Private/Closed Naruto AU: Roleplay

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Jin just looked to Mei, eyeing the seat, and then back to her. He made a single movement, sitting down in said chair with little hesitation. Very little hesitation in fact was present in many of his actions, as if he had been thinking about every single movement he would make for a millennia.

“I have a feeling I know what this is about.” Kin said simply.

The other delegates began to walk in, taking their seats while the Yuki honor guard blocked off the entrance, guarding the doors from any intruders. it was now in session.


.....


Reaver was about to give a remark to the Amekage, probably something along the lines of honor or a warrior’s code. He know however that if he used that as a crutch, that would not only be a lie, but a poor excuse as well. He looked to Azumi at the corner of his eye.

“It was my time... My time to finally unleash my venganth. To kill her, the girl who took hope’s away, the one who killed the boy called Michi. It wathn’t about thome ‘mission.’ I, REAVER, ath the metal devil himself, would the one to send her to hell.”

Reaver had years of pain, suffering, and hatred that molded over his heart. All focusing on one person. Azumi. She was the last one of the graduating class that he hadn’t killed. He had killed every single other member except Azumi. The last one to fall.

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
"Alright then, lemme think..." Taiyo had stared at the battlefield, specifically, where Tsunade was. At this moment Taiyo had options, but none of them seemed like they would do any good. His opponent has only one finger to work with she set with her rules to level the playing field. Darts, shrunken, kunai, and bombs alone didn't seem to be very helpful. The first three objects shared a problem: the ability to be blocked with a finger. Bombs presented their own problems as aside from explosive tags, which needed to be triggered, poison bombs may not do much as well as inadvertately hurt his own ally, which was a bad choice in any situation. After hours on end, Taiyo came up with a solution.

"Fire Release: Pheionix Flower Justsu!" Taiyo began hiding explosive tags and a poison dart in the fireball as he sent it over to the Sannin.
Seiun
A smirk soon grew on the rouge shinobi's face, he loved it when his opponent got angry at him from taking an attack, meaning that as far as the mental game went, he had the upper hand. Seiun blocked two shrunken with the back of his hands, a third singeing his hair, and dodging the other two. Once he ripped the shuriken from his wrist, he looked at the second brother with a bored look, before a cold glare took over his eyes. He tossed the bloody shuriken aside as if they were empty water bottles just begging to be discarded.

"Lightning Release: Overdrive!" Seiun called out as he breathed in, performed the hand seals and felt as the electricity began to crackle around him, transferring to his fists. Once he did, he picked up the bloody-dirt covered shuriken and charged them with electricity. He then threw them towards that general direction of the brother, made to be cover as he ran up to him to repeatedly punch his target.
Tsuki
Before either her eye was scraped out nor was she poisoned, she did a backwards cartwheel while attempting to kick the gauntlet to throw the demon brother off balance. She knew that her only option was to use Ninjutsu if she even wanted to come close to living, let alone winning.

All I know how to do is walk on water. Then again, Hama did teach me chakra control before she died and I also remember transferring my chakra to the balls of my foot to walk, perhaps I can do the same with the palm of my hand.

"Ice Release: Whirlwind!" Tsuki remembered the feeling of transferring chakra to other limbs and tried to replicate that. She was successful in performing this due to it being a rather simple task for any Yuki to create small icicles to swirl around the opponent. In addition, she has many genin from her clan use this technique as it is a basic one, so she felt it necessary that she could do it too.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

The brother facing seiun seemed to get satisfaction from drawing blood from seiun. He watched as he picked up the shuriken from the ground and from his wound. He immediately knew what the kid had planned. What else would you do with shuriken other than throw them? Using this knowledge, he simply raised his gauntlet arm, thinking the shuriken would simply bounce off on contact. What he didn’t expect was to be shocked by many bolts of electricity.

Electricity stunned his body for a short time, allowing seiun to bum-rush him. He took several punches and was thrown to the ground yet again. Bruises covered his face, or what could be seen from it. Suddenly, his eyes flashed open wide. He pulled on the chain that was now hanging low at ankle level behinds seiun. He now tried to trip the lighting user. Were it to be successful, he’d hop on him and finish him off with a clean stab to the neck.


The second brother attacking Tsuki took the small kick from her, her physical strength not being enough to competition disorientate him however. He charged at her, his claw at the ready. That’s when she casted her ninjutsu. He hadn’t been prepared for the justu she launched at him, in fact he seemed surprised she used justu at all, as he was clobbered in the head with an icy brick. He fell too the ground, much like his brother. He seemed to have gotten a concussion, as he held his head, trying to get a grasp on his situation

 

[kyuukestu]

Mei

Glancing around the room as most of the relevant personages made their way into her office, and took their seats, a sly, hint of a smile appeared on Mei's lips. Her fingernails thrummed slowly against the wooden surface of her table and she spoke in a calm voice, "Lord Yuki, your report if you will."

Given that the Yuki clan had been absent from the village for a period of time that was...larger than what they had expected, naturally, it fell to the leader to give a brief summary of these actions. The mobilization of an entire clan was no small matter after all, and could have repercussions that would need to be spoken of in an above-board manner that would allow the nation to plan accordingly.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Jin flexed his hand over an empty cup at his seat. Slowly, water seemed to be filling up the cup as his palm laid above it. It then flowed up to the brim with water, as he took the cup, without spilling any of it, and took a sip. After he took his drink, he laid it down and cleared his throat.

“We embarked to the leaf to save my son, who was in a hostage situation. If I hadn’t showed up, they were reportedly going to kill him and Kiro. I then demanded they release them, to which they only release Kai. They did not have reason, nor would they respond to it. In fact, they wanted to keep him. A mist ninja.”

He closed his fist and kept talking. “So I gave them until sundown, to which if they didn’t give him up I would take him by force. Out of fear they finally accepted. However...they had seemed to either play with his mind or deliberately sabotage the curse mark, because he chose that moment to become a missing nin. So I beat him within an inch of his life and froze several of his organs to make him wish he could die before handing him over to the leaf. I have banished him and revoked his citizenship.”

 

[Godjacob]

Azumi’s eyes widened a bit as Michi spouted his desire to see her dead and how she “killed” Michi. All of which confused the Ame kunoichi. Azumi knew she was top of their graduation class, but this idea she somehow “killed” him was lost on her. As was his hatred, as apart from jealous over their polar opposite placements in class she saw no reason for him to hate her with such…such venom.

However, Nagato decided to clarify the situation.

“So due to the pain of being the bottom one. The no talent loser, the one who was a scapegoat for others to vent their bitter feelings & insecurities on. One who has experienced the pain of an unfair world.” Nagato explained which only seemed to stun Azumi all the more. It was a rude awakening, as she had no idea that the one who called himself Reaver had experienced such treatment.

Granted many in Amegakure during the rebuild years faced their struggles, herself included, it was still shocking considering how confident Michi presented himself. His thrill for trophies being his most notable trait, not this grief manifested before her.

“Now then, you mentioned of a test. If you were to give an evaluation of this one, what would it be.” Nagato asked as his gaze shifted to Azumi, who in turn thought it over for what seemed like an eternity before she spoke up.

“M-michi is…a wildcard. He tends to get focus in on his need for trophies above all else as well as prolonging engagements and going for excessive suffering over what would lead to efficient victories. I felt prior to the test, that his focus was misplaced on a wasted passion…” Azumi said, as she glanced over Michi as she sighed before she continued.

“…however, after this test I can say with confidence he is a shining star of Amegakure. The strongest ninja I’ve ever faced in battle, and has a conviction beyond trophies for something greater. He not only pushed me to my limits, but he earned my respect. I believe he has what am looking for, and passed the test with flying colors.” Azumi said, as she offered praise of Michi or Reaver or whoever he preferred to call himself in front of their Kami himself. The highest praise one could give.

-----------
"I say we get a meal first." Tomiko said with a smile as she would move ahead and lead Mori in the direction she saw Iwagakure at, which they should arrive at within the day much to her pleasure. Tomiko then overheard Mori's questions as it concerned what happened in the exams as well as what she did in Konoha. Something that seemed easy enough to tell, well, partly anyhow.

"Well, got to the village and met some interesting people. First exam was a bit weird, had to transport a bound guy from a room while dealing with a rigged trap. Then a test of ninja observation when we were asked to kill him on the spot. Passed that. Then there was the Forest of Death...which was awesome! I met Yasu there, got to travel around some cool scenery and was able to get into some neat fights; even dig some digging around, which given what I've seen from you means I took a page out of your book." Tomiko said with a chuckle before she knew she'd have to mention the 3rd Exam Prelim....as on reflex, she rubbed one arm that while it had all but healed still showed the visible scars from the battle.

"Then we got to the Third Exam, and because there were so many people who managed to amazingly pass we needed a Prelim. I got matched up with that Uchiha Kiro. I...I did my best, my absolute best, but that bastard didn't even use his famous Sharingan till the very end of the battle. He didn't even try. I...I was outclassed, and my arms ended up crippled for a short while as a result of the abuse he put on them." Tomiko said, as her voice dropped slightly lower when she mentioned that; the pain of the complete and utter humiliation she experienced, the way he made her feel small and insignificant all to evident for that brief moment. But she quickly shifted focus as she smiled back at Mori and decided to move onto the subject of the village.

"Konoha is pretty nice, and with all due respect to our Ramen stands which are still really good, they may have the best one I've ever had! Ramen Ichiraku, I have got to take you there if we ever go back to the Leaf for any reason! A-assuming it is still around." Tomiko said, as her one trip there with Madoka had left a lasting impression with the Iwa Kunoichi as evident by the passion in her voice.

----------
Any hope Sakura had that her Genjutsu would fool Tsunade faded in an instant at the Sannin glanced over to where the incoming fireball was shot from. Tsunade had a grin as she raised her lone index finger into the air before she dropped it down to the floor.

Crack!!!​

Which caused a section of the ground in two, which made Sakura’s eyes buldge out. How strong was this woman? Tsunade was not done though, as she would flick a section of the split ground which caused a section to break off as a large rock of debris was sent flying towards the fireball with the aim to crash into it before it had a chance to strike the Sannin.

Shizune & Jiraiya, along with Tonton, watched from a distance though refrained from any commentary. At least for the moment…

-----------
Tayuya raised an eyebrow at Shura’s explanation. What? Her life story was somehow supposed to improve her conditions here? She was still and Oto-nin, one who helped to attack this very village recently. What was some sob story supposed to do to change any of that? It felt like an obvious trap to get even more information out of her, or at leas that was what Tayuya was gonna go with until she had been proven otherwise.

“Don’t make me laugh. How I’m treated her will be the same regardless of what I tell anyone. They have no reason to care, nor should they. I’m the enemy, that’s all I am. So why even pretend my story makes a bit of difference?” Tayuya asked Sura with her arms folded over her chest as she awaited to see what kind of response she’d get. On an impulse, she glanced back over to the meditating Sagiso; another foreigner who likely had the all-access pass treatment due to her being a descendent of the Konoha Clan. Free to do what she wished, however she wished it.

