A chamber that is deep underground in the heart of Otogakure's territory. The initial floor is guarded by elite shinobi and several assistants filling out paperwork rest upon desks. Beyond them a stairwell descends down into a large pool that is well lit with torchlight. At the center of the pool is a small artificial island of concrete and lined with comfortable pillows. It is here where Nobusuma-same can be most often found meditating.
Kage Towers These threads are a permanent fixture and pinned for the use of anyone. When you enter a kage tower thread check to see if an interaction is currently going on, and if there isn't then you should post a new interaction. Sometimes a kage may not be available, so please give an assistant a chance to speak with your character before they approach the kage.
dropping gauma off with yukio and others and relaying them the story of seiichi's brutal attacks on their platoon member, the news should have struck through those within the barracks fairly quickly. it was lucky that yukio had the abilities to heal the tragedy that had occurred to a willing combatant, sent by the mizukage of all people, ruthlessly assaulted by someone with the low equivalence intellect to a mannequin. [break][break]
with a few dialogues of confused sound shinobi, as well as their witnessing of his whole carrying of the half-dead, bleeding out boy on his back to medical assistance, tengfei asserts their assistance towards being led to the hokage's office to discuss this act of treason against the coalition. the blood staining his jacket and neck would not go without recompense, that he'll make certain of. the kuma no kumo whatever would pay. [break][break]
once outside the office, he waits for the sound shinobi to alert of his request for a meeting, though he's been snapshotting heavily along the way. though he's meant to ensure an alliance occurs, it's important to still maintain a level of information on potential enemies in the process. he's sent word for some of his own men to follow suit after ensuring that gauma isn't dead, so reinforcements should arrive shortly during the discussions with hokage-sama.
[attr="class","APP3"]The assistant that waited at the entrance to the kage’s chambers wore white hooded robes and a kitsune mask. They listened but did not speak, staring blankly at Téngfēi through the holes of the mask. There was a sigh, followed by the opening of the door behind them. The figure put a hand forward, gesturing for the chunin to enter the Hokage’s inner sanctum.
Entry into the doorway itself would reveal a staircase that descended further below ground, walls adorned with wooden wave patterns that were well varnished and smelled of a lemony fragrance. Following it to its natural conclusion was a room that was flooded by an inch of water on a marbled surface, lit with vibrant light with unknown origin.
The walls of the chamber were made entirely of mirrors that spanned even on the ceiling of the dome shaped room. The room itself seemed that it did not wait on the chunin to make an approach, within a blink he would find himself standing in the center, surrounded by his reflection at every angle.
Then came a figure with crimson hair, standing back-to-back with him, but only visible in the mirrors. Any attempts to turn to face the woman, and she would not be there, only to be found behind him again in the reflection. The only way to glance at her face was through the reflection of one mirror off the other, but it was indeed the hokage.
“What is it that you want, mist shinobi?” she asked. Her words were short with a bit of impatience behind them, but they were spoken quietly by a soft voice.
he's cautious - though it's expected the anbu / security forces of the hokage to hold such disposition, he has to remind himself that he is indeed within unfamiliar territory. hell, he's certain that if the mizukage knew what he was doing right now, he could end up flayed. regardless, he had some complaints - and his sight was far more important to have than to dismiss. a consistent bargaining chip. he enters through the opened door with a frown beneath the face mask he wears, long blond hair pulled into a small ponytail as his eyes scan upwards first. takes note of his surroundings in the time frame he moves to a comfortable location, running roulette of what the hokage's ability could be. [break][break]
thankfully, working alongside yukio and her olfactory genjutsu has him cautious when it comes to scent, and the mirrors offer more clues. his eyes shift 'obediently' to his feet, no longer focusing on anything. he's lucky his smell is blocked by his mask. he's already imprinted the location in his brain with great detail. [break][break]
"hokage-sama." he speaks, the crass dropped as the masquerade of a diligent aristocrat loyal to their superiors manifests. he knows how to dance with those of higher status, it's been his whole life. daimyo or kage. a small bow of respect is afforded towards the young woman, yet his expression remains vacant. "i am zhōng téngfēi of kirigakure's platoon two. i would like to speak earnestly with you in regards to a situation that has come to my attention, as well as make a humble request."
