What makes a leader grow into a great one? Are they destined since birth or is it only achieved through hard work and dedication to a collection of beliefs? Is it wise to follow the laws and traditions of your past descendents or is change inevitable in a world that never remains the same? To define a great leader, one must look at their beliefs and decide upon whether each decision that was made was to benefit their goals, and just because you have potential, it does not mean the potential will be unleashed.

Fourteen days prior to the present

Heat would bellow across the Earth Countries landscape whilst clouds of dust would up-rise and glide across the atmosphere, increasing the humidity and sheer raw power of the sun which the land was known for. The inhabitants of the Stone would wake from their slumbers, as the great star of the day grew brighter with each passing moment allowing an orange hued sky to spread across the horizon. Iwagakure, a city with leadership difficulties since it's very origin, however with leadership changes, a central theme would implement and never change since the very first Tsuchikage. Indeed, the 'Stone Will' would never falter through it's citizens, shinobi or not, each citizen of the Stone Country was an important factor to help increase the value of life, whether it be Medical aspects, Warfare aspects, or even simply Infrastructure. As the sun began it's climb across the orange painted skies, a lone figure would walk slowly toward the main gate of the Bastion Adamante. The figures movements were ever so slow, as it's stepping patterns began to change from steady to limping and alternate between the two. There wasn't much that surrounded the great wall of Iwagakure, so guards would immediately spot the figure from afar. A small assembly of shinobi would merge out of interest and decide to meet the random figure halfway. But the figure would not take his share of the distance walked, instead the body would collapse across the hot soil as pools of blood would trickle from minor cuts across its arms and lower torso. The team of shinobi would close the distance in a matter of seconds before surrounding the recently collapsed man who would cough blood with each breath he took. "Oh my.... Is that.... Tenth-sama!"

Twelve days prior to the present

"Lord Tenth, I apologize in advance when i say that the village hierarchy is unstable, and it's all thanks to your little retirement disappearance act. The Eleventh simply vanished, and our village is crumbling without a leader. I'm sure other villages have caught wind and an attack could be imminent. Please, return to us." The lead guard who had found the Ex-Tsuchikage would plead with reasons as to imply Kazu was the sheer reason to Iwagakure's downfall, but the golden haired Kanetsu would remain seated within the Administration Building. Taking in deep breaths as he inhaled the soothing warm air, whilst slowly forcing it's presence out. His eyelids would cover his eyes as he truly thought better when he 'flushed everything out.' Having just been informed about the current situation of the village, Kazu couldn't help but feel bad... however, it was no excuse to cry on the Tenths shoulder. Without a moments notice his eyelids would retract allowing crimson hued lenses to come to view. Both eyes would glare directly at his guard whilst his right hand thrust forward into the guards lower chest, sending the guard one foot into the air before crashing back down onto the floor. "Your emotions are clouding your judgement and you fail to see what is happening. This may have been the High Council's plan this whole time..... Nais. I want you to go the Arrensaul mansion located at the eastern side of town. There you will tell the occupant that their presence is summoned by Kazu Kanetsu. Secondly I will need to meet Thaos so bring him here too. That will be all." It would only take the guard a few seconds to regain his stature whilst ignoring the agonizing pain across his upper torso. But the guard would nod before stumbling out the building. Mr. Kajiya and Thaos were true to Kazu's ideals (or so he believed) and would better inform him of the current situation. Kazu would rest his head upon his left hand as he waited for his proteges to meet him.

Twenty minutes would pass till Nais returned with Thaos. Both men would stand affront Kazu with stern salutes. It was easily evident that Kazu led his village through military might. Order and discipline was a huge factor toward his goals. The Ex-Tsuchikage's crimson gaze would watch into the eyes of Nais, swiftly and easily evaluating that Mr. Kajiya had gone missing, which was no surprise in itself, Kazu was the only reason he was alive. "Lieutenant Thaos, boy, is it good to see you." A smile would widen across his face shortly before reverting to his emotionless facial expression. "Nais, thank you for today, you're dismissed......Now Thaos, what can you tell me?" The formalities were skipped as Kazu spoke out, time could not be wasted in these dire times, so he would speak out in hope of finding what the hierarchy of Iwagakure was truly like in his absence. "Lord Tenth, since Nanashi's disappearance, there is a literal political war, and it was no help that you had gone missing, let alone the High Council were the previous selectors of Tsuchikages. Right now Niji Minamori is a big contender, he's all brain sir, he speaks of greed and peace. And he ev__." His sentence would cut off as the stone table affront Kazu would begin to crack as his right fist would force itself deeper into the stone table with each passing second. His skin would glow in a pale red hue as his temper began to get the best of him. "A politician? Speak of peace? WHAT WILL HE DO IN AN INVASION? TALK HIS WAY OUT?" Kazu's left hand would then curl into a fist before slamming it onto the stone table affront him, shattering the table into thin dust. The room would fill with silence for five minutes in total before he spoke out again.