A thought that made Tayuya on an impulse rub the mark on her neck. Both the seals placed around the curse mark…and the curse mark itself, but for but a brief moment.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Mori grinned as Tomiko told him about the Chunin Exams. "Sounds to me like you had a good time in Konoha, and you should be thankful that I don't charge you for using my signature jutsu. That Forest of Death sounds like something that one should avoid if they don't feel confident in their skills, on the other hand it sounds like an amazing place to train!" He said with a gleam in his eyes.

"You made it to the Third Exam? That is impressive given the amount of genin that took part in the Exams. You just had the bad luck of being pit against this Kiro fellow, the Uchiha are one of the four Noble Clans of Konoha and arguably one of the strongest clans. No regular genin could beat an Uchiha, but from what I've heard you put up a good fight even if you don't think so. He was cocky enough to not use his Sharingan but you made him use it anyway, so he must have struggled atleast a bit. If he didn't try at all then he wouldn't have used the Sharingan." He said as he gave her a pat on her back. "This Kiro, he was the same one we fought along with that Tube Kid right? If so, I'm sure that you can be on even footing with him one day since I managed to hit him using a dust cloud as cover. Not that I could really enjoy that given Reaver was about to blast you to bits."

"Ramen Ichiraku you say? I'll have to try that some day, if it makes me favour ramen over dango then it is amazing. And even if it got destroyed, if it is indeed as good as you say then it will be rebuilt soon because it would be a good way to get some income. I might go back to Konoha one day and try it, along with some training if I can find a mentor there willing to train me. It might help the relation between Iwa and Konoha. Think about it, Konoha's power is nothing to scoff at and if Iwa allows to send a genin to train in Konoha then Iwa acknowledges the power of Konoha since otherwise there would be no reason to send a ninja that far in times of peace. Konoha can get an alliance request and Iwa gains a trained genin and diplomatic relationships. Doesn't sound too bad, right?" Mori explained his plan, sure it had some faults and impurities but overall he thought that it wasn't that bad of a plan.

 

[kyuukestu]

Mei

Her brow furrowed almost instantly and she parted her lips as if to speak. She inhaled a slow breath and her restless fingers came to a halt, "My...condolences to your son and his plight, though..." Trailing off she simply sighed, releasing a baited breath. There were many things she wanted to question, like how had Kai managed to get taken hostage? The Yuki clan had left before her so it was logical that the boy had returned to the leaf for some reason and his subsequent actions had gotten him captured. Another issue was...Jin claimed with certainty that Konoha wanted to...kill Kai and Kiro? The notion struck her as odd. Something was amiss. If their aim was to kill the two children, they wouldn't have taken them hostage in the first place, it was a superfluous action. This was only compounded by the fact that this capture was apparently without reason. If the goal was senseless murder then the Yuki clan would've brought back two corpses.

Disregarding that, Jin's next words almost gave her a migraine. Judging by the diction he'd used, his stance during the incident was rather aggressive. She'd taken a short look at the book he'd written for so called guidelines, and could imagine that his interpretation of reason was well beyond that if the common man. It was an odd variation of common sense that...wouldn't be taken too nicely on foreign soil. His subsequent words were equally as questionable, such as his claims that Konoha had capitulated...out of fear?

She would need to dissect the report to determine which parts were credible and which parts was besmirched by the man's blusterings or odd perceptions. Although she was taking most of the report in stride, her expression calm, her eyes did widen in incredulity at the man's last words. Her eyes darted to the side, locking onto the blue Kage hat that sat on her table. Since when had the Yuki clan gathered the ability to revoke a person's citizenship? Even she, as the kage, wasn't capable of such feats, that authority belonged to the Daimyo of the land of water. Her shock soon fell to displeasure as Jin admitted to having beaten Kiro 'within an inch of his life.' Given the man's exaggerations thus far, she couldn't quite estimate the amount of damage actually done. She frowned at the revelation, but held her tongue.

Her eyes had narrowed into slits soon afterwards, as she fully processed the final sections of Jin's report. To sum it up, Kiro was now a missing ninja, and the leaf had tampered with his...curse mark? When had Kiro received one of those!?

There were too many questions that lacked answers, she would need more information before coming to any form of conclusion. Waving her hand, she dismissed the matter, opting to come back to it after she'd had more time to consider the situation in full.

Taming the emotion in her voice, she continued "Very well, since you've been in Konoha for quite some time, report on their status. We'll need information before we decide what actions to take."

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Actions to take? What actions are there? I doubt throwing the Mizukage into the melting pot will do much good. Regardless of his personal feelings on the manner, he remained stone faced.

“If you want a full report on their status, I would say shaken and desperate. Their jounin are easily persuaded. Without a current Kage, their backbone has faltered. The hyuga however are trying to fill the void with a loud bark, and even trying to boost morale with parties in the streets, all in the name of false good times.”

Reminiscing the party the hyuga had set up and how he also subsequently stomped it out like a match. He then whipped his head up with a sharp look in his eye, his stern expression showing his distain for their village and their kind.

“The audaciously wanted to permanently take him as their own. And when I protested, they rigged his curse seal he had gotten from that snake Orochimaru so that he would act out for banishment. Even as they lay low to the ground in defeat from their attack, they still manage to make affronts to our village. It seems as though they are doomed to repeat the mistakes of their past, over and over again.”


.......


“M-michi is…a wildcard. He tends to get focus in on his need for trophies above all else as well as prolonging engagements and going for excessive suffering over what would lead to efficient victories. I felt prior to the test, that his focus was misplaced on a wasted passion…” Azumi said, as she glanced over to reaver.

Typical. She still talks in a condescending tone toward me. It’s as if she is still on her high horse. Perhaps if I kill her now while she isn’t expecting it. A punch to the gullet and choking her out might do. She doesn’t have any weapons on her as she is already exposed. Or perhaps-

“…however, after this test I can say with confidence he is a shining star of Amegakure.”

....what?

“The strongest ninja I’ve ever faced in battle, and has a conviction beyond trophies for something greater. He not only pushed me to my limits, but he earned my respect. I believe he has what am looking for, and passed the test with flying colors.” Azumi said, as she offered praise of Michi or Reaver or whoever he preferred to call himself in front of their Kami himself. The highest praise one could give.

Reaver looked at Azumi directly, caught off guard by her sudden praise. He had expected her to be stubborn to the very end where he would gut her for her misdeeds. But this sudden...praise felt off. Perhaps it’s because he very rarely received it, especially from someone who he had declared his ultimate enemy years ago. This was one tactic that completely caught him off guard.

He felt as if...he WANTED to keep going. Wanted to keep hating her. It was easy to hate people, especially those that had done you wrong in the past. But from her words, it seemed as if she had no earthly idea what he had gone through, and the surprise on her face when Nagato spoke up about it told him everything.

“...that’s how it ith...” Reaver, or ‘Michi’ said. “Once your on the high podium, ith hard to look down on thosth below.”

His comment was neutral, not neccicarily a dig at Azumi, nor one that complimented her, as he couldn’t quite figure out to give her either. Instead he simply stated the fact of the matter...she didn’t care for the little man until they were at her level

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Shura looked at Tayuya as she once again refused to tell him about herself before he rubbed the back of his head an sighed. "Fine, don't tell me. I'll just go see miss Anko later to hear what you told her. It makes no difference." He said while looking down. "I didn't want to have to bother miss Anko right after receiving my assignement form her, but I guess I have no other choice if she refuses to cooperate." He thought as he sighed again. Shura looked back towards Tayuya when she said how it wouldn't matter if she told him her story or not. "It true that most people wouldn't care about what you say, but I'm not most people." He responded before continuing to walk into the manor. "I'll ask miss Hinagiku if there's any place for you to stay."

 

[kyuukestu]

Mei

"Hmmm..."

Once again filtering the words spoken by the Yuki clan's leader, Mei found that the information he'd gathered was half-useful and half-useless. The later section of his statement was only to have been expected, Kiro did wield the Sharingan after all, so they naturally wouldn't let him return to the Mist. Given that he'd also received a curse mark from Orochimaru it was no wonder he'd been captured. The fact that he hadn't been outright killed was rather good news in and of itself and had the situation not developed the way Jin described it they might've been able to plant a spy within Konoha's upper echelon. Perhaps she could salvage the situation between the Mist and the Uchiha, maybe Jin hadn't created too big a grudge between the two parties. Nevertheless, those weren't matters that took priority. Reaching under her desk, she withdrew several documents and inventories which recorded the excess materials that were present within the Mist, she flipped through them carefully, before falling back into thought. If Konoha was truly as desperate as described, maybe she could cut a larger profit margin from them, or exchange another diplomatic favor for reduced prices. She would need to carefully consider the opportunity presented and grasp it by the tail.

"Well, let me ask a more...specific question. How can the Mist benefit from Konoha's plight? and the ripples thereafter."

While she had her own ideas on the matter, she wanted the opinions of those present.

Hinagiku

When Anko had arrived at the Hyūga manor, Hina had of course been notified of her arrival and just a casual glance towards the captive sound ninja at her side would be enough to guess at her purpose. Before the exchanges between Anko, Tayuya and Shura had even finished, Hinagiku had already sent down her orders. The sound Kunoichi was first to be brought to her and then after a thorough check, she would be placed into one of the larger empty houses that dotted the compound. The Uchiha would also be moved into the same house, and they would share living accommodations.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

“I believe that the leaf has thought little of us for too long. Even now that they are weak, they belittle us. I think it’s time they showed us the respect we deserve. I think it’s time we cut trade entirely from the leaf, force them into an embargo. Without a leader, their village utterly damaged, and with the sand constantly draining resources from them, they would have no choice but to secede to any demands we may inquire.”

Jin laid out his plan to the Mizukage, his fingers lacing together as he formulated the plan. This was a surprise to the other council members, as he room was silent, seemingly dilerbating this idea. It was gutsy, but ultimately effective. Also with the land of stones seemingly want to isolate themselves, it seems they weren’t a trade option for the leaf either, making their resources limited, especially if they wanted to war with the sound.


......


“Extreme Decapatating airwaves!”

A massive air blast ripped through the forest, ravaging everything in it’s path. Zaku was sweating, putting as much effort as he could into the attack. His curse mark covering his face as purple chakra was shooting out of his arms. He yelled as the powerful energy blast destroyed trees and turned rocks into dust. The airwave was purple and seemed to be burning everything in it’s path. Soon, the airwave dissipated, leaving nothing but a obliterated forest clearing before him. He painted heavily, looking over to his side.

“How...was that?” He said in between breaths.

“Moderate.” Kabuto said simply. “You could do much better.”

“Moderate?! What do you mean?!?”

