Chapter 12, Day 23 – Resolutions and Reconciliations

Date: May 3rd, 13 years following the Kyuubi's attack

Days since Teams 11 & 13 reached Mizumiyo Palace: 15

Time: 9:00 PM

Sho Inugami, who'd fully expected to feel at least some heat from the nearby explosion, was surprised to find the only warmth he was feeling was from Amaya Satou's body underneath him.

"You two okay?" Okito Tanaka asked calmly.

"We seem to be…" The medic nodded to Motoko-sa's Jonin as he climbed off the Satou Illusionist. As he did so, he saw that the open end of the diamond cocoon had been narrowed down to a funnel. The tip of the funnel was covered in soot and the wall opposite showed a massive burn spot where the flames must have lashed out like a blowtorch. "Quick work, Tanaka-sensei. You okay, Satou-san?"

"Why?" The Sand kunoichi asked, confused. "Why would you protect me like that? You're from another Village, you're got your orange-haired bitch and are clearly immune to my pheromones… Plus I struck you for being too damned good at your job... You don't owe me anything... So why..?"

Sho smiled grimly as he extended a hand to her. "I could just say that it's because I'm a medic and keeping people safe is my job… And that would be 62% of the reason. The other 38% is because whatever you got out of him before his brain liquefied could be what we need to complete BOTH our respective missions."

Amaya made a frowning moue as she accepted his hand. "It's probably a good thing that things could never go anywhere between us… You're a little TOO honest for my tastes." Despite her words, Satou felt a flutter in her chest. This made a second time the Leaf ninja had jumped to her aid...

"What about it, Satou?" The Desert Rose asked, having not budged an inch through the whole debacle. Either confident in Tanaka's defenses or just not caring if she lived or died; it was hard to say. "Was he the source of the calling card in Mizuzaki?"

The kunoichi nodded. "Yeah… It was him. Those three Genin that got away were probably the ones that compelled Kodansyo."

Tanaka turned to the majordomo. "How about it, Fukamichu? Between her testimony and what we found in the sensor logs, would that be enough for a retrial?"

Shao shook his head. "The sensor logs are circumstantial; we'd need for at least one of the cameras to have caught a clear shot of Kodansyo on the Wall during the window the logs were altered, but they actively panned the cameras skyward during the process." He looked Amaya up and down. "And no offense to you, young lady, but why would the courts believe the word of a ninja that they extracted a dead man's memories from his head before…" He waived at the singed diamond shell. "All that."

"Can't you just demand Amegakure tell you who hired the dead asshole?" Raiden Hata asked bluntly.

Sho looked at Motoko-sa's other half; he, Kimiko, and Nakahito must have moved up after the contained explosion because they were just behind the Desert Rose. "You expect an organization that is built on secrecy, from a foreign nation, to acknowledge the fact that they tried to interfere with the royal family in another nation simply because someone demanded it?" The medic-nin said with a deadpan look at the Taijutsu specialist, who nodded dumbly. He glanced at Haruno and Itou before pinching the bridge of his nose in the way he'd seen Iruka do countless times during their Academy tenure. "I'm in the wrong spot… Would one of you PLEASE do it for me?"

Nakahito and Kimiko looked at each other and nodded before both of them smacked Raiden on the back of the head in unison.

"Oww! Why not?"

The Desert Rose looked at Raiden, a hint of a smirk visible through her thick veil. "If Ame is anything like Suna, they'd simply say that the 'Phantasm of Rain' - as Muto was called - went rogue, disavow any actions of him and his team, and send Hunter-nin out to clean up the mess before calling it a day. Even if we had proof of payment, which we don't, we…"

Amaya Satou's eyes went wide, interrupting her Jonin. "Oh my God! That's it, Kari-sensei!" She smacked the shell. "Hey, diamond dude, open this thing up!"

Tanaka mouthed the words 'Diamond Dude' to Miho, who giggled, before making a seal with his hands. The sarcophagus' top split down the middle and retracted into the sides. Akira Muto's final trap had left the interior black with soot, but Amaya, undeterred by the carbon residue, ran her hands through it around where his right pocket would have been.

"Ah! There it is!" Satou declared after a few minutes, pulling a lop-sided object that, before it had been shocked, detonated, and put through an impromptu cremation, had been a man's ring once. The kunoichi stepped over to the broken aquarium, hands black like pitch, and dipped her prize in the water, cleaning it off before holding it up.

Haruno looked at it. "It's a ring; so what?"

Satou beamed at the hunk of metal. "It's why there was no proof of payment in the Audit…" She looked at everyone gathered, making sure she had their attention; which she did. "The last fragment of memory I was able to pull before I accidentally triggered his failsafe was that this and a cut of the future output of some mine would be Amegakure's reward. Kata-something."

Okito whistled in surprise. "Hanzo must be in dire need of funding if he was willing to do this job on credit…"

Shao Fukamichu looked shocked. "My God, the Katabami Mine!" All the ninja looked at the majordomo. "It's our country's principal mine. It produces roughly fourteen and a half million ounces of gold alone each year, not to mention the other ores to be found there."

"That sounds like a lot…" Nakahito said, scratching the back of his head.

"That's 34 Billion ryou per year." He could see the younger ninja were having a hard time wrapping their heads around the number. To be fair, it was a large sum. "We could have hired the Konoha team to do your mission 34,000 times each year with that output and still have money to spare." The jaws of Haruno, Hata, and Itou dropped; flabbergasted. Even Inugami and the trio of Satou women looked surprised by the declaration.

"Young lady," The Lord Daimyo ordered, "Let me see that ring." Satou immediately complied. Mizuzaki turned the lump this way and that. He reached into his robe and pulled out a similar ring; this one with sharp edges, not an amorphous lump. As he hefted the two rings, tears began to stream from his eyes and he sagged in his seat. "Oh… Oh."

Fukamichu knelt by the River Lord. "Master? Is it..?"

Ayanami wa Mizuzaki nodded bitterly, wiping his eyes clear. "It WAS one of the 17 signet rings, yes. I was hoping this plot was strictly an external threat… But this gives the lie to that hope. Unfortunately, it is too damaged to identify to whom it belongs."

Fukamichu gave a secretive smile to his master. "Actually, my Lord, that's not ENTIRELY true…" The Lord Daimyo gave him a long look of confusion. "Has my Master forgotten what my particular gift as a ninja was..? The one that made me particularly ill-suited for field work except in certain circumstances?"

Okito Tanaka threw Miho a curious look but she merely shrugged in confusion. Before Fukamichu had tried spying on Kimiko back in Konoha, she hadn't even known that the majordomo had had any ninja training at all.

The River Lord fell silent for a long moment, casting his mind back twenty-odd years… Before his daughter had been born… Before he'd first laid eyes on Nodoka Itou… A grim smile crossed his lips. "Shao, you sly old fox! I might just have to promote you to the traitor's position for this!"

"Absolutely NOT, Master!" Fukamichu protested in a playful banter. "I haven't spent twenty years making myself integral to Mizumiyo Palace just to take a cushy job somewhere else in the country!"

