Deep in the Underground, far back in a location that only body smugglers from the old days would even know of, a various bunch of dark hood-n-cloaked figures darted into or near a blown out business office. Within the ruins of the building’s lobby, the cloaked figures gathered; some emerging from the shadows while others appeared in their unique fashions. In the center a large seven-foot man struck a match against his thumb, causing the flame to explode from the chemical make-up before it was lowered down to give its fire to a lamp. The gentle turn of the lamp’s wheel made a squeaking sound that echoed off the walls of the old smuggling location as the flame was given fuel. It grew out to reveal the faces of a number of Sunagakure members of both the military and the Merchant Guild; with Toraono Michino standing in the center holding the lamp. He placed it back on the long table he had taken it from, revealing maps of Sunagakure, old blueprints of the village, and a giant sheet of leather containing a painted map of the desert; an old Nomad relic.
Surrounding him were shinobi of various faces and forms. Takahashi Sousuke stood opposite of him in his metallic form, burning embers for eyes glowing in the remaining darkness; they seemed to be studying the map. Michino's older brother stood in a corner far from the rest with his arms crossed. The old scientist seemed particularly tired but there was a fire behind his eyes that his younger brother had never seen before. Representatives of the Miroku sent by Akkuma, who had provided the old leather map, stood in the corner opposite of Michino’s brother, while the rest - active heads, younger members of various clans, merchant lords, and Sunan nobles, stood behind him.
“My brothers and sisters,” Michino spoke up, breaking the silence as he turned to address them. His hands reached up to pull back the hood and reveal his face in full, feeling no shame in the treason he was committing.
“We are living in very dire times. Our independence is broken, our pride tarnished, and our way devolved into being nothing more than simple murder machines. It breaks my heart to see the way my homeland has become, but thankfully I am not the only one. While the strong youth of my clan is forced to fight the frontlines, a great many influential lords, such as myself, disagree with the current Steward’s ways.
“However, this man is insidious. They have a corrupted council of sycophants guiding the market, the military, and by doing so are keeping Wei far, far out of our grasp. We cannot simply cut this man down without cutting down our own as they attempt to keep to their Shinobi Pride.
“So, I have gathered together tonight our best politicians, merchant lords, clan heads, and Sunan nobles - the very lifeblood of our country - to suggest ways in which we can remove Steward Wei without resulting in bloodshed.”
“If I may?” One of the two Miroku in the corner spoke up with an offered hand, raised to gain notice. The Toraono Lord nodded at them. A small woman moved forward into the lamp-light to reveal herself: white hair, red eyes, and green irises.
“The way forward will not be easy, but I can assure you that proceeding forward will regain our independence…the only thing we need worry for is the inevitable retaliation.” Gracefully she shifted across the floor to reveal herself in the light further, even going as far as to remove her hood as Michino had to gain trust; which was much needed given who she was representing. The Toraono’s mixed eyes slowly followed the woman as she moved to the map with all of the trust a honey badger would give a snake.
“The Baron Twins are, by what I’ve gathered, trying to take over the entire country. Originally they had simply set out to steal a fortune, but seven years of work later and they’ve grown attached to our country’s…less than tasteful businesses. The population of trains connecting the desert has only made the black market outside of Suna blossomed into a whole new beast. Even our Underground is being left behind…
“Anyways, while I was working deep-cover I came to find that there was a room in their palace no one except them were allowed to enter. In the six-months I was stationed I watched tons of nobles, merchants, concubines…all sorts, but no one, was allowed in that single room. In every blueprint I’ve managed to pull, this room doesn’t exist - it’s supposed to be a courtyard. I have my utmost confidence that this room contains something that can help us prove the Steward has broken the Sunahoshi Code - to act only in prosperity of Sunagakure."
“And this retaliation?” the old Steward spoke up, his voice a haunting metallic echo in the ruins. Even the Miroku spy found herself flinching in fear at the sound of his famous stoic attitude. He asked matter of factly, as if he was prepared to for every contigency already and just needed to plug in the data.
“They have captured an adult Carnasaur.” A deafening silence took too the room, one strong enough to squash the queries of those who were there and didn’t know.
“How is it controlled?”
“We think it’s an Uchiha, but we can’t say for sure. All I know for certain is they apparently have an unnatural way with…a lot of things. She’s the brother’s main negotiator who, allegedly, showed up riding the damn thing.”
“Have you confirmed it’s existence?”
“Confirmed,” the spy said with a shaky voice as she slipped across a picture taken with ninjutsu that, while didn’t give a full detailed picture, revealed enough to back up her claims.
“Dire indeed,” Michino mumbled as he looked back over his shoulder, “Any ideas, Uncle?”
“Hmm…one comes to mind. We could move Sunagakure underground once more but, it can’t just be underneath us. The caverns below were most likely destroyed by the tower explosion, we’d need to find a new path. Excavation team. One Earth-aligned and the other two carrying supplies. They’d have a full week to search but…”
“In the meantime, we have the war the Steward is pushing…”
“And we need to find the physical evidence needed to remove Wei without bleeding our family.”
“I believe, my family and I can help with that, my lords,” spoke a fearful looking man guided by a Toraono bodyguard. He was quickly recognized as one of the few Chikamatsu clansmen that had broken away from their compound recently and went into hiding. While many were against their presence, their wild-eyed leader brought him into the fold anyways. He was the only member of the entire clan who had never heard of Wei, his schemes, or anything concerning the man before his rise to Steward; which Michino took seriously. The frail youth had also happened to be away from Sunagakure at the time procuring a rare flower for their clan during Wei's rise, and his lacking memory of such a supposedly important clansmen made the Toraono curious.
“With only seeds I can grow food anywhere. We can extend an underground mission indefinitely if we needed to, sunlight not required!” he said with a half-smile, “My only worry is Sandworms.”
“Not a worry then, Sandworms haven’t been sighted in years now…”
“I think we have enough here to get started. I can’t make any official moves and assign people to tasks, so, everyone here use your own methods to get what we need. We’ll reconviene in three months; sooner, if the war against the Nomads picks up.”
“Not likely,” Tama finally spoke up from the back, “Wei has no idea how to run an army. He keeps sending Genin and low-ranking Chuunin to Devil’s Mouth. It’s been…boring.”
“You hold the line then and be thankful for his idiocy then, brother. Thankful as well they aren’t taking you seriously, either.”
“Another oddity,” Sousuke mumbled with a mechanical ring. Though it was mostly to himself, the old Steward was right - the fact that Tama had revealed himself sided with the Nomads would normally have triggered a much larger reaction. It was rarer to find someone who hadn’t, heard of the mad scientist and his capabilities.
“Let us answer the surface questions before diving into the conspiracy, first,” the Toraono leader reminded the room, “Dismissed. Please leave a different route than you entered.”
A majority of the room vanished while the rest shuffled out through hidden tunnels and trap doors. After a moment it was only Michino and Sousuke left standing, pondering maps and distilling the knowledge they were granted by the Miroku.
Surrounding him were shinobi of various faces and forms. Takahashi Sousuke stood opposite of him in his metallic form, burning embers for eyes glowing in the remaining darkness; they seemed to be studying the map. Michino's older brother stood in a corner far from the rest with his arms crossed. The old scientist seemed particularly tired but there was a fire behind his eyes that his younger brother had never seen before. Representatives of the Miroku sent by Akkuma, who had provided the old leather map, stood in the corner opposite of Michino’s brother, while the rest - active heads, younger members of various clans, merchant lords, and Sunan nobles, stood behind him.
“My brothers and sisters,” Michino spoke up, breaking the silence as he turned to address them. His hands reached up to pull back the hood and reveal his face in full, feeling no shame in the treason he was committing.
“We are living in very dire times. Our independence is broken, our pride tarnished, and our way devolved into being nothing more than simple murder machines. It breaks my heart to see the way my homeland has become, but thankfully I am not the only one. While the strong youth of my clan is forced to fight the frontlines, a great many influential lords, such as myself, disagree with the current Steward’s ways.
“However, this man is insidious. They have a corrupted council of sycophants guiding the market, the military, and by doing so are keeping Wei far, far out of our grasp. We cannot simply cut this man down without cutting down our own as they attempt to keep to their Shinobi Pride.
“So, I have gathered together tonight our best politicians, merchant lords, clan heads, and Sunan nobles - the very lifeblood of our country - to suggest ways in which we can remove Steward Wei without resulting in bloodshed.”
“If I may?” One of the two Miroku in the corner spoke up with an offered hand, raised to gain notice. The Toraono Lord nodded at them. A small woman moved forward into the lamp-light to reveal herself: white hair, red eyes, and green irises.
“The way forward will not be easy, but I can assure you that proceeding forward will regain our independence…the only thing we need worry for is the inevitable retaliation.” Gracefully she shifted across the floor to reveal herself in the light further, even going as far as to remove her hood as Michino had to gain trust; which was much needed given who she was representing. The Toraono’s mixed eyes slowly followed the woman as she moved to the map with all of the trust a honey badger would give a snake.
“The Baron Twins are, by what I’ve gathered, trying to take over the entire country. Originally they had simply set out to steal a fortune, but seven years of work later and they’ve grown attached to our country’s…less than tasteful businesses. The population of trains connecting the desert has only made the black market outside of Suna blossomed into a whole new beast. Even our Underground is being left behind…
“Anyways, while I was working deep-cover I came to find that there was a room in their palace no one except them were allowed to enter. In the six-months I was stationed I watched tons of nobles, merchants, concubines…all sorts, but no one, was allowed in that single room. In every blueprint I’ve managed to pull, this room doesn’t exist - it’s supposed to be a courtyard. I have my utmost confidence that this room contains something that can help us prove the Steward has broken the Sunahoshi Code - to act only in prosperity of Sunagakure."
“And this retaliation?” the old Steward spoke up, his voice a haunting metallic echo in the ruins. Even the Miroku spy found herself flinching in fear at the sound of his famous stoic attitude. He asked matter of factly, as if he was prepared to for every contigency already and just needed to plug in the data.
“They have captured an adult Carnasaur.” A deafening silence took too the room, one strong enough to squash the queries of those who were there and didn’t know.
“How is it controlled?”
“We think it’s an Uchiha, but we can’t say for sure. All I know for certain is they apparently have an unnatural way with…a lot of things. She’s the brother’s main negotiator who, allegedly, showed up riding the damn thing.”
“Have you confirmed it’s existence?”
“Confirmed,” the spy said with a shaky voice as she slipped across a picture taken with ninjutsu that, while didn’t give a full detailed picture, revealed enough to back up her claims.
“Dire indeed,” Michino mumbled as he looked back over his shoulder, “Any ideas, Uncle?”
“Hmm…one comes to mind. We could move Sunagakure underground once more but, it can’t just be underneath us. The caverns below were most likely destroyed by the tower explosion, we’d need to find a new path. Excavation team. One Earth-aligned and the other two carrying supplies. They’d have a full week to search but…”
“In the meantime, we have the war the Steward is pushing…”
“And we need to find the physical evidence needed to remove Wei without bleeding our family.”
“I believe, my family and I can help with that, my lords,” spoke a fearful looking man guided by a Toraono bodyguard. He was quickly recognized as one of the few Chikamatsu clansmen that had broken away from their compound recently and went into hiding. While many were against their presence, their wild-eyed leader brought him into the fold anyways. He was the only member of the entire clan who had never heard of Wei, his schemes, or anything concerning the man before his rise to Steward; which Michino took seriously. The frail youth had also happened to be away from Sunagakure at the time procuring a rare flower for their clan during Wei's rise, and his lacking memory of such a supposedly important clansmen made the Toraono curious.
“With only seeds I can grow food anywhere. We can extend an underground mission indefinitely if we needed to, sunlight not required!” he said with a half-smile, “My only worry is Sandworms.”
“Not a worry then, Sandworms haven’t been sighted in years now…”
“I think we have enough here to get started. I can’t make any official moves and assign people to tasks, so, everyone here use your own methods to get what we need. We’ll reconviene in three months; sooner, if the war against the Nomads picks up.”
“Not likely,” Tama finally spoke up from the back, “Wei has no idea how to run an army. He keeps sending Genin and low-ranking Chuunin to Devil’s Mouth. It’s been…boring.”
“You hold the line then and be thankful for his idiocy then, brother. Thankful as well they aren’t taking you seriously, either.”
“Another oddity,” Sousuke mumbled with a mechanical ring. Though it was mostly to himself, the old Steward was right - the fact that Tama had revealed himself sided with the Nomads would normally have triggered a much larger reaction. It was rarer to find someone who hadn’t, heard of the mad scientist and his capabilities.
“Let us answer the surface questions before diving into the conspiracy, first,” the Toraono leader reminded the room, “Dismissed. Please leave a different route than you entered.”
A majority of the room vanished while the rest shuffled out through hidden tunnels and trap doors. After a moment it was only Michino and Sousuke left standing, pondering maps and distilling the knowledge they were granted by the Miroku.