The Mizukages Arrival [Diplomacy]

[Ace Trainer]

The black swan soared through the air, leaving her master with a bubble held onto her beak. He had inscribed a message to the Tsuchikage on the bubble, telling him of his arrival, and how he'd like to handle the situation. Knowing that it was almost customary to blind-fold new-comers to village if they were not fully trusted.

It was about 10 in the morning Topenga bathing in the bright sunlight as she flew. Waiting for the arrival of Iwagakure's "Air Force" aka, the aviary fleet of the wall guards.

[Punslinger]

The swan's black feather's made an excellent target against the blue backdrop, and a little less than a minute after she'd taken wing, she was flanked by two obnoxiously large condors, both of which didn't appear to have any ill intent, but their close proximity didn't leave any doubt that they'd probably attack at the first sign of fowl play.

After a few more minutes, the trio were joined by an albatross, and then shortly thereafter by a falcon, a buzzard, a puffin, a bittern, a heron and a nearly endless number of smaller birds by the time they reached the wall. As they landed, a stocky Kinjuu guard stomped out, waving his hands over his head.

"Yes, yes, I see we have a guest, get on with you now. All of you, shoo!"

Most of the birds listened, but the two condors stayed put.

"Biku-San, Buru-san, that means you too. Off with you, I think I can handle a lone swan on my own."

The two birds flapped off heavily, and left the guard to decipher the bubble and message, which he did with much turning and confusion. Hollering for another guard, the first handed the bubble to his companion.

"Better get this to the Hachidaime, he'll want to see it. Dunno what kinda nutjob writes a message on a bubble though."

---

In the Tsuchikage's office, Ishidai was equally confused and nonplussed.

"Jiro, go ahead and take a team out to meet them. Standard procedure, I don't care if he is a Kage. I've got a Research and Development inspection in an hour and he didn't bother to give us any notice, which means he's either rude or isn't who he says he is."

"Yes sir."

---

A minute later, the Tsuchikage's assistant and two Koujun guards were flitting across the landscape, following the black swan.

[OoC: Ah, bird jokes. It's been too long.]

[Ace Trainer]

Topenga followed obediently, and when they were ready to follow her, she took off into flight gracefully, trusting that the Iwa shinobi would be skilled enough to follow her. It was soon that Basuta saw her in the sky, and nodded towards her to make a spiralling descent, landing behind him with a graceful sweep.

Basuta looked at his two escorts, doing something no one had ever seen before.

He bowed to them.

"I'm sure you two are just escorts and probably don't care, but I want to apologize for my unannounced arrival. As a kage, I'm a high level target, I'm sure Tsuchikage-san would understand. I couldn't risk my ventures being intercepted by anyone else...", Basuta said with a frown. Yuushuu stood in a highly defensive pose, not bothering in the slightest to mask his intentions. If these men stepped out of line in the slightest, he'd be at their necks in an instant.

It was game time.

[CDF]

Roi was just as alert as his comrade. Ortha could smell the swan and the two escorts arriving before anybody saw them and gave three short and rapid barks, letting Roi know that three things were coming this way. His tail snaked its way out from beneath its robe, hissing as it locked itself into a position where it had a good view of Roi's back.

Roi, meanwhile, kept his hand on his sword, holding it in a way that made it clear that he was only doing it in case of defense. Of course, he was pulsing chakra into it, ready to sense any malicious intent from the escorts.

[Punslinger]

If the Kiri shinobi were attempting a show of force, it was only Jiro who took a silently bemused notice of it. Clearly he was thoroughly unimpressed, and with good reason. The head assistant to the Tsuchikage was a pretty tough looking character himself, and he was only middle management.

A grizzled thirty-something, Jiro's once dark hair had been bleached a tawny shade of brown and was just barely longer than what had undoubtedly been a practical military cut in his younger years. It had the unsettling effect of giving him somewhat boyish look that contrasted drastically against his leathery face and heavy brow. Dressed head to foot in armor that appeared to have been scorched almost black, Jiro cut a very dour figure indeed.