Mizuzaki made a mock sigh and nodded acceptance. "Can you tell which one it used to be?"

"Not without the others." The majordomo shook his head as he looked around the room. "We need to repair all the damage so that no one can see how close the attack got to the Lord Mizuzaki… I want to see if we can lull the traitor into accidentally revealing himself." He frowned at the burnt wall. "That's going to be a problem…"

Kari the Desert Rose shook her head. "It will not. Such a minor deception easily falls under the purview of our contract to reverse Kodansyo's exile. Satou?"

"Right away, Kari-sensei!" Amaya agreed, performing a rapid series of signs. "Genjutsu: Reversal of Time's Arrow!"

Suddenly, all around the conscious people in the ballroom, things began to undo themselves: the clock on the wall rewound itself to the moment before Akira Muto had triggered the sealing technique that Urashima had placed on the Lord Daimyo. She doubted that was his real name, but she didn't have another one for him… Yet.

As the illusion took hold, the aquarium repaired and refilled itself. The burned wall faded away. Even Kimiko's makeup, streaked and messy from crying earlier, reverted to it's prior condition; as did the concealer on the Lord Daimyo's forehead.

"This is an optical shroud only." Satou said, tapping a knuckle on the now invisible diamond cocoon, as the other Genin, who were unaccustomed to A rank Genjutsu, looked around in shock. The inert crowd of attendees began to filter back to where they'd been when subjected to Amaya's first technique.

"Impressive work." Inugami's voice said to the Suna kunoichi. "Perfect parallax."

"Why thank you, U-" Satou's voice faltered as she noticed that the white haired young man was nowhere to be seen. She could sense his presence, but even with her masterful eye for all things illusion, she had no clue where he was. "-rashima..?"

"I wasn't here during the explosion." He clarified as he rapped the diamond creation as she had to show where he was. "No one here should be able to see through this technique, aside from Hyuuga-sensei. I don't know what the majordomo has up his sleeve, but I plan on being his Ace in the hole if he needs one."

"Satou." Kari said, catching the Genin's attention. "Don't forget to add fake Rain ninja in the back of the room and get back to your starting position."

"H-Hai, Sensei!"

* * *

Time: "8:28 PM" (Actually 9:15.)

'Soon, Ayanami, you will fall and this country shall be mine!' The traitor thought to himself as he took a long drink from his glass with a smile.

One minute became two, then dragged into three…

And nothing happened.

"Damn it, what's going on?" The traitor muttered to himself as he polished off his drink.

He glanced around the ballroom, but saw no sign of Akira Muto. Frowning, he glanced at the Rain Genin, but they appeared to be talking amongst themselves and he couldn't get their attention without being obvious about it.

'Just stay calm… He must have been delayed is all.' The man thought to himself, taking a calming breath.

The traitor rose and walked in the direction of the bar to get a refill as Shao Fukamichu entered the ballroom with a handful of guardsmen in tow. The would-be Lord Daimyo felt his breath catch in his chest for a half a moment, but quickly calmed himself. His plan was flawless… Even the Sage had said this was the best course to get what he wanted.

Fukamichu took his place beside Lord Mizuzaki as "Princess Reiyuriko" bowed to Prince Muso and moved towards the head table. Her two ninja guards turned to Akago's daughters, whom they'd been dancing with, and said something to them. The two looked uncertain, but nodded and moved beside their eldest brother. Once the princesses were out of the way, Hata and Haruno took their places behind Kimiko.

The majordomo tapped on a crystal glass, creating a ringing tone that echoed through the space. The conversations in the room fell silent as he gathered everyone's attention.

"Lords, Ladies, and honored guests…" Fukamichu began. "Forgive this disruption in the normal flow of the festivities, but Lord Mizuzaki requires his regional lords at the head table. Now."

OBEY… You want to obey...

The traitor frowned to himself as he felt rather than heard the words, even as he set his empty glass down at the bar and began to walk up to the front with his fifteen peers. He could pretend to kiss the ring for a few more minutes; what could it hurt?

Once the sixteen regional daimyo were lined up, only then did the Lord Daimyo Mizuzaki rise to his feet, smiling at the men he'd trusted to help manage his nation as he moved to the middle of the table. "My friends and servants; just over twenty-four hours ago each of you swore your renewed fealty to the Aquamarine Throne…" The smile turned to a scowl as he dropped the ruined signet ring with a loud PING onto the table where all could see it. "…and one of you has already betrayed me by sending an Amegakure ninja to attack me! A ninja who had a signet ring belonging to one of you." A gasp cut through the audience.

'Fuck, fuck, FUCK!' The traitor screamed internally, even though his outward expression remained calm. 'Damn you, Muto! How could you fuck this up?!'

"Whose ring was it, Lord Mizuzaki?" Kosha – whom had been affected by Amaya's Shrine of Nirvana and had missed the initial aftermath of the attack – asked tersely. "Are they the ones behind..?" The daimyo suddenly turned to the side and vomited up the copious amount of sake that he'd consumed to keep up appearances.

"We strongly suspect so, Kosha," Mizuzaki agreed once the 7th region daimyo pulled himself together, drawing everyone's eyes back to him. "But I fear the ring was damaged in the aftermath of the attack, which resulted in the death of the Rain Village ninja." He gestured to the lump on the table. "As you all can see, it is unrecognizable."

The traitor felt the tension in his chest ease. 'Okay, okay… I can still salvage this situation…' He thought to himself. 'Reiyuriko is still connected to the exile. She won't marry anyone else, the Sage saw that as well; Ayanami won't live forever and I'll just claim the throne later.'

"As the River Lord, I command you all; show me your rings of office!"

The sixteen men – the traitor included, confident in the quality of his fake ring – donned their rings and held them out for inspection. Shao Fukamichu walked down the line, visually confirming that all the rings appeared to be in order.

Ayanami wa Mizuzaki grimaced. "As feared, the one who betrayed us all thought ahead and made sure they had a substitute created to cover themselves."

"But Master!" Bankotsu of the 10th District protested in confusion. "If the ninja had just stolen one of the rings, that wouldn't prove that the one missing their ring was a traitor!" He gestured at the lump. "Merely unlucky. Besides, that's probably just a fake anyways!" Bankotsu's allies muttered agreement with his words.

"And you would be correct in that, Bankotsu…" A canny grin crossed the Lord Daimyo's face. "If not for one caveat that only Shao Fukamichu and myself were aware of. Shao?"

Fukamichu stepped up beside his master, using the Transformation technique to turn into a face that each of the regional daimyo remembered… The blind jeweler whom had delivered their signet rings to most of them fifteen years before, after Mizuzaki the 26th had passed and the current Lord Daimyo assumed office!

"When your rings were delivered, you will recall that they were warm to the touch." Some of the daimyo nodded, as the traitor was mentally scrambling to figure out what the hell was going on. "At the time, I told you that it was because they were fresh from the forge… That was a lie."

