Starring:
Date: May 20, 2013
Summary:
Narusegawa seeks out Hashiramako with a proposition to bring the civil war in the favor of Konoha by infiltrating the Rebellion. First Narusegawa must convince Hashiramako she has control over herself and the blood thirsting seal upon her neck…
"Struggle with No Reward - Dangerous Proposal"
Hokage's Lookout
It had been quite awhile since Narusegawa had personally spoken face to face with Hashiramako, and who would have known that this time would be under such dire circumstances. Narusegawa had send a message to the Hokage for a personal conversation about the the condition of the nation requesting privacy between the two once they had met up with one another. The now older Uchiha stepped into the look out, her body lightly adorned in a black cloak obscuring much of her form, flowing lightly with each step as she stepped further into the office. "Hokage-sama?" Narusegawa softly called out, hoping to churn the woman and attract her attention. Within Naru's hand was a tightly clutched head band, her cheeks were faintly swollen with nervousness while the chill of her eyes donned a fairly serious demeanor despite her sharingan not being active. " I was told I would be able to speak with you now… what I have to say is fairly important…" She allowed her words to die off, waiting for Hashiramako to respond before continuing forth. Enough of the day had passed to know about the recent happens of civil war begining to kick off…
The Hokage had been in and out of her offfice lately, conducting business in the village and within her office when necessary. She opted to stay in the village, to ensure that she would see to most, if not all the plans that would go into this civil war. Now back in her office, she was drafting up some correspondence to the Daimyou about the actions he has taken. She doesn't think he will take to it well, but she decides to go through with it anyhow.
When Naru enters her office, she looks up to the young woman and then to the headband she clutched in her hand. "You should probably close the door behind you, then." She didn't wait for her to do so and decided to rise up and do it herself. As she passed by her, she felt a bit of a chill coming from her, but placed any thoughts she had about that aside while she closed the door. "What is it you wished to talk about?"
As the Hokage had stepped up to close the door behind her Narusegawa moved forward, further within Hashiramako's domain. A notch could be felt in the depths of her throat as she had found it a little difficult to speak, but eventually she cleared her throat with a faint cough and swallowed down that nervousness of hers. " I wished…to speak to you about the civil war… I know I'm in no place to offer advice about what I think but what I do know about the situation is that there is going to be a lot of blood spilled. Even if we were to answer to the Daimyo's call and crush this rebellion for generations we will have no choice but to deal with constant uproar and a precedent of dealing with our civil issues with force rather than diplomancy…" A light sigh escapes along Narusegwa's lips, a headache soon coming along while she rubs gentle at her temples. " I personally cannot agree to doing nothing at all… With or without our help the Daimyo is eventually going to crush the rebellion. All of those fighting against him will be crushed and that sting will be felt for generations to come. If the Daimyo is willing to raise a blade against his own people then that just has to show how bad he is managing the situation … I cannot allow one person to dictate the future of this nation. I want him to see reason but that won't happen unless he feels weakened enough to give in,"
Narusegawa allowed her words to linger briefly, her voice alluded to a sense of passion and her self given goal. "I love this village as well, and I won't allow the rebellion to trample on Konohagakure, however at the same time I fear that much of their hatred towards this village is due to the vicious acts by our Daimyo so with that in mind… I would like to assist with weakening the Daimyo's influence by assisting the rebellion while taming the TFM's tempermant to less focused on Konoha and instead the Daimyo himself. I don't think the Daimyo will back down…this will be his time to show the strength under his command and without it unmatched he will prevail with destroying the rebellion but ruining the land in the process…"
Hashiramako considered Naru's words as she returned to her desk to sit. She raised her hands and bridged them in front of her face in deep thought. She inhaled deeply and sighed the breath back out before she lowered her hands so that her words wouldn't be muffled. "In civil conflicts, there's more than just one side as the agressor. The Daimyo, though his actions are fueled by fear, is not the only one at fault here. The True Fire Movement is also in the wrong. Though they seek justice, they do so by forcing people to their cause. No side is right in this conflict as much as no one believes they are wrong," she explains while leaning back in her seat. "Konoha isn't going to stand back and do nothing. Konoha will act in this conflict against both sides. We may be strained to some degree, but I believe that we can work this out. Unfortunately, I don't think this will be a clean battle as much as I would want it to be…" She seemed to be hinting at something as she focused her sight on Naru.
"The TFM has been gaining support because their views are more relatable to the population. Still, they need to be stopped as well. Unfortunately, I don't think I can allow you to participate at this time." She went silent and stood up from her seat.
