"A marriage alliance?"
Uchiha Makoto repeated it aloud.
Such alliances were nothing unusual in the shinobi world—practically commonplace.
Daimyo and nobles loved to use marriage to strengthen ties, ease conflicts, and bind interests. Shinobi were no different. The present closeness of the Senju and the Uzumaki was itself the product of marriage.
Though Uzumaki Mito lived like a long-suffering wife, she was undeniably the Senju clan's rightful matriarch and Konoha's legitimate Hokage's wife.
Given the current situation,
if the Uzumaki were to forge an alliance with Akatsuki as intimate as their bond with Konoha, the best way was through marriage.
It would benefit both sides.
"If Lord Light Shadow will agree to a marriage with the Uzumaki, our clan is willing to swear a blood alliance with Akatsuki—life and death together."
Uzumaki Shinji's words carried weight.
Though Uzu stood in a weaker position, even a battered ship still has thousands of nails. The Uzumaki's strength could not be underestimated, and Makoto believed they would truly lend a hand at critical moments, as proven in the original history.
"In that case, I've no reason to refuse. Thank you for the Uzumaki's trust. I'll invite the Land of Fire's daimyo to officiate in person. I'll have people prepare the bride price at once—we won't disappoint you. It will be a grand wedding."
Makoto accepted readily. As the head of a village, for the village's future, it was both duty and responsibility.
"That is excellent…"
Joy overflowed on Shinji's face. He glanced fondly at the girl beside him—Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku—then gently guided her to stand next to Makoto.
"Tsubaki Shizuku, from this day you are the wife of Lord Light Shadow. Do nothing to bring shame on the Uzumaki."
The little tigress who had been baring her teeth a moment ago nodded silently, as if she had long known this would happen. Makoto looked her up and down.
Her skin was fair, youthful and bright, the high ponytail of red hair eye-catching. Noticing his gaze, she grew flustered and looked around nervously. Even if this was a loveless political marriage, she wasn't exactly getting the worst of it.
After letting his eyes rest on her a moment,
Makoto brought the topic back.
He began to discuss the bride price with Shinji. It was, in truth, financial aid under another name, but he would not be stingy here. The Uzumaki needed to know which village truly deserved their trust.
The simplest and quickest way to test sincerity is to see whether someone will spend for you. If they won't spend a coin, what sincerity is that?
It sounds like sophistry,
but in practice it's telling.
He wanted the Uzumaki to feel that Konoha was only an ally on paper.
And in the original course of events, Konoha had indeed been just that—an ally unmoved when friends were in trouble, who afterward took over the Uzumaki's entire inheritance, and didn't even bother to search for the scattered orphans.
Uzumaki Nagato drifted in Amegakure with no one watching over him. Jiraiya feared that once Nagato's Rinnegan was exposed, ill-willed people in Konoha would covet it and bring disaster—that fear was at least understandable.
But take Uzumaki Karin: she even came to Konoha with Grass shinobi to take the Chūnin Exams—obvious red hair, name and all. Konoha clearly knew, and did nothing.
There were many other Uzumaki who never appeared in the anime.
From start to finish Konoha kept only one Uzumaki—Uzumaki Kushina—and that was to make her the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. To the Konoha leadership, she wasn't a person, but a weapon of war.
Kushina was "fortunate" to meet Minato Namikaze, the little sun. The elders were happy to push Minato to court her. A personal bit of conjecture: the "hero saves the beauty" tale is too fishy—Kumo's carefully planned kidnapping slips past Uzumaki Mito and the ANBU, and just Minato rushes in? Too convenient, feels like bait. One person's opinion for fun—don't take it too seriously.
Such a surface-level ally isn't worth having.
…
"36.8 billion ryō."
"I like the sound of that number."
"We'll make that Tsubaki Shizuku's bride price."
After a moment's thought, Makoto decided to win hearts with a sky-high dowry.
"Truly?!"
Shinji's voice trembled. His knees nearly gave out; it was a good thing he was sitting, or he might have knelt on the spot.
He hadn't expected Makoto to give so much at once. He'd thought that five or six billion—ten at most—would already be an astronomical grant. Makoto's openness proved he was treating the Uzumaki as true allies.
Delight lit Shinji's face. This son-in-law of the Uzumaki was generous indeed.
Compared to the Senju,
how shabby—far too shabby.
He still brooded over the Senju's "betrayal" when Konoha was founded. People are like that—more easily moved by sudden kindness from outsiders, and this kindness was worth 36.8 billion ryō.
Who wouldn't be dazzled?
Money really is a championship.
Beside him, Tsubaki Shizuku covered her mouth in surprise, then began solemnly counting on her fingers: ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands, hundred-thousands, millions, ten-millions, hundred-millions, billions, ten-billions… Both hands finished and she had only just reached ten billion.
Her eyes gleamed with dazzling light as she stared at Makoto. She had been uneasy about a political marriage with someone she'd never met, with no foundation of feeling.
What if Makoto was a bad man?
They said the Uchiha…
had nasty tempers.
Men fear the wrong trade; women fear the wrong husband. This concerned Tsubaki Shizuku's lifelong happiness, but for the Uzumaki's future, she could only sacrifice.
