Unknown vagabound at the gate

Hibiki frowned as Zansu struck at the vagabond sat across from him. The attack and accompanying words were threatening and a little more heavy handed than Hibiki would have preferred. Hibiki’s eyes narrowed and his smile disappeared when the vagabond spoke however. Especially so when his intonation and tone of voice changed. Hibiki glanced at Zansu before returning his level gaze on Yoto, sensing the change in demeanour and the potential threat of violence.

“Would you kindly come stand next to me Zansu san and please can you refrain from striking this man further. Unless he makes any violent moves towards us or says something that might endanger the villagers we should not be too rough with them. If you are unable to restrain yourself then please could you at least wait just outside the door? I am not asking you to leave the room at this stage, to be clear. I do not think it is a good precedent to bully visitors with physical displays.” Hibiki spoke again to the vagabond and his voice was also a little colder though it did not likely have as much impact as he imagined. He still appeared as a little more than a child after all.

“Your complaint has been heard but you must understand your position here and understand very, very clearly. I am your judge, jury and if required executioner in this room. I wish to be fair and give you a chance to explain yourself fully. Know that I do not approve of my colleagues overzealous methods but understand that until we deem otherwise you are considered as a potential threat to this village. In this room you have no choices but the ones I allow you to have. You are free to feel about this any way you wish. The point in you talking is to convince me that you are safe to be allowed entry into the village or even allowed to leave the village freely, but most importantly, whether I will allow you to leave this room at all.”

Hibiki allowed his words to sink in before continuing and he continued to maintain the hidden seal of confrontation and watch the vagabonds chakra in the event he attempted to begin a technique and Hibiki was ready to strike first. He was uncertain precisely how strong the vagabond was but he would do his duty regardless. Even if he could only save Zansu by buying time it would be worth the sacrifice in his eyes. He took comfort that death in service of the village was a noble end and he was sure that if he faced it bravely that Raijin and Fuujin would bless his passing. If Zansu moved to stand behind Hibiki as he requested then she would easily spot that he was holding the seal of confrontation with his left hand below the table.

“You do not give orders or ultimatums to me here and I suggest you lower your voice now and take a moment to steady yourself. Understand this is a stressful situation and this may be new to you, but for us the security of our village and its people is our highest priority so I hope you can understand that. I will ask one more time, please describe the tactical glove item you wished to purchase including its name if known, please describe the poisonous concentrate including the name of it that you believe could be found only in our village then please place the scroll on the table and advise what is stored inside. Please do not raise of issues or complaints. Just answer our questions and then hopefully you will be free to enjoy the rest of your day. Whether that is inside the village or not will be dependant on your answers. If you do not cooperate fully I will have to take you into custody and should you resist I will cut you down, it will give me no pleasure to do so but discomfort is an easy price to pay for my villages safety.”

Hibiki sat ready for the vagabonds response and was prepared to use several techniques at a moment’s notice, relying on his activated chakra sensory to give him a chance to react before the vagabond sat across from him.

WC: 704  TWC: 2939

As the man yelled in pain as she twisted his hand and dislocated it, Zansu kept pressing to cause more pain, with the man getting less and less patient and explaining how he wouldnt stand being tortured for a simple trade and culinary experience. He even said that as long as she would be there, the traveller wouldnt accept to talk or answer questions. Rapidly, Sato replied to the man, but first adressed his message to Zansu. He was asking her to let go of the man, and that hurting him like this wasnt acceptable. Zansu frowned, and her teeths gnashed together, her jaw tightening from silent anger. As she looked at Sato, her expression was one of annoyance and insult. 

''Let go the disgusting man who touched me in a seductive maner without my agreement?! I shouldve broken both his hands...'' Said Zansu, her tone agressive and angry, first toward Sato, then toward the man, before releasing his hand from her tight and strong grip, before going toward the door of the room. Before she would exit to not cause further complications and to ease the tension, Zansu turned toward Sato, and got back to her natural facial expression.

''You doin' good. I dont want to disturb the interogation, i'll wait by the door.'' Said gently Zansu toward the young guard of the gates of Kumogakure, before getting out of the room, standing beside the door, still leanning on the wall with her arms crossed, lending an ear to listen if it would go bad, but not interveening again.