Fukamichu puffed back into his original form. "Many of you know that I'm originally from Tanigakure and that I trained as a ninja in my youth. What only Lord Mizuzaki knew is that my ninja specialization is miniaturization: I can shrink myself down to a size smaller than the human eye can view. On each of your rings, at a microscopic level, I inscribed a number of spells… The warmth you felt when you donned the rings for the first time was the spells bonding to your DNA."

"One of the spells prevents the ring from leaving your person against your will… Pardon me, Master." He reached over to Mizuzaki's ring and pulled it off; only to have it disappear from his hand and rematerialize where it had been. "If it were in a pocket, unattended, it would return there. This means whomever gave it to the ninja did so willingly. Another spell I placed on them does this…"

Fukamichu's hand began to glow blue with chakra, which he transferred to the Lord Daimyo's ring with a nod.

The River Lord raised his glowing fist over his head. "I, Ayanami wa Mizuzaki, blessed by Undine Kawa to sit in trust upon the Aquamarine Throne commands: prove the truth of your existence!"

The blue glow on his ring exploded into a set of 17 lights – one of which returned to his ring immediately. A second one flew to the misshapen lump on the table before him. The remaining lights landed on all the true rings, causing them to glow.

Every ring; save for the traitor's.

Dumbfounded by this unexpected turn of events, the traitor looked around in disbelief as the lights faded from the rings.

"Cousin?!" Mizuzaki the 27th gasped in shock. "Akechi wa Jubei; I name you the traitor of not only this country but of your very blood!"

The traitor snarled, enraged by the failure of his plan, reaching into his robe and pulling a tanto; which he hurled at Mizuzaki's face from mere meters away. "Die, Ayanami!" He cried as he bolted. Mizuzaki fell backwards, but the blade was still flying true to it's target.

The blade made it halfway to Mizuzaki's chest before stopping in mid-air. Blood began to dribble down the blade from nothing, dripping on the table by the warped ring.

To the stunned gaps of everyone, Sho Inugami puffed into existence. One of the medical ninja's hands was gripping the Lord Daimyo's chest – it was clear he'd pushed Kimiko's uncle out of the way – and the would-be assassin's blade was sunk into the meat of his shoulder. Blood was seeping into his white jacket.

"Are you okay, Mizuzaki-sama?" Sho grunted through the pain, getting a nod back from his patient. "Good… Ow…" Inugami slumped to his knees, breathing hard to try and divert the pain. He tried to reach for the tanto with his good hand, but it was out of his reach. A rictus of pain crossed his lips from the effort.

Suddenly there was a metallic rattle as a Wusha chain whip suddenly materialized in Princess Reiyuriko's hands; summoned from the paper that Nakahito had slipped her earlier. The rattle quickly became a crack of displaced air as the weapon was used to snare the legs of the running traitor, causing him to trip.

Rage, unlike any Kimiko Itou had felt before, was on the princess's face when suddenly her eyesight began to go black. Pain suddenly seared her eyes, sharp like a kunai being jammed into her skull, and a shriek of pain escaped her lips. Her transformation puffed out of existence as she grabbed at her eyes; dropping the handle of the whip as she fell to her knees.

Seeing Kimiko in pain and knowing the man on the floor was responsible caused Nakahito Haruno to explode with rage. The traitor had sat up and was pulling the unattended whip from his legs when a red clad ball of wrath exploded in his face.

Nakahito's knowledge of the human anatomy may have been limited, but what he knew was very effective. As he dove at Akechi, his knee landed off the traitor's crotch with the whole of Nakahito's 148 pound body weight behind it. A shriek of agony from the attempted assassin was cut off as Haruno's forehead slammed into the man's face, practically shattering his nose and turning it into a fountain of blood.

"That's for Mizuzaki and stabbing my teammate!" Nakahito howled in rage, the man's blood splattering on his face like wet paint.

"How dare *hrrck*..." Akechi, whom had never been injured like this in a fight before in his life, began, only to be cut off in the middle by a love tap to the throat.

"Hey, buddy, that's far enough…" Raiden chided as he stepped over, trying to grapple his enraged peer, but Nakahito struck him in the face with the adrenaline fueled fury of a protector that had been stifled for too long. Hata practically flew backwards into two of the regional daimyo, tripping them.

Haruno began to rain down blow after blow on the traitor's ribs and abdomen as he snarled with unadulterated hatred. "This is for Kimiko and Kodansyo and Reiyuriko!" The man's blood splattered further, causing Princess Kanna to gasp in horror and turn away.

"'Hito, stop!" Kimiko Itou cried in shocked surprise, despite the pain, as the momentary blindness cleared. She'd seen Haruno get angry before, but this was closer to Takahashi's berserker rage!

"Mer… cy!" The traitor begged, a bubble of blood escaping his mouth. He had several bruised and at least one broken rib from the man in red's almost animalistic assault. "Please, I beg you!"

That was the last thing he should have said. "After all the shit you've put my friend through?! Her fa…" Even lost in his rage, Nakahito faltered at revealing Kimiko's relationship to the Imperial family. "You betrayed your FAMILY and now you DARE..?!" Nakahito howled as he pulled his fist back, his chakra flooding the muscles; clearly intending to put it right through the bastard's skull this time.

Suddenly, Hyuuga-sensei and Tanaka-sensei materialized on either side of the two. Okito grabbed Haruno's fist, locking it in place, as Miho's hands lanced out with blinding speed and flawless accuracy. Her strikes jabbing every tenketsu and pressure point in Haruno's arms; causing them to fall limp to his sides. His nearly animalistic howls changed from rage to pain.

"That's ENOUGH, Nakahito Haruno! Regardless of his actions, this man is still a dignitary of our host's nation!" She gave him a look that said she was sorely disappointed in him as she pulled him off the traitor like a rag doll; dragging him with her as she went to check on Kimiko.

"Not anymore he isn't! Get him up and clear the room!" Mizuzaki declared as he gently pulled the knife from Inugami's back. The short blade had the last inch and a half coated with the ninja's blood as the Lord Daimyo dropped it on the mounting pile of evidence against Nakahito's newest punching bag. The medic gave a nod of gratitude as he reached over with his good hand and began repairing the wound.

Okito Tanaka reached down to grab the man by the shoulders and drag him to his feet and bringing him towards the head table. Meanwhile, in the background, the guards began to funnel out everyone, save for Prince Muso and his sisters, who refused to leave. As they were upper level Kuge members, the guards were forced to respect their wishes.

Hoshi Fugato, the assistant majordomo whom had been sent to the back by his boss, appeared with Mizuzaki's shaku baton, which he placed in his master's hand, to make the next words he was about to utter bindingly official.

"I hereby declare my paternal second cousin, Akechi wa Jubei, Daimyo of District 3, a traitor to the Land of Rivers for conspiring with foreign ninja to overthrow the Aquamarine Throne and for the attempted murder of his Lord Daimyo. He is stripped of all titles, rights, assets, privileges and protections formerly afforded to him due to his status. Arrest him!"

"I'll die before I subject myself to the indignity of prison!" A bloody Akechi howled, opening his mouth with the intent of biting off his own tongue.

