Naruto SoundITP IC 1: A Melancholy Song of Hope To Come

[Lord Raziere]

Kimiko: Get Yelled At.
She yells back angrily to Menko:
"Why were you still there!?"
Hypothesis: Failed. Bad idea.
"....Yeah we should get her out."
Kuso, kuso kuso! That....was not the most intelligent thing she could've done. If only she knew more jutsu. Were there any tools she could've used instead? Anything that could've actually restrained her? She was never taught that technique for doing that slice to leak them out and she hadn't yet figured out a way to fight her. She might need something stronger to restrain Senko if this happens again. She might need to be stronger so that this doesn't happen again. She takes out a storage scroll and out pops out a medical carrier for patients- you know, a canvas between two long sticks. To carry her properly. She will help load it up with Senko and with Yuyuyu's or Daichi's help beging carry her out of the forest. Yuyuyu will of course go back to normal guise and say
"Kimiko, what the hell?"
"You'll have to be more specific."
"You set Senko on fire. and nearly harmed Menko as well."
"I didn't know how durable she was, nor did I know that Menko was still there. assuming that I don't know, she would run like the rest of us is pretty reasonable assumption, given that in that form our friend is literally a murderous sociopath."
"Yeah but you still set her on fire! That could've caused who knows how much damage to her and the forest!"
"That was a risk I was willing to take! I was testing a hypothesis that maybe, fire would activate her regenerative abilities and use up enough of her chakra to get her back to normal.
It failed, I failed, you happy now?"
"You did that TO EXPERIMENT!? That was the best you could come up with!?"
"Well I could've tried using a storage scroll to drop a boulder on her but given how she grabbed and set down the trees I thought it wouldn't work, especially not through the shields she was putting up. There was this glue storage scroll where I theoretically could shoot it at her using water release to test if a basic water attack technique could be used to fire something like that if I did the preparations without needing to make and manipulate the properties using chakra myself but I wasn't sure that jutsu would work on my end, she might've just frozen it and made it useless or just be strong to break out, I could've tried my the classic paper whip jutsu but if my memory is correct she broke out of that before when she was LESS powerful than she is now, when she can now use bone spikes to potentially rip through them. and my explosive tags well....they wouldn't be much better than the fire to be honest."
"Oh my kamis....you could've just bought time for...whom I'm guessing is Daichi....to come her and do it for us! Like he just did! But instead you tried to solve it yourself! And you knew he was coming, but you did it anyways!"
"I am Kimiko Ishikawa, I will not settle for anything less than the best! Sure he was able to do it now, but he can't always be around. If I had more jutsu, more power, more knowledge this wouldn't have happened and I could've solved it myself!"
"Thats your take away from all this!? More power!? Why not "be more cautious/careful" or "more patience" or "try to work as a team for this" or "you don't have to do everything yourself" or "don't try to do reckless things you don't know whether they will work or not"!?"
"Because Yuyuyu, trying things we don't know whether they work or not is the foundation of science! The foundation of how we gain knowledge! Its not as if I have a bunch of mindless, emotionless husk-clones of Senko in a lab that I can test out what works and what doesn't work for this situation! If I had better taijutsu, I would've had the reflexes to engage in melee without being killed. If I had better earth release jutsu, I could've use more solid and durable bindings to restrain her, if I knew more water release jutsu perhaps I'd be more confident in an adhesive plan. If I knew more medical jutsu, I could've measured her body and have actual estimates for what she can withstand and how to restrain her physically. If I knew more genjutsu I could've cast one strong enough to put her to sleep or something! If I knew better fuinjutsu I might've just been able to just plain restrain her before using the seal! I fully acknowledge that there are many better ways that this could've been solved, thats why I need to go forth to find them."
Yuyuyu shakes her head, she can't deal with this right now.
".....Sigh....just remember that you owe her and Menko an apology."
Kimiko's eyes narrow as she glares into the future.
"I will. and rest assured....I will make sure nothing like this happens ever again."

[Rater202]

After a few moments, there's another puff of smoke. Menko is back. Now in human form she... Has some kind of medical paste smeared on her face and one arm is wrapped crudely in bandages. Assuming that her human form corresponds to her snake form...

she is also holding what appears to be a change of clothes for Senko.

She stops you with one hand and swiftly exchanges the burned remains of the unconscious girl's previous outfit in exchange for the new clothes.

She's a little too good at that.

"You are lucky I managed to get reverse summoning myself back home down. And that Senko-sama passes out at her desk often enough that I'm practiced in getting her robes on and off. I already do this far too often without her getting set on fire. Last thing she needs is to get arrested.

Shortly after Tomoe comes out of the woodwork with Ichika leaning on her.

"I have good news and I have bad news. The bad news is that the other cloud ninja got away. The good news is that she is now aware of exactly why it is bad deal to pursue her offspring and why Senko-sama is not an acceptable substitute. Also, I collected all of the bones Senko-sama left behind."

There are some clear buildings in her robes that presumably correspond to pockets full of bones.

"Also one of the Cloud Ninja's fingers."

"What the hell was that!?" Ichika is very clearly frazzled. There's... Probably a reason she's still a genin. "I knew she had a control issue. That's not a control issue, that's a... Why did Shimpi want me for this mission! There are dozens of medics and senors who are better qualified to handle that!"

[Lord Raziere]

Kimiko:
She says to Menko:
"Yes. I am. and when Senko awakes I owe you both an apology."
Then she turns to Ichika
"That is a part of Senko's bloodline: a berserker form that she turns into when she is overloaded with natural energy. It seems to have gotten stronger than last time, metamorphized into a stronger form. Or at least far more versatile. We will need better, stronger measures to contain the berserker state, and it will only get worse if it develops further. Code Oni needs updating."
She decides to leave out the reason why Senko's abilities have changed. Kekkei genkai growing, developing, metamorphizing isn't an unknown phenomenon. Dojutsu are often all about doing that depending on certain triggers, and she didn't know if it was her place to disclose such information on the hows given the sensitive political information related to it.
"I have no idea why the most mysterious of the Three Thunders would assign you to this. Perhaps you can ask him when you get back. What matters is that your the medic-nin we have and will need to treat her when we get out of this forest. Lets keep moving."
Though perhaps Shimpi is worth investigating if he is the one who pulled the strings for them to go on this mission specifically. Or at least worth being on the lookout for.

[Rater202]

"The increase in power is simple enough to explain," Daichi interrupts, "Our bloodline is a form of Sage Mode. If she has grown even slightly more powerful, stronger, faster, more skilled then those gains are multiplied in her transformed state."

"Gains like... Stealing bloodlines from allied clans... and apparently somehow Ice Release?"

"Well, yes. That would do it."

"She did not steal bloodlines from allied clans. She stole bloodlines from a rogue ninja. Which is perfectly legal."

