Iron Teacups [GRADED]

[Nick]

It was a decently long journey to Iron Country, but before the war, and even during it, Fuhen was a well-accustomed traveler. After the takeover of Tea, it felt odd to be on the road again after so long. He felt confident in leaving Ikuto in charge of his own people, and the travel time was a welcome change after being stuck inside to deal with politics for what felt like an eternity. Of course, he wasn't just visiting Iron as a Tourist, though he likely would look it, wearing his traditional outfit which was not very warm in the cold climate. He'd spent time in Blizzard Country, learning how the warriors there fought even in the ripping ice storms, a gentle snow was pleasant by comparison.

His entourage was small, consisting of his ever-present aide, the young hanger-on Kosho who insisted on coming with despite the protests of the aide, and an older gentleman who carried himself as though he were a warrior, but kept no weapon at his side. His travelling companions huddled inside of a covered wagon, and while Fuhen would have appreciated the company, he chose to walk alongside the wagon, writing something in a small leather-bound journal. The Shogun had only just begun to learn to write, and so he practiced daily, and was currently working on a play, the same kind of play about grand samurai that inspired him to be what he was today.

The goal today was establishing contact with the current leader of Iron country. Ikuto claimed he could be a valuable ally to the newly renovated Tea country, but Fuhen didn't know enough either way. He'd had his aide help him read up on Iron country, but most information was old, before even the new leader took over, and word of mouth only meant so much as far as information spread. He'd heard good and bad things both, and so he volunteered to visit this one himself, to properly form his own opinion.

They had sent word ahead of their arrival, but still entered the town as unnoticed as foreigners could. Fuhen used to revel in visiting new countries, and found it hard to resist making grand entrances as he used to. Of course, he used to use his sword play as a means of making money, and so grand entrances were necessary in order to gather crowds. Now, as the Shogun, he still did what was probably considered unseemly by someone of his station, smiling, waving, and walking as people stared at the newcomers.

All the same, they quickly made their way up to the home of the leadership, and were ushered inside after short introductions were made. His entourage departed the cart, only the old man seemingly unbothered by the cold, as the cold-blooded Kosho especially visibly shivered, even buried in her miles of padding and armor. "Told ya to pack warmer." The old man said to both the aide and Kosho. Fuhen laughed mirthfully, looking at the miserable girl and slowly shrugging off his Hakama to drape it over her shoulders. She made a rude gesture to the old man and sneered.

Now wearing only his patterned Shitagi top, he lead his group further inside, following a local samurai. "Iyashii-sama, if you would allow me to make proper introductions, this time?" Fuhen waved a hand in the air placatingly, and the aide clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "You should also take your coat back, it's tradition to dress well when meeting someone as important as the leader of a country." He looked over at Kosho, who still shivered even with the extra layer of thick cloth draped over her.
"It'll be fine, I'm sure! If'n e's smart enough to run a country, ah'm sure he can figure out no disrespect is intended." The aide disagreed, but chose not to argue with his liege, it was useless sometimes trying to convince him that high society was different.

As the doors opened to what the Frog assumed was their meeting spot, he made one last mark in his notebook, before pocketing it and looking around, already working on gathering a sense of who his counterpart was to be.

JutsuShow

Hard Work Style Promising Soldier
S-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Despite being full of limitless potential and filled with vigor, Fuhen appears as nothing more than your average man in all aspects. This 'technique' implies that nothing about Fuhen's body language portrays that he is a trained/experienced killer, and everything from the way he walks to how his chakra appears to casual observers reinforces the idea that he is, if anything, clumsy and likely incapable of fighting. This is most useful in passing himself off as nothing special, putting most into a false sense of security, though with minimal effort Fuhen can break out of this technique to reveal his true self.

[Ace Trainer]

Carved into the mountain Sanrou, every room in the fortress had stone walls, illuminated by candles and bioluminescent mosses or plants. With that in consideration, the room Shio sat in was surprisingly well lit, the light cast about in just the right ways to make it easy to see in what would otherwise be expected to be a dimly lit space. The small table in front of Shio was only about a foot off the ground, the Taishou sitting cross legged on a pillow behind it. Kesu stood almost directly behind him, the blonde headed boy was floating only a few inches off the ground, a notepad tucked in his arms. Several feet back from them, two samurai stood, looking more like statues than people.

The final figure in the room was the 8 foot tall pink haired boy who stood out, not because of his enormous size, but because his energy was clearly in opposition to the very stoic and serious intent of the room. He stood opposite of the table, clearly not the place he was supposed to be, the enormous grin on his face betraying his excitement for the day, "I was born in Tea country yanno.", he blurted out.

Shio responded with a soft smile, "They requested this meeting, not us, so I don't think this will be a homecoming for you Michi.", he gave a gentle laugh. "Kesu says theres quite a bit happening in Tea Country, especially after their great migration during the Great War. But, I have no interest in their land or people, too closely connected to the Grand Five, especially Konoha.", the last word came from his mouth like it was a curse word. "We're just being friendly. You never know when you might need an ally, and Aimi spoke quite highly of this fella.", he looked back at Kesu when he said this.