---

Wordcount: 1089

Speed Training:
E~E1: 75/75
E1~E2: 150/150
E2~E3:225/225
E3~D:300/300

Perception Training:
E~E1: 75/75
E1~E2: 150/150
E2~E3: 114/225

Akira was doing his typical thing for a day in the mountains. First things was to wake up before dawn and move to the bath. This was simple enough since he slept in the nude. The cold of the mountains hardly ever bothered him. His eyes still felt a little sore from the tattooing. But he would massage them until the ache went away. The facial reconstruction still surprised him when he looked into the mirror after just waking up. He was the same height and same skeletal structure but his face looked different entirely. Still he trimmed his facial hair into the design he had lately taken an attraction too. It seemed well proportioned and unique. After which he would brush and floss before finally slipping into the hot waters of his bath. Just sitting in the water for several minutes with out moving. Almost slumbering. But after a time of relaxation he took the bar of soap to himself and washed for half an hour. Until he was with out a doubt clean. A preference of his. Simple but still he held to it. After the bath it was time for breakfast and the paper. He mostly read the paper to learn of how Iwa was fairing. So far no news he had not received from his information network within the Aoi Bara. Though the filters he had set up to receive that info was so thorough more often then not he got the information only moments before the newspapers did. Still breakfast was mostly egg whites and sausage with toast and orange juice. A balanced diet with plenty of calories and proteins for him to last until lunch.

The next step was the training portions. He got dressed in shorts and a tank top and began with cardio. After stretching all his muscles he was ready for the first part. A full on sprint down the 800 steps followed by ten laps around the entire dojo at a fast jogging pace. Finished up by walking up the 800 steps backwards on his hands. At the top he took a break to drink some water and stretch some more before slipping into some more routine work outs. First was the one handed push ups. These were done with one fist knuckles to the ground while the opposing hand held a weight straight out from the body. After doing fifty each with a twenty pound weight he moved onto weighted sit up. Here he hung by his feet and held onto a fifty pound weight. Forcing himself to sit upright and turn left then right fifty times before taking time for lunch. Lunch itself was just a turkey and cheese sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes with a pickle on the side. A glass of milk and a glass of water to rehydrate and then usually it was onto the afternoon weight training.

However today he had guests. He saw them coming up the steps and stopped what he was doing. Grabbing a towel he dried off the sweat before they arrived. He nodded to them before one of them spoke. And the words surprised him. "The respectable Kazu Sama requests your presence immediately within the administration building." He noted they did not call him Kage for some reason. So the rumors Kazu had retired were true. It certainly had caused him some trouble. Still he nodded to them both and with out a word walked back into the dojo. Leaving them to take whatever it was from his actions as meaning that they desired. Still he watched them leave from his window before deciding Kazu hadn't figured out his real identity some how. If Kazu had discovered that Tsuyo had slipped into his ranks without permission he certainly wouldn't leave him unwatched after being summoned. This was something else entirely. And it peaked his interest.

So he bathed again and put on his usual attire. A button up black shirt and black slacks with black dress boots. He did like that color. Still he finished with slipping on his white suit vest and tied his hair back with his Iwa headband. After all he was the special jounin Akira now. Or so the records showed. Likely Kazu was just interested in finding out about him. A taijutsu medical specialist that had recovered recently from severe injury. No family and a good track record of missions. He grinned as he started the hike into town. Whistling a happy tune while he walked.

Still as he arrived at the administration building a good couple of hours had passed. If nothing else he knew Kazu hated to be kept waiting. Patience was never the mans preference. He was always more of a bleed now talk later type in his opinion. It had served him well enough. Still his sharp eyes kept a look out as he entered the administration building. Moving along its halls as the staff directed him until he arrived at a waiting room outside the office. But much to his surprise he was not alone. Indeed there were two other rather large fellows there. Both with huge muscles and scary mugs. He smirked as he realized he was the only handsome one there. Before quietly he folded his hand in front of him and smiled waiting to find out what it was all about. And why he was there with the two biggest brutes he had ever laid eyes on.

