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Seeking mutual benefit, Konoha swiftly disbursed the loan to the Land of Lightning the very next day.
Phase two of the bailout comnced.
With funds secured from Konoha, the Land of Lightning's treasury began aggressively buying up tulips on the market.
The tulip rescue plan entered its most critical stage.
Tulip prices fluctuated, sotis falling, sotis rising. At tis, buyers surged; at others, speculators, sensing opportunity, re-entered the market, waving cash.
Overall, the price stabilized.
The initial shockwave had passed, so of the bubble deflated. Prices wouldn't reach their previous peaks, but the current level was—acceptable to many.
At least on paper, the tulips filling the Land of Lightning's treasury weren't entirely worthless.
During this process, nurous corrupt Lightning Country nobles contacted Satō Zaiko, their proxy in Kumogakure, instructing him to liquidate his assets and purchase tulips at the current dip, then sell them back to the treasury.
Satō Zaiko, left with no choice, reluctantly sold the Konoha War Bonds he'd barely acquired, engaging in this left-hand-to-right-hand transaction as commanded by the great nobles.
The treasury was broke, yet the nobles expected the nation to share the burden. Fine!
But now the treasury had borrowed money from Konoha, and the nobles still expected the nation to share the burden? Unacceptable!
Shouldn't they at least get a taste of the profits first?
The Finance Minister, experiencing the bittersweet thrill of unlimited funds, knew that every ryō spent had to be repaid.
If they defaulted—the Land of Lightning would likely—cease to exist.
Their valuable national assets, the operating rights to essential services, the ports and tourist attractions generating massive tax revenue—all mortgaged to Konoha, docunted in black and white.
The bailout effort had been ongoing for five days.
The Fire Gas were nearing their conclusion.
The Finance Minister listened numbly to the reports. A patriotic official lanted, "Minister! The market is flooded with tulips! We can't buy them all! There's no end to it!"
"The treasury is completely depleted! The loans from Konoha—every last ryō has been poured into the market! The Land of Lightning's wealth—has been wiped out!"
"We tried borrowing from the great nobles, but they refuse to even et with us..."
"Weren't we monitoring the Arasaka Corporation? Weren't their tulip supplies supposed to be running low? Why are there more enemies now than ever before?"
It's over!
A chill ran down the Finance Minister's spine. He felt drained, his face pale, eyes vacant. He collapsed into his chair.
Before he could process this devastating news, another official burst in.
"M-Minister! Bad news! Another ten thousand tulips have appeared on the market! What do we do?"
Fierce debate erupted in the office.
So, desperate, cried out, "The fate of the Land of Lightning hangs in the balance! We cannot lose! We must borrow more! Borrow from Konoha again! We've already mortgaged so much; what's a little more?!"
"We're already at rock bottom! The only way is up! So, what are you afraid of?! Go all in! Short the market! What's the worst that can happen? Death?!"
Before the ministers could agree on a plan, yet another official arrived with even worse news.
The Finance Minister's heart sank. More bad news?
"M-Minister, it's terrible! The news of the empty treasury couldn't be contained! The public is storming the warehouses! One warehouse has been breached! The tulips inside—everyone saw them!"
"How could this happen?! Weren't the warehouses guarded by Shinobi?"
"Apparently, the guardian Shinobi were worried about not receiving their salaries, so—so they deliberately..."
"Forget that! Issue a clarification imdiately! It's a rumor! Outsourced personnel were storing personal tulips in the national warehouse! They've been dismissed—Remind the public to maintain order, to protect the Land of Lightning's reputation! Those spreading rumors and disrupting public order will be severely punished..." The Public Relations Minister instinctively resorted to the usual tactics, trying to contain the situation.
But halfway through his speech, he trailed off, slumping into his chair, defeated.
The secret tulip warehouse breached—witnessed by countless people—How could they possibly contain this? News of the empty treasury, filled only with tulips, would spread like wildfire.
Of course, even at this stage, salvation wasn't entirely impossible. If they could magically produce cash—the "rumors" would be debunked.
The Public Relations Minister looked pleadingly at the Finance Minister, but received only a helpless shake of the head.
If they could produce cash, would they be in this desperate situation? Having sown the seeds of greed, they now had to reap the bitter fruit of national bankruptcy.
Ruined! Everything was ruined!
The Finance Minister ran his hands through his disheveled hair, his voice hoarse. "This situation—is beyond our control. Send soone to Otogakure imdiately. Inform the Daimyo."
"What should we tell him?"
"Tell the Daimyo, the Land of Lightning—is bankrupt!" Tears stread down the Finance Minister's face. He looked towards the ancestral tombs of the Land of Lightning's daimyo, his voice trembling. "Tell the Daimyo to remain in Otogakure for now—The Land of Lightning will likely descend into chaos for a long ti. Returning now—he'll be torn apart by the angry mobs."
"Once order is restored, he can return to his loyal Land of Lightning!"
"All bla—rests upon ."
"Perhaps, from the beginning, we should have acted decisively, arrested those tulip rchants, implented national policies, united to weather this storm—It was my greed, my desire to minimize the nation's losses, that led us down this path, borrowing from Konoha."
"I am a gambler—perhaps we all are. But now, we've lost. The price—is the bankruptcy of the Land of Lightning."
"Perhaps we could have done sothing earlier, but now—it's too late."
The chaotic voices in the council chamber gradually subsided. All eyes turned towards the Finance Minister, filled with desperate hope.
The Finance Minister, his eyes bloodshot, spoke, his voice heavy. "Yes, gentlen—The Land of Lightning is bankrupt. We can no longer afford your salaries. Those who wish to leave—may do so now."
Whoosh—
The council chamber emptied significantly.
It wasn't that they were unwilling to work for free, to continue serving the Daimyo. But remaining here—ant facing the wrath of the mobs that would soon storm the building.
This was no longer about money; it was about survival!
"Alright," the Finance Minister addressed those who remained, "whether you stay out of loyalty, hoping for future promotion, or out of a genuine desire to serve the Land of Lightning—act now!"
His face ashen, he issued his final orders. He could already foresee the chaos that would engulf the Land of Lightning.
Every citizen, every noble, every rchant who had invested in tulips would lose everything. Filled with rage, learning that the national treasury held only tulips, they would quickly realize this was a scam targeting every level of society—They wouldn't listen to explanations from the discredited Daimyo's governnt.
They would lose all reason, storming the Daimyo's mansion. Samurai would beco bandits, Shinobi would beco rogue...
But before that—
"Arrest all those rchants! Send them to hell!"
"Especially that damned Arasaka Corporation!"
With the crisis of confidence reaching its peak, the market completely collapsing, these fattened rchants—were ripe for slaughter.
"Report—"
"Bad news! Mobs are storming the Daimyo's mansion!"
"Gentlen, it's ti to leave."
"Where—where can we go now?"
The Finance Minister paused. "First, execute those rchants, confiscate their assets. Then—take this final fortune to Kumogakure, to the Raikage Tower! Establish a temporary Land of Lightning governnt!"
"But—we can no longer provide any subsidies or aid to Kumogakure. Those Shinobi..." Soone stamred, their throat tight. The implication hung heavy in the air.
"The Fourth Raikage is loyal to the nation!"
"Our only hope now—to quell the chaos, lies with the Raikage and his Shinobi."
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