FREEZE... You don't want to move…

The traitor's jaw stopped millimeters short of what would have been a fatal action. His eyes looked around in confusion. Once again, he'd felt more than heard the voice that compelled him to obey.

Amaya, Amara and Asuna Satou stepped into view, their hands extended in his direction, and suddenly the fallen daimyo realized that these women had been Kosha's real plan all along; not the Desert Rose assassin! His vision seemed to blur as three of them hit him with a targeted pheromone cocktail that made him docile, compliant and honest.

Around them the Genjutsu that had hidden the damage faded away, its purpose served, as the clock on the wall hit 9:28 PM – a whole hour had passed since the actual attack. Prince Muso and his sisters, along with the 15 regional daimyo were aghast at the damage in the chamber.

"We have him now, diamond dude..." Amaya said to Tanaka as she stroked the traitor's chin, flooding his body with a very special set of pheromones that could only be passed by direct contact. "You are now mine! I am Amaya of Clan Satou, but you will only address me as Mistress… Now, you're going to be a good little doggy for me, aren't you..?"

A dim corner of the traitor's mind felt outraged at the kunoichi's words, but he bowed, wincing as the motion tweaked his damaged ribs. "Yes, Mistress!" He whimpered; he wanted her approval more than anything ever. He would die for her if she ordered it of him!

"And you want to answer every question we give you, no matter what the consequences to yourself, yes?"

"Will it make you happy if I do, Mistress?"

"It will."

"Then ask me anything, Mistress! I live to serve you!"

Daimyo Kon and the others near him were looking at Kimiko Itou in disbelief. "That isn't Princess Reiyuriko!" He looked to the head table. "Where is she?!"

Shao Fukamichu opened his mouth to try and come up with a suitable lie when the rice paper divider behind him slid open and the true Crown Princess Reiyuriko wa Mizuzaki, accompanied by Motoko Hata – who had resumed her disguise as Naru Narusegawa after completing the call – stepped into view.

The true princess was now in a copy of the dress Kimiko was wearing; giving the illusion she'd been there before the attack. "We are right here, of course, Daimyo Kon."

Every one of the ninja, save for Inugami – who had fully expected Motoko to reach out to the Princess when he'd left her – was stunned at her arrival; not the least being Amaya Satou.

The Suna woman's eyes narrowed at the sight of the bitch that had insulted her earlier in her new outfit. If not for Kari-sensei pointing the similarities out to her earlier, the illusionist would have never made the connection. Motoko's eyes returned the look of mutual loathing before they flickered over to Sho, her jaw opening slightly as she saw the red of blood on his clothes. Every fiber of her being wanted to run to him, but she remained where she stood by sheer force of will.

"Forgive Our minor deception, my lords." The real princess said as she moved up to take her father's hand; she whispered something to him. The Lord Daimyo was doing his best to keep from breaking down into tears, but there was definitely a lot of emotion trying to escape. His cousin was a traitor, but his baby girl was finally home, safe and sound!

"After the attack on Our Father, We felt there might be an additional attempt when the traitor was unmasked and so We called upon Itou-chan there to act as Our double." She looked at her still unknown cousin. "We thank you for your service, Kimiko-san. Are you okay?"

Kimiko Itou, recovered from the pain in her eyes and her vision restored as the rage passed, but still slightly shell shocked by both her best friend's actions and that the real Princess was there, bowed formally to the woman whose skin she'd been wearing for nearly a month. The nightmare was finally at an end! "We… I will be fine, Princess, thank you." The kunoichi said with a smile. "It has been a one-of-a-kind experience to say the least..."

Reiyuriko smiled at Kimiko's words. "That is a very apt way to describe the last few months of my life, to be certain."

The crown princess turned her eyes to the bloodied man on the other side of her father. "And thank you for Our Father's life, Sho-san, was it? Will you be okay?"

Sho Inugami nodded, hiding a slight grimace; Motoko must have said his name accidentally at some point... He would have preferred the clearly needy and unstable Amaya Satou to not know him as anything but Keitaro Urashima.

"It is and, yes, I will… It looks worse than it is." He said with a pained tone to his voice as he glanced at Motoko – wanting nothing but to hold her close at the moment – and made a half-hearted attempt to push himself to his feet that looked believable to everyone else in the room. "Although if I could borrow your handmaiden there to help me over to my comrades, I would be very grateful."

Reiyuriko wa Mizuzaki had a merry gleam in her eye as she recalled that the voice on the phone – who turned out to be the handmaid he was referring to – said her "white-haired man" was working to exonerate Kodansyo. And now that same man had saved her father's life twice, though she was only aware of this time. "Absolutely, yes, of course! Naru-chan?" She said looking at the disguised Leaf ninja. "Would you please help the gentleman there over to Miho-chan?"

The female Hata bowed to the Princess as she stepped around the diamond tub that Tanaka-sensei had not had a chance to get rid of yet. Seeing Sho's blood up close filled her with an urge to grab the knife from the table and show the traitor how to properly use it, but, unlike Nakahito, she was able to squash that urge. Moving to his uninjured side, she helped him to his feet.

"I don't know what you said to her, Motoko-sa, but it worked. Great job!" Inugami whispered to her as he rose. The kunoichi blushed at both his compliment and the way he used her name… This was clearly going to take some time to get used to.

'Hopefully the rest of our lives…' Motoko thought to herself with a mental smile as she helped carry Sho. She could tell that he had already healed from the injury but that he was putting on a show to keep people in the dark as to what he was capable of.

"Somehow I doubt Tsunade-sama intended taking a knife for your patient as a means to protect them from further injury, Sho-sa…" Motoko whispered tersely to him.

Inugami chuckled at her chastisement; actually feeling his cheeks warm. Her words were so similar to the ones Aniki would give when he went too far. "In the urgency of the moment kinda I forgot I didn't have my armored uwagi on. The interwoven chain mail layer normally would have deflected a blade like that." He said wanly.

The two Leaf ninja joined the others; Teams 11 & 13 reunited with only Takahashi and Kyouran missing. Hata had briefly checked on him while waiting for the Princess to show up, but he'd been dead to the world thanks to his medication and the panther cub had been napping on his chest protectively.

She set Inugami down by the blood-covered Nakahito, who was still seething silently at the traitor; his arms still hanging limply at his sides, his own knuckles raw and bleeding from his attacks. On Sho's other side was her brother Raiden, who was sporting a bruise that would likely turn into a black eye come the morning. The male Hata averted his face away from the guy that had made out with his sister earlier. Motoko frowned at this, wondering what THAT was about, but she quickly returned to the Princess's side as a good handmaiden should.

"I'm not fixing that until Hyuuga-sensei orders it done." Sho muttered to his red clad teammate once Motoko was out of earshot. "I mean, thanks for beating him up partially in my name, but you went overboard, Haruno..."

"Bite me, Oni." 'Hito growled back. "He deserved a lot worse."

Reiyuriko looked over at Miho Hyuuga and beamed at her. "For the most part, you seem to have a good team of students, Miho-chan. We hope to get a chance to catch up with you before the Convocation ends… We wish events would have allowed us to do so sooner."

