The Search

After the dreadful war, Mockingbird members have essentially fallen apart as far as Kureji knows. The mask is something he still has, but not something he no longer wears and his features are as clear as day. The plain face, his golden eyes, short hair still maintained. He couldn't quite return back to Konohagakure and there were a few options where his relationships with other villages were either neutral or just slightly good, and decided to chip in his chances on Iwagakure. There were a few reasons for this, but the main one is his kekkei genkai in mind. If he wanted to learn how to use his Explosion Release, there's no better teacher than the ones who actually know how to use it. He wasn't quite sure how he planned to deceive them about getting his explosion release, but he'd work it out as it came along.

Kureji wasn't so discreet about his travelling either, he did most of the walking but when he tired of walking across the rocky terrain, he instead relied on his gigantic salamander, Kaido and stayed on top of him, legs crossed and sitting down as Kaido is now the one crossing through the rough terrain. Kaido made a few groans every now and then at his master, but Kureji simply shrugged it off. "You got this, you're made of sturdier stuff than me." Kaido is easily his most durable summon. He isn't made for environments that isn't wet or moist, but he's still fast enough to move around in these mountains.

His goal is to find the village hidden in the Rock, he believes that if he can serve under them, he can utilise more of his potential. He can learn from them about his affinity to the Earth element, more about his blast release among other things. He wasn't quite sure how long he had to go, but he only hoped that it would be soon, very soon.

"Another disturbance detected, Sir"a came a voice from the other side of the door, Masaru would let out a sigh. They had been getting a lot of these lately, and considering the state of his forces right now himself and Chen had been the ones dealing with them the most. A lot had changed in the past three years both for Iwagakure and the world, Hirashi's attack on the shinobi around world left a scare that would not be healed over night. Most of his men were killed or injured in the war, with limited resources it had to fall upon the two strongest members of the village. The Tsuchikage and his Right hand man, "Where is Chen?" Masaru questioned hoping he could catch a break and the boy could be sent to deal with it. "Chen is on assignment, Sir. I do not possess the clearance as to why, but I was informed that he won't be back for some time." Masaru would let out a grown, he had forgotten about that. Chen's special assignment, damnit. That means he has to deal with it, "tell Hansuke to meet me at the gates."

At the gates, Hansuke would give Masaru the full report on the disturbance. "There are two signatures, travelling through the Chang Mountains. They are headed this way, but not directly. It will take them time to reach us in their current path, but if they pose a threat to the land..." Hansuke wouldn't finish his thought, Masaru however knew where he was going. If they were a threat then it is best to not leave them to their devices, interception and dealing with them was the only course of action. "Get the jinsoku-shi stationed on the wall, if I fall then defend this village to the last man." His words while unnecessary, held high meaning to the man. He would not accept defeat unless all were dead including himself, he knew Hansuke understood that and that his loyalty would see Masaru's wishes followed.

Masaru would depart the village gates heading in the direction of the source of the anomaly, what he saw was at the very least was surprising. A male looking to be in his late teens or early twenties riding on the back of a large salamander, while they did not look to be a threat, Masaru knew all too well that looks could be deceiving. The male would still be over 3km away from where the salamander and rider was, when he would split himself in two. Through the use of the Fission Technique he was able to do more than just a clone of himself this was a true living and breathing person, one half of a whole. One Masaru would form the tiger seal before disappearing from view using the hiding in Camouflage Technique, as the remaining Masaru would draw closer to the intruders. Once he was closer but still out of their view, Masaru would slam his palms to the ground activating the earth release: multiple earth style wall technique. Thirty walls made of earth would pop out of the earth, surrounding the two would be intruders from all sides.

Almost as quickly as the walls would appear, one of the Masaru's would appear standing on the top of the earth wall directly in front of Kureji. "You are trespassing on my Land. What is your Purpose Here?!" His voice would boom as if spoken through a megaphone thanks to the acoustics provided by the earth walls that surrounded the male and his Salamander, it carried a tone of Authority as well as respect. Sure he was demanding, but after the war it was hard to just believe someone was near the village and did not mean to cause it harm. The second Masaru while hidden from view both by the walls and the hiding in Camouflage Technique would begin to channel his chakra as he formed a string of handseals concentrating to form the earth to create a Golem from it. It would take time for the Golem to form, but would be helpful if these two were hostile and decided to attack. Which was why Masaru split himself, of course if they were not aggressive then this would but nothing more than a waste. Still it was better to be safe than sorry.

Kureji wasn't intentionally trying to be sneaky, the idea of riding on a giant salamander was to get the attention of somebody. He could've been a lot sneakier if he wanted to, but the idea is to get somebody from the Land of Earth to notice him. It seemed like his path would go on for miles and nobody would really notice him. It was weird, as he didn't even notice anybody on the roads. It wasn't until the gigantic Earth walls showing at every angle that jerked more of a reaction out of him. "Hmm... about time." somebody noticed. He could only hope that they're from Iwagakure.

"Your Land? the Land of Earth? you must be the Tsuchikage." if someone claimed to own an entire land like the Land of Earth, there were a few guesses, such as some lands having feudal lords but he doubted a feudal lord could pull up earth style walls on such short notice... only someone of a skillful calibre could do that, and that led him to his educated guess. "To join Iwagakure. I used to serve as a medical ninja at the Emporium, now that the war is over, they don't have much use for me anymore. I'm hoping to join up as a ninja for Iwagakure. If you don't want me though, I'm happy to turn around the other way." Kureji oddly didn't seem that concerned about the walls, keeping his calm in the situation. If worst came to worst, he could defend himself but it looked like whoever this guy is isn't attacking him unless he attacks first. It looks like they have that silent understanding going on.

"I also used to serve as a ninja for Konohagakure, before the war..." he wouldn't mention his part of being apart of Mockingbird however, since that name is mixed in some lands and he wouldn't risk it here. Kureji remained calm and although his salamander seemed a bit jumpy, he kept his hand on him, patting him as the exchange went on as a way to calm him.

The hidden Masaru's golem would be fully formed, concealed behind the walls of earth awaiting a signal from the Masaru a top the walls. The Masaru on top of the walls would listen as the younger male spoke, he was at least intelligent that much was apparent. Iwagakure was in need of medical officers, experienced shinobi that could lead the medical corp. This guy would seem to fit the bill, but Masaru's eyes would narrow when the male mentioned working for Konoha. "Are you a Deserter?" Masaru would call down from the wall, "Did the little Hokage allow you to leave or did you just not care? you say you worked for Konoha before the war, yet during the war you worked the emporium. Your loyalty seems to be a fickle as the weather, what make you think you deserve a spot in my military."

Masaru would give the male time to answer his questions before he would continue, "I am not the gentle ruler the Raikage is, I am not the child ruler the Hokage is, and I am not the absent ruler the Mizukage is. And I am Not the Criminal the Kazekage is. Iwa has no place for the weak, nothing here is free. From this point forward if you want something you will have to earn the right for it, I do not give handouts or pay someone to sit around. You will be expected to do missions on a monthly basis, in addition to your normal duties and whatever else is assigned to you. Are you sure that is the path you wish to take, because once you start down that path there will be no turning back. Swearing loyalty to me is swearing it till your dying breath, and if you try to break that swear you will be put to death." Masaru stared down at the male and his Salamander, the cold stare in the man's eyes and the lack of emotion in his voice would say that there was no debating this. Masaru was the leader of this country, and as such expected absolute conviction from his subordinates. He also drove them hard for perfection, but as something Chen can attest to it had its results in the long run. Whether the male decided to take his Salamander and leave would be up to him, but if he stayed then he would have to swear his loyalty to Masaru. Of course, if the day came that the male decided he did not wish to be apart of the village after that would be the day that he died.

All the jabs he made at the other Kage made it evident what type of personality this man is. A part of him wanted to turn around, but the secrets of Iwagakure were alluring. What he proposed is the standard of any village, to serve your village dutifully. "I guess you could say I deserted, but I don't serve weak leaders, whoever thought a cat leading a village was a good idea reaches a level of human stupidity that's almost transcendent." he referred back to when Tatsu used to be the Hokage. Her decisions were questionable and it led to her death in the end, he knew that much. "Not to mention, the Emporium isn't going elsewhere. They didn't have much use for me after the war. If what you say is true, I want to earn the secrets to your villages blast release. I have the bloodline in me." he wouldn't open up on how he got the bloodline, but that would surely put a bit more favour into his resume.

"That's one reason why I've come here, I want to unlock the power that's dormant within and last I heard, there were some Kotoshura here." he wasn't sure if that's exactly true or not, but with the leader right in-front of him, he could verify. "I specialise in the Earth element as well, and I hold the Salamander Scroll, a scroll plucked from the Land of Rain." he wouldn't open up on how he got that either, but he's making a point that he's got quite a handful to bring to the table, ontop of his medical prowess. "If you'll have me, I swear complete loyalty to you until the end of my days." he wasn't sure if there was a process for that, but that's about as good as he's going to give it.

For Masaru to say he wasn't impressed, he would be lying. The male had quite a resume under his belt, and the fact that he stated he didn't serve weak leaders but swore to serve him only inflated the man's ego. The fact that he had blast release dormant within him could only mean one of two things, either he was a Kotoshura or he stole it and transplanted it within him. Of course the fact that he is looking for Kotoshura's, causes the dial to lean more towards thee implant route. How he acquired it was of little concern to Masaru. Either he is strong enough to kill a Kotoshura in which case he deserved a spot in Iwa, or the Kotoshura was weak and therefore not worthy of life. Still he would ask the male just to see his response, "Tell me Boy, what is your name? Are you of the Kotoshura Clan? And how exactly did the salamander scroll come to be plucked from the land of Rain and end in your possession?" Masaru would already know the answer to the second question but was interested in the answer to the other two, the second question was to gauge the male's character and give Masaru the information he needed on whether the male was worthy enough for him to come to Iwagakure. Would he tell the truth, would he lie, would he get hung up on the fact that Masaru called him a boy despite the small difference in their age. He wouldn't be the first one to come looking to take the power that Iwa holds for themselves, Iwa had many secrets from the techniques that were in his personal repertoire to the secret behind the Kotoshura itself. What has been dubbed the Iwagakure Kinjutsu, but a name was but a name and held no bearings on how Masaru viewed it. But one thing he would not do, is allow any of them to fall into the hands of someone who was unworthy of them.

He awaited the answer, being called a "boy" and although a weird name to call him by, he paid it no mind. He expected the answers to come after he orally gave his resume to him. "Kureji Toukei, I am under no clan and was born with no kekkei genkai. The bloodline comes from courtesy of Tatsu Kotoshura, considering the nature of that back in Kirigakure... you'll understand why I won't go into many details." he had a feeling that the man would find out sooner or later, and he would at least give him the truth... well, some of it anyway. His blast release coming from Tatsu Kotoshura is true, but the exact nature of how he came to acquire it is a different case.

"I've worked alongside Mockingbird at one point, as a reward for my services, I was given the Salamander Scroll. I will admit, I wasn't there for when the scroll was taken, but I like to think that I rightfully earned it. As you can see, I'm using the scroll quite efficiently." he motioned to the gigantic salamander that he's currently sitting on. "It used to belong to Akihiro Uchiha, who took over the Land of Rain for Konohagakure." he'd state. He'd keep his relations with Mockingbird under wraps, as they're a missing ninja organisation. It'd be one thing to not be apart of Konohagakure anymore and have ties to them, but to be associated with a missing ninja organisation is something else and might ruin his chances of getting accepted.

It seemed the boy would choose the path of truth to tell Masaru, well at least as far as the blast release was concerned. Masaru knew all too well of the occurrence with Tatsu, an assassination sanctioned by the former Mizukage. Tatsu was a powerful blast user, and was Kage. But what Kureji said about her was true as well, she was no leader. Her decision was clouded by her age, and ultimately she walked herself to her grave. Masaru would not hold the fact that Kureji held Tatsu's organ within him, but he knew that the Kotoshura would not be so understand. I did not matter to them that Tatsu was a crazy child with more power than she could handle, she was their clansman and that was all that mattered to them. Masaru feared what might happen to Kureji if the truth was let known to the Kotoshura, however he could not just let a powerful asset like Kureji just leave for fear of reprisal from the clan. He would have to establish that Kureji would be left unharmed by the clan, but since he had not heard word of the Kotoshura Clan leader Yui perhaps he would be able to convince them. Still the male wouldn't just be granted access to it, least he leave as soon as he gets it. Masaru would let out a long breath as he formed a string of three handseals, the walls of earth would begin to go back down into the earth. The Earth Golem and the other Masaru would be revealed from behind the walls, but with a nod from the one that was on the wall the second Masaru would end the golem Technique before walking up to and reforming with the first Masaru. Once the two were reformed again, Masaru would motion for Kureji to come with him. Once they were walking together Masaru would finally speak, "It does not matter to me how the bloodline came to you, however you should know that the Kotoshura may not share the same view as I do. As far as who the bloodline came from, I feel it would be best to just say you did not know. Tatsu was a Kotoshura, and despite her faults she was their Kin and in Iwa that means more than what wrongs that person may or may not have done." Masaru would not wait for an answer from Kureji before continuing on, "you will be expected to preform missions and other tasks suited to your skills. After you prove yourself capable enough we can discuss a meeting with the Kotoshura to determine if they will allow you to learn the way of their bloodline, I assume that will not be a problem."

Kureji watched as the walls started to unform, but the thing that caught his eye is the golem... an interesting technique for sure, but what piqued his interest even further is the clone merging with the man. He had never seen a clone technique like that before, but that's a question he'd ask later... right now, his recruitment into the village is the current topic and that's the one he focused on. He spoke of his conditions once more, that he would have to serve the village in order to earn the bloodline. He is no stranger to hard work, so that didn't concern him. It's the other concern he noted, of the Kotoshura learning how he got his bloodline. He can perhaps keep that under wraps and one of his ancestors were a Kotoshura.

"Family is a strong bond, I understand." he said in his warning of the Kotoshura clan. He didn't plan to be as upfront to them about how he got the bloodline, but he's glad that Masaru seems to understand his problem in trying to learn about his bloodline. That's something he'll have to work towards as time goes on, as Masaru noted. "I can agree to that, I won't disappoint you... Lord Tsuchikage." now that an understanding was given between both parties, he believed it was time to start formally calling him by his title. "With that discussed, should we head to the village? Kaido, you can go now." he only used his Salamander to save himself some walking distance but now that he can be led directly to the village, there's no point in having him around. The gigantic Salamander popped into a puff of smoke, with Kureji gracefully landing on the ground. He was ready to be led to the village.

Masaru would nod to Kureji remark of moving on to village, "yes we should." Masaru stated as the salamander disappeared, the journey to the village would not take very long with Masaru leading the way. "Once we arrive within the village you will be free to move throughout it as you please on your own, you may help yourself to any of the open penthouses within the village as the criminal that use to own them is no longer in need of a place to stay in my village. I believe your medical knowledge could be useful, when you have time I would like you to report to the hospital for assignment. You will start at the bottom, and if your skill is as good as you say, you will be able to earn your way to running the entire division if that is your desire or there are other divisions of you decide medical is not for you." Masaru would say, continuing their conversation as they walked towards the village gates. He knew that starting off at the bottom was never something someone wanted to hear, and if Kureji was as skilled as he claimed there was no reason for him to have to. However, in Iwa this was the way. Kureji would have plenty of chances to prove himself and earn his right, Masaru held a strong belief that when you earn something you appreciate it more then when something is given to you. It was how he got to where he was today, and how he planned to ensure that all weakness was weeded out of his village. As they drew nearer to the village, the one hundred meter outer wall that surrounded the village would come into view. "Kureji allow me to introduce you to the Village of the Hidden Stone."

{Exit to The Southern Gate}

As the Tsuchikage agreed, Kureji was led to the village of the stone. He wasn't quite sure what to expect, as the only villages he's visited are Kirigakure and Konohagakure, with the latter being his origin, as they walked along, his ear perked to the mention of a penthouse. "Hmm... I never had such luxury..." he muttered to himself. The idea of a penthouse was interesting, and one that he wouldn't mind taking his word on.

The village finally came into view and as he expected, it seemed to be quite... rocky, which is representing of it's name. He stayed close to Masaru as they went through the gates.

[Exit to The Southern Gate.]