Re: A-Team Assembles (Invite)

Tue Dec 24, 2019 11:11 am

Zento would listen carefully to the history lesson in front of him. He would have a bit of a zoned out look. Giving a nod every now and then. Fanning himself off a little and then Hearing how people need to be stronger. Zento stopped and put his fan back into his sleeve. His smile frozen on his face. and a relaxed look in his eyes. Like he was giving a comforting smile to someone in distress. Reaching into his pocket and pulling out a senbon. Using it to get dirt out from under his fingernails. The smile not leaving his face as he did so. His gaze now focused on his own hands. "Adviser?" Zento said softly. His tone completely changed. Still giving a calm vibe but the carefree sick man just seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye. The aura was nothing. Almost as if he didn't speak, it would have been like Zento was not there. His eyes looked up as he stopped getting dirt out of his nails but keeping it against his thumb.

"You're right. What if the kage never comes back? You're advising that you'll take charge? Is this village yours once the kage is out for a pack of smokes?" Zento tilted his head. The smile still there faint as it may be now. Speaking softly with a cold tone once more. "What if someone else said the exact thing you just spoke to us now? Because what I'm seeing right now is the kage is out and people are acting as leader by their own word. Anyone can do that. What makes your word of the one in charge any different from if I were to say that?"

Zento took a couple steps forward. His eyes looking like a beast who hasn't eaten in days spotting its meal. The faint smile still there on his face. "Is it power?" He spoke almost whispering but loud enough so everyone here can still hear him. "Does the power difference make that claim any different than mine? Could that change if someone showed up and slayed you right now? Would they become king? So does the promise that you're not going to kill us is what makes you leader to us? Funny thing death isn't it? Everyone fears it and everyone wants to delay it as long as possible but, Why? It's nothing new to you. You've experienced nonexistence once before your birth. So why fear something you already know?"

Zento would be standing close to the spot he started as he slowly circled back. Gazing the crowd an sighing softly. Looking like he was disappointed in something. Going back to his little speech. "Anyways, the point I am trying to make is this," He turned back to the jonin and asked, "What makes you the one to lead? We all don't know each other besides the alphabet boys. Show me a leader and i'll show you a faithful soldier."

Tue Dec 24, 2019 2:13 pm

As he looked at Z talked about the Jonin who was to be leading us he could not help but wonder. As he listened to the Jonin talk about how the Raikage came and beat the invaders and what not. He con not help but notice one thing and was why this team was formed to begin with. Not just that but looking over at his brother he would notice he just happened to have the same eyes as the Raikage on top of that. Every one here was more or less moke up the other weaknesses. He would smile as he stepped up and looked at the Jonin. He would open his eyes for this one as he would give a very hug smile.

He would start to laugh a little more or so a giggle. Looking over at Z as he started to talk. "Don't you get it my friend we need each other. This man here is the true victim here. I mean he had to be saved by a man who took the position of Raikage by force not choice. The Raikage is here only until we kick him out. After all it clearly stated the Raikage should never leave the village like ever unless war breaks out. But he is not here. He left to go find someone. I am glad you gather us here. You see I know what you planning on doing and that is to make a group of ninja who could protect the village and this time we won't be needing outside help. Let's also not forget that this very team here today one of us will most likely e the next Raikage rather we want to or not. "

Soon he would make the hand bump and put it in the air. Taking it down he would smile." We are also going after our own tail beast too huh. I am asking these things to know what we are getting ourselves into. If we are going to start a team or I would say our own special forces. Then we need a end goal. So while the Raikage is playing the flower with power. We most likely will be the ROOTS that will strike when need be. So tell me something. Tell me what we are really here to do our we training for a co'up to take back our village or not. Because the last time I check a God damn Kage should not be saying he will destroy the village when he gets time to." Ghost entire persona would turn cold as he said that looking at the man who would lead them.

Wed Dec 25, 2019 11:48 am

Rayul grew silent when asked if he'd be going after a tailed beast by Ghost. He had his plans, and going after bijuus was just too time-consuming for what Rayul had planned to begin with. A man should never reveal his trump card. "I just want us all to be able to advance our skills with each other. I'm sure that we all provide certain knowledge that'll benefit another equally as well.", Rayul said. He couldn't do anything but relax as the group continued about their revelations. It seemed as if they all questioned the authenticity of the permission given to the man, but either way, Rayul treated it as real, and he respected the Jounin for bringing together such a like-minded group. Surely he had good intentions of everyone succeeding, so the Uchiha did not mind at all the circumstances at hand.

