A storm was coming, headed directly towards the office of the Hokage. It was clothed in the flesh of man and yet while still doing so, it released intermitted sparks of raiton from its vessel. The male wore something different than than his typical 'all back and skull' outfit. Today, he was clothed in a long-sleeved black trench coat with slit sleeves and red designs and a white symbol on the left side. His trench coat was red on the inside with red flame-like accents at the bottom and a large emblem on the back, with a white tulip design covered by a red rose design. His lower body was clothed in long black pants and black shoes that are red on the bottom, and black gloves with red emblems on their fore hand, appearing to be a variant of the Greek letter Ω (Omega), the last letter in the Greek alphabet.

The air smelled of burned ozone as the male made his way in a seemly calm manner towards the gates of the village. Anger rolled off his form in waves, and yet with the deliberate way he moved no one would speak a word to him. The village guard would hesitate to say a word to him, yet stepped before him in an attempt to deter him.

"I need to see some iden--"

There were no words for what happened next. A hand shot out, seizing the man by his uniform and throwing him against the towering gate of the village. A few villagers gasped as they witnessed this, and backed away. There was no denying that Tre was angry, but his mind was focused. His problem with the Hokage, and not anyone else. He would take his time in heading to the administration building, not even with bothering responding to the receptionist as she sputtered that Tre would have to wait as the Hokage was busy.

The young man did not give one single fuck. A foot was reared back, slamming into the massive, heavy doors of the Hokage's office to kick them open with fury. More than likely, the Hokage knew he was coming. They said that his nose was able to discern chakra types by smell, and given that he was an Inuzuka -- a well known sensory clan -- Tre had to been felt long before he reached the village gates.

In any case, The King was home, and he was fucking pissed.

409 wc

For the barest of instants the male's mood shot through the stratosphere. An expression that could only be called 'utter joy' flashed through his eyes before reality slammed home and he realized that what he thought (what he wanted, really) was all in his head, and the situation wasn't the glorious return of his best friend; instead the return of the child that if he didn't know absolutely sure he'd swear was the illegitimate love child of said best friend and some random conquest of the week. Or some clone that Amaya decided to make and forgot to tell everyone. He should have known better, too; Naota smelled of fire, anger, superiority, and chakra; this child was [i]lightning[/], superiority, and chakra; without all the anger issues. Or not as bad, anyway. The change was instantaneous: the moment of hope floored to stony indifference once more; not anger, not disappointment, just indifference. He was far to accustomed to people entering his office as such (even if it was normally family doing so) to be nonplussed by it.

"Someone's bitchy. What'cha want, kid?" He spun in his chair, but not in a way that would have him being productive or anything like that. No, he was literally spinning in his chair in absolute boredom, as he didn't feel any sort of urge to be productive or actually work through the piles of paperwork on his desk. Michizuka would be by after classes where over, he'd make his husband do it. He was better at this stuff anyway. Still spinning away, "You got something to say, yeah? If you're lucky I might just listen to ya." No matter how much this kid wasn't Naota, it was hard not to slip into the informal ease he felt around the Uchiha that was his brother. He preferred this version of himself anyway; lackadaisical in speech and even more so in paperwork, but never quiet enough to be considered shirking his duties. No, things got done around him, but he knew when it was best for him to do it, or to wait for someone that was better. And anyway, this could prove to be entertaining; the rage wafting from the boy was almost spicy in his nose, so his interest was caught and held, even if it didn't seem like it.

"Sup, buttercup?"

WC: 402

"Someone's bitchy. What'cha want, kid?"

Red eyes stared at the seated elder male, his anger levels rising because the Lord Hokage was simply spinning in his chair and not granting him, in his eyes, a proper audience. With each spin, the rage rose higher and higher, the smell of burning ozone grew and.

"You got something to say, yeah? If you're lucky I might just listen to ya."

...!?! WHAT?!

"Sup, buttercup?"

In a single stride, the young Natake crossed the room, clenched fist slamming into the heavy wooden desk of the Hokage.  Upon impact, a discharge of raiton lept from the male's body, crawling across the dark wood and burning a strange pattern across it. Those red eyes of the Natake glared death at the Hokage. It would take the male a moment to compose himself,  to calm the trembling that began in his limbs, to control the discharging raiton and to focus hims mind. He was here for a reason, and that was not to ramble off like an idiotic child. Only when the male brought his entire being under absolute control in a matter of seconds did he speak. When he did, his voice was calm and measured.

