The New Raikage [RP/Open/Raikage]

Sanroku was given word of a sudden disappearance within the Kumogakure head offices. To every bodies dismay it happened to be the Raikage who became missing after his mission to the Land of Tea. What exactly happened to the once renown leader is questionable at best and it was a damn shame as well since Sanroku was already in the process of being groomed under that Raikage in order to become an elite shinobi. It is clear what Kumogakure is going to do. They are going to set up a meeting to call forth a new Raikage. Whether it has been done already or not is a mystery to Sanroku, but this is why he is heading toward the Raikages Tower. Sanroku plans to find out once and for all what is truly going on in Kumogakure government. The young shinobi considers himself to be the most loyal shinobi in the Land of Lightning, but as an Analytical shinobi he also knows that it will just be a matter of time before Kumogakure is attacked, if foreign villages get information of our village missing its head. An all out war against Kumogakure with no Raikage is as good as lost, and although Sanroku plans to die for Kumogakure, he doesn't plan to die in vein either.

Sanroku entered the Raikages facility where he seen a few scattered shinobi talking and conversing amongst themselves. It appears to have been talk of a new Raikage. This intrigued Sanroku and as soon as he arrived into the waiting room outside of the Raikages office, he noticed a new secretary on the front desk. It appears like there is a new Raikage already in place. The young shinobi thought. As he walked forward toward the door he asked the secretary, "May I?" in which she responded by saying. "Of course. He has been waiting for you." This startled Sanroku because he didnt tell anyone that he was coming here and he has surely never met the Raikage. So what did she mean? Then, with Sanrokus science of deduction he quickly came up with the outcome that the Raikage wasnt in fact waiting for Sanroku 'right this secant.' But instead, the Raikage has probably been waiting to meet the young shinobi that the past Raikage had such high hopes for. Sanroku took a deep breath as he opened the door and walked in.

Sanroku wasnt able to be identified by facial feature at all since he was sporting the Jabbawockee Mask given to him by the past Raikage in order to enter the ANBU training program. The young shinobi had his Kurai Katana strapped to his back and to finish off his apparel, Sanroku had the Chūnin Flak Jacket which he designed himself when ranking out of the Genin level. Sanroku didnt look at the Raikage because like all who know Sanroku, he is all about respecting authority so as soon as he entered he bowed down and rested on one knee until told to stand up. Sanroku usually doesnt speak first but this occasion called for it. "Are you the new Raikage?" The young shinobi asked while still glancing at the ground in a bowed position.

531 Words

Simply put....I was about as ready as the next guy.

Standing upon the view of the village, HIS village. He had risen from much pain and Many levels of suffering....Sweat and Blood....he still had that feel on his skin. Like one had just sweat or cried and the salt stains his skin. The man's afro waving in the air in a beautiful sight. His milky, semi-dark skin was indeed moisturized and smooth. He was a rather clean cut Kage. His awesome height of 6'4" simply poked out from must shinobi. He had the neck of a tree trunk, thick, sturdy, and quite powerful. His eyes were away from the door, not needing to look directly at it. His white eyes simply and blankly squinting at the world below him. He had a few windows open as a passing breeze caught and swiped at his skin. Goose bumps forming on his upper neck. His afro had a melodic swing with it.  It's near sage-like appearance gave off an aura of uniqueness and pure brilliance.  

He had a cotton obi on his chest albeit it was a bit large. The Obi however still didn't hide the man's physique. Lean yet strong and bold, the man seems to have undergone years, nay decades of training. He stands at an extra 2 inches off the grounds when he shifts his weight, breaking his slight slouch. Now in perfect posture, the man had the height of 6'6". His geta adding height to his imposing figure. His arms breaking the color code of the white obi. Two lean branches for arms could be seen on the man. Indeed lean in a sense, he however has the strength equal to that to most Taijutsu Adepts. His main focus being in weapons, a gleam shot from the sun off his katana...His family's pride.

Kumo's Thunder....the legendary blade of Kumo that has been known to cut rifts in the world's fabrics by how fast the slashes could be. A good look in the man's afro and you could possibly see an afro pick that has a large fist poking out. A sign of raw power and conviction. A grin upon his lips.

