Maikeru steadily walked through the large croud of people, going about their day and moving like worker ants through an ant hill. His eyes were full of bags, his clothing tathered. He was moving slowly, as if he was a zombie that recently unearthed itself from the grave. Within his arms, was a ball of whiteness that made the sound of sleepy satisfactio. He was exhausted, running low on chakra, and soar in many places. He was breathing heavy, and most people were looking at him. He receive a few "hey are you alright" and would give back a "piss off." He wasn't in the best of moods. He had to fight an entire gang to get the little ball of fuzz back. Not to mention their pet wolves they had...lots and lots of wolves. He shivered at the memory.

Maikeru walked towards a small house, it was small in the small and quiet part of Iwagakure. He knocks on the door. He stepped back and waits...the door opens revealing an elderly woman, with a small frame. Her eyes light up like fireworks in the night. "Thank you so much for bringing my little Kiki back to me!"
"Whatever. Where's my money?" She holds her boney and vainy hand out. The sight of it almost made him reluctant to take it. Hse drops five ryu in his hand. His eye twitches, disturbed by the low payment. "Thank you young man." She than closes the door on his face. What. The. Hell. He was angry as, all his thoughts were crimson red. He had the urge to break in the house and slaughter the old lady and her stupid cat! He went through Hell and back for FIVE ryu!

Regaurdless of the small payment, he stuffed the ryu in his pocket. Bussiness as a mercenary was...quite slow. He haden't been getting any good bounties. Now he gets just so small pay. He hasn't been eating much lately as a result. Maikeru started to doubt his career as a mercenary ninja. It wasn't doing much for him and competition was so stiff. It has become nearly impossible to get a get job with ninja of hire caliber coming up. It was becoming a serious strain to him, a virus. He needed to think. He needed a job that was long term. Like a bodyguard. He started to look around. Searching for some kinda of idea. He started to look around. He than saw a masked man running from Iwagakure nin. Maikeru saw that he was holding a sack. Maikeru saw that the the nin were genin, such as he was. He ran a few blocks away, the only place he can go. Maikeru picked up a rock and waited. He started to hear the steps . He swung the rock into the incoming man's face, hearing a loud CRACK. he saw the man was heavily bleeding. He picked up the bag and peeped what's inside. "Holy..." It was ryu...soooo much ryu. "Jack put." He tied the bag shut, just as the genin came up to him. "Thank you sir, you took out this thief!" He kicked the bleeding man on the ground. "Anyways, you a ninja? You have to be to take down this guy. He put up a fight, I see"
"Yeah. Mercenary." Maikeru knew he was talking about his tattered clothing.
"You handled this guy pretty well. Say how about joining Iwagakure?"
"And conform to the life style? No thanks."
"Suits yourself." Maikeru watched them carry the man away, and...the bag of ryu. Maikeru started to scowl. There goes his money. Maikeru kickes the ground in frustration. He strarted to think about taking up on that offer. Maikeru's mind became encased in the idea of him wearing a an Iwagakure uniform.  Business, was slow, and a full time ninja would be guranteed pay. And he could still do mercenary work for people around Iwagakure, so that's extra ryu. Maikeru didn't have much if a choice anymore. He quicly made his way to the building which held the Tsuchikage.
Maikeru stopped at the front of the building, with two guards standing in front. "Can I get thrugh I need to see the Tsuchikage."
"What for?"
"I wanna become an Iwagakure ninja." They stepped aside and let him in the entrance. He warily made his way down the halls, still exhausted, looking for the Tsuchukage...

WC: 747

Karumo sat at his desk, filling out forms and signing his name on the dotted line among other tasks, keeping him company was a rather new acquaintance of his, Emi Fantomusodo. A girl he knew from the clan and had grown fond of recently, not sure of what to make of the pair of them, they had begun to hang out more, and with Karumo becoming Tsuchikage, she was becoming a bit of his own assistant and kept him company during the dull parts of it all. Truthfully, he enjoyed her company, and at the very least, having someone in the office to stop him from going crazy was nice. She sat at a desk next to his work on her own papers as Karumo signed off on mission forms, a white ceramic glass of coffee helping keep himself alert.

