A blur of white entered the ground floor of the Spire, and without pause swiftly climbed through its levels until finally coming to a stop on the 10th and final floor, all the way at the top of the massive structure. The clone of Shinji crossed through the waiting room and gave a soft knock upon the door to the office. He wondered who Lord Kenshin had decided to leave in charge of the village. Knowing him, the new Kage would be more than capable of handling the task, but he also knew that the position came with its own share of hardships that could overwhelm new leaders in the early days of their tenure. The clone took a step away from the door and awaited an invitation inside, holding the transcription of Empress Unki's message at his side. Shinji glanced around the waiting room a moment. 'How long has it been since I've been up here?
After his real body caught up with the clone standing at the Kage's door, Shinji and his duplicate exchanged looks of concern before the latter handed over Unki's correspondence and evaporating into a cloud of smoke. Shinji wasn't looking forward to being the bearer of grim news, but given the gravity of the situation, if couldn't be helped. After being dragged, rather suddenly, into a telepathic meeting with the rest of the jinchuriki, and being made aware of the next threat from the Jashinists as a result, a report needed to be made.
Fear wasn't exactly at the forefront of the emotions this information had dug up for him. It was there, of course, just not particularly noticeable amidst the myriad of thoughts racing through his mind. Three of the other hosts, for Chomei, Kurama, and Saiken in particular, had made the journey to gather intel on the strange, dark sensation they had all collectively felt. And the visions he saw in that crystal, the woman at the head of all this chaos, her chilling invitationโฆ It was making his head spin.
Tumultuous times have become the new "normal" for the Shinobi world, and in Shinji's experience the best way to press through them is to start with alerting the necessary party's and make a plan. "The battle has started," he heard Gyuki's voice echoing in his mind. The beast was still residing within the deeper telepathic space, relaying vital information while he made preparations in the physical world. Their relationship might still be new and tenuous, but for now they seemed to be able to work towards common goals well enough. 'Thanks for the update. It seems like our timetable might be reduced significantly.'
"Lord Arashikage! There's an important matter I must discuss with you."
The twins stood either side of the office, looking through verious files as Shinji spoke to them. Both of them would look toward the door at the same time. Although they don't remember meeting this shinobi, they did remember reading his file. "Ah sorry we've been very busy with trying to bring the village back to operating standards..." Hotaru would say, trailing off at the end before he would place down the document he had in his hand. The male would then go behind the desk and stand. Seo on the other hand would remain where she was at, not particularly caring to pull her attention away from her task at hand. "What is it Shinji? It is Shinji correct?" Hotaru's byakugan traced over Shinji's form, activating them for a brief moment before they would return to normal.
Shinji stepped into the office room after being addressed by the first of the twin Arashikage's. He understood the workload that was placed on their shoulders was likely more intense than he realized at first. After all, so many changes happening in such rapid fashion had left the village out of sorts in various ways. And at the helm of this mighty flying fortress they called home, the Kage was tasked with restoring and maintaining a delicate balance.
Shinji was dreading the news he had to relay to them. If it were up to him, he would try and act in solitude if only to let them focus on the task of rebuilding. Unfortunately, this wasn't a matter to take lightly, and the repercussions for any missteps along the way were steep. Gyuki had fallen silent, which he could only assume meant there weren't any further developments that warranted his immediate attention. Shinji took a few more steps and stopped in the center of the room, glancing from Hotaru to Seo then back again. He wasn't sure who he should address, so he opted to shift his attention between them as he spoke.
"Well," he began, pausing to clear his throat. "I have some troubling news. The Jashinists are making their next move. Now. Likeโฆ right now." He shifted uncomfortably and paused to let that information sink in. Gyuki's voice, as if on queue, popped into his mind. 'You're stalling. Get to the point.' Shinji's expression shifted from apprehension to annoyance for a moment as he shot a response to the eight-tails. "No I'm not."
