What was most pressing to the Commander was that one of these Shinobi had fought against the Hokage and a bannin level ninja, living to tell about it. Surely the reputation of Takeo would be diminished and Konoha's might brought into question if this...Nehan had been allowed to keep walking around free. Although matters of this nature were never simple Gene had to admit coming up with a means to take down an adversary who could regenerate from their wounds almost as quickly as he could dish them out was...tricky business. He'd never gotten around to asking the Hokage how he'd managed to handle the situation and Yoru , from Gene's understanding, had been missing since the incident. There had been no one who he could gain insight from and in that moment, Gene allowed the gravity of his position to sink in. At the top there were few and of those few only a handful could truly be of use; as a Leader, strategist and then some, Gene would need to tackle this problem on his own and how he managed to handle this case would most likely serve to either make or break the org with momentum.
Failure was not an option but neither could he afford to be naive in his ventures. It was time, Gene decided, to revist the old archives of the village. Perhaps there was something there that could assist him? With the thought in mind the young man stood from his desk, scooping the file of both chikara and Nehan under his right armpit before turning to head out the door of his office. Immediately upon exiting the room Gene was met by two sentry Guards saluting him though neither uttered a single word nor did Gene speak to them, acknowledging them instead with a simple head not indicating they return to their at ease posture. Shortly after, Gene was gone..
The archives. A place where anything lost could be found and some times, where things too horrific for the public could be lost. In the entire village proper there were only two men alive with access to the secret archives and of those two, only one was a publically known figure. For Gene and his line of work had been built almost entirely around silence and secrecy; thus despite the Hokage's attempt at making the Anbu public per Gene's order all save for one of the tactical squads of the org continued to operate privately. It was the most efficient manner Gene believed, to compensate for Onigumo's structured way of doing things and the Hokage's more flashy display at his coronation ceremony. A display that still made the current commander skeptical for a number of reasons.
After all, if the purpose was to keep the nature of the anbu a secret why then, would takeo announce the orgs existence to the rest of the village? Did he have plans for a secondary off shoot of the anbu who would see to the more intricate affairs? Or perhaps there was something else beyond even Gene's understanding. Regardless of the context of that the Commander decided to rummage through the archives searching for anything relates to the two criminals that had caught his attention. If they were linked to any organizations, places that both were last seen visiting, mannerisms and more; by the end of his investigation Gene would know more about his marks than they'd know about themselves.
At least...that was the plan.
Later that day
"Where is he now? Gene inquired thoughtfully, trying to bite down on the irritation that had no doubt been caused by another untimely interruption of his work. Since none other than himself and the Hokage were allowed in the archives room of headquarters he'd had to shelf the files he'd been perusing, ensure that all security measures were properly in place and then finally, after all that, leave the chamber to speak with a subordinate. A conversation that seemed only to grow more tiresome the longer it drew on and it did draw on until finally the Commander posed his question. In response the masked operative shrugged his shoulders - a grave mistake, though not one that Gene hadn't expected. It was an olden rule of thumb within the Anbu to always be "in the know" as Gene liked to refer it as and typically this was the expectation. However, when it came down to the Hokage in particular Gene understood that keeping track of the man could some times be...problematic.
It wasn't that Takeo took steps to actively prevent himself from being found (though Gene imagined that the man could and often did do so when it suited his needs) nor was the surveillance team responsible for keeping tabs on the man lacking; though there were days, days like today where an entire ANBU squad had to be dedicated to the task of finding one old man. Of course, Gene would never actively send out an entire unit for the sake of that task unless absolutely necessary; no, today he'd simply opt to find the man himself. "I see. Relay this message: Odachi squad is to remain on Standby until nightfall. I have a task that will need ...delicate, handling but first I must speak at length with the Hokage. No one leaves, not even for a smoke break. " If the operative had been displeased by this recent telling, he hid it well and responded only with a bow before tending to the task given to him. Gene, meanwhile, set off for the Hokage's mansion.
Only, he'd never make it..
No. Instead of finding the Hokage, something that should have taken priority Gene was instead assaulted by a rather large host of problems brought about by the civilian body of the village. For whatever reason there seemed to be a shortage of on hand Shinobi in this area or that district and seeing that he'd been flying the Konohagakure headband (a fact that he now regretted) many of the villagers brought their disputes to Gene directly. "Now tell him what he's jabbering on about is a bunch of baloney! Ain't no such thing as a spirit and if pigs could fly, they'd fly right into your--" Gene happily intervened, not wanting to hear the end of that particular thought. "Alright hold up a minute," he began. His shoulders thrown up in mock confusion, hands gesturing a necessary "time out." "Now what's the problem?" When the man who's spoke up first answered Gene listened thoughtfully and only stepped in when it looked like the lad was about to get charged up again. "Well...spirits don't exist though you will have many say otherwise; frankly, I'd be more concerned about the wife than this little can of worms." At the look in both men's faces Gene could see defeat, at last this was one matter that wouldn't be revisited soon. Still, he had to wonder exactly what it was that sparked such a conversation in the first place. Leaving the two where he'd come across them, Gene made a mental note to instruct his unit to monitor the villagers more...thoroughly.