A slight knock on his door, the secretary entered upon his request and called out, "Sir, there's someone here to see you.." she led on. Karumo sighed, thinking to himself about how it better not be a waste of time, interrupting him in the middle of all the paperwork he had to accomplish. Emi speaking up to his side, "Now, now, no reason to get so gloom..." she chuckled a bit at his slight annoyance. A smile broke across Karumo's face as he set the pen down and sighed again, he called out across the room, "Have them wait two minutes and then send them in..." he scratched the side of his head for a moment. What a bother... he thought to himself and took another sip of his coffee.

Emi stood up and walked next to him, "I'll give you some time alone, I'll be back later after lunch maybe?" she spoke as she picked up her folder and notepad. Karumo scratched the bridge of his nose and forehead while gathering his thoughts, another quick sigh, "You sure about that?" his tone was a bit annoyed already. If not from having to spend his entire morning reading reports and signing off on them, but also because he would be interrupted in doing so. Emi smiled and nodded, giving him a rather genuine hug and then departing the room. Karumo stood up and let his eyes follow her every step out, the door closing behind her, he flopped back down into his seat and slouched in it.

Counting down the next minute until his guest arrive, he would straighten up in his seat. When the knock at the door came, he would call for whomever to enter in, hoping they had the manners not to barge in and all it didn't matter in the slightest though. His tone would shout annoyance and short-handedness no matter what, waiting for his guest to enter into the office and step forward, Karumo would speak up, "I'm quite busy, so I only ask that you don't waste my time. Now... what can I help you with?" he would ask twirling a pen through his fingers as he awaited whatever was to come next.

[517 words]

Maikeru sat on the bench outside of the office that held the highest of official in all of Iwagakure. The lady had walked back to him. "Sir, you will have to wait two minutes." Maikeru rubbed his temples and let out a deep sigh, "Thanks." Maikeru crossed his arms in frustration. He was starting to have second thoughts about becoming an Iwagakure ninja. His mind filled with doubts about him submitting to conformism of the military of the nation. He was an induvidualist who wanted to seek something grader rather than putting on a uniform and being barked orders at by some stupid squad leader. It wasn't in his nature to be told what to do, unless he was giving something in return. Alas...he had that much less control over his own fate now.

The lady who told him to wait looked at his condition. "Umm...do you mind if I asked what happened to you." Maikeru was slightly annoyed by this. He didn't understand what was so interesting about the way he looked. Probably looking for a good story to pass the time. "Umm long story. Went to help find an old ladies cat, which was apparently kidnapped by a gang of hoodlums. At the same time, they had their own pack of wolves...I think they might have been Inzuka missing nin from the Konohagakure." Maikeru felt stupid. Dammit. I should have checked to see if they were missing nin, I could have collected on them. Maikeru huffed into his hands, frustrated with himself to overlook something so crucial. "And what might you need to see the Lord Tsuchikage for?" Maikeru rolled his eyes, though hiding his frustration from the lady, seeing how she was kind. "I would like to join the ranks of the Iwagakure ninja. For my own reasons." Maikeru looked at the clock overhead . "Annnnnd it is now pass to minutes." Maikeru got out of his seat, and passed the lady into the office. He looked at the man sitting at the desk. Though he wasn't in tattered clothing, he looked just as spent as Maikeru did, maybe even more so. Just comes to show what this bureaucratic Hell hole could do to people. I'll never fully understand politics. Maikeru took a chair and sat in front of the Tsuchikage. Maikeru rested one hand on his lap, his elbow pointing away. The other hand he had hanging from off his other thigh, with his arm placed on it. Maikeru leaned in, looked the Tsuchikage in his eye, to show how he was not intimidated, even though he probably should be. Maikeru's gave a poker face and simply came out with it: "Lord Tsuchikage, I would like to join the Iwagakure Ninja." He kept his voice firm and steady. He held the seated pose he was in, waiting for his answer. Something in his gut told him it was probably going to be harder than this.

WC: 496/1,243

The boy entered into his office, Karumo leaning back and letting his gaze fall on him, crossing his hands as he fell back in his chair. His clothes a bit tattered, and dirty in a variety of ways, from traveling perhaps? He took everything in, the tinge of his chakra filled the air, he was clearly skilled enough to use it, but perhaps not so much at eliminating his presence. Entering in and immediately taking a seat across from his desk, certainly lacking no stride of confidence or perhaps manners for the situation.

