to complete your request. Should I contact you then, or should you write to me when you are free and we can make an appointment again?"

"Hmm... Could you please make the clothes for me directly? I'll send you the required size - here's the deposit, and I'll pay the rest when I come back to pick up the clothes."

Sarutobi Sasuke: ...Okay, how come you can take out so many at once?

After putting away the scroll containing the money, Sarutobi Sasuke was about to leave, but at this moment, Xue Zhichi Shang, who had been observing Ling in silence, suddenly spoke up, "Hey, Ling Jun, are you really not going to be friends with me?"

Ling could clearly feel the strong hostility that erupted from the other party when he finished speaking, "Well, based on your way of making friends... whether we can be friends depends on your ability."

Xue Zhi Chi Shang licked his lips, and as his smile spread, he leaned forward, shortening the distance between himself and Ling. "Well, although it's a little troublesome, I also enjoy the fun of taking the initiative to make friends... So Ling, are you willing to reveal some information to your future best friend?"

Ling listened to the increasingly heavy breathing of the other party and the rapidly shortened safe distance, and became more and more alert in his heart, but he still sat upright in his original position, with his hands folded and leaning on his cane and sword, and even his voice did not fluctuate a bit from before -

"Okay, for some reasons, I plan to go to the Kingdom of Rivers in March or April next year. If you still want to make friends with me at that time, then go to the Kingdom of Rivers and try your luck. I will look forward to meeting Shang."

Xue Zhi Chi Shang was stunned at first, then he sat back in his original position and laughed strangely, "That's great, I will definitely wait for you in Chuan Zhi Nation, and then we must become friends..."

"Well, that's why I said it all—" Ling smiled helplessly, but his fighting spirit was high, "That depends on Shang's ability."

"Don't worry, I will definitely satisfy you with my skills."

"Don't say that. I'm a very difficult person to be satisfied with."

Seeing that the two were about to continue this strange conversation, Sarutobi Sasuke quickly took the opportunity to interrupt and stood up, "Anyway, I will complete your request as soon as possible. My young master cannot be left alone for too long, so I will go back first-"

"Wait a minute, Mr. Sarutobi." Xue Zhichi's tone changed again, "I haven't greeted Ling yet~"

Hearing this voice, Sarutobi Sasuke couldn't help but lose control of his expression for a moment - damn, it's this little psychopath again.

Ling was also a little stunned, and asked tentatively, "Shang?"

"No, no, no, that's my brother. My name is Shang." Xue Zhichi Shang hummed a tune he heard from somewhere, looking particularly happy. "How is it? It's easy to tell them apart, right? And I like you too, okay?"

Ling nodded slightly, "I'm really flattered..."

Xue Zhichi Shang put his hands on the table and leaned forward, "Hey, my brother may not care, but I have been wondering for a long time - did Ling really come here alone?"

Ling raised his eyebrows slightly, "Well... I can come alone."

"Oh, Ling Ke is really mean-if you have any friends, just call them out~ I'm different from my brother. I'm not that picky about making friends~"

Sarutobi Sasuke's expression froze. He didn't notice that there were other ninjas nearby besides the three of them.

As if noticing Sasuke Sarutobi's doubts, the smile on Blood Pond's face became more and more joyful, "Although I'm not a perception ninja, the bloodline limit of our clan is quite convenient~

As long as it is a living being, as long as there is blood in its body, then within our visual range, no matter whether it is alive or dead, whether there are objects blocking it, or how good it is at hiding, it will be as dazzling as a beacon.

So my friends in the dark, now that I have said this, why don’t you come out and see me? You are so shining now, aren’t you? "

"Hmm, so it is a blood-related Kekkei Genkai?" Ling's smile spread, "In a sense, you are indeed worthy of the name of the Pool of Blood."

"Of course!" Xue Zhi Chi Shang laughed even more happily, "In our original clan land, there is a real [Blood Pool]! That's where all our enemies are buried, and it constantly selects high-quality clan members for us~ You know, even my brother and I were thrown into the Blood Pool by our parents more than once to struggle for survival.

Seriously, the view is super-spectacular! It’s a pity that the new blood pool has not been fully built since we moved here, otherwise I would definitely invite you to come and play! "

Hearing this, Sarutobi Sasuke's expression, which was already ugly because he failed to detect the hidden person, became even more solemn. Although he thought that the Blood Pond Clan was not suitable to be an ally because they were too crazy and cruel, he never thought that the other party's madness would not even let go of his own clan members.

[It seems like I need to hurry up on this matter. Let the lunatics from these two tribes fight each other sooner rather than later, so that I can lead my tribe members to escape sooner... Tsk, is it normal that none of these strong ninja tribes have brains except the Thousand Hands? ]