[TAKEDA SANOSUKE™]

With the stepping down of his first assistant Kiyoshi and Sugita stepping away from being a Shinobi Sanosuke had his work cut out for him looking for someone to be his next assistant. Having to take care of the paper work in the village alone was definitely not the kind of crap he wanted to be stuck with, but he didn't have a choice. The work was going to need to get done one way or another.

Sugita was the perfect candidate, but he understood the toll personal problems could place on a Shinobi. Once upon a time he stepped away too because of some personal feelings he was dealing with. To fix this dilemma of his Sanosuke utilized his scout team of Jounin to find him someone that might be capable of feeling the role of not only being his assistant, but someone he could groom politically.

Mikazuki was his obvious first choice for being apart of his political entourage, but he sought another. After a few months of searching they brought him a number of candidates, but non more interesting that Ren Ishikawa. The guy was arguably the oldest Genin in the village, but he'd only started a few years ago. Most of the older Genin were Shinobi who couldn't quite hack it or climb the ranks, but he was different.

He was taking on mission after mission, and whatever missions he could take on alone he did. His work ethic was high and he didn't complain about much. He was definitely a late prodigy with plenty of potential. He had no particular strong suite in terms of his combat prowess, but he could do many things and that made him valuable. Today he was going to surprise the guy on his day off to see if this was an opportunity he might want a chance at.

One of the many perks to being a Hyuuga was that with his Byakugan he could see everything. Nothing was more beautiful than being splashed by the rain he complained so much about while staring down upon his people from atop one of the many towers in the village. By now he knew every inch of Amegakure to a degree no one else but he probably could, and with that it took no time to find this Ren.

HE was just about and about, more than likely with some goal or objective in mind, but he was going to cancel that. The Amelord took in a deep breath before flickering from atop the tower and eventually down in front of the boy as if he was a flash of lightning. Sanosuke would be in his usual Shinobi attire, but opted to wear his signature Red vest in favor of his water proof jacket. Red headband bonded to his left bicep.

"Ren Ishikawa correct? I come with a proposal, care to hear me out?"

[Ishikawa Ren]

     It was another day in Amegakure for the busy Ren, never content to let himself idle. Of all the places he frequented, he wagered - were it not for sleep - he'd probably spent the least amount of time at his apartment.

     Beyond his 15 minute or so morning ritual of waking up, taking a quick shower (cold, it was what he was used to), getting dressed and drinking a tall glass of water, he was rarely ever there. Hell, some days he even crashed at his mentors' houses - whatever he had to do to maximize the time spent learning.

     Last night had been one of those, now that he'd finished his morning lessons there - in Fuinjutsu - he was headed off to one of the clan compounds for Taijutsu training with a friend, to surprise them. The sealing practice hadn't been exactly strenuous, so he hadn't felt the need to stop by for a shower, though he did still smell faintly of old scrolls and ink.

     Ren was in the process of fixing his hair up a little, despite the rain, when a figure suddenly appeared in front of him like a lightning bolt striking the ground. He nearly jumped, hand still in his hair. He snapped it down when he realized who the man was.

     "Lord Sixth!" Ren exclaimed, a little shocked, before performing a curt and slightly nervous bow. A proposal? He wondered what the village's leader could want with him. A mission, perhaps? He'd done quite a few lately, maybe it'd been noted. Whatever it was, Ren wasn't about to pass up a chance to get closer to the Lord - perhaps he could leverage it into some lessons! "Of course," he responded with a smile. "How can I help?"

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It came as no surprise that the guy was shocked. He was minding his business and he'd come out of nowhere, but despite the random appearance he appeared to be on board with whatever he offered. It was easily Sanosuke's favorite part of his scouting report. Always eager to learn, take on new things, or anything that would benefit his growth in any kind of way. "Well.. Since you asked. Walk with me."

Sanosuke directed politely while turning his frame and walking ahead with the expectation that the boy would follow. "Any plans you may have had have been canceled. My people will give word to the person you were about to see.. Mentor right?" Sanosuke ask rhetorically. Not in a rude manner, but more so to let Ren know that his subordinates would be giving notice to the right person.

"To get straight to the point. I need an assistant, but not the kind you've probably heard or read about." Typically their job was akin to being a water person. They were pretty much tasked with doing whatever you wanted, and for the most part that would stay the same, but for Sanosuke? He wanted something else on top of that. He not only wished to have someone to mold, but someone he could actually bring along with him.

In a sense his assistant would eventually get an assistant of their own to handle matter whenever they were traveling away from Amegakure. "I need someone who wishes to grow as I do. Learn as I continue to, and is willing to take on responsibilities outside of what takes place here in this village.. My last guy back out for personal issues, so I need my next assistant to really have their priorities established."