Karumo watched patiently as he spoke up, "Lord Tsuchikage, I would like to join the Iwagakure Ninja." he spoke clearly with the utmost confidence to match his actions. It was such an oddly abrasive questions, so many ways to go about it and yet here he was, but the question more suited than whether or not he could join would be, who is he? Why did he want to join and what made him think joining was worth it? The sting of chakra meant he had some skill at least, like the smell of gunpowder and explosive residue...

Karumo glanced curiously for a short moment before chuckling, it hadn't been exactly wasting his time but it was certainly interesting enough. "Alright, let's take it back here for a second..." he led on as laughed about the situation.

"So, you came to see me, entered in as an unknown entity, and go straight to wanting to join the village and its ranks, is that right?" he spoke still chuckling a little to himself. Carrying his smile throughout it. "Maybe we should start with something a little simpler, like.. Who you are and where you're from? You're clearly not a citizen of Tsuchi no Kuni, otherwise you could have just enrolled in the academy a long time ago. But you are a bit old for the academy after all... care to explain a bit further before I start seriously considering you?" he led on.

It may be a bit harsh, but letting people join the ranks and be protected by the village was no small thing. He wasn't going to simply let anyone join in, he needed the best of the best and those self-sacrificing individuals who could carry themselves with grace in the line of duty. Civilians and bandits certainly had some potency but they were garbage without potential in the grand scheme of things. Self serving interests and broken ideologies, even if this boy did make an impression for Karumo, he was going to push him to the brink and test him before he let him join. Grace under pressure and even beyond that, he was gonna have to work for this to get in, and truly want it at that.

[470 words, 987 words total]

"Alright, let's take it back here for a second..." Maikeru leaned back only a little bit. "So, you came to see me, entered in as an unknown entity, and go straight to wanting to join the village and its ranks, is that right? Maybe we should start with something a little simpler, like.. Who you are and where you're from? You're clearly not a citizen of Tsuchi no Kuni, otherwise you could have just enrolled in the academy a long time ago. But you are a bit old for the academy after all... care to explain a bit further before I start seriously considering you?"
Maikeru watched him say this as if he was amused. Maikeru laughed a bit, leaning back putting his hands over his head. If he was in the same position as the Karumo was, he would have thought he was some nutcase. “Okay okay. I suppose there could have been a better and smarter way of doing this. But eh, since we are already here, I am Maikeru Otsuka. And I was born in Kazi no Kuni. Yet, there is no other country I would rather fight for than Tsuchi. My ancestors fought for this country in the Demolition Corps, hundreds of years ago.” At first Maikeru thought himself to lie, but actually he was telling the truth. There really WAS no other country he would rather be fighting for, though that says very little, because he would rather not fight for any. Yeah orders would be barked at him, but Maikeru started to think: a cause that is greater than him. Though for most of his life, fame and fortune was his mark, he was now forced into a situation where he would have to.
“And why I think I would be a good addition to Iwagakure forces? Well, I have a high competence with using Taijutsu, I use a mixed style that can easily adapt to just about every hand to hand combat situation. I have a lot of wilderness survival, since it’s been years since I actually lived in a house. Not to mention one of my best skills is my sensory jutsu. I have tracked down many missing nin using it.” Maikeru studied Karumo’s expression. He kept his tone informative, not as if he was trying to impress the Tsuchikage, but more like he is trying to give him the cold hard facts.
“And I am excellent, on a team, especially in an offensive role. I take use of strength and break my enemies. I also value strategy and intelligence as well. I also plan to learn Medical Ninjutsu in time so I will also be able to take up the support role when needed. Back when I was hunting a missing nin from Kaminari, I worked with two other Ninja who wanted to the reward as well. I used my tracking skills to hunt him down in the Konoha forests.” Maikeru kept his poker face on and waited for Karumo’s response.

