"But senseiiiiiii! I don' wanna do puffer practice today! I wanna go see Neji down at the Youth Church! He's so funny when he does those sermons. Pleeeeeassssee?"
"No." Kagome kept his voice firm. "You need to keep up with your studies. You don't want those stinking mean girls to catch up to you, do you?"
"No! No puffer practice! I want Neji! Neji, Neji, Neji!" She stomped her foot, and shook her fists in anger as tears started rolling down her cheeks.
Honoka had been out of sorts all day. His normally sweet and biddable student had turned into a whining, stomping, pouting demon child who had argued and fought every step of the way for no reason other than to be contrary. When pancakes were put in front of her at breakfast she had pushed them away and loudly announced that she wanted sausages and milk instead. When given sausages she had thrown them on the floor because 'they smell weird!' When her mother had tried to pick her up and take her to her room, Honoka had broken free with a (fortunately, poorly and incompletely executed) taijutsu move that Kagome recognized even if the civilian woman had not. It was at that point that he intervened, stepping between them and asking Aoi if it was all right for him to take Honoka to practice. Aoi had agreed with gratitude. He had bundled her into her sandals and training coat despite her best efforts, then whisked her out of the house.
Kagome glanced around to make sure that everyone else on the street was giving them a wide berth. Everyone was. No civilian wanted to be anywhere near an Academy student's ninja headband while the child wearing it was in the middle of a meltdown.
Seeing that they weren't in imminent danger, the sealmaster crouched down on one knee, leaning casually on the upraised one. He didn't say a word, simply waiting while Honoka screamed and ranted and eventually exhausted herself into a miserable hiccuping mess.
"Feeling better?"
"No," she mumbled, wiping her eyes.
"Want a hug?" he asked, offering both arms.
She looked at him suspiciously from under her bangs, expecting a trap, but when she saw his calm expression and outstretched arms she flung herself against him and grappled tight.
He stood up, one arm under her butt to support her and the other rubbing slow circles on her back. "It's okay, kiddo."
"No it's not," she mumbled, the words interrupted by a half-sob and endcapped by a miserable hiccup. "It's not going to be all right, ever again. Never."
"Huh," Kagome said in surprise. "I did not know that. Oh well. I guess we're doomed."
She pushed back, hands braced on his shoulders so she could glare at him. "Don't make fun!"
Kagome's eyes widened in the purest and worst-ever simulation of innocence. "Who, me? I wasn't making fun."
"Yes you were!"
"Nope. Just agreeing. The world is a terrible place filled with misery and we're all doomed. I'm glad you told me or I wouldn't have realized it." He sighed, shaking his head sadly. "I'll miss the chocolate, and the milkshakes. Oh, and the bird songs. I liked those."
"Sensei! You're making fun of me!"
"Nope."
"Yes, you are!"
"Nooope." He popped the 'p' just for the amusement value.
She glared.
"Hold on tight," he told her. "I want to sit on the bakery roof." He tightened his grip, one hand cupped against the back of her head as he pressed her gently into his shoulder for safety. One chakra-powered leap, a little chakra adhesion, and a moment later they were perched on the roof of Sada's Bakery and Sweets, right next to the heavy brick chimney. The morning bake was happening and the scent of it was coming up the chimney along with the sharp tang of woodsmoke.
Kagome got himself settled and then let Honoka down so that she was standing between his knees and they were both at eye level. He made sure to keep his arms in a loose circle around her ribs in case she slipped on the slate roof, but he kept the contact light and non-threatening.
"So," he said. "It's been a morning."
She sniffled a little and wiped her nose on the back of her hand. "Uh-huh."
"Sleep okay?"
"Uh-uh."
"Did the monster traps go off?" He'd been very careful to walk her through the existence and method of operation for the directional mine that he'd placed under her bed as area denial against potential assassins. And to make very clear that she was never, ever, ever to go under there. Granted, it was only an alarm seal and a macerator loaded with pangolin pepper spray, the two linked by a Lesser Barrier Formation tripwire. He wasn't an idiot; he wasn't actually going to put lethal devices under a child's bed. Also, he'd been careful to tell her that they were intended for the monsters she believed lived in her closet. No need to explain that real-life people who actually existed would someday try to kill her.
"Uh-uh."
"Not hungry at breakfast?"
"No."
"Hm." He nodded thoughtfully and said no more, looking out over the city without moving.
Honoka was many things, but comfortable with long silences was not one of them. "Uncle Noburi is leaving," she mumbled eventually.
Kagome frowned. "What? No he isn't."
"Yes, he is! He went off to those toad people and now there's those two weird ones who are going to be around all the time and they're ugly and they smell gross and they're going to take him awayyyyy!" The last word was a wail and the tears were flowing again. Kagome tugged her into a hug and held her close, rubbing slow circles on her back and cupping her head against his chest so she could hear the slow, calm thud of his heart.
It took a while, but eventually the tears dried up, leaving only sniffles and more sad hiccups in their wake. And little-girl snot all over his shirt, but that wasn't a big deal.
"Yup," Kagome said at last. "They are going to be around a lot and they do smell funny. The young one, Gamatatakai? He smells like feet."
Honoka tried to laugh and hiccup at the same time. It went poorly, and the result sounded more like a squeak.
"Squeak?" Kagome said. "Squeak, squeak, little mouse."
"'m not a little mouse."
"You are a little mouse, and if you keep sucking your thumb like that you'll have big old buck teeth just like a mouse."
She jerked her thumb out of her mouth and thumped his chest with one hand.
"Ow," he said, pulling back. It hadn't actually hurt, but she didn't need to know that.
Her face crumpled. "Sorry." Her thumb went back in her mouth and she ducked her head.
Gently but firmly, he took the thumb out of her mouth and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Honoka," he said, "look at me."
She looked up from under her bangs.
"I saw what you did with your mother this morning."
"Didn't do anything." She looked down at her shoes.
"That was the start of Combination Five, wasn't it? The variation that Senzaki-sensei teaches?"
"No."
"Honoka."
"...Maybe."
"Honoka, look at me."
Shoulders hunched and head pulled down, she met his eyes.
"At the Academy, you're going to learn a lot of things that will let you protect yourself and your family. I'm going to teach you more things like that, and you're going to be a great ninja. But. You cannot use them on your mother, or your father, or anyone except enemies. Understand?"
"I didn't do anything!"
His grip firmed. "Yes. You. Did. You're a good girl, Honoka, and you're not a liar. Don't start now."
She looked down at the roof slates. "Sorry."
"It's okay. You didn't hurt her...this time. But if you do that again, you might. That would be against the Will of Fire."
Her eyes narrowed. "You don't care about the Will of Fire. You said so when you told me all that stuff about Lord First."
"Doesn't matter if I care about it. You do." He grimaced. "And...maybe it's growing on me. A little. Besides, there are things I do care about. Like you, and your parents. And Hazō's crazy dreams of Uplift. Stupid idea, probably get us all killed, but it gives meaning to life. Makes me feel like what I do matters. You attacking your mother or father goes against all of those things. It would make me sad if you did that." It also might get her kicked out of the Academy or possibly executed, but this wasn't the time to mention that.
"Sorry," she mumbled, looking down again.
"It's okay...this time. But if you do it again, I'll be sad and the Hokage will be sad. You wouldn't want that, right?"
"No, sensei."
"Okay."
She looked up in surprise. "That's all?"
"Yup."
"You're not even going to give me a whack?"
"Do you want me to?"
"No!"
He shrugged. "Okay."
"But you said I did a bad thing that would make you sad! And make the Hokage sad! That's not okay!"
He petted her head for a minute. "Would me shouting or giving you a whack make you feel worse than you do?"
Piteous sniff. "No."
"Are you going to do it again?"
"No."
He shrugged. "Well, there you go."
She frowned in confusion.
"You didn't hit her, sweetie. You only did the irimi." More specifically, she hadn't done the stamp to the top of the calf that would have destroyed a civilian's leg, or the double-knee drop to the spine that would have, at the very least, left her mother paralyzed.
"I hit you."
"Eh. It was more of a thump than a hit."
"You said ouch."
"I lied."
"Sensei!"
"What?"
"You aren't supposed to lie!"
"No, you aren't supposed to lie, because you're a good person and a sweet child. I'm a terrible mean old man who doesn't trust anyone and likes explosions."
"No you're not!"
"Am too!"
"Am not!"
"You mean 'are not', because grammatically—"
"Ahhhh!" she threw herself at him, tickling and play-biting. He collapsed back onto the roof, laughing and pretending to struggle at fending her off.
Hundreds of these leaflets have been making their way across Leaf:
Rejoice, humans, for your salvation is nigh!
The true teachings of Gamautama, known also as the Sage of Six Paths, have finally come to the Human Path for the first time since the Holy Disciple Gamaruma brought the gift of martial arts to mankind nearly a thousand years ago. No longer will your souls be sentenced to an eternity of torment within the cycle of reincarnation. Instead, you need only follow the true faith, and you may be able to ascend to paradise as early as your next lifetime!
These are the Four Exalted Facts of Toadism:
1) Life is suffering. Our souls are tainted by countless lifetimes of impurity and sin, and their weight keeps us from the paradise for which we are meant. Instead, we struggle through innumerable lifetimes of pain and loss caused by the folly of our past selves.
2) In all suffering lies the possibility for redemption. The Sage created the Six Paths to test us, so that by passing his tests we may purify our souls and escape the chains of karma.
3) The purity of the soul determines its reincarnation. A peasant of the Human Path who lives life according to the teachings of Toadism in this life will surely be reborn as a wealthy merchant or even a ninja in the next. Every Hokage is the reincarnation of a saint of the Fire Country who unknowingly lived life as a true Toadist. But one who rejects Toadism and chooses to live a life of sin will be lucky to be reborn as a miserable hungry ghost of the Preta Path.
4) Only a soul that passes every test over countless lifetimes and achieves perfect purity can ascend to the paradise of the Seventh Path, there to dwell in joy forevermore. The Seventh Path is a place where every warrior is a titan with powers a ninja can only envy, while every civilian lives a life of peace and prosperity, safe from privation, disease, or chakra beasts. On the Seventh Path, even the humblest food-gatherer is part of a mighty clan that protects and empowers them, and the purest of the pure even have a chance to be reborn in the Toad Clan as one of Gamautama's own heirs.
The teachings of Toadism, passed down directly from Gamautama himself, are a guide to every test the soul may face in the cycle of reincarnation. One who masters the teachings walks the royal road to paradise, cutting thousands of years off their journey. You too, may only be one life away from eternal happiness.
In his mercy, Gamasēji, ordained monk of the Great Toad Monastery, has descended from the Seventh Path to teach Toadism to all with the wisdom to listen. Sermons are conducted every Sunday at dusk by the Hashirama statue in Founder's Square. For more information, speak to Lay Disciple Gōketsu Noburi.
June 5th, 1069 AS. Two days after Keiko's birthday
"And finally," Gaku said, "Lord Noburi has reported that the Toads sent their messenger to the Otter Clan asking for news of where the Otter Summoning Scroll might be. He expects it to be at least a month, perhaps more, before any response will be available. In exchange for this favor, Boss Gamabunta demanded four hundred yards of green cloth, the services of a team of Gōketsu seamstresses—the work will obviously be done on the Human Path—and a pair of twenty-foot copper chains to be worn as decoration on the collar. Apparently he's tired of the Sages being the only ones with robes. The expenses fit within the discretionary budget that you provided me, so I have made the arrangements at Lord Noburi's request."
"Great," Hazō said, smiling. "I'll look forward to seeing the final product before Noburi takes it back. I think that wraps it up." He paused to check his notes. "Oh, wait, one more thing. I need you to arrange a mission for me—if one of our ninja can do it, great. If not, hire it but inform whoever takes it that it's classified and they can't talk about it. I want someone to go over to the Hanguri Gulf and hunt up a bunch of sharks, or maybe a megalodon. Their hides will make a really badass coat for Noburi's birthday."
Hazō secretary, already well-inured to his lord's crazy ideas and bizarre whims, wrote the latest one down without comment.
Hazō glanced at his list to make sure he'd cleared all the items and then stretched in satisfaction. "Unless there's anything else, I need to get over to the Tower for training. Lady Tsunade doesn't appreciate it when I'm late, and she's been drilling me on fifth-dimensional transit meditations. It's breaking my brain." He shook his head, chuckling.
Gaku hesitated. "There's...one more thing, My Lord."
"Oh?"
"My Lord," the civilian said carefully. "There...may be a concern at the school."
"'A concern'? Could you be more specific?"
Gaku hesitated. "One of the students has expressed some objections to Ikenaga-sensei's teaching style."
"What does that mean?"
"There have been some complaints about excessive contact."
"'Excessive contact'? What, he's hitting too hard or too often with the switch?"
"...Not exactly."
"Okay...?"
"Contact...outside of the classroom."
Hazō frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Some of the students have suggested that Ikenaga-sensei has been...indiscreet. With them."
Suddenly it clicked. "Gaku, are you telling me that one of the teachers has been having sex with his students?"
Gaku looked uncomfortable. "I have no reports of actual intercourse."
"Gaku. Stop dancing around it. How many reports do you have and exactly what do they say?"
"Two. They say that..." He trailed off. "Perhaps you should simply read them." He extended a paper.
Hazō took the page and scanned through it, his expression getting darker with each word. At the end he set the document down and looked directly at his secretary, his voice going low and cold. "Are there any accusations aside from these?"
"No, My Lord. None of the other boys have complained."
"None of the other boys? What about the girls?"
Gaku shrugged. "My Lord, girls always complain about their teachers. They are delicate creatures."
Hazō's face went blank. "Excuse me. I need to tell Lady Tsunade that I will be taking today off for clan reasons, and then Mari and I need to talk to these students."
o-o-o-o
Ino's face was ice. "You're sure?"
Hazō shrugged. "If I were sure I wouldn't be here. The complaints are detailed and the students were convincing, but I want to be certain."
The blonde teenage Clan Head made a visible effort not to react and instead to think carefully.
"I'm the wrong one for this," she said at last. "Worse, our surviving senior ninja are unavailable right now. I'll send Choki with you; he's only a chūnin but he's skilled. A little rough and sometimes he causes minor damage but he's effective and he's never seriously injured anyone."
"If he gets the truth, that's all I care about."
o-o-o-o
"And three times four is what, class?"
"Eight!" "Thirty-four!" "Seven?"
"No! It's twelve, you simpletons! How many— Oh, hello, Lord Gōketsu. How may I help you today?"
Hazō stepped into the room, his face blank. Behind him walked Yamanaka Choki, the sixteen-year-old ninja who had been the best that Ino could spare. "You are Ikenaga Daiju, yes?"
The teacher bowed. "Yes, My Lord. What may I—"
"Stop talking."
Hazō turned to look at the rows of students who were eyeing in fascination the interaction of their teacher and their Clan Head. An idle part of his brain noticed that there were seven unfamiliar faces; probably part of the outreach program that had civilian children from the broader Leaf community joining the Gōketsu Education Department's basic education classes. People had been suspicious of the G.E.D. when told that there was no tuition, but many of the poorer families had come around immediately when they learned that there was an all-you-can-eat lunch included.
"Class dismissed. Everyone out."
"My Lord—"
Yamanaka grabbed Ikenaga in an efficient come-along and slammed him down on the desk. "Your Lord told you to stop talking," he noted casually.
Oooooh, said thirty wide-eyed students.
Hazō glanced over, lips pursed in annoyance. "Yamanaka."
"Yes?"
"Not until we're sure."
Yamanaka rolled his eyes. "Very well." He released a terrified Ikenaga and backed away.
"My Lord, please. I don't know—"
"Stop. Talking." Hazō repeated. He turned back to the students. "All of you. OUT."
There was a stampede, and then a closed door.
Despite no longer being restrained, Ikenaga hadn't managed to straighten up from the desk, but when he saw the frozen anger in his Lord's eyes he sprawled to the floor in a terrified kneeling position that was not the refined precision of seiza. "Please, My Lord. Please, whatever you think I did, I didn't! I promise, I've been loyal."
"Yamanaka, do it."
"Hold still," Yamanaka said, stepping forward and grabbing Ikenaga's head in both hands. "This is going to hurt."
Ikenaga's eyes rolled back in his head and moments later his screams tore blood from his throat.
o-o-o-o
The entire adult population of the Gōketsu estate (barring the gate guards, a few sentinels at the walls, and a group of child-care providers) had gathered at their Lord's command. The sun was low on the horizon, dinner was simmering forgotten on fires and in kitchens, and everyone was nervous. When a ninja demanded your attendance, it was usually bad news. When your ninja Clan Head demanded everyone's attendance, it was almost certainly bad news. Sure, the last time had been rousing speeches and respect, but how often could that be true?
Besides, Lord Gōketsu stood atop a granite platform in front of them, and he did not look in the mood for rousing speeches. Ikenaga-sensei, a well-known teacher and pillar of the community, was currently bent over and tied to a raised portion of the platform, his head hanging off the front.
"People of the Gōketsu," their Lord began. "The last time we gathered, I told you that we are the clan of Uplift. We are the Will of Fire embodied, the ones who protect the weak and leave the world better than we found it." He paused, looking over the silent, nervous crowd. "We are not the clan of child rapists."
Eyes went wide and an indrawn breath swept through the crowd. The ninja spaced around the edges merely looked grim.
"Ikenaga Daiju. There have been multiple accusations saying that you forced yourself on your students. As your Clan Lord, I have investigated these accusations and found them convincing. In hopes that my investigations were somehow mistaken, I brought a Yamanaka ninja to probe your mind. He confirmed the accusations in sufficient detail that I am certain of your guilt. The Hokage has been advised of the situation and confirmed that I have the right to adjudicate within my clan and punish my clan members as I choose. I choose that your sentence is death. Pangolin Clan Technique: Pantokrator's Hammer."
Lord Gōketsu's fist came down on Ikenaga-sensei's head in a hammer blow that snapped his neck instantly...which was utterly irrelevant, since it also smashed his head open like a melon, splattering brains and blood across the red granite and the young Lord's shoes and pantlegs. Lord Gōketsu straightened, absently wiping his hand clean on a cloth that had been readied for the purpose.
"I do not tolerate abuse of my clan," their Lord said, his voice remote and unfeeling. Everyone knew that voice; it was the one that they prayed never to hear from a ninja. Having a ninja hotly angry in your vicinity was dangerous. Having them coldly furious meant that someone was about to die.
"I do not tolerate abuse of my clan," he said again. "Not by outsiders, and certainly not by our own. Every accusation will be investigated in full and punished appropriately. If the accusation is found to be false and made in bad faith, the accuser will be punished. If the accusation is false but a simple mistake then no harm will be done. We are the Gōketsu, the clan of honor. We support one another, we do not violate one another!"
He paused, judging eyes sweeping from face to face. "Gōketsu Kaku. Gōketsu Hiroya. Stand forth."
The crowd, eager to avoid becoming collateral damage, surged back away from the two accused men. Kaku and Hiroya fell to their knees, begging forgiveness for whatever they had done.
