A Light Venture

Garbed in a collection of greys and blacks, the man had set up a kind of make-shift selling station out of the cart he had pulled with him while hooked up to Gyobu. His cloak was covered with perhaps a few hundred individual feathers ranging from black to a pale, creamy-gray. This is to say… he stood out in the crowd. Further, among the festivities that had popped up, Gyo’s little stand had attracted a rather robust traffic of clients, regardless of where he had pulled it off to. Without fail, a higher end group of patrons sought him out for various tinctures, elixirs, and medicines. Some also sought weapons, but because he generally did not make low quality, cheap items, many could not afford some of his higher end prices and he had no issue charging luxury prices. As such, many ended up window shopping, but he had a steady stream of clients who could afford at least mid-tier supplies. Plus, he was… fairly famous within a variety of underground circles, and they tended to have a great deal of money.

While he was not on the look out for danger, he did not fully relax out in the open either and kept his head generally on a swivel. That said, he also did not seek to meet anyone in particular, and about the time that ren would locate him – which should not be difficult given his bright blond hair, wildly colored eyes, and feathery garb – he would have just sealed a sale on a small vial of a dull, rust-red liquid in a set of 3 vials to an older woman. What she needed it for he did not ask as she had the funds to pay for it. He would quickly, almost effortlessly, move on to the next set of customers, perceptive eyes susing out which among them was most vulnerable to a quick offering of a limited time discount or who had finally committed to buying something. Under his watchful gaze and fingers ending in gold and black claws, the crowed moved for him as if a mere collection of marionets.

Why yes, that would be me indeed. He looked at the new arrival, noting his prominent sharingan. Bold, to say the least. And who might you be, my good sir? He heard the "benevolent benefactor" and read between the rather thin lines. Something told him that this fellow would not be answering the question, but one could never be sure. You flatter me, but I do alright in the crafting space. Naturally as one who takes pride in his trade, I'm more than happy to take custom orders, for a price of course. Ren then lead into a rather long list of requests. Gyo listened intently, though a kind of blithe indifference settled onto his face, as per usual. His rainbow eyes drank in the whole affair.

He took no notes however, fully trusting in his ability to remember the whole lot. A great deal of these request came to his mind as items from a loosely modified catalog Kiyoshi had recently shared with him. That said, nothing too interesting minus the sheer volume of requested items. Arming an army it would seem, though Gyo was not necessarily going to ask about it. He did make the mental note though, before accepting a piece of paper with a drawing of a mask. He gave it a glance, produced a pen from seemingly nowhere, and made a couple notes, a few adjustment and ideas, and made a few additional lines to modify the fit and appearance to the mask. Naturally, I can handle this without issue. Interesting mask design. I assume you know this, but having never seen anything quite like this, 10 will be quite... notable for whomever should wear them. We can of course retreat to a private room if you like. If this is of great urgency, I will pass off these requests to one of my associates.

If Ren indicated he needed the added speed, Gyo would rapidly scrawl the ordered list in a beautiful, almost caligraphic script and hand it off to a short man behind the counter to get to work immediately. They could then retreat inside to a nearby home, should the Uchiha need; Gyo had rented out the eastern wing of a rather well-appointed estate, which would provide them a measure of privacy.

Ah, graced by the Junichiro of relative Uchiha fame - or infamy, depending on your perspective. Strange of him to have ventured so far from his beloved clan to this backwater place. Strange also of him to have... regressed in age, by his appearance. Gyo did not make it much of a habit to keep up on every piece of minutia within the Uchiha clan and truth be told the perpetual infighting of them exhausted him somewhat, but they were, of course, outrageously famous within the ninja world, and Konoha was a powerhouse. And he had... connections. Words traveled, and he merely recalled some of them, particularly that of people who were still "at large." And "dearie" paid to a stranger from such a hard-ass clan loyalist. He supposed it didn't really matter at present. Money was on the line, as his ears perked at the mention. Again, the request thus far did not sound terribly complicated. He could barely contain a chuckle though at the notion that price was no object, but managed instead to grin slightly.

As he followed the other fellow into the room, he would say only of the masks, Sure, as long as you are aware, it's all the same to me. He'd listen intently as more projects meant, of course, a higher fee. His swirling, kaleidoscope of eyes would take in as a suitcase warped into existence, allegedly containing a tidy sum. He would interject simply: That will do. I do typically charge for the cost of materials as well, unless your benefactor already has them on hand of course. Either way, really. He'd charged Blitz in the exact same manner and anyone familiar with his shop could intuit as much. His inflection never changed from a polite, conversational tone bordering on flippant though. He was really waiting to hear on this additional project, and of course these "more precious" things. Gyo already had money.