Yoto tried to keep calm even as he felt Zansu's hands clench his. He knew it was a stressful situation, but it was even worse for him. He didn't want to get into an altercation that could worsen his chances of survival. Yoto understood that Habiki, and perhaps the perverted Zansu, were doing their service to the village and he appreciated it. He knew it was their way of protecting its inhabitants and ensuring their safety. He respected their determination and courage, even if he fundamentally disliked their method. It would be good for future interrogations if Yoto was also given the opportunity to at least let him answer..

Yoto noticed Hibiki frown as Zansu attacked Yoto sitting across from him without warning. From that, he figured that he didn't like that kind of behavior either. It gave him some hope that such behavior was not the norm even in this village. Still, Yoto was merely a visitor to the village who was not needlessly the culprit in this unpleasant situation. Of course, the obviously mentally unstable Zansu probably considered him a potential punching bag, and that could not be tolerated. Yoto will surely long remember this woman, who is very prone to aggression and violence. It is a big change for Yoto to be sitting in a room with more than one mentally unstable individual for the first time in a long time. Yoto knew he had to be careful when talking to Hibiki. He may have been a small boy, but he was obviously more experienced and civilized. Yoto didn't want to provoke his anger or distrust, but he also needed to set some boundaries on behavior. He wanted to make the best of this situation and ideally buy goods from the village store and get out of this village as soon as possible.

"Asking me questions and then letting me answer is damn counterproductive. Besides, I only touched you after you started touching me first for some reason." His tone was not the most pleasant, but the volume was much lower. It was the last sentence he had dedicated to the woman. Yoto was more likely to give his maximum attention to the young boy now. After all, he had shown great willingness, so Yoto had no reason not to cooperate and provide the information Hibiki requested.

"I'm just a visitor here, caught up in this unprovoked situation of tension. Instead of negotiating politely to enter your village, you started breaking my arms. And you yourself must understand that this cannot be tolerated on my part. I bet that in my situation you would probably have done much worse than raising your voice." Yoto adds in a now completely calm voice with normal intonation.

 "So far, I haven't lied or made excuses. I want to give you the opportunity to trust me, because I am not here to harm you, her, your village, or the people of Kumogakure. I understand that you consider me a potential danger to your village, but even though I am a stranger, I am not your enemy. I want to cooperate with you and explain the reasons for my journey or answer your question. All you have to do is allow me to do so" He smiled and spoke in a perfectly calm voice with normal intonation, as if nothing had happened and everything that had happened so far had been forgotten.

Yoto decided to use the sandwich method to do this. This was a form of mild psychological manipulation that involved wrapping a negative message or emotion in two layers of positive messages. This reduced resistance and increased the motivation of the recipient of the feedback. Yoto believed that by doing this he could calm the situation but also create some boundaries to show that he understood the situation and was willing to work with Hibiki, but if lives were at stake, it would not be so easy for the judge and executioner in one person.

Yoto began his speech with the positive information that he was willing to cooperate and answer Hibiki's questions. By doing so, Yoto made it clear that he was interested in answering his questions. Yoto then said negative information when he expressed his displeasure with how he was treated and set boundaries that could not be broken. By doing so, Yoto made it clear that he respected his dignity and would not be afraid to raise his weapon if there was an attempt to kill him. Finally, Yoto ended his speech with positive information again, offering sympathy for the safety of his home and urging him to proceed more calmly. In doing so, Yoto again showed his willingness to cooperate, while also making it clear that he had no interest in hiding anything.

In this way, Yoto hoped that he could slightly influence the direction of other matters and, more importantly, the absence of future violence. Yoto clasps the dislocated hand in his other palm and straightens it with a sharp movement. There is a loud crunch in the room and a shrill hiss of pain. Yoto looks down at his sore arm, sighs, and sits down in the chair across from the small guard. He doesn't even notice that he's holding some sort of hand seal.