[somerando]

Broken Record Club

Itsutsuji and Hashiba are both absorbed in thought looking at their target. Itsutsuji speaks up first. "I don't know if talking to the bouncer is necessarily the best choice. Disguising ourselves as regulars might get us asked questions we can't answer, and making up new appearances might have us placed under too much scrutiny. Too many risks. I'd suggest climbing instead."

Hashiba interjects at this point "Climbing in might be the better option, but once we're inside it's too risky. Shinobi may not look up usually, but all it takes is one person who sees us and we'll have a lot of explaining to do."

"Maybe we can climb in, then down to the club floor. Disguise ourselves once we're there, look inconspicuous."

"Sounds good to me."

The two look at Hizuka for approval before they start circling the Broken Record Club looking for good spots to start climbing.

[Lord Raziere]

Samayo Majutsu: Sing
Hizuka shrugs
"Sounds like a plan, lets go."
They climb upwards....and find a hole detonated in the back of the club, to one of the backrooms, or at least the top of one. Furthermore you can see odd traces of things in this backroom being damaged by something acidic, as if the entire room had been filled with it at one point. There may be some attempts at repairing this but not enough in the time it has been since this has happened.
"I knew it, they still haven't fixed the hole when Kimiko blew it open while fighting Futility-San the first time. Repairing something like this is probably low priority compared to everything else that has been happening. That and its not as if we're the most wealthy village around."
They then proceed with the rest of their plan climbing down still amid the backrooms, Hizuka gets near the doors to the dance floor and with a few hand signs uses disguise jutsu to turn into a 16 or 17 ear old version of herself, but replacing her armor with a heavy metal fan's version of a club goer outfit, a lot of black, leather coat, various studs on the outfit.
"I don't think anyone will recognize us as long as we look the part."
She will go in and sure enough, she will fit right in with the crowd. Though oddly your hearing a slower song than what seems usual for this club being sun up on stage.... by Samayo Majutsu, one of the Three Thunders, a figure wearing all red robelike vestments, to compliment ruby eyes and scarlet long flowing hair. He strums on his strange dragon-headed electric guitar while singing. You may may not recognize this song being played on the radio at times, but it is called "Tsukuyomi Girl", said to be inspired by him witnessing an addict on Tsuku trying to get his girlfriend to get hook on it with him and he sings it in a sad melancholic or wistful tone:

Look into my eyes
fall under my spell
look hope now flies
take you away from this hell

Yes your a Tsukuyomi girl
living in a material world
A girl of dreams and gossamer hands
living in theses agonizing wastelands

Truth is not all that its cracked up to be
crimson eyes, spinning furiously
come with me to a world of dreams
leave behind this collapsing scene

War seems endless to me
Peace just doesn't seem
all that meant to be
So lets go into a tranquil dream

Let those fools fight until they're dead
Our own hands will be clean
and theirs stained all red
Your the girl of my greatest dream

I know your just as sad
The reality cannot be changed
there is no point in getting mad
forget all that in my gaze
in dreams loosen up a tad
Come give living lies a whirl
Cause your my Tsukuyomi girl!

When the song ends, you notice that fuinjutsu seals that have been placed around the stage to contain and lower sound get retracted down by stagehands...yet Samayo's voice filled up the entire room without even a mic needed. From what you heard about him, Samayo's voice was legendary for being too powerful for him to speak normally. He bows to his audience cheering for him and walks off the stage with Jirou meeting him there and saying
"Greetings Samayo-san, I am Jirou Ishikawa, Patriarch of Clan Ishikawa. I would like to talk you about your support for Otokage."
He nods and looks at his talking guitar, Ryoga- whose exact nature of existence is a mystery and apart of the legend unto himself- seems to understand Samayo just from that glance alone and says
"Sure thing shark boy. Lets sit down over there."
They begin walking over to sit over at some comfy seats, no one aside from you guys really seeming to care what they are talking about as the stage gets ready for the next band to play. This is probably your best chance to move in to listen to them.
"so, what is it?" Ryoga says, seemingly being the talker of the duo
"I want you, Samayo to support me in becoming Otokage over Ameoku."
The guitar looks at Samayo who gives him a look with a raised eyebrow
"...Well you don't seem evil from his intuition but, I'm pretty sure complex political stuff needs more than intuition to make a decision on this....elaborate, shark boy."
Ryoga replies hawkishly.
Hizuka is already moving to kinda just.....loiter around near where they are speaking and start dancing a little when the next band starts playing. You probably won't be able to hear what they're talking about if you aren't close enough.

[somerando]

Hashiba and Itsutsuji follow Hizuka's lead, transforming into what they imagine their older selves would look like. Itsutsuji also takes the extra step of turning her bright red hair brown to make it less distinctive. They both approach the chairs Samayo and Jirou are on while each tries to blend in in their own way- Hashiba by awkwardly dancing a bit and Itsutsuji by surreptitiously transforming a shuriken into a glass and pretending to drink from it while standing behind Samayo.

Hashiba doesn't have much of a head for politics but he's still interested. "Ameoku and Samayo have worked together for years, I imagine they know each other pretty well. Openly supporting her opponent is a very big ask. I wonder what Jirou has up his sleeve that he thinks this can work?"

Itsutsuji, on the other hand, is deeply invested in the conversation despite her apparent calmness. "Of course Jirou would have to get support outside of the clans, they don't hold the reins of power in Otogakure unlike the other villages. Samayo is a great source for this sort of aid- Everyone knows who he is, he's influential and popular, he's one of the Three Thunders. The Fuma are probably going to support Jirou over Ameoku too. With support from every of the major clans along with endorsements from Lord Second and the most popular Three Thunders, he very well might have the clout be able to declare himself Otokage without approval from the Uzumaki. That couldn't be good."

[Lord Raziere]

Jirou: Elaborate
He settles in and says
"Very well. I shall begin with the time that Ameoku visited me in her attempt to persuade me to support her a few days ago. It was a dinner between us, my clan was there and so was her family: Herself, Odayama and her two daughters. At first everything went well, though just from speaking with Ameoku the first problems I have with her become Otokage quickly became apparent: she wants to go to war with Konohagakure as soon as possible and she does not care how many lives she throws away in the process. She misreads Konoha's strength, thinking them fat, lazy and easily killed when our villages suicide bombing attacks during the Third Shinobi War was....untenable. Its likely they have developed counter-tactics against us by now. Not to mention the strongest of all the jinchuuriki are at their disposal. The more she talked, the more I suspected she simply wants to fight them because she loves fighting, I've talked with the Kaguya's patriarch and they concurred on this."
"Hm....she always has been the most aggressive of the three, yeah." Ryoga says "Big Odukuro fan, thinks he had the right idea in all that he did. While I'm thankful for the First Otokage's sacrifice, she probably glorifies it."
"But there is more, it is not simple political difference I'm concerned about. During the dinner, her family came under attack, poisoning all three of them. Instead of acting as a shinobi would, she became angry and accused me of treachery, enraged. I explained that I had nothing to do with the poisoning and sent one my of my family members to the medic nin and got them cured, but she was acting out of emotion, out of rage and despair the whole time, and then she doubled down on her beliefs when it was over. The way she reacted makes me believe that she would not be able to think clearly in a crisis. Furthermore the assailant was a young girl of Ameoku's own clan seeking revenge, probably for the experiments Ameoku did during the war on her own sisters, which killed many of Ameoku's own family to attain the cat-based jutsu she possesses I believe. She herself boasted of such experiments and regards her own assailant, the very person who poisoned her family- who at the end tried to use the Last Shout to kill Team 3 but failed due to quick thinking on their part- as a model Otogakure Ninja because of her "suicidal resolve".

I cannot stress enough that I think Ameoku will lead this entire village into the grave if she is made Otokage. Even the potential ramifications on our nation, the Land of Rice and legal censure from the Daimyo does not seem to concern her."
"Hm, that sounds real serious, what legal censure do you speak of, based on what she wants to?" Ryoga asks
"The entire village being declared Rogue Shinobi if Ameoku proceeds with her plan without the approval of the Daimyo. Without the land of Rice affiliation, we'd have no legal borders to protect us. It would essentially be giving Konohagakure freedom to wipe us all out while the Daimyo of Rice and his people wouldn't be targeted because the Land of Rice would not technically be joining in, essentially making us terrorists and criminals in our own lands. If the Daimyo is foolish enough to approve its even worse, and the whole Land will be dragged into a needless conflict that none of the nations around us have any reason to care about. No one would come to our aid. We would end up as conquered as the Land of Wheat. That is the best case scenario. the worst case scenario is that the other nations see it as an excuse to attack Konoha, and Fourth Shinobi War happens. Then who knows who'll survive."
A nation that inspired by Rice's rebellion attempted to do something similar but without any success, its village got burned to the ground and replaced with a ninja village that was trained by Konoha to protect it instead.

Meanwhile Hizuka's eyes are wide in panic and she is whispering to no one in particular:
"What? no no....I knew that I disagreed with her policy on casualties and I haven't yet produced an invention to replace the power of the last shout but this just stupid! No. This can't be right...."
She doesn't quite believe what she is hearing. Surely her hero, her idol....can't be THIS stupid!?

Ryoga meanwhile assesses his words and says
"Heh, you do realize what your saying here right? That your saying she is pretty much unfit to be Otokage in both beliefs and behavior and thus anyone that supports her is a fool to do so. Thats only going to divide, not unite. This is some serious stuff yer putting down here"
"I would not say if it wasn't true. Bottom line: Ameoku wants to start an unprovoked war with Konoha as soon as possible, for essentially no reason, using tactics that are twelve years old and will destroy us either way. She doesn't think like a shinobi in a crisis, much less a kage. Sure, shinobi are more than tools but we still need discipline to respond to danger so that we protect those important to us."
"And what is your vision in comparison then, hhmmm? What makes you a better choice?" Ryoga asks
"I envision a world where our Genin do not grow up experiencing the horrors of war. I wish to carry on Otokage Nozojo's dream of this village being prosperous instead of being abandoned for our vendetta. I envision a world where we protect our loved ones and our people as we should, instead of attacking others for that is our purpose as shinobi. More than that, I envision reaching out to other nations to form an alliance or even a league with other minor nations much like the Five Kage Summit, so that we can discuss together our problems and even join together to speak so that even the Five Great Shinobi Nations cannot ignore us. A united voice that could potentially lead the world to peace. and even if that lofty goal fails- we will at least have the chance to make friends and allies so that when war does happen, we will have people on our side to increase our chances of survival. I envision a brighter future that we can all work towards and benefit from."
Ryoga and Samayo consider this for a long moment, looking at one another, perhaps silently communicating with one another somehow. Ameoku while a comrade against Konohagakure and its injustices, was always the most emotional of the Three Thunders. The most willing to go on the offensive, the most willing to sacrifice others for an objective. While Odukuro was around, perhaps he directed such resolve to the most constructive and strategically beneficial ways it can. But Odukuro was no longer alive, and Nozojo was no Odukuro capable of controlling her to the best end possible. They had hoped that Ameoku had learned in the years since to grow into someone more cautious and level-headed and that a family would perhaps reign her in, and Odayama seemed to be doing that to some extent, but if she cannot deal with loss like that, that is not a good thing in the shinobi career. It could be manipulation but Samayo's own intuition-was was really good, never led him astray- told Samayo to trust Jirou, that he was telling the truth. This did not feel like a lie to him at all. At the very least, Jirou truly believed what he was saying and that him becoming Otokage was the best thing for this village and Ameoku would be the death of it if she came into power. Jirou had a powerful resolve of his own, and truly would want to do anything to make things better for this village peacefully. His intuition of Ameoku and given how well he knows her.....well unfortunately this didn't seem THAT out of character, just a bit more extreme than he thought she would ever go. With a sigh, Samayo speaks for the first time in the conversation, his voice a bit....overpowering:
"I will support you for Otokage, Jirou of Clan Ishikawa."
Jirou will stand up and respectfully bow to Samayo.
"I thank you for your time and appreciate your support, Samayo Majutsu of the Three Thunders, and will be taking my leave then."
Jirou will walk away not really paying attention to you, while Hizuka looks....distraught. Someone just said that her hero is basically a warmongering idiot who'll lead them to their deaths after all, to Samayo himself and he just agreed to support him upon hearing it. Thats got to hurt.

[somerando]

Seeing Hizuka's distress, Hashiba tries to cheer her up the only way he knows how. "Pfft, why the long face? I doubt Jirou was really telling the truth, he's obviously biased. You know how those political sorts are- take the tiniest character flaw, blow it out of proportion to make their opponents look bad. Ameoku may not be the most perfectly even-keeled of Otogakure's shinobi, but she's still one of the Three Thunders, a talent above and beyond the others. We all have our weaknesses, and hers shouldn't block her from becoming Otokage. Sucks that Samayo fell for it though."
Hashiba hasn't really decided what he thinks about the conversation he witnessed yet, he's basically just saying this for Hizuka's benefit.

Itsutsuji's silent, lost in thought. Could what Jirou said about Ameoku really be true? Her legendary temper and militarist tendencies were well-known but this seemed incredible. What were the implications? Could Ameoku really be a worse candidate than Jirou? More importantly, could an Ishikawa really be the lesser of two evils?

