The Mizukage's Office

Now that Nikuyo had been conveniently replaced and taken out of action, the twins had set up their own office. There's was spacious but modern with a glass desk and multiple cabinets that contained sensitive information. Konami was present but her sister was elsewhere for the time being. She was thankfully glad that her sister was distracted as this meeting would be unusually sensitive and she wanted a chance to digest the information before she let her sister in on what was happening. Konami had already been informed that Kotsubo and Yomi were coming back from an extremely sensitive mission that was assigned to them by the previous Mizukage. Konami had access to all of the classified documents that Nikuyo had left behind. This included the minutes on the historic Kage Summit that happened well over a year ago. The Kage had decided to put together an international coalition to confront a massive anomaly that was stalking the major nations. Konami knew that the mission was dangerous and she was glad that Kotsubo and Yomi were returning but the fact that Nozomi wasn't with them troubled her. Nozomi was the host of the Three Tails and if she had died or been captured it would be a tremendous blow to the village's security. Death was obviously the most preferable scenario but she steeled her nerves and would deal with what to do when she heard their report for herself. If they were alive it was testament to their skill and potential even if they managed to lose Kiri's prize in the process. She could work with what she had and there were scant Jounin she felt that she could truly rely on. At the same time she could not get a reputation for being soft in the face of failure. Nikuyo was renown for his viciousness and his inability to tolerate bullshit. It had been his greatest strength but also one of his greatest weaknesses. She would need to strike a balance. Depending on what Yomi and Kotsubo told her they would either face severe punishment or a hefty reward.

Perhaps both.... she mused.

As soon as Kotsubo and Yomi entered the room she would lean back in her chair. They would not offered the chance to even sit. She spoke only two words:

"Mission report"

Kotsubo took a fair bit of time to relax down back at home after such a long trip, re-energising himself and going back into the daily duties of his life back in Kirigakure. A bit of news from his father had struck him with a bit of surprise however, as he heard that the old man Mizukage had gone missing and was replaced by the twins. Kotsubo had heard a few gossips about them here and there, but he didn't think they were really something if they had managed to take over the Mizukage position. After Kotsubo was energised well enough, it seems the word was spread well enough that Kotsubo and Yomi were back home, and that meant the Mizukage would've no doubt heard the same.

He didn't waste time as soon as he came to that conclusion, he didn't know if Yomi wanted to even be apart of the meeting or not but just in-case, Kotsubo summoned a shadow clone that would be sent in order to try and find Yomi, and if she indeed was found, would inform her that the real Kotsubo is on his way to the office to report about their mission in the Land of Lightning.

Regardless of Yomi coming along or not, Kotsubo wouldn't wait or waste time to go up to the office, as he's sure that the Mizukage will want to know about how the mission went as soon as possible. He found the Mizukage's office well enough, and after entering was immediately greeted by a "Mission report." which gave Kotsubo a light chuckle. "Straight to the point eh?" he could respect that well enough.

He stood tall, with hands behind his back in a soldier-like manner before finally reporting to the new Mizukage. "It's the typical combo of the bad news and the good news, I'll give you the bad news first to process the reality of our failure first." he wouldn't sugarcoat it, the mission was technically speaking, a failure. "I'll start at the beginning, we managed to touch upon the shores of the Land of Lightning just to be greeted by masked ninja which I assuming were of Kumogakure, I'm guessing they were the Anbu of their village considering their skill. I underestimated them and had gotten captured, and they ran away from Yomi and Nozomi." that was a bit embarrassing at this part, but he got the feeling if he tried to lie about that part, it would just be bad if he got found out about it later on.

