Event Where is the Shogun? <Mission 3>

[Cloud Seer]

The dusk falls heavy on a day of bloodshed and death. Three operations are executed by the end of the first day, taking on the Tenouza forces as the night falls; a shinobi specialty. One of these missions holds and importance that supersedes the war itself. The Shogun of Lightning, the de-facto leader of the entire country, has fallen silent despite messages sent out that war in on his doorstep. Without the Shogun, the lacking might of Kumogakure could possibly fail in the removal of Tenouzan forces at best, and at worst he could be against them. If the Shogun has sided with Tenouza then this could spell all sorts of bad news not just for Lightning but for Kumogakure itself. Even with their ninjutsu might, the lack of bodies due to ravishing war, disease, and a mysterious disappearance would not be able to fight against the Shogun’s army, his nobles’ personal armies, and Tenouza’s mysteriously powerful army, at once. The Raikage and select group of highly vetted shinobi go forth under the complete cover of night and slip towards the Capital.

The cold night brings about a special sting as the group nears the Capital, but it’s not so much the bite of the cold itself. There is something wrong in the air, Kitsune’s group will notice, something like a cloying heat despite the natural cold. It’s like spicy air, despite the cold, and continues to bite at the the chakra users the entire way towards the city. Right as the group nears the wall between the outside and the city, the bite turns and becomes a weight. The feeling is centered in their stomach where the chakra coil balances itself. It feels like the weight is being pulled down, and away. Without even trying to mold chakra or cast a ninjutsu, the group of veteran shinobi can tell; their god-like tricks that make them so feared will be useless here.

That is their only concern, however, as entrance into the Capital is stupid easy. The Samurai that normally guard the gate have seemingly been reduced from, what would normally be four, to one. The military presence inside the Capital reflects the very same. Men and women clad in traditional armor with a katana at their hip are barely seen anywhere. Those that are in the city appear to be either new, old, or grizzled in a way that clearly marks them as injured from service. Upon closer investigation it can be noted that the Samurai all guarding Raiden’s Eye also appear to all be on loan from the nobles’ personal armies. Not a single Samurai bares the crest of the Shogun’s house, leading to the question: why?

[Something is not right…]

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

There will always be a moment in history where things don't go as planned. And I don't really know much of these Tenouzans with the exception of that they pose a threat, something about a weapon that could destroy all of Cloud. My goal of making the world a better place, a world of peace would sometimes mean that I would have to make tough choices. I don't want to kill, but these guys are threatening a lot of people's lives right now, and they must be stopped. I had said goodbye to my family. Had a moment of silence at the graveyard where my parents were buried, and had thought long and hard of the mission before me.

I don't know much of this Shogun either, but he is supposed to be an important figure to keep the Land of Lightning safe from these Tenouzans, right? But there has been no word from this capital at all. There were too many unknown factors at play for me to think one way or another of what to theorize on. I looked over at my company, a former Hokage and the current Raikage, any normal person would probably fan girl or have their heart racing with excitement to see such figures in action, but in my mind, it was grim. Such a mission that requires the Raikage herself to take action, along with Umashi, who is no pushover, and then there's me. Such a black sheep among the flock. Even with things playing out differently than in Leaf, I can't help but think of the war with Frost.

And now here I am, in the midst of yet another war. As we have made our way into the capital, I could feel a disturbance in my own chakra. I have yet to feel something of this nature before, and because of it, I was put more on edge. Just looking around, I can see that the place isn't nearly as fortified as it should be, armed to the teeth with people, it was not.

Even still, I don't like to take unnecessary actions when not needed. "Yoru." I spoke in a small faint voice in which only the two by my side might have really heard me. A female kitsune that looks just like me, but not in secret attire, appeared out of thin air. "Scout around, take all precations to not be seen."

Yoru nodded. She was a ghost, but there are still some people with the ability to see the dead when the dead don't want to be seen. She was a ninja, just like the rest of them, and she doesn't make any noise when she traverses, could be a good scout as long as there aren't those that can see spirits walking around. She would scout ahead, using the night to her advantage as she moves around, keeping a watchful eye on her surroundings. I turn to look over at the two, "I got a friend looking around right now." I said in an almost inaudible whisper, in case if others were watching. Hopefully, the two would get the idea that I have a ghostly companion floating around that would only act as an extra pair of eyes and ears for us. But that can only get us so far. This feeling I have from this place has a lot of red flags. The kind that shows up, but we have no choice but to keep moving forward.

(Ghost NPC Kitsune Yoru only visible to those that have the ability to see ghosts.)

 

[Seijin]

Practicing his morning meditation, Umashi had prepared himself as best as he could the day before the mission. With little time to prepare in the way that he normally liked to, he instead had to rely on the intel coming from the Raikage, her Sennin and whatever the scouts and eye witness reports could give them. As far as he was concerned, things were screwed up in a way that would make it hard to reverse. Sipping his tea in front of an ornamental wall, he closed his eyes and reflected on what would allow him to endure under pressure, that of his family. With such little time between missions, he hadn't been able to make the time to go see them and with them being deep undercover, he certainly didn't want to risk them getting exposed and thus, he chose to finish yet another mission before going to see them. More meditating, more controlling his emotions and more controlling his thoughts. As the hours would go on, soon he'd find himself traveling with the Raikage and Ziren towards the Capital.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Intune with chakra as he was, it wasn't the feeling of a lack of chakra where there should have been it, but notably, there was the general feeling of dread and despair that greeted them. Not needing a tour guide to tell him what had gone on, Umashi didn't speak at first as he allowed his eyes to scan their surroundings as they drew deeper and deeper into the enemies keep. Going for a more subdued look, Umashi had opted to wear samurai centric clothing mostly for the innate camouflage of looking more like the enemy. More peculiar though was the fact that while he saw enough samurai to at least sound the alarm and provide an initial defense, the sort of numbers that he assumed would be present weren't, and the pit in his stomach began to grow heavier and heavier. If it was a coup, then it was a relatively bloodless one but even with that, there was just simply a lack of bodies period. To have turned so many against the Shogun seemed almost impossible and yet with the facts so plainly presented before him, that's exactly what it looked like. Not wanting to blow their cover, when Ziren indicated that he had a friend doing reconnaissance, Umashi didn't fight it and instead nodded in agreement and used the relative downtime to convert the facts of what he'd seen to what he knew.

For one, something was affecting chakra, but where was it being stored? Chakra was the sort of energy that couldn't truly be destroyed so if something was messing with it then manmade or not, the chakra wasn't completely gone. Secondly, where were the Shogun's people? Military coup's were rarely one-hundred percent and with little signs of a struggle, it was just as likely that via genjutsu or some other means that the Shogun's forces had simply disappeared or left peacefully. Third of all, if the other two facts were as bad as he thought that they were, then Kitsune and Ziren were especially in danger because an individual that was used to having chakra suddenly losing it would be a liability physically and have little defense in the way of stopping a genjutsu would mean that whatever had affected the Shogun's samurai would be twice as effective on them. Ziren was good with a weapon and Kitsune certainly had all the usual Uchiha tricks but without chakra, would either of them be able to make full use of their abilities? Umashi would keep his Natural Energy on reserve just in case things got too out of hand but he quietly prepared himself for a worse case scenario.

OOC: Umashi is a Chakra Attuned x Archsage and so I'm treating him as being more aware of the issue with molding chakra.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

​

It was quite the odd time. Kitsune had brought Ziren, and Umashi with her to the capital to investigate why there was no sign of life from the Shogun or his forces given the current crisis that had befallen the country, and Kumogakure especially, what with the cultists inexplicable hatred for chakra users. The closer they got to the capital, the more Kitsune felt her ability to manipulate chakra diminish, to the point where the only thing she could do was keep her Sharingan eyes active, leaving her able to see things most would miss, but not much else beyond that due to a distinct lack of chakra.

She was dressed in a suit, as she normally would be during her day to day business, appearing like any other civilian, only the suit had an armored weave between the layers of cloth, giving a certain degree of physical protection, but that was about it. In her inner pockets were vials of chemicals she could use to produce smoke screens, tear gas, or other similar crowd controlling effects. Sadly nothing that could do a more direct form of damage, but then again, they were there to investigate, not do actual combat. Well. Hopefully.

When Ziren said they’d got a friend scouting around, Kitsune nodded and gave a thumbs up. ”Good job. Hopefully we’ll be able to figure out just what’s going on here.” she said, looking around the area ”I wonder where all the shogun-aligned samurai are... There’s supposed to be four on guard at the city gates, not one. But lets get inside, and see what we can discover, shall we?” she queried the others and nodded towards the gates, hoping they were fully aware that they’d have to rely on blending in, and stealth tactics. Chakra would likely not be an option here.

 

[Cloud Seer]

The whispers of death would come to Ziren’s ear and tell him that the ghost could not find anything out of the ordinary, despite a very thorough search. Umashi’s molding of Nature Chakra would grant him a bit more stamina than the rest. His vision became clearer, his aged muscles strained by the pull at his gut could relax, and a bit of fog that was quietly effecting everyone lifted ever so slightly for the veteran. Despite this, it didn’t appear that that the group could find anything super out of the ordinary that wasn’t already being openly proclaimed. They were able to enter the city and walk through the streets completely unhindered. It was as if they lived there and no one questioned their presence. At one point, it became abundantly clear that stealth wasn’t more than an action that was just taxing their bodies to maintain as the Loan Samurai didn’t even so much as look at the three ninja infiltrating their city.

The Capital, was, as it always had been. People moved around the hidden Kumogakure warriors as they went about their daily lives. There was a group of youths that appeared to be the children of nobles from the coast touring the city while excitedly talking up the food. Two lawyers were discussing a possible illegal business practice being abused by some rich asshole within Radien’s Eye. A group of poor urchins harassed a Loan Samurai while one of them stole bread from a stall near the open markets; stuff that would go on even if the Shogun’s personal army would of been on patrol. On a surface level, everything seemed to be on the up-n-up. It was as if the war outside of the Capital just didn’t exist. As the cold of night settled in everyone slowly made their ways towards their end-of-the-day routines.

And yet…

Kitsune’s eyes would just barely catch it. Her powerful dojutsu ever working to move between people witnessing their daily tasks and weak chakra signals would nearly be blinded by a force of overwhelming chakra darting just over her head at high speeds. The Arcsage would feel it, too, a horribly heavy chakra that brushed against his flesh like a stranger trying to push past. Yoru, the undead companion to Ziren, would be the one who managed to look up and see what had just pushed its presence onto the two shinobi who could sense it; a man-shaped pile of rags leaping between roofs. Now, this was a bit of a concern considering that two out of three could tell that whatever just leapt above their heads, had a ungodly amount of chakra compared to what they could hold onto. It would have been unnerving to witness outside of the city where chakra just didn’t seem to work, but to see it within surely raised all kinds of questions.

However, another problem rang through the air. The sounds of bells, tiny at first and then louder as the Samurai began pulling down on the strings attached to the metal clappers with abandon. It was the city’s High Alert system going off, meaning that something or someone important was destroyed or dead; considering the lack of explosions, it was probably safe to assume the latter. Loan Samurai that were lazing about suddenly had a look of high stress as they tied their swords tighter and all made way towards the Shogun’s palace. Some where far slower than others, clearly on purpose as fear etched easily onto their faces, but it left no doubt in the high-ranking shinobi in their midst that something bad had just happened; and someone knew what.

[So many roads…which is the right path?]

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

My eyes scanned around, looking for anything out of the ordinary, and even Yoru had picked nothing up, and she was freely able to traverse around without a care in the world. But beside my two companions of legend, they both have the ability to sense chakra or anything out of the ordinary of that nature, me? I'm just a dude, chick, kitsune, you know what, forget all that, I'm ordinary compared to these two. But even so, my brain is hardwired differently than others. Having served in all three branches, I know more or less how everyone operates. Had the most time in the ANBU, so I have the mindset of an anbu, but medical branch the second most, and always considered myself a combat medic.

My own chakra has felt like it has been taken away from me. But what is more curious is the fact that we had merely walked passed a single soldier who didn't even blink an eye in our way. I was unaware of our roof jumper until Yoru had whispered in my ear. My mind ran through as much possibilities that I can think of. Now before we get into possibilities, I have to surmise that this person is of chakra capabilities, for the main reason of that being they were roof jumping. Silly as it may seem, all ninja use an ever so small amount of chakra for feats such as jumping from one building to another. The only other two possibilities was that this is what people call a parkour or an extremely athletic person that likes to jump buildings. But... there was the attire that would most likely throw off the other two theories. From what Yoru had told me, this individual was wearing layers of rags. things like that would impair a normal person if they want to do something as reckless as building jumping.

I don't really know if they had caught sight of what Yoru had seen, but I relayed the information to them, "Roof jumper, wearing layers of rags, possible enemy." I said in a soft whisper. I don't know if this individual was the chakra drainer person, or an accomplice, or maybe even a third party, but chances can't really be taken here and now with how things are.

But that's when things got really crazy, bells were ringing. The guards were all going crazy, moving straight to an important looking building. My thoughts went to the citizens as I was always a people person, but I can only imagine what other crazy things may be happening further ahead of us that would need my utmost attention. I wanted to rush in, but we were a team, and the Medic is vital. I turned to the Raikage, "What's your call? I'll standby for your orders." I never really liked to be someone to standby for orders, but there is a time and place for everything. I am sure this woman was chosen to be the Raikage for a reason.

 

[Seijin]

As mundane as it might have been, Umashi found himself partially tuned in to the current drama of the day. Illegal business in Raiden's Eye . . . for a fact Umashi wanted to know more and even while keeping tabs on the mission at hand, he couldn't help but to let his mind wander at what sort of deals he could extract from such a source. Everyone and everything in his life had a purpose and information was sometimes the only currency that mattered in the world. Filing the gist of the conversation away, he at first saw Ziren reacting to something before he realized that something was amiss.

