[PB] The Growth of an Empire - Dying is Easy, Surviving is Harder

[Zangy]

Taking his place at the lone booth in the Ougonjidai Restaurant, Oohazure gazed about, taking a good look at everyone who had happened to chose the fabled diner as their meal for the day. Most came just for the food, but today Oohazure had a different plan. One of the so called legendary bannin of the great village of Iwagakure no Sato would be meeting with him today. Granted, while most other ninja had an immense respect for the mythical warriors of the village, Oohazure was a tad bit slighted by the concept of their rank, especially whenever one of his old combat friends, Ken, was one of them.

Probably stemming from a bit of jealousy that he was picked, from his own viewpoints, at random. Then again, Oohazure's flaw of pride was definitely at cause here, in at least some point or another. Outlining a shape that didn't quite exist, Oohazure patiently waited for his 'friend' of sorts to arrive. Granted, Oohazure did arrive rather early, making it impossible for Ken'ichi to actually beat him here, but, again, part of his competitiveness wouldn't allow him to lose to his former teammate in another way, even in one as petty and useless as meeting the other first.

[Jinan B]

Oohazure... Such was a name that Ken had not heard in years, but he heard it now. He heard it mentioned by the courier who had handed a letter to him that morning, and he had read it within the contents of what had turned out to be an invitation. An invitation to what, most people might have asked, but Ken could not have said. The letter itself was rather bare, a request for the 4th and newest of the Bannin in Iwagakure to meet his old teammate at the finest eating establishment in the Village. Most people might have refused to show up without a reason, claiming that their time was to important to waste if they did not even know why they were wasting it, but Ken was different. For him, the fact that Oohazure had sent it was more than enough justification for him to go.

Unlike his colleague, the experience swordsman was never threatened by idle pettiness and useless competition, and so he arrived a cordial yet not overly eager 2 and a half minutes before the specified time. He had eaten at the Ougonjidai Restaurant no small amount of times over the years, both before and after its original owner had died, and the place had been closed down. If you were to ask the man himself, he would have said that he preferred the food as it used to be slightly more than how it was now, but perhaps it was only nostalgia for a simpler life speaking.

Either way, as he entered the restaurant for the 67th time in his life, he pondered why it was that his old friend had asked to meet him. Ken held no illusions as to the lack of love that Oohazure felt for him: when there were genin together the man was no more than a slave, and Ken couldn't help but treat him as such, even when the attitude was watered down by the respect that he had for the Genjutsu user's skills. Of course, the Shinobi's idle pettiness would also have had it's place in the lack of closeness between the two. Ken couldn't help but imagine that his recent promotion to bannin would only fuel those fires. Oh yes, this would indeed be an interesting meeting.

"Oohazure... It has been too long, my friend" Would be his greeting when he sat down at the same both as his former teammate. Even if there had been some amount of enmity between them, Ken still remembered fondly how rarely they would fail a mission, or even encounter unexpected difficulties on one, when they worked in the same team. A part of him wished that the simplicity of those times could return, but alas, life always seemed so much more complex now.

"Now tell me, why is it that I'm here?"

[Zangy]

As expected, Ken'ichi appeared right on time, being a minor victory for Oohazure in not only his ability to judge others, especially those that he hadn't seen in quite a long while, but also in making sure all the preparations were met. Granted, this wasn't as big of an issue as what it could be, as the jounin always had his own plans.

With Ken sitting down and introducing himself, Oohazure replied in turn, "Greetings, friend." While normally, Oohazure would keep his air of superiority about himself, he definitely knew that the act was just a show, especially to those who had already studied them before, as his former teammate most definitely had. There was an art to communication, but part of the perfection of it was to know when to ignore it and just communicate with base language and wordings. Tripping up someone for the sake of it tended to lead to miscommunication, which definitely was not the goal of today.

Sighing with a slight laugh, it was obvious that Ken knew that Oohazure did not want to just chat about some random ongoings of the village, nor about Ken's own promotion to bannin. Oohazure was not one to congratulate others, at least, not at this point. Everyone got where they were, because of their own powers and abilities, and were correctly placed due ot their work. At the moment, Ken had just worked harder than Oohazure, which would be something that he would gladly change.

Soon, hopefully.