[attr="class","APP3"]The pool of water on the floor at the shinobi’s feet reflected a pair of unnatural golden eyes, with five distinct rings of black circling the pupil, absent a face. First came the sound of an impatient sigh. Then came again the sound of the voice from a completely different direction of the room, disembodied from anything observable.
“You are already speaking with me, what is it that you come to report and… to request?” the voice asked. There was a strange harmonic to it, as if there were several voices speaking. Including Téngfēi’s own seemingly in octave with several other voices he would recognize from his life. All layered beneath it was a low hum, like a static.
The last syllable hang in the air for several seconds before cutting off sharply and leaving the chamber in an unnatural silence and stillness. The water carried the scent of the mists of Mizu no Kuni.
Last Edit: Sept 24, 2021 0:56:29 GMT by Mai Nobusuma
he decides early, at this point - how much he hates her. [break][break]
nothing more than your average radical extremist in his opinion, someone who believes they 'know everything' despite being an idiot. truly, if she were strong, she would not have sent a request of coalition. the fact that her own platoons had seemingly come up with little constructive strategy in regards to the potential attack shows many. the nations here were merely fodder to protect a newly established kage whom was being invaded because of the instability within this country. [break][break]
as a member of vajrakīlaya and having an general understanding of disunity displayed as obedience at the surface, he's certain some of the sound ninja are wary of her - and may even attempt a coup in the future. idealistic waves of ambition towards brighter futures don't last if the young, ambitious leader loses their first important battle. that much is written in the lore of history. [break][break]
he stands straight, having already established his location to his platoon - having already alerted them to come at a later time. if anything were to happen to him, the fragile coalition- [break][break]
would crumble. [break][break]
a soft smile spreads beneath his mask, connecting dots rapidly. [break][break]
deadened eyes peer into her own, [break][break]
his own life sacrifice towards his liege. [break][break]
"if i may," he starts, stepping forward and pulling several crude drawings from the inside of his jacket. there's several pages of what appears to be the surrounding area, not highly detailed - but structures, landmarks, and the like has been set in place. on some of the maps there's x marks - locations he believes would be suitable for ambushes, strategic land points he's observed within the short time he's been in the nation, as well as the most logical location on where he assumes taiyou will set up their camp. the location is heavily forested, and while it is likely that smaller camps may be set within the smaller patches of the country leading towards the city currently being fortified there is a single location perfect for either the main camp or supply camp of taiyou - plains set adjacent to a water supply, fortifications easy to set up to block the forested area, etc. he's labeled them accordingly to their "possibility", and after placing this information before the hokage he steps back once more. [break][break]
"this is information of the surrounding area. since the time i've been here, i've been creating maps of every location my eyes has seen. i've quarreled with myself frequently in regards to how the taiyou will move, and i believe i have a good idea. i understand that your own council has potentially detailed similar, or perhaps did not share information with you due to your relatively new status. but in the spirit of your position as leader of the coalition forces you've put together, i hope you won't find offense to my desire to assist you to the best of my abilities." his eyes flick down towards her after staring forward, showcasing both obedience and slight challenge hidden beneath it. [break][break]
they return upwards, staring obediently straight ahead as before. "as i'm certain you'll be able to piece together from the labels, those are the locations i believe suitable for ambushes, guerrilla warfare, or full on skirmishes. i do not believe we should allow them to easily reach the city. it is under my belief that the taiyou views you as weak, inexperienced, and far too audacious-" he pauses, and closes his eyes to release a small sigh, "and i'm certain you know the kages view you the same." he finalizes, unsure how this will go. [break][break]
