Returning to his village had always satisfied Maikumaru. It had been a while since he had been actually in the village. He had spent most of the time outside of it, fending off meer fodder of bandits left in right. He looked around, looking at the buildings made of the very Earth itself, colored to resemble ordinary buildings. He smiled a small smile. “Man, it’s good to be home.” He looked up at the tall clock tower within the village. He remembered how much he loved going inside, reading a novel for entertainment.

Snapping back to reality, he had almost forgot why he came back. “Right. Meeting.” Before going into the Kage office, where the current Daimyo resided, he looked at himself in the current a window. Even though he himself didn’t put a lot of effort into his physical appearance, he however this was an occasion to make himself look a bit less rugged and unkempt than he normally did.

He took a sigh of relief. He as nervous. The last time his heart pumped so much was when he was at the bottom of the mountain, waiting ready to meet with the Overseer for the first assassination mission. He slapped himself repeatedly across the face, straightening your nerves. He thought about what he was doing and where this was going. He was really asking the Jounin Council for him to become the Tsuchikage. It was a tall order. He was gaining the attention of people around him. Many of the people actually knew who he was. He wasn't a famous Ninja who publicly created a grand feat. Not a feat he anyone would know of anyway. He felt the confidence within himself drain. Just like at the bottom of the mountain, success was within reach. Success was in his grasp. And just as before, he was hesitating to take it.

Unconsciously he had walked onto the steps of the building. Sanroku hadn't arrived yet. Maikumaru decided to wait near the steps near him. He felt himself gain a hold of his senses. His resolve took over. With Sanroku with him, success was only imminent. He just had to remind himself how dire the situation was. He took out another cigarette, and lit it. He stuck the stick in his mouth, waiting for his companion.

390 WC

How quaint.

The fact that I’m even projecting myself this far is dangerously close to a jest. I had about thirteen minutes of time with the man, and he expects me to travel all the way to the Land of Earth… simply won’t do. I have other things to attend to here, on a similar if not greater scale - same cycle of succession being moved along, but matters are so much more sensitive when they involve...ushering out the old to bring in the new. He didn’t know I’d tagged him with my Sealing Jutsu, but it wasn’t the biggest topic at the time. To boot, he’d left me in such a rush that I hadn’t even gotten to mention it. The greatest Fūinjutsu mind of Konoha history bar the Fourth didn’t teach me for nothing, anyhow - only a medical genius, let alone a formulaic one, would be able to find my mark.

And thus, not in person did I show up at the step of the Administration Compound of the Hidden Stone. Admittedly, seeing the world through his eyes was odd - higher than what I was used to. Adjusting the scene to my own proportions was not difficult as I sat on a stone ledge above him, none too slowly appearing. "Butterflies don’t suit someone of your stature. Besides, that look on your face won’t impress anyone no matter what I do."

My form, despite being my natural state in the position I'd left myself to rest, was not what appeared to this man. A little shortcut to it, but the only way he knew me was as a little fellow named Okiyō. Possessing the surname of a former Tsuchikage certainly dodged the questions that had no doubt been stirring in the mind of a man who had been propositioned for assistance in attaining a position of privilege. But if my dealings with the Yuki princess had taught me anything, it's that what you knew mattered just as much as who you knew - in the case of myself, they were the exact same thing. Disguising myself as an Earth Country citizen to cover my tracks was just extra credit on my part. This way, there was nothing stopping me from having another ear to listen through.

I know that tampering with the workings of a village's upper echelons is less than admirable. I at least have the wherewithal to pick an Earth Shadow hopeful who at least cares about the country and its state in current affairs. It's certainly less than my choice to get things going this way in Konoha, but....

There's always another job to do.

???/300:

Maikumaru took another deep breathe, collecting himself and his thoughts. He clenched his fists. “Alright. Feeling amped. Let’s do this.” Maikumaru finally walked up the steps and into the Administration Building. The Tsuchikage’s Estate. Maikumaru was utterly foreign to this type of environment. While he had been in such professional places before, even more so, he had never been obligated to be professional himself. When he had barged into the meeting among the Heretics in the Land of Lightning, among these complete strangers, he was able to maintain his composure. But now, he was at the Mercy of the Jounin Council, who’s words hinged completely on the future of his Village. Everything he had originally planned for could be dashed away in an instant. He looked around himself, trying to figure what could be used to distract himself from the situation. Looking around the building, he felt the uninspired blandness from the walls. He made it a note that once he become Tsuchikage.

He walked in the meeting room. Before him was the Jounin Council. He walked up to them. They all sat at a table, as if they were all judges. In this scenario, they were. There were four of them. “Uuuh hello. So…” one of the older members of the Jounin Council of Elders pretended to clear his throat. “Excuse me...but it’s normally customary for you to bow before the Jounin Council.”

Maikumaru cut his eyes. He was moments away from spouting some vulgarity before the younger female member of the council waved it off. She was at least in her mid 30s, being the youngest member on the Council. “Please. There’s no time for formalities. We need to make this quick. I believe you have information with you on the situation in Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning in general. And to be frank: when you first came to us that you would be doing this we had very little faith in your exploits. Me especially. You must understand that you were only one person embarking on a tremendous undertaking. We were desperate enough for information to allow you to do this. But now you come to us with what you claim to be information. As your biggest doubter, I will be the first to congratulate you. You managed to not get caught and complete your mission.”

“I have more than information. While I was in Kumogakure, I have infiltrated their ranks by posing as a Mercenary. I joined a group that took out people who Hastur personally deemed a threat to society. With the help of Sanroku Okiyō here, I was able to effectively disguise myself until it was unnecessary. After that I made an ally out of a small group of Anti-Hastur people who call themselves Heretics. Poetic, I know. I did a bunch of jobs for them here and there, sabotaging The Land of Lightning’s Military. After I killed the Overseer, the director of Fuujin, I was able to get my hands on a list of people who were enemies of Hastur. I gathered them and had them Join the Heretics. There was a meeting to start a Civil War, but the group is not too big to take on Kumo by itself. We need to get involved. The council looked at each other. “The Cloud Shinobi have been mobilizing?”

“Yes. I have been sent on specific missions that suggested that they were. They were to slow Kumo’s mobilization, and cripple their Military, giving them time to gather the new allies.” Maikumaru took a glance over at the Jounin Council member on the far right. He had a coin in his right hand, one that he frantically slid through his fingers. The motion was very smooth, and almost hypnotic. “Another reason I came here was to ask for you to appoint me to be the Tsuchikage. We desperately need one, and I am one of the Strongest Shinobi in the Village. And I proved myself by doing all of this.”

This was it. Maikumaru’s heart race. He kept his composure as much as possible on the inside as well on the outside. He looked over back to the member with the Coin. He manipulated it even faster than before. It made Maikumaru more nervous for the answer.