Yoto turns slightly to Hakibi and decides to explain what the concentrate is that Yoto is looking for in the village.
"It's a paralyzing poison that originally came from your village.  It's a strange substance that comes in two forms. One is an alcoholic solution that evaporates when released, creating a poisonous mist. The other is a liquid form that must be introduced into the enemy's nervous system by injection, incision or oral or rectal injection. Whichever way it enters the human system, the same effects of paralysis of muscles and respiration occur. It is a very effective and rapid poison, and easy to use. I can't make my own poisons, and I certainly don't care what the active ingredient in the poison is made from, but I can promise you I don't care and I'm not going to steal your manufacturing secrets here." He utters with a bit of humor and laughs slightly. He wanted to loosen up the atmosphere in the room even more. "If I'm not mistaken, probably every minor and major country makes stuff like this. In the land of rain, we use poisonous frogs and salamanders to make it, but the other villages don't sell these substances to my knowledge. Kumogakure is the only village that should routinely sell these substances to everyone." Yoto adds in an informative tone, as if he knows a lot about the weapons Kumogakure has to offer. "At least some types of these concentrates can be bought publicly, and your village sells them to anyone with enough money. That's why I'm here. I want to buy a few vials and leave." Yoto utters in a calm and informative tone. After all, it is public knowledge.  

The reason he was stretching talking about poisons was because his knowledge of it was extensive unlike the next question that followed. "I don't really know much about the tactical glove. In fact, I don't know if it's a glove at all, to tell you the truth." He says in a slightly embarrassed voice, and his look seems to imply that he actually knows this equipment exists, but has no idea of its appearance. "It's more of an assumption based on what I know. It's supposed to be something that can transfer substances by a simple mechanism, and that includes poisons on equipment. With that combination, it seemed like something I could use. It should be noted that this is a secondary reason for visiting the village, and if I can't find this equipment anywhere in the village, then nothing happens. I don't necessarily need it and it is more of an improvement that I would like to get if possible." He speaks as a statement, emphasizing the unimportance of this equipment compared to the poisons he's been talking about for much longer. 

Yoto slowly raises his hand, reaches into his cloak with it, and pulls out a scroll. As instructed, he places it on the table with a message for the little guardian. "It stored a puppet, nothing more, nothing less." Yoto says softly, his hand moving the scroll to the guard to check it out if he wants to and doesn't trust it." Yoto says softly, his hand moving the scroll to the guard to check it out if he wants to and doesn't trust it.

WC: 1434 WC
TWC: 4415 WC

Hibiki watched the vagabond and listened without giving and further facial cues. The flippancy with which the vagabond treated the interrogation was disturbing and Hibiki was close to arresting or striking down the stranger several times as he spoke, held back perhaps by lack of experience and hesitation to kill the vagabond in cold blood. Hibiki’s anger slowly built up however and he was not impressed with the visitor even when he had finally answered the questions. “Had you simply answered my questions like you just did you would have already been in the village by now, instead you raise protests and deliberately try our patience. I am aware of the items you wish to purchase and you are correct, they are available for purchase. Now I must decide what to do with you and you flagrant disregard in how you have composed yourself during this interview.” Hibiki paused and glanced to Zansu as she left and gave a slight nod, who was clearly very angry.

Hibiki could understand why she was so hostile considering the vagabond's reaction which Hibiki himself found very distasteful but he could not deny that Zansu had struck the visitor unprovoked first. Had Hibiki been in the vagabond's situation he would have the intelligence not to bite back and simply accept it in silence before answering the questions posed. Clearly the vagabond had no real knowledge of a real ninja village or how cutthroat the world could be.  Hibiki was sure if someone other than himself had been on guard duty the vagabond would likely have been cut down and shipped to the hospital. Hibiki could almost picture him on the mortician's slab as Hibiki organised and weighed organs, or at least what would be left of them.

“I am familiar with the capabilities and potential of puppets. There is no such thing as a simple puppet.” With his right hand Hibiki allowed chakra threads to appear from each finger tip, not connected to anything and only a 1 meter long and stretched up towards the ceiling in a non-threatening manner before allowing them to vanish a moment later. Hibiki's mouth did not move but Yoto would hear his voice as an angry whisper just next to his ear. “I am also fully aware of what a puppet master is capable of. Should you have the skill and knowledge to move more than puppets you will not do this whilst within our village. If you break any rules, show any further disrespect or do not obey my orders, I promise you will die. As a puppet user you should be glad to know that should this occur, your death would contribute towards an exciting breakthrough in my puppet creations for which I have yet to receive any volunteers.” The angry whispering in Yoto’s ear would cease.