WC: 506/1749

Otsuka... that name sounded familiar but Karumo couldn't quite put his tongue on it, passively listening into each detail and letting the story build on itself. Born in another nation but connected to his ancestors and their history more so than his own. For what reason though? It didn't make sense inherently, for his parents, assuming they were citizens of Kaze no Kuni after all? To instill pride in another nation and not his own, there had to be more to it, and if it were on a whim or some heritage search then Karumo would only further step up his tests to entry. He wasn't going to let in a foreigner whom wanted to live some whim of an image over just anything, he would have to really want it and prove that he would be willing to set aside his notions in regards to his own goals. After all, the career of a ninja was not self-serving interest and to build your own glory, at least not of those shinobi whom planned to live for a long enough time.

Karumo listened to his speech, grandstanding on his own abilities, he couldn't care less about his elements and skills. Those details would present themselves over time and anyone could be taught or developed, hence what the academy did for almost everyone who entered. It made things more interesting, if it was just a matter of him not being a citizen there were forms and bureaucracy to join the village and then the academy would be little more than an after thought from there. Tracking down missing nin, sensory skills, survival skills, it was all just grand standing on the issue.

He continued on though, Karumo became more and more passive about it all, he grabbed a pen and began to write towards the end of his speech. A simple story that was to... convince him of his skills? Word of mouth meant little. Everyone lies, it's all part of the human condition and he held that truth to some value. Finishing his bit of writing, unrelated to what was happening, merely comments for his secretary on some forms and a note that he may disappear for a short moment.

Karumo cleared his throat briefly and gathered his thoughts, he needed to find a way to test him, "That's all well and good. You know academy students are taught survival skills and such, and prowess in your own skills doesn't lead you to being great. It merely shows that you're aware of how you handle things in your own way." he paused briefly and set the pen down.

"So, you think you should be able to join the village because you can do Taijutsu and have hunted a few criminals. There is more to a shinobi than skills, ideology, sacrifice, and then prowess. If you're going to join the village, I need to know everything, I won't have grandstanding and self absorption put others at risk and you should know that right now. Confidence and grandeur are one thing, but those ninja whose names go down in history are not fighting for themselves, they fight for their friends, family, the village. Greater and noble causes."

"Not to go against the grain, but there are indeed many great and powerful ninja that do focus on their own strength and abilities. But they are almost universally criminals, destruction, carnage, and chaos that usurp the world and break the peace of many people. You should also be aware, as any ninja is taught, that criminals are not taken lightly, and the more severe your crime then the more forcefully we will punish those crimes."

"Wielding chakra and that power is a great responsibility, you have and will further develop a power that the average citizen can not compete against. Assuming you aren't scared off from the proposition, I think that words will do little more here, for your case or mine. I plan on testing you and finding out a bit about you, but before we get into anymore about physical prowess and skills, I'd like to tell you a bit of a story..." he led on, a short test of psychology of the young man.

" Once upon a time there lived a stone-cutter, who went every day to a great rock in the side of a big mountain and cut out slabs for gravestones or for houses. He understood very well the kinds of stones wanted for the different purposes, and as he was a careful workman he had plenty of customers. For a long time he was quite happy and contented, and asked for nothing better than what he had.

Now in the mountain dwelt a spirit which now and then appeared to men, and helped them in many ways to become rich and prosperous. The stone-cutter, however, had never seen this spirit, and only shook his head, with an unbelieving air, when anyone spoke of it. But a time was coming when he learned to change his opinion.

One day the stone-cutter carried a gravestone to the house of a rich man, and saw there all sorts of beautiful things, of which he had never even dreamed. Suddenly his daily work seemed to grow harder and heavier, and he said to himself: ‘Oh, if only I were a rich man, and could sleep in a bed with silken curtains and golden tassels, how happy I should be!’

And a voice answered him: ‘Your wish is heard; a rich man you shall be!’

At the sound of the voice the stone-cutter looked round, but could see nobody. He thought it was all his fancy, and picked up his tools and went home, for he did not feel inclined to do any more work that day. But when he reached the little house where he lived, he stood still with amazement, for instead of his wooden hut was a stately palace filled with splendid furniture, and most splendid of all was the bed, in every respect like the one he had envied. He was nearly beside himself with joy, and in his new life the old one was soon forgotten.


