Power Attained (Ganki)

Salzem had just gotten back from a brutal mission regarding some bandits outside the gates and needless to say, he was disappointed with the results. He had returned exhausted, sweat-covered, his regeneration being the only reason he was standing here alive right now.... He knew he was stronger than this... Hell, back in Konoha, he could've taken out people like that without a scratch, raking in some easy money... He KNEW he was better than this and yet... something was off... His muscles were tight, his bones were non-compliant, his body in general slow to react these past couple of days and he couldn't even begin to place it. It wasn't even during the mission when he discovered his weakness... It was days prior and he still couldn't find a solution... He had done every relaxing physical exercise he could think of from stretches to stress-boxing and, when that all failed, he moved onto medical treatments, checking his bodily tissues for something that would could possibly be off. Maybe some bones healed wrong or perhaps he had over-worked himself somehow and yet... he couldn't find any inflammation or unusual differences which lead him to only one conclusion: It was in his head... "When all else fails, its likely psychological" the medical teachers used to say when he was first getting into medicine. Perhaps it was some kind of mental stress he had refused to acknowledge until it grew too big to ignore...

Whatever the reason for the lycanthrope's discomfort, Salzem flopped himself down on the bench facing Suna's gates' his head leaning back over the back-support of the chair, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he attempted to recover from that utter madness that was his mission. Of course, though, once he was healed, he was going right back into it. Psychological or no, strength was definitely needed now, not to go meandering through his head. That could all wait until the exams were over and he was home.

((Gonna use this post as my Travel/Entrance into the Sand Village))

The beating sun, it always started with the searing sun, hanging right over the village. You could hide from it, but not forever, eventually everyone gets caught, eventually, you'll get that tan like everyone else that lives in this sand box. Tuning into out young capitalist, he could now be seen heading out of a building, an office of sorts. How he arrived here from the village hidden in the leaves? With the aid of his Flying Thunder God, using up precious time to travel was a thing of the past. Yeah, you know what they say? Time is money. Every, second, every piece of ryo, no matter how minuscule, how small, adds up in the long run. Now, as for the reason, Ganki decided to return back the sand village? Gani recieved a message from the Sakura offcie here in the Sand village about eh on going Shinobi exams. The mere mention of the Shinobi exams was all that was needed to get Ganki over here. Face it, all the shinobi that were here had only one thing in mind. Power. The power to win, the power to show off to their superiors that they have what it takes to move up in the ranks. Their want for victory, power, that was what Ganki will capitalize on, Ganki was gonna bleed them dry so to speak. They can have their victory in the stage, catering to their kage. As for Ganki, a victory could not be one with out the coin...

Yeah, Ganki knew all about that, the shinobi ranks, the system. His very own shinobi record was proof of it.  

His attire also changed, no longer did he wear that thin kimono, it really was something he couldn't get used too. However, the time in the spa/massage hot springs, well, if every ending was as happy as his first time, well, Ganki already had one of their addresses. He is now seen with a plain white shirt, and long brown cargo pants, with black boots. he also wore one of his gold bracelets, one his left wrist.  His tattoos on his arms and neck showed, but as of right now, Ganki could care less. The heat in the village was just stupid insane.

He reaches near the gates of the Suna, how could he forget, his own walls. the very walls that Sakura Corp himself build to help protect this village. Yeah, even with the horrid heat, and sand, Ganki had a little soft spot for the people in this village, just a little. It became a habit, really, checking the walls, it was an investment, even though the kage purchased them from Ganki himself. It was to serve as a bridge, one that would lead him in to more promising, dealings with the kage in the future.

As he now stood still near the gates, the gates over quite a bit of distance ahead, he scans to see a wheezing figure, slouching over a bench, he looks around to see if anyone else caught on to this as well, a young man nearly about to pass out, and Ganki of course would be involved. He had things to do, like make money, elsewhere in the village. Reluctantly, Ganki would jog over to the bench where the mysterious figure would be, once there he stops in front oh the individual, crouching down so that the seemingly tired person would not have to strain himself by looking upwards.

"You alright there? Seems like this sun got to you? I guess even natives get bested too", he smiles, shaking his head a bit to move some of his bladed brown hair from in front of his face.

