Workers United (Kumogakure)

Within the Heavenly Emporium, two rooms had been reserved for meetings between representatives of a continent wide union of laborers, craftsmen, and other working class occupations. The war had had some devastating impacts on the economies of the world, no one country managing to escape the consequences. Yes, some industries had begun to thrive because of the constant demand for weapons and armor, but farmers who had their fields burned to the ground and ordinary shop owners who have been robbed or forced to sell their goods for less than they wished were feeling the burn. Everything had been turned towards the war effort and the people had had enough.

To that end, three representatives from the Union had been carefully chosen and sent to meet with three representatives of the remaining great nations that were relevant to the war effort. The Heavenly Emporium had been gracious enough to provide the space for this negotiation, the space being two identical rooms within their diplomacy section of the floating trade hub. Each room had the appearance of a board room, with a large oval table made of rare wood in the center of each. Each was seven meters long and had been sanded then polished smooth to the touch. The finish was absolutely exquisite, and the chairs that surrounded the table matched it in both material and quality. A lush, very well kept carpet of a gray coloring provided the flooring for each room.

Each wall was made of polished Senju Wood, polished and cut in such a manner that each panel of wood slid in perfectly to the panels on either side for a seamless appearance. The look was very difficult to pull off and was the mark of a master carpenter, one who had spent their entire lifetime to have the skill necessary to accomplish such a feat. This is where the similarities ended between the two rooms. In the room set aside for Kumogakure's dignitary, pictures of the Lightning Country decorated the walls. Pictures of beautiful storms, of majestic mountains, rocky coastlines, and enthralling cliffside manors.

The wall opposite from the door into the room had a mural on it that depicted a brilliant bolt of lightning fall from the sky to strike a mountaintop below. It was painted at the exact moment of contact when bits of rock had been blown into the sky and the darkness around it was scattered with the brilliant luminescence of the lightning bolt. Roiling clouds and a turbulent sky marked the top of the mural near the ceiling with the cloud line receding gradually into the background of the fine work of art. There was not a better place to hold such a meeting as this, a room where the peak of laborers such as those striking now was displayed for the dignitary to see. It was a reminder of why they had been sent. The nations needed the people and they knew it.

In this room one the long side of the table situated directly in front of the mural was a small group of people. One man sat in the middle of the table with his massive arms folded across an equally huge chest that made a barrel look tiny in comparison. Had he been standing, the man would have been 6'7" with most of that height coming from a long and powerful torso. He had a bald scalp, but the full beard he had on his face was black with a few flecks of gray smattered throughout. His face was wrinkled and seemed to always be in a permanent scowl. This man was named Hiyoto Toya and he was a blacksmith from the Land of Lightning, one with more than forty years of experience under his belt. Despite him being in his mid sixties, he was still as strong and as imposing as he had ever been in his youth if not more. He had been in charge of the armorsmiths and weaponsmiths of his homeland for a decade now and had been chosen from their midst to represent them in these negotiations. Definitely a gruff man who was not one to take nonsense or accept honeyed words if they hid a poison within them.

To his sides were two scribes, one with a stack of paperwork in front of her that depicted all the legal jargon for their demands. She was of average height and looks, her only outstanding feature being the strikingly blonde hair that was almost white with its color. The other was a scrawny man with glasses who had a sheaf of blank paper in front of him as well as a pen with an inkwell. He was there to write down what was said as well as record the deal in writing should one be reached. A single sheet of paper rested on the table on the opposite side of the huge man that bore a shorthand of the terms the Union was demanding. This was the same for all nations and was what they were here to discuss. These demands are:


1- No nation shall buy any material, raw or finished, from a business that does not belong to the union.

2- No nation shall provide work for any non-union businesses in any way, shape, or form.

3- No nation shall provide protection for non-union businesses whether this be with shinobi or ordinary armed men.

4- No nation shall destroy a business belonging to the union in the course of war if it can be avoided, and if one is destroyed then the nation with which the business resides in will fully compensate the business by said nation for any and all repairs, new construction, goods lost, and lives taken.

5- Every nation will have one member of the union as part of their advisory council or the equivalent of one with this bearing should the nation's governmental form differ from the norm. This representative will have the same powers as other members of the council and will have final say over any dealings the nation has with businesses, including which businesses are to be used for what projects within the nation.

6- Every nation will buy goods and services from union businesses at the price determined fair by the union. No negotiations, threats, or under the table deals will be attempted or tolerated.

7- Each laborer within the union will be guaranteed a small salary by the nation to ensure a bare minimum standard of living to prevent any individual laborer from sliding into poverty due to the unforeseen circumstances of war or life in general. No worker should starve when they provide so much to society. In addition, any laborer belonging to the union shall have any health expenses paid for by the state to prevent them from accruing outstanding debts caused by illnesses or injuries they had little to no control over.

8- No laborer will be expected to work more than six hours on any given day and no more than five days per week. The amount they receive each day is to remain the same and will be provided even if the laborer does not work on a specific day. See demand 7 for further details.

9- No machine that has the capacity to replace a laborer shall be permitted in any nation. To lose employment to something which has no need of it is an insult to any person and will only serve to impoverish those who are replaced for no reason.

Hiyoto eyed the young man that Kumogakure had chosen as their dignitary for this meeting. His eyes were a funny color and he dressed like an aristocrat. The massive man's lip had one side curl up into a sneer as Gyo entered the room, not believing him when he claimed to be from the military. Hiyoto made sure to interrupt Gyo before the lad could even finish what he wanted to say and meaning to set the tone for the meeting by doing so. "I'll eat my boots before I believe a scrawny punk like you knows which end of the sword you stick into a man," he sneered with distaste. This was not the type of person he was familiar with in Kumogakure. Kumogakure was full of men who knew how to handle swords, that knew the value of armor. This rat looked nothing like that. His body was weak and Hiyoto would venture to guess he was as frail as he appeared.