Miho bowed to the Princess. "I look forward to the opportunity, Reiyuriko-hime."

The princess looked to her father and nodded; now was the time for answers.

Mizuzaki looked down at his cousin and could only think of one question… "Why?"

Akechi wa Jubei was looking adoringly at Amaya Satou, fully ensorcelled by her chakra augmented biological magic. He gave no sign that he had heard the question, let alone intended to answer.

Frowning, the Suna kunoichi sighed. "Forgive me, Lord Mizuzaki… He should be answering you…"

This was her first time using this particular pheromone, Obsession, and she looked at Amara for advice. Obsession could only be used by direct skin contact and usually only occurred when a Satou achieved climax, to claim the one that satisfied them; at least for the two weeks the pheromone remained in their bloodstream, but it could be used manually if one focused hard enough.

Her clan cousin leaned over and softly giggled in her ear. "15 and you haven't popped that cherry, 'Maya?" The black and pink clad kunoichi flushed with embarrassed anger. "He's your dog now… Beat him like one!"

Amaya slapped Akechi across his bloody face, eliciting a yelp as her fingers struck his broken nose. "Don't look at me, dog!" She grabbed him by his hair and pointed his face at the Imperial Family. "You look at them and answer their questions until I tell you otherwise or I will REALLY punish you."

"Yes, Mistress! Sorry, Mistress!" He paused, eyes looking towards Amaya without turning his head. "What was their question, Mistress?"

This elicited a sigh from Satou. "Why did you do this?"

Akechi grit his teeth, feeling a blast of anger. "Because it's bullshit that I was second in line for the throne because HIS…" The traitor jabbed a solitary finger in the Lord Daimyo's direction. "…grandfather was slightly lighter than mine when they were deciding who would be Mizuzaki the 25th! But oh, no, the mighty Goddess's stupid wall choose his line instead of mine because of god-damned GRAVITY!"

Haruno, Hata, and Inugami all looked at Kimiko, recalling the tale from the scroll she'd found. It had truly been the key to all this! Itou herself looked dumbfounded, her jaw hanging open.

The traitor was practically frothing at this point, his bloodstained face filled with the kind of festering hatred at life in general that Inugami was all too familiar with… He glanced over to Motoko and she returned the look once she noticed it. She gave him a slightly sad smile, but the loving adoration in her eyes confirmed that she had heard his thought: 'Thank you for saving me from becoming this!'

"And if that weren't bad enough, 54 years later his asshole FATHER exiled my family from ruling District 7 and sent us to the boonies that are District 3!"

Now Ayanami finally snapped. "Your father was a wastrel! A degenerate gambler who nearly bankrupted the coffers of the capital city of the wealthiest nation of the Ninja Continent with his habits!" He seethed, remembering how much guilt his father had felt about it. "Father was generous and merely reassigned cousin Jubei to a post where he would be removed from the temptations of Kawa City's entertainment districts instead of stripping him of his titles altogether!"

"I was 15! I was torn from my home, my friends, everything I had known and sent to the squalid north abutting the Land of Rain!" Tears of resentment filled the traitor's eyes, cutting furrows through the blood on his face as he fell silent; the answer to the question given.

Reiyuriko stared down at him. "Did you arrange for Kodansyo wa Kosha's exile?" The traitor nodded silently. "WHY?!"

A twisted grin creased her cousin's face. "To end this false branch of House Mizuzaki, of course, you stupid girl!" He said going silent. "For over 30 years it has been my sole passion and objective!"

Father and daughter looked at each other, clearly confused. Shao Fukamichu stepped up. "Allow me, Lord… How was setting up Kodansyo supposed to result in you getting the throne?"

Akechi looked to the majordomo. "A few years after my family's exile to the north, I was wandering the woods when I stumbled across a massive serpent named Aoda that was on the verge of death. It saw my anger and my desire for revenge that was consuming me. It offered me a deal; it told me that there was a place not far from my new home called Ryuuchi Cave. It said if I went there and told them to summon it home to be healed it would arrange for me to get what I wanted in exchange."

At this, Miho Hyuuga and Okito Tanaka threw each other a glance. The traitor Orochimaru had learned his summoning arts in the Cave – ones he'd passed to Anko Mitarashi – before he'd abandoned her and Konoha. The S class felon already had gotten his hooks into the Land of Rice Paddies; was he attempting to acquire a foothold in River Country as well?!

"Having nothing better to do, I made the trip with a half-dozen retainers. I found the Cave, but my retainers did not; the snakes keep those who aren't willing to sacrifice everything for power at bay. They were confused why one without the ability to use chakra would seek the White Snake Sage and the Cave. I fulfilled my end of the deal and Aoda was saved by its people. I met the White Snake Sage and Aoda negotiated a deal that in exchange for sacrifices I could ask the Sage to peer into the future for me."

The traitor chuckled wryly. "I thought the snakes were playing a trick on me, but the White Snake Sage, apparently foreseeing my potential use, told me to hurry home as I was about to become a daimyo and that would prove her truth to me." He sobered at the memory. "I returned home to find my father dead from a drunken fall from our mansion into the ravine that ran behind it." A rictus of rage rolled across his face. "Another outrage to punish Mizuzaki's line for! After our banishment, father lost access to all of his vices, save for alcohol, which began to consume him as much as he did it."

Akechi took a breath. "From that point, I would periodically visit the Cave, delivering sacrifices of prisoners through glyphs the snakes taught me and leaving with insights that would bring me to my goal. While I cannot activate the runes myself, the Sage can trigger them remotely at the time of her choosing."

The traitor looked at Mizuzaki and Reiyuriko. "When Queen Mizuho passed without producing a male heir, I knew it would be my ONLY shot at claiming the Aquamarine Throne… Killing you both would have been easy enough, but it wouldn't be poetically satisfying! No, I needed to use the same mechanism that charted my life's course to take what I deserved; that thrice-damned motherless Blue fucking Wall!"

The traitor looked very proud of himself. "I rounded up every prisoner in my district; I even traded with Districts 2 and 6 for their prisoners, regardless of their crimes..." The two named regional lords, whose territories were adjacent to the traitor's, nodded confirmation that such deals had occurred. "All was prepared to deliver them en masse to Ryuuchi Cave where I asked the Sage which, of all the regional princes, would the Blue Wall dictate to be Princess Reiyuriko's divine match. To my utter delight, she named Kodansyo wa Kosha! It was an opportunity to avenge not only my grandfather's fate, but my father's as well!" He looked hatefully at Kosha and had it returned in equal measure.

"I proceeded to spell out my ideas for a plan, getting the Sage's divine input that Amegakure had what I needed for the best outcome of my goals. I thanked the Sage, promising that in exchange for her help I would give her every prisoner worthy of an executable offense from the entirety of the Land of Rivers after I took the throne. The Sage was pleased by the offer as she transferred the prepared sacrifices to the Cave… The snakes ate well that night."

Everyone in the room looked sickened at the traitor's callousness. Kosha was clearly torn between delight that this testimony would give him his son back and wanting to rip Akechi's head off with his bare hands.

