Lotus Blooming! Book 2

Chapter 46 -- Seasick Babies

"I have an idea, Naruto!" Sakura hummed. "You guys can't set sail until Guy-Sensei feels better, right? Come and help us."

"Huh? Gathering herbs?" Naruto asked.

"Some of these are really rare! I'd love to help!" I exclaim. "Come on, Choji!" I leapt up to sit on Choji's shoulder and the two of us barreled into the forest.

~*****~

"You know, it's kinda hard to find all these herbs," I mention dryly as I continue to sort through some of the shrubs around. "Did you say Lady Tsunade told you this was a treasure trove?"

"Do you want to change locations?" Ino inquired.

"Let's try higher up." Choji suggested. "We need to find ingredients fro the food pills, too."

"True," Sakura hummed. "We can never have enough."

Naruto ran around trying every herb he put his hands on. "You're an idiot..." I whine in annoyance.

"Energy Ginseng!" I hear Choji exclaim. I glance up and gaze at the small patch Choji was going towards.

"Good find, Choji!" I exclaim. The four of us started towards it, and I quickly stop Choji and deflect the Kunai flying towards us.

"I'm sorry, but we found that patch of ginseng first!" The middle shinobi mentioned. I didn't recognize those headbands. "From your headbands, I presume you are from the Hidden Leaf."

"And you are?" I snap.

"I guess people from the Great Nations wouldn't know anything about us little country folk." He snorted before the three of them leapt down in front of us. "We are shinobi from Benisu Island in the south. I'm Bando, a Jonin."

"I'm Sada, a genin," One of the other's mentioned.

"I'm Kiji," The other hummed.

"We heard that war was imminent and came here to gather medicinal herbs." Bando hummed.

"No wonder," Naruto hummed. "That's why we couldn't find anything no matter how much we looked. You guys picked everything."

"Yes, we've covered just about every site. However, I know that leaves you in a bind. Here," Bando turned to Sada, and he in turn placed a basket of herbs before us.

"This is-- Thank you!" Sakura exclaimed as she gazed at the basket. "It will benefit the Allied Shinobi Forces, too!"

"I'm glad you are pleased. Well, okay, then--" He pulled out a huge abacus. "Let's see...." He started pulling beads wildly. "How about this much per bunch?"

"But--" I started.

"You Hidden Leaf people drive a hard bargain!" Bando exclaimed. "Now this is as low as I can go. How about this?" He asks as he shows a high price.

"You expect to get paid for this?" I snap.

"You're not giving it to us?" Sakura asked.

"Huh? Give me a break," Bando huffed. "If we did that, a small nation like ours couldn't survive. Fine, if the Hidden Leaf isn't interested in purchasing from us, we can sell it to other Feudal Lords in other lands. Shinobi aren't the only ones who get wounded in war."

"Knowing that, you still intend to make money?!" Ino barked.

"You receive money for the missions you undertake, too! You separate them into different ranks and put a price on them! Forgive me, but please understand." Bando hummed. "We need funds for our own self-defense."

"What should we do?" Sakura asked softly.

"There's no way we can complete our mission like this." Ino retorted.