It made sense for him to intervene, though. He was duty-bound to both the Hokage and the Daimyo. This must be a nightmare for him. In the anime, he had stayed silent for it was him under attack. A samurai may or may not defend himself. But he will always defend his liege.
Although the other Hatake elders didn't seem to be pleased with all this.
I was willing to take the truce. I was politically strong now. But I did not have real strength. Which made me vulnerable. This state of chaos won't last long enough for me to create the SS tag. But the Hokage did not want to do damage control for months. Especially since more chaos was allowing the Daimyo more power.
"You want a deal, then tell them to treat me right. Otherwise, I am perfectly fine with the way things are."
Danzo began to speak, but Hiruzen cut him off.
"We are here to talk peace. Let's not heat this up."
I scoffed. "Even if we reach some agreement. What the hell are the guarantees?"
The Hokage gestured to the Kurokami. "A political marriage."
I looked at him like he was an idiot. "And what makes you think I am any more amenable to marrying that Kaina than I was before the Vote?"
This caused the Kurokami to squirm. Especially Rei. He was still glaring, though.
"Not Kaina, Lady Shiori."
"I still do not understand why I should agree to marry into a nest of vipers while leaving behind the honorable Lady Hana, who has been nothing but sweet to me. And one more thing, why do you expect me to sacrifice again when it is you who wants peace?"
I was a bit confused. If this was his game, why ask for Hana's presence?
"She will take up as your first wife while Lady Hana will be second."
Now Hana spoke up. "Forgive me, Lord Third, but a middling shinobi clan hardly seems a worthier ally than the Royal House of Fire."
Huh? Oh, right, damnit. This wasn't Earth anymore. And royal families here have a four wife system exactly for alliance purposes. That's why she hadn't said anything before. But even if it was allowed, I didn't want this. Not because of any principles. What man doesn't want multiple wives? But we had been fighting so long that there was too much bad blood between us now. Shiori definitely hates me. This will not work at all.
"My daughter will not be a second wife!" Naotora bellowed.
"She won't be my wife at all. I understand what you are trying to do, but this is not that time anymore. When I was prepared to accept Shiori, we had no bad blood amongst us. Our clans absolutely hate each other now. The only way I accept her now is with a Yami. And I am sure they are not going to agree to that at all. Now she is worse than surveillance that Yozora was. She is a damn sabotaging spy."
There were several shouts around the table, but the Hokage silenced them all by banging the table.
"Lord Third. We are no longer prepared for the marriage contract. Let us have a truce of Honor alone." Shiori spat out venom.
A truce of honor. What a joke! It basically means a temporary ceasefire until one of us gets an opportunity again. It should last about a year. But the Hokage was fine with that too. He needed the reprieve.
"If a fool does not understand the value of a diamond, let him wear dirt!'
Huh, I guess my refusal had bruised his personal ego, too.
"Fine. Let's speak plainly now. I want my peace. State your terms."
Now came the trick. I knew this all was temporary. It was a truce, not peace. The political upheaval had given me the strength to punch above my weight. But if I punched too high. It will cost me later. If I punched too low, they won't reel back enough to give me the time that I need to prepare.
"Fine.
First, you free me from the contract of tribute I gave the village."
"As a clan of Konoha, you have to give tribute to the village."
"You gain enough from the taxes I give. Just like all other clans, I will pay the taxes according to the general law. That contract was a gesture of goodwill for the protection you gave me. That protection expired a long while ago."
He huffed but nodded. "Fine, agreed."
"Second, the board gets dissolved."
"Impossible."
I knew it.
"Then free us from its control. No inspections, no nothing. Only tax."
"You ask too much, Ren."
"I don't trust you anymore. I will need this all in the Public Contract. You have exploited my goodwill before."
Hiruzen shrugged again. I guess this much was expected. The whole fiasco was for control anyway.
"The board takes public responsibility for stealing credit and apologizes. We are issued compensations for sabotage and proper honors for all the works that were stolen from us over the years."
The Kurokami wanted to object, but the Hokage cut them off here.
"Reasonable. Agreed."
"Someone has to take public responsibility for the rumors."
"What do you mean?"
"One of your advisors has to publicly apologize and take responsibility for the rumors. Surrounding our clan."
Now I had hurt them. "Impossible. That will cause even more destabilization!"
I burst into rage.
"Have you ever wondered what it feels like when people spit on you as you pass! Has anyone tried to hide their children when you approached? Has anyone called you a devilspawn behind your back? Has anyone vandalized your walls with curses? You know nothing of our suffering. Do you know how hard it is for my summer legion to labor for free treatments, as the patients scold them instead of praising them? How hard it is to carry out missions when the issuer considers you as much of a blight as the bandits he asks you to fight? No, you do not!"
I paused for breath. And slammed the table.
"If this is impossible. Then so is this truce."
The Hokage was on the back foot again.
I moved forward and struck harder. "And not just for our clan, he will have to take responsibility for the baseless rumors around the Hatake clan too."
The Hatake eyes had fire now. Sakumo just looked uncomfortable. The Hokage, seeing the deteriorating situation, put a stop to it. He did not want this particular line of thought to become a big thing.
If the marriage agreement had gone through, He might have hesitated. Marriage would have meant long-term peace instead of a temporary truce. But since the battle was paused instead of ended. He chose to take a temporary setback.
"Fine, Danzo will take responsibility for the rumors surrounding your clan. But we know nothing of any rumors surrounding the Hatake."
Translation. I will let you go. But Hatake directly corresponds to the Daimyo for now. I can't let their influence grow.
I nodded. The Hatake were miffed, but they were here as mediators, not participants. But it did earn me a nod of recognition. I had tried. And they appreciated it.
"Agreed. In that case, as soon as the paperwork regarding the contract dissolution is made public and Lord Danzo and the Board set the record straight with the public. You'll have your truce."
And just like that. The game was put on hold.