It was now the beginning of summer, and each day the sun blazed more fiercely. One morning the heat was so great that the stone-cutter could scarcely breathe, and he determined he would stay at home till the evening. He was rather dull, for he had never learned how to amuse himself, and was peeping through the closed blinds to see what was going on in the street, when a little carriage passed by, drawn by servants dressed in blue and silver. In the carriage sat a prince, and over his head a golden umbrella was held, to protect him from the sun’s rays.

‘Oh, if I were only a prince!’ said the stone-cutter to himself, as the carriage vanished round the corner. ‘Oh, if I were only a prince, and could go in such a carriage and have a golden umbrella held over me, how happy I should be!’

And the voice of the mountain spirit answered: ‘Your wish is heard; a prince you shall be.’

And a prince he was. Before his carriage rode one company of men and another behind it; servants dressed in scarlet and gold bore him along, the coveted umbrella was held over his head, everything heart could desire was his. But yet it was not enough. He looked round still for something to wish for, and when he saw that in spite of the water he poured on his grass the rays of the sun scorched it, and that in spite of the umbrella held over his head each day his face grew browner and browner, he cried in his anger: ‘The sun is mightier than I; oh, if I were only the sun!’

And the mountain spirit answered: ‘Your wish is heard; the sun you shall be.’

And the sun he was, and felt himself proud in his power. He shot his beams above and below, on earth and in heaven; he burnt up the grass in the fields and scorched the faces of princes as well as of poorer folk. But in a short time he began to grow tired of his might, for there seemed nothing left for him to do. Discontent once more filled his soul, and when a cloud covered his face, and hid the earth from him, he cried in his anger: ‘Does the cloud hold captive my rays, and is it mightier than I? Oh, that I were a cloud, and mightier than any!’

And the mountain spirit answered: ‘Your wish is heard; a cloud you shall be!’

And a cloud he was, and lay between the sun and the earth. He caught the sun’s beams and held them, and to his joy the earth grew green again and flowers blossomed. But that was not enough for him, and for days and weeks he poured forth rain till the rivers overflowed their banks, and the crops of rice stood in water. Towns and villages were destroyed by the power of the rain, only the great rock on the mountain side remained unmoved. The cloud was amazed at the sight, and cried in wonder: ‘Is the rock, then, mightier than I? Oh, if I were only the rock!’

And the mountain spirit answered: ‘Your wish is heard; the rock you shall be!

And the rock he was, and gloried in his power. Proudly he stood, and neither the heat of the sun nor the force of the rain could move him. ‘This is better than all!’ he said to himself. But one day he heard a strange noise at his feet, and when he looked down to see what it could be, he saw a stone-cutter driving tools into his surface. Even while he looked a trembling feeling ran all through him, and a great block broke off and fell upon the ground. Then he cried in his wrath: ‘Is a mere child of earth mightier than a rock? Oh, if I were only a man!’

And the mountain spirit answered: ‘Your wish is heard. A man once more you shall be!’

And a man he was, and in the sweat of his brow he toiled again at his trade of stone-cutting. His bed was hard and his food scanty, but he had learned to be satisfied with it, and did not long to be something or somebody else. And as he never asked for things he had not got, or desired to be greater and mightier than other people, he was happy at last, and heard the voice of the mountain spirit no longer."

Karumo ended his tale, leaned back in his chair he paused and took a sip of the glass of water on his desk. He would give the boy a chance to comment if he'd like, his thoughts, interests, questions. Whatever it might be would be fine, but Karumo would read beyond the surface of it all, wondering what he would think of it in the end.

[1876 words, 2863 words total]

Maikeru raised in eyebrow. The story was certainly interesting, to say the very least, but the point seemed to be missing, in which it has to do with all this. Though, Maikeru did understand what he meant in his earlier statements. As of now, the only reason Maikeru joined was for an ongoing payment. Someone like that could easily become the enemy. Maikeru was always self reliant, though, if and when he becomes an Iwagakure Ninja, he would be fighting for an entire country, not just himself. This, unlike many things he had encountered, was intimidating. It was a great responsibility, THE most responsibility Maikeru has ever been placed with. In a time of war, Maikeru would have to put his life on the line for the sake of a country, something he has never done before. The commitment requirement was higher than the highest mountain. In addition to the civilians that went on with their daily lives, but he would be fighting for his comrades. The people who think the same, fight for the same cause, to protect Tsuchi with their lives. Maikeru gulped. It was indeed a tall order. Was Maikeru ready for something like this? He didn't know? Even when he was trapped inside a small shack that was cramped with other young kids, he watched them being tortured, terrorized. He was thinking of only himself. If he couldn't put any consideration into a few children, how was he going to do it for a whole country.
Maikeru took a deep breathe he almost panicked at the thoughts of him assimilating to something much more larger, more important than himself. But worst he almost let it show. He quickly regained his inner composure. He reminded himself to stay calm. "Okay, Tsuchikage, while I do understand and enjoy the story's theme and moral, it doesn't seem evident to what it has to do with all this."
Maikeru thought on the story. Was there something he wasn't understanding to understand why it was what it was? Well, either way, Karumo would shed light on the dark corner of unwittingness Maikeru was put in to.


