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Tatsuo breathed out a deep sigh as he stood in front of the doors leading to the Kages tower. He had interacted with the older, intimidating Kage several times since his inauguration to his new rank within the village infrastructure. Each time the man had summoned him, it had been by messenger hawk early in the morning. The young man had never been a morning person, often preferring to leave for missions mid day or during dusk rather than early morning during his earlier years. The Tsuchikage was the complete opposite; up before the sun rose and before the village began to stir awake.
Thankfully the man was at least lenient. He was expecting him 2 hours after the hawk delivered the scroll which gave him plenty of time to wake himself up and ready for the day. Tatsuo sent the hawk on its way, closing the front door to his new home closer to the Kage tower. It was a modest abode, two bedrooms and two bathrooms with an open kitchen that flowed into a living space. He retreated into his kitchen dressed in naught but a white night shirt and undergarments where he promptly lit the message on fire and washed the ashes down the drain. Satisfied with the destruction of the message, Tatsuo pressed a button on a coffee maker next to his sink before making his way into the shower to get ready for the day.
Tatsuo's jump from Jounin to Bannin had introduced a whole host of new responsibilities to the young man who was still learning how to juggle each and every one of them on a daily basis while keeping himself in tiptop shape, both physically and mentally. Managing the Catacombs and liaising with the spirit colony, managing a budding Jousai and its members, and his normal duties for his rank usually left him exhausted by the end of the day. He walked through the tower, sparing a glance at the pretty young secretary and giving her a nod before making his way up the stairs to the next floor and to the man's office.
Tatsuo stared down the Tsuchikage's office door upon finishing his climb up the stairs and making a brisk walk down the hall. Lifting his left hand to rapt at the door, he waited until he heard the familiar voice of the kage before pulling it open and entering the room. Surprisingly, he only found two men inside: the Tsuchikage and Hibiki, the Jounin Commander of Iwagakure's shinobi forces - the man right below the Kage in the village's military hierarchy.
He had expected the other for Bannin to be here as well. Something was brewing if it was only the three of them.
"We have much to discuss, gentlemen." Chuutetsu, Ishidai, The Nineteenth Tsuchikage of Iwagakure no Sato, started the meeting by clasping his hands together under his chin and resting his head on them while leaning forward on his desk with hunched shoulders. His eyes shifted to Tatsuo, then to one of the empty chairs, and then back to the Bannin before he nodded, confirming a signal to the young man to take a seat. Tatsuo gave a slight nod back before taking a spot in one of the three chairs in front of the desk. After he had sat down in the chair to Hibiki's left and the Tsuchikage's right, the room began to glow a light blue before fading and signaling the activation of several silencing seals that had been previously placed around the room for security reasons.
Hibiki, who was to Tatsuo's right, looked quite bored with the situation until Ishidai nodded at him to share the information that had been gathered for only those with the highest level of security clearance. The white haired shinobi browsed through his person for a moment before producing three packets of Intel and handed the spares to the other men in the room. The youngest member of the meeting immediately started to leaf through the bundle of documents, his eyes drinking in the information. He seemed to be the only one who did not have even have a previous idea something was going on.
"Our first topic for discussion is the information gathered by our agents in the minor countries bordering the Lands of Fire and Lightning:
Over the last few years we have compiled reports about decreased activity from Kumo while Konoha helped to 'free' Whirlpool. Due to Kumo's neutrality, we had left the period of low activity from them alone. However, recent reports have included sightings of shinobi crossing through the minor countries into the Land of Fire and Lightning and vice versa. This prompted us to look into their decrease in activity. According to the information we were able to gather from the citizens of Lightning country, we were able to find out that their village have been attacked and the Raikage killed before the country was embroiled in a civil war between various noble factions.
The war is already over, and instead of a daimyo emerging from the civil war and leading the country, their new Raikage now rules over not just Kumogakure no Sato but the entire Land of Lightning. The situation is fragile, for now we will leave it alone and focus on building our own might just in case something forms between Konoha and Kumo." Hibiki explained the situation, his eyes glued to the pages within the packet but his voice projecting well throughout the soundproofed room. He leafed through several pages before finally stopping half of the way through the entire stack of papers, the contents being pages upon pages of reports sent back from various undercover field agents.
Tatsuo skimmed through the pages as the older Bannin provided the verbal summary of the report, his eyes drinking in the information. "So what is our response then? We can't exactly be launching raiding parties to stop any discussions between the two. That would only throw us into an immediate all out war between all five Great nations." He furrowed his brow in thought.
The Tsuchikage cleared his throat, gathering the attention of both shinobi. He too had been following along by reading through the docket while the other man spoke.
"Our best course of action is to begin forming alliances with the countries surrounding Rock. We cannot risk letting any of them fall into the clutches of either Lightning or Fire.
We are too late in regards to Whirlpool country but that does not mean we cannot secure footholds in others. I will be devising teams of diplomats to be sent out to these countries. Those who peacefully join hands with us shall have nothing befall them and shall benefit from our agreement, but those who refuse will require a little extra... work.
Those who resist I want broken quietly; no ground invasion or sacking of villages within their country. We do not need the other nations knowing that we are suspicious about their meetings. Teams made up of Genjutsu users specializing in coercion along with Iijutsu users to both poison water supplies and to heal those who fall sick, so as to make these lesser nations indebted to us for our relief and make ourselves look exceptional in the meantime. The two nations worth worrying about are Iron and Fur. Having Iron as backup in case of an emergency is like having a second Hidden Village in one's back pocket with how many samurai populate the country.
Fur also has a substantial amount of samurai forces that would be incredibly helpful in dealing with the other villages. I expect them to be the most difficult in converting to our side. I am authorizing the trade of an Academy infrastructure and curriculum to be offered to these two nations in return for their allegiance. built and initially supplied by Iwagakure shinobi. We can offer other things such as money or raw materials but neither Fur nor Iron are hurting for imports." The Tsuchikage explained the plan going forward as he read through the docket, making small notes with a pen here and there on it.
Tatsuo was slightly shocked at the idea of allowing both Fur and Iron countries access to chakra. He could understand why however; if Suna and Konoha's alliance grew to include Kumo, Iwa and Kiri would be hard pressed if they went on the offense. His next thoughts turned towards their only ally on the continent; Kiri.
"What about Kiri? Are they aware that Kumo is finally breaking their neutrality? I feel they would be more worried than we, it is a lot easier to sneak across an ocean with no enemies in the way rather than having to cross over land and having to deal with the obstacles of a land invasion." Tatsuo asked as his attention shifted from the docket to a large map of the Elemental Nations on the Tsuchikages desk. His fingers traced the distance between the lone village located in the middle of the ocean and the Land of Lightning in the northeastern corner of the continent.
"As far as we know, they are not. It is difficult to make them aware as it is very likely any communications with them would be intercepted over the long journey. We still do not have an agreed upon cipher for long-distance messages involving sensitive information." The village leader confirmed, a frown etching itself across his visage. "However, I have been made aware that a Shinobi Exchange program would be beneficial for both sides. It would allow us to used either summons or a portal using Space-Time to quickly share information.
I have already send a squad of Jounin with the request for the exchange to Kiri. As of now, we are just waiting for a reply before we begin evaluating chuunin and above shinobi to participate." He finished before looking over the documents again just in case he missed a topic. Satisfied with himself and with his men, the Tsuchikage nodded his head and then dismissed the two.
The two Bannin bowed their heads in respect before sliding their chairs out and getting up. The duo bowed at the waist one last time before gathering their things and exiting the room. Tatsou shot a glance at his peer and offered him a nod before exiting the tower in the same manner as he had entered.
Events were being put into motion and he had to prepare.
Thankfully the man was at least lenient. He was expecting him 2 hours after the hawk delivered the scroll which gave him plenty of time to wake himself up and ready for the day. Tatsuo sent the hawk on its way, closing the front door to his new home closer to the Kage tower. It was a modest abode, two bedrooms and two bathrooms with an open kitchen that flowed into a living space. He retreated into his kitchen dressed in naught but a white night shirt and undergarments where he promptly lit the message on fire and washed the ashes down the drain. Satisfied with the destruction of the message, Tatsuo pressed a button on a coffee maker next to his sink before making his way into the shower to get ready for the day.
Tatsuo's jump from Jounin to Bannin had introduced a whole host of new responsibilities to the young man who was still learning how to juggle each and every one of them on a daily basis while keeping himself in tiptop shape, both physically and mentally. Managing the Catacombs and liaising with the spirit colony, managing a budding Jousai and its members, and his normal duties for his rank usually left him exhausted by the end of the day. He walked through the tower, sparing a glance at the pretty young secretary and giving her a nod before making his way up the stairs to the next floor and to the man's office.
Tatsuo stared down the Tsuchikage's office door upon finishing his climb up the stairs and making a brisk walk down the hall. Lifting his left hand to rapt at the door, he waited until he heard the familiar voice of the kage before pulling it open and entering the room. Surprisingly, he only found two men inside: the Tsuchikage and Hibiki, the Jounin Commander of Iwagakure's shinobi forces - the man right below the Kage in the village's military hierarchy.
He had expected the other for Bannin to be here as well. Something was brewing if it was only the three of them.
"We have much to discuss, gentlemen." Chuutetsu, Ishidai, The Nineteenth Tsuchikage of Iwagakure no Sato, started the meeting by clasping his hands together under his chin and resting his head on them while leaning forward on his desk with hunched shoulders. His eyes shifted to Tatsuo, then to one of the empty chairs, and then back to the Bannin before he nodded, confirming a signal to the young man to take a seat. Tatsuo gave a slight nod back before taking a spot in one of the three chairs in front of the desk. After he had sat down in the chair to Hibiki's left and the Tsuchikage's right, the room began to glow a light blue before fading and signaling the activation of several silencing seals that had been previously placed around the room for security reasons.
