AKSE conference room
"Lord Ren, we respect you. Your proposal for discounted tags through us is beneficial, too. But this plan of yours will force us to step on too many toes, I'm afraid. We understand your plight. But we can not help you."
The head of AKSE, Miyazaki Satoshi, was one greedy bastard. The moment I had said discount, I had him. I could see the glow in his eyes. What else could you expect from an organization that literally sold votes for benefits? But they had no choice. Small clan politics revolved around immediate concerns. They could not afford to think about the problem months or years in advance. But he was being cautious. And rightly so. He could not withstand retaliation like me.
"I understand your concerns, Miyazaki-dono. But I have enough votes to get to the refusal. You are my insurance. As for toes, you'll be stepping on some toes either way. My support is not just middling clans, you see. You understand that I can't tell you everything. But you should know that the Uchiha and the FAK will be voting for me among others."
Rule one of lobbying. Always look like the winning side. By name-dropping these two, I effectively made the fallout lessen for AKSE. The major clans will focus on other major powers first. Nobody is gonna care about the small ones. "Oh, in that case, Lord Ren. We will be happy to cooperate." He broke into a smile. But the job wasn't done yet.
Naming the Uchiha had eased them. But I could not let this get back to the Hokage.
"Good, Good Lord Satoshi. I'm glad we agree. But I just want to remind you of something."
The old men around the room leaned in closer. "I am taking the Kurokami by surprise. And I have more than ample guarantees from all other partners that they will not leak this. You guys are the only ones who can give me no assurances except your word. Just so you know, if you betray my confidence. Even as a simple official in the association. I will have more than a hundred masters at my command. Not enough to oppose anyone above or besides me. But enough to make the life of a few select people below me a nightmare."
This was true. And necessary. I would be defanged for big things. Even if we learn advanced seals. We would be too broken by then to rally by simple speeches or minor events unless I was willing to use the death trigger as my weapon. I was not. And I will never be. But they didn't know that.
The room froze. But not for long. "Of course, of course, Lord Ren. There is no need for such harshness. Until the vote. This agreement will not leave this room. In fact, if someone asks. We'll say we rejected your proposal."
Good Enough. It gave them plausible deniability if things went south before the vote. And I couldn't argue their logic. But now I could be sure they saw me as a threat to be wary of. Thus, they won't sell this information unless pressured. And the Hokage was hopefully still not aware of the Uchiha and the capital play.
I had asked a few from the Summer legion to use the transformation and parade around as Haruto and Emiko. It was a flimsy disguise. But I wasn't afraid of the Daimyo deal discovery. It was the Uchiha. If they knew we had them behind us. They'll take us seriously and start making moves. We couldn't have that.
As I exited, I found Raya and Hina waiting for me. They didn't say anything. But I saw the question in their eyes.
"We have a deal."
-----
The next four days of mine were spent meeting several middling clan heads. But the outcome wasn't favorable. My motivated clan made tags as fast as it could. But we simply could not afford the amount of bribes they wanted. I was increasingly dreading my entry into the faction politics. They would force chains I did not want to wear. But my options were failing fast. I had not used the Uchiha card after AKSE. 1 vote clans weren't worth the risk. I knew not all of them would agree. And in that case, the Uchiha card will be out.
But good news came on the 4th day when the head of the FAK showed up at my door. It appears Lady Hana will be taking another trip to Konoha soon. And this time, she'll bring a lot more of her clothes than last time.
But I still didn't have enough votes. It appears the faction politics need me.
------
The Shiranui were out of the question. They were too close to the bureaucracy that was under the Hokage faction's control. Plus, I couldn't offer them any significant benefits as they were military-focused. I had no special jutsus nor training resources that I could offer. Their bribe would be chakra weapons that I couldn't afford. My only option was to play the Gekko faction against the Hinote-Jiban faction. Plus, the Gekko clan used to be a good client.
But before that. I needed more cred. And a very dangerous idea had crept into my mind.
Even if they agreed. I would still be 3-4 votes shy. And I knew exactly who would bet on such long shots like me. People who had too less to lose and too much to gain.
The meeting place was a secluded clearing in the forest. I had snuck out as carefully as I could. It was time to use my personal connections now. The Aburame could not be used. Sensei had not been very influential to begin with. And had lost what little he had with his hand. Inuzuka was friendly. But not friendly enough to vote for me. That left the Hyuga. Yes, that Hyuga.
The main branch allowed the side branches a few freedoms to maintain stability and goodwill. One of them was allowing votes other than neutral on simple matters in exchange for benefits from the other clans. For me, this was life or death for my political power. For them, it was something that did not concern them at all. So the main house will not stop the branches. And I knew just the right hook for the branches.