Kesu would simply nod politely, then gesture towards the door. "Oh!", quickly the boy would turn and fumble over to the doors, pulling them open for the guests that had apparently just arrived. "Welcome, Shogun. I present to you Taishou of Iron Country, Mistaki, Shio.", the enormous goofy grin on the 10 year olds face continued to contrast, almost obnoxiously, against the room.

"I hope your journey wasn't too hazardous, I'm sure Iron is a very different climate to what you're used to.", pleasantries, but, thats what happened with this stuff right?

[Nick]

As the door was pulled open, everyone's gazes were planted forwards, only to be staring at the belly, or in Kosho's case, the knees of... Michi. The aide and the old man both kept their cool, despite internally having a lot of questions, however, at about the same time as one another, both Fuhen and Kosho looked up to meet the eyes of the large boy in front of them. The aide managed to begin speaking first, though it didn't stop Kosho from voicing her astoundment.

"Great Taishou-sama..." "What." "If I may introduce Grand Shogun..." "Oh my god he's so tall, he's taller than Fuuey." "Iyashii Fuhen-sama of River country, currently the leader of..." "Mister why are you so big? Are you strong, too?" "The Kobushii Kaishuu, and beloved leader of the people of New Tea." The aide gestured grandly to Fuhen, stepping out of the way of the Frog, whose gaze was still up at Michi, and Kosho continued to ask a series of questions, getting right up in his... shins excitedly.

The aide cleared his throat, catching Fuhen's attention, and finally making him look, first at the Aide, and then at the boy sitting on the other end of a table, and then up at the boy floating behind him. What a weird court this man had. The older samurai glared down at Kosho but made no move to stop her antics while the aide could be heard grinding his teeth. Finally, the Shogun nodded his head respectfully toward the leader of Iron.

He had heard the leader was quite young but compared to the shock of the very large baby-faced boy, this seemed normal, at this point. "Greetings, Shio-san." The aide sighed, that was not the proper greeting they had practiced. At least he'd used the correct honorific. "The country may be frigid, but the warmth of the greeting will help." An odd line, but the aide admitted it sounded good, at least. Without waiting for an invitation, or any proper set of instructions, the Frog began to walk forwards past his group, and past the large boy, claiming a seat across from the boy in front of him.

He stared directly into Shio's eyes with a neutral expression on his face, trying to get a read on the boy. Unlike when he'd seen old friends again after a hiatus, he couldn't look directly into the man's soul to feel him out. He was a mystery in most ways, and Fuhen really wished he could have met him in a less formal setting, but such was the hazards of being a leader. "Our mutual friend has told me a little about you, and I'm sure he's done the same for me to you." Fuhen said as he leaned back in a bit more of a relaxed position, reaching down to his belt and pulling out a sealed flask of fine earthenware, no designs or writing on it whatsoever. "Do you drink, Shio-san? If not, I'm sure you'll find a use for this gift by giving it to a friend." He wasn't intentionally being vague, implying it was alcohol, but it was vague all the same. This is why the aide usually presented gifts in these diplomatic meetings.

"I'm thankin' ye fer hostin' us either way." Oops, that river country accent slipped out again.

[Ace Trainer]

The eyes on Michi mad him immediately turn bright red, his cheeks flushing to a hue to match his hair. The child was obviously embarrassed, but the embarrassment was not a sad type, which was a good sign. For so long Michi had been treated as a freak, which changed when Shio came around and took him - figuratively - under his wing. While Shio took a great amount of pride in Michi's size and ability, the samurai all treated Michi completely normal, seemingly oblivious to his size. This had been the first time in 5 years, and since he'd met Shio, that anyone had reacted so positively to his size. He kept himself silent, though, knowing that this was not his time to speak but Shio's.

Shio remained sitting, a small humored smile on his face as this show played out before him. Finally, the introductions ended and the full attention of the room was back on Shio, or at least most of the room. "A pleasure.", he responded shortly. He gave a curt nod at the mention of their friend, the network of the super powerful was continually expanding but it seemed most consistently to expand from the two of them. With Yoru out and about doing god knows what, Aimi and Shio's antics had kept them more at the fore of people's minds. "I don't. Not quite old enough, even in the Land of Iron.", a joke, who was to tell him no? But, what kind of leader would he be to defy his own rules?

"I'm sure it will find it's use.", Shio's voice was measured, calm, and a little flat, it seemed he was keeping his cards close to his chest as he took some time to test the waters. He'd leave the gifts to sit on the table, his eyes flitting to them for a long second before returning to Fuhen. He wasn't entirely sure what the purpose of the meeting was, beyond Fuhen wanting to meet Shio. He was interested in Fuhen potentially coming into Kishakisei, but not something he wanted to open the conversation with. "I trust Kesu has done his due diligence, but I'm inclined to ask...Tea was quite close with Fire Country last I was made aware. This meeting isn't going to cast our country in the wrong light, is it?". Despite being 14, Shio seemed to have a decent grasp on this diplomacy thing, though sitting opposite of Fuhen, it did make Shio look quite small. Would has age put him at a disadvantage in this conversation? It was hard to tell.

