Starring:
Date: March 30th, 2010
Summary:
Goh brings the Fire Stone to Hashiramako. After some discussion, the two decide its best out of human hands. The stone is boxed in a special wooden box created by Hashiramako and taken to the Salamander Caves by Wanpo, Goh’s summon.
" The Fire Stone"
Hokage’s Office
It's been tough trying to get in contact with the Hokage. She was a busy lady, after all! To fill in the time, Goh has visited all of his old hangouts and gone down a slight trip of nostalgia. It felt good to be back, no question. Having sold some vegies even, all that was left to do was talked to Hashiramako directly.
"OOU! I'm coming in!" Cries the blondes voice on the other side of the door, and in a sudden movement, the door /flies/ open as it's kicked! Standing on the other side is Goh, a big grin on his face. Wearing his large scroll and duffle bag, the youth lifts a hand to wave. "Yo Hashi!" Hos informal. But then, it's how Goh was. "How's my favourite chicky doing this afternoon? Keeping busy I hope." Walking in, he takes a small glance around. "..man. Been a while since I've been in here."
The door literally did fly, off its henges and into the room. Hashi barely glanced up as the door sailed towards her, a wooden barrier forming from the end of her desk to block the door. The door fell to the ground with a bit of a clatter. As the wall went down, Hashi glanced up. "Hello Goh, training is good, but not in my office." She said calmly as she finished a little more of the particular report she was working on, ensuring she got to a good stopping place. She grabbed an oversized stamp and banged it on the paper with a bit more force than needed then glanced around Goh at one of her jounin. The jounin grabbed the paper and disappeared. She then looked at Goh, "Good afternoon, Goh-san. I've enjoyed your reports. How have you been?"
Seeming unphased by the door flying off its hinges (something which he hadn't intended to do! Oy.), the blonde Pickler comes to a stop in front of the Hokage's desk. "Been good, good. I just went to Sunagakure. And guess what?" He queries, leaving that hanging in the air for a short bit. "I may have gotten them to lessen their alliance agreements with Kirigakure!" He beams, seeming quite proud of that. "I offered them the same broken crystal that I gave you for it. I had two crystals, after all. One to you, one to them. They didn't seem too keen, but I think they're on the way to mending it or something. So yeah! Pretty awesome, huh?"
Hashi nodded, "Well, that's the best news I've heard in weeks. I'm sure you heard about my little run in with Kirigakure while doing a routine inspection." She said casually. "Not sure I like them having a crystal. Sunagakure has always seemed to be somewhat technologically advanced with their puppets. Let's just cross our fingers that it doesn't bring water to the desert or something." She chuckled. "Perhaps I should have my personnel look more into the capabilities of our shard."
"Yeah, that crossed my mind." Goh begins, folding arms across his chest. "But I figured it was worth it. The Kazekage is honorable if nothing else. So I trust him to keep his word. I figure that if this does boil down to a War, it's better to be fighting one country rather than two. Even if it means that Sunagakure has a chakra battery." His head proceeds to nodnod eagerly. "I think that's a good idea! I mean, we have access to the same thing suna does. And.. sort of." He replies in response to the mission. "I heard the official reports, but not the specifics. Apparently I don't have the clearance anymore to know that stuff." A hand lifts to rub the back of his neck. "Kitai didn't shed anything about it." Oy.
"Anyway, you're going to be even more stoked about what else I've found. I found this at the top of the tower.. I think it was fueling the tower, giving it blistering heat. When I passed by it on my way back, it was definitely cooler." Dropping his duffle bag, Goh rummages through it to pick up what seems to be a big stone. It's hard to see exactly what it is, since it's wrapped in a thick blanket. But even through the thickness, a glow can be seen. "…this is the Fire Stone."
"Oh, I agree, allies are always better than enemies. And if they do come up with something from the battery, perhaps we can study it from a bit of a distance and figure out some of the mechanics of it." She stated. "It was your call, and I trust you. I haven't personally met the Kazekage unless it was years ago in the wars. As far as Kitai, he's a interesting character. He probably wouldn't tell his mom his birthday as it is probably classified somewhere in the files." She chuckled.
As Goh reached to pull out the fire stone, the Kage lifted her eyebrow and nodded slowly. "So, this thing powered it. Interesting enough. And the blanket protects you from its power? Doesn't seem overly penetrating then." She said thoughtfully, pondering the stone through the thick blanket. "Wonder if we can get someone to build a glass case for it, so it can be examined a little more closely."
