[Webnovel has been so boring lately. Everywhere you look, everything is just porn bro.]
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[Didn't proofread that much, so point out problems and concerns.]
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"In that case, if the council is sure of this decision, then from this moment forward, Heaven's Feel will not operate inside Konoha and it's territories."
*Silence*
The moment those words left my mouth, every face in the meeting room turned pale. Hiruzen, Danzo, Koharu, Homura... all of them looked like I had just pulled a kunai on their firstborn
And the reason for that is simple... they know exactly how fucked they are without me
The silence in the room was deafening.
It was simple, the whole village's prosperity in the recent years laid its foundation around my business. Remove the Heaven's Feel and you are essentially removing a heart from a body, with the body being Konoha.
Before I showed up, Konoha's economy was a joke and everything Tobirama built has gone to shit in Hiruzen's hands. They relied on ninja missions, Daimyo handouts if available, some taxes here and there that sucked the common people dry, and clan wealth that never trickled down to the common people.
Too much peace meant poverty and war meant profit. That's how broken the system was.
Then I came along.
And what did I do for Konoha? I created thousands of jobs, and that's only in Konoha, so let's not talk about outside the village and how many are benefiting from me.
Not just in my restaurants, but everywhere. Farmers grew more crops and fishermen caught more fish. Butchers, bakers, brewers... literally everyone benefited.
The Heaven's Feel district became a hub of commerce. Tourists came from all over the Land of Fire to eat, spend money, and experience it. Nobles showed up, merchants made deals, and the whole village prospered as a consequence.
Even some clan heads invested in properties near the district, opened businesses that mooched off my success, and watched their wealth grow.
So when I threatened to pack up and leave, what exactly would happen?
Obviously, thousands of people would lose their jobs overnight.
Cooks, servers, cleaners, delivery workers, construction labourers...etc, all of them would be out on the street.
Farmers would have no one to sell to and have to search for new buyers who may not even buy %10 of what they sell. Fishermen, butchers, and bakers would lose their biggest customer.
Basically, the supply chain I built would crumble.
Amd the most important... social unrest would explode.
When people lose their jobs and their livelihoods, they get angry, crime rates would spike, and protests would become the norm.
The civilians who once praised me would turn on the Hokage for driving me away. The council's reputation will literally go to shit.
And one of my favourite is that the GMA would blacklist Konoha as hostile to business.
The Daimyo would view the village as a failure and a place that drove away prosperity, and everyone will stop coming to Konoha. Konoha would become a backwater and rigid place that will be considered to be stuck in the past.
Heaven's Feel was a symbol of Konoha's success weather Hiruzen and the elders liked it or not. Take it away, and what's left? A ninja village that couldn't hold onto its greatest asset.
That's why Hiruzen and Danzo looked so pale, because they understand what I mean and that I don't need Konoha, but they need me.
"..." ×20
The room got so much tense as everyone looked at Hiruzen and Danzo with uneasy glances.
And to the dismay of Hiruzen and the elders, I opened my mouth again.
"And on top of the Heaven's Feel retreating from anywhere affiliated with Konoha, I, Hatake Garou, the Hatake clan head will announce our retreat from Konoha and move to somewhere else if this new tax policies gets to pass."
The words hung in the air like a time bomb suspended over the room.
For a long, agonizing moment, no one moved or breathed.
Then the room erupted.
"What?!" Koharu shrieked, her face going pale.
"You cannot be serious!" Homura slammed his hands on the table, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Danzo's face contorted with rage, his single eye burning with fury. "This is treason! You cannot simply abandon the village!"
Hiruzen remained frozen and his face was unreadable. He stared at Garou as if seeing him for the first time.
Hiruzen didn't think the boy to be this decisive.
Tsunade beside Garou was looking glancing at his face nervously as she reached out to tug at his hem of clothes.
The clan heads were in chaos.
"The Hatake clan has been dying for years," I interrupted calmly, my voice cutting through the noise as I looked down at Danzo. "My father doesn't give a jack about anything, that includes this ass village. There are barely a handful of us left, so tell me, what exactly am I abandoning? An empty compound? A legacy of servitude?"
I looked around the room, my gaze cold as I stared at these disgusting people, "I am not abandoning anything. I am choosing to leave a village that has done nothing but try to extort me since the day I became clan head. And do you think I don't know how your cute little slaves kidnap my chefs trying pull out my recipes from them and bring them back tortured?"
