Chapter 51: 50. State Of Affairs [2]

"IF YOU'RE GONNA PLAY THE KNOW-IT-ALL, THEN YOU SHOULD OBVIOUSLY KNOW WHEN TO SHUT THE F*CK UP"

The Daimyō's words completely froze the room

The Head Ninja was speechless. Everyone else was fidgeting, no one daring to say anything as the air in the room went cold

"...There's more I'd like to say, but I'll leave it at that...for now. Raikage-dono. What are your thoughts on this matter?" (Daimyō)

Everyone turned their heads to the Raikage in anticipation

The Raikage, A, unfolded his arms and broke the silence

"I, nor my father, will ever say we regret the decisions we've made. And I've certainly not forgotten what all of us have lost because of the war. My father should be here, sitting in this chair now...not me. But I am, and it's my duty to ensure the protection of this village" (A)

"..." (Head Ninja)

"If any potential Jutsu and/or assets happen to fall in our hands we'll do our best to keep them, but our main priority is recovery!" (A)

"So you agree with his stupid idea" (Daimyō)

"I never said that" (A)

"No, you just dodged and weaved your way around the subject that idiot brought up" (Daimyō)

"..." (Head Ninja)

"Make no mistake, I'm not encouraging anyone to cause conflict" (A)

"You mean, not publicly..." (Daimyō)

A's tone dropped several levels, seemingly tired of the Daimyō's arguing

"With all due respect Daimyō-dono, it's MY job to oversee our village's military affairs" (A)

"..." (Daimyō)

"..." (A)

Tension inside the room reached an all time high

"Fine. But if ANYONE attempts to provoke another nation, no matter how small or insignificant, will be considered a traitor and treated as such! No matter who they are" (Daimyō)

The Daimyo gave a sharp glance before standing down. The Raikage turned his head towards the head ninja

"Very well. You may be seated now" (A)

"Yes...Raikage-sama" (Head Ninja)

The Head Ninja bowed towards the Raikage. With his head down, no one could see his red, glaring eye

"Daimyō-dono" (A)

Putting his glasses back on, he looked towards his right

"Tekkan! Please...continue" (Daimyō)

"Sir! Next up is the change in tax rate for energy. If everyone will turn to page 34 in the pamphlets you were given at the start of this meeting, you'll find that many of our power plants were..." (Tekkan)

♦♦♦

After some time, the meeting ended and everyone proceeded to leave the room

Walking down a hallway with haste was the Head Ninja

"...Damn it. Things would've gone my way if!-" (Head Ninja)

"Don't you mean 'our' way, dear commander?"

"?!" (Head Ninja)

Suddenly appearing next to him was an elderly man dressed in robes. His appearance signified he was one of Kumogakure's recognized councilor's, some of the leading powers within the village

The Head ninja began talking, his words clearly anxious

"Esteemed one! I-I swear to get this done. Once I get the Raikage by himself I'll!-" (Head Ninja)

"It's fine. What's done is done. Besides, it wasn't a total failure, you managed to sow the seed of discord between them"

"Eh?" (Head Ninja)

"The Raikage didn't fully deny your request, even going against the opinion of the Daimyō. Which means we've successfully managed to drive a, albeit small, wedge between them"

"Then...it wasn't a failure?" (Head Ninja)

"On the contrary, most of us didn't expect it would happen so soon. The fact that you managed to accomplish this with only one meeting is unprecedented, and will certainly not go unrewarded"

"Ah! I'm humbled sir!" (Head Ninja)

"But your job isn't over yet. We need you to continue widening that divide until the Raikage and the Daimyō wholeheartedly believe the other isn't beneficial to the village"

"Right" (Head Ninja)

"They have to be at odds, or rather preoccupied with one another. So much that they can't possibly discover our true intentions"

"I already have things set in motion. Many of my men are already prepared" (Head Ninja)

"Good. This won't happen over night, so be subtle about it. When the need arises, the 'Company' will call upon your services again"

Just before the two of them went their separate ways, the head ninja muttered some last words

"My family has been the upper crust of this village since it's founding. To obtain my rightful place at the top, I will always be eager to play my part" (Head Ninja)

"...Of course"

{Humph! "Idiot" huh? Just wait Daimyō. When I get what I want you'll no longer be relevant. And that will be the moment I slit your f*cking throat!} (Head Ninja)