"You left me in Iwagakure no Sato, Lord Hokage. Why?"

A simple enough question. He only wanted to know why he was left behind for the moment; that was his primary concern. His secondary concern was that he felt as if he had been lied to by the Lord Hokage. And so now, he wanted answers. If he felt that he was being lied to yet again, his mind would be made up; he knew what needed to be done. He would leave this place, and not return until he was ready to take his throne from an inept leader.  He was not quite sure as to why this village was in this state of affairs, suffering from an long string of inept leaders, but he was sure he could change it. He had once thought that Inuzuka Kenta was not one of those, but rather a person that could actually lead Konohagakure no Sato, but Tre was beginning to doubt his decision..

363 | 772

"You left me in Iwagakure no Sato, Lord Hokage. Why?"

Well now, this was definitely interesting. He was seriously nursing the idea to call Amaya right then and there and start asking questions, because hot damn; this kid screamed Naota so hard he actually let himself start smiling a bit, even as he continued his bored spinning. He'd make himself dizzy eventually; but for the moment this was keeping him content enough to not flood the room for the shits and giggles. "Well now, little ninja has spunk. Me likey." Kenta timed his next movement perfectly; sticking a foot out and pushing off from the (now sizzling) desk in such a way that he shot backwards in a perfectly straight line, still spinning mind you, until he tipped the chair against the edge of low, long cubicle container type bit of furniture. This tipping sent him sliding onto what was essentially a giant bean bag chair where he was now able to lounge and relax comfortably for the moment.

"Kid, ya gotta learn to chill 'fore ya give yourself an ulcer. Grab a chair, or a dog bed, or whatever. Stand and steam; s'all the same to me." Stretching long and slow (you'd swear he was a cat by the movement, but it was a quirk he'd gotten from his husband over the years), "So, I've got two answers for you. The 'official' answer, and the real answer. Official: -REDACTED.- Which is true enough, you don't have the clearance for the information. Buuuuut, I'm not one to care, and need to know is a solid reason to extend NTK security clearance." Stretching once more, he pointed a finger toward his desk, gathering chakra at the fingertip and blasting a bit of compressed air toward a pile of folders that where covered in black marks and security stamps that screamed EXTREMELY high security files. "Ten years ago, my only living blood relation that isn't one of my children vanished during the burning of Kusagakure. Ashi was my cousin, but we grew up as siblings, as her parents where.... bastards, to put it nicely. Simply put, her disappearing ripped me an new emotional asshole, and is part of why I raged so hard over the entire debacle. Well, roughly... nine hours before I left Iwagakure, I was taking a nice walk in the woods just outside the village itself. Nothing special, nothing ninja related; I just wanted some air and quiet. I hear some fuckernutter attacking a civilian, stalk over to do something about it; and I find myself face to face with a ghost. Not the attacker, or the civilian; I took care of them. But, I'd stumbled across my /very dead/ cousin. But she wasn't Ashi anymore. Not really. I don't know if you've ever been told about this; but there's a metric shitton of 'survivors' from Kusagakure. Survivors in the aspect of they're still up and kicking, but not, as they're literally semi-living zombies. Botched Sage of Six Paths revive, from what any can figure out. Funny how that worked out. So Ashi got caught up in the botched revive, and the revived Ashi is what I find out in Iwa. Now, Ashi has a kid. Ashi had a lover. Ashi has a shitton of family that never really got over her dying. I made a call. Emotional, probably shitty in the context of politics and Kageship and all that fuckery; but I make zero light of the fact that to me, my family is the highest priority. I mean come the fuck on; I told the Daimyo to go fuck himself and killed half his science pukes because he tried to have my kids kidnapped to be studied like lab rats. I was not about to leave my traumatized and almost amnesiac cousin wandering around a country she doesn't know, where anyone with half a lesson in 'recent' Konoha history would recognize her as the cousin of the 'former' Hokage. You tell me exactly how that could go bad for the village itself; let alone my pack."

He stopped there, allowing the boy time to process his verbal cascade, as well as a chance to come up with whatever rebuttal or complaint he could think of.

WC: 729

1131

"Well now, little ninja has spunk. Me likey."

It was at that point, the male's right eye began to twitch, and the world slowly seeped into a deep red color. For a long moment, the young man actually weighed the pros and cons of committing treason against his village, and if the life of a missing ninja was worth it. A hand flexed for a moment, debating on going for his sword that was strapped at his side. As he did so, he male took note of Kenta's movements; watching the elder male stick a foot out and push off from the (now sizzling) desk in such a way that he shot backwards in a perfectly straight line, still spinning until he tipped the chair against the edge of low, long cubicle container type bit of furniture. This tipping sent him sliding onto what was essentially a giant bean bag chair.

Why was this man acting so calm, so infuriating?! Tre was attempting to hold a simple conversation, and the utter lack of disrespect that Kenta was showing was just unacceptable. Tre could feel his right hand inching towards a sword at his side, but stopped when Kenta began to speak again.

"Kid, ya gotta learn to chill 'fore ya give yourself an ulcer. Grab a chair, or a dog bed, or whatever. Stand and steam; s'all the same to me."

Tre remained paused as he was, red eyes locked upon the Lord Hokage. From his position, it was obvious what he was doing; mid reach for a sword that hung at his waist, red eyes brimming with rage. But he was paused mid motion, and while he was paused, he would listen to what the Hokage had to say.

"So, I've got two answers for you. The 'official' answer, and the real answer. Official: -REDACTED.- Which is true enough, you don't have the clearance for the information. Buuuuut, I'm not one to care, and need to know is a solid reason to extend NTK security clearance."

Tre dropped his hand, watching as the Hokage lifted a hand and pointed a finger toward his desk, gathering chakra at the fingertip and blasting a bit of compressed air toward a pile of folders that where covered in black marks and security stamps. Tre could only guess these were files lifted straight from the archives, or ones that were being prepared to go into the archives. The male's expression changed as he looked up at the Hokage, waiting for an explanation. It would seem as if he did not have long to wait for one.

"Ten years ago, my only living blood relation that isn't one of my children vanished during the burning of Kusagakure. Ashi was my cousin, but we grew up as siblings, as her parents where.... bastards, to put it nicely. Simply put, her disappearing ripped me an new emotional asshole, and is part of why I raged so hard over the entire debacle. Well, roughly... nine hours before I left Iwagakure, I was taking a nice walk in the woods just outside the village itself. Nothing special, nothing ninja related; I just wanted some air and quiet. I hear some fuckernutter attacking a civilian, stalk over to do something about it; and I find myself face to face with a ghost. Not the attacker, or the civilian; I took care of them. But, I'd stumbled across my /very dead/ cousin. But she wasn't Ashi anymore. Not really. I don't know if you've ever been told about this; but there's a metric shitton of 'survivors' from Kusagakure. Survivors in the aspect of they're still up and kicking, but not, as they're literally semi-living zombies. Botched Sage of Six Paths revive, from what any can figure out. Funny how that worked out. So Ashi got caught up in the botched revive, and the revived Ashi is what I find out in Iwa. Now, Ashi has a kid. Ashi had a lover. Ashi has a shitton of family that never really got over her dying. I made a call. Emotional, probably shitty in the context of politics and Kageship and all that fuckery; but I make zero light of the fact that to me, my family is the highest priority. I mean come the fuck on; I told the Daimyo to go fuck himself and killed half his science pukes because he tried to have my kids kidnapped to be studied like lab rats. I was not about to leave my traumatized and almost amnesiac cousin wandering around a country she doesn't know, where anyone with half a lesson in 'recent' Konoha history would recognize her as the cousin of the 'former' Hokage. You tell me exactly how that could go bad for the village itself; let alone my pack."

Tre paused for a moment, allowing the words of the Lord hokage sink in. The male discovered a relative whom he believed to be dead and gone, was very much 'alive' so to speak. He did not really know how to process this information, but he could imagine what it felt like; to lose Uno or Due would be a travesty to him, and he was not sure if he knew how to go on without them. For now, Tre moved himself to pull out a chair from in front of the desk, and sit down. He said nothing for a long time, instead he began to contemplate how to formulate an apology to the Hokage.