He came back into reality for a good second. He heard some of the accolades he got. He has been through hell and back. A soft set of words came from his richly baritone voice. An ethnic sound came out slowly. Sort of like meditation noises. Tibetan Throat Singing. A soft growl came from the man, barely audible.

"Grrrooooiuuuuuuuu~uuuoooom. Noiiiiiiiiiiiiiiduooom groooooooooon~."

His enthic voice kicked in, an R&B like wavier on some of the noises. Soon he sounded like a Muslim reading scripture. He smirked as he opened his eyes as a pulse came upon the room, lightly however. It caused a sharp stiffening in the councilmen's backs. Vessels protrude his temple as he speaks again, a more assured sound came from him.



He smirked as he didn't turn around, instead placing a hand on his old ANBU mask, the Chameleon. His face covered in the porcelain mask. The mask being painted black and yellow. The man's white eyes hit past strikingly from the shiny black canvas. The men in the room stuttered as they spoke.

"TA-TA-TA-TA! RAIKAGE-SAMA! What is wrong?!"

"I FUCKING TOLD YOU ICHIRAKU! WE WERE TALKING TOO LOUD! YOU DOLT!"

"Can we all quiet down? Please?...."

"WE ARE SOO SORRY RAIKAGE-SAMA! PLEASE DON'T SCOLD US!"

PURE pandemonium went on in the office, everyone near instantly on the wire. The men sounded so scared of the man, his stern aura suddenly changing must have scared the hell out of them. The last man sounded like he was on the verge of relieving both his bowels and his tear ducts. The man's voice now changed into a near demonic voice, he looked over at the door. He sensed an aura that he had a great admiration to. He knew of this boy, his rank up papers littered his desk the moment he got in the office. He was glad PEOPLE ACTUALLY worked and grind-ed like he did. He spoke again the moment the area settled for a bit.

"Quite down and chill the fuck out. I have a guest at the door.

He turned his face back to the door, his arm pointed at the door for a split second. Only to go back to his sides. He placed his hands into his lower Obi upon his legs. The wide cloth that was indeed deep, charcoal black had a strong contrast to his top obi.

Shortly a boy skittered into the room. He seemed to be a little wet behind the ears when it came to his new Kage, but it was understandable.

"Are you the new Raikage?"


A slight chuckle passed the man's lips. He turned his body towards the boy, his afro waving as he did so. His voice came sharp as he spoke again.

"Indeed. I am the new Raikage... Aren't you that boy who keeps fillin' my desk up with work? Sanroku is it?"

He chuckled again as his voice still demonic-like morphing into his voice as he removed his mask. A strong, bold face came out into the spotlight. The man's sharp features were revealed. His veins upon his head. His white eyes, pulsating. His sideburns that connected with his afro. His chin, covered by a goatee. His shapely nose and furrowed eyebrows had a deep canvas for his white eyes to break open.

"Shumasa Hyuuga..."

His voice trailing slightly as he saw the boy's face slightly enough to notice a mask upon his face. The man's voice came back...it rebounded as he had a sterner tone.

"Boy if you don't take off that goddamn mask..."

He chuckled again, breaking the sterness ever so slightly. He looked at the boy as he smirked. He knew he had a great boy...nay, shinobi in this man. He could sculpt this fine marble into a shinobi.






976 Words.

The sweet smell of the tobacco filled his nose as the tasteful smoke filled his lungs. Now that he was a medical Shinobi he would be able to cure himself of any aftereffects of the smoking and still be able to smoke. Of course these cigarettes didn't have butts with fiberglass and the tobacco didn't have tar, which was the real culprits in why cigarettes kill. With the burning plant wrapped in burning paper resting on his lips, he smiled. What a wonderful day to be a shinobi in Kumogakure. Not a care in the world. Two his his students had gone missing, which he definitely had nothing to do with. His only remaining student was a Taijutsu user who was hopeful candidate to become Chunin eventually. His sister was still a pain in the ass to everyone but him, which really worked out for him. He got more respect when he made her apologize for any slights she may have committed against one of the adults. And of course the Raikage was missing. Again. What wasn't to love.

