[Ronin]

Even though Cynic was of the opinion that pirates were allowed to lie at given points in time, the question Seika had asked rendered him quiet for the moment. Then with a begrudging huff, he mumbled, "no..." but then, perhaps feeling just a little defiant, he added, "not yet."

In any case, not only was she right about her never having lied, (though Cynic would probably point out that the only reason she had not lied to them as of yet was because they had only gotten to know her) but she was also right about being worthy of the respect of the pirates. Because in the end, even if Captain Guren had been good to her crew, they were ultimately sea dogs. If they had any major interests in virtue, they would not have been plying the seas and raiding ships. Strength was a very important aspect of what it took to be a leader. It was a dog-eat-dog world on the seas, and it was clear that only the strong survived.

With some skill unknown to the men gathered, Seika revealed a hidden panel in the wall, drawing it open to present the sight of a rather old-looking safe, and more money than any of the men there had seen. As expected, Coward and Curious had eyes on the money, with the former taking a longing step forward, only to be slapped on the shoulder by Curious, though the man's eyes shone greedily as they gazed on the piles of money. "Was Captain Guren hiding loot from us?" he asked, noting the recent appearance of the money. Cynic, however, maintained a stoic demeanor, his eyes flicking across the ryo and then resting on the safe. "Please go ahead," he answered. Seika would note that there were a bit of more manners in his response, a hint that he was perhaps really considering the possibility that she could be his captain.

Seika Nakajima

[Seika Nakajima]

Seika watched the reactions of the men before her with a keen eye, her amber-gold gaze focused on Cynic’s face as the man looked between the ryo and the safe, the gears in his mind clearly grinding. He wasn’t a dumb man, and he had good instincts on top of it, even if those instincts were pointed against her at the moment. He would make a good first mate, if he kneels. Not that she’d have much of a choice, given how tied the other men seemed to be to his opinion, but if she was going to be stuck with the man she might as well ensure he was at least competent at his job.

"I’ve no idea where the money came from, but feel free to help yourselves; I’ve no need for it.” The Nakajima said, still watching Cynic as he thought- and when he spoke, a hair more polite than before, she knew he’d bitten the bait. She hadn’t a single clue as to whether their Captain had been hiding any loot from them, but given the ease with which the woman had tossed a Genjutsu her way, she was betting on Guren having a fair few secrets locked away for the men to discover.

Turning away from Curious and Coward, the raven-haired woman bit down on her thumb, wincing slightly at the pain as she broke the skin, drawing blood before she kneeled in front of the safe and pressed her bloodied thumb against the metal. A spiral of ink bloomed from her finger, the blood activating the seal that had been placed on the safe six years earlier as it clicked, ground, and finally swung open on a hidden hinge, revealing the twin prizes inside. The first was a mission scroll, signed by none other than Emiri Nakajima herself, proof of the woman’s treachery, which she left in its place; the second was not a scroll but a journal, leather bound and musty from time. This she picked up, carefully so as not to bloody the cover, and proffered it to Cynic.

"The Captain’s log, from when I stole this ship six years ago. Most of it belongs to the man Yukigakure assigned to run it, but the last few entries are mine. I think you’ll find them quite… insightful.” She had already proved her strength- now, it was time to prove there was more to this than mere greed. But first, he had to read.

Ronin

[Ronin]

With Seika's declaration that she didn't care for the piles of money, Coward and Curious at once charged at the secret stash, but were almost immediately halted by a bark from Cynic. "Are you both stupid?" he chided angrily. "Do you think that just the both of you can hoard all that money? And don't you know that there's a great likelihood that when the other boys catch wind of the money, as you both have already helped yourselves to it, there'll likely be fighting? And even if you both somehow managed to hide the money, don't you think that suspicions will rise when the others see you spending above what is expected?" Coward said nothing, looking defeated. Curious looked as though he was going to retort, but thought better of it and backed off, mumbling.

The three pirates watched in silence as Seika broke the seal on the safe. It was clear that this item had been here for a very long time. Cynic took the journal but hesitated to open it. Curious laughed as he stepped over and took the book from a scowling Cynic. "The poor dog can't read none, ma'am," he explained amusedly. "He don't know his letters. Haha!"

"Read it and tell me what it says, you stupid knave!"

If Cynic couldn't read, Curious' skill on the subject was just a step above woeful. Still, he managed to read much of what was in the book, mispronouncing and butchering a lot of words. "It's well and true her ship then," Curious concluded as he closed the book, nodding sagely as if he had just finished codifying the development of senjutsu. Cynic was silent for a bit, then he said, "I.. see...."

Seika Nakajima

[Seika Nakajima]

Seika watched as Curious and Coward went for the ryo, only to be reprimanded by Cynic and shown how idiotic it would be to take the money for themselves. There was a part of her that wanted to burn the whole mound of useless paper, if only to make a statement about what was truly important here, but she held the urge back, shifting her gaze to Cynic as he demanded the book be read. A surprising flaw for a man like him to have, but not an usual one; few truly educated people took to a life of piracy, not when history was rife with examples of men and women who had failed to beat the system. And these are the men who will run my ship. Tch. She would have to find a way to replace them once things were more settled, but for now…

"Indeed.” The Nakajima said, taking the logbook back from Curious before leveling her full gaze on Cynic. He had been the one she needed to convince, the one who the others listened to, the one who actually mattered. She had sown the seeds of doubt, tossed her bait into the water, hooked him with the proof, and now… now she had to reel the man in. "I always intended to come back for this ship, when I had the chance. But your captain stole it from where I hid it, and paraded about as if she had been the one to take it from Yukigakure.”

"So yes, when I heard this ship was here, I came to find it. I killed those who stood in my way. And I burned that fucking thieving bitch to death for daring to take what was always mine.” That had been what had infuriated her the most; the theft alone would have earned the woman a beating, but Guren had sealed her fate when she’d used Seika’s own accomplishments as a smokescreen for her pathetic thievery. Despite her best efforts, the raven haired woman did let a hair of that anger show through her mask, a flicker of white flame in her amber-gold gaze that gave heat to every word and gesture- a mistake, perhaps, though how the men viewed it might not matter, now that they had heard.

"Now.” Seika said, taking a slow, careful breath as she looked at the three men, the composure returning to her expression with every moment that passed. "You’ve a decision to make. You can go ahead with your Captain’s plan to destroy the ship, likely killing us all… or you can work for me.” She paused, giving them just enough time to work out the two choices she had laid out rather than think for themselves. "I can promise you, money isn’t what I’m after, so your share of whatever we bring in will be substantially higher than under Guren. Starting, I think, with what’s left of Minato.” Though that was up in the air, given how little might be left once her flames burnt themselves out…

Ronin

[Ronin]

If Seika's letting show her anger was an error, it was not a fatal one. As a matter of fact, the three pirates in the room understood her sentiment. As the scum of the seas, they were often reviled and despised by the more 'proper' sailors. And many times, they avenged this insult with as much vitriol as they could manage. An insulted pirate was not a very forgiving one. And so, if Seika had shown her disgust at having been insulted by Guren's actions, it wasn't something to make them bat an eyelid.

Their concerns were more on the fact that their erstwhile captain had lied to them, and kept things from them. Even though she had pretended to be interested in caring for her crew, Guren had probably only been really interested in herself and her first mate. Even though Seika would likely be a much different kind of leader, were the pirates to take her offer, there was the likelihood that her words were true, that she did not care for money like the other sea dogs.

Cynic's words were proof that he had swallowed the bait, hook, line and sinker. "If I may offer my advice, Minato is a useful port to have. If we spoil it, we'll have one less port of call to hide in after a long time at sea. As such, with your leave, I will take some of the money and give it to the people in charge of Minato, as a goodwill offering to help rebuild the city. I know much of that money will go into personal pockets, but it will still be out there that the Captain of the Iron Moon has Minato's interests at heart. The rest I will divide among those of us that remain. With your leave, of course, Captain."

There was a pause. "If I may be so bold, though, will you not tell us what name you go by? And if you don't care for money, what do you desire?"

Seika Nakajima

[Seika Nakajima]

And just like that, he was hers.

"Fair enough. We’ll leave them to rebuild for now." Seika said once Cynic was finished, leaning up against the opened panel as she looked at the three men before her, thinking. There was much she wanted to do, now that she had her ship back- things she had long thought of, plans that could at last be set in motion now that Yukigakure was no longer hunting her as they once had. She had letters to write, clothes and whatnot to unpack… so much to do. At least she had a crew of men to handle the mundanities of running the ship.

"I’d like you to direct the crew to remove any explosive tags first though. I’d rather not have any… accidents." She glanced at Coward and Curious then, the command inherent in her gaze; it would be up to the two of them to ensure the ship remained whole. Before she could dismiss the trio, however, Cynic asked a question that put a small, knowing smile on the raven-haired woman’s face. It was rare that she got the chance to tell people who she was, rather than simply use them as evidence of her power, but when she did… well. There were few things as entertaining as watching the realization spread across their eyes at just how dangerous a woman she was.

"My name is Seika Nakajima, but you would likely know me by my moniker- Owari Nenshou." The Burning Death. She paused, giving the trio a moment to process just who it was they had accepted as their new Captain- the caliber of Shinobi she was, the kind of things she could do. Had already done, and would likely do again. "And as for what I want? That is easy."

"I want to see Yukigakure burn."

Ronin

[Ronin]

Seika's approval of Cynic's plan was a commendable move, because even though the pirate had not intended his request as a test of any form, the fact that she had been amenable to it was a sign to suggest that even though she had seemed wild and destructive when she had arrived on the ship, there was hope that she could be discussed with, reasoned with, as opposed to just destroying everything that did not seem inclined to see things exactly her way.

Her command to direct the crew to get rid of the tags which would have been used to scuttle the ship was met with no refusal of any kind. Immediately, Coward and Curious began tallying a list of the places where they had set the tags. From the things they said, it was obvious that the event of destroying the Iron Moon had been thought out and prepared long before hand. It wasn't something that anyone would quickly come up with in such a short time with intense activity going on.

But what no one expected was the name they heard drop. Nakajima Seika, none of them seemed familiar with. But when they heard the title 'Owari Nenshou', even Cynic looked rather alarmed, though to be fair to him, he had stood his ground. Coward had already unconsciously taken two steps backwards, looking as though he would crap his pants, while Curious swore loudly, visible beads of sweat forming on his face. For a moment, there was silence, then Cynic roused his colleagues with a reminder of what they'd been told to do. As they scurried off, the pirate turned to face Seika.

"So, what are your immediate plans... captain?"

---

Congrats, you have a mighty tin can with which to terrify the seas. The Golden Age of Piracy has begun!

COMPLETED

Seika Nakajima