Finally to himself, the elder's face took on a nauseated expression

"Humph! Fool...as if we'd ever let a greedy bastard like yourself become the leader of Kumogakure. Unlike you, what we do isn't for ourselves, but for the sake of the village. When our goal is complete I will personally send you to hell"

{Still...I can't believe that incompetent managed to succeed today}

"For the Raikage to not only disagree on a subject with the Daimyō that'd you expect him to agree with, but to do it so openly in front of nearly all members of the top brass"

{He may not be up to par with the 3rd Raikage, but I know for a fact he isn't THAT incompetent...}

The elder stopped walking and organized his thoughts

"...I could be overthinking things, but there's no such thing as taking too much precautions in our line of work. I'll share my thoughts with the rest of the 'company' tomorrow"

{Maybe a little 'probe' into his intentions would suffice}

Picking up his pace, he made a wicked smile before suddenly vanishing

♦♦♦

Back in the now close assembly room, only the Raikage, the Daimyō, and his assistant remained

After closing all of the doors, Tekkan maintained his distance from the two as they stared at each other with tense expressions

"Raikage-dono..." (Daimyō)

"Daimyō-dono..." (A)

"..." (Tekkan)

After a brief pause, Tekkan opened one of the doors to find a shinobi waiting outside who simply nodded at him

Closing the door, the three were once again alone

"Well?" (Daimyō)

"..." (A)

"Room is secure" (Tekkan)

"Haaaa..." (A) 

"Finally!" (Daimyō)

The two leading individuals breathed a sigh of relief, breaking their stiff postures and taking on a more relaxed demeanor

"Was all this 'cloak and dagger' nonsense really necessary?" (Daimyō)

"Apologies, but it is" (A)

"He's right sir" (Tekkan)

"It's only because of our past history together that I've deferred to your judgement on this case. Agh! My back hurts from waiting so long. I'm not getting any younger you know!" (Daimyō)

"Sir..." (Tekkan)

"Yeah, Yeah. I know" (Daimyō)

"At least now we have confirmation" (A)

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"Yes. Certain said person or persons are clearly trying to undermine the authority you two hold" (Tekkan)

"By turning us against each other" (Daimyō)

"About that...I'm sorry I-" (A)

Holding his hand up, he stopped the Raikage from apologizing

"It's fine. Your 'conflict' with me during this meeting was all part of the plan. Plus, everyone is busy recently. It's not easy these days for either of us to call for a FULL assembly of all the major players" (Daimyō)

"Still, I didn't expect them to bring up the subject of increasing our military strength" (A)

"For the Head Ninja of all people to so blatantly suggest breaking the peace treaties like that is..." (Tekkan)

"Mm. It's obvious he's involved but..." (Daimyō)

"He's clearly just a pawn" (Tekkan)

"That makes things even worse" (A)

"Eh?" (Tekkan)

"The fact that someone is capable of making Kumo's head ninja a pawn means we're dealing with an enemy of great power and influence" (Daimyō)

"!" (Tekkan)

"And whoever is responsible is clearly hostile towards the village and its people" (Daimyō)

"My father has long suspected this, which is why the only people who know about it, are in this room. Do you understand Tekkan?" (A)

Tekkan nodded his head, clearly understanding what A was hinting at. All the Raikage's of the past held the name "A". Each A had a tag-team partner named "B", who was responsible for defending the Raikage and representing their power

"Everyone in this room" meant that A didn't even share this secret with his own brother, Killer B, who held the moniker of being his "closest ally"

For both the Raikage and the Daimyō to let him in on this information demonstrated a great deal of trust in him

"I swear I will take this secret to my grave sir" (Tekkan)

"Hopefully it doesn't come to that. It's hard to find such good help these days" (Daimyō)

Tekkan slumped his shoulders with an exhausted look

"That's really messed up Daimyō-sama..." (Tekkan)

"Hahaha! But kidding aside, what are we to do now? After this meeting, it's going to get harder and harder for us to meet like this without arousing suspicion. Should we widen our circle?" (Daimyō)

"..." (A)

"I strongly recommend against that course of action" (Tekkan)

"!" (A & Daimyō)

"We are dealing with a conspiracy so dangerous that it reaches to even the height of your office Raikage-sama. Now is the time to tighten your circle, not widen it. Who you choose to trust will very likely determine the fate of Kumogakure" (Tekkan)

"..." (A)

"I told you he was one of the good ones" (Daimyō)

"Yeah...it's a waste he's working for you and not me" (A)

"Oh don't you come at me like that. I'm still pissed you and your father snatched Mabui right from under my!-" (Daimyō)

Thump! Thump!