The timing for a new assistant couldn't be better as he prepared for his soon to be trip to visit the Raikage. There wasn't going to be a better opportunity than now to get on board. "From what we've gathered you're a hard worker, a man of many skills. I could use that, but I need your absolute best. See, I'm a young Lord. My predecessors typically had all the experience they needed under them before being elected, but me?"

Sanosuke questioned while looking back at him. "I still have much to learn, and that means I wont be sitting on my ass like the others. I still got a lot of battles and other things left in me that need to be accomplished before I can take myself off the frontlines.. That is unless the matter is more serious, but you get the point right?"

[Ishikawa Ren]

     Ren listened intently as they walked, nodding along with what Sanosuke said. "Yeah, I get it." Ren responded with a grin. "You can count on me - I'm no slacker."

     It sounded like a perfect opportunity. Ren didn't have the same resources that clan members had - as a country boy who'd come to the city, the only contacts he had were one he'd worked hard to make himself.

     The chance to shadow the Lord, to do what he needed, and to learn from him - both in the skills of a Shinobi and as part of Amegakure's administration - was a blessing. It would give him opportunities no regular clanless Genin would have, much less an outsider like himself.

     "Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it. Paperwork or battle. It'd be an honor to learn with you - and from you," he said with a chuckle while rubbing his neck. "I've still got a ways to go, but I'll never stop trying to get stronger."

     Despite the berth of his interests, Ren had no issue whatsoever in applying himself and sticking to something. If this was how he could best help his village and his country, he'd do it without hesitation.

     "You don't need to worry about me going anywhere," he continued. "I'm committed. I know my priorities. You'll have my best!"

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"Good.."

Sanosuke was glad that he was completely on board with what was being asked of him as there was much work to be done. Amegakure was currently at its best, but he wanted to continue to push them forward, and after what took place at Roku tower another opportunity was now bestowed upon them. There was no telling where it would go, but he hoped that it might give them another economic boost. The kind that might help him fill some future ambitions.

"Don't go making promises you can't keep, but since you've already said it? I'm going to hold you too it Ren." Sanosuke added while looking back at the kid. "Come on up here." Sanosuke signaled while looking back. "I don't want to strain my neck trying to talk to you." Whenever he finally caught up Sanosuke would begin another conversation. One he hoped might give them both an idea of what they might be doing together.

"What are your ambitions rookie? When you see yourself two to five years down the line, what are you hoping to have accomplished?"

Ambition was important to Sanosuke. It was the only reason he'd been chosen as the next Amelord and much was being expected of him. The hand he was dealt was nearly a perfect one, and what the village wanted from him was even more than that. His goal would be to unite this country with another and turn Arashi into the place is deserved to be. A Major Country.

To pull that off he was going to need the villages best and brightest, but mostly its future. The old heads of the past had experience, but wars had made them less tolerable from a social and political standpoint. He didn't wish to takeover the land in River Country, but he wanted them to unite under the banner of Amegakure while also being allowed to keep the traditions they'd built over the years.

[Ishikawa Ren]

     Ren rubbed his jaw. Ambitions. He'd never spent too many thoughts on the far future, preferring the here and now. But then again, he'd never been in a position to affect much outside himself. He spent a moment brewing.

     "Down by the coast." he decided, seeming to peer out past Sanosuke and to the south. "Where the rivers meet the ocean. On a cliff, maybe." Ren laughed, then, half-joking: "Jounin, of course." Seeing new places had always spoken to him. Expanding horizons... For himself, and for Arashi no Kuni.

     "Maybe a couple dozen S-ranks under my belt, some kind of fancy title. Hero of This War or That City." Ren found it hard to talk about himself. He wasn't shy, but talking about what he wanted seemed almost... selfish to him. At least as he was now. "A little unrealistic, maybe," he chuckled, "but I can at least try my best."

     He sighed contently. "Really though? I just want to do good. Good for my country, my village, -" he gestured around them. "- my family. Be somebody they can be proud of, you know? A good old brother."

     Ren looked into Sanosuke's eyes. He tried to speak to him man to man, even if he were a little younger and a lot more immature; he put aside any worries about speaking so directly to someone higher ranked than him, someone more important. "What are your ambitions?"

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"Fair enough.."

A number of thoughts about what Ren would be like crossed his mind, but he never expected them to be such a comedian. Sanosuke remained professional, but internally he sort of chuckled at some of the things he said. At least he knew the guy would be entertaining to be around. The last thing he wanted was a yessir, no sir robot. Those phrases of course would stay, but he wished for more personality as well.

Ren wished to climb high in the ranks, and if possible he wished to make a name for himself to not only make himself and family proud, but to bring honor to the village that took him in as well. "I like that. Old school." His ambitions where the kind that anyone from the previous eras would have respected. While he politely made claims to certain accolades, ultimately what he cared about was just being the best version of himself and looking out for those who looked out for him.

Sanosuke remembered his own ambitions in his youngers year back when he was projected to be among the villages best. He wished to be respected and feared by everyone from all over. To do everything he could to keep his village on an upward trajectory, and for once and for all to put away his clans shameful history in the years before the Soft Devil. Ironically he managed to accomplish some of those feats before taking some years off.

He successfully made a name for himself by helping a high ranking Konoha Shinobi to defect from Konoha and was voted in a controversial decision to be the next Amelord. He still couldn't believed it happen, but he accepted the honor no less against the wishes of many of his previous superiors. All of which he commanded now. All that was left now was to become one of the best in the world and to help Amegakure take that next step into becoming a true economic powerhouse.

"My ambitions? I wish for Amegakure to get the respect its earned, and I'll accomplish that by removing the minor title attached to our lands and turning us into a Major country. As far as my personal ambitions? I wish to get stronger and to learn more about the abilities of my ancestors of which reside in Konoha."

[Ishikawa Ren]

     Ren thought over what Sanosuke had said as they walked. They were good ambitions, he thought. Not so dissimilar from his own - though the Ame Lord certainly held loftier ones in regards to the world around him. Ren was still immature: even if his personality seemed selfless, his philosophy and worldview was still selfish.

     "I'm no geopolitical expert, or anything like it -" Ren said, mulling over the logistics of turning Arashi no Kuni into a fully recognized Major Country. Despite what he'd said, he had read quite a few books here and there about political maneuvering on a national level - and he knew his way around a map of the continent. "- but what exactly would it take for us to gain that recognition?"

     "It isn't merely by land area, is it? Even if we absorbed the Stone and Field's land, is there a guarantee we'd be accepted as a Major?" he asked, curious as to the exact details the Lord had in mind. "What're your plans, sir?"

     He made a mental note to bring back up the Sixth's Hyuuga heritage later in the conversation, not wanting to forget it since to him it was the more immediately interesting topic. Yet he was still genuinely interested in finding out the Lord's more specific plans for the nation and how exactly he aimed to accomplish those ambitions.

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Sanosuke admired that Ren was already letting his curious flow within their conversation. This was what he was looking to hear from the boy and why he was someone his scouts picked as a candidate. While his questions sort of went beyond his paygrade Sanosuke wouldn't hesitate to give him an answer that he could understand and make sense out of himself. Once he was more legitimized it would be much easier to provide him with more details.

"All great questions actually... But ultimately you're right. It's not so much about adding territory that would make us into a major country, but more so what we can do with it. I mean, technically any major country could start some idiotic conflict with another area and claim it as there own, but doing so wont immediately boast their village right?" Sanosuke responded while giving Ren a chance to let his initial response marinate.

"Amegakure is a Shinobi super power. Our technology surpasses all other countries and the relationships we have built over the years have only fortified that. Based on what our information specialist have put together, there isn't a single village out there that is thriving more than our own. I honestly don't even believes its close." This wasn't to say other villages weren't doing well, but none of them compared to Amegakure.

"Without giving everything away just yet, what we are missing is a uhm... Stronger pipeline? Think of it like credit. Well, that is if you understand what I mean by that, but if you do then what I'm trying to convey is that we use our success to get a larger credit limit. One that would equal, or even surpass that of a major country, and with that? We'd officially get to place ourself in the same league as we should have already been to begin with."

If his plans were to actually work out as anticipated, then he would become Amegakure's first Kage. The honor would not only bring even greater prosperity to his village, but it would also completely redeem the mistakes of his clans past and would immortalize them on the same scale as the villages founding clans.

[Ishikawa Ren]

     Ren tapped his lips. A pipeline? He could grasp what Lord Sixth had meant, though he would have termed it more along the lines of leverage.

     Amegakure may have accumulated a lot of power and knowledge, but in the metaphor in his mind it was a giant rock - larger than the others, sure, but the man sitting on top of the rock only had a short lever in his hands. There were other men, on smaller rocks, but they had far larger levers - if they tried, it'd be much easier for them to tip the big rock then it would be for the Lord Sixth to tip theirs.

     "We need more leverage." Ren said with a grin. "I think I understand, Lord Sixth." He decided not to pry any further. That was a matter of leverage too. Discussions of this nature were sure to come if he became his assistant. He needed to show he knew boundaries as well.

     "You said you wish to become stronger, Lord?" He locked eyes with Sanosuke. It seemed hard to imagine them switching from their current light brown to that famous veiny white of the Hyuuga. "I've read, and heard, plenty about the strengths of the Byakugan. Aren't the details of your ancestors' abilities a secret? I can't imagine Konohagakure would be too willing to share, even were we on friendlier terms."

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"Leverage..."

Sanosuke repeated with a brief grin on his face. It was a graceful correction, but one that definitely helped get his point across. Leave it up to Amegakure to find the best of the best in an already amazing village. While still inexperienced, he was showing signs that he was just the right situation away from really blossoming into become one of the villages finest. He hoped that so long as a stayed the course that he could be the one to help him get there.

Having someone as intellectually savvy as Ren as an assistant and ambassador would go a long way with helping him with his future ambitions. "Correct. There probably isn't anyone that would be willing to give up those secrets, but that wont be a problem for much longer." Sanosuke noted while looking back at the Genin. "Because we already have one of them here with us, and they'll be amongst our ranks officially very soon."

Of course what he'd be able to learn from them was limited, but between what he learned from Kayaku and what he learned from Shodaime he now had a good grasp of how their fighting techniques work and of course the depths of which the Byakugan can see. "Fortunately I've learned enough to not need be concerned with their secrets. I'm sure I'll get to learn more as my career progresses."

"With that in mind. How soon are you ready to get started? We have much work to do and many projects to complete on route to becoming the most powerful Shinobi country."

[Ishikawa Ren]

     There wasn't anything restraining Ren from moving forward immediately. He may have to walk back some of his more extensive training schedules with his Genjutsu and Fuuinjutsu teachers, but this opportunity more than made up for it.

     Living arrangements might need reconsidering, he thought to himself. Somewhere closer to the tower, perhaps. It wasn't a problem. Ren wasn't particularly attached to his current apartment, unadorned as it was. And money wasn't a problem either: he'd made plenty of Ryo through his missions and wasn't much of a spender. Just a matter of finding somewhere closer by, cut out the time between his work and home.

     "Immediately." Ren said with a smile. If he wasn't so much of a realist, he might've been still been shocked that such a chance had come his way. Just a country boy - a good learner, sure, but with no bloodline techniques or unique attributes.

     Perhaps that's just what Sanosuke wanted though: someone who represented the whole country, the whole village. In that case, Ren fit the job perfectly. Robust, on his way up. Just like Arashi no Kuni.

     Ren bowed with a grin on his face. "Just say the word, Lord Sixth, and I'll be there."

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A grin stretched across the lips of Sanosuke upon hearing the boys response. Good, Good... Just what I was hoping to hear. So far this meeting had been everything he was hoping it might be. The guy had blue collar written all over him, and right now that was the kind of shinobi he needed to be by his side as he wished for these goals to come to fruition.

Most Shinobi rolled their eyes at the thought of being an assistant to the Lord or Lady of the village. Most which to climb the ranks and positions like this typically got in the way, but those days were over. He wished for this position to mean more for generations to come and he hoped it would start with someone like Ren. The last thing he wanted was for this roll to go back to being more like an unwanted deployment.

"Alright then. Let us say no more. Anything you need top make this transition easy can be forwarded to my people in the Red Tower. Just send a letter with whatever request you need and it will be done. I'll have someone send for you later in the week as we work on adjustments to your village clearance."

The Lord walked ahead momentarily before lifting his right hand up at Ren, waving him off before flickering into the rain. He hoped this would be the second wind he needed to really progress the village forward. He'd spent too many hours on his ass studying and now it was time to get to work. Action only moving forward.

[Ishikawa Ren]

     He slid his hand down the strap of his katana's sheath as he walked through the streets back towards his apartment. The rain'd slicked it, but he could still feel the coarse fabric rubbing against his hand. Ren clenched it.

     Assistant, he thought to himself as he climbed the stairs to his now-old apartment. Quite the promotion, even if he was still a Genin. The door swung open with a ker-chunk. Not bad for a farmer-boy, he said, in his mind, as though he were saying it to everyone back home.

     Ren slid the katana down to the floor as he sat on the edge of his bed, then fell backward spread-eagle. It was far more than he thought he'd accomplish. Maybe make Chuunin by 30, spend his days as a Gate Guard, send money home to his family. Ren smiled.

     "No time to be slacking off..." he whispered to himself, as he lurched back up. He pushed himself to his feet and set about packing. He could head out tomorrow and start looking for a new place. Till he'd found one, he was fine with keeping everything boxed up. Ren picked up speed.

     There was plenty to be done.

[Thread End]
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