Sunagakure Gate

[Trigga]

He knew not where this man lived or what his title was in this village, but as he reached out, calling to Ryūsuke—Izuna, it became all the more clearer. So the Uchiha had finally found the man he had been searching for and risked life subverting one of the great shinobi strongholds. Taking a moment to ingest the words, the man, masquerading as an Anbu gave way to an answer—one that suited the situation and his ulterior motives perfectly.

“The man has been taken care of.

[/color]” Regardless of the muffled tone beneath the distortion of the Anbu mask, The man who held the title of Kazekage would surely note the differences in their pitches—their attitudes. Right hand slowly ascending upon the mask which concealed his features would soon be met with five individual digits clenching at its edges. With a gentle tug, the ANBU mask was retrieved from his face—crimson eyes glaring in the breach of light from the sun above.

“She can stay. If you don’t mind, Kazekage.[/color]” She wasn’t going anywhere regardless and whomever she felt she was eluding with her disguise, it would be just as futile as the man who stood before him—his eyes pierced all.

Standing in the open, tossing the mask aside to the ground, Ryūsuke stood motionless; he knew the man who attacked his village would notice him—and the little girl would show her true maturity in time; if not, he could just as easily inform them of each other’s trickery.

”Funny how deceptive humans are.

[/color]”[/right]
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[addy-hime ♥]

[style=width: 310px; font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify]Unlike her companion, the kunoichi would not be able to tell the difference in inflection and tone of the man; to her, he appeared to be any average Sunagakure ANBU. Thin eyebrows raised, curious, when the man lifted his hand to his face and went to remove the form-fitting disguise–

The only thing that kept her from gasping was a quick bite to the inside of her bottom lip, easily breaking the tender flesh and spilling blood into her mouth. This man's face was familiar, but it took several minutes to identify where it was from: the ex-Hokage she had met during her visit to Konohagakure so long ago. Their acquaintance had been brief. However, one could argue that blue hair was just as strikingly memorable as pink.

---

It was at this time that I realized my facade was broken. The brown eyes of my morphed clone stared into the powerful Uchiha eyes of the Hokage, recognizing that he was able to see through my unspoken lies. My lips twitched up into an unhappy smile and I glanced at the Kazekage at my side, wondering if this had been planned. The blue-haired man was certainly not named Izuna, so I could only imagine that some trickery had indeed taken place. I also realized that even if I wanted to leave now, it would be entirely impossible without repercussions, if not from him then from Sunagakure.

"Long time no see, Ryuusuke-sama," I breathed, my voice that of a familiar stranger—me, but not really. Was my game up? Would he inform the Kazekage of my ploy? Even if he did, I would simply destroy this clone and take the consequences that came with it. As of now, I had to assume that the Kazekage had no in-depth knowledge of the situation. "Why are you in Sunagakure? I am trying to form an alliance here." Bold words, I knew. It wasn't as if he we had come to friendly terms during our time together, even if we had also not fallen into the bracket of enemies.

An awkward situation indeed.[/style]

[風影]

Well, wasn't this a surprise?

I knew at once as soon as I heard the man speak that he was not Izuna. His voice was familiar, almost like he was an old friend, but I couldn't quite match it with a face. It was only after he discarded his mask - one that, I assumed, he had taken off of Izuna after dispatching him - that I realized just who I was dealing with. It had been years since we had last met, but it was clear he still bore a vengeance towards Sunagakure - and, for the matter, me; he'd easily be able to see through my facade with his eyes.

"It seems that we all know each other." I cooed, seemingly unfazed by the former Hokage's sudden appearance. Much like the world, I was under the impression he had perished in the attack on his village - who knew he was alive and well this entire time. "It was stupid coming here, of all places, Ryūsuke. Tell me, how is Konohagakure doing?" The sheer venom that laced my words were hard to ignore.

I did not care whether or not he planned to reveal my identity, frankly. In my eyes he was just a fly: just as easily as both Kouketsu and I had destroyed his village, he would be crushed. This was my soil-- my domain, did he really think he would leave here alive?

"Before you do anything stupid, think about your situation. There's only one thing that's keeping you alive, right now." My tone and demeanor were changing with each passing moment. As crimson began to manifest within the depths of my eyes, I almost resembled my real self. "Take that away and I'll have nothing stopping me from killing you right here and hanging your head on a spike for the village to see."

[Trigga]

Looking across as they stood side-by-side, Ryūsuke held a stare of blank emotion—devoid of any sensational reaction and stripped of negative or positive collaboration with his surrounding world. Focused on, his intention clear as day as crimson met with two still-standing entities, the man—the silent infiltrator had come with a purpose and wouldn’t leave until it was met. Yōka had spoken and as easily to see as a white cloud in the blue sky, her lush, pink hair was but perfectly painted before his Sharingan—no mystique could mask her true self from one born of the Clan Uchiha.

Nonetheless, regardless if her face was fresh in his mind and their meeting nothing more than a memory he repressed, her words would go ignored for a moment. Aligning with a man who’s only triumph came in thousands dead and bathing in scarlet. His thoughts would of course go unheard for his mind chambering the acrimony of his retribution perfectly and without hesitation or flaw; his facial expression never changed and his posture was perfectly still, akin to that of a statue before menacing words and familiar faces.

“I wouldn’t know.

[/color]” Inquiring about the state of Konohagakure and her people was nothing more than a contemptuous slap to the face—he refused to feed the man’s disdainful stomach. The uchiha before him, whose eyes burned with the same red hatred that mine currently wielded finally beckoned forth—though I was well aware of it coming, my ability to perceive chakra put aside, he knew he was at a hindrance while my Sharingan remained intact—it was inevitable.

“You stand here confusing a boy’s enmity and ignorance.[/color]” A direct reference to his former self—a sixteen year old Hokage who in all rights shouldn’t have held such a title. “With a man’s maturity and itinerary.[/color]” Strength had come naturally with time and experience, traveling the world, fighting to retain his realm of detachment and finally to reveal himself on his own terms. This man—this Kazekage, or but a false image of the true leader was talking to a man, not the kid who lived on belief alone, no, he now held power.

True enough, he had come here knowing full well its risks and its benefits—a trained mind and honed body making his infiltration successful and now he stood exactly where he wanted; before the Kazekage and alone.

“Tell me,[/color]” He attention now turned towards the smaller girl, playing along with her rather indirect reference to their former affiliation. “Who heads your village now?[/color]” Answers were required before he could make another move; this was but a game of chess and while he stood before two probable threats, unlike them, he came the most prepared.
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[addy-hime ♥]

[style=width: 310px; font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify]The caustic tone the Kazekage flipped to was surprising, to say the least; I tore my gaze from Ryuusuke to stare across at him and furrowed my eyebrows momentarily. I had not expected the ex-Hokage to have this kind of grudge against Sunagakure, but then, I was in many ways naive about the current state of the world. More importantly, I did not know the events that had taken place during the seven years I escaped this continent, but it was easy to infer from this exchange that Konohagakure had not fared well at all.

The tension could have been cut with a knife at this point. I felt it hovering around me like some mystical presence, inadvertently forcing me to ball my hands into fists. My nails dug into my palms lightly and my knuckles whitened as the circulation cut off, but then they relaxed ... and I exhaled. My vision was now fully trained upon the blue-haired Uchiha; I was making a conscious choice to ignore the man that stood at my side. An alliance with this village was my ultimate goal, but so long as my brother was gone I did not care if the new leader saw me in my true form. Indeed, Ryuusuke's address to me merely gave me a logical reason to put aside my disguise.

I stepped forward gracefully between the two men, placing myself as a shield; it was not readily apparently who I was protecting, however. Both? I held no affinity for the Kazekage aside from a shared title, I just did not want a fight to erupt in the village I had once cared so much about. Instead, this physical body of mine blurred—the air around me seemed to haze, as if cold air had been added to the excruciating heat of the desert. As I came back into focus I could feel the rightness of my structure, the slightly taller if still petite frame. I lifted my right hand and brushed back a lock of pink hair, shaking my head as I did so to keep my bangs from clinging to my sweaty forehead.

"I head Takigakure now," I stated simply, the words rather anticlimactic considering my situation. I was perhaps one of the most wanted shinobi Sunagakure had ever known, absconding not only with a title but with the village's scrolls in my possession too. I cocked my head and smiled brightly at Ryuusuke, a sarcastic and bitter expression. "I don't know what happened between you two, but you will not continue to threaten Sunagakure. I thought we were friends, Ryuu-kun?"

I wondered briefly how the new Kazekage would react to seeing a wanted criminal. In the end it would matter very little; my Kage Bunshin assured protection of my true self.[/style]

[風影]

"There is no confusion on my part." I spoke easily, futher attempting to fuel his animosity towards me. "I still see the same weak child that fell when his village needed him the most." It was another contemptuous slap to the fact, but one that surely, even if his emotions had dulled over the years, would still have a resounding effect on his psyche. Had he not lost to Kouketsu that faithful day, his village might have been spared-- I was sure he knew that, just as the world did.

I was about to further remind of such, too, had it not been for the young girl's smart decision to step in between us. Frankly, I hadn't even bothered looking at her since Ryusuke had revealed himself infront of us. I would have been easily about to see through her own disguise had I done so, but she soon revealed herself, eliminating the need to so. To say that I was shocked to see her true form was an understatement-- there wasn't a word to describe just how exactly I was feeling at this moment.

"We all thought you had died." I spoke, in control of not only my voice, but also the emotion that had dared to grace my countenance. Even so, there was still a hint of disdain in my voice; considering Youka's situation as a rouge shinobi, it might have seemed to be attributed to such. It was much deeper than that, however. "You are both not welcome here. Leave, before I forcibly remove you." My words were extended to not only Ryusuke, but to Youka as well.

My leniency wasn't to be taken lightly. Her presence within my village was as unwanted as the former Hokage's, if not even worse. She was my sister, the only one left of our esteemed Etsuko clan aside from myself, but she had also committed treason by fleeing her village. Though I had done the same many months prior to her own defection, I hadn't been Kage at the time-- I didn't leave the village to fend for itself when it truly needed her.

Stepping back, I deactivated my Sharingan.

"Don't try my patience."

[Trigga]

This man, this oblivious fool continued to punch away at the Hokage’s patience, trying every nerve and barrier of patience that kept his hands from dispersing this miserable cloud of smoke. Maintaining his self-composure however, Ryūsuke didn’t bother raising his voice or hands towards the man, it was inane and truly unwise in his village. A child he saw, huh? It seemed the years had truly tarnished his eyes as well as his rationality and if he truly peered upon the same boy that attempted to save his people then surely the Uchiha had gained something during his endeavor--- an understanding of his ignorant the people that encircled his life truly were.

The woman had stepped forward and flowing from her own veil by means of cancelation, Ryūsuke found his crimson orbs settling upon waves of lively pink—just as odd as his own cascading blue. “Have I threatened Sunagakure? Has any of her people died by my hands?

[/color]” Vague, but never the truer as the former Hokage returned a riposte to defend himself from the woman’s curiosity. It should have been obvious enough. If he truly wanted to devastate this village, it would be just as easily as his infiltration. If he hadn’t decided to reveal himself, he could have easily used his disguise to shatter its walls and quake its foundation.

“I have no grudge against you Yōka, but if you plan to align yourself with the man who laughed as thousands were killed, then you truly have fallen.[/color]” Few know of the mysterious Uchiha’s part in the previous war—just as sly as he was using this guise to control Sunagakure, he lurked in the shadows only to reveal himself at the end--- he was nothing more than a snake. Abhorrent; Ryūsuke didn’t know how he was so calm standing before the man who aided Kōketsu and while seeing the true warrior that hurled that meteor at his home, it was just as calming to see the Deceiver who stood by and watched it turn to ash.

Oh guard and tuned into his surroundings, Ryūsyuke had become more cautious of those around him, Yōka revealing herself as a possible threat and knowing full well the Kazekage to be one, he would inquire as his muscles tensed with the deactivation of his opposition’s sharingan; his syncing as well in cancelation. “Before I go, tell me this…[/color]” He cleared his throat.

”What did you gain from watching my people die? What did you receive from helping Kōketsu send thousands of helpless men, women and children to the afterlife?