At his back, a gargantuan Sakebi clan member cast a shadow over the group as he glanced casually up at the flock of birds still circling overhead, casting shadows of their own in the noonday sun. To his left another Koujun guard, a dark shinobi with his bulky dreadlocks tied loosely back and a soul patch, stared cooly at the Kiri envoy with hooded eyelids. If he was intimidated in the least, he didn't show it, save an almost imperceptible twitch of his fingers, which were dangerously close to the blades at his sides from the place where his thumbs rested, hooked into his belt.

After giving the group his appraising look, Jiro bowed as he spoke, addressing Basuta. His voice was equally professional, and equally cold. He held out three visors, gesturing that they should be put on.

"The Tsuchikage sends his regards and regrets not being able to meet you in person, but will no doubt be waiting for us by the time we escort you back to the village, Lord Mizukage. However, my orders mentioned nothing about breaching procedure for diplomatic envoys, so I must therefore be so impertinent as to ask you all to put on these devices which aside from obscuring your vision will also skew your sense of direction. It is merely a formality, but I'm sure you will be so accommodating as to put them on before following us."

[Ace Trainer]

Basuta wasn't just standing their idly as the men observed them, no, he was doing the same. His eyes widened slightly and they moved rapidly, up and down the group before returning to meet the leader of the group, remaining perfectly still. He lifted an arm, holding up an open palm in Yuushuu's direction. The man wasn't a giant like the men before him, but the large sword on his back showed that he had a power beyond his physical appearance.

When the visors were held out, Basuta reached for it, but did not place it on right away. Turning to his followers he nodded, "I trust you can both fight without your vision, so there shouldn't be any apprehension about wearing these.", he paused for a second and gave a sharp look to Roi, obviously referring to the additional set of eyes he sported.

He then turned his eyes to the dog Roi had obtained, and Topenga. "Would you like similar procedures on our pets? I don't think visors would work on them...", it was clear Basuta was going to accommodate to these mens requirements, diplomacy was key.

[CDF]

Roi felt uncomfortable as he was sized up by the opposing force. Something like this usually didn't bother him, but he could sense their underestimating and doubt of the Mizukage and co's strength. Somewhere, his pride was dented a little, but nowhere near enough to show it.

Sensing no malicious intent from his sword, Roi silently nodded at the Mizukage, lowering his tail so that the small head was only slightly poking out from beneath his robe, just enough to peek out but hardly visible. Roi also stuck his hand out for his visor, waiting until the Mizukage put his on to do the same.

He was curious what they would do to Ortha, but his companion could take care of herself.

[Punslinger]

Jiro had already turned and begun to walk back toward the village, and spoke, it seemed, only so they would be able to hear and follow the sound of his voice.

"No, no, your pets won't be an issue, they'll be placed in holding cells at the wall when we confiscate your weapons. Of course, you may choose not to comply and have negotiations outside the city walls, but the protocols for such a meeting are decidedly more....stringent."

The two Koujun guards took their places flanking the Kirigakure shinobi, and in this fashion the party proceeded toward Iwa. They had only gotten a couple hundred yards, however, before a group of sparrows flitted by just overhead, passing over the group several times before a few of them landed on Jiro's shoulders and still more flittered about the hem of Roi's robes where his tail was peeking out.

"If one of you is attempting something surreptitious, I assure you it will not pass through the wall. I'm sure whatever it is is unintentional, but I would advise ceasing it immediately." Jiro said curtly. He hadn't stopped or turned around, but the tone of his voice suggested that he knew exactly what was going on, and the hardened shinobi didn't bother to hide it.

Walking, the trip back took decidedly longer than it had taken Jiro's group to reach the Mizukage, but it was only a half hour's walk before the massive wall of Iwa came into view, still several hundred feet above them as they walked up the long, sloping path from the plains below.

When they reached the wall, Jiro cleared his throat as he turned to address his guests. As he did, the wall behind him peeled open and a contingent of Kinjuu guards poured out into the open area, surrounding the group. They stood at a respectful attention, but the flanking maneuver was an obvious warning.

"Alright, you may now take off your visors, and kindly hand both them and any weapons you may have over to the Kinjuu representatives. Also, I am obliged to respectfully request that you leave your companions within these cells." he said, indicating two rather spacious steel boxes with handles hanging between two teams of four Kinjuu guards. Three more guards approached each Kirigakure shinobi with steel boxes of their own, apparently to put their weapons in.

