ANBU Reform - Any ANBU PC's and NPC's Welcome

[Junan]

An announcement ran through the ANBU.

Akira Saito had taken the position of Raikage, apparently by force, and yet not a single jutsu fired. The Council had been disbanded and he had summoned any and all ANBU to one of the larger meeting halls in the Raikage Tower.

He had taken precautions to have it secured.

What he had to say to them would change the way the branch would act forever.

He wanted to give those it would affect a heads up before the changes took place.

[OOC: I'll give 5 days from this post for anyone who wants to join this thread (who's ANBU) to join.]

 

[Rega]

Having been around during the discovery of the plot that tore away Hayata Shin from those who needed him, Rega knew well in advance that this summons was inevitable. Still, a smile crept up on her as she pondered just how the boss went about quietly tucking away all the loose ends. There was still a big question as to how much truth there was to the story of that deceitful slut-cow from the medical branch, but at least her cowardice resulted in some positive momentum in the aftermath of the tragedy. For this one time only, she walked through the halls with standard ANBU attire, her mask, and no visible weaponry... This was a formal day of celebration, after all!

"Well... unlike my classroom antics, perhaps now I can at least get to meet all of my fellow officers in the corp."

 

[Homura Akuma]

Fitted in full Anbu attire and relishing his time on what was a decent warm summer day based on the chill that usually plagued Kumogakure, today happened to be a good day to be a wolf. The partly cloudy sky methodically rolling above had let rays of sunshine hit the earth below, enjoying this opportunity of soaking in sunbeams was the pair Ashi and Kuromaru as they were stationed resting on the rooftop of a lofty building. Well Ashi and Kuromaru weren’t necessarily savoring the sun since they were being active, and what were they actively doing? Anbu’s days could run from your typical day shift to double shifts, and the two currently were enduring through a double shift of patrolling throughout the inner village zones. They watched over their pack not with active eyes but noses as they took in the many scents that would infiltrate their olfactory system in an attempt to weed out the drugs and other smells that raised an eyebrow.

“I got nothin’. Nothin like the last hour and the hour before that. Aren’t you wound up and need some action Kuromaru!?!.....Kuromaru?...............Kuromaru?”

Snapping his neck over his shoulder in order to look behind him, Ashi shook his head in disgust as his pup laid curled up in a comfortable ball upon the building’s rooftop. Ashi would smirk mischeveously before nudging him with his right foot resulting in an agitated low rumbling growl.

“Chill man. Sometimes Kuro, you can be a lazy piece of work.”

It wasn’t until moments later that Kuromaru ear would perk up suddenly, as the noise drew near the rest of the dog had became alerted to a presence.

“What is it Kuro! We got action?” Kuro would bark a couple times facing a certain direction, “What’s west?” Ashi eyes would behold his source of action that turned out to be a mere messenger hawk. Holding his left forearm out he would give the bird a perch while Kuromaru playful jumped up trying to attack the thing. Causing the bird to flail about and dig its talon into his flesh repeatedly.

“KURO! This isn’t a toy, you can’t kill this one it’s anbu property. GET DOWN!” A solid foot shove kept the beast at bay, but he still playful ran in circles around Ashi, ’And what do we have here….’

After his eyes skimmed the message, he ate it and jostled his forearm to release the creature.

“So it seems a meeting has been called. For what? For why?” Kuro barked and in response Ashi shrugged, “It truly doesn’t matter guessing why? Orders are orders right? You wouldn’t question our Alpha would you?” Kuro let out a sigh, before barking, “Exactly, let’s go.” The two would disappear from their location in a flicker, but not prior to Ashi stating, “Silver Fang in route.”

Twelve minutes later….

Ashi’s combat boots hammered the onyx floors with confidence and Kuromaru’s claws tapped in lazy rhythm. Finding the location of the meeting hall wasn’t difficult as two Anbu were stationed outside dual doors. His bland mask removed as he revealed the shoulder tattoo necessary to enter the Sileo Tempestas. Walking through the entrance of the meeting hall he saw one other, ‘Time to take in scents, I’m sure Kuromaru will do the same. You can hide your faces, but not the way you smell.’ Taking a seat at one of the many chairs that lined the grand table Ashi relaxed back in the reclining chair.

The Okami did nothing to go out his way and greet Rega, he just looked at her briefly before letting his eyes fall to a hand impatiently tapping the marble table. Now when Ashi did one thing, Kuromaru did another and he instantly playfully ran up to Rega looking to find someone to entertain him, since Ashi seemed to be doing a poor job as Ashi was caring his useless attitude as usual the wolf pup had thought to himself.