“it seems you simply lack the chakra control in order to properly control it.” Kabuto states, adjusting his glasses. “With a justu, one could perfect this by simply trying over and over again. With your rather unique justu...let’s say that it would be impossible.”

“What? Now THAT’s impossible! Didn’t you say there’s always ways to row with your experiments Kabuto sensei?!”

“Let me finish Zaku, you are so horribly impatient. Now, you got the ability to use justu through surgical implantation. I would think it would be the same case if you needed to grow in power, even with the curse mark.”

“That blows...” Zaku grumbled. “Can’t I just get a curse mark stage two, like those sound four losers?”

“Ha, your funny. I don’t feel you have earned it yet. For the moment, surgery is where it’s at.”

“I’m thinking this is just an excuse for you to try out a new surgery...”

“I would be lying if I said no. But what are your other options? Keep blowing air and hope to get better?”

Kabuto has a point. Zaku looked at his hands as he shook, closing them into a fist. He remembered he promise he made to Orochimaru. He’d become his soldier, his weapon. What kind of weapon would he be if he didn’t take the route that lead him to be an even greater weapon?

..
...
“Tch...”
...
“...do it...”
“Just do it...”

 

[Retro Master]

Too be honest, Kiro was actually surprised he hadn’t been jumped yet. It would seem the child that had ran off wasn’t able too contact any backup. This meant that Kiro was free too wander around and observe this new area. After taking in his surroundings, the first thing Kiro realized was that he was in some residential area. The wooden one to three story structures were enough too prove they were houses of some kind. Kiro even saw a few regular people just casually walking around, minding their own business.

‘Okay, so maybe I’m not dead. But if I’m not, then where am I?’

Clearly he hadn’t been captured by the Leaf. If so, his captor wouldn’t be so irresponsible as too leave some child too watch over him. The only other explanation was that his captor believed he wasn’t even worth the time or resources. “Damnit!” Kiro clenched his fists, mildly irritated by the lack of respect he had received. It had to be true. They must’ve believed him to be weak too have such poor security. Kiro prepared too march off in the direction the girl had run off in but stopped when he realized one of his feet were in a bucket. Enraged already, Kiro picked the bucket from his under his foot and was about too throw it before he stopped.

Closing his eyes, Kiro took a deep breath too calm himself. Though Kiro had been soaked and even had a minor headache going on due to being smacked in the head, he decided too not let anger control his actions. In fact, it was only recently where he had allowed his emotions too consume him. Lashing out wasn’t going too get him anywhere if some of the recent events were anything too go on. ‘I’ll have too be better than that going forward.’ Kiro opened his eyes and sighed, understanding what he had to do. Standing around wasn’t going to get him anywhere so his best bet would be too ask around. With the towel still over his head, Kiro began walking in the direction Raku had ran off in with the intention of politely getting some answers.

 

[kyuukestu]

Mei

Eyes brightening at Jin's proposal, Mei nodded in agreement, "An excellent proposal Lord Yuki, and similar to my own thoughts, however, rather than force an embargo we should use this opportunity to bolster our trade as much as possible. Even if we don't trade to them, others will, particularly the minor nations who might not be aware of Konoha's troubles such as Takigakure, Amegakure, and Kusagakure, to name a few. However, naturally, we'll need to mark up our prices by a reasonable amount, or even leverage this chance to obtain resources found more commonly on the mainland. Stopping trade would also be quite...detrimental to us, so rather than a move that makes sacrifices for gain, we should simply milk the most gain out of the situation and is a win for all parties involved. I'm sure Kumo or Iwa will take care of kicking Konoha while they're down, those two nations are already on sour terms with the leaf."

To put things simply, the Mist didn't really have the capabilities to force Konoha to the discussion table through economic pressure alone. While they were the major producers of Oceanic resources, a deficit of such resources wouldn't bring a nation to its knees. More importantly, however, she wasn't trying to damage the leaf, but rather bring the maximum amount of benefits to the Mist, and since both methods achieved the goal of getting benefits from the leaf, increased trade would also flood their markets with new goods and more money and such an influx was exactly what their economy needed to get it going.

"It's best to view this in terms of how much we have to gain rather than how much we can cause Konoha to lose."

 

[Godjacob]

Azumi overheard Michi's lisped response, but she managed to get the general idea behind it as she thought it over. Did she have such a skewed perspective of the world? Did her being the class prodigy mean that she had a disconnect between those at the bottom of the class? And if that carried over to her aspirations of uniting those among "lesser" villages to strike against the overpowered nations that constrict the world would they see her within the same light Michi had?

However, the sound of her Kami cut Azumi's thoughts off.

"I sense much pain from such few words. Tell me, miss Azumi, if this all was a "test" for him, what was the aim of the test? What is your goal through all of this?" Nagato asked Azumi, as while he already had pieces to the answer he again desired to see what information his apparent loyal disciple was willing to share.

Which proved to be a conflict of interests for Azumi. On one hand, she'd want to tell her divine leader everything regardless of circumstance. On the other, her words may be seen as inciting conflict that Amegakure has strived to avoid since the days of war that long-since revaged their home. Granted, most citizens would have no objections to those nations being burned to the group (Civilians excluded...for most), especially Konoha, but the fear of retaliation was greater than that desire given they were still a small nation and had no chance in a full scale war with any of the great nations. Azumi would have to chose her words carefully, as she could not lie to their leader...but details needed to be selectively revealed.

"I...I desire to build a team. A team of like minded individuals, who can benefit the nations of not just our own but other smaller nations overlooked and disregarded by those of the big five. I believe this group can help provide income and act as a means of securing national alliances for Amegakure going forward. Key allies that can help our people advance to an even brighter future." Azumi said, as she kept the part of trying to have the great nations fall to the chaos they create and destroy themselves & each other. Besides, it was not as if what Azumi said had been a lie...just was not the full truth, which was the best way to go about this or so she hoped.

---------
Tomiko listened to Mori, as he tried to talk up her performance against Kiro in an effort to make her feel better about such a bitter defeat. On one hand, Mori made a few key points; Kiro was not the average Genin and her just making it to the Third Exam even if but only the preliminaries was a huge accomplishment given hundreds of other Genin could not make the same claim. Not to mention, however brief, the fact that Tomiko did make Kiro use the Sharingan showed that he couldn't have held back hilariously the entire time; he had to try, even if it was only five percent instead of one percent.

But. Tomiko did not come to Konoha to be "honored" with the equivalent of a participation trophy. It wasn't enough to just make it that far, and in truth she wanted to compete with monsters like Kiro and not just get a pat on the back for fighting one of them in a "spirited" showing. If she was ever gonna be Tsuchikage, she needed to rise to the level of those not just excuse her failures because "hey they were tough opponents" and because of that she could not look at her performance as anything but a negative. Not that she'd let Mori know that, as one thing he said was true without question...she will stand on equal ground with Kiro, and when she gets to that level she will defeat him.

Tomiko focused not on that and rather Mori's words. His proposal for another possible peaceful path between Konoha and Iwa. Mori had some good ideas, but getting around the bitter history between those nations was no easy task. Since the days of the Third Great Ninja War, where Konoha's Yellow Flash almost single handily managed to fight off the entire nation of Iwagakure, to say that relations between the two could recover to that level seemed like wishful thinking. Onoki was a prideful one, even among other Kage, and his bitter feelings over that war were all to known even if he denied otherwise publicly. Still, she was an optimist much as Mori had become and as such she could not help but smile as she could not help but want that just as much as Mori did.

"I think...I think that sounds lovely Mori. And I would love to see a world where that can happen, and I do think you present some good ideas. I fully support you every step of the way. And as a future Tsuchikage, I'll do whatever I can to make that a reality." Tomiko said with a warm smile to her Iwa companion as they continued their walk to Iwagakure.

----------
"Different? What makes you so special? If I recall correctly you went out of your way to attack us and fight tooth and nail, leading to the death of at least one of my comrades, over some box that turned out to not even be what you wanted. Seems you have as strong a vendetta against me and my comrades as anyone; maybe more so." Tayuya said, as she had not forgotten it was Shura's group that led to her being captured in the first place. So this idea that Shura would "understand" her seemed like nonsense to her. However, if it meant that he would be insistent on it she decided to share the most bare outline in the hopes it would get him to shut up about it.

"If you really want to know something. I'll just say I learned the hard way the world is shit. And Lord Orochimaru was a beacon of light within that pile of shit." Tayuya explained, as she would allow Shura to take that what he would.

 

[DarkHydraT]

"Thanks, I really appreciate it! Of course it won't be easy to forge an alliance, especially since Iwa is not known as the cuddly village. But if I can make sure that Lord Tsuchikage won't attack Konoha and maybe even help Konoha rebuild itself then I am more than pleased. We all know that Lord Tsuchikage is rather stubborn, but I want to see if his title of 'Onoki the fence sitter' holds up when I visit. What does Iwa gain from attacking Konoha? Not much in the way of resources since it has been reduced to rubble, and Suna won't allow anyone to attack their ally. Kiri and Kumo wouldn't be happy either since we would be too close for their liking and even with the incredible Dust Release Lord Tsuchikage has, no one wants a war that is 3 against 1 whilst being surrounded by them. Allow me to explain." Mori said with a smile that grew when he started to explain.

"Suna has a lackluster army, but their puppet brigade allows for more firepower, Lady Chiyo is famous for her poisons and Lord Kazekage has that sand or gold dust to control. Kiri has the Yuki and possibly more clans of that power, Lady Mizukage has 2 Kekkei Genkai and even though Water Style is weak to Earth Style, they have the ocean so they have more than enough water nearby and don't have to use much chakra to make water since it is everywhere. Kumo is known for their Lightning Release so we'd lose in a Ninjutsu fight and Lord Raikage would take any opportunity to fight Lord Tsuchikage and then we have the Konoha-nin who won't go down without a fight. Even if we somehow survive the first couple of fights, we would run out of money since we would receive an embargo. The Tailed Beasts are military powerhouses and let's just say that the odds won't turn in our favour since other nations have them too. And this is just without taking into account the smaller villages like Ame, maybe we could get them on our side but they would probably join the winning side and I can't blame them for doing so. The biggest uncertainity is this 'Kami' figure that is the leader of Ame, they must be strong either politically or in battle to rebuild such a war-torn country. And who knows what Orochimaru will do? We just don't benefit from attacking Konoha, an alliance or doing nothing is just the best option for everyone."

Mori took a deep breath. "I should've written that down, that was a good argument. I just hope that Lord Tsuchikage will listen to it, because I am not looking forward to creating a Fourth Great Ninja War because the last one happened not even 30 years ago."

 

[sSoul]

Seiun
The Rouge shinobi had an arrogant smirk on his face, confident that he had, or could easily defeat the masked warrior. The chain was detected by Seiun and he planned on jumping before he could trip. His left leg was able to get out of it successfully, his right leg on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. The chain stuck right above his ankle and not matter how much he struggled he couldnt remove it.