With the offer of a refreshment being interrupted and ignored, Hiyoto pointed at the chair across from him. "Sit, boy." The command was uttered with Hiyoto's best growl, his base voice almost vibrating the air with the power he put behind the words. Yes, Hiyoto was a man who was used to running entire groups of craftsmen. Their organization, their skills, their wants and needs, all of that was second nature to him just as breathing was. He patted the man next to him with the back of his hand gently, though for one such as him that still moved the man in his chair. "Get us some tea." The man would do as told, standing and moving to retrieve tea for the group of them.

Hiyoto returned his arms to their crossing over his broad chest, distrustful eyes staring through Gyo as he watched the genin take a seat. Once seated, Hiyoto would slap a hand down on a piece of paper in front of him. It was a copy of the paper sitting in front of Gyo's seat. His massive hand almost covered the entire sheet, fingers like sausages turning white from the force he exerted. The table even groaned a little. "Has Kumogakure come to accept our terms along with the rest of the villages, or are you just buying time in the hopes they can lick the boots of someone higher up the totem pole than me?"

The tea would be brought at this point, the scrawny man setting four cups down. He poured for Hiyoto first, sliding the cup across to the large man before pouring for Gyo out of respect for his position here. Hiyoto lifted the hand he had slapped the table with and grasped the cup, which was made of silver as was appropriate for such an elaborate room, taking a relatively long sip from the cup. When it left his lips, drops of tea glistened on his moustaches. They glittered like the sun on fresh morning dew before he wiped the droplets away with a forearm as thick as a man's leg. The entire time he did so his eyes would bore a hole into Gyo's brain, burning with a ferocious intensity that would cause even the most willful of men to cower. Yes, Hiyoto was a man who expected obedience and respect, even if the person he was speaking to was a scrawny genin from his homeland. Especially if it was a scrawny genin from his homeland, actually.

Hiyoto's lip curled into a half amused snarl at Gyo's retort. The boy had a little spunk, though not enough meat on his bones to make good on that word. "It would be the last thing you ever did, boy." It was not a threat by Hiyoto, just a simple statement of fact in his opinion. This boy might be witty and quick with a quip, but there was no chance he was strong enough to pose a threat to Hiyoto. Once Gyo had his tea and began to read the abbreviated terms, Hiyoto would snag a folder from the woman while the man patiently waited, pen in one hand and tea in the other. The huge man tossed the folder across the table to land near Gyo.

"There are the specifics of our demands. You look like an idiot pretending there's any real detail on one piece of paper. You also need to look up who you're talking to, boy. I'd be the first to know of any kind of agreement." Hiyoto had been a part of the council who came up with the demands and knew them left, right, and center. He had no need to look at the papers contained within the folder, each demand having a small packet of information relating to the specifics of each bullet point that was written on the paper.

His arms returned to crossing over his thickly muscled chest, the penetrating gaze focused entirely on Gyo as the boy made to read over their demands. The tea didn't last too long and the scrawny man had to refill Hiyoto's cup twice in the time it took Gyo to read over the demands. He had started a second pot when the genin finally took off those garish glasses he had decided to put on.

Hiyoto chuckled when Gyo mentioned he had something to say on a few of the terms. "Oh, I bet you do have a few things to say." His brow furrowed down after this, almost hiding his eyes behind the massive eyebrows the old blacksmith bore. "But the thing is, I really don't give a damn what you have to say. You've got two choices here; accept or leave Kumogakure's economy in the shitter. Take your pick." The scrawny man glanced at Hiyoto at this point. Only for a brief moment, but he still glanced before returning his attention back to the paper, ready to write once the actual negotiating began.

"Don't you worry yourself about our laborers, they're doing quite fine selling things to ordinary folks. The only parties suffering here are the villages themselves," Hiyoto commented somewhat lightly for him, which is to say slightly less like a stubborn boulder than usual. The boy made a few more prancing like moves such as flippantly snapping his glasses closed. Truly flamboyant, this one was in Hiyoto's opinion. The large man was a little... old fashioned, so to speak. The young genin on the opposite side of the table then pretended to be serious, commenting that he had been sent there to negotiate the "requests" and hinting at his willingness to leave if Hiyoto did not wish to do that.

The old man roared with laughter, startling both of his companions with the unexpected outburst. His voice filled the room with sound, the laugh being very genuine. "Feel free to go, boy. I'm sure my companions can reach a good deal with the other villages; Kumogakure's patronage isn't needed. It's because they can reach a good deal that I know you'll accept all of these demands, because that's the only deal that could be better. Either way, we win." He had leaned forward as he spoke these last few lines and his voice got lower in volume, sounding more like gravel grinding against the stone than a human voice. His hand slapped the table again, causing the scrawny man to cease the writing he had begun when Gyo had made the approach to negotiation. He stared at Hiyoto, annoyance plain on his face at the repeated outbursts as well as the interruption of his writing.

His other companion, the woman on the other side of him, remained mostly impassive after the hand slammed on the table. She was there for any legal documentation that was needed or to provide technical advice should either party wish it, though it was looking more and more like Hiyoto had never really intended to use that well of information to its fullest capacity. Or at all, really.