His was a fair question to ask, and Kesu's eyes shifted to Shio for a second, his brow coming together only to quickly relax. Shio wasn't questioning Kesu, or at least he didn't think. His impulse to interject was softened, he knew the Taishou was only engaging in formalities, or at least he hoped. Michi had remained bright red, his eyes jumping between Shio and Fuhen, then returning to Kosho, trying to stifle his embarrassment and joy. What a weird court indeed.

[Nick]

Fuhen nodded politely at the inclination that the boy didn't drink. Alcohol was a way of life for many minor country folks, as without access to proper purification techniques, they had to rely on alcohol's medical properties to clean the water for them and make it safe to drink. River country was certainly no exception to this, known well for its wild waters and abundance of bacteria, leading even small children to drink very low alcohol content fermented drinks rather than straight water. Shio, being formerly of Kirigakure No Sato wouldn't have the same inclinations, certainly.

"Straight to business?" Fuhen said, looking a little confused, and looking back at his aide with a raised brow. He had been told that the people who called themselves leaders sometimes danced around giving eachother a show for days before getting to the point. The aide gulped. The Shogun turned back to Shio. "The details are still being worked out with my aide there." He said gesturing to the gaunt man behind him. "Ah'm no sure what light you don't want your country to be seen in, if'n you could elaborate?" His brow remained up, but he decided to elaborate more on his end as well.

"Old Tea was a vassal of Fire Country, but the feelings of the people have shifted." The Frog gave a shrug. "New Tea wishes to be allied with all that would have it as a friend, especially fellow... smaller countries, but will refuse to be vassalized under any again." A pleasant smile crossed his face, a warmth emanating from him that gave the impression he was talking to an old friend rather than a stranger and a leader of a nation. "I suppose, while we're gettin' straight to business..." A bead of sweat rolled down the aide's forehead. "Ah'm figuring out who you are, Shio. The world is full o' tyrants and you'd never know if'n ye didn't see them and how they treated their people."

[Ace Trainer]

Yes, straight to business. When Shio had arrived in Iron, the Taishou was the same way. The boy walked in with his giant child and angel at his flanks, commanding samurai to kneel and forcing them to their knees with his voice, and his predecessor spared no words, only swung his blade. It was simpler. They were here for business, no? Shio wanted to assess whether Fuhen would be a good choice to be recruited, and he expected Fuhen was assessing Shio's disposition towards aligning himself with other "small" nations, not that Iron and Tea could truly be considered such in comparison to some of their neighbors. Why waste time?

Elaborate? He turned to Kesu, he drifted forward to be directly right of Shio, "Iron Country formerly stood as a neutral force intent on being the arbiter of conflict outside of the Grand 5. The previous Taishou deviated from that course and it cost him his seat. Shio-sama spent a fair amount of time empowering Pebble in order to allow us to avoid the same responsibility....and ultimately the risk of the same fate. We have no interest in the fairs external of our borders or the interests of our own people.", he spoke with purpose and promptness, his words being directed into the air rather than directly at Fuhen.

"I don't want leadership in one of the Grand 5 catching wind of this and presuming Iron is taking any sort of position or alignment, either alongside a great Village, or against one...", he said somewhat flatly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Shio noted Fuhen's accent, he liked it. Growing up in a religious family that worshipped the voice, Shio had always taken notice to unique accents or changes in the common tongue. Shio was taught not to use the common coastal accent, and spoke with the refined common tongue taught by the Language Academy and expected of scholars - even if he wasn't one. Fuhen's accent was nice, especially in an environment where people often tried to cover their accents, Shio felt it showed he was comfortable, maybe even proud of where he was from.

Tyrant? He turned to look at the two guards standing behind him, then back to Fuhen, his eyes drifting through each member of Fuhen's entourage, "The Taishou holds the power to be a tyrant, a king, a voice, or a servant.", he mused, "I don't think I currently am acting as anything more than a citizen of Iron, however.", this was naiveté, his youth betraying him. Whether he wanted it or not, Shio was always acting as the ruler of the country, he didn't have the luxury of taken the hat off figuratively, even if he could literally. He smiled, "I'm a shinobi, you're a seasoned fighter I can only assume. Are either of us ever showing our full hand?" Shio was a bit insidious for his age, a small God complex and the power to back it, a bloody upbringing and insensitivity to death, the ability and willingness to kill, well, being a tyrant wasn't too far off from him. Just a conscious choice.

He was tempted to play games, honestly. How he did in Tide before the war, but he simply smiled, "Besides, couldn't I ask the same question of you? You say New Tea, some could say you're leading a rebellion.", as he said this his demeanor would shift to seeming suddenly quite innocent and sincere.