"i believe they will approach arrogantly, with retinues of conscripted soldiers and potentially a rear guard meant to deal the final blow. it is well known you haven't had an easily time cementing your power, and to the taiyou- if i were their daimyo- i'd view you as nothing more than a stepping stone, and pay you handsomely for your participation in creating such an easy opportunity to not only cripple oto, but every nation that answered your call." he shields himself with the reminder - if taiyou wins, not only will oto suffer a catastrophic defeat, but every nation around the world would suffer: [break][break]
because of her. [break][break]
his tone softens, and hands slip from behind his lower back obediently to casually at his side. left palm rests on his hip, and his eyes no longer hold any real regard. "we're all counting on you, mai hokage." he starts, "and i believe you will destroy them... soundly." he smirks beneath his mask. "my request is this: have you heard of the strategy, nobunaga's tide?" he's becoming more comfortable, mostly because he's set up several defenses to ensure that if he were to die, then things could potentially get ugly - all the while subtly reminding her through his strategy that such actions couldn't be afforded. "in a land far ago, there was once a young warlord - pretty much around the same age as you. a massive force began a movement to conquer the entirety of the land, and in the way of their daimyo full of hubris was a small land they assumed would be essentially a cake walk. while his officers advocated towards holing up within the city walls to possibly drain the enemies supplies, the young lord decided against that action. he personally led a small force of several thousand to attack the enemies main camp after hiding along the ridge. the enemy, lured into a false sense of security after winning small battles had begun to celebrate. they had no idea what hit them, and in a single moment their daimyo's head would be cleaved clean from their body, leading to the much smaller force to completely destroy their enemy." he explains it in detail, just in case. as the offspring of a family associated with daimyos, of course he knows of this famous story. however, it may not be as common in these parts of the world. [break][break]
right fist slams against his left palm, and he offers a bow more traditional in his culture as his body leans forward slightly in humility. "i would like to create a task force for such a strategy. i've already members in mind for it: please allow Seiichi Koji, Yukio Shimizu, Aiko Hyuga, Shoichi Azuma, and Möngke Genghis to form this task force with Shoichi Azuma being the acting leader. i believe with one close range, one mid range, two long range, and a healer at hand that the task of cleaving the head off your invading enemy will be more than possible, hokage-sama." he raises slowly out of respect. [break][break]
"in regards to the report, the blood you see on my garb is that of my platoon member, Gauma Gaojima. during my rounds of map creation, he crawled to safety battered and bloody until i found him resting against a tree. before losing conscience, he confirmed that he'd been beaten down brutally by Seiichi Koji , and though i would prefer to see the beasts head chopped off for committing such discourteous service in the midst of a possible large scale invasion, i have rather come to the idea he should join them on this task force where he can be properly watched. my only condition for his participation while my genin lays bloody and unconscious is that should the task force mission go awry, Seiichi Koji will remain behind to protect the retreat of the rest of the team. his sacrifice should be more than enough atonement for his sin against your coalition." eyes close, and he breathes calmly. sensing anything from him is fruitless, raised within the world of politics, he isn't technically lying. all of those events occurred. his poor genin was brutally beaten down by the beast and is not unconscious. it's all about how you word your specific truths - it's the law of kings and queens vs. those who merely abide. she'd do well to learn from his tongue.
[attr="class","APP3"]A single-syllable laugh echoed through the chamber.
“One who speaks of inexperience should look in the mirror more often. Think for a moment. This village is built for guerilla warfare, we know it as well as the Mist knows the seas. Of course, we will ambush them on their approach, but our tactics rely on evasion rather than fortification. Harassing logistics and movements are a given, holding cities is not.”
Images would begin to fill the mirrors showing ships at sea. If viewed the seams of the mirrors would disappear and the water at their feet would begin to change to the feeling of wood, the air would fill with salt, and the motion of a rocking ship would fill the room turned oceanic scene. As the details became more vivid the simple but numerous ships of the mist could be seen surrounding a single large ship flying the standard of Kumogakure: better equipped but struggling against the flanks.
“It would be foolish for any daimyo or kage to misunderstand the situation,” Mai’s disembodied voice whispered against the wind.
“The Sound Village was built to evade, survive, and reclaim land as it exhausts enemy resources. The Sound Village is in no great jeopardy. Saving the homes of the people of Onomichi is a matter of the heart, not of necessity. The situation your leaders find themselves in is much different than you think. The Stone verses the Rain, the Mist verses the Cloud. It would take very little to turn the tides one way or another.”
From where Téngfēi stood on the illusory boat, a figure moved ahead of him in a feathery captain’s hat. A crimson haired woman who moved to the bow of the ship as it turned, several other ships accompanying them at their sides. Cannons would begin to fire, and one of the ships from the mist began to sink.
“I hold the cards,” the voice said, now coming from the woman who stood in front of him. “I know it, and so do they. So, they will comply.”
She turned to face Téngfēi for the first time, her yellow eyes staring blankly towards him.
“You at least seem to be clever; you’ll serve well assisting us in the planning tent,” she said. The voice that spoke from her lips seemed different than the ephemeral voice that had filled the air. It was dry and monotone and lacked any inflection. “I know only some of the names you spoke of, but Shoichi seems a fine choice for a leader for an advanced guard. As far as Seiichi Koji goes, I can’t help but to think you have ulterior motives. We will investigate the matter, but I will not jump to conclusions. Go prepare your task force, but be prepared to serve as a coordinator in the command tent… the empire will likely employ a powerful doton user who will be creating reinforcements. Your head to cut, but more valuable captured.”
As she spoke her final words and looked forward at the Mist shinobi, there would be a blink and suddenly he would find himself back in the waiting room, where the person in the mask was standing and staring at them. They would raise a single hand seal and flicker away after that. To what location one would be unable to ascertain. Somewhat abstracting to get this done before the event drops. The requested pairings/role will be influenced on placement of troops when the event begins (but I think Xia would need to sign up- as would any others). She didn't seem convinced enough of Seiichi's wrong doing, it may take something more substantial or more witnesses. I will probably start that team in the middle of the action to reflect them being out before the city is in peril of being taken~ DM me (Sharp) if there was anything else you had in mind.
Last Edit: Sept 29, 2021 14:06:14 GMT by Mai Nobusuma
his face deadpans, a small vein beginning to bulge at the side of his head. was he under a genjutsu the entire time? when the fuck did that happen? how infuriating of that little ffff. still, his disdain for her had began to lessen. he'd been shown something important despite unintentional, and he'd remember that. but... more valuable captured?... he supposes with the current set up he has in mind capture is possible. ah, wait. for torture and information. of course. he continues to stand, musing in front of the person he'd came back to - having to literally be ushered out by their growing impatience of his loitering. all in all, his mission was successful - even if the mizukage wouldn't be too pleased by the antics, at least there's relative doubts sprinkled within the army, and with the hokage looking into seiichi perhaps there'd even be tensions. too many birds to kill with one bow. [break][break]
well, time to go buy a dinner for gauma and indirectly apologize. [break][break]
A chamber that is deep underground in the heart of Otogakure's territory. The initial floor is guarded by elite shinobi and several assistants filling out paperwork rest upon desks. Beyond them a stairwell descends down into a large pool that is well lit with torchlight. At the center of the pool is a small artificial island of concrete and lined with comfortable pillows. It is here where Nobusuma-same can be most often found meditating.
Kage Towers These threads are a permanent fixture and pinned for the use of anyone. When you enter a kage tower thread check to see if an interaction is currently going on, and if there isn't then you should post a new interaction. Sometimes a kage may not be available, so please give an assistant a chance to speak with your character before they approach the kage.