"You know me too well," he started to explain, "but I need a second look over a plan that I have been thinking about. While I've personally weighed the pros and cons, I don't know how the Tsuchikage, nor the other bannin would feel about such a thing. Personally, I would see no problem with it, as the cons can be..." he continued, before trailing off, before emphasizing his point, "dealt with. I figure, as the newest of the bannin, I could get your thoughts on the subject first."

Almost on purpose, Oohazure dallied around the point, letting Ken's own mind do part of the work for him, as the mind at wonder can accomplish or set up many different expectations. The layers of those expectations, though, were all up to Ken, rather than Oohazure. And, sometimes, that's exactly how he liked it.

[Jinan B]

Ken was not quick in offering a reply to his teammate's statement, as he was instead thinking the man's words over in his mind. A part of him was intrigued of course, wondering what this plan could possibly be that would require his help alone as opposed to the help of any others. Then again, Ken had no lack of pride within him, and so he could not have thought of a better course of action for Oohazure to take. He would surely be able to offer the best advice on the subject, whatever it was.

But what Oohazure had said also threw the Bannin off. The talk of how the former slave would rather have come to him as opposed to any of the other Bannin, or even the Tsuchikage himself raised doubts in the blade-masters mind. What kind of plan would be such that Oohazure could not go to the leader of the village about it? Unless... The plan was somehow treasonous in nature.

"We have been allies for many years Oohazure, and for almost all of them I have thought of you as a staunch friend. Someone worthy of nothing less than the utmost respect. I may not have taken his path, but I believe that The Lord has granted me the ability to judge people fairly." The man paused, no doubt the Jounin would be wondering why he was going on about this, and he needed to choose his next words very carefully. He saw only one path through this where he would be able to both maintain both his friendship with the man before him, and his sense of honor.

This is, there would be only one path if what he suspected was true.

"Above all of that, however, my loyalty belongs to the gods, and to my village. So if this plan you speak of contains elements that are... Against the interests of Lord Tsuchikage and the council, I would suggest that you say no more. We can move on as if this meeting never occurred if you so wish. He met Oohazure's eyes directly, making it as clear as day where his loyalties lay. "I do not wish to fight you, my friend, but I will if you make it necessary."

[Zangy]

Of course Ken'ichi would raise Oohazure up before bringing him down to a more comfortable level. As expected, Ken expected the worst, allowing for the jounin to swiftly quash that line of thought, replacing it with a much nicer alternative. Granted, this sort of wordplay wasn't too needed, especially for type of conversation that was taking place, Oohazure still wanted to practice, just in case. While out of the loop for a while, his diplomacy skills had faltered, even if only a little. The small amounts of refreshing himself here and there helped, even if just a little.

Quelling the treasonous line of thinking, Oohazure responded, "Oh, no. If I was doing something that you were entirely opposed to, I would keep my mouth shut." Laughing just a tad, he continued on. It had been a while since he had talked to Ken'ichi, and, for some reason, he always felt comfortable around the man, knowing that he didn't have to support someone to actually succeed, unlike almost all of the other ninja that he had ever been around.

"I'm asking for your assistance for a few reasons. The first is I don't quite know how I should approach the situation." Taking a second, he gathered himself, searching for the right words to speak out, knowing that the wording was everything here.

"While on a mission with Enkouten Hokori, I came across two families in Gold Country that were in a feud over the wisdom of a charlatan. The messy bits of the situation was handled, of course, with the charlatan being a missing ninja, as expected, but the two clans had something rather odd about them. While I'm not entirely sure, due to my own lack of knowledge on these sorts of things, I do feel as if the two clans could have had a bloodline of sorts, or at the very least access to chakra on their own terms." Letting the revelation sink in, even if it wasn't too broad of one, he then continued, "If they do have access to a bloodline or specialty types of ninjutsu, then I feel like it would be best to 'invite' them into Iwagakure no Sato, assuming that they can meld into the village, that is."

At its base, the idea wasn't too farfetched, but the consequences could be dire indeed. Granted, more of the finalities could be worked out later, but the base idea was here, ready to be discussed, even if only a little.

