As we returned to the clan, the clan mates began to share the stories. Although they spun them like overwhelming power stories.
But other than that, there was silence. Like before-the-storm silence. The news of their deaths must have reached back for a while now. We were moving while hiding. Their watchers shouldn't be.
I sipped my warm tea as I looked out of my window at the gate.
Suddenly, I saw Hana's carriage arrive. Kaito burst through the door and began speaking furiously with the guy at the gate. In seconds, the princess's carriage arrived. She stepped down with a strange expression, a letter in hand. As they met each other and started arguing furiously, a Kurokami envoy approached.
Sayuri came in through the door behind me."An ANBU is here, Lord Ren."
"Also, a letter from the Daimyo is here too."
Yeah, this seems more appropriate. I took another sip.
The Hokage really does know everything that goes on here. A few minutes later, we all were sitting in the Hokage's conference room.
The man walked in with an irritated expression, but smoothed it out as he entered.
Pleasantries were exchanged and praises were sung before we got down to business.
"Ren. Why did you renege on your deal with the princess?"
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"I had sent ANBU for observation. We know you blew them up. By the way, I also want to know how you managed to sneak out of the village."
"They could have been bounty hunters."
He just gave me a look that said, Wanna try that again, kid?
"Besides, they were rogue Fuinjutsu masters who left Konoha without my permission. If I did do anything, I was well within my rights."
"That's not the point. You reneged on your deal with the princess. You had no right to their lives once you handed them over to her!"
"What deal? She just threatened me with the Daimyo's rage and took them away!"
That made him pause.
"You mean she didn't offer you anything and tried to just take them with threats?"
The princess sank further into her chair."Yes," I spoke.
The Hokage looked over to the royals. This time, only Kaito spoke.
"The princess isn't really experienced in matters relating to Konoha. The Daimyo apologizes for the disturbance she has caused. But Lord Third, this does not change the fact that the Kurosawa killed people under the protection of the Royal House of Fire."
"That is true, Ren. You shouldn't have done that."
"I was under the impression that the Fuinjutsu Council had sole authority over Fuinjutsu in Konoha. Or did you lie to us, Lord Third?"
"Lord Third, my son died in that unprovoked attack. We were following the orders from the royals. Nothing more!" Naotora slammed the table in anguish.
"Unprovoked? Really? Have you forgotten what you have done to us?" Emiko screamed in outrage, and the whole thing devolved into accusations, honor debates, posturing, and general chaos—until Koharu smashed her fist onto the table.
"Stop acting like children! Let's get down to the real deals, alright? I don't have all day."
"Princess, you blundered in your desperation, and your family is going to pay the price once you return. You trying to speak here is no use. We don't like Ren, but even we won't allow you to walk away after threatening a major clan of Konoha. It sets a dangerous precedent."
"Naotora, shove those crocodile tears back. You're too smart to believe in the princess—especially since you knew she was trying to take you away on a bluff. The fifty had no scouts, and from what we noticed, they were told they were being escorted by elite stealth shinobi when they were alone. You knew Ren would attack them to establish his power as a major clan and exact vengeance. Those fifty were sacrifices you made knowingly!"
"Ren, our agents saw that blast. But there are no repercussions. The Hokage gave you jurisdiction, and he meant it. He is only interfering now because the Daimyo is involved. One of the reasons we gave you power so easily was for the sake of stability. The national powers of the nations have recovered significantly, and war is on the horizon. Tensions are rising, and we expect minor skirmishes to start soon. We want the village's military supply chain in top order. So you have no choice but to compromise."
There was stunned silence at the table.
She breathed in deep again.
"Now listen to me, all of you. I know of a plan that will benefit us all and establish the peace and stability that Konoha desperately needs right now."
We all leaned forward to hear.
"Ren, by law you can marry four women as a noble. You marry Shiori, and you marry Akari."
"WHY DOES EVERYONE ALWAYS WANT TO MARRY ME OFF TO SOMEBODY ELSE?" I exclaimed.
"Because of your damn death trigger!"
She screamed back, silencing me. Oh no, I wasn't afraid—just stunned. I hadn't seen her lose control before. It appeared the border tensions were rising fast. But wasn't the White Fang still alive?
"Any other contract with your clan is just a piece of paper. The only thing that has actual, concrete influence on your clan is your own will. And only marriages can manipulate that!"
"But with Rei's death, the Kurokami have only one heir with enough potential to take over. That is Shiori. By marrying her, you would effectively become their clan head too—not just in theory. You will need their generational expertise and legacy to properly govern. So the Kurokami will swear fealty to you, and you will become their suzerain. The Yamigami will be given to Shiori, and because of this whole fiasco, Naotora will abdicate in her favor.
"The princess is peace with the capital. She was wrong, but killing people under the Daimyo's protection was wrong too. It can serve as both punishment and reward. The only way she can help her family survive now would be to marry you. The punishment for both being that neither of them will be first wives with spousal rights, but second wife and third wife respectively."
I paused. She was right about Shiori. The Hokage faction just wanted the Fuinjutsu supplies back on proper production track, with the military strengths of the villages around us recovering. But why the princess? Aren't they afraid of me getting too powerful with the Daimyo's influence?
"No, we are not worried, because the Hatake have lost too much influence, and so has the Daimyo. Besides, during and around wars, Konoha naturally gains influence. He is desperately shoring up defenses, and this compromise is a part of that."
Did she read my mind? What she said did make sense.
"The people regard you as an unstable element for now. A powerful but unstable one. This will give you stability and show your willingness to compromise for peace."
That seemed alright on the surface, but it somehow felt as if we were oversimplifying all this. I wanted to object, but the truth was I could not find any major flaws in her arguments. Any alternatives I could think of were worse than this arrangement.
My only real concern was the fact that I had just killed fifty Kurokami. While I understood that Naotora had played a masterstroke with that sacrifice and it had effectively stopped them from getting picked off one by one, outright slaughter—even if legal—was still frowned upon. You had to do it gradually so that the military power of the village didn't suffer too much.
I know that he and his daughter must have been prepared.
But was their clan prepared too?