Time swiftly passed, and soon, it had been a month since the meeting with the Daimyo's representative. Ren was growing quite restless, still waiting for the retaliation that Ebizo warned him about. But for some reason, it simply wasn't coming.
If Shido's goal was to make Ren paranoid, he was starting to succeed.
After that first meeting, Ren decided it was time for the Detective Clone-kun to strike again! He had sent a clone to Akito's residence to spy on Shido. If the man indeed wanted to cause trouble for him, then he wanted to know about it first. It was just a smart thing to do.
Unfortunately, he had miscalculated, and his clone had almost been caught by the samurai guards that were now crawling all around Akito's residence.
Ren really wasn't prepared for such an unexpected twist. Samurai, at least according to Hinata and Ino, after he asked them about it, apparently had their own techniques they developed to deal with ninjas.
They exist to deal with other samurai during a war between countries, which hadn't really happened for well over half a century for the stronger countries, and to protect their lords, usually, from ninjas.
They had some sort of sensory art that focused on detecting ninjas or something. Ren didn't know anything about it, and neither Ino nor Hinata actually had a proper understanding of what it really was, either. The most they could tell him about it was that it wasn't a ninjutsu.
Nevertheless, when his clone tried to sneak into the room where Akito and Shido were having their meeting, he was detected despite using Kamui. How? Who the hell knows! That wasn't supposed to happen. Obito did not have these problems when he infiltrated the Five Kage meeting!
Then again, Ren might call the effect of his intangibility seal 'Kamui', but that was a bad, smug habit from his days of cosplaying as Tobi. It really wasn't Mangekyo Sharingan Kamui, even if it looked really similar. Ren reckoned there were differences, and sadly, his technique came up short against the samurai.
His clone barely managed to avoid being seen as he hastily skedaddled out of the manor when the guarding samurai were roused into alarm and started sweeping it for his presence out of nowhere.
That made the following meetings and negotiations with Shido quite... colorful. At least, Temari claimed that. Ren wasn't invited to those, and Ebizo made sure to check he wasn't sneaking another shadow clone there.
According to her, Shido had changed his approach during their second meeting. He tried to play the 'Somebody tried to spy on me in your village!' card, but since his samurai did not apprehend nor did they see the culprit, it was quite hard to move Ebizo with this argument.
In the end, they agreed to disagree on the matter, and the meeting went nowhere. Again. Much to Shido's chagrin.
In the third meeting, Shido finally tried the soft approach, offering promises, concessions, and benefits. He even swayed several council members to his side, but Ebizo's faction stood firm and together, ensuring that no conclusion would be reached and no deal would be signed.
Fourth, fifth,... tenth meetings went along those lines, too, Akito working very hard to persuade his fellow council members, but Ebizo's grip on his political faction was just too tight. By the tenth meeting, it was obvious even to the biggest dunderheads on the council that no compromise would be reached, and Shido, who was getting increasingly more irritated as his attempts went nowhere, finally decided that enough was enough.
He made quite the show, throwing a massive tantrum in the council chambers, calling everybody there a thick-headed retard, before grumpily storming out of the room. Then he also stormed out of Sunagakure just a few hours later with his entourage.
That was a week ago.
And Ren was almost starting to think that Shido obediently accepted his defeat and would not be starting any trouble because of it... Except, it kind of didn't feel right?
Deep down, Ren didn't believe Shido was a person who would let bygones be bygones or who could lose graciously. Ren sighed and leaned back in his chair as he tried to think like a noble dipshit.
He asked himself, if he were in Shido's shoes, how would he make a nuisance out of himself in the worst way possible?
Cutting the village's budget? Nah. Too basic. Besides, it seemed the Daimyo was actually hesitating with that decision. The man was not quite as stupid as his actions would make people believe. He was simply fishing for a desired result, and when he didn't get it, he took a step back, returning to the status quo.
In the end, he didn't gain anything, but he also didn't lose anything. Ren imagined that now the Daimyo also knew Sunagakure's stance and could plot accordingly.
But that was not important right now.