[Jinan B]

Ken'ichi listened in silence to the words of his old friend, his interest increasing with every sound that left Oohazure's mouth. The gladness that he felt regarding how the man hadn't any treasonous thoughts quickly went out of his mind, as he realized the gravity of the situation presented to him. Finally, once the former slave had finished speaking to the man, Ken would give his answer.

"You don't know how to approach the situation?" He would say, pausing for just a moment. Regardless, it would be unlikely that Oohazure would have enough time to respond before the Bannin continued. "It seems quite simple in my mind, Oohazure. If these families do indeed possess the potential to use chakra like you say, then we have little option but to try and bring them into the village. If they were to refuse, on the other hand... We would have to destroy them." The man knew that Gold Country was frequented by the Shinobi of other Countries just as much as it was by people like himself and Oohazure, and the advantage that could be gained if Konoha or Suna gained the power of the clan's... That would be too much for him to risk.

"But... Surely you have already realized all of this." The Bannin knew that his old friend was nothing if not astute, and the thought that he had been so thoroughly stumped by a problem such as this seemed wrong to the man. He had said that there was more than a single reason why he had asked Ken to meet him, after all.

"Is there more to this than you've told me, old friend?"

[Zangy]

(OOC: Sorry for the wait and the poopy post. sleepy ;_; )

---

And it was at that point that Oohazure's body language shifted from an at ease state into one that was much more serious. Ken'ichi was defintely not dull enough to miss any of the jounin's context clues, nor the more blunt methods of change. "A few things, really. While I don't feel as if this is truly the best location for discussing matters, I will have to beat around the bush just a tad, but it shouldn't be hard to keep up." While the dialogue could have easily taken place elsewhere, Oohazure knew that if they were to converse in a more formal arena, too many ears would be watching and waiting. This, in any degree of attack, would have to be partially dealt with in a multitude of other manners.

Grabbing at his long ignored cup filled with whatever was brewed an hour or so ago, swirling it, he begun, "Y'see, I am normally not one for violence and the task in front of us must call for something of the sort, in a few different ways. From what I've found, both of these families have a slew of issues, making them unfit for working in tandem with Iwagakure no Sato." Taking a breath, making sure to emphasize the greatness that was his own village, knowing that what came next would make or break this conversation into pieces. "If this were a task as easy as a base diplomatic mission, I would have already completed it, making this an easy conversation. This, however, needs to be handled with speed, strength, and cunning. And, sadly, I only possess two of those." Letting a slight chuckle pass through his lips in an attempt to lighten the mood, he continued on, "Which is why I need help in doing so."

"While working with these families, I've found that they are a snake of sorts. While just dealing with the head would be the easiest method of attack, the amount of faith that is behind the head makes it near impossible to just quietly pass on through. Even in my attempts to make temporary peace for mutual gain, the bond was ephemeral to a degree that not even I knew existed."

Taking a sip, he finished, letting his old teammate muse over the situation, "Something, or some one, is forcing these two families to act illogically, and, in a way, completely devoted to their leader, to an almost fanatical degree. If, possibly, Yume was able to do some magic, it would convince a change of mind, but, I don't feel that a method such as that would be stable for more than a few weeks, at most." And, while part of what Oohazure was saying was true, there was only so much that the spirit inside of him would be able to accomplish, especially if faced with fanatics that would unhinge at any opportunity to strike fear into those around them.

[Jinan B]

"Someone... Another Shinobi?" Ken had of course expected there to be some form of complication with the situation, why else would Oohazure even speak to him after all, but he had not quite expected something such as this; simply put, the man struggled to make sense of the possibility. A ninja from a rival village perhaps? But what would any other village stand to gain by sowing chaos into the ranks of these families? They would want to bring any potential asset back to into their own power, would they not? "A Nukenin then? An outside force such as Konoha or Suna would not stand to gain from fanatical devotion, just as we won't. Loyalty to a leader makes no difference when that leader isn't your Kage. An MN on the other hand, no group would follow one man without prior reason, but this would circumnavigate that problem." The man was doing little than just repeating the information that he had already been given, but even he mere act of doing so helped him piece together his next decision; just as he knew it would.

"Hmmm... Very well Oohazure, you have my aid. The pledge had been made. For the better or for the worse, Ken was bound by his honour to find out the truth behind these families; and to solve the problem that they posed. Before he could do that, however, the man still needed more information about what it was that he was facing; information that Oohazure didn't even seem to fully possess. Regardless, the more than Ken asked about the situation, the more informed he would surely get even if shadowed ground still existed within the mission.

