[Kamui Marecage, Pseudo-Otogakure, Otokage Tower]
The air hummed with tension as Danzo surveyed the six clan leaders.
Behind him, Harumi's two-tailed chakra simmered like blue embers, and Hiroto's silent bells hung like coiled threats.
The clan leaders knelt on reed mats. The Fuma's patriarch gripping a shuriken-patterned sash, Hagamoro's elder cloaked in water-laced robes, Engetsu's matriarch trembling at the aura released by Danzo and Harumi. The other clan leaders were no better.
The Shimura clan was known for its great deeds. It was one of the founding clans of Konohagakure, and its achievements against Iwagakure during the second shinobi war were known throughout the continent. The stone titan was a legend after all.
As for Danzo, he was someone who had stolen the salamander from Hanzo the Salamander. Ibuze was caged next to the main entrance of Otogakure, for everyone to see, its poisonous fog creating a deadly portal to the Kamui Marecage, refusing entry to anyone lacking the antidote. For the clan leaders, it was a gamble, for they accepted the poison and prayed for the antidote to be given to them upon showing trust and loyalty.
Danzo's voice echoed throughout the bone and reed chamber: "Welcome to Otogakure. You seek shelter. Strength. Purpose. Here, you will find all three—if you kneel to its laws."
The Yashiro puppeteer, her fingers twitching over sealed scrolls, dared to speak:"And what laws bind us, Otokage? We are no beggars. Our techniques-"
"—Are relics. Suna's puppets outpace yours. The Fuma's shuriken arts? Outmoded by Konoha's shadow shurikenjutsu. The Engetsu's moon blades?" He smirked. "A pretty trick, useless under noon sun"
The Engetsu envoy flushed, lunar tattoos pulsing.
"But Otogakure refines relics. We offer you the Kamui Marecage—a fortress-city to call your own. Resources. Missions. Protection from the villages that cast you out. As for retaliation from Kumo or another hidden village? Believe me, Engetsu matriarch, even the Raikage fears our powers."
The Supaida Clan leader's face was unreadable. His six arms folded, traces of intense training and battling evident from his scars and white fists, venom dripping from his exposed fangs: "At what cost? Do you think we did not notice the seal you inflicted onto your clan members? Everyone knows that you control your subordinates...As well as your wife. These are no seals. They are chains"
Harumi's laugh slithered through the room. A scroll unfurled in her hand—Hanzo's severed arm, still clutching its poison scythe.
"Chains? No. Insurance. The Shimura Cursed Seal ensures loyalty. Betray us, and your chakra dissolves. Speak secrets, and your tongue rots. A small price… for survival"
"We are not cattle to brand! Our jutsu—"
"—Will be elevated. Imagine your water dragons fused with sound vibrations. Your moon blades sharpened by wind release. Otogakure does not discard—it evolves. It does not control you from seals, it only controls the information leaking and stops its flow"
Danzo raised a hand. A map of the marsh flared to life—surface huts marked "Outer Circle," subterranean networks labeled "Inner Sanctums."
"You will dwell here, in the light. Fight here. Accumulate glory from other country's noblemen and merchants. The world will see your faces, your banners… while we grow in the shadows. Fail us, and the marsh swallows your clans. Serve us, and you will taste power your ancestors never dreamed."
"So be it, Shimura Patriarch", the Sori patriarch finally broke out of his silence, his familiar face deeply embedded in Danzo's inherited memories, "You have not changed a bit, Danzo-kun. Ever since you were a child, you possessed this grand ambition. It seems like you finally put it to use and broke free from Konoha's will of fire"
Eiji stepped forward, syringe glinting. The Engetsu matriarch gasped as the Chakra Supplement Injection entered her blood stream. Moon tattoos blazed—her aura growing shaper by the second
"This… this power…!"
"Otogakure's science transcends nature. Our seals tame tailed beasts. Our serums rewrite fate. Join us, and your clans will rise. Since I revealed this treasure, you have to submit, along with the rest of your clansmen. Wealth, power, security...I can promise you all of that. In exchange, I demand obedience and order"
Silence.
The Sori patriarch knelt first, his katana sheathed in front of him. One by one, the others followed—even the Fuma patriarch, clutching his shuriken sash.
Byakuro moved forward, his hands revealing six scrolls on which the Shimura's crest was visible to all. Using roughly a hundred hand signs, the Shimura Keyword Curse Seal [A] appeared on the neck of the Sori's patriarch. The side effects were small, but the benefits immense.
Danzo continued: "Remember: You are the mask. We are the blade. Together, Otogakure can become the strongest village in the continent"
As the leaders departed, Harumi whispered: "Will they obey?"
"They are only humans. The old leaders seek stability and lack the courage to stand up to us. The difference in power is too wide for them to attempt anything. Who was the strongest among them?"
Harumi nodded: "The Sori patriarch...and maybe the Engetsu matriarch were slightly dangerous...But even they can only be categorized as peak elite jonins. Yukiko could deal with them with ease"
Danzo smiled: "Exactly. For this exact reason, they will obey, they will be our eyes and ears. In the meantime, the academy will serve to bind the spirits of their youths. Boku selected a couple dozens of Shimura retired shinobi to carve the values of Otogakure in their descendants. In one generation, these clans will be Otogakure in flesh and soul. Anyway, the curse seal binds their tongue so we don't risk anything"
The marsh swallowed the clans' vows.
The game continued.