And there it was. Oh, I am available for travel, for the right price. Architecture you say. if the locals cannot complete it, you're either in the middle of nowhere or these are no ordinary buildings. Or both, I suppose. Buildings I can do though, just let me know what you envision and the intended purpose. And the timeline, so I can put my affairs abroad in order. Just make sure I appoint the various managers of my stores as in charge for a more extended period, so it doesn't need to be exact. He'd smile as he chattered, mirroring the relatively good-nature the other man had presented. He assumed Ren didn't care about his business, but he wanted to make clear the timeline was simply another piece of the sale, particularly for a remote job.

Obviously price will depend on the length of time and type of building, as well as the quantity. It seems you're well acquainted with this sort of thing though so I won't droll on though. Money is nice, but as you seem aware, there are many things more... precious as you put it. He'd begin leafing through the packet provided, getting the answer to the timeline and a general sense of the scope of the work as he did so. The rate at which he read bordered on inhuman. Ah, forgive me, I should have read this sooner; I did not intend to waste your time, Junichiro-dono. A project of this scale certainly deserves something more grand than bank notes, wouldn't you say? Though I must confess you have me at a bit of a disadvantage. Secrets of a village or villages can mean a whole host of things, from great to small. He'd leave the question hanging there a bit, though he kept hold of the packet, seeming quite clearly interested as he went back over a few of the pages. He loved to build things, and getting a few higher-end pieces of information or techniques or relics would be icing on the cake. He simply didn't know the scale of Ren's acquisitions.

The placid, semi-friendly smile Gyo perpetually wore when conducting business shifted ever so slightly to a more alive, overt grin for a moment when the other man scoffed. A man who did not do his research, particularly with a job of such scale, amused the Yokai. Anyone who had even cursorily looked him up would know that Gyokusho as a matter of course always charged for base materials. He had charged the Mizukage along with everyone else. Still, the blonde would not respond to the overtly rude remark and action, nor would he shift other than the tiny tick of his grin and the continual swirling of his strange eyes.

As this Junichiro began speaking about the single most banal request Gyokusho could imagine, he would resist the to roll his eyes but not the need to giggle slightly, under his breath. For the briefest of moments he considered what strangely good timing it was that Kiyoshi had, without any provocation, given him blueprints to... everything this man had asked for. What an auspicious sign from the gods it would have been, if Gyo didn't know them to be dead. The mirth of his small laugh would color his tone as he responded to Ren. Oh, my dear Junichiro-san, this is not a matter of "work ethic," as you put it, though I appreciate your confidence in me. He smiled and gave a small bow. Recruiting one of perhaps the 3 greatest operational engineers for factors to make beer and sake. What a laugh.

He would call in an attendant briefly, scribbling down some line items and handing it to them. Retrieve these from warehousing if you would, posthaste. Send them to... He'd look to Ren in askance, willing to send the orders of weaponry and masks to wherever he indicated, including to the small house if he so desired. He'd led Junichiro finish the request though before moving on.

A thought does cross my mind, however, considering your limitless knowledge.  I presume you've knowledge of the Fission Technique? Sharing such knowledge, I should think, would greatly benefit the both of us at the outset of such a fortuitous relationship. Many hands make short work, after all, and mine He held out his hands, palms up, can do a great deal of work. A spare set could be quite helpful with your timeline He spoke truly enough, as a more corporeal second version of himself would benefit the endeavor in many ways, though he also studied the other man a touch more carefully here. He did not outright suspect that the man was bullshitting him, but one could never be too certain. And though he had not directly said yes, asking for what amounted to a down payment should clearly indicate his interest to anyone with sense to listen.

Analyzing Ren (checking if he's full of shit)

As the two chatted and roughly as Junichiro suddenly decided that, in fact, his knowledge was in fact quite limited, the attendant would return with a few aides in tow, each wheeling in small handcarts of boxes and boxes of the basic items requested, most of which had been retrieved from inventory. Mass produced of course, but perfectly effective as one would expect from a crafter of Gyokusho's caliber. Ah, here were are, thank you good sir. Gyo would gesture grandly at the neatly stacked boxes of various wares. Feel free to inspect as you see fit, Junichiro-san. He would pause should the other man desire to take a look at any of the items before continuing, though he did find the apparent sudden shift quite.... alarming. Maybe the suitcase of money was fake as well at this rate. But, no one else even bought items, let alone pretended to do so, and a cursory glance seemed that he was legit... enough. If their business ended here, he supposed it wouldn't be the worst thing, though it would prove an unfortunately short-lived relationship. Regardless, he would happily collect, assuming the goods were to the man's liking. He assumed they would be.

I see. Well, you let me know what your benefactor has to say. I'll be eagerly awaiting the decision. Until then though, was there anything else you needed? Further special requests, additional stimulating chatter and conversation? His read of this situation told him this would not be the case, but Gyokusho was more than happy to continue chatting about whatever this big plan was for building up - essentially - an entire village from scratch. If not though, he had plenty to attend to back at home before his big adventure. If Ren did need anything else of course, Gyo was more than happy to make another sale.

Potential Exit?
Finished analysis, seems legit enough