"The two of you are guilty of drunken fighting in the cafeteria."
"Please, My Lord! Please, it will never happen again!"
"I'm sure it won't. You are assigned to the sanitation research project for the next week. You will collect shit from the latrines for their experiments."
Both men sagged in relief, babbling thanks for their Lord's mercy.
"Gōketsu Michihiro, stand forth."
A fifty-something man with graying hair and a bit of flab stepped forward, his knees quaking so badly that he could barely stand.
"You are a thief. You stole four thousand, three hundred and twenty-seven ryō from Gōketsu Aiko. You will serve on the surveying- and construction team that is working on the aqueduct. There are guards onsite who will ensure your safety during this time but you will not speak to or interact with them or anyone else outside of mission-critical matters. Your wages will go to Aiko and you will remain on this duty until you have paid her back fivefold.
"Gōketsu Kazuha, stand forth..."
o-o-o-o
July 20, 1069 AS. Two days after Hazō signed the Dog Summoning Scroll
Hazō waited, smiling, until Kagome-sensei had completed the Dance of Joy at Still Being Alive and Oh Yes Also Making Some Progress on our Research before saying "Let's call it a day. I know it's a little early but I'd like to wrap up on a win and I need to talk to Canoe about the puppy-moving project."
Kagome-sensei nodded. "Sounds good. I was getting hungry anyway, and the kitchen is making chicken pot pie today."
"Did they get the feathers out this time?"
Kagome-sensei looked at him like Hazō had been dropped on his head. "Why would you do that? The feathers are the best part—well, as long as you cook them enough to soften 'em up and you add enough vinegar to neutralize the poison."
Hazō shook his head wryly. "You will never convince me of that. Feather stew is an abomination before all that is good and pure in the world."
"Hmph." Kagome-sensei actually turned up his nose in disapproval. "Uneducated bumpkin. Just for that, I won't save you any."
"Works for me." He clapped his mentor on the shoulder. "Thanks for your help on this, sensei. It feels good to do research again. No more Summoning training, no more emergencies, just the two of us."
"Why would you say that?! Don't ever say 'no more emergencies'! That's almost as bad as 'what's the worst that could happen'!"
"Sorry, sorry! Yes, you're right." He raised his hands in placation and, without being prompted because he knew that there was no hope of avoidance, went into the 'Please Do Not Let the Monsters From Beyond Time and Space Eat My Face' butt-wiggle dance.
When he finished, Kagome-sensei nodded in grudging approval. "Fine. Maybe you did the dance fast enough and we won't all die a horrible screaming death a few hours from now." His sniff was a marvel of disapproval and doubt. "Maybe. Anyway, I'm going to go enjoy what will probably be my last meal. And I'm going to ask for extra feathers."
"You do that, sensei."
Kagome-sensei snorted again and then jogged off, muttering about foolish apprentices and what was wrong with kids these days because when he was a student, would he have ever said anything so stupid? Nooooo, he would not! And they better not have run out of feathers for the pie.
Hazō watched him go, amused, and then sliced his finger on a knife and tapped it on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu: Canoe!"
Poof!
"Greetings, Summoner."
"Hi Canoe. How are you?"
"I am well. My oldest daughter won the Puppy Games and has been accepted to scout training."
"Congratulations! That's wonderful. I'm happy for you."
"Thank you." She looked around, noticing the lack of enemies or other threatening situations. "I assume that you wanted to talk about the task that Cannai set you?"
"I did, yes. I would like to preface this by explaining how my creative process works when it comes to solving other people's problems. The first thing I do is think up every weird idea I possibly can, no matter how crazy. Then I check around to make sure there's no obvious reason that they are impractical on my end—for example, a lack of some resource. Once I've got a bunch of ideas that I'm confident I can deliver on, I check them with my...call it 'customer' because I can't think of a better word, to see if there's any reason on their end that it wouldn't work."
"In short, you have one or more ideas that might be stupid or unworkable and you want me to validate them for you?"
"Bingo."
The greyhound's jaw dropped open and her tongue lolled out in a canine grin. She lay down, right forepaw crossed over left, and watched him attentively. "I await your probably-stupid ideas with bated breath."
"Right...okay. Yes." He cleared his throat. "Well, I was thinking about what Cannai said about Kakashi being helpful to you guys. I don't know what he might have provided you in the way of jutsu or materials, so it's possible that these things aren't original or that you already have them."
"Your wriggling becomes funnier by the moment," Canoe said, eyes twinkling. "You sound like my younger daughter when she's trying to convince me that she's old enough to accompany me on a hunt."
"Heh. Okay, well, let me get into it then. First, I'm sorry if this is a delicate question, but...you guys don't have hands, and that's going to make putting thing on and taking them off difficult. I was going to offer you a jutsu that we have, Zephyr's Reach. It provides excellent manipulation ability, although it doesn't have a lot of lifting or squeezing strength. Then it occurred to me that you probably already have something like that."
"We do indeed. We mainly use it for gathering firewood and constructing lean-tos to shelter from the rain."
"Great, that will make things simpler. Okay, I have some mockups to show you. I want to emphasize that these are mockups, not prototypes. They're only intended to give you an idea of what it would look like. They aren't functional, they aren't made with realistic materials or construction techniques. It's only about demonstrating the approximate shape of the final item. Yes, they look shoddy; that's deliberate. The point is to build a rough symbol of the idea in a few minutes so that you don't waste a lot of time if it turns out that the idea won't work."
"Your point is noted. I promise I will not judge you for the doubtlessly terrible work that you are about to show me." She cocked her head thoughtfully. "Also, the idea of a mockup is interesting."
"...Thank you. Okay, here's the first one. I call them cargo bags." He unsealed a pair of pillow cases that had been whip-stitched to two strips of canvas. "The straps go around your body and buckle or tie underneath. The bags hang down on either side; we'll adjust them so that they don't come lower than your belly. That way you won't have to worry about ground clearance."
She looked the device over with interest. "Hm. So we put a pup in either sack and carry them on our backs. It would also be useful for carrying large amounts of firewood, grasses, or slain prey."
"Right. What do you think?"
"The straps would need substantial work in order to both remain secure while running and not interfere with breathing."
"True. We'd probably want to put a horizontal strap from here around your chest and back to here. And if we space the straps ahead and behind your ribcage it would work better."
"Even so, puppies are heavy. Bearing two of them like this would leave a dog exhausted within not more than sixty or seventy miles."
Hazō forbore to say that sixty or seventy miles sounded like a pretty good distance to him.
"Kakashi and earlier Summoners have given us bags that we use to carry things," Canoe continued, oblivious to Hazō's internal eye-rolling. "No one has previously suggested strapping them on in pairs like this." She studied the mockup carefully, then shook her head. "It would be useful for everyday life, but not for an evacuation. It would take too long to get the harness in place and properly adjusted. Wearing a harness for long periods would be poor hygiene and would undoubtedly chafe. And, of course, it would render the wearer unable to fight."
Hazō nodded. "Fair enough. If you think they'll be useful for everyday life then I'll have some of our seamstresses put together a variety of prototypes that I can bring to the Seventh Path for fittings. We might need to do personalized versions but I'm hoping we can get some adjustable versions that could be passed around."
"That would be good. What was your next idea?"
Hazō chose the next storage seal from his stack and conjured a sled into existence. From an engineering perspective, it was absolute garbage; bundles of uncured reeds tied together with bits of string and twisted into the appropriate shapes, with just enough deadfall tree limbs to provide the necessary bracing. Canvas strips stuck out in front.
"This is a modification of a normal sled," Hazō said, walking around to the front so that he could lift up the canvas and spread it out to reveal that it was actually a harness.
"The idea here is that there would be a rigid harness sticking out the front," he explained, shaking the harness slightly to indicate what he meant.. "A dog could simply walk into it to pull the sled, then back out of it when stopping for the night. We'd need to do a lot of work to find something that wouldn't run forward over the dog on the downhill, but it was a start. Fortunately, you have that manipulation jutsu, which means that you can put things on more securely. I think we can probably speed the process up by having something like a cobbler's last that would hold the harness spread out so that you could walk into it, pull the last out, do up the buckles, and go. Getting the last set up again on the far end would be more time-consuming, but my understanding is that it's the start time that's important."
Canoe studied the form with interest. "It would require significant padding to keep the pups from being injured when the sled bounces."
"No problem."
"And the sled itself should be high-sided, more like a basket. Otherwise the younger pups will jump out while it's in motion."
"We can do that."
"What would it actually be made of?"
Hazō shrugged. "Probably wood, but there would need to be some testing. It would depend a lot on how rough the terrain is that you're likely to be going over. We'd want something light so that it's easy to pull, but not so light that it flips over. Like I said, it's just a mockup."
"It seems worth investigating, at least. I believe you had one more idea?"
Hazō grinned. "Indeed I do! This one has several drawbacks—it's the most complex, it relies on seals that you would need to be able to operate, and it would require a lot of time to research and develop. On the other hand, if it worked then it would probably be worth it."
"You intrigue me, Hazō of Clan Gōketsu."
"Watch this." He pulled out two seals—or, rather, two elements of a single seal—and set them on the ground, one above the other. He pushed a bit of chakra into the seal and the top one leaped upwards, falling off to the side and fluttering to the ground. Hazō collected it and tried to place it back above its counterpart. It refused to be brought within a double handspan of the other half, no matter how hard Hazō pushed. He placed a board across the upper seal and lay down atop it, his hands touching the ground lightly and only for balance. The seal dipped slightly and then supported his weight with no trouble.
"This is a Repulsion seal," Hazō explained. "Once activated, it's essentially impossible to bring the two halves together. I don't have all the details yet, but I'm pretty sure that I can use them to make the sled float in the air. Once we've got that, I can actually make the sled push itself, either using the Repulsion seals or something else." Kagome-sensei's 'explosives solve all problems' mantra drifted through his head. "The entire family—the entire pack, adults and pups too, would be able to ride on it without exerting any effort. You could get where you were going quickly and without being tired when you got there. I don't know what the performance characteristics would be, but it's quite possible that we could make something faster than most dogs."
Canoe cocked her head. "I very much doubt you could make something faster than me."
Hazō's stomach dropped at the greyhound's offended tone. "Probably not, ma'am. Still, you're way faster than most dogs. I hope you'll forgive me for measuring against the average instead of against the champion." Also, she probably couldn't maintain that speed over a hundred miles of non-stop running, but he wasn't going to mention that.
"Hm. I suppose not."
Some of the tension went out of Hazō's shoulders at Canoe's pleased tone. "Anyway, those are my three ideas. Again, these are just mockups and at this point I'm only looking to get your input on whether I should pursue them or look for something else. What are your thoughts?"
"The cargo bags idea would presumably be easy to implement?"
"I think so, yes. It would require some fiddling and fitting, and I'm sure there would be issues. Still, it requires the least material and construction, and we could supply them in large numbers relatively quickly."
"Would doing so interfere with your progress on the...'sleds', you called them?"
"Sleds, yes. And no, they shouldn't interfere with one another."
"Very well. Proceed with both, please. The bags will be useful for cargo at the very least, and the dog-pulled 'sled' sounds like it might be a workable solution. As to your oh-so-speedy floating sled...go ahead. I shall be very interested to see what you can manage. I'll discuss the options with Cannai but I doubt he will disagree."
Hazō felt the smile splitting his face; for a moment he tried to control it, but then he let it happen. "Thank you, ma'am."
Canoe sniffed. "What is with you and the ma'am?" She shook her triangular head in dismay and disappeared in a puff of green smoke.
XP for the flashback period has already been awarded. The second covers a couple of hours.
XP AWARD: 2
Brevity XP: 2
Creative training XP: 0
"GM had fun" XP:
+1 for scene: Hazō pitches to Canoe. Dogs are fun.
It is now about 2pm. The QMs need to figure out where you stand with the research.
Vote time! What to do now?
Voting ends on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, at 12pm London time.
Gōketsu Yoshio, a giant of a man with arms like tree trunks and a beard that could hide a small deer, looked down at Hazō in barely-suppressed fear. His wife Shizue, a young woman withered before her time by a wasting disease, looked up at him with a poker face. Their daughter, Karen, hid behind her father's legs as if they were a palisade, peeking out warily at the deadly chakra beast prowling outside her village.
It was not the kind of welcome he'd hoped for when he visited the Sacred Ibis, an old, ramshackle tavern in the poor quarter which the owners steadfastly refused to abandon no matter how Yoshio's half-brother urged them to move to the Gōketsu estate. (Based on the sign outside, an ibis was a kind of lizard with a leathery mane.)
"W-Welcome to our humble home, Lord Gōketsu," Yoshio stuttered in a low baritone that would probably have caused a small earthquake if the man ever sang. "How m-may I serve you?"
Hazō suppressed a sigh. "There is no need for concern. I'm just here to talk to you about your daughter."
"Oh," Shizue said quietly, with effort. "This is about the…"
"It is," Hazō said eventually, when Shizue showed no sign of wanting to finish her sentence. "I apologise for allowing it to happen."
His bow was deep, deep enough that he didn't have to see their faces as the subject rose to the forefront of their minds, especially Karen's. Some part of him wished it could stay that way forever.
"Please raise your head!" Yoshio nearly screamed. "You have nothing to apologise for, my lord!"
The reaction seemed over-the-top at first, but thinking about it, Hazō strongly suspected that the traditional response to a civilian witnessing their clan head's humiliation was summary execution. Still, there was no way around it. For failing to anticipate the risks involved with an institution he'd built himself, Hazō deserved to be humiliated. If the abuse by an authority figure had a tenth of the impact on these kids that it'd had on Mari…
Hazō raised his head.
"But I do," he said heavily. "There is something I've started to understand over the past few months, clansman, and that is the reason a clan head has absolute power. It isn't a privilege that comes with the bloodline. It isn't a reward for doing the hardest job. It is the minimum requirement to make me able to carry out my duty.
"By adopting you into my clan, I've taken responsibility for you. I've promised that when you fall, it will be my hand that reaches out to help you up. When you make a mistake, I will be the one to deal with the consequences. And when you're attacked, I will be the one to defend you.
"Your daughter is as much of a Gōketsu as you or me. I have a duty to protect her with all the power of a clan head, and I have failed in that duty. It's as simple as that, and the fact that I can build walls with the wave of a hand or make laws with a few spoken words doesn't change it one bit.
"I can't undo what's been done. No ninja has the power to do that."
Ino had likened memory erasure to groping around inside the raw flesh of someone's brain with a pair of forceps. She'd refused to say, presumably in the name of clan secrets, whether that meant fulfilling his request was impossible, too dangerous, or merely too difficult.
"But I can give you the apology you deserve, and I can make amends."
As the three civilians stared at him, dumbstruck, he reached out and placed a heavy pouch of ryō on the saké-stained table in front of him. The thud seemed to jerk them back to their senses.
The two adults looked at each other and exchanged several intense seconds of couple telepathy.
"Can't you?" Hazō asked. "It's your right to refuse, but in the end, the money is an apology to Karen. She is the one I failed."
He looked down at the girl, who continued to stare at him in silence. There was less fear in it now, though, and more curiosity. While the adults were stuck on the fact that the tiniest offence here could be a death sentence for them (living in the village proper, they had yet to internalise that that simply wasn't the Way of Gōketsu), Karen seemed like she had the flexibility of mind to understand that she didn't understand—not because it was an adult matter, but because the world was different to how she'd thought it was. Hazō smiled on the inside. There was meaning in educating civilians, no matter how the other clans sneered.
"I've done what I can about it," Hazō said, "and I've been careful about not making this a public visit, but even the Sage's power couldn't kill a rumour. If Karen becomes known as a victim of rape, there will be those who call her damaged goods, and I've had it explained to me what that can mean for a young woman's prospects. If you don't want that money for yourselves, call it her dowry for when she comes of age."
More couple telepathy.
"We would be honoured," Yoshio said, relaxing a little. "I have no words with which to repay such generosity, my lord."
"There's no need," Hazō said. His gaze shifted downwards. "Karen, I have something to say to you too."
The girl continued to watch him warily, but she straightened up a little bit. Briefly, she met his eyes, then urgently looked down again.
"There's someone at the Gōketsu estate who went through the same thing as you. She's an adult now, and very wise, and she says that if you ever need someone to talk to, her door is always open to you. As your clan head, I promise that you can trust her. Ask for Gōketsu Mari."
The gesture of vulnerability involved in that, for Mari to bare her greatest trauma to strangers on her own initiative, had staggered him. If this was the shape Mari's personality was going to take as she finally went beyond her "playful manipulator" holding pattern and began to create something new, she was going to become a new kind of power to be reckoned with. Hazō had no words either, not for how proud he was.
"My secretary has your names," Hazō said. "If you ever need help with anything, come to the main estate and you'll get it, no questions asked. I will review the procedures we have at the school, but for now, I promise you that every new teacher will be thoroughly vetted, and all complaints—even minor complaints—will be taken seriously. A Gōketsu doesn't flinch away from the truth, even if that truth is hard to say or hard to hear."
"Thank you, my lord," Yoshio said, his voice finally somewhat even.
"We've been so rude," Shizue croaked after a silence that was just a breath short of awkward. "Tea, your lordship? Something stronger?"
Hazō shook his head. For someone who'd been a teacher a bare handful of months, Ikenaga had been a busy sexual predator, and Karen's family was only the first on Hazō's list.
"Thank you for the generous offer, but I need to get going. It's going to be a very long day."
-o-
You have received 4 XP.
-o-
Your appointment with Ino, followed by the visits, took up the entire day and all of your spoons. The rest of the plan has yet to be implemented.
-o-
What do you do?
Sunday will be an interlude, so voting closes on Wednesday 29th of July, 12 p.m. London time.
Removed because the scene included romance-novel style content and I don't know if that would have upset the mods.
The scene was completely optional and you missed nothing important to the quest by losing access to it.
Chapter 359: The Bane
The enemy was massive. Tall, wide, and would undoubtedly hit like a hammer between the eyes.
"Is that all you've got?" Hazō demanded, telling the Iron Nerve to make his face look unimpressed.
"No, My Lord," Gaku said, plonking two more foot-high stacks of paper on the desk.
Hazō groaned. "Fine. Where do you want to start?"
"This is the latest financial review," the older man said, efficiently conjuring a sheaf of papers from the rightmost stack. "As you can see, the chocolate monopoly is producing nicely, although we expect it to break in another month or so. One of the fields was not fully flooded and it was having a bountiful but delayed harvest. The delay enabled our monopoly to succeed temporarily, but harvesting is now almost complete and will end up with roughly one quarter the normal total volume of chocolate-bean production, more than enough to break our control of pricing. Our agent in place, if that isn't too grandiose a title for a day laborer who gets talkative in his cups, says that he saw three men in uniform on the fields a week ago. He only saw them at a distance but he is confident that they were ninja. They surveyed the entire field and spoke with the owner and the foreman before leaving.