Now, though, she felt much more at ease.
Even if this was aid to the Uzumaki, it was given in the name of her bride price. Girls are sentimental and prone to imagining—perhaps Makoto was doing it just for her.
Love at first sight?
She knew that was naïve, but it was hard not to think so.
Because…
what if?
Favorability +3 +3 +3 +3 +3…
"Of course it's true."
"A word from the Light Shadow cannot be taken back."
"This is not only Akatsuki's sincerity in swearing a blood alliance with the Uzumaki, it is also my resolve to marry Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku."
As Makoto spoke, he watched Tsubaki Shizuku from the corner of his eye.
The effect was obvious.
Silent charm—terrifyingly effective.
"Let's raise a great cup!"
"Since there's no wine, Lord Light Shadow, we'll use tea instead."
"Uzumaki and Akatsuki—life and death together!"
Shinji, shaken with emotion, drained the bowl of tea before him, then, still unsatisfied, poured a cup for Makoto and one for Tsubaki Shizuku.
"A cross-cup toast!"
"Tsubaki, take the initiative—that's your husband. What are you shy about?"
Blushing scarlet and bashful, Tsubaki Shizuku picked up her cup. Makoto had no choice but to lift his as well. He thought Shinji had truly thrown away his face for money—what a show.
They drained the tea.
Then a thought struck Makoto, and he said to Shinji:
"Only, about the 36.8 billion ryō—I hope that within Akatsuki, and within your Uzumaki, we handle this low-key for now. But toward Konoha we must publicize it grandly."
A wicked idea had just bloomed.
In minutes,
he had already composed a richly suggestive little essay.
The Konoha-exclusive edition of New Ninja.
On sky-high dowries and female independence.
"In the Warring States era, kunoichi were timid and bound to the home. That's past. This is the era of ninja villages. Sisters, we must be independent. Awaken. Open our eyes to the world."
"Konoha's systemic oppression and discrimination against women is utterly vile—male-gaze everywhere."
"Unite, and speak for women."
"Don't talk to me about anything else—we're on different planes and cannot communicate. I will always, without principle or bottom line, stand with my own gender and my own interests."
Such rhetoric had to bombard Konoha's women constantly—teaching them to demand high dowries, freedom and independence, emotional value, and so on.
Let it ferment, little by little, until the First Shinobi World War lit the fuse.
That war would be a meat grinder with sky-high mortality. The Konoha kunoichi and women, brainwashed by mindless essays, would mostly hide in the rear. Across Konoha—and the shinobi world—women on the front lines would still be a minority.
There was another custom, an old habit handed down from the previous "version" of life in this world: in the shinobi world, women generally managed the home, men worked outside, and men handed their earnings to the women to manage, taking an allowance, while the women kept the household books in perfect order.
Even Senju Hashirama was like that.
It was a harmonious arrangement.
Women, for physical reasons, did not have to suffer the hardships outside. Men could face the storms with an easy mind, not distracted by other worries.
But
the version had changed.
Those Konoha kunoichi, poisoned by the essays, were hiding far in the rear. At that moment, Akatsuki could push a campaign in Konoha about independent heroine entrepreneurs, launching a shinobi-world White Feather movement.
In wartime,
high shinobi mortality and hefty death benefits would stir greed.
Who would reach for that money?
Hard to guess, isn't it.
Akatsuki only needed to keep touting its own shinobi's superiority, using financial and economic advantages to crush Konoha at a lower dimension.
"You Konoha scumbag shinobi, how do you compare to Akatsuki's?"
"Dowry?"
"Sorry, Akatsuki doesn't have that custom. It's a free, open, civilized place—we have to do as the locals do."
"How could that be the same?"
"The air in Akatsuki is fresher and sweeter. What's this, blockheads getting smelly again? The moon over Akatsuki is rounder than Konoha's."
Just imagining it made Makoto itch with excitement.
He couldn't wait.
Akatsuki's ideological line already bore his brand:
Loyalty.
Offer loyalty to Lord Light Shadow.
For Lord Light Shadow—give everything. Hurrah!
"Publicizing it in Konoha, of course. But why keep it low-key inside Akatsuki and within the Uzumaki?"
Shinji was puzzled.
He understood the value of trumpeting the 36.8 billion bride price in Konoha.
He wanted the Uzumaki to hold their heads high there—what Konoha didn't cherish, Akatsuki could gift with 36.8 billion in aid. Let Konoha regret it.
This was the Uzumaki's worth.
We are worthy.
A hard-to-describe thrill welled up in him.
But why be low-key between allies? Shouldn't they announce it loudly to showcase the bond?
"First, wealth shouldn't be flaunted. Konoha is an ally to us both; publicizing there is fine—they won't attack us anyway. But on our side we must be discreet. That's the prudence a shinobi village should have."
"Second, I don't want outsiders to think the bond between Akatsuki and the Uzumaki is mere wine-and-meat friendship bought with money. We are true allies, a blood alliance that will draw blades for each other at critical moments."
Makoto spoke with heartfelt, righteous conviction.
In truth, he was spinning nonsense.
He could never voice his real thoughts—things he wouldn't dare write even in his own diary.
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