Chapter 43

"This is slavery!"

"It isn't sir. You get paid."

"Its its cruelty and unlawful torture of the elderly official!"

"There's no such law sir."

"There is now!"

"You'll have to sign a form for that sir."

…

…

…

Thunk

"Sir pick your face off the desk. It won't help you."

Onoki glared at her.

His secretary was a professional. Non-Shinobi, wore simple but proper dresses for her post, no-nonsense, always on time, responsible and constantly on top of everything.

Especially him

He hated her.

He would have fired her but then he had the feeling his staff would just find someone worse. That's what they'd done for the last seventy four.

They just got tougher and tougher and tougher and tougher.

But those had all been ninja. He could always, ultimately order them to do something else.

His staff had wised up.

This was a goddamn civilian. Who was paid almost as much as his Anbu captain.

Where the hell said money was coming from he had no idea. Otherwise he would have probably frozen the funds pending a full, lengthy and thorough investigation.

So she was always on his case.

He couldn't even sneak out.

That's right.

Somehow a thirty something, chubby civilian woman that stood at five foot nothing was able to stop a Kage from sneaking out.

How this worked he'd stopped trying to figure out two years ago.

The door opened. "Tsuchikage-sama"

He almost blanched before he realized the young man had no papers on him. "Yes what help do you need?" He asked, almost eagerly.

The chuunin opened his mouth to speak but paused as a strange whisper caressed his ear.

'Save me.'

He looked around oddly before he remembered what he was here for. "S-sir. At the...uh...at the gates-"

"Yeeees?" The pudge nosed man nodded. "Who's at the gates?"

"The uh...the Daimyo..."

Onoki blinked. "Michizu didn't say he was coming." He muttered aloud hopping down from his chair and getting ready to march out of his office.

"Its...not our Daimyo sir."

That made him pause. "Who then? Kumo? Kusa?"

"Err-" The chuunin swallowed and was about to answer when-

"Ryoutenbin! Open your gates! This is not how you treat invited guests!?"

-0-

"Hey! They're calling Tsuchikage-sama aren't they?"

"Yeah." Kurotsuchi answered holding herself up on crossed arms, resting just beneath her chest on the wall's railing, her feet dangling. Akatsuchi standing beside her on his tip toes.

-0-

The sannin pulled back his index and middle finger from the side of the Daimyo's throat the visible chakra receeding from the pale tips "Was that really necessary?" He asked.

"Best to declare our intentions for everyone to hear." Koutou answered clearing his throat with some light coughs. "Now they can't attack and allege something else so easily."

"Easy being the relative term here." The sannin grinned.

"Hmm. Anything starts to happen, I order you to get those children back towards the border."

Orochimaru said nothing for a moment. "Our duty would be to guard you." He said simply. Protecting the daimyo was the duty of all Shinobi, no exceptions, not even gennin.

"To hell with your duty." The man answered simply "You get that boy back across the border. Revenge in ten years when he's older and can take out a third of their army is still revenge."

"Pretty obvious for you wasn't it?" He chuckled.

"You may as well have held up a sign. Speaking of which I thought you would have changed some of that by now."

"I can't hold a jutsu on him from a distance strong enough to fool Onoki. Might as well just let him and everyone else find out up front as opposed to hiding it and having them find out later with an outrage."

"The fire that burns slowly, lasts longer but spreads the least." He nodded. "I see."

The gates groaned open.

Konoha's were made of wood, like most significant structures and items of Konoha made of wood, it had been forged by the Shodaime Hokage himself.

Iwa's Gates were made of stone.

Black as midnight, obsidian glinted in the afternoon sun, the village symbol carved proud into the singular southern village gate. They said it couldn't be broken, forged by some mysterious art of the Ni-daime it's magnificence was even greater than Konoha's.

It was also heavier.

So when the doors finally opened fully it was no surprise to see that, at the other side were two massive Elephant summons pushing both respective gate.

Armored and ready for battle as well.

There also seemed to be quite a few helpers. One's with glinting forehead protectors.

And a short, three foot nothing old man marching right towards them.

"Come on." The Daimyo laughed. "Lets get off. Wouldn't want him to feel worse" he whispered.

Orochimaru's smile grew a little wider as he, the Daimyo, and the head of the man's guard, dismounted.

He saw his students do the same behind them and refrained from saying anything.

They'd just make things more interesting.

The sannin marched at the Daimyo's side, placing the most subtle of genjutsu over his own face to make his rather distinctive features more bland.

They stood directly across from the old Kage, two Iwa Jounin at the man's side, him staring up at the Daimyo and the Daimyo staring down.

Being the guest, Koutou bowed his head first, hand and fist meeting between the two of them. "Ryoutenbin." He greeted through use of his long standing title. "It has been a long time."

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