"The only question here is if Kumogakure wants the Union on their side and their side alone or if they really want to try and fight this war without any armor, weapons, clothing, or food. It doesn't matter to me either way, so please, be. My. Guest." He hammered each of those last three words out like he hammered steel into armor. Each word was hard, pointed, and utterly sure of its meaning just like the hammer strokes that made a breastplate out of steel ingots. Hiyoto motioned to the door with the hand not on the table, offering to let Gyo leave the room. And he truly didn't mind. After all, he doubted Gyo's balls had dropped or not what with that gaudy sense of fashion most unbefitting of a shinobi in his mind. Only women should try to dress pretty, men needed to dress with a purpose in mind. Yes, most definitely old-fashioned.

Hiyoto waited for the boy to finish his driveling and showmanship. He claimed that Kumogakure didn't need literally millions of skilled laborers to produce things for them? Did he have ANY inkling as to how an economy functioned? Did he truly believe one city could provide every need for any one nation, no matter if it floated or not, rather than only aiding in it? Sure, Kumogakure itself might be able to scrape together what it needed for the war, but the land itself? It would wither and die if the Union withdrew from the land altogether which was the other side of this.

But when the lad started to openly threaten them with conscription and the like, Hiyoto couldn't help but burst out in laughter at the sheer ridiculousness of it. His booming voice drowned out the other sounds in the room, including Gyo's, and caused his two associates to jump a little in surprise at the second such outburst in such a short amount of time. "You're a fool if you think for one moment that's going to scare me, boy. Do you REALLY think such empty threats are going to work? All it takes is one nation deciding this city is not worth the hassle and it will burn just like any other, except there won't be a nation or the people needed to rebuild it. Drafting millions of laborers into a war that has been fought exclusively by shinobi up until this point would only cause millions of needless casualties. How well do you think the common folk will take the wanton and unnecessary slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people just like them?"

He paused here to chuckle again, a slight wheeze in his voice showing his age. "Old men and apprentices alike would die and the people would riot. You think our strike is bad? Wait until you kill all of us and then the rest of the craftsmen stop providing for you with nothing but corpses to fall back on. Kumogakure can't supply an entire country with food, clothing, tools, or any other needs without people to do it. Or are you going to enslave Kumogakure's citizenry as well?"

At this point Hiyoto stood, his massive size growing more apparent with that action. His eyes met Gyo's, all hints of mirth gone. "You haven't been alive long enough to know how any of this works, boy. You might be smart, but you don't have any experience at all with regular people and you wear that fact on your sleeve. This city can't provide every single need for one nation without giving up every contract it has with the others, and even then it will be lucky to provide them with enough bare essentials to allow that country to not starve. I've been part of the machine running this Union for more than a decade and I've presided over more business dealings in any six months of that time than you've done in your entire life. You're eloquent but you're as ignorant as my grandchildren."

He pointed at the chair Gyo had vacated. "Sit. Or do you lack enough of a spine to even try negotiating? I didn't think my homeland would send such a coward but it looks like I'm too old and stubborn to see how degenerate the youth has gotten," he grumbled. Hiyoto truly was surprised though. He hadn't really expected to get every piece of the deal he wanted, but taking a hardline stance was the best way to do business in his experience. That the boy would willingly destroy the entire economy of his country and threaten a good chunk of the laborers with enslavement and a death sentence for not rolling over and begging truly showed his ignorance.

Hiyoto didn't think the boy was stupid, but he wasn't making a very good showing of it. The contract would not have been gotten out, the request for it having confused the woman with all the legal framework. One did not sign a contract they did not intend to be a part of. The disinterested party just... walked away. The two of them had been slightly shaken at the threats, but Hiyoto was not a man to be so easily taken aback. He had lived his entire life in hardship and threats from someone with virtually no power to carry them out did not shake him. Not in the slightest.

(Name the points Gyo has the largest concerns about and Hiyoto will bring up the specifics of them and their finer points as part of the negotiations. Remember, the stated goal of the mission is to offer this representative a good enough deal to break the strike in that land and thus break the union.)




The boy did have some nerve, not even bothering to turn and face those who were speaking to him. Hiyoto was right about him it seemed. Gyo likely didn't turn to say anything because there was nothing left to say. He was young and inexperienced; all book smarts with no street cred as the youngsters would say today. It was one of his favorite things about his kids' generation; some of the slang was dope, yo. When Hiyoto mentioned negotiating after his command for the boy to sit he did at least turn around and pretend like he was in control although he kept his rebellious streak going by remaining standing.

"Negotiations don't happen standing up, boy. I won't warn you again," he growled contemptuously. The scrawny man glanced at Hiyoto yet again, this time his eyes lingered for a few moments though. The enormous man sat down and refolded his ham sized forearms across his chest. He would wait for Gyo to sit before saying another word. Once the boy had found his place, they could continue.

"You said you want to negotiate, right? Well then, here's what the union wants; everything. Think you can beat that offer, boy?" The remark was made with a sneer, an obvious sign that Hiyoto did not find Gyo impressive. The lawyer lady had gathered the envelopes that were thrown onto the table and set them aside to read later. For now she had one hand in a thick folder that had numerous separators inside of it. It was one of five. It appeared as if she was getting ready to grab something. She knew a few intricacies that Hiyoto did not and had a good idea of what was actually going to be considered negotiable and what wouldn't be. Call it intuition, but she felt as if this would take longer than Hiyoto thought it would.