Hibiki sighed loudly for the purpose of informing Zansu that his decision made. When he spoke this time there was no anger in the voice , just calm statement of fact. “You will be granted access to make your purchases and enjoy the amenities that the village has to offer, but your actions and manner of your response have not earned our hospitality or trust. You will be escorted by myself as you travel the village. I will remain in open view and at a respectable distance. I give you this final warning, one more flippant remark or protest, one more giggle at our expense or a toe out of line and you will be executed. Anything less than total respect for our village and its inhabitants will be considered as an act of aggression. The ice you are walking on right now is heavily cracked and worn so you should consider your next steps very, very carefully.”

Hibiki rose, picking up his katana with his left hand after releasing the seal of confrontation and allowing his chakra sensory to return to a passive mode. Hibiki Called out to Zansu. “He is being granted access to the village under an escort and final warning s have been issued. Please can you complete the paperwork and ensure his arrival and escort is documented. I will be escorting him in the village” Hibiki gestured for Yoto to leave the room ahead of him and Hibiki would follow 3 meters behind. He was now responsible for the vagabond and would not let him out of his sight for the duration of his stay, ready to deal with the vagabond if he stepped out of line at a moments notice.

WC: 742 TWC: 3,681

Yoto felt his blood run cold in his veins as he heard Hibiki's voice threatening him with death. His first personality, which was mild and unconflicted, tried to keep calm and not show fear . He didn't want to get himself into any more unnecessary trouble, especially in a situation in which the situation was already tense . He knew he was foolish to continue to somehow provoke him with his sarcastic nature, so he had to keep himself in check. Never before had he encountered such a hostile and mysterious village that considered him an enemy . He also wondered what kind of puppet creations Hibiki made, and if they were better than his.

However, his other personality, which was cruel and ruthless, refused to submit to Hibiki's authority. But it wasn't Hibiki that made his blood boil. It was because he was utterly humiliated by that toothy woman. As he listened to Hibiki, he saw images of utter carnage before him, a bloody river and a woman's body lying on the ground that no longer even resembled human remains. He wanted to rid himself of these thoughts, but they tempted and excited him at the same time. Although Yoto was usually kind, his other personality was extremely vengeful and unforgiving of wrongs done to him. If he ever encountered the toothy woman outside the safety of the village, the little voice in his head whispered that he should kill her slowly and painfully. Yoto didn't agree with these brutal ideas and scenery, so he tried to ignore them.

The war in the head :

To hide his dark thoughts, Yoto tried to look more obedient and respectful than before. He nodded, acknowledging Hibiki's warning, and tried to look him in the eye. "Actually, I'm not a very artistic soul. The fact that you're a puppeteer is pretty impressive to me, since there aren't many of us. And you don't even look it, thanks to your sword, to tell the truth." he said amiably. "I apologize for any offense or inconvenience I may have caused. I didn't mean to be disrespectful. I understand, and I'll expedite my purchases, so you don't have to waste your time any longer than necessary." Yoto replied pleasantly and got up from his chair.

He picked up the scroll from the table and quickly put it back in its original place. Following the instructions he received from Hakibi, he left the room and headed for the entrance to the village. Yoto passes by Zansu which he didn't even notice, or at least pretended not to. He didn't say a word, nor did he turn around. He fleetingly measured the distance between him and Hakibi, who was to follow him every step of the way. It was only a few steps. Yoto walked through the gate with the guard at his back, thinking he wouldn't be here a minute longer than necessary.

WC: 478
TWC: 4863
__________

[EXIT]
TWC: 4863
 
Claims:
Entry to Kumogakure
4862WC: 48 Stats= +32 Chakra // +16 Speed
Puppetry: Slicing threads (2500 WC)
Chakra Infusion (2000 WC)
Wind Release: Starting Breeze (250 WC)

113 WC donated to charity

Hibiki followed Yoto out into the village, keeping an eye on him from 10 meters away with chakra sensory active, prepared to leap into action if the vagabond showed any signs of endangering the villagers.

[Exit]

WC: 35 TWC: 3,716

Claiming WC: 3,716

Max stat training at 25%:
- Advanced element: Storm Release - 1500 - 1500/3716
- Skill: Blacksmith - 1500 - 3000/3716
- Jutsu: 716 wc towards Lightning Release: Ground Rod - 716/750 - 3716/3716