[Ace Trainer]

Basuta glanced back at his two companions, visibly frustrated that one of them had bothered to test their escorts. This was a diplomatic mission, he did not have time for aggression from his comrades. When they reached the next check point, Basuta willfully handed over all weaponry he had, and nodded at Topenga who fluttered over to the cage.

Yuushuu handed over his weapon cautiously, he clearly wasn't happy with the cirucumstance, but watching Basuta's willfullness to comply seem to lighten him up a little. Now it was Roi's turn.

(Shitty, sorry)

[CDF]

Roi had to resist the urge to snap his tail out and swallow the sparrows whole out of reflex. When he was called out on his tail, he slowly pulled it back into his robe but kept it staring at the ground, watching the ground for any significant changes while also using its tongue to sense anything off.

Roi wasn't the least bit happy, even now with the blindfolds off. Not only had he been called out on his tail and frustrated the Mizukage, but now he was being told to give up his weapons. The fact that his companions handed theirs over did nothing to help his mood, he still really didn't want to do it.

He had no choice, however. Tucking in his tail completely so that it was looking out from beneath his robe, Roi hesitantly gave up his weapons and nodded at Ortha. She also moved hesitantly towards the cage, not quite enjoying the idea of being stuck in there.

[Punslinger]

The weapons and pets were carried off, and the trio of Kiri shinobi were funneled toward what looked to be a blank space of wall where Jiro stood, looking impatient. After a moment, it became clear why. On the other side of the wall, a soft rumbling could be heard, getting closer by the second.

Presently, the wall seemed to fall away, leaving behind an arch-shaped opening to a tunnel that seemed to go on for almost a hundred yards. Without looking back, Jiro stepped inside, followed by the Kiri envoys, who were in turn followed by the troop of Kinjuu guards. The walk through the wall was dark, and took a little over a minute, during which all that could be seen was Jiro's outline in the light at the other end of the tunnel.

The entire trip had taken roughly an hour, during which Ishidai had finished his inspection and had just enough time to meet them on the other side of the wall. Jiro bowed low and spoke to the three men behind him.

"Gentlemen, may I present Hachidaime Tsuchikage, Chuutetsu Ishidai-sama."

"Thank you Jiro, that'll be all." the big man gave Jiro a passive wave. Professional to a fault, Jiro's stiff-necked formality sometimes irked him a little. Turning to the amassed guards he gave a similar, dismissive gesture. "That goes for you too. Dismissed."

Without bothering to say anything else, he now placed his full attention on Basuta, eyeing the younger man with the critical air of an elder, confident in his age and experience. Three inches taller and ninety pounds larger, Ishidai didn't have to put any effort into looking intimidating. He simply stood, waiting for his junior to tell him why he'd shown up unannounced on his doorstep.

[Ace Trainer]

Basuta was completely silent as they walked, and stood motionless as they were presented to the Tsuchikage. Yuushuu reflectively bowed, and then settled on the ground, on his knees, resting. Knowing Basuta would have wanted him to do so. If only Roi would catch on and follow the example. Basuta bowed deeply, showing his respect towards Ishidai, and then looked him dead on in the eyes and smiled lightly. It was a fake smile, but, Basuta had been getting good at those.

"I apologize for coming unannounced, Tsuchikage-san. I'm sure you realize the possible results of announcing my departure from Kirigakure, and the trip here. Though I trust you, if the information had leaked...it could have meant danger for my comrades and I.", sure that the Tsuchikage would understand, he nodded once more.

"I do, however, have official business. Which is why we trekked out here. Three requests, if you could do me the favour of humoring them...", Basuta knew what he was asking. Research on the Jashin. Information on Genma. And to do a little personal research.

[CDF]

Roi followed suit, bowing down to his knee despite his reluctance. Even if the man was of kage-level, he wasn't basuta-sama, therefor, Roi felt he didn't deserve as much respect. It was a delicate situation, however, and he knew it was in his leaders best interest for him to do so.

So without a sound, he remained still, watching Basuta-sama work his magic.

[Punslinger]

With crossed arms, the Tsuchikage listened to Basuta, his face impassive, perhaps even slightly disgusted. The smile Basuta wore didn't seem to be the best tactic to winning this man over.