[Lord Raziere]

Hizuka:
She considers his words
"......Thanks Hashiba I know you want me to feel better but.....I want to find out the truth. Shouldn't we accept nothing less?"
She then charges out of the club after Jirou, following him outside past the doors out onto the street where she dispels her disguise, not needing it anymore and barking at Jirou from behind asking
"You! Jirou Ishikawa! I want to know: did you really mean what you said to Samayo!? Was what you said was true!?"
He stops and turns around, to calmly explain.
"You were overhearing that I see. Hm. Well, its not too bad I was mostly telling it only to Samayo out of respect for Ameoku's family, scandals and claims like these can impact more than just the person they're targeted at, after all. Hate and people's propensity to jump on bandwagons in the moment can lead anyone in her general social direction being jeered at, causing needless drama. I believe wholeheartedly its true, and if her children weren't involved I'd be going more public with it.

However...whether I know it to be true, ultimately doesn't matter, does it not? I'm her political opponent after all. Telling this publicly can have an effect much yours, make me look like a slanderer with no evidence. And there are many manipulators in the shinobi world, so you have good reason to be suspicious. If you want the real truth, seek out and ask Ameoku herself. As for Samayo? He made his decision to trust me. Nothing less, nothing more. I didn't know if I could succeed, but I did. Everyone chooses what they wish to believe in this world, its not something we can truly control. The question is: what do you believe and what are you willing to do for it, and what will you do....when those beliefs are inevitably challenged with new information?"
"Thats a nice bit of philosophy, but it doesn't answer my question."
"Philosophy is all I have to answer you with, Hizuka. I could repeat what I said before but you already know it. I could explain more, but you clearly hold Ameoku in high regard. Any explanation from me would coming from someone who wishes to make sure she fails- a good thing in my eyes, but not in yours. You want to know the truth for real, again seek out Ameoku and ask her yourself. All I can give you is my viewpoint on the matter."

Kimiko: Be a total Sasuke about this.
Okay then. People know. Great. Apart of her feels jealous at such a drastic increase in power, even while coldly noting to herself the downside that makes it not worth it at all. At least if she was being outpowered by some rival who knew what they were doing or had great conviction and purpose there'd be respect to it. A friend who can't even control such power....that was just sad. But Daichi was right there and probably willing to teach her. Logically speaking, Senko could gain control....and thus even more power than some raging beast. She had a bodyguard. A summon, possibly more. Senko was accumulating power faster than her, in many forms. Power that could potentially be used against her.

While here Kimiko was, only slightly stronger, a complex jutsu she has yet to figure out and her plans starting to become....ineffective against Senko. With no one to train her beyond chuunin rank. Her goal demanded someone with far greater skill than that. The Three Thunders could maybe the bill, but....she was hailed as a top of her class genin, has defeated Futility-san once, sealed away a Code Oni, and fought off an assassin trying to kill Ameoku's kids. If none of those caught the attention of Ameoku or Shimpi to offer her training, then they probably wouldn't be interested in training her even if she asked. And Samayo seemed to be busy doing his own thing. Its becoming increasingly clear to her that her path to power definitely does not lie within Otogakure.

Yuyuyu while this is happening is of course speaking to them:
"Well regardless of how she got it, I don't think we are equipped to contain Senko anymore- if we ever were. First time we did it was us scrambling in confusion to try and do something until we kind of just....used up all her chakra by luck? So, Daichi-san would please train Senko so that she can control her kekkei genkai? It would be greatly appreciated by all of us if you did."
Kimiko can only think that she needed to figure how to find a teacher for her or something, because she can already foresee the gap growing wider between them if this keeps up. Keeping pace with Usagi just to lose to Senko was not acceptable.
"Okay. Guess thats just....known now."
Kimiko says. Yuyuyu observes back
"I notice your not that surprised about the Ice release part Kimiko. Normally you'd be fascinated and geeking out over getting to learn something new. The fact that your not confused over where she got the Ice Release part.... There something you know? Or someone?"
"Maybe Futility-San got Ice Release from somewhere, you don't know."
"Yes but you never saw him use Ice Release. So who did you see?"
"Nope, I'm not telling."
"Kimiko if they're a threat..."
"They're not. The Kiri Rebels have no reason to attack Otogakure. and Yagura would never tolerate a kekkei genkai user to work for him."
She wasn't a sellout. Kiri Rebel Solidarity.

[Rater202]

"Seninka is not something that can be trained in the traditional sense. I can teach her, but... For the average person, Sage Mode is just a technique. A difficult one to master, but a technique nonetheless. One simply needs to be strong enough to use it and have the prerequisite skills... Though I understand that there are a minority of people who are not compatible with such large concentrations of natural energy."

"For us, it is an intrinsic part of us. Our minds, our bodies, our souls. It's not just a matter of skill, if young Senko is to master her power she needs to be strong and healthy, not just in body, but in mind, and spirit. I can provide guidance, but she has to do the work herself."

"Though for what it is worth? This is a rather old forest, with every tree being an offshoot of one ancient progenitor. The natural energy here concentrates here to a much greater degree than in most places. Her stamina would be much greater here, but also her ability to resist the change would be crippled."

[Lord Raziere]

Kimiko:
"Well then lets first get her out of here then."
Her and Yuyuyu will begin getting Senko out of the forest then set up camp for the night.

Hizuka:
At Jirou's urging she will take off in the direction of the Otogakure headquarters are to find Ameoku herself, running as fast as she can. Jirou will sigh. The truth was always a harder thing to tell than it seems.

[somerando]

Hashiba and Itsutsuji follow Hizuka to the door, both unsuccessfully trying to convince her not to talk to Jirou.
"I think this conversation could be best had after a bit of mulling it over, these might not be the best circumstances."
"We could really get in trouble if we reveal ourselves you know! I doubt the club would be friendly to some genins sneaking in."

Seeing the writing on the wall, Itsutsuji ducks off before they reach the door to leave the club, keeping abreast of the situation outside with her sensory powers.

Hashiba follows Hizuka outside, dispelling his disguise along with her. Completely clueless as to what to do during Jirou's long explanation to Hizuka, he just sorta stands still, paralyzed with indecision. Once Hizuka leaves, he flashes Jirou an awkward grin as attention turns towards him, and then slowly shuffles around a corner. Once out of sight, he takes off after Hizuka. He's keeping a distance but not concealing his presence from her, mostly unsure of what to do. He's getting the vibe that talking to her might not be the best option right now, but he feels like he ought to keep an eye on his friend in this turbulent moment.

Itsutsuji's watching Jirou after the other two leave. She's curious how the favoured candidate for Otokage plans to celebrate this great political victory. And if he doesn't do anything all that interesting she can always head home. It's been a long day.

