Smoky Ambition

Hype was sitting on a comfy chair surrounded by a thick haze of smoke. The den of a hookah lounge was not of the faint of lung. Hype's century long habit had taken its toll on his stamina and by extension his fighting effectiveness. Fortunately, he had ways to make up for that deficiency. The Hypherion Battery implants that had been inserted into his body allowed him to tap into a greater reservoir of chakra and his jinchuikki status likewise granted him a supplementary source. With these boons, Hype could smoke to his heart's content. The old man wrapped his tiny fingers around the lengthy mouth piece and raised it to his lips. He took a deep drag and exhaled the smoke into the air. A few soapy bubbles escaped his lips and he couldn't help but smile. Hype preferred a touch of hashish with his tobacco. Not enough to dull his tactical senses but enough to aid in his transition to a meditative state. He took another drag from the object and as his lungs filled with the smoke, the sound of the water bubbles. The coat on top of the shisha bowl glowed and then cooled as he repeated the exhalation process. Hype was deep in thought.

He wanted to rebuild his criminal empire. To do that, he'd need more than power though. He'd need allies. He had come to Darhkvale for both and while he figured a high chance of success with the former, the latter would be much harder to come by. Hype's plans to take back what was rightfully his was not the sort of plan that most loyal shinobi would go along with. Many ninja were beholden to their village and by extension their national interests. The wars and conflicts of late had strengthened people's ties to their village, but in some cases, it it had also broken them. Hype would need to find these individuals and make them offers to good to pass up. Good help was hard to find and if he wanted it then he'd need to demonstrate he was a worthy investment. The old man cleared his mind and began to formulate a plot. Despite the foul language, lewdness and narcotics abuse that was occurring around him, Hype was able to meditate peacefully. He was most at home when surrounded by vice. He activated his sensing capabilities and scanned the room for those that might be of use to him.

Used: Sensory

Normally she kept her chakra suppressed, but Kimiko was in need of a mark in the village so she didn't need to continue sneaking through the gates anymore, so when she was sure that nobody had followed her from the gates, Kimiko briefly dropped the suppression, her large chakra reserves once again able to be sensed for a brief moment while she pressed a hand onto the wall of the Hookah den's alley, giving a small charge of chakra as she placed her FTG seal onto it.

As soon as that was done, Kimiko's chakra once again went into suppression mode and she entered the bar. She had often spent time in places like these, from quite early ages as she'd been a Jounin for several years at this point. They were often great places for finding some of the more criminal elements of a place, or to just have a good time, and Kimiko was fine being around both for the time being.

Pulling back the hood of her cloak, Kimiko headed to a random area and sat down. An old man was there, so she figured that he likely wasn't someone she needed to worry about hunting her. Old men were usually less temperamental, and less prone to doing stupid shit. They were either weak and not an issue, or they were old men in a business where people died young, and thus not prone to doing rash things that younger folk wouldn't think about as much.

Leaning back, Kimiko simply closed her eyes, and let her senses pick up everything she could. She could hear all that was around her, smell the scents in the area, feel the pulsing smoke in the air as it moved, brushing against her skin. After Nyguyen's death and subsequent rescue of his body, Kimiko's hatred had only grown, only fueled her further. She had felt her power grow in response, the world around her more clear, her speed, her coordination, her constitution all improving.

-
Chakra Suppression
-5 FTG seal placed

Hype's head turned to the side as he got a whiff of an impressive chakra signature. It revealed itself for only a short period of time before vanishing. Hype's experience told him that the individual in question was likely using the Chakra Suppression Technique which meant they had a reason to hide. This in turn evidenced a shady past or affiliation with the criminal underworld. None of these signs were dispositive but they were a nice place to start. Almost immediately after the chakra signature evaporated, a young woman entered the lounge. Hype immediately made the connection.

This kunoichi is a person of interest.

Hype continued to smoke his hookah as he watched her enter the establishment. She moved with confidence and without fear. She had thrown back her hood and now he could see her identity plainly. She sat in the area next to him and closed her eyes. She reminded him of himself in that she was one of the few people that could relax in such a bawdy and cutthroat environment. Hype studied the woman's face and realized that she had seen him in several news reports. Sadie, his assistant, had put together a dossier of organizations that had risen since his time in retirement. One of those organizations was the well known and well-feared intelligence outfit known as Mockingbird. Its leader Akihiro was deceased but if he recalled correctly, he had been engaged to a purple haired Uchiha that served as his second-in-command. Hype didn't find her resume to be all that impressive and he figured that Sadie had only included her into the dossier for completion's sake. Hype knit his brow and stared at the ground as he tried to recall the former operative's name. He smoked in silence for a few minutes before it came to him.

"Kimiko"

[Recognizing Kimiko Uchiha via Renown ]

A few minutes of silence followed without anyone bothering her. Her name was spoken, but in a voice that was unfamiliar to her. The location was from the old man's location, and since she hadn't heard him get up or move, that meant that this person knew her face.

Opening her eyes, she looked at Hype, her mind running through all the books of famous ninja that she had seen. As a former intelligence agent, she made it her business to know anyone of note, or who showed any amount of promising skills. It didn't take her long to piece together who he was.

"I s'pose ya must be Hype."

Kimiko's way of speaking was as relaxed as she was. The girl didn't tend to enunciate too much, and flowed through her sentences in a very informal manner.

"I heard ya died like a decade ago or somethin' like that."

There were always rumors of death surrounding old people. Hype had to be at least 100 years old, and this was in a world where shinobi and kunoichi died young, so the longer he lived, the bigger the buzz surrounding someone.

[Recognizing Hype via Renown]

Hype gave a kind and weathered smile to the young child. It was good that the child knew her history albeit her understanding of his disappearance was less than perfect. Hype licked his lips and replied with a cheerful voice.

"Ah alas! Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. Retirement my dear. Only retirement." He offered her a hit of his pipe. He had been gone for so long and so much had happened since then, he had assumed that most had forgotten about him. Clearly not. Hype did not know whether to be pleased or annoyed. It would make operating more difficult to be sure but it would also clear obstacles for him. Regardless of whether Kimiko to a hit and passed it back to him or declined, he'd take another drag before blowing a smoke ring into the air.

"But I'm back now.....in no small part thanks to you and yours. Your victory in my hometown has proven quite costly. So much damage. So much money lost." He was smiling but there was a malice behind his eyes. "
All for the glory of a clique that has since betrayed your love. Hmmmmmmm?" Hype was prodding now. He usually preferred to engage in more chit-chat before getting to business but he had scoped out that Kimiko was not one for dalliance.

Kimiko snorted lightly at his insistence that he wasn't, in fact, a walking corpse. Taking the pipe, she took a hit and passed it back. Hype was interesting, a talker. Old geezers really enjoyed talking rather than doing. Always hiding their meanings in their words. Not that she was any different. Kimiko always enjoyed running rings around other people mentally.

"War is war. Damages happened, not all of it was our doing. Damn Kumo-nin did quite a bit of those if ya might recall. Besides, I'm sure business is booming now. War always generates lotsa jobs, opportunities, cleanup crews, the like. I don't regret flexing my superior tactics and skills."

Kimiko shrugged. She didn't really regret any of the actions she took during the war. At the mention of Konoha's betrayal of Akihiro though..

"My only regret is that I saved Nyguyen's life. If I had been just a littttle bit less effective..."
'Then Nyguyen would have been dead, and he wouldn't have killed Akihiro.'

Kimiko simulated her meaning by running a finger across her neck and feigning a moment of death.

"But karma's a bitch, ya know? Ya never know when it might come callin' ta collect. I'm sure some might think I got what was comin' to me. Some might think I still got somethin' ta repay. Who knows, maybe. Not before I see those who wronged me get theirs."

-Chakra suppression