It took a second for him to realize that he had spoken out loud. "Uhโฆ Sorry, that's embarrassing. That was meant for this guy," Shinji apologized, pointing at his abdomen. The gesture was meant to refer to Gyuki, but to those uninitiated to his situation he likely just looked crazy. 'I'm not stalling, I'm easing them in. Just let me know if anything changes.' Gyuki grumbled a bit, but Shinji ignored it. "Also, I've got something from the Empress for ya'," he added, holding up the small scroll with Unki's correspondence inside.
For the most part, Seo would ignore Shinji coming into the room. Hotaru on the other hand would be a much more welcoming host to the shinobi and obviously more attentive. At the mention of the Jashinists, Seo's head would perk up and face Shinji for the first time since he had entered the room. "I guess we can't seem to catch a break for even a moment brother. We'll have to alert the shinobi... the ones that are left and able to be sent out." Seo would say to her brother, Hotaru slowly nodding in agreement with his sister. Both of them would look at Shinji at his sudden outburst that he quickly explained away. The twins didn't seem all that bothered and chose to say nothing about the minor incident.
"Can't say it couldn't have come at a worst time Shinji. The village is low on supplies after the recent issues we've had." Hotaru would say honestly as he walked around the desk to approach Shinji. The man would reach up and grab the scroll from Unki. He would look it over, his sister gaining the information as he read through it. After reading it over Hotaru walked back to his desk to transcribe a short response to the empress.
"Dearest Empress Unki,
We would be happy to welcome your presence within our village to discuss our village's alliance. We must say this couldn't have come at a greater time as the current events require we hold our closest friends even closer. Please to let us know when you will be arriving so we can make sure to have proper arrangments for you and any entourage you wish to bring. Please do travel safe, it's strange times we find ourselves in.
Sincerely, Hotaru & Seo, Yondaime Arashikage"
Once the letter was finished, he would place it within an envelope and bring it back to Shinji before handing it over to him. "Please do bring this back to Empress Unki at your earliest convenience. In the mean time we'll see if we can get a team together to assist against the Jashinist. We'll need to put the village into high alert. We can't afford another attack right now so we need everyone to be on their toes in case it comes here." Hotaru would turn on his heels, discussing with his sister what he thought they needed to do. Although he hadn't officially dismissed Shiniji, he was free to leave at any time as the twins began bickering between themselves what the best course of action would be.
Shinji laughed somewhat nervously at the mention of the terrible timing. He had anticipated that sort of reaction, but that didn't make it any more ideal. "Yes sir. I'd be happy to help with the restoration effort, after this impending storm clears," he offered, procuring a pair of empty scrolls from deep within his robes. While Hotaru was preparing a response for the empress, he poured chakra into them and made a one-handed seal, causing a small fuuin inscription form on each of them.
Shinji nodded as the Arashikage instructed him to deliver that letter back to Unki. "Will do, I'll head out right away. I'll update the details of what the Jashinists are up to when I get more information. I'll leave this scroll here so you have the updates as soon as I have them," he said, unsure if either of them had heard him amidst their bickering. Shinji crept forward carefully, giving the twins a wide-berth to place one of the communication scrolls on their desk. Rather than make the trip back to the door, he opted to exit out of the closest window.
Technique's Used: โฏใ|| โฐ Scroll Communication Technique [ Sukurลru tsลซshin no Jutsu ] | Rank C | Universal The user will apply this Fuuin to a matching set of scrolls. The users of these scrolls need only pay chakra to utilize the communication, meaning they do not need to be trained in the Fuuin to use the Fuuin. To send messages via these scrolls requires a cost, but to receive does not. Distance extends beyond subforums. โฏใ|| โฏใ||
SHIONxxxxxMORI Shion's footsteps echoed through the dimly lit halls that led to the revered sanctum of the Kage's office. As her fingers trailed along the weathered stone walls, a flood of memories washed over her, casting a nostalgic haze over her mind. Time had slipped away unnoticed, carrying with it the remnants of a bygone era. She pondered the inevitable changes that had unfolded, acknowledging the relentless march of time that spared no one, not even herself. While she understood the necessity of progress and embraced the promise of a brighter future for Arashigakure, a part of her heart yearned for the simplicity and familiarity of days long past.
