Tatsuo had been following the men for a few hours at this point. His curiosity was piqued in the strange land of Tea Country. While he rarely snooped around these men just put chills up his spine. The way they spoke and the things they did, just set him off. He couldn’t sleep until he figured out what was going on. If something was truly wrong, he could never live with himself. Through alleyways and through streets he managed to keep a close eye on them without letting them onto him.
A few interactions here, a brief conversation then a few hand signals to someone in the street. Had they noticed him? No way.. He’d been too careful at this point but he was quick to realize these men were craftier than he thought. A group of five men appeared from the streets to either side. They had him surrounded, well, for the most part. One of the men called out to Tatsuo and said “You, what are you snooping around for. We don’t like people in our business in these parts.” In his hand was a large sword, he had to carry it with two hands. Resting over his shoulder. Considering there was no point in hiding anymore, Tatsuo left his hiding spot and walked out into the street where the crowds quickly dispersed. It’d seem the locals knew a bit more about what was going on than him but Tatsuo was quick to realize what was about to happen.
He forwent the headband today and other than the bandages wrapped on his legs in the typical shinobi fashion, he could be mistaken for a civilian. He had spent most of his time in Tea dressed this way, people treated you differently when you were a shinobi and he hated being respected out of fear. “Can I not just walk around?” he said a sly smirk appearing on his face despite knowing that wouldn’t work.
A vein twitched in the man’s head as his voice raised and he brought his sword down into the ground, kicking up a big cloud of dust. “Damn foreigners, always coming to this country and starting a ruckus. Tell me one reason I shouldn’t cut your head off right now.” The man pulled the sword through the dirt, knocking up a few more clouds before resting it on his shoulders. However Tatsuo was unphased, he learned to not fear the thug types anymore after too many encounters.
Tatsuo stepped forward, which brought all of the men on high alert. Drawing their weapons and readying their stances. It was obvious they knew how to fight, but even more obvious they weren’t close to a shinobi’s level. Ryo, Yaboi, and Saito could probably deal with all five of them without breaking a sweat. Letting out a sigh, “Here about you just tell me what you guys are doing and we don’t have to fight.” Grinning hoping to defuse the situation with a smile. Obviously it didn’t work. The ‘leader’ moved forward and cursed at Tatsuo a bit. “Really? I’m telling you boys, these foreigners get more and more pushy by the day. How about we teach him a lesson of how we do things in Tea Country.”
Sighing, Tatsuo shrugged his shoulders and readied for their advance. The man with the blade charged forward slashing towards Tatsuo’s midsection. Quickly drawing a Kunai from within his clothes he blocked the strike. Using his foot as leverage to keep him from toppling over. Forcing the blade back he sent the man reeling backwards, sliding through the dirt. For a moment the man hesitated realizing that the difference in strength between the two was much greater than he anticipated. However he had all of his men around him, it’s not like he could give up so easily. Calling the charge, all five of them went for Tatsuo yelling something about “Tea Terrorizing Toppler!” One went for each of his major limbs with a would be devastating strike. As they struck into him, Tatsuo switched into a metal pipe laying in the street. All of their blades failed to miss his mark and Tatsuo formed a quick formation of hand seals. Wooden tendrils grew up from the ground, binding all of the men in a tight wooden seal.
“Okay we fought, can you tell me now. I just want to make sure everything is okay.” he said flatly, not trying to instigate the situation any further. One of the men attempted to spit at him but fell short, but the leader realized they had been defeated. “If we tell you, we’ll be killed. I would rather die with my honor than brought down to my knees by a foreign ninja!” the man shouted for all to hear. Amongst his ranks they didn’t share the same sentiment but Tatsuo understood well enough.
“Yeah sure you’re right. I won’t kill you, mind letting me continue at least?” He said rubbing the back of his neck and letting out a laugh. “I won’t hurt you guys I just want to figure out what they’re up to.” Releasing the bonds around them, the wood returned to the earth and all of the men began to catch their breath. The leader sighed and bowed his head, “For the lives of my men I will let you pass.”
Tatsuo nodded a few times and smiled, “Thank you! I’ll be off then!” Too bad they had stopped him it seemed like he was getting close as the neighborhood got more poor. Wealth inequality always resulted in crime and corruption, there was probably a slumlord at the end of all this. That’d be pretty typical wouldn’t it?
After a about an hour of trying to figure out what happened, Tatsuo was lead to outside of a very sketchy bar / club building. There were a few bodyguards sitting outside with some shotguns. Not really that scary but still pretty heavy firepower for a civilian building. This was probably where he needed to be.
When he arrived at the door he was obviously stopped by a few guarded men asking “Who do you know?” Tatsuo grinned and said “Yo, bro totally let me in. I know how to party hard.” The men furrowed their brows and scratched their heads, but somehow it worked. Tatsuo was in.
The smoke was the first thing to hit him, his eyes watered and his nose sniffled as he was basically coated in a thick vapor that filled the whole club. For a sixteen year old boy there were lots of things he probably shouldn’t have seen. But also other things he’d never forget. Almost like a kid in a candy shop he wandered around for a while before finally remembering why he was here in the first place. He had to figure out what they were trading in. All of this money and decadence had to come from somewhere and it definitely wasn’t legitimate, you could just look at the neighborhood they were in to know that.
He went towards the bar and listened to a few of the patrons speak about some stuff, he didn’t really understand. Though there was a word he kept hearing, “Bananas.” Must be a codeword Tatsuo thought. No way anyone could get this wealthy over a simple banana trade. But who knows weirder things have happened.
After a while of gathering information he finally heard enough about this banana trade and the banana queen to figure out what he had to do. Confront her directly, imagine if Banana meant like shinobi or kids or something worse! There was no way Tatsuo could stop now! Finding his way through the building he finally found himself at a VIP room. Covered by a veil, Tatsuo walked over to it and tried to enter but once again the egg heads were here to stop him. With a gruff and a growl they asked him what his business was with the Banana Queen and all that other junk criminal thugs tend to want to know.
It really was going way too smoothly, he managed to convince them he was looking to open up the banana market in Fire Country or something and they seemed ecstatic about the news. Walking in and talking for a few moments about something Tatsuo couldn’t understand they came back out and then said “The banana queen will see you now.” Tatsuo nodded and entered the room. Luckily this one had no smoke, so he could actually keep his eyes open all the way.
Though he wasn’t really expecting to see a four feet tall grandma staring up at him, rubbing her chin and humming. “Who are you?” The banana queen asked him and leaned in forward, bringing her hands together. Tatsuo smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m uh........... Nadeko. From Fire Country, i’m looking to open up the Fire Country to the Banana trade ya’ know? I think we could both make a lotta money.”
The woman nodded a few times and thought about it. “You’re right, the Fire Country as a whole would increase our profits at least ten times.” Tatsuo could almost see the gold bars in her eyes and she did a little happy dance. “How can I trust you to trade in bananas? It’s a rough market and very dangerous. Not many can survive the intensity of the banana trade. Do you think you can?” she said crossing her arms and staring at the boy for too long.
“Uhh.. I mean, yeah of course. Have you not heard of me?! Nadeko! The mighty and powerful, I control a trade company in Fire Country so powerful that even the Hokage kisses my boot. If I say jump, he asks how high. I can’t imagine people from Tea to understand, considering you are just a minor country but the Fire Country is ripe for more trade. I am looking to expand my business that way I can make even more money. So where do you get your bananas? With my connections and your supplies we can both become so wealthy that we can control the whole world! I need to know where your bananas are coming from though.”
The money signs in the woman’s eyes grew wider and wider, as she was overcome with greed from an increased banana trade. She was shaking by the prospect and began to laugh, “Yes! Yes! Our bananas will sell from here to Hokage Rock! We will be so wealthy!!” The woman laughed for much too long, making Tatsuo uncomfortable. Finally Tatsuo decided to ask, “So what are bananas anyways?” The women looked at him with a cold eye and said.. “Do you mean you don’t know what a banana is? It’s a little yellow fruit you peel.” Tatsuo’s face could only be described as the “Thinking Emoji” as he realized he was very confused. The woman grew angry and called in her guards who rushed into the place.
“Welp. I think it’s about time I leave!” Tatsuo said as he began to run for the door, sliding under the legs of one of the body guards. Cue the goose chase music as they went from door to door, chasing Tatsuo. After a long while of it, he transformed into one of the bodyguards and made a beeline for the front door. Luckily no one one noticed and he was off.
Running towards the apartment he finally got rid of the jutsu and was laughing the whole way home. Tea Country really was great, who thought trading in Bananas could make someone so much money. All in all it was a pretty fun adventure and something he’d definitely not forget. Though he hoped he didn’t hurt the woman’s feelings too much considering she was pretty damn excited about getting access to the Fire Country’s banana trade. Come to think of it he can’t think the last time he ate a banana in Fire Country. Maybe she was onto something.
WC: 2047
A few interactions here, a brief conversation then a few hand signals to someone in the street. Had they noticed him? No way.. He’d been too careful at this point but he was quick to realize these men were craftier than he thought. A group of five men appeared from the streets to either side. They had him surrounded, well, for the most part. One of the men called out to Tatsuo and said “You, what are you snooping around for. We don’t like people in our business in these parts.” In his hand was a large sword, he had to carry it with two hands. Resting over his shoulder. Considering there was no point in hiding anymore, Tatsuo left his hiding spot and walked out into the street where the crowds quickly dispersed. It’d seem the locals knew a bit more about what was going on than him but Tatsuo was quick to realize what was about to happen.
He forwent the headband today and other than the bandages wrapped on his legs in the typical shinobi fashion, he could be mistaken for a civilian. He had spent most of his time in Tea dressed this way, people treated you differently when you were a shinobi and he hated being respected out of fear. “Can I not just walk around?” he said a sly smirk appearing on his face despite knowing that wouldn’t work.
A vein twitched in the man’s head as his voice raised and he brought his sword down into the ground, kicking up a big cloud of dust. “Damn foreigners, always coming to this country and starting a ruckus. Tell me one reason I shouldn’t cut your head off right now.” The man pulled the sword through the dirt, knocking up a few more clouds before resting it on his shoulders. However Tatsuo was unphased, he learned to not fear the thug types anymore after too many encounters.
Tatsuo stepped forward, which brought all of the men on high alert. Drawing their weapons and readying their stances. It was obvious they knew how to fight, but even more obvious they weren’t close to a shinobi’s level. Ryo, Yaboi, and Saito could probably deal with all five of them without breaking a sweat. Letting out a sigh, “Here about you just tell me what you guys are doing and we don’t have to fight.” Grinning hoping to defuse the situation with a smile. Obviously it didn’t work. The ‘leader’ moved forward and cursed at Tatsuo a bit. “Really? I’m telling you boys, these foreigners get more and more pushy by the day. How about we teach him a lesson of how we do things in Tea Country.”
Sighing, Tatsuo shrugged his shoulders and readied for their advance. The man with the blade charged forward slashing towards Tatsuo’s midsection. Quickly drawing a Kunai from within his clothes he blocked the strike. Using his foot as leverage to keep him from toppling over. Forcing the blade back he sent the man reeling backwards, sliding through the dirt. For a moment the man hesitated realizing that the difference in strength between the two was much greater than he anticipated. However he had all of his men around him, it’s not like he could give up so easily. Calling the charge, all five of them went for Tatsuo yelling something about “Tea Terrorizing Toppler!” One went for each of his major limbs with a would be devastating strike. As they struck into him, Tatsuo switched into a metal pipe laying in the street. All of their blades failed to miss his mark and Tatsuo formed a quick formation of hand seals. Wooden tendrils grew up from the ground, binding all of the men in a tight wooden seal.
“Okay we fought, can you tell me now. I just want to make sure everything is okay.” he said flatly, not trying to instigate the situation any further. One of the men attempted to spit at him but fell short, but the leader realized they had been defeated. “If we tell you, we’ll be killed. I would rather die with my honor than brought down to my knees by a foreign ninja!” the man shouted for all to hear. Amongst his ranks they didn’t share the same sentiment but Tatsuo understood well enough.
“Yeah sure you’re right. I won’t kill you, mind letting me continue at least?” He said rubbing the back of his neck and letting out a laugh. “I won’t hurt you guys I just want to figure out what they’re up to.” Releasing the bonds around them, the wood returned to the earth and all of the men began to catch their breath. The leader sighed and bowed his head, “For the lives of my men I will let you pass.”
Tatsuo nodded a few times and smiled, “Thank you! I’ll be off then!” Too bad they had stopped him it seemed like he was getting close as the neighborhood got more poor. Wealth inequality always resulted in crime and corruption, there was probably a slumlord at the end of all this. That’d be pretty typical wouldn’t it?
After a about an hour of trying to figure out what happened, Tatsuo was lead to outside of a very sketchy bar / club building. There were a few bodyguards sitting outside with some shotguns. Not really that scary but still pretty heavy firepower for a civilian building. This was probably where he needed to be.
When he arrived at the door he was obviously stopped by a few guarded men asking “Who do you know?” Tatsuo grinned and said “Yo, bro totally let me in. I know how to party hard.” The men furrowed their brows and scratched their heads, but somehow it worked. Tatsuo was in.
The smoke was the first thing to hit him, his eyes watered and his nose sniffled as he was basically coated in a thick vapor that filled the whole club. For a sixteen year old boy there were lots of things he probably shouldn’t have seen. But also other things he’d never forget. Almost like a kid in a candy shop he wandered around for a while before finally remembering why he was here in the first place. He had to figure out what they were trading in. All of this money and decadence had to come from somewhere and it definitely wasn’t legitimate, you could just look at the neighborhood they were in to know that.
He went towards the bar and listened to a few of the patrons speak about some stuff, he didn’t really understand. Though there was a word he kept hearing, “Bananas.” Must be a codeword Tatsuo thought. No way anyone could get this wealthy over a simple banana trade. But who knows weirder things have happened.
After a while of gathering information he finally heard enough about this banana trade and the banana queen to figure out what he had to do. Confront her directly, imagine if Banana meant like shinobi or kids or something worse! There was no way Tatsuo could stop now! Finding his way through the building he finally found himself at a VIP room. Covered by a veil, Tatsuo walked over to it and tried to enter but once again the egg heads were here to stop him. With a gruff and a growl they asked him what his business was with the Banana Queen and all that other junk criminal thugs tend to want to know.
It really was going way too smoothly, he managed to convince them he was looking to open up the banana market in Fire Country or something and they seemed ecstatic about the news. Walking in and talking for a few moments about something Tatsuo couldn’t understand they came back out and then said “The banana queen will see you now.” Tatsuo nodded and entered the room. Luckily this one had no smoke, so he could actually keep his eyes open all the way.
Though he wasn’t really expecting to see a four feet tall grandma staring up at him, rubbing her chin and humming. “Who are you?” The banana queen asked him and leaned in forward, bringing her hands together. Tatsuo smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m uh........... Nadeko. From Fire Country, i’m looking to open up the Fire Country to the Banana trade ya’ know? I think we could both make a lotta money.”
The woman nodded a few times and thought about it. “You’re right, the Fire Country as a whole would increase our profits at least ten times.” Tatsuo could almost see the gold bars in her eyes and she did a little happy dance. “How can I trust you to trade in bananas? It’s a rough market and very dangerous. Not many can survive the intensity of the banana trade. Do you think you can?” she said crossing her arms and staring at the boy for too long.
“Uhh.. I mean, yeah of course. Have you not heard of me?! Nadeko! The mighty and powerful, I control a trade company in Fire Country so powerful that even the Hokage kisses my boot. If I say jump, he asks how high. I can’t imagine people from Tea to understand, considering you are just a minor country but the Fire Country is ripe for more trade. I am looking to expand my business that way I can make even more money. So where do you get your bananas? With my connections and your supplies we can both become so wealthy that we can control the whole world! I need to know where your bananas are coming from though.”
The money signs in the woman’s eyes grew wider and wider, as she was overcome with greed from an increased banana trade. She was shaking by the prospect and began to laugh, “Yes! Yes! Our bananas will sell from here to Hokage Rock! We will be so wealthy!!” The woman laughed for much too long, making Tatsuo uncomfortable. Finally Tatsuo decided to ask, “So what are bananas anyways?” The women looked at him with a cold eye and said.. “Do you mean you don’t know what a banana is? It’s a little yellow fruit you peel.” Tatsuo’s face could only be described as the “Thinking Emoji” as he realized he was very confused. The woman grew angry and called in her guards who rushed into the place.
“Welp. I think it’s about time I leave!” Tatsuo said as he began to run for the door, sliding under the legs of one of the body guards. Cue the goose chase music as they went from door to door, chasing Tatsuo. After a long while of it, he transformed into one of the bodyguards and made a beeline for the front door. Luckily no one one noticed and he was off.
Running towards the apartment he finally got rid of the jutsu and was laughing the whole way home. Tea Country really was great, who thought trading in Bananas could make someone so much money. All in all it was a pretty fun adventure and something he’d definitely not forget. Though he hoped he didn’t hurt the woman’s feelings too much considering she was pretty damn excited about getting access to the Fire Country’s banana trade. Come to think of it he can’t think the last time he ate a banana in Fire Country. Maybe she was onto something.
WC: 2047