"Here we have the Naked Jaybird reports. As a reminder, the Jaybird is a source of revenue but Lady Mari has been using it for information advantage—knowing who is dining with whom on what days, being able to arrange a casual meeting by seating two people at adjacent tables, that sort of thing. On to the report: The Mist seafood menu is popular, but there was an incident last week. Several diners were poisoned, none fatally, and it's led to an extreme drop in attendance. They're investigating what caused the issue; the current working theory is that it was the confluence of an unusually venomous batch of prawns and sloppy preparation. The financial projections are on the third page. If things don't improve quickly, the Jaybird will be out of business in two weeks.
"Here is your weekly reminder that you paid a small fortune for that iron mine and have done nothing with it.
"These are predictions about what other clans are doing, financially and otherwise. The first page is the summary. The most interesting item is the second page; one of Lady Mari's friends on the Merchant Council has alerted us that the Kurusu are going to be auctioning off some of the land they gained as their prize in Lord Hokage's contest. Simultaneously, the Amori are probably looking to acquire land suitable for grape farming. I've included a map that shows the three main locations where grapes are grown and several other locations that might or might not be feasible as well.
"The Kurusu won the 'ten thousand acres' prize in Lord Hokage's contest and will be choosing the acreage shortly. They plan on auctioning some of it off and will be accepting bids soon; bidders are expected to provide a last-and-final bid and a map of the acreage they would like. Sale will undoubtedly be contingent on the Hokage granting the relevant land to the Kurusu.
"This is the latest reports on criminal and Grey World activity throughout Leaf, as reported by our Yakuza contact, Yodogawa Ikurō. He says—"
Hazō frowned. "I thought our contact was that Gotoda guy? Kin-something?"
"Gotoda Kintaro. Yes sir, it was. Unfortunately he turned up dead in his home, head smashed in. Judging from the size of the wound it was probably done by a very strong man using a large sledgehammer. Presumably by a competitor, and most likely by our new contact: Yodogawa Ikurō, the new Second Lieutenant of the Fire Dragon Yakuza. He's been quite helpful, and has doubled the number of Yakuza enforcers who serve as escorts for Gōketsu citizens going into the city."
"Yeah, what's up with that? Why are they volunteering as bodyguards? They started soon after we moved here, and we'd never done anything for them as far as I know."
"Presumably they wanted to get on the good side of a new clan. They must have known that we didn't have contacts yet and thought it a good opportunity to make themselves indispensable. It's proven effective for them; the enforcers protect our people but they also suggest destinations when asked. Gōketsu civilians are playing in Yakuza games, shopping at the stores the Yakuza protect, and otherwise funneling money back to them."
"Is that a problem?"
"No, sir. They've been ensuring that we get discounts everywhere we go, and anyone who attempts to cheat one of our people is immediately disincentivized from repeating the behavior."
"'Disincentivized'?"
"My understanding is that they have their fingers smashed with a hammer."
"Ah."
"Yes sir."
Hazō thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Well, I'm not going to make an issue of it. It's a little harsh, but they're bringing it on themselves. Also we've got too much on our plate already and we need the allies. In particular, the bodyguards are really helpful. After Granny Mayuka got jumped I was afraid we were going to have to provide ninja escorts for everyone, but apparently a tattoo is almost as good as a headband."
"Yes sir. Speaking of people being jumped, we had an incident last week. A pair of our teenagers went into the city to do some shopping and slipped their bodyguard, presumably because they wanted to find a dark place to engage in a bit of pickling."
"'Pickling?"
"Would you prefer that I use a different term, sir?"
"No, it's fine. So, they slipped away from their bodyguard. What happened?"
"They were mugged. No sexual assault, fortunately, but all their money was taken and they were given a substantial beating. They've been to the clinic and the mednin have done what could be done. They'll make a full recovery and I doubt they will elude their bodyguards next time."
"That's a relief."
"Yes sir. Moving on, here's the latest list of malfeasance inside the estate."
"Anything unusual?"
"No sir. Six drunk and disorderlies, three public exposures, four handsies, nine petty thefts—"
"'Handsies'?" Hazō said, chuckling.
"Yes sir. A 'handsy' is when a man touches—"
"No, no. I could tell what it meant. It just seemed funny."
"Yes sir. Nine petty thefts, and twenty-seven noise complaints. Fifteen of them about the same person, a young man who fancies himself a bard."
"Can't sing?"
"Like a drunken cat being strangled while drowning, sir, but what he lacks in talent he makes up for in enthusiasm. Unfortunately, he's a night owl and likes to sing in the communal baths. For some reason that completely eludes me, the other residents of his building are displeased."
"I can see why. Have one of the Household Guard talk to him."
"Already done, sir. Twice. It made no difference."
"Fine. Put him on latrine duty."
A sheet of paper magically appeared in front of Hazō. "Sign here please, sir."
Hazō glanced over the page in amusement and scrawled his signature across the bottom. "What would you have done if I had said camp chores instead?"
"You didn't, sir."
"I might have!" Surely he wasn't that predictable?
"Yes sir. Moving on. The skysliders project has hit a string of failures and three of the engineers are growing restless. They've approached me discreetly to ask what the consequences will be if they try to leave the project, or if they can't produce results soon."
"They can leave if they want to, obviously. No consequences as long as they're making a sincere effort."
Another sheet of paper appeared in front of the teenage Clan Head. "I prepared a statement to that effect for your signature, sir."
Hazō shook his head in bemusement and signed it.
"You have invitations for dinner next week from the Aburame, Motoyoshi, Hagoromo, and Renbutsu. The Motoyoshi conflicted with the Aburame, so I asked if it would be possible to reschedule them—the Motoyoshi—to the following night. They did so without complaint. Here is the schedule, the required dress code, a list of suggested host gifts, and the RSVP letters for your signature. The host gifts are reserved with the relevant merchants and I can have whichever ones you prefer purchased and delivered here tomorrow."
Once again, Hazō signed without protest; it was nice to see other clans reaching out for a change. He quickly selected a set of the gift suggestions and handed them over. "Who are the Renbutsu? I don't recognize the name."
"A minor clan without a seat on the Council, sir. I've prepared a brief on their financial background." He plucked the topmost folder off the righthand stack and set it in front of Hazō. It was slim. Hazō glanced at it and then up at his secretary.
Gaku shifted uncomfortably. "I was unable to discover much in the short time available, sir. I have rectified the issue by beginning to put together profiles on all the clans, including the minor ones."
"Good man. What sources are you using?"
"I sent some of the more discreet Household Guard to the Fire Dragons to inquire what the Yakuza know. I'm also speaking to civilian administrators at the Tower, and I've hired minor C-rank missions to take one of our younger merchant-trainees on a circuit of some of the nearby villages to see who is sourcing what from where."
"We need to get some more able-bodied ninja," Hazō noted, taking a sip of his tea while skimming through the contents of the folder. "Atomu and Reo are required for local management and defense and the rest aren't fit for field duty."
"I'm sorry, sir," said Gaku, his face suddenly pale. "I should have anticipated the need and I didn't. I apologize for my failure and I'll get right on it, sir." He bowed deeply.
Hazō stared at his secretary as though the man had grown a second head. "I wasn't criticizing."
"No sir. Sorry, sir."
"Gaku...seriously, relax. You're doing an amazing job."
"Thank you, sir."
Hazō debated what else to say and finally just shook his head. "Let's move on. Dinner engagements all next week. What else?"
Gaku extended another folder; Hazō noticed that the man's hands were shaking slightly but forbore to comment. "What's this?" he asked.
"A summary of the decoding project," Gaku said, pointing at the section headers. "Lord Kagome has decrypted forty percent of the boxes and says that the ciphers are repeating more often, and..." He frowned, trying to remember. "The ciphers are repeating more often, Lord Kagome has become better able to predict Lord Jiraiya's choice of cipher keys, and that..." He stopped and shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir. The discussion went rather over my head and I don't remember the precise words. Something about positions, plainer text, and inappropriately sickly compositions? It should be on page three."
Hazō flipped to the relevant page and skimmed through it, giving up after the third paragraph of jargon terms that bounced off his brain without leaving any impression.
"Doesn't make any sense to me either, but as long as he gets it. Does he need any more help?"
"I suggested that, sir. He...expressed the lack of necessity."
Hazō chuckled. "Did the word 'stinking' get used?"
"Yes sir. Quite frequently. It was rather alarming."
"I'll talk to him."
"Thank you, sir. Apparently Lady Akane has been quite helpful. He breaks the cipher, shows her how to use it, and then gives her a bunch of material to decode. She has taken it upon herself, after she finishes what he's given her, to take another batch of files and try all the already-broken ciphers so that Lord Kagome doesn't have to. If none of them work, she gives them to him to be decoded. The system apparently works well and they are making excellent progress."
"Good. We've been shuttling the relevant material to Asuma and Naruto?"
"Yes sir. The Hokage seems quite pleased and Lord Uzumaki has expressed satisfaction."
"Good to know." He focused on the report, skimming through it. Massive amounts of Icha Icha notes and drafts, stacks of inanities and irrelevancies, a dozen jutsu, several dozen new seals or folios of sealing notes and monographs that would be priceless to the right person but had already been promised to Leaf in general as part of Asuma's contest, and multiple boxes of intelligence notes and classified reports. Everything was marked with either one or two dates and the kanji for 'in progress'. For many of the entries, 'in progress' had been crossed out and replaced with one of a set of symbols that Hazō did not recognize.
"What are these?" he asked, pointing.
Gaku craned his neck to see what Hazō was pointing at. "Those indicate the current disposition of the files, sir. Those two are 'submitted to Hokage' and 'submitted to Lord Uzumaki', that one is 'Gōketsu archive', and that one is 'dark archive', referring to the most sensitive material."
"What is the 'dark archive'?"
"Lord Kagome's bedroom, sir. It's apparently rather better secured than the clan's secure vault."
"Ah. Yes, that makes sense. All right, what's next?"
"We have word back from some of the agents you sent to hunt down that telescope merchant. Six of them came up empty, the last one has a rumor that the man might have been going to Degarashi Port six weeks ago. He said that the report is unconfirmed and unreliable, sir."
"It's more than we had. Hire a mission to escort that agent down to Degarashi. Tell him that whether or not he finds the guy, he should come home and then take a week off to relax."
"Of course, sir."
"Cool. Okay, what's next?"
"The collection of fairy tales and myths you requested, sir." He passed over a thick sheaf of papers, his expression carefully blank.
"Oh, cool. I've been meaning to look into that ever since that story about Ui Isas led us to the Pangolin Scroll."
"Yes sir."
Hazō looked suspiciously at his carefully-expressionless secretary. "I have!"
"I didn't say otherwise, sir."
"Hrmph. What's next?"
"The sanitation project, sir. They've dug trenches at various points around the estate but are having little success overall."
"Well, have them keep at it."
"Yes sir. Here is a report on the last twenty ninja missions bid out by the Tower, including whatever details are available and, for six of them, who took the mission."
"Interesting. How did you get this?"
"I have been having one of the genin go to the board every day and bring back details of all posted missions. When a mission is removed from the board I send someone in to sign up for it. The desk genin will often volunteer the name of the person who 'scooped us', so to speak."
"Good job," Hazō said, impressed at his secretary's resourcefulness. Secretary? Perhaps 'lieutenant'? 'Executive officer'? 'Spymaster'? Something. He pushed the thoughts away and skimmed through the log.
"Courier mission to Hot Springs. Courier mission to Grass. Transport guard to Tanzaku Gai. Extermination mission to northeastern Fire. Escort mission to Keishi. Courier to Tea. Courier to Tanzaku Gai. Caravan guard. Escort to Keishi. Escort to Hot Springs. Escort to Hot Springs. Escort to Hot Springs. Courier to Keishi. Escort to Hot Springs. Escort to Hot Springs. Escort to Hot Springs. Courier to Keishi. Escort to Hot Springs. Escort to Hot Springs. Courier to Hot Springs. Escort to Hot Springs." He shuffled through the papers. "It doesn't list who posted these."
"No sir. That information isn't publicly available. Would you like us to find out? I can speak to Lady Mari about how to acquire the information."
"...Let me think on it."
"Of course, sir."
Hazō eyed the enemy carefully; it had shrunk by less than a third. Today was going to be a long day.
He sighed and refilled his tea. "Okay, let's keep going. What else have you got?"
"…like pouring a glass of wine into a bowl already filled to the brim with water. Inefficient as a means of admixture, and given that the water in question is the very substance of your mind… ah, good morning, Hazō."
"Hi, Keiko," Hazō muttered blearily, staggering down the stairs. It had been a long night. Gaku truly was a prince among men, the kind from before the village era who ordered innocent clansmen to be cast down into the office to be devoured by paperwork in order to appease the mighty and ravenous Gōketsu Clan budget. When Hazō's mind was clearer, he intended to have a thorough internal debate over whether it was appropriate to inflict petty revenge on someone for being too helpful.
"Good morning, Hazō," Akane said, beaming despite the horrible hour of the morning. "Keiko was just giving me tips on the Shadow Clone Technique."
"But since you are here," Keiko said, "it may be a good time to suspend expounding my hard-earned wisdom, since I have matters to discuss with you as well."
"What are those?"
"The first is the matter of my birthday present," Keiko said.
"I told you, Keiko," Hazō said wearily, "the publication of further manga is at the discretion of the Nara Keiko Fan Club. I haven't had time to come up with more material."
Keiko shook her head, eyes briefly sparkling with amusement. "No, that matter is well in hand. I am given to understand that the next volume will feature a life-changing revelation by Nari the Cat Sage, the death of a major character, and the unveiling of a terrible conspiracy, though naturally I did not press for spoilers. I was referring to a different present."
"So you mean your pet chakra beast? I thought you'd already talked to Kagome-sensei about it."
"I have," Keiko said. "His relationship with Fifi, while perhaps best not emulated, contains valuable hints for how one is to handle a ruthless, self-centred predator which deigns to tolerate the existence of mankind only because its immediate representatives placate it with physical pleasure."
"So it's a cat?" Akane asked.
"For a certain definition of the word," Keiko said cryptically. "But no, that is not the present I was referring to. Try again, Hazō."
"The concubine thing," Hazō said as his brain gradually began to wake up.
"The concubine thing," Keiko agreed. "We intend to call the Clan Council meeting soon, in a matter of days rather than weeks. The Kei have committed to support us, the KEI vote is naturally ours in this matter, and I have received a reasonably solid 'Sure, why not?' from Naruto. Others are in progress, and we would naturally appreciate confirmation of the Gōketsu vote, as well as any influence you may be able to bring to bear on other Council clans with which you have dealings."
Hazō opened his mouth.
"I left a folder with the actual details of the laws on the table there. Please feel free to peruse it at leisure."
While it was generally a good idea to know in advance what one was voting for, that was not what had struck Hazō.
"Actually," he said, "there was something else. I can't help noticing you didn't mention the other two ISC clans."
Keiko's expression darkened. "I cannot…"
She hesitated, and looked back and forth between him and Akane.
"In confidentiality, then," she finally said, "and in order to prevent any further damage being potentially dealt by diplomatic blundering on your part. The Ino-Shika-Chō, while never as monolithic as we appear, are especially not so now. There are those who believe that the Nara's relationship with the KEI is a sign that the clan is being drawn in the direction of dangerous radicalism by a misguided young lord. Similar things were said of Lord Shikaku as well, of course, early into his reign, but he ascended at a more stable time, and had inherited a strong and prosperous clan from his father. Shikamaru is in the opposite situation. That he has a foreign wife from the dangerous radical clan is in no way helpful, doubly so since I am in fact responsible for the establishment of Nara-KEI ties.
"Lord Akimichi, apparently seeking to protect his friend's legacy, has chosen to lead this so-called moderate faction within the Ino-Shika-Chō, and while there has been no split as such, Shikamaru is being forced to navigate complex and treacherous political waters. Ino appears undecided—Ami speculates that she is more easily swayed by personal loyalties, and there may be an opening there to bring her to our side. She suggests that the two of you leverage the bonds you have with her in order to bind her more heavily to both the KEI and Uplift, as while not the same, the two are mutually-reinforcing ideologies."
"I wouldn't say I have that much of a bond with her," Hazō said. "Our meetings mostly consist of me being earnest at her and her being snarky at me, followed by some kind of compromise and me paying an exorbitant bill."
"That's what we do," Akane pointed out, "and we're best friends. Except these days we split the bill. Hazō, you went to her when you had a problem, and you were able to get straight through to her, and she heard you out and believed you and took your concerns seriously and immediately sent one of the most useful ninja she had on hand with you without asking anything in return. Do you think this is standard clan head behaviour when someone randomly turns up at your door alleging crimes against civilians based on reports from children?"
"I notoriously have social skills to put a flatfish to shame," Keiko added, "and your mutual interest is a matter of no ambiguity to me. The two of you form teams at gaming nights with statistical improbability, considering you have a clear preference for strategic games and she for social ones. Shikamaru, incidentally, suspects that this is partially caused by Rock Lee-related trauma from her first time."
It had been a while since the last gaming night, it occurred to Hazō. He'd already learned the styles of his primary opponents at Strategic Dominance, from Shikamaru's conquests calculated to the exact victory point to Ami's pursuit of every victory condition at once, and it would be fascinating to see what Sasuke did to the groupthink.
"In fact," Keiko added after a second's thought, "that you have already been taking action to develop Ino's interest in civilian welfare is very helpful with regard to the other matter I wished to discuss today. Hazō, how do you feel about permanently raising the level of civilisation across the entirety of the Fire Country?"
The fog vanished entirely from Hazō's mind. "I'm listening."
"The initial spark for the idea came from Snowflake, of course, who in exchange for her personality issues possesses that same incredible vast power that the rest of humanity squanders from birth," Keiko began. "That idea's name is the Nara Future Foundation.
"We intend to build it around the skeleton of the Nara Keiko Fan Club, which from inception has displayed a remarkable ability to find and bring together talented members of diverse trades and occupations in the name of its mostly-awful original projects. The foundation will take the most gifted representatives of various essential professions, and set them to teaching, with the full support of centuries of Nara lore. The graduates, young and each armed with high-level skill at their chosen trade, will then be sent out into the villages of the Fire Country as missionaries, so to speak, to pass on their skills. Thus, a master blacksmith will teach junior blacksmiths, who will then pass on state-of-the-art smithing practices to the peasants who lack the resources or knowledge base to develop them naturally.
"That is the first stage. The second begins as the villages develop new experts who are then capable of producing trade-quality goods, including inevitable regional specialities, especially in crafts such as pottery. Within the territory of Leaf proper, their caravans will sell these exclusively to the Nara, ensuring a fair price, and allowing the Nara to resell them efficiently and thereby both fund the foundation and generate an ever-growing profit. The craftsmen will, of course, be then able to invest their earnings in till'n'fills, superior equipment, and other boons to their communities.