"Tsuki, are you done with your brother, I'm not in the best position right now," He looked at the chain and saw the little opening between the two spikes, it seemed like a kunai or a longer blade could fit in it and with enough elbow grease, lever it out, but the former Rain-nin would need help from his master.
Taiyo
Oh....no.....

The explosive tags did trigger as Taiyo planned, but at that point, they were more of a visual rather than an actual explosion. His eyes had widen and all his confidence had been lost, now fully understanding what he had got himself into. The Leaf-nin turned to his partner, who's eyes were buldged out in surprise. Clearly they were both in shock, but one of them had to keep their composure and judging by Sakura's facial expression, it has to be him.

"Okay...so she can break rocks with her fingers. That's admittedly impressive, but it's okay, we can still win this. I need your help though, I've never been the best at planning, but I can bring the pain if that's the plan or if a more complex plan is in motion. So, what's the plan?"

Oh god, I regret talking all that before, why do I speak sometimes...
Tsuki
Satisfied with the result of her attack, she turned over to the demon brother, an smile that seemed out of place for her. Soon, Tsuki's foot was on the brother's head, digging it onto the ground.

"That's for Hama. You can apologize to her in hell. Now stay down so I don't have to send you there myself and dirty my shoe, you scum sucking Xeno,"

Wait where did that come from, I almost sound like Kai... whatever, I think Seiun called me for help.

After removing her foot from the now unconscious murder, she ran over to her servant to see what exactly was troubling him.

"I see, I think I can remove it with a kunai if I stick some in between the holes of the link. It'll be painful, and when we get out of this, I'll bring you to one of the Yuki medical ninja. They are some of the best I know in their craft, they might be reluctant to treat you at first, but once I proclaim that you belong to me, I'm sure they'll give in," Tsuki took out two kunai and stuck them on the two links corresponding to the spikes that got stuck in Seiun's leg. She inhaled to focus into a swift pulling of the chain. She did so in a rather ungrateful but effective method, kicking away the chain do she herself didn't get injured. Blood began to spill, to which she began to take out her med kit which included some disinfecting alcohol and some bandages.

"This should stop the bleeding for now, the medical nin would do better than this, but this is only a temporary solution," She applied the alcohol, which stung for a brief period of time, before applying the bandages, "Can you stand, and more importantly, can you fight?" Seiun nodded to both, albeit he know had a limp.

At least I know I can still care for Xenos, even if they've done me wrong in the past.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

The brother that had previously been fighting Tsuki wok with a start, blurred vision and a ringing sensation rattling his skull. From being hit in the head with a brick, all things considered he was doing okay. He shook his head, getting on his feet. He nodded to the second brother, who had drawn quite the wound from seiun.

They both raised their gauntlets, detaching their chain. *CHANG!* the high pitches mettalic noise crackled. They then sprung into action, water pooling up around their gauntlets and feet as they rushed toward the both of them at either angle, a storm of water following behind them.

“Water style: Rising wake!!!”

Together, the wake increasing their momentum extremly, zoomed in for the kill....

*CRASH!*

In an instant, the wave of water had frozen over. Both of the brother’s feet and hands had been frozen into the icy wave. There stood, protecting Tsuki and seiun was none other than Hama herself! She had an index finger on either forehead of the demon brothers, her cheery expression ever apparent in her face.

“Oh ho, you two almost did her in didn’t you? Either way, you’ve severed your purpose.”

Hama turned to the practically younger version of her and her servant down below. Her fingers still on the foreheads if either brother, she gave her student a wink.

“Oh? Didn’t you know? I hired them to kill you, of course.”


.....



Jin Yuki deliberated What Mei had said. Her plan was sound, as much as he didn’t want to admit it. He desired to punish the leaf for their insolence, but it seemed Mei had found a more bendical route rather than striking vengeance. Naturally this would mean he would have to vent this in another...more violent manner upon the land of fire. He nodded to the Mizukage.

“This would work to equal effectiveness. I can co-sign this plan. However I suggest a plan on a different matter. We of the mist need to expand our borders. We of the Yuki of deliberated that the best way to do this is to cease or liberate the harbor towns on the mainland, on the border of the land of fire. Once taken, this will give us a foothold in their territory. Not only that, it would be subtle enough to do without being noticed, considering the leaf is swamped with other matters such as warfare and reconstruction. We of course need to act swiftly and silently to ensure it doesn’t grow out of hand.”

 

[Godjacob]

Tomiko had to giggle at the comment made by Mori before she greeted him with a warm smile.

"Oh I got the general idea, and my memory is pretty good so I can help you fill in the details if you need to write it down when we get to the village." Tomiko said before she looked Mori in the eye and felt she had to comment on the arguments that Mori presented.

"I think that is a strong view, I don't see reason Onoki would argue against it or risk the nation into possible war just on the possible chance to jump Konoha. It would be too risky, and really we should prioritize making sure we are well prepared if somebody attacks us rather than us plotting to attack someone else. I believe you have a solid argument to make, and I am confident it will work." Tomiko said as she grinned and gave Mori a thumbs up.

"And I'll be there to back you up. After all, as a future Tsuchikage what good would I be if I left my countrymen to fend for themselves in a matter so serious?" Tomiko said with a genuine tone.

----------

"And now I brought here her, but because she is a non-registered citizen...anywhere. She doesn't have a pass, so I need you to give a medical excuse for her to stay here. For at least the immediate future."

Rika Yuriko, teammate of Kenji and aspiring medical ninja known for her non-violent stance much to Kenji's confusion, listened to Kenji as he explained the story of this girl named Aisha to him; that he had her fake an injury and now was in need of a medical notice to justify her to stay in Kumo while she & him would train.

Naturally, all this caused the Kumo-kunoichi to pinch the bridge of her nose. Naturally, her annoyance over what she had been asked to do by her teammate.

Fantastic. And here I thought he'd come home and the worst I'd have to deal with is tending to injuries. Maybe I'd actually get to here cool stuff that happened in Konoha. Nope. Gotta help get some undocumented friend of his into the village instead. Just the way I wanted to spend my day...

"L-look Kenji, I don't think you understand what you are asking me here. We could get in serious trouble if we get caught." Rika said as she pointed out that risk to Kenji, something he had to concede with a possibility and had been prepared with a response.

"Well no, I'd get in trouble. You would be the unknowing party in the matter. A young medical-nin who was simply deceived by me and nothing more. If you allow me to play these cards right, you can get out of this without any trouble to worry over. I just...Aisha is a friend, and I think she can help me after my lackluster performance in the exams. And I think you two would hit it off if you help me give her a foot in here." Kenji said, as he made his request clear after he presented his "security blanket" before her. Aisha decided to speak up as well as she along with Luna & Sky looked at Rika.

"I know your reservations. But if all else fails I'll say that I forced you two into this. I do not want to drag you guys down or get you in trouble because I was stupid enough to forget a pass. I have no ill intentions, you have my word on that much." Aisha said, as her tone carried a strong sense of sincerity as Rika thought it over before she let out a sigh.

"Fine, but....a little heads up next time you do something crazy like this would be appreciated."

-----------
"Wow..."

That was all Madoka could say, as Chiyo had led her to her quarters where dozens...no, hundreds of ninja scrolls were. Scrolls that contained ninja puppets...a seemingly limitless number of ninja puppets.

Getting Chiyo to cooperate and accept Madoka was...tricky, but if nothing else Madoka felt some progress had been made as she got Chiyo to agree to to take her to her personal collection of puppets. Though she had done nothing else beyond that as the elder kunoichi glanced over to Madoka.

"Now then, I'm curious. Show me the puppets you use." Chiyo asked, with a more serious tone than she had used up to this point. Madoka understood this was a genuine request as she undid the bandages on Raven she had strapped to her back and revealed her prized puppet before Chiyo who began to inspect it. Madoka was careful not to say anything during this, as in truth having arguably the greatest puppet user ever evaluate her own self-made puppet was an honor that she'd have been tempted to squeal over. But she managed to keep her composure for now...

----------
Taiyo’s words managed to get Sakura out of her daze as she tried to scramble a plan together. Against Tsunade, they seemed outmarched even with her imposed self-restriction…but that did give them one avenue that may give them a slim chance. Something evident by Tsunade’s casual demeanor and the fact she had yet to strike against them despite having an area to guess where they were within the Genjutsu leaf cover.

She’d underestimate them. And overlooking an opponent always gave one a chance in battle…

Sakura made some hand signs as she generated a pair of clones. Each clone moved to the left and right of her as they began to drop smoke bombs along the Genjutsu leaf cover which granted extra obscuration as to their location as well as a distraction for Tsunade who frowned as she scanned the areas the bomb had been dropped while the smoke drifted around her. Sakura turned to Taiyo.

“Tsunade can only defend one area, given she is restricted to a finger, we can’t take her on head on. I can provide a distraction and keep her focus on me, can you attack her from multiple angels in quick succession or even at once?” Sakura whispered to Taiyo as she prepared a pair of kunai as she outlined her basic plan to her ally. They needed cooperation if they were to have any chance here.

 

[SageNeb]

"Unfair you say? You think the head of our noble clan, which is the pride of the Mist, would do something unjust to a Mist ninja? I thought you thought higher of your father, Kai. He hasn't done us wrong before, why would he start now? He gave me a family when Xenos killed my parents. What did Kiro do to benefit the Mist? Defy the very person that was trying to retrieve him to the village? If I were you, I wouldn't question our righteous clan head. Everything he does is for the good of the Mist and/or clan. He told you that Uchihas are not to be trusted, yet you still think what he's done is unfair?" Kanshi said.

I wouldn't have expected Kai to think Jin was unfair. Perhaps the Xenos of Konoha corrupted him. I should've stayed there at his side..

 

[kyuukestu]

Mei

"A time of chaos is upon us. Expanding boarders...shouldn't be done hastily, a single mistake has often lead to the downfall of nations." A sigh escaped the Mizukage's lips as she leaned back in her chair, sinking into the plush fabric and quality leather. Her expression was calm, with hints of solemnity, and she once more produced a stack of documents which detailed some of the problems of the Mist.

"Currently, our lands are awash with rogue ninja, it's almost a disgrace for us to have created a hunter-ninja corps. It couldn't be that we're so disloyal that the village needs a corps designed for traitors? I propose we settle all our internal affairs before we set our eyes on the land of others. Our military might is no where near where it should be...particularly...we lack the trademark of the Mist, the 7 Ninja Swordsmen. Even since their disgrace that year, the sacred swords have been gather dust in our coffers, their blades cry sorrowfully at the lack of capable weilders."

