XII - 01.12

The mine was in a state of great panic. The usual sounds of the workers striking at the metal within the cave's sprawling length had been replaced by shouts and yells. The thick iron pickaxes that the men used were now held closely to their body, serving as a last line of defense for those who couldn't use their chakra.

Noriaki didn't know how it'd gotten to this. As the third born son of the Yosai clan head, it was his duty to ensure that the Kessho Mine remained the wealth generator it'd been to his family for generations. 

There was a time where he'd wanted to be a powerful shinobi. The Third Great Shinobi War was still a boulstering flame, and he'd held youthful ambition that he'd see the Yosai rise even greater in the village's standings because of it. 

When the war came to an end and it was the Tanataki that came out on top rather than the Yosai, Noriaki was forced to bite his tongue. He'd still been young, only seventeen, so he devoted his entire livelihood to usurping the Kawakage.

That fruit never bore to fruition, which had done a major blow to his mental health. Instead of living as a career genin in a village that only saw enough missions to feed the upper hierarchy of shinobi, his father had granted the reins of the Kessho Mine to him.

The constant sound of metal striking the rough interior of the mine had annoyed him at first, as did the constant complaints and ramblings of the civilian workers. At the time, he felt as if this was his father's way of getting rid of him. 

He'd thankfully been able to see the light of his situation, and the importance his role played within his family. The Yosai didn't have the firepower of the other clans, so they had to figure out other ways of maintaining their standing within the village. Kessho Mine, the biggest and most prosperous of the family's mines, had been granted to him. It was his duty to not only maintain its prosperity, but take it to new heights.

Noriaki had taken great pride in the mines advances, so the sudden attack had truly struck at him. 

The masked Shinobi had sprouted from the earth underneath. It only took him a few seconds to cave in a good portion of the upper level of the mine, a thick wall of chakra-enhanced earth blocking off the paths towards the lower levels.

Noriaki had been the first and only person to challenge the shinobi as he made his way through the iron-filled mine. His frail kunai did little to halt the Shinobi's advance—he had only been a genin, and the retaliation had caused him a great deal of pain.

The shinobi's palm raced forward, carrying along with it an extended blade. He struck hard and true onto Noriaki's side, causing him to yell out in pain. A sharp kick impacted his other side, undoubtedly breaking his ribs.

Noriaki slumped across the rough mine walls, his hands pacing between his two wounds. The shinobi glanced towards him for a mere second before continuing his advance. Even as his vision blurred and his mind forced him to rest, Noriaki could clearly see the symbol plastered on the shinobi's back, even beyond the flowing gray hair.

The thick straight lines engulfed by an even thicker circle that the majority of the shinobi of Tanigakure sported, a symbol that belonged to the Gurueru. Noriaki cursed his luck and bit his tongue before unconsciousness finally caught him.

Noriaki had thanked whatever god he could think of when his eyes had opened and the dull interior of the mine had struck his blue irises. A group of miners circled around him, one inspecting his bandages and making sure he wouldn't pass out again.

It took a little for his eyes to focus, but the familiar face of Sōma nearly brought a smile to his pained face. The younger boy's ginger hair reflected Noriaki's own, a trait signature to the Yosai. Sōma had been one of the only other shinobi within the mine. Being a novice iryo-nin, he'd seen the mine as a great way of honing his skills.

"The worst of it is done," Sōma began, his calm voice soothing a bit of Noriaki's nerves. "But I don't think you'll be back at your usual pace anytime soon." Noriaki nodded, shutting his eyes tightly.

"Don't worry about it, I'll leave the mine to you for a little while," a shocked expression donned the younger Yosai's face, a gasp nearly escaping. "It was a Gurueru that attacked. My father has always told me about their ambitious nature, but I never expected them to look towards the mine. It's a development I'll have to report."

Murmurs sprouted from the nearby civilian miners, who didn't know the intricacies of clan politics. The Gurueru were without a doubt the most aggressive of the clans. Their overwhelming numbers within the village's shinobi population allowed for them to be more brash in their actions.

They'd been expressing their interests in one of the Yosai's mines for generations now. The Yosai never yielded, knowing that losing such a great source of income to a clan that nearly controlled the shinobi population would shatter the balance of the village. 

The Gurueru had tried a number of tactics throughout the years, trying to marry into a mine's succession line or levying their shinobi as an investment towards the mines. Even as their plans never came to fruition, they'd never turned to outright attacking any mines—until now.

It was clear what was happening. The Fuhan were tearing themselves apart, which would stop them from interfering with the movements of any of the other clans. The Tanataki had looked to remain neutral in all of their interactions, not having as great of an influence until the current Kawakage took office.

The Gurueru weren't dumb enough to attack the other three clans all at once. Their numbers advantage wouldn't see as much use in that situation. With the Fuhan out of the picture, however, it left them a great deal more wiggle room. Noriaki didn't know if the Tanataki would come to their aid, but it was clear this attack was a declaration of war. 

With a pained expression, Noriaki rose to his feet, his hand weakly gripping onto the rough mine interior to heave himself up. Sōma rushed to his side, pulling Noriaki's arm over his shoulder.

"It's fine," Noriaki croaked, gritting his teeth as he began moving. Every movement struck at the wounds on both sides, but it wasn't something he couldn't deal with. Kessho was the closest mine to the village, so it wouldn't take him long to get back to the Yosai compound. 

/6/​

The wind grew harsher, beating away at Yagimiru's thick dark-brown hair. The aging jonin paid it little mind, stroking his long beard as he viewed the grounds before him. As it usually had been, the Gurueru training groups were filled with the sounds of battle, his men going through their mandatory sparring sessions that accompanied the start of the weekend.