"Hashi," Goh begins quietly. "…you're right. Heh. The person who wields this?" He seems uneasy, as if not sure he wants to continue. "…Anyone who holds this is able to take over the entire ninja world, single handedly. It's that powerful." There's a dramatic pause, letting it sink in. Trying to explain the scope of this rock was hard. "When I first gripped it and took it from the top of the tower, I gained so much strength from it that I thought I could wipe out Kirigakure with merely a thought. By putting just an ounce of my chakra into it, I was able to form fire techniques through it that are easily hundreds of times more powerful than my current ability."
"It works like a drug. It's almost sentient… encouraging you to use it. When I touched it, I nearly blew up the Land of Fire. I was so close to fuelling more of my chakra into it. Fortunately, Reiko bit my ear and snapped me out of the trance. I wrapped it up in a blanket, and haven't touched it with my hands since." Putting it back into his duffle bag, Goh exhales slowly. "Even through the blanket, I find my willpower being dominated. I can't hold it for long, so I just carry it around in my bag." His eyes glance to Hashi,
"If anyone else got their hands on this, like Mitsuo? The Mizukage? I'm sure we would be dead already."
Hashi nodded, a serious note in her demeanor as she came to a decision. "Can you handle it a little longer? Something of that much power, I can't allow just anyone to handle it. However, I wonder what would happen if someone without a fire affinity handled it. I don't have fire, I have water, would it react differently to me?" she asked, her mind still going, full of questions. "I will get to work on building at least a wooden box for it, though I'd prefer glass so it can be observed, not to mention fire burns wood. Also, I wouldn't mind researching it, experimenting with it; however I'm not sure I trust myself with it. You said it had a will of its own that it was pushing onto you?"
"I think it's fine with me." Goh comments. "At least for the moment. I've managed to carry it all around the world for the past few weeks. So long as it stays in that bag. Also!" He lifts a thumb up. "The thing doesn't appear to take any sort of effect with my Salamanders. This maybe cause they aren't human? On anyrate, if it becomes too dangerous for me to have it personally, I'll leave them to handle it in the Salamander Caves, deep underground. That might be the best place to hold it until you have your container setup." Pausing a little, he nods a bit, bringing the stone back out. Placing it on the desk, Goh gently begins to unfold it from the blanket. It radiates, practically /begging/ Hashiramako to touch it.
"Y..You see? When the blanket is off, it draws itself to you. Forcing itself onto you. Are you sure you even want this stored in Konoha? What if we're invaded and it gets stolen? Maybe the Salamander Caves would be best to store it long-term as well. They aren't ever discovered."
Thinking a little, Goh sucks in a breath. "Having never had anyone else use it, I don't know." He responds to the chakra nature. "But it's clearly fire based. Maybe when you put your chakra into it, it converts it to fire? How it worked for me was… If put my chakra into it… then anything I imagined came to life. The entire room was filled with fire fairies and fire dragons. Then when I broke contact, they dissipiated."
"I appreciate that Goh." Hashi stated calmly, but then, the young man started unwrapping the blanket. Hashi tilted her head to the side and watched. Layer by layer, the blanket was removed and before it was fully unwrapped, Hashi could feel it tug at her. She told herself repeatedly, its dangerous, don't touch it. However, the other side of her conscience said you won't learn if you don't try it. As the surface of the stone was shown, the draw was immense. Her eyes said 'Let me at it!' and her body reached forward it, while her mouth said, "Goh, I don't think this is a good idea."
"Er, right. I'll wrap it back up!" Reaching for the blankets around the rock, the ex-Jounin seems to barely notice the Hokage reaching for it as he's bending over. As he stands back up, eyes widen to find her finger just moments away from touching it. And then, in an instant, she's touching it! Uh-oh.
"H..Hashirmako! Don't!" Goh cries, although his voice will likely fade out from the auditory senses of the Hokage. Her head, upon touching the device, will suddenly fill with bliss. Everything that seemed impossible before now seems very possible. Every little action that she wanted to do but couldn't.. every little manauver. She could now stabilize the world with peace. Settle, and never worry about War again. The sheer power that courses through her veins meant that she'd be unstoppable. It begs, a voice filling her head that tells her to 'Use me.. Use me..!' She had become God itself!
The sudden rush of adrenline will be quickly snapped away though, with Goh himself /yanking/ the ball from her grip with all his might. In all honesty, she may have forgotten that he was there! Goh isn't sure. But it's quickly snapped away, his palms clutching the Stone tightly.