"Even if you cannot keep the leaders stable enough to bring them into the village, perhaps you could throw off this Nukenins control long enough to bring him out of his hiding... How long can your Hisomo last for, Oohazure?" This clearly wasn't the type of mission that one could barge into head first with blade in hand. No, this was something that required far more precision than that, meaning that the pair would need a functional plan, and perhaps even several that could work should the first fail. Of course, Oohazure would surely have already considered such things' but that didn't mean that Ken himself didn't want to run over everything with his old friend. As smart as the Jinchuuriki was, anyone could make a fatal oversight when forming their strategies. A waiter brought two cups of sake, freshly heated over the kitchen's fires, and Ken drank deeply while he waited for his friend's reply.

[Zangy]

Ken's own mental formations were ticking as Oohazure took a sip, quietly placing his cup down and letting his former teammate contemplate exactly what was needed for this situation. While it was partially a test of Oohazure's trust of Ken'ichi's mindset, he also wanted to see exactly what the bannin assumed this mission would be.

Missing ninja, while a fairly obvious answer, didn't seem exactly to fit. His mission with Hana and Hokori had mad him much more skeptical of such things. Mostly, however, this was due to the amount of tsukumogami that he had encountered throughout his adventures. Spirits were apparently not something to ignore, especially in this case, where something was controlling the leaderheads of the clans. Granted, it could be just like the Great Scarab, where a missing ninja was secretly behind the scenes, but something pulled at him that this was not the case, and there was something greater behind the scenes.

"Not my first guess, but a shinobi would be the easiest to deal with out of the options that are filtering through." Letting those words rest, he knew that describing his Hisomu was not the easiest, especially in terms of duration. However, at this time, his skill was fairly great. There was probably still a lot of room to grow, but for now, he was confident in his abilities.

"For my current skill level, most of the implantations last for around 10 days, unless they are triggered earlier or disrupted. Though, my biggest Hisomu only last for only a minute or so."

A slight amount of pride came over his face, knowing that for a normal ninja, controlling someone's body was over in a few minutes, even in the strongest of circumstances. But for Oohazure? No, his abilities lasted days, way past whatever normal ninja would ever expect from an opposing force. Then again, most ninja wouldn't expect Oohazure's own abilities. And, hopefully once more, the team of this bannin and this jounin would be enough to convince these clans to joining the great village of Iwagakure no Sato.

[Jinan B]

"Hmmm..." It still seemed somewhat clear that Oohazure was not saying everything that was on his mind, but Ken had long since grown used to dealing with such a manner of conversation. It was not as if the Jounin would be able to give a complete summery of what it was that he had seen during his prior contact with these families. "I suppose it makes little difference whether the cause behind this is a Nukenin or a rival Village, or even a rogue spirit working for ends beyond our knowledge. If your Hisomo can last for such a period of time, is it possible that influencing the leaders of these clans could bring the being behind them into our reach. If both of the clan leaders began to act against the will of this enemy, I can only imagine that they would need to make contact in order to re-establish control. If they do, then we can be waiting for them." The man would pause for a brief moment, the various combinations and permutations that made up the future of these families. "Of course, if these men are already under the control of some outside force, there is the possibility that this plan will fail." There possibilities were too numerous in this stage for either of the two shinobi to have everything planned already, but even so the fact that so little understanding could be had at this stage still managed to frustrate the experienced soldier.

"It would be truly surprising if you hadn't formed more than a few plans for after you had gained my assistance. Even aside from that, your personal experience with these families puts you in a better position to make such decisions. Tell me what you think of the situation?" It had not escaped Ken's attention that Oohazure had yet to offer any form of concrete plan that could guide the actions of the two, a fact that struck him as being particularly strange considering the man that he had remembered from all those years ago. He could have been sure that the jounin was usually the one trying to convince his teammates of his own ideas and plans, but perhaps his memories had begun to degrade with age. He hoped that the latter was far from the case, there was still much that he wished to do after all.

Finding these families and bringing them back to Iwagakure was now only the latest activity to make his list.