"..."
"Yes, I am definitely looking at you Danzo. As a matter of fact, from this day forward, Heaven's Feel will NOT collaborate, trade, and interact with any person holding the Shimura name." I announced with a grin.
My statement made the already angered Danzo explod with unbridled rage.
*BOOOM!!*
Danzo's chakra exploded outwards instantly as a powerful elite Jonin chakra swept across the room in every direction that shocked everyone. His disgusting killing intent washed over me, which put a small mocking smile on my face.
I have experienced Kurama and Katsuyu's killing intent, compared to them Danzo's killing intent felt like a joke.
Only difference was how Danzo's killing intent felt murky and smelt like sewers.
Everyone here knew I had no chakra and thought that this amount of chakra and killing intent pointed at me would crush me.
"Danzo! What are you doing?! Calm down!" Hiruzen roared angrily.
But Danzo didn't listen and continued glaring daggers at me as his chakra and killing intent intensified.
Honestly, I have had enough of this bullshit. Till this day, every ninja has been underestimating me for being a cripple.
If a battle of killing intent and dick measuring you want then I have good news, mine is bigger than yours!
So I did the most logical thing one would do in this situation.
I released all of my Hado!
The room went dead silent for a moment, a heavy, suffocating stillness that pressed against everyone's ears.
*Kzzzzk!*
Then, dark red lightning began to crackle around me, thin tendrils of energy that buzzed and hissed like angry serpents.
"Wha–!!"
The world slowed down in the eyes of everyone present and years of war and combat experience screamed at them and warning of imminent danger.
Then the next moment, the entire room lost its color and turned gray.
*Foooooshhhhh... BOOOOOOM!!*
An ocean of deep, blood-red energy erupted from me like a volcano, washing over the people in the room and spreading outward in all directions.
I sat at the center of it all, my grin wide and feral, my eyes glowing with a light that looked anything but human.
The red wave was intense, violent, and wild as it moved without restraint, crashing against the walls and ceiling.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the room as the structure began to crumble under the sheer destructive nature of the pressure.
Danzo, who had been looking down on me just moments ago was now sweating profusely, his face pale as a sheet, and his body freezing, not expecting this kind of retaliation at all!
Everyone's eyes were fixed on me, but they weren't seeing just me anymore. Behind me, an illusion of a colossal, four-armed grinning demonic figure loomed over them that occupied the whole place!
It was almost as if the Nine-Tails himself had walked into the room, and the immense killing intent mixed with my Hado made it feel even worse.
*Booooommm!!* ×20
*BAM... BZZZZ!*
Out of pure instinct, every person in the room released their chakra. The sudden explosion of energy clashed violently with my Hado, and the room became a chaotic battlefield of warring pressures from everywhere.
Red electricity crackled through the air, lashing out at the walls and punching holes through them. The chakras and my Hado fought for dominance, and after a few seconds, their combined chakra pressure began to push back against mine. My Hado started to retreat very slowly, fighting hard but still unable to stand against the overwhelming weight of twenty-plus overpowered ninjas.
But the damage was already done.
Down in the village, chaos erupted. The ground shook violently, small earthquakes rippling through the streets.
People screamed and scrambled for cover and shopkeepers watched helplessly as their wares toppled and shattered. Civilians who were outside dropped to the ground, unable to stand under the immense pressure that was now radiating from the Hokage Tower. Families inside their homes locked their doors and huddled together.
Some people near the tower couldn't even remain conscious. They collapsed as a red and ominous pressure accompanied by an immense amount of chakra washed over them, their bodies giving out under the weight. Others staggered, clutching their heads, trying to stay upright
The whole village went on alert immediately and now panicking with already hundreds of ninjas were body flickering their way to the source of the overwhelming pressure that was coming from the Hokage tower, and the ones who didn't go there and weren't ready quickly put on their gears and took out their kunais and began to move, the ones resting and sleeping already awake, on the move.
The citizens who were outside were sitting on the ground wearing fearful expressions as the ground was shaking and small earthquakes happening all around the village and even outside the village that shook every building like a wave.
"My stufff!! Ohh my God I will go broke! All of my stuff man!" A shop keeper cried as he looked at his broken vases.
"W...what's h..happening?!!"
"E..enemy attack?"
"Aghhhh I c..can't stand up!!"
"Run!!"
"Am too pregnant for this shit, make it STOP!!" An angry woman yelled as she supported herself with a wall.