SpoilerShow

[Presence of a Saint]
D-rank Taijutsu Discipline
[Perception]
Shio carries himself with a proper demeanor at all times, evoking the image of a religious figure. This can make it harder for those with low Will Power to attack him unexpectedly. Shio must remain keenly aware of his surroundings in order to ensure his demeanor is not interrupted.

[Nick]

Fuhen listened to the young boy, clearly giving him the credit he deserved as a leader rather than underestimate him. To an outside observer who didn't understand the stakes of such talks, it might look like Fuhen was Shio's father, nodding and taking seriously the babblings of an inexperienced child. Inside, however, a storm was raging that could destroy the entire continent if left unattended, and that was something both men at the table understood. The Frog nodded seriously, but a wolfish grin sprouted onto his face as Shio spoke of a rebellion.

The Shogun had been being trained to be more like what the people expected of a leader, prim, proper, educated, neutral, but it simply wasn't who he was as a person. "O God! That one might read the book of fate, and see the revolution of the times. Make mountains level, and the continent, weary of solid firmness, melt itself into the sea!" His accent all but disappeared as he said this, clearly quoting something, an old popular play that Shio might recognize if he took part in such things. Either way, the educated boy would likely be able to parse the puzzle of parlance properly to perceive the point.

"All leaders hold such powers, Shio. It be the people who hold the power t'react to it. A rebellion is always inevitable, whether a leader be good or evil." He held his arms up at his sides, palms facing towards the sky. "My goal is peace, and I see you hold a similar position through yer neutrality as I do through my rebellion." It was a strange thing to admit out loud, but the Frog had no reason to lie to his younger counterpart, he leaned forwards, an elbow on the table holding his chin as he spoke.

"My position with or against the great five isnae love nor a grudge, and something only time will tell. Aye. Visions of war shall plague us, but the New Tea Rebellion..." He gave the boy across the table a wink. "Is focused solely on its people and their success, for now." He turned back to look at the aide, who was overwhelmed by the energy put off by the two leaders, but he nodded in a terrified fashion, a sort of praise for properly piloting through the political panorama.

Turning back to Shio, Fuhen shrugged. "If'n naught else, ah'm sure a position o' neutrality towards each other would be best, perhaps even a trade agreement? Most folk are excited t'have Tea Country tea back in their kettles, and we're close to avin' that be realistic again. I s'pose, tae properly answer, I dinnae think anyone is under that impression, unless they think ah'm tryin' t'make alliances with every country I visit, and ah'm sure ye can relate... Nobody takes us poor minor country folk that seriously."

[Ace Trainer]

Whatever Fuhen was talking about was lost on Shio, who looked at him with unwaivering eyes. His expression was...unimpressed? It was hard to tell. Shio could tel that whatever he was quoting came from....something, but he hadn't the slightest clue of what. Should he have? It likely wasn't important. Fuhen was clearly an eccentric individual, and Shio was quickly realizing that he didn't need to read too much into what the man was saying. Despite the look of what appeared to be panic on his aide's face, Fuhen didn't seem interested in the political games that other people seemed to engage in from these positions. Was that a sign of weakness or power, Shio hadn't yet decided, but it meant that he had a little less to worry about for now.

Shio's eyes moved over to Kesu for a moment, who seemed to be coming to the same conclusion because he looked deeply uncomfortable. Kesu had obviously been prepared for a very different tone and was not sure how to handle the shifting tone that was occurring here.

"Thats fine.", Shio offered as a quick response. "As long as no expectations are being made, then." Peace was the goal...in a way yes. And he wasn't going to muddy the waters by disputing this right now with Fuhen. He wanted no intervention from the grand 5, if that was what they saw as peace, then so be it.

Then the offers of trade agreements, tea for...well Fuhen had left that open ended. Perhaps he just wanted money. That would probably be necessary for a rebellion, which if Fuhen was going to embrace as his label, Shio would stick with. "If I'm honest, trade and economics isn't something I indulge in too much. Kesu and some of the lieutenants handle much of that, so I'm sure offline they are able to discuss logistics of that with you.", he'd turn to Kesu again for a moment, "I'm certaily open to whatever will bring happiness to the people of Iron, if that is Tea Country tea then so be it. I trust the judgement of my people.", his attention returning to Fuhen with the latter half.

Kesu would give a slight nod, understanding he'd need to engage with Fuhen's entourage more then.

"While it's not often I get to admit this, I don't actually know much about how you came to lead this rebellion.", Shio mused, "I have an intuition that you are not a native of Tea country, no? So how exactly do you end up here in front of the Daimyo of Iron representing Tea?". A good question, and perhaps something to open up the conversation a little more. It seemed the two of them were both working towards some destination that maybe that hadn't decided on yet.

[Nick]

The Frog nodded to his aide, who nodded back respectfully and looked to make eye contact with Kesu. The man may have been in over his head when listening to such powerful leaders clash silver-tongued daggers, but a glint of silver flashed in his own eyes at the opportunity to engage in prose and commerce, a more comfortable smile crossed his face.

