THE KAZEKAGE ADMINISTRATION

[Shinryu]

"My name's Raizel, I'm the new Kazekage."

---

Ryuuji kept his face stone sombre as he heard the comment, although his mind was swimming with questions. A new Kazekage? It was news to him. When had the elections taken place? HAD the elections taken place, even? Or was this man merely and impostor? Either way, he would have to play this meeting relatively low-key. Better to discover what he could through small-talk than to make accusations.

"Ah, is that so? I wasn't aware that the Daimyo had come and gone. When I left the village three moons ago, there were still but whispers of what had happened to your... predecessor. Then again, who am I to challenge the will of the village council and it's jounin troops?"

He said it all courteously, although he knew something wasn't quite right with the whole fiasco. Regardless, if this man indeed WAS the new Kazekage, Ryuuji would have plenty of time to learn more about him over the coming weeks.

"Forgive our intrusion, but as I said before, we seem to have captured a foreign shinobi wandering our lands. By the mask he bears, he appears to be ANBU. We thought perhaps he might be of some use to the village, so we brought him back. I wonder perhaps if our ANBU mightn't be lurking around. Surely someone from Black Ops ought to be responsible to take him to be detained and interrogated?"

It was to be expected surely. The Sunagakure ANBU must have been around somewhere in some fashion. Ryuuji could only reason that this Raizel fellow knew where they were, if he was who he claimed to be.

"There is that, and hopefully the matter of some reward to be discussed. Not to presume or to be greedy, of course."

He would say no more in front of this new Kage; at least not until discussions went further. Of course his entire manner of speaking had changed somewhat, and he had wished no-one else had been around to hear it, but after playing the political game for so long, and hiding under covers and facades of himself, Ryuuji was aware of which situations called for which social graces and wasn't going to act his brash Nineteen-year-old self around someone of such stature.

He only hoped things would work themselves out without any further conflict.

[風影]

Nakajima Ryuuji... he would be useful in the future.

Though I spoke to both of them, my gaze never left his own. I was merely watching him, trying to gauge his motives - if any, that is - and any clues to his thought process. I wasn't oblivious to his rather straight forward attempt at drawing information from me, even when he kept his countenance stoic and his words light. It was interesting, to say the least. Not only did the village lack any sort of information on him, but he was stone cold unreadable - very interesting, indeed.

"The Daimyo, being an important figurehead to not just Sunagakure, had enough on his plate that coming all the way out here just to appoint a successor was too much of a hassle. He entrusted the village council in dealing with such affairs, and, well -- this is the result."

I smiled, allowing my eyes to falter from Ryuuji's as they sought to analyze the captured man. He seemed incapacitated, perhaps even completely paralyzed, but he was also coherent. Had it not dawned on them to ensure he was unconscious before leading him so deep within the village?

"Was he blindfolded?" I ignored his comment about the ANBU; this was far more pressing. "I do hope you two were smart enough not to lead him here while he was still conscious." With a simple push of a button I called downstairs to my assistant. She picked up immediately, her voice reverberating throughout the room like she was here with us. "Send a medic to my office, please. Also, bring me what I asked earlier."

A simple 'okay' was given, and then her voice was gone. It would be a couple minutes until the medical staff arrived, so I had plenty of time to address their inquiries.

"Yes, you will be rewarded handsomely for your work. As for you, Masuyo--" I turned to him. "I've been made aware of your status in the village. Rest assured, you will be made an official asset of Sunagakure."

[Messatsu!]

Seated and comfortable, Masuyo focused in on this 'new' kazekage who he came to know as Raizel. For the most part, Ryuuji took the hot seat and immediately divulged about the situation regarding the masked man and his abrupt capture. Masuyo nearly cringed at the idea of interrogating and even torturing the him, personally feeling that torture in and of itself would've been quite extreme. Despite his distaste for torturing, he opted not to voice his opinion on the subject which would've undoubtedly lead to some kind of opposition. Besides, after a few brief moments of reflecting on the past, Masuyo remembered himself as an 'extremist' as he once did any and all things under the guise of saving his sister. As Ryuuji's words ended, Raizel's superceded, namely jabbing at the fact that the two failed to keep the mans eyes from seeing all that there had to be seen.

Paying it no mind, Masuyo's attention solidified as Raizel spoke of a reward soon after mentioning that he'd supposedly been aware of Masuyo's residency and status within Sunagakure - perhaps information passed down from Soratsu? And with that, Masuyo had one thing, and one thing only to say.

"I don't mean to sound overly eager, but this reward, what'd you have in mind?"

[Shinryu]

The stoic demeanor on Ryuuji's face did not fade, although he did relax himself a bit now that the matter of their reward had been settled. Albeit, he had some concerns about the prisoner. He wasn't sure whether or not the other shinobi had gone through with it, but he did recall specifically asking Masuyo to blindfold the captive.

"Well, I didn't blindfold him, but then, it would be hard for someone of my demeanor to do so..."

He lead in once again demonstrating his composition, as his fingers reached for the familiar packet of cigarettes, the front of the pocket they were held in dissolving around his fingers as he pulled them out. He cracked open the top and slid one out, before remembering his present company.

"Ah...where are my manners..." He started, before smiling a bit with a filter wedged between his sandy lips.

"Would you care for one, Kazekage-sama? Or you, Masuyo-san?"

He would of course wait for their consent before lighting up, however, another issue remained that he felt he ought to clarify, cigarette or no.

"Anyway, as I was saying, I didn't blindfold our prisoner; however, I did give succinct instructions to Masuyo to do so. I'm honestly not sure if he followed them or not. Then again, being that the captive was lugged over Masuyo's shoulder, I very much doubt he saw anything but the sand beneath our feet."

With that summed up quite plainly, Ryuuji smiled again, waiting to hear what Raizel had to say on the matter. If all went over well, this could turn out to be very profitable for him.

[風影]

"I don't mean to sound overly eager, but this reward, what'd you have in mind--"

"Easy, child. You put the entire village as risk by bringing this man here without blindfolding him. You shouldn't get anything."

I cut through his words with ease, my drastic change of demeanor illuminated by the sheer venom that coated my words. Though my voice had lowered to a near whisper in response, my face remained blank - it was almost like I had done a complete 180° in a matter of seconds. With a simple hand gesture I turned down Ryuuji's offer, my gaze - after nearly glaring at Masuyo - returning to their prisoner.

"Don't underestimate a shinobi, Ryuuji. Take a look at the mask concealing his face-- what kind of shinobi are known to don such an accessory?" It was a rhetorical question. "ANBU, are. Now, most likely he just found the mask somewhere, or - though less likely - he could actually be one of his village's elite shinobi. Regardless... as foolish as it was leading him here without shielding his eyes, you both have also gifted the village with the opportunity to--"

I stopped, the sound of several knocks interrupting my speech; I had almost forgotten that I had asked my assistant to come to my office with a medic. "Come in, Naomi." Within moments my door swung open once more. There, standing under the door frame was a single medic and my assistant, Naomi. In her hand were two small pouches, not much bigger than a wallet, but filled with an assortment of ryo and several other valuable items.

"As I was saying, as a result of your actions we now have the opportunity to gain intel on whatever village this man hails from. Since this is your catch, Ryuuji, I want you heading the interrogation. One of my personal bodyguards will be accompanying you to make sure everything runs smoothly." Again, I looked back over at Masuyo. "While Ryuuji is handling that business, I have a specific mission only you can handle."

"Kazekage-sama..."

"--Oh yes, I almost forgot." I pointed at the pouch in my assistant's hand. "In there is a small token of my gratitude for all that you've done for the village. Spend it however you'd like."

[marvolous.]

"Kazekage-sama." I appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, directly behind Masuyo. My entrance was both soundless and virtually instanaenous, allowing me to enter unnoticed for both Ryuuji and Masuyo were both facing the Kazekage, and Naomi with her medic were both busy attending to the prisoner.

