Mission name: Annex the Land of Waves.
Mission rank: A.
Objective: Establish diplomatic relations with the Land of Waves and annex them into the Land of Fire.
Location: Land of Waves
Reward: 1,000ryo + 1EP
Mission Description: By order of the Fire Daimyo, Ōmono Madoka, the minor countries that surround the Fire Country are to be met with for diplomatic talks, urging them toward a merger with Hi no Kuni.
Development References: http://www.narutosaga.com/t29383-oak-in-the-storm#232176
Mission Details: The mission-taker must travel to the Land of Waves and speak with the Lord of the Land of Waves, Furuya Tsurayaki. During the diplomatic talks, he his concerns with joining the Fire Country are largely economical, however he does fear backlash from the Hidden Mist, whose claim to own all islands is disliked but submitted to, although he would prefer otherwise. This is a Quest Mission and requires 4,000wc to complete.

Mist clung to the Naruto Bridge as two silhouettes walked across it towards the Land of Waves. Clad in travelling garb that covered most of their bodies and long-ranning hats obscuring their faces, the only tell-tale sign of their movements were the chiming bells attached to the rims of their circular straw hats. On the left stood a tall male, muscular in build, walking with two swords hilted at the waist. On the right, a younger man, a shorter one, walked in seeming synchronization. On the backs of their clothes were the Leaf village emblems. They had not seen many travellers during their journey east across the bridge from the Land of Fire. Perhaps that was for the best. If these villagers knew why they were here, it would only antagonize them into doing something rash and stupid. Yojo, nor his partner, could afford to make a diplomatic faux pas here, not when the purpose of their journey was so vital to the security of the hidden leaf village. The world was changing, and with it, the roles and freedoms of the minor nations of the shinobi world. Weak daimyo, weak shinobi, and weak countries surrounded the land of fire. Yojo had seen one such nation very nearly fall to Kumogakure, he had witnessed first hand how these places were like leaves in a hurricane beyond their ability to comprehend. The Great Game of Kage had begun, and it was their job, as its arbiters, to bring newfound security and freedom to these minor nations... They were here to annex the Land of Waves.

"I don't see anything. I don't think these people even have ninja of their own... Do you have the letter?" Yojo asked his partner, his sharingan idly gazing ahead as they slowly walked along the bridge toward the Land of Waves. He didn't know too much about Kashi, save that his name reminded Yojo of the traitor he had defeated in the grand finals of the Chunin Exams. It was funny how things worked like that. Instead, as a fresh Special Jounin himself, Yojo preferred to let his partner take on the majority of the heavy lifting here. The Uchiha would be his backup, the one who would help drive the pint home once Kashi had pointed his weaponized words at this minor nation's heart. "If there are Kiri-nin tracking us, then they are exceptional enough to escape my eyes. Still, I do not think we have much to fear here. We have the element of surprise" Yojo thought aloud for his partner to hear. He was a tad out of his element here, but by reassuring himself and his partner he hoped to stay level-headed enough to bring the leader of this country to the submission of the Hidden Leaf. "I believe though, that it is time to begin considering contingency plans. If Fuyura Tsurayaki does not agree with these terms, we may require an alternative method of coaxing him-- one that does not involve hurting civilians" Yojo stated, brainstorming with his partner. The mist clung to his face, making his hair wet even as it was covered by his straw hat... "There is... one thing, that we can do" he started, a knowing look appearing on his face.


After a time longer, the duo emerged from the tunnel at the end of Naruto Bridge, emerging in the bright and sunshine-filled epicenter of the Land of Waves. The two had begun to walk along the grand canal at the heart of the modestly sized capital when they found themselves greeted by two rather disgruntled looking locals blocking their path. The street was noticeably quiet, the doors shuttered, and cautious eyes looked out from dark windows at the outsiders now standing in the main street. "Are you two the emissaries from Hi no Kuni?" the older looking official said, seemingly sizing the two shinobi up as they waited somewhat patiently in their full-body covering clothes. Yojo's sharingan flickered briefly as he turned his gaze into that of a frown, looking into the officials eyes with his superior ones. He stayed quiet, opting to let his partner do the majority of the talking here. Barring any abnormalities, and confirming they were indeed sent by the Hokage, the younger official would issue the next command. "Take those cloaks off! We want to see your faces" he demanded, pointing at the two shinobi in an accusatory manner. Again, Yojo frowned, but ultimately complied, removing the cloak and straw hat from his body to reveal his brown hair and skin, as well as the Special Jounin attire he'd been outfitted with.