The Shogun stroked his chin again as he thought of how best to go about telling his tale, and the older looking samurai standing respectfully behind him took a step forwards to whisper something in his ear. The keen eared present may have heard whispering about "presentation" and "start from the beginning." A smile cracked across the Shogun's face and he nodded.

"Aye, tis a long story, Young Shio." The Shogun said, standing up from the table slowly, stretching out his long legs, before making a sudden jerky movement into a dramatic pose. Behind him, the visage of a rising sun suddenly appearing from behind him. The uninitiated might think it was Genjutsu, but the truth was much more terrifying. Fuhen had dragged the room into... The mind's eye theater.

"Hark, a young tadpole." The visage showed a young Fuhen, basket of blades on his back, traversing the land. Fuhen's tale was weaved with words so flawlessly that the author of this post simply cannot keep up, and will instead refer to the mildly well written drama in the "history" section of Fuhen's character sheet.

Suddenly, the visage shifted from the cheery adventures of young Fuhen to the dark adventures of The Shogun. He told the tale of the great war, some parts that Shio surely knew well, and others much more personal to Fuhen. He seemed to finally be getting to the point, as he described meeting the Tea country native Ikuto, and his plight to take back his country from its despot ruler.

The visage faded, and Fuhen slouched back down into his seat. "But, ah, to Summarize... " He took a drink, parched after his show. "A native asked me to free his people, rescue them from the starvation of bad leadership..." He sighed and took another drink. "Ikuto is back in Tea, looking after his people's present. He trusts me here to look after their future. We're a refugee nation. Tea, Shark, River, Forest, Rice... So many more."

He gestured to his counterpart vaguely. "Your own history is widely unknown to me. I'm sure you don't need me ta tell ye, you're quite young ta be leadin'... All of Iron. What's yer story?"

[Ace Trainer]

As the Shogun informed him it was a long story, Shio assumed this was simply an attempt to dismiss the question and move on to other matters. So a look of mild surprise would cross his face as Fuhen took a rather dramatic pose and then seemed to summon them into some sort of theatre. The surprise would fall wayside to instead a mixture of bemusement and humor as he watched the story unfold in front of him. Honestly, it was an interesting story all alone, and the theatrics did nothing but help it along. Shio was almost certain a decent part of it was exaggerated for effect, or at least this was not an exact retelling of the events. He made a mental note of Fuhen's disposition towards slaves and how it would likely not be received positively by him to know Iron was engaging in the practice itself, even if it was a slightly improved iteration.

The review of the war was interesting, Shio had of course participated in a number of different campaigns during the war but this was the first time he was getting. first hand account of some of the events and the contrast to the rather monotone reports he'd received from his guard was stark. He would give his full attention, even clearly giving deep thought to some of the events Fuhen would review. Eventually, the story would come to a close, and Shio would give a polite number of claps, "Quite the show.", he said with a humored grin.

He nodded in understanding at the second review, it would seem that Fuhen was perhaps a little more official than Shio had initially thought. That was a relief at least. Fuhen was clearly capable, and Shio immediately recognized the advantage having another man that was leading a country would provide Kishakisei. However, he'd let the thought fall to the wayside as Fuhen asked about his own story.

"Not quite as exciting, I'm sorry to report. I was raised in a small religious sect in Kirigakure, identified as a herald when I was born. I was a natural at shinobi arts and would eventually be named the youngest jounin in the history of the village. I was sent on a mission to the Land of Fountains, and during the mission got separated from my party. I wandered, met Kesu, among others, and eventually found myself on the mainland. During the Great War I lead a small party of militants to Iron with the intent of seeking support for Fountains, the country is nothing but farmlands and rural people. When I arrived at Iron, Sanrou had been all-but abandoned by an overzealous Taishou that abdicated his obligation as a neutral party. I challenged him for the seat and took it, as their tradition demands.", there were a number of details removed but none important. Shio was not going to put Fuhen in a genjutsu just to illustrate his story, he wasn't quite as creative.

"In many ways, I guess these are just two stories of happenstance."

[Nick]

Fuhen winked at Shio after the thing. He was known for being over-the-top in most areas of life and such displays were somewhat common, even in formal settings. All the same, he put just as much enthusiasm into listening to Shio tell his much more muted version of events as he had in telling his own story, like an older brother proudly listening to his siblings' adventures. Overall, the impression he got of Shio was... not especially positive, nor negative. He didn't let it show, but the boy overall felt off, like finding out a child had been dissecting a squirrel in the backyard morbidly. Perhaps it was just his age and maturity level clashing, but he felt taking the boy at face value might end up being a mistake.