919 | 1691

Oh, there we go. The kid was calming down a bit; and no longer about to do something absolutely retarded. He'd done a right fine job sneaking clear under the younger's skin so hard that he was about smoking from his nostrils )another quirk that made him want to scream for Amaya to get her psychotic ass in here and prove that the younger male wasn't Naota's hellspawn). It seemed as though his 'excuse', truthful as it was, had been enough to extinguish the self righteous rage that Tre had been working up before it caused him to snap into some berserker state; which was good; as he didn't want to have to put the child down, or into a cell. "So, not that you've chilled tha' fuck out. You understand my reasoning, or so I'm going to assume, given your absolute 180 in attitude and emotional state. Something you're gunna need ta' learn if yer goin' ta' work with me, Tre; formality is a joke in this office. If you're trusted; if yer liked; if I ken use you; then yer family to me. Family isn't formal, family isn't cold and hard and whatever. Amaya and Naota and Michi and the kids barge in; they sprawl over my desk and drop ice cream on my floor. Look at my walls, you can see how my kids grew up by the way they drew on them. Dog beds everywhere; that there's not two or more dogs snoring away at the moment is amazing. You'd have more to worry about if I was being formal and cold. Formal and cold means I don't trust, means I don't like you. However... I see promise in your, child. I see someone I can trust, someone that can do and be things I need. You fancy yourself a King on a chessboard, yeah? Or rather, you want to be the King, which right now is me. I see a pawn that's just smart enough to realize that he can be better. I have a lot of room for royal pieces in this chessboard that is Konoha. I've lost my best pieces too apathy and insanity. I'm trying to replace them. I could use a knew Knight, and I could see you fitting that role well. Or I could toss you aside in a blaze of glory against whatever enemy; so that your family is happy and your legacy and place on the Hero's Stone is secured, but you die a child never knowing how the world really works." Lazy stretching followed this torrent of words; body rotating and rolling until he was sprawled on his stomach and the tips of his clawed fingers brushed against the window sill and his bare feet scraped across the wooden floor. "Your call, kid."

WC: 485

1616

"So, not that you've chilled tha' fuck out. You understand my reasoning, or so I'm going to assume, given your absolute 180 in attitude and emotional state. Something you're gunna need ta' learn if yer goin' ta' work with me, Tre; formality is a joke in this office. If you're trusted; if yer liked; if I ken use you; then yer family to me. Family isn't formal, family isn't cold and hard and whatever. Amaya and Naota and Michi and the kids barge in; they sprawl over my desk and drop ice cream on my floor. Look at my walls, you can see how my kids grew up by the way they drew on them. Dog beds everywhere; that there's not two or more dogs snoring away at the moment is amazing. You'd have more to worry about if I was being formal and cold. Formal and cold means I don't trust, means I don't like you. However... I see promise in your, child. I see someone I can trust, someone that can do and be things I need. You fancy yourself a King on a chessboard, yeah? Or rather, you want to be the King, which right now is me. I see a pawn that's just smart enough to realize that he can be better. I have a lot of room for royal pieces in this chessboard that is Konoha. I've lost my best pieces too apathy and insanity. I'm trying to replace them. I could use a knew Knight, and I could see you fitting that role well. Or I could toss you aside in a blaze of glory against whatever enemy; so that your family is happy and your legacy and place on the Hero's Stone is secured, but you die a child never knowing how the world really works."

From his seated position, the young male attempted to relax himself, reaching up and rubbing his right temple slowly. He was unsure of what to say at the moment, but was processing it, albeit very slowly and carefully. Was this an offer from the Hokage himself? Was he offering to allow Tre to become part of his 'circle' of sorts? The implications of this were great; it meant that he was noticed to not be just another airheaded genin. While many genin aspired to be great, or to be the Hokage, few held the actual attitude required to be such. For the Hokage to offer Tre the chance to become a part of his family, his 'pack' as he called it, was a glorious opportunity. He was not going to let this shit pass him by, not when it was his goal.

After a long long, moment, Tre looked up at the Lord Hokage, a small spark dancing in his eyes as he did so. He would lean forward, tenting his fingers in front of his face. "Alright, I'm game. What do I need to do?" If the Hokage was going to let him in, then Tre was going to do what ever he could do to remain in the hokage's good graces.

517 | 2214

"Alright, I'm game. What do I need to do?"

Oh good, he was going to take up the offer. Maybe there was some hope; he could see Tre taking up some of the slack loosing Naota left behind. There was just enough similarity between them to fill a bit of the void, without being weird or anything like that. "As of right now, nothing specific. If anything, do what you've been doing. Gather intel, learn the ropes and get familiar with the shadows of the village. It's what I need the most right now, someone that can do the things that Naota did for me. Not to say I'm looking to replace him, don't misunderstand; but he was a valuable knight in my chess game, so losing him was a major blow. You could easily become a new knight for me to use, if you don't dick around and get yourself killed."

