Meeting an Old Friend[Kotsubo]

He had briefly visited him when he had returned from being gone for the last five years, with all the scrolls of information he had left him before he had gone to bed for the first time in many years at his house. He had been summoned back by his former friend and rival as he was sure he had a ton of questions about his mission that had him away for five years, he had also learned about the village losing their tailed beast and was already working to form some sort of squad trained in sealing that could help track down and capture a new one. As he arrived at the tower his former squad mate waved to him once again and let him inside, this time Ken would pat him on the shoulder and tell the man they should have a drink sometime, he was happy to hear that and agreed as Ken had stepped inside and knocked three times before stepping into the office.

"Well it has been a very long time my friend, so I am guessing you want to know more about my five-year mission, I would be glad to try to explain but worth thirty scrolls of information I doubt I could explain more. I also had heard about our village recently losing the tailed beast because they had gone rogue, that may not be an issue soon, I have been working hard on my sealing skills and I think with a proper team to back me we could easily capture another one to allow our village to once again have a tailed beast to help defend against the other villages. I don't have to tell you in my five years away to not trust the other villages, something is going on they are plotting and scheming for sure, so do not let the villages guard down."

Ken was as usual even in the past being way too serious, it was his one flaw he was so serious about protecting his village he never really allowed himself downtime to relax and enjoy life. He had been gone for five years and yet here he was making a plan to leave the village again, he felt so out of place here and in his mind his best duty was being gone out of the village. Even if this was not true he simply felt this way, he was a stronger protector of the village and Kotsubo obviously understood how powerful his bloodline truly was, so having it close to home likely would benefit the village more.

Kotsubo had sent out the message for an old... friend of sorts to meet him in the Mizukage's office, it's not that he was exactly at blows with this man or they were the closest of friends, they could just see eye to eye on most matters and they came from nearly the same generation, the only one Kotsubo probably knows who isn't dead. Anyone else from their generation has either succumbed to battle, moved on or have become prominent members of the village as shinobi, with Ken and Kotsubo being the last case. He could understand Ken like no one else, and Ken could understand Kotsubo like no one else, they both have mutual respect for each other in that sense.

When Ken entered the office, Kotsubo could be seen behind a wooden desk with piles of paperwork, dropping the pencil then as soon as he saw his old friend through the door. "Finally! an excuse to get away from this paperwork." he stood up from the desk to personally greet his old friend, just to hear what he had to say about the five year mission he's been on. He could understand where he's coming from in concern of the villages safety, as relationships with other villages are iffy at best but they're not bad either. "I don't know about that Ken... you see, a lot has happened." Kotsubo had a file in hand from his desk, the one assigned to him when he was back in the high council meeting of when he got appointed as the Fourth Mizukage. It has the full written report and oral report given by Kotsubo Hoshigaki about the mission that his team had undertaken in the Land of Lightning, about the threat of the pale woman.

"Long story short, we fought against an incredible foe and despite this happening on the Land of Lightning's territory, their ninja just stayed back and watched us while Konohagakure and Kirigakure's own ninja were focusing on the threat. I believe Konohagakure understand the nature of this threat well enough, but I don't know if we can depend on Kumogakure after they pulled that crap." he said his piece on it, he wasn't happy about the Lightning Ninja staying back while the other villages were doing the work, but Kotsubo imagines at one point he'll have to open negotiations with them sooner or later, and he'll bring that up as a bargaining chip of sorts, if he can twist it the right way. "Why couldn't you come a few days earlier? maybe they would've assigned you as the Mizukage instead of me I tell ya, I tell the Third Mizukage that I'm not interested in politics and how do I get rewarded? bam, Fourth Mizukage."

He could tell Kotsubo was not happy to be the kage as he laughed a bit at his excitement, as he listened to what he had to say a frown crossed his face. So the information he had about Kumo being untrustworthy was not far off, Konoha being good allies was no shocker they had a history of trying to be a peaceful village. Kumo, however, could become a problem, he would likely need to keep an eye on that situation. He jokingly said why could he not have returned a few days sooner so he could become the kage simply laughing a bit. While he wanted to protect the village he doubted he would be accepted as a kage, his bloodline was even foreign and people still to this day considered him an outsider.