It seemed like Zento wasn't falling for anything, or at least he wasn't going to be easily convinced that this man is the closest thing to Raikage. Everyone was shocked as the two argued, seeming to Rayul as if Zento was just joking with Kaito if anything. He knew that they all haven't fully understood each other's sarcasm, sense of humor, and such, so any mistakes in tone should easily be forgiven as they learn one another. Rayul walked around the area and scouted, using his Sharingan to sense out any masses of chakra within the vicinity. He was observing all that he could, taking in the knowledge of the world as it moved forward in time. He pulled a blunt from his black leggings and sparked it up using a small amount of Fire Release. He was constantly fighting demons within himself, knowing that the world around him called forth negative energy. He's been popping meds heavily, trying not to overdose on med pills. He can't complete assignments while sober, it's just boring to him in all honesty. This man was still no a route to becoming a better him, knowing that the old him was the monster in which he must defeat, to become a better him inside.

Something in his mind blanked, and once it clicked back on his mind was flooded with rebellion. He laughed at himself, "Somebody gone die today.", he said as he nodded his head to the song that began to play through his headphones. His playlist had changed, and his favorite musician of the Cloud just dropped a "banger". The music constantly influences Rayul's state-of-mind and allows him to manipulate his feelings at all times just by changing the mood of the atmosphere using the rhythmic pounds of the song. "I told her I heard that her daddy the plug, don't try to introduce me to mama, yeah.", he repeated the lyrics as they played. He only continued to enjoy his playlist until the blunt was no more, and once the instructor was finished talking to the others, they all rejoiced to listen to what else their Team Leader would have to say. "So what must we do to progress our skills further? I'm ready to get this whole thing started, after all, since you're the man left in charge by the Raikage himself, we should listen to whatever you explain. Since you're the only one who can protect this village right now, well the other Chunin chick too I think." answered Rayul to Kaito. This was their village and if it came down to it all of them would have to stand together to defend it. Rayul looked at his new team and knew that this was a well-designed category of skill. They all provided something unique and all were capable of achieving whatever their plans might've been.

Thu Dec 26, 2019 5:57 am

Following the speech, more rhetoric would follow, and Kaito’s patience started wearing thin. He was not a great military leader, and he had skipped important steps in the career of a ninja to where he became a jounin. Now, before consolidating his own power and the power of those around him, the Raikage had bailed and left a cook with a jounin vest trying to call shots.

“Show me a leader and I'll show you a faithful soldier.”

His pulse was quickening, a natural reaction to the berating thoughts of what he thought were children. He was twice the age of almost all of them, and yet they afforded themselves the chance to question his authority as if he had demanded blind obedience. He allowed his arms to reach up to his chest and cross in front of it, the body’s unconscious armor against the interrogation.

“Tell me what we are really here to do, are we training for a coup to take back our village or not.
Because the last time I checked, a God damn Kage should not be saying he will destroy the village when he gets time to.”

Kaito had only returned to active duty a few months back, following the fall of his own restaurant, so how was he supposed to transition from running a restaurant to running a team? His lips pursed slightly as his breathing grew heavier, his index finger of his right hand tapping lightly on his left antearm.

"Somebody gone die today.”

A deep breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth. Calm swept over him. His stance switched into one of calm violence, his stature now straight as a lightning rod waiting for the cloud’s vengeance, shoulders rolled back, arms still crossed over his chest but the palms pressing against the sides while the thumbs poked out and rested on his pecks.

“Nothing makes me a leader,” he eventually said, “except you. When I wrote to you, you came. A leader is only so because people follow them. When Kutari Uchiha came in, I decided to follow him because, as Zento so eloquently put it as, I decided against allowing myself to just keel over and die, and later on because as he had the power to kill, so too I had the power to covet this and decided to follow. And no, Ghost, I make no claims to planning on killing our current Raikage. As a matter of fact, I believe we’re getting such a cruel Kage because we deserve it. We lacked any means of defending ourselves against external threat, and we allowed a ridiculous tradition to invite foreigners to claim our highest title, instead of creating band of brothers and sisters capable of sustaining and cultivating power and holding up the village. As far as anyone’s little speech goes, only Rayul has the right of it. I want to grow in power, grow in skill. I want to create teams of people that are capable of working together and bolstering each other’s power so we’re capable of defending the village.”

He sighed deeply.

“So, to answer your question: I am a leader because I decided to lead. If another came along who decided to lead, I would judge his claim to leadership based on his actions and plans. I can do only what I believe is right for the village. But, this is also why strength is important. If you’re not strong, nor do you have equally strong allies, you will always be subject to the tyranny of the majority. And the majority tend to be fucking dimwits.”