Once that was all done with, the older official gave a cautionary look over the two. "Why have you come?" he asked, knowing full well the two outsiders were limited to speaking only with the village leader. Instead, to satisfy the suspicious escorts, Yojo gave something of a non-commital response:

"The times, they are a'changing"

865/865

This was neither a typical shinobi mission nor an ANBU mission. It was a diplomatic mission in which the stakes were high: in fact, the fate of an entire nation was in the hands of Kashizudoto and his partner as far as he was concerned. Their task was part of a broader plan conceived by the Hokage Takao Kimura, in which each of the surrounding lands would be annexed into the Land of Fire in order to bolster their strength in relation to the other Great Nations and thereby that of the Leaf. During times of war, soldiers were drafted from all across the land to fight as samurai, and a higher population and access to more resources meant more manpower. A storm was coming, and the Land of Fire was simply preparing to weather it out in the only way it knew how.

For this mission, he was to be paired with a Sharingan user, a young man of about his age named Yoshihiro. He knew nothing of the man other than his rank and a short synopsis of his specialties, but if he was sent on such a high-stakes mission, that could only mean that Yoshihiro was a guy that the village entrusted to get stuff done. To only be a tokubetsu jonin and still be sent on such a high-stakes mission like this meant that he was the real deal and would more than likely be a strong ally on this mission.

As a fully-fledged jonin with some notable accolades to his name, it was Kashizudoto's job to make the daimyo of the Land of the Waves feel important; after all, if the Land of Fire had sent such a high-ranking ninja to persuade the Land of Waves to join them, then it would stand to reason they would value the Land of Waves highly enough to take their concerns seriously during future negotiations post-annexation. Whether or not this was true was yet to be seen, but it was their mission to ensure the successful annexation of this land despite what might happen to it afterward.

The pair walked down the Naruto Bridge, with Kashizudoto's pet messenger hawk Hawky perched upon his shoulder. If they needed to send a quick message back to Konoha they could do so and hear back in as little as a few hours if Hawky did not encounter any major obstacles. Yoshihiro asked him about possible contingency plans in the case that the daimyo of the Land of the Waves did not want to submit to the Land of Fire, and Kashizudoto told him that if he had any genjutsu, he should be ready to use it. After all, the Sharingan was known, in addition to the Copy Wheel Eye, as the Eye of Hypnotism, and Kashizudoto figured that a subtle genjutsu, especially if it was something that could be triggered with something as easy as eye contact alone, could help sway the daimyo towards their cause without causing a ruckus. And without any shinobi around to notice it, they could get away scot-free.

After being escorted by a couple suspicious guards. they reached the daimyo's residence. It wasn't even close to as luxurious as the residences of the daimyos of the Great Nations, but that was to be expected; at the least, it was bigger than the surrounding houses, and if he had seen it in the Land of Fire, he would have assumed it was the residence of some noble, albeit a lower-ranking one, or some high-ranking shinobi who had since retired.

The daimyo and his family were having dinner at the time, and the guards called him out to greet the two important guests in his living room. He offered each a glass of sake, and, for the sake of politeness, Kashizudoto took him up on his offer and then handed him the letter. The daimyo took less than a minute to read it; not only was it a brief letter, but it was something to be expected. It seemed that minor lands were falling left and right to the Great Nations, like pawns being traded off of the board in order to gain a positional advantage in a game of chess, and the daimyo of the Land of the Waves could only expect that his turn was coming up soon.

He sighed, "As you know, the Land of Water borders our land, and the Hidden Mist Village is nearby." He took a swig of sake, perhaps hoping that a drink would ease the stress, "The Land of Water has laid claim to some of the nearby islands. As you can imagine, we weren't very happy about this, and it has greatly impeded our economic growth, but it is something we simply have to live with."

"You see," he set his glass of sake down on the table, "I am worried about possible backlash from the Mist. I'm sure you know their reputation." Under the reign of the former Mizukage Solstice Ayakashi, the Mist had built up quite a ruthless reputation - Blood Mist, as they called it.

Kashizudoto paused, "Well, I'm sure you know our reputation too." He looked at the daimyo with a serious but warm look, "We never back down on our allies. That's the way of our people - the Will of Fire, as they like to call it." The Will of Fire was something especially important to Kashizudoto's clan, the Sarutobi, who cherished it with their lives. The daimyo picked up his glass of sake and looked at him listlessly, obviously skeptical of this bold claim.

WC: 947

The walk to the Daimyo's residence was tense. Yojo occasionally glanced over to look at the guards escorting them, but for the most part, he was within his own mind. He'd been running through scenarios in his mind about how this encounter would play out. The Hokage had not given him any real instructions, only that the use of direct force wasn't permitted. That was a no-brainer though. Actively harming the nation they were there to ostensibly protect was something close to a war crime. Being a war criminal isn't a title that he wanted, even if strong words would be the only way to bring these people into the fold. Instead, the Tokujo walked alongside his partner towards the large estate at the end of the cobblestone road. It was lavish, quite impressive all things considered- yet compared to the countless others like it within the walls of Konoha, it felt like a sham imitation. They had arrived in the evening, in the midst of the daimyo's dinner apparently. Good, at least now the old man would be able to endure their envoy now that he already had a full stomach. Yojo accompanied Kashi into a private chamber, walking through a sliding door before coming face to face with the Daimyo of the Land of Waves: Furuya Tsurayaki.

Yojo's initial impression of the Daimyo was that of a young man in an elder's body. He moved with a spring in his step, he offered them both drinks to warm them after their journey across the Naruto Bridge, he even entertained them in his personal living room. He was trying to court them, fatten the two of them up before he was forced to speak more frankly. It was a tactic Yojo'd seen in the past, he'd been subjected to it himself when he'd been refused a promotion to Tokubetsu and forced to remain at Chunin for a time. It was kindhearted, but ultimately meant nothing before the real punch was thrown. At last, Furuya began speaking about the difficult situation that the Land of Waves was in. They were pressured from the Land of Waves, whose domain over the sea compressed the minor nation's influence from all sides- they were guests upon the waves, an ironic fate. Yojo hummed, tapping the rim of his glass gently as he mulled the well-known problem over. He and Kashi had been briefed about this already. They had been talking about how to overcome it... Even if that would mean talking about a hypothetical conflict with the Land of Water, including a rash reaction by the Mizukage. It was a less than ideal situation for a minor nation to be in, yet that was the reality.

Kashi's response was earnest, one that Yojo nodded silently in agreement with- yet it did little to settle the anxieties of the daimyo, apparently. It was Yojo's turn to try and speak reason. "If you doubt our words, then do not doubt our history: Konohagakure has never lost a war" Yojo started, speaking more directly with the daimyo, ignoring the warmth of the alcohol somewhat. "We have fought the cloud, the stone, the wind, and the sea. We have fought the tailed beasts, the akatsuki, all the villains of the age of Heroes, and never once have we lost" he explained, relying more on brute practicality to smash his way through Fuyura's skepticism. "As my partner has explained: the Will of Fire is unlike anything that the other nations can claim to possess. It is intertwined with our might" he explained, pausing to sip his alcohol whilst Fuyura prepared a rebutal... A very slow rebutal, a sign that perhaps their words were getting through to him. "Ahh, yes, well, we cannot forget the past lest we seek to repeat their mistakes" he said with a mild chuckle. "I will not discredit the military record of the Leaf, but, young men, this is not the Land of Fire. I respect your willpower and commitment, really, I do, especially towards a small nation like ours, but I remain hesitant" he said, looking between the two envoys.

Yojo resisted the urge to frown. This would be a tough nut to crack indeed. "You are still worried of Kirigakure's response?" he asked, earning a silent but firm nod from Fuyura. The ninja thought for a moment before speaking again, keeping his eyes shut. "I believe that this nation has much to benefit from allying with the Fire Daimyo. In the past, was it not Zabuza of the Mist who terrorized the Land of Waves? Was it not a Leaf shinobi and future Hokage who saved it and returned the country to prosperity?... The situation, to me, is much the same. The Land of water will continue to choke your country for every drop of blood and freshwater it's worth, constantly threatening your growth and stability. However, by joining the Leaf, you would be opening up your country to endless prosperity. Business would boom, this nation would become the Leaf's center of trade with foreign nations by sea, and you would have the unfailing security of the most powerful force on this planet" Yojo stated, crossing a leg over his knee and opening his eyes. Fuyura sipped his drink, his face blank, his eyes narrowing as he looked deep into Yojo's expression. It seemed his words had hit something- whether it was good or bad, he had no idea.

Fuyura looked back to Kashi next. "If the Land of Waves were to willingly join the Land of Fire, what guarantee would we have that we would not be occupied and subjugated as a conquered people? What if I were to say yes and should find my country off worse than under the threat of Kirigakure? Would you let us leave? Or would you bind us to your blood?... To your Will of Fire?"