Someone was knocking on the door outside

"And with that signal, we are officially out of time" (A)

"Right...while I'm gone, I'll have the staff I trust keep a close eye on the money. If I notice any unusual activity I'll have Tekkan notify you. Sorry Tekkan, but it looks like you'll be doing a lot more traveling in the coming days" (Daimyō)

"I'm prepared Daimyō-sama" (Tekkan)

"I'll put some of the top brass I already suspect under investigation , there are some here I know I can trust to be discreet. I won't publicly accuse anyone of anything before coming to you unless I catch them in the act" (Daimyō)

"Got it" (A) 

The Daimyō sighed

"To think the day would come when we would look at our own as the enemy" (Daimyō)

"The wisest choices are usually the hardest ones to make" (Tekkan)

"That's an understatement" (A)

Leaving the assembly room the group said their goodbye's

"Thanks for the meeting, are you going to take the rest of the day off? I know I am after that" (Daimyō)

"No...I've been feeling a little sluggish recently so I'm going to get back to training" (A)

"Ah...still trying to solve the mysteries of that scroll?" (Daimyō)

"Nope. It's painfully obvious I'll never be able to get past the 'Second Lock' at this point. The only thing I can do now is simply improve my own techniques. Besides, before he died, my father gave that 'puzzle' to someone else" (A)

"Really?! He entrusted someone else with something so important? Who? Was it that apprentice of his? What was his name again...?" (Daimyō)

"Darui, sir" (Tekkan)

"Right! Was it him?" (Daimyō)

"No. He only gave Darui the 'Black Lightning'. There is another that sparked his interest" (A)

"I wasn't aware he had a second apprentice..." (Daimyō)

"He didn't. This one is a 'diamond in the rough' he found. Younger than Darui, yet holding far more potential" (A)

"...Seriously?" (Daimyō)

"Yes. In fact you met him already. You know, Mabui's little cousin" (A)

"Hm? Oh...oh yeah! That cheeky little brat at the last graduation. His name was Rei...Rei Sano right?" (Daimyō)

{Rei Sano? Could he be Keido's son?} (Tekkan)

"That's right" (A)

"Your father gave the 'Black Scroll' to him?" (Daimyō)

"After he tested him in combat, yes. It was actually right before he died" (A)

"I knew just from meeting him that boy was special...but I never would've imagined he was THAT special" (Daimyō)

"Yes. To entrust 'it' to someone so young suggests my father actually believed he could open all four 'Locks' on that treasure" (A)

"That relic is from a time long past. No one in Kumo's history has ever managed to open all the 'locks'. Hell, Your father at his PEAK only managed to open three. If he were to do so..." (Daimyō)

"One could only imagine the secrets that could be revealed. What that would mean for Kumogakure...and...what he would become" (A)

The Daimyō was speechless. Tekkan who was unaware of the subject they were discussing held back his urge to interject and ask what they meant, knowing it would be rude to pry

"The potential of the human body...and here I thought today would be boring. Youth is a scary thing Raikage-dono" (Daimyō)

"Heh! Indeed. I hope to see you soon Daimyō-dono" (A)

"You as well Raikage-sama. Stay safe. Come along Tekkan!" (Daimyō)

"Yes sir!" (Tekkan)

♦♦♦

After splitting up, A retuned to his empty office. Sitting down at his desk, his solitude the only company he had

{Despite Tekkan's advice to tighten my circle, I'm still going to need people to confide in. Especially ones that can undertake missions for my more "private" agendas}

"Hmm. Maybe Mabui and her team? They've already proven themselves at the last Chunin exams. Plus, 'that' one is also a member of her squad and is unlikely to betray the Raikage after being 'raised for the village'."

{There's no way I'm asking B, even if he's the one I trust the most. I'd rather not increase my headaches, and as long as he's at Unraikyō he's safe}

"Haaaaaa..."

A leaned back on his chair and sighed. Frustrated at his current predicament

Then suddenly...

{...Wait a sec. Unraikyō...wasn't he training with a Genin team this past month?}

A got up and shuffled through some papers for a few minutes before locating the file he needed

"Yeah...I'm definitely getting a secretary. Now let's see...yes. Tango requested access to the valley almost a month ago. And wasn't Tango the teacher of...oh...oh my..."

A began laughing in his chair

"Fate can be real funny sometimes. Isn't that right...Rei"

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