“For this reason I wish to create a strong team, and for this reason I invited you all here today. I am not that much more powerful than any of you, and if you all banded together to take me down, you could probably do so easily. I have nothing to offer to you except the willingness to grow strong together, to lead by example, and to change the Kumogakure into a greater village than the husk it has been in these past years. But I can’t achieve this alone, nor would I want to. Only brotherhoods of strong men and women can bring about a robust village to survive the onslaught of foreign threats.”

Admist his speech, a new figure showed up. Kaito looked at him, and realized it was the clanless lad he had invited into the team but whom he thought could not make it. “Ah, you must be Hikaru Renkaio, right? Please, join us.”

***
WC: 760
TWC: 3856

Thu Dec 26, 2019 1:04 pm

Zento smiled and seemed to go back into his carefree personality. He laughed a little at himself and what was going on before resting on his back. His eyes closed and sighed. "Well, if that's the game I think it'll be fun for all of us. Lets work hard and have fun together." Zento gave a thumbs up. The man seemed to be pretty honest on his standings on things and Zento got what he wanted. No blackmail here. Just a man trying to put together a team. No lava people. Zento can deal with that. He tapped his stomach and spoke. "Who's hungry? I know a great place that's just a little hole in the wall. I was there earlier today actually. Food is fantastic. I assume team leader will buy?" He laughed at the idea and heard him talk about someone coming. A new PERSON?!

Zento poked his head up looking around and missing the person. Thinking maybe his leader went crazy. Or Zento just over looked him. He laid back down and put his hands on the back of his head. Stomach growling now ready for some food. If it took too long, Zento would have to start walking around for some fruit to eat or something.

Thu Dec 26, 2019 2:41 pm

Ghost looked on at the group and it appears that the blacks opts of the cloud was formed. Looking on at Zen he wouldn't say much when it came to eating but only that. One can not eat while on a mission. Looking back at the jonin. He would say," now that we are all a team. On top of that we each have our own sets of goals and power. I wonder what will be our first mission. Hopefully it's one to let the world know the cloud is not a joke. At least not any more we are not. Now then what do we do now? I was thinking we could go do some training to better understand each other you know. Ghost would say this as he too would walk off. As the cloud A team was formed. Not much else was to be said but that a mission might pop up soon and I hope real soon.

He looked on as time surely went right by then as the sun was coming up. As the group met each other but now it appears as it is going down. Ghost would smile as he looked on at the sky. Wondering what was next for them. But then he would stop and saw the new guy. He would quickly say hello say he waited on the others to see what they was going to do.

Wc1301

Thu Dec 26, 2019 11:40 pm

Man, Rayul was honestly left speechless after what seemed to be Kaito's last speech, well, of course, that was until the new guy arrived. Rayul greeted the new team member right after their leader, making his introduction a rather friendly one. "Hikaru, is it? My name's Rayul." He never was one to tell his last name, given that it was not of clan origin, but anyone who looked into the boy's eyes knew he was a blessed member of the Uchiha. "Not proffering one's family name to strangers is Shinobi Law, but since I just learned yours...", he says before extending his hand into a fist bump, motioning it towards the Genin, "Tunechi, Rayul Tunechi, or Uchiha. Either doesn't bother me, brah, it's just a name."He knew that Kaito would brief the guy up on the information the team just went over, but realistically, Rayul himself was eager to hear more from their Leader. "Nothing makes me a leader, except you." is what Noburu said earlier, and that's a phrase that stuck with Rayul. The guy was right, but it was double meanings to the quote that made it even MORE right. The fact that we answered the call was on our own will. We didn't have to come, nor did we even have to open the letter. We felt ourselves that some leader was calling us towards greater points in life, and that's why we all were here. Why were we questioning someone who had no intents other than to craft a team strong enough to accomplish any goals they would set forth? They were wrong for denying the man his leadership status, and from that point on, whether Kaito knew it or not, Rayul would view the man as the closest being to Raikage other than the Raikage himself. Once you gain Rayul's respect, you've earned it forever, and that's exactly what has taken place.

The only regret Rayul feels right now is how mature they all must've seemed. Kaito wasn't much older than them, but Rayul knew that they were coming off as dicks more than anything to the man. He hoped that there were no hard feelings since this was just naturally how Rayul was. He was always questioning: The universe, people, himself, everything was constantly questioned. He did this because he sought to understand the unknown. The more he learned, the more became unknown and he hated that. He knew that true knowledge was eternal and could never be achieved, but hell, he could at least come pretty fucking close. Knowledge was true power, something many Shinobi have failed to realize since the dawn of Chakra. Only Kaguya herself understood what Rayul was going on about inside his mind, but eventually, the world would understand as well. For now, life was what it was, and there wasn't much Rayul could do other than to improve his skills in preparations of what the world dished out to him. Whatever he was handed, he'd make sure to use it to his advantage, whether it benefited the team or not.