"I am sure you will do fine as a kage and if you think I want to do all that paperwork no thanks, I am just glad your advancements in life had warranted becoming a Kage. We both know I am seen as an outsider by many and the Kaguya would have an aneurysm if someone like me taking office, the last thing we need is unrest with that clan. The details you mentioned about Kumo... sadly this is a trend and they have been seen becoming much more militaristic and are advancing rapidly in technology as well. I would say it is safe to consider them a threat, how fast and rapidly they are growing means they have much bigger plans."

He could see how stressed his friend was as he would pull out a flask before taking a swig and offering some to him. It could do them both good if they went out for a night on the town, maybe even some woman through his friend never had much luck with that. Still, now that he was the kage things may be looking up for him and even he had a chance despite having such a handsome guy like himself next to him.

"After we discuss some things here what about a night on the town, find some woman that want a good time and let off some steam. It has been a long time for me and well you never had much luck with the ladies. As the Kage however you have a good shot, so why not have some fun to relieve some stress."

Kotsubo shook his head when he believed his friend wouldn't make the cut as a Mizukage, taking the offered drink and taking a swig himself before passing it back to Ken, chuckling when he mentioned about Kotsubo never having any shot with the ladies which is sad, but true. "You'd be surprised though..." Kotsubo was still trying to wrap his head around that day back on the boat with Yomi, nothing happened between them and he actually had a shot but he botched it, he got nervous which is probably the best way to word it. "The woman I went on the mission with, I think she's sending signals but I don't want to push it if it's not the case, now that I'm the Mizukage the last thing I want to be known for is sexual harassment or something like that." though he did remember about the woman back in the high council meeting room sending a very obvious sexual suggestion towards him, but he's led to believe that she's the Third Mizukage's sister, again... a reputation he doesn't want to be known for, shagging a Mizukage's relative.

"I don't mind having a night off, but I'm not going to go after women. You know I'm not good at anything sexual, I'm a hopeless romantic." it's mostly because as a young kid, most people didn't really go near him and he's always had the impression he wasn't much of a looker, so women wouldn't give him that sort of attention and if they did, he would only assume they were being nice in some way, but not to ever get anything else out of him. He's pretty much faced the fact years ago that he'll never find love, but a secret side of him is hoping otherwise, one that he constantly represses.

"Also, you'd do great as a Mizukage, any doubt of you being loyal to the village can be argued by the fact that you took on a five year mission and returned for Kirigakure, still taking it's interests first and foremost. Not a lot of Kiri's own born ninja can say that." after he said his piece on that, he'd return to the topic about Kumogakure. "Yeah... luckily, we actually have an alliance of sorts with Konohagakure. We can do joint missions and we have a neutral pact, and I believe if Kumogakure shows itself to really be a threat then we can depend on the Leaf to help us in our time of need." after all, there is strength in numbers and two villages facing off against one is a very clear advantage.

Ken smiled as he heard him mention a woman on a mission but he had blown it making him visibly facepalm, he really had to help him learn to be smooth. He likely would stand a chance if he was not so awkward sure he was well different looking but with some charm that would not matter one bit to a woman. He did laugh at him saying he was a hopeless romantic, he just needed his good ole friend Ken to help him along with that.

"I am sure with some of my training you could swoon the lady of your dreams including the woman you went on the mission with. Tonight I will show you exactly how to be smooth, of course you know I never had an issue with the ladies but just watch how I act and how I don't let any nervousness interfere with my interactions."

He rubbed the back of his head as his friend said he would make a great kage, he was not so sure about that, it was a very heavy burden and even if asked if he wanted to be he would need to think long and hard in the best interest of the village. The news Kiri had formed a stronger bond with Konoha made him quite happy, this at least meant they had an ally willing to back them up if needed.

"I am glad to hear about Konoha, I think they can be trustworthy but as I said Kumo is a different story they seem to building up the military quite rapidly it is clear they desire expansion. From what I heard their kage is doing a great job but is also under pressure to make Kumo the top nation so it may mean they will intend to go after Iwa to make it another nation under their banner. Ever since the plague decimated that land it has been seen as desirable for its vast resources."