Not that he believed the matter could extend further but farcry it be for Gene to sit and wait just to find out. Whoever had been stirring up the hornets nest around that particular fiasco would need to be visited and their mind blanked immediately. Speaking of mind wiping Gene had just about rounded the corner when he noticed two Shinobi, likely Chunin, arguing between each other. Kami curse his eyes for not realizing it sooner but the two were both from clans that in the village's history, were once at odds between each other. "You think you're so noble, don't you Senju dog!?" This coming from the shorter of the duo, a frail looking blonde who's eyes were as green as an emerald. There were lines protruding from the youth's reddening face and for a moment, Gene thought he saw something akin to hatred in his eyes. Still, it wasn't until the Senju responded that Gene decided to step in and try to play mediator. After all, he wasn't a baby-sitter and surely two Shinobi were capable of handling things themselves...right? Wrong.
"Noble? No. Better than a fuming Yamanaka at handling the village's needs...certainly. Now, if you'd like to try and prove me wrong you're welcomed to try but remember -- it was my family who won the war." There was an icy chill in the way that the Senju spoke and an even colder feeling when he considered for the moment that these two were dead serious and that this banter, however it might have started, was on the verge of leading to a fist fight out in the open---worse, a fight between two Shinobi around civilians. Gene swooped in on the bunch like a gale wind almost knocking both over from his sudden appearance (situated strategically between the two forcing them a ways back from each other.) Looking into the eyes of one and then the other, Gene recognized the situation for what it most certainly was and made yet another mental note. Clannies and their damned feuds. I doubt this incident will go further but still, it might be time to have someone sent over to wherever these two reside to smooth things over a bit.
Ironically, it was at that exact moment that Gene's mind decided to inform him that the previous Hokage had also been a member of a clan though he couldn't place exactly which one at the time with more---urgent matters pressing him on. "Hi guys, I get that you're both eager to express your wills of fire and ordinarily I would say have at it but..." his eyes briefly roamed around to indicate the spectating crowd and host of others who were starting to approach because of the commotion. "What'd'ya say we call this one a draw for now?" Unsurprisingly, it had been the Senju to agree first before passing a glance toward a now scowling Yamanaka who eventually, agreed as well. Only when the two parted to go their separate ways and were well clear of the merchant district did Gene begin walking again.
That almost seemed a bit too intense for a friendly competition between friends---I wonder if those two really mean to beat each other senseless? Well, just one more thing to make a note of. And Gene did make a note, storing the most crucial information about what he'd just witnessed within an imaginary pocket space in his head where it could be recalled upon later for a more...thorough interpretation. Being of the mind that many of the denizens of the Leaf village were on good terms this sudden turn of events seemed almost telling. Was there something in the air this time of year, Gene wondered.
With the thought of what he'd witnessed still fresh on his mind among other things, the long walk to Konoholic was a welcomed distraction that gave him the time needed to categorize and prioritize things on his to-do list. Naturally, he would still need to broach the subject of possible clan tensions to the Hokage but before that time came maybe there was a quicker, more pliable solution. Frankly, it was with this thought in mind that Gene looked forward to meeting with an old colleague who he hadn't seen much of since the repair efforts finally ended.
I wonder what his take on this whole ordeal might be. After all, you've always been more of an optimist than I am; Awai, Fanho. With a slight push the double doors of Konoholic breezed open and from the other side stepped a masked silver-haired Leaf Jounin clad in garbs likely purchased from a Fire country retailer (Outfit 2). Gene greeted the wait staff with a warm familiarity and even shot the breeze with several of his old colleagues before finally finding a private but hardly secluded booth table to sit at where he could watch both the entrance and the windows facing the outer perimeter of the building comfortably. With so much chatter going on as it was, Gene was not worried about people eavesdropping on any conversation and besides, while he was nowhere near a celebrity of the place many of the patrons and staff alike knew and respected Gene for his hard work and thus wouldn't dare get involved with his business without prompting.
It would have been hard not to notice the line up of dime pieces floating in and out of the establishment or the so called players trying their hardest to leave with something for the evening or the angry looks of women who's men were captivated by the serving beauties and to Gene this was all simply a part of the entertainment. One had to know that when going to the Konoholic these days the experience was truly a toss up - as was the case when one summer weekend Gene and another had been all but forced to drive some hooligans terrorizing the place out. It was truly an anything goes kind of tavern though only those who got too crazy, rowdy or rambunctious were ever asked to leave (politely or by force). To Gene, this was a place of grand memories and great history; humble beginnings and a badge of success, now it was more like a second home.
Frankly, Gene couldn't help but be amazed that the establishment had been one of the few places to remain untouched during the invasion as if to be protected by some kind of special fuin. Of course, he would never say such a thing out loud but Gene had long since suspected the Tavern owner to be more than just your average retired Jounin - even after working for the man Gene had yet to truly figure the guy out. He was one of those somber quiet types who only spoke when a situation truly called for the kind of wisdom only an old, old soul could produce and usually when he did speak everyone, even some of the older patrons were quiet to listen. There were talks that Gene had missed out on earlier on in his career as a Chunin simply because the bar owner had him running around handling errands due to his age but this soon changed after being promoted to Jounin - Gene wasn't sure if it were because the man felt as though he could not relate to another Jounin or some other unexplained reason but he was always happy when the old man came and dropped jewels of knowledge and wisdom on him because in the long run those jewels seemed to always benefit.
"Place's lively today, business is good I see." Gene spoke in a low tone. Looking around, he began to wonder if Fanho would be able to find him in all the hustle and bustle of the tavern.
