Chapter One: The Merchant of Materia
The sun shone down upon the Leaf Village.
Sarutobi sat upon a clifftop, looking out over the many buildings. There were too many of them in the eyes of Danzo, however. Once, when they were boys, there had been a scattered few houses. Each one held many residents and was made to hide in the leaves.
Now, however, the Village Hidden in the Leaves did not live up to its namesake. Houses had supplanted trees. Only a few parks now remained, erected by Tobirama to avoid fire risk. And worse of all, Danzo saw the monument to Hashirama. Hashirama, the most powerful failure to ever live.
How Danzo hated that man.
"The construction on Hashirama's monuments seems to be going quite well, isn't it, Danzo?" asked Sarutobi.
"I do not think it is fitting to make so public a display of fealty," said Danzo frankly. His value to Sarutobi was truthfulness, though usually, they hid in shadows. "There are many clans of the Leaf, Sarutobi. And though we all are loyal to Hashirama, this kind of public adoration seems... excessive."
"You always were a bit too reserved for your own good, Danzo," said Sarutobi. "Hashirama and Madara have brought us to a new age of prosperity. If the people of the Leaf wish to show their gratitude, what of it?"
"Hashirama might decline the offer," said Danzo, looking at one hand. "I do not believe a ninja should have any public face, Hiruzen, save that which is mandated by his duties. A man ought to perform his tasks quietly, expecting no thanks, and then depart without a word. If a ninja is performing their duties properly, no one should ever have known you were there."
"It's an admirable idea, Danzo," laughed Sarutobi. "But Hashirama is not just a ninja. He is Hokage, a head of state. And a head of state has to have a public face."
Yes, but Hashirama put no effort into that face. He simply met every problem with a smile and a hearty laugh. And then he foisted it off on the actual rulers of the Leaf Village. Even Madara had begun to see where the power really lay, in the hands of Tobirama.
Granted, Danzo had always preferred Tobirama-sensei to Hashirama. But all of them would be better off if Hashirama actually led the village. Instead, Tobirama was forced to enact policies and make his vision a reality. Hashirama was little more than a spiritual leader and a figurehead.
If he would only lead, the tensions growing with the Uchiha could be averted. Hashirama's questionable ideas of proper management would be a small price to pay. But Danzo could not say any of this, even though everyone knew it.
That was why they were here so often, far from prying ears. "I disagree," said Danzo after a moment. "It would be better if people think of the position of Hokage and obey that. The man who holds it ought to be unimportant, save insofar as he is necessary for the state. He ought to be a mere shadow, an avatar of his position.
"A leader should be decisive and not allow personal feelings to cloud his judgment."
"...Well, I'm certain we can continue the discussion later," said Sarutobi. Then he glanced back at their other visitor. They'd picked up on him watching some time. Turning to him, Danzo saw a young man, a bit younger than them. He had slicked back blonde hair, wore a travelworn red outfit, and had a walking stick in one hand. On his back was a pack, and a case was hung around his shoulder.
"I'm inclined to ask who you are and where you came from," said Sarutobi,
The man smiled. "A good question. Good morning sir, my name is Arthur Shinra, and I am a stranger in a strange land. I was hoping to sell you something."
Danzo raised an eyebrow. Few civilians would be so confident approaching a ninja. "An unexpectedly forward way of approaching someone. You've very brave to come out here."
"One has to be brave to find new opportunities," said Arthur. "I thought it best to wear my intentions on my sleeve. Would you be interested in hearing more?"
"Sarutobi, why don't we move on?" asked Danzo, liking the look of the man less by the moment. "This man is a foreigner, and we know nothing about him."
"I hardly think it polite to ignore him, Danzo," said Sarutobi. He had always been the more friendly between them. "Besides, for all we know he might have a worthwhile product. Though I must wonder why you came all the way up to the Hokage monument, looking for prospective buyers."
"Well, that's something of a complicated answer," laughed Arthur, smiling. "The long and short of it is that I am hoping to set up a stall. When I said 'you,' I really meant the Leaf as a whole. To whom would I apply to sell my goods?"
"Well, that would be the Hokage, Hashirama," said Sarutobi.
"I don't see your goods," noted Danzo. Merchants usually came by the main road, which had finished a few years ago. The gatehouse was nearly done.
"Well, my goods are easily portable. Would you care to look at them?" asked Arthur.
"Didn't you just say you wanted to sell to the Leaf?" asked Sarutobi.
"Well, who better to advertise my wares to as a test than the Shinobi who would be buying them," said Arthur. "Both of you are well known as the students of Tobirama; no doubt you'd have a better idea of markets than myself."
"I'll humor you," said Sarutobi, moving forward.
Arthur nodded. "Then here we are." And he reached into his pack and drew out a yellow gem. He then raised it skyward.
Danzo sensed power from it, however. "Gems?"
"Not gems," said Arthur. "Materia. A means westerners use to make use of magic."
"Magic?" asked Danzo.
"Or call it chakra or nature energy if you so desire," said Arthur. "Different words for the same thing, largely. I've found that most cultures have some variant of it. They need to in order to survive."
"You've been to many other lands then?" asked Sarutobi.
"Quite a few," said Arthur. "Though I admit, I've only been in a few scuffles."
"I had heard that westerners had no chakra. I had not heard of Materia," noted Danzo, finding this interesting despite himself.