Kotsubo finally stopped with all the political talk and instead, the talks of having a night out on the town sounded very promising and alluring to him, but he felt like he really wasn't in the mood for that. "I'd love to properly catch up with you old friend, but I have duties now that I can't exactly run away from at the drop of a hat. I only called you here to reunite with you again, and to bring you up to speed on the politics since you were gone for a long while." he moved back to the wooden desk, sitting back down to the chair as he let out another sigh, with a part of him wanting to take on Ken's offer but deep down, he knew that he really shouldn't shirk his responsibilities. "If it helps with the ladies though, you can use the "I know the Mizukage" card as much as you like." ending that on a good note before he'd go back to the paperwork.

He suddenly had forgotten about the file and quickly stepped back up, grabbing the file from the end of the desk and walking back up to Ken, passing it along to him. "The mission details of what happened in the Land of Lightning. This is sensitive stuff, so after you read it, either keep it really well hidden or just burn it, either way I can't have information leaks about this pale woman going around." he then laid back against the desk once more, the effects of stress clearly going over him as he had forgotten to give Ken the file. He'd honestly prefer to resign if he could, but at this point, he'd imagine a lot of people would have faith in him now and with all the switches in leadership recently, it wouldn't be a good idea to have three Mizukage's in one year.

He sighed as his friend rejected going out, but he understood he had a lot of things he needed to do as a Kage. He was then handed a report as he would begin to open it and glance at the pages his face would become more serious. Pale skin lady, he had heard about her in the various nations, he did not know much about her but she seemed to be recruiting forces for something.

"This woman I have heard about her on my journeys, many have talked about her recruiting those with strong skills to her side, she is growing an army for something and my guess it won't be good. If our tailed beast went with her we need to be very worried, that power is used for darkness and evil could destroy an entire village by itself. I am going to focus hard at increasing my Fuuinjutsu skills to be able to deal with an attack from a tailed beast, plus this woman appears to be incredibly strong easily as strong as some of the most powerful Kages to ever live."

This report was deeply troubling as he knew how dire a threat Kiri was now facing, he would place the folder down with the information he gathered and knowing the direction they had headed he would attempt to contact various contacts he had made around the world to listen for any rumors of this woman. They may have lost this time to her but he was sure with his help they could have a force that can handle and deal with her. Now that they knew her attacks and what she could do they could prepare for countermeasures to use against her.

"I will work on a plan to deal with this woman, we have an understanding what she can do and with this knowledge, I will come up with a plan to take action against her. I am sure you know we can't sit back and hope she leaves us alone, a threat like her must be taken care of, in my mind, we need to contact the other villages and launch a joint assault force to target and remove her existence from the world. She is far too dangerous to leave alive and with the power, she is gathering villages wont be able to fight her off for long."

Kotsubo understood the urgency of the words Ken spoke, with Kotsubo already taking measures to increase Kirigakure from how it currently is, to increase it's own influence in it's own village inside and outside. He had several plans for that but for now, though he did nod to his friends compliment about the woman's strength. "Aye. I fought her first-hand, she has very peculiar jutsu that is definitely unique to her. I launched a Kenjutsu offensive on her back in the battle and she managed to disperse all of them with an unknown, physical force. I kept sending shadow clones to do the dirty work because of how unpredictable her abilities are." he sat back, constantly thinking back to that battle and now worrying about the politics within Kirigakure, and the relations with the other two villages. They're living in troubled times indeed, and despite their alliance with Konoha Kotsubo knows that Kirigakure is ultimately on it's own. "By the way, she said that she'd give three years for the world to prepare. I don't know much about her, but she seems to be a woman of her word at least. It gives us time to prepare for whatever storm she'll bring on this village."

He liked the idea of what Ken is proposing, but he knew Ken well enough that they were on similar power levels in terms of overall strength and if Kotsubo struggled to face with the pale woman, it's no doubt that Ken would face similar struggles as well even if he has a fully-trained squad at his side. "It won't be that easy Ken, I tried my best against her and you know what I'm capable of, this woman took on Kirigakure and Konohagakure's ninja and stood her ground. If I struggled, I know you will, no offence." he did want to wrap up this threat as soon as possible, but they'd need to carefully consider their next course of action about doing that as this woman is not the average threat, she's a international one that requires a bit more thinking to take care of.

Kotsubo decided to give his slap of reality on the situation. "Honestly? as it stands, even if we were to do a joint assault then we'd still lose. Kumogakure just stood back like cowards, Kirigakure and Konohagakure took on the pale woman and she made it look like childs play. She might gather up her strength, but at least we know about her and we have a chance to build our strength up. I believe a battle will happen sometime in the following years that might determine the fate of the world itself, it's either we'll win, or we won't. I'll use the years to make sure our chances of winning will increase."