"All the stories of the greatest heroes in the land start with the right man bein' in the right place and making a hard decision to act." The Shogun agreed with a nod, bringing a hand to his chin, thinking. His impressions of Shio didn't change his goals. He was here to make friends and open up conversations. He was in a precarious position poised properly for forced prostration. It seemed Iron's neutrality before the war had put Shio in a much more stable place in the world, which made it hard for the man to relate to him on a leadership level. His insistence on not taking any stances for or against the villages made things much more difficult, he couldn't even count on the man to form a defensive alliance in the event of another land grab by greedy raiders.

Perhaps, then, it was best to start small. The two had at least agreed to discuss trade, and that was a step in the right direction. If nothing else, he was sure some of the natural resources of Iron flowing into his country would be a boon in and of itself, and he also had a chance to feel out the young leader. Unless... "Perhaps we could speak more privately, aye?" Fuhen made a motion at his gaunt aide, who took a step forwards. "This is Fundou, Yutaka. I trust him to deal with most of my paperwork, including official trade agreements. Ah'm thinkin' he and yer... Kesu, was it? Have a lot to talk about, and I think my other companions are quite weary from the trip."

The older-looking samurai quirked a brow, before stepping over to place a hand on Kosho's shoulder, who was still bothering the very large man in the room, stars in her eyes. "O' course, feel free to keep any around ye deem necessary." The frog put his hands up in a placating motion, implying that Shio's course of action would not change his own. After his own people left the room, either leaving the pair alone or with Shio at an advantage, the Shogun leaned back a bit. "Allow me a line o' thought. Did ye take over as Iron's ruler because ye felt they weren't fulfilling their duties, that they'd... stepped outta line?"

[Ace Trainer]

Shio gave a nod with raised eyebrows, seemingly agreeing with what Fuhen said. Perhaps he wasn't wrong, but that would be what separated them from normal men, yeah? Just as much as Fuhen was assessing Shio and trying to get a finger on him, Shio was doing much the same. It was hard for Shio to tell if Fuhen was holding his cards as close to his chest as Shio was, perhaps even more difficult given how forward and open Fuhen seemed. He was certainly friendly, but Shio had learned rather quickly that someone being friendly did not also mean they were being sincere, and he was having a hard time telling the difference with Fuhen. Especially when he considered that Fuhen was almost certainly an incredibly powerful individual. He'd be suggested by Aimi for Kishakisei, after all, so there was definitely more to him than what was immediately visible.

Shio would give a nod to Kesu, who would gesture to the two samurai posted guard and lead them towards the doors in the front of the room that Michi would open, "There is a nearby hall we can use to eat and discuss more mundane topics.", Kesu said with a smile. He would float at the door, waiting for Fuhen's entourage to exit and follow them out. Michi would lead the entourage out, the giant boy grinning from ear to ear excited to interact more with Fuhen's people - particularly Kosho. For a moment he would lock eyes with Shio, seemingly having another silent conversation before turning and closing the doors behind him.

"It seems if anything comes from this, Michi will have at least made a friend.", Shio said with a humored laugh. The pleased look on his face would fall away when Fuhen asked his question however, "An opportunity presented itself.", was all that he said back. His lips would curl into a smile, implying something a little more devious. The truth was, Shio had no need for Iron, but the opportunity to take it came and he was not the type to look a samurai army in the mouth, so to speak. "Perhaps consider it divine intervention. My successor had a solitary responsibility and abandoned it. I was the consequence.", Shio had been raised to be viewed as the literal embodiment of divinity, the language he was using here likely wouldn't be surprising to anyone who fully understood the magnitude of that.

"I've empowered another country to take over that responsibility. Iron remains directed towards neutrality, but our interests will be more self centered. There is thousands of years - quite literally - of history in these halls. Threats to that exist all over, I think the Great War made that clear.", he playful look he had before would fall away back to his neutral expression, his glasses having slowly slid down the bridge of his nose, Shio was now looking over the rims directly at Fuhen.

"I could ask the same question of you, your motivation to salvage Tea Country can't have been as simple as fulfilling a favor to someone who asked.", he offered back. Perhaps their interests were more aligned than Shio realized, prompting him to pivot, "Better yet. Whats stopping you from seizing Tea all for yourself?",

[Nick]

Fuhen's eyes followed Kosho and Michi as they left the room, a fondness in his eyes that was unmistakable. More than just a hanger-on, or a wannabe samurai, Kosho was a vision of the New Tea Country's future. A refugee from Shark Country, a country that no longer existed, whose only family, her mother, may well be dead, or just as likely living in Kirigakure no Sato. Her existence, or perhaps her happiness within the system, was a testament that the work he was doing mattered, it reminded him that even for all the hard decisions he had to make, there were lights at the end of the tunnel.

His eyes returned to Shio as he started to speak, a gentle fatherly smile on his face as he resettled back into the political landscape. He nodded in appreciation, he himself was a victim of divine intervention, as Takiyasha-Hime herself made him her avatar, giving him some of his strength to be the man he is now. His look turned sagely, old, as he considered if he would have even done any differently in Shio's situation. And yet, the boy asked questions as good as he answered them, what was stopping him from taking over Tea and using it for his own ends, to force the people to do his bidding and advance his own strength? With the force of a country behind him, could anything stop him?