Not planning to die anytime soon, the only way that Umashi could describe the sensation was as if someone were walking over his grave. In a place devoid of chakra, the mere bumping into it, invisible as it often tended to be, was one that couldn't be ignored. Not quite aware of the who, when Ziren spat out a quick summarization of what he'd witnessed, Umashi had no choice but to believe that it was true. "Sounds like somebody who doesn't want to get caught." Able to keep his tone even and unafraid, he was about to say more but the sound of bells began all around them. So much for blending in, if people weren't aware of them before, then the heightened alert would have everyone looking at their neighbors sideways.

With little chakra to go around and certainly needing every ounce of it to take down the threat that he'd just felt, to Umashi there was no best decision, only one that they'd have to live with. Split up and whoever went after the "Ragman" would have to either avoid being spied out or risk an encounter that would be hard to pull through without help. If they ran towards whatever the bells were calling attention to then they'd risk outing themselves as not being locals and let a possible threat get away. A tough decision had to be made and no doubt that's what the roof runner had anticipated. "This has trap written all over it in all caps but say the word and I'll follow." Against his better judgement, Umashi was leaving the mission in the hands of an Uchiha . . . the Raikage, true, but an Uchiha with whom he hadn't fully vetted nonetheless.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

As the force of chakra zoomed past overhead, Kitsune spun around, following it with her eyes. It was quick decision time here. Would they go for the massive chakra signature that somehow seemed unaffected by the force subduing the three shinobis innate power? Or would they go for where the alarm came from? Or perhaps both? Kitsune looked at her two companions and narrowed her eyes a bit as she formulated a plan in her head. ”Whatever that was, it wasn’t suppressed like we are.” she stated to the two of them in a muted tone, ”I think the correct choice here would be sending the two of you after the ragperson.”

She gave the two another quick glance, ”I’ll check out the alarm, see if I can figure out what happened, and if I can find the shogun at the center of it all.” she said, before re-stating her orders ”You two take down ragperson. Ideally alive for questioning, but if there’s no choice otherwise, take them out completely. Ensure to preserve as much as possible, as there might be clues as to what the heck is going on here. And, of course, if they’re involved with the crazy zealots.”

With the orders given, Kitsune strolled towards where the alarm came from, taking care to look as inconspicuous as possible, and dipping into the shadows whenever required to avoid being spotted by guards and passers-by. Hopefully she’d mostly seem to be a busy businesswoman of some kind, heading from location A to location B. After all, the best way to appear as if you belong somewhere is looking determined and going to wherever you need to go. Or if it’s a work-site, grab a hardhat, high-visibility vest, and a clipboard, and you’re basically good to go and almost nobody wants to stop you.

 

[Cloud Seer]

[Due to having received orders from leader, Umashi and Ziren may post again before I make rolls.]

 

[Seijin]

Umashi couldn't say that it was the worst plan but it certain probably wasn't the best plan either . . . maybe. If he thought about it too long, he would realize that like many a decision that had to quickly be made on the ground, that some things just weren't going to ever run as smoothly as they could go. There was something about sending the leader of a village to assess a threat themselves that didn't quite sit right with him but he wasn't the one calling the shots, she was. Nodding in agreement at the Raikage, Umashi motioned to Ziren with a nod of his head and ushered him towards the direction of the ragman. "I'll do the pirate thing if you do the fox thing and hopefully we don't die in the process." Shrugging he cautiously but assuredly slinked off towards the threat, using his natural affinity for sensing chakra to guide him. While not a fine tuned skill of his, the being that they were following was such the big fish in a small pond that it wouldn't have taken an expert to get their general whereabouts. The biggest question to answer would be what would they find when they finally confronted them. Rushing past all the people going in the opposite direction, Umashi would have to rely on improvisation and a general expectation of the unexpected.

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

The Raikage wants to solo whatever had set off the alarms? I would have stayed with the whole group thing, but if she is confident in her abilities despite the whole chakra draining thing, then I'll have to put my trust in with her. Which reminds me of our raggedy friend, pun intended. I have a few theories of this individual. Either they are an ally of these Tenouzans, so as they are not affected by such things, they have a near immeasurable amount of chakra to shrug off the draining feeling, or they have found a way around that whole fiasco. All of which didn't sound good to me.

Then Umashi had told me of a very vague plan. He's going to do a pirate thing, whilst I do a fox thing. What? My mind ran through of what he meant by all of that, I know next to nothing of kitsunes much less how to act like one, but I ran my mind through how a fox is usually thought of in terms of stereotypes. Sneaky, hard to get a read on, and thieving. I think the last part I shouldn't do, but I got an idea for the other two.

I decide to trail behind Umashi, flanking around, going around one block, holding my yo-yo in my hand, hidden under my own attire. It would be good to entangle their foot or to hit them to catch them off their guard. I know full well that if a fight were to break out, I'll have to work with solely my own skill in fighting without the use of chakra. I began to run scenarios through my head of what to do, where to strike, how to strike.

Kitsune Yoru was a little bit further ahead of me, to be my eyes of if she would see the rag man, whilst I trust Umashi's more direct approach, my aim would be to cut off a path, but also act as support for Umashi by being further behind, using my innate power as an exalted to give the man a sense of calmness and a clear headed state. Maybe it will also hopefully reach the Raikage as well. I was also filled with it, something I am glad to have as it doesn't use any chakra.

white blessing passive x2= group has +2 accuracy or just Ziren and Umashi if there is a range for which white blessing is effective

 

[Cloud Seer]

No matter how well written, a comedy of errors was still just an elaborate series of unfortunate events. As it had been decided by the universe's uncaring passive resolve, Kitsune's plan to split her forces worked for her, true, but to what means, she would find out later. As she strolled along at her own pace, the people around her rushed by as if unable to give a care as to why such a well dressed woman could walk while they yet ran. Controlled in her gait as she was, it wouldn't take Kitsune long to see just what sort of chaos had been wrought by the actions of an assassin. The wailing of the lay people and the defensiveness of the samurai who had showed up all but made clear what had happened. Kitsune didn't need to see the body being brought out but he with the rush of medical personnel towards the area, her biggest fear, or perhaps her biggest wish would be made manifest right before her very eyes.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Running off as he had, the assassin in rags might have made his way clear outside of the well guarded fortress that was the capital but in his hurry to escape the scene of the crime, he hadn't actually secured the finishing touch on setting up Kumogakure as the perpetrators of assassinating the Shogun. Broken glass, blood and guts, a wound befitting a shinobi's crafted weapon of choice, check, check and check, but there was still the smoking gun that was the final piece, and instead of leaving it behind, in his haste he'd taken a drink instead of securing that the mission was completed in full. Perhaps he shouldn't have had that glass of champagne but it was too late to turn around. Ever the opportunist, though he believed in his skills to be at the top of their game, even he wasn't above royally screwing up a mission, which was why he didn't see the samurai with longbows aimed right at him. By the time that he noticed, it was too late and their released arrows flew true and struck him squarely where they needed to, if but a few centimeters off. Fortunately for them, their well trained bows did the job of slowing him down. Unfortunately for them, his weak spots weren't the normal types.

