The King of Steel (RWBY/ Ozpin SI): Chapter 9

“Headmaster Ozpin, or should I call you Councilor now?”

I chuckled at those words before shaking hands with the Panther Faunus in front of me.

“Just call me Ozpin, Ghira. After all the years we spent trying to bring equality to your people, I would not feel comfortable if you suddenly started using honorifics between us.”

The giant of a man gave a tiny smile at my words.

Then, I turned to the person who was the main agenda of today’s meeting, at least for me.

Sienna Khan is a beautiful woman, there is no doubt about it. She holds a kind of wild beauty that would have made my heart dance in my younger years, before all this mess.

However, I know that this beauty hides a ruthless heart that is in no way inferior to my own.

How do I know this? Well, all I had to do was dig up the history of the Fang and all the incidents they were involved in. things that were swept under the rug by many people in high places that would never have seen the light of day if it were not for my connections.

Let’s just say, the White Fang may have been a peaceful protest organization during Ghira’s rule, but the undercurrent of violence was always there, hidden in the shadows and silently being carried out without anyone’s notice thanks to this woman and how she operates.

It was no coincidence that she was elected as the leader of the White Fang after Ghira stepped down nearly unchallenged.

“Headmaster Ozpin.”

“Ms. Khan.”

I returned the polite nod and gestured towards the table.

With the round of pleasantries over with, Sienna did not even wait for any refreshments before getting straight to the point.

Which was a pity, considering that I had wanted to let her enjoy at least some refreshments before I destroyed her and her precious White Fang.

“Headmaster Ozpin, Your request for this meeting mentioned that you wanted to negotiate with Menagerie so that you can ‘better’ the lives of our people, then, why did you ask the White Fang to be present here as well?”

I smiled at her question before sending a subtle pulse of magic across the room, activating the devices I placed there beforehand and starting to put my plan in motion.

“Today, I asked the White Fang’s leader, you, to be present here along with the chief of Menagerie because I want to put an end to this feud between the Faunus and Humans. I know that it is not an easy task since people will always have their own opinions, but we must start somewhere, so why not start from here?”

Sienna raised an eyebrow at my words as Ghira gave me a hopeful look.

“What do you mean by that? Ozpin?”

I gave my old friend a grin before speaking.

“What I am saying, Ghira, is that we, the Vale Council, have decided to officially negotiate with Menagerie and the White Fang to end all hostilities and to provide a better living environment for your people.”

The hope in Ghira’s eyes increased exponentially with each word I spoke, while the doubt within Sienna’s eyes grew just as fast.

“Flowery words do not suit you, Headmaster Ozpin. This is not the first time that the councils of the four kingdoms have promised us something only to turn on us and say that nothing was ever put on paper so those promises were invalid.”

“You would be right to doubt us, Ms. Khan, that is why, as one of the Council members, I have been authorized to draft official documentation that will be uploaded into the CCT once we are done negotiating. Would that be proof enough of our sincerity?”

The surprise on her face is understandable as no council has ever even offered to make an official treaty or promise to the Faunus in any form aside from the one drafted after the Faunus revolution all those years ago.

This is ironic considering that the Faunus Revolution is the very reason why things have escalated to this point in the first place.

Back in those days, things were not that bad. Yes, discrimination existed everywhere and the Faunus had to deal with it, but it never reached a point where things would become unbearable for the Humans and the Faunus to live together.

Hell, there was even a Faunus woman who was running for a seat on the Council with a lot of support back in those days, right before the Revolution erupted into a full-scale conflict.

Then, just like what is happening now, a vocal minority group incited civil unrest on both the human side and the Faunus side, resulting in the Faunus Revolution.

And just like with every war known to mankind, both in this world and my own, things became much uglier in the aftermath.

What was restricted to subtle jabs and trading barbed words, became full-on open discrimination. People that once lived in peace despite their physical differences, now could not even bear to look at each other without erupting into physical violence.

All around the world, there was extreme pressure on the kingdoms to remove the Faunus from their borders by the common people, the industries, the military sector, and even the huntsmen academies.

It was an understandable reaction. How could the humans not hate the Faunus since, in their eyes, they were the ones who started a civil war and directly led to the deaths of their loved ones in the conflict? And how could the Faunus not hate the humans since, in their eyes, the humans had always treated them as a lower class of people and slaves, enjoying the fruits of their labor and giving them scraps to live with?

And now, after so many years, History is repeating itself with the White Fang and its radicalization.

The knowledge I have of the future is something that I do not wish to rely on since my very presence and actions have already changed the future into something completely unrecognizable. And yet, I cannot remove the image of the mass slaughter of Vale caused during the Vital Festival by Adam Taurus and Cinder Fall from my mind.

That future will never come to pass as long as I am in control. And if I have to destroy the lives of a group like the White Fang for it, then so be it.

This demon will ensure that no innocent lives are lost due to the ambitions of a select few.

“…Since you are being so sincere, we will hear out your proposal.”

The arrogance in Sienna’s tone must have rubbed Ghira the wrong way since he squirmed in discomfort as I continued to smile calmly.

“Thank you, Ms . Kahn. Now then, These are the terms that we have come up with and would ask you to consider.”

I turned on the projector and explained in detail about the plans shown on the slides.

“The first plan is to install a CCT on Menagerie so that it can properly connect with the rest of Remnant while also officially acknowledging it as the Fifth Kingdom.”