Of course the peaceful chattering of birds and humming of insects soon came to an end with a blood curdling scream of a scared man who probably just shit himself. Curiously it came from the supposedly vacant Kage's Office. Katsuro guessed no one searched the office for the dead body of his former friend Achilles before he was declared missing. Though it made zero sense seeing as he went missing in the Land of Tea at a Meteor, which had put an extra five thousand Ryo in his pocket. Guess you could say the Kage's disappearance wasn't an altogether bad thing.

The screaming abruptly stopped as soon as it started with more shouting from the Kage's office. Obviously his day off wasn't actually a day off just a time to handle stupid stuff going on in places it shouldn't be going on. He thought about throwing the cigarette away but he had only just lit it and didn't want to waste the flavorful tobacco. So he jumped across several roofs before he finally slide down and swung himself into the Kage's office via the roof overhand. Had he not been such a skilled Shinobi, and incredibly lucky he would not have succeeded. But he did and was likely to impress everyone inside.

He landed just in time to hear a tall man ask a young man to remove his all whitemask in his presence. He had heard about this young Special Jounin when he had been introduced into the ANBU, Katsuro kept tabs on everyone. While he hadn't earned his mask yet he was still ANBU and didn't have to remove his mask in a room full of people, even if they were members of the same village.

He raised his hand to Sanroku to signal he to belay that order. He didn't know who this man was or why he had the right to throw his weight around but Katsuro already didn't like him. People shouldn't cower in fear of their comrades, especially Kages.

"I don't know who you are but you should know better than to ask a member of ANBU to remove his mask. That would compromise his identity even if it was in a room full of people from the same village. And why are you in the Kage's office? Either you are trying to be the Kage elect or you are him. In both cases you should know better than to frighten your subordinates." Katsuro's voice was that of someone who was apathetic(not showing interest) and lacked a serious tone to it. Mostly so it wouldn't be saw as confrontational.

He took step to the side, to get out from in front of an open window to keep from getting knocked out of it in the instance the man took it in the wrong way.

Sanroku was quickly put in an awkward position, with the pronounced Raikage requesting for the mask to be removed and the new shinobi who just entered the office by means of acrobatic works countering the order with questions relating to the requester's rank and position in the office of Raikage. Sanroku was still glaring downward starring at the floor until he decided to act. The young shinobi stood up slowly and knowing that the shinobi who just arrived never heard the requester answer the question asked, is he the Raikage? then maybe he has a reason to be resilient in getting an answer for a new found Raikage. But as Sanroku fully stood erect, he removed his mask and placed it on his side where it latched on. The truth is, Sanroku was assigned into the ANBU training program under the last Raikage in order to be his guard. This Raikage can very well have other plans for his position, and although Sanroku would like to still be ANBU, this fiasco regarding the missing Raikage has really gotten the young shinobi thinking twice about the position. So he would want to request to travel the shinobi world in due time to gain personal experience in the world and even bring back information of the exploits.

When Sanroku removed his mask he nodded at the Raikage, Sanroku seen the weird eyes the Raikage possessed and honestly speaking Sanroku knew nothing about them, so he wanted to ask questions. But for now, he simply looked at the other shinobi, only to look away. The young shinobi had nothing but admiration for higher ranked shinobi of Kumogakure, and this man appeared to be so. Sanroku wasnt a talkative person so he didnt say anything, but he was sure that the man must know that Sanroku still followed orders with respect to him questioning the Raikage. Sanroku is sure that Kumogakure has a military far more superior than people give it credit, thus he knows that a man with no name cant necessarily sneak into the office and pose as the Raikage without any retaliation to the part of him getting here. So Sanroku deduced the face that this must be the Raikage. Whether he had proof or not, who is Sanroku to question the position in the first place; and considering the may the past Raikage went missing, Sanroku does not doubt that a new Raikage was chosen so quickly.

All of this took but a secant, as Sanroku simply stood up and positioned himself with both hands on his back after removing his mask.

430 Words

"Maybe you should just shut your mouth..."

