It wasn't too long before the clan leaders of the Sekigahara Confederate got back to him with an arranged eting on their response to his demands. He quickly found himself in a eting with all the clan leaders of the Sekigahara Confederate.
"We heard that you have sparred with our Masters," one of the clan leaders began with an unamused tone. "We did not expect you to have engaged with the Masters of our nation due to... history."
Rui shrugged. "It doesn't matter to . I'm sure they, too, will assert sothing similar as well. It's just friendly sparring between fellow Martial Artists."
The clan leaders stared at him bluntly.
"Anyway," Rui coughed. "I would like to hear your response to my demands, have you decided to acquiesce to my terms and conditions?"
They gazed at him for a mont before the patriarch of the Shinken Clan shook his head. "We have decided not to."
Rui narrowed his eyes. "What?"
"Instead, we would like to make a counter-proposal," the matriarch of the Tsuki Clan continued. "We are willing to offer you a continuous supply of fruits of the Tree of Healings, but not partial ownership over the tree itself. Additionally, as long as your solutions are as powerful as you claim, we are willing to commit to the joint unified task force."
Her voice was firm and unyielding.
Rui could tell that this was undoubtedly a painful concession to make. There was a solid chance that he wouldn't be able to get a better deal than this. Of course, there was also a high chance that he would be able to squeeze out the original deal of partial ownership over the Tree of Healings.
Ultimately, however, Rui decided not to risk it.
If this truly was their bottom line, then pushing past it would sour the negotiations, and it would be difficult to return back to their bottom without ceding a position of strength. Ultimately, Rui was decently satisfied with a constant supply of healing fruits. This still satisfied his personal needs as far as he was concerned.
He stirred at their offer before eventually relenting. "Alright then, I accept your offer. Reparations in the form of a constant supply of healing fruits and a commitnt to join the Sage task force. In return, I give all of you Hellbringer training, breakthroughs, and a real opportunity to beco allies with the Kandrian Empire."
Simply giving reparations was hardly enough to beco allies with the Kandrian Empire. The reparations were rely payback for the things that the Sekigahara Confederate had done to the Kandrian Empire.
And yet, that was good enough for the Sekigaharans.
A hint of relief could be detected from the clan leaders of the Sekigahara Confederate. "We look forward to working with you."
"But first," Rui smirked. "I want the healing fruits right away."
The clan leaders frowned at his request. "Are you planning to consu them outside of combat? That is a highly wasteful utilization of this precious resource. It is only temporary and is thus best used in the most important of battles.
"I do with the fruits what I want," Rui calmly retorted. "Humankind will have to forgive for being a little selfish."
He was sure that his contributions were more than overcompensated for this self-centered utilization of the healing fruits. Regardless, he swiftly signed an agreent with the clan leaders of the Sekigahara Confederate on a delicate scroll woven from silver and gold. It was only after the two parties ford the written agreent that it was now official.
"Alright, take to the tree imdiately."
The clan leaders readily acquiesced to his demand. It wasn't long before he was led into the heart of the Sekigahara Confederate and into their national vault of treasures, where they stored their most valued possessions.
At the very heart of the massive vault of the Sekigahara Confederate was an ethereal tree that bore a variety of ripe fruits. They glowed magnificently, lighting up the especially monitored environnt to ensure that the tree was never at risk of suffering due to an incompatible environnt.
Not only did the tree and fruits glow in a myriad of colors, but they were ever so translucent. It gave off a sensation that was beyond words.
For a mont, Rui had wondered whether the Tree of Healings would be outside the Tree of Life of Gaia, but it turned out that it very much was within the Tree of Life indeed. Although he had never seen this particular species before, he could see what environnt was most antithetical to this creature with his enlightennt.
"Beautiful, is it not?" the patriarch of the Shinken Clan bead with pride. "She is our greatest treasure. You are the first outsider who has ever had the honor of witnessing her in person."
Rui gazed at the tree with appreciation while his eyes lit up at the fruits that hung from its branches. He made his way to the tree that was guarded by Martial Masters at all tis, carefully reaching out to pick out so fruits.
"Woah..." Rui murmured. "They even feel as though they are not actually in this world."
They were weightless, yet Rui could feel a solid presence when he grasped his hand around one and pulled it off the tree.
He cautiously ate one curiously, surprised at the empty taste and texture of the fruit.
"It doesn't taste as good as it looks," he murmured as he munched into the fruit.
Yet, it was hardly the taste that he had co for in the first place.
He gazed at his hands with an intrigued expression.
SPLAT!
He slit his wrists as a test, causing blood to splurt out and bleed profusely from the wound.
WHOOSH
His eyes widened with a hint of surprise as the wound disappeared, completely healed. "That's incredible..."
It didn't even feel like how Weaving Blood felt, which rely accelerated his natural evolved healing. It felt like it was a glitch in reality, simply skipping ti forward to how it would be after the wound was fully healed.
An excited grin erged on Rui's face.
"I can work with this."
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