The man there to write the words of what was said was eager to finally be able to do his job, quickly writing what Gyo said with a shorthand he had learned that would allow him to decipher it all at a later date. Even if what he wrote down was an insult to Hiyoto, it at least gave him something to do. Hiyoto himself was -mildly- upset with the characterisation of his offer being a childish demand. "Not liking the offer doesn't mean it wasn't an offer," he snarled at Gyo. Hiyoto did keep quiet once Gyo started rambling on about every single point in lockstep. The older man stared at Gyo in a mixture of amazement and what appeared to be hatred. Even he wasn't quite sure what it was, but this boy rubbed him the wrong way in every conceivable manner.

Once he was finally done, thank the gods, Hiyoto would grunt and chuckle again. "You say you want to negotiate and then vomit an entire speech out at once? You talk too damn much. You're worse than Miyaki," he growled, motioning towards the man to hand him the papers. Hiyoto couldn't write the shorthand himself like this, but he had taken lessons in reading it in preparation for this meeting and was good enough to make out what most words were and their context. The man who had written them was rubbing his right hand which had likely cramped from the intensive workout it had just received.

"Let's just stick with the first few for now. That'll let us get a bit more nitty gritty with the details. Let's start with demand three since that one, once you agree, will make the first two sure things." He waited a moment to see if Gyo would reference anything for the point he was speaking about before continuing. He didn't wait long and would bulldoze over whatever Gyo would try to see by being, well, Hiyoto.

"If each nation agrees to guard only union businesses, then businesses that want protection will need to join the union. I bet a lot of them will, too, and the very few that don't can be replaced in volume by those that did. Once a majority of businesses are in the union then nobody will be able to fight each other over pricing. It would be a great benefit to the economies of each nation if people can buy with confidence knowing that there's nowhere else that sells anything cheaper. They'll buy the better quality product and businesses will have to improve to keep up."

Hiyoto grinned here, confident in what the union had come up with for their demands. "With that, the first two points would be pretty easy to implement since everyone would be part of the union anyways. We want to ensure equality for all the hard working men and women not just in our homelands but across the continent by assuring they can't be undercut because of one stupid reason or another. Everyone has to play fair or not at all." The large man sighed, getting to the last part of what Gyo had said that the man had written down. The part about shinobi becoming part of the union.

"And of course, any businesses owned by a shinobi would need to comply. We have no problems with that at all as long as they compete fairly with the other members of the union. But shinobi becoming part of the union for no reason? That doesn't even make sense," he scoffed, gesturing with a flipped hand that it was preposterous to even suggest such a thing. "At the most, the nation's costs for guarding businesses will stay the same. We're not creating any new businesses by ourselves. At best, the costs will go down because you won't have to guard the few holdouts anymore. Any losses in revenue from that would be made up with profit on the end by the taxes the nation would get from the evened out market and the surge of people spending their money with far less fear than they would normally have. You can try to put a bad spin on that all you want, but it will benefit everyone in the long run far more than what we have now."

Once finished, Hiyoto would motion for Gyo to respond whenever he wished with a nonchalant wave of his hand. The man had been scribbling his shorthand again, the lawyer lady taking a look at the things Gyo had tossed to them. She remained quiet, glancing at papers from her own collection to make sure Hiyoto hit the points that had been described with each condition. She nodded once near the end ever so slightly, unconsciously noting her approval of how Hiyoto had gone about that.

(I apologize immensely for the wait, my body refuses to cooperate with me the last few weeks. I'm also sorry for the worsened quality, my brain just hasn't been up to the task recently)


Hiyoto's friend with the pen wrote furiously as Gyo gave his reply to Hiyoto's opening statements regarding the first three points on the short list of demands that had been given to the three major shinobi nations currently participating in the war. The man had no issues following along with everything Gyo said at first, but after a few choice phrases and mannerisms were displayed he stopped trying to figure out the words he was using. Perhaps he wasn't as smart as Hiyoto had initially thought since he had trouble figuring out some pretty clear language. In fact, one could say that every one of his points were made with the sole purpose of misinterpreting what he had, again, clearly stated. It had to have been done on purpose! That, or the boy really wasn't as bright as he tried to come off as being. Hiyoto wasn't sure and, honestly, didn't really care.

Gyo also tried to intimidate him or something as he spoke by looking him in the eye. Hiyoto flashed a brief smile at that. The boy actually had some balls between them legs, eh? Perhaps not as smart, but more arrogant? One could usually fake the other in Hiyoto's experience. Once he was done speaking, he motioned for the scribe to hand over the transcript of what Gyo had said so that he could go over it once more to clarify what he had half-listened to. He also wanted to give the scribe a break to flex his hand and let it relax between rounds of intense writing in that fancy shorthand of his.

Hiyoto sighed as he finished reading the paper and let it flutter down onto the table, releasing it without a thought. The scribe gingerly retrieved it from the air before it could fall all the way, easing it over to the side of his mass of paper with a slight frown. "You're real good at hearing what you want to hear instead of what was said, boy," he growled with a bit of frustration and anger tainting his words. "You can't have a monopoly if there's dozens of businesses providing whatever you want to buy. Being part of a union with other businesses doesn't make you the same business," he finished as his first point before continuing on, eyes glaring at Gyo.

"By 'businesses that belong to the Union or not', I mean exactly that. A business that has either joined the Union or a business that has not. The Union doesn't 'own' anything, the people who comprise it own their own businesses or work for people who do. I'm really not sure how much more clear I can get with that" he said disdainfully. "Any land that is owned by Kumogakure is part of Kumogakure and will need to follow the same rules they do. If they're not owned by Kumogakure and you still want to trade with them, I can settle for allowing Kumogakure as well as the other major nations to trade with those lands but only if what they trade to the other land is Union made."