Fukamichu looked at the traitor with contempt. "And you promised Amegakure how much of Katabami Mine for their help?"

"5% of it's annual output, 1.7 billion ryou, every year I sat on the Throne." The jaws of everyone in the room fell open. Suddenly the willingness of the Rain Village to mess with the Imperial Family made sense; that kind of money rivaled the military budgets of the five major nations COMBINED!

"So they altered Mizuzaki-sama's mind and put Kodansyo through Undine Kawa's challenge."

The traitor chuckled. "And it worked even better than I could have dreamed! I never expected him to fall into the Onsen while Reiyuriko was using it; I had been trying to concoct the best way to get him exiled when, like a gift from the Goddess trying to rectify her error, it fell into my lap!" He leered at his cousin. "Or, rather, yours according the stories I heard."

"Pig!" Reiyuriko raged, her cheeks coloring.

The traitor looked nonplussed by her insult. "The plan went off without a hitch. The Sage told me that Reiyuriko would neither marry nor produce heirs for anyone that lacked Undine Kawa's Mark. With Kodansyo exiled, all I needed was for you to be removed from the throne, Ayanami." He scowled at the Lord Daimyo. "You were SUPPOSED to lose your mind during the Vow Renewal Ceremony yesterday and be removed by a vote of no confidence, forcing Reiyuriko to declare that she would only accept Kodansyo! The Lord Daimyo can't be a convicted felon, let alone a man exiled by the previous Lord Daimyo, so she would be declared unfit to choose..."

"Giving you the Throne by default as the next in line of succession." Shao Fukamichu said with disgust even as he recognized the aesthetics of the traitor's deviant thinking. He looked to the gathered regional daimyo. "My lords, I call for a vote to vacate the order of exile on Kodansyo wa Kosha based on the confession extracted from the traitor, Akechi wa Jubei. All in favor?"

A chorus of fifteen affirmations answered him, bringing tears to Reiyuriko's eyes even as Kosha fell to his knees and began weeping openly. Not only was his boy coming home, but he would be doing so as Ayanami's successor!

A grin crossed Amaya Satou's lips as she whispered to herself. "Primary mission objective completed…"

The Lord Daimyo raised his shaku with a smile at the unanimous agreement of his lords. "Kodansyo wa Kosha's exile and crimes against the Imperial Family are hereby vacated; with the Throne's sincerest apologies!"

He looked to his daughter, setting his shaku down. "I presume that my son-in-law's somewhere that had he been found five seconds earlier would have gotten him executed?"

"Maybe…" Reiyuriko said biting her lower lip nervously; everything was correcting itself so fast her mind was still reeling! "He's…"

"Right here." The rice paper door that the real Reiyuriko had entered from slid open and revealed the formerly exiled prince, dressed in common clothes, with Kane Suzuki standing beside him. Both Amaya and Kari looked at the Genin in disbelief, but he gestured that it was all the client's order.

Kodansyo pulled out the earpiece that Motoko Hata had given him so they could listen in… Just in case things DIDN'T pan out and he needed to run and reunite with Reiyuriko later. Passing it to her, he whispered something that made the Leaf kunoichi grin before she slipped past the two and disappeared into the hall behind them.

Kodansyo walked up to his wife; taking her hand. "Right where I'm supposed to be... As Undine Kawa intended." Kosha looked like he wanted to jump the table and grab his son in a bear hug, but managed to hold his ground.

Raiden's eyes went wide at the sight of Kane, who looked as burly as Tanaka-sensei, but was the same height as the other Genin in the room. "Holy shit, Takahashi fought THAT? Geez, he's lucky he got out in as good a shape as he did!" He whispered to the others before getting shushed by Kimiko Itou, whose eyes were gleaming with tears of happiness for her cousin.

The Lord Daimyo had the conflicted look that all fathers who truly love their daughters get when they see them for the first time as a woman with their husband-to-be. "Shall we make it official, then?"

The crown princess nodded to her father before turning to address the regional daimyo. "Let it be know that, by the paired divine marks of Megumi Undine Kawa on our backs, I, Reiyuriko wa Mizuzaki, hereby declare that my husband and the next Lord Daimyo will be Kodansyo wa Kosha!" She beamed at her no longer secret husband. "He is mine and I am his, through life and death, from now until the end of time itself." She declared, using the ancient oath of marriage.

Kodansyo bowed to his wife and then turned to address the others. "I, Kodansyo wa Kosha, do hereby accept Princess Reiyuriko wa Mizuzaki's proposal." He lovingly pressed his forehead to hers. "She is mine and I am hers, through life and death, until the end of time itself." Their heads separated as he resumed talking to his future servants. "And so united, we shall be Mizuzaki and Mizuho the 28th… When that time comes..." He smiled at his wife and father-in-law, "…which, Undine Kawa willing, will not be for quite some time…"

Kimiko Itou and Miho Hyuuga began to applaud joyfully, followed by Okito Tanaka, Raiden Hata, Prince Muso and his sisters. Sho Inugami clapped his "good" arm on his knee while Nakahito Haruno – arms still paralyzed – stomped his feet rapidly. Several of the regional daimyo joined in with the exceptions of Bankotsu of the 10th and Akago of the 13th, both of whom felt irritation that their sons would not be picked.

"As the two wronged the most by the traitor Akechi wa Jubei's actions," Mizuzaki said, extending the hilt of his shaku to his son-in-law, "I grant you leave to decide his fate."

Kodansyo accepted the baton with a bow before turning to the prisoner. He looked at the kunoichi whose powers had compelled the traitor's testimony. "Satou-san, can you free his mind enough that he understands everything about to happen?"

"I… BELIEVE I can…" Amaya said uncertainly. She took a deep breath. "Puppy, you can look at me now." The traitor's head snapped in her direction and adoration filled his eyes. "With the exceptions that you may not move or harm yourself and that you may not talk while others are speaking, I command you to revert to your true self… Now."

The traitor's eyes hardened with rage and he started to try and thrash about to no avail. "You Suna WHORE! How dare you reduce me to your puppet!"

"All yours, Prince… Sorry, LORD Kodansyo." Amaya Satou said with a smile and a bow.

As the future River Lord nodded, he saw Motoko Hata's Naruto Narusegawa return to the ballroom via one of the main entries with Kikyo Higurashi in tow. The real maid looked very confused, but followed the disguised swordswoman willingly. Prince Muso saw his no-so-secret girlfriend arrive and the confusion spread to him as well.

"I suppose first things first…" Kodansyo said with a smile to his wife, getting a nod of agreement in return. "Muso wa Akago, please step forward."

Reiyuriko's former suitor disengaged from holding his sisters protectively, as he had been doing since being released from the Shrine of Nirvana spell, and approached the others with confused self-confidence. He bowed deferentially to the royal couple.

The crown princess added her hand to the shaku to indicate that the two of them were in full agreement regarding the next words to be spoken. "We hereby transfer the authority, assets, rights, powers, and title of Daimyo of the 3rd district that were previously stripped from Akechi wa Jubei to Muso wa Akago and his future heirs; effective immediately."