[Lord Raziere]

Jirou: be spied on by Itsusuji
Jirou....doesn't seem to celebrate much at all. He heads straight to the village laboratories, with no deviance in direction and quiet, hollow gait as you follow him in, he does nothing but check on various experiments others are doing- the non-secret ones on the first floor. In fact the more you watch him, the more your convinced he has the personality and life of a particularly dull stone. He walks and then Kikenna Masuku springs out of nowhere- known as his fiance, and probably one of the most politically radical shinobi in the village. In contrast, having a fiery personality, and a distinct pink-blue-purple color scheme to her clothing and even streaks of her long flowing hair
"Sooooo~ I've compiled a list of reforms as Otokage I want you to review."
She hands him a piece of paper. He reads it then says
".....I don't think the village is ready to and I quote: "become an anarcho-socialist democracy", "legalize all the marriages", "provide social aid to burakumin descendants", "give everyone the best mental healthcare", to name only a few of the changes you put on here."
"Well you didn't choose me for any other reason did you? Won't get anywhere if I don't make a push."
"....Sigh. Yes but you do realize that we still have to talk about dialing it back a bit so we can implement all the changes here in baby steps over years if not lifetimes right? Can't too change things too fast or backlash occurs. If we accomplish a fraction of what you put on here, historians will consider us lucky."
"Can't hit the moon if we don't shoot for the stars mah dude!"
"Even trying to change a few of these issues might cause controversy and arguments in the village alone, when we have to worry about Futility-san first-and he is probably only the beginning of our troubles."
"Bah! Controversy is a word used by cowards to label the frank conversation that brings about true change! Let people argue. Let them get mad. Let the social structures break down and burst into flames! All great things are built from the wreckage of what came before it. You want a better world omelette, got to break some social norm eggs."
"I'm pretty sure you do that already by flirting with both men and women at the Broken Record Club. Even after becoming my fiance."
"Yeah, but there needs to be more y'know? Its not as if you care, this marriage is purely political. and you know I'd be more than willing to hook you up with that cute Komoro girl with a crush on you or even do a threesome with her. "
He rolls his eyes
"Noted." He continues checking some results.
"Speaking of the club, how did the talk with Samayo go?"
"Good, he will support me."
"and yet here you are, checking up on science projects. You wouldn't know a good time if it came at you charging like a bull."
"Science needs to be double checked by one's peers. I am doing my part in making sure none these results are flukes."
"And your own little project?"
"you know my standards, 80-90% survival rate before trying it on humans, at the least. The percentages are crawling up but....its not quite there yet. I'm hoping a certain...field test in the near future will allow for a huge leap forward."
"You really think Futility-San is going to attack during the Pre-Chuunin exams?"
"Yes. No matter his sensory abilities, no matter how powerful he is, he at his core a brat looking for attention while spouting edgy nonsense about despair to beat people down to his level. He is all about needless dramatics and symbolic acts to defile dreams just to make people depressed in revenge for what was done to him. Attacking during the Pre-Chuunin Exams? There is too much pageantry and symbolism there for him not to do it."
"Makes sense. But what are you going to do when you defeat him? Kill him? Capture him?"
He sits down and puts his hands together in a gendou pose, as if deep in thought.
".....That will depend on a few factors. And a certain conversation with someone I need to have when she gets back."
"Keeping it vague the-"
Kikenna stops and looks around. Jirou asks
"What is it?"
"....Nothing. Nothing to be concerned about at least."
Kikenna then vanishes in pink swirling mist of genjutsu. Jirou shrugs and goes back to double checking various peoples projects, slowly and methodically. He does it systematically and meticulously, being as thorough and efficient as he can, utterly unlike the zany Uzumaki scientists full of passion that your used to. If you didn't see him eat a snack now and then, you'd swear he was some robot out of science fiction pulp magazines. As it stands he is either a highly workaholic introvert or dead inside, possibly both from your observations. Either way your getting the feeling your not going to learn much more out of him.

Hizuka: Be Spied Upon by Hashiba
She will go into the Otokage Offices and speak with a Chuunin secretary about speaking with Ameoku and the secretary gives her an appointment with her in a few minutes. Problem was, spying on Hizuka conversing with Ameoku might be a bit....risky. She is the Anbu commander after all. She probably is more concerned about security than most. Getting caught might have bad consequences for you, unlike Jirou who seems oddly chill about it for a ninja.

Kimiko:
She distracts herself from her failure and the strength of Senko by wondering.
"Hm. Fascinating, if there are places where natural energy concentrates more than others....I wonder if that can be replicated artificially. And what the applications could be, it is a source of energy after all.....powerful enough to induce great physiological changes. If that power can be harnessed for other things.....hm..."

[Rater202]

"It's certainly possible," Daichi says as he pulls a ceramic pot out of somekind of storage seal, fills it with water, and sets it over fire to boil. The question is, is it feasibly? And if so, would it be wise? Just because Natural energy is abundant, and quickly replenishes, that doesn't mean it is infinite. Using natural energy as a source of power, it would need to be done sparingly less the surplus on the surface be depleted, or worse, the life to be pulled from the earth.

The children traveling with Daichi seem to be getting more comfortable around you all, though none of them say anything.

Senko starts to stir just as the water begins to boil.

A few moments later, she sits up, clutching her head. Daichi hands her a cup of tea. "This herbal blend should take the edge off of that headache."

Senko downs it in one gulp, no questions asked.

"What happened?"

Tomoe and Menko fill Senko in on things. Notably, DG is clearly horrified when Tomoe brings up getting one of DS's fingers.

"So... Kimiko... I am not mad that you set me on fire. I am a little peeved that you did not make sure that everyone was clear first."

"Look, it's fine, I'm gonna shed soon anyway."

"So... The bad news is that Cloud know about my experiments now and has apparently figured out how to manufacture pseudo-jinchuriki. the good news is we stopped them from recapturing a civilian and are coming home with the finger of a crystal release user and the corpse of a psuedo-jinchuriki. So... Mission successful?"

[Lord Raziere]

Kimiko:
"....Yes an unreplenishable source of power is probably not a wise thing to work towards."
She says in response to Daichi's explanation. When Senko wakes up she says back:
"I didn't know that Menko was there! I assumed she did the smart thing and de-summoned herself as soon you as went berserk. I didn't know that the berserker was somehow chill with Menko dwelling underneath her clothes! I assumed that since she was talking about killing everyone that it meant y'know, everyone. I didn't know that she was either okay with Menko being there or somehow not noticing a freaking SNAKE CLINGING TO HER VERY SKIN. Y'know with rough scales, wiggling about? You'd think that would be easy to notice but no! Apparently my perfectly logical assumptions were wrong. Sigh. Fine I screwed up, I hate it, I hate I have to admit this, but I did. Happy? I am sorry that set you on fire without checking that Menko was on there. If this happens again, Menko do you have ANY way of signaling to us that your there without letting the berserk Senko know about you?"
She then hands Senko the scroll with the pseudo-jinchuuriki corpse in it.
"also here. the corpse. I don't know enough about medical jutsu to study it myself. Mission success, yes. Doesn't really feel like I earned the credit though when your.....relative did the important work."
Kimiko crosses her arms and looks to the side, frowning. The mission was successful so....why did it feel like no one really won here?