Though my face remained obscured and my body cladded in what seemed to be ANBU armor, Masuyo would easy know who I was just by my voice. I wasn't here for him, however.

"Ryuuji." I called out. "Come with me."

[Messatsu!]

Reizel's words were sharper than any samurai's sword, cutting down and through his words with little effort. Granted, Masuyo's method of bringing the man in proved to be quite careless, however, it got the job done had it not? Opting to be more optimistic than pessimistic, Masuyo only saw and reflected upon the benefits and advantages that came with capturing said ANBU. Unless the man acquired some sort of photographic memory, Masuyo failed to think of any possible way that would have allowed the masked man to mark and pinpoint Sunagakure's location. Yet again, Masuyo found himself patiently listening to Raizel as he turned his attention over towards Ryuuji, motioning towards the imminent interrogation that Ryuuji had been left to lead.

A moment later, Raizel's attention fell upon Masuyo for the second third time and claimed he had a specific task in store for Masuyo. The one-sided proposal seemed quite un-elaborated and inauspicious, almost as if he wanted Masuyo to carry out some secret, morally gray mission. Thereafter, Raizel spoke of a reward, however, the thought had been nearly flushed out of Masuyo's head as a familiar voice superceded Raizel's own.

"It can't be. . ."

The voice spilled out into the room from behind, ominously so, which altered Masuyo immediately. A quick and simple turn of the head allowed Masuyo to peek back over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of Soratsu. His hand remained latched onto the masked mans wrist, keeping him limp and unable to move. He almost grinned in reaction to Sora's appearance, having not seen him in what -to Masuyo- were several years. The laws of time within Mount youbin differed greatly than Earth's own. Nonetheless, even though he immediately spoke to Ryuuji, Masuyo allowed enough time for Ryuuji to respond before taking the floor himself with a jokingly cordial tone.

"Well, I thought you'd have forgotten my about my previous arm by now. Looks like I was wrong. "

[Shinryu]

"My sincerest apologies, Kazekage-sama. Should such an instance present itself again, I will most assuredly make certain that the other party follows my instructions."

Ryuuji stood curtly, puffing on the cigarette between his lips, before bowing to the kazekage. He heard his name called, and turned to face the newcomer, nodding his confimation.

"Let me just grab my new little plaything and we'll head to the dungeons, shall we?"

I would motion to Masuyo to remove his hand, and perhaps to give the other ninja the instruction to blindfold him as he had forgotten to do earlier.

"At the very least we can cover his eyes in here so he can't find his way out of the building we're taking him to."

Assuming all would go as planned, he would make to bow again at Raizel, and to hoist the hopefully now properly blinded and bound ninja over his shoulder. Once done of course he would take his offered reward from the nurse and let it assimilate into the sandy essence of his form, keeping it safe for the time being. If the money within was good, he might be able to keep himself supplied with smokes for a good long while... As for the masked nin? Well, he was about to learn exactly what the limits of his threshold for pain were... and how long he could last once they were breached.

[marvolous.]

"There's no need for that." I responded to Ryuuji, ignoring Masuyo's comment entirely. I turned around and stepped backwards with that, my right arm extending outwards as my digits sought to grasp the man's mask. It was removed and tossed to the side instantly, leaving his bare countenance to succumb to the electric shock of my touch. "This will keep him out while we transfer him." The instant my fingers touched his face the man would be rendered unconscious. It wouldn't last for long, but it would suffice for now.

"Follow me." I instructed once finished. By now the man was on Ryuuji's shoulder, hoisted, bound, and unconscious. Once everything was set, we would leave the office to just my shadow clone and Masuyo. "We'll be heading down to the basement. It's far enough down that no one will be able to hear him scream."

---

Sutangan no Jutsu (Limb Stunning Technique)

Exit.

[風影]

"Don't worry about it, Ryuuji." I smiled, again, switching demeanors like it was nothing. "Just don't it let it happen again." There was nothing else to be said. All that was given was a simple nod; one to Ryuuji to illustrate my acknowledgement of his departure, and another to my bodyguard. Just as quickly as he arrived, he left; Naomi returned downstairs to her office, whilst the medic attending to our prisoner returned to her own duties; leaving just Masuyo and myself in my office.