1001/1866

A great sage once wrote that in any argument, there were three central elements to persuasion, and he termed these three elements ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos, as the sage wrote, was an appeal to the authority, credibility, and track record of the one arguing and that of the people who agree with them. Pathos was, rather, an appeal to the emotions of the person listening to their argument. Logos was a strictly rational appeal guided by facts and evidence. Kashizudoto's appeal was largely based in ethos, relying on the reputation of Konoha's Will of Fire to bolster the perceived credibility and reliability of the Land of Fire and thus make the daimyo of this minor nation more comfortable with the idea of joining it. Yoshihiro expanded on this with a logical appeal, making several references to feats that Konoha had accomplished in both ancient and recent history in order to prove a point about their strength level, with the assumption that it could match or even exceed Kirigakure's. In truth though, Kirigakure, over the past twenty years or so, had undergone quite rapid militarization, and Kashizudoto felt that Kirigakure's current military strength, even with the Mizukage, exceeded that of Konohagakure. Of course, this wouldn't be something to tell the daimyo of the Land of the Waves about, but an overwhelming military response from Kirigakure was something for Yoshihiro and Kashizudoto to keep in mind when going around annexing all these countries. With ethos and logos, the only rhetorical element they didn't have was pathos, but Kashizudoto was unsure of whether emotional appeals were even appropriate or effective for a tense political situation like this. He decided that, instead of trying an emotional appeal, he would, in a more forceful and assertive manner, pile on more of that ethos and logos until the daimyo cracked.

When the daimyo questioned him about whether the Land of the Waves would be treated as a subjugated people and if they would be able to back out if their nation were to be worse off afterwards, Kashizudoto nodded, "In the history of the Leaf, we have never forcibly conquered a people." He set his glass of sake down on the table

"This is something that the other Great Nations cannot claim," he continued, "I'm sure you have heard of what the Land of Lightning has done to the Land of Frost, and certainly you are very aware of how the Land of Water is already creeping upon your lands and your authority." He paused, and the daimyo proceeded to set down his own glass of sake.

"If you continue to do nothing," Kashizudoto proceeded, "The Land of Water will only become more forceful and will do to you and your people what it has already done to your islands." He gestured through the window to the islands beyond that were now laid claim to by Kirigakure. With the window open, the group could hear the waves crashing upon the shore.

"What we are offering you is a chance to escape subjugation by the Land of Water and join one of the Great Nations as an equal rather than an annexed colony," he asserted, leaning back, 'The choice to leave would be up to you, but the moment you leave will be the moment that the Land of Water will start to encroach upon your territory once again."

The daimyo sighed and admitted, "I suppose you're right. For all we know, the Mist may indeed encroach upon our territory beyond just our islands." His eyes were still listless as he took another sip of his sake, "But you have to understand that a large portion of our economy is made up of fishing, and if Kirigakure were to launch some sort of military resistance by sea, our entire means of living would be brought to a halt. What guarantee do I have that we will not have to bear the burden of Kirigakure's military response, if it were to occur?"

"It is true that the Hidden Mist only a few years back would have been capable of some large-scale military response to the Land of Fire, such as a naval blockade or a massive infiltration operation," Kashizudoto affirmed. He tapped the wooden table, "But those days have vanished along with the old Mizukage Solstice Ayakashi. I was recently in Kirigakure during the induction of the new Mizukage, and you should have seen the record-breaking levels of crime going on there. It seems that the iron fist of Solstice Ayakashi was the only thing keeping the criminals in line, and now that she is gone, the shinobi of Kirigakure aren't even capable of handling their own domestic criminals. With their shinobi occupied, it will be a while before the Land of Water is capable of launching even minor resistance against one of the Great Nations, and on the off chance that the Mist were to neglect their own nation's safety and send their forces here, I can ensure you that our shinobi will be there to fight them and defend the people of the Land of Waves."

"Tell me," the daimyo said, "What can you do to ensure that the Land of Fire will show up when we need help? How can I be sure that my pleas for help will not be ignored if the Land of Fire has some other national priority that they want their shinobi working on?" The daimyo's eyes were a little bit more energetic now, with a hint of curiosity within them.

"I will do many things for you personally to ensure the safety of your people," Kashizudoto said, "I am a jonin of Konoha and have a relationship with its administration and the daimyo's family. I can promise you that I will regularly check in here, and if there is ever a problem, I will either deal with it myself or ensure that a task force of samurai or shinobi will do it for me. I am also very close to one of the captains of Konoha's ANBU Black Ops, a man who goes by the codename of Kenshin. He is more skilled than I at the finer arts of infiltration and stealth, and, as such, he will be able to root out any covert operations if Kirigakure were to conduct them here. He owes me a favor, so I will make sure to ask him to do routine sweeps around the area." Little did the others in the room know, the ANBU Captain Kenshin was simply Kashizudoto's identity within the Black Ops, and he would essentially be coming around to the Land of Waves as two different people.

The daimyo inhaled, "You young men are very persistent, I must say." He took a sip of his sake, "But my concerns are two-fold: both military and economic. The Land of Water is arguably our largest trading partner, and many of the goods they sell us are essential to our economic well-being. What will you do in the case that Kirigakure cuts off trade with us? How will you fill the void?"

WC: 2154