"However, I got passed along to a interrogation unit and they failed in whatever they tried to do, which ended up in me going in... a berserk mode of sorts, falling into my Hoshigaki blood and slaughtering their entire unit." he still wondered about that, about what the interrogation unit did that managed to throw Kotsubo straight into his bloodrage mode. "Afterwards, that's when I came across a burning village, containing a few Konohagakure Shinobi and the person of interest, supposedly connected to the anomalies that happened a while ago. A pale woman with burn marks across her face that contained incredible jutsu and strength, against the might of Kirigakure's finest and Konohagakure's own shinobi, she stood her own." he waited for that last part to kick in, to elaborate on the Kirigakure's finest part. "Out of everyone, Yomi was the only one there to inflict injury upon the pale woman, where as everyone else failed to even get that close to her. It forced the pale woman into some transformation... or mode of sorts, after which her overall proficiency was obviously increased and she started to utilise snake jutsu, along with some invisible force that was hiding around her, and attacked anyone that even got close to her. I sent three shadow clones to attack behind her and all of them were dispersed in the same second as a result of it." he would wait a couple of seconds for her to process everything that he's said so far, to get the idea that the foe they've faced was in an entire league of her own.

"Around this time, the Kumogakure Shinobi had finally shown up, though they only watched from a distance, doing nothing while Kirigakure and Konohagakure were taking on this monstrous woman, during which... Nozomi had finally entered the battle, only for the pale woman to run towards her and instead of attacking her, made a pretty speech to butter her into joining her, to which Nozomi agreed upon. I would've attempted to wipe Nozomi out if given the chance, but she was standing right next to the woman, it was impossible so to speak. Afterwards, the pale woman created a barrier of sorts to where the Kumogakure ninja were, locking them inside and made Nozomi go in there to fight them, meanwhile outside, we were still dealing with the pale woman until her... dragon beast had come along." he had a slight pause there because of how ridiculous it might've sounded, but his calm composure would be enough to tell he isn't joking. "She told us to run away, tell about her to our villages. At this point, Yomi had been injected with a paralysing poison by the said woman and I decided it'd be best to retreat, since any further battling would just result in our obvious deaths. So I carried Yomi and went back to our transport that took us to the Land of Lightning in the first place and went back to the Land of Water." and that was it, the entirety of the mission. "Sorry if I over explained, but I felt like you needed the whole story in order to understand it." and he had hoped she hadn't forgotten about the "good news" that he hasn't talked about yet.

Yomi hadn't been wandering around town for that long, given she had to drop off her stuff at her home and had decided to go and wear some proper clothes which did not reek like a mixture of salt water, sweat and blood. When that was done, she went around to have a look at the workshop, but right as she stood there, she could hear a few knocks on the front door of the house, immediately distracted by said knocking, the Chuunin made her way to the front of the house to see who was there, only to be greeted by what seemed to be Kotsubo. However, thinking about it, she decided this one to be a clone, instantly being pointed out to this fact by the clone itself as it dispersed after delivering its prudent message."That man really has picked up a nasty habit," She sighed and pulled on her signature long overcoat before leaving the house.

The walk to the Administrative building which housed thee offices of the Mizukage and the highest officials of Kirigakure wasn't long, but the closer she came, the more Yomi could feel the proverbial noose around her neck. So, when she was standing in front of the doors to the Mizukage's office, she swallowed her spit, took in a deep breath and entered alongside the real Kotsubo this time, as she was certain he wouldn't dare appear before the leader of the village hidden in the mist as some clone rather than himself.

Thinking about the mizukage though, it was quite a shock to Yomi to see that the office did not hold the brutal and rough Nikuyo, but a lean and rather mean-looking youngster, something which made the Chuunin grit her teeth as she wasn't certain how to explain everything to these people when they asked for the mission report. Yet luckily, it seemed that the Hoshigake member had decided to speak up first, recanting the events in order, with the travels, the inconvenient clash with the masked shinobi belonging to Kumogakure no doubt and the subsequent struggle against the white haired bitch. "Nozomi...excuse me, the tree-tails was not buttered up, she was promised a way to fully control the bijuu within her and to be able to fully utilize its power.," Yomi completely disregarded protocol by speaking up before the Mizukage had any way to interject Kotsubo, leaning casually against the wall, looking at her nails as she continued explaining the reality of this failed excursion into the Land of Lightning. "I am aware that village policy dictates that minimal social interaction is needed for Jinchuuriki, but to send a genin on a mission like this was a fatal clerical error on the part of the higher ups, not us."