"Understandable, but no less rude for the circumstance." The old man's voice was somewhere between a low baritone and an animal growl, although he clearly wasn't angry or even in a particularly bad mood. It seemed possible that he might have had something wrong, something that needed medical attention, but was simply too stubborn to bother acknowledging it. What he did acknowledge, however, was the look that passed from Roi to his commander, and the lack of sincerity in the man's bow. A flicker of a smile passed across his grizzled features.

"So you came for not just one favor, but several. It appears the Bloody Mist has more than a few problems that they cannot solve on their own." the comment was not smug, nor accusatory, but instead sounded rather ominous. He looked from Basuta to Yuushuu, and then at Roi.

"Seems like your village has not completely come down around your ears; your men seem loyal enough." he walked over to where Roi stood, looming over him. "Tell me boy: what do you think of me?"

OoCShow

I know you like me. I'm Old Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeg.

[Ace Trainer]

Basuta listened to the man carefully, nodding his head in respect when he noted the rude-ness of his appearance. When he suggested that the "Bloody Mist" could not handle their problems, his necked turned a little in disagreement, "We've done our best to rid ourselves of the name our history has given us. And one of our problems could quickly become a problem of your own. I come here not only for my own villages profit.", it wasn't a threat, nor in any way meant to be disrespectful, you could tell that much from the tone of his voice. While the Genma were something Iwagakure was well aware of. The mysterious threat of Jashin was not. And any information he could shed light on would do Iwagakure just as much good as it would himself.

He nodded again, in respect, when Ishidai suggested his men were loyal. However, when attention was brought at Roi, Basuta looked down at Roi with a look of pure, sincere, curiosity. This was the mark of just how well trained his men were.

[CDF]

Roi’s muscles tensed out of reflex as the large man approached him. Roi had no intention of fighting, of course, even if the Tsuchikage were to beat him to an inch of his death. Retaliation would surely result in a major conflict, maybe even war It was just that the behemoth of a kage was rather intimidating, putting Roi on edge.

He didn’t have to see Basuta’s face to know that he was watching carefully to see how Roi would respond. It was an awkward situation, and the Tsuchikage seemed to be a very perceptive man, so Roi would just be honest while attempting to make it seem as nice as possible.

Roi remained kneeled, making it obvious that despite what he was about to say, he was in no way planning on confronting the Tsuchikage physically, he knew it’d be the end of his existence. But being the man he was, Roi couldn’t lie to the Tsuchikage in such a delicate situation. He could gloss it over though, for his kage.

“I mean no disrespect, Tsuchikage-sama. Of course, you’re strong and powerful, but I still have trouble seeing the great Mizukage being spoken to like a child. Our grand village is willing to set aside pride to ask for help, yet we’re treated with snide remarks. This is something our great leader would never do if the positions were reversed and I expected. You’re a kage, but you’re no Mizukage-sama.”

[Punslinger]

It was obvious that the old man wasn't exactly pleased with Roi's answer, but it clearly didn't offend him either. In fact, it almost seemed like he'd been hoping the young Shinwa would insult him to his face.

"There. Honesty. That's what I expect from men who make a living betting their lives on their skill. Don't forget that, Mizukage-san."

Returning his attention to Roi, he patted him on the shoulder, raising him to his feet at the same time. "I don't expect you to lower yourself for anyone other than that man over there, and even then only as long as he's earned it. Same goes for you" he motioned to the other escort.

He took a step back, observing the group, and then began walking back toward the wall. As he approached, he whistled, and a Kinjuu guard appeared. He whispered something to the man, who disappeared again. A second later, there was a grating sound as a flight of stairs began growing out of the wall, all the way up. He turned back, beckoning the Kiri shinobi to follow.

"Alright, I'll hear you out. Now, what boons have you traveled across the continent to ask me for, and what exactly is the Village Hidden in the Mist prepared to offer in return? I can only assume these are no small things you intend to ask."

[Ace Trainer]

Basuta stood, silent, unresponsive as the pair had their back and forth. When the Tsuchikage acknowledged Yuushuu, he simply nodded with a quiet grunt. Basuta was back in the spot-light at this point, however and listened to Ishidai silently before nodding.