"U..Urgh!" He begins to cry out, his mind panicing, knowing what's going to happen next. But, what happens when the stone hits a mind that is in panic mode? Well.. Hashiramako will see that it begins to glow white! Streaks of light peel out from the stone, the entire room heating up. Fast.
'I have to get it out of his hands.' Hashi thought as she watched the stone emit the light and heat. She glanced over to the water cooler and formed a seal. A stream of water rushed out of the cooler as the plastic exploded and formed up to strike the stone ball from Goh's hands. As the water strikes, it flashes steam as it is almost instantly vaporized by the stone. 'Shit, didn't work.' The Kage thought as she grabbed her Kage's robe and rushed towards Goh, draping the garment quickly over the stone before striking it out of Goh's hands to the floor. "You okay, Goh?" she asked, her eyes watching the ball appear to roll out of her robe, mocking her. However, now, with firsthand experience, it seemed to not faze the Kage as much as it did when it was first revealed. She suddenly knelt forming rapid handseals and throwing her hand on the wooden floor, now wet with the steaming water. A round wooden box forming up around the ball. She stepped over
to her desk and pulled out a slip of chakra paper with one hand while her other hand grabbed a brush for painting the calligraphy. A few quick strokes from the Kage's Hand and the seal was done. She put the seal on the round wooden box.
"Y..Yeah." Watching as it rolls out from the Hokage robe, Goh shakes his head in disbelief. Phew! Another close call.
As Hashiramako puts the seal on the box, Goh thrusts a hand down to the ground, using some already drawn blood as the sacrifice. With a big poof, Wanpo, his d-rank Salamander comes to life. "Hashi, I can't let you keep the stone here. As the person who got it in the first place, I won't put the burden on you. This is my fault. My duty to look after it. Trust me, I won't use it. But since I'm mobile, it means the stone will be mobile too." Standing on top of the lizard, he eyes the box with seal applied.
"I'll keep it in the Salamander Caves. That way, even if I'm captured, it won't come of any use by anyone. It also won't tempt me there." It hardly sounds as if he's enquiring! More.. telling. Seems he was quite adament about it.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have unravelled it in the first place."
..Wanpo spits out his toungue, having it remove the seal with its sticky end.
Hashi watched as the Salamander removed the seal and raised an eyebrow. "Don't apologize Goh, but I'm the only one that can open that box unless someone in the future develops my wood manipulation jutsu. It is a very rare combination, in fact, I'm the only one in the Land of Fire that can manipulate wood. Your locking it away in the Salamander Caves protects it from me. My jutsu, protects it from the world. The power locked within is great, too great for any one person to possess. It can be used for good, but human nature is such that it can easily be used for evil. Take it, in the box, to the caves." She said, seemingly stubborn about her position and denying to open the box.
"..that's a good idea." Goh intones, nodding a bit. "Without anyone else using wood, it'll be stuck in there forever. If someone manages to somehow find the caves, they won't be able to get into the box." Readying himself once more, Wanpo spits out his long toungue. It wraps around the box and pulls it back into the belly of the lizard. "Show it to Igneel, Wanpo." Goh recommends, "..he'll know where to put it down there." With a poof, the creature leaves existence, having Goh drop down to the ground with a soft thud.
"..and that's it. The Fire Stone." Standing up, he dusts himself off a bit. "..what did you experience? When you touched it? I had visions of becoming the best pickler in the entire land."
Hashi smirked and looked at Goh, "Oh, you really want to know? It was Mitsuo, hanging by the bones in his toes upside down in a towering tree. After that, a blossoming forest of sakura blossoms, the sweet scent filling my nose with a figure of an unfaced man by my side." Yes, she dreamt of love and settling down, but she hadn't found the 'one' just yet. "Yeah, I know, stupid isn't it." She chuckled. "I'm glad we got that tucked away safely."
"Mmm.. Yeah. My pickling dream was better." Goh intones with a laugh. "And right. Me too. The question is, what else is in there? In that tower? It could be we got lucky and I got the only powerful thing in there. But if more towers like it appear, you'll want to get there as soon as possible to beat the others. Maybe there are other stones? Water Stones.. Wind Stones." Shrugging, the blonde turns on his heal. "..all this dramatic stuff has made me hungry. I'll cya, Hashi! I'll be sure to pop back in before I go!" And just like this, he makes his exit. Out the broken doorway and into the hall.