Maybe he would increase the tariffs on goods coming to Suna? But no. That wouldn't have the desired effect. The village would simply start smuggling goods in storage scrolls, evading the tariffs altogether.
It wouldn't hurt them. Just push them to be sneakier than usual.
Military action was out of the question. Even if the Daimyo's samurai army won, it would weaken the Land of Wind so much that other countries might actually be tempted to take a bite out of its territories.
With a groan, Ren distractedly chewed the tip of the nail on his thumb with a frown on his face when two hands suddenly clasped his shoulders from behind.
"Still pondering about that worthless noble from the Land of Wind?" Ino, now standing behind his chair, exasperatedly asked as she started massaging his shoulders with her hands. "Just give it a rest already. It has been a month. He isn't going to do anything if he hasn't done it by now."
"Maybe you are right." Ren chuckled and leaned his head back, resting it against her stomach.
"You said the same thing the last time we were having this talk." Ino rolled her eyes at him, deliberately pushing her thumbs into his shoulder blades and making him straighten his back to an uncomfortable level. "And the time before that." Just for a moment, before she let go, easing the pressure. "Not to mention, the time before the time before that."
"I get it, alright." Ren exclaimed with a huff before muttering, "Geez, woman. A guy can't even brood in peace nowadays."
Ino giggled and stopped kneading his shoulders. She leaned forward, and her arms embraced him from behind until her head was next to Ren's. She affectionately put her cheek against his, "Brood all you want. It's sexy. But as your wife," Her tone became very pleased at that, "it is my duty to care for you." She turned her head and kissed Ren's cheek, making him involuntarily smile.
He inwardly sighed. Yeah. She was probably right. If Shido were going to retaliate, he would have already done it by now.
"Now," Ino continued in a chipper tone, "You have finally gotten a week off, and came back to Konoha to spend time with Hinata and me. So, no thinking about your Sunagakure woes." She finished admonishingly.
"Alright." Ren airily answered with a small snort before he turned his head toward Ino and pecked her right on the smug smirk on her lips.
Despite his worries, things in Suna were going exceptionally smoothly. The village was slowly starting to prosper, the underground farms began to show promise, the ninjas had more work prospects than they could fulfill, and even business was returning as the village's inhabitants grew richer.
Give it another half year, and Suna would become not only self-sufficient but also capable of generating income without having to rely on ninja-ing.
Because of this, Ren took two weeks of vacation time, packed his things, and went back to Konoha to visit Hinata and Ino. Yes, they saw each other at least three times a week, and sometimes, when they were not busy with their own duties, even every day of the week.
But it wasn't the same. Ren wanted to properly spend some time with them and re-live those cozy moments when it was just him, them, and his unimpressive apartment.
He kind of missed those peaceful moments.
Ino and Ren were suddenly attracted by the sound of the entrance door opening and turned their heads toward the hall. Soon enough, Hinata walked into the living room where they were located, looking gloomy and grim, with her red lips on her pale face stretched into a thin line while her fringe threw a shadow over her lavender eyes.
"Yo, bitch. Things didn't go well during the council meeting?" Ino casually asked, not really caring about the answer.
As the head of the Hyuga clan, Hinata was now one of the 'higher-ups'. And that meant she had to attend all those pesky clan head meetings and council meetings, and other political crap. Seeing her unhappy about something was nothing out of the ordinary for Ino. She seldom came back from those actually truly happy or satisfied with the result.
Instead of answering Ino, Hinata looked at Ren, causing Ino's expression to sharpen. Hinata not returning her playful banter with a half-hearted insult of her own showed that this was serious.
"We have a problem." Hinata gravely said, "Asada Kirio, the Iwa Daimyo's right-hand man and father-in-law, one of the most important nobles of the Land of Earth, had been assassinated. All evidence pointed to Konoha's involvement."
"Well, shit." Ino easily summed up Ren's thoughts for him while Hinata took a deep breath before continuing.
"But they managed to apprehend the culprits and... they were Suna shinobi."
Ino blinked, and as her lips involuntarily twitched in amusement, she turned her face toward Ren with disbelief etched into her expression, "I take it back. You were right to worry. Holy shit, this means war, doesn't it?"