Rising to her feet, Mei slapped her palm down on the desk before her. "It's about time we ressurect the Glory of the Mist, the drums of war are already beating and we shant be caught off-guard! Gather the best of your clans, it's about time the terror of the 7 Ninja swordsmen of the Mist is struck into the hearts of our enemies! True Gold doesn't fear the Fire, we shall reform the Mist with flames of rennassaince!"

Her eyes shifting from person to person, she spoke solemnly, "Surely, you know that a sound foundation is most important for a nation, and that is precisely what we're lacking."

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Shura stopped in his track when Tayuya spoke again and heard what she said. "We never should have engaged in the first place, our orders were to watch your group from afar and engage only if necessary, but that Yuki Kai changed our mission for his own personal goal." He said before clenching his fists. "We never should have listened to him in the first place." He then turned his head to look towards Tayuya. "I was simply following orders and made a mistake to follow someone untrustworthy, this probably won't mean anything but I apologise for that." He continued. "And you're right, I should hate you for what you did to my village, but I'll be the judge of that." He finished before turning back around. Shura heard the last part of what Tayuya said and thought for a second. "She might not be truly rotten from what I'm getting." He thought before continuing his walk towards where Hinagiku is.

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
Upon hearing Sakura's plan, a small grin grew on his face, his confidence growing back and had the will to keep on going with the fight, spawning two clones of his own.

"I can't alone, but my clones and I can, good luck," He winked at his partner as the clone twins launched two Fireballs at Tsunade while Taiyo ran behind Tsunade whilst activating FBS. He unseathed his elbow blade and aimed for Tsunade's back.

Let's see how you deal with this.
Tsuki
Tears began to well up in the young Yuki-nin's eyes. It was a traumatic experience, seeing someone be murdered right before her eyes, then have the murderers attempt to kill you, and then the person who just got murdered saves you from being murdered for real. Tsuki wanted to say something, but the words just couldn't be formed, so instead she decided to just hug her sensei instead.

"Hama-sensei....please, never do that again," Tsuki choked back the tears and instead defined into Hama.

I don't know whether I should be happy, sad, or angry, but I'm relieved that I we made it out alive.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Jin frowned at mei’s Initial shootdowm of his plan. From the embargo now to his takeover of borders plan. One shootdown was understandable, but two? She must be letting her feelings get the better of her judgment. Typical.

He listened on further and further, biting his tounge and awaiting a silver lining. She spoke of resurrecting the seven swordsman of the mist. This idea sounded like something that would peak his interest, however he didn’t seem one-hundred percent convinced.

“You talk a big game. Two of the seven swords have been missing for a while. Both of which were taken by the same night that...IT happened.” He said begrudgingly. “But you will get my approval of this plan IF you co-sign the takeover of the harbor towns.”


..........

Reaver arched an eyebrow, Turning to Azumi. Her description of the group she planned to make was vague. Too vague. And if he were to join such a group, he’d have to know as much as possible. Shaking out of his thoughts, he perked up.

“Name what we would do Athumi. You mutht have a plan if you thought thith far ahead.”

Azumi was always a planner, he couldn’t believe for a second that she didn’t plan something as important as this out. Surely she must have a specific objective or target in mind, especially to start out.


......


Kai was struck off guard by Kanshi’s snappy response back to him. Usually Kanshi was always a supportive shoulder and often agreed with him on many issues. The fact that Kanshi was fighting him on this issue was mind boggling. He bit his tounge and looked at his reflection in the water. He balled up his fists, freezing his reflection into water. If began to crack and break apart back into the water, letting it his frustration.

“Kanshi...my father is a good man. One of the best if not THE best there is in this world. But on this issue...if Kiro was being mind controlled, would you let him be banished? Let me phrase it a different way...if it were me out there brainwashed, would you come in my defense?”


.....


Hama smiles as Tsuki practically tackled her into a hug. Tsuki REALLY though she was dead huh? She patted her on the head, seeing her in such a distressed state of emotion. She then waggled her other finger.

“Don’t worry, I’m alive. Even if I died there, I would expect you to go shot your life as if I never existed~.” She said in an oddly gleeful manner. “After all in the ninja world death is an everyday occourance. Do not mourn the dead, for that is weakness on the battlefield. But as far as the test...”

She looked back at the demon brothers, frozen in the ice. Their chests and heads that were not frozen struggled to get free. Their movements getting more and more sluggish from the slow freezing of their bodies. She whipped a strand of pale hair back, taking note of their states.

“...you preformed a justu in quick succession after not being able to even use chakra control a week ago. Your training is really paying off. At this rate, you will obliterate the competition in the next chunnin exams. Even further...you could maybe even become Mizukage one day~”



.......



*PUNCH!* *KICK!*

“Harder kid!”

*POW!* *KICK!*

“Are you even trying?”

*SLAM!*

Kou was sparing with Sakon, hitting and kicking his hardest against the elite sound ninja. All his hits were being blocked by Sakon with ease. Kick after kick and punch after punch, nothing seemed to get past the close combat specialist. Until one punch did. The fist hit against sakon’s stomach. Sakon seemed surprised, his mouth going agape...until it slid into a smirk.

“Fooled you.”

Out of his belly cake a fist, ukon emerging and preforming a counter punch. Kou was hit in the chest, being thrown across the floor. He sniffled a few times, catching his breath on the ground.

“I don’t know what Zaku sees in him...” ukon complained. “Better yet Kabuto.”

“Relax brother. Our job isn’t to judge him, it’s to train him.”

“You can’t teach a worm how to fly, and you can’t teach a runt how to fist fight!”

Kabuto watched on as their training continued. It seemed Kou was certainly no taijustu specialist, and he seemed to have no ninjutsu skills of the sort. What exactly COULD he do? Aside bribe the enemy. Surely there must be some way his bloodline could assist his fighting prowess, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He could try genjustu, although he would have to be hands in since tayuya was gone. Without her, genjustu training would be much more labor intensive...what a bother

 

[DarkHydraT]

"I am sure of it that you will help me if I don't remember anything, and it is a nice way to learn about some political stuff when we're back home. I just have one rule that you may break under any circumstances and I know that you will have a hard time obeying, but this is just one rule, surely you can refrain from breaking it." Mori said with a serious expression as he looked Tomiko straight into her eyes. "Don't ask Lord Tsuchikage if his chair is comfortable, just don't ask him that. Or any personal questions like if he flossed this morning." He cracked a grin as he spoke.

"I won't be fending alone in such a serious matter, I will always have you and my family by my side either in person or spirit. Sure, as a Tsuchikage you should be there for your people but they eventually need to learn to fend for themselves. Otherwise they won't grow as a person and develop their strong points, you may hold their hands for as long as you want but eventually you have to let go. " He said as he threw his arms behind his head and continued his way towards Iwa.

 

[Godjacob]

Nagato had refrained from a comment, as he was also curious at the question the one who insisted on calling himself "Reaver" had asked as Azumi scrambled internally to think of a suitable answer.

Saying she was gonna work to cause indirect chaos to the great nations and target key figures for assassinations in order to divide nations against themselves and each other was not the smart idea to openly profess. As she could not risk being labeled a "war monger" before her own sacred Kami and the Angel; so she needed something that seemed believable enough an example.

"Well...I suppose to name an example, raiders just beyond our borders are not too foreign. Those foolish enough to not stay away even with your divine presence. Eliminating them and doing the same to others in nearby minor nations would be an ideal first step to building up good will and dealing with a problematic threat all at once." Azumi explained as Nagato kept a blank expression on his face when he heard Azumi's reasoning. Nagato already knew Azumi had stronger ambitions beyond just bandit cleanup, but refrained from openly calling her out on that as he would simply aim for a more...subtle approach.

"I see. And would this task force be used just for raider clean up?" Nagato asked as Azumi thought over how to phrase it before she faced her divine leader.

"No, it would merely be a first step. The goal would be to perform missions for the better of Amegakure, and to help gain favor with other minor nations by aiding them however we could. A scratch my back, I scratch yours. Only though this task force the other nations would not be too suspicious of Amegakure itself and this would be a more subtle matter to go about building key allies to help our nation grow." Azumi said as she provided more reasons for her task force as it seemed they would be free for any number of tasks to help with this cause that Azumi outlined.

----------
Tomiko overheard Mori, and when he mentioned something "serious" she needed to follow. A rule she could not break, and given Mori's tone Tomiko figured this was super serious and as such had a serious expression of her own as she would soak this rule in like a sponge as they needed to take every precaution when they would one day meet with the Tsuchikage.

Don't ask Lord Tsuchikage if his chair is comfortable, just don't ask him that. Or any personal questions like if he flossed this morning.
​

Only for Tomiko to hear what that "serious" rule was, as she quickly understood what Mori did and held a hand over her mouth to mask her giggling.

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Wouldn't want to do something so monstrous in front of our Lord Tsuchikage." Tomiko replied with an amused tone before she overheard Mori's actual serious comment as she gave a nod to it. It was true, as a Tsuchikage she should learn that while she needed to look after her people the people of Iwagakure also needed to stand on their own feet. To not be too dependent on any one person to protect them as that would allow her people to grow stronger as well rather than limit them with an overbearing security blanket.

"That is great advice, and one I think you should take to heart as well. I appreciate that you are so worried about me, and that you want me to be safe. But you need to remember to live your own life as well...to not let everything you do revolve around worry over my safety." Tomiko advised as the drew closer to the gates of Iwagakure.

---------

"All right, does this look any more convincing?"​

Aisha, who had had her ankled "wrapped" by Rika, began to walk around as she had done her best to imitate a limp. The plan was to claim that Aisha had been just a lost wanderer who suffered from amnesia due to a blow to the head and injured her leg which should be enough for the argument to be made she'd need to be placed in Rika's care here until she got her memory back and her leg healed.

As Aisha walked around, she needed to get use to walking like she had a limp even if she typically did not get injured in such a manner. Or rather, had been more used to gutting out injuries rather than "giving in" to the pain. And certainly, she had little experience with faking injuries which was evident in her walking as she would limp on occasion...the forget to limp at times as she walked around.

However, with repeated practice, Aisha began to get the hang of the act and walked with a convincing limp to her step. Enough to get nods of approval from both Kenji and Rika. As much guilt as Rika felt over this stunt, she had to admit they may actually be able to pull this off.


----------
"Well, for a home-made puppet from a Genin it is better than most I see. Though I can see a beginner's touch over it, as I can spot an area or two of improvement just from a glance."

Madoka held her breath as Chiyo gazed at her prized puppet Raven before she heard those words of critique from the Sunagakure puppet master. While her choice of words had not been made harsh, hearing any criticism about Raven due to her lack of experience had been tough even if expected.

"I...I understand Lady Chiyo. I am aware that Raven can and needs to be improved. The exams showed me that first hand, but..." Madoka started to say before Chiyo already moved from Raven towards one of the scrolls.

