Kumo Beats Kiri Round 1

Nobunaga's metal boots would come to a soft crunching stop in the snow, halting his progress. "We've come far enough." Waiting for Komori to face him to see what the halt was for, the Hiyu would continue "Before we take another step further you need to let me in on whats going on here." They had traveled over a large swath of land over a short period of time and at the end of it Nobunaga was just as ignorant about why he was here as when he left. If this were truly a mission, he would not take another step forward without knowing what he was walking into.

"What is this mission that you dragged me all the way out here for?" Nobunaga was expecting the truth now, lies would not be a good idea and that was made clean by the harshness in his voice and the sternness of his unwavering gaze.

"We've come far enough"

Here it goes

Komon would turn first, if someone was to be outed as a liar, it was best not to be the potential new Raikage. He'd let the man finish his very impressive standoff, crossing his arms and gazing at the man as he did so.

"What is this mission that you dragged me all the way out here for"

The three would stand in falling snow, with nothing but the sound of the wind to pierce the air as komon took a few seconds to debate if he should actually tell him.

"Ok...

For starters, this isn't a mission.

it's a Kage summit"

He'd begin, ready to react to nobunaga if the man attempted to attack him while he spoke. Since nobunaga had stopped they were now separated by 10 meters.

He could have softened the blow, but he could already tell by the man's demeanor that he'd care little for fluff.

"Komori has claimed the title of Raikage, and will be acting for our village"

Nobu could attack, He could ask questions, Komon would respond accordingly. One thing was certain though, Nobunaga was going to be pissed. But no matter how he reacted, Komon would not harm him.

It was the brother whom the Hiyu did not know that turned first. Nobunaga stood tall and silent, watching the man contemplate in silence. It appeared he was thinking things through, which immediately told Nobunaga things were not as they seemed. Finally he spoke, and the first thing out of his mouth was a truth that revealed a lie. Frowning, waiting to see the nature of this lie he would remain silent as he usually did and waited for Komon to finish his explanation.

Few words were spoken but so much had been said. Nobunaga was right to have assumed something was up when he was being sent on a mission Kyson had not informed him on because there was no mission at all. He had been tricked to come as part of the security detail of Komori. As Komori came into mind, Nobunaga would shift his gaze over towards the Hozuki. "You seek to usurp Kyson's role as head of the village." Growled the Hiyu as he glanced back over towards the brother, his anger unintentionally showing "and you seek to aid him of course." So many thoughts were running through his head now. The two of them must have known that he was loyal to Kyson, so why bring him here knowing that? Why bring specifically him when they knew he would obviously be against them taking command of the village? Non of this made sense. However none of them were ready to attack despite having the advantage in numbers, in fact they were both calm and collected. So this didnt appear to be a hostile take over. They werent going to take out those in their way to the top one by one. What was their game plan?

If they werent going to fight, then that gave Nobunaga time to figure out what the hell was going on. "This makes little sense. You choose to steal the role of leadership right out from under Kyson and then inform his most trusted ally. That makes the two of you my enemies yet you brought me nontheless, for what purpose?." It was smart of them to tell him the truth here. He could not risk a fight here. It was the Kage Summit and if other villages were to bare witness to it, it would only show a lack the leadership and trust and thus weakness in their village. However they brought him along for protection presumably, did they think he would simply jump ship and join them that easily?

"Hmph." Scoffed the Hiyu as Komori took the lead in explaining the actions of the two brothers, pointing out how he disagreed with Kyson being the leader. However it seemed he had his information twisted. It was not Kyson whom took the role from Maku after his disappearance but Maku who made him second in command and thus inevitably he became first in charge when the trickster vanished. However the specifics were not important as of this moment for they would not sway the decision of the usurper standing before him. "You have an interesting way of voicing your displeasure with Kyson's role as leader. Instead of confronting him man to man about it, you go behind his back like a snake." Standing tall and unmoving, his stern gaze locked on Komori, the Hiyu would continue with his usual harsh tone of voice "Kyson has been in charge for a while now. You had plenty of time to confront him about it but chose not to, instead you usurp him. What does that say about your character Hozuki?" This was the type of actions that started civil wars. As far as Nobunaga was concerned, he was not doing this for the village, he was doing it for himself and the methods of his actions only proved that.

Perhaps he was playing the sympathy card or perhaps he truly wanted to show his dedication to the village, however the Hiyu was unfazed by the Hozuki's actions. How laughable really. A lost eye could always be replaced. They were shinobi's taking risks and dealing with those consequences was part of the job and the scar on each other their faces made that apparent. Had Komori already forgotten that Nobunaga lost his home? "Kumo is Kyson's home too." Responded the Hiyu to Komori's remark about not being able to let someone rule a village they did not know. "His circumstances may differ from your's but it's his home nonetheless. He wants nothing more than the betterment of Kumo. Why else would I still be here, serving the very village that destroyed my home? It is because Kyson has a vision for this village, an honorable and righteous one. One I am simply not willing to let you so easily dismiss because of a difference in upbringings. You would know that had you brought it up with Kyson." Clearly, unknowing to Komori was the fact that Kyson's mission was to rid the village of the rot and filth that consumed it and cleanse the criminal underworld that festered within its walls. It was that righteous path that made Nobunaga stick by Kyson's side and remain in this village. However, although he was an usurper, at least Komori shared the same goals.

