A bot amongst the trees

[CDF]

It was interesting how painful that was... He hadn't really considered modulating for that when he possessed this temporary puppet.

Hito stared with fascination at the throbbing red thumb of his right hand as he clumsily lumbered through the dense forests. He had tripped yet again and landed awkwardly on his hand, and mysteriously, the hand was feeling pain and swelling. The mysterious part, of course, being that his real body was currently whittling away at a mountain of paper and data back in Suna. This current version of him was just an extension of his being layered over a wooden puppet and then performing transformation jutsu to look like himself.

Was this another symptom of his newfound state of existence? Was his mind acting so quickly that it was literally changing his transformation jutsu to match the expectations his brain has of how his body should react in such situations? If so, why didn't his body know that somebody as strong as him wouldn't even get scratched by such a miniscule fall. Or was his brain accounting for the lowered durability of this current body?

Looking it over, he visibly smiled. It was! When factoring in the durability threshold of the material of his body and the force with which the impact occured, and thent ranslating all of those into a comparable human body, swelling and this amount of pain is indeed the appropriate response!

Incredible.

His smile wasn't diminshed one bit by the strange, apathetic and judgmental sensation coming from deep within him. Clearly his soul, the one that possessed him and was responsible for this symptom, was not at all impressed and even slightly annoyed by the enthusiasm. Youth.

His carefree attitude would likely be strange to any native onlookers, for this HitoBot was walking through the massive forests around Konoha. Hito knew how to arrive at the village in a way that was more secure, less confusing and gave more of a headsup, but he wasn't here in any official capacity. He had a laundry list of goals and none of them were officialy ok'd by anybody in suna. His intuition told him this would lead to the best results.

And so he walked, waiting for the next part of the grand plan

[Director]

Fanho sat laid back in a chair as the Senju sensory techs toiled away picking apart a signature wandering through the forests. Quite the signature actually. Not the usual Fire Country citizen that got lost and needed their way directed back to the closest major town, but something on par with a Bannin level shinobi. The Hokage lazily looked over the chakra overlay thrown up by a Senju that showed the approximate location of where the signature was actively wandering. It felt reminiscent but different at the same. Changed yet the same in some aspects.

The Hokage fingers rapped against his chin as he made a face pondering what he was looking at. It was quickly resolved with a quick shrug as Fanho patted one of the Senju techs on the back. "Well no sense in staring at a map all day." With a flash of his pearly whites, Fanho's presence in the room disappeared as he materialized on a heavy branch just above and behind the signature. Draped in the haori marked with the Hokage's kanji accompanied by the red and white cone hat expected of the Kage.

"Looking a bit lost bud. You can wander through all you like, but there's like a protocol you know if you wanted to get in contact with someone in the village. It beats wandering in the forests until you starve."

With a flick of his middle finger Fanho tipped the Hokage hat up revealing his face as he peered over his mirrored purple windsor glasses at the figure before him. Despite being lost the figure certainly seemed set to wander the trees until he found something.

[CDF]

Hito intuited the presence before any tangible sense detected it. He was still growing accustomed to this advanced level of knowing things. He'd always been quick on the draw, always perceptive, but now it was almost like his brain was moving faster than all of his senses, piecing together the tiniest bits of information the instant they appear and drawing conclusions before the body's truly even perceived it.

So without knowing exactly why, he was already turning to look at the exact spot Fanho teleported into. Already a background program in his mind was running to try and figure out what it was that tipped him off to what must have been a jikukan teleportation. That program was quickly shoved even further into the background as full realization of who was before him dawned on the former Kazekage.

That was fast.

Smiling politely and bowing slightly, Hito paid his respect. While he was no longer the man that cared about every little nuance in human interactions, he was well aware that he had to come here humbled and with hat in hand. Even so, the Kazekage's written profile and his go-getter attitude of intercepting an unknown invader on his own indicated this wasn't somebody that cared for time wasted on pleasantries. So Hito's bow was respectful, but likely not as deep as most would expect.

His hands raised, palms out towards Fanho as he raised his head back to make eye contact. "I'm afraid I'm operating a bit out of protocol at the moment. This actually isn't my real body and if you'll allow me, I'll give you the respect of teleporting my real body here as well so we may speak properly." It was awkward, it was abrupt and it was oddly devoid of emotion. No awe, no fear, no disrespect, just facts. He'd wait a moment for permission before flooding his body with Jikukan and swapping places with his real body, which was now sitting attently back in Suna. He had the mental capacity to run all his extensions and have this interaction, but he did not yet know the full limits of his capacity and now was not the time to test them.

If successful, Hito's real self would appear in the same exact spot, possibly looking like very little at all changed. "My name is Ouji, Hito. Former and missing Kage of Sunagakure no Sato" A little more authority and strength in his voice now, he repeated his bow, this time more formally and in the manner one Kage would expect from another. Looking up again to make eye contact, and somehow suspecting that by now Fanho would have made himself get much closer very quickly, he continued speaking. "We have much to discuss, top of the list being how grateful and sorry I am on behalf of my people."

He again went for the awkward and direct method. He wasn't here for games or manipulation and of all the interactions his extensions were currently headed towards, this was one of the two where he was entering fully prepared to be humbled and at the mercy of his conversational partner. If he could not get the Hokage and Raikage to believe him, forgive Suna and commit to assisting them, he may as well get himself killed or captured anyways.

[Director]

With an out reached foot Fanho dropped to the forest floor as the man revealed his true body behind the puppet. The puppet was convincing but little imperfections stood out noting its mechanical nature. The mannerisms, the chakra flowing through, it stood out now on closer appearance. From the sensory network it didn’t discriminate noting it as a decent thread due to its tether back to none other than the Kazekage. Crackhead appearances contradicted the man’s previous position and strength.