Hiyoto gestured for more tea, got some, and took a long and drawn out drink from the cup. When he set it down on the table with a satisfied sigh, it was empty and he nodded his head to indicate he would like more as he continued to speak. "Any business owned by a ninja will need to join the Union. It's a business owned by a shinobi, so... it's already protected, and you can deal with them because they're in the Union. An order by your uppers will do the trick, I'm certain of it." His cup refilled, he took another drink but kept it to a more moderate level. He then gestured for the paper again, reading the middle parts to refresh what was said and make his response more accurate. He handed the paper back to the scribe before continuing.

"The Union will not force anybody to join it, either. We won't be protecting everyone in every land. That's stupid. Not everyone in every land works at something that requires real skills. Actors? Bankers? People who aren't part of the Union? No, sorry, that's not a thing that can happen. It defeats the entire purpose of the Union in the first place; giving the people a voice and power to keep people like them out of their lives and ensure that their livelihood is guaranteed. All the aristocrats and upper crust do is try to keep the 'peasantry' in their place, grinding away at the mill." The cup in his hand crumpled into a wet, useless scrap of metal. There was no hope of repair short of melting it down and reforging it.

"You all declare pointless wars, kill innocents, destroy towns, all the while doing NOTHING to help with the plague that's been devastating the world for, what, a decade now? You use us like cattle, demanding this or that while ignoring that we've been dying. No, it's time for the people who hold this world in place to get a say in how it's run without being told what that say is by someone who thinks they're better than you" he finished with a hiss that still somehow sounded like rocks being tumbled in a wooden barrel. "Now stop trying to provoke me with your ridiculousness and actually try to negotiate."

He handed the cup to the woman who jumped slightly, startled at the motion. Both her and the scribe had been surprised by him destroying the cup and neither had fully recovered from that shock when he had then handed said cup to her. She took it cautiously, holding it away from her body as she looked at it and tried to figure out what to do with it. "The wording is fine as is, boy. You either become a member of the Union, or you get nothing. No need to sugar coat that." Hiyoto took a deep breath and released the fists he had clenched again after crushing the cup. He said nothing and didn't indicate to Gyo that he could speak, letting the silence stretch until Gyo chose to break it.





Using:

Asshole no jutsu, S rank no cost

Hiyoto watched and grew increasingly incensed as the boy just sat there staring into space. The man's mamothian arms began to tremble with rage as he considered through his pen at the inert shinobi. He gave a few more seconds before barking:

"Well?! Are you going to respond? Has that overflexed tongue of yours grown weary?!"

No answer.

Hiyoto leaned forward and noticed that the pink haired brat was not breathing. He really was unconciousness and as if to emphasize that fact, he fell over totally limp. It was at that moment that Hiyoto realized what was happening. The man jumped out of his seat and pointed at Gyo's crumpled form.

"Plague! These filthy shinobi are ridden with the disease! Get him out of here immediately! I've had enough of this!" he shouted. The remaining secretaries backed up behind him and stared in horror. By this point. Hiyoto had totally lost his short temper. For Kumogakure to send a sick man to negotiate with the Union was either gross incompetence, criminal negligence, wanton recklessness, or willful sabotage.  The blacksmith grabbed the edges of the table and pulled upwards. He literally overturned the object and it careened to the floor with a crash. He pointed a sausage sized finger at that side of the room and screamed:

"Get that bloody fool out of here and sanitize this room! If Kumo doesn't send a healthy and clean representative by the time I'm done cleansing myself of whatever he had....I'm going to shut down all negotiations. Either the workers will topple this bullshit monarchy or you give in. I'm through playing games with your kind!"

Once Hiyoto was done roaring at the knocked out boy, he'd storm out of the room and wait for Kumo to bring in a non-plagued rep.



Eventually, the Union delegation would succeed in calming Hiyoto down. After a thorough scrubbing of his person along with the total sanitization of the meeting room, they'd filter back into the conference and return to the table which was now placed right-side up. The lead negotiator was in an even more piss poor mood than before. Once the new Kumo rep arrived, they'd be given a copy of the Union Demands and a summary of the proceedings thus far. Hiyoto crossed his arms and pouted menacingly as he waited for the newcomer to get up to speed regarding the negotiations and their progress (or lack thereof).

Union Demands:

Negotiations Thus Far:

Yenn had been called in as a replacement for Gyokusho Hyakkiako, a Kumogakure shinobi who had apparently fallen ill during a fairly important meeting. Yenn was understandably horrified at the young man falling ill, she had met him briefly and while she didn’t think meeting someone was a necessary part of empathy, it definitely impacted the urgency of the situation. Yenn stood outside the conference room as Gyo’s body was transported out and to the hospital for assessment. For once she was standing at her full actual height of five feet even, deciding that at eight months pregnant high heeled boots were probably not the best fashion choice. No matter how good they looked. So she had opted for sensible footwear in the form of black leather combat boots and otherwise she was dressed in her usual attire, black leather pants and jacket with long black leather gloves to match. On her right forearm was an elegantly crafted gauntlet. The waistband of both her top and bottoms had understandably been altered to accommodate the very healthy twins that now caused her to more waddle than walk. The only part of her skin that was showing was her face and the front of her neck, her skin looking unnaturally pale beneath her raven hair and contrasted by violet eyes.

