Rei, Ringo, and Mei were led into a lavish meeting room where the clan heads and leaders of the Resistance already waited for them, debating about this or that. The second the trio stepped inside the room, everybody quieted down almost instantly and Rei could almost smell the curiosity in the air as the people turned towards them.
The trio simply stared back in complete disregard and disinterest as the gazes washed over them. Rei was indifferent to it, Ringo simply didn't care, and Mei didn't want to get spanked by Tsunade because of letting her discomfort show so she donned an aloof facade.
After all, Tsunade would be very upset if the five hours she spent hammering the political knowledge into Mei's mind were in vain. Especially since Mei's sole purpose in these negotiations was to look disinterested with anything they propose while making sure her mouth stayed shut as Rei handled talking.
Rei's lips quivered as he noticed the gazes linger on Mei a bit more than on him or Ringo. 'Well, I did take Mei with me because she is the last of the Terumi clan and also because she is the very first SS-rank ninja from Kirigakure. Looks like it works like a charm. Their attention is more on her than me.' Rei noted with satisfaction.
These clan heads knew well that he was the 'mysterious' Rei of Kiri in the past. But they knew virtually nothing about him. Ringo and Mei though... Ringo was one of the best assassins Kiri ever produced in its existence and Mei's ranking was too big of a deal. Hence, Rei who was standing a half-step behind the girls was not garnering much attention.
"Welcome," One of the geezers stood up from his seat and amiably greeted the trio, "we awaited your arrival, members of Yozora. I am very glad Miss Terumi and Miss Ameyuri feel enough patriotism to show up in Kirigakure's time of need. My name is Kagerou Yuki and..."
Naturally, by that point, even Rei tuned the man's speech out of his mind. As for Ringo and Mei... Rei doubted they got beyond the word patriotism without mentally snorting in laughter. Both had to be strongly persuaded by Rei to come, after all. Mei hated Kirigakure with a passion due to how she was treated there and Ringo simply stopped caring about the village.
While Kagerou was passionately talking about their dreary situation while introducing this or that unimportant clan head, Rei was getting more and more put off, 'The guy is talking as if he was the Mizukage who was overthrown by discontent children throwing a tantrum and was currently seeking a righteous help. Guess nobody told him to his face that it is he and his clan who are trying to do the overthrowing.' Rei sighed.
Finally, after a lengthy introduction of every person in the room, the man quieted down and Rei took it as his cue to start talking, "Nice to meet you. I am Rei of Yozora, to my right is Mei, and to my left is Ringo. We found a request for help from you and decided to come and listen to your offer. Depending on the reward we will decide if we accept or not." He gave Kagerou a fake smile.
The clan heads in the room looked a bit exasperated when Rei insinuated that his help is not yet set in stone. Obviously, they expected these talks to go smoothly but Rei would have none of that. If they couldn't offer a worthwhile reward, then why should he risk the safety of his people?
"Ah, yes, yes, naturally." Kagerou stiffly nodded and gestured towards seats behind a big round table where the clan heads sat.
As the trio moved to sit down, Rei briefly glanced at Ao who sat a few seats away from their designated seats and looked somewhat bitterly worried. Clearly, the supposed leader of Resistance didn't have much of a voice in the important matters since he didn't speak even once since they entered the room.
"So... let's skip all formalities. I am not very fond of those. Your offer?" Rei suddenly voiced out, stopping Kagerou in his tracks right as he spotted the man about to start babbling again. Many clan heads frowned at such a disregard for the mandatory small talk but Rei would have none of that. He ignored the suspicious mutterings sounding a bit like, 'youngsters these days', and stared at Kagerou with a hard gaze, causing the man to feel a bit out of place.
"As you wish..." Kagerou reluctantly nodded, unhappy his gift of speech would be pretty useless for these negotiations. He was, after all, chosen to be the spokesperson because he was a skilled politician who prided himself in talking his way out or into any deal he wanted. It also helped that it was kinda hard to ignore a hard gaze of a known SS-rank ninja.
Unfortunately for Kagerou, Konan made sure Rei knew about his reputation which enabled him to put a stop to his silver tongue before the real negotiations even started.
"As you know we currently need an aid to bring order back to Kirigakure," At that, Mei gave Kagerou an incredulous look and Ringo rolled her eyes, "but bloodshed would lead to a severe weakening of the village. We seek your services for an assassination of the current Mizukage and subsequent take-over of the village by our forces. As for your reward..." Kagerou slightly shifted in his spot, "We will naturally reward you most generously once the village is back in our hands."
Hearing that, Rei slowly nodded, "So... basically, what you are saying is that you don't have money to afford our help." He started, ignoring how Kagerou's expression darkened alongside the other clan heads while Ao looked as if he just gained a sudden realization and started glaring at the clan heads. "I gotta praise your wording. If I was an inexperienced chunin, I would probably fall in line and agree to help you for not clearly stated reward," Rei continued with a straight face but everyone in the room recognized he was mocking them. "Obviously, people of your… standing don't deal with rogue ninjas much. We don't do things for promises of riches. We don't have an assurance that the village would reward us or give us retirement funds if we get injured. Or did you think if you appeal to our past loyalties towards Kirigakure you will get us to easily help you? Sorry to say but we don't owe Kirigakure anything. We will get involved only once we clearly know what we are supposed to risk our lives for."
Rei was sweetly smiling. It went exactly how Konan predicted. Money was an issue when one ran a rebellion. Plus the civil war was freshly started. The clan heads didn't think it would last all that long and were unwilling to pay a huge price to put a stop to it. It also just so happened that Yozora was inactive for the past few years because the price for them to get involved was very high.
Konan made sure to scout the people behind the Resistance and their situation. Rei came here knowing the circumstances clearly. Which is why he didn't let them react to his mocking and continued talking, "That said, we do have something we want from you. Something I am sure you would be willing to pay since it won't cost clans all that much."
That stopped the various clan heads short. Out of the people in the room, only Ao looked worried about what Rei meant. He was no fool and knew the clan heads wanted the war to quickly end and get back their comfy positions in Kirigakure. Moreover, they wanted to accomplish this without incurring much cost to the coffers of their clans.
Ao, on the other hand, simply wanted the war to end because he had no illusions how it would affect the village and how much blood would be spilled before it ends. There was a serious possibility Kirigakure would fall short of the other four major hidden villages if the war was prolonged and cost too many losses. The whole situation didn't have any positive outcome for Kirigakure in general. As a loyal Kiri ninja, Ao didn't like that.
Yes... loyal. As stupid as that sounded considering he was rebelling, he believed the removal of Yagura was necessary if Kirigakure was to survive and keep its position in the major five.
That was why Ao was very nonplussed at Rei's wording. Clearly, he wanted something and if the clans wouldn't have to pay, it would naturally be the village who would pay. It was the exact same situation that the clan heads previously propositioned. The money for hiring Yozora was obviously supposed to come from the Kirigakure's treasury after they took over the village. Somehow, Ao doubted that Rei desired money, which was a whole lot more worrying thought.
"I am sure we can at least hear your proposal out." Kagerou prompted Rei to say what he wanted from them, excited at the prospect of his clan not having to pay anything in order to get help in the war.
Rei smirked and briefly glanced at Ringo. 'Gosh, I can already imagine the argument this will incur... Here goes nothing.'
"I want Ringo Ameyuri to become the Fifth Mizukage." He loudly proclaimed, causing the whole room to fall into a deafening silence while Mei choked and Ringo's eyes snapped to him and slightly narrowed in a cold furious bewilderment.
Clearly, this was the first time she heard about it.