"Why should we trust you? As you so readily reminded us, you are a Konoha ninja. Giving Konoha control over our water supply would be foolish." Ebizo pointed out.
Ren nodded, and his rude demeanor dropped as he was inwardly satisfied. Now they were finally getting somewhere. The negotiation could start.
Honestly, he understood Ebizo's misgivings. In their perspective, a Konoha ninja offered them a solution to their biggest problem ever since their village's creation. Something that was currently a big strain on their economy.
It was suspicious as heck. Ren couldn't fault him for seeing this as Konoha's attempt to gain a measure of control over Suna. But he was also quite helpless against such an accusation. Holding Suna's lifeline, their water supply, as a hostage would indeed be a brilliant move from Konoha. And Ren could profess innocence for the next month, but they would still not fully trust him.
Rightfully so, considering that he could turn the seal on and off. He could take Suna's water supply hostage. Not that he would. But these men and women were smart enough to realize the dangers here.
The only way to earn their trust is through actions. And that's why Ren chose their water supply problem as an in before he could offer other solutions to their problems. It was a little bit scummy, but also the fastest way. And hopefully, once they realize he was giving Suna things that Konoha did not have and could profit a lot from, their trust in him would increase.
Ren politely smiled at Ebizo and let out a small, rueful sigh before he slowly spoke. "You are right, Elder. It would be foolish." He agreed, making Ebizo raise an eyebrow at him in an unimpressed way, wondering where he was going with this. "But..." Ren calmly shrugged, "You aren't really in the position to not take the deal, are you?"
The room descended into a profound silence, and the Suna council felt as if somebody had poured a bucket of cold water on them as they looked at the relaxed Ren, watching them with a polite, knowing expression.
They knew they had lost. They might not like it, but the Konoha ninja was correct. Even if this was a trap from Konoha, they couldn't pass on something that could save their village.
A lot of hands balled into fists, a lot of expressions scrunched in a defeated distaste, many of them wanted to be petty and childish about it. But at the end of the day, they realized they would be giving the smug Konoha bastard what he wanted because it was the best outcome for Suna.
Any problems that might come out of it later on... they would need to deal with these when the village was not having an economic crisis.
Ebizo, however, didn't want to put the village completely at Konoha's mercy. He remembered the first and the second ninja wars and feared that their villages could find themselves on a different side of a conflict in the future once more. He decided he had to at least try to wrangle more control for Suna from Ren's offer.
"And would you be amenable to teaching these seals to a select few ninjas from Suna? We would need to maintain them or repair them if they break." Ebizo took a deep breath, preparing to fight tooth and nail for this concession.
It didn't even need to be right away. In fact, he expected to be refused. He only wanted to put the idea out there, so they could easily bring it up again later.
Asking for money showed a certain amount of greed, and Ebizo could work with that. It was a chip in the armor he might be able to exploit. They could pay the man to solve their issues for now. The deal itself was great for their village anyway. But the important part was to get his knowledge so they would not be helplessly dependent on him or Konoha if anything went wrong.
Ebizo glanced at Temari and Baki, who were situated slightly behind Ren, out of his line of sight. He subtly motioned with his eyes toward Ren, making it seem as if he had just returned his attention to him. Realizing the implied message, Baki put a hand on Temari's lower back and quietly tapped an order with his fingers.
The girl tried to hide a grimace under her impassive facade, and Ebizo's mood slightly soured at the hesitation in her eyes. It showed that she was already at least partially subverted by her husband.
That... might require further consideration.
He liked the girl, and he was not against her appointment as the future Kazekage once she got trained a bit more, both in politics and ninja prowess. She was smart, dutiful, had the potential to reach high, and she loved her village. Despite the disagreement about her appointment among the other councilmen, she was the best option they had.
But this was not the moment to hesitate. He needed her to use her limited sway over Ren to persuade him. Of course, not here. That would be too blatant. But the standing order for her was clear. She was to spread her legs for her husband, worm her way into his heart, and subtly soften him up to the idea of teaching his skills to Suna ninjas. That was her mission in this marriage.
Now, this mission was more important for Suna than ever. And Ebizo decided Temari needed a reminder of that.