As she slowly entered the room she was checked over by some staff who, at the insistence of Hiyoto, had been instructed to ensure that Kumo’s new representative was ‘healthy and clean’. Yenn had seen quite enough of doctors and medical professionals over the last few months and shooed them away gently as she reassured them that there was no danger of her being affected by the plague. Once she finally sat down she would huff quietly as she caught her breath. The effort of walking into the room had taken its toll, and while she had personally been in combat with multiple combatants that required significant effort to avoid dying to, this somehow felt like a more monumental task - walking a few feet. She could not pull her chair in to sit comfortably at the table, the size of her stomach wouldn’t allow it, and after trying for a few seconds she would give up and sigh quietly. She thanked the person that handed her a copy of the Union demands and the summary of the proceedings before her arrival, and took several minutes to read them carefully before speaking.

She could tell that Hiyoto was quite upset and she didn’t want to upset him further, but his anger was palpable and she shied away from it as long as it was reasonable to do so. After she thought she had stalled ‘just long enough to give her some time to think but not too long as to cause a scene’ she would look up from the documents and smile shyly at Hiyoto, her violet coloured eyes briefly meeting his gaze. She was clearly distressed, though it would be easy to assume that her current state of being comically sized due to twins was the cause. “Thank you for waiting, Hiyoto-san. I am Yenn Inazuma, sent as a replacement negotiator. Your patience is greatly appreciated. I trust you are not also feeling ill?” There was genuine warmth and concern in her voice as she greeted him and questioned his health. She had no reason to wish ill on this man, and was sincerely attentive to the man’s well being in light of what had already transpired in the room. She was also hoping that by showing true caring that he would be less inclined to be upset, as it would make the experience much easier on both of them.  

Assuming he gave her leave to continue she would do her best to affirm that she understood what had already gone on during the meeting. “From what I see here, you both agreed on a good portion of what’s written. If you don’t mind I would like to revisit some of these, though I must apologize for my lack of knowledge surrounding business matters. I can appreciate and understand what’s going on, but fancy language was never my strong suit.” If Hiyoto agreed to let her continue she would address the first three demands as those seemed to have reached an impasse of ‘neither side likes the alternatives and stubbornly refuses to budge on them’.

“Your first three demands seem to be. . . creating an exclusive group. My personal feelings regarding exclusive groups are probably not relevant here, but I will say that I thought this meeting was to provide financial and physical security and protection for workers within Kumogakure. So I would like to ask a question so that I understand why these three are so important; who do you think is deserving of the protection of Kumogakure, and why or why not? I’m not trying to fight with you, I just need to understand your position before I can give my thoughts.” Dealing with unreasonable people had been Yenn’s whole life in a nutshell. She had little success with it, but she did gain the very valuable skill of deflecting, a skill that had saved her life more than once.

Hiyoto shook his head in disapproval as the extremely pregnant Yenn took her seat. Kumo had to be mocking him. He stirred in his seat and was about to get up but the legal secretaries put a reassuring hand on his pumpkin sized shoulders. It was better to see what the woman had to say. Kingdom of Thunder was either barbaric beyond words or the most desperate nation in history if it was sending an eight month pregnant woman to do its negotiating. If she went into labor in this very meeting, Hiyoto would call a lid and refuse to deal with these people any longer. He couldn't imagine the Kiri/Konoha delegation having to deal with worse than this.

The only way it could be any sadder is if they had actual children doing the negotiating!


Hiyoto grunted something along the lines "Yes get on with it" when she inquired after his health. He had been screened. Thoroughly. The man despised the plague and he blamed ninja-kind for its existence. He didn't care what the medical authorities said. It was contagious, the result of ninja witchcraft, and was still lethal to those civilians that got it. Like hell, he'd risk his on health and safety on the sanitary standards of the Kage and their hive cities. He had lost 3 apprentices to the disease and he had no intention of joining them in the afterlife. That was why he drank essential oils and consumed flintstones gummy vitamins. The true elixirs of vitality and constitution.

"I'm not one for fancy talk either woman. So shut your trap and listen as I will only say this once. Only members of the Union should be protected by the shinobi state, now let me be clear.....I am referring to craftsman and chemists and not random professions like actors, bankers, or other sectors of the economy not having to do with the traditional manufacturing base of the village. In order to command strength and influence in this rigged economy...we must have leverage and that leverage comes in the form of your security services. If Kumo solely protects Union businesses it will send a clear message to the oh-so important capitalists and feudal lords that the real power in this world belongs to the workers. The people who actually make this war machine run. Once the vast majority of the workers and businesses in this country are members of the Union then demands and 1 and 2 will be easily satisfied as the only main sources of materials and labor will be Union provided anyways. Anyone who wants to be outside the Union probably has the cash to afford non-Kumo security services and if not then too bad for them. That's the cost of turning your back on your brothers-in-labor. You might think this a monopoly but the reality is Kumo possesses a monopoly on force and violence in the monarchy. You wield it with impunity because its your domain but this is our domain and we will be given due respect on all matters concerning it. The flamboyant punk that preceded you couldn't get it through his head that the first three proposals are key to this entire deal. You make those happen we can talk about the rest."

Hiyoto was a fairly gruff persona, and not one that Yenn found she particularly liked. While she was initially concerned for his health and wellbeing, she discovered that those feelings of concern evaporated as soon as she was told to shut up. The second the words left his crass mouth her violet eyes would flare with energy and a loud boom of thunder could be heard as the sky darkened considerably. Yenn was still mercifully (or not, depending on how you looked at it) unaware of the deep connection her emotions had on the environment around her. With the one person to ever draw the connection between her mood and the weather currently not with her and unable to inform anyone as to the cause of the sudden storm, it left the flashes of lightning and thunder clouds as ominous and dramatically timed coincidence. She would rise from her seat, her gloved fingers barely resting on the table, clearly primed and ready for some type of movement, while the rain whipped against the building.

She let him speak.

She wanted to grab him by his throat and dare him to speak to her like that again. Her expression was one of quiet rage, her eyes literally flashing in time with the lightning outside and her lips pressed tight as she willed herself to stay her hand. She knew Tamwyn would never disapprove of her standing up for herself, whatever form that took. But she also wanted to be able to prove to him that she could stand on her own two feet without resorting to either hiding or violence. Once he had finished she would raise an eyebrow slightly as she spoke. “I wonder who exactly you think would be protecting you and your precious Union. Until the moment you opened your mouth I was willing to play nice, to be the good diplomat and help make a fair deal. However, you seem to have forgotten yourself, so let me make this abundantly clear.

We. Do. Not. Need. You.”

She paused to let her words sink in. Each syllable was punctuated by a crash of lightning or boom of thunder, and she leaned forward slightly as she maintained eye contact. Not only had she made significant progress in her own personal development, but she was also very pregnant and had the patience and tolerance of a fire ant that’s been sat on. She did not raise her voice, she kept the tone calm and deliberate. The voice of someone who was admonishing a naughty child who had stolen cookies for the seventeenth time and still expected to get away with it.

“I am not here to cave to your demands, I am here as a representative of the Shinobi of Kumogakure. The people that you expect to keep you safe from harm. And you start by insulting the only person standing between you and utter ruin. Your work has merit and value, but if it does not come from you, then we can find it somewhere else. Or do it ourselves. We are not your personal army and if you are not here to come to an agreement then either send in someone who is and is better behaved, or I will leave and you will have nothing.” It was not an empty threat, and the truth of it was written clearly on her features. She had existed since her birth without anyone’s help and if she could do it, then they all could. The storm that raged within her was far greater than the one she had unknowingly summoned outside and while she knew she could not attack the man, she was willing to accept the consequences of failure should he not comply and be more reasonable.

Hiyoto didn't jump with respect to the sudden boom of thunder, although some of his aides did. The suspect timing of the storm made it rather obvious that the little wench was trying to intimidate him. The brash crafter snarled and shook his head in disgust. He had continued on without interruption. Yenn wouldn't dare assault him or have this hastily conjured storm injure a single building in the district. It wouldn't do well to show that he could be rattled and so he finished his "speech" with little reaction to the weather.

He met her hateful glare with casual indifference. This one was very much unlike the previous representative. Whereas Gyo was laughably indifferent, Yenn was quick to anger. The boy had a sick sense of humor and while Hiyoto didn't care for his flamboyance, he found his inflated ego amusing. This pregnant woman took herself too seriously and given Hiyoto's rather conservative upbringing, he found himself disliking her even more than the pink-haired brat.

She boldly proclaimed that Kumo did not need the Union. Hiyoto said nothing in response. The look in his eyes made it clear that he wasn't impressed. Once she was done, Hiyoto sucked some gristle out of his teeth and spat it off to the side.

"If this is how Kumo conducts diplomacy then its no wonder your village is at war with every major nation on Earth. *Hmph*" Hiyoto pointed at Yenn's swollen belly. "Kumo sends a woman who is nine months pregnant to negotiate the fate of its workers? And this woman has the audacity to say that we aren't needed? The strike will cripple your war effort. Every shinobi that's pulled away to do the work you take for granted is another shinobi out of the frontlines and unlike Kiri and Konoha, I'd say you'd need every shinobi you can get. If you don't strike a deal with us then we shut down all operations in the Lightning Country and we deal with the Leaf and Mist instead. We support their war effort and sabotage yours. You try to hurt innocent civilians who just want fair wages? It will be the end of your so-called Kingdom."

Hiyoto pounded the desk and suddenly the wrath was visible in his expression.

"Now sit your arse down and deal! Agree to the first three provisions and maybe we can actually walk out of here with something that both of us can agree on."

Yenn wasn’t sure what she expected from the grizzled blacksmith. Polite discussion? Reasonable debate? Full sentences that didn’t include insults? Even if she had expected any of those things, she now realized that dealing this man would be impossible. And moreover she was losing her temper. To say she had a temper was putting it mildly. She had a lifetime's worth of rage built up inside her and rarely did she let any of it out. What was making this particular situation even more difficult was that she was eight months pregnant. The aches and pains, the inexplicable loss of control over her emotions, the constant cravings for various foods, or scenery or people or. . . whatever the next thing was that she subconsciously thought might take the discomfort away. It was a lot. Too much probably, for her to handle alone. And yet alone here she was, with ‘I-don’t-have-to-behave-like-a-real-person mcgreedy’. His latest spewing of vitriol was just as pleasant as the first round, and she would clench her teeth as she listened to him grasp at metaphorical straws trying to justify his existence, and his treason.

As much as she wasn’t exactly a fan of the government of Kumogakure, she was unwilling to go against it presently as even she could see it served a purpose and it did so very well. The issues she took with Kumo’s policies were minor in comparison to the concept of outright sabotage against the nation. And it was the word ‘sabotage’ that finally broke her resolve to be calm. Visions of the attack on Moonspire flashed through her mind, of the countless people that had suffered and died all because three people thought they could ‘sabotage’ Kumogakure’s war efforts. She could not allow something like that to happen again. She would not.

She could feel the fury building, the intense need to lash out in pain and anger. Closing her eyes for a moment she would focus on her breathing, ignoring the outside world as the storm continued to rage within and without.

“Get out.”

Two words. Spoken with all the serenity she could muster, which was almost none. Opening her eyes she would undoubtedly still be looking at the offensive brute who seemed to not value his own safety as much as he should. Her hands that had once had fingers delicately resting on the table were now curled into fists, her violet eyes sparked and flashed as she stared the man down.