Strength training
D-1 ~> D-2, 400/400
D-2 ~> D-3, 450/450
D-3 ~> C, 61/525

A great deal of time had past since Kazu ordered one of his lead soldiers to collect the three strongest shinobi in the village. He literally remained seated throughout the whole process as his body had still not fully recovered from his capture two days prior. Within the Tsuchikage office was now a new wooden table centered at it's center as just hours ago Kazu had lost his temper and shattered the stone desk, the desk that had said to be there for 200 years or so. As most of the mess was cleaned up, leftover debris would be scattered across the room, but his cleanliness was of no importance at this exact time. It was remarkable how much the golden haired Kanetsu had lost his temper and taken it out on his surroundings as if you were to look around the Tsuchikage office, you would see indents and unusual curves which would suggest the building had several repairs in it's short lifespan. Kazu was truly a man who had no patience, so it was slowly painful that it took so long for Thaos to finally arrive. Abruptly knocking at the door, Thaos would make his way into his office, where he would greet Kazu with a nod in an attempt to show recognition of his arrival with all three guests. But the Tenth was not impressed in the slightest, but holding his anger, he would nod back at Thaos in recognition that he was ready to speak with the Tsuchikage candidates.


A sentence spoken with sarcasm as an idle hand would elevate towards his crown pulling back through his golden hair allowing his fingers to weave through clumps of shining strands. His crimson gaze would remain fixated at the door as he watched Thaos walk back into the waiting room to signal the three candidates. Who they were, Kazu had no idea, however a large file cabinet would sit behind his desk in case he was to look over files over the candidates. For who they were and what they had accomplished, he had no idea. However he would hope he knew them all, for he wouldn't be fit to be the Tsuchikage if he hadn't known the strongest shinobi in the village already. The idle hand that he had raised earlier would now descend toward the table affront him, allowing his elbow to press against it's oak build whilst his head sat comfortably atop his hand whilst he leaned over the table. It was finally time, as the door opened Thaos would walk inside the office before directing the shinobi affront Kazu's table. Kazu would remain seated and poised allowing his crimson gaze to flicker throughout the three when they came in.

---

Wordcount: 467

Perception Training:
E2~E3: (111)225/225
E3~D: 300/300

Endurance Training:
E~E1: 56/75

Akira could only sigh as the two brutes stood there growling at each other like primal beasts. He detested such unintelligent brutes with some level of contempt. Still he yawned and stretched out unconcerned with their behavior.But even such a subtle act as yawning in boredom at their growling seemed to get the testosterone flowing. For the growling stopped as both sets of eyes fell on him. He ignored it though and moved over to a chair to sit down. Even picking up a home and garden magazine and flipping through the pages. Surely there were some beautiful gardens and tips on how he could improve his own garden.

However that was enough for one of the two brutes. For he grunted out a short snort type laughter and leaned back against the wall. The booming snort from such a large man hardly seemed subtle. But still all it achieved was a raised eye brow from Akira. An ever so slight flicker of his yellow gaze. For a moment their eyes met and the other man seemed to understand. Akira wasn't here to put up with any bullshit. He watched as the others gaze faltered after just a moment. But the other man in the room observed this too. His rival being off-put by such a small mans gaze. He was not one to understand such subtle things

Instead he chose to move across the room towards Akira and loom over him. In response to which Akira merely flipped through the pages of his magazine. Not so much as giving a hint he had recognized the mans obvious attempt to get his attention. For a moment the man loomed over him before suddenly he slammed his hand down through the magazine. Claws ripping through the paper like it was nothing and turning it to tattered shreds. Of which Akira held two chunks of in his hand. To this Akira sighed and reached for another paper.

The man before him though was not going to take being ignored lightly. Instead he reached down and lifted Akira by his shirt collar with one hand. To which Akira lightly placed one hand over the mans wrist. Ever so slightly pressing in a chakra point and blocking it with his thumb. The man growled in his face and looked into his eyes. Searching for any sign of fear but seeing only boredom. And then it was time. They were being summoned into the office. So the man dropped Akira with a grunt and stormed into the office in all manner off pissed off.

Akira cleared his throat and smiled before readjusting his collar. He lifted his hand to invite the other to enter before him. From within the office Kazu would see two hulking men, one nearly red with anger and the other almost quiet and then he would hear a soft humming as Akira came in through the door humming a tune. A fair bit smaller then the other two he was only of average build and height. But his yellow eyes seemed to hide some sort of secret. And some sort of power. All three bowed their heads. Though the one who had grabbed Akira by the shirt was now rubbing his wrist and wincing as pain began to build within it. Already he was well on his way into a very painful experience. Akira noted this and only smirked ever so slightly.