[/color]”[/right]
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[addy-hime ♥]

[style=width: 310px; font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify]We all thought you had died.

The sentence, while controlled in tone, was painted with a vague sort of disdain that I could not place. I visibly winced at this, as if it were a physical blow to my body; only Ryuusuke would be privy to the sight of my reaction, however. I wanted it that way. The muscles in my body had tensed inadvertently beneath my sand-colored cloak which, I mused, had never looked so at home as this in the seven years since I left Sunagakure to fend for herself. I decided then that his disdain was correctly placed even if he did not understand my story, did not know the pain this place had caused me my entire life. In the end it had taken both my beloved brothers from me, not to mention the countless other Etsukos that no longer breathed.

"Kazekage-sama, I understand your contempt for my being and what I have done," I spoke over my shoulder, refusing to look back at him, "and I realize that I am not welcome here. However, I have not come to Sunagakure to threaten her or make you uncomfortable. I have come here seeking an alliance for a village that has been crushed by war. If you do not aid us, chances are the villagers will perish and you will no longer have political control over a battalion of shinobi placed in a very strategic location ..."

Ryuusuke cut in and I refocused my vision on him, blinking to clear some of the emotion from my face. Despite this, I knew my confusion shown through clearly—this Kazekage had birthed destruction onto Konohagakure? I shook my head. Considering the barb-filled exchange between the two this piece of knowledge certainly made sense. I listened as my friend ranted to this man about the death of his people and my heart squeezed; I knew that kind of pain. I had caused that kind of pain myself through the same man, although I had not stood by and laughed at it. I had not helped him. No, it was my mere existence that caused him to so needlessly slaughter.

I allowed my arms to go limp at my sides and turned my palms to face Ryuusuke: a signal that would show I did not mean to attack him without saying so. In addition, I slowly closed the distance between us until I was standing at his side and turned to face the Kazekage fully. "And you say I do not belong here, Kazekage-sama?" I questioned, head cocking to punctuate my sentence. "I will tell you something. When I ruled here, none of my shinobi wished war upon another village. Yes, my family had a grudge against Konoha for the death of our brother, but that was a personal matter. When I left the village I took my caustic thoughts with me and met Ryuusuke, then Hokage of that hated place. As a leader, it is your job to avoid needless wars, not destroy other villages for the sake of ... what? Power?"

I paused long enough to take a slow breath, my eyes locked fully upon the man that now headed the village I loved so very much. "I do not condone what you have done. But because I am a leader," I glanced up to Ryuusuke, hoping he would understand my position, "my offer of alliance still stands. I do this for the good of my village; what I think of you personally does not matter any more."

I reached out my hand and slid it through Ryuusuke's arm, squeezing it to my body in what could be construed as a comforting gesture. I knew there was no amount of words or convictions that could heal his hatred for this man; I would probably hate him too, had Konohagkure been my village. I leaned up and planted a kiss on my friend's cheek, and then pressed my own cheek to his. With this positioning the back of my head was facing the Kazekage, allowing me to whisper something to Ryuusuke undetected and so low it was lost beneath the wind. "You are welcome in Takigakure any time, friend."

With that, my body dispersed into nothingness. Dust in the wind. ^exit![/style]

[marvolous.]

OOC: Sorry for the wait guys!

“I have no grudge against you Yōka, but if you plan to align yourself with the man who laughed as thousands were killed, then you truly have fallen."

He was wrong. Kouketsu and I had infiltrated Konohagakure on the premise of sending a message, nothing more. While I took part in ensuring the Hokage fell, I hadn't known what was about to happen that fateful day-- not a fiber of my being would have condoned such a thing had I been privy to that information. Kouketsu, acting on his own whim, had summoned the one fabled Uchiha ability to destroy Konohagakure. It happened, there was no changing that; though I would have undoubtedly fought against such measures had I been aware, I did not regret how things played out.

Instead of giving an answer to a question I was sure the former Hokage had pondered over the many years, I simply watched him and Youka as she delivered a speech of contempt towards my actions. I wanted to fire back at her, to tell her that she had no business speaking as if she knew anything about what had occurred after she had fled the village unannounced, but I held my composure, knowing full well that any sign of emotion, or even a slight discrepancy in my disguise would give me away to her.