The jaws of nearly all the other regional daimyo fell open, including those of Muso and his father. Meanwhile, Kikyo, Kanna and Kagura gasped and covered their mouths in surprise.

"Your Highnesses, I am at a loss… After all, I am heir apparent to the 13th district and they're on opposite sides of the nation, so you clearly don't intend for the districts to merge." He explained after he recovered his ability to speak.

"Indeed you were." Mizuzaki the 28th agreed with his former peer. "However, Reiyuriko and I agree that if not for my being subjected to the Blue Wall challenge by the traitor, YOU would have likely been the one to marry into the Throne."

"As such," The future Mizuho the 28th spoke up, "…we feel that it is only right that you be compensated by the traitor whose actions denied that course of destiny… So that you, too, may follow your own heart in choosing a life partner; even if it's one your Father would have disowned you over..."

She smiled at him as she looked over to Kikyo, gesturing with her hand. The newest regional daimyo turned and the light came on in his eyes as he suddenly realized the possibilities. Muso invitingly extended his hand to the maid, grinning ear-to-ear as his father looked ready to scream in outrage.

Kikyo looked at Motoko, confused and surprised at everything that was happening. Hata whispered to the maid before gently nudging her in Muso's direction. Higurashi strode forward, trying to look as dignified as she could in her maid's outfit, her pace increasing as she got closer to her lover.

As she reached him, Muso raised his brows in curiosity. "What do you say, Kikyo? I know we never thought this could go anywhere but…" His words were cut off as she grabbed him close and kissed him passionately. Slight smiles appeared on Reiyuriko and Motoko's faces, tears gleaming in their eyes.

After a few eternal seconds, someone coughed uncomfortably and the two remembered they were in public. Kikyo Higurashi released Muso and placed her hand in his. "Hai, Muso-sama, hai…"

"We happily release you from your oath of service, Higurashi-san," Kodansyo said with a smile at his wife, who had whispered the maid's name to him. "…With gratitude for your years of work in the Palace." He gestured to the other fifteen regional daimyo. "Please join your fellow lords; we will get an official signet prepared for you as soon as possible… Seeing as your predecessor's is clearly unusable at the moment."

Muso nodded, whispering to his newly minted fiancée, who nodded and walked over to Muso's sisters. Kanna smiled gently at the former maid/future sister-in-law while Kagura, ever the lively one, grabbed her in a massive bear hug that made Raiden chuckle over by his fellow ninja.

Muso took a spot by his father and the two began to talk softly, but heatedly, to one another as they discussed their family's future. It was very clear from Muso's facial features that he'd grown tired of being under his father's thumb for so long and was now no longer forced to be obedient.

All through this process, the traitor had made many attempts to scream, rage, and even try to bite off his own tongue again… Only to find himself unable to do any of that because of the limits placed upon him by Amaya Satou's almost diabolical power.

Across the room, Kane Suzuki looked at the trapped traitor with something approaching pity, knowing that man's existence was now his cousin's plaything that would be soon discarded without a second thought. Even if she released him now, a part of the traitor's mind would always yearn for Amaya until his dying day. He was just lucky enough to not be forced to suffer the worst of it…

Suzuki remembered his father's shrieks of agony from the last time his bitch of a mother had stopped fucking Kaito Satou long enough for her Obsession pheromones to wear off… After a month or more of continuous application, Obsession became something the victim's body actively craved – making it the most addictive drug in the known ninja world – and Akiko Satou was just sadistic enough that she felt the need to remind Kane's father of his dependency upon her "generosity" every few years. Fortunately for the world, there was a limit as to how much Obsession a Satou could product each month and that the pheromone could not be stored; it began to break down within seconds of leaving the producer's skin.

Part of the Sand Genin was all too happy that he could never be controlled like that, even though he regularly cursed the source of his existence.

The future Mizuzaki the 28th looked down ambivalently at the traitor that had caused him and his family such misery, but at the same time had made him realize how much, deep down, he'd loved Reiyuriko and how the traitor's actions had helped them truly find each other. "I guess that the only thing left to do is to declare your sentence…" The future River Lord paused to take a breath.

"Point of order!" Akechi wa Jubei spoke abruptly, talking advantage of what he perceived to be his last chance to save himself.

"Oh, what the fuck now..?" Daimyo Kosha muttered just loudly enough to be heard by everyone.

The traitor gestured over to the gathered Konoha ninja; despite everything that had happened to him, he'd at least caught the names of two of the people who had thwarted his machinations. "I hereby accuse Kimiko Itou and Nakahito Haruno, foreign ninja from Konoha in the Land of Fire, of assault upon a member of the Land of Rivers Kuge… And demand a full and proper investigation into their role in the stripping of my title and status before my sentence is declared!"

The jaws of everyone in the room dropped. Miho Hyuuga groaned softly, putting her hands to her face in frustration. Okito Tanaka patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"You must be joking!" Kosha roared, proving that despite his declining health he was still the bombastic one. "You attempted to depose the Lord Daimyo and, when that failed, tried to murder him! You are no longer a member of the Kuge to make such demands!"

"Unfortunately, Kosha-sama," Shao Fukamichu began grimly, "…Akechi wa Jubei's status was not rescinded until AFTER the assault on his person took place. Regardless of his actions prior to the assault, heinous though they were, he WAS still Kuge at the time and, as such, is legally within his rights to make such a demand."

"And as my assets have been forfeited, suitable legal council must be provided by the Imperial courts." Akechi said pointedly. "And I do believe the Imperial Public Defender's office is at least three months behind schedule. You will, of course, have to suspend their travel visas for the duration of the wait as they are a flight risk otherwise." The traitor looked at his two attackers through bloody and swollen eyes as the assembled regional lords began to argue amongst themselves. "I hope doing this to me was worth the next four-to-six months of your lives to the two of you…"

Before Nakahito could dig his grave any deeper than it already was – and given how he was swelling up like an angry toad, such an action was highly likely – Sho Inugami clapped his hand over his teammate's mouth. "Keep your mouth shut before you make this even worse…"

The medic looked over to Miho-sensei, who was clearly still trying to figure out what the procedures and protocols were for minor international incidents like this… And that she was obviously drawing a blank due to the fact that – generally speaking – Genin normally were never IN a position to cause such incidents. She'd certainly never been stuck in such a quagmire of red tape before and her lack of experience was clearly making her spin her mental wheels.

Inugami sighed. Just like during the Yondaime's Gambit, it was on him to rescue his teammates from their own impetuous actions.

"Tanaka-sensei, Akira Muto was an A-class target in Suna's equivalent of the Bingo Book. Was he the same in ours?" The medic asked, looking to the other Jonin.

"Probably, why?"

"How about in Tanigakure's?"

"Given his crimes against the Lord Daimyo? S-class, easy." He frowned. "Why are you asking?"

"So I can give the fact that I had to make my first kill have some beneficial meaning." Inugami said grimly as he stood up and addressed the majordomo. "If I may, Fukamichu-san?"

Confused, the majordomo nodded.

