Naruto Saigen Roleplay

The elders of the Akari clan had always had great interest in Tatsuo since it was revealed he possessed an astrashiin. Unfortunately for them, the now-Tsuchikages father had the foresight to acquire and prepare shiin for his son once he had graduated the academy. It was a move the elders hadn't expected out of Kokuto who had been but a mere chuunin. Their investigation into how the man had acquired the shiin hadn't born any fruit and by the time Tatsuo had started to become a problem, it was something they couldn't care less about. The elders true ire began when Tatsuo began to outright defy them in realization of the power he had been given and then used it to offset the time it took them to sink their teeth into the next apparent astrashiin wielder, Ume.

Their outright hatred blossomed after the incident within the Arena. Dozens of Akari frenzied and dead in the aftermath with entire families being wiped out and the total population of the clan dropping by 25%. They had put forth a decree afterwards encouraging their men to dip into the old Earth Country practice of multiple wives to help restore the clan and attempt to mitigate the damage. In the resulting generation, their dream was finally realized. An astrashiin had been found amongst a family who were more than willing to part with the child in exchange for a large amount of money. Their first goal now satisfied, the elders reeled themselves in with bothering Tatsuo for a time. They were certain the war would take him out but to their surprise, the man's tenacity was proven to be legendary. Any attempt by them to infiltrate his hospital room had been thwarted by one Akari, Kotaru. The bannin hadn't let anyone in besides authorized personnel and was more than happy to turn any would-be assassins into vegetables.

His previous transgressions aside, the elders were wary of where Tatsuo would lead the village. His hatred of his own clan combined with the general anxiety of the population of Iwagakure was something they feared to be a powder keg. And so, they trained and fed their Weapon to the best of their ability. Shiin were harvested by the agents of the elders and given to the boy whose only goal lie in satisfying his masters desires.

Tatsuo had received an intelligence report from one of the Wall patrols about a new Catacombs entrance popping up, this one relatively close to the borders of the village. According to the report, strange activity had been detected around it and additional forces were being requested to help secure or destroy the structure. What bothered him was, according to the report, the level of chakra being given off by this particular entrance was bannin-level easily. Rather than waste anyone's life and send jounin out to investigate, Tatsuo let out a sigh and resigned himself to checking it out.

Tatsuo tidied his office and wrote a letter explaining the situation and the details of where with a request to join him before securing it with a piece of twine. Exiting the room, he made his way for the aviary where messenger hawks were kept. It didn't take him long to find his preferred bird and send it off before also taking off towards the coordinates in his letter.

The Akari elders were nothing if not persistent. In the years prior to the war, long after it was clear that Tatsuo wasn't growing into the man they had hoped he would be, they then set their eyes on Kotaru. Although he was born with a mere melashiin and considered part of the lowest caste in the clan, he had somehow catapulted himself through the ranks. The then-special jounin had obtained multiple shiin right under their noses and had even embarrassed them by slaughtering and cannibalizing one of their favorite proteges. The resulting fallout led to massacre, and despite their seething the Elders convinced themselves that there was still a chance to salvage things. After all, they had caught wind that Kotaru and Tatsuo's relationship was marred by teenage angst and betrayal thanks to a quintessential love triangle. It was a relationship damaged.

At the time the elders thought they could use Kotaru. They invited him to meetings, and unlike Tatsuo, Kotaru usually attended. Perhaps he could reel in Tatsuo, or at the very spy on him when it became evident he was in the running for Tsuchikage. They of course knew of his disdain for the clan, but hatred could be molded and redirected. Or so they thought. They underestimated Kotaru's ire, and misinterpreted it. In promising him power that would rival Tatsuo's, they only deepened his distrust and ensured that trying to use him to do their bidding was a fool's errand. Although he still attended meetings from time to time, Kotaru's hatred of the elders and the clan as a whole was perpetually palpable. Eventually they were unsure which of the young bannin hated them more.

Kotaru had gone months without meeting with the Akari elders. He was busy with about a dozen other things: intelligence gathering, training, remotely monitoring some of the growing villages throughout Earth Country, and changes in his own home, to name a few. Clan matters weren't even on his list of priorities when he suddenly received a letter from a familiar hawk. It circled above him as he stretched in the courtyard of his home, screeching twice as if demanding the man's attention. He read it once quickly then twice carefully, and then he burned it with a snap of his fingers. Within a few minutes he was armed and fully dressed, heading towards the coordinates that had been scrawled on the paper.

It didn't take long for the young bannin to arrive. He moved at blinding speed, though when he got there he fully expected the elder Akari to already be waiting for him. "Catacombs again?" he would huff when they finally came face to face. "And what is it this time, a giant caterpillar? Or has it morphed into a beautiful four-headed butterfly?"