“The Second plan is to establish trade between Menagerie and Vale. As you know, we have recently reinstated our standing army and are in need of raw materials and resources for our industries. These are resources that Menagerie has but cannot access due to manpower issues. The plan is for us to assist Menagerie and establish its own industries which would deal with harvesting these resources and trading them with us.”

“The third plan is to remove the requirement of Border Pass for the people of Menagerie to give a boost to the tourism industry and allow both our economies to grow.”

The Border Pass is the Visa equivalent of this world, which is baffling for me to understand since such a concept should not be present in such a deathworld where interdependence is the key to survival.

But I guess human stupidity will always prevail no matter the world.

“Aside from these, there are also many major and minor plans that are being considered by the council at this moment but we can discuss those at a later date. So, what do you two think?”

“Ozpin, this is amazing. Menagerie will gladly accept these terms if the terms you ask of us are reasonable enough.”

I nodded at Ghira’s words, although I did not tell him that the price needed for these plans was something that he couldn’t pay since it needed to be paid by his companion.

That can wait until this meeting is over when the outcome and my future plans will be decided.

“Ms. Khan? What do you think?”

“…..Your plans are good on paper. But, there is one thing missing.”

“Please speak.”

“What are you going to do about the discrimination?”

“…That is something that will have to be fixed with time. As you know, the death toll during the Faunus Revolution was nothing to scoff at on both sides and the people form those times are still around, making it really hard to reduce such incidents. However, we do have reforms in place to shield the future generations from such practices which should eliminate these discriminations completely.”

“That is all nice to hear, but what you are saying is that you will not help deal with discrimination that exists today.”

Annoyance bubbled up within my heart at those dismissive words.

‘Just as I thought. I simply cannot bring myself to speak properly with radical and bullheaded people like her.’

‘Try to look at things from her perspective. She is just looking out for her people.’

‘Is she looking out for her people or trying to look out for her recruitment pools that would shrink drastically if my plans went forward?’

‘…..’

Ozma fell silent at my words, whether it was because he agreed with my words or did not speak to me anymore, I did not know.

“Then, what would Ms. Khan suggest?”

“I suggest Vale take a firm stance against discrimination and help the White Fang secure equality for the Faunus across your kingdom.”

….Did this delusional woman just demand me to aid her terrorist group and fight against my own people?

Why the hell is she reminding me of those delusional and entitled people from back home who demanded that refugees be allowed into our country only to turn around and cry when their wish was granted and the refugees took their jobs and homes?

I suppressed these thoughts and continued urging Sienna to dig a deeper hole for herself.

“Elaborate, please.”

She must have thought that I had already agreed with her plan since she became much more passionate in her speech. Whether it is an act or just her nature, I don’t know.

“it is simple, really. Take away the license of any institute or organization that refuses to serve or hire Faunus. Arrest those who discriminate against the Faunus and penalize them heavily. Find those war criminals that Vale has been sheltering for so long that slaughtered the many Faunus people during the Faunus revolution.”

“Also, as reparations for all the harm done to the Faunus for all these years, I want those plans for industrialization you talked about to be modified. The benefits for the Faunus need to be much higher than the benefits for Vale and the humans. You will also help us set up such deals with Atlas, Mistral, and Vacuo as well. Those are my demands.”

….I was wrong, she is not as delusional as the people from my home. She is batshit crazy.

I shook my head at her words.

“What you demand is too much and too fast, Ms. Khan. Your demands are justified, but it will take time. Why not accept our terms and slowly build up towards what you asked?”

“If you are not willing to do what I asked, then we are done.”

“Now, hold on there, Ms. Khan. Are you really going to forgo all the benefits that your people would get from these deals just for the sake of satisfying your anger and hatred for humans?”

“The White Fang does not need your charity, Councilor Ozpin. If you won’t help us get what we want, then we will do it our own way.”

“How? Through violence that will ostracize the Faunus even more?”

The neutral look she gave me and her following words made my heart soar since it was exactly what I had been waiting for until now.

“If necessary? Then yes. The Faunus need to realize the truth about their state, which they unfortunately deny since they delude themselves that they are leading good lives. If my actions make them wake up to reality by being exposed to what their brethren suffer every day, then that is what I will do. Farewell, Councilor.”

I put on a fake saddened expression on my face as she walked out of the room before turning towards Ghira.

“I assume you agree with her?”

“No, Ozpin. The White Fang is a separate organization and does not represent the Faunus people or the people of Menagerie. I, Ghira Belladonna, the leader of Menagerie, accept your offer, Councilor Ozpin, and wish to further negotiate with the minor details of your plans.”

“Excellent. You really are as thoughtful and caring about your people as I thought. It is a shame that you stepped down as the leader of the White Fang and let it fall to what it is today.”

“The White Fang has nothing to do with me anymore, Ozpin. And from what I heard today, I don’t think it even has the good of the Faunus people in its eyes anymore either.”

“I agree, Chieftain Belladonna.”

With what I needed already done, I sent another pulse of magic, disabling the devices I had been using until now.

I made sure not to let out a malicious grin as I imagined what Sienna Khan’s face would look like when she learned that our meeting was being broadcast all over the world with my magic modifying a few details here and there.

With how I managed to portray her as a monster that only cares about her goals and not the good of the Faunus in this meeting, the downfall of the White Fang has already begun.

Unfortunately for her and her organization of violent zealots, this is only the beginning.

There is no place for the White Fang in this world, and I will not stop until they are utterly eradicated and are no longer a threat to my goals.