Taking the arrows full force, his body was slowed just enough that he didn't make the jump to the next roof and he landed unceremoniously in an alley and barely on his own two feet. Forced to take time to pull out the arrows, Umashi and Ziren rounded the corner just in time catch him on one side, while three samurai actually worth their pay slid into view on the other side. Not hesitating, the samurai failed to acknowledge Umashi and Ziren as they rushed headlong towards the assassin and swung their swords in practiced unison only to find that instead of their attacks landed, they were quickly rebuffed. The two shinobi and ethereal companion meanwhile, were forced to contemplate if jumping into the fray would be worth it or not. For one, there was the fact that they might get caught in the crossfire, especially when more and more samurai seemed to be showing up with melee and ranged weapons alike. These were the sort of moments, when the decisions made could mean life or death. Did they trust that the samurai could contain a threat or did they believe that using the last of their chakra was worth it to secure the goal?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Somewhat able to be lost in the crowd, Kitsune stood and watched from a notable distance away as the crowds began to gather in order to both hear and tell about what they heard about the assassination of their beloved Shogun. Questions such as was it true, or was it some clever ruse in order to get the Shogun into hiding due to a would be attempt at his life, ran rampant. Kitsune herself would be privy to many a conversation and discussions as the lack of leadership in moments like these only made the fervor of the people grow more intense and excited. "Hey, you're her, aren't you?" The voice from behind the Raikage seemed to out the woman but it wasn't all the way clear until a hand reached for her own and attempted to turn her around with words to match. "Stop, you're one of them, aren't you!" A gentle tug at first might have been ignored but as Kitsune might have tried to ignore the nagging voice behind her, the person didn't give up and instead tried to get others involved. "She's one of them, they did this! They killed the Shogun!" Kitsune had lived long enough to recognize a situation that was quickly growing out of control when it occurred. Turning around, she had very few choices other than to . . .


OOC: Kitsune and the "Capital" rolled highest with Umashi, Ziren and the Ragman all failing their rolls (Umashi failed least while Ziren and Ragman tied for last).

Kitsune: Describe the "female" that tried to get your attention and out you as the Raikage, a shinobi. Either they are old or young and either you use guile (your words) or your sharingan to answer a small crowd that believes this "female".

Ziren: Do you rush into battle against the Ragman to encircle him or do you allow the samurai to handle things.

Neither of your responses needs to be terribly long, just enough to push things along. This is a quick time post request, please keep your post between 200 to 400 words.

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

There were a few sounds that I can only imagine were thuds as I rounded the corner and seen Mr. Ragby had landed and was now pulling arrows out of his body. By his stance of how he fell, he was skilled enough to not be some normal person, even after getting hit with some arrows. My thoughts enforced when the ragged crusader had easily blocked all three samurai's attacks.

My right hand still hidden in my cloak as I assessed the situation. I said very quietly, to where only Yoru would hear me, ""Analyze his stance, look for a weakness or a good opening." I know that getting up close and personal would cause more problems than anything else. First of all, I might accidentally hurt the samurai, or vice versa. And who knows how well this man is with hand to hand combat, I'm already fighting with a handicap with not using my chakra unless absolutely necessary. Even with ranged taijutsu it will be risky, he could easily dodge it and it hit the samurai.

This kind of problem needed some delicate kind of thinking. Sometimes, it's not all about power, but rather skill and the know how to use it. After assessing the situation, I threw out my Yo-yo, aiming for his back foot, goal is that the yo-yo would wrap around his foot. This is ultimately will be used as a distraction. Weather or not it is wrapped around his foot, he would be aware of a more trickier opponent, hopefully make him less aware of the samurai. After that happens, or lack thereof, I will bring out my katana, going for a downward slice, but faking out in thoughts of tricking him. After that, I would follow up with a slash aiming from bottom left of his body to near shoulder right.

If it hits or not, I will stay light on my toes and take a step back once the full slashing motion is complete and then try and move completely out of his range with a few more quick steps.

OOC Notes:
In terms of battle, I did a basic strike called shot feet. Afterwards followed up with a fake out, and then a basic strike.
White blessing passive: +2 acc
Also have the called shot ability If that would count to doing said called shot to feet.
In terms of rp, Ziren is trying to get ragmans attention to give samurai an opportunity to attack an opening.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

It didn’t take Kitsune long to realize just who had been killed and why the alarms had sounded. Being one of the Shoguns vassals it wouldn’t be entirely unusual to see her in the capital either, providing reports to the Lord of the Land. Unfortunately for her, a young woman clearly out of her league tugged on the sleeve of Kitsunes suit, trying to get her attention with the words “Hey, you’re her, aren’t you?”, to which Kitsune turned around with the best scornful face of nobility she could muster. ”Get your hands off of my suit, girl. And watch your tone, you’re addressing one of our Lords vassals, the Duchess of Liancourt-Tsushima.” she said coldly, wresting her sleeve out of the grasp of the woman.

Hopefully she’d take the hint and leave Kitsune alone so she could get over to the samurai guarding the entrance so she could bark some orders at them. Even if they weren’t under her command they at the very least should recognize her authority as a noble in command of two of the provinces of the entire country and if not she’d have to remind them. It wasn’t a coincidence she became a Duchess under the Shoguns command. She did save his life back when the Kingslayers were roaming around. Ironically enough that was back when the Tenouzans had their old Pope, too. Back when we all had peace.

”Tell me what’s going on here,” she demanded of one of the nearby samurai keeping people away, ”I’m the Duchess of Liancourt-Tsushima; Baroness of Raimei no Seika.” she continued as she held up the ceremonial sword that represented her ties to the Shogun, it was the very sword that he had gifted her when she had taken the oath to serve the Shogun all those years ago. If the Shogun was now dead, it was her duty to avenge him. Probably. It wasn’t all that clear, to be fair.

[MFT; WC: 324]

 

[Cloud Seer]

Kitsune's methods while showy, spoke of peace rather than of war. Realizing that she'd made a grave error in judgement assuming that the Raikage was just another dirty death bringer, the young woman backed away as her folly was made fully manifest. Kitsune instinctively might have pressed the woman for more information as she didn't exactly answer her question but fanfare from some other commotion coming towards the Shogun's residence drew her attention to it versus the grubby handed commoner. "Make way for Lord L! Make way for Lord L!" While the name might have caused some to question just who was so important that horns and drums would need to accompany their presence, Kitsunes mind began to click as her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for just where the seemingly large entourage was coming from to catch a glimpse of the supposed "Lord L".

Surely they meant some other individual. As far as Kitsune was aware, Lord L was deceased and had been for quite some time. The first born son of Shiranai vi Kaminari by way of his secret first Seishitsu by way of an arranged marriage to a Bear Country noble's daughter, Lord L's mother died in childbirth leaving him alone in a world where he knew no others like him. Growing up privileged despite not quite fully fitting in with his other later resulting siblings, he became known as the "Gaijin Prince". Whereas his father was constantly changing his opinion concerning shinobi, L had not and was especially fond of them as he didn't have the same limitations as those of full Lightning Country descent. His folly was siding against his father on one too many matters publicly and when the Fire-Star Island incident threatened to drag the Lightning Country into war, the Shogun sent his firstborn son quite literally to die. It was a well known secret that the Shogun had chosen power and control over his own child and it was a public turning point in the man's feelings towards shinobi.

It had been decades but Kitsune remembered, she'd seen the reports, she'd actually been sent on one of the many missions to find the man and while it was true that no body was ever found, as far as Kumogakure was concerned, Lord L had been ambushed just off the shores of Fire-Star Island by forces claiming to represent the Fire Country. Keen intel by Kumo ANBU kept the situation from causing an outright war but peculiarly, the Shogun himself hadn't even requested the aid of Kumo in finding his sons assassins. That fact alone was enough to merit the case being closed and the contents being filed away in a top secret file. Though the reports were scant on details, Kitsune was old enough to remember seeing the man in person and was in just the right position as a medical shinobi to have had read the official files on his official cause of death. As her eyes finally caught sight of who was claiming to be Lord L, her eyes opened wide at first with shock and then with an almost rational rage.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Fortunately for Ziren, too much damage wasn't done but nevertheless, the antics of the former Konoha shinobi were quickly rebuffed by the rag dressing assassin but not before the Samurai threw a weighted net over him, trapping him for good. Had he simply not tried hard enough to escape or had he simply come up against a fortunate samurai? The answers would probably never be revealed to him but as the samurai closed in on him, he held his hands up as much as he could and prostrated himself on the ground. "I give up! I'll speak! Please, I'll tell you everything if you keep me protected from them!" A full reversal and one that even Ziren and Umashi probably never anticipated. An assassin wanting to talk was something that rarely if ever happened and naturally, many of the samurai were skeptical. One however was in a perfect position to see both Umashi and Ziren and when he laid eyes on them, he froze as his skin began to pale. "Lll-Ll-Lord L? Is it really you?"

Merely mentioning the name caused the samurai not focused on binding the captured assassin to cautiously look to who the samurai behind Ziren and Umashi were pointing to. As if on command, those not dealing with the assassin in rags fell to their knees and bowed towards Ziren and Umashi. Looking around, it would become clear that all eyes were on Umashi and with Ziren not moving quick enough for some, a rather brutish samurai reached towards them and attempted to pull Ziren down to bow as the others had. "Have you no shame? Would you on such a day as today disrespect our Lord the heir?" Utterly confused at who their foreign born ears interpreted to be "Lord R" and with neither having lived long enough in the Lightning Country to be fully aware of who the samurai were referring to, Umashi's charisma proved to be his savior as quick thinking on his and Ziren's part helped them to secure both the assassin and not be recognized by the samurai as shinobi.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Umashi, the name would no doubt be accompanied by many colorful expletives, none to kind but from her position, Kitsune only had so many choices available to her. She'd read the reports, she'd seen the files and Kitsune knew that Umashi was not in fact Lord L. Lord L was slightly taller and a bit more fair in skin tone, plus by the current date, Umashi barely matched with the late Lord age wise. Kitsune couldn't quite remember the voice but to a discerning ear, Umashi's accent while usually neutral, definitely could be pegged as more coastal Fire Country than Lightning Country born. However, to the simpletons without mastery of chakra, sharingan eyes or a lack of travels from the capital region, Umashi could by some estimation be a close enough look alike to fool the masses. Making her way towards where the procession was going to eventually end up, she caught sight of knowing faces and eyes and gave her reason to believe that she wasn't the only person who knew that Umashi wasn't Lord L.

Pushing through the crowd at a brisk pace, she began to notice that there were more and more questioning eyes on Umashi and when she finally met both him, Ziren, the samurai procession and the captured assassin. As the scene began to set itself, in naturally human formed circle just beyond the gates of the Shogun's residence, just before the gates were the samurai with their captured assassin, Umashi being clearly protected by the biggest samurai and Ziren mostly moved out of the way. Kitsune appearing to their right, her left would have a clear view of them and across from her would be the glaring eyes of a mix of court officials and known Tenouza spies, nearly all of whom she could tell, knew the truth about Lord L, the assassin and the late Shogun, Shiranai vi Kaminari. The common folk none the wiser, the only thing that caused a quiet to sweep through the crowd was the sound of horns and drums from within the Shogun's estate. It didn't take a knowledge of Lightning Country lore to know that they could only signal one thing, the official notice of the death of a Shogun.

Like the true waves of the ocean, all bowed on cue as the only socially respectable thing to do was what unified them all in the moment. Unable to keep her knowledge of the country customs and norms from surfacing, a quick thinking Kitsune would realize that if the common people believed Umashi to be the late Shogun's heir apparent then it was as good as a done deal least the whole of the region and possibly the country end up in a civil war. The officials that knew the Shoguns actual wishes and the Tenouza spies would do their best to usurp the Shogunate for themselves but with Umashi in the way, they'd have no choice but to go along with things until a more opportune time presented itself for them to take care of both their failure of an assassin and the plant of an heir in Umashi. Knowing the laws on appointments, Kitsune would recognize that with an assassination having taken place and not an abdication or prepared for death due to old age, that within days, "Lord L" would either become the new Shogun or one of the other known children, retinue or otherwise.

Kitsune often didn't get her hands dirty but that often remembered fact about her was threatened in the moment. before her were many options, some more valuable than others and some more likely to blow up in her face. Would she out Umashi or would she leave him as a carefully placed piece on the chessboard? Would she call out the capital politicians and Tenouza spies in the open or would she leave that particular battle for another day? There was also the subject of the assassin that had been caught. If the samurai, Umashi and Ziren had caught him so easily then perhaps she could risk interrogating him outside of the Capital and finding out what he knew. His intel would be a valuable asset against the brazen Tenouza. There she sat at the game table across from a Tenouzan machine that knew no losses. All seemed fair above the table but beneath it, guns were drawn. Was it better to be loved, or to be feared, soft power or an iron fist. History had its eyes on her and one wrong move and she'd be yet another skimmed over name amongst many. Fortune usually favored the bold but usually one only lived once. As everyone stood to address the situation, the time to act was upon them all and the clock was ticking.



OOC:

Kitsune: You can only do one of the following three things. Please clearly label which of the three you opt for in your next post. Neither option totally writes out the others as potential resulting options later on in the topic or in the whole of the event but they will strongly influence such.
1) Back up Umashi's ruse by carefully guiding exposition about Lord L and his life. Some details may be of your own creative design but ultimately it is established that he was a backer of positive Shinobi and Samurai relationships. This option writes Umashi out of the main plot of the event but gives him the option of a side plot that will have ramifications in the aftermath of the whole event. [Soft Power]
2) Get access to the captured assassin gaining key intel on the Tenouza plans as the assassin knows them. This will prove beneficial for modifiers in Kumo's favor for the rest of the event. [The Middle Path ]
3) Point the blame on the court officials and Tenouza spies sowing discord in the Capital but ultimately establishing Kumogakure and by extension the Raikage as the early defacto leadership within the Country. This will have ramifications in the aftermath of the whole event. [Iron Fist]

Ziren: The following apply to you.
1) Due to living most of your life outside of the Lightning Country and not being intimately familiar with the Capital accent, you audibly hear "Lord L" as "Lord R".
2) Your actions will neither help nor harm yourself but they can help or harm Umashi and Kitsune.

Umashi: The following apply to you.
1) Due to living most of your life outside of the Lightning Country and not being intimately familiar with the Capital accent, you audibly hear "Lord L" as "Lord R".
2) You have zero knowledge of who Lord L is and only have a passing knowledge of an incident that happened off the coast of Fire-Star Island many decades ago due to having had talks about the location here.

His Eminence Shiranai vi Kaminari [Deceased]

The Gaijin Prince Lord L(R) [Alive?]

 

[Seijin]

If Umashi could have smacked Ziren in the back of the head, he would have. Sometimes some people just hardly recognized that there was a time for action and a time to stand still and watch the world pass by. "Lll-Ll-Lord L? Is it really you?" In his advanced years, Umashi had nearly perfected the art of moving despite standing still but never in all of his wild dreams did he'd imagine that he'd be mistaken for someone else. "Lord R", the brevity of it struck Umashi as incredibly Lightning Country-like. From the stories that he'd read, there was an order of shinobi in the Kumogakure area that followed a naming scheme befitting letters of an alphabet. A, B, C, F, J and K . . . but an R? He'd never heard of them. Whoever the guy was, it was quickly and embarrassingly made clear that they believed Umashi to be him and despite the elephant in the room of a trapped assassin literally being at their feet, Umashi had no choice but to go along with things. "Indeed . . ."Going along with the flow would probably be the wisest move but Umashi had to leverage outright lying when he was at a loss concerning the facts against making sure that he and Ziren got out of this alive.

Ushering everyone to rise, he gave a curt nod of approval and motioned towards the caught assassin. "A congratulations is in order but for now we must deal with this vermin before us. I want him taken in alive!" Interrogating the figure before them would certainly help Kumo to determine who they were working for. "But of course my Lord L, we believe him to be the hand behind the blade that took your father's life. Had we known that you were returning . . . that you were alive, we would have made sure that you had protection befitting the Miya-Shogun!" Nodding at the samurai who seemed to be the talkative one among them, Umashi was glad that he'd opted to wear clothing befitting a samurai when he'd agreed to this mission. That small detail aside, he could at least now figure that this Lord R was actually a high ranking child of the Shogun himself. The irony wasn't lost on Umashi that such a high ranking birth meant that he was even by Lightning Country standards, on equal playing fields with Kitsune by nature of being a doppelganger alone. Where had he returned from though?

"My father did not the assassins to know of my immanent return so we kept it a closely guarded secret for good reason. Not even the rest of my family knew." Umashi was pretty sure that the Shogun had other children, wife, concubine or two, right? If they were assuming that he was the Shoguns child at his apparent age then there had to be plenty of other adult and possibly minor children if the Shogun was especially virile. "Very much so. We'd believed you . . . lost to the waters of the Fire-Star Island at the hands of Fire Country vermin. To see you now, after so many years . . . why, I was but still practicing with a bokken when you disappea . . . that is the past though. Welcome back my Lord. Yours will be a calming presence on this ominous day. We should head towards the Palace."

Check, check, and check. Umashi knew enough about the Fire-Star Island situation to know that it was contentious which was probably why nobody recognized him for who he wasn't. There still wasn't an agreed upon map for the island. Going along with the flow had proven to be for the best but as always, Umashi had to throw a little extra sauce on the act. Laying a calming hand on the samurai's shoulder, Umashi gave a heartfelt smile. "The rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated. Why, my flag bearer and I have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure that our great nation knows only peace. To come back to a situation such as this . . . is sadly but another reminder of why sometimes we must fight from the shadows that our enemies do." Looking around to get eye contact with all, including his flag-bearer, Ziren, Umashi nodded.

"Now let us be on our way toward the Palace. We have here a dishonored assassin that should be interrogated concerning the rest of his co-conspirators. I, Lord R shall not rest until every last vestige of them is scrubbed from our Capital!" Like a record scratch, the samurai all turned their heads in a peculiar unison. Chuckling nervously, the talkative samurai tried his best to clean up Umashi's missed flubb. "Lord L, surely you've spent too much time in the Fire-Star sun and you must be tired." Umashi knew that he'd done something wrong but he didn't quick pick up on it so he simply nodded and smiled. "Yes, very much so."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As they chanted and beat drums, sounding horns and vocal accords alike before them, Umashi took what time that they had to speak to Ziren in a hushed tone despite the excited chatter all around them. Not walking so closely that they could hear words uttered between clinched teeth, the samurai made sure that there was enough of a distance between the captured assassin and the supposed Miya-Shogun. "I have no idea what I am doing." The words could have barely moved a sheet of paper but with his relative proximity to Ziren, Umashi was sure that they intended audience would get it. "I mean, we got the assassin but I don't think that this is what Kitsune meant by sending us off on our own."

Minced words as they were, Umashi and Ziren didn't have to wait long until they were standing before the Palace with throngs of people about. Getting closer to him, the samurai forces around him grew as they heard of Lord R's return. There were confused looks, and even more confused conversations that Umashi caught bits and pieces of. Whoever this Lord R was, he'd been gone for long enough for most people to forget him. It was quite possible that in Umashi's own hubris that he'd stuck his foot deep into a steaming pile of bull excrement.

Barely able to monitor the crowd around them, all grew silent with the distinct sound of mourning sent a shocking blow to all. It was only in the rush for nearly all in attendance to fall to the ground in varying stages of mourning and respect that Umashi caught sight of Kitsune. Was she glaring at him or was it simply her sharingan being on full alert? Umashi couldn't tell and as he bowed to show respect, he waited what he thought was a customary number of minutes before rising, which caused others to rise as well. Kitsune was a native born Lightning Country woman, right? If anybody in his corner knew who in the world Lord R was then it was certainly going to be her.

Not aware of the countless other figures in the crowd who most assuredly wanted him dead, nor the other well ranked officials who knew that his ruse was full of holes, Umashi put his faith in an Uchiha and prayed that he wouldn't lose a limb over it. What was that pompous title of hers again? Calling out to the fiery red head, Umashi put a little faith where he usually didn't. "Duchess Kitsune . . . or should I say, Lady Raikage. I would say, long time no see, but I find that our reunion is riddled with scandal. Surely my fathers forces have grown more competent if they caught this assassin before you shinobi did." Establishing a veiled context, Umashi tried to seal the deal on getting Kitsune to go along with the flow. It dawned on Umashi quite quickly that with this Lord R showing up on the day that his dad died then it would logically appear to some like it was the son that killed the father. "Pray tell how this assassin will be dealt with? Surely your kind can flay his mind. You wouldn't let your Lord R down, now would you?" Now would be a great time for Kitsune to really help out. Normally it was considered insulting when a person made a broad statement implying that all people of a certain ethnicity looked alike but today it might actually save them all.

OOC: Kitsune can clearly tell that Umashi is missing the nuance of the accent in the Capital region and misunderstanding the lonesome short "L" as an "R". It's assumed that Ziren is hearing things exactly as Umashi is, perhaps up to the point of the samurai noticing the fact that Umashi said Lord R instead of Lord L.

