Antanium

[Ace Trainer]

The portal would form from nothingness and Kesu would float through it, several items in his arms that he'd float off to place elsewhere. Soon after, the daimyo of Gold would follow through, Shio at his tail. As Shio arrived, the portal would vanish, and Shio would slip the ring into his pocket. Looking at Aimi for only a moment, Shio would scan the hallways they had arrived in. It was "outside" or at least as outside as it could be in Iron. Iron was architecturally an interesting place, the country, or at least the portion of the country it's original borders marked, was largely uninhabitable. It had a violent landscape that was lacking in fertility or level ground, dangerous jagged trees marred the landscape that was often coated in snow or heavy winds. The Three Headed Wolf was a large mineral rich mountain near the center of the county that had been practically hollowed out to form a city.

So, while they were outside the building Shio had placed them in, they were still technically inside. The large, cavernous hallway was well decorated as any external walkway would be. Small light adorned the walls, designated walking spaces, with small green plants lining the walls and creating space that seemed to be intended to mimic being outside. Further down the hall there would be the sound of water echoing, an internal waterfall allowing freshwater to flow through the cavern. It was truly an incredible feat, and one Shio could take not credit for.

Most people were impressed, or confused, when they first arrived in Iron. Shio would take a hazard guess that without Aimi having been gradually introduced to the marvel progressively as he entered, but instead teleported directly within, that he would be more confused than impressed immediately.

As Shio arrived, three samurai would rush up to him, their hands on their swords as they viewed Aimi. Shio would hold up a single hand, indicating for them to relax to which they both would, "Lets spare you three your lives.", he said with a soft laugh, "This is Kaguya, Aimi, the standing Daimyo for Gold Country. Please arrange a room for him.", he requested. The first samurai would give a sharp Hai, and quickly marched off to do whatever preparation he needed to. Shio would face the next, "Men jakında sayakatka çıgam, maga eskadrilya çogult.", it appeared the young Taishou had obtained a rather competent grasp on the native tongue of the samurai. "Kiçine. Men Kesu menen gana sayakattaym, oşonduktan ar biribizge aylana berüü üçün jetiştüü.", the two remaining samurai would nod dutifully and march off to follow.

"I'll walk with you for now while they set up arrangements.", he would gesture towards the hall, beginning to walk and assuming Aimi would follow. "Its quite different from Kirigakure, I'll say that much.", he said looking around the hall they were walking in.

[Golnax]

Stepping through the portal and into some place new, the very first thing that Aimi would notice was the temperature change. The Kishakisei hideout was underground, yes, but not that deep and so remained fairly warm. While the air in the cavernous mountain hall wasn't exactly chilly it was quite a bit lower than where they had come from. Embarrassingly, the Kaguya's bare chest would perk up at the change in the air and he would shiver, bringing his hands up to rub his chest.

Next, of course, would be the three samurai rushing up on him and Kesu with their hands on their blades! Halting in his track, the gold haired Kaguya would look at the three of them with an amused sort of expression, that sort of look that old men gave overly eager young men as if to ask, "Are you serious?" Fortunately, Shio was short to follow and put the samurai in their place. Hands clasped over his pecs, Aimi would turn back to look at Shio and then back at the samurai. How about that; they really were under his control. That only left the question of if there was some sort of jutsu involved or - then all of the sudden he was receiving culture shock as Shio spoke what sounded like gibberish to him!

"I thought I was the only one allowed to make up words on the spot," Aimi jokingly complained as the three samurai all ran off on their own chores. As Shio started to walk away Aimi would follow behind him. "Oh yes, quite different indeed... but oddly enough it reminds me a bit of home," he said, his head craning up and looking at the carved out hall for what it was. As they walked he would look this way and that, taking in details of the architecture and observing his surroundings with an uncanny eye that almost seemed to drink up his surroundings as if he wouldn't miss a thing even if he tried.

"There's a settlement in the northern part of Gold that's entirely encased within an enormous cavern much like this..." He paused, shivering again and making a quick set of seals before creating a dull blue fireball in his palm and pressing it against his chest. When he took his hand away the fire would remain, a tiny flame giving him a hug and warming him up. "Although, if I had to guess I'd say we're a fair bit higher in altitude and it's much colder outside here than there... I confess though, I know basically nothing about the geography of Iron! Not that that's necessarily important right now..."

Seemed to be that Aimi Kaguya wasn't afraid to make small talk while he craned his head to and fro. Naturally he would listen to everything Shio had to say as well, but as they walked he would never miss a beat in giving his own reply.

[Ace Trainer]

Kesu was the first to return, and quickly to his position next to the Taisho, following just above the ground, arms crossed behind his back. Shio let a small smirk come onto his face as Aimi suggested that Shio was making up the language, though it was clearly in jest. " A civilized country thats maintained a standing army able to stand on par with shinobi for the past thousand years has an entire language and culture of it's own buried into the mountains. Who would have thought.". If there had been anything about these people that had impressed Shio, it was that the stories about Iron Country samurai he'd heard all his life were not the product of overselling and over telling of stories. On the contrary, he'd found that the samurai had been even more incredible than he'd imagined.

The idea that these two criminals - so to speak - were standing together in foreign land one had conquered, reminiscing about their home was laughable. They'd willingly abandoned it after all. But, everyone had their motivations, even if Shio hadn't quite dialed in on what Aimi's were yet. "Yeah, it seems architcture like this is somewhat common in the region. Protection from the elements and....other forces.", meaning shinobi and the monsters they seemed to invite.

"The geography...", Kesu would quickly interject, appearing to get more comfortable with the presence of Aimi and feeling less need to be overly formal. "Is mostly this. Large mountains, though none as large as Sanrou, snow, winter flora. During the war Iron came into possession of the land formerly recognized as Fur Country. Due to the events, most of the occupants of Fur abandoned it for safety within Earth Country, so Iron is working on extending it's presence into the more fertile land on Fur.", he offered with a nod.

Shio smiled gently at Kesu, he clearly enjoyed having his young little encyclopedia following him around everywhere to defer to. Kesu was a dutiful soldier just as much as any of the other samurai.

"Means teaching an entire country how entirely new techniques to managing land.", he offered absentmindedly. "I'll take you down to the training grounds. Kesu will be able to be your guide from there. I have some business to take care of.", he explained. "While I know we just left, after you've settled in, if you're interested there is some business in Tides that I'd like to address, and you're welcome to come along. Kesu can explain more later if so.", his voice trailed off as he walked through the corridors. "Tell me. You're the Daimyo, have you found anyone in the country that you'll be having act as your assistant?", it seemed Shio was asking if Aimi had someone like Kesu, or at least if Aimi had began to find ins into the culture in Gold.

[Golnax]

"Oh, is that what became of Fur?" Aimi asked in response to Kesu's information. He had been walking along, warming up and admiring the simple effectiveness of the samurai of Iron's architecture. The whole mountain range was a series of forts for them that they could likely move freely between to some degree or another! It was little wonder to him after seeing this that they had lasted for so long despite the rising powers of the Great Five and their shinobi, Genma or not! Aimi had always had a healthy respect for the samurai of various nations, but this was the first time he felt something akin to admiration!

As for what Kesu had said about Fur, Aimi kept quiet aside from the comment he had already made. He thought back to the Great War and how the forces of Fur had in fact helped him to take over what used to be Gold Country. At the time he could remember being concerned with the powers that be in Earth and Iwagakure reporting back to Kiri his actions and all of the scheming and plotting he had done to deal with that possibility. All the lies... What a happy coincidence that he needn't have worried about it in the first place! Shio had come along with his impressive Iron samurai and taken the country over, making them an ally of his at the end of the day! What hilarious fate!