"I am strong, Shio." The Shogun said, not with a hint of humor or conceitedness in his voice, simply a statement of fact. "I may be the strongest ta ever live." It was an odd point to start off with, for sure. "If'n I wanted, ah'm I might could kill ye right where ye sit, steal yer throne, and run around to all o' the ninja villages and kill their Kage for supremacy." A brag? A threat? Fuhen raised his hand over the table, and closed it into a fist dramatically, before opening it slowly, a sad look in his eyes. "Aye, Tea could be mine, as could the world. And yer right, it was more than a favor."

His hands returned flat to the table, and his smile returned. "I did it because the people were sufferin'. Had Ikuto not asked me to step in, ah'm sure I woulda found out and done it on me own, someday." He took a deep breath, and made a motion with his hand, unsure of the words to use. "I am, ah... An altruist!" He smiled as he remembered the phrasing that his aide had used before. "The world is mine, but not to conquer. To protect." He let out a chuckle, and took a drink from his cup. "They tell me it's a weakness as a leader to take personal responsibility for each and every person like I do, but it's me duty. My samurai spirit wouldnae allow anything else."

He leaned back, and made a wide gesture with both arms, before dropping his hands back into his lap, the world playing out before his eyes. "The people need a hero on their side, they havnae had one since long before the war. Even if ah'm nae a perfect man, I can let them have that hero in their hearts." How dangerous. How impetuous. Whether or not Fuhen could do the actions he claimed, it was perhaps even scarier if his people thought he could. "Tea belongs to its people, more than me, more than Ikuto. What stops the divine from takin' more?"

[Ace Trainer]

When Fuhen said he was strong, Shio took it as a matter of fact. But when he suggested he could kill Shio in this moment, the Taishou's face widened into a rather large smile, clearly humored by the notion. "It would not be as easy as you think.", and for just a moment, he would relax the internal restraint he practiced at all times, allowing his raw power to radiate through the room for Fuhen to get a sense of before reigning it back in. Fuhen had to have recognized Shio was strong purely by his station, but getting a true sense of it was an entirely different matter. The notion of altruism was somewhat foreign to Shio; he understood it in principle, as a concept, but Fuhen spoke of it as if he had some sort of obligation. This was outside of Shio's scope of interest, or perhaps even ability. He had his own goals and objectives, and the people around him were a means to an end that he was one of few that had the capacity to utilize.

From Shio's position, this was an inevitability. If not him, someone would. Is that not what his predecessor had done? Every Kage? Each Daimyo to lead a country? Sure, they could say they were serving their constituency, but at the end of the day they were doing so as a means. To maintain their luxurious life in power most often, but there were others. That would lead wars over scorned love or broken business deals, hurt feelings all the same. Shio was no better, and certainly no worse, than these men. This would create a small sense of distrust. Would Fuhen be opposed to Shio's desire for more? Perhaps Fuhen was more an adversary than an ally...or possibly a very strong ally. Either way, it would seem inducting him to Kishakisei would be the smartest move to make. Especially with Aimi and Yoru having posited the benefits of shaping the world themselves, Fuhen's notion of a 'hero' would be valuable to be on the inside of.

"We all have duty.", is all he would respond with, seemingly affirming the idea that the world was his to protect. From what was a different matter.

"I can relate to the notion. I'm very purposeful in the people of Iron knowing their land is their own, even if an outsider sits as their Taishou. Maintaining that cultural boundary is difficult, but important.". He pondered for a moment if bringing up Kishakisei was the right thing to do, but finally settled on simply going for it.

"You're familiar with Aimi, yes? I'm aligned with him and others. I think, actually, that you've just spoken to the call for why I'm aligned with them. We're beings of great power.", beings. "And as powerful as we are, we are not without an upper limit. We've recognized that such power invites threat, and that allies at our....heights can not always be easy to come by, or at least reliably. So, we've elected to form an organization with the understanding that allying ourselves grants us all a level of protection even we cannot attain on our own. Few militaries willingly stand against us as individuals, even fewer together.", he paused, assessing Fuhen just as much as Fuhen was surely assessing him.

"Would you be interested?", he asked.

[Nick]

The Frog locked eyes with Shio just in time for his restraints to come off. His eyes did widen in surprise, his youthful appearance leading him to believe that while he might have been a strong person, he had no way to guess that Shio might be such a monster. He stared deep into the man's smiling eyes, but found nothing he could read. Shio was not a samurai, not in the sense that he had a samurai spirit that Fuhen could peel apart and read, not like Aimi, and that made him far scarier. Briefly, he considered dropping his own restraints, but kept them up through it all. Despite his scary personage, he couldn't see a need to compete with him, unlike Aimi. The three men were three sides of a dice, but while Aimi and Fuhen shared an even side, Fuhen and Shio shared an odd side.