Raiton C->B Rank

Karumo watched the boy fidget around in himself, considering the story and heeding its message perhaps? Taking a deep sigh at the end of it all, gathering his composure? But for what reason, nothing he had said was that destressing was it? Understand and enjoy the theme... is that a joke of some kind? he wondered on his words for a brief moment. Did he understand it? And if he did why was he questioning the validity of how it connected to the greater point? It was one thing to understand the story and such, even to enjoy it but not understand how it connected. Or maybe he was right, perhaps Karumo was just a bit off his rocker with it all, but he still found it funny. The confidence at which everything was done, as if nothing was phasing him but his own actions betrayed that mentality. The subterfuge of it all showed more than that, it didn't lead to motives but it certainly indicated that his words weren't the truth underneath it all.

He took a sip of water from his cup as he waited for a moment, "You don't see the point, huh?" he mused to himself, a slight exhale as he made his disappointment audible. "The point of my little story serves two purposes really. The first one, is to see how you truly felt about the story and its theme, about the search for power and success. You see, when you first entered the first thing you brought up was your own abilities and what you hoped to learn. It equates your position to the stone cutter, always reaching for more of what you could have and what there is instead of enjoying what you do have and improving the current you." Karumo paused for a second to let Maikeru take it in. Continuing on before he could interject,

"The second part, I wanted to see how you responded to it. In the parables ability to act as a puzzle or riddle, it's rather simple so I can test your ability to interpret information and such. In it's terms as a psychological evaluation though, it let's me figure out a bit about you as a whole. In terms of if I can tell if you're psychotic or a sociopath or anything, it's not enough, but it does tell me that your motives don't lie in that development. You see, since you miss the point of the story it tells me that your motives differ to some degree and even though you don't value where you stand now, you also aren't seeking to use the village as a stepping stone for power. At least that motive isn't on the forefront of your mind..."

"So fill in the gaps for me, what am I missing and what other information should I know about you?"

[489 words, 3352 words total]

Maikeru tilted his head to Karumo, going into a deep thought. He seemed like a man who was constantly and consistently dreaming, looking into the deeper meaning of all the world that surrounded him. Maikeru mentally noted the Tsuchikage was a romanticizer, a dreamer, an idealistic thinker who has dreams of what the his future would be. Maikeru found nothing wrong with that. Though, if he showed this at first, Maikeru would have thought people to be insane to have such and idealistic man a kage. Though, he also showed a realistic thought process. Maikeru found him quite interesting.

Maikeru leaned in his seat. "Well that's all I suppose. The next question is "where do we go from here?"

The boy tilted his head at Karumo, but in confusion or wonderment at him and his proverbs. His question dropped heavily in to the air, creating a bit of silence between the two of them, was he gathering his thoughts? Karumo wondered for a moment. The silence broken by his words,"Well that's all I suppose. The next question is where do we go from here?" he leaned forward and spoke. It seems that Karumo's question either fell on deaf ears or he had nothing else to add. An awfully direct way of showing it nonetheless.

Karumo leaned back in his chair and exhaled a bit, carefully watching him and his demeanor, any change in posture or stance, facial expression, whatever may come. He would hold his stance for just long enough, enough to make him sweat a bit about what he would be thinking, where they would go next for here. No doubt, he probably had all sorts of things running around in his imagination on the subject.

