Don't meet your heroes

The young child made his way through the hallways of the Hokage building. He had been here before, though only briefly, during his time in the academy on a field trip of sorts. Now the boy was walking through as an accomplished shinobi. He had survived the war through his own wits and ability. The boy had defeated his opponent in a single stroke. In his young eyes he was already ready for anything.

Except for this perhaps.

Tatsuo was currently on his way to see the Mizukage...or was it Hokage now? Tatsuo didn't recall any official declaration about it. The reason for the visit was quite simple, greed. Tatsuo wanted the prizes for his victory. The ryo was the most important of these in his mind. The boy needed a weapon, one that would be suited for himself. It would allow him to carve through enemies and grant him the power needed for a great general.

Lost in his own thoughts, the child had arrived at the door of the Hokage chambers. The boy knocked on the door. He would enter cautiously if allowed to. Tatsuo wasn't quite sure what to expect to be honest. How would this play out. The unknown future made his heart beat faster. This was truly unknown territory and hadn't been pre-planned in anyway.

Sitting on the chair behind the desk of the Hokage, Xyxer found his hand idly rapping against the mahogany of the desk before him in order to retain some form of mild entertainment. One, two, three. One, two, three. Then, when it came to the next stratum of percussion he'd have to double take.. Was that an actual knock, or his own knuckles on the wood? He lifted his gaze from the documents in front of him and looked towards the opposite end of the room where the doors stood, holding a slight blockage of light under the frame. Someone appeared to be here, and he had no clue who it was.. Perhaps that was why he missed the servitude of Jester and Wraith. God, he hoped they weren't dead. "Enter." He spoke, curious as to who the visitor was on this fine, monotonous afternoon.

Once Tatsuo opened the door Xyxer's grey eyes would study him momentarily, taking a few seconds before they recognised him as the boy that saw fit to wear one of his own shinobi's forehead protectors. It was a relatively smart move, one that he hadn't expected from Konohagakure of all places, yet if you give puzzles to a variety of animals.. it's inevitable that at least one of them will finally solve it. Tatsuo must be here for the prizes after defeating the Kirigakure shinobi, yet he was mistaken. That had merely been a test to see which of Konoha he had to execute in order to keep the might of Kirigakure's military uncontested. That would have been cooler at least.

Gesturing towards the seat before him on the other side of the desk, Xyxer opened up a drawer at the side of the desk before revealing a purple pouch tied together with twine, resting it on the table inches from him. The desk was relatively clean other than a few documents of no interest in front of Xyxer, writing utensils and then a pitcher of OJ with a tray of empty glasses. A little quirk he'd picked up from Shinji. "Help yourself." He said with a faint gesture towards the pitcher before he pushed the ryo towards Tatsuo's side, "What can I help you with?"

The permission to enter was given. Tatsuo followed suit making his way into the room with speed and grace. His eyes scanned it briefly. My first appearance in the chambers. The young child thought to himself. It was overwhelming. Tatsuo wasn't quite sure what it exactly was. There was a certain...aura about the place. Perhaps it was just due to his inexperience. Would it pass with time? Another unknown question. The answers lay ahead, as did the man he was meeting.

Tatsuo's vision narrowed in on the man who sat across the room. Xyxer, the one whom had conquered the once great village of Konohagakure. Tatsuo hadn't seen the full extent of his strength, only brief glimpses, however it was enough to get a gauge of the power difference. It was that level the boy was aiming for, to surpass even. For his name to be echoed throughout the land and throughout the heavens Tatsuo would need to achieve great things.

But one step at a time, like the steps that brought him to the desk of the Hokage? Mizukage? Xyxer, the desk of Xyxer. Tatsuo moved into the empty seat. Frustratingly the boy had to hoist himself upward in order to sit on the chair. With his legs dangling the boy tried to keep himself focused. How humiliating.

Such humiliation was soon put aside however at the offer of orange juice. Two things were offered toward him by Xyxer, both of which the boy wanted. His age showed clearly as the boy poured himself a glass of orange juice first before taking the ryo for his prize.

Tatsuo took a sip off the orange juice, briefly drifting off into a bliss like state due to the brilliant taste. Konohagakure was well known for being the greatest manufacturer of orange juice..after the late Tengakure of course. However he was snapped back to reality when the man questioned him.

What could he help him with? That was a good question.

Tatsuo stared toward Xyxer, a perplexed look on his face, for a few seconds. He was unsure. Another drink of OJ to calm his nerves was needed. As that was happening an idea popped into the boy's head. A request within reason? It was obvious. Tatsuo could bypass years of hard work in this one meeting, if he played his cards right. He swallowed preparing himself before speaking in reply, "Let me lead your army to conqueror other villages."

