Chapter 72 - Hokage's Neutrality.
The bear came. "You are requested in the Hokage's office immediately."
By the time I arrived, the sun had barely touched the roofs of the Administrative Hall. The air smelled faintly of ink and politics — both equally heavy things.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, pipe unlit, which was never a good sign. Beside him stood Homura and Koharu, both with that familiar expression that said, We told you so, long before the words left their mouths.
"Ren," the Hokage greeted, not unkindly. "Sit."
I bowed and took the chair across from him. The moment my cloak brushed the seat, Homura spoke.
"Kurosawa-san, do you understand the position you've put this village in?"
A formal address. I had things to say to him. Things I wanted him to say. But we ignored that heavy pall.
I tilted my head slightly. "You'll have to be more specific. I've put the village in a lot of positions lately."
Hiruzen sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Your supply disruptions. The merchants. The accusations of coercion from the border patrol units you've been sending outside Fire Country jurisdiction."
Ah, so they'd found out about that.
"I'm aware," I said evenly. "But we were cut off from essential supplies by the same clans who serve under this very council's trade regulation system. I merely… adjusted my operations to survive."
Koharu's eyes sharpened. "Adjusted? You violated restrictions, dispatched shinobi to foreign lands without approval, and disrupted the balance of the village's economy. This isn't an adjustment, Kurosawa — it's insubordination."
I met her glare. "And if the system is strangling us, should I bow and thank it for the rope?"
The silence after that was long — heavy enough to feel the ticking of the office clock.
Hiruzen finally broke it. "You've always been forthright, Ren. I respect that. But this—" He gestured toward the reports on his desk. "—this is unsustainable. You've gone from innovative to volatile. The Kurokami are pushing for sanctions against you. The Association claims you're destabilizing Konoha's Fuinjutsu market. The Inuzuka, the Akimichi, even the Nara have expressed concern."
"All clans that benefit from the Association," I said dryly.
Homura's jaw tightened. "You're not helping your case."
"I'm not trying to destabilize anything, and you know it. I even agreed to enter the association on the first day. But what they want is submission. For us to become their lackeys and nothing more. I even agreed to the marriage. But they want surveillance and internal discord. You know it."
Hiruzen leaned forward, elbows on the desk. His tone was gentler. "Ren. I understand the frustration. You've built something incredible in six years. But there's a line between independence and isolation. You can't fight every clan at once. I had told you that day in my office, Ren. The consequences of your choice. That time it wasn't made public, so it didn't affect you. But by moving against Danzo. You made the rift public. Now the price has come knocking. And you have to make the sacrifice."
His voice finally showed emotion.
"You aren't wrong. But this is for the greater good."
"It is not, and you know it. I was right that day, I am right today. And you know it. I refuse to bow to those who would treat us as servants.."
"I'm not fighting them," I said. "They declared war the day they locked me out of the markets."
Koharu scoffed. "And your answer was to smuggle tags through Lightning Country traders and sell to minor lords under the table?"
"Smuggling is a harsh word," I said. "Besides, the sales were all legal. My shinobi's movements were a suggestion from you. A suggestion can be disregarded."
Homura slammed his palm on the desk. "This isn't a joke!"
"Neither is survival," I replied quietly. "You've all seen the reports. The Kurosawa Clan's research is the backbone of half the field operations in the last three years. Our medical tags, our detection seals, our barrier inks. The Association strangled that to control prices. You let them because it kept things stable."
"Stability," Hiruzen murmured. "Yes. That's what this is about."
I looked up at him. "You mean suppression."
The Hokage didn't answer immediately. His gaze drifted to the window — to the village beyond, bathed in morning light.
Finally, he said, "You're not wrong."
That was the worst part — that quiet honesty in his voice.
Then he stood, pipe still cold in his hand. "Ren, you've left me no choice. Effective immediately, your clan's authorization for large-scale seal exports is suspended. You may continue internal operations and approved missions only. All foreign contracts are to be terminated."
I felt the world still for a moment. That was a death sentence — slow and polite, wrapped in official phrasing.
"And in return?" I asked, voice calm but low.
"This is not a negotiation, Ren," Hiruzen said.
Homura added sharply, "And if you don't stop buying from foreign markets,"
"Then you will be considered an economic insurgent," Koharu finished. "A threat to the internal security of Konoha."
Koharu's voice went cold as ice. "If you refuse, Kurosawa, understand the law will not be idle. The Association and the council will open an inquiry. If you withhold tribute or defy sanctions, we will prosecute you under the statutes for economic subversion. That is not an idle threat — it becomes a matter of internal security for Konoha."
Homura leaned forward, eyes narrow. "We can draft the charges by dusk. Asset seizure, embargo, and arrest warrants for anyone who facilitates your foreign trade. We will enforce it through the council and the Jonin Commander. The law is not neutral here — it protects the village. Use it against us, and the village will answer."
I stared at them for a long moment. Then I stood.
"My loyalty is to Konoha," I said. "Always has been. But loyalty doesn't mean obedience. Not when obedience means death."
Hiruzen's eyes softened, but he didn't speak.
I countered then, my voice low and steady. "In that case, my agreement to supply the Association — the tribute, the registrations, everything — is void. If you will use the law to prosecute me when I cannot buy paper or ink, then I cannot honor an agreement that is impossible to fulfill."
"You cannot do that, Ren," Homura said bluntly. "You signed the memorandum. The village expects compliance."
"I cannot make tags or continue research without supplies," I shot back. "How am I supposed to fulfill tribute when your own chosen clans have frozen our suppliers? I promised tribute for protection — not for strangulation. Protection you do not give."
Silence fell like a mantle. Hiruzen's face was unreadable; Koharu's mouth was a line. Homura's hand tightened on the folder of papers in front of him. This was the ploy. They had made sure that I had no way out. Without supplies, I can't make them their tags. I would be prosecuted. The clan will dissolve and be absorbed into the leaf.
I turned toward the door, pausing only once. "You said stability, Hokage-sama. But sometimes, to make something stable, you have to burn the weak beams first."
And then I left.
Outside, the wind had picked up — sharp and cold, carrying the scent of rain and ink. A storm was coming. For the first time, I wasn't sure I wanted to stop it.