"One puppet alone is far from enough to compete at your level? Well, if nothing else, I can respect a youngin who wants to improve and get stronger, makes it easier on the old guard to not have to worry about babysitting you forever. Much as our nation has been reliant on such treatment from our "friends" in the Leaf." Chiyo said, as Madoka had taken note of the...almost bitter tone Chiyo used in her description of their biggest ally.

"Reliant, Lady Chiyo?" Madoka asked as Chiyo grabbed one scroll and opened it as she gazed through it; never raising her eyes to meet Madoka though she had been quick to answer anyway.

"Yes, Konoha has made Sunagakure weak. We've coasted on "protection" from them for too long now, and as such have become lax on self improvement leading to a lackluster military compared to the majority of the world over the years. For every quality ninja such as Pakura, we get at least a dozen average no names or even dare I say it below average cannon fodder." Chiyo said, as she seemed to hold the Leaf at fault for Suna's "underwhelming" military force even if she also blamed Suna themselves. Madoka made no comment, as she never felt her nation was "weak" per say but there was a grain of truth as their nation could use improvements in that area. Chiyo seemed to see something of interest before she tossed Madoka the scroll she was reading.

"Here, I'm sure you'll find an interesting design base to model off of."

----------
Tsunade frowned, as she saw twin fireballs come for her and at the same time Taiyo appeared behind her ready to deliver a strike. It seemed Sakura distracted the Sannin with the smoke as Taiyo attacked form multiple angels this time.

They are more clever than I expected for a make-shift team, I'll give them that. But...

Tsunade was quick to act, as she jumped over Taiyo with his blade only just missed cutting her shirt as the Medical Legend performed a backflip and landed behind Taiyo. Tsunade would act quickly; as she had no chance to try and defect all three blows with only a finger...least in a conventional sense, so she would pump chakra into her index finger as she fired a flick just beyond the range of the fire that coated Taiyo's body. The air flick would not have enough power to cause damage to Taiyo, but the wind pressure would aim to try and knock Taiyo forward which would aim to stun him and put him in the path of the fireballs. In turn, Tsunade would allow the wind pressure to move her back as she tried to get herself out of the way.

Sakura saw this, as she sent one of her two clones out from the leaf & smoke surrounding to charge Tsunade with a pair of kunai in hand as it would try to intercept. All the while the real Sakura formed some new hand signs within her cover.

-----------
Wow, quick to throw the Yuki under the buss? Makes sense, he is a foreign-nin and he is enough of a prick to do something like that.

Tayuya would never admit it, not even to herself, but she did sense some sincerity in Shura's words as well as his apology. Why he apologized? She had no idea, given that they attacked his home as he said but she knew he had not been lying. So she kept silent about it as she followed Shura towards this Hyuga Head that he informed her they'd be seeing.

"So, if that is true why the hell did you let that guy call the shots?" Tayuya asked, as if that account was accurate she wondered why a Kiri-nin was in charge of a mission like that and rather who would make a raging lunatic like him in charge of anything. Kai was smart...but he also was self serving and tended to let his blind "passion" get in the way of that fact. Plus, he was a foreign ninja so him leading a Konoha squad was a curious case Tayuya wanted to know about.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Mori giggled as Tomiko responded to his rule, even though it was rather funny he meant it. Asking something like that could make them appear inadequate and give Lord Tsuchikage a reason to not listen to them, even though that was mere speculation since he had an argument that was hard to counter.

"I know, I know. I am becoming a certified mother hen when you get involved, but it is pretty hard to not focus on you. Ignoring the fact that you love to get hurt, you have something that makes others do the best they can. You are a great cause to train and fight for, unlike anything I've ever seen." He said as he looked at Tomiko, a mix of determination and admiration in his eyes.

"I know that I should live my own life, but I need a cause to live, train and fight for. If I don't, then I feel like a burden. Apart from you, I don't really have role models to live up to. My parents are on missions most of the time, Lord Tsuchikage might very well die of old age soon, Reaver is a great guy, but I don't feel like taking the headband of ninja after they die, and that leaves you and the friends I made in Konoha. Madoka and Yasu are in Suna which is too far away and our relationship is not the best, and I have no idea where the others live but I expect that they don't like Iwa very much either. You have a goal to become Tsuchikage and you live for it, which is something to admire. My goal is to be a ninja my Tsuchikage can be proud of, be it as a sensei, advisor or a jonin so it is pretty hard for me, if not impossible, to not have your life revolve around someone. In this case it just so happens to be you."

After being quiet for a while, Mori pulled out his notepad again and began doodling a leaf, a rock, a cloud, a water drop and a small desert. "Okay, so I need red, green, white, blue and yellow. I think I have enough for this." He mumbled to himself as he walked, slowing down involutarily. "Now, do I make it a scarf, beanie or a wall decoration? A wall decoration seems to be the most practical solution for this."

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Shura was walking but stopped in his tracks once again when Tayuya asked why they let Kai call the shots back in the forest. He scratched his head before glancing back. "Honestly, I'm not exactly sure myself. He threatened to kill us but he did so while being in our territory, so you can imagine how badly he failed to be menacing there." He said. "I guess I just wasn't thinking strait because I was focused on departing as soon as we could." He added as he shrugged before continuing on his way. Shura finally arrived in front of the room Hinagiku was in. He knocked on the door. "Miss Hinagiku?"

 

[kyuukestu]

Hinagiku

Almost immediately after Shura had knocked, the door slid open, two rows of attendants numbering 6 in total, and all female, marched out with serious expressions on their face. Following behind them was Hinagiku, who unlike her attendants, was much more at ease. Her eyes immediately fell onto Tayuya, but she remained silent, waving her hand to dictate her attendants to surround the oto-ninja. She stepped to the side, removing her figure from the door as two elderly Hyūga hobbled out of the room. If one was observant enough, they would notice that all the attendants, as well as the two elderly ladies, all wore Pheonix Hairpins, or in this case Vermillion Bird Hair-pins, to denote the faction they had originated from. However, unlike the normal attendants who wore plain, unadorned pins, these six attendants and two elderly ladies had pins upon which were engraved in golden print the characters for 'seal'.

"The girl may enter. Shura...wait here. If you peek we'll have to gouge your eyes out."

The Hyūga females, nine in total, ushered Tayuya back into the room. They were an elite squad proficient in sealing jutsu that was here to perform a customary search of the sound ninja's...everything. Since they would be taking the girl prisoner, naturally, they'd have countermeasures to ensure she didn't end up harming any of the clan members, and the first of these countermeasures was a search. Nothing would be spared, not clothes, not hair, not her mouth, not even the confines of her body would be left unseen. Her current clothes would be stripped and destroyed, and a rather invasive search would occur that would leave nothing hidden. Given that she'd come from that madman, Orochimaru, there could be any number of hidden seals on her body with all manner of dangerous effects.

Finding and disarming these potential dangers was the purpose of this search squad, but to preserve the girl's dignity, all the personnel involved would be female. After the search, they would flush her system thoroughly through a variety of methods in case she had any unwanted substances within her body or bloodstream, and only after that would she be allowed to redress (with clothes provided by the Hyūga clan) and take up her position as a prisoner. The search would ensure that nothing that didn't originate from within the Hyūga clan would remain in the girl's possession, knowingly or unknowingly. Then, and only then, could they ensure no unexpected surprises would pop up for the duration of her stay within the clan. The Uchiha had also gone through such a vigorous search, and the clothes he'd been wearing and all his possessions had been confiscated and then replaced with perfect replicas while he was unconscious. He was surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, cooperative given his unconscious state.

Turning to Tayuya and activating her Byakugan along with the other members present in the room, Hinagiku spoke with an apologetic smile, "We'll try to make this as comfortable as possible."

 

[Retro Master]

Had Kiro’s clothes not been soaked, perhaps he would’ve noticed they had been replaced. Then again, they were supposedly a ‘perfect’ replica, which probably meant that even some of the scratches and tears also remained. Even his weapons inventory, which was also replaced, had gone unnoticed by Kiro. He hadn’t even considered going to that level of violence yet. Those watching were probably expecting him to attempt some sort of violent act at any moment. Instead, Kiro just casually walked around, with a bucket in hand and the towel over his head, as if he were just another tourist. Though his main priority was locating the girl who had smacked him on the head, Kiro also used it as an excuse too get a feel for the area. Mapping out the area and locating potential escape routes should prove to be useful.

After asking around, it had been made abundantly clear that he was in the Hyūga clan grounds. At first he thought it was a lie, but just making eye contact with the few he spoke with and some others who glanced in his direction were enough for him to recognize the similarities. Though each of them had tinges of other colors, such as lavender or lilac, a majority of their eyes were white. Kiro had only seen the eyes of a Hyūga without the byakugan active once and they were a shade of magenta if he remembered correctly. Those eyes were the only thing that prevented him from completely accepting the fact he was now stuck in the Hyūga clan.

Still, it was the best theory he had found so far. Why the Hyūga even had him, an Uchiha, in their possession was beyond him. Then again, had he been with the Uchiha, Kiro wouldn’t have known if he could control his temper there. He made a mental note too deal with that Uchiha problem later. As for now, Kiro needed to know more information. He asked another Hyūga about the location of the higher ups and they were generous enough to point him in the right direction. ‘Of course they have a mansion. Should’ve figured considering they’re royalty...’ Kiro rolled his eyes and shook his head, preventing himself from letting out anything more than a light snicker as he began walking in the direction of the Hyūga mansion. Showing such disrespect would be unacceptable when heading to such a ‘holy’ place. He had already been cleansed once, hopefully the bucket and towel wouldn’t give them any other ideas.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

As Shura knocked on the door and all of Hinagiku's attendant rushed out and brought Tayuya into the room, Shura stood by and watched it happen. He heard Hinagiku say if he peeked she would gouge his eyes out and twitched slightly. Noticing how every one of the Hyugas in the room wore vermillion bird hair-pins, Shura deduced what all this was about. "Oh yeah, must be the customary search routine, forgot about that." He thought before he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall across the door an waited for the search to end.

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
Oh crap...Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap!
The air flick from Tsunade was effective in its purpose, sending the Leaf-nin into the path of his own attack. Taiyo's clones winced at their mistake, and knew that they would soon disappear soon. In a last ditch effort, Taiyo guarded his body by putting his puppet arms in an x-shape. Fireballs collided with arms and a small explosion ensued as a result. To the surprise of the clones, they didn't disappear into thin air, due to the puppet arms showing off another one of its secrets. A cyan chakra shield surrounded his arms, protecting him from his own attack.

Hm, note to self, give Madoka a good hug when you next see her, also how am I supposed to beat her, I can't even touch her! No, no, calm down, the minute you lose your cool, you've lost the battle, you haven't taken any damage, I'll turn off FBS until I need it, no need to use unsessesary chakra.
Tsuki
On surface value, it would seem that the younger Yuki didn't really care about what Hama was saying and was just rejoicing her survival, but if you thought that, you couldn't be any more wrong. For you see, Tsuki was taking the things that her sensei was saying to heart.