So he tried to use Kenjutsu against her and it was ineffective and he also tried to use shadow clones, good ideas but he had a feeling offensive measures would not work. Something like Fuuinjutsu being used as well as offensive techniques would need to be used, there was good news, however. He said she gave them three years before she would start attacking, this would give Ken three years to formulate the best plan and to find the perfect squad suited to what he had in mind he would need one powerful with offensive one that was as equally skilled in Fuuinjutsu as himself and a third that was heavily focused on being supportive. This last member would be what was important someone that could Ijutsu not only to heal but also on the woman as well, disrupting her chakra is one way to make sure she had a hard time using her jutsu.

"So she was impervious to physical attacks and we have three years to think of something I am already forming a plan. I will need one genin that is very strong with ninjutsu, one with many elements and a sole focus on blasting people using ninjutsu I can be the immovable wall to protect them to allow them to offensively attack the woman. The second choice would be a genin that uses Fuuinjutsu, the reason for this is I need someone else to use the same type of Fuuinjutsu as I do to make it very difficult for the woman to break out and the third needs to be a supportive genin. This one would need Ijutsu and likely needs some sort of Taijutsu to balance out the team's composition. You give me three genins with this and in three years I promise you a squad that no one would want to mess with and one that can help deal with this woman. I will have them solely focus on training in ways to defeat her, of course with that training they likely could beat anyone else as well."

He would let his old friend think about what he had said, something he could do before this, however, was to track down and capture another tailed beast for the village. If he could get one and seal it possibly into the genin he had on his team that was highly offensive it would make them the perfect weapon. Of course, this would be explained to whoever he wanted to seal the beast into, it would be a hard life but the hard life they would have meant a massive increase in power.

"Now something I can work on much sooner is tracking down and sealing a new tailed beast for the village. I would hope you would trust me to chose the proper host for the tailed beast, someone with a unique bloodline as well as many elements to make them more compatible with the monster. This would not need to take three years lets say prepare the host for two years, and go seek the beast and get it sealed and brought back for training over the last year to deal with the woman and her army."

Kotsubo sighed, it's a good thing that Ken wanted to do what's best for Kirigakure but sometimes, Kotsubo wished that he could just ran the village the way he wants to, instead of people going up to his office all the time saying "I want this, I want that!" the village felt like a six year old, no matter what good you do for it, they'll always want more of something or have their own fickle opinions on how it should be ran. That was a slight moment of frustration and he cancelled out that thought and went back to the matter at hand. He supposed getting a tailed beast in the future would be good and he didn't doubt his friends strength in possibly raising genin in such a matter. "Okay... a genin with strong ninjutsu, sealing jutsu and ijutsu... you just love to make it complicated, don't you?" he'd lightly chuckled, thinking to the Genin that's avaliable.

"Well... there's Yumi for starters, she delves into poison so I'm sure she knows a thing or two about ijutsu through that, we have a talented Genin who has three reported chakra natures, Fuuton, Raiton and Katon. I think that's your ninjutsu specialist right there... who else... I can't think of any Genin who'd be good at sealing jutsu but would you perhaps be interested in a Kaguya? I have just the Genin in mind, your squad would be well-rounded that way. A medic, a long-range ninjutsu user and a close-range Kaguya, that's probably the best you'll get based on what you stated." he did try to understand what he's friends going for, but requesting such Genin with very specific skills was a bit difficult. 

He did like the part of getting a tailed beast honestly, since they lost the one they had. He was still a bit ticked off with the higher-ups at the time as he wondered who was the idiot who thought of the clever idea about sending a fragile, impulsive Genin on a high-ranked mission like that. Ah well, rants for another time.

Ken listened to him and understood as he would nod his head taking the files of the two before grabbing another file on the desk, a Kaguya he seemed like he could have promise with Ken grabbing the file and smiling at his former friend. He would take the three files and leave the kages office, no words needed to be spoken he knew what he had to do and would continue with his mission.

He would begin to figure out where he could find the genin as he was unsure where they would be but at least he knew for a while he would be home. Finally, he felt like he was part of the village, five years away was a long time as a smile crossed his face he had to find some fun tonight for sure. It had been a long time as he would take the files home and head out for a night on the town.


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