Moving from the wall, the Chuunin walked over towards the Mizukage's desk and placed her hand upon the milky glass surface, pressing it rather hard, hard enough to make the desk's support creak and wail under the pressure. "Yes we have lost a jinchuuriki on this mission, but the lack of information, the happenstance of circumstances and the lack of communication between us and the higher ups have ended up making things as they are now., Turning her grim expression into a grin, Yomi looked at the Mizukage and stood up straight, no longer leaning upon the desk. "Yes we lost the Jinchuuriki, but we now know that this threat can be killed, that this oh so powerful being is no god and that Kumogakure should never be contemplated as a possible ally if we are to move against this foe. However, when problems occur, they must be rooted out at the stem first and that stem would be this village, Lady Mizukage. Too long have we been complacent and muddled by backdoor politics...I suggest harsh meassures are in order if we are to face the upcoming storm."

Konami leaned back in her chair as Kotsubo launched into a lengthy and extremely detailed report. Kotsubo had been captured early on in their arrival to Kumogakure. Konami found this to be a curious development. The villages had agreed to a joint alliance for the purpose of dealing with this threat. If Kotsubo was arrested on his arrival then perhaps the village could not be trusted although the more likely scenario was that he had perhaps tried to scout or wrangle information about the location of the village. In either event, they had been unable to hold him. Any annoyance at Kotsubo's incompetence was soon replaced with grudging respect when he mentioned that he was able to free himself and slaughter the rest of the ANBU by entering his supposed "berserker" mode. Even so, the Mizukage made her displeasure quite obvious as she folded her arms and grunted.

The ANBU had captured him but were chased off by Yomi and Nozomi? Pathetic!

That was embarrassing and the only reason she didn't demote him on the spot was because he had single-handedly killed them all. This was not the climax of the horror story though. Apparently the threat came not in the form of a giant monstrosity (or rather there was a giant monstrosity present but it was not the central antagonist in this narrative) but from a pale woman with burn scars. The woman was in a different class altogether and was capable of fending off the combined might of all the villages. The only person to draw blood against her was one of Kiri's very own. Yomi...Hm, Nikuyo must have seen something in this woman... she decided. With Kotsubo captured, Yomi had managed to fight off a group of Kumo ANBU and then inflict damage on this S-Class Criminal. The real kicker of the story explained why Nozomi was not here and it was far worse than she had imagined. Nozomi had been persuaded to join the murderous woman which meant that Kirigakure had not only lost its Tailed Beast but that its host was now a willing and complicit enemy of theirs. Konami's blood began to boil and her earlier look of annoyance was replaced with a look of complete rage. Nozomi was not just a genin of this village as well as its Jinchuriki, she had also been Makahshi's student. She knew that while Makahshi could a very tough sensei his methods were ironclad. If Nozomi had not flushed her career down the toilet she would have been one of the strongest hand to hand fighters in the world. It was an insult to her friend's memory that his student had gone rogue. It was also an insult to the Kereko Clan writ large and she would not have it. Konami restrained herself and continued to listen, nodding her head to vent the excess hateful energy that had been welling inside her.

This mission was a complete disaster....That woman has the Three Tails....Our Three Tails...and forced our ninja to flee empty handed. She could have killed them all but she wanted to send a message...What are her motivations? Why is she doing this? What's our next play?

She considered all these questions as she listened to Kotsubo's story. The Hoshigaki was wise to have fled rather than attempt to capture Nozomi. If he and Yomi had died during the conflict then Kirigakure would have zero intelligence to work with. It was a humiliating loss but it would give them the tools they needed to fight another day. Yomi herself would soon stride into the room and interrupt Kotsubo's report to correct him. Konami raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Yomi. The girl didn't seem impressive and reading her file her accolades were not noteworthy. Konami wondered how she had managed to score a hit against such an frightful opponent as this Dragon Tamer. Yomi added value to the conversation by clarifying that Nozomi had left specifically so that she could better manipulate her Tailed Beast, she would go on to complain about bureaucracy and the administration's handling of classified intelligence. Specifically regarding the fact that they were not told that Nozomi was a Jinchurikki. Rather than taking responsibility like Kotsubo had done, Yomi bitched about the system and its handling of information leading up to the mission. Konami could not fault Yomi for being frustrated. Nikuyo was a brutish and masterful shinobi. He was by far the greatest killer to have been born on the Isles in many generations perhaps one of the greatest of all time. But unfortunately he seemed to lack intelligence management skills. It was indeed a blunder to allow a genin Jinchurikki to go on such a mission without adequately informing her superiors of the risks posed. There was no exit strategy in place for them and the girl was likely in contact with her Bijuu who had probably piqued her curiosity and had persuaded her to take the offer. When she placed her hands on Konami's desk and leaned forward to speak, Konami looked the woman right in the eyes. She was full of herself. Yomi was probably still high off of the implicit thrill and validation of her being the only person to harm the pale woman. Yomi exuded the sort of confidence that only came when one was sure of their skills as a shinobi. Konami could use a woman with talent, drive, and ideas but the disrespect would have to be "wrapped up" as the Kereko said. Nikuyo would have had Kotsubo's head for his incompetence and Yomi's tongue for her insolence. He was not one to take disrespect and he tended to retaliate lethally. Konami was not Nikuyo nor would she try to be. Where he had failed, she would succeed and she would do it without resorting to baser tactics. That being said, she did need to strike the balance between distinguishing herself from her predecessor's brutality but retaining the same intimidation factor that he had employed. When Yomi had finished her mewling, Konami rose from her seat and clasped her hands behind her back. The woman towered above both ninja given that her height was 6 feet and 5 inches. She zeroed in on Yomi and spoke her reply:

"I agree that my predecessor could have handled things more...smoothly. Lord Nikuyo, Sage rest his soul, was not known for his attention to strategic details. You should have been informed of Nozomi's status and contingency measures should have been in place before sending the three of you on such a risky mission. That being said, do not mistake my agreement for sympathy. Your excuses and yelping has caused me to reconsider what your role will be in the next step of our plan. Do not blame your failure on the administration and do not interrupt your superior when he is reporting to me. The Nidaime Mizukage has killed people for lesser offenses and while you'll find me more reasonable than him, you'll also find me to be far more thorough and creative in how I choose to discipline ninja with a penchant for acting out"

Konami looked at Kotsubo and a look of disgust crept up on her face. If Yomi was so bold as to disrespect him in front of the Mizukage she could only imagine what may have transpired while they were out in the field. It was unacceptable work on both of their parts. Their raw talent and skill were the only reason they were alive but their lack of teamwork, respect, and discipline had cost the village much and more. Kotsubo should have rung this Chuunin's ears bloody if necessary although she was beginning to think Yomi was the stronger of the two anyways.

Yomi spoke of backdoor politics and refusing Kumo's aid in dealing with the threat at hand. These were questions above her pay grade yet she had precociously thought of them and was prepared to offer suggestions. Konami pointed at Kotsubo but turned her eyes to Yomi.

"Whatever your thoughts on his abilities, you better treat him with respect in this office and in the field. Your lives and the lives of your subordinates may very well depend on it Yomi. Do you understand?"

Konami was not in the mood to entertain to debate or backtalk on this subject. If Yomi was smart she'd indicate her comprehension as concisely as possible. If this was done then Konami would continue:

"Kotsubo" she now turned to the Hoshigaki. "Do you have anything else to report?"

If he had more to say she'd listen and contemplate it before finally turning back to Yomi.

"You've suggested harsh measures...let's hear them" she said mildly curious as to what the Chuunin had cooked up.

Kotsubo hadn't particularly forgotten about Yomi and Nozomi's insubordination out on the field, but in his eyes were justified when Yomi had landed that hit against the Dragon Tamer. He wouldn't of mentioned it unless directly asked, but it seems that Yomi had made it obvious well enough instead of Kotsubo having to spit it out himself. He had honestly grown past it and doesn't hold any grudge over it, but fair's fair in what he believes. He's even said his piece about her behaviour back in the field, so he wasn't planning to repeat it here and would let Yomi defend herself against Konami well enough instead of ganging up on her. It's not to say that her interruption isn't irritating, but he's not that held up over it.

After given permission to speak once more, Kotsubo had decided to correct Yomi on what she said. "Like I said, buttered up. The pale woman promised her power and Nozomi fell for it, hook, line and sinker. I can only understand Nozomi taking the deal if she only accepted to learn what she can from her and run back to Kirigakure, but I doubt it." in the short time that he's seen Nozomi, she has been rather impulsive, acts on her emotions and based on her own self-interests, a testament of this is the fact that she practically abandoned her own friend from Kirigakure, who is standing right next to him, Yomi. He wouldn't mention that though, as he's not interested in stirring the fire even further, especially not acting childish in-front of the Lady Mizukage.

"Three years, the pale woman said we have three years to prepare for... whatever she's planning, she was somewhat vague about what she's really doing, but in terms of personality, she seems to be pretty religious, a fanatic about it really." Kotsubo then motioned a signal to wait a few seconds, until he went into his pocket and brought out a rusty map, with some parts of it being covered in dried blood. "I got this from one of the interrogation ninja from Kumogakure, take a good guess at what's inside?" he'd walk up to the Mizukage's desk, opening up the folded map and spread it out it's entirety. There were a few spots marked with obvious locations, and in one, untouched and unruined spot was a symbol of Kumogakure, along with an extension of buildings more so then the other spots of the map to indicate that it's a civilisation of sorts, a village. Kotsubo pointed at this spot of the map in-case the other two didn't spot it right away "I'm betting that's Kumogakure itself." it's a guess on his part, but one that's logical enough as to why he'd believe it's actually the village itself.

Kotsubo walked away from the desk, standing back in a soldier-like manner to his usual spot that he was standing at. "That's all, Lady Mizukage." he said his piece once more, and simply waited for anything else that she may ask, or if Yomi had anything to say about his assumption of Nozomi falling for the pale woman's offer.

As the Mizukage stood up, apparently with the goal to assert her position among the trio of shinobi present, Yomi took a single step backwards, crossed her arms and grinned, her eyes turning slightly towards Kotsubo just to see how he reacted to the "Strongest" Shinobi's sudden change in posture and demeanor. However, to the Chuunin it was more or less an amusing situation, as though she felt at the very least impressed by the Mizukage's tall stature, she could see that if it came to it, Niyuko was leagues ahead of this one and quite frankly, the Chuunin was even more or less certain that from the anatomic indications she was given on first sight, even she herself might've granted this new woman holding office a run for her money if need be.

Yet, despite her cocky nature and arrogant demeanor, at the very least Yomi did have the decency to shut her mouth, keep grinning and simply listen to what this Mizukage had to say about the whole mission and the failures that came with it. Calmly she listened to the Mizukage's reasonings, even deciding not to interject a second time when Kotsubo was allowed to state his own opinion and his own view of the facts, yet when he spoke of the things she had not heard, all that left her throat in any form or sound was a single "Tsk," Making it obvious that as she frowned she was quite displeased with the notion of having to wait three years for this woman to reveal herself once more. "It almost sounds more like she's giving herself three years. Three years to fully convert the Three tails to her cause, three years to train the three tails in controling its power. She does not intent to face us, she intends to pit us against a former comrade to fully break our spirit, only an idiot would not gather such intent from those words."