Ebizo couldn't help but feel a measure of irritation. If the intel that Baki and the negotiators that returned from Konoha provided was true, the girl might not have even consummated their marriage yet. Yes, it was a distasteful part of being a kunoichi, but she was supposed to be subverting her husband, not getting subverted by him, before she even spread her legs for him!
Pushing his irritation down as soon as it sprang up, Ebizo continued, "Of course, this will require trust between us. We understand that. We can wait a year or two," And he was going to work hard for their villages not to come into conflict during that timeframe, "but please, consider taking a student. It is partly why we insisted on getting you here in the first place."
Ebizo finished speaking, and despite his eyes being firmly set on Ren, his attention was on Temari, who could feel it as she nervously clutched at her clothes, glancing at Ren in a hidden trepidation and conflicting feelings concealed in her eyes.
Ebizo's mood darkened. It seemed he would need to have words with the girl after this meeting. He was going to set her straight, and she was going to do her duty. That was non-negotiabl-!
"Sure. I don't mind teaching Temari." Ren casually said as if it was not a big deal, and Ebizo's mind went blank for a moment from how unexpected that answer was.
Ren, noticing how flabbergasted the big man behind Suna council was despite his controlled expression, smirked at throwing him so off. "It will take her a few months to learn the basics, but I can teach Temari the Sealing Arts. As for how far she can go with it, that will depend on her talent and dedication."
He turned his head and glanced at Temari, finding her startled. When their eyes met, Ren smiled, and she slightly blushed, involuntarily ducking her head as she guiltily averted her eyes to the side.
Chuckling, Ren turned back toward Ebizo, inwardly shaking his head. Suna certainly failed to give her deception and acting training. That was for sure.
Unfortunately for them, Ren could sense things through the air. He noticed Baki's fingers tapping a message on Temari's back, and even if he didn't understand the code, the subtle shift of Temari's expression told him enough.
First, she clearly disliked whatever order she had gotten. Secondly, she glanced at him. Considering the topic, and how she averted her eyes right now? Ren could put two and two together.
Just like he knew that Chiyo had her hands underneath the table, and had several chakra strings connected to hidden weaponry all over the room.
Or like he knew that Ebizo was clutching a kunai with a wind-chakra edge underneath his long sleeves that covered his hands.
Or that there were sixteen hidden ninjas all over the room, all ready to attack at the drop of a hat.
Or that the dipshit to the right was subtly leering at Temari's legs. That man suddenly winced as he felt a kick to his shin, before he turned to the clueless and innocent man to his right and gave him a small glare.
"Only Temari?" Ebizo slowly asked, his mind quickly working out the implications. He got what he wanted. But this was too easy. It should not have been this easy. That in itself made Ren's agreement suspicious.
"Only Temari, for now." Ren said, and his smirk became more smug as he saw the realization hit Ebizo, causing his expression to grow slightly worried.
Honestly, Ren's intentions were not rocket science. His wife was already a Kazekage candidate. He just wanted her to become so important to Suna that they would have to give her that post, no matter what.
Anybody with two brain cells to rub together could figure out what their aim with the entire political marriage was. It didn't take a genius to realize that Temari was given an order to seduce him.
In the same vein, anybody with two brain cells to rub together could figure out that Ren wanted to ensure Temari would become the Kazekage.
The beautiful thing about both these 'schemes' was that, despite being plainly obvious, there wasn't a whole lot that could be done to counter them.
Temari was already his wife, and their relationship was amicable. Ordering her to seduce him was pointless because it was going to happen eventually anyway.
And Temari was already the best candidate for the Kazekage post that Suna currently had. Plus, both of her brothers, who were the other best candidates, supported her. With or without Ren's support, she was very likely to end up in the position.
The reason why Ebizo looked so worried all of a sudden was the implications. Ren wanted to push Temari into the position, which implied that he had some sort of goal to reach with this action.
And he did. Heh. He wanted to make Ebizo worry about some nonexistent conspiracy. It was surely going to be a fun time for the old coot. Hopefully, the more time he spent worrying about it, the less time he would have to interfere.
Ren decided not to bother with explaining himself properly. Ninjas were going to be paranoid. It was their default setting.
"But I think we got off topic for a while." Ren spoke with an amused smile, "I think we should get back on track. We were speaking about how I could help your village and how much it is going to cost you, asshole tax and all."