Shumasa spoke as he looked at the man who had launched himself into HIS office. In a split second as he spoke he put his thumb to his katana hilt. Pushing it from it's scabbard slightly. His white eyes slowly regressed into their non-awakened form. A slight grin crossed his lips as he sighed, removing his thumb from the hilt. The blade slowly sliding into the scabbard with a slow...grating, metallic sound. He sighed slowly, breaking his slight grin as he cleared his throat. He extended his hand, pointed at the door.

"Council adjourned. Please leave me for now. I must talk to these two. Also, please don't be  scared of me or my sudden vigilance. I am slightly paranoid due to my training. Please relax at the bento shop down the street, eh?

"Y-yes. Sorry Raikage-sama. We will try to loosen our britches.

The Afro'ed Samurai laughed slightly as the small group of men began to file out of the room. The last one who wailed louder than the rest being the last one. Shumasa spoke in a jokingly tone to lighten up the room.

"You might have to check your pants, eh Tsukaku?Eh ha ha!"

The man turned around and laughed a hearty laugh as he scurried out the office. He haven't a laugh like that in a while. Shumasa hasn't really heard a laugh like that since hearing the laughter of the owner of the bento shop.   He shook his head slightly as he looked back at the child.

"Never hide your face from me. You must always respect yourself before you ever expect to get it from others. Never give out respect if you don't respect yourself, you would be digging your own ditch. Other than that, you two have a seat! Get comfy!"

He had a slight smile as he nodded his head to the couch where the councilmen sat at just a moment ago. He turned around towards the man who had ninja'ed into his room, and smiled.

"Well, lets get this little meeting started? Eh?"

He sighed softly as he slumped down into his chair, relaxing his weary bones. He put his mask on the table as he closed his eyes. Leaving him wide open. A test of loyalty on the two. He was showing his neck by leaning his head back, giving an ample chance to crack his neck. Which he took. A bone rattling noise hit the room as his vertebrae cringed and popped like a popcorn bag in a microwave.

He placed his katana from his Obi to his lap as he placed his hands on the arms of his chair. He began to speak as he opened his left eye. He spoke once more as he looked at the ceiling.

"Hopefully I last longer than those in the past, right?"



WC-470

Dust piled on the kuniochi's shoes as she made her way into the administrative building, coating her black toenails in a thin layer of brown dirt. She had made this trek dozens of times before, returning from the various missions that she had adventured on in the past decade. Her tall frame hovered over many of the shinobi that crossed her path. They would not be able to identify her though. The beige hood covering the near entirety of her body, save for the gap between her calves and feet. But even in that space, all that could be viewed was the dusty black of her 3 inch heeled boots, increasing her height to an overall 6'1. It wouldn't matter if they saw her or not, in any case. She would not be recognized by any of these shinobi. They were too young, and Akina too elusive.

The Hoshigaku made her way up the staircase, heading down the all too familiar hallway. She walked these halls more than she did those of her own home. As she neared the office of the Raikage, a great commotion could be heard from inside. She deduced people would be leaving soon, based on the sound of shuffling chairs and feet.

A new Raikage has been chosen then.

She had heard the news of the previous Raikage's fate. The higher ups had thought to alert all the traveling ranks of the development. Of course, word of mouth would have been a sufficient means as well. A position as powerful as that of Raikage could not be vacated without a fuss being made.

Her deduction had been correct. Herds of shinobi emerged from the office, shuffling out nervously. She moves in front of on of them, blocking his path. Expecting the impact, she doesn't flinch when the man runs into her, having been distracted by the conversation of his partner. He's a good 5 inches shorter than her and is forced to look up in order to meet her gaze. He would be met by her ruby red lips, the only thing visible under her beige hood, turned upwards into a smile.

"Things seemed to have changed in my absence. Would you mind pointing me in the direction of the new man or woman in charge?"

He hesitates for a moment, struck by her sudden appearance seemingly out of no where. "Who are you?"

She chuckles, reaching up to remove the hood from her head. Her silver hair spills from it, flowing down her back in a long ponytail. Her olive skin contrasts the pale blue of her eyes, giving a striking beauty to the overall appearance of her face. The Hoshigaku was not the picture of beauty by any means, but she was certainly a head turner in her own right. Her red lips remain upturned into their smile as she parts her cloak, revealing the Kumogakure headband holding her white dress together at the waste. The smooth fabric folded over her curves, snaking up the left side of her leg to reveal the smallest amount of skin at mid thigh level.