"Three basic things. Two require access to your library. I am more than aware that the village of Iwagakure, as a fortress or otherwise, has existed longer than any of the modern villages, and your library is expands to a size that makes it the largest on the continent, and as such the information within it makes it the oldest on the continent..."

He pulled a scroll out of his pockets and tossed it to Yuushuu, who unraveled it, presenting its contents to Ishidai without even looking. It was the symbol of Jashin.

"I know nothing about this symbol other than its connections to a supposed religion called Jashin. It deemed dead but I have information saying otherwise. I understand showing you the symbol and telling you this does nothing for my case. As you could take what I've told you and have your men do your own research. But, it would be in both our best interests if I was the one doing the research, though I don't mean to insult your men, my intellect, and personal interest in the subject makes me a more........endeavored participant in the research."

Once again, he paused. "My second request is that of information on the Genma, again returning to your libraries. I'm more interested in the history of the beasts, and information concerning the abilities, and sealing techniques of the beasts. Since its no secret that the villages are sealing the beasts within their men. If there are any boundaries you'd like to set on my research for your personal benefit, I'd understand.

"My final request is more of a personal favor. I need to do some extra research concerning human emotion...."

He glanced over and Yuushuu and Roi, "As to what I can offer you, any information I dig up is just as much yours as it is mine. And anything you'd like in return that is within my ability to give you, is yours. Some of this information could easily become important on a world scale in no time, so action is required now. And any upper hand we have on the other villages could be the difference between being a super power, and existing at all."

He left off with that, his warning very true, and adding a type of hurried-ness to the situation, hoping to coax the Tsuchikage into making a decision faster.

[CDF]

Roi kept an unfixed gaze forwards. He kept a mild amount of attention on the conversation, but he was mostly looking at the surroundings, ready to notice the slightest change and threat to the Mizukages life. For now, he just remained quiet, however.

[Punslinger]

The Kage's eyes narrowed as Basuta spoke again. Were he anyone else but the Mizukage and an ally, it was entirely likely he would have simply ignored him and walked away. Clearly, the man's personality irked and slightly offended him. When Basuta was finished, he crossed his arms, a formidable gesture.

"So you've come here with nothing, and expect me to reciprocate by offering you resources that only the most highly ranked shinobi in my village are allowed to access, and I'm supposed to believe that all you intend to do with this information is simple research for your own edification?" He fixed Basuta with a hard look. In his mind, he was debating whether or not the counsel would side with him if he threw the man out of the village and told him to go home to his mother. Presently, he uncrossed his arms.

"No matter how you phrase it, I'm doing you a favor. Luckily for you, I'd rather have a nation owe me an unnamed favor more than I would some silly peace offering anyway. Follow me."

Instead of walking back up the stairs, the Kage began walking along the length of the wall, heading south toward the area where the wall met the mountains that protected his village. After a few minutes, he made a gesture, little more than a wave of his hand, and several Kinjuu guards materialized around him, floating up from the ground below.

"I'm going to need the keys." he said, casually. After they had vanished again, he slowed his pace, allowing Basuta and his retainers to catch up. "Now then, we've got a couple minutes before we get where we're going, which means you've got plenty of time to tell me exactly what you came here for. I know what you want to research; I want to know why."

[Ace Trainer]

Basuta, Yuushuu and Roi followed in silence, he made sure of that. When Ishidai spoke to him, he nodded with understanding. "Concerning the symbol of Jashin. There was, from what we can believe, one of them running about on one of the islands. They were tipped cows and killing farmers, carving the symbol of jashin into the farmers. None of the cows were hurt, though some had the symbol painted on them in blood. Which is most peculiar. I've never heard anything about this before, and the one thing I read gave me the impression the religion was long dead. If its simply a coming back, I wouldn't be concerned. But it's been linked to murder, which leads me to believe there might be more than I, we, know, going on..."

He sighed, "Any information concerning Jashin would be beneficial to us both. If they just a group of unruly teenagers pulling up some sort of cult, then we have nothing to worry about. If its more than that.... then our villages hold a tactical advantage over every other village in the event that anything large were to come of this..", again, he added a warning to this. It certainly made the event seem larger than it may have been. He left the conversation at that, however. Leading to see if Ishidai would lead him into the next topic of Genma, or if he had any questions.