"The third stage comes when the Nara monopoly becomes too lucrative not to challenge, at which point the Leaf clans and merchant groups interested in doing so will have to physically reach out to the villages. This will require new infrastructure—new trading posts remote from Leaf, and secure roads to connect them. Flourishing trading posts become settlements in their own right, ones which multiple factions have incentive to keep safe and accessible not only to the capital, but to the nearby villages.
"Naturally, the more effective merchant groups will establish branches in such settlements so as to be able to control trade in their preferred goods directly, thus decentralising Fire Country commerce. From there, in Shikamaru's words, we allow the inestimable power of human greed to do the heavy lifting. As the wealthy come to see individual villages not as abstract numbers on tax records but as local sources of personal income, they will naturally invest in them in order to increase the volume and quality of production, and they will certainly find the idea of losing such sources to chakra beast predation and so forth unpalatable, giving them reason to ensure physical protection.
"Finally, the surge in taxes resulting from villages having meaningful resources will fund large-scale civic projects which are presently unrealistic, such as a structured, patrolled national road network. I trust I need not enumerate the theoretical benefits."
"You're serious about this," Hazō said. "The Nara are actually willing to make something like this happen."
Keiko nodded.
"Unfortunately, the project will not begin to pay dividends immediately, at least as far as Leaf is concerned, and we will have to work to ensure that the others do not take it as another damning example of radicalism until it visibly does. However, there is one obvious way to accelerate it."
She looked at Hazō expectantly.
"You want a partnership," Hazō said slowly, "between the Nara Future Foundation and the Gōketsu Education Department."
"Consider it, Hazō," Keiko said with an enthusiasm he hadn't thought could be brought out by anything short of cats or Ami, "how much more effectively would the students learn if they came to the foundation already literate, numerate, and accustomed to academic learning? And then, what would it be like to spread those things, which ought to be the birthright of any thinking being, to every corner of the Fire Country and watch them take root?"
"It would be incredible," Hazō said after a few seconds of blissful contemplation. "And if the foundation actually makes the villages richer, that could mean enough time away from the fields for at least the children to be taught. In a generation or two…" The villages could end up with a higher literacy/numeracy rate than Leaf. Except, of course, for the fact that by that time he'd make sure Leaf had a hundred percent rate as well.
"It has taken time," Keiko said, "but I believe I have found my Uplift.
"Every shinobi child is given the finest training the village can provide. The Mori and the Nara are given even more. To be one of us is to learn, to drink knowledge like water, to have a bird's-eye view of the world. I was not a talented student, for a Mori, but I would rather lose my eyes and my hands than lose the ability to learn.
"It was only after seeing what you are doing here that I have begun to understand just how warped my perspective was. Contrary to the wisdom of the Mori, civilians are not ignorant because they are inherently stupid. They are ignorant because they are illiterate and innumerate, and thus unable to learn. They are denied the highest joy in existence simply because no one has given them the key to open the door. Can you tell me this is anything less than absurd?
"I want to see the reality of this, Hazō. I do not need a priori reasons why civilians are inferior or why they are not. That is not the Nara way. I want to see them given the same keys to the world that the rest of us already hold, so that on a level playing field they can prove that they are truly our equals.
"This is my Uplift, Hazō. Will you help me achieve it?"
Hazō looked her in the eyes, and laughed fondly.
"Help you? We've been working side by side all along."
-o-
The Concubine Laws Keiko left for Hazō are written in impenetrable legalese so agonising to try to read that it cannot possibly have been accidental, which is doubtless also how they will be presented to the clans. The essence of the laws appears to be an intermediate "concubine" status, which grants some of the benefits and responsibilities of being in a clan without actual marriage or adoption. For example, a concubine may have the head of the clan act on their behalf in legal or disciplinary disputes, and is treated as a member of the clan for the purpose of Leaf's clan secrecy laws (such that they are protected from people attempting to steal or coerce secrets from them, but conversely the clan head has full right of punishment if they share them outside the clan).
-o-
What do you do?
Voting ends on Saturday 1st of August, 9 a.m. New York Time.
"Thanks for meeting me on such short notice," Hazō said, sliding into his chair after holding Ino's.
"Of course," she said, casually perfecting the alignment of her napkin and chopsticks to the edge of the table. "I assume this is about Shikamaru's little project? He said that Keiko was going to approach you."
"Yup. Would you be willing to support it?" He studied her faintly-smiling 'I have a secret' face for a moment, then hurried on. "Look, it's terrible that someone like Keiko has to jump through big flaming legal hoops just to have her relationships legally recognized in the most miniscule fashion, right? I'm not holding out hope that things will change overnight and everything will be sunshine and rainbows for people whose romantic interests aren't the norms, but it will be a step in the right direction. And love is love, right?" There we go; Ino was a girl and she read lots of Icha Icha and other romance novels. She would go for that.
She shook her head. "I don't know, Hazō. Girls being with girls? It's not really the way of things, you know?"
What?! No! She read romance novels! She had to be into the idea of forbidden love!
"But...I mean...isn't the important part that they love each other?"
"Well, I suppose." She flipped one hand to both grant the point and also dismiss it. "Still, she's married to Shika. How is it going to affect him if his wife is off cuckolding him with another girl? Not just in private, either—this will come out, because neither Keiko or Tenten has any hope of keeping it secret. What are people going to think when they see his wife going behind his back? It could weaken him politically at a time when we desperately need the Ino-Shika-Chō to be seen to be just as strong as ever."
"What are people going to think?" He scrambled mentally, trying to figure out how to follow that involuntary sentence. What were people going to think? What was the right tone here? Maybe something funny? Make the whole thing seem like a joke? "I'll tell you what people are going to think: Oooh, two girls. Hot."
She laughed and thwapped his arm. "Gross! Bad Hazō."
His smile slipped. "'Gross'?" The word came out cold.
"You know what I mean," she said lightly, serving herself a honeyed rice cake off the dessert dish. Half her actual meal was still on her plate but she didn't seem to have much respect for the standard rules of food priority.
"No, Ino. I do not. Are you suggesting that my sister is gross because she loves another woman?"
Ino rolled her eyes and focused on her food. "Yeah, don't try that 'me Hazō, me big and scary' stuff on me, buster. I was talking about your crass 'joke', which wasn't nearly as funny as you thought. As to Keiko, I think she and Tenten are sweet together and if they make each other happy, fine."
"So you'll vote for it?"
"Of course I'll—" She took a nibble of the honeyed rice cake and her voice suddenly hitched. She set the cake down so that she could wipe her napkin across her mouth to remove imaginary foodstains, looking down and blinking furiously as she did it. She cleared her throat and then looked up, smiling. "Of course I'll do it," she said, discreetly pushing the cake aside and taking a bite of her pickled catmeat kebab. "Shika will owe me one and the two cuties can have their forbidden love." She gave him a flirtacious wink. "It's so easy to yank your chain, I almost feel bad about it." She nibbled another morsel, not breaking eye contact as she did. "Almost."
"So!" Hazō said, blushing for reasons he couldn't understand. "Speaking of less embarrassing topics, I wanted to thank you for loaning us Choki. It meant a lot to me, and we were able to get things sorted out."
She smiled. "Yeah, I heard." Her voice dropped into the deepest, growliest, most over-testosteroned voice that a teenage girl could manage. "I am Hazō, Lord of Clan Gōketsu, the clan of Uplift. We are the Will of Fire embodied, unlike all those other clans out there who have been embodying it since the Village was founded. We protect the weak! We make the world better with our awesome awesomeness! We are not the clan of child rapists! Hyyyyyyaaaaa!" She mimed smashing something with her fist.
"I do not sound like that!"
Ino snorted. "When you get into one of your dramatic speeches, you totally do. Well, except not as cool. Still, straight out of an Icha Icha." She cocked her head studying him carefully. "Soooo...I'm a little surprised that you're the one coming to me on this concubine thing. I would have thought it would be Shika."
"Keiko asked me to," Hazō said with a shrug.
"Mm-hm. You sure you don't have some...interest in the subject?" Her smile had become knowing.
Hazō blushed and busied himself with the pit-roasted octoparrot. The style of cooking was a little off, if you asked him; they dug a pit, made a bonfire in it and let it die down to embers. Then they tied the octoparrot's wings together and wrapped it in wet leaves, buried it in the pit, and dug it up an hour later. It did a good job at locking in the juices and supposedly the piquancy of the dish was due to the energetic thrashing of the octoparrot as it was buried. He still couldn't help but minutely inspect each bite to ensure there was no dirt in it.
"I don't know what you mean," he said, keeping his eyes locked on his plate and desperately hoping that she would drop it.
"Sage's love, Hazō," Ino said. "How much of an oblivious idiot are you?"
"I have no idea what you mean," he mumbled.
She sighed. "Look. Shika is putting this law out there for Keiko and Tenten, but it's going to affect all of us, not just them. What are you going to do with that?"
"I...wasn't planning on doing anything?"
She rubbed her head for a moment. "Are you seriously this thick or just being difficult?"
Hazō cleared his throat. "My situation is...complicated."
One carefully-shaped eyebrow rose. "A teenage Clan Head with a difficult romantic situation? Please, won't you explain that to me? It is completely outside my experience and I have no idea what you might mean by it."
Hazō deliberately forbore to comment on the tone. "Akane was my student. Then she was my girlfriend. Then she was my sister. Now she is my subordinate and I am her Clan Lord."
"...Okay, fair. That's complicated. Still, there's other girls in the world."
"I don't know that I would want another girl if I weren't with Akane. She's always going to..." He hesitated, trying to find words that would encompass his feelings without stripping him utterly bare and ripe for the teasing that would no doubt rain down upon him. There were no such words, so he plunged ahead. "She's always going to have a piece of my heart and she's always going to be there. What would it be like for another woman to know that I wasn't completely hers? What would it be like for Akane to see me with another woman?"
Ino studied him, idly toying with her teacup, for a very uncomfortably long time.
"You know," she said at last, "it's important to remember that you're a ninja, and a Clan Lord."
"I mean...yes? It's not like I'm going to forget."
"I'm not sure about that." She studied him for another moment, then set the cup down and leaned forward. Her face was disturbingly serious. "Hazō, social rules apply only lightly to ninja. We are too rare, too important to the survival of Leaf, and ninja of a Great Clan are especially resistant. The Hokage—any Hokage—can't afford to care too much about our little quirks. Gai could shout about youth, Captain Kakashi could be late and read his porn in public. Jiraiya could peep on women in the baths. Anko can bone a boy ninja torturer and a civilian girl waitress. Sure, tongues are wagged and fingers are shaken, but nothing really gets done about it unless we actually kill someone or shout lies about the Hokage's parentage in the middle of Tower Square. Well, or commit treason by contacting superpowered terrorist enemies. You know what I mean—nothing gets done about anything that doesn't interact with mission readiness, the good of Leaf, or geopolitics.
"And, because I know that you care a lot about civilians and their opinions—they mostly don't give a darn either. In part because we are their heroes and protectors. In part because we are better than them and they know it—we set the rules and the civilians follow.
"Sure, things get complicated once clanship gets involved. Outclan marriages must happen to keep the blood from getting weak, but secrets must be kept and conflicts of interest must be navigated. It's why cross-clan marriages are rarer than elevating the best of the clanless.
"This law is about legalities, not approval. Clan Heads have been taking a piece on the side since there have been clans and everyone winks at it. Do you have any idea how many bastard children Lord Third has across Fire?"
The idea of the sixty-eight-year-old having sex made Hazō wince.
"Not like that!" Ino said, bapping him on the arm again. "When he was younger!"
"Oh. I hadn't really thought about it."
"Well, it's a lot. When he first took the hat there was a landrush to adopt anyone he had ever sired, ninja or not. Then it became obvious that he was too even-handed to play favorites just because you had one of his by-blows in the clan and things tapered off a little—sure, any of his kids with even a hint of ninja talent got adopted but the civilians are mostly still out there. There's not really much point—it's been shown that their mothers' blood was too weak to sire ninja children, even with a ninja as mighty as the Third for a father, so why bother?
"No one will care much if you date Akane, or even if you marry her. It might raise a few eyebrows, but probably not more than that. Likewise, if you marry someone of station and have a relationship with Akane on the side that's going to be fine too. Once this law passes there will be a legal framework that grants her certain rights and protections, but no one would have shunned you from polite society before this.
"So, that brings us back to my initial question...do you have a stake in this law?" Her cat-with-cream smile and the throaty purr in her voice were setting off alarm bells in Hazō's head.
Hazō swallowed nervously, unable to look away from Ino's pale blue eyes. They reminded him of the waters on the southern isle where the team had hidden after their first long skywalker journey. He could almost smell the salty breeze and he could definitely feel heat in his cheeks.
"I...won't say I don't have a stake in it."
Her smile got wider and she chuckled. "Well, well, well. Aren't you cute?" She tapped him lightly on the back of his hand with two fingers. "Let me know whenever you decide to act on this stake of yours. I can at least help you dress properly and tell you what to do to impress her...whoever she might be."
"Oh!" Hazō said, grateful to escape what had been feeling more and more like a trap. "That reminds me. Akane wanted to go shopping with you sometime soon—all expenses covered by the Gōketsu, of course."
"All expenses covered, hm? My, my, my."
A chill went down Hazō's spine.
"Um, yeah. And, speaking of logical connections that I can't come up with right now, I was wondering..." He paused, wondering if this was really a path he wanted to go down. It opened up so many possibilities for torment visited upon his own person, and his clan's pocketbook. Well, nothing for it.
"I was wondering if there was anything we can help you out with? You said your senior ninja were busy on unspecified ninja stuff...is there anything there we can do? Any cunning Ino Plots you might need some assistance with? What mighty quests might you have that we can take up to lighten your burden, O Illustrious Lady Yamanaka?"
Hazō was glad to see that Ino's bell-like laugh sounded unforced.
"Smooth," she said after a moment. "Very smooth." She paused, thinking. "Yeah, maybe. I need to talk to some people, but I'll get back to you."
Hazō waited to see if there would be more, but there wasn't.
"So," Ino said, nibbling on her octoparrot kebab. "Tell me more about you and Akane."
Hazō swallowed nervously.
o-o-o-o
"How'd it go?" Noburi asked.
Hazō sighed as he stripped off his headband, tossed it on the table, and flopped down into his chair with a groan.
"That bad, huh?"
"She's exhausting." He let his head fall back and his eyes close. Just a few minutes of quiet, was that too much to ask for?
"Well, better you than me," said Hazō's traitorous and unfeeling brother with a cruel chuckle.
"Sure, whatever." Hazō opened his eyes and looked over. "Hey, I meant to ask. Any word back from the Otters?"
"Yes, actually. Apparently, whathisname...their Summoner at the time, whatever his name was, left a bearing and was doing nightly check-ins. He was on a mission for them—they were a little vague about what—but I checked the archives to see if I could figure out where his home village was, since that's presumably where he left from. If it's what I think then it was almost exactly a hundred and fifty miles due west from the current Hidden Sand Village, on the west side of a mountain, and he was heading north-northwest. He was reported to be traveling slowly and had been for six nights, checking in each night. He missed his seventh check-in and that's the last they ever heard of him."
"Huh. That's actually pretty helpful."
"Yup. Now all we need to do is get Asuma's permission to go into a highly weakened and therefore touchy allied nation during a geopolitically charged time then start heading towards several nations that are neutral to Leaf at best while trying not to die of thirst in a desert that is doubtless filled with a gazillion-billion monsters we've never heard of."
"Well, when you put it like that..."
Noburi laughed. "I know, right? In other news, despite the fact that I told you the idea of a chakra farm on the Seventh Path did not sound like a good idea and that it probably wasn't feasible, I have thrown up my hands and given in to your constant badgering."
"I haven't badgered you once!"
"Oh, really? 'Try taking things to the Seventh Path, Noburi. Just to check, Noburi. What can it hurt, Noburi.'" He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I tried taking some small animals. Didn't work. Can't bring living things with me. Worse, it wasn't consistent—sometimes the animal went with me and arrived dead, sometimes it got left behind unharmed, sometimes it was damaged even though it didn't go with me, and one time I wasn't able to reverse-summon at all. Also, I have not the slightest idea why you were telling me to try draining chakra rice, but I did it. And, exactly as I told you would be the case, there are no plants that have enough chakra to be worth draining."
"Damn," Hazō said, letting his head flop back again. "I was really hoping that would work. It's easy to grow a lot of it and it isn't mobile or dangerous. If it had meaningful chakra reserves then it would have made a perfect—and amusingly literal—chakra farm."
"Heh. Well, no such luck. In better news, the koi should be arriving in a couple of months. That'll go a long way."
"Oh? We heard back?"
"Yeah, messenger came yesterday but I didn't have a chance to catch you."
"That's great. Really great." He trailed off, nodding vaguely. His thoughts were feeling like mud at the moment.
"Anyway," he said after gathering himself for a moment. "Keep working on something else that would work well for the chakra farm. The koi are a good start but I want more. I want you to be as massively overpowered as possible, both in terms of available chakra and in more general terms. Figure out whatever will work and we'll make it happen."
"...Thank you, Hazō."
Hazō opened one eye to look at his brother. "You sound surprised, dingus."
"Well..."
"Oh, for fuck's sake. Noburi, you are arguably the single most important ninja in Leaf. Your ability to transfer chakra is insanely overpowered in a village with multiple Summoners and Shadow-Clone users, but let's leave that aside. You've been focusing on Summoning and medical training for a while now and you haven't had the time to keep up your fundamentals, so you've fallen behind a bit—"
"Hey now!"
"You have, and you know it. Now that you're done with the Summoning work you'll be able to get back on combat skills. Given your skills, chakra levels, and jutsu you're going to be ridiculously powerful. You've got good defense, good offense, and that Water Dragon Bullet is going to be nuts once you get a little smoother with it. Give it a few years and you're going to be an elite jōnin at the least."
Noburi blinked.
"On that subject," Hazō said, looking around carefully. "Are you aware of any way to increase your internal chakra reserves? Anything in the new jutsu library, maybe?"
"Nothing definitive, at least nothing I've found yet," Noburi said, shaking his head. "The Akimichi contributed a set of exercises for more efficiently training your chakra reserves but it's all long-term stuff and it's not clear how it would work with my bloodline."
"Well, keep looking and let me know when you find something. I intend for every ninja in the Gōketsu—well, at least in Team Uplift—to be an S-rank badass by the end of the decade. I'm tired of always punching up."
Noburi laughed. "Yeah, I get that. God, when have we not been punching up?"
"The Chūnin Exams. Yeah, the social event gave us a problem but when it came time to fight we stomped everyone into the damn mud."
"I seem to recall pulling you out of a muddy tunnel into which someone had stomped you, Mr. Bravado."
"Bah," Hazō said, waving one hand. "I got ambushed by three ninja, one of whom had your ridiculously overpowered bloodline. Name another time. And no, my fight against Keiko doesn't count—she's one of us. When were we overmatched by non-Uplift people?"
Noburi shook his head in concession. "We weren't. Man, remember when we got up on that table and went all badass scary on them? That was freaking amazing."