"A friend."

Eyeing her for another moment, he turns, pointing into the office that he had just exited from. "He's in there." She reaches up, patting his shoulder as she makes her way past him into the office. She hadn't heard any of the previous conversation, having been too engrossed in her own observations. Her cloak shifted back to its original position as she enters the room. Her left hand crosses into a fist, torso bending into a deep bow.

"Pleasure to meet you, my Lord. I merely returned to receive new orders. I'll be happy to disappear as soon as I've been briefed."

Katsuro heard the chink of the Katana being removed from it's fully sheathed position by the Kage. Katsuro wasn't too worried about being attacked. Especially if he would be able to adopt his own favored fighting stance. Of course his reverie about what would happen if he was attacked soon came to an end as the sound of metal grinding filled Katsuro's ears. The new Kage did seem to know better than to attack an unknown shinobi. And then the young ANBU had not headed his advice and had stood and removed his mask. It seemed the Kage had a weird sense of respect when it concerned ANBU and their masks.

Katsuro pushed himself off the wall using his shoulder when he felt a fierce breeze coming through the window. Then he heard the sound of feathered wings beating. An owl had apparently thought it was appropriate to intrude in on the conversation. And then another intruder came through the main entrance, just as the door had closed letting the councilors out. With a deep sigh, he watched the new arrival as he stood in his position still next to the open window.

As he watched the room, he inhaled the scented tobacco into his lungs and held it there for several seconds. He was letting his lungs mix as much of the nicotine with his blood as possible. Though the nicotine was release from his lungs as he gave a slight laugh at the Raikage's joke. He probably didn't know that the former Raikage was a 'friend' of his and that despite them not being on amiable terms at the time of his disappearance he would have willingly traded places so the village and his friend would remain safe.

"With all these people coming and going as they please, I think it would be safer for me to remain right here." He moved back to leaning on the wall as he changed his attention to the newly arrived woman. "Feel free to take my seat, ma'am." He gave a friendly half-smile before turning his attention back to the Raikage. "So do you want to deal with her first or do you wanna talk to us while she is here?" The same apathetic tone was still present in his voice but another tone had begun to creep into it. One of enjoyment or mirth.

As he waited for the Raikage to decide how to proceed he gripped the cigarette between his index finger and thumb before flicking the ashes into his hand. He would rather be known as the guy who trashed the Raikage's with a little bit of cigarette ash.

Sanroku didnt have much to say as he stood in the Raikages office with a semi heated conversation began to cool down a bit. A women arrived which seemed to have been called in some time ago. The young shinobi didnt pay much attention to her though as he simply glanced at her in order to see who she was and then when he got to memorize the facial features he quickly looked away. Sanroku looked over to the Raikage and for the first time was able to see his face and what it truly appeared like. Sanroku is a young person, so he hasnt seen a lot of bloodlines in his life, and it was maybe because of this that he simply missed the fact that the Raikages has his veins near his temples bulging in order to give more power to what appeared to be featureless eyes, although with a pupil that is barely noticeable. The young shinobi wondered once again what mysteries lied outside of Kumogakure. Knowing that he is moving up the ranks quickly, he doesnt want to get caught by surprise in a life or death situation. It was getting Sanroku a little aggravated that he knew nothing about this unique power. If it was a bloodline, hidden technique or even a special jutsu created by the Raikage. The fact that Sanroku doesnt know these things is what is bugging him, but like he realized with the Shikotsumyaku; it pays off to have the mystery at home rather than in a foreign land. The young shinobi was just eager to ask the Raikage about his background.

271 Words

"Hm...Have a seat Akina. I called you here for the same reason as Sanroku and now this smoking bastard on the wall over there. OI! You got a extra?"

