Certain areas of development were actively discouraged by ninja, mainly because they felt they had a lock on those professions dealing with the waging of wars and ridiculously destructive martial arts techniques.
One effect of that was that the Five Great Shinobi Nations made their money largely off their shinobi. The Land Of Wind might have mining, and the Land Of Wood had lumber, but their elite moneymakers were the ninja.
In the nations not counted among the Five Great Shinobi Nations, they had other means of making ends meet. The Land Of Steel, for example, was the major supplier of motors and engines - specializing in those used in watercraft such as the Land Of Waves used.
Then there were other lands that weren't quite so prosperous. Sometimes having to make do with odd occupations.
Such as the Land Of Four Ribbons, which was well known as a place where laws entirely depended on how much money you had. Anything could be bought there, if one had the price. As long as it wasn't something that would cause the Five Shinobi Nations to put aside their differences and invade.
Four Ribbons, four specialties of crime. Blue Ribbon, gambling - their casinos and gambling ships were the most gaudy and visible of the four. Red Ribbon, any technologies or developments in the art of killing - if you wanted details on a forbidden jutsu or technique you came to them. Purple Ribbon - slavetraders, prostitution, and similar work. The Purple Ribbon was known to hire 'missing nin' who wanted to stay missing. Black Ribbon - theft specialists. If it could be procured, it would move through their auction houses and private dealers.
Red Ribbon was the most cautious as far as the Five Shinobi Nations was concerned, as their business was entirely concerned with events outside the Five Nations and those in those nations considered them to essentially be 'Thugs R Us' - when one needed warm bodies that enjoyed violence to throw at a problem. They weren't worth anyone's time on their own as far as the Shinobi Nations were concerned. If they got too bold, Red Ribbon knew that some high-level ninja might come visit and kill a large number of their personnel as an object lesson. No, better not to try and expand their market share.
Black Ribbon, on the other hand, had problems of their own.
"Uhm, you're Sasuke Uchiha, ain't ya?" said some ninja-cat.
"Yeah, can we get more altitude?" asked Sasuke.
"Right on it," said some effeminite male, pulling a cord that jetted something into the balloon.
"Good," said Sasuke as a grapnel flew underneath the basket.
"This is the first time we've had someone cooperate like this," said a redhaired woman.
Sasuke leaned back against the side of the basket to regard the two in pirate outfits. Including little skull and crossbones motif. "Let me guess. Land Of Four Ribbons - Black Ribbon?"
"You've heard of Team Ribbon?" said the effeminite man, preening as he produced a rose and sniffed at it.
"Nope," said Sasuke. "You're pirates."
"Right, and now we've caught you!" said the cat, waving a cutlass around.
Sasuke kicked out lightly, knocking the cutlass out of the cat's hands and catching it himself.
"Gulp," said the effeminite man, the redheaded woman, and even the cat.
"Seems to me," said Sasuke. "We each have something the other wants. I'm just trying to figure out what you want."
"We want part of the money that your photobooks and videos take in," said the effete guy. "With you starring in one of OUR videos, we'll make tons of cash!"
"Photobooks?" asked Sasuke. "Videos?"
"Uh huh," said all three at the same time, nervously watching the cutlass.
"WHAT photobooks and videos?" asked Sasuke, not unreasonably.
"I just happen to have one here," said the woman, holding up a book.
Sasuke's gaze was flat as he read the title 'Sasuke Uchiha - Bed, Bath, And Beyond' and handed the cutlass back to the cat. It wasn't like he couldn't take it away again. "Let's see that. We may be able to make a deal if it gets me away from here for a little awhile."
"Oh," said the effete guy. "Uhm. I'm James. This is Jessie, and that's our Summons - Meowth."
"That's right!" agreed the cat-thing.
Thumbing through the magazine, Sasuke went from apparently bored to angry to a cold emotion which caused all three of his 'kidnappers' to crowd away as far as the small basket would allow them to go.
"I think," said Sasuke finally, "that I have a deal for you three. We're going to the publisher of this magazine and we steal everything they've made in profits off of this. Do we have a deal?"
"They grow up so fast," said Uncle Genma as he watched the balloon slowly sail off into the sunset.
Yes, reflected Uncle Genma, it was a beautiful scene. The cat's head shaped balloon rising up into the red-gold sky. The crowd of young women calling out for their departing Sasuke, some trying to hurl sharp pointy things at the balloon in full ignorance of what would happen if they actually managed to hit it.
The girl dangling from a rope beneath the balloon who was having to swing and twist in order to avoid the sharp pointy things that would occasionally come way too close.
Ah look, Ino managed to grab ahold of Sakura. Now there were TWO girls dangling beneath the balloon as it found a convenient updraft and took a ride like an elevator to dizzying new heights.
Uncle Genma made a handsign and vanished after the balloon was a speck still lit by the sun as the village itself passed into shadow. How amusing that the balloon would be wafted along by a storm front and eventually set down somewhere far far away.
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(Posted Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:07)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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