The short pause would be broken by a sudden shift in Karumo's demeanor, changing from his straight faced eclectic stance to something far more relaxed and cheery. A smile broke on his face and a bit of a laugh along with it as he spoke up, "No no, I think that's everything. I just wanted to make you worry a little..." he quelled his laugh as his face returned.

"The fact of the matter is I'll allow you to join, but it's not some 20 questions from me that will determine it, I'll have you prove yourself and learn to be loyal to the village." he spoke calmly and crossed his hands together, interlocking his fingers. "When you leave here go to the secretary and give your name and other credentials, and she'll run a background check on you and make sure you're not a wanted criminal or anything of the sort. In the meantime, I'll have you check in and request to join our ranks formally. They'll probably have you do something like a few missions to initiate you and then place you on to a squad." he explained carefully. Every intricate detail which he would discover as he finished his formal recruitment process, but why not tell him in detail now what to look forward to.

"After all that, your missions completed and such... which you'll be paid for, don't worry. Then... wait, you're a genin right?" Karumo asked, his chakra presence wasn't overly strong but suppression was a thing. He continued on without pause, giving the boy no time to answer, "Then after that you'll either be placed on a squad or sent off to do more missions or however your new superiors see fit for your skills." Karumo left off, his eyes going to meet his.

"If you have any questions, now is the time, otherwise, you're dismissed to begin..." Karumo let off with a smile, leaning back in his chair a bit and awaiting a response.

[517 words, 3869 words total]

[OOC: You can exit in your next post if you'd like, I'll have my posting requirements and such. As for joining, post in the Tsuchikage requests threads to join the ranks and all to officially apply]

Maikeru stood up from his seat. "Thank you, Tsuchikage, I look forward to meeting you again." He left the room, walking with a slight strut. He smiled, knowing he completed his task. [Exit]

Raiton C->B Rank

2229-1500 WC=729

Karumo watched the young boy stand up from his seat, his demeanor had changed and again he hadn't had much to ask after all that, no questions about his missions or his tasks to complete. Nothing. His change in demeanor was a bit less than suddent, confidence as usual and smile on his face as he spoke. "Thank you, Tsuchikage, I look forward to meeting you again." Karumo watched the boy exit his office, not saying a word as he did so. It was all rather interesting, he seemed so apathetic towards conversation and ideology, and against even discussing it.

Karumo had an uneasy feeling about it all, what he would do and where he would end up. Potentially he could be a good asset to the village, but the business of missing ninja, traitors to the village, and those affairs weren't a pretty sight. The thought of having to discipline a person he let in should he slip up and treat this as a chance to make money or become more powerful superficially was a daunting thought. And... should he ever cross a line into darker territory, then the responsibility for that would now fall on Karumo's head.

Short bursts of will to call out and give him a warning not to blow this chance or it could mean his life and career would haunt him. But he wouldn't waste his time on patronization of the boy wouldn't help anything, he would let him have his moment for the time being. But from here on out, he wouldn't be taking it easy, there would be no more questions or small risk interrogations anymore, only the real deal and the consequences that go with that.

Karumo leaned back in his chair and took another sip of his water, the door slamming to a close on his way out. Either way, he would be someone else's problem soon enough, it'd only be his problem if something went wrong or if he committed some crime. A heavy exhale as he wondered about the possibilities of it all, he had better things to deal with, maybe he could put the boy on a squad where he wouldn't cause a lot of damage. That or where he'll be kept contained at the very least, given how destructive that Explosion release was, he would need a lot of discipline and self control to learn to use it properly. That or he might end up blowing up parts of the village or risk jeopardizing comrades in the line of duty. He would need someone with a very high endurance and resistance to that, as well as ninjutsu expertise, he would volunteer himself but the boy seemed apathetic to him and his mannerisms.

For whatever all that was worth, Karumo grabbed more files from behind him, and a black pen, writing the boys name onto the edge of the file to identify it. Maikeru Otsuka. He was now apart of the village after all, his missions would be little more than busy work as D rank missions. But now that he was apart of the village, it would be time to start keeping track of his actions and his progress. Giving it a minute and looking at the empty folder that lay open in his desk, mulling over its future content. Hoping that the decision to take in a wanderer wouldn't back fire on him, or the village for that matter.

[585 words, 4454 words total]
[Exit Thread]

Training: