"I am very sorry for snapping at you. I wasn't angry at you, it was the fact I was lied to my entire life about being the only one."

Kai watched with a single raised eyebrow as what appeared to be another Jinchuuruki from the Hidden Rain village. He seemed angry and Kai was about to intervene when he apologized. It was at that moment that Kai realized something that brought another smile to his face.

He was on a team again.

He hadn't been on one since the incident in Konoha and he was partly glad and partly afraid. Glad that this could be a new start for him and glad that there were others who were in the same situation as he was. But he was also afraid of losing the other Jinchuuruki. If Konoha got their hands on them there was no telling what would happen to them.

It might be up to you to protect them when the time comes. The Eight-tails voice echoed through his mind. You might not know them all that well but I can already tell: You don't want Konoha to hurt anyone else the way you were hurt.

Correct. Kai thought back at him.

As always, using water clones as a strategy is so like Okani, though what made Ria aroused was when Okani did a backflip and we get a good view of her big boobs juggling and shaking, Ria compare hers and still feels jealous after all this years, Ria appeared behind Okani by using Sakura flower technique which is a wind release jutsu, "Always remain alert, Okani. Samurai Sakura Ougi: Meikyou Shisui." Ria randomly named her Sakura technique which in unison with her katana and double Ria appeared, ready to strike Okani with her sword but purposely miss since it is a friendly spar. "My bad, hehehe." Ria laughs.

Maiko was hoping that his apology would make the girl feel better, and a few second later he heard Isobu's voice in his head, "Maiko, I hope you are not going to do something stupid"

"no i won't, but i want to know the truth as to why they let me believe all these years about being alone" he said to his Bijuu.

"Okay, also can you ask Kai how Gyuki is doing? it's been so long since i have gotten to hear about how my siblings are doing."

"sure Isobu" he said to his inner companion. he looked at Kai and hoped that the Jinchuuruki had an active connection to his Bijuu.

"my Bijuu wants to know how Gyuki the eight tails is doing. he hasn't had the chance of hearing about his siblings in many years" he asked Kai. he hoped it didn't seem weird to the man, Maiko hated looking odd even odder than he already was.

"my Bijuu wants to know how Gyuki the eight tails is doing. he hasn't had the chance of hearing about his siblings in many years"

It's been a long time since I've seen or heard from Isobu, Many, many years have gone by. In fact, I think it was only a few years after the Fourth Great Shinobi war to be honest. Tell him that I'm doing well and it's good to hear from him again.

Kai let out a small chuckle. "Gyuki says that he's doing well and he says it's good to hear from you again." He said as he looked over the newest Jinchuuruki that he was meeting. "So, how did you end up with a tailed beast?" He asked.

Okani grinned as she appeared behind Ria, already doing the hand signs for her Genjutsu and before Ria could stop her with that pesky Sharingan had already finished it. "Kazomi Style: Rose Tornado" Okani said as she trapped her in the a Genjutsu. Since the last time this was used on Ria it was minute compared to how it had gotten stronger, the white Rose petals fell like snow in a blizzard and formed a huge white blinding tornado. While trapped in the Genjutsu, she appeared and said "watcha going to do now?"

Dispelling the Genjutsu as she did the hand signs for next technique, Wind Cutters, once done she said "Wind Style: Wind Cutters" Okani said but purposely ended the attack as this was a friendly spar. Using her water clone for water, she was already on the next technique which was how she was planning on getting closer to victory. "Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!" Okani said as the water trapped Ria.

Seranai

Listening as Maiko apologized to her, she just nodded and watched as they talked about each other's tailed beast, they could talk to them? But how? "You can talk to them?" Seranai asked nervously, she didn't know you could do that, there were times where she felt like she wasn't alone but to be able to talk to them, sounded interesting. As Kai asked about how she became a Jinchūriki, she looked at him blankly and frowned.

"I don't know... Found out yesterday... Didn't tell me.." Seranai said as she fidgeted, these two were obviously much stronger than she was, she hoped that she didn't drag them back too much. So many people had told her that she could never be a ninja, that she was too weak and a failure even as she trained.

(Yes I am time skipping a little bit for the intent of plot. I am sorry, but I'm trying to get it moving.)
After the night was over, Kota had awoken in his bed, holding his head in his hand. "Man..how long was I up last night?" He stood up, stretching out his arms and legs, while yawning out at the same time. He got dressed, walked outside, and began to head for the training field. "I wonder if Kokai-Sensei or if anyone is there....it might give me a chance to practice some of my Jutsu~!" He grinned, placing his hands behind his head and humming out loudly.

~

Several messenger hawks had been flying out and about across the villages, giving letters to each Kage. To each Kage in the Republic, a message of a meeting at the Gokage Summit was being arranged. For the Hokage, however, a message of a final warning to join the Republic was given....or else immediate hostile action would take place. The hawks had been flying quite swiftly to relay the messages...with the Jinchuuriki now close to Konoha and the sparks of war beginning to kindle, there is no telling what the casualties could be....