Salzem's eyes focused on the figure that now crouched before him, their faces now leveled as he smiled, asking if he was okay. What..... what was with this guy... and why did he look so familiar...? He looked average enough he supposed, what with his white T-Shirt and cargo-pants, some strange tattoos Salzem couldn't identify running up and down his arms and neck. In fact, he looked so average, it made the ninja wonder if some civilian had approached him, something those people don't tend to do... Typically, the keep out of a ninja's way but this guy... this guy must've wanted something because... well... Who approaches some random guy on a bench.

"What...?" He asked, peering into the man's eyes with his own, trying to get some kind of read on who he was or what his intentions were. "If you'll look at my headband sir..." He pointed to it hanging around his neck. "...I'm not from here... I'm from the leaf..." As if to emphasize how little the lycan was actually accustomed to desert heat, Salzem wiped the back of his metal-coated hand along his forehead, sweeping an non-ending supply of sweat from his brow. Unlike this man, Salzem dressed a lot heavier. With his black jacket, steel plate gloves, black mask over his nose and mouth with black pants and boots all over a pale-white form with black hair and sanguine eyes, the boy looked like something out of a child's horror-story or someone who very obviously has issues... However, despite his confusion and relatively off-putting appearance, the lycan attempted to issue some kind of polite manner to this guy... It was common knowledge one had to treat their elders with respect and that went double for the people they were protecting... A rule he had chosen not to follow as strictly until recently.

"My name is Salzem... Is there anything I can help you with?" He offered, straightening back up to recover some kind professionalism. Secretly, though... Salzem could smell this guy's strength... Despite the fact he dressed as some kind of ordinary guy, a strong scent was coming off of him... Or maybe that was the soap he wore... He was starting to hate soap... it wrecked havoc on his enhanced senses....

Ganki takes note that Salzem is from the leaf, and that he is a shinobi.

"He's from the leaf, and a shinobi at that? Well, what do you know?, I'm sad i didn't pick up on that little detail sooner, the proof was right in front of me. This sun is becoming a pain. Hehe, from what i can tell from Leaf citizens, is that they all have money. Hell, its one of the most advanced villages. Which means, I can definitely get a Curse Seal sale out of him, but the real trick is to tack on a few, trinkets, to run that bill up", his mental though process runs wild with ideas on how to make this deal happen. Pushing seals only won't satisfy him this time, no. This wasn't the Leaf Village. All it would take for Ganki, was for him to find some want, some need aside from the bracelet. After that, all he would have to do is do what he did best, Capitalize.  

"Oh, you're from the leaf? I was there not to long ago. Let me tell ya, those hot springs... Wow haha...ha.", he said this while taking in the guy's demonic features. His eyes, those ruby red eyes were something else, Ganki thought. It was like they were stained red with blood, that how red they were. He's never seen such a thing, nor has he seen anyone dress in heavy clothes out in a desert before. The man gave no fucks apparently, as detrimental as that may be. As the he watched the guy's fix his posture, and give out his name, he replied back. His name did sound familiar, in fact he heard it recently during his briefing with his workers in the Sunagakure, shortly after his arrival.

Ganki takes note of Salzem's chakra strength.

"Im, Ganki, Ganki Sakura, CEO of Sakura Corporation, nice to meet you Salzem", and suddenly, it all hit him. Salzem was indeed in the Shinobi Exams, in fact, according to his employee's this young man was in one of the best fights of all the exams. "You know what, I knew I heard you're name before, you were in one hell of a fight. My employees couldn't stop talking about you and the other guy during my meeting. They say, it was a very entertaining fight, not like the other whole one side match that they see all the time. The details were nuts!" Ganki, now standing up straight, extends his hand outwards in respect, offering to shake his hand.

"Hotsprings....? Yeah, I guess..." Salzem responded, unsure of himself. He had never once been to any hotsprings in Konoha, probably didn't spend to much time looking for them either. He didn't particularly enjoy that kind of thing anyway... It was an effective public bath where a whole bunch of people just sit around and talk awkwardly as if it were a completely normal thing to do... In all honesty, he'd just stick to a bath.