I suppose Hama-sensei is right, if I get caught up in mourning the loss of my companions, my opponents could take advantage of my weakened mental state. But becoming Mizukage...now that's something I wouldn't mind achieving, that may help me succeed in what Mei failed to do, rid the Yuki of the Xenophobic, fear-mongering propaganda that Mr. Yuki set up in the first place. Of course Kai would take Mr. Yuki's place soon after, so he may become a problem... but I'm sure I will be able to punish him sufficiently if he ever steps out of line, he's be no Seiun sure, but it would be nice to have a long term slave.... where did that come from?
Seiun
While the student and teacher were enjoying their tender moment, Seiun was simply watching with a mixture of relief, anger, and genuine confusion.

Wait, so that was a test...I nearly got a limp just so Tsuki could stop holding back and make some snowflakes. The fuck kinda bullshit is this?! No, no, no, calm down Yasei, be patient and humble yourself, your time will come soon.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Reaver began to grow bored of Azumi’s platitudes. He flicked his index finger behind his back, which began to shake. With his free hand, he pointed to Azumi in an accusatory manner, his head cocked to the side.

“And what of these trophies you shpoke of? Athumi, surely you wouldn’t have forgotten that you promished trophies that I couldn’t have obtained elsewhere, if I recall. What happened to that?”

........


Hama took note of the silent behavior Tsuki was giving her, as her actions told her she was still terrified and still processing this. She flicked a tear from hama’s eye, turning it to ice and flinging it back into the ice sculpture of a trap she made for the demon brothers.

“Now now, that’s enough of that.” She said, looking past Tsuki toward seiun. “Seems like the goons I hired did some damage to your servant. He would need to bolster his power too if he lost to some lackeys like them. Allow me.”

She approached the ankle of seiun, taking some water from the tidal wave trap the demon brothers were frozen in. She took a small sum of water and put it over the wound. Once out over the wound she took her other free hand in a pincer like novelty and began to draw quick lines across the water. Every time she struck a line across the surface of the water, a threat of cells knitted back together on seiun’s flesh and skin. She was weaving him back together like a quilt!

“There you are, back to your normal, brash self.”

 

[kyuukestu]

Mei

Her previous passion, joy, and ardor slowly dripped from her face like the gentle downpour of rain from a thin layer of clouds. Eyes focusing on Jin, and lips set into a placable smile, her upper and lower lip quivering together as she spoke softly, but with authority that filled the room. "I shall sign no such thing. Your focus is misguided, Konoha poses no threat to us and likewise, we should give then no reason to see us as one. A conflict now will only be taken advantage of by leering Hawks."

"If no one has any less aggressive ideas, then this meeting is adjourned."

Slumping into her chair, Mei reacher over her desk and plucked the Muzikage's hat from its resting position and settled it neatly on her head. Her slender legs came together as they crossed and swayed, the subtle motion spinning her chair until her back faced the group. "If we have no valid objections then we shall immediately begin screening for the new seven ninja swordsmen." She no longer spared a single glance to the head of the Yuki clan, but her actions spokes volumes. As long as she still wore the Mizukage's hat, and she still sat at the Mizukage's desk, she had no need for him to approve her actions.

Sagisō

With great focus, the Kunoichi sat crosslegged, her chakra withdrawn until it was merely a thin layer that coated her body with a misty consistency that faintly shone with an azure-green light. Her body had been flushed with chakra, but as time went by, less and less of it escaped inadvertently from her external chakra points. She wasn't performing anything surprisingly complex. She was merely filling her chakra network with her chakra but preventing it from escaping her body, slowly allowing it to course through each of the microscopic veins that crisscrossed delicately across her body and weaved itself around her organs and blood vessels. She was performing what every ninja was capable of, basic chakra manipulation, except with a larger quantity of chakra to delicately weave to her will, and intentionally charting specific chakra pathways for her chakra to follow.

Although the task was simple, akin to gathering chakra on one's soles to stand on a surface, she was performing this task across her entire body, and the sheer amounts of focus expended caused beads of sweat to form on her brow, and stream down her face. Since she'd managed to retain most of her chakra within her body, it hadn't gone anywhere and she felt little physical exhaustion, however, the mental exhaustion she felt was another story. She was essentially trying to weave multiple threads through the eyes of multiple needles simultaneously, and her success was, for now, limited.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Jin’s previous diplomatic posture and open body language soon turned coarse and stern. He gaze Mei a sharp gaze and got up from his chair, the Yuki honor guard lining the room giving one pound to the floor with their spears. His taller height than the Mizukage gave off the feel of a threatening man.

“Mizukage, no, Mei. Even a snake like Orochimaru has more of a backbone than you will ever have. At least he was willing to do what was neccisary to make his village thrive. You seek to simply stay behind these walls and quake behind your desk. Your foul stench can no longer go unaccounted for. I yearn the day that you die without a single loved one there to comfort you in your final hours where you breath your last utterly alone, drowning in your own bodily fluids.”

Jin has directly confronted and insulted the Mizukage several times, wishing her death in front of the entire council. While some seemed absolutely dumbfounded, others nodded in agreement with his choice of words. With that, Jin snapped his fingers twice in half second intervals. The honor guard used rose to attention as the door were opened for the head Yuki himself. A few council members rose up and left with them while an equal amount stayed with troubled, worried, or annoyed looks on their faces. On the way out, one of the honor guard had turned to him.

”Sir, What is our next move?” The icy cold breath of an honor guard spoke.

“Escalate the plans tenfold, as predicted. Put Project: Arsenal into overdrive.”

They nodded and seperated from Jin, each going to a different location inside the Yuki compound. Jin himself laid his eyes on a different area of mist, the shifting waters themself. It was time to pool in all his resources. The other clans.

“Water style: water melding justu.”

In an instant, he was absorbed into the water, disappearing from view. The xenophobic ninja had made a wake in his exit, the entire council was drastically effected, and so were the passersby.

 

[Godjacob]

"Naturally, our missions would include engagement with foreign hostiles and perhaps even an assassination or two. As well as ninja who may be of threat to our operation. It is...doubtful, we will be met with universal praise from those other nations for our efforts and we are bound to run into hostiles. And as our reputation in the...underground grows, we may end up getting attention of worthy "trophy" candidates." Azumi said as she made her pitch to Reaver. Her aim was to sell him on the task force she had in mind, to make it sound more appealing to him given Michi's motive was prideful acquisitions of trophies above all else.

Nagato remained silent during the entire exchange, as he seemed to want to observe how the two would work together in the most ideal of circumstances; or to see if that at all was even a possibility.

----------
Tomiko listened to Mori as he gave his reason that he was so protective over her; this desire to have a cause "purpose" to live for; to be a ninja the Tsuchikage can be proud of. Seemed unlike Tomiko, Mori had a more general goal that seemed to inevitably involve trying to please another. While in truth, they all desired to please ninja of high respect, Tomiko had to admit...the idea of a goal that involved working to find worth from someone else alone rubbed her the wrong way. Even if she could admire Mori's passion and dedication to it; which is likely why Tomiko refrained from a comment.

That, and she became curious over what Mori had been mumbling as they approached Iwagakure. Red? Green, white, blue and yellow? A scarf, beanie or wall decoration? Seems Mori had something planned, and Tomiko was far too curious to just ignore it as she faced Mori.

"Um...have something planned?" Tomiko asked, as she wondered if Mori would be willing to shed any light on what he had mumbled about.

---------

"Oh great. I'm glad you have how comfortable I feel put into consideration. Wouldn't want to feel violated at all or anything. Great job so far."
​

Tayuya had gone through a wave of emotions as she underwent this "standard" check by the Hyuga. Being stripped down and inspected to such a degree naturally caused Tayuya to become flustered; as a red blush dawned her face and her verbal objections had been many but also fruitless as they fell on deaf ears; understandable of course, but Tayuya had not been any happier about it.

"Was...was that fucking necessary!? I'm pretty damn sure you know I was searched before I got to this compound. Do you really think the Leaf would let me within ten yards of the Hyuga Compound if I had not been searched thoroughly yet? Besides, don't you have X-Ray vision or some shit? This feels unneeded." Tayuya said and far from kindly, before a sudden thought entered her head which caused her eyes to widen.

Fuck...I'm stuck with the clan who can see through clothing and shit, and they just frisked me needlessly...I'm trapped with perverts!

----------
Sakura's clone tried to slash at Tsunade, though the Sannin was far too experienced to fall for a simple charge from behind. As she jumped over Sakura and tucked her finger behind the back of her shirt collar. Tsunade then lifted the clone and spun her around by the collar off her lone finger before she slammed it down to the ground as it had been reduced to smoke. Tsunade glanced in Taiyo's direction with a smirk.

"Have you two had enough? You must understand you have no chance, and the only thing you accomplish by continuing to try is eating more dirt." Tsunade taunted, though before she had a chance to add on to it several hundred cherry blossom petals began to descend down around Tsunade from above. Much to the Sannin's apparent confusion, which was only added on as Sakura emerged from the cover of the swirling leaves and smoke as she held her hands up.

"All right, you are right. You are too powerful and we don't have a chance. On our behalf, I surrender." "Sakura" said as she appeared to have just given up then and there.

 

[DarkHydraT]

"Hmm?" Mori said as he put his notepad away. "It's nothing, just something to do when we're back home. Nothing to worry about, it is completely safe." He said as he grinned at Tomiko. "Although if you really want to know, and you do because otherwise you wouldn't be Tomiko, promise me that you won't tell anyone. It is not exactly something to flaunt around without having atleast someone having a prejudice about you." He lowered his voice as he spoke, as if he was afraid that someone would hear him.

"I have a hobby no one knows about, and I know that that sounds stupid. One person grows cacti, the other likes to train, what's the big deal? I'm known to train, and people expect me to be tough because of that. If this leaks, my reputation would be destroyed, which is not that bad actually, and Kami knows what else will happen?" He took a deep breath and sighed. "I know that I might very well be overreacting, but a knitting ninja is not exactly something that people will love in my eyes."

Mori felt exposed, he never told anyone apart from his parents about this and he had no idea how Tomiko would react. She didn't seem like she would mind it, but she could very well decide to break their friendship. 'Oh, why are you so paranoid about this?' And his conciousness could not pick a worse time to annoy him.

I was just enjoying the silence too.
'Yeah, missed you too. You are way too paranoid about this, why do you care so much about what she thinks?'
Because she is the first one that I can call a friend, and every friend I made i Konoha bar Reaver has some kind of relationship with her. If she decides to drop me I am all alone!

'You call that maniac a friend? Interesting choice, but friendship is not the biggest reason why you care so much for Miss Usagi-Utamara here. You like her, and that is why you are scared of losing her.'
Yes I do, and when you spend multiple days together, you do tend to get attached to someone. You don't get the last name of the other person. Me being in love is still a bold claim to make, what evidence do you have?