“You would commit treason against Kumogakure? That is your offer? Leave this room immediately and send someone else. Consider this your only chance to escape justice Hiyoto, if you refuse this one opportunity you will be arrested should you ever set foot within Kumogakure again. I do not care one bit about what you think you deserve. I will not allow a repeat of the sabotage at Moonspire. You have openly declared that you will commit treason.

Now.

Get.

Out.”

Her voice boomed as she let loose the rage that had been building. What she had assumed would be a simple matter of negotiating wages had turned into a much more serious event. One that may lead to this man’s death. Treason was no innocent ‘slap on the wrist’ crime, and she was not interested in covering it up for him, as so far he had done nothing to endear himself to her.

Hiyoto watched as Yenn's eyes grew angrier and angrier. He had seen his fair share of pissed off women but this one could be crowned Queen of them all. She was practically shaking with hate and though he might be tempted to further antagonize her, he knew that he was here to do a job. He had hoped that she'd sit down and obey him, but that was apparently too much to ask for.

She ordered him out.

Hiyoto smirked in response and stayed seated.

She threatened him with death and accused him of treason. She wouldn't be wrong although he'd merely deny he'd said that. He'd accuse her of misinterpreting his words as pregnant women often did. She wasn't a reliable witness to her own experience as the hormones in her body were going wild. He double-smirked and contemplated a sexist remark, but stopped when she repeated her command multiple times.

One of his aides leaned over and whispered something in his ear. He thought it over and stared the woman down for a few seconds.

He didn't have to listen to her. The Stag Emporium was a neutral place and its guards would protect him from harm. However, if she was indeed serious about declaring war on the Union then maybe he ought to de-escalate. Not for his own sake, but for the more cowardly among their organization. The Union had its hawks and doves just like any other governmental body. Hiyoto was an unabashed hawk. He was not afraid to go to war. He was not afraid to pit the might of the working class against the feudal overlords and their shinobi dogs. It was why he had been selected to deal with the most pugnacious and violent of the villages. Hiyoto did not fear Yenn but he had to hold the party line and sparking a conflict between their organizations was simply not something he could do on his own.

Hiyoto unceremoniously stood and looked Yenn in the eye.

"Okay I will leave...but know this. You've just doomed your village. You need us far more than we need you. War requires labor...you of all people should know that."

Hiyoto glanced down at her swollen belly and triple-smirked. He then left in a huff practically barreling through the doors and down the hall with his entourage of assistants. Word quickly spread that talks between Kumo and the Union had broken down. The two were at an impasse and since a deal could not be reached, Kiri and Konoha were left with an unprecedented opportunity to snatch a decisive victory.

Hiyoto made the only smart decision he’d made since her arrival at the small meeting room in the Heavenly Emporium. \

He kept his mouth shut.

For a time anyway. He couldn’t seem to help but continue being antagonistic with his repeated smirking however, and while Yenn was certainly angry she was willing to look past the petty behaviour briefly. As the seconds ticked by Yenn focused on her breathing, slowly and quietly she channeled her anger and allowed it to escape with her breath. She didn’t reply as Hiyoto got in one final jab before leaving, she was relieved that he chose to leave. She wasn’t sure what she would have done had he chosen to stay and continue to threaten her home. Probably nothing good. Or peaceful.

Once she’d seen him exit the room with his entourage, she would sit back down in her chair for a moment, resting her head in her hands as she considered everything that had just happened. ‘Oh, Yenn. What have you mucked up now? You had one job, you were supposed to come here. . . and. . .’ Her internal reprimand was cut short as she tried to remember what she had come here to do. She remembered in general of course, but the anger had definitely gone to her head and now that the source of that anger had left she felt like she could think again. Her violet eyes traveled along the walls of the room, taking in the pictures of storms and cliffside manors. A basic representation of Kumogakure if there ever was one. She appreciated the storm pictures, especially with the storm still faintly carrying on outside. Seeing the large mural of a lightning bolt would calm her and her focus would shift back to the papers that were still on the table.

Taking the transcript she had been handed earlier, she looked it over as she rested her feet on the chair beside her. She had been sent here to negotiate an end to the strike. That was all well and good, but the problem wasn’t that workers were striking in Kumogakure. It was that they were striking everywhere. This organization, Revolutionary United Labor, claimed to represent and speak for every worker and craftsman in the known world. She reread the first three demands, the ones that Hiyoto had been so insistent on. She couldn’t help but feel like she was missing something, and her fears were confirmed as she looked over the demands once more, her eyes resting on the fifth demand. “Every nation will have one member. . . That means. . . Fuck.” She swung her legs down from the chair and rolled the papers into her hand as she struggled to rise from her seat.

She had been so wrapped up in her own personal demons that she’d failed to see the obvious. She had touched on the idea briefly when she had noted Hiyoto’s treasonous remarks, but it had been there all along, plain as day. This group, Revolutionary United Labor, wasn’t just a workers union. They were trying to control the world, demanding more power than was given to any other single body of people. Moreover, Hiyoto had very specifically denied that Shinobi be allowed into the Union, which meant they wanted the military completely beholden to them. It was frightening to think of and while she had never considered herself someone that cared especially about the ways of diplomacy or business, she had a family to think about. A family that she didn’t want under the manipulative thumb of a bunch of extremist craftsmen, who apparently were not above sabotage.

Finally standing she would make her way out of the room and down the hall to the meeting room where Konoha and Kiri were presumably negotiating. She had to speak to the representatives there, she had to protect her children’s futures.

[Exit to the Konoha/Kiri Workers United thread]