The Shogun started with a smile on his face, all too familiar with the phrase. His brow quirked, and his brain raced. Was this why Aimi suggested they meet? In some ways, it felt like a trap to suggest such a thing, especially after Fuhen had just gotten finished waxing poetic about his strength and the duties that came to it. Was Shio probing for a sign of weakness? Or had he taken the proclamation of strength as truth, and decided he wanted to use that strength? "Aimi... He is perhaps me oldest friend... But he came out the other side of the war a changed man, moreso than most o' us." He looked away for a moment, and then back at Shio. The boy was... Fifteen? Sixteen? When did he receive his strength? Had he participated in the war as young as ten years old? Had he participated at all?

"I dinnae ken if our goals ever aligned, but they may be further off than ever before now. But I recognize these threats ye speak of. Hokage Takeo himself entered me own home with an assassin sitting in the rafters to strike if'n he didnae like what he 'eard. I worry little for me own safety, but the collateral damage from such things... Aye, we do 'ave our upper limits." He pulled his hands back, stroking at his chin. "What exactly is it that yer group is askin', and offerin' in return? If'n our goals dinnae align, or..." There was a pause. Could he even ask that of someone? The silence would grow as he stared deeper into Shio's eyes, a toad sizing up competition at the pond, perhaps?

"Aye. Aye. I might could be swayed. Aye. Me own life holds little value to me, but the dream of this new Tea is what needs be survivin'. I am but one man, and I will pass, I can't always be there to ensure that the dream lives on, that the people have their hero."

[Ace Trainer]

Fuhen mentioned that Aimi had come out the war a changed man, and Shio gave an affirmative nod. So Fuhen had noticed too. It was something of a relief because it meant Shio's memory wasn't wrong and Aimi had been different. He had not spent the time to ask Aimi about what had happened, partially because their alliance seemed more a matter of business than personal. But clearly something had happened to Aimi, and it might favor Shio to ask about it. They almost certainly would be reuniting soon, and Shio made a mental note to probe about this a little and see what exactly had happened. The interaction with the Hokage visibly caught Shio off guard, his eyebrows raising in surprise. A bold move for the hokage, and certainly a suggestion that the relationship between this 'New Tea' and Konoha was not a simple one.

"Right now? Not asking much. The purpose of the organization is security first and foremost.", a half truth, that was what they had built it for even if they had recent conversations to the contrary. Shio wasn't foolish enough to lie to Fuhen though, "If one is in need of support, the others are a call away to come in and offer it. We're offering that support and security to you, in exchange for it for ourselves. Aimi spoke highly of your ability, and I've heard nor seen little to the contrary. ", it was a pretty straightforward deal, the same Aimi was offered. "And. If you have objectives that you would like a little more security in ensuring you accomplish, you have on dial some of the only people in the world that would be more help than a liability to be coming along.", this was also quite true.

"We're currently looking at....rearranging some borders in order to better facilitate people moving through this post-war world. If you were interested in helping you could, and if you weren't, then you could be part of the organization all the same. The alliance is one of convenience, not obligation. Opportunity appears, its up to you if you take it.", it was a pretty simple notion. And Shio had put most of his cards on the table, he hadn't given Fuhen their precise goals and likely wouldn't without the accompanying of Aimi and Yoru, but at least Fuhen new what the general gist of it was. By merit of Kishakisei's purpose, their objectives aligned. The day would come, unquestionably, that Fuhen faced an obstacle he could not conquer. This was not a matter of if, but when. Shio had relinquished himself to this inevitability years ago with Yoru, and this was their solution. It was up to Fuhen if he bit though.

[Nick]

The Frog let out an audible hum and sat further back, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth a few times, an odd croaking noise coming from it, thanks to his odd body. "It sounds an awful lot like yer club hardly has much to do with eachother." He said finally after a long pause. "Deniability, security... And nae obligation. Just as much there as it isnae, aye?" Fuhen laughed, clearly thinking aloud at this point more than asking actual questions.

"Ye've found ways t'forge alliances without forgin' alliances... What an interesting lad." He put his hands together in sort of a prayer pose, his mind going faster and faster as his thoughts shifted internally. If there was no obligation, what was even the point? What made the difference if he agreed here and now, or if he simply asked for help, or offered it of his own accord later? Perhaps the secret was in the fact that the zero obligation set up made the obligation even harsher. An implication of help meant that if you ever turned it down, you would be less likely to receive help in the future. It sounded like a scam.

Was this what Aimi was getting involved in these days? Political games of perceived observation and possible partnerships? What game was Shio even getting at? As the perceived ringleader of this arrangement, was his level of obligation to others lower, and others towards him, higher? There was more at foot here, and Fuhen had to find it out. It was a dangerous door to stick his nose in, but he wouldn't be where he was if he didn't keep doing these things.

"Aye, mayhaps we ken discuss some specifics, but I am interested." He took the bait, but only time would tell if the hook was caught between two fingers, or wedged deep into his flesh. "Rearrangin' borders seems only fair, given the state o' the world. Where do we start?"