Ascending the staircase, navigating the winding corridors, Shion's determined steps brought her to the imposing doors of the Kage's office. The new structure stood as a testament to the village's resilience, rising from the ashes left by the destructive hands of the Jashinists. The weight of history hung in the air, mingling with a sense of uncertainty. She reached for the cold metal handle, its chilling touch seeping into her skin. With each passing moment, she steeled herself, drawing strength from the depths of her resolve.
Taking a deep breath to fortify herself, Shion pushed open the doors without the pomp of formalities. The office revealed itself, a space filled with a mixture of familiar relics and new adornments, a testament to the changing tides. The room exuded an air of authority, but Shion paid little heed to such trappings. Her eyes narrowed with determination as they scanned the room, searching for the figure who now occupied the seat of power.
Without hesitation, she stepped forward, her voice resonating with a blend of confidence and underlying defiance. "I hope you nerds are ready," she declared, her tone leaving no room for doubt. "Cause Shion ******** Mori is back!" The weight of her words hung in the air, signaling her unwavering determination to shape the village's destiny once again. "Where do you need me?"
BattleInfo
CHAKRA: 4185/4185 // STAMINA: 5060/5060 // NATURE CHAKRA: 1500/1500 // BODY RANK: S+ // BLOODLINE: Bakuton // CLASS: Tai - Tai - Scholar Str: 9 // Spd: 9 // Agi: 10 // End: 9 TITLES: Sannin | Wild Cat Sage | The Firebrand of Arashigakure
Technqiue: โฐ
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Active Effects: โฐ
Quotes:
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Posted: Sun May 21, 2023 11:12 am
As Shion's eyes scanned the room for the now Arashikage, she would find a solitary man with blonde hair and Hyuuga eyes. Although the door would be opened, he wouldn't look up from the document he was working on as Shion made her declarations. Silence would draw for an uncomfortable moment as Hotaru would stand from his desk before approaching one of the shelves on the wall that contained thousands of scrolls. "Shion Mori..." Hotaru would say, still not having really spoken to the person let alone looked at them. The man's fingures would trapce along several of the scrolls before he would pull a dusty looking one off the top shelf. "Was a sannin of Arashigakure. A member of Kumogakure..." Hotaru's voice would trail off as he approached his desk again.
Not soon after reaching his desk would a woman begin pulling herself out of Hotaru's back. "What's going on Hotaru?" She'd ask, covering her mouth to mask a yawn as she fully awoke from her slumber.
"We have a visitor. Shion Mori." Hotaru would respond as he continued to peruse the official history that was kept for Shion. When he spoke her name, he would finally rest his pupiless eyes on Shion. "Well, if you're here to help. Arashigakure hasn't been in the best of straights ever since Toso disappeared and the last Arashikage was killed in the revolution. We've also been constant attack by Jashinists if you didn't know." The man would give Shion a brief update on the ongoings of the village before, the twins would confer internally with each other.
'I don't think we should bring her back into the village.' Seo would think so only Hotaru and herself could hear. 'She's been gone for too long and who knows if we can trust her. Uncle Kenshin was the one that removed her, we should follow his lead.'
Hotaru listened to his sister intentively. 'Well, I think we do. We've always been welcoming to outsiders in this village, and Shion's mission history all the way back to Kumo shows she's not just anyone. Also, we've discussed how allowing others to manage this village have lead to its down fall. It's up to us, not Uncle Kenshin or anyone else to manage this village.' He would think back. The twins would go back and forth for a moment internally, leaving the air silent unless Shion decided to fill it.
"While you were gone, you were removed from your honorary role as a Sannin." The woman would speak up after the twins had finished conversing within themselves. "However, from what we seen in your files, you have always been loyal to this village. However, I'd like to know where you have been before we're willing to make any decision on allowing you to remain in our office let alone the village." Seo took a more serious tone, placing her hands directly on the desk in front of her, while her eyes peered into Shion's own. Hotaru would remain aloof, placing his hands into his pockets while he would look inbetween Seo and Shion. It would perhaps be clear to Shion that he was mostly removing himself from the conversation.
SHIONxxxxxMORI Shion winced inwardly, a subtle twitch of discomfort crossing her features as the twin Kages engaged in their calculated conversation. Their analytical demeanor grated on her nerves, leaving her with a faint sense of unease. Suppressing a sigh, she rolled her eyes discreetly, finding the more neurotic of the two particularly bothersome.
As the twins delved into the subject of Toso and the tumultuous events surrounding him, Shion felt a sharp pang of pain at the mere mention of her friend's name. It was a wound that had never fully healed, her greatest failure that had ultimately driven her into self-imposed exile. The memory of that loss still haunted her, a weight she carried heavily upon her shoulders. And then, to add salt to the wound, they brought up the stripping of her titleโa necessary but painful consequence that she had anticipated, yet it still stung to hear it spoken aloud.
Shion's lips twisted into a wry smirk, trying to dismiss her pain, as she cocked an eyebrow quizzically at the woman's line of questioning. "So, let me get this straight. A living legend walks in, out of the blue, offering her aid in what is clearly a time of desperate need... and your immediate response is to subject her to an interrogation?" Her voice dripped with subtle sarcasm as she took a seat in one of the chairs across from the imposing desk, her body language a blend of confidence and curiosity.
Leaning forward, she interlocked her fingers, resting her elbows on the armrests of the chair, and fixed her gaze on the twin Kages with an intensity that matched their scrutiny. "Well, well, well... that's certainly an interesting approach. Kenshin's taught you well," she mused, her tone laced with dry amusement.
Collecting herself, Shion took a deliberate breath, steeling herself for the explanation she was about to offer. "After we... lost Toso, I went after the Jashinists; managed to learn quite a bit about them even. Turns out they're not quite as immortal as they like to think." she spoke with a mix of determination and bitterness, her eyes flashing with the fire of unresolved vengeance. Her brow furrowed, lines of worry etching themselves upon her face as she continued, โThat cult has taken a lot from me. Iโve been busyโฆ returning the favor.โ
A faint glimmer of vulnerability softened Shion's features as she leaned back in the seat, her voice carrying a hint of wistfulness. "And then there's the whole motherhood thing," she admitted, a mix of weariness and affection coloring her words. "Kidโs a damn handful, yโknow? Anyway, sheโs off doing her own thing now, so I figure itโs time I return to the village and pick up where we left off."
What Shion revealed was mostly true, a carefully crafted narrative that revealed fragments of her truth while omitting certain crucial details about her departure. She knew that the twin Kages didn't need to know everything just yet. Trust had to be built, and she needed to be certain that they were worthy of her complete transparency. After all, there were secrets she held close to her heart, truths that had the power to shape destinies and alter the course of their shared future.
BattleInfo
CHAKRA: 4185/4185 // STAMINA: 5060/5060 // NATURE CHAKRA: 1500/1500 // BODY RANK: S+ // BLOODLINE: Bakuton // CLASS: Tai - Tai - Scholar Str: 9 // Spd: 9 // Agi: 10 // End: 9 TITLES: Sannin | Wild Cat Sage | The Firebrand of Arashigakure
Technqiue: โฐ
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Active Effects: โฐ
Quotes:
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Posted: Sun May 21, 2023 11:11 pm
"Suppose the apple doesn't fall too far from the wide tree that is the Hyuuga." Seo would reply to Shion's sarcasm with little change in her tone, moving back into a seated position directly across from the other woman. Then she would just listen to what Shion had to say, no judgment coming across her face one way another at the different events that had transpired.
"The Jashinists have taken a lot from us too. Many lives have been taken in the village..." Seo thought for a moment at the conclusion of Shion's speech. "You may not know this, but Hotaru and myself were desciples of Toso." Although Shion did her best to mask it, Seo and Hotaru too saw and empathized with the pain she felt for his disappearance.
Idly, Hotaru would reach into his pocket and pull out a marble sized black orb. The man would rub the orb between his index finger and his thumb as he listened to the women speak. The gift from Toso's personal summons was one of the few items personal items the twins had left of the man. As the conversation continued on, the orb would remain circulating between his fingers.
"If he trusted you, then we do too." Seo wouldn't push further as she felt that what Shion had said was true. "We just wouldn't be doing our job very well if we didn't ask at least a couple of questions. The jashinists are known to try and masquerade as people they've killed. Some of our other reports had indicated that perhaps you were KIA." Seo would inform Shion of some of what CORE had managed to find out since her disappearance.
Hotaru would finally push himself away from the wall he had been leaning across before heading back toward the desk. "As the Arashikage, we restore your title Sannin so you may be once again known as Shion Mori, Sannin of Arashigakure." He would say in an official sounding tone, before dropping the dramatics. "Welcome back. Seo and I are taking the village back to the land of lightning where it belongs. We just don't have the resources to continue flying around with everything damaged. There are still pocket cells of revolutionaries that need to be taken care of in the mean time. If you wanna help out, I'd start there."
SHIONxxxxxMORI Shion listened attentively as the Kages briefed her on the current situation within the village. The prospect of returning to Arashigakure's original location resonated deeply with her. She had always harbored a longing for the familiarity and closeness to her family that the original village offered. The nomadic lifestyle chosen by the previous Kage, Toso, had been a point of contention between them, and now, the opportunity to come back home was both comforting and invigorating.
As the discussion progressed, it became apparent that most of the village's issues were being resolved, except for the rebels. Shion, with her experience as the former director of ANBU, was well-versed in dealing with dissidents and putting an end to any form of uprising. She had a knack for applying the right amount of pressure in the right places, often with a swift and decisive punch to the face.
Leaning back in her chair, Shion adopted a relaxed and casual posture. A mischievous smirk played on her lips as she contemplated the task at hand. "So, you want me to take care of these troublemakers? Show them who they're dealing with?" she asked, her voice laced with determination. "Yeah, I can do that. Yโall want me to start small or should I go straight for the throat? Cโmon, letโs make a show of it, eh? I'm sure you already know who's behind all of thisโฆ You just point and Iโll do the rest." Her eyes sparkled with a mix of excitement and readiness to face the challenge head-on.
BattleInfo
CHAKRA: 4185/4185 // STAMINA: 5060/5060 // NATURE CHAKRA: 1500/1500 // BODY RANK: S+ // BLOODLINE: Bakuton // CLASS: Tai - Tai - Scholar Str: 9 // Spd: 9 // Agi: 10 // End: 9 TITLES: Sannin | Wild Cat Sage | The Firebrand of Arashigakure
Technqiue: โฐ
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Active Effects: โฐ
Quotes:
Brooy
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 9:41 am
"Hmm. I'm not sure if troublemakers is necessarily the correct word for them..." Hotaru would ponder for a moment. "Perhaps lost sheep in a storm would better suit them." Hotaru would place one of his thighs onto the desk so he was half seated on it. "You see, the rebels that started this had a righteous cause and the people were truly being hurt by the powers that were in Arashi. However, what was a righteous cause was swiftly invaded by something more insidious."
Hotaru would pause for a moment to take a look out the window that overlooked most of the village. "There was a group that sought not for those oppressed to be free, but instead wanted the entire destruction of Arashi. It all led back to the same Inshou Jashinists that most of the world is dealing with at the time." While Hotaru spoke, Seo would start pulling various scrolls on the encounters that had happened. The woman would then slide them over to Shion should she wish to read them. The scrolls would confirm what Hotaru was speaking about, although with much more thorough detail on the events and those involved.
"During a major riot in the midst of this revolution, the true aims of this group came to light when they killed the previous Arashikage, Miyuki Ukyo. Switfly after this event, Seo and myself used the resources of the village to break up a smuggling ring that turned out to have connections to some corrupt APD agents. They were kidnapping people with special bloodlines, abilities, etc for the jashinists. After, we were able to dismantle the group including the leaders. What is left are pocket cells that still believe in a mission that is no longer there." Hotaru would pause a moment, allowing Shion to take in the information and ask any questions she may have.
"As far as the rest of the "rebels" go, please assist in rooting out any leaders of the pocket cells and getting rid of them. Keep in mind many of the people still involved in this are civilians caught up in the wrong cause and they should be handled more softly. As for any remaining leaders, they're wanted dead or alive."