"I know, right? Gah, I wish all problems could be solved by punching them. It would make life so much easier."
"Oh, boo-hoo. 'Poor me, I'm a Clan Head of a major clan. My life is so hard, boo-hoo.' Man up, bro."
"Hey, do you want to do my job for a few days? I sure wouldn't mind a vacation."
"Nah, I'm good. Having way too much fun mocking you about it to lose my favorite chewtoy."
"Bah! Fetch me some tea."
"Yeah, that'll happen."
"Fetch me some tea, person who is my subordinate in this clan."
"Hmmm...still nope."
Hazō gave a long, drawn-out sigh. "Fine. Fetch me some tea, person who is my subordinate in this clan...please. I'm tired after dealing with Ino."
Noburi audibly weighed up the choices with a long, long 'hmmmmmmmmmmmm'.
"Fetch me some tea and I'll set you up on a date with Ino."
"You know, I'm not entirely sure—"
"Fetch me some tea or I'll set you up on a date with Ino." He opened his eyes. "Seriously, I'm beat and Gaku still has about forty pounds of paperwork for me to deal with."
"Okay, okay!" Noburi laughed. "Black or green?"
"As black as the tiny blackened heart of the thankfully deceased Hyūga Hiashi. With cream and three sugars, please."
XP AWARD: 4
Brevity XP: 0 (382 words)
Creative training XP: 0
"GM had fun" XP:
+1 for scene: Ino convo
+1 for scene: Noburi convo. (It was in @Oneiros's plan, not this one, but I'll give it to you anyway.)
It is now about 6pm.
Vote time! What to do now?
Voting ends on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, at 12pm London time.
"In service to the Leaf, and to our glorious nation, and to the Will of Fire, I, Consort Nara Keiko, call this meeting to order. Let us all speak truthfully and serve loyally."
The Nara, being the Nara, had long since trained a regent for Shikamaru in the event of his father's untimely death. Unfortunately, Nara Shikego had done the reasonable thing and attempted to stop Shikamaru killing himself with work after the Great Collapse, whereupon Shikamaru had summarily reassigned her. Hazō had never met her luckless replacement (there had been no Clan Council meetings of importance in the intervening months as the clans focused on reconstruction and private affairs, and Mari had attended the unimportant ones until he came of age), but he suspected that they, too, had been reassigned the second Keiko's birthday party was over. The irony of two of Mari's "children so inconsequential they can be safely kidnapped" sitting at the Clan Council table was magnificent.
Shikamaru wasn't the only one still underage. Hinata was being represented by Regent Kyōsuke, a taciturn man in his thirties already going grey from the stress of having to be a Hyūga. Ino was being dwarfed by the barrel-chested Regent Izayoi, whose pale Yamanaka eyes never stopped scanning the room. Naruto, however, remained on his own. Hazō suspected that the majority of those at the table would rather pretend that the fiasco with his vote at the election had never happened, especially given all the extra influence he'd accumulated since with the growth of the KEI.
Everyone else was speaking for themselves, including Sasuke—the meeting had been scheduled for the day after his birthday, overtly as a gesture of respect, but also ensuring that the Uchiha vote would be held by someone more pliable to Ami's charms than the wisely suspicious Regent Sadao.
Hazō looked down at table in front of him. In physical form, the Concubine Laws were an intimidating stack of paper that Noburi had described as thicker than Hazō's head (he was just feeling bitter that his barrel still smelled of furious cat(?) after he finally incremented the Revenge on Noburi counter too far). Hazō would bet a year's supply of chocolate that half the people here had done no more than skim them. He'd tried to read the text in full, and it was like trying to read a message spread out across the skins of a thousand snakes writhing chaotically in a single tight pit. A thousand unnumbered snakes. Hazō wondered how many other Nara-drafted laws Leaf had, and what horrors might be hidden inside, slumbering for decades until it became time for the Nara to unleash a contingency.
"I believe you have all had an opportunity to read and consider the proposed legislation," Keiko began. "I should mention that, based on feedback from some of the people here, we have decided to strike Sections 17 and 31b as unnecessarily contentious."
Translation: Other people found the text perfectly easy to understand, so you should go with the flow or you will look stupid. In reality, Hazō himself was one of the people Keiko was referring to, and Section 17 granted concubines the right to wear jūnihitoe in clan colours at court. Since, as far as Hazō knew, only civilian noblewomen ever bothered with the layered formal robes, and courts were a daimyo thing that ninja never attended except as bodyguards or infiltrators, and he had trouble seeing a daimyo try to sue a ninja for wearing the wrong clothes in any case, it was a sacrifice Hazō was comfortable making for the sake of rhetoric.
"It is a dangerous thing you propose here, Nara," Lord Kurusu mused. "We've seen the clanless gain a lot of power over the last few months, and now you want to give them even more? I think right now Leaf needs stability more than it needs concubines." He stroked what the Icha Icha books described, ironically, as a vizier goatee as he watched Keiko for her response.
"I believe," a cold voice came from his other side, "you are addressing Lady Nara, Lord Kurusu."
Kei Haruka's expression served to remind Hazō that, unlike the stay-at-home politician, she had until only recently been a field ninja, and her killing intent had not yet begun to dull.
"Pay it no mind," Keiko said calmly. "The primary use of noble titles is to distinguish us from our KEI comrades, and it is to Kurusu's credit that he wishes to open this discussion by suspending them."
Lord Kurusu flinched. Hazō watched curiously, waiting to see how the man would extricate himself from this as gazes began to sharpen.
"Perhaps we should follow convention for the time being," the elderly, jewellery-festooned Lady Amori gently suggested, "so as to better focus on the proposal itself."
Lord Kurusu nodded gratefully, and Lady Amori gave a subtle smirk.
"I believe," Keiko said, "Lord Kurusu is missing the broader perspective. The primary beneficiary of the Concubine Laws is not in fact the KEI, although it is true that the majority of those it applies to will likely be clanless ninja. The primary beneficiary is the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The laws encourage the creation of new romantic and sexual relationships, and serve to stabilise those already present so they may be of a long-term nature. In other words…"
"An increased birth rate," Sasuke concluded. "Something this village badly needs."
Asuma, silent so far, inclined his head in agreement.
"You will find both conservative and optimistic projections in Appendix D," Keiko said. "Both show a marked improvement over the present trend, which is less than encouraging. Growing tension between the clans and the KEI is interfering with relationships of the kind we are discussing, ending them and preventing new ones from being formed. A reversal of this trend is one of the secondary benefits of these laws. Needless to say, reduced tensions will also benefit Leaf on any number of other levels."
"And here we come to the truth of it," Lord Motoyoshi grunted. His elaborate robes rippled as he leaned forwards authoritatively. "Lady Nara, your stance on clan-KEI relations is no secret to any of us. There are some that would say what we need is a firmer hand, not a softening of boundaries. No matter what you and yours may accomplish, the hard truth is that the wall between us and them is not of our making. It is a basic fact of shinobi life, and has been that way for a thousand years. I don't mean to impugn the good work you've done strengthening Leaf, but you are clawing at an unbreakable barrier, and it is beneath us all to aid you in that futile endeavour."
"Why, Lord Motoyoshi," Lady Kei said sweetly, "it almost sounds as if you're condemning a policy affirmed by the Hokage himself. Surely you've not forgotten that I'm here speaking to you like this because Lord Seventh"—she gave Asuma a respectful nod—"recognised that a lack of clan allegiance is a shackle that denies shinobi the resources they need to flourish, not a mark of inferiority branded into the flesh from birth?"
Lord Motoyoshi, frowning, paused to look for a response.
"On the contrary," Regent Kyōsuke spoke in his stead. "The Clan Council exists, among other reasons, to advise the Hokage if it seems as if he is straying from the path of righteousness paved by our hallowed ancestors. If we were unable to argue against such measures, we would be nothing but a council of yes-men. Was that the role you envisioned for yourself when you joined the ranks of the nobility?"
Hazō inwardly winced at the painfully-familiar sight of an experienced politician running circles around a newly-ascended leader. Lady Kei now had a choice between accepting the implicit statement that her clan had nothing to contribute and shouldn't be here, or openly condone the Hyūga's efforts to roll back the KEI's accomplishments.
No. He wasn't going to just sit and watch to see if she could wriggle out of it. Hazō wasn't here because he was a walking friendly vote. He was here because he'd chosen to support his sister's bid for happiness, and coincidentally a set of laws that would be genuinely good for Leaf, even if he suspected the Nara were exaggerating the extent of it. He was sharply aware that he was no Jiraiya—he was reminded of it anew every day—but the mantle of authority on his shoulders had been put there by the master statesman himself, and Hazō would live up to the potential Jiraiya had seen in him.
"Our hallowed ancestors," Hazō repeated. "You know, someone I trust said something valuable to me the other day. She reminded me that all of the clans of Leaf have been embodying the Will of Fire since the village was first founded, and that means embodying the Will of Fire doesn't make you special in Leaf—it's just living up to what people naturally expect of a clan.
"So I wonder. If everyone's ancestors embody the Will of Fire, if they're all equally hallowed, how do you know whom to follow? And then I look at Sarutobi Asuma, a man who spent his life learning at the feet of Sarutobi Hiruzen, who many say was the greatest shinobi since the Sage gave us ninjutsu. He learned from the First and the Second, the other two candidates for that title." Though things could have been so different if Jiraiya had just had more time…
"Now you'll have to forgive me. I'm new to Leaf compared to you all, and Fire Country history isn't my forte. My own ancestors… well, let's just say I'm in no hurry to walk in their footsteps." He gave a wry smile. "So when I have to choose which of the old heroes to emulate, I don't have much to choose from. Just the man who gave us the Will of Fire, his brother who made Leaf a vessel strong enough to bear that legacy, and their apprentice who forged lasting peace in a world of war.
"What each one of them did was revolutionary, and played its part in making Leaf the greatest village in the world. So when I have to choose between supporting the direct heir of that lineage as he makes a revolutionary change of his own and worshipping the wisdom of the ancestors who followed where his predecessors led… I think I know whose yes-man I'd rather be."
The silence was deafening. Regent Kyōsuke's face was thoroughly schooled, much like the man himself had just been. He showed no hint of anger at being told that the Hyūga ancestors were inferior to the past Hokage and that his reverence for them was a failure of character, all in a way that contained no direct insult. Lady Kei looked like her birthday had come early, while Keiko's lips moved in the world's smallest "thank you". The others variously looked amused, appalled, deliberately neutral, and obliviously pleased at the display of patriotism from the immigrant.
Being able to neatly tie the Concubine Laws to the achievements of Hokage past was an unexpected boon, and a good lead-in to a call for a final vote, but Hazō didn't live in a world where doing good was easy. He braced himself for a counter-attack.
"Pleasant though it is to see Lord Gōketsu showing respect for Leaf tradition," the thin, bony-fingered Lord Kyoshō said sardonically, "we are not here to debate Lord Hokage's accomplishments. We are here to debate these laws. Unlike, I suspect, some of my esteemed company, I have taken the trouble to read these documents, and I note that they make no provision for inheritance. If we accept these as they are, any bastard born to some commoner mistress would have equal claim to a legitimate child of the line. Imagine the nightmare that would ensue if any by-blow off the street had a legal claim to clan status—and worse, if they made use of it before a proper heir was born. It would be a catastrophe!"
"There's no need to exaggerate," Lady Amori said peaceably. "The clan head has final word on choice of heir. That's how it's always been and how it always will be. If I recall correctly, Lord Kurusu's own father was chosen over the protests of the entire council of elders."
"Imbeciles," Lord Kurusu spat. "If they'd chosen my uncle, may his spirit be forever one with the Will of Fire, Sainan would have been a rout and we would all be speaking Rock right now."
"The people of Hidden Rock share our native language, Lord Kurusu," Keiko said with the faintest touch of disdain. "Their most common dialect, known as Lithic, is perfectly comprehensible once one accounts for the vowel shifts."
"Yes, yes," Lord Kyoshō said impatiently. "Lady Nara, your mastery of trivia was never in doubt. Please let us return to the issue at hand. Maybe the Amori have suffered no succession issues, but history is not always so kind. I should not have to remind you of how badly such things can go, when Exhibit A's granddaughter is sitting at your right."
Eyes pivoted towards Lady Minami. Regent Kyōsuke leaned over and whispered something to Lord Hagoromo next to him.
"You speak of matters beyond your understanding," Lady Minami said coolly. There was a perpetual air of stillness about her that made it impossible to believe that she was in any way related to Captain Nikkō, and also made her very difficult to read. "One who can grasp knowledge only in bite-sized pieces should learn to control their mouth."
"The Nara accept Lord Kyoshō's point as valid," Keiko said reluctantly while the man choked. "We withdraw the clause granting children of concubines automatic entry into the clan."
Trap successful. The harder people looked for issues with the content (and there were a couple of other contentious pieces seeded in there, easily fixed with a later amendment if it proved necessary), the more likely they would be to miss the grand deception for which the document was intended in the first place.
Should they move to vote yet? It seemed like an opportune moment, but in this instance, the call had to be Keiko's. He glanced at her, but she wasn't looking at him at all.
She was looking at Lord Hagoromo, who was urgently leafing through the papers.
After some seconds, he emerged like a diver from the depths, wearied by his journey and in need of breath, but ultimately victorious. The threads of precious metal in his long, grey beard, a rare affectation all but invisible unless he moved, glittered in triumph.
"So that's how it was! You nearly got one over on us all, Lady Nara," Lord Hagoromo said. "And to think, my cousin officiated at your wedding. Were you already planning how to make a mockery of it when you stood at the altar?"
Hazō didn't know how much coaching it must have taken for Keiko to manage not to turn pale.
"I beg your pardon, Lord Hagoromo?" she asked.
"Improving birth rates indeed," Lord Hagoromo sneered. "If that's the purpose of the law, Lady Nara, then why's there no mention of men and women? It's all 'they' and 'their', as if every concubine is an army."
"This is a perfectly standard format," Keiko said faintly. "As the spirit of the law does not discriminate between young and old, male and female, nor does the letter," she quoted what must have been a Nara doctrine.
Lord Hagoromo snorted. "I'm told," he said gleefully, "her name is Tintin."
Keiko opened her mouth reflexively to correct him, then stopped herself, and by the time she'd realised her mistake it was too late.
"You violated the sacrament of marriage," Lord Hagoromo said. "I'm no prude to say no one should ever have a mistress, but there's no place at a clan head's side for a deviant who has no intention of carrying out her duty."
Did the man not know there were people like Mari out there (who would probably have plunged him into an endless well of nightmares by now), or was he just wilfully ignoring the idea? Hazō wanted to leap up in Keiko's defence, but—
"The Nara and Hidden Leaf will have their due," Keiko said through gritted teeth. "My private life is not for you to judge."
"Oh, but it is," Lord Hagoromo said. "There's plenty like you out there, Lady Nara. Some even get adopted by those who should know better." He glanced in the direction of Lady Kei. "But you're the first to try to pervert the very laws of Leaf to suit your purposes. That makes this a public matter."
Asuma, who really could have intervened by now, watched silently. The question flashed through Hazō's mind of whether this was a test, and, crucially, for whom.
"Is it sinful, then, to seek to rectify an injustice?" Keiko demanded. "If you are robbed, and the law offers no recourse, is it sinful to call for laws against robbery? If one close to you is killed, and the law offers no recourse, is it sinful to call for laws against murder? If a law will benefit others in need, is it sinful to call for it because you recognised your own need first?"
Hazō could feel the aura of cold from here.
"A sin is a sin," Lord Hagoromo said. "That there is no law against it is not a right; it's mercy. It is by no means an invitation to pass a law for."
Behind him, Regent Izayoi's eyes met Ino's for a few seconds. She nodded.
"If I can clarify one thing," the big man said in an unexpectedly soft voice, "Lord Hagoromo, is your objection to the laws as a whole or to the… pairings they allow?"
Lord Hagoromo hesitated. He was being forced to choose between his overall objections (and the notorious conservative was bound to have plenty of those) and his impromptu moral crusade, which would become meaningless if he rejected the laws on their wider merits. So what kind of man was Lord Hagoromo?
"The laws can stand," Lord Hagoromo snapped. "They need but one very simple change."
"Not the laws, then, the pairings," Keiko said, an icy calm laid over a deep sea of boiling hatred. "We reach the crux of the issue. Tell me, Lord Hagoromo. Which lawful authority tests the continued function of your penis so your relationships can be sanctioned by the Will of Fire? For that would seem to be the sole qualification I lack before I can love a woman."
The look in Lord Hagoromo's eyes grew dangerous.
"There's no call for that kind of language," Lady Amori hastily interrupted. "And come now, Lord Hagoromo, a man of your years has no business getting so incensed at the passing follies of youth. Which of us has not had such moments of confusion in our early years? Let us revisit this issue in a few years' time, and Lady Nara will be the first to admit her error. For now, you should be the voice of patience and wisdom."
"Maybe so," Lord Hagoromo said reluctantly, after a few seconds of non-verbal communication beyond Hazō's ability to read. "I suppose I've grown unused to dealing with children after so long."
The cold intensified. Keiko could have been smiling beatifically, and no one in the room would have had any doubt of her mood. Hazō had been taught by near-death experience never to enter her room at night without knocking. He had been taught by Noburi's near-death experience never to touch the toy black kitten. He would have done both a hundred times over before he ever thought of patronising her.
If Keiko was Jiraiya, she would probably have been pulling out a Rasengan to smash the table right about now. Since she wasn't, Hazō merely readied himself to dive across the room the second she started saying, "Summoning Technique".
"ENOUGH."
Naruto had stood up, and one of his hands was raised near waist level, fingers slightly cupped.
"I came here," he said slowly, with emphasis, "to discuss whether a law proposal was for the good of Leaf. I did not come here to listen to some preachy asshole tear into my friend for having a girlfriend while the rest of Leaf's finest just stood there.
He turned to Keiko. "Keiko, real talk here. The girl thing is weird, and it makes me uncomfortable. But I'm your friend, so I'll get used to it. It sucks that you didn't trust me enough to tell me, but if what you're used to is assholes like him, I can cut you some slack.
"There. Done. I'm the third… fourth youngest person in the room here. I should not be having to explain this to people."
Naruto's gaze swept over the room, person by person.
"We're here to decide how best to rule the village. Fucking act like it."
In the stunned silence, the only sound was that of Tsunade cackling.
"Move to vote," Hazō said before things could get any more… anything.
"The Nara vote for," Keiko said woodenly.
"The Gōketsu vote for."
"The Kei vote for."
"The KEI vote for."
"The Uzumaki votes for."
That much they had planned for in advance. Well, that and…
"The Yamanaka vote for."
Keiko gave Regent Izayoi and Ino a surprised, grateful look, like she hadn't been able to believe it until the last moment.
Six votes out of eighteen (plus the Sarutobi vote, which was held by the Hokage and therefore was not a vote at all).
"The Hyūga vote against." Regent Kyōsuke looked Hazō straight in the eye as he said it.