She knew me better than anyone. For the sake of both of our villages, it was prudent that 'Soratsu' remained dead, at least for now. As a result, I said nothing; I allowed her the opportunity to give her friend and my enemy what appeared to be a hug, and simply watched as she vanished. It was only then that I found the need to speak once more-- to finally give Ryuuzuke the closure that he surely sought.

"I gained nothing. Don't misunderstand, I received no satisfaction from watching your village turn to ashes, and your people killed. Their deaths were casualties of war, and paved the way to several untainted years of peace." I spoke, my eyes never failing to leave Ryuzuke's own despite his Sharingan staring back at me. "The attack on your village was inevitable, just as war is. As long as the shinobi regime remains strong throughout the world, there will always be destruction, and death."

I paused.

"As long as the shinobi regime remains strong, I will be there to do whatever is needed to cause it to crumble."

[Trigga]

Yōka’s words were reassuring and truly displaced the notion he once felt about the woman moments ago. She was nothing like the man who stood before him—at least from what he could gather initially. Her purity in words was only superseded by the neutrality in her mannerisms. Ryūsuke however, as he felt her soft lips against his skin before standing in the wake of smoke found himself faced with the true reason for his presence here. A man who had caused him so much strife over the better part of a decade, he was within a finger’s length and so vulnerable—it would have been so easy.

Alas, the Uchiha made no move against him, he stood motionless.

He had come to make conversation—to find closure and he wouldn’t leave without accomplishing both. As hard as it was to stand before a murderer whose hands barely touched blood, it was just as difficult—if not more to continuing living without knowing the truth behind it all.

“Several years of untainted peace, eh?

[/color]” So that was their lead; their push to an unreachable goal—clasping to god to command something that could truly never exist. “Ignorance is truly bliss.[/color]” It was the only explanation as to how a man who claimed no satisfaction could sit by peacefully realizing it was with his assistance that tens of thousands—maybe even hundreds died in a single day.

He halted the rest of his words, giving the anonymous Uchiha time to finish his words of self-imposed justice under the claim of attaining peace by destroying the Shinobi World. Nonetheless, Ryūsuke had enough of these false realities and delusions of grandeur. Tossing the porcelain mask against the wall, the Uchiha attempted to grab the Kazekage’s attention with its thunderous crack and proclamation of hindrance.

“Peace for the world at the expense of the very people you claim to fight for—a absurdity if I’ve ever seen one. [/color]” He paused, giving time for the man’s understanding and realization of the depth emphasized through his words alone.

“War and death existed far before the age of Shinobi and will continue to exist long after its fabled collapse. However, you fail to realize the difference between the people you’ve killed and the ideal they stood for bravely against you despite knowing their lives would come to end soon.[/color]”

Stepping closer, Ryūsuke found himself but feet away from the man, looking clearly through his façade and deep into the man who upheld the title of the Wind Shadow.

“We are susceptible as humans; our bones break, our bodies age and we bleed crimson. We can die—however, a Shinobi isn’t a man, it’s an idea. No matter how many ninja your hands take away, another will take its place. This world has seen the potential of a Shinobi to do good and bad and someone will want to fill those roles—and that alone will keep this system you’ve worked so hard to destroy alive long after you and I have both died.[/color]”

Another paused, gathering his thoughts in attempts to keep himself for flustering his words and overwhelming his composure.

“You took my home, yet I still stand before you—as alive as I was seven years ago. My body will eventually fail me, but what I stand for will continue to echo through the walls of Konohagakure and through the world. Our names will forver be etched into the annals of history for all to see and to draw inspiration from. You attacking my home—me defending it—those are the events people dream for--- those events are what people live. You or even Kōketsu will never be able to destroy something as strong as an ideal without taking every last person from this world—erasing history is impossible so long as theres a future to imagine.[/color]”

“So long as even one child has the hopes of becoming a Shinobi, you’ve put those thousands of lives in vain for nothing.[/color]”

“So long as there are people like me, people who’ve seen the world from a different prospective and want change, everything you’ve accomplished to this point is nothing more than weightless ambitions.[/color]”

He paused.