"As I was saying, I need you to complete a personal mission for me." I stood, my feet bringing me to the side of my office. There, with a simple push of a button, the bookcase taking up most of the wall shifted in place. Almost like a revolving door, the movement of the bookcase revealed a hidden vault built in behind it. "I've found that your specific abilities will come in handy when doing this task. However, just to make sure everything runs smoothly--" Putting in the numbered combination, I opened the vault.

A simple scroll was removed from it's center, as was a map and two mere kunai - both of which were marked with the same seal that was on his arm. All four items were tossed onto my desk infront of Masuyo; they were now his responsibility.

"In the scroll is a technique once considered forbidden throughout the world. Practice it, learn it - become good with it; you'll need it for the mission." I ordered, once again taking my seat. "Your task is simple: I need you to infiltrate both Iwagakure and Kumogakure and place those kunai in each of the two villages. This will be an S-rank mission, should you fail and get caught, Sunagakure will cut all ties with you, and you will be left to fend for yourself. Understood?"

I did not need to explain the reasoning behind this mission to Masuyo, of all people.

---

Ryuuji's Pouch: 25,000 Ryo.

[Messatsu!]

Masuyo's grin awkwardly eased itself back into a serious expression as Soratsu blatantly ignored every word that had been intended for his ears. Taking the hint, his attention left Soratsu as it soon turned towards Raizel, who, began motioning towards Masuyo's specific set of abilities that made the initially mysterious mission ideal just for him. Focusing in on the newly revealed vault, Raizel successfully opened its door and retrieved a folded scroll that, according to Raizel, would have been quite helpful on the mission. Heeding his demands and parameters, the task itself sounded overly simple, however, as a shinobi of countless years, he came to realize that the simplest of things had always been the most difficult. Ordered to infiltrate Kumogakure and Iwagakure, mentally, his first choice instantly became Iwagakure, a foreign land he'd never stepped foot in.

Nonetheless, in addition to the scroll, two kunai had been given to Masuyo to carry, both if which had been marked with the same ink and design as the one sprawled across his own left arm. At that moment he realized that either Raizel had been extremely close with Soratsu, or he had been nothing more than a cover-up. Either way, Masuyo definitely knew what to do with both Kunai once his destination had been reached. Masuyo nodded his head to confirm that he understood the entirety of Raizel's words. Once Raizel finished speaking, Masuyo merely left the now unmasked and unconscious man with the Sunagakure natives and made his way towards Iwagakure.

[/Exit]

[Shinryu]

But of course, everything had gone as had been expected, and thus, carrying the body of the unconscious ninja, Ryuuji followed the Anbu as instructed, to the dungeons.




[exit]

[Trigga]

Ryuu- 40 (Plus 25k ryo)
Naga- 39
Gene- 37
Naga’s main account- 15

[Hronica]

SPOILER: Click to show

Investigating the Desert
Rank: C.
Shinobi Required: 1.
Mission Information: In order to protect the Hidden Village of the Sand from impending threats, random shinobi are often sent beyond the village gates into the wild to scout and discover travelers that intend to infiltrate the secret location. The shinobi must simply exit through the village gates, investigate, and return with a full, written report of their adventure in the wild. However, due to the lowered expectations of difficulty pertaining to the mission, any Sunagakure ninja sent on this mission are not expected to combat or intercept potential threats, but are expected to give assistance to any inflicted, endangered civilians. The maximum amount of time spent during their adventure into the wild cannot exceed more than three days; if one does not return after that duration, they will be assumed Nuke and sought after.
Special Information: Repeatable. Intermediate.
Reward: 50 EXP & 1,000 Ryo.

Yulo approached the mission kiosk, handing in the mission he had just completed. He patiently waited for his reward before exiting the compound.

Mission here.

[/justify]

[風影]

With a stamp of approval, the young genin would be given his payment.

---

EXP/Ryo Given!