The man extended his hand and introduced himself as Ganki Sakura, CEO of Sakura Corp... SO THAT'S WHERE HE WAS FROM! While the lycan would normally abstain from shaking hands with anyone, this guy was part of a massive business and at least the name of his company was known far and wide.

"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Sakura." The lycan stated whole-heartedly. It was like a celebrity, ANY celebrity walking up to you just to say "hi". No matter who it was, one would feel (if only the tiniest amount of) pride as this person too important for your time offered theirs just to talk to you. No matter who you were or what your philosophy was, this was definitely something to celebrate. Scooting over, he made room for the business man on the bench, offering a space there should he so desire. Suddenly, realization flooded over Ganki's face as he remembered that he had heard Salzem's name before, stating that he was in one hell of a fight. Oh no... he was watching it wasn't he and saw him settle for a tie... No doubt any respect the famous Ganki Sakura would be lost in a flash and that would be it...

Salzem was surprised then when the businessman offered his hand out to Salzem for him to shake, commenting how his employees couldn't stop talking about the fight during his meeting, how it was much more entertaining than the one-sided matches they see all the time. The lycan couldn't help but feel his chest swell with pride with someone like this praising him like that... Without wasting a moment, he shook hands with the CEO of Sakura Corp, smiling despite himself.

"I only wish I had done better." He stated before offering the man a seat on the bench beside him. "If I were only a little stronger... I could have won."

Ganki takes note of Salzem's admiration for him.

And there it was, it wasn't much, but an opening was an opening. Ganki thought carefully what to say next. It would determine how much his admiring potienial customer would spend. He takes up the man's offer by letting go of his hand and takes a seat down next to Salzem's on his right. He nods his head towards him first, before sitting down, acknowledging his statement.

Ganki decided to take the more, caring adult role mode act. "You know, a lot of people say that, and hey, it happens. But what really matters, is what you decide to do next. I mean hey, look who you're sitting next too? Your luck couldn't be any better. But look at the bright side, you have some serious fans in Sakura Corp", he said, laugh a bit in an attempt to cheer Salzem's up.

"The thing is, as you probably heard, I sell weapons and such across the many countries. I sell seals, seals that augment people's bodies in many ways, the physical strength, speed, vitality, It does it all", Ganki leans back against the bench, and reaches into his left cargo pocket on his pants his with left hand, pulling out a few cards, 7 in total. Six of the cards displayed seals that described what they augmented. For example, the Heaven Curse Seal would display the seal kanji, and give a brief description. These cards were not like the old ones he used back in the Leaf village, they were more up to date. The seventh card displayed a demonic looking scythe.

"If you're interested? I want you look through these cards, the explain what my Power Seals, can do for you, to how they can give you power", he hold the deck towards Salzem, seeing if he would take it.

Salzem smiled lightly as Ganki tried to pep-talk him, appreciating his efforts more than he could openly express. He cocked his head to the side and listened as the CEO began describing how he dealt in seals, seals that would bolster a person's power from chakra, to speed, to durability... He apparently had it all up for sale... Now... even if this was THE Ganki Sakura... His father had taught him well what to think of door-to-door salesmen: Be suspicious, question their products, decide if what they want is really what YOU want... As if sensing his hesitation, the salesman slipped out a small deck of cards, each one a bit larger than that of convention playing cards, containing information regarding each seal... He held them out to him, almost questioningly, Ganki's eyes still, watching intently.

He had to admit... The man had a charisma the lycanthrope could not ignore... At least, not completely. He wouldn't turn down this opportunity to grow a little stronger... even if it would lighten his wallet quite a bit. Salzem knew this was some kind of attempt to sell him something... How could it ever be a gift when power was involved...? Whether it was through deeds or through money... Salzem was going to have to pay for it all at some point...

Flipping through the cards, the sanguine-eyed ninja came across one in particular that REALLY caught his attention: The Heaven Seal... On the card, it stated that this particular heaven seal granted much more chakra power and EVEN MORE in his speed... Salzem was really starting to like the sound of this... It would grant him wings, enhanced senses, his attacks would be stronger! While it would take a massive toll on his body... it would be WELL WORTH the price for this kind of power! He looked up at Ganki from the cards, handing him first the rest of the deck, then the card he chose.

"I like this one." He stated, nodding at his choice. "How much is it?"