"PROTECT THE CIVILIANS! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" an Uchiha commander shouted, his voice cutting through the panic. Hundreds of Uchiha police forces mobilized instantly, some grabbing dazed civilians and body-flickering them to safety, others forming defensive perimeters around the most vulnerable.
Back in the tower...
At the center of it all, I remained seated, my grin still plastered across my face. The red Hado had condensed around me like a cocoon, shielding me from the storm of chakra that was trying to overwhelm me.
Tsunade was pressed against me, her body frozen in shock, but the Hado kept her safe. My friends were already unconscious, and even some of the ANBU were trembling and dropped to their knees.
Except for the Ino-shika-cho heads, the focus of everyone's chakra was on me, and the floor beneath me was cracking, splintering under the weight.
Another moment and there would be no floor left.
*BOOOOOMMM!!*
Hiruzen's chakra joined the fray, along with three others. The pressure intensified, and for a moment, the entire tower shook more violently.
"ENOUGH!!" Hiruzen yelled, his voice cutting through the chaos. His eyes locked onto mine, and I could see something flickering behind them.
His chakra was strong, stronger than 5 clan heads combined, and it gathered the attention of every clan head in the room.
One by one, they stopped releasing their pressure.
I followed suit, letting my Hado recede until the room returned to its dull, ordinary state.
The silence that followed was heavy. The village below was still reeling, but the immediate threat had passed.
*Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh.*
Three ninjas appeared in the room, kneeling before Hiruzen. One of them, a brown-haired man, spoke quickly as he glanced at me with barely concealed killing intent, "We are ready to move, Hokage-sama!"
'Look at this dumbass trying to act cool. "We aRe rEaDy to mOvE." Bitch! Even if I currently can't fuck you all up, I will only need to tell Katsuyu to crush the whole village in seconds for me, and she will do it without a second thought.' I thought.
Hiruzen's voice was calm, but there was an edge to it that hadn't been there before. "You don't need to. Tell me if the village is okay."
"We still don't know. Aside from widespread panic and some minor earthquakes, there doesn't seem to be any major damage," the ninja replied.
"And what about property damage?" Hiruzen's gaze slowly shifted toward me.
"There should be some," the ninja admitted.
Hiruzen nodded and dismissed them. The ANBU in the room began picking up scattered papers and attending to my unconscious friends and sent them to the hospital. I sat still, observing everything with a calm that seemed to unsettle everyone around me.
"YOU!!!"
"Enough, Danzo." Hiruzen's voice was sharp, cutting off Danzo before he could explode again. The cyclops's face was red with fury, but one glance from Hiruzen silenced him.
The message had been sent that I wasn't just some weak kid with too much money, and they understood that they have again been underestimating me for years now like they dumbass they are.
The room fell silent again, everyone was staring at me with varied emotions.
It seems the cripple wasn't a cripple after all; they thought.
Even Tsunade was wide eyed as she looked at me as if not recognising me.
'Kekkei Genkai? No, it's something else.' Hiruzen amd many others had similar thoughts.
From this day onwards, it will be clear that Gintoki's son wasn't actually as helpless as it was known. And it made sense actually.
Everyone knew who Gintoki was and how no one dared antagonising the man. A man like that will never have a normal offspring.
"So before this loser lost his composure, as I was saying, no Shimura will be allowed to fuck around anything smelling of my business, we clear?" Danzo was about to lunge at me this time from sheer rage as he has never felt this level of disrespect in his entire life but Hiruzen was in front of him like a wall.
"Please Garou-san, think about this again. If you ban the Shimura clan, you will not only lose business partners and costumers, your reputation might even decline." Hiruzen pleaded calmly.
From Hatake-san to Garou-san? Trying to act all close and shit. Too late fucker.
I looked at him, my expression unchanged. "Then perhaps you should have thought about that before you tried to tax me out of existence. And reputation? Who gives a fuck about that? Why would I worry that some men now will not look favourably at me? Do I look like a gay to you? Are you gay?"
"..."
"As a matter of fact, while I am it, I would like to know where that fucker Sakumo is? Call him right here, I want to see him and make some other announcements." I said.
"Please calm down Garou-san, no need to–"
"I said call that motherfucker before I ban your clan too Hiruzen!" I glared at Hiruzen who had veins twitching on his neck and temple.