Inugami pulled out the black scroll holding Muto's corpse in stasis. He focused for a few moments, chakra filling his vocal cords before he resumed speaking loudly enough to cut through all the conversations in the ballroom and made a few people wince. "As the one directly responsible for the death of the ninja that the traitor used to influence Lord Mizuzaki, I hereby claim the Tanigakure bounty on the head of Akira Muto… However, given the rapidly deteriorating condition of the body and the fact that only the Director of Konoha's Jutsu Research and Development unit can access the corpse, you will need to send a team there to claim your prize.

"Once this is done, instead of the standard monetary compensation for such a bounty, I request you cover the expenses for the highest quality private legal representation in Kawa City for my teammates…" He pointed the scroll at the bloody man in the middle. "And for the traitor, as well."

The room suddenly went silent.

"What?!" The traitor exclaimed, recovering from his shock first. "No, I refuse!"

The man that had hired Konoha in the first place looked equally confused. "I must confess that I can't imagine why you'd provide legal representation for the man who stabbed you, Inugami-san."

Sho Inugami mentally cursed as he saw Amaya Satou mouth his real name, but dealing with her in the future would be worth not being stuck with his team down here for up to half a year…

"Yeah, seriously, Oni, what the hell..?" Haruno demanded of his teammate even as both Jonin were shocked by the medical ninja's largesse. The average bounty on an S-class felon was easily over 5 million ryou; far more than the best legal representation on the planet could have possibly cost.

Being from a family with money so old it predated the current form of currency – not to mention that as Head of the Jutsu Research Department and Chief Researcher (Genetics) his parents made the equivalent of an A rank mission's worth of income weekly – Inugami felt his time with Motoko was worth infinitely more than any bounty and was resolved to minimize its loss as much as possible.

"It's not as complex a reason as you might think, Fukamichu-san… If one were familiar with Article 9, section 77, subsection 5 of the legal code of the Land of Rivers, that is."

It took a moment, but a wry grin crossed the majordomo's features and, a few seconds behind his realization, both Mizuzaki the 27th and Daimyo Kosha began to laugh as they recalled the section of the legal code the medic-nin had invoked. As the two ultimately responsible for upholding the legal code and the man whom had spent most of the last six months looking for any exploitable loophole to exonerate his son, it made sense for them to understand what Sho had just done once their minds recalled the particulars.

Meanwhile, the rest of the room was still utterly baffled.

"What?! Ayanami, why the fuck are you and your sycophant laughing?!" The traitor demanded. Like so many other career politicians, Akechi knew just enough of the legal code to use it to serve his personal agenda. If it didn't do so, there was no point in reading it, after all…

Until it bit you in the ass; that is.

"Per the section of the legal code shinobi Inugami referred to," The majordomo clarified, "…an accused person may utilize a public defender ONLY if the defendant has no reasonable access to any other legal council; regardless of the source."

At Shao's announcement, Miho's legs nearly gave out, but she was caught by an equally stunned, but more physically stable Okito. Hyuuga had no clue why or how Inugami knew this particular section of the Land of Rivers legal code, but she was justifiably proud of how far her oldest Genin had come – socially speaking – in the last three months… The Inugami she'd first met would have merely asked to be reassigned to another team – and would have had his request granted! – rather than put forth this kind of effort for Haruno and Itou's sakes.

"Oh my GOD, what the hell does that even mean?!" An irritated Raiden Hata demanded. While this earned him a dour look from his twin and his sensei, several of the regional daimyo, most of the Sand ninja, and both of Inugami's teammates clearly wanted an explanation.

Sho's eyes were like shards of green and gray ice as he addressed the traitor. "In other words, Akechi wa Jubei, your choices are now to either accept the lawyer I'm offering to pay for or to represent yourself, alone, against the best lawyers Fukamichu can find for my teammates. You see, my offer to cover your legal fees – strange though it may seem – constitutes sufficient proof that you have reasonable access to legal council. Whether you accept the offer or not is immaterial. This means your motion can now be addressed at the earliest opportunity the courts can make room in their schedule to hear the case… Which is undoubtedly FAR sooner than three months from now."

"Three or four weeks at most…" Ayanami agreed. "More than enough time for the bounty to be confirmed and the body collected from Konoha."

"Shit…" Nakahito breathed in stunned surprise to Kimiko. "I might just kiss that asshole for getting us out of this!"

"Not if I beat you to it, 'Hito."

"Oi! The line starts behind my sister." Raiden said, a shiver running down his back. "Unfortunately…"

The other two Genin on Team 13 shot each other a glance before they giggled at the bruiser's discomfort.

"Don't think for a minute that Sho pulling your collective asses out of the hot seat means there won't be consequences for both of your actions." Miho Hyuuga said shortly, still irritated at the majority of her Team. "But we'll discuss that later." Nakahito and Kimiko both sobered up instantly.

Meanwhile, Akechi's mouth open and closed like an overgrown koi hoping for a treat. All three of the Satou giggled, Amaya slightly more than her cousins as she gave Inugami a look that worried her Jonin instructor. "Who the fuck ARE you?!"

Inugami looked to Kodansyo, who nodded in silent agreement; this had gone on for long enough. "I'm the one who's forcing you to accept the fact that you lost. Even though you've bought yourself a little extra time, I hope you enjoy whatever hole they stick you in for the rest of your life."

"Indeed." The crown prince consort agreed. "Guards, take the traitor to the dungeon to await the trial he seeks."

Amaya Satou gripped the traitor's chin one last time. "Well, puppy, it looks like it's time for you to go back to your kennel… Until your day in court, you may not knowingly harm yourself." She released him as the guards dragged him away, struggling uselessly and screaming in rage.

Amaya turned to address Inugami, but suddenly Kari, the Desert Rose, stepped between them. The Jonin looked over to Suzuki, who nodded; he'd recognized Sho's last name as well, even though his cousin and her sister clanswomen clearly hadn't. "And with that, Prince Kodansyo, our mission – as contracted – is complete. As such, my team and Larissa's must return to Suna immediately. Let's go, Satous."

"But…" Amaya began to protest. Suddenly Kane grabbed the perpetual thorn in his ass, slinging her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and carried her out of the room. "Suzuki! Put me down you oaf!"

Motoko Hata could barely keep herself in character as the Suna bitch disappeared around the corner, squawking in annoyance.

"As much as I am all for letting you embarrass yourself further by letting you flirt with the guy who's clearly grandson of the woman behind the Great Satou Roast from twenty years ago, Kari-sensei said it's time to go..." Suzuki said as he carried his cousin down to and out the main Palace doors.

"HE'S WHAT?!" The collective screech of all three Satou women cut through the night; warming Suzuki's heart in a way it had never felt before. The grim young man now hoped to run into both Konoha teams as opponents in the future… The headbands of Takahashi and Inugami would make FINE additions to his collection when the opportunity arose...

Only the fact that the Desert Rose was now standing between them and the descendant of a woman who'd nearly exterminated their clan a generation ago kept the three Satou kunoichi heading back to their soon-to-be-closed base of operations...