Yagimiru had taken a more taxing method of teaching as of late. The war had ended years ago and there weren't any signifiers of a new one begging to spark, but he wanted that didn't mean the Gurueru would be at peace for long.

The village was changing, no matter how much the other clans tried to deny it. The Fuhan were tearing themselves apart. It was only a matter of time before their presence shrinked beyond the level of one of the Great Clans, and Yagimiru would be the one to ensure their territory and influence was integrated into the Gurueru's own.

His brother was sick and childless, which meant Yagimiru didn't have long until he was promoted from a mere general to the Gurueru clan head. His brother had done well in enforcing what had already been built, but Yagimiru wanted to take a different approach with the clan.

The Tanataki were growing bolder. In the past, Kawatsuyo had been adamant on keeping his business as head of the Tanataki clan and his business as Kawakage separate. Anyone with any sort of political knowledge could tell he was lying, and although he held out for much longer than expected, he'd been slowly siphoning power towards the Tanataki. 

And of course, the Yosai still sat high atop their mountain of gold. His brother's recent proposal to gain ownership of one of the bolstering mines had been rejected as usual, forcing him back to the drawing board. 

No matter how good the proposal, their requests would always be denied. The Gurueru held a vast majority of the village's shinobi populace. If they were to gain a source of income like one of the mines, they'd be head and shoulders above the rest of the clans. His brother would keep trying, but they all knew the Yosai would never hand over their mines willingly. 

Which is why Yagimiru decided to move on his own accord for this issue.

The village was changing, and the worst had yet to come. That boy had come to him in the dead of night. If he hadn't been accompanied by his own daughter, Yagimiru would have cut him down where he stood, but he'd been smart to take precautions.

Katsuo Kaguya, brother to Kimimaro Kaguya, the current head of the Kaguya clan. The boy's situation was similar yet different to Yagimiru's own. His clan wanted a spot within the village, but were smart enough to know they'd lose against the village in its entirety.

The Fuhan wouldn't be able to muster much in the village's defense. From what the boy had spoken, he planned for his clan to replace that of the Tanataki, integrating without fracturing the structure the village stood upon.

In an attempt to deter the Gurueru from coming to the Tantaki's defense, he'd come to Yagimiru. He didn't know how the boy had learned of him or why he'd hadn't gone to his brother instead, but he'd met with Yagimiru specifically. Maybe it was the similar situations they were in. Katsuo's own brother was young while Yagimiru's was sick, leaving the two brother's to basically lead for them.

The Tanataki wouldn't be able to come to the Yosai's aid, allowing for the Gurueru to make use of their superior numbers. It was a great plan that benefitted both clans, but relied on the Gurueru's involvement the most. The Gurueru could just wait until after the Kaguya attacked to make their moves. With both clans weakened, there'd be little to stand in their way.

When Yagimiru had brought this up to Katsuo, the boy had laughed. He'd revealed that he'd already gone ahead and attacked one of the Yosai mines, barring the clan symbol of the Gurueru while he did it. 

The notion had bound Yagimiru to laugh as well. The boy hadn't been as naive as he'd originally thought, and had pulled the Gurueru into his plans without him or his brother noticing. The Yosai would certainly be preparing for an attack of their lands and levying the aid of the Tanataki as well. 

Yagimiru's eyes glanced over the training field once more. The sparring session was coming to an end, with the best of his rank being the only ones still fighting. The men and women laughed and chatted among themselves, unaware of the events brewing underneath them.

A smile crept onto Yagimiru's face, contrasting the usual stern look he carried. With a great leap, he found himself away from his vantage point above and in the very middle of the training ground. His presence caused the others to lose their casual attitude, which made Yagimiru's smile grow.

"Great work, shinobi," he began, his dark eyes scanning over the bulk of his rank. He commanded the first battalion of the Gurueru ranks, composed of 150 shinobi. "You've worked hard throughout the past few weeks, even as I raised your workload tremendously."

"Because of this, I thought I'd finally fill you in on what sits along the horizon. The village is changing, and it's changing at an unimaginable pace. We will be at war with the Yosai soon, maybe before the week's end." 

The crowd burst into chatter. Yagimiru stood silent for a few seconds, allowing for the chatter to foster. "With this preposition I wanted to introduce our newest training module until then. Starting tomorrow we will–"

Yagimiru was cut off by a form quickly approaching him. The crowd split to accommodate them, revealing Yagimiru's own daughter. Ushino's usually light expression had been replaced by a harsher one. She tried her hardest to ignore the stares she was getting, walking towards him as quickly as possible.

Once close enough, she handed him a letter. The seal was stamped with two red circles, a symbol Yagimiru wasn't quite familiar with.

"It's from Katsuo," Ushino spoke, her voice filled with determination. Yagimiru didn't know how she'd grown so fond of the Kaguya boy, but he'd leave that for another time.

The letter was ripped in half, only three simple words written on it. Those words, however, were enough to set Yagimiru's blood ablaze with ambition. He turned to his men, his eyes clearly displaying the contents of the letter;

We have arrived.

Katsuo.

"It seems I was wrong about my estimate," he began, his voice booming over the training ground. He pressed onto his side, activated the seal that was hidden underneath his shirt. With a puff of smoke, Yagimiru found the familiar hilt of his greatsword in his hands.

He raised it high, its polished steel reflecting the sun overhead. His voice grew in intensity, until it was heard even beyond the Gurueru compound. "To war!"