He watches Salzem scan the the cards, wondering which one he would choose, they all were very powerful, though, there was one that seemed the most popular out of the two, the Heaven seal.

As Salzem finished, selected the card he wanted, Ganki recieved the deck of cards back, along with the selected card, which, without surprise, was the famed Heaven Seal. Ganki then began to thin seriously if he should raise that the price of the heaven seal. Well, of course he would. Econ 101, supply and demand. The demand was now too high to leave the price the way it is. However, he would do so out of respect for his customer, "Not a bad choice, Salzem, just remember to wear a jacket, it gets cold up there", he too shuffles through the cards, wondering while placing the chosen card back into the fold.

"Now then, for this seal, it will run you 3000 Ryo. I know, it seems a bit high? But hey, the payout at the end is well worth the money spent." Though, this was just words, a Ganki knew that mostly all leaf citizens had money, so a mere 3000 Ryo would be easy for Salzem to part with. He looks towards Sal, his blood red eyes menacing as ever.

"Also, I have to inform you of a few side effects, one, these seals are extremely powerful, so if you don't pace yourself, you could tire yourself out, but it will go away the more u get used to the seal. Also, when I place this seal on you, you will need to head home immediately, no if, ands, or buts. You will have 5 minutes before you pass out. But don't worry, that's just the seal bonding to you. If you have any other question, should you accept, ask and after that I shall begin the process."

"Also, where do you want the Power Seal mark to be? Think of it as..., a tattoo"

Ganki didn't seem surprised in the least as Salzem declared his choice as if the man had heard this decision a million times before. Who could blame him? The speed and chakra bonuses alone were incredible and worth getting over the others, not to mention the added advantage of the wings, allowing him to take to the air reliably and attack from a different angle. It was when he looked down at the card did he begin to contemplate why Ganki didn't charge him for more with this kind of power he was packing... At 3000 Ryo, Salzem could've gotten some bombs, a few new swords and a hand-full of military ration pellets and NONE of that would've compared to this beautiful last-resort.

Mr. Sakura made it quite clear that he had to head back home IMMEDIATELY the moment he placed this seal on him, his tone of which implying that he might very well die if he didn't. There was very little room for error, apparently and Salzem himself couldn't afford to BE one of those errors. He nodded silently, handing the man his due cash before he asked where exactly he wanted his mark... He wanted it in a place that wouldn't be easily removed conventionally or otherwise. Most ninja go for the neck with their weapons as their limbs and torso, but good soldiers are trained to protect their head over everywhere else because one hit there and it was game over...

"The center of my forehead. Thank you." He'd request. His bangs would cover up the mark quite nicely, hiding his secret weapon until his intentions became clear. He contemplated if such a thing would hurt... if it would be a brutal test of endurance. Ganki had warned him to head straight home so he could only assume this was the case...

Upon taking the cash with his twitching hands, with a devilish smirk, the sense of greed filling his eyes, he counts the money twice. His fingers rolled through the bills to the front, than bawkwards to the back. All of this happened at an extremely fast pace. He has to make sure that it all added up to 3000 Ryo, which it did of course. Last thing Ganki wanted, was to realize he came up short after the sealing process was done. "Alright, looks like it's all here", he places the money and cards back into his own cargo pockets. After which he then pulls out a blue gem necklace, which he places around his neck.

After Sal told him where he to place the seal, Ganki nodded, "Alright, no problem with that. Now remember, when I put this seal on u, you need to bounce, head home immediately. Also... Thank you for choosingthe  Sakura Corporation, we do appreciate serving your basic life and shinobi needs", with that, his body took on a green aura, activating his Thunder arc mode, his chakra soared to higher heights. After that, Ganki lifted his right hand, and charged it with a strong amount of chakra. He then proceeds to tapping Salzem's Forehead, slowly, after that, the heaven seal forms on his forehead, glowing red for a moment as it was freshly made.

"Alright, take off Salzem. Also, don't forget to tell your friends about Sakura Corp." he stand up and waits for him to take off, running of course.

---

-50 Thunder Arc Wing
-50 Juinjutsu(155 chakra +25 chakra for Sage Trinket, comes to 180, bypassing the roll for Salzem)

1000 AP left