330/350 chakra

Jutsu used:

Strength training
D-3 ~> C, 525/525
C ~> C-1 108/575

"Let the games begin."

The Tenth would sit patiently atop a fragile oak chair as both hands would grip the ends of the chair arms in the displeasure of waiting for the meeting to take place. Keeping calm in his seat whilst maintaining his crimson gaze fixated on the shinobi coming in, it wouldn't take too long for his analysis over the three contenders to begin. A soothing breeze would sweep through the Tsuchikage building as the three of Iwagakure's best made their way into the office, the first man was large in size and bare foot, most likely a strong doton user from the Yanagi clan, his hands were abruptly rough which implied he was a practitioner in some martial art which was high liked by the golden haired Kanetsu. His crimson hued lenses would then flick back downward to look at paper work at his desk, only to see the man before hims shinobi biography affront him. 'Surabaya Yanagi, taijutsu and doton specialist with the ability to manipulate shock waves through the earth to tear through terrain.' An impressive contender to say the least, with a calm piece of mind and a shinobi file, this man meant business.

Oddly enough Kazu would turn his gaze to another gentleman, huge in size just like Surabaya but his attitude was easily shown as annoyed and savage, as the man held his forearm in an odd fashion. The golden haired Kanetsu would continue to watch as the man stood next to Surabaya, large blue irises would glare forth at Kazu as if the man were to have no respect. It would only take a few more seconds to realize who the man was, a shinobi Kazu had worked with in the past who helped reclaim land over Sunagakure in an error long before now. An idle golden brow would raise as Kazu looked down upon the man's shinobi file. 'Usan Bei, a mace wielder whilst utilising fuuinjutsu to bring forth his plethora of weapons.' A strong shinobi who had fought for his country and prevailed for over a decade, however his attitude may have needed adjustments as the lack of respect shown was quite uncalled for.

But something wasn't right, Kazu could see the man infuriated with pain in his wrist which made the Ex-Tsuchikage quite peculiar. Kazu was no medical ninja, but he did have a gentle knack for finding out problems with a little help from a certain past Hokage. Underneath the crimson lens of his right eye would form three symbols which would begin to circle thus activating his sharingan, thankfully to his eye lens no one affront him could possibly notice. Three blue flames would arise affront him as he glared upon the shinobi whilst taking a certain interest with Usan, intensifying the chakra shapes, thus seeing the tenketsu and chakra pathways. It was clearly evident within the second of focusing that Usan's chakra pathway along his wrist had been blocked in some way, unknowing of the damage it may deal Kazu would leave a chuckle as he saw the mans demise. If the man could simply allow this to happen, then he deserved what would follow.

And lastly Kazu would gaze upon the last shinobi, a shorter, thinner shinobi, however looked well over the age of his fellow contenders. How strong this man looked was nothing impressive, however he couldn't help but notice the facial tone the gentleman made, it was incredibly miniscule outburst of emotion, however Kazu's eyes never failed him. There was a chance that this man in particular would have created the pain within the man's wrist, or simply known about it. But alas this was basic assumptions. He could clearly notice that even the shroud of chakra that this man possessed was somewhat on par to his own. Looking down at his shinobi file, Kazu would begin to analyze the last contender.  'Akira Kazako, heavily focussed in taijutsu.' The Ex-Tsuchikage was baffled at how their was barely any information on him. But it had seemed that as he continued to read his bio, he would notice that the man had just returned after spending years in another country, however the only people who knew why were the High Council, and they 6 feet under thanks to the golden haired Kanetsu.

So finally after reading over their files as he had hoped for them to wait patiently for addressing them, his hands would weave together atop the wooden table before glaring at the group before him.

"Ahhhm. Good evening."

The Tsuchikage would gaze once more upon them all before speaking out.

"I'd like to thank you all for coming on short notice, however we have a problem on our hands. I am retiring from Iwagakure as a certain.... event has happened. So, the three strongest shinobi within the village have been summoned here, and here you are. So this will be simple, who is fit to rule the Iwagakure kingdom? You three shall decide by whatever means necessary within the next 60 seconds. Am i understood?"

Kazu would barely wait a few seconds which would soon follow with clearing his throat and speaking out in a mellow tone.

'If things get physical, don't worry. You may begin."