How she had dreamt of stepping foot inside since the day she knew of its existence. In fact, she had been told by her parents that only shinobi could and would ever find themselves visiting the kage tower. It was all for the right reasons too, since the Hokage seemed always to be busy, too busy to be disrupted for no good reason. And Suzu had a great reason to be there that day. She wanted to be assigned a solo mission, since she had been trying to go on group missions lately. She needed a breather, so to speak. [break][break]
As she stepped foot underground, she was met with elite shinobi at the entrance of the first floor of the building. ”I’m here to see the Kage about taking on a solo mission. My name is Suzuran, Suzuran Hyuuga.” The black and red silk kimono fluttered gently as she moved, her red-orange hues looked at the shinobi and then at the assistants who were doing paperwork. She was not used to asking for a mission like this, but she was also just not used to doing solo missions. Suzu hoped it would be something exciting, something that might take her beyond the country. She wanted to travel, to go on an adventure, her life otherwise had been somewhat boring for quite some time. [break][break]
[attr="class","curragebot"]Need a solo mission to train for Jyuuken styles
[attr="class","APP3"]Behind the administrative desk was a masked figure in a fox mask. When she announced herself, there was silence for a moment followed by the shinobi slowly removing the mask to reveal themselves to be the kage in the guise of an assistant.
"Hello, Suzuran," Mai said, tilting her head to the left and smiling. "A mission all on your own, hmmm?" she said as she ran her hand discreetly over some brail on her desk. The desk itself had an arch that would conceal her hand from a frontward gaze down. "I usually don't like to send people on B-Ranks alone... even jounin. We are a bit short staffed on chunin at the moment though. This mission might be better suited for one shinobi anyways."
She paused for a moment and took a drink of some tea that had reached room temperature. She then cleared her throat and began speaking more officially.
"There's an illegal fighting ring that has been operating to the west of here," she began. "Normally I wouldn't care, but the word is that human experiments not sanctioned by the village are being used in the pits. We are looking for fugitives with ties to the previous kage that might be involved. So I want you to go and win a tournament and meet the proprietor, then detain and interrogate them to see if you can get a lead on where the experiments are coming from. Think you can handle that?"
A voice interrupted her thoughts from a little behind her, belonging to none other than the Hokage herself.[break][break]
Suzu turned to face the woman, her eyebrow slightly raised as the other took off the fox mask to reveal her face underneath. She admittedly hadn't expected the Kage herself to be sitting behind the desk, pretending to be one of the assistants. But then again, she guessed that Mai had wanted to catch people off-guard. The Hyuuga bowed formally to the woman immediately, having recovered from the initial shock of coming face-to-face with the kage. To be honest, Suzu hadn't expected to be able to talk to Mai at all since she knew that there were a lot of people who came to bother the woman on a regular basis. And the blonde-haired girl was no special person after all, just a regular jounin. "Hokage-sama, it is a pleasure to see you again." [break][break]
She returned the woman's smile, her red orange hues looking once over at Mai. She respected the woman incredibly, being one of the very few people she looked up to that was not part of the Hyuuga clan. She listened to the mission details, nodding her head a few times at the information that was given to her. An illegal fighting ring. It sounded like a very interesting mission, knowing that there have been recent adjustments within the Otogakure shinobi ranks that chuunin and jounin numbers were trickling. "Of course, please rest assured, Hokage-sama." She bowed slightly again, waiting for the other woman to give her the mission scroll with the details. "I will return with the person in question after the interrogation with a detailed report of the information I find."[break][break]
As she turned to leave, she would stop, thinking for a moment before turning back to Mai. "Hokage-sama, I was wondering if I could ask for permission of something. It is directly related to the Hyuuga clan mansion and training grounds." She exhaled slightly before continuing. "As you are aware, the Hyuuga clan has both a mansion within the sound village and a manor north of Hi no Kuni. I was wondering if I may be granted permission to open the training grounds at the manor in the country to all Hyuuga descendants from across the land. Rest assured that no descendant who takes refuge or uses the building will be granted access or knowledge of our village details. This is to keep tabs on how many of our clan members are scattered throughout both the country and other major countries. It also gives us an idea of a head count of how many possess our kekkei genkai, which is useful information to the village as a whole." She cleared her throat slightly, "I will personally set up a riddle of some sort to filter out any potential spies from using our training grounds." She understood that being one of the few clans in the world to possess a dojutsu, it brought on natural threats from outsiders. Suzu waited patiently, to see if Mai would allow this otherwise preposterous idea to follow through.[break][break]
[attr="class","curragebot"]Figured I would ask ICly before making the actual Hyuuga mansion training grounds thread~