Referring to the man's cigarette, he needed a good amount of nicotine to calm his nerves for this split second. He chuckled softly as he suddenly noticed another life form characterized by a low hooting call. A messenger owl. He simply got up and walked to the bird, as he got close the bird nodded slightly towards him and flew up for a split second to drop the letter in his hands. It landed on the ledge shortly after with the swiftness. The afro'ed kage simply patted the owl lightly on the head to little to no effect on the owl. It did however close it's eyes before scratching the post, signalling that the message is a two way system. The Raikage must message back. The man nodded real softly as he walked back into the room and opened up the letter. He chuckled when he read it. After maybe 20 seconds the man looked up and looked first at Sanroku, then Akina, then at Katsuro.

"Looks like you guys came just in time! Akina, Sanroku, Katsuro.....Are you willing to join me to the Kage's Summit? This is a chance that is quite rare and reserved for high ranked shinobi. Do you wish to take this responsibility?"

He had a nice smirk upon his lips, a nice bit of swagger as he sat back into his chair. He grabbed the pick from his hair and began to lightly scratch his scalp. This was a GREAT way to relax his head from the Byakugan's stress. He began to Hum softly as he closed his eyes.

"I'm waiting.... This choice is highly important. So choose the right one, eh?"

WC-302

Akina rose her head, looking at the new kage's face for the first time. He had a bold look about him, much like his predecessors. She could tell he was a man of ambition. Not to mention of the Hyuuga bloodline. It had been quite sometime since she had seen one of those. Not since last visiting the village of the Leaf, in fact, if her memory served to be correct. They were a rather elusive bunch after all.

The smile never left her face as she politely declined the man's offer of his seat. "I'm fine standing. I'll be on my way shortly." She had no intention of staying in this room for very long anyway. She was the wandering type, after all. Perhaps, she reasoned, that is why she found it so difficult to find a suitable partner.

"Hm...Have a seat Akina. I called you here for the same reason as Sanroku and now this smoking bastard on the wall over there. OI! You got a extra?" His statement threw her for a loop. Had she been summoned here? It was possible she had missed the letter. It had happened many times before, considering how little time she spent in her small, one bedroom apartment. But what business would the new raikage have with her? He would know of her skill set from her file, no doubt, but little else. She kept her private life just that. Hell, even her fellow villagers knew next to nothing of her or her exploits. And she had known the previous kage only on a level of an acquaintance at best. He had assigned her the missions far away from home, knowing her penchant for travel.

Again, she would ignore the request to sit, this time the smile fading from her lips into an inquisitive stare. The man turned to his next visitor, an owl, opening the letter that it carried. After reading through it quickly, he turned to the group, addressing them as a whole. "Looks like you guys came just in time! Akina, Sanroku, Katsuro.....Are you willing to join me to the Kage's Summit? This is a chance that is quite rare and reserved for high ranked shinobi. Do you wish to take this responsibility?"

"What?" She asked, in her disbelief speaking the word out loud. She paused a moment, recollecting herself. "With all due respect, my Lord, are you nuts? You're asking a rag tag group of shinobi to escort you to one of the most influential events of this decade? I know nothing of these two. Nor of their loyalty to you and this village. And likewise they know nothing of me or my alliances. We don't know the skills of each other. Or our preferences for battle. At best, we would only get in each other's way. At worst, you could end up dead or worse. And quite frankly, how much do any of you know of the other villages we are about to engage with? The last thing I desire is to have the blood of my kage on my hands. Unless you can prove to me why you believe us to be an ideal team, I'll have to respectfully decline and ask that you give me another assignment."

Of course, it didn't particularly matter to her if she went on this assignment or not. She would be fine with anything, as long as it got her out of the village. But she needed to get a gauge on this new leader. If he couldn't respond to the simplest of strategic planning, he didn't deserve the title of Raikage.

Katsuro's face became a smile full of teeth before he placed the cigarette back on his lips. He did indeed have an extra cigarette but he didn't normally give them away to anyone. On this special occasion however he chose to deviate from his normal rules and proffered up the soft pack of cigarettes with the metal lighter. As soon as the Kage handed the pack and lighter back to him, Katsuro would pocket them.