Hibiki, who was to Tatsuo's right, looked quite bored with the situation until Ishidai nodded at him to share the information that had been gathered for only those with the highest level of security clearance. The white haired shinobi browsed through his person for a moment before producing three packets of Intel and handed the spares to the other men in the room. The youngest member of the meeting immediately started to leaf through the bundle of documents, his eyes drinking in the information. He seemed to be the only one who did not have even have a previous idea something was going on.
"Our first topic for discussion is the information gathered by our agents in the minor countries bordering the Lands of Fire and Lightning:
Over the last few years we have compiled reports about decreased activity from Kumo while Konoha helped to 'free' Whirlpool. Due to Kumo's neutrality, we had left the period of low activity from them alone. However, recent reports have included sightings of shinobi crossing through the minor countries into the Land of Fire and Lightning and vice versa. This prompted us to look into their decrease in activity. According to the information we were able to gather from the citizens of Lightning country, we were able to find out that their village have been attacked and the Raikage killed before the country was embroiled in a civil war between various noble factions.
The war is already over, and instead of a daimyo emerging from the civil war and leading the country, their new Raikage now rules over not just Kumogakure no Sato but the entire Land of Lightning. The situation is fragile, for now we will leave it alone and focus on building our own might just in case something forms between Konoha and Kumo." Hibiki explained the situation, his eyes glued to the pages within the packet but his voice projecting well throughout the soundproofed room. He leafed through several pages before finally stopping half of the way through the entire stack of papers, the contents being pages upon pages of reports sent back from various undercover field agents.
Tatsuo skimmed through the pages as the older Bannin provided the verbal summary of the report, his eyes drinking in the information. "So what is our response then? We can't exactly be launching raiding parties to stop any discussions between the two. That would only throw us into an immediate all out war between all five Great nations." He furrowed his brow in thought.
The Tsuchikage cleared his throat, gathering the attention of both shinobi. He too had been following along by reading through the docket while the other man spoke.
"Our best course of action is to begin forming alliances with the countries surrounding Rock. We cannot risk letting any of them fall into the clutches of either Lightning or Fire.
We are too late in regards to Whirlpool country but that does not mean we cannot secure footholds in others. I will be devising teams of diplomats to be sent out to these countries. Those who peacefully join hands with us shall have nothing befall them and shall benefit from our agreement, but those who refuse will require a little extra... work.
Those who resist I want broken quietly; no ground invasion or sacking of villages within their country. We do not need the other nations knowing that we are suspicious about their meetings. Teams made up of Genjutsu users specializing in coercion along with Iijutsu users to both poison water supplies and to heal those who fall sick, so as to make these lesser nations indebted to us for our relief and make ourselves look exceptional in the meantime. The two nations worth worrying about are Iron and Fur. Having Iron as backup in case of an emergency is like having a second Hidden Village in one's back pocket with how many samurai populate the country.
Fur also has a substantial amount of samurai forces that would be incredibly helpful in dealing with the other villages. I expect them to be the most difficult in converting to our side. I am authorizing the trade of an Academy infrastructure and curriculum to be offered to these two nations in return for their allegiance. built and initially supplied by Iwagakure shinobi. We can offer other things such as money or raw materials but neither Fur nor Iron are hurting for imports." The Tsuchikage explained the plan going forward as he read through the docket, making small notes with a pen here and there on it.
Tatsuo was slightly shocked at the idea of allowing both Fur and Iron countries access to chakra. He could understand why however; if Suna and Konoha's alliance grew to include Kumo, Iwa and Kiri would be hard pressed if they went on the offense. His next thoughts turned towards their only ally on the continent; Kiri.
"What about Kiri? Are they aware that Kumo is finally breaking their neutrality? I feel they would be more worried than we, it is a lot easier to sneak across an ocean with no enemies in the way rather than having to cross over land and having to deal with the obstacles of a land invasion." Tatsuo asked as his attention shifted from the docket to a large map of the Elemental Nations on the Tsuchikages desk. His fingers traced the distance between the lone village located in the middle of the ocean and the Land of Lightning in the northeastern corner of the continent.
"As far as we know, they are not. It is difficult to make them aware as it is very likely any communications with them would be intercepted over the long journey. We still do not have an agreed upon cipher for long-distance messages involving sensitive information." The village leader confirmed, a frown etching itself across his visage. "However, I have been made aware that a Shinobi Exchange program would be beneficial for both sides. It would allow us to used either summons or a portal using Space-Time to quickly share information.
I have already send a squad of Jounin with the request for the exchange to Kiri. As of now, we are just waiting for a reply before we begin evaluating chuunin and above shinobi to participate." He finished before looking over the documents again just in case he missed a topic. Satisfied with himself and with his men, the Tsuchikage nodded his head and then dismissed the two.
The two Bannin bowed their heads in respect before sliding their chairs out and getting up. The duo bowed at the waist one last time before gathering their things and exiting the room. Tatsou shot a glance at his peer and offered him a nod before exiting the tower in the same manner as he had entered.
Events were being put into motion and he had to prepare.