Yomi's words were harsh, but she was certain that she was not at all far from the mark, if anything it seemed that the White haired woman's intent was not to fight the shinobi, but to convert or break them. In the Chuunin's opinion, breaking someone had more long term effects and using a village's former shinobi as a pawn to such a goal would certainly aid in said goal and have a greater chance of overall success. Having seen the displayed map just with a glance from her own position in the office, Yomi simply scoffed, tilted her head a bit forward and closed her eyes until the Mizukage suddenly turned her attention back at the Chuunin.

"If there's one thing this incident has thought us, it's that Kirigakure does no longer command the respect and fear it once did," Opening her eyes again and displaying a devious grin, Yomi pulled at her fingerless gloves and when they had been pulled tightly, she clenched her hands into fists and opened them again, repeating this a few times in silence, to let the words sink in a bit with the two other people in the room. "If Kirigakure still had its old standing, no village would've openly attacked us as part of the Mist, no shinobi would've dared betray the Mist either. However, look at us now. Openly attacked by Kumogakure, used by them as they saw fit and even betrayed by the stupidity within our own shinobi."

Slowly walking over to Kotsubo, , the woman grabbed a Kunai and tapped with the point of the small projectile weapon at a spot a few inches away from where the Jounin pointed out the Village hidden in the clouds to be located. "Just saying, but you're wrong. I'm not a sensory type shinobi, but I know a thing or two about the names of the villages, Kumogakure's name suggests it is located in a less densely populated area, probably a few miles north to your original idea, in the mountains right there...where water from the lake can vaporize to turn into thick mist and clouds when it comes high enough...hence village hidden in the clouds."

Patting the Jounin on the shoulder, she put away her kunai and smiled brightly, so seemingly innocent and unbecoming of her that it was...odd and awkward. "With harsh meassures I obviously mean the public execution of those who bear the weight of this betrayal upon them...all who are blood of the traitor. A show to the people and the world that Kirigakure does not take lightly to betrayal, it will cement the fear within and without the village," Cracking her knuckles, she looked at the Mizukage with an almost diabolical grin. "This village has grown strong on the blood of its shinobi, blood spilled in combat, trial and education. The culmination of this era was Nikuyo, but look at us now, complacent higher ups with no regard to the village's power and only caring about lining their pockets with gold and silver, shinobi that rather take the hand of a stranger in exchange for power due to that very same complacency...truly, don't you think it is better to return to the old ways?"

Yomi had backed off initially as Konami rose but it appeared she could not hold her tongue. Kotsubo informed her that the pale woman had given them three years to prepare. Konami assumed that this pale woman intended to bring about some sort of cataclysmic religious event. Those types tended to have a fascination with bringing about the end of the world and the destruction of those they viewed sinful. Yomi cut in with valuable insight albeit with the same disrespect that the Mizukage had warned her about. It was possible that the preparation was not merely for the village's benefit or as part of some degree of religious symbology but that it was for her own benefit. When Kotsubo delivered the single piece of good news of his report (discounting his and Yomi's survival) Yomi cut in once more to give a small speech followed by yet another snarky correction. She was throwing the Jounin's report into disarray and at this juncture Konami decided she was done listening to Yomi's arrogant prattle.

"Just saying, but you're wrong. I'm n-."

"Enough!" Konami raised her voice and stared down Yomi. The woman was either hard-headed or hard of hearing, whatever the case may be Konami decided she didn't want someone like that dictating what the village's next course of action should be. Yomi was a valuable ninja but she was a jarhead who did not respect the chain of command. She was almost as bad as Toonami in her willful disobedience and insubordination. The difference being that Konami was not related to her and had not shared a body with her for more than half her life. A necessary consequence of that fact was that she had zero tolerance for the woman's bullshit. She dismissed whatever suggestion Yomi was about to forward and interrupted her.

"I'm not sure what your malfunction is. Perhaps the venom that the pale woman injected into you is clouding your judgment and your ability to follow basic instructions. Maybe you were always this dense and I've just been fortunate to not have ever encountered you prior to today. Whatever the case may be, I can't have you making strategic decisions in your current state. You've not only disrespected your superior three times, you've done it despite my explicit warning. Consider yourself fortunate I'm not Nikuyo. "

Konami waved the woman away.

"You are dismissed. If I have need for you, I'll send for you"

At this point Yomi would be wise to leave. She had already jeopardized her future potential for greater access to responsibility, rank, and all the tools that came with it but if she did not make herself scarce she would also jeopardize her career and life. When Yomi had departed she would turn to Kotsubo and say with controlled anger.

"All things considered, you've done well Kotsubo. You have brought back valuable intelligence that we can use to launch a counter-attack on the pale woman as well as turn our loss into a future gain at Kumo's expense...."

She would have him write a more thorough and comprehensive report but for now she had the basic gist of what was going on. He had finished the oral report and now the time for strategic planning would commence. But first she would need to make a formal decision on what Yomi's role would be going forward. She could have used the woman's intuition and skill but her crass approach to hierarchy would make her unsuitable for anything more than being a body to throw at the pale woman. Maybe Toonami would find use in her, she didn't want to have to deal with two chaos elements but if Toon could handle her and channel her in a way that Konami could not then perhaps it wouldn't be a total loss.

"I want to talk about Yomi...based on this mission and any other previous interactions, what is your read on her?"

Even though Kotsubo is calm and pretty tolerant, even he had started to get slightly irritated at Yomi's constant interruption. He does believe that she should have a voice in the report but she can do so when it's her turn to speak, not to constantly interrupt Kotsubo's own explanations. Once again however, he kept himself calm and didn't give into his anger, showing a supreme level of calmness despite the insults and disrespect that Yomi had thrown towards Kotsubo, before there was any chance for Kotsubo to speak up about it however, it seems that Konami was irritated by it just as well and had a go at Yomi for it. Kotsubo had remained silent the entire time, but a light, curious face could be seen on him when Konami did go that far however.

Assuming that Yomi would take Konami's orders and exit the room, Kotsubo would put his attention back to Konami once more. When he walked into the Mizukage's office today, he was expecting a punishment of some kind but he is somewhat glad that isn't the case however, though he doesn't fully believe it on that account yet and would wait for the meeting to be truly over until he can make that assumption.

When she asked for Kotsubo's thoughts on Yomi, he found it to be a fair question as he was the squad leader for the mission after all, he dealt with her insubordination firsthand. "I didn't include her... behaviour in the report because I didn't think it was that important, but she did display this type of behaviour when we landed on the shore in the Land of Lightning. Despite her... ways, she truly cares for Kirigakure from the looks of it. She wishes for it to flourish and she's loyal to the village to a fault, which was shown when she could've joined Nozomi with the pale woman, considering their relationship as friends but she remained true to Kirigakure. I think such loyalty shouldn't go unnoticed, but it's not my call to make." in his eyes, he really didn't have much against Yomi or have any reason to dislike her. She's a good ninja and with the right guiding hand, he believes that she could even surpass Nikuyo. That's more of a wild speculation on his part however but he can see it happening if her path goes the right way.

Being interrupted wasn't much of a concern to Yomi, unlike the Mizukage who in but a few moments time had turned the Chuunin's curiosity into plain disgust and disdain and apparently could not even handle it when someone interrupted for the betterment of both the conversation and the information being handled and given to them. In Yomi's eyes, this new mizukage had already lost all rights of even thinking of commanding her, certainly with that kind of haughty and petulant attitude, which was so unbecoming of a kage and was more fitting among the pre-academy playgrounds.