Aimi chuckled at the thought. "Well, I wish the best for your expansion. If Iron is as mountainous as I'm imagining, having the fertile earth to help support everything you've got going on here will be a great help!" he commented casually. He found himself wondering briefly if this was how political nobles talked to one another, which in turn lead him to wonder when he might have become one?

"The training grounds, huh?" Aimi replied to Shio equally absentmindedly. The prospect brought him a little more out of his head and into the current situation they found themselves in. Seeing how the Iron samurai trained would give him a point of comparison for his own samurai and warriors to see how they stacked up against one another and how he could improve his own armies. A rare opportunity! He was thankful to Shio for offering it. "Thank you, I greatly appreciate it and would love to have Kesu accompany me," he said with a smile. "I understand you have business, don't let me keep you! Running a country is a demanding occupation after all!"

At the mention of Tides Aimi paused. Was Shio trying to conquer that country, too? He supposed he would find out later, though. "Hmm, Tides, huh? I look forward to the explanation," he said, glancing over to Kesu. He was beginning to like the subordinate of Shio's. Speaking of subordinates, Shio inquired about his own and this, too, gave him pause. He stopped in his tracks, a somewhat perplexed expression on his face. "An assistant, huh...?" he mused, bringing a hand up and rubbing his chin as he thought. He hummed for a moment, thinking the question over carefully before answering. His mind wandered to the samurai generals under his command from the former Dungeon and Gold countries, he thought of the former ruler of the Land of Plains and Sea, the trio of tribal leaders from Steppes, the matriarchs of the Kinoko clan...

After several moments of quiet he gave his answer. "In Gold, everyone gives what they can - including myself. I help and teach them as much as they help me. In a way I'm their assistant, and they're mine. Everyone. I suppose I have many assistants! However, if you're asking me if I have some sort of trusted advisor, well, I turn to the former leaders of the countries I conquered for advise, all of them powerful warriors in their own right but definitely more experienced with running countries than me! I'm very thankful to have their experience at my beck and call."

"Now then," he said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them briskly. "Shall Kesu-chan give me the grand tour of these training grounds you spoke of? I'm dying to see your samurai in action!"

[Ace Trainer]

Shio and Kesu would give a tight nod in unison at the mention of Fur again. That was their next project; As they had been slowly moving small numbers of people over to the land of Fur in order to properly populate it, Shio's intent was to bring in a few families from various other regions that would stabilize the region a little more thoroughly and make it easier to stand on it's own. Iron, for as long as it had existed, had been isolated to Sanrou, so the government operating in multiple locations was a bit novel and was taking more work than he had originally expected. Most likely, once a settlement was established in Fur, Shio would transition the seat of power in Iron to the new village, and leave Sanrou a military fortress. It would take some getting used to for the people, but they would manage.

They continued to walk, in truth Shio didn't care one way or another if Aimi had an assistant. Part of him was evaluating what kind of leader Aimi would be, but at the end of the day their partnership was more about raw power not political power. With Iron firmly under Shio's thumb, their activities in this country wouldn't be reported to other bodies, meaning their value in the bingo book should remain relatively stable. That gave them a little more leeway in how they manage their activities.

Eventually they would reach a fork in the halls they were walking, and Shio would gesture to Kesu who would float off to the left before turning to face Aimi, "The training grounds are just this way, Daimyo-sama.", Kesu said quite formally.

"I have some work to attend to, but I am imagining you will be spending a fair bit of time below, so I will come and join you both when I'm done.", Shio gave a courteous nod and then wandered off down the other pathway

Not waiting any longer, Kesu would turn and begin floating down their designated path, suddenly steeping downwards, "The training grounds are both internal to Sanrou and outside of it. The samurai need to be able to train in a controlled environment, but also able to go out into the elements to train against that as well.", he explained. "These grounds are occupied twenty-four seven. There is not a moment that some squadron isn't training. This was all established before the current Taishou took the seat. The legends of the Iron Samurai are so famous for a reason."

Kesu would push through a door letting them out into an overhang. Stairs directly to their left, Kesu would pause for a moment to let Aimi take it in. It was a giant room, several football fields in size. Giant stone pillars divided the cavern into sections and likely supported the vast open space. Below them literal hundreds of samurai were divided into different training grounds, either battling amongst each other, sitting and meditating, or practicing various maneuvers and tactics. A river flowed directly through the center of it, being directed at several points to give texture to various smaller training grounds, some with small trees or long grass, each mimicking a different environment for the samurai to train in. Perhaps most interested was the moss hanging from the ceiling, but also wrapping various large blocks of stone that was producing all the light in the room. "Bioluminescence", Kesu would offer, gesturing to some on the wall directly beside them.

What a sight.

[Golnax]

There was little need to reply to Shio as he informed them of his departure. Aimi merely nodded and turned to follow Kesu as he lead the way down the mountain and towards the training hall, explaining as they went how it operated. "Legendary indeed. I'm quite eager to see how the Iron samurai operate so I can improve my own troops," he commented. The samurai from Gold, specifically the northern desert that was the original location for Gold Country, were by no means ineffective. Just inexperienced. The leadership in what used to be Gold was able to maintain a continuous war with subpar troops for years which, in some respects, spoke to their capabilities as warriors to maintain said war while also exposing their inadequacies to bring it to a close. To Aimi, studying how the legendary Iron samurai operated would be a chance to sharpen his own up to be on par, if not better, than those samurai of legend.

From how Kesu spoke, though, he was certainly expecting a smaller chamber. As they came across the vast hall of training samurai in the hundred, the golden Kaguya couldn't help but look on in respectful awe. "Oh my," he stated simply as he took in the whole scene, his head slowly turning from one side to the other, sharp eyes taking in as much detail as he could. The moss, he felt, was an especially clever touch. Using the natural world in tandem to improve the way they trained was something that he very much approved of.

"This is all very, very impressive. Could we descend and mingle? I'd like to get even closer and interact with these warriors. Spar with them, even, if it's not out of the question," Aimi declared, turning towards Kesu as to ask permission. It didn't really cross his mind that Kesu may not have been in a position to refuse him. In Aimi's mind, he was a guest in this place and it was only polite to make sure that he wouldn't be too disrupting by going and getting a closer look.

[Ace Trainer]

Kesu couldn't help but smile a little as Aimi took it all in. Though this was not Kesu's work, and he had no hand in it, he felt a great deal of pride. He had done his homework, and was well acquainted with the escapades of Aimi, at least what was publicly known, and being able to impress the Kaguya felt...well good. Much like Shio, Kesu had quite quickly taken to be a member of Iron fully, and was happy to abandon his historical root in favor of this new homeland. If it impressed Aimi, he was proud of it, simple as that. At the request to mingle, Kesu simply nodded, "Hai.", he affirmed.

While there was a stairway to their left, Kesu would simply walk forward, descending off the side of the balcony they stood on and slowly falling - better put as floating - to the ground. When he reached the bottom he'd look to see if Aimi took the quick way down or the slow for only a moment before advancing forward. The samurai in the grounds immediately before him would stop training, to which he'd respond with a wave and they'd resume as if he had never been there. Kesu was an extension of Shio, and Shio was the Taishou, in his absence, Kesu still commanded the respect of the troops by merit of his station alone.

"Haidou-sama.', he would call out. Quickly a samurai who had been standing to the side refereeing would divert his gaze from the training and move to Kesu's side. "I have with me the Daimyo of Gold Country. He'd like to spar.", a small smirk.

The lieutenant would cock his head to the side, it wasn't often that a daimyo would want to spar, and he wasn't sure of any he'd seen that were in a condition to. He opened his mouth to speak only for his eyes to finally land on Aimi and understanding to visibly come to him. "But first, I'm sure he has some questions for you about the training. Daimyo Kaguya-sama is here as a close and trusted friend of the Taishou, he should be treated as one of our own.", the young blonde boy would say quite politely. There was a implication in the statement though, that would suggest there were things the lieutenant would not have revealed anyways. Nodding, Haidou would turn to Aimi looking at him intently, waiting.

[Golnax]

Ah, how nice it would be to have no apparent need to give heed to gravity! Aimi was unsure what sort of jutsu or ability that Kesu had that allowed him to float so freely, but he did feel a bit of envy for it. He'd been back from his imprisonment for a while now and he was truly beginning to miss being able to levitate at will. Fortunately, even in reality, he had ways of dealing with the oppressive force of gravity. Rather than take the stairs, Aimi would take a step over the edge fearlessly and drop down - his cloak billowing upwards in the process, exposing his body for all to see!

Just before hitting the ground he would sprout a set of feathered bone wings and give a few flaps to slow his descent enough that he could safely land on the balls of his feet with his knees bent, his cloak falling back into place obediently. The Daimyo of Gold would stand up straight and walk over towards Kesu's side as he spoke to one of the samurai whose name he didn't quite catch during his fall. He smiled softly at the warrior of Iron as he looked him up and down and stood there quietly as the samurai did. He was waiting for some sort of question, but it seemed that the rank of file of Iron waited their turn to speak when they knew they were addressing a higher ranked individual.

Aimi broke the silence. "In truth, I don't have many questions. I have samurai under my command, so I have a rough idea of how strict their training regiments are. I merely would like to humbly ask to observe your men at work, so that I might take the knowledge with me to improve my own," Aimi said courteously, bowing his head to show respect to the samurai before him. This gesture may well catch the man off guard, for when was the last time anyone heard of a Daimyo bowing his head to another? Aimi certainly couldn't think of any.

Lifting his head up though, he would briefly continue. "Afterwards, I would very much like to test the strength of your men against my own. Strictly a friendly competition, of course, I would not dream of putting anyone in any real danger."

[Ace Trainer]

The lieutenant, Haidou it seemed, nodded in understanding as Aimi explained what he would like, "In that case, I believe Kesu is quite intimately familiar with our work, I think it'd be best for me to resume and he can explain.", Haidou gave another quick nod to Aimi and then Kesu and then turned on his heels to return to the men who had been doing some form of modified spar in his absence. His return would be met with a bow from the pair to each other, then resuming a more serious back-and-forth.

Kesu ran a hand through his hair, then floated closer to the grounds Haidou had just returned to. "Its hard for me to give just a general overview. Their practices are quite complex.", he mused. "Weekly cycles. Different exercises. Some in their squadrons guided by their squadron leaders, some in their battalions by their battalion captains, some by their lieutenants like this. They identify points of weakness, sometimes going into individualized training like this one.", he gestured towards the training ground. "Lieutenant Haidou is particularly gifted at identifying points of weakness in a fighting style. His training involves him creating choreography for fighting. Two fighters are given opposing choreographies, and are expected to adapt their respective choreography to capitalize off of flaws in the opposing. They'll fight like this for hours at a time, repeating the choreography 10 to 15 times an hour, each repetition the choreography evolving to adapt to new pieces they see in each other's fighting. By the end, their original choreography is gone, and they're actively fighting and adapting to each other in real time.", he paused to allow a moment for the two of them to watch the pair of samurai engaging with each other.

Now that Kesu had explained it, it would likely be more noticeable now that the two were in a specific flow. The concentration on their face inconsistent with the automatic way their bodies were moving. Then suddenly, one would jerk and break the flow they were in to do something that seemed very sudden. They'd pause for a moment, and restart. The same thing happening.

"Its functional. Not every samurai will receive training like this, some are more naturally attuned to recognizing flaws in their opponents, or aren't at enough of a deficit that they need this type of focus. Lieutenant Haidou's expertise in this training style means training under him is often reserved to those of exceptional talent in other fields that need to improve in this area in order to break whatever plateau they're currently on."

Kesu turned to look around the giant cavern they were in, "Becoming a lieutenant means having an area of expertise at the level of Lieutenant Haidou. It's quite brilliant, actually. It ensure thats the military is constantly evolving, the samurai are generating and innovating war as their career. This is their job. They wake up and train. Nothing else. None of these men are craftsmen or farmers. They have nothing but this. The entire government and social ladder is formulated around supporting them so they don't have to focus on anything else.", he looked at Aimi now. Was this what he wanted to know? Or just their training schedule, when they trained individually, what stretches they did, and so forth? It was har to tell.

[Golnax]

Aimi followed beside Kesu as he floated over towards the training samurai. He watched the men and listened to Shiro's assistant as he explained the sort of training that was going on there. The fierce cries of the men rang out with each beginning of their training sets. The two men facing each other would get three or four moves in before one would get the upper hand over the other with some unexpected move and then they would start over again. It was very rudimentary. But certainly effective training none the less. It was easy for anyone with a trained martial eye to understand how performing this dance repetitiously over and over again would lead to potent, orthodox warriors that were capable of adapting to most scenarios in close quarters combat.

However, the Daimyo of Gold was not necessarily impressed at the end of the day. Much like how the lieutenants watched over individual groups of training men with hawk-like gazes, stopping sparring bouts to point out a flaw that one combatant had made or another, Aimi could see how this style of repetitive, orthodox training would lead to a narrow way of thinking of warfare and combat in general. He didn't go so far as to assume that this type of training was wrong or even ineffective, he just couldn't help but consider his own samurai back home, how some of them already knew how to use some basic katon ninjutsu. He wondered how these training samurai of Iron would adapt to one of their own suddenly slinging flame into their eyes. Would this repetitive dance be helpful then?

His skepticism only grew as Kesu explained that these men were samurai and only samurai. His eyes practically glazed over at the mention of the government being set up so as to support this system of career soldiers who, he assumed, if they were anything like the samurai under his command, began training at a very young age. To hone all of that raw potential into the art of war and war alone was wasteful in the Kaguya's eyes. A Great War wasn't on going or even likely to break out any day. This was fact. So these men he saw in the hundreds training before him now being allowed to do so with absolutely no other responsibilities was just a waste of man power, time, money and resources in his eyes. From the looks of these men, Iron had clearly favored well in the war and such training was no doubt to thank, but he wasn't fooling himself: He wondered what the societal structure of the every day man was like there in Iron, what sort of living conditions civilians lived in. He pondered how they could be improved if only these hundreds of bodies were allowed to work in other fields alongside their training when not in war time.

'Such a waste,' he thought bitterly before gently discarding such thoughts. This wasn't the whole picture, after all. There was more yet to see. To pass judgement so quickly would have been unwise; and besides, it wasn't as though he saw nothing of value before him that he could take home to Gold.

"I believe I've seen enough to warrant a test," Aimi replied after a few moments of silence, finally breaking his intent stare at the warriors training before him and turning back to Kesu. "Pray tell, who among them is willing to spar with a foreign leader?"

[Ace Trainer]

Kesu watched Aimi closely as he seemed to digest everything. He was trying to decide if Aimi asked for more information what else he could tell him. Intuitively he felt it was best to keep cards close to his chest, but Shio seemed to trust Aimi quite a bit and didn't see the need for any sort of secrecy. But, when Aimi was finally did speak, he seemed satisfied because his attention moved on. Aimi's face was had to read, however. He seemed unhappy, or displeased? It was hard to tell. Kesu was usually pretty good at reading the emotion in people's faces but Aimi was difficult.

"Well..", he turned to Haidou, who had clearly been listening because he placed a hand out to instruct the two samurai to stop, then gestured to one.

"I'd be thrilled.", the samurai said with a wide grin. His partner smirked, and even Haidou had a small smile on his face. Aimi was clearly fit, but none of them seemed to have high expectations for what Aimi was capable of. The look on Kesu's face was far more mischievous however. He knew Aimi was more than capable, he was a peer of the Taishou afterall, right?

Kesu gestured for Aimi to join the samurai in the ring. Both Haidou and the other samurai would exit, leaving just the sole fighter. He was tall, six foot give or take an inch. Broad shoulders, but lean over all, he had red hair pulled back into a pony tail, coming out the back of the helmet adorning his skull. He had a training armor on, a leather chest plate, greaves and forearm guards. Kesu would make another gesture, and the samurai who had stepped out would begin removing his own armor, which Kesu would quickly respond to with a shake of his head, "Just the weapon. I imagine the daimyo will not want your armor...", he corrected. He turned to Aimi again and simply crossed his arms.

"Whenever you're ready then.", he said coyly.

The samurai in the ring woul boy to Aimi, then take a defensive stance, his weapon still sheathed.

[Golnax]

"The weapon won't be necessary either," Aimi interjected as the training samurai that had initially started taking off his armor moved to pass his weapon off to the Kaguya. This gave the samurai pause while others turned to each other with slightly confused expressions. 'This daimyo is going to spar with no armor and no weapon?' they thought as Aimi stepped up to the ring, approaching it from the side and circling around it until he was on the opposite side of the red haired samurai. The ring was roughly 5 meters in diameter by his estimation which was a much smaller space than he was used to fighting in. He certainly wasn't going to break out any sort of attack that would harm the on lookers or the environment, so he was further limited there. In truth, Aimi felt he was at quite a disadvantage as he looked upon this ring..!

Never the less, he confidently stepped over the line after a moment and placed both bare feet flat on the ground before looking over at his sparring partner. His sword wasn't drawn. Iaido perhaps? If so he'd pretty easily be able to see his opponent's draw coming he imagined. While considering this he made a conscious decision to hold back in this spar considerably. Even if his opponent could match him in speed or strength, it really wouldn't be fair or fun to use his full strength during this match. He was out to learn the ways of the samurai, not humiliate them. He took in a deep breath through his nose and let it out through his mouth, relaxing his body as he did so. Pulling his punches was the last he could do, until proven he didn't need to anyways.

"Right then, Haidou-sama, was it?" Aimi called out, raising his arms up slightly from his side and holding them open as if inviting his opponent to come and embrace him, palms flat and open. His eyes were locked on the trainee. "If you'd be so kind as to officiate and start this bout as you would any other, it would honor me greatly!" he said cheerfully, a small smile cracking over his lips. He couldn't really hide that he was excited! The first move had already been made by him and no one would know it. More over, this was going to be the first time he'd get to use these taijutsu in an actual combative scenario since emerging from the spirit world! It almost felt like he was a genin again on his first mission, eager to perform his ninjutsu he'd worked so hard on and impress the elder shinobi accompanying him! Nostalgic excitement filled him.

"When you're ready, come!"

Jutsu UsedShow

Restraint
D-Ranked Taijutsu Stance
There is a time and a place to show off one's full potential, and a time for Restraint. Using this Stance, every strike that the user makes will only hit with half of the user's Strength. This applies to all Taijutsu Maneuvers that the user uses while maintaining this Stance. This Stance can be maintained indefinitely, or broken after as much as a single post.

[Ace Trainer]

Kesu floated back slightly more, making room for a few others in adjacent training grounds to see past him as they congregated to the wall of the training ground nearest them. Haidou would give a sharp nod to Aimi's request, "Hai, Daimyo-sama.", he would respond. Reentering, he'd step between the pair and go through the basics of a spar. Kesu had tuned out at this point, his eyes scanning the area around them. Shio had left him with this while he'd handled other business. What exactly that other business was hadn't been clear, which left Kesu feeling a bit off and in the dark. Keeping his arms crossed, he brought his attention back to the spar, which seemed to be starting as Haidou give a quick strike with his arm and took several steps back from between the two.

To the samurai standing opposite Aimi, the brief moment between them would suddenly go from milliseconds to feeling like several minutes. His eyes traced Aimi's form, and it was in this moment that he keyed himself into Aimi's presence that he realized how truly powerful the daimyo appeared to be. His intuition to attack seemed to melt away as he tried to establish some opening in the Daimyo's form and didn't feel confident with any of them. What was happening?

The other samurai likely wouldn't have noticed this hesitation. Haidou probably. Kesu, however, was expecting it, and the coy smile on his face only got wider. He was sure Aimi would notice it too. Kesu had hardly any of the training these samurai had, but the 5 years he'd spent with Shio were worth more experience than a lifetime for these samurai. Kesu had always been smart, and Shio training him he allowed him to grow into quite an excellent little study. Even if he wasn't an offensive power house himself, he understood the mechanics of battle as well as a pro.

The redheaded samurai would shift on his right foot, and relent to his intuition and launch an attack. The training sword would come unsheathed, and gripped with only his left hand as he propelled himself forward. His left foot would hit the ground and he'd pivot once more, darting from the left towards the right. As quickly as he changed directions, he'd do it once more, hoping to bait Aimi into guarding with his right arm, he'd swing the sword from the left, striking horizontally. Ideally, Aimi would be thrown off guard, block with his right arm, and be off balance enough that the strike would be able to break the guard and hit Aimi in the gut. The samurai was strong, moving forward with [35] speed, and striking with [35] strength, he was sure this would be enough to knock the daimyo back. Right?

Kesu had his doubts.

[Golnax]

Aimi noticed the hesitation, yes, but his experience with samurai was much more lacking than even Kesu's was. He couldn't tell if the few scant instants of hesitation were actually that, or a calculated stillness to see how the golden haired Kaguya would react; to see if Aimi would attack first. He wouldn't of course, standing still in the pose he had struck: straight posture, arms at his side, palms flat, fingers pointed towards the ground. He'd spent much of his life as the aggressor, now though? Aimi was over being the one to strike first. His opponent could take that luxury from him.

And take it he did a moment after Haidou stepped away from the center of the ring. Dashing forward and darting from side to side with commendable speed, Aimi couldn't help but appreciate his form and angle of attack! Attempting to trick him by heading to his left, then right, then back again before striking was a very cunning way to attack your foe head on! He surmised that, against other samurai, this could be an effective way to start a battle in order to put your opponent off balance - assuming you didn't end the fight from the start of course.

Alas, he was not facing a samurai.

As the samurai trainee moved to his left for the second time and began to swing his training sword to strike, Aimi would make his move. In a set of movements that might well be impossible to perceive by anyone in that room. Aimi drew his hands towards themselves, folding them together over his midsection and raising them, in unison, palms pressed together as though in prayer, upwards, his head bowed and his eyes closed. As he did a brilliant golden light would shine from his being, the light of his chakra, manifesting behind him and forming a massive sitting figure, postured in the lotus meditation stance with a hundred arms. A bodhisattva; the manifestation of Aimi's enlightened taijutsu prowess.

Keeping his eyes shut, he would pull his left hand away from the right, raising it up and performing a swift, simple chopping motion. In the same instant one of the arms on the left side of the buddah would raise and chop downwards directly on top of the encroaching samurai with significant force! Only half of Aimi's Strength (25), but a powerful blow such as that might just be enough to stop an opponent such as the samurai trainee in his tracks... but just in case -

Aimi would pull his left hand back and press it against his right, only to pull it away once more and swipe it across the front of his body which in turn caused another one of the hundred arms of the buddah on the left side to sweep over where the first hand had chopped down, colliding with the samurai with the same amount of strength which would hopefully send him flying out from the ring and end the bout then and there.

What would be truly amazing about all of this, though, was the speed. All motions of the bodhisattva would move at the same speed that Aimi himself moved (50), save for the initial transition into the Humble Prayer stance. That would happen as close to instantaneous as was possible and once both of the taijutsu had been performed, the golden buddah made from Aimi's chakra would vanish, making it so that all that most would see would be a flash of light and then, if things happened as Aimi expected, he would be standing alone in the ring, having appeared to have not moved a muscle.

Should it be so, Aimi would open his eyes and look around, a satisfied smile on his face. "Is there anyone else that would like to contend? Or perhaps the trainee would like to have another go?" he would ask. His words might suggest smugness, but his tone was that of genuine enjoyment and eagerness to go on! To say nothing of his face that showed nothing but utter relaxation. This was his element and he was enjoying being in it with other people once more.

Jutsu UsedShow

[Nintaijutsu • Welcoming Approach: Humble Prayer]
B-Ranked Nintaijutsu Stance
The basics of all Guanyin Bodhisattva jutsu, this Stance is required in order to perform any and all jutsu related to it and indeed must be known to perform any of it. This Stance, less about the movement of the body, is intended to calm and focus the mind so that the user may make manifest the various buddah and control their actions. To assume this stance the user must hold their arms out to either side, palms flat, and bring them down in a semi-circular motion towards the center of the users’ body, their hands meeting at the center, before moving their arms up in unison to hold their hands in front of them as though in prayer. While the user is doing this they will simultaneously channel their chakra, creating a massive buddah behind them of pure chakra that has 100 arms, standing at 100 meters tall with each arm measuring approximately 50 meters. From this position the user may perform any number of Guanyin Bodhisattva jutsu.

[Nintaijutsu • Welcoming Approach: Seventy Years of Prayer]
A-Ranked Nintaijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite: [Nintaijutsu • Welcoming Approach: Humble Prayer], [Nintaijutsu • Welcoming Approach: One Hand Prayer], 50 Speed
Perhaps the pinnacle of all Guanyin Bodhisattva jutsu, this Discipline is a testament of the users’ endless hours of training, focus, commitment and sacrifice for the power of these jutsu. With the Discipline, the user is able to enter and exit the Humble Prayer stance as close to instantaneously as possible as well as executing all follow up jutsu with the same godly speed regardless of the condition the user finds themselves in. A testament to willpower and resolve, no amount of bodily or mental harm can prevent the user from performing Guanyin Bodhisattva jutsu at their maximum speed, so practiced are they in the simple yet precise movements of this style of jutsu.

[Nintaijutsu • The First Hand]
C-Ranked Nintaijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: [Nintaijutsu • Welcoming Approach: Humble Prayer]
From the Humble Prayer stance, the user will move one of their arms in a downward chopping motion, causing one of the arms of the buddah to strike down in the same motion with [Speed] and [Strength] equal to the users’. The range of this jutsu is 50 meters radius centered on the user. Once performed, unless the user returns to the Humble Prayer stance, the buddah will vanish.

[Nintaijutsu • The Second Hand]
C-Ranked Nintaijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: [Nintaijutsu • Welcoming Approach: Humble Prayer]
From the Humble Prayer stance, the user will move one of their arms in a sweeping motion across the front of their bodies, causing one of the arms of the buddah to sweep in the same motion with [Speed] and [Strength] equal to the users’. The range of this jutsu is 50 meters. Once performed, unless the user returns to the Humble Prayer stance, the buddah will vanish.

[Ace Trainer]

The Gold Country Daimyo was surely confident in his skill, that much was apparent to Kesu when he watched how relaxed Aimi looked. Partially, Kesu assumed he had low expectations - either for the samurai as a whole or for this specific one. Otherwise, he was sure Aimi was simply very confident in his own combat ability, he had conquered a country after all, no? The small blonde boy would watch carefully as the Daimyo summoned forward his power, two quick strikes at the samurai intended to throw him away from the battlefield and make quick work of him.

Kesu watched closely, the coy look on his face becoming even more so. It would not be that easy.

As Aimi's first strike came, the encroaching samurai would be stunned at the speed. In great excess to his own[40 Speed], he was only able to throw up a single arm to block the giant strike. However, falling with only 25 strength coming at him, the samurai who was stronger than that by a quite large margin himself [35 Strength] would be able to bat it away. As the second strike came he would simply shoulder it, taking the strike but refusing to let it throw him off. His feet would dig into the ground and his teeth would grit. How was some lazy daimyo this strong? It was so far away from what he was expecting. The red headed samurai wouldn't take time to dwell on this and instead he would push himself off to close back in on the daimyo, not allowing him to speak. This time, he would go directly at the daimyo, swinging downwards on him with the training sword this time.

Kesu was certainly impressed, but it was clear that Aimi was holding back at this point. Kesu could only assume that because Aimi saw this samurai training, he assumed he was on the weaker end. The reality was this red headed samurai was in line to be a lieutenant. His power strength would be considered on par with an elite jounin, or perhaps even a bannin. He wasn't just some random foot soldier, and while this attack had been impressive, it wouldn't be enough to throw off the samurai in front of him. Aimi would likely have to step it up a notch here, and Kesu would interested to see what they would look like.

[Golnax]

How impressive indeed! It was quite clear that Aimi had underestimated his opponent in terms of strength, the trainee taking both blows and remaining standing! More than that, he was back on the offensive, charging forward and striking downward to the Daimyo of Gold, forcing him to break his stance so that he could catch the training sword between his hands - without holding back his own strength this time. It was clear from the way that his bodhisattva had been withstood that this was not an opponent to hold back on, and Aimi was more than happy to give the samurai all the due respect he was deserved!

With the training sword between his hands, Aimi lowered his arms so that he was back in the Humble Prayer stance, once more manifesting the golden buddah behind him for the instant it took him to lower his right arm and throw a punch forward. The punch itself missed wildly, not even getting close to the samurai in front of him. The gigantic golden fist, however, would doubtlessly meet it's mark based on the previous two strikes, impacting the samurai and plowing him backwards into the ring and beyond, for now Aimi was only holding back so as not to be lethal [45 Strength], based on a rough estimation of the trainee's strength from the strike of his sword.

The buddah would vanish in the instant after the punch was thrown in a flash of golden light, leaving Aimi still standing where he had been at the start of the match. Should the strike have landed true, Aimi would fold his hands together and hold them up over his head, bowing forward to show the utmost respect. "Well fought! I am very impressed with the strength and perseverance you've shown me. I hope that my own samurai can be as impressive as you some day!"

Genuine compliments and flattery given, Aimi would stand up straight and reach up to scratch his chin. His expression was one of introspection as he thought how he could have improved that situation. Aside from holding back when he shouldn't have, underestimating his adversary frankly, he could imagine a number of different ways in which the brief confrontation could have gone differently. This was the first time that he had used the Guanyin Boddhisatva in any sort of combative capacity and his inexperience with the technique was glaring to him. The samurai should have never gotten close enough to make him break his stance! It was clear to Aimi that, even now, he had much more improving to do.

To that end, his expression would clear and he would turn his head to look at Kesu and Haidou. "Would anyone else like a turn?" he asked, genuinely eager to continue to test his limits with Guanyin Boddhisatva and figure out how he could improve!

Jutsu UsedShow

[Mugen • Taking a True Naked Sword]
D-Ranked Kenjutsu Maneuver
A technique where the user catches an enemy's blade with their bare hands. The user is able to match the distance and speed of an opponent's blade as they are able to quickly slam their hands together at the right moment as the user can catch the blade. The user is able to catch any blade possible with this technique. The users’ [Speed] must be greater than or equal to the opponents' [Speed] to properly perform this technique. This technique fails if the users’ [Strength] is less than that of the strength of the technique being blocked.

[Nintaijutsu • Welcoming Approach: Humble Prayer]
B-Ranked Nintaijutsu Stance
The basics of all Guanyin Bodhisattva jutsu, this Stance is required in order to perform any and all jutsu related to it and indeed must be known to perform any of it. This Stance, less about the movement of the body, is intended to calm and focus the mind so that the user may make manifest the various buddah and control their actions. To assume this stance the user must hold their arms out to either side, palms flat, and bring them down in a semi-circular motion towards the center of the users’ body, their hands meeting at the center, before moving their arms up in unison to hold their hands in front of them as though in prayer. While the user is doing this they will simultaneously channel their chakra, creating a massive buddah behind them of pure chakra that has 100 arms, standing at 100 meters tall with each arm measuring approximately 50 meters. From this position the user may perform any number of Guanyin Bodhisattva jutsu.

[Nintaijutsu • Welcoming Approach: Seventy Years of Prayer]
A-Ranked Nintaijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite: [Nintaijutsu • Welcoming Approach: Humble Prayer], [Nintaijutsu • Welcoming Approach: One Hand Prayer], 50 Speed
Perhaps the pinnacle of all Guanyin Bodhisattva jutsu, this Discipline is a testament of the users’ endless hours of training, focus, commitment and sacrifice for the power of these jutsu. With the Discipline, the user is able to enter and exit the Humble Prayer stance as close to instantaneously as possible as well as executing all follow up jutsu with the same godly speed regardless of the condition the user finds themselves in. A testament to willpower and resolve, no amount of bodily or mental harm can prevent the user from performing Guanyin Bodhisattva jutsu at their maximum speed, so practiced are they in the simple yet precise movements of this style of jutsu.

[Nintaijutsu • The Fourth Hand]
C-Ranked Nintaijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: [Nintaijutsu • Welcoming Approach: Humble Prayer]
From the Humble Prayer stance, the user will thrust one of their arms forward in a punching motion, causing one of the arms of the buddah to punch in the same motion with [Speed] and [Strength] equal to the users’. The range of this jutsu is 50 meters. Once performed, unless the user returns to the Humble Prayer stance, the buddah will vanish.

[Ace Trainer]

The samurai was certainly a little surprised when Aimi caught his strike, and even more when he was basically forced to remain in place as he tried to leverage the weapon away from Aimi. As quickly as he could formulate a plan, however, Aimi prepared a counter attack. The strike would miss, leaving him with confusion without enough time to register as the second strike would come. The golden light would pulse forward at him and launch his body backwards. A huge cloud of dust would form where he was launched, but he realized he never actually felt any impact. That was when he realized someone had caught him, somehow. His body would be swung and stopped gently, placing him on the ground on his two feet.

As the dust settle, Aimi, Kesu, and the crowd would find the samurai safe and sound thanks to the Taishou. Shio had appeared to have caught the samurai, despite their size difference, and placed him down gently.

"I think that might be enough.", the Taishou said, his voice a mixture of humor and annoyance. He'd push his glasses up the bridge of his nose and walk over to Aimi, sliding his hands into his pockets as he did. Haidou would rush over tothe samurai, checking in on him. Everyone among them seemed to be struggling to figure out who they were more impressed with, the Gold Daimyo who just expressed a strength like some of their great warriors, or their Taishou who seemed to match that strength effortlessly.

"Now that Haidou has an inkling of your capacity, he might be able to prepare something for you that is a little more challenging. If you're going to be here for some time I'm sure it can be arranged. But, lets give them some time to process.", he suggested. The crowd dispersed from around them rather quickly, leaving the three in peace. "Thank you, Kesu.", he offered, likely appreciating that Kesu had facilitated this small diversion while Shio addressed whatever else he had. "It occurred to me that given the events around the world, I don't know the status of any one else we're affiliated with. I was going to call out for Yoru, but thought maybe you might have in mind some other potential candidates we might want to align ourselves with?", there was something of an embedded question there as well, suggesting Shio wanted Aimi's thoughts on whether they should call for Yoru now too.

[Golnax]

Shio came seemingly out of nowhere and caught the samurai that Aimi had sent flying backwards, halting him in his tracks and setting him upright! This feat of speed and strength caught Aimi's attention immediately. He knew Shio to be formidable with genjutsu (at least he had a vague, fuzzy memory of the Taichou being affiliated with the illusory ninja art in his mind, somewhere), but he hadn't expected him to show off physical prowess like this. He doubted that the boy would be able to keep up with him for long, but the fact that this had happened at all was just short of shocking - in a good way. An objective pride filled Aimi's chest at this young boy who he called an ally. Evidently, he had won these samurai over with more than just genjutsu!

"Ah, if you insist!" Aimi relented, not pushing the matter any further as Shio called for the sparring session to halt, the Kaguya reaching up and running his hand underneath his shoulder-length gold hair over the back of his skull. "For some good exercise later, yes, I think that would be wonderful. They can take as much time as they like!" Aimi replied, smiling warmly and turning to step out of the ring and walk back around it towards Kesu.

The subject changed then to what Shio had been up to and Aimi turned his blue eyes onto him. "Yoru? Others we're affiliated with?" he asked, looking down at the ring on his finger that signified him as a member of this organization of giants. "Who might they be? I confess, I've never used this ring before today! I never thought or had reason to reach out to you or anyone else before today, so I don't actually know who else is in this organization of yours! Perhaps you could enlighten me?" he asked softly before raising his hand up as if to physically stop Shio from answering as he turned his gaze upwards towards the cave ceiling and the bioluminescent moss.

"Hmm... tough to say... No one I had connections to back in Kirigakure remains as an option that would exist alongside me I'd wager, and no one I can think of in my own country has the strength required. Not even close, really... not yet..." He paused, trailing off into silence and closing his eyes. He lifted his hand up and placed them over his lids, silently contemplating for a moment before continuing.

"There's a woman that's more of a beast than human. Her name was... Katsu... I don't know what became of her after the middle of the Great War. That was the last time I saw her or her kin..."

"There was also a samurai that I haven't seen in a long time... a wandering ronin... sort of, froggy... what was his name..." Aimi paused once again and was silent for several moments, clearly trying to recall a name. "His name was... Fuhen, I believe, and he wields many swords all at once. He taught me how as well..." This was all that he could recall in the moment.

Lowering his head and looking back to Shio, the Kaguya would give a light shrug of his shoulders. "I know that's not much to go on, but I haven't thought about either of them in a long time! I'm afraid my memory isn't so clear on the matter. They're the only two people I can think of that could even possibly be considered in the same league as... well, you or I."

[Ace Trainer]

Shio had realized that Aimi likely didn't know just how strong he was. They had never had a reason to show each other their power, after all. Shio knew of Aimi's strength through word of mouth, and Aimi likely knew of the same. The truth was, that strike had been one of the strongest attacks Shio had probably ever seen, it seemed the legends were no joke. He nodded towards Haidou as he began to walk to create some space between the, indicating to the lieutenant that he'd need to prepare something better for Aimi. That would be a challenge.

"Yoru is our affiliate who actually started the organization with me. To be honest like we wre saying earlier, life happened, things got in the way, and neither he nor I finished getting to a number we were comfortable with. He's from the Hidden Leaf...", Shio mulled on this thought briefly. What had Yoru been up to? He wasn't entirely sure. Kesu had few to no reports on the man, and it was hard to get useful information sometimes. As Aimi began thinking of people to potentially bring in, Kesu would return to their side, nodding along as Aimi spoke. The mention of Katsu was met with an interesting look from Kesu, and a very obvious frown from Shio.

"Yes, Katsu abandoned Kirigakure before either of us did. A disgraced jinchuuriki. We've gotten a fair amount of reports for what if happening in...what is now? The Realm of Titans.", Shio's tone betrayed he was not pleased with it. But perhaps that was a conversation for another time. The mention of Fuhen also caught his attention, "Interesting, Kesu when you have time...", some silent command that Kesu seemed to understand because he gave a studious nod.

"These rings come from Yoru, in fact.", he mentioned, running his thumb over it in his palm, "Perhaps its easier for you to just meet him. I'm sure he'd be interested to meet the Daimyo of Gold.", Shio would grip the ring between his thumb and index finger, and surge chakra into it. Now to see if Yoru would answer.

[TheLacarix]

Yoru’s elbow was planted firmly on his desk and his chin rested on his palm as his read over paper work, a boring task but a task that needed doing none the less. Becoming the Anbu Commander could be exciting and often led him into something complex and unsavoury situations, but it wasn’t as interesting as he first thought.

A soft glow caught his eye, to the left of him a ring he hadn’t worn in half decade. It was placed on a wooden hand on a shelf next to a few other souvenirs he’d collected over the years, including his own eye bobbing way in a jar of liquid. He peered over at the ring, it likely had to be Shio, who else would call Yoru? He hadn’t seen the boy in quite some time, at least a year before The Great War.

What could the boy possibly want? Was it a trap? Though that seemed unlikely. Shio had no reason to want to kill Yoru.

Dragging himself up from his desk, he sighed softly picking up his eyepatch and strapping it over the exposed byakugan and placed the green silk haori over his naked back. Sighing softly, his fingers grasped around the ring as he hurtled through space.

A shiver ran up his back, the cold weather biting as his skin. He felt the familiar sense of euphoria that came when near Shio. Due to Yoru’s sensory ability he quickly disengaged this, regaining his faculties. His single hazel eye darted around the room quickly, taking everything and everyone in ready to defend himself if it was after all a trap.

“Aimi, Shio.” He said in a suspicious tone, he was surprised to Shio had grown so much, who knew the passage of time made people older…

[Ace Trainer]

Yoru's arrival would be met with the very quick attention of the samurai who Aimi and Shio had just wandered off from. Shio's hand would raise quickly, signaling to what was effectively a squadron of samurai to halt their approach. They seemed on guard, and Shio would gesture towards Kesu, who would float off quickly to interact with them, seemingly explaining that Shio had called for Yoru. The samurai simply were just not familiar enough with space/time to really comprehend what had just happened.

Shio nodded towards Yoru, "Its been some time.", he said, a small smirk on his face and his eyes thinning as he looked Yoru up and down. the man had clearly aged, perhaps less evidently than Shio did as he entered puberty, but aged none-the-less. Of course, when Shio had met Yoru he had been under disguise as Daremo, and had been rather secretive about himself even as they agreed to collaborate with each other. Interacting with Yoru now he seemed far less intent on hiding who he was, or at least didn't appear he was off on the run anymore. Interesting.

"It seems you're already a bit familiar with the Daimyo of God Country, Kaguya, Aimi. I provided him with one of your rings some years ago, just prior to the Great War. We've reconnected, and were discussing the changing times and tides. Its seems now more than ever we're needing the safety in numbers you and I spoke of so many years ago.", he smiled again. "Don't you think, Aimi?", he asked, giving an opportunity for the two to be more acquainted.

[Golnax]

Ah, a co-founder. So Shio hadn't come up with this organization all on his own. That made sense to Aimi who had always regarded Shio as being a bit young for being so ambitious. The only question was, would this Yoru be as young as Shio was, or someone older? "From Konohagakure, hm...?" the Daimyo mused. That was another surprise. He would have thought that anyone from Konoha, regardless of their affiliation with the village itself, would have refused to work with anyone from Kiri... unless they were some sort of psychopath, in which case it would make sense.

As Shio made note of Aimi's potential candidates and activated his ring Aimi waited quietly while this Yoru made himself known. Stepping through an opened portal and into the samurai cove, Aimi would look upon this red haired man wearing an eyepatch and a green haori with a blank expression. Said blank expression would turn into mild confusion as his brow furrowed at his name being spoken by this man from Konohagakure. 'Did Shio tell this man about me beforehand? How does he know my name? We've never met...' he thought to himself, believing it to be true because he had long since forgotten in his decades of imprisonment that he and Yoru had had a brief encounter during his invasion of Kirigakure. The Kaguya had been in such a heightened state of rage at the time that it was a miracle that he could recall any details from that portion of the invasion, frankly...

Shio made a brief introduction for Aimi while the Kaguya was still looking at Yoru. "... In a manner of speaking, yes," he replied, turning his gaze towards the young Taichou. "We three might be the most powerful men in the world, but we are but only three. Against the insurmountable numbers of the rest of the world, and given that we each have our own plans an agendas... well, I'm sure I'm not the only one that made a lot of enemies over the years. If we are to make our goals reality, leaning on each other would certainly help."

Turning back to Yoru then, Aimi would smile warmly before stepping forward and extending an arm to shake. "How do you do, and might I ask you to introduce yourself to me?" he asked cordially, wanting to formally meet this (to him) new member of Kishakisei.

[TheLacarix]

Yoru didn’t flinch as the Samurai edged closer to him, he understood they’d be scared and the crown above his head revealed their intentions and it was clear they we’re simply confused. He couldn’t hear a thought from Shio’s mind, clear it was as strong as his own .

"You’ve grown Shio, I don’t suspect people will ask if you’re my child anymore. You’re much too old.” he said with a soft chuckle, looking the young boy up and down. He couldn’t even imagine how powerful Shio was now, Yoru wasn’t even sure if he could have taken him as a child he had no idea now how it would go down, at least Shio was on his side or at least that’s what Shio seemed to be suggesting.

His eye shifted towards the Daimyo from Gold Country, Yoru was shocked how open his mind was he could hear every thought and intention, he couldn’t even imagine how powerful the euphoric effects of Shio’s ability had over him. He was puzzled why Aimi was confused how Yoru would know him, anyone who had access to a Bingo Book would see the name Kaguya, Aimi the most wanted man alive, that certainly came with notoriety.

He let them both speak, not interrupting. Watching them carefully until they both finished.

He chuckled at Aimi’s proposition that they we’re the three most powerful men in the world “I’m not so sure about us being the most powerful, we all die the same.” He said coldly at the ambitious Kaguya “I am Aizawa, Yoru of the leaf.” Making his allegiances clear as he took Aimi's hand in his own and shook it firmly. “I don’t know your intentions Aimi, so I don’t know if I can help but of course I’m always keen to make friends in the wider world and assist where I can.”

Slowly walking around he took in the surroundings, a chill ran up his back as he pulled his green Haori tighter “Where have you brought me Shio?” he asked with curiosity.

[Ace Trainer]

Shio checked out mentally for a moment as he began to contemplate the bingo book and the larger implications of the three of them looking for new people to add to their organization. Would this call more attention to them? He hadn't considered it previously, but perhaps the fact that their allegiance was more implicit and less advertised would allow them to avoid any undue scrutiny. That was the last thing Shio needed as he began to put together his plans for Iron Country. The eventual outcome was not one he wanted to have too any enemies before it began. The more people on his tail the worse off his would be.

Aimi seemed to be having similar thoughts as he mused the advantages on leaning on each other. While neither had discussed their objectives in much depth, Shio was tacitly aware that Aimi had a larger plan in the works that would call for support, and he'd likely look to Shio for it. Something he was willing to assist with as long as it wouldn't interfere with his own goals.

Yoru's declaration of his village when he introduced himself caught a surprised look from Shio, who would cock an eyebrow if only for a moment and look directly at Yoru as if asking him what had changed. When Shio and Yoru had met, Yoru was on the run. To see him now proudly claiming the village was certainly a change in pace. A conversation for later, it would seem. "Sanrou.", he answered flatly, "You're in one of the oldest and most esteemed training grounds in the world.", he offered. Yes, the enormous cavern was just a series of training grounds spread out over what was at least several miles. Various different environments for the samurai to train in, the enormous ceiling making the already impossibly large room seem even larger. "I imagine you are aware I am now the Taishou of the Iron Legion.".

His hands slid into his pocket and he took several steps, "Its not often the Taishou hosts so many guests, and I imagine there will be more to follow if we have it our way.", he pondered out loud. "Perhaps it would be helpful for you both to enlighten us on your intentions then...", if anything an opportunity to learn what exactly had changed with Yoru over the course of the war.

[Golnax]

Aimi could only smile at Yoru, at his ignorance and willful self denial. Yoru would die someday, yes. Shio, too, would pass, it was true. Kesu, Haidou, the samurai that the Daimyo had spared with - all would pass eventually. But Aimi? No. Aimi would endure. Long after everyone in this room was bones, he knew with absolute certainty that he would remain. His work was too important to leave in the hands of others. As for his declaration of his allegiance, that was what really drove the Kaguya's smile home! For how could one claim to be loyal to their village first and foremost when they co-created and organization hosting at least three of the most powerful and influential people in the world, in secret (for if it was not a secret, then why had the forces of Fire not made an effort to put a stop to their collusion, considering that two of the members were formerly of Kirigakure, their sworn enemy, or at the very least attempted to inquire about their intentions? But that was a rabbit hole of questioning for another time) and still answered the call when summoned? To say otherwise was a laughable denial to the Kaguya, a muddling of ego that was apparently Yoru's cross to bear!

"You will learn shortly," the Daimyo assured Yoru, releasing his hand and turning to Shio as he spoke. "Perhaps we should take this meeting of intentions elsewhere then, hm? After all, we are leaders of nations and very powerful shinobi; it's our job to keep secrets from the more common folk, hm?" he asked humorously, clapping his hands together and rubbing them for warmth. In the excitement of awe that was seeing Sanrou, the samurai training and his own participation (however brief), he had been able to ignore how chilly it was in there compared to the tropics and deserts he was more accustomed to! Subsequently, the little blue flame he had been using for warmth had fluttered out and he now channeled katon chakra into his left hand before creating another dull blue flame that he would press to his chest for warmth. Another little hug!

"Taishou Shio, if you would lead the way," Aimi requested courteously, waving his hand back in the direction of the cliff and stairs that he himself had come form, not knowing if there was any other way out of this room.

[TheLacarix]

Watching Shio, it was clear he was surprised to hear that Yoru was back within his village. Those who truly knew Yoru wouldn’t be so surprised, he’d always loved Konoha and owed it so much even during his darkest days the survival of Konoha had always being his priority. Though Takeo and his actions we’re the true issue. He’d expected Shio to have gained more intel than he had, it mad Yoru suspect the young boy was isolated here in the Iron Country but he may be wrong.

“Oh of course, Taishou Shio it’s an honour for me to welcome into your wonderful country.” He bowed playfully. Yoru’s eye followed Aimi’s face as he listened to the thoughts flutter through his head, clear that he had attained mortality and seemed to expect to out live the pair. In Yoru’s experience those who claimed to drink of the cup of immortality we’re usually those in the most danger of death, often relying on whatever dark ability that had obtained, putting themselves in precarious positions when they didn’t need to. Ironic, for Yoru to think such a thing whilst he was stood here with two of the most wanted men in the world who could turn on him at any point. He wouldn’t question Aimi’s thoughts of immortality he’d keep his ability to read the man’s mind to himself. It made things easier.

As Yoru was about to state his intentions, Aimi made it clear that perhaps they should keep it away from the common folk he scoffed at the remark and shook his head “As you wish Daimyo of the gold, though I must admit I am just a common farmers boy myself I do hope your secrets aren’t to noble for ears such as mine.”

He pushed his hands on the inside of his Haori, keeping himself warm and nodded for Shio to lead on “I hope you’ve being keeping well Shio.” He said softly and quieter, almost a complete disparage to his sarcastic tone before, a glint of the person of Yoru once was shining through. The two hadn’t formed a strong bond before the war but they had engaged in something interesting, and he did think about the boy from time to time. It was good to see he was doing so well.

[Ace Trainer]

Shio nodded, beginning to take a few more steps. He'd raise a hand and Kesu would swiftly float to his side, "Can you prepare a hall for us?", he requested. The small blonde boy would give a tight nod and lift slowly into the air, flying off and disappearing into the enormous cavern to take care of whatever preparations that Shio would need. "A more secluded place will be prepared then.", he said with a smile. He would walk with his hands back in his pockets, pondering the two men that accompanied him, and how different they were from the years ago that they had met.

Yoru had returned to his village it seemed, and his presence was almost certainly different. The man on the run, slinking in the shadows for whatever devices he had in play seemed to have given way to someone more firm. In honesty, Shio had only interacted with Yoru a handful of times, after all they had no reason to call on each other. So his understanding of his business partner was already nebulous at best. He wondered if Yoru's return to Konoha would be problematic for him. Already it seemed there was some sort of dynamic developing between Yoru and Aimi, philosophical differences perhaps, a little bit of tension though surely both would assume they were above it.

Aimi, on the other hand, had developed to be quite a whimsical person. Shio had noticed it almost immediately, and tried to compute it against what he'd already known of Aimi prior. They were both from Kirigakure after all, and he'd known about the mighty bannin for some time. The behavior Shio had seen from him in this reunion had conflicted with the perception he'd developed in their first meeting, and all the reports he'd known of prior. Perhaps this was for the best though, Aimi's apparent light hearted nature would make him more palatable, or at least easier to collaborate with. His allegiances also seemed more in the air, certainly more so than Yoru.

"Follow me then.", he smiled respectfully. "and I have been, Yoru. I hope the same for you. I'm sure we both have a number of stories to tell.".