---

Wordcount: 886

Endurance Training:
E~E1: 19(56)/75
E1~E2: 150/150
E2~E3:225/225
E3~D:300/300
D~D1:192/325

Chakra: 380/400 (Three Tomoe Sharingan)

Akira was somewhat amused by the words that Kazu spoke. A proud man as he was he doubted that Kazu would be retiring if something epic had not happened to him recently. He knew Kazu to be a violent but cautious individual. If he had been duped then those that had done so where likely now dead or he would be leaving to deal with what remained of them. Still he could respect that the man wanted to choose who he would leave his country too. Instead of just up and leaving with out a word he was intending to have things settled before he went to do whatever he intended to accomplish. Which he suspected held blood and violence in his future. Still he was highly amused at the fact that he was here with two brutes. It was so typical of Kazu to care about raw power over intelligence. But he would easily tear apart the two if need be. But if they needed a reason and to discuss it then perhaps he could simply out talk them. For a brief moment he regretted having set violence in motion already. But only briefly. After all the man had dared to lay hands on him. He would soon learn how much of a mistake that was.

As if on Cue at the end of the sentence the one in the center cried out dropping to one knee. Chakra burst forth from the mans wrist and the sound of bone cracking echoed loudly like a firework. The wrist itself snapped in such a way that Akira winced a little as the bone turned to shattered fragments and the bones in the hand and arm even cracked in response. Akira let a thin smile play on his lips as it had already begun. He might of been in trouble if violence had not been allowed only seconds prior to the loss of the mans arm. Still the man had it in his head to blame Akira for some reason. His eyes bloodshot from the pain pulsing in his massive body he raised to his feet with one arm dangling uselessly. To which Akira took two steps back. His yellow eyes excited for the moment as he watched the man. The one behind him was already preparing a jutsu. But the brute in the middle only had eyes for Akira. He spoke in an enraged tone.

"For that you die. And When i am Kage your grave will be under the manure from the farms. You will rot in animal shit!"

Akira rolled his eyes. Really it was disgusting that any one would threaten such a thing. Still the man raised his hand and revealed a seal. To which Akira was finally alarmed. Sealing was not something he was great at dealing with given the range. If he could of closed the gap instead of creating one. Still what happened next amused him. Weapons emerged from the man as if out of portals. All of various blunt types and heavy. but it looked like they intended to launch at Akira. He smirked at that. Projectiles he could handle. He assumed an open handed stance and smirked.

"Only forty second left to prove it" He said confidently.

And with a roar the man reacted. Usan Bei launched all of his weapons like a wall of hammers and maces at Akira. however nothing impacted Akira or the wall behind him. As if he was impossibly fast Akira reached out and plucked every single projectile and threw it back at stupendous speeds. He watched Bei's face take on a brief look of surprise before his own weapons slammed into him and threw him backwards and right through the wall. Akira noticed then that the other one had moved and was slamming his foot down. Apparently Yanagi had been preparing his jutsu while letting these two waste energy on each other. Akira watched as the foot came down and immediately the ground roared to life like a Dragon made of earth. He clicked his tongue and focused chakra in his own feet. And then he was moving. The Jutsu pursued him but Akira was barely a blur. Up the wall he ran and full on sprinted across the sealing. The chakra leaving dents in the ceiling from his feet. It was stupendous but he was outrunning the jutsu. And then he was behind Yanagi. He had noticed the man was directing the direction of the dragon by shifting his feet. So he would turn that against him.

Akira slammed his own foot down as he landed. The ground of the office coming up around the knee's of Yanagi. Cutting off his control of the direction of the jutsu. But timed so the jutsu was heading straight for him. But Akira wasn't done. He slammed his hands down into the elbows of the enemy with enough force to shove him down into the trap to his chest. Before stepping away and letting the jutsu hit the man. Both men wiped out by their own jutsu. He smirked at that before pulling out a smoke and lighting it before speaking.

"Twenty seconds left. Either of you wanna dispute my claim? No? Oh well ok then."

He held up a finger as if to tell Kazu to wait a second before he held out both hands. Palm up with the smoke held between his lips. He let Kazu watch as two green orbs began to form in his hands. The chakra of it roaring to life like a primal beast. This jutsu surpassed the other jutsu by massive lengths. The power of it spinning as if it was twisting the very air in the room. The rocks rumbled in the office and the office itself shook. And then he slammed both orbs together. A wave of green chakra rushed out to fill the room in under a split second. The bloodied forms of his opponents began to glow a moment before any and all wounds that had just incurred disappeared entirely. As if the two men were just napping in a pile of rubble. Satisfied with his work Akira smirked and walked up to sit on the corner of the desk. Pulling the smoke out of his mouth and blowing a grey cloud away from Kazu. Before yellow eyes looked to him.

"Well that's 60 seconds. Questions?"

Strength training
C ~> C-1 575/575
C-1 ~> C-2 600/600

WC remaining 1

Chakra 240/350

Jutsu used: