"I have a proposal for the future of the Chinoike clan." Shiro said as he gave a small bow. The old man nodded and sat down on the chair opposite Shiro.
"You have already told me your plan haven't you Shiro? I mean it isn't a plan but a decision to keep the Chinoike clan in the valley for a few more decades." the old man said.
Shiro shook his head and said "This time my proposal is very different and the first part of it includes getting out of this valley...not just a few of us but all of us..the entire clan."
The old man who was looking at Shiro with a calm gaze instantly became alerted and said "Shiro don't tell me...you also agree with 1st and 3rd elder's proposal to go out there and exact revenge?"
"No...the later part is different. I want to form an alliance with one of the villages or clans outside and settle there. Even though we didn't experience the outside world, I think our kids don't deserve to live like this." Shiro said.
The old man was thinking when he heard the door creak open. One of the guards stationed outside peeked in and asked "The elders were asking if there is any meeting to be held today or can they leave now?"
The clan leader sighed and said "Tell them all to come in now."
Shiro was happy as he heard that because this meant that the clan leader had taken his proposal seriously enough to tell the other elders about it. That is the only goal Shiro had. He didn't care if the elders agreed to it or not.
The guard was a little surprised at first when he heard this but he nodded and pushed the door wide open. Within the next few seconds, multiple people ranging from Shiro's age to the clan leader came inside the house and took seats at the table.
The only chairs that were left empty were 2 on the clan leader's right side and one on his left side. Very soon 2 more people entered the house. Shiro along with a few young elders should up as he saw them enter. They both looked almost identical to each other except for the fact that one of them had a patch over his eye.
"Clan leader...sorry for the delay...we didn't know there was going to be a meeting today." The one with the eye patch say with a fake smile on his face while the other one stayed quiet.
"We greet the 1st and 3rd elder." Shiro and the others said. The one with the eyepatch signaled Shiro and the others to sit down.
The clan leader also gave a fake smile and said " Elder Deki, Elder Teki, this meeting was called because of a proposal Shiro has brought."
Both the elders glanced at Shiro once and then the one with the eyepatch sat at the closest right seat of the clan leader while the other elder sat at the 2nd right-hand side seat.
The clan leader pointed at the empty seat on the left-hand side and said "The 2nd elder is out teaching kids at the training hall and I know what his decision on this proposal will be so there is no need to wait for him."
'The 2nd elder is the biggest pillar of support the clan leader has and they both have been best friends since childhood so I don't think anyone will have an objection to this decision.' Shiro thought and he thought right because none of the elders said anything and just nodded.
The 1st elder who had an eyepatch was Deki. He looked at Shiro and asked "What kind of proposal have you brought Shiro? I hope it is not the one that has been going on in our council for decades to keep us shut in this valley forever."
Shiro was a little scared to talk to the elder like this but he knew that since the clan leader is present, the elder won't make a move.
"I think we should all leave the valley and go outside. After that, we can form an alliance with one of the nearby clans or villages and live there peacefully." Shiro said.
When Shiro said the first part many of the elders were a little shocked by that and the 1st elder even had a smile on his face but the 2nd part put a frown on everyone's face.
"What? Live peacefully? What kind of a joke is this?" Deki said with an annoyed expression on his face.
"Shiro was about to try and convince the 1st elder more because it would be odd if he gave us so easily but then the clan leader signaled him to stop and looked at the 1st elder.
"Deki we do not know a single thing about the outside world. I know that you don't want our people to be in this self-made prison anymore. Shiro's idea is peaceful and will also let us experience the outside world." the clan leader said.
Deki shook his head and was about to refute when Teki (3rd elder) who was sitting beside him slammed his fist on the table. He didn't do it forcefully enough to break or crack the table but it was still firm.
"Are you saying that we forget the humiliation and injustice our ancestors faced? Let them walk on us once again like they previously did?" Teki said as he looked at the clan leader and then at the other elders sitting at the table.
At first, when the elders were confused about Shiro's offers, were not a little angered hearing Teki's words.
'As I thought...Teki knows how to sway people with minimum words and Deki can stab you with a smile on his face. That's how they have been since childhood.' the clan leader thought as he saw a headache incoming.
Seeing the other elders including the ones that were his age getting swayed by the few words said by the 3rd elder, Shiro got worried. He knew that Yami was going to get rid of the elders who oppose this plan but if these wall flowers oppose this plan then Yami will kill them all.
'I can't let them all die just because they got swindled by a few words. They make up 40% of the clan's strength and if they die then our clan will be so weak that we won't be able to survive in the outside world even if Yami lets them actually get out of the valley alive.
Shiro stood up and looked at everyone else at the table and his eyes stopped at the 1st and 3rd elder. "3rd elder...the injustice that you speak of was done by people who won't even be alive anymore. At that time, the clan fought each other to extinction...it was a fight between two clans and we lost. Even if we focus on the Daimyo's wife blaming our clan for her husband's death, those things have happened in the past. Along with my skills, I don't wish to pass on the burden of revenge onto my daughter's shoulders. We don't even know how much the world has changed now...let's not doom our future generations for our own stubbornness and doom their lives."
The elders at the table were pretty surprised to hear Shiro say that. They had always known Shiro to be a peaceful and soft-spoken kind of guy. Even though his strength was one of the top most in the entire village, he didn't have any interest in a position of power. Everyone at the table understood that he was calling the 1st and 3rd elder stubborn.
Deki looked at Shiro and said "I didn't know you had it in you to give a fiery speech like that Shiro." Everyone noticed tha subtle anger in Deki's voice and he addressed Shiro by his name without using the prefix elder with it.
The clan leader saw that things were getting pretty heated so he just tapped Deki's shoulder and said "I have other matters to attend to as well. So let's not waste more time on this and start taking the votes.
20 minutes later, Shiro walked outside the clan leader's house. He didn't wait to talk with any of the other elders and went straightaway towards his house. Just as he was about to enter the gate of his house, he heard a whistle. He looked up and saw Yami sitting on one of the tree branches chewing on some kind of twig.
"How many?" Yami asked to which Shiro said "4...the 1st,3rd,8th, and 11th. Though I am sure that they will now be busy brainwashing the other elders with their poisonous words."
"Leave that to me...I will let you know if I need any help from you." Yami said and body flickered away.
'let's see what the clan leader is like...' Yami thought as he looked at the pointed-roofed house.
(Why does Yami wish to meet the clan leader? How will the clan leader react? Ans to all your questions are posted in my P@treon)
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