Ria let this one a slide as Okani won their friendly spar, what Ria used is basically Sakura Ougi and Samurai techniques of kenjutsu and taijutsu, not even sharingan is needed to battle Okani however Okani's Illusions rival the sharingan. It all ended as Okani's win because Ria had a hard time breaking out of the illusion and Okani dispel it. The next day, Ria is seen with Aiko, prior to that Ria told Okani to go back to the Rain Village as a girl was waiting for her. "Yo, Aiko." Ria smiled.

Amegakure
Nagisa
"So, Ria-nee told me to wait for 'her' huh, its finally time for me! The time has come!." Nagisa waiting in the gates of the rain village for her Sensei.

Kumo
Azusa
The white haired boy is seen in the Raikage's office and already he was busy mocking the old man, "Yo, old man. It's hard to believe that you are 'Origin' the master of all lightning or should I say Atlas, did you get plastic surgery? I thought Raikage are all black dudes? Whatever, CHIDORI!!!." Azusa recklessly did it.

Kiri
Mizukage
"Get ready for the 5 Kage Summit, kouhai-kun." Pet name for her subordinate, "Don't worry, it will be over soon and we will spend time with each other, I will give you a kiss that will make you freeze."

Okani

Okani was thrilled that she won, however she was not expecting it to end so because of Ria's kekkei genkai, seriously freaked her out when it was used. Of course, her own illusions were very hard to break out of, even a trained Genjutsu user would have a hard time with her Genjutsu. It was mostly because of her clan, which were gifted in Genjutsu, deciding that she should let Ria go spank her punks and leave back for Amekagure to see who her kid was, she found herself over joyed when she saw that she had a student. Finally, it was time to take her teachings to someone. "Kazomi Style: King of Birds!" Okani said as she did the hand signs and the huge eagle appeared, which was big enough for two people to ride on.

Flying through the air at a steady pace, she reached the Hidden Rain village soon enough and dropped from the sky, landing in front of the girl. "You must be? Nadi? Nasi? Angina? Oh wait! Nagisa! That's your name right?" Okani asked with a smile. Finally taking out the scroll the hawk had gave her, she read it and laughed out loud. "Hey look, it says everything right here!" Okani said and continued to laugh. "So Nagisa, tell me about yourself" she said with a smile.

The super fabulous rich kid who leave the normal life she once had now became a Kunoichi of the Rain, Aikawa Nagisa, the daughter of a politician from the rain and a distant relative of Ria from her Mother's side aka third cousin. Nagisa looking at Okani gave her an underestimating expression, Nagisa with her usual tough like gangster rowdy girl attitude stringed up Okani which made her upside down, "Tch...! Get my name right just once, Oppai Sensei, humph! It's not like your teach me how to grow my boobs and use plot on my opponents now, do you?." Using her string techniques, Nagisa groped Okani's boobs like as if she was experimenting, "Woah!!! Wow!!, Ria nee-chan was right!." From bad girl to cute girl moodswing, Okani is gonna have a hard time with Nagisa.

Okani was stunned by her gropings and narrowed her eyes at her student, with a shake of her head and a grin she brushed the girl off. "Hey Nagi, I'm going to call you Nagi because it like it better than your actual name! My name is not Oppai! It's Okani! Get it right punk! Ria is a bad influence on you, I see it already" Okani said with a sigh. It was raining again, it didn't bother her as she did the hand signs for her Jutsu. "Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu!" Okani said as a clone of herself appeared from the water.

"Alright, we're going to play a game and tomorrow, at this exact spot, the hard work will begin. We're playing hide and seek, don't ask questions! Here are my rules, don't leave the village and don't go into shops or any where that people are in. If I find you or if she finds you then you have five seconds to run away before I or she tags you" Okani said sternly.

Upon hearing the words "we" and "kiss" being used in the same sentence, made Hayasa's face turn bright red almost instantly. "Yes milady." He replied before quickly heading out to prepare for the journey. She always had a way to make him blush despite how serious the situation. He didn't have this problem with other women but she could make him do just about anything.
Jump off the cliff?
Yes.
Rip your heart out for me?
I'm already on it.
Would you let me consume your soul?
No, just no...I think that's where we'll draw the line. Hayasa made it back packed and ready to head out, making it feel as though he never left. He wasn't the type to keep people waiting especially someone of her stature and beauty.

Akaritori stood in her office overlooking the entirety of the village, sword by her side and letter in her hand. As she skimmed down the contents of the letter, she could not help but be reminded of the atrocities of war, and especially when one country refused to accept an invitation for the greater good. If Konoha were to become to the Republic what Nykt became to Alaria… She would execute the Hokage personally and bring his insolent regime to heel. War had an odd way of exposing one’s priorities, and she hoped that the looming threat of action would expose the Hokage’s fully - if he was a noble, humble ruler he would see the light and join the Republic, but if he was not…

Her hand clenched around her sword instinctively at the thought, and a fierce light emanated both from it and from her back. It was clearly a matter that she felt very strongly about, given her past, and the same fervent conviction that had motivated her to become the Tsuchikage in such a short period of time would arise again in the land’s time of need.

“Bring Touzoku to me. We have things to discuss before we report to the summit.”

“Yes, Tsuchikage-sama!”

Touzoku’s style of fighting was very dissimilar to Akaritori’s, for one’s relied on the metaphorical hidden blade to sow confusion through the ranks and assassinate priority targets, the other’s was power overwhelming - and once she had a target, she would kill them and all enemies that stood in the way. The combined tactics were enough to fell any army, Akaritori knew that much from experience, and it was for this reason that Touzoku had been called. No matter what, Akaritori could tell that war loomed on the horizon. She felt it in the chill of the air, and in the handwriting of the letter. Trepidation was prevalent, and Konohagakure had not bowed to their demands so far, so the chance of their reconsidering was low. Fortunately, Akaritori was no stranger to fighting. She much preferred the chance to kill her opponents with her own blade.

Haven placed a hand over his mouth and stretched an arm as he yawned, closing his eyes as he did so. He stopped soon enough, opening his eyes he then cracked his neck, clasping his hands, then stretching both of his arms behind his back. As they popped a sound of pleasure released from his lips. His arms then dropped, hands finding their way into his pockets as they walked. It was a long walk, either that or he was just lazy. But he knew they were nearing the village, and when they got there maybe he could find his father, or his brother. A smirk grew across his face from the thought, but just a quickly as it came it disappeared. It was just wishful thinking, too much of it. Besides, they were only here because Daisuke needed to be. Speaking of which...His head turned to face his teammate, with a slight cock to his head and eyebrow raised he asked, "Sooo....What exactly are we going to do when we first get there? What do you think about this whole thing anyways? Hardly said anything about it after explaining why we had to come," Haven said, then turned his attention forward again. He knew they'd arrive soon, they weren't walking on sand anymore and it was getting warm. Sunagakure and it's general area was always hot, maybe a little warmer at night or a nice breeze. He had gotten used to the harsh weather and environment of Sunagakure that it felt weird in a place that wasn't burning every second. Shrugging, he popped the top off of his flask and took a quick sip of tea, offering it towards Daisuke, "Want some? It's hot, and make sure to watch out for the blade," he said with a quick chuckle then a small shake to his jacket with his free hand. He was making sure all the hidden blades didn't smack against each other, which they didn't. Good, I fixed it, he thought.

"One should not be negligent in the way of the retainer. One should rise at four in the morning, practice sword technique, eat one's meal, and train with the bow, the gun, and the horse. For a well developed retainer, he should become even more so."

- Kato Kiyomasa, "Articles Concerning which all Samurai should be Resolved, Regardless of Rank"

Yuuto walked out of the Konohagakure inn, which was eerily devoid of guests. He couldn't blame anyone - Konoha was not the best tourist attraction at the moment. Despite his exile, he was still a dutiful samurai and he had been up since 4, honing his already formidable skills in his room.

As such, by the time early morning came, he was already at the height of his awareness - something which, in hindsight, wasn't a good thing. If he was supposed to be a unsuspicious traveller he should have stayed tired like all normal people should have. Instead, his alert atmosphere would add even more suspicion to himself. However, none of that was on his mind - all that he was thinking of were three things: first, to find a place to get breakfast, second, the entire republic debacle, and third, to get out of Konoha in case things really did heat up.

Shira Aburame
After argueing and discussing, Shira went back once again to change her cloes back into her usual oes. During that night they looked everywhere for the Hidden Leaf, and they never found it until dawn broke. Once there Shira and her squad stood between the training grounds and the gates. "So what now? How can we do this 'job' plan and we are we staying, from this point on I'm loss because I don't want to mess anything up now..." She said kicking at the ground a little bit. "I haven't been in combat in forever... wish this mission would become more like a S-Rank..." She thought to herself.

Oda Uchiha
After the long night Oda woke up noticing the hawk tapping on the glass. Oda stood up and retrieved the letter instantly knowing it was urgent. He then read the letter...
"Dear Uchiha Oda, Hokage,
We have come to inform you that you ARE to join the Republic or else we will use immediate force against you. To come join the Republic, please stop by at the Gokage Summit... we hope th...." Oda read no more of the letter. He crumpled it up and set it ablaze. He then wrote this letter back...
"Dear Unwelcomed guest,
I love how hypocritical you are. You want peace yet you are using violence to do so... didn't Tendo Pain or Nagato did the same thing years ago? And what happened... a Great Ninja war occured, 4th one should I add. Using violence we not move this stubborn wall. You Republics have nothing to offer that I see fit, so once again no. By the way... thank you for the Jinchuurikies! That was a plesant gift to have... Enjoy your meeting! ~Uchiha Oda" He finally ended writing. He rolled it up and had two assistants come by