Turns out, he conveniently sat in the throne room while Kyson was not there at the exact moment the letter of the summit arrived. It appears the stars were aligned in his favor. Remaining silent, as he was not keen on interrupting people, he listened to Komori explain himself. Apparently he was going to confront Kyson about the role of leadership. He was inclined to not believe him but that had not attempted to take him out, who would inevitably be a threat if they battled Kyson which told him a fight was not in their plans. As Komori slowly approached, Nobunaga would remain where he was, showing no signs of being threatened for he could see the lax composure the Hozuki currently held. The Hiyu's eyes would fall upon the hand that now rested on his shoulder before slowly making their way back up to meet those of Komori's, all the while processing what had just been told to him.  

It was true, despite the fact that Nobunaga served Kyson he was now also a shinobi of Kumo, no less an Anbu. Whether this man would ever be Raikage or not did not matter for he too was a Kumo shinobi and thus fell under Nobunaga's protection. And if what was said was true, his goals aligned with those of Kyson's. At this point there was no use contesting his claim to Kage, it appeared he would be a similar ruler to Kyson and they were already here at the location of the summit. It was not like they could just turn back and go get Kyson. Also, the man had sealed the Bijuu into Nobunaga, begrudgingly. Grimacing in annoyance, the Hiyu would respond with a less angered tone but one of discontent "Alright." Brushing the Hozuki's hand off of his shoulder, the Hiyu would continue "I will go along with this farce for the time being. You have put your faith in me once before and have done so again by requesting my aid in this matter and by assuming I would not cut you down right where you stand. Therefore for the time being I will put my trust in you two. I am going to hold you to your word Hozuki, Kyson will come to learn of this by you."

Reaching out from the slit in his cloak, Nobunaga would pull the hood of his cloak over his head, dropping just under his forehead, casting a menacing shadow over his eyes and the ridge of his nose. "Do not make me regret my decision here."

Now that all was said and done, they could continue their way towards the meeting point.

Exit

1477 words
558 into the first gate with the words from here to learn it (-25%)
919 into the 2nd gate

“Instead of confronting him man to man about it, you go behind his back like a snake.”

Nobu was one of the few people in Kumogakure that did not know Komori very well, his late arrival after the fall of Suna being the main reason. The two simply never crossed paths, the latter half of Komori’s career being full of expeditions, many of which lead him away from his home and Kyson himself. A million excuses came running to his mind, but he knew they would be futile so he bit his tongue before bothering to open his mouth.

“What does that say about your character Hozuki.”

The words bore into Komori, harder than others. He had never quite given his character much value before now. The harsh words of those of no importance to him merely bounced off of him like rubber. The insults of those close to him always appeared as witty banter, the man never quite taking them seriously. Were there ever any valid criticisms? It seemed as though the last person who talked to Komori like this was Senshi Kobayashi.

The two certainly shared similar characteristics. Their harsh tones, burly builds, focus on the arts of tai and kenjutsu. And how they both stood up for their own principles, consequences be damned.

It was something Komori could admire.

He was taken out of his thoughts as his hand was brushed aside. “I am going to hold you to your word Hozuki, Kyson will come to learn of this by you.” The kage nodded. “As soon as we return, I’ll make sure things are set right.” He looked confidently at Nobu. “That, I swear.” 

With all being said and done, he would allow for the robes of the Raikage to cover his person. The yellow trim seemed almost garish compared against the white snow around them. He held a group of particles from his pocket dimension, moving his hand upwards towards his head, where the newly formed hat of the Raikage appeared.

With that, he would turn towards his brother, who stood there doing nothing except be the less attractive twin, motioning for him to follow his lead. assuming that Nobu would as well. He turned his back, expecting them to flank him from either side, as he headed towards the building in which the summit resided.

“Luckily our trip was uneventful.”

--Exit to Summit--
Also force exiting Komon since he gave me permission to godmod him.

WC: 1172, Claiming all towards Tenotsuku, which puts me at 5258/5250, after using 25% max stat discount and my last 15% Christmas coupon. I'll also claim Nobu's chakra sig memorized adding on from here

Approved

He was not fond of Nobunaga, the man had effectively called his brother a coward, and a snake. Two things he knew all to well that Komori was not. His fist clenched at the words, but much like the man with the giant sword on his back he'd managed to stay composed. They were in the land of iron now and every village's kage would be in the area, any sort of hostility be it verbal or physical would reflect poorly on their country, that was something everyone in the trio seemed to understand.

Kumo could not afford to look weak. Not here.

--Exit--
WC: 308
Claiming 308 words towards A rank split second + 431 from here + 736 here = 1475/1500 applying max stat discount and 1475 is at least 75 percent of 1500 so like yeah, gimme my a rank

Approved