[MFT]

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

Shashu nodded to herself, ripped the message to shreds, and tossed in the fireplace. She had it down to a habit at this point, though that had led to her almost throwing away a letter from her mother a few days ago. It was kind of ironic really. Unlike the usual letters her mother sent this one had been eerily cryptic, as though she had something to hide between the words. In contrast the ANBU summons was straight and to the point.

Perhaps I've burned the wrong letter after all. Heh.

She shrugged to herself and went about gathering her things. The summons could hardly have come at a better time; Shashu was getting stir crazy waiting about like this. To pass the time she had taken to seeing how many complex tasks she could complete at once with her extra arms. The goal was to see if she had a limit to how much she could multitask, but truth be told one could only sew clothes, cook food, take notes, and read their favourite manga simultaneously so many times before it became more of a chore than a novelty.

In short order she was flashing her own tattoo and quietly slipping in to join the meeting. The hope was that there would be some word about the mission she was waiting for the go ahead on, but with all these people here that seemed doubtful. In fact, she recognized very few people here aside from Saito and a few of the Sileo staff.

Tis the price I pay for not being social I suppose. I really should get out more...

With no one to really socialize with Shashu found a wall to lean against out of the way, crossing a couple of her arms and twiddling her thumbs with the rest. She wondered if instead this meeting had anything to do with Saito taking up the Kage seat after Haruka's disappearance. It made sense- if Saito was the new Raikage he would need to appoint a new Sennin. Shashu had a feeling there was more to it than that however, but that would have to wait on Saito himself to speak.

[MFT: WC-360]

 

[Moyamaru]

There was a sense of forbearance in the air around Hosuto during this time, he was growing accustomed to the type of people which made up the body of the main shinobi corps of the village. It was not a good acclimation however as he had noticed a certain lack of professionalism in these people and their ways, as if the job of a shinobi was second to that of their own personal lives and endeavors. It was to this end that he had tried and relegated his understanding of what being a shinobi meant to match their demeanor but had all but failed in this task. For this he had solidified within his head the teachings of Akira as his only true path which had led him to some encounters of conflicted interest on several occasions as of late. As he rested within his small room located in the living quarters of the Sileo, his mind steadily went over his own reasoning for becoming what he was in training to become...

"My purpose...is only---"

His eyes shifted their focus to the side beneath the shades he wore as at the doorway to his room another trainee appeared quickly. The kids expressions and mannerisms showed all kinds of emotions, excitement and anxiety being the ones most present as he quickly went on a rant about Akira Saito's exploits. This was the first Hosuto had heard of it and the boy made note that this only happened recently and that the corps was abuzz about the information as it was spreading like wildfire throughout their channels and ranks. Hosuto did not physically show any emotional breaks at the information though inside his body had become numb momentarily. He had made his move and this village would without a doubt become something truly deserving of Akira's vision. After the other trainee made mention of the gathering, he disappeared to continue spreading the word leaving Hosuto to don his anbu attire. Holding the blank white mask in his hands, his eyes stared into it remembering vividly what it stood for and what it would soon represent. Turning the mask and pressing it to his face, the form fitting item adhered to his head as if perfectly molded for him. Pulling the hood of his cloak over his head, Hosuto's body disappeared down the tunneled network of the Sileo, joining others who were also making their way to the meeting.

Arriving like the others, he did as was expected and showed his mark before finding an area within the large meeting hall suitable to his taste. He claimed a wall near the back though he was not alone as his head slightly tilted and glanced towards Shashu's presence which was a few feet away from him. He didn't know of this agent and she wouldn't have known of him but her different physical features momentarily attracted his gaze. Multiple sets of arms, it was something which was not usual even within a world where physical abnormalities seemed to have a wide base of difference. Looking away after a few seconds of observation he had only to think about his own body and it's unique hosts to remind himself not to be mentally judgmental of others.

"I wonder what this new era will consist of....Saito"
<i></i>

 

[Morishige]

The captain entered the hall quietly, taking a look around. There was a sizable amount of the force here and he seemed to be one of the few that were coming in last.

"Strange for him to call us here. Though if he seized the position of Kage, then he can do whatever he wants I suppose." he thought to himself. He wasn't wearing his mask at the moment. His trip to the other side of the continent had soured his taste in putting things over his face for at least a week.

If he were honest, Nobuyuki would tell you that he was nervous pertaining to the meeting. The way Saito went about things were the types of situations that he took personal offense at. Rather than going through the official channels he had assumed it all through might, or rather intimidation since there weren't any casualties. It was the kind of stuff he actively fought against during his time in internal affairs. Still, there would likely be an explanation of the events; he hoped.

The captain found a seat and pondered for a moment the state of the village and what the fuck was going on.

 

[Daigo]

Journal Log #5:

Since their last meeting, Daisuke had been contacted through the appropriate channels to both meet and become acquainted with the facility. He got fitted and received his basic training gear, but he was still a far ways away from completing his training. Fresh meat was the proper term in this situation. Still he had every intention of becoming the man both Daisuke and Saito knew he could be. The desire for structure and discipline was what brought him here. Combat and competency was what he would learn while here. A sense of duty and an increase in both intellectual capacity and efficiency was what he had planned to take away from entire experience, not that he had plans to leave the branch at a later time. Anbus for lifes!

He trekked down the halls of the underground fortress, which was massive in scope. Daigo’s orientation to the branch was one that he would not soon forget. And now, he had been called to the tower. The supposed place where things got bad very quickly, but Daigo was not there and he would not listen to hearsay. Regardless of how things turned out, for better or for worse, that moment was a defining moment for cloud. Walking up the stairs and into the room, he saw several other members already waiting for the meeting to start.

It was then that Daigo learned that early is never early enough. He stood silent and remained in the back of the room. He was never really good at socializing and now was not the place to start practicing social skills. This was a bad trait of course as anbu would have to learn to blend into a crowd. If anyone were to engage him in conversation, he would put his best foot forward. If anyone were to nod to him, then he’d reply with the same. In the meantime, he would be leaning his back against the far wall and take his anxiety medication to keep him cool and help prevent a nauseating feeling. Such intimidating people could do this to him.

 

[Junan]

Rega had been at the tower the entire time of the take-over, so it didn't surprise him that she'd arrived first. He gave her a nod, deeper than normal, it was his gratitude towards her that he'd been able to share this with her and trust her to not report him before things could be completed. Someone he didn't really recognize arrived next, shortly followed by Shashu. He would need to meet with her soon to get the mission going. He had taken a quick look through some records and knew who he could send with her in probably the most important role in the mission.

Chances were she would be pleased with finally being able to go with that. It had begun with Shin it seemed, and now two Raikage's later it might finally begin.

Someone who had been an understudy of his for quite some time arrived, and the only reason he'd not brought the boy in on the plot was because he was afraid of what would happen should they fail. As it was also for Nobuyuki who turned up as well. Then Daigo arrived.

Over the passing of another fifteen minutes more and more ANBU arrived at the meeting room. Akuhei and Koumyou among them, a microphone set up by a couple to channel whatever was about to transpire to those who were interested but on duty in other parts of the village or at the gates. For those still out of the village or even out of the country they would likely only get to hear about what happened after they returned.

Clearing his throat, the chatter amongst a few of the ANBU quietened down. However it seemed that there wasn't a great deal of this going on. An air of concern for the future of them and the village perhaps lingering in the room.

I'm sure you are either all aware, or have a fair idea as to what has happened here over the last hour. I will confirm that it is true that I have taken the title of Raikage and disbanded the previously existing Council. It was sure to create a bit of a stir but he held out a hand, silently asking for quiet so he could continue and finish what he needed to say.

I have done this due to a combination of evidences which I will be handing over to the new ANBU Sennin. It will be his task to go through the evidence presented to him, question who he wants to question and generally investigate what happened here. The previous council are still alive and thus also able to be questioned.

I will tell you all here what it is that I have charged them with so that you can better understand my actions.

The Raikage Hayata Shin and Sennin Daisuke were murdered, this in itself is not new news. However the evidence points not towards only Isaki Hoshikata as the murderer but rather towards the previously elected Raikage Shima Haruka and her cousin Shima Ai. These facts were covered up by the council for whatever reason, Ai was placed in the mental health ward under direct order of the council, I have yet to learn why and Haruka was elected as Raikage. The cover up with their actions after this leads me to question the validity of the vote in question, though this is off the point.

Because of their covering up the murderers of the Raikage, Sennin and Student I could not simply act in the open. Haruka was well respected as a leader amongst the Main Branch, the council themselves holding a lot of power in that branch and the Medical Branch too was implicated in a way. Due to all these factors I needed to act, for the most part, alone in this. Keeping the vast majority of those I trust most in the dark in case I was wrong, and in case things turned bad resulting in someone attacking me, or my being imprisoned. I could not act in the open on this. For this I apologise for I am not one who enjoys sneaking about in the shadows, and I hate that I have felt that this was needed in Kumogakure.

Nonetheless I felt you should all be aware of why I am now Raikage.

There are two things I will now do which affect all of you.

First your new Sennin will be Nobuyuki. He has proven himself in many situations and as a previously serving member of Internal Affairs I believe that he has the credentials needed by the new Sennin to investigate my actions. Nobuyuki, you will have access to all my notes as ANBU Sennin and the Raikage office will open up any information and documents that you need to reach whatever conclusion you come to. I trust you to do this job without bias, this is why I could not bring you in on this earlier. He looked into the other mans eyes as he said this. The earnest look on his face expressing the faith that he had in the other man, for if Nobuyuki had taken part in the overthrow then how could he be trusted to perform an unbias investigation into the actions that had been taken.

The second is that I am once more shifting the ANBU into a more specific speciality.

Over the years the ANBU have gone from being a military police type force, to a group wrongly known for their bloodthirstiness and butchering of targets. We have gone from being a group of specialists who could do things no-one else could to applying those skills to everything. In many ways the councils which have changed over the period of decades have done this with their misinterpretation of what it is that the ANBU were for but I want to bring us back to what we should be.

The ANBU will no longer take missions from outside of the village, or even from villagers. The ANBU are to be our shinobi combative force, specialising in anti-shinobi techniques and tactics. Thus you will be responsible for the safety of the village internal and the gates as are the current ways. However it will mean that you will only ever be sent out on missions where the village is certain that shinobi are involved. During quiet times you may of course take on main branch missions to continue honing your skills, but you will also be paid for high level training missions as well, missions which will be designed by the ANBU for ANBU training. This will cause a cost to the village, however to have the ANBU be the force that they should be and not what resembles a group within the Main Branch will be to everyone's benefit.

As such general assassinations and other type missions will be handled by the Main Branch.

He looked around the room and hoped that they would understand the changes and the reason for the changes. He hoped that they would accept Nobuyuki as the next leader. He hoped that with this they would be able to better prepare themselves for the type of combat that they should be skilled in.

You are all dismissed, if you have any questions please come and see me and I will answer you as I can. Nobuyuki, come and find me later. He wondered what the responce would be like.

 

[Morishige]

And so it began...

Nobuyuki took his eyes off of Saito as he spoke and looked to the others in the room. He wanted to get a sense of how they reacted to such a confirmation. He would remain seated, although a bit rigid just due to the events that had transpired.

It was revealed that evidence he had pointed not only towards Hoshikata but those of Kumogakure's own shinobi corp to be involved, namely the Shima who were involved in the previously recorded attempt rescue of Hayata Shin. Of course, this evidence wasn't being shown at the moment; Saito also noted he would be handing this evidence over to the next Sennin. It was at this thought Nobuyuki dared to smile just a little. He would finally have some insight into the matters of that day.

With the explanation over, the captain wouldn't dare to assume anyone would outright stand up against him at that point. Akira moved onto matters that pertained to the branch who sat and stood before him.

The sennin announcement was short and sweet, but it still filled him with pride. His eyes looked right back at Akira's, mimicking that look of a hopeful future. "Understood. I will be thorough." he replied in his usual matter of fact manner.

The rest of what he needed to say was a real game changer for those that had grown up within the ANBU through the years, Nobuyuki included. This meant that not only would he be following up on the corruption of the cover-up, but also managing an entirely new focus regarding the branch. Several ideas came to mind, most of which were probably months off in development. But still, didn't hurt to get started.

Akira finished up and requested for him to meet up later. No doubt to assist him with the transfer of information as well as ideas he had regarding the new ANBU branch. He did have questions, but they would likely be answered in his own follow up regarding to the take over and cover-up. So he decided to instead let others take their time to ask of the new Raikage whatever they needed.

 

[Morishige]

(Inactivity Topic Left)

 

[Junan]

It seemed there weren't any questions from people as they simply departed. Perhaps it was silent doubt or perhaps it was simply trust that Akira had built with each of them over the years. He didn't know, he could only speculate. Still only time would tell whether their trust would be proven right, or whether their doubt justified.

Akira would leave that to Nobuyuki and Ayumu.

[topic left - inactivity]