“How many more children and parents in body-bags more do you have to see to realize what you’re chasing is a dream of delusional child?[/color]”
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[marvolous.]

Is this what he had waited eight long years for? The opportunity to lecture me on things I knew he could not fully understand?. He spoke so clearly and adamantly about how my actions were wrong, but history shown otherwise; it was unheard of for a world filled with shinobi nations to all remained peaceful, let alone draft a treaty that ensured peace would remain.

It was because of the actions of Kouketsu, Ue, and myself that such peace had been attained. Eight full length years - and the number was still growing. It wasn't an unreachable goal, our desires had already come to fruition.

"As many as needed." I matched his movement with one of my own, narrowing the distance even more. "You are so quick to preach your own pacifist ideologies that you fail to fully realize that my actions were successful. Even if it was only eight years, the fact remains that the world was peaceful. We both want the same thing, Ryuzuke."

Even if he hated to admit it, we were both birthed from the same cloth. We shared the same destination, but our paths were different - nothing else. It would all eventually lead to the same place, the question was who would reach there first. I wasn't afraid to take the quick and more effective route, but it was clear the former Hokage was.

"You are afraid to do what is needed-- to take matters into your own hand, thats the only thing that separates us. Pacifism isn't the answer, it's just a disguised form of fear." Instinctively, my Sharingan once again blessed my visage; I could almost feel the sheer electricity being emitted as our perpetual gazes met. "As long as you have that fear you will always be weak."

[Trigga]

“And you’re so quick to praise the act of murder to justify this skewed concept of ‘peace’ you cling so heavily to,

[/color]” Words exchanged with the most venomous intent, it seemed the two Niidaime didn’t share the same prospective on what true peace was. Both strong in their own right and both capable of achieving this seemingly infinite goal, it all came down to which one would do it the most efficiently; Ryūsuke []iknew[/i] The Kazekage was only piling his debt to the world which each word he spoke and each soul he clasped.

He was true in his claim that the two shared the same end objective—peace. Birthed from the same fabric, though weaved using different means, this didn’t disclose the fact that Ryūsuke and Sora were both simply dissimilar sides of the same coin. The Uchiha however wouldn’t dare allow himself to succumb to the ideals of his acquaintance, however.

“If I wanted to kill, I could do so easily—your guards who these armor inserts belong to would have been testament enough.[/color]” Unstrapping the Sunaakure equipment from his body and tossing it to the ground, Ryūsuke was wise enough to keep his sights on Sora, his sharingan brightening the prospective he once shared with the world in case the Kazekage interrupted his disrobing.

“However it seems I’m the only one who cherishes the lives of others—even their assumed enemies. Realize this, it takes a weaker man to slay a defenseless foe or a defeated opponent—it takes empathy and true strength of mind to force one to learn from their mistakes and give them a chance to right their wrongs--- that’s the difference between us, Sora. Not strength of body, but strength of mind.[/color]”
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[marvolous.]

It seemed there would be no convincing Ryuzuke. I could tell-- and feel-- the sheer venom that licked his words; I was sure it was taking alot to hold himself back, to give in to the temptation to strike me down here and now. I said nothing, just meagerly gazed at him as he removed the stolen equipment. When he was finished, and his words had long but left his lips, I turned around - almost beckoning him to take the opportunity.

"You've gotten what you wanted." Would he take it? Was his revolve really that strong? "Leave my village. After everything that happened to Konohagakure, that's the least I can do." Regardless of whether or not he obliged to my order, a slow gait would lead me further and further away from him.

I had transcended only a small distance before I turned once more, offering him a simple glance and the words that followed.

"Though I do not agree with your ways," I began, my voice somewhat different - almost... emphatic. "I was wrong. You are a different man, I can see it in your eyes."

With that, I vanished.

[Trigga]

And he had vanished. There the Uchiha stood in the presence of his own, empty of others to harm or judge him for his actions since entering Sunagakure; it was now his time to leave. Taking the two unconscious bodies from the dumpster and placing their armor around their bearings, he would leave the village undetected. The two would meet once more, his Sharingan would be well-documented and his words engraved into Ryūsuke’s mind for later consideration.

---

. exit