"The Hagoromo vote against," Lord Hagoromo said with smug, fake serenity.
"Not that I particularly care whom you welcome into your bed, Lady Nara," Lord Kurusu drawled, "but the fact remains that your ambition has missed the mark. Leaf needs more shinobi children if it is to survive, as you rightly say, and mismatched couples that provide them are better than happy couples that don't. The Kurusu vote against."
Keiko's eyes narrowed as she seethed, but the Nara were the keepers of protocol, and she couldn't respond. The fact that a couple of the undeclared clan heads nodded in acknowledgement of the point only made it worse.
"The Kyoshō vote against," Lord Kyoshō said matter-of-factly, as if the outcome was a foregone conclusion. Hazō didn't want to think that he might be right. This meeting had gone very wrong.
"The Minami vote for," Lady Minami spat, though whom she was contemptuous of there was no way of telling.
"The Amori abstain," Lady Amori said wearily.
"The Senju abstain from this fuck-up," Tsunade said. "For a moment, I forgot who the children in the room were."
"The Uchiha abstain."
Damn it. Why?
No, Hazō could guess. Ami had treated him like an outsider (which he was), and only persuaded him to approve the laws on their surface level. She'd decided not to share Keiko's secret with him, and once Sasuke realised that he was in for more than he'd intended…
Hazō could only hope Uchiha Sasuke wasn't the grudge-bearing type.
"The Motoyoshi vote against," Lord Motoyoshi said with an almost apologetic shake of the head.
"The Inuzuka vote against." Lady Inuzuka had been surprisingly quiet during the meeting, not at all what he'd expected from her reputation, and her decision had sounded almost uncertain.
"The Aburame… abstain," Shino said slowly, thoughtfully, after a pause.
One man left.
Lord Akimichi, also silent throughout, was the kingmaker. If he voted for, he'd give them a clear majority. If he voted against, they'd be tied—and unless the Hokage chose otherwise, ties went to the status quo.
Lord Akimichi held Keiko's gaze for a moment so long it could have been an eternity. The amount of information apparently being exchanged without words made Hazō think the man must have also been trained in Yamanaka arts.
"The Akimichi abstain."
And just like that, the good guys won. After the humiliation of the Hokage vote, this felt… cathartic.
"The Concubine Laws proposal is accepted," Keiko said emotionlessly, "by seven votes to six, five abstaining."
Except…
"Thank you for coming," Asuma said, and there was nothing warm in his voice. "We are done for the day. Lady Nara, if you would?"
"We give thanks to the Will of Fire for its guidance, and pray for wisdom in acting on the decisions we have made today. May our service to Leaf be dedicated and without fault. Meeting adjourned."
"Keiko, I would like to speak with you," Asuma said as the others filed out of the room.
"Yes, sir?" Keiko asked nervously.
"Your proposal was made in bad faith," Asuma said simply.
What? No, not now, not after they'd finally made it!
"Lord Hokage," Hazō said, "that's not—"
"I believe Keiko can speak in her own defence," Asuma said coldly.
Keiko breathed in and out slowly.
"Lord Hokage, there is nothing false about the laws. They are intended to accomplish the ends I said they will accomplish, and Nara projections give reason to believe that they will do so successfully. It does not change their value to Leaf that I did not highlight the secondary implications."
"Then you deny that these laws are a vehicle to satisfy your personal romantic ambitions, and changes to social norms which should have been a subject of their own vote?"
Keiko couldn't lie. Not well enough to fool the Hokage, no matter how hard Ami might try to teach her. Besides, the family already had its treason specialist.
She stood. She thought. Finally, she deflated.
"I do not retract either my assessments or my intentions," she said quietly. "However, I acknowledge your right to impose penalties for deception."
Asuma sighed. "If I had a ryō for every time a clan head's tried to pull the wool over my eyes since I became Hokage, Leaf would be able to buy the other villages flat-out and end war forever. It's not treason to have ulterior motives—or not these ones, at least—but you already know the price for doing what you've done."
Keiko looked at Hazō, then back at Asuma. "I have sabotaged your trust in me."
Asuma nodded. "If you'd actually lied to my face, or if there was anything in your proposal that was clearly harmful to Leaf, well, we'd be having a very different conversation. As it is… I'm just disappointed. Tired and disappointed. You and Shikamaru, at least, should have known better."
Keiko looked down at the floor despondently, then dragged her gaze back up by force.
"Then, the proposal… sir?"
"The progressive faction predictably voted for, the traditionalist faction predictably voted against, and the rest abstained," Asuma said. "It's the shallowest possible victory, but it's a victory, and the fact that, in the end, so many abstained instead of lashing out at your arrogance as I expected is thought-provoking. That's the only reason I'm not setting this tainted legislation on fire right now.
"So now, I'm going to read through the whole thing a second time, and at the end I'm going to ask myself: 'Is this worth the risk of destabilising Leaf as it already reels from the consequences of the KEI's first victory?' But I suspect I already know the answer."
Asuma walked away, package in hand. Keiko looked at Hazō, gaze pleading, but the Hokage was gone by the time he turned around.
"—and he gave me my blue scarf!" Canter interrupted, bouncing around Hazō like a pogo stick so that the aforementioned garment flapped up and down. Long ago, the scarf had been a rich and finely-woven azure. Now, it was dirty, fraying at the edges, and faded from the sun. Despite that, it could not have been more clear that the ratty old thing made Canter deliriously happy, and that was all that any decent person would care about.
Canter was a young black-and-tan mastiff, age three ("and seven twelfths!") and theoretically on the verge of young adulthood, but she still had the excitable personality and misproportioned body of a puppy. Her beige-and-tan paws and ears were huge in comparison to her body, signs that once she grew into herself the baby mastiff was going to be a force to be reckoned with and probably very intimidating. For now, Hazō had to keep himself from saying "D'awwwww!" every time he looked at her.
"Shut up, Canter!" Canopuya snapped. "This is my story, and you aren't even supposed to be here. Go play with the puppies." He was six, a young bulldog male in his prime. Short and squat, with close-fitted fur and a squashed-in face, he fell cleanly into the "so ugly he's adorable" bucket. His jaws, which looked strong enough to bite through bone, suggested that any comments about his appearance should be carefully phrased or absent. "Anyway, Summoner, there I was! Side-by-side with Kakashi as we stood against the invading Leopard scum! He chopped the first one in the face with that cool lightning thing of his but he was so strong and the thing was so weak that he accidentally punched all the way through its head and got his arm stuck in its neck!" He paused, panting a doggy laugh. "It was hilarious. But! It left him off-balance for a second, because Leopards are fat bastards. One of the others tried to bite Kakashi on the leg while he was vulnerable, because Leopards are cowards who can't hope to win if they fight fair. I darted in like this"—he leapt across Hazō's legs, jaws gnashing down at the end of the jump—"and bit its throat out!" He shook his head as though tearing a chunk of flesh loose from an enemy. "The blood geysered forth, sending the rest of the ugly cats running for their miserable lives!"
"No you didn't!" Canter said. "I heard that story from Mom after you guys came back. You bit some Leopard and got your jaws stuck and Kakashi had to cut you loose!"
"Shut up, Canter! That's a lie and you're a liar!" He swatted at her with one paw but the young mastiff was too fast; she bounced backwards out of reach and then lunged in, chomping Canopuya on his massive black nose before fleeing behind Hazō. Canopuya yelped in surprise and pain, then went after her. She looped around Hazō again, staying just ahead of her pursuer and going ptthhbbbbbttt with her tongue in a way that a dog should not have been able to.
"Children," Cannai said.
The two dogs and Hazō all jumped in shock and then froze. They had been sitting on the open grasslands, sightlines clear for miles in all directions and no one within fifty yards. The Dog Boss had not run up, or appeared with the customary blink of Substitution. He had simply melted into existence two arm's lengths from Hazō and directly in front of him.
Hazō bowed deeply. "Cannai."
"Summoner. A moment, if you please. Children? Are you fighting in front of our Summoner?"
"No, Alpha!"
"He star—"
Canter cut herself off mid-word when Hazō placed a hand on her head; she peeked at him from beneath his fingers but did not attempt to pull away.
"These two were reenacting a battle for me, sir," Hazō said. "I asked them to tell me stories about Kakashi. Canopuya was kind enough to relate one about fighting the Leopards and Canter was helping him demonstrate their battle tactics and how to foil them. It may have gotten a bit excitable but it was still in good part."
Cannai looked at Hazō with a 'you expect me to buy that?' tilt to his head and a twitch of his ears.
"I see. The demonstration seemed to lack a certain degree of accuracy...why don't the two of you go talk to Packmaster Cankeru for some remedial lessons? I need to speak with our Summoner for a moment."
"Yes, Alpha." / "Awww. Yes, sir."
The two younger dogs sloped grumpily off, arguing back and forth about what had happened when and whose fault it was.
"You chose your words carefully, Summoner," Cannai said, lying down in the grass in front of Hazō. Even lying down while Hazō knelt, Cannai's head was still higher than Hazō's.
"They were only playing, sir," Hazō said. "Canopuya was telling me a story about fighting the Leopards and his pawswipe seemed very much like the combat tactics he described the Leopards using. It seemed fair to say that it was a reenactment."
"Canter needs to learn restraint. Nose bites are amusing when they come from an unweaned pup. She is growing into her strength and will soon cause real damage."
"Yes sir." Hazō gave a shallow bow, turning off the Iron Nerve for a moment so that his face would give an honest picture of how chastened he felt.
Cannai huffed in amusement. "On the other paw, it's nice to see you bonding with the children enough that you would defend them."
"Thank you, sir." He gestured towards the saddlebags draped over Cannai's midsection. "How do you like the bags, sir?"
Cannai twisted around so he could study the bags for himself for a moment, then faced Hazō again. "Until now we have used normal sacks that we had to carry in our jaws. It gets hard on the neck, and on the teeth, if the sack is loaded. Also, you have to be careful not to bite through the fabric. These are a great improvement. Thank you."
Hazō forced himself not to blink in surprise at yet another reminder that this was an S-rank being who was able to say 'please' and 'thank you'.
"Still surprised by basic courtesy, I see." Cannai shook his massive head. "The Human Path must be a terrible place."
"Have...have you ever been there, sir?"
"Several times, over the span of centuries. Generally I am only there for a few minutes when a Summoner needs me to kill someone. I try to keep in mind that these experiences are not representative of an entire Path and its people."
"Uh...good. Thank you." He looked around for a moment, idly pulling a blade of grass out of the ground and fiddling with it. "I see that you tried the saddlebags. Would you like to try the sleds? They're still just a prototype and I'm sure there's going to need to be improvements. The current version may not work for you at all, but I promise that we can—"
"Peace, Summoner. Yes, we tried the sleds. I wanted to do it without your input the first time because I wished to see their capabilities without expectations set by outside knowledge. And because at some point it will be necessary for one of my Clan to use them without instruction, and thus I wish to know how easy it is to figure out without guidance."
"What did you find?"
"The harness is too weak. Canaria demanded to be the first to attempt it so that she could make the saga from first-hand experience. When she started running the left strap burst and the sled tipped over."
"I'm sorry, sir. I'll get a new version turned around right away. One with stronger materials."
"It is fine, Summoner. We tried the second sled, and this time Canaria was careful to start slowly. It worked fine for perhaps fifty yards, until she tried going up a hill. One side bounced, the front of the runner on the other side dug in, and the whole thing broke."
"Ugh. Sorry again. Wider base for stability and I'll have them curve the runners right around in a circle so that can't happen again."
"Thank you. I'm sure it would work better if the sled were loaded, but there will be times when we must move them from place to place with nothing to put on them."
Hazō hesitated. "Actually, sir...we talked about seals before this. You've seen storage seals at some point, yes?"
"I have."
"I was thinking that storage seals might make your lives a lot easier. You can't put living things in them so they won't help with transporting the pups, but they'll make it easy to carry food, firewood, or whatever else. You can put a lot of stuff in those saddlebags if its all in storage seals, and then it won't weigh you down."
"My understanding of these seals is that they are extremely dangerous. I recall Chizuru saying something about 'tentacles everywhere!' Granted, she was a bit excitable." He paused. "Also, that was more than four hundred years ago, so perhaps your seals have improved."
"It's true that seals carry risks, as does any tool. Fire is good for cooking food but it can burn you if you get too close. Storage seals are good for carrying loads, but if you destroy them when there isn't enough room for their contents to emerge, it can cause bad things to happen. That's very rare; storage seals have had more effort devoted to them than any other seal in existence. They are as safe as it's possible for a seal to be."
"Hm. I shall think on it. In the meantime, I would like you to meet someone. Candoru! Attend!"
A canine head popped out of the grass and its owner came bounding closer, covering the distance in a few seconds before dropping into a pose that humans called Downward Dog, for reasons that Hazō was now more able to appreciate. Candoru was pure white with black speckles across his chest and belly. His tail was a furry whip, his body was lean and long-legged, but his neck was thick with muscle and his massive head came equipped with powerful jaws.
"Hazō, Summoner of the Dog Clan and Lord of the Human Path's Clan Gōketsu, this is Candoru. He is five, a new warrior of the Clan. He has fought in twelve skirmishes with the Hyena and acquitted himself well each time. He is a good fighter and a reliable sentry. He is not a tracking breed and therefore is poor at the task by our standards, yet likely still better than any human. The primary mark against him is that he speaks his mind too freely; it makes him difficult to deal with in a squad but I believe it will be less of an issue when fighting on his own beside a Summoner in short engagements.
"Candoru: You are overconfident and refuse to be restrained by your pack leaders. In actual battle here on the Seventh Path this will get you killed. You have responded poorly to reasonable discipline; if you force me to escalate to more stringent measures I am concerned that you will be permanently injured. Therefore, I am seeking an alternative.
"Hazō, I would like you to accept Candoru as a combat summon. Take him into combat as much as possible over the next few months. Focus on real opponents, not merely sparring matches; I do not want him to have the excuse that he only lost because he was holding back. Let him fight and die, then summon him again so that he may fight and die again. Once he eventually accepts that he cannot always win on his own, fight beside him and show him that a pack can do what an individual cannot.
"I understand that this will take time and energy away from your other projects. The sleds are more important than fixing one young pup's poor attitude, so if this effort will interfere with that or anything else you regard as equally important, say so. I will not force you to accept him at this time.
"Assuming you do choose to serve as his instructor, you are in command and have full authority as his pack leader. You may feel free to use him for whatever tasks you find him fit for, saving only that they must not damage the goals or reputation of the Dog Clan. I obviously cannot provide a complete definition of what that means, but the broad outlines should be clear—give no aid to the Leopards or Hyenas, do not humiliate Candoru in public or speak ill of our Clan, do not break loyalty with allies, and so on.
"At this time, are you able to accept Candoru as your Summon and undertake the assignment I have offered?"
Hazō paused, thinking through the problem. Having to do basic discipline training on what was clearly a powerful fighter would be time-consuming and exhausting.
"Candoru?" he asked. "How do you feel about this?"
The dog sat down, scratching at his ear with his right hind foot. "Eh. I'm fine with getting some action. The Hyenas have been kittying out lately, and we beat the Leopards down years ago so there really isn't anything worth my time. Alpha keeps assigning me to these overcautious old geezers that I could totally beat if I were allowed to, so I haven't really had a chance to do anything exciting for months. I only met Kakashi a couple times—I wasn't old enough to compete last time he was taking applicants—but working with him was supposed to be cool. You aren't him and I'm pretty sure I could bite your leg off if I wanted to but as long as you can get me to the Human Path that's all I really need. It's supposed to be all kinds of monsters and fighting there, yeah? So, sure. I'm in."
Hazō digested that for a moment.
"Alpha," he asked after a moment, "Candoru implies that hierarchy is sometimes established through violence in the Dog Clan. Is that true?"
Cannai bobbed his head side to side in a so-so gesture. "Among youngsters and trainees, yes. Hierarchy tends to be based around power. Among adults, status is earned in different ways depending on one's path in life. Canaria is famous and well-respected for her lore and her singing, despite the fact that she is no fighter. She—"
"Also for her tail," Candoru said, tongue lolling. "Rrowr!"
Cannai's eyes flickered red, just for a moment, and the world seemed to pulse around the three of them. Hazō swallowed nervously at the feeling of Cannai's irritation brushing past him to focus on Candoru. Candoru cowered on the grass with a whine, ears down in submission and forepaws over his eyes.
"Do not interrupt me," Cannai said calmly, staring down at the terrified dog. "And be respectful towards your clan mates."
"Yes, Alpha!"
"As I was saying," Cannai said, turning back to Hazō, "hierarchy among adults is determined by other things than sheer power. It is common for young males to have difficulty fitting into a military hierarchy when their commanders are significantly older than they, and perhaps also from smaller breeds. There was a time when we permitted recruits to challenge for leadership positions. Those times are no more, and most are able to accept that."
"I see. And for those like Candoru who have difficulty accepting it, what options do pack leaders have?"
"If you are asking 'are pack leaders allowed to strike their recruits', the answer is yes. It is rarely done, since any dog is permitted to fight back when attacked and therefore a leader must weigh the possible harm done to both parties. Still...yes. If you accept Candoru as your summon then you will have every authority to..." He paused, ears cocked in what Hazō had come to understand was a thoughtful frown. "Hm...how did Kakashi put it? Ah, yes. You will have every authority to 'kick the little bastard around the training field a few times' if you feel the need."
"And, just to be clear, I don't have to accept him, or this task? Refusing will not damage my standing with you?"
"It will not. It would be inconvenient, as it will force me to take stronger measures to curb Candoru's recalcitrant behavior. Measures that will likely have consequences he would prefer not to experience. Wounds and death on the Human Path are just as painful as they are here but they lack permanence; they therefore make for excellent training tools."
"And, confirming again, you are ordering me to take him into combats that I know are too strong for him with the express purpose of getting him killed? Well, popped."
"Indeed. As I mentioned at our first meeting, the borders have been relatively quiet for a time. The strongest fighters of the Hyena and Leopards have been busy elsewhere, probably with the Pangolin, and we do not battle our other neighbors. As such, Candoru has yet to find an opponent he could not defeat and this fact has...'swollen his head', I believe is the human phrase? He needs to see that the world is larger than his experience."
Hazō found himself wondering how it must feel to be standing in the middle of a meeting in which your superior was literally instructing a strangely-shaped being from another world to get you killed. Repeatedly.
"Thank you for explaining, Alpha. With all that understood, I will—"
What will Hazō do? The proposition is 'We should accept Candoru as our summon'. The options are:
[x] (Candoru) Yes. Also, beat Candoru a little bit right now to establish your dominance
[x] (Candoru) Yes. Respectfully tell Candoru that you look forward to working with him
[x] (Candoru) Yes. [Write in a few words of detail here]
[x] (Candoru) No. [Hazō will come up with an appropriately respectful wording]
Please use the precedeing options exactly as written so that the '(Candoru)' tag will make it easy to sort them.
Voting for this scene will close when @Velorien closes voting on Wednesday. I will write the resulting scene and edit it in sometime this week. Voting for this scene is independent from what you do otherwise. As always, please do not mess with time.
Hazō feels that Cannai is probably not open to giving him other summons at this time; if the sleds shake out, or if you do a good job with Candoru, then you'll be in better shape to negotiate.
"—be glad to accept the mission. Candoru, I look forward to working with you."
Candoru lolled his tongue out, panting in amusement. "Yeah, sounds like maybe it'll be fun. I don't know about this whole 'fights too strong for him' though...I'm pretty damn strong."
"I'll see if I can find something that will be worth your time."
"Sure, I guess. Heeyyyy, quick question...Kakashi mentioned a couple of times that you have dogs on the Human Path, yeah?"
"...We do."
"Are any of them...lady dogs?"
Hazō's brain shut down as too many signals tried to go out to the mouth at the same time.
"You understand that the dogs of my world aren't like the Dog Clan, yes?" he asked after a moment. "They aren't people. They can't talk, they don't really think. They definitely do not have the sort of physical or mystical strength that you and I have."
"That I have, anyway. Eh? Eh? Gonna have the best thighs around, ooh yeah. Watch out, ladies." The white dog preened and raised his chin in a dramatic fashion that Hazō was almost completely certain was dramatic. At least, he hoped. The dog either had a wonderful sense of self-directed irony or he was just the worst.
"Candoru..." Cannai began.
The smaller dog looked up. "Yeah, boss?"
"...Never mind. Just try not to embarrass us when you get to the Human Path. Summoner, is there anything else you will need from me?"
"I don't think so. Thank you, Alpha."
"Excellent. Please make your pact with this one. I suddenly feel the need to be elsewhere."
o-o-o-o
"How did your trip go, sir?"
Hazō paused, thinking. "I really want to make a 'it sure went to the Dogs' joke here, but it's not quite coming together. Pretend I said something clever." He sighed and dropped into his canvas-backed chair, snorfling one of the honeyed dates that had been laid out on a snack tray for him.
"Of course, sir. Very witty, sir."
"No, not literally pretend...never mind. Starting over. My visit to the dogs went well. They're happy with the saddlebags, they generally like the sleds although there need to be some construction changes, and we've got a good relationship. Cannai offered me a really weird mission. He wanted me to...actually, never mind. That's a tangent. Let's focus on the important stuff. What have you got for me?"
Gaku reached into his satchel and pulled out a roll of papers tied together with a red rawhide string. He glanced at the notes in front of him on the desk as he passed the roll over. "As you requested, I found more skilled craftsmen for the skyslider project. The current team are teaching the new people what they need to know in order to be useful." He paused, then spoke carefully. "May I offer a comment, sir?"
Hazō raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Of course. What?"
"Sir, the original skyslider team seem to be feeling slighted by having these new people assigned to them. They are taking it as a critique of their abilities. Which, granted, have been shown to be insufficient to the task. I asked Kimmi, one of the Academy students, to keep a stealthy eye on them. She reported bickering and some yelling."
Hazō sighed. "Lovely. Well, I'm not going to worry about it for now. If they haven't gotten it sorted in a few days, let me know and we'll deal with it. What else have you got?"
"I passed on your message to Lady Gōketsu that she is to acquire all the available grape-producing land in Fire."
"You remembered to tell her the part about not doing anything treasonous, right?"
"Yes sir."
"Okay, good. She's been a little...less restrained than she used to be, so I worry."
"I'm sure you know best, sir."
"As Noburi will be delighted to tell you, I very definitely do not know best. Anyway, moving on. How's the Jaybird?"
"Functional and ready to serve, sir. Ever since the food poisoning incident, attendance has dropped to effectively nothing. I've been sending Gōketsu civilians to dine there each night so that the establishment always looks mostly full, but I'm unsure if it's helping or not. If you would like, I can quietly pay non-Gōketsu civilians to dine there and talk up the quality. Additionally, we could ask the Yakuza to do the same."
"Sounds like a plan. There isn't a lot of money in a restaurant but it's awfully useful to have as a diplomacy- and intelligence-gathering tool. Let's do what we can to make it work."
"Yes, sir. In either case, it will be ready for your dinner with Hyūga Neji tomorrow. As you requested, I sent messages to the Nara inquiring after Lord Hyūga's food preferences. I was given a surprisingly detailed list, which I have passed on to the chefs. The invitation has been delivered and confirmed."
"Great job, Gaku." Hazō sighed in relief as he felt some of the accumulated worry shift from his shoulders. It was so nice to have good subordinates. "Did you talk to Kagome-sensei about our research? I didn't manage to catch up with him last night or this morning."
"Yes sir. He is just as glad that you did not want to research today or tomorrow, as he is doing a practicum with his students. I...think he is pleased with their progress?"
"Was he grumbling or screaming?"
"Grumbling, sir."
"He's pleased with their progress."
"Yes sir. In any case, he will be ready to work with you starting at mid-morning the day after tomorrow. He requested mid-morning because—"
"—that will give him time to go over the sealing lab with a fine-toothed rake and then verify that the place is still level to within a one-inch tolerance and there is nothing red within fifty feet."
"Uh...yes, sir." The older man paused. "Sir, is sealing truly that dangerous? Would a raspberry actually cause disaster?"
Hazō chuckled. "Honestly, I don't even know how to answer that. We've used berries as our test targets before, so maybe it's something about the particular seal that we're researching, or maybe Sensei is just feeling like being a little extra careful."
"Yes, sir. Moving on, I have two candidates for a clan magistrate." He handed over a pair of thin folders. Hazō flipped them open and skimmed through them.
"Have you talked to them?"
"Yes, sir."
"Which way do you lean?"
"Sir...it's really not my place."
Hazō waved dismissively. "You're a smart guy, Gaku. You're allowed to have opinions. You've vetted both of these guys, right?"
"To the best of my ability, sir. I passed their jackets to Lady Mari for her review. She, uh, she seemed to find them both acceptable."
Hazō's 'Mari gonna Mari' sense started tingling. "What did she say exactly?"
Gaku swallowed nervously and fidgeted with his shirt cuff. "She...she told me that she had complete confidence in my choices and felt no need to investigate further."
Which might have been Mari saying 'I have complete confidence in your choices and feel no need to investigate further' or 'This sounds boring and I want to do something else'. Still, best not to tell Gaku that.
"Well, I agree with her. Pick the one you like best, get him set up as the magistrate."
Gaku's eyes widened. "Sir, I can't! I'm a civilian secretary, I can't be choosing the clan magistrate!"
"Who says?"
"What? I mean...everyone knows...that is...you can't—"
Hazō laughed. "Pretty sure I can. Clan Head, remember? I'm tired of having to sign off on minor disciplinary offenses and I have confidence in you." Besides, if the one that Gaku chose didn't work out they could simply replace him. "Pick the one you like and get him started. And get used to making decisions like that—you're too good at your job to be doubting yourself." He paused as a thought struck him. "We should get you a title. You're a lot more than my secretary and we should make that clear to everyone. Chancellor? Vizier? Executive? Anything particular appeal?"
"I...sir, I can't...that is..."
Hazō took mercy on the man. "Let's both think on it for a couple days. It deserves an appropriate amount of thought to pick the right title and then solemnity when we do the public announcement."
"Public announcement?!"
"So, anyway, let's finish this up so I can get some sleep."
Gaku took a moment to gather his flustered self before nodding weakly. "Yes sir. Here are the compound logistics reports for your review, sir. If you could sign here..."
o-o-o-o
"Gōketsu."
"Neji. Good evening. Have a seat. What would you like to drink?"
Neji's outfit was perfectly turned out and far more formal than the occasion warranted. Hazō wasn't sure if that expressed nervousness on Neji's part or an implicit putdown of his host's standards. Given the sour expression it was probably the second.
"What do you want, Gōketsu? Lady Hinata said I had to meet with you in order to 'maintain and improve clan relations' because apparently that's a thing that we care about now."
"Neji, please sit."
Grumpily, the white-eyed ninja settled in the chair across from Hazō, his back perfectly straight and hands in his lap.
"You're snarkier than usual. What's going on?"
"Nothing. Get to the point."
"Well, let's get some food first. I'm starving." He actually wasn't. Everyone trained by Infiltrator-sensei would know to eat something before going to an important meeting. ("Empty bellies make empty heads. Empty heads make you dead.") He caught the waiter's attentive eye and signaled readiness. The man bustled over.
"Welcome, My Lords, to the Naked Jaybird. The menu tonight is—"
"It's fine," Hazō said. "Just send us the chef's choices. Water with berry juice for me. Neji?"
Neji glared sourly at the universe in general. "I suppose that will do. And hurry."
The waiter bowed deeply and vanished into the kitchen.
"So, how are things?"
"Fine."
"You guys were hit hard by the Collapse. I know that you must all still be in a lot of pain; I suspect there isn't anything I can do, but can the Gōketsu help in any way?"
"No."
"Okay." Hazō let the silence hang and used the time to pour two cups of tea. He gestured an offer to Neji, who took the one on the left with poor grace.
"By the way, I never congratulated you on signing the Turtle Scroll," Hazō said.
"Listen, Gōketsu—!" Neji stopped himself, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "Thank you. I appreciate your concern."
"Okay, seriously. Neji, what's going on? Have I done something to offend you? Oh, thank you." The last words were addressed to the waiter who had returned with a pitcher of berry-infused water and two younger servers with platters of tiny dishes that they quickly unloaded onto the table. All three staff members bowed, deeply and repeatedly, and vanished.
"That was quick," Neji said suspiciously.
Hazō shrugged. "You're known for your punctuality, so I felt safe giving them an exact time to start preparing."
"'Known for my punctuality', huh?" Neji snarled. "Is that all you think of me?"
Hazō leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "Okay, look. I have no idea what's going on with you. I came here to have a good meal, a nice conversation, and offer you a deal, that's it."
"A deal, hm? Trying to bribe me?" Neji had not so much as glanced at the food on the table...not that he needed to, since the bulging veins along his temples indicated that his Byakugan was active. That was a bit of a social faux pas, but Hazō wasn't about to call him on it.
Hazō made a point of inspecting each of the twelve dishes before finally choosing shrimp balls in squid ink. "Look, Neji," he said, nibbling the first of the savory treats. "I don't know what's bothering you and I can't fix it until you tell me. What's going on?"
Neji studied him in silence for several long seconds. "Do you know my cousin, Mitsuo?" he asked grudgingly.
Hazō searched his memory and came up blank. "I don't, I'm sorry."
"He's dead. Killed while spying on those Rock bastards last week."
"Oh, Sage. Neji, I'm so sorry."
"Why are you sorry? You just said you didn't know him."
Hazō took a deep breath. "I didn't, but I know you and I know what it's like to lose someone. I can empathize with you even if I can't grieve directly for your cousin."
Neji eyed him for a moment, then snorted and jabbed at the plate of salted green beans, loading a good helping of them onto his plate.
"Your red-headed witch was sure she could get rid of those bastards, with her so-clever plans about sending animals to harass them." Neji stopped abruptly and took a breath, then another deeper one. When he spoke again his voice was calmer, although it still had an edge. "Intellectually, I know that Mitsuo's death is not that woman's fault. Despite that, he was in that location solely because he and his Aburame teammate were assigned to herd a tangle of swamp vipers into the Rock camp. Because of her plan."
"I'm sorry," Hazō said quietly.
Neji grunted and took a resentful bite of his beans. He paused, then practically inhaled the rest.
"Try the stuffed hummingbird," Hazō suggested, pointing. "They're amazing."
"I know what you're doing," Neji said, serving himself one of the tiny birds. It had been defeathered, soaked in vinegar until the bones softened, then stuffed with a sausage and mushroom mix and baked. It was an incredible amount of labor for two bites of food, but it tasted amazing.
"What am I doing?"
"You got a list of all my favorite foods from somewhere—"
"The Nara."
"Of course. You thought you could bribe me with stuffed hummingbird?"
"No, I thought I could give you a nice meal that you would enjoy. And, yes, that it might put you in a better mood when I make my pitch in a minute."
"Unlikely. Spit it out so that I can turn down what I'm sure will be another example of treasonous idiocy." The words were harsh but the tone held a very slight sense of teasing.
Hazō chuckled. "Why, Neji. That almost sounded like a joke. Couldn't be though, right? The great Lord Neji would never actually joke with some worthless non-Hyūga. Right?"
"Of course not. Especially not of your clan—your brother has made it perfectly clear that the Gōketsu completely lack the capacity to appreciate the refined humor of the Hyūga."
"I'll tell him you said that. He lives to spar with you and I'm sure it will inspire him to new heights of creativity at your next meeting."
"You should also tell him to expect another humiliation."
"Sure." Hazō took the other hummingbird and crunched it up, savoring the flavors and allowing the shared moment of (grantedly bitter-edged) camaraderie to solidify in the air. "Anyway, I wanted to get your take on something, Summoner to Summoner."
Neji's expression became guarded again.
"Here's the deal," Hazō said. "If all the summoners in Leaf work together, we can create an instantaneous transportation network between all the Summon Clans and anywhere in Fire, allowing us—meaning the Summoners and also our clans and Leaf as a whole—to become vastly wealthy. With the Hokage's permission we could even branch out into allied nations such as Sand, Grass, and so on. All we have to do is get embassies set up between all of our various Summon Clans. For example, I arrange for Canoe to be stationed in Turtle country. I summon her and give her a storage scroll full of whatever. She unsummons back to the embassy and hands that scroll to a turtle. You summon that turtle and he gives you the storage scroll. Alternatively, you and I can meet in person by getting reverse-summoned back to the embassy."
"'All we have to do' is get embassies set up between our respective Summon Clans?" Neji parroted in disbelief. "The Turtles are a thousand miles or more from the Dogs, separated by multiple other Clans with whom they are not allied and a major mountain range. They are nearly as far from the Monkeys. They are merely several hundred miles from the Toads, with whom they have no alliance."
"This is a strategic intelligence weapon for Leaf and for the various Clans, as well as a source of income for everyone involved," Hazō noted, falling back to section 7.a.1 of his Mari- and Keiko-approved script. "It's going to happen, the only question is who comes in at the start and who gets left out.
"I've already spoken with Asuma about the potential and now I'm talking with the various summoners to get the details hammered out before I go back to him for his signoff. Either the Summoners push their Clans to get involved or the Clans will hear the offer and push their Summoner to get involved, but it's too advantageous for anyone to skip out on. Again, the only question is who is onboard at the start and therefore gets the largest share of the profit."
Hazō studied Neji carefully before choosing which part of the script to move to next. "You understand that this deal is between the Summoners, right? Only those of us who have travelled through the Paths are worthy, and only we have the knowledge to make it work. The arrangement will be approved by the Hokage and all military intelligence gained will be presented to him immediately, but it's a deal between individuals. How you involve the rest of the Hyūga is up to you—obviously you shouldn't conceal it from them, but you can choose your own approach."
The problem with the Byakugan is that those who are using it do not need to look you in the eyes to read your reactions, since they can simultaneously see your eyes, heart, lungs, stomach, muscular system, and even your spleen. Also, every Hyūga was given extensive practice at maintaining a completely blank expression so as not to give away what their cheating eyeballs were discovering.
"And what exactly will I be getting as one of the members of this deal?" Neji asked suspiciously.
"An absolute ass-ton of money. The basic idea is that we're enabling people to trade with one another who wouldn't have been able to otherwise and we take a percentage of every transaction. For example, one of the Toad Sages wanted to buy pipeweed from Turtle. If they sell him a hundred ryō worth of pipeweed, we take twenty ryō and the Turtles get eighty. The twenty gets split between all the Summoners in the network and any other partners we bring in."
Neji's Hyūga training was insufficient to prevent the frown of confusion. "What?"
"Okay, let me try it again." He pushed dishes and condiments around until the center of the table was clear. "Let's say that we start with you, me, and Noburi." He placed a salt shaker, a pepper shaker, and an empty sake cup in the cleared space.
"I want to be the pepper."
"Fine, you're the pepper. I'll be the cup and Noburi can be the salt." He produced three meeples from his pocket and held them up. (Having a well-stocked gaming closet was helpful when looking for appropriate symbolic markers!) "Now, each of us is the representative for our Summon Clan. You stand for the Turtles." He placed the blue meeple down next to the pepper shaker. "I stand for the Dogs." The red meeple took its place next to the cup. "And Noburi stands for the Toads." He set the green meeple next to the salt shaker.
"Let's say that the Dogs want to sell the Toads some hides. They give me a storage scroll full of the stuff." Hazō turned his hand to reveal the rolled-up ball of grass he'd been palming and mimed passing it from the red meeple to the sake cup. "I give it to Noburi"—the ball transferred from the cup to the salt shaker—"and he gives it to the Toads." It completed its journey to the green meeple. "The Toads send a thousand ryō back the other way." He reached into his pocket and produced a group of coins laced onto a string. "We take twenty percent." He slipped two of the coins off and set them aside. "The rest go from the Toads to Noburi to me to the Dogs." The string of coins completed its journey.
"Now, that twenty percent gets split between all the Summoners in the group. In this case that means that you, me, and Noburi split two hundred ryō, so we each get sixty-six ryō."
"I did nothing. Why am I getting money?"
"Because the value of the network goes up every time a new Summoner joins. Your participation means that everyone can buy and sell goods with the Turtle Clan, which they couldn't do otherwise. Splitting the profits evenly keeps our interests aligned." He studied Neji for a moment, then gestured dismissively. "The details are still up in the air. Maybe a twenty percent fee is too high—maybe we only take ten percent, or even five. Maybe we split the profits between the Summoners and a company run by the Merchant Council, making them be responsible for doing necessary market research, finding products for us to sell, and so on. Again, the idea is for this to be mostly hands-off for us. We do one or two daily summons at a pre-arranged time, pass storage scrolls around, and get paid. We aren't merchants and we shouldn't pretend to be; finding the goods and doing the haggling is someone else's job, we just give them the chance to do it."
Neji frowned. "This is dishonest. You're stealing from these people, slicing off their earnings."
"Nope. Everything is completely aboveboard. They know how much we're going to take and agree to it. Right now the Turtles can't sell to the Dogs at all, so every ryō they make by way of the network is money they wouldn't have had otherwise. So what if they earn eight hundred instead of a thousand ryō? They're still ending up ahead. And so are the Dogs, who wouldn't have been able to get the Turtles' products without us."
"It's too much. We shouldn't be taking that much when we're doing nothing."
"We are doing something. We are providing a service and that service has value." He paused for a moment. "Imagine a civilian village is having a problem...let's say that chakra voles that have been killing people. The village posts a pest-clearing mission for a thousand ryō. You take the mission—"
"Why would I take such a ridiculous mission?"
"Humor me. Anyway, you take the mission. You're a Hyūga with a powerful Byakugan, so it won't take you more than five minutes to find the warren and another five, if that, to destroy all the voles. Ten minutes, no risk, no effort. A thousand ryō is a lot of money to a bunch of villagers. Are they going to feel like you cheated them out of their money?"