“Well I could tell you’re missing from Suna. You wouldn’t be wandering our neck of the woods if you could find your way home otherwise.” The Hokage flubbed his lips poking fun at the Kazekage before chuckling at his own joke.

It didn’t take long for the Kazekage to reveal his sense of humility and sorrow though turning the conversation to a much more somber tone. “Appreciated, but you can save it for someone who needs it more.” His blue eyes disappeared behind the purple pane of his glasses as he looked towards Hito.

The man came to apologize and thank Konoha, but the Hokage had his own thoughts brewing. Conflicting values, beliefs, and realizations that cemented the reality of the situations unfolding. For now he’d let the Kazekage talk and explain his point of view. The man seemed like he had a lot on his mind, maybe even a little unhinged. At least he looked the part.

[CDF]

Fanho post.

Hito's brain fired at its fullest capacity. The significance of this moment couldn't be understated, even moreso than his impending meeting with the Raikage. As his mind whirred, mental constructs were spawned within him to make maximum use of this power while not distracting his main conscience.
,
FanhoAnalysis and WhatToSayNext worked in tandem to decide his words and actions. Rather characteristic for him, and aligning with his constructs' findings, he began with honesty. "I'm actually a bit more lost than that, though I can comfortably pop back into suna at a moment's notice." Hito relaxed his body as he pulled resources from worrying about his body language, his constructs having informed him it wasn't necessary and the result would likely be positive. His tone was as robotic as always as he delivered excessively transparent and detailed information. He did not have time to waste, neither his or Fanho's.

"While I'm physically home, I have not taken up the mantle of Kazekage nor do I plan to. My people do not know that I'm back, and, to be honest, I'm operating with 0 authority beyond the one that spontaneously materialises once one realizes how much I can make happen within Sunagakure no Sato with just a few moments notice."

Hito paused to make eye contact with the young kazekage, a mental image showing him clearly how Hito looked from the leader's perspective. He let the words sink in, considering he essentially admitted to being able and willing to commit a coup.

"Yet, I'm here, expending your time. I hadn't expected to get the opportunity to do so so soon, and I thank you for your proactive nature. Because despite my lack of official station, I think the two of us can secure peace on our planet, starting with what I'm certain is an impending cultural genocide from Iwagakure of my people. If I'm also right, this will be the precursor to a similar though less effective genocide of Iwagakure's forces in Konoha some 23 years later."

Again, and just as awkwardly, he stood there and let the words sink. This time he did not give more information or continue further. He was learning that this information-dumping method of shock-and-awe was useful, but exhausting if he continued for too long.

FanhoAnalysisShow

- He was surprisingly young, but then again, so was Hito when he was first inaugerated as this man had been.
- He had an almost innocent air about him. Like the only predecessor Hito had met, this hokage was jovial and had an almost mischevous air to him.
- Unlike Tousha, however, Fanho seemed genuinely more innocent, where one man utilized humor as a weapon against the darkness of reality, this one seemed to mostly just be ignoring the darkness. Of course, this was an extremely superficial judgement and even the newfound psuedo-omniscience within him was wary of this. Still, he couldn't shake that impression.
- He was never exactly an expert on humor, but Hito suspected that now more than ever that was true. It was tempting to run a tertiary program no- no, why not? do it.
- His sudden appearance here on his own spoke volumes. He was brave but also reckless, for even the bravest of leaders should know this wasn't wise. Especially this was something he was likely to do at any given time, as anybody with enough information could easily bait him out like this and then use some method to.
- Reckless men do not become leaders in a nation that doesn't work on an inherited authoritarian government. This was surely a very powerful and capable human.
- His reaction, or lackthereof, to Hito's performance and the method with which he enterred was another indicator of this as well
- His border-line rude (to a normal person) dismissal of Hito's apology was promising. Again like Tousha, he did not care for the act of pleasantry and diplomacy for diplomacy and respect's sake. This was a man he could use his diplomatic abilities on merely to communicate,not manage.
- If he was understanding this correctly, Hito would be able to every manner at his disposal to convey his message without worrying about things like if he was being too strange, or too offensive , not deferential enough, etc, etc,

humorAnalysisShow

-Is Fanho less funny than Tousha as it seems? If so, how come and how could I both quantify and prove this? A sample certianly would be necessary to establish a baseline and then a secondary measure creatred to attempt a quantification of my personal humor taste, and then finally a more qualitative study to come to core truths about humor itself.
-Commencing

WhatToSayNextShow

-Convey humility and gratitude
-----While Fanho had made it fairly clear that he wasn't interested in pleasentries, it was still imperative that it was top-of-mind that Hito knew where he stood with them in terms of debt and honor. They would never have to slightly suggest it or remind him. This was imperative for his personal code of honor that he had decided to construct but also to be able to establish trust and to remove a potential logical weapon that could be used against him.
-Along with all that, his gratitude and humility would give room for Fanho to believe the same things wouldn't happen again. They weren't just callously calling in an ally and saying whatever happens happens.
-Recruit assistance -
------It was becoming woefully clear that suna was going to be attacked by Iwagakure, and worse, they would not be able to repel it. If konoha could not assist in the defense itself or by invading and distracting, Suna had absolutely no chance of survival and his priorities would all have to switch to what to do in case of Suna's fall.
-Develop and strengthen alliance for suna
----While this has all been tragic, it's also a crucially opportune moment to strengthen an old alliance that could help establish long-term peace, which was obviously necessary when they were being targeted by a war monger.
-Plant seeds for project utopia
----this potentially impacts his project utopia plans in countless ways. Beyond the endless diplomatic opportunities that a personal connection with the Hokage would provide: he had an entire category of ideas that only worked with the backing of a major ally that wasn't Suna.