[Rater202]

"You know that using genjutsu to make people not notice me is kind of my whole shtick, right? I'm a bit better at it than I was when we met. Also, it's not like Senko-Sama was wearing me as a bra, when I'm not moving around in there I usually slide into some loops that I think were meant for storage scrolls? And she has an undershirt on usually."

"Also I probably would have noticed an explosion in my robe."

Senko looks down at the scroll containing the body of... "The chakra of the tailed beasts takes very well to shape transformation, at least according to the stories of the few Jinchuriki who were able to master the power... I did research into stories of the Gold and Silver brothers, the power of Nine-Tails for them was like extra arms and legs. If I took this man's cells and grafted them to myself, if I could cultivate enough of the tailed-beast chakra as part of my own, I could drastically compensate, if not cure outright, whatever chakra based disability that makes such skills so difficult for me "

Ichika snaps to attention, "disability?"

"I had a drastically unbalanced chakra nature which made my chakra almost impossible to control, and a difficulty with shape manipulation. My... enhancements are primarily a means to treat that, by comingling my chakra or making it easier to build my control... Though, one day, once the process is perfected, I hope to be able to give bloodlines and other enhancements to everyone. Put everyone on an equal footing."

"Okay... I guess that's understandable but..."

[Lord Raziere]

Kimiko:
"Yes. Berserk-Senko WOULD have noticed. But you'd be GONE. kind can't do anything when your already reverse-summoned. But whatever. Destructive ninjutsu will not work if your will insist on staying on her person even while she is trying to kill everyone. Like for example how could I be sure that restrain jutsu using earth or water release won't crush or drown you? your probably less durable than berserker-Senko, so what might bind her, might kill you. Though....not that you mention it powerful enough genjutsu or something like that could be a solution....No matter. I am Kimiko Ishikawa and I will find or make a solution. No matter what, I just have to train harder and prepare better.

Putting everyone equal footing....what a strange new combat paradigm. The new competitive method would be to figure out what would be the best jutsu to learn rather than maximizing the jutsu your dealt. It'd be interesting to see what new dominant strategy emerges from such an experiment. Now if you'll excuse me I have to work on a few things. Training you understand."
She then walks off to train her chakra flow more, figuring she'd train some less complex chakra control before moving back to the real goal of the Rasengan.

Meanwhile Yuyuyu just looks at Senko when she talks about her goal to give everyone the bloodlines and says neutrally
"Sounds good in theory."
She can't really say more than that, because Yuyuyu doesn't know the risks or problems that could result from such an advancement. Even if its a purely positive change physically, humans have a remarkable tendency to ruin things that should be purely good through abuse the new social dynamics that come with them, unfortunately.
"Agh, I'm just angry at myself that I'm this team's genjutsu specialist but I don't know any jutsu powerful enough that could've simply put you to sleep so that this didn't happen! Between what you are Senko, and Kimiko's genius and Usagi's summons and bow skills I feel like I'm weakest one here, and that I need to step things up if I want to be a great ninja. While Kimiko has an ego, I think she is right that we failed to be strong enough to handle this situation correctly. We knew of the threat of your Berserk form, but we needed Daichi to bail us out. We can't count on that happening forever."

[Rater202]

"Would you like to trade? You can have my power and in exchange, I get to be well adjusted and happy. Or maybe you'd rather trade having a living family?"

Senko isn't trying to sound like a jackass, but she's actually a little... Hurt?

"Power and skill aren't everything, Yuyuyu. You have things that I lost and can never get back."

"...I wasn't going to ask, but... I did not think your parents would have let you become a shinobi if there was a better option. Especially not to a village so... New, and precariously place. What happened."

"...I lost control. Slaughtered a village. My parents are dead, my hometown is a ghost town, and the survivors hired a ronin to kill me."

Tomoe coughs awkwardly.

"Have you had a funeral?"

"No... What's the point? I doubt that anyone wants to be mourned by their murder."

"A funeral is not for the dead, but for the living. Barring those spirits that linger, the dead are beyond caring. The point is closure, young Senko. You will never be able to master your power if your mind and soul are in turmoil, even if you gain an absolute mastery of all forms of chakra control. If you lost control of yourself, you owe it to your victims to make sure that does not happen again. For that to occur, you need to learn to let go and forgive yourself... Among other things. I have found that the pursuit of the seven wheels provides an adequate framework for achieving the necessary mental health and spiritual balance. The last one is tricky though."

"Uhh, Senko... The offer to help you with that stands and... I'm sorry, about earlier."

"...Don't be. You were right. I need to talk with Ishikawa-sensei. I think I need to come clean about my research. At least to the clans... And I have to apologize to someone."

[Lord Raziere]

Yuyuyu:
She flinches a little and says
"....Your right I wouldn't trade what I have, but I didn't mean it like that. Its not about skill and power, or what I would trade. Its about doing my job. I am a shinobi. While Shinobi are soldiers and weapons against others, Hashirama made such a change to the system that they are also more. They are medics working a long term mission at a hospital in a city to heal citizens. They are first responders to disasters like floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and volcanoes. They are firemen making sure such blazes don't engulf entire cities. Not to mention various D-ranks. The village system may be flawed, but it does focus shinobi on helping their nation or whoever can get their help rather fighting between clans.

Thus as a shinobi, I have a job to protect people, and to protect my comrades. Especially since I'm second in command. If I cannot protect you from your berserk rampages, I'm not really doing my job well, aren't I? Just as a water release shinobi who goes on a long term fireman mission as an assigned post for years would not be doing his job correctly if he can't properly use water release to put out fires or not strong enough to drag their comrades out of the flames. Like it or not, diligence or hard work is a virtue and to slack on your job to the point where you can't properly do it is a failing."
She turns and stares at Senko with determination.
"I am not able to help you, my comrade when you need it most Senko. When I know what it is that ails you, a thing that you cannot help, a thing you cannot fight against alone. A comrade, a friend should be better than that, especially if we fight alongside each other. We're all in this together, so it is a failing if I cannot do my part. That is my reasoning."

[Rater202]

"I was under the impression that you were an infiltration and recognizance type? Your job is to sneak in from behind while the rest of us go in from the front. You didn't fail, this just isn't the kind of mission you're specialized in."

"...You know, Yu-chan... If you wanna be a bit of a more... active type?... I think I know of some people who might be able to help you. Build physical strength, learn a taijutsu style good for infiltrating, body mods if you're interested, exotic techniques. But you know, uh.. Okay, I think they're cool but pretty much everyone else in Ryuchi Cave thinks they're insane. Their leader is a white snake like me and she did... She mastered Sage Mode and then just ran off in human form and kicked the tails of anyone who tried stopped her. Said she wasn't cut out to be a mystic serving her almighty bigness, her calling was to be a soldier because she could only find joy in battle."

"Eventually the old crone said that she could just do what she wanted because dragging her back was too much trouble. Wish I had the strength and courage to do that. Anyway, this snake formed a team of like-minded individuals. They're the greatest martial artists, illustrators, and assassins in all of our territory, but they''ll only work for someone they respect."

"Also, everybody says they're bat**** insane but I don't think that's—Senko what are you doing!?"

As Menko was telling the story of this unnamed white snake, Senko is rolling up her sleeve, biting her thumb, smearing blood on her summoning tattoo, and going through the hand signs.

"You can't summon—"

Senko uses the summoning Jutsu and there's a massive cloud of smoke behind her and...

Standing in the smoke as it clears is a humanlike figure with the head of a king cobra, her hood retracted, her markings purple but her scales the same pale white as Menko. She is dressed in an outfit similar to a mist ninja's uniform but in different colors.

"You were say—" Senko immediately collapses. "I'm okay," she wheezes.

"...I was gonna say that you can't summon anyone right now because Daichi-san sucked out all your chakra. You big dummy, why did, what even... WHEN DID I BECOME THE SANE RESPONSIBLE ONE!? Becoming a familiar was supposed to helo me escape all these responsibilities that got forced on me, but no, I just randomly picked the one person in the omniverse more insane than I am all because I saw the pain in her eyes and..."

Menko suddenly looks up at the summoned snake and blushs red. "Please forgive this indiscretion and my master's impudence, great Yorokobi-sama."

"Honestly," the newcomer says in a motherly tone, "I'm impressed. Few people have the guts to speak up when a superior is doing something foolish. And fewer still have the guts to summon me. I haven't left the cave in almost fourteen years." She flicks out her tongue and tastes the air. "I'd heard rumors that the new sage was a bastard child of the Senjus. I wasn't aware that the child part was so literal. I was expecting someone older, like..." She snaps her fingers and points at Daichi. "You, the swamp of boiling venom? Looking for someone to corroborate Grandma Rat-Snake's story about the God-Tree and Kaguya Otsusuki before you left the cave?"

"Yes. I believe that we've met. My... I think we've decided on niece, is your new summoner."

"Huh. Small world... Is... She going to be okay?"

"I'm fine... Just waiting for the ground to stop spinning... Train my friend!" Senko sounds drunk.

Menko sighs, then gets up and walks over to where she sat down Senko's supplies. She starts rummaging through Senko's emergency medical supplies.

[Lord Raziere]

Yuyuyu:
Her goes eyes go wide for a moment but she quickly controls herself, her face steadying into calm compsure as per her social fake training.
B-b-b-body mods!? Already!? K-keep an open mind, Yuyuyu. This is Senko and Menko and the Snake clan. To them the question of how good such modifications are is an inherently positive answer. Concerns about potential downsides, or questions about how other people will take me having them is probably something she isn't even concerned about or even looked down upon.
Her mind can't help imagining herself with snake eyes or a snake tongue and long fangs which.....might be cute in a nekomomimi kind of way but she doubts its something like that, and she wasn't sure what the benefit would be? Her mind conjures her lower body being turned into a snake tail and immediately is afraid of losing her legs. Legs were really good for a reason. Something like that was definitely not worth it. Like she'd have to learn an entirely new form of movement, how would she even jump, stuff like that. And yes she was making assumptions but she was afraid of asking what those modifications were? But she had to give some answer that was polite.
"That is a quite generous offer. Most summon animals only offer that kind of thing to people they plan to share such a summoning contract with. Maybe I'll *ahem* focus on the physical strength, taijutsu and exotic techniques if they don't require the mods? Such a generous offer of such body modifications I didn't think it was possible yet and maybe I'll consider those later with some thought as to what would be right for me. Just....not today? Might be best to take that sort of thing slow."
After all you never know, don't burn a bridge just because it looks a bit rickety and they are friends who mean well. You never know when the social benefits of looking like a normal human in a world of humans might be outweighed by something else. Maybe she can make a more rational decision when she had time to think about it.
"Also you didn't HAVE to do this Senko....I'm still a genin, I can still train to be a Chuunin before having to consider out of village options. Though If I could I'd find Shimpi to train under but he is so mysterious and hard to find. Ameoku isn't an option for....obvious reasons. and I've never met Samayo. So I appreciate the opportunity and thank you and Yorokobi-sama for it."
She does a little polite bow to Yorokobi at this.

[Rater202]

Yorokobi looks at Yuyuyu, eyes narrowed. "How well can you dance?"

[Lord Raziere]

Yuyuyu: Get classical
She brings out a traditional fan, does a hand sign to make a genjutsu of classic koto music play and begins to do an elegant dance style known known as Nihon Buyo that is traditional throughout many of the shinobi nations, going through smooth fancy yet minimalistic movements going from slow to fast then slow again then speed up again like the coming of the tide or the changing of the wind and ending with an elegant pose then a burst of illusory sakura petals from herself. It was a dance similar to many would've seen in Kabuki plays in centuries past. She smiles and winks at Yorokobi.
"Does that answer your question? I learned this because I liked the movements and presentation, not very useful in shinobi life but it did help me get down how to do genjutsu."

[Rater202]

It's hard to tell with a snakehead, but you get the impression Yorokobi is smiling.

"To master dance is to be able to move perfectly to the rhythm of the music with grace and poise without thinking about it. To master dance is to master the art of silent moving, to move to the rhythm of silence. To master dance is to master the martial arts, the art of moving to the rhythm of battle. There can be no greater skill for a shinobi."

[Lord Raziere]

Yuyuyu:
Is surprised at her words, blinks then breaks into an embarrassed blush, scratching her head with one hand and waving her off with another in a "oh you" motion, clearly a bit flustered but smiling.
"Oh Yorokobi-sensei you flatter me! I am simple humble genin with an interest in art, culture and doing my job as best I can! Its my teammate Kimiko who is the real genius, she could probably replicate anything I could do, she and other Genin in my village are stronger than me. But-but enough about them! I probably shouldn't be comparing myself like that, please Yorokobi-sensei just teach me, okay?"
She will wave both of her hands in a "nevermind" motion, then bow politely at the end of this. She clearly didn't expect you to praise her so highly.