"Go about your day. Do what you need to, what you would otherwise. Be ready to come when I call you; but don't let on that you've been tapped for bigger and better things. I may have things for you to do soon; but then again I may not. It all depends on how the winds blow, and this crap out in the other lands ends. Kiri might be our ally, but I'm not too happy with how things have been handled lately... it might be time for some changes. Maybe. We'll see."

Knocking at the door, and there where suddenly a group of ANBU in the room. It was a scheduled meeting, so Kenta wasn't even beginning to be bothered by their intrusion. That they knocked was a courtesy, most of the time they wouldn't have; he was going to attribute it to there being someone else in the office besides just him. "Well, yer time is up. Gotta go do Hokage shit now, an' yer not cleared fer this meetin'. Scurry on now, kid. I'll call ya when it's time ta be useful again." With nothing more than a simple movement; he leaned forward a bit, placing his elbows onto the desktop so that one was grazing over the glyph seal that related to controlling of windows and doors within the room; the main doors creaked open of their own accord, allowing the younger male to exit, while emphasizing that the meeting was over, for now. As much as he enjoyed sparing with the boy, it was time to adult, and that meant he need his office free of people that he couldn't have listening in on things that wouldn't ever leave said office otherwise.

-EXIT-

WC 457

2073 total.

A-Rank Jutsu Water Release: Torrential Tsunami Annihilation 2073/2000

73 leftover.

"As of right now, nothing specific. If anything, do what you've been doing. Gather intel, learn the ropes and get familiar with the shadows of the village. It's what I need the most right now, someone that can do the things that Naota did for me. Not to say I'm looking to replace him, don't misunderstand; but he was a valuable knight in my chess game, so losing him was a major blow. You could easily become a new knight for me to use, if you don't dick around and get yourself killed."

That seemed fair enough to the young Natake; it was essentially what he did anyway. He kept to himself mostly outside of performing missions for the village, and even then, he tended to go about missions solo as it was. If his time in Iwagakure no Sato was anything to go by, he knew where to look for the rats of a village. If this was what Kenta wanted and needed him to do, then he would gladly do it. He did not need to worry about it; he was willing to trust Kenta's judgement on this.

"Go about your day. Do what you need to, what you would otherwise. Be ready to come when I call you; but don't let on that you've been tapped for bigger and better things. I may have things for you to do soon; but then again I may not. It all depends on how the winds blow, and this crap out in the other lands ends. Kiri might be our ally, but I'm not too happy with how things have been handled lately... it might be time for some changes. Maybe. We'll see."

Kirigakure no Sato...? Why was the Lord Hokage concerned with them-- wait, did Kirigakure not just invade Kumogakure no Sato recently? Was this what Kenta was referring to? If so, then it was truly something to be concerned about. The last Tre knew was exactly what Kenta said: Konohagakure no Sato and Kirigakure no Sato were supposedly close allies. Even the trade agreements, and that recent Konohagakure-Kirigakure Exchange were supposed to cement that alliance. But if the Lord Hokage Kenta was now having second thoughts about their alliance, then potentially would Tre find himself deployed to Kirigakure? Either way, it was something he would not mind; another chance to travel the world was welcomed.

A knock came at the door, and suddenly the room was filled with several cloaked figures. Each one wore a mask depicting an animal of sorts, and their presence seemed to bring with it a certain stillness. Almost immediately, Tre was on his feet, hands reaching for sword before Kenta spoke again.

"Well, yer time is up. Gotta go do Hokage shit now, an' yer not cleared fer this meetin'. Scurry on now, kid. I'll call ya when it's time ta be useful again."

A meeting? Were these ANBU members? Very well. The hand would lower from the sword, the young male blissfully unaware of the ANBU member who stood poised above on the ceiling him with a simple, yet elegant Kunai drawn and readied to take him down should he attack anyone. As Tre bowed to the Lord Hokage, the ANBU member would drop the kunai down into the floor in front of Tre, causing the younger male to jump slightly; he was not expecting someone to be on the ceiling. With a glare upwards at the ANBU member waving at him, Tre would turn and make his way out of the office belonging to the Hokage.

There were some things that he needed to take care of, and it all started with his home. Due and Uno needed to get their asses in gear, and Tre was going to provide the jump start they needed.

~Thread Exit~

640 | 2854

Total WC: 2854

2854/900 [1500 - 40%] = 1954 = Chidori Katana Trained

1954/900 [1500 - 40%] = 1054 = Rising Tide Slash Trained

1054 remaining