Perception of English /r/ and /l/ by Japanese speakers - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly at the proclamations to make way for Lord L. To her knowledge that man was dead, and had been for many a year. And yet, here we were, having samurai pushing people aside to make way for—Umashi?! A sigh escaped Kitsunes lips as she covered her face with her palm before pinching the bridge of her nose as if to signal her discomfort with the situation. Sadly, she’d have to play along for this one, lest Umashi be torn limb from limb by the mob and samurai. Even if the idea was quite tempting…

Now obviously this wasn’t the real Lord L, given, well, everything. Height was off, accent was all out of whack, skin color wasn’t the right tone either, but fortunately most people had never seen the man in person, so that’s probably why Umashi had succeeded in his ruse of pretending to be the son of the now dead Shogun. It would appear, however, that his ears didn’t catch the subtle difference between L and R however, so he kept claiming himself to be Lord R, rather than Lord L. Needless to say, Kitsune would have to come up with an excuse for that.

Fortunately, it was a well-known fact that Lord L had spent most of his life away from the capital, and that he was involved in the Fire-Star Island incident, though he was thought lost afterwards, so it wouldn’t be weird to have his accent be affected given the circumstances. ”Or they merely saw an opportunity to steal the glory out of the hands of one of my shinobi.” she replied pointedly to the words “L” had uttered to her. ”I’ll have my subordinate here perform the interrogation.” she stated simply, gesturing to Ziren. ”You’ve been away for far too long, my lord. It’s had a profound effect on your accent too. Though that’s to be expected, I should think.”

She gestured for them to take a walk, even with the samurai there to protect, ”What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she whispered to him as they proceeded away from the civilian masses ”We need to investigate the palace.” she continued in the same whisper tone before continuing in a normal volume level ”I’m sure there’s a room in the palace we can use to interrogate the assassin, if you’d be so kind as to allow that, Lord L?” she’d ask of him, necessitating his response.

It’d be natural for the son of the shogun to want to go there to confirm that it was indeed his father that had been found murdered, as well as initiate a boatload of processes designed to move power along smoothly. Of course, in this case they’d be going to investigate the murder scene, interrogate the assassin, and see if they could find the source of the chakra draining phenomenon as it seemed to get stronger and stronger the closer they got to the palace.

[Picking option 1, and assigning Ziren to interrogate the assassin as per option 2]
[Play along now, Ziren~]

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

Lord R... Rorey? Roxas? Ri? I flipped through possible names of who the hell Lord R is and why were they all staring at me like that when I felt someone forcibly make me bow and then I realized that these people are thinking that Umashi is R dude. Thankfully I had my mask on to keep my facial expressions from being shown. But my attention was on someone else. The assassin. He gave up way too easily. Thankfully my plan to distract him worked in favor of the samurai, but I just have a sneaking suspicion that things are not done here yet.

I heard Umashi's whole speech of being R. I may have thought this was a side thing he may have done before he became the Hokage in Leaf, if it weren't for how some of the samurai acted. I don't know what he said, but I can pick up some indicators here and there. This R guy has spent some time in the Fire Star Sun, whatever that is supposed to mean, a long time away, plus probably long travels, and coming to this mess of things. In reality, If I was in R's shoes, I'd be tired, but also angry.

Finally, we had made our way to the Palace, Umashi spoke to me. And he didn't know what he was doing... My mind ran wild, trying to help him any way I can. "From what I can tell, you should probably act a little bit more tired, slightly grumpy, but definitely a leader that these people need." I spoke in the same amount of quietness he had to me. The next thing of him talking about how we got the assassin, I nodded. Things seem to go sideways When me and the previous Hokage are paired together. Last time that happened, we got all of Maru's tails, but had encountered some Leafies, I turned into a female kitsune, and a mysterious third party blew up the resort that we were all at. Now, we got the assassin, but it seemed too easy, and people here are thinking Umashi is some R dude.

Finally, they met back up with the Raikage, at this time, I don't like how much people are standing around. I said in barely a whisper, "Yoru, high alert, keep eyes on anyone suspicious." I took use of saying to the kitsune spirit with all the liveliness of talking and whatnot. I now listened to what the Raikage had to say.

She wanted me to interrogate the assassin. I wasn't too bought in that this guy was some coward that would yelp once he was captured. But no matter, I would need to take the opportunity to do so. My mindset went back to when I was in the ANBU branch back in Leaf so long time ago, and studied the ragman before speaking from beneath my mask, "First things first. I want all the names of your higher ups and all those that are planted into the capital and possibly Cloud of any spies. You will give me detailed description of each spy and of your higher ups, along with what kind of power they possess." Planting spies was a part of war, a way to always know your enemies before they knew who you were. Frost had done that to Leaf. It could very easily be done anywhere else. "Secondly, you will tell us of all of the Tenouzans plans for this War of theirs and what they have planned for us. You will also give it to me in detail." Knowing the plans of these people would prove to be a turning point in this war.

"Third, who is them?" I noted the assassin saying that he wants protection. "Are these people the Tenouzans? Or a separate party?" It would really be bad if there was a third party that had a hand in all of this as well, one that neither side knows of. But then another thing ran through my mind. "Something about this place, the whole capitol. Seems to sap away at one's chakra. Yet you were doing normal ninja feats very easily, roof jumping. Why is that? Does this chakra draining only affect certain people, or do you have something special about you that makes it not affect you?"

After he has answered all my questions I will ask him one last one. I don't believe in good luck at all. He managed to fend himself off against three samurai and me before getting caught in a net and then easily saying he'll offer up information. Could it be that he's after the Raikage too and think that the best way to get to her is to get caught? Did he see Umashi and think that he is Lord R and think that this would be an opportune time to sow more chaos? Could he be a ticking time bomb waiting to go off? Whilst the two Kage figures had argued over if ninja and samurai were better in terms of catching the assassin, it could be a possibility that he wanted to be caught. I gauged how to go about asking, I could be wrong, and at worst I might get laughed at and not taken seriously by the one I am interrogating. But if I have a feeling that him getting caught was a bunch of bull and didn't speak up... A lot of people could die. I waited to ask this question after he was done answering all others to ensure I had some sort of information from him before hitting him with what I think. Either he truly is betraying the Tenouzans, or we had fallen right into his trap. It all rides on this and how he responds.

"You wanted to get caught, didn't you? And I think that you aren't done yet." A basic interrogation method, hit them with a series of questions and let them answer them all confidently and then ask them one question after all of that to throw them into the loop of such a straight forward answer, near pointing fingers at him. I waited for his reaction.

(Yoru patrolling around looking for sus people)
(Interrogating assassin for info on names, descriptions, and powers of higher up Tenouzans and spies, plans Tenouza has for this war, who are "them", Asking about the chakra draining situation in the Capitol, and once all are answered, will ask him if he wanted to get caught for part of his plans.)

 

[Cloud Seer]

As well a plan as was laid by Kitsune, the Tenouza were persistent if not willing to sink to the level of trickery and interference that could rival the shinobi. In a great game, everyone was holding their choice of play tight to their chest but the devout knew that the shinobi were weakened by the that which was keeping their chakra powers in check. With smug faces they allowed the Raikage to bail out her prized shinobi from fumbling before the common people around them but when the moment was just ripe for them to steal the moment they took it without delay. Following closely behind, while they couldn't make out exactly what was being said, they recognized that it was now or never. "Honorable Raikage . . . surely you know that with such an esteemed member of the Royal Family, that we cannot take the chance to allow him out of our sights as the eldest of the late Shogun's progeny." Smirking behind their regal attendant garb, they forced their way into the company of Umashi and Kitsune, keeping them from fully speaking without being overheard.

