Kapitel 235: Ch235. Mei's report
"There are naturally many new things going on in the village." Mei reported with a small shrug that bled through her serious demeanor, "Nothing really pressing or worrying though. I still say placing loyalty seals on our populace would be prudent." She stated with an intense piercing gaze.
"And I still say that would be going too far." Rei half-heartedly replied. "I gotta keep my moral high, Mei. If only to feel self-satisfied with my actions so I don't feel any unnecessary doubt in my decision-making in the future."
Mei released a small concerned sigh before giving an accepting nod. "And I still think you should let your moral compass widen a bit." She grumbled but her body language indicated she inwardly accepted Rei's argument.
She was more in tune with Konan's opinion on the matter and always preached Rei should just use the best seals to enforce obedience. Rei, however, only used Secrecy seals to avoid anything he deemed a secret from leaking. Beyond that, there was no real safeguard from betrayal. That's where Mei actually became relevant. While her sisters had their own role in Rei's village, she couldn't really simply slack off, now, could she? Hence, Mei decided to use the skills Rei and Konan so painstakingly tried to beat into her during her apprenticeship and went more into the internal security of the Village on the Other Side. It was ridiculous how everybody lowered their guard due to her cheerful and childish predisposition. Adding some of her steam-based surveillance Jutsus and voila, there was not much that could evade her notice in the village.
Konan might have been their spymaster and her skills sure as hell could encompass the entire continent but she was more focused on a large area with many holes in between, monitoring only important places through her paper release. Konan could never really cover everything no matter how much she tried and that was also the reason why many merchants of the Biri-Biri company acted as spies for them.
Mei, on the other hand, could use her steam release to fill the air with a transparent mist, monitoring EVERYTHING that went on inside of the said mist. The downside was that it could be used only around her in a certain radius. It was far from being able to compete with Konan in spycraft and certainly not convenient enough to compare to the way Konan used her paper release for that purpose. But as the internal security of a village? Mei's technique had Konan beaten in every possible way. It certainly alleviated some pressure from Konan now that she didn't have to focus on their village.
Then again, if the loyalty seals were involved, there would be no need for internal security at all, would there?
"What about the Uchiha clan? Are they integrating well into the village?" Rei asked.
"There is slight discontent in the newly-added Uchiha ranks but it's of no major importance as of yet. The same thing happens almost every time we incorporate a clan from the outside since the system we use in our village is completely different than anywhere else." Mei started, "Isamu and Izumi Uchiha are trying their hardest to contain their clansmen. The daily beatings at the hands of our ninjas in the guise of retraining are also helping. The Uchiha clan members are slowly realizing there is no way they could win against us in an open fight since our forces are superior to theirs not only in numbers but also in the quality of our ninjas. It certainly humbled them enough to be somewhat bearable." She snorted.
Rei could only give the woman apologetic smile while secretly feeling bad for the Uchihas. He heard how some of them made asses out of themselves when Mei first time observed their new training under the Jonins from the Other-sided Village. Considering Mei was very proficient in shielding her chakra from detection in a way that showed even to Sharingan users that she was just a low-chunin by chakra reserves... simply, a fight broke out because of some insults and twenty Uchiha ninjas ended up beaten black, blue, and melting. Needless to say, the red-eyed folk gained a newfound respect for the resident excitable ginger.
"You might have been too busy to check but the Uchiha clan is handled just fine. I dare to say in years to come, they will be one of the most loyal clans to us." Mei showed a self-satisfied smile. "In the past week alone the number of Uchiha kids entering our academy tripled compared to what entered the Konoha one in the past. The Uchiha civilians noticed we are willing to go to great lengths to awaken their kids' bloodline and teach them how to actually survive on the job." She finished with sarcasm marring her tone.
Rei had to snort at that notion. It was a quite widely known fact that many clans in Konoha started to recede in the past few years, having fewer and fewer clan children joining the academy. It was not yet alarming but the numbers started to slowly show the predicted end game. Only clans like Hyuuga where everybody able had to become a ninja kept steady numbers of new recruits.
Simply put, civilian clan members knew how demanding the life of a ninja was and as such, they would sooner teach their children how to craft something, be a merchant, or other civilian stuff that could earn them money rather than sending their children into a Shinobi Academy where they would be taught subpar skills in a subpar curriculum that would be worth jack-shit in the end. Duty to the village be damned! They wanted their children to be happy and alive. National pride or Will of Fire could go stuff itself.
"Well, I can't say that's surprising. To clans, being a shinobi is an honor and privilege, it's something to be proud of." Rei sadly shook his head, "That said, no parent would send his or her child to learn how to be a ninja with knowledge the academy would be next to useless to do just that. The second the Hokage gave power over the Shinobi Academy to the civilian council..." He finished with a half-hearted shrug that indicated how amusing he found the situation.
"Yeah, the Uchihas are regaining their drive thanks to the benefits we are providing. I am sure that actually made it a lot easier for them to accept their new allegiance. After all, we were the guys who helped them after their last village decided to off them all, no questions asked."
And that was that. Rei had no reason to hide anything from the Uchiha clan. He came clean with exactly why they were almost slaughtered. Needless to say, Konoha really lost a lot of respect in their eyes.
"Is there anything else going on in the village?" Rei asked, satisfied with the Uchiha situation. He held no doubt Konan and Mei could manage the clan on their own without his intervention.
Hearing his question, Mei's lips stretched into a wide smile while her eyes gained a mischievous glint, "Oh, just a bit of gossip, really." She giggled, showing the serious stuff was over, "My very own pet-cat showed a great deal of interest in our resident self-pitying turtle. Last I heard they spend quite a lot of time together."
Rei chuckled, "Well... now that is one thing nobody could have anticipated. Yugito and Yagura, huh? With their past and circumstances, they will probably be good for each other."
"Doesn't hurt the closer he is to Yugito the more loyal Yagura will be to our village." Mei added with brutal honesty. It has been years since Yugito became a part of the village but by now, nobody had any doubts the woman saw Rei and his wives as her family.
"As if he dared to betray us." Rei found the idea ridiculous, "The man is simply beyond himself with happiness that Ringo is completely overhauling Kirigakure's system and making it more efficient."
"Maybe." Mei hummed and her shrewd pondering gaze landed directly on Rei's eyes, "Say... What exactly are you trying to accomplish here, love? Two villages are under your control, two international companies ranked in the top ten worldwide belong to you, and now you are trying that stunt with Sunagakure. One would think you are trying to conquer the world, dear." She finished with an intrigued purr.
Rei stilled, and his eyes slightly narrowed in delight. He never once told his girls what he wants to accomplish. He knew it didn't matter to them. Even now, Mei was asking simply because she was mildly curious. Her eyes clearly showed she didn't really expect a straight answer. After all, he always trained her information-gathering skills by giving her half-truths and simple clues while expecting her to come to a certain conclusion herself.
"My end game, heh?" Rei slyly smirked at Mei, causing her to widen her eyes before she found her back pressed onto the blanket with Rei's body towering above her and his face only an inch away from hers, their lips almost touching. A shiver of excitement starting to shake her body, Mei intently listened as Rei continued speaking, "I am simply making use of opportunities left behind by idiots in charge, my lovely girl. It's simply sad how easy it is to gain control nowadays, isn't it? But enough of that. I think we should get back to enjoying our date" Rei suggestively whispered to Mei before lowering his lips on hers.
Kapitel 236: Ch236. Scheming with the Wind Daimyo
"Welcome! It has been quite a while since we last saw each other, Pakura!" The Wind Daimyo enthusiastically greeted Pakura as she and Rei entered the gardens of his castle. "I am glad you accepted my invitation. Feel free to drop the formality. We are here for tea, after all." He amicably retorted as he beckoned his guests to sit opposite him behind the table filled with various delicacies.
"How could we decline such an opportunity, Mikumi." Pakura answered with a calm smile, completely ignoring etiquette and protocol, while Rei distractedly compared the flowery gardens of the Fire Daimyo's castle to the lush green ones where they were now, wondering if the men had nothing more important to spend their money on. Pakura half-turned towards Rei, "This is my husband, Yotsuba Rei." She introduced, causing the Wind Daimyo to widen his eyes in bewilderment and wonder.
After a few moments of staring, Rei lifted his eyebrow at the man, half-expecting a fight to break out because of something stupid like an accusation of stealing Pakura from him but he was pleasantly surprised when Mikumi slowly turned to Pakura and his lips stretched to a satisfied smile. "I see that somebody finally managed to catch you. Good for you, Pakura. I must admit I am a bit jealous of you, Mr. Rei." He added with a wistful sigh.
That... was something Rei didn't expect from a man who had over fifty wives and consorts, 'Huh, maybe Pakura was right and he is a quite cool guy. Who would have thought?' Rei silently mused, not detecting any jealousy. In fact, his instincts were telling him the Wind Daimyo was totally honest in that statement.
"Nice to meet you." Rei slightly bowed, happy this meeting won't go like the one with the Water Daimyo. Sure, pressuring these powerful political figures was fun but Rei really didn't have any wish to pull power-play on civilians. In his opinion, it was totally pointless. Especially since it was so much easier to simply use rules imposed by civilians in charge to penalize and manipulate the superpowered folk and vice versa.
Frankly, Rei clearly saw the next stage in the development of the world would be shinobi taking over from the Daimyo. It might not happen in decades yet but it was the next natural path the world was leading towards.
During the Warring States, ninja clans were simply far too scattered, far too warring to actually progress and develop. All clans had their Jutsu and guarded them with extreme prejudice. All clans tried to kill each other and earn some money in the process. In short, civilians, especially the wealthy ones, were completely safe and prospered while the clans were preoccupied with their own survival and development, surrounded by enemy ninja clans on every side.
That all, however, changed after the formation of the ninja villages. The knowledge of clans that joined together to form a village was pooled together and suddenly, the ninja arts progressed by leaps and bounds. Suddenly, the ninjas no longer fought numerous other clans. Suddenly, the ninjas were no longer scattered and isolated. Suddenly, they started to work together and their numbers swelled. The enemies became the other ninja villages and while they got stronger than singular clans, the number of enemies they had to fend off at the same time was a lot less. Simply put, the ninjas got a much-needed breather to actually develop rather than nonstop fight for survival.
"But let's skip to the chase. As you probably know, I am a very busy man, especially during this time of the year with the Imports convention and whatnot. Dear Sage, I really have no idea what my father was thinking when he set up this tradition." Mikumi wryly said with a sigh. "You want my help with dealing with Rasa, right? What exactly do you envision? You know I can't just openly attack him."
Rei looked at the Wind Daimyo's eager and somewhat anticipatory expression and barely held back a grimace. The man was clearly positively giddy at the prospect of one-upping Rasa, 'This is exactly why I made sure to become both the hidden Daimyo of the Spring Country and the Kage of my own village. This spectacle is simply sad beyond words.'
And that's where the problem of the current society really laid.
It was very surprising and refreshing when the Fire Daimyo reacted so friendly towards Tsunade. The Wind Daimyo, however, was a norm. Sure, he was a good man and clearly a friend to Pakura but it was so obvious he wanted to subtly stick it to the Kazekage. Something that was becoming all too frequent between various Daimyos and their ninja village leaders.
Powerless civilians held powerful positions in the government. Ninjas were peeved because, by all means, they were superior. Civilians were peeved because they wanted to hold onto their positions of power and superpowered generals with entire armies of ALSO superpowered soldiers at their beck and call was not an easy thing to control.
Previously, ninjas didn't have time to set their eyes on the positions of Daimyo or wealthy merchants. Now that there are villages, this started to slowly change. More and more often ninjas become wealthy by doing business rather than mercenary work. More and more often ninjas, retired or not, participate in the civilian stuff. Just the civilian council in Konoha has a few retired ninjas in it. Needless to say, inwardly, civilians are not really happy about it and see it as ninjas trying to wheedle them out of their seats of power.
Which... the ninjas arguably are indeed doing. It is only natural.
And civilians, in return, decided to go slyly about it. After all, ALL of the three ninja wars were caused by missions gone wrong where two villages clashed due to an assignment by powerful aristocrats of their respective nations. Civilians had to be subtle and convincing in their dealings and weakening of the ninjas.
While Rei really didn't care if it was the ninjas or the civilians on the top... he had his own nation and that was that... he also had to be realistic and admit that ninjas would eventually dominate the ruling positions for no other reason than they had the necessary power. The ninja villages existed for barely a bit more than six decades up to date and the power struggle between the ninjas and civilians already started in some parts of the world. Orochimaru and his take-over of the Rice Country was a prime example of such a thing.
'Then again...' Rei smiled at the eager face of the Wind Daimyo, 'Why would I let an opportunity to get the seat of the Kazekage let go just because the idiots in charge are currently bickering like sniveling children?'
"Our request is simple," Pakura gave Rei a glance, noticing he was letting her take the lead and started talking, "Rasa wanted to kill me. He overstepped his boundaries and created a way for us to lawfully attack his position. I know you won't be able to extend political capital to fully deal with him, Mikumi. Don't worry. I am not asking for that. All I want is your support for my challenge."
"Challenge?" Mikumi's eyebrows lifted into his hairline as his mind instantly understood Pakura's angle.
Mischievously smiling, Pakura nodded, "I would like to officially challenge him to a Grudge Duel for the position of the Ruling Clan, as is my right according to the laws of Sunagakure because of his actions."
"Aww, shit." Mikumi grinned, "He really screwed up, didn't he? Not even Rasa could worm his way out of this! Not since this tradition was started by his very own family!" He almost jumped in excitement and glee. Finally, the arrogant bastard of a Kazekage would be out of his way! Finally, he will be able to make proper use of the Suna ninjas if Rasa was booted out of his office! "Of course, I will support you and organize it, Pakura! But..." His grin faltered, "you know you will need at least one clan from the Sunagakure to also recognize your grudge against the Sabaku family as proper."
"Ah, don't worry. We certainly have our ways." Pakura mischievously uttered. "I only wonder how pissed will Rasa be when he realizes I intend to take his family's power the exact same way as they obtained it."
And just like that... the Wind Daimyo was fully on board with their schemes, happy beyond belief to have an actual part in it, not really realizing he was, in fact, not getting more control over the Sunagakure with his actions.
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