"I've been told of this seal you possess that seems to have negative effects on you. Your friends are concerned and there's also been intel suggesting that you have…behaved in much the same way the Daimyou and TFM have."
"All the sides need to stop but at the same time a rebellion of this magnitude doesn't just create itself over night. They rise from the the enduring hardships they have been forced to deal with over these period of years… It is only obvious that they lash out at the Daimyo along with his shinobi fighting force. Fighting them and holding them both will definitely stretch us thin… But if we have someone from the inside convincing them it will make this conflict move a little more smoother. I intend to change the TFM's idealogy towards shinobi and with enough luck we can bring everyone to the diplomancy table rather than fighting a war that's tearing our country apart…" she huffs and sighs lightly, shaking her head as the Hokage takes her stand. " The seal placed upon has dwindled me originally but I promise you have am able to mend and control it now… as long as I have this goal to focus on I will not waver. I will be able to assemble a small team to assist me with this…Right now we will only be able to continue fight until one side has broken and I want to fix this…. I know for sure I can lessen the pressure of the TFM against Konoha making less harm come towards our village…and then we won't be as strained,"
Hashiramako gave Naru long and hard stare, one that spoke uncertainty and yet confidence in her ability at the same time. She frowned and lifted her hand to her head to think over how she wanted to handle this. "What I heard out of you was not…anything that I could readily support with my fullest confidence in you. I know you want to protect the village's interests and the people, but we can't achieve that by destroying the lives of innocents," she explained to Naru with clear pain in her voice. "Me giving you the opportunity to run free and face off against the Daimyo and the TFM makes me feel as if I'm ignoring what you've done, but I'm not. I'm hurt, of course, but I am uncertain if this will be enough to redeem yourself," she shook her head.
"So, I hope you understand how difficult it is for me to belive you when you say you have it under control, especially after what has been wrought by your hands." She folded her arms and bowed her head in continual consideration. "So this goal, you say…will help you to focus to the point that you won't lose control to this seal and end up causing more harm than good?"
"Inuzuka Taiki has been researching more for a permanent fix to altering the seal… But until then yes…. I still have learned to adapt and keep the influence at bay. With the current state of events it will be better for me to do things this way rather than putting myself in direct combat…especially if either of them decides to unfortunately lay seige to this village. The innocents being pulled into this conflict is the main reason why I wish to go this route. The longer this battle goes on the more who will be pulled into the jaws of civil war. Consider my proposal to be more about facilitating compromise amongst the leadership rather than pressuring and pushing battles. The TFM needs to know that Shinobi aren't the bane of this Land and the Damiyo needs to see some reason to end this war with words instead of violence…" With another nod she stared keenly back to Hashiramako with unwavering assurance. " I don't wish for you to simple ignore what I've done, but I also wish to be able to apply myself regardless if it redeems me or not. I will not lose control of this seal…and those who I surround myself with this mission will be able to keep me in check as well…. I can also consult with Taiki-san to see if there has been any more updates about restricting it's influence…"
"…Alright," Hashi offered to Naru. "I will allow you to infiltrate the movement and attempt to keep the Daimyo at bay. Konoha, though we may be spread thin, will win this for everyone. We'll be standing against the TFM and the Daimyo and though this may turn bloody every so often, it will be necessary. My objective, of course, is not to spill blood, even if they are enemies. They're just as much citizens of the Land of Fire as we are and the supportive citizens. We shouldn't seek to bring harm against them unless absolutely necessary," she states. "But overall, I will not apprehend you. I am trusting in you and your skills as well as your word to see this all through." She approached Naru and offerd a hand to her to grasp in a firm shake. "I will bid you the best. Make sure you keep the Will of Fire close to your heart."
With the final nod of approval from Hashiramako Narusegawa returned her own with the slight bow of her head. " I won't let you down and I promise things will be a little easier for the village to operate without being strained…" With those words she bows once more and swiftly turns on her heels, rubbing the side of her temples one more time before moving on. There was going to be a lot of work she had to do for this infiltration to be a success… For now it was time to commence the brain storming.
From afar, Taiki (Tai) has been building toward it with the seals and medical knowledge. I emailed staff saying I was within sight of achieving it via seal/medical jutsu, but I wanted to talk through with skill staff on the skill progression and if there was anything else I needed before I get there. I didn't want to do all this work and have it fall apart. CF wrote me saying he'd talk to me this week about it, but I haven't seen him/her on at all…