Inhaling the cherry flavored smoke into his lungs, he listened to the Kage's proposition. Clearly he was the overly trusting type. Of course Katsuro's unwavering loyalty to the village would be pretty common knowledge, it was just that. If Katsuro perceived the Kage was threatening the village he would have no problem trying to kill the man. Or woman should one become the Kage. And of course the newly arrived Akina made a wonderful point of them most likely getting in each other's way. Katsuro was a wildcard fighter. Capable of being on the offensive, defensive, supplementing someone else, or even providing medical assistance to one of his comrades. Katsuro didn't know which role the others fell into. Though he could make guesses based off what he could see about the others. The unmasked ANBU and the Raikage both probably preferred close quarters combat seeing as they both carried Katanas with them. Akina on the other hand was probably more of a ranged fighter due to the lack of a Katana or other close quarters weapon. But that didn't mean she wasn't a Taijutsu user like he was.

"Akina makes an excellent point, Raikage-sama. We know nothing about each other but a simple deduction could reason that you and the unmasked ANBU both preferred close quarters combat due to the fact you both carry Katanas. Akina is a different story. I see no katanas, no tantos, no weapons like that. Which leads me to think she prefers to stay at range. Of course this could also mean she prefers taijutsu. If you look at me you will see no weapons which should make you think im a long range fighter as well. But I could easily be a taijutsu user or have a weapon or two hidden somewhere about my body, or sealed somewhere on my person. I could also be purely defensive jutsu trying to trap my opponent. Of course the only way for us to work out a way to fight with each other is to train together. And what better way to train than when there are actual consequences to our actions?"

Katsuro believed in that philosophy. It's the philosophy he used to teach his students and if he didn't use the same thing to learn about something he would be a hypocrite. And he hated hypocrites.

It was obvious that the meeting that was going on was less than organized. It was apparent that the Raikage is a new Kage since he is free spirited in terms of not enforcing his power like most Kage tend to do. Sanroku was noticing that unlike the last Kage, this Raikage is a little care free. It was unknown whether this carefree attitude is a good trait or a bad one but considering that he holds such a high ranking position, Sanroku can only have faith in him. The young ANBU trainee was surely still standing erect probably the only awkward one in the group by now seeing as everyone looked a bit loose when considering if they are tense or not. But Sanroku was still raised like a military man and never lost his position. When the Raikage spoke about the Kage Summit and how the Kazekage plans to hold it, the concept was nearly hard to grasp for the young shinobi. Seeing so much high ranking shinobi in one closed room, it is a wealth of information as much as it is glory. The Raikage then offered the honor to guard him in his journey to the summit. The women that arrived spoke her mind first on the idea, she was right to question our teamwork capabilities, but to question the loyalty one has on Kumogakure was unthoughtful which led for Sanroku to suspect the women's loyalty first of all.

Then the man who was resting on the wall spoke after giving the Raikage his cigarette. It appears he also thought that the women was making sense and he also propositioned something that was rather interesting to say the least. If Sanroku heard correctly, the man was trying to create a mission out of a spar between the shinobi in the room. A test to see each others power, which was indeed needed since the man was slightly off on the fighting style that Sanroku prefers seeing as he is a shurikenjutsu specialist and thus works better with distance, nevertheless being a close quarter combatant is also something that Sanroku is working to perfect. It is out of the ordinary for Sanroku to speak without giving the order to speak first, but not only does this Raikage appear to prefer that style of conversation, but it also seemed like the appropriate moment to speak.

"Raikage-sama. I have no place in my rank to tell you what to do, but it will be wiser to let the kunoichi stay for this mission. [Sanroku then looked at Akina] It isn't necessarily for the reason she described, [he then looked back at the Raikage] but instead it is because I believe it is unwise to leave the city with four out of our top five best shinobi." The young shinobi paused for a little bit before he started speaking again. Because he is a sensor, he was able to determine that these shinobi had a larger chakra pool than he does, leading Sanroku to say. "I should certainly go with you, but one of these two should stay as a stand in Raikage. Seeing as the Kunoichi already made her emotions clear that she would rather stay, I vote her in."

Because Sanroku is an analytical person he deducted the fact that the shinobi in the room at the moment were in fact four of the best shinobi in Kumogaure for the simple reasons that, 1. the Raikage said he 'called' us in even though I suspect we all came out of whim because the last Raikage was a regular meet and 2. the Raikage wont actually offer such an important task to just any run of the mill shinobi.

