Atakichi clenched his fist, ready to agree for his clansmen, for his people, when Fushida suddenly yelled out, "No, even if you promise us the world, we aren't selling the Netsudoku clan! Our family died with the name Netsudoku, we aren't gonna forget their sacrifices."
Atakichi looked at his daughter, "Fushida…"
Angry at her father's weakness, she slammed the table, "Have you forgotten, Father?! Have you forgotten the sacrifices Mother gave to this clan?! Have you forgotten the death of Grandfather?! Let me remind you! He fought to keep the name Netsudoku!"
The Netsudoku clan members were rekindled by her speech.
"That's right! My brother died for this name!"
"We have a proud history!"
"We aren't lesser than you!"
Cries roared, causing Fuji to frown, "Rethink this… It's an opportunity."
Taro smiled and stopped Fuji, "Enough, Elder Fuji. Did I not say earlier that this won't work?" He looked at the yelling clansmen, "Pride is something hard to change, after all."
Hearing the proud roar of his clansmen, Atakichi couldn't help but smile, "I'm sorry, but we can't accept this deal."
Taro nodded, "I expected as much." He paused and straightened up, "Now. I want to speak with all of you, not as a representative of the Hosai clan, but as Taro, a boy with a dream."
Atakichi raised an eyebrow and looked at Fuji for confirmation, but Fuji suddenly spoke, "W-What? Taro, the clan has already made contingencies for everything."
Taro ignored Fuji and the others, and only paid attention to what Atakichi would say.
"Fine. What is it, Taro? What do you want? What's this dream of yours?" asked Atakichi.
Taro opened his arms wide, "It's simple, I want peace."
Fushida scoffed, "Don't we all?"
Taro smiled, "I want to create a village, where the young don't have to worry about war or conflicts. I want a village where the Land of Wind works together, not against each other. With the little resources we have, should we really be fighting?"
"So, you want a unification of all clans in the Land of Wind? That's a bold plan. And to achieve this plan of yours, you would need power." Fushida looked Taro up and down, "From the looks of it, you lack this power."
Taro shook his head, "Power isn't only found in individual strength." He looked around and made eye contact with every ninja in the room, "That's why I need everyone here. I need your strength. I'm weak, but aren't we all? We live no better than dogs, only waiting for the Daimyo to feed us like we're animals."
Taro stood up, "Don't you all want to see it?! See the future of what we, the Land of Wind, can accomplish?!"
The use of Land of Wind, instead of the name of their respected clans, sparked a patriotic emotion in all ninja hearts. Not once had they thought of themselves as people from the Land of Wind, but from their clans.
Taro took a deep breath and continued, "Unlike my clan, I'm not asking you to be conquered. I'm asking you to shape the future of the Land of Wind with me and all those who join us!"
A moment of silence fell throughout the room. Then suddenly, Taro bowed, "After all, I'm just a boy, a boy with a naive dream. So please, help me accomplish this dream."
The silence continued and Taro thought it was over. But then Atakichi's voice cut through the silence, "Your dream… I want to see it."
Taro looked up and saw the genuine smile of Atakichi and the other Netsudoku clan members.
"I want to be part of this dream of yours, not as a dog who's bound by the Hosai clan, but as an equal," said Atakichi.
Taro smiled, "You've always been equal. We all are."
While Taro negotiated with the Netsudoku clan, he didn't see the gleaming eyes of the two elders behind him.
With tears in his eyes, Fuji murmured, "So… Is this your dream too, Taro?"
Besides Fuji, Nori watched Taro's eyes with wide eyes, "A Land of Wind that's united… I wonder, can it really be achieved?"
As the deal was finalized, Taro shook Atakichi's hand, "It has been a pleasure, Mr. Atakichi."
Atakichi chuckled at the small hands, "The pleasure is all mine."
When the handshaking stopped, Fuji celebrated, "If that's everything, then would you mind allowing my ninjas to enter? They have the food that we agreed upon."
Remembering the food, all the clansmen began moving frantically, with one of the elders saying, "Yes, yes, yes! Let them in!"
All were excited for the food, all except Fushida.
She walked up to Taro and asked, "Is uh… that weapon you talked about earlier, is it still available?"
Taro chuckled, "Yeah, it's in one of the wagons. If you ask the leading ninja, he'll give it to you. Make sure to tell him I gave the orders."
Fushida squealed in excitement and dashed out.
The sword Taro was giving her was one of the items he enchanted yesterday. The enchantment of that weapon was one of the strongest ones and was the third most expensive enchantment.
It had two enchantments, the first being called "Weight Exchange." Every time the user strikes another person's weapon, that weapon becomes heavier and the user's sword becomes lighter. The same goes for people too. Once a cut is inflicted, the wounded's weight would increase.
The second enchantment is called the Curse of Vanishing. Once the user dies, the item would disappear. It's the main reason why he was giving the sword to someone outside of his clan.
"That reminds me. I need to find a villager so I can buy more Curse of Vanishing. I don't want people outside of our village to get their hands on them," Taro thought to himself.
As the meeting concluded, similar things were happening with the Hoki clan. Mashiro sent out two elders with Nao as the representative, a request asked by Taro.
Taro had already told Nao what to say, and Nao agreed without any hesitation.
Suffice to say, the meeting with the Hoki clan went smoothly. They too didn't want to get rid of their history and their name, and so Nao spoke as the representative of Taro, not the clan.
At the end of the day, the two groups returned back to the clan, with all respective elders sending their report to the clan patriarch.
Mashiro laughed as he read the reports, "So… Little Taro is building up his power, just like that brat Kise."
Elder Doken from the side chuckled, "He's doing it differently from Kise."
Mashiro nodded, "Yes. Kise built his power from within the clan with an iron fist. While Taro is building an army of alliance with this dream of his…" He paused and asked Doken, "Do you think he can achieve this dream?"
Doken spoke, "With everything he has already accomplished at the age of five, his future seems to be unlimited. I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to conquer the world."
Mashiro smiled, "Right."
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We made it to top 88, thank you all!!!
Let's keep it up and try to reach top 50 in powerstones!