Chapter 77 - Waking up
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed wasn't pain. It was the silence.
The peaceful kind. The kind that comes after a storm has long passed,
My body felt heavy, like it had been soaked in lead. The faint hum of sealing formations pulsed under my skin. The familiar rhythm of the clan infirmary—monitor seals on the wall, a cooling array humming faintly beside the bed, the soft rustle of paper charms on the ceiling.
But something was wrong. The air smelled… sterile. Too clean. No scent of burnt metal or ink. No chatter of apprentices. No footsteps of night-shift medics moving between wards. This was not post-disaster management.
Just silence.
"How long?" I asked hoarsely, my voice rasping like sandpaper.
Emiko was sitting by the door, a stack of reports in her lap. She looked up sharply, and for a moment, I saw both relief and fear flash through her eyes.
"You're awake!"
"Yes"
"You're really awake!"
"Yes!"
She jumped onto me and hugged me tightly. Making the pain in my ribs flare. Hearing me grunt, she sat back.
"Don't leave us ever again!"
"I'll try my best."
The Lotus leaf squad appeared. Hina, Raya, Emi, and Nene. This was gonna be a long day.
------
First, I received a hearty welcome and then a brief report.
I had missed a lot, apparently.
Using my failed experiment as an excuse. They had demonized our clan from mere rumors. And using my inability to take action. A week ago, a Fuinjutsu Board had been officially established.
"They formed a Fuinjutsu Board," Hina said quietly.
"A what?"
"Official thing. The Hokage's chairing it. They say it's for safety."
I stared at her. Safety, my ass.
The association had been a private enterprise with no official control. But now, as the acting Chairman, the Hokage had been given power. And vice versa, by having him on board. The association had power. For now, it was quite simple. Not many regulations. Only things like mandatory registration of active clan members. Regulated taxation and standardization of rates. Also dealing with extremely high-risk research regulations. For now, there was no need for approvals and disclosure. But they could change guidelines, like high explosion risk research be conducted at least 3 km outside Konoha.
This was not to spook the other clans. They must have been wary, but the Hokage must have given them a few favors. And Voila! The board was formed.
But I knew what it was. Even if the others didn't see. This was the seed of complete centralization and control. I could bet my ass that there was an act to reform it in the works as we speak.
Theoretically, centralization was good for a nation. But only if the central power was a benevolent one. Here, the central powers were going to rip us all off in the end and line their own pockets and strengthen their own clans. How do you think they mobilized that many shinobi during the 4th war when the whole village mobilized only 20 thousand?
But my immediate problem was the rumors. They had intensified. And to discredit Haruto's opposition to the board. They had released that Refugee arrow. Our clan morale was at an all-time low.
I was actually kind of surprised that we didn't have internal conflicts and dissent. Instead, we had unity. I guess the combined effect of isolation and the Leader II skill was pretty good.
-----
But I had to appreciate the association's master stroke. If they had hoarded power. They would have been isolated like the Uchiha. By sharing power with the guy in charge. They had effectively become kings. The board had an executive wing. All filled with Kurokami puppets. It was perfect. The Hokage set the overall tone. But its interpretation and execution were still theirs. Only now, they had legitimacy.
And slowly, when the political climate was more favorable. They could tighten the noose. And since we were already registered with them, now. We would be bound by the contracts just like the Hokage had me in. The threat of my marriage contract was now effectively a mutual destruction thing. The cripple me legally, I cause major losses politically.
They had played my absence well.
But onto important topics. Like my SS count. With 10SS a day and a few from the Yami gami. Usually, a year game gives me around 3800 SS. Plus achievements. I had hoped to evolve in two years. But now, I had a problem.
The YamiGami spoke in my mind. "I had to recreate your body like I would have done in a resurrection. That is costly, you know. I had to consume a lot of your SS."
Yeah, now I have only 156 left. Which means it will take approximately 2 years and eight months for me to get to evolution. Man, this sucks.
All I had to do was keep my head down. Make sure the board doesn't pass any stupid laws. And most importantly. When I unveiled the SS tag, we were ready.
------
I sat in a clan meeting. The topic of discussion was how to improve our clan's image.
The ideas ranged from distributing free Dango to exterminating high target missing nin to prove loyalty.
But in the end. The standard charitable works won out. Now that we have a little bit of breathing room. We could do a bit of charity in the form of labor, right?
These were the selected ideas-
Free basic medical checkups for one hour on Sundays by the Summer Legion.
One free small help request on Sundays to needy people by the Fall Legion.
Helping around in the orphanages for Spring Legion.
Winter will focus on armor research.
Perfect.
Let's just hope nothing goes wrong with all of this.
With the growth in our ages, our meetings had matured. I was 17 now. I hadn't even noticed. My clan members were now in the range of 13 to 17. We were finally teens. Which was kind of gross, as you could find a couple making out behind every damn corner in the house now.
I decided to do the daily quest to see my body's response to all of this.
-----
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But I had to appreciate the association's master stroke. If they had hoarded power. They would have been isolated like the Uchiha. By sharing power with the guy in charge. They had effectively become kings. The board had an executive wing. All filled with Kurokami puppets. It was perfect. The Hokage set the overall tone. But its interpretation and execution were still theirs. Only now, they had legitimacy.
And slowly, when the political climate was more favorable. They could tighten the noose. And since we were already registered with them, now. We would be bound by the contracts just like the Hokage had me in. The threat of my marriage contract was now effectively a mutual destruction thing. The cripple me legally, I cause major losses politically.
They had played my absence well.
But onto important topics. Like my SS count. With 10SS a day and a few from the Yami gami. Usually, a year game gives me around 3800 SS. Plus achievements. I had hoped to evolve in two years. But now, I had a problem.
The YamiGami spoke in my mind. "I had to recreate your body like I would have done in a resurrection. That is costly, you know. I had to consume a lot of your SS."
Yeah, now I have only 156 left. Which means it will take approximately 2 years and eight months for me to get to evolution. Man, this sucks.
All I had to do was keep my head down. Make sure the board doesn't pass any stupid laws. And most importantly. When I unveiled the SS tag, we were ready.
------
I sat in a clan meeting. The topic of discussion was how to improve our clan's image.
The ideas ranged from distributing free Dango to exterminating high target missing nin to prove loyalty.
But in the end. The standard charitable works won out. Now that we have a little bit of breathing room. We could do a bit of charity in the form of labor, right?
These were the selected ideas-
Free basic medical checkups for one hour on Sundays by the Summer Legion.
One free small help request on Sundays to needy people by the Fall Legion.
Helping around in the orphanages for Spring Legion.
Winter will focus on armor research.
Perfect.
Let's just hope nothing goes wrong with all of this.
With the growth in our ages, our meetings had matured. I was 17 now. I hadn't even noticed. My clan members were now in the range of 13 to 17. We were finally teens. Which was kind of gross, as you could find a couple making out behind every damn corner in the house now.
I decided to do the daily quest to see my body's response to all of this.
-----