618 Words

"I guess you are right..."

He smirked as he puffed on the cigarette, the taste of cherries now touching his throat. He chuckled as he blew out a large O as he looked at the female then the smaller shinobi. He nodded towards the other smoking shinobi as he stood up. His aura was a bit deeper...priming for a fight. He stared at the three of them, shortly to glare at the female.

"One who holds doubt will also be the one who won't see their highest potential...I may not look like much at the moment, but that is only as much as I allow you to see..."

He smirked as he began to scribble fast upon the paper that he was soon to send to the Kazekage. He scribbled the kanji and symbols rather fast as he hummed. His afro waved slightly due to his head movement, like a ballet. As soon as he was done he puffed again. This time it was a cloud of smoke, nothing too wild, until he removed the cigarette from his lips with his finger. Blowing clear air into the middle of the smoke causing the smoke to look like it was rotating in. Like a whirlpool. He licked the edges of a envelope and pushed the message inside. He walked to the ledge and handed it to the owl. The owl shortly nodded as it let off a deep hoot. The man brought the cigarette to his lips and nodded. The taste of cherries hitting him again. He seriously needed to ask this man where he got the cigarettes from. He walked into the office with a slight smirk upon his lips soon, they soon had a slight ribbon of smoke coming from them. Soon to shape into a ball-like excess. He spoke again as he looked at the three of them with a smile. He grabbed his mask from the desk as he spoke.

"To the rooftops...be ready....and don't hold back. Treat me like an S-Ranked Missing ninja..."

He calmly said as he beckoned them as he walked back out to the ledge. He shortly jumped up to the roof, the clouds could be seen all around... Swirling and thinning like the smoke passing the man's lips. He began to walk to the back of the roof, clatter upon the Tile roof and his Geta could be heard below. He smirked as he cracked his muscles again. Each tendon gave off the ghastly cracking sounds so it seemed. He soon closed his eyes as he formed the tiger seal upon his hand. His feature-less white eyes slowly closed, they nearly illuminated his face before. He let out a soft hum that soon returned to that characteristic Tibetan Throat Vocals that he produced before, just this time they were quite deep and nearly rattled the souls of many shinobi.

"Grooooooooooooooommmmmmm~ Grrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiioooooooooooooommmmmmmm~ Oooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmm~"

He smirked again as he opened his eyes, a puff of smoke began to breach his lips after 30 seconds. He had a nice grin. His teeth being rather plain besides their whiteness. As he looked to the sky he put his index finger on his forehead band and rubbed against the metal plate for his village. Kumo. He sighed as he put on his chameleon mask, the darkness upon him....quite ominous. The cigarette butt fell from the man's face as it bounced slightly on the ground.

His eyes closed slightly again before they pierced open. The sudden change caused the air to suddenly still, the eyes of the man sharper and far more controlled. His deep feature-less white eyes were far more sharp than that of the warmth they had before. The pupil subtle, but still easy to see. The white contrasted his mask's near eternal darkness. The chakra that could be seen by sensors....deep purple was rather dense yet not enraged. He smirked under his mask, speaking once more.

"Let's see if you three can be my par...Work together and try to stop me. This is a no hold's barred spar. I do know that Akina and Katsuro are medical shinobi but we mustn't rely on them. If one of your men is near mortally wounded, you lose. If I am mortally wounded...I lose. Ok?"

He nodded slightly as he placed his hand upon his katana...his prized katana, and the free hand was to his far left side. He smirked as he stared at the three shinobi, the slow grating sounds of his katana against it's Saya (scabbard) filled the air with it's cold and near bloodthirsty sound. The blade featured had it's own taste to it. It was hella distinct. The thunderbolt-like hand guard matched the deep blue Saya and grip on the blade.

The area's winds kicked for a slight second as the breeze FINALLY came back. The picture of the man's afro, mask, and loose obi painted a picture that was well known in the books. The near infamous man Daichi Ringo, the man's father was painted upon the man's area.

So....the battle commences.

WC-828