Heh, so fun bossing around powerful but passive people. This dude has no honor or pride at all, he just let's everyone walk all over him all to appear like some benevolent or wise fucker.
"Sighhh, I don't know what you are planning, I will call Sakumo right here, but please calm down and don't be hasty Garou-san." Hiruzen said as he gestured for an ANBU to go and call Sakumo here.
"Good, be quick." I said.
Hiruzen wanted to say something but suddenly, he felt a bad premonition as he immediately looked at the Nara clan head.
"Cough, I would like to make an announcement also Hokage-sama and the esteemed elders." The Nara clan head Shokaku suddenly said which made everyone frown, especially the elders.
"What's the matter Shokaku?" Hiruzen asked cautiously.
"As we have discussed that the Ino-shika-cho have very close ties with the Hatakes to the point that our clans can't be separated anymore. So if Garou-sama decides to leave Konoha and stop any business ventures here, then..."
Hiruzen and the elders already became pale as they knew where this is going.
"...then we, the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichis also will follow in Garou-sama's footsteps and leave Konoha."
Silence spread in the room again as everyone became speechless and wide eyed.
Koharu's mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air. Homura looked like he had been slapped across the face. Danzo, who was raging silently, sat frozen, his single eye wide with disbelief.
Hiruzen was the first to speak, though his voice came out hoarse and uncertain. "Shokaku... you cannot be serious."
Shokaku met his gaze calmly. "I have never been more serious in my life, Hokage-sama."
The Hyuga clan head frowned, "This is absurd! The Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi are in Konoha since its founding! You cannot simply abandon the village over a–"
"Over a what?" Inokai interrupted, "Over a tax policy that clearly and maliciously targets our business and livelihood?"
Chogza nodded slowly, his round face uncharacteristically serious. "We have given everything to this village and were more loyal than everyone else for decades. And what have we received in return?"
"Garou-sama has given us something the village never did... Stability... and a way to provide for our clans without sending our children to die in pointless wars and missions. If the village forces him out, it forces us out as well." Shokaku leaned back in his chair.
Danzo slammed his fist on the table. "This is mutiny! You are threatening to abandon Konoha for a businessman and some money!"
"And yet," Shokaku said calmly, "that businessman has done more for our clans in five years than Konoha has done in generations."
The room fell silent again.
The other clan heads watched the exchange with a mixture of shock. If the Ino-Shika-Cho left, Konoha would lose not just their wealth, but their intelligence and startegists, their interrogation capabilities, and one of their strongest military assets.
Other villages will immediately take this opportunity to start a war with them. They will even become a laughing stock.
And if they leave, it will be like a domino effect, and then in the worst case scenario, many others will leave the village and pledge loyalty elsewhere.
Hiruzen closed his eyes and let out a long, tired sigh. "Shokaku... please. Let's not make any rash decisions. The tax policy is still being discussed, nothing has been finalized."
"It should never have been discussed in the first place Hokage-sama," Shokaku replied. "But it was. And now we must prepare for the consequences, simple as that."
"Buahaha! Excellent choice guys! These fuckers think that they can walk all over us just because we mind our own business." I laughed lightly as Shokaku and the other clan heads smiled back with a nod.
'Swear to whoever there is, I will make you pay!!' Danzo thought aggressively as he sent waves of killing intent at me which I smirked at in response.
Koharu and Homura looked at Hiruzen with desperation.
"As I have said before, this tax policy is just a suggestion and there's no need to react–"
*Woosh Woosh*
Before Hiruzen finished what he was about to say, two ninjas in ANBU attire kneeled beside him.
"You asked for me Hokage-sama." The Anbu calmly said.
"Ahh yes Sakumo, I have sent for you because the Hatake clan head Garou-san called for you to be present." Hiruzen said to the kneeling Sakumo.
Sakumo titled his head as he looked Garou who was sitting as if he owned the place.
To be honest, Sakumo didn't know how to act or what to say in front of Garou because for 16 years, he could count on one hand how many times he has interacted with Garou ( if you could call spying interaction.)
"Remove your mask and come closer." I ordered as I looked at the kneeling bitch with displeasure.
Sakumo looked at Hiruzen for a moment who nodded at him to go ahead and do as I say.
Slowly and awkwardly, Sakumo removed his mask to reveal a handsome young man.
He came closer then stood just beside the chair I was sitting on.
Now what to do with this guy?
Okay let's start with this.
"You disgust me." I bluntly said to his face.
The End.