Fri Dec 27, 2019 12:10 am

Hikaru would stand and listen to what he could before he spoke , “thank you master Rayul , it is a pleasure to make your acquaintanceship” he would say giving a shallow bow as a show of respect to the uchiha before him. All the people around him slightly intimidated him as their chakra overshadowed his by a landslide , for now the boy wouldn’t give his piece in response to that speech but instead pay attention to the ninja that obviously was in need of nutrition. without a word he would reach into one of his two weapon pouches and prodec a small bento that held six rice balls and a thermos containing tea “here you go sir , you may have my food if your hungry i'm sure you can tell by my body type i dont really eat much” he would say a friendly smile on the boys face as he offered this food and drink to zento

“Besides it’s not very samurai like of me to neglect the needs of my companions” he would say , if zento took it he would smile and bow in another show of respect. It was clear the boy was well a boy and had yet to taste first blood.
WC:206

Fri Dec 27, 2019 9:09 am

Unbeknownst to him, Zento’s charade had given the man what he wanted, but to Kaito it left only a slightly annoying pulsating on his temples. However, Kaito got something from the exchange as well: it appeared to him that the aloofness of the Yuki was but a facade he could effortlessly put up to protect himself from scrutiny, a true drunken fist tactic for the everyday interaction. Kaito couldn’t fault him for choosing to live his life like this, especially since he had proven to be an incredible conversational adversary. It was thanks to his relentless verbal assault that Kaito had been able to muster the true motivation behind him assembling the team, creating a more succinct basis for his growth as a person and as a ninja. He made a mental note of appreciation towards the Yuki blacksmith, not sounding it aloud to prevent embarrassing the youth, and alternatively not humiliating himself to let them know he was not entirely sure of what he wanted to do; if not in intent, then in wording.

Perhaps in the entirety of this meeting, Zento had the finest idea of them all: to get food. If at the expense of Kaito’s generosity. Well, Kaito was feeling so elated with the discovery of his intention and the team cohesion that was about to be created, he was very well willing to pay for food today.

Intent on pursuing the goal of reinvigorating Kumogakure and the image the world held of it, Ghost inquired about any missions the team might take. “As a matter of fact, yes. The Kage’s Office is piling up with reports and requests throughout the Lightning Country for assistance, and if you all feel comfortable, we’ll jump on one of those by the end of the week. It’ll be a good opportunity for us to test each other’s mettle, and bring some individual and collective glory.”

Rayul, who seemed the most laidback of the group, also seemed to be the most out-reaching. He was on record as a rather active genin in his own right, as Kaito had been in the past. He appreciated Rayul, in spite of his consumption of what Kaito could only assume was tobacco mixed with the stuff that makes you laugh. Each man picked his poison. Kaito was a man of beer, after all. It was good motivation to keep him working out, lest the dreaded beer belly attacked him. Him and the newest arrival seemed to get along rather well, the newest person in the group appearing to be classically trained in the Land of Iron traditions. It appeared that was another one of the similarities of the two, since the ninja also lacked a classical ninja clan bloodline. Moreover, he offered to Zento some of his own rice balls and tea. It warmed the ninja’s heart to see a samurai so far from home, yet still carrying it in his soul.

“Keep your rice cakes, Hikaru. Zento has the right of it. Let us all go out and eat at this place he mentioned, it’s on me.” Kaito tapped his wallet, and hoped he would have enough funds for the night out. “And just in case we happen to drink so much we don’t remember the night, I will state this now: make preparations over this weekend in case we need to leave the village on the beginning of the next week. We’re going to start tackling high ranking missions as soon as possible.”

___________________________________________________________________________________

WC: 581
TWC: 4437
/exit
Claiming A-Team
Claiming 15 speed, 7 strength
1500 words to elevate Nukite, the Spear Hand from C-Rank to A-Rank.
2500 words towards Drunken Fist.
437 towards A-Rank Seven Heavens Breathing Method, previously unlocked partially here, bringing new total to 874.

Mon Dec 30, 2019 1:08 pm

Zento thought for a while. It was definitely something he was ok with. Seeing the new guy handing rice balls. Taking one and taking a bite out of it. It was pretty good. Hearing the jonin talk about wanting to take everyone out where Zento mentioned. Thinking for a moment and finishing the ball of rice. Nodding in agreement. Pointing where in the direction of the hole in the wall was. "It's this way." Zento said. He would yawn a bit and rub the back of his head. Zento Would start walking away to that direction. The missions would be coming soon. Zento had to think abou the best options for him. It was time to make some waves he thought. Zento smiled walking to the direction of food. He wondered if they would remember him from earlier today. This time Zento had cash so they shouldn't complain.

----

Word count:2137