"Obviously not. I saved their lives when they could not have saved their own."
Hazō spread his hands. "There you go."
Neji considered that. "The Summon Clans will not feel cheated because they could not have made the trades without us."
"Right."
"Interesting."
"Any questions?"
"...Not at the moment."
"Well, like I said, everything is still up in the air at this point. Right now I'm basically just figuring out who wants to be at the meeting when we sit down to figure out what percentage we're taking, what schedule we're summoning on, how we coordinate sales and distribute profits, and all that. I'll warn you: I'm going to push for the idea that people get a lower cut the later they come in, so if you think you're interested then it would be a good idea to say so now."
Neji digested that for a moment.
"Let me know when the meeting is," he said. "I'll be there."
I ended up not rolling this, mostly because you did a good enough job that I didn't feel like I had to. You had two Aspects lined up and FP allocated to invoke them. You had an entire stage set to highlight your own wealth, concern and respect for Neji, and the value of your offer. I figured that Neji was probably feeling a little weird at the idea that this deal was with him and not with the Hyūga directly but that is only enough to make him wary, not opposed. He doesn't have the socials to beat you when you've stacked the deck this hard and he's not going to break off negotiation on something that he isn't firmly opposed to, so I simply went ahead and gave you the win. Good job.
Community Chest: QM error in your favor! Collect research shifts! You requested that the update be 3 days and down in the Misc section you continued researching the chakdar seal. I did the rolls first (giving you credit for 3 days prep time), entered them into the research record, and started writing the chapter. Then I realized that it really should have only been 2 days of prep because the rules are that you get bonuses based on the number of days spent preparing before (not including) the day you make the attempt. Then I got most of the chapter written and realized that it should have been 0 days of prep because in order to fulfill what was in the plan you had to spend most of the first day on the Seventh Path learning about dog culture and Kakashi, then spend most of the second day on the meeting with Neji (planning it with the clan, finding his tastes and ensuring the menu was appropriate, then having the meeting itself). This leaves one day to do the sealing attempt with zero days of prep.
Eh. The numbers are small and I can't be bothered to go back and change it, so you guys get a few shifts of success that you shouldn't have. Hazō estimates that he's getting close to a solution and another week or two should wrap it up, as long as he stays dedicated to his research. For future, remember that if you want the time bonus for preparation then the day cannot include significant other activities such as hanging out with Dogs, talking with clan heads, etc. It's intended to be an actual optimization decision that carries opportunity costs, not a footnote in the SOP.
You spoke to Noburi and suggested he get moving on finding some combat summons. His response was "Duh." The Toads are being cagey but he's trying.
You read through more of Jiraiya's journals, looking for information on Orochimaru. You found a lot of stuff that made you miss Jiraiya and nothing that was helpful.
XP AWARD: 10
FP AWARD: 1 For social victory over Neji. (The net is -1 because you spent 2 during the conversation.)
Brevity XP: 2@Velorien and I still haven't sat down and hashed out whether brevity awards are supposed to be per day or per plan. I'm awarding 2 instead of 1 in order to split the difference.
"GM had fun" XP: 0 No strong feelings about these scenes one way or the other.
It is now about 10pm.
Vote time! What to do now?
Voting ends on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, at 12pm London time.
Shikamaru closed the door behind him as he left the room. Hazō waited the extra few seconds for the thunk of the red plaque outside sliding into place. This was more symbolic than anything else, given that he'd requested the kind of privacy where nobody else would be so much as allowed inside the building (and Shikamaru had rolled his eyes at the implicit insult to Nara discretion but complied without further comment), but every little helped when it came to calming Hazō's nerves in advance of this dangerous conversation.
"Keiko," he began, "suppose there were a new Gōketsu clan secret. A Super Ultra Gōketsu Clan Secret that, potentially, could be bigger than skywalkers."
Keiko carefully set her cup of Nara-brand green tea down on the coffee table between them. "You have my wary attention."
"Suppose there would be catastrophic consequences if anyone outside the main Gōketsu family were to find out, and it was the kind of secret where you'd have to take active steps to conceal it once you knew, rather than just not bringing it up in conversation. Given that, and the fact that you're constantly surrounded by geniuses who can probably deduce an espionage mission's worth of secrets from a single careless sentence, would you want to learn that secret if I told you that you'd stand to gain something from knowing it?"
"Yes," Keiko said with startling speed, not even taking a moment to think.
"Are you sure?" Hazō asked. "I am serious about how important this is. I'd really rather you took a little time to think about it."
"What is there to think about, Hazō?" Keiko asked. "My entire life, I have been the sole confidant to a woman whose mildest daydreams would set the world aflame. While I am indeed surrounded by geniuses who force me to cringe at my own inadequacy on a daily basis, I am also the Nara second-in-command, with the authority to punish or swear to secrecy as I will. Per Nara consort laws, I report only to Shikamaru, and you may have gathered our marriage has an unconventional balance of power, insofar as I am not only his wife but a leader of a separate power bloc capable of forcing unprecedented concessions from the Hokage and striking fear into the heart of great clans. And while he theoretically has absolute authority over me in non-political matters, he and I both know that I can make his life a living hell should he choose to exercise it in a way that denies my agency. In the utmost extremity, I can divorce him and return to the Gōketsu—we both researched the legal procedures extensively during our engagement—and it is a fact that there is no other woman in Leaf twisted in ways that so finely complement his own.
"If I implement whatever security procedures such a cataclysmic secret requires, suffice to say they will be respected."
Hazō considered. Based on observation, he found it hard to deny that Shikamaru was whipped as husbands went, quite an accomplishment given that Keiko was legally required to obey literally any order he gave (Nara arrangements with the Gōketsu and the KEI notwithstanding) on pain of literally any punishment he chose to mete out (ditto). On the other hand, if Shikamaru found out anything about FOOM, and realised its value, he would probably judge it important enough to the clan to accept certain sacrifices in his personal life for his greater good. Would Hazō reluctantly accept a divorce for the sake of godhood for himself and his loved ones?
Akane's face flickered through his mind. They still hadn't had that conversation—he'd been busy, and maybe a little afraid of the future, now the initial drive of righteous anger had worn off, and Akane was naturally sensitive enough to give him space even though part of him wished she weren't. Would he be able to completely break his bond with her for the greater good?
And then there was the idea of Keiko, his sister, a Gōketsu who'd made a greater sacrifice than any of them when the clan was founded, being left out in the cold while the rest of them won the power to change the world…
"Supposing there was a way to get the benefits without knowing the details…" he began.
Keiko sagged back in her seat ever so slightly, enough that someone who hadn't spent so long around her might not have noticed.
"You'd have to trust me," he pressed on, "to do things without knowing why you're doing them, but I think it would work. And it would definitely be worth it."
Now Keiko fell silent, and thought. She didn't meet his eyes.
"Assuming your guidance falls within the bounds of sanity," she said quietly, "it would be an improvement on not being trusted at all."
Hazō inwardly winced. That hadn't been the impression he'd meant to give, not at all, though on reflection, "Here is a thing I could tell you, but I won't even if you tell me you want it" wasn't his most tactful moment. Still, he'd come to this meeting precommitted not to tell her the full truth, at least not yet.
"If you go ahead with this," he said, "your priorities are to train up the Shadow Clone Technique, to the point where you can have clones up for at least a few hours, and work on your mental fortitude for reintegrating the information. It won't work without both of those things.
"Oh," he added, "but I know the Shadow Clone Technique means more to you than it does to us because of Snowflake. If this gets in the way of that, then maybe you should put it off for now. There's no great hurry."
Keiko shook her head. "Extending the duration of the technique has been my highest training priority, since it determines the length of time Snowflake can spend in this world. But if you will allow me a moment…"
She closed her eyes. Her hands folded in her lap as she entered the characteristic mildly unnerving stillness of the Frozen Skein.
"I see," she said a little later. "Your secret is centred on the Shadow Clone Technique, which would be absurdly powerful, as Naruto demonstrates, but for its three limitations: duration of use which limits out-of-combat applications, chakra capacity which limits the number of clones and recasting ability, and mental resilience which limits both the duration of use and number of clones. Of these, you have not instructed me to train my chakra capacity. The Gōketsu competitive advantage of chakra transfusion would indeed potentially eliminate the need, leaving the other two as limitations to be addressed with training.
"However, secrecy implies that Noburi would not be purchasing chakra from out-of-clan ninja as he typically does. Assuming your plan is not mere redistribution of chakra within the clan, which would hardly have impact worthy of a Super Ultra Gōketsu Clan Secret, you would need a non-shinobi source. The Wakahisa chakra koi we negotiated for alongside the clan's influence on Ami's fate—of which, incidentally, Ami detected none—would fulfil that role nicely."
Hazō was becoming increasingly aware that one of his worst habits, and perhaps the most likely to someday get him killed, was underestimating ninja more intelligent than himself.
"Hazō, it would take years to approach Naruto's level, even with total investment of time and effort. During that time, it would be trivial for someone to notice the clan using more shadow clones than anyone ever has before. Even if you managed to keep training on that scale completely concealed, they might simply notice power growth wildly inconsistent with the passage of time and training resources available. Recognising power levels is, of course, a basic shinobi survival skill. From there, the erudite would assume shadow clone use was involved, if only because it is the most efficacious method of accelerated training known, and everyone in Leaf witnessed Naruto's rise to power firsthand. In fact, I imagine it would be a common assumption even if in reality the method used was completely unrelated.
"Noburi's basic abilities are public knowledge. Anyone whose inferences reached that far would seek out the Wakahisa, or another clan with similar capabilities. There are, after all, plenty of bloodlines across the world that manipulate chakra in one way or another. Given time, Orochimaru could probably jury-rig the process on request, or on his own initiative, assuming he does not already possess the capability. Nor would I be surprised if there were researchers out there who were his equal in at least one related field. I could continue, but I believe the point is clear. Which is not to say I do not sympathise with the very Jiraiya-like desire to bring Uplift to the world at the end of an unstoppable fist."
She held up her hand before Hazō could comment.
"Do not take it as criticism. I am not so naïve as to believe that grand ambitions can be accomplished without trampling over the wills of multitudes. History is silent as to how many independent-minded clans were massacred so that the nascent Leaf could have absolute dominion over the Fire Country, but double figures are a safe assumption."
"There might be kinks to work out," Hazō agreed. "No one's ever done anything remotely like this before, so it's not like there's a model to follow. But I don't know if I'd ever forgive myself as a ninja if I saw a path to power—an ethically-neutral, rational path to power—and turned away because of hypothetical risks instead of facing them head-on and finding ways to overcome them."
Keiko nodded, but didn't reply.
They sat there in a silence that gradually grew more awkward.
"Are we too far gone?" she asked suddenly, as if forcing out the words.
Hazō stared at her blankly. "What do you mean?"
"Have we drifted too far apart to be the family we believed we were?"
"Keiko, what do you—"
"There was a time," she said, "when whenever you had one of your brilliant new ideas, you would seek me out, and I would explain to you, with much sarcasm, the countless reasons why it would never work, and then bring forth writing implements and spend hours optimising until the final product was ready to see the light of day without bringing unbearable shame on all who so much as considered being involved in its implementation. That time is gone. Today, the plans are developed and finalised by the true Gōketsu, and you hesitate to so much as share them with me lest doing so imperil the clan.
"I recognise my culpability," she said heavily. "I was too preoccupied with proving to the Nara that I was more than a mediocre foreign curiosity, and when the crises struck, I recognised that I could be needed, and took advantage of the opportunity to become as close to indispensable as my capabilities would allow. I was too invested in my role with the KEI, and the longed-for opportunity to prove to my sister that I was more than a child in need of guardianship. It is I who turned away from my first family for greener pastures, to people who 'recognised my worth' instead of loving me for who I was.
"Is it too late, Hazō?" she asked. "Is this the distance between us now?"
Her words stabbed at Hazō like knives. Was she right? Was there a distance? Was it her imagination, or was it something he'd allowed to happen without realising it? Had he failed to find the balance between treating her as a Nara and treating her as his sister?
"It's never too late," he said with total confidence summoned because there were some things which had to be said with total confidence. "It's my fault too, Keiko. There's been so much to do, and… well, I'm still learning the clan head thing. I know Shikamaru wants to keep the Gōketsu at arm's length because he thinks we're politically unreliable, but I'm not a born clan ninja. I have no sense for how close allied clans are supposed to be, or allowed to be. No, you're not supposed to be a ninja of another clan in the first place. You're a Gōketsu, and I should have trusted you to be no less of a Gōketsu just because you're married to a Nara."
Keiko shook her head. "No, I am the one who undermined that trust. I have been acting like a Nara. I believed that it was necessary, that if I did not make a sufficient effort, I would be judged only on my intellectual merits, and therefore rejected as I was by the Mori. When the opportunity came to be needed by Shikamaru, not merely as a friend but as a source of competence and support, I seized it like a drowning woman seizing a Hoshigaki rescue shark. The Gōketsu, after all, were untouched by the disaster. You did not need me, and it did not occur to me that perhaps you might desire me anyway.
"I am only now realising the depths of my failure as a sister and as a friend. I will not ask whether you still want me in your life, for the rolled-up broadsheet is a mighty teacher, but I do not know whether there is still a place for me to return to, or whether this is who we are now, for time without end."
Hazō suppressed a groan. "Keiko, you have not failed anyone at anything. It takes two people to decide what shape a relationship will have—more, if it's someone's relationship with their family. If we're growing too far apart, then there's still plenty of time to fix that. Think about how long it took us to grow this close in the first place. This time, you don't even have to tell me and Noburi that you kissed a girl."
"No, I believe you are quite well aware. As is the entirety of Leaf, now. I have not… enjoyed leaving the compound.
"But forget that. Do you mean it, Hazō? You believe, in the face of all the evidence, that there remains room for recovery?"
Hazō nodded. "I don't think we've grown as far apart as you think. The shadow clone thing… I just got my priorities wrong. But can you honestly tell me that it's a sign of dramatic change in our relationship that I've put my foot in it and offended you because I got too excited about my latest idea?"
Keiko gave a small smile. "Touché."
There was another silence, but this one more peaceable. Hazō sipped his tea, which had gone stone cold. Keiko helped herself to a biscuit.
"Hazō…" Keiko said cautiously, "in the extreme hypothetical, and not without your explicit consent…"
Hazō tensed.
"If Ami were to gain access to the Shadow Clone Technique, would it be possible for me to involve her in your plan?"
The idea had, of course, crossed Hazō's mind, complete with a dozen alarm seals blaring cacophonously.
"Setting aside the absolute impossibility of Ami learning the Shadow Clone Technique without getting executed, together with whoever taught her… I'm sorry, Keiko. I don't know if I could entrust that kind of power to someone whose motivations are so opaque."
"Does that mean you might reconsider if you were persuaded that your goals were not incompatible?" Keiko asked keenly.
"I don't know, Keiko. It's not something I can offer a commitment on."
Keiko nodded. "I will ask her to speak with you. For the general purposes of greater mutual understanding, of course."
"What's the worst that could happen?" Hazō asked wryly. "But Keiko, she's not going to get the Shadow Clone Technique. It's not happening. It's one of Leaf's greatest secrets. In fact, please tell me you're not thinking of teaching her."
Keiko arched an eyebrow. "Hazō, my desire to re-embrace my Gōketsu roots does not extend to the newly-popular hobby of treason. As you yourself observe, it would not be a net positive to her odds of survival. Unless, of course, she were to defect to Leaf."
"You're not serious."
"She has not spoken of the possibility herself, though of course it would be suicide to do so where she could be overheard. But her relationship with Mist has changed. The Mizukage, whom she previously saw as a fellow player, has acted like a despicable thug, so desperate to assert her authority that she would destroy all loyalty from her most powerful potential ally save the Hokage. In my judgement, the present situation, where Ami's survival depends on suppressing everything that makes her Ami and hoping that this is enough to keep an irrational dictator placated, is untenable in the long term."
"The Hokage couldn't take her," Hazō objected. "It would destroy the alliance."
"Yes," Keiko said with a smirk, "no Hokage would ever court the Mizukage's wrath by inviting in a renegade Mist jōnin.
"The pros for the Hokage are obvious. Considering what Ami has accomplished on foreign ground in less than half a year, he must by now have wondered what she might be capable of if her talents could be turned towards his own objectives, and her betterment of Leaf given motivation beyond her personal profit. He would certainly rest easier than he does now, when at any moment Mist can order her to secretly use the influence she has accumulated against Leaf's interests—assuming it has not done so already."
"Mist would be losing a jōnin," Hazō objected. "That's an unacceptable hit in military terms and a massive security leak."
"Insofar as Ami was Mari's junior—and, she suspects, planned replacement—they would have had clearance for approximately the same materials, and while the information being leaked would be more up-to-date, it grows less so with every month Ami spends in Leaf. As to the military terms, Ami's jōnin powers do nothing for Mist while she is here, and the Mizukage seems in no hurry to call her back. In practical terms, it would be closer to Leaf gaining a jōnin, which would be no source of joy for the Mizukage, the nature of shinobi alliances being what it is, but less of a deal-breaker than it might be if the defector were, say, Hōzuki Mangetsu. Additionally, I do not believe the Mizukage would be heartbroken at the damage done to the AMI by its leader's prospective betrayal, or at the opportunity to humble the Mori."
Hazō shook his head. "I don't know…"
"This is all an exercise in hypotheticals, of course," Keiko said, "but what I would ask is whether the loss of Ami would be worth losing the alliance—or, rather, whether Asuma would believe the loss of Ami to be grave enough for Mist to abandon the alliance in response, rather than merely demand reparations.
"In any case, it is a consideration for another time. For now, I shall arrange another meeting with my sister for you. May you be more successful in determining her motivations than any other shinobi in human history."
-o-
Shikamaru is mildly intrigued by the Seventh Path trade plan, and will run projections. Keiko gave you a look of the purest ice when you mentioned ferrying seals across the Seventh Path, but did not object to the proposal overall. You suspect that a Conversation on the topic of acceptable trade goods lies in the future.
The Nara engineers are happy, indeed excited (by Nara standards, which is to say they briefly stopped slouching) to collaborate on such a unique engineering project. Since it has no "real-world" implications whatsoever, Shikamaru handwaved it and immediately lost interest in favour of another biscuit. Keiko gave you a second look of the purest ice at your appeal to emotion. According to her, she has no investment in your relationship with the Dogs, but you and she both know that invasion is the last thing on the recently-occupied Hyenas' minds, unless it is of the Pangolin Clan.
Keiko mentioned off-handedly that if you happen to come across anyone in need of textiles, you should most certainly direct them to the Hagoromo workshops in the near future, especially if the people involved are influential and/or high-profile.
-o-
You have received 4 - 1 = 3 XP.
-o-
What do you do?
Voting closes on Saturday 15th of August, 9 a.m. New York Time.
