Momentum.
Politics is all about momentum.
Anything you have seen or heard of before about politics. Forget it.
I too used to be one of the naive people who used to think that words matter too much in politics. They don't. You remember my stupidity in Hokage's office during one of my first negotiations? Yeah, it was stupidity at its finest.
Speeches, fervor, or technicalities. All are important parts of it. But momentum is a beast that can not be chained long in these. When it is small, its actions can be twisted to look like something else. Or it can be directed at something else through distraction. Like using a red cloth for a bull. But when it rages, I mean when it truly rages, Kingdoms have fallen, Emperors have died, and millions sacrificed. After all, the likes of Fascist Patriotism, Communism, and revolution are a few forms of momentum.
And history has taught us their terror well.
What exactly is momentum? It is the power that an idea carries behind it. It is a mixture of public opinion and the capital interests of those in power. The Hokage had momentum. I needed to destroy it. Public opinion could not be controlled. I was not good enough while they had been doing it for decades now. So I needed a conflict of interest. But with this much agreement within the clans and this much momentum behind Hiruzen. One must be insane to go up against him.
And that's how I found myself at the door of the most powerful craziest Motherf...kers in town.
The Uchiha.
I had actively avoided any association with them. But no more. The massacre was a long time off. I needed not just support but significant support. Over the last few years, I have seen the power of Nara suppression. I needed something to counter it. All others were either too invested in the Hokage's side or completely neutral in this conflict. My only hope was these red-eyed demons. The question now was my play?
As I was being escorted to greet the clan head. I was thinking fiercely. I could have offered tags and financial interests before. But now my clan was in no position to do so. The only play I had was to go back to the basics. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Uchiha Fugaku was sitting at the table, drinking tea. He had been officially crowned only recently. But his old man had retired a while back. And everyone had effectively started calling him clan head long ago.
There were two others present. An elder I didn't recognize. And of course, there was Uchiha Yashiro.
Once both sides had given the necessary curtesies. The air stilled.
"So Lord Ren, I am assuming that the reason for your visit today is this?"
He tossed a file on the table. It was the act's proposal file sent to all clan heads.
"Yes, Lord Uchiha, you are wise."
He just sighed.
"I was under the impression that you had given up the fight. Why now?"
"I had thought I had more time. I was wrong."
"Forgive me, Lord Ren, but I don't think that a bit more time can help you here."
"It can. The question is, will I get it?"
Fugaku was silent now. Thinking. Their elder continued.
"Almost all clans are in favor of the proposal. The ones who could be swayed have been swayed. Like your former allies, the Inuzuka. And the neutral ones like us and the Hyuga have no reason to intervene."
"But you do. You are a wise elder. And you know exactly what the Hokage and his faction have been doing."
"But he's doing nothing." His expression hardened. This was sensitive now.
"Please do not insult my intelligence, elder."
Fugaku took the lead now, "Be that as it may. We still have no reason to support you. You have neither the political nor the physical power to be our allies. Besides, it's not that bad."
"Yet," I added. In the last few years, the Uchiha had seen the effects of their policies more clearly. But the true deadly suppression only started after the 9-tails incident, where the Sharingan was blamed for the tragedy.
"You and I both know that all they lack is the momentum they have against us today. You say your eyes see Lord Fugaku. So I am sure that they saw what happened to the Uzumaki. And what is happening to the Senju? And those were clans they could consider allies. Their attitude towards you could be summed up in that bottle of eyes we found in that lab that day."
"That is a very heavy accusation, Lord Ren."
"It is true, and you know it. Which is why I am not under arrest yet."
He sighed and took another sip of his tea.
"Even so, why should I oppose this?"
"You and I both know that this is a power grab. You really want the Hokage to have more power?"
"Forgive me, let me rephrase. Why should we oppose him now? I could wait to gather better allies."
"You know how uphill that path is. Ours is downhill. Besides, I will grow. And I will have power. That is the whole reason for them trying so hard to control us now, isn't it? Potential. And we will remember those who were there in our time of need. And those who were not. And I believe that one day soon, if all your plans succeed, you will need a lot of people who remember."
This made him look up in amusement. I was promising support for his bid on the big hat when I wasn't even expected to keep my own.
He chuckled. "You are brave and ambitious. I like you, Ren." He was being candid. The war of words was over. It was time to set bottom lines.
"You have convinced me of my interests. But you need to prove your worth. Still. How much time do you require?"
"Around two more years."
"I see. Fine, I agree to support you." But before I could smile, he put up his conditions.
"But I have two conditions. The first and most important is the show of strength. We will help you only if we see that you are worth helping. You need to accumulate at least 40 votes for us to help you."
Tough but fair. The Senju were dissolved into middling clans now. And with the assassinations. They were only worth 2-3 votes at most. The Major ones were the Uchiha, the Sarutobi, the Shimura, the Hyuga, the Nara, the Hatake, the Akimichi, the Aburame, and the Yamanaka. 90 votes. Around 50 votes by the middling clans. 10 votes from the AKSE (small clans). And finally, 14 votes of the FAK. Total- 170 Votes. The Uchiha still had some influence. They were ostracised but not completely isolated, like after the death of the Fourth. He was promising to help me run the final stretch of the game if I got half the votes that I needed.
According to Konoha rules. An act like this needed at least 67% of the votes. 2/3rd Majority. They needed 114 to pass it. We needed 56 to stop it. The Uchiha could sway a few other clans from the neutral middling factions. Making them worth around 15-20 votes. It will still be close, but that was the best that I would get.
"That is fair. But from your tone, I see that that is not your only condition."
"No, it is not."