"Well, you do you suppose we avoided being conquered without a few tricks of our down, do you?" asked Arthur. "Our people are not descended from the Cetra, or at least most of us aren't, so we have no innate control over chakra. Not as much as those here.
"However, we have the power to access it through materia."
What the devil were Cetra. And how did Arthur speak of them so freely?
"These gems give you power?" asked Hashirama.
"Well, of course. Observe," said Arthur. And he held the gem in one fist. Raising it, a bolt of lightning shot from his hand to strike a stone. It went as black as soot.
"Lightning style," said Hashirama. "With no hand signs."
"Well, we just call it Lightning Level 1," said Shinra. "Not quite so impressive a name, but simple.
"Each materia, you see, grows in power the more it is used by a person. The more powerful it becomes, the greater the powers available. But, unlike innate talents, the power doesn't die with the wielder.
"It can be passed down from father to son, mother to daughter. I believe you have a concept, ah, the Will of Fire?"
"Yes," said Danzo, intrigued by the technique. And yet, he was also warier than ever. This man was charismatic, but Danzo suspected he was not nearly so good a person as he pretended to be. Few people were.
"Well, one can make that very literal," said Arthur.
"So you can give a manpower he has not had to work to earn," said Sarutobi. "That seems most unwise."
"Well, there are physical requirements," said Arthur. "One who is weakwilled and untrained would simply not be able to use more advanced forms of materia.
"I don't deny it's a bit of a shortcut.
"But nobody would be selling conveniences if they didn't need to be used once in a while."
"The materia... they are elemental," guessed Danzo.
"Elemental, yes," said Arthur. "But they have other powers—hypnosis, manipulation, healing.
Each materia is spiritual power brought into the physical realm. A gift from the Planet, as they say."
"Then why are you selling it?" asked Danzo.
"Don't people sell the metal you make your kunai from?" asked Arthur. "Or the clothes you wear? If a market exists, it is inevitable that someone will try to make a profit from it. I'm hoping to build such a market."
"And how will you create more materia?" asked Danzo, wanting to know his plans. "We are a long way from western lands. Do you mine for them?"
"Oh, there are some theories about mining materia," said Arthur. "Most of these were collected from springs where they are naturally created.
"But, materia can create new materia.
"Observe." And he drew out a red materia. It flashed, there was a flash of fire, and then Arthur was holding two of them.
"It separated into two," said Sarutobi.
"Exactly," said Arthur. "When a materia is raised to its highest level of power, excess energy creates new materia.
"My business plan, such as I have it now, is to rent what materia I have. The ninja will be able to rent them from me in exchange for a... say, monthly payment. If they create any new materia, of course, they can sell it to me or keep it for themselves. I imagine many ninjas will be able to make a profit on the side by these methods.
"Assuming, of course, that I can get a permit to do business."
"And what will you do if we don't cooperate?" asked Danzo.
Arthur shrugged. "Well... I am a merchant. If there is no market here, I imagine I'll simply take my business to someone who wishes for it.
"Even so, I'd much rather do business here. Hashirama has a reputation for benevolence and fairness that is difficult to match."
Sarutobo paused. "One moment."
He and Danzo went to one side. And Danzo had a sudden feeling, stronger than ever before that Arthur Shinra must not get a hold in this place. It was not entirely rational, but there were many unknown elements about this materia. And Danzo had learned to trust his instincts in these matters.
"We should talk to Tobirama-sensei. He will certainly want to know about this," said Sarutobi,
"Sarutobi, this is a mistake," said Danzo. "We know nothing about this man, and he clearly has some other agenda."
"Maybe he does, Danzo, but it's not our call to make," said Sarutobi. "You know that Tobirama-sensei is always looking for new advantages. And as he said, he'll just take his business elsewhere if we don't."
"There are other alternatives," noted Danzo.
He thought, no, he was certain that all this would end here if he could just put a kunai in him now. Sarutobi, however, put a hand on their shoulders. "He hasn't done anything wrong, Danzo. Let's just leave things to Tobirama and the Hokage. We have a duty to inform them."
Danzo looked at him. "You already know what Hashirama will say to this, Sarutobi. He'll accept the offer without question and leave Tobirama and us to sort out the details."
"That doesn't change the fact that we've got to tell him. Come on, he's a merchant," said Sarutobi. "Do you really think he's going to take over the world by selling materia?"
"Stranger things have happened, Sarutobi," said Danzo. "Or need I remind you of the existence of some of the people in this village."
"Come on, don't be so paranoid," laughed Sarutobi. "The village is at peace, the sun is shining, and signs of wear are nowhere to be seen."
"It won't last," said Danzo with a shrug. "Our prosperity has gained the envy of other villages. And we already have had tense negotiations. Resources are limited, and eventually, sparks shall fly and ignite the land once more.
"A wise man in times of peace prepares for war."
"Look, let's just do our job. Tobirama will know what to do," said Sarutobi, and he was repeating himself.
Danzo sighed. "Whatever you say, Sarutobi."
But he knew that he'd have to keep an eye on Shinra. Nothing good would come of letting this foreigner into their midst.
Author's Note:
This is an idea I had for a long time. But I've never been able to figure out how to make it work. So I figured I'd post this first chapter and see if anyone likes it. If people want to see more, I may write more. Otherwise this may just be a oneshot.