Kimiko:
Meanwhile she will be busy move chakra in and out of her fists, trying to be precise about how much she puts in with each punch.
"30%.....31%......32%.....33%......35%.....36%.... ..37%......38%.....39-"
She stops and looks at her fist.
"Agh, that was 42%! That is more than I needed! I need to be more precise! 39%!"
She continues trying to control her chakra flow as precisely as possible. The better she can control her chakra, the better she will be able to get down the Rasengan.

[igordragonian]

At The Forest

Odayama sighed.
He rubbed the back of his head.
"Hmm. Maybe I should have been more active myself. I have a powerful smart sleep pill specific designed for Senko's safety. But... I wanted to keep my methods as last resort to give you kids, a space to push yourselves- I kind of an useless chunnin... the least I can do, is to support you."

He looks at Senko's dad and bow . "Please forgive me, for not taking a better care. I'll do better"
but how?


Usagi is enraged, she barely managed to follow.
"Kimiko! You baka! I was about to use my lullaby jutsu! You stupid show off princess! ARGH!"
And she went to sulk at the sides. Then Usagi was about to race Kimiko in her training, but Yojimbo stopped.
"You know, graceful dance could benefit your chakara's contrl as well"

Usagi groaned. "Dont be stupid! I am a assripping baddass! Not some fancy fan dancer in kimono!"

Yojimbo smirked. "Didn't Ishikiwa-san enjoyed the sight of you in kimono?"
Usagi is flustered. "Shut up! Why would I even care? How do you even know this?!"
Yojimbo does shut up, which only has increased the cringe that Usagi has exprienced.
only after a long minute, Yojimbo said
"Well. You always rival Kimiko. But you didnt rivaled Yuyuyu-san." he said, offering "honorable" way for Usagi to agree.
Usagi looked away.
"I dont have the clothes and fans." she said in tone of an excuse.
"Well. Thankfully, you have fans back home who would support you." he say, he dissapear in smoke, instead, Usagi get a "makeover"- her ponytails turn into straight long hair, and she wear a kimono just like this one-
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/17/80...ad692d1e26.jpg
(Usagi is still human and her hair isnt THAT long)
while she sit on a rock, she has pair of fans in her hands that have this desgin-
https://cdn.dribbble.com/users/47800...2847/usagi.jpg
Usagi look horrified.
Menko and other summoned animals might recongnize this kimono- it's the design of tje royal rabbit family.
Usagi's fluster is her smallest issue-
Usagi is in awe of honor.





* * *


Cheetah masked Anbu is taking care of the garden around the Anbu center.
Ameoku would greet Hizuka, in the way she greet any ninja who has the potential to be worthy of her attention.
Shushuryu sense it, and she would notice both Hizuka and her master.
"Kid! Run! She is about to- Ameoku-san,please DONT-"

Ameoku dive from above with a simple and strong kick toward Hizuka.
Not her strongest move- something she assume a Genin who isn't a complete waste of oxygen can dodge or block, but it still kind of terrifying.

[Lord Raziere]

(OOC: It was Yuyuyu who did the dance, not Kimiko.)

Hizuka:
She will bring her hammer up to block it, skidding back as it impacts.
"Rrrgh! What the hell!? What did I do!? I have not betrayed you! I simply want to know the truth! Jirou said in a conversation with Samayo that you want to go war with Konoha as soon as possible, that you considered the suicidal resolve of one of your enemies a better spirit of this village than your own ninja, that you'd recklessly risk destroying us all just to take down Konoha! That you you sacrificed your own family for your abilities! I want to know the truth of this and if it is true....why? We have more resources now, better ways to take down Konoha than what we once had! We could minimize our losses while still destroying Konoha! Why would you throw it all away just to emulate Odokuro!?"

[igordragonian]

(I have edited. I hope it works)


-----

Ameoku laugh, as she spin back and land.
Shushurryu hurry to the scene.

-"Nyohohoho!" Ameoku laugh
"If you were a traitor, then nothing but a crescents of blood would have remained! No. I's merely my way of saying hey. I am just being.. polite"
Ameoku smile doesn't drop, but it lessened.
"Hmm. You aren't as ready as I have hoped you would be. But knowing your parents, I believe in your potential" she say with a flicker of her tail.

Shushurryu sigh with a relief-It seems Ameoku won't go hard on this genin.
Breaking bones of a Genin won't do good for Ameoku's campgain.

Ameoku tilt her head, her tail swayed slowly as she processed and thinked.
Shushuryu thought this is actually big part of what was scary about Ameoku- she had mixture of uncanny patience with feats of deadly rage, and even being her student and working years for her.. she was never hundred percent sure what next Ameoku would do.

Ameoku smiled again. "Well. I like how directly you talk id nothing else. I will answer your questions to the degree I can without hurting the security of our village. Let's go"

Ameoku led her to the building, doing a quick set of seals before opening the door.
(ooc- it open a pocket dimension to an exact replica of the office building, but without any intel to steal.
It's sort of "tourist" version.
And she has certaij control over this space if anything go too badly.
It's like sealing and scrolls techniques on S level)

the place look very busy, with Anbus goes here and there
Ameoku lead to a nice looking office, simple, spartanic.
The only non practical objects in the room are two photos-on her desk a family photo of her, Odayama, their children, her sister and her neices.

behind her were a big and old photo in terrible qualiry-
of Odukoro behind the three Thunders as his students.

a normal sizwd cat butler covered in shadows- https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E43A_ayVUAEj-Fs.jpg:large

he bring a plate with cups of tea and... tuna-biscuits.
And then fade into the shadows.
Ameoku sit down and wave.
"Sit down sit down."
She hold her cup of tea.
"Well. You have asked a lot of questions, and I am not one for long winded speaches. What concern you the most? And We start from there"

[Rater202]

Yuyuyu:
Is surprised at her words, blinks then breaks into an embarrassed blush, scratching her head with one hand and waving her off with another in a "oh you" motion, clearly a bit flustered but smiling.
"Oh Yorokobi-sensei you flatter me! I am simple humble genin with an interest in art, culture and doing my job as best I can! Its my teammate Kimiko who is the real genius, she could probably replicate anything I could do, she and other Genin in my village are stronger than me. But-but enough about them! I probably shouldn't be comparing myself like that, please Yorokobi-sensei just teach me, okay?"
She will wave both of her hands in a "nevermind" motion, then bow politely at the end of this. She clearly didn't expect you to praise her so highly.

Yorokobi opens her flack jacket and retrieves a small scroll from a pocket on the inside. It's small enough that it would easily fit in Yuyuyu's fist.

She hands the scroll to Yuyuyu.

If Yuyuyu opens it, it has a symbol similar to the ones tattooed to Senko's arms.

When you are ready, smear your blood upon the symbol in the scroll and it will call me to you... Just don't do it at dawn, that's when the squad practices our choreography.

Her comment on dancing may have been less a compliment and more a statement of philosophy.

The serpent then vanishes in a puff of smoke.

"She's so cool, right!"