Xyxer witnessed the small boy pull himself up onto the chair before him, almost like a child at a supermarket as they awaited their parents to finish packing groceries. It almost brought a smile to his stoic features.  He wasn't too sure of what to make of the boy before him as he'd only seen a brief glimpse of him during the war.. emerging from his side with a Kirigakure headband. He had a survival instinct that roared with more life than most could ever dream of.. how ironic that he was a Jashin.

He soon helped himself to the orange juice which was a smart choice. To take a beverage you didn't see prepared beforehand form a stranger who had shown active disdain against your village was always a wise move, then again, it's not like he'd die from the consequences. Unless laxatives had been involved..

It almost felt like Xyxer was interviewing the boy for a paper round at the local cornershop, taking an eager sip of his drink to give himself time to think out an appropriate response, and then it came..

A Genin, technically a Chuunin now, wanted to lead his army to other villages. For obvious reasons, he wouldn't allow the boy to take control of an army, yet perhaps he could satisfy this goal to some extent, "You're not going to take control of an entire army as a Chuunin, Tatsuo. This isn't Hoshigakure, we have standards here. If you wish, however, you can search for some people to join a squad of yours that you lead.. given that they're willing. Or would you prefer a different favour?"

The response came. Tatsuo couldn't say he was surprised with the result. The most surprising thing for the boy was the mention of Chuunin. I'd forgotten about that. The child thought to himself. The ryo and the request from Xyxer had taken the forefront of his mind. At the end of this meeting the boy would have advanced yet another rank. Wasn't this going by too quickly? The thought itself was odd, considering how he had just requested to skip straight to the top essentially, but now the thought had seeped through the cracks of his resolve and to the front of his thoughts.

Another sip of juice followed a small pause. The chance to lead a squad of his own was a great opportunity. A small cell that would allow his own skills to grow. It also meant that he didn't have to worry too much about the ability of his comrades. My own prodigious skill will carry anyone. The small child assured himself. Tatsuo had already accepted this compromise, now he just had to put it into words. "I will do that then," Tatsuo spoke in his best attempt at a business like manner. It would come off quite strange from someone so young no doubt. However the boy couldn't risk squandering this chance. "Thank you." He would add on afterwords. His parents had always drilled good manners into him. While normally the child had forgone it if there was ever a time to be polite now was it.

"Am I restricted to shinobi of Konohagakure?" The boy asked as the thought popped up. The other shinobi of the village hadn't impressed him that much during the war. While Tatsuo was confident in his own skills he wanted actual quality in his squad. Already the child was pondering such things. Tatsuo was taking to this with the enthusiasm of a child being given free reign to pick out his own toys to buy.

Finally the child finished his glass of OJ. After placing it back on his desk the boy would scratch the side of his head. Something had been bugging him for quite a bit now. A question on his mind. Tatsuo's confidence was at an all time high, so now was the best and perhaps only time he could ask this. "Why did you take over this village?"

The boy asked an interesting question which spoke a lot about his character, even causing Xyxer's eyebrow to lift out of mild surprise. He wanted more than the shinobi of his own village.. an indication that he intended to both travel the world and unite with others from different backgrounds. Perhaps the boy had the markings of a true general after all. "If others consent you can allow them to join given that you update me on who's a part of this little squad. You can only have three members initially so that you show your aptitude in leading, then we'll see how far you can go." He explained, looking down towards the desk for a few seconds.

When the boy spoke once more, with the finished glass on the table, Xyxer looked back up towards him. A simple question that he'd been asked many times over, and he'd given a myriad of different reasons. Why should this time be any different? A slither of truth lingering in his words as he spoke, "I wanted to see if I could. We never know our limits until we push them."

He didn't fail to notice the surprise displayed by the Mizukage, if only for a brief moment. A major victory had been achieved this day. It was not one Tatsuo would dwell on for long however. The talk continued. Only three. The boy thought to himself bitterly. There was little he could achieve with this on the grand scale. It seemed life wouldn't be so easy for the child. Tatsuo didn't respond verbally, instead just giving a slight nod, so the conversation smoothly transitioned on to his question.

It was Tatsuo's turn to be surprised during this meeting. The answer from Xyxer was not one had he been expecting. That's it? The boy blinked. We lost to a man who was simply doing something for the sake of it? The corner of his mouth twitched slightly as the boy resisted frowning. This just proved how far Konohagakure had fallen.

"Thank you for your time." The boy said as he slid out from the seat and to the ground. "I look forward to taking charge of a larger number of forces in the future." For now he just had to find three people who would be easy enough to lead. Maybe he'd hold some tryouts? The question of how would come later. For now the boy would exit.

[Exit]

1240 total word count.

Claiming Chuunin rank up and the rewards for that
+20k ryo
6 stats
779 going toward Dynamic Entry to finish learning it.
441 going toward Discipline

Approved