"It is as obvious as it gets. You check on her every guard shift, you care more about her than a friend would and you were just about to doodle her in that notepad of yours. You are as dense as a rock if you didn't notice that at this point. What evidence do you want? A picture of you two kissing?"
I would rather not, thank you. We're just friends, nothing more and nothing less. Even if I am indeed in love with Tomiko, I don't see the need to confess. I like what we're having right now and I am not risking it for the slim chance that she likes me too.

'You are an interesting one, you can stare down Death with a smile yet you are unable to accept your feelings. Oh, and before you say that I am lying, I always tell the truth. I might be blunt, but I am honest. Can't say that about you now can I?'
I was raised to be an efficient fighting machine and killer if needed to, cut me some slack for being bad at other stuff.

Mori grimaced, he did not need the sass of his conciousness and his visit tends to give him a headache too. He just wanted to answer Tomiko's question, not get confronted with his surpressed feelings. I- look. Can we finish this later? I am not feeling the need to be drained by you.
'I can wait, but you shouldn't as you might not be the only contender.' His concioussness dissappeared with those parting words and left Mori with a headache and mixed feelings.

 

[kyuukestu]

Mei

Completely unphased by Jin's outright impudence, Mei continued to loftily rotate about her chair. Without much concern in her voice she spoke, "And you are more foolhardy than that snake will ever be. Only an inept fool would covet the scraps from the fields of another while their own lay ablaze. That, is why you do not wear the title of Kage. Your vision is misguided and your bark is worst than your bite- and I have little time to fool around with dogs."

Swiveling around her chair she was once more oriented facing the remaining members of the council. "You'd do best to observe the shifting of the waves and the swirling of undercurrents; a single misstep will be enough to throw the Mist into chaos." With cryptic words spoken cryptically, Mei arose from her seat and with a steady gait, strut out of her office. The previously unnerved crowd stilled at her arrival, all eyes turning to her wisps of fear filled their eyes, a nostalgic but fearful reminiscence of the days of the Bloody Mist, where fear and distrust thrived within the village. A peaceful smile floated onto Mei’s face, her demeanor affecting the crowd as they visibly relaxed.

Most noticeable was the fact that rather than any personages of nobility or influence, the people that looked to Mei were the commoners, the ones who were truly negatively influenced by the vicious, bellicose, atmosphere that had shrouded the village for years. Rather than the noble clans who reveled in the glory of war and had sturdy enough foundations to withstand the deprivation of resources that would follow, the common class would suffer each time the village went to war, forced to send their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers or sisters to the battlefield, while the Mist’s already poor economic gears ground almost to a halt, resulting in less of the common amenities required to live their daily lives.

“It’s time we put the days of the Bloody Mist behind us, time we revisit the days before that reign of terror, time we resurrect the glory of the Mist without the senseless slaughter of our children.” She spoke softly, but her words resonated loudly within the hearts of the civilians and peasantry- the majority. “The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist have long been a source of pride amongst our people, and it’s time we pulled that name from the crypt and wiped away the shame of that year.”


Murmurs sparked within the crowd, and within mere moments its spread like wildfire, until the lull of hushed conversations could be heard from all directions. Excitement surged through the crowd, bubbling with a passion that couldn’t be contained. The ninja swordsmen of the Mist were a group that filled the dreams of almost every citizen in the Mist; it was the primary reason why the Mist had such a large number of kenjutsu users. To be given the opportunity to join such a group was the ambition of many, and an event that they would certainly consider the highlight of their lives. Needless to say, the crowd had been stirred and as they dispersed and went about their lives it was like a cloud of adrenaline had been injected into the village.

Curving her lips pleasantly, the Mizukage subtle nodded, the effect she’d expected being achieved. With the people more excited and filled with motivation, the village would be just a bit livelier and that much more productive. Although it didn’t seem like much, a productive workforce when combined with the soon to come influx of goods and wealth into the nation would produce results greater than their individual sums. She’d hoped the noble clans would’ve been more cooperative and taken up the task of purging unwanted bandits and rogues from their land, both collecting wealth and freeing trade routes of unwanted parasites, but clearly they were busy lusting after petty vengeance and coastal scraps.

She would need to find…others means of acquiring a capable workforce, and luckily, she’d already taken steps towards that. As she turned and re-entered the confines of the Kage mansion, three swift shadows flashed after her, slipping through the doors almost unnoticed. Mei settled back into her chair and spun around, facing the remaining diplomats and swiftly dismissing them. Only after the room had been emptied of people apart from Mei, did the three new arrivals reveal themselves. The foremost figure, a petit blond haired girl who could easily be mistaken for a child of 12 or 13, stepped forward, performing a slight bow. As her head rose her hair fell away to reveal crimson red eyes not unlike those of the Sharingan, however, as opposed to the swirling tomoe pattern of the sharingan, within the girl’s eyes were a single horizontally aligned bar, a characteristic trait of her Ketsuryugan.

“Welcome back…Chino, I trust your mission went well?”

Another smile blossomed onto Mei’s face as she faced the three arrivals. Giggling lightly, the leader of the group Chino stepped forward, “They didn’t outright accept, but they’re open to negotiation…however, they wish for you to negotiate in person.”

Nodding slightly, Mei murmured her affirmation. The situation having developed as she’d expected. “Very well, we’ll be taking a small trip momentarily. Hopefully, our potential allies aren’t as difficult as these mule headed clans.”

She cast her gaze out the window, overlooking the Mist village. While the clans were stubborn and unrelenting in their ways, the hearts of the people lay with her, and she would live up to their trust by protecting them from the harshest realities of war.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Reaver looked at Azumi’s explanation. His eyes darting left and right noticeably. He didn’t voice his opinions in the silence, as his input was practically requested. His finger that was behind him shaking had a small blue tinge to it. In the hall, a rattling could be heard and metallic clanking. An object flew into the room, a carbon copy of the same mask Azumi had broken earlier in their fight. The metal device latched onto Reaver, fastening itself firmly around his head and face.

His entire posture changed into something completely different. His scrawny form stood up, pretending it was that of a championship wrestler. He stood strong, as if the mask was liberating him somehow. He turned back to Azumi with his new refound look.

“What would you have your Reaver do?” His deep voice boomed, his lisp completely gone. Reaver was back.


.......


Jin rematerialized, coming out its ouddle of water in a dark corridor. He was alone, no ho or guard or any other friendly Yuki. Despite this fact, he remained calm, walking along the corridor until he reached it’s end. At the end of the corridor it lead to a hall, a few mist ninja walked by, one specifically he knew well.

“Head of the Hozuki clan.” Jin said, walking out of the corridor. “Forgive the intrusion, at least for the head of the Yuki Clan.”

He gave a small smile, knowing full well who his name was. He knew he was amongst friends, as the clan heads of the mist were very tightly knit, bound together from all the hardships they endured as a team together, from economy to the battlefield. They were brothers at arms.


......


Kou tried blow after blow, each one matched by Sakon with ease. He was knocked down more times then he ever was on the streets. Kabuto counted at least fifty before he lost count. Kou was getting frustrated, tears of frustration welling up in the corners of his eyes. Kabuto noticed this, sighing as he walked in.

“Enough, he won’t get better at Taijustu.” Kabuto stated, adjusting his glasses. “He won’t be talented in that area. Perhaps we should try something else. Like-“

“Like what Kabuto?”

Kabuto felt a hand on his shoulder. He immediately knew who it was. On his shoulder was a grey hand, a few bandages still remaining. Right by his ear was none other than Orochimaru himself, seemingly recovered from the fight, at least in physical appearance.

“L-lord Orochimaru!”

“Hmm yes that’s my name.” Orochimaru looked toward Kou. “I’d prefer...to have some quality time with our little new arrival.”

“What you need to do is rest, you can’t afford to-“

Orochimaru flashed his head to Kabuto, his neck twisting grossly as he locked eyes with him. His dark yellow seprantine like eyes gazed into Kabuto’s with killing intent.

“After the last time you struck out on your own accord, you really wouldn’t want to disobey me...would you dear Kabuto?”

“Tch...”

Kabuto looked down, avoiding eye contact with Orochimaru. He was right, he did disobey him recently, he would be pushing his luck if he did so again. It seems as though Orochimaru already understood what was going on though his head, his tounge lurching our and tapping Kabuto on the nose.

“Good, it’s the role of other to fall in line after all.”

“Suit yourself, I have a surgery to preform anyway.”

Orochimaru put his neck back to natural proportions, Kabuto taking his leave of the situation, walking down a hall. Orochimaru walked toward Kou, who didn’t seem to watch the scene next to him at all, lost in his world. Orochimaru put a hand on his shoulder.

“Boy, i’d like you to come with me...”

 

[kyuukestu]

Hinagiku

"It's merely a matter of protocol, and naturally our search would be far more comprehensive than anything the Leaf would be able to perform." As she spoke she lightly tapped her fingers against her left eye, hinting that the Leaf's search simply wasn't up to standard. "Besides, there are things capable of hiding from even our Byakugan, an overreliance on our eyes would eventually be our downfall."

With the search concluded and nothing of particular interest found, Tayuya's clothes, down to her very undergarments were summarily destroyed, and the dust then confiscated and disposed of. Within a few moments, from another door, another set of maids entered carrying a large and extensive clothing wrack with an iridescent array of colors too numerous and varied it was almost painful to look at. Befittingly there were also enough clothes styles there to leave even the greatest of fashion designers downright flummoxed. The two maids stood on the left, and right of the clothing rack and at that point, Hinagiku began to speak again.

"You can choose something from here and she'll help you get dressed," She maid a quick gesture to the maid on the left, "or you can submit an order for a custom designed a suit of clothes and she'll record your order and deliver your clothes to you in a few hours. During the wait, you can either choose to remain in your birthday suit or get a temporary garment from the clothing rack. We won't judge."

Shōshitsugetsu

"Jin..?" Scowling, the present generation head of the Hōzuki clan Shōshitsugetsu Hōzuki, paused in place as she turned around to face the Yuki clan head. Her scowl was no fault of the Yuki's but rather an expression she usually wore when in the discomfort of...air. The clan compounds of the Hōzuki clan were the largest within the entire village, and that was primarily because the entire clan was situated underwater where the clan members were at their strongest and their Hydrification jutsu was most powerful. Their unique Hiden jutsu which went beyond simply turning their bodies into water for immediate travel like most Mist ninja did require the clan to maintain a relatively high level of moisturization, and the bottom of the Mist's waters was perfect for the task. Although not a trait shared among all their clansmen, Shōshitsugetsu preferred to stay within the water, finding regular air far too dry for her skin. However, the clan's affairs couldn't all be run underwater, and occasionally she was forced to surface.

Jin had managed to catch her at one such time. "What brings you my way..?"