"Hmm, very well...LADY mizukage..." Turning around, she calmly left the office through the doors which made up its entrance, yet though she appeared calm, her eyes showed she was furious, with red bloodvessels visible in the white of her eyes. She refused to serve such a childish kage and as such, she reckoned perhaps Nozomi WAS right, who cared for a village if the village only cared about pointless protocol and worthless people ruling it?

[exit thread]

Konami shook her head as Yomi stormed out of the room clearly upset that she had just been told to leave. It was a shame if the woman had a better temperament Konami could see her having a critical role to play in future plans. For now though perhaps it would be best to leave the Chuunin be. Much to Konami's surprise Kotsubo decided to stick up for his subordinate. He stated that she was loyal even though she was disrespectful. Konami sighed unsure of how to handle the woman. She'd give Toonami a crack at Yomi and see how that played out. If the two came to blows then she'd have her answer if Toon managed to somehow win Yomi over then she might have a path into the fold. For now it seemed though she would be working rather closely with Kotsubo. The Mizukage nodded and replied:

"Very well, I will take this into consideration. For now though it appears I will be relying on you closely in the future. I can tolerate occasional failure. Circumstances arise that are out of our control as shinobi and while your performance wasn't flawless you handled yourself well."

Konami placed a hand under her chin and considered something for a moment.

"Meet me at the Defense Coordination Center. I have something that I think will take you to the next level. We have three years to prepare a viable defense against this pale woman. In three years time I need you to be a potent weapon in the fight for this country's survival. Don't think of this as a reward but rather an investment in your potential Kotsubo"

Once she agreed to meet, she'd wave him off and dismiss him. When Kotsubo left, Konami's secretary would make an appointment for him to write down and deliver a written report of everything that has transpired in the Land of Lightning. She made her own notes on the map Kotsubo had brought her and did some paperwork before leaving for the day.

Kotsubo oddly felt glad that Yomi would be given another chance, perhaps out of worry that once they go into battle against the pale woman once more, she'll need the actual woman that put the only injury on her in the first place. Kotsubo did plan to train like hell for the next three years to match up against the dragon tamer, but even then he's sure that won't be enough, all the training in the world won't always solve everything and it's good to rely on others sometimes. It's also added to the fact that Kotsubo believed he reached his potential a long while ago.

It seems that thought was twisted around when Konami mentioned about giving him something that'll take him to the next level, and an investment towards his potential. She must surely know some portion of what Kotsubo is capable of, his skill probably isn't that far off from how Toonami is if she used to be a Jounin. Kotsubo knew that most ninja would probably reached their limits in terms of power potential once they hit around the Chuunin or Jounin stage so she must be serious when she means that whatever she'll be giving him will really take him to a new level.

"Curious... alright, I'll meet you there then." and after that, she dismissed him and without much trouble, he simply walked out of the room. That was an... interesting meeting, but it was over with nonetheless, he walked in expecting a punishment by the end, but instead he's practically got a slap on the wrist. He'll take it, but now he's worried about the report he'll have to fill out once he gets back home. "That'll be annoying, but I'll do it first, just to get it out of the way... never liked the paperwork." he muttered to himself, exiting the building.

(Exit)

Kotsubo had finished everything he could from the scrolls a bit ago, placing them in a secure place in his house for the meantime until he decided he was done with them, however they would've simply gathered dust and didn't want the place to be ransacked, that'd look bad on his part and the Mizukage would have his meat for sashimi after that. Making some time, he picked up the scrolls and went out pretty fast, holding all the scrolls and running for the Mizukage Complex. Considering the sensitivity of these scrolls, he really wasn't taking any chances.

Soon enough, he'd make it. He'd remember the way from the last time he visited the Mizukage's office and simply knocked on the door, hoping that Konami is there as she requested for the scrolls to be returned to her.

An ANBU took the scroll and stored it away in its proper location within the office. The whole office floor had a squad of A-Rank Guards protecting it.