"Dearest Lord L, please, be kind to yourself. On a day like today you should be in mourning, not hurrying to work! Why don't you leave the politics for another day. Why, what would your Father think if he saw you consulting with such vermin?" Words laced with venom, the smugness of the attendants clearly exposed them both to the shinobi who were keen towards a fellow ruse. Flapping fans outward and then motioning to fan themselves, the twin stepped attendants clearly were up to no good but before the most vocal attendant could say anything else, another loud horn could be heard and a commotion began to take place just outside of the Palace, one that was audible throughout the grounds.

With samurai stationed just within capable striking distance of the entire well presented party, the messenger that finally made his way to them spoke to the commanding samurai between hurried breathes as he fought to control both his emotions and his breaths. "We have to lock down the Capital. They . . . there has been a coup of at least four other Daimyo and counting. Two . . . two of them were the late Shogun's own! We . . . we . . we have to protect the remaining members of the Royal Family!" Issuing the command to all, the samurai guard in charge turned both to the messenger and thanked him before sending two samurai with him to get him taken care of. "Never in all my years . . ." Stopping and momentarily closing his eyes, as if in prayer, the guard quickly opened his eyes and began to bark out orders.

"Lord L, Lady Raikage, while I'm sure that there is a lot to catch up on, I do apologize but for the safety of you both I am going to have to cut your meeting short. We're locking down the Palace, only members of the Shogun's family and fully vetted staff are allowed in or out." Issuing a flurry of other orders, any time that Kitsune hoped to use to catch Umashi up on who Lord L was, was lost as history was happening right before them. While dismissing some of his men, the head guard dismissed the attendants as well but they only left just far enough out of sight to remain visible and within earshot if they were discerning enough. Bowing respectfully before he spoke, the guard spoke to Umashi. "Lord L, I assure you that I mean no disrespect but with you having been gone for so long, we will need to verify your identity as it is a standard procedure for such a situation when succession laws might come into play. Surely even you can admit that your return on today of all days is a little too convenient. I want to believe that the your late fa- . . . our late Lord would have wanted things to be different but here we are."Turning to Kitsune, the guard gave a respectful bow but one not as low as before Umashi.

"Lady Raikage. As you are a member of the Council of Eleven moons, your protection is also of the utmost concern to the stability of our great land but I would be lying to myself if I believed that my forces could better protect you here than in Kumogakure. Not all of us hate your kind. I'll see to it that your interrogator meets you at one of the private exit gates. Until we meet again, should we meet again, be well." With little more to say to Kitsune, the guard ushered Umashi in one direction and her in another. Onward towards another path, Umashi would be stuck within a Palace where every moment of his waking could be his last. Kitsune meanwhile, would pass by the ever smirking Tenouzan spies disguised as Palace attendants. Both had a part to play in how things turned out, but just how, remained yet to be seen in full.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Spies all around the grounds, despite Ziren being able to get a somewhat private audience with the would be assassin, Ziren found that the man clothed in rags was hardly as forthcoming as before. Fortunately for Ziren, Yoru quickly sus'd out the fact that the Tenouzan spies were presently hiding in plain clothes as Palace attendants but try as she might, they seemed to have another means of communicating, that or their plan was solid enough that they didn't need words to communicate. Busying themselves with keeping an eye on Ziren's methods of interrogation, they chimed in in slight mockery when the assassin failed to speak up despite Ziren's insistence. "Perhaps you should try hitting him. That usually works! Or perhaps . . . maybe you should just kill him. You people are good for that sort of thing. Don't worry, we won't tell." Playfully laughing, the doll like attendants were dressed and of the complexion that gave away their lack of ever having to lift a finger towards manual labor.

In the predicament that he was in, the assassin scoffed at Ziren's barrage of questions. It was clear to him at least that Ziren was missing the obvious scene playing out right before his face. Opting to choose his own fate instead of leaving it in the hands of the shinobi or the zealots, he looked behind Ziren towards the door of the private room that they were in. "You uhh, might want to get a refund for the money that your parents spent on your academy lessons. I said my peace and you failed horribly. None of this even matters anymore. They got what they wanted anyway . . . you're dead, I'm dead, heck, we just served them a new world order on a silver platter." Laughing manically, the ragman shook his head and made a motion to pull at his chains to mock breaking free but all his attempt did was cause even the few samurai in the room to gripe the hilts of their blades tighter.

A knock at the door caused one of the samurai to jump however, but as funny as the moment might have been, the knock was followed by more decorated samurai to enter the room and approach the head samurai in charge. With a flurry of whispers between them made quickly, the samurai guard closest to the guard, motioned towards Ziren and gave a signal that implied that his time to interrogate the assassin was up. As they took Ziren away, the assassin began to laugh wildly. "And there you have it . . . just like I said. It's over for you and me." Unable to catch more of what the man said as the door was closed, Ziren was ushered towards a secret exit where they'd meet Kitsune. Their party one person short, Kitsune would have to catch Ziren up and Ziren, the Raikage. As both would soon find out, far more was in store for both of them.


OOC: Kitsune and Ziren escorted off the premises of the Palace, leaving Umashi behind. Your next post will conclude this portion of the event. [Mission Complete]

Kitsune: Knowledge of a full scale national political coup.
Ziren: Knowledge of a Palace teeming with Tenouzan spies.

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

This guy was either crazy or he was hinting me on to something. I surely wanted to deck him for his comment on my parents, but I refrained from the matter, even after a couple of "guards" had told me to result to torture or even simply offing the man. I found this kind of talk strange, surely if the samurai and the attendants were on the same page as us ninja, it would prove useful to keep this man alive for information. But there was one thing for certain, this man, whoever he may have been, an assassin that had offed the Shogun, was deathly scared of these Tenouzans. He seems to know his own fate, and seems to think the same for me.

I was not as fearing as the samurai that were around to be unnerved by the fact that the man was struggling against his chains, but a seasoned eye can tell he was only playing with them. A knock on the door came and some more samurai came through, They had motioned for me to leave. Frankly, I wanted to stay and keep interrogating the man, but I have a feeling that more trouble will come if I overstay my welcome.

On my way out, I met up with my ghostly companion, Yoru, who had given me the rundown of what she saw. She had found out that the palace was full of Tenouzan spies. It would explain how some of them acted whilst I was interrogating the assassin. But there were a few good people there, I saw how some of those samurai acted with ragman, and those feelings were genuine. I'll need to rendezvous with the Raikage as soon as possible. And even if we find a secure location, we will need to make sure absolutely nobody is around us to allow eavesdroppers.

Once I was brought to a secret exit, I motioned for Yoru to scout the area to make sure that nobody has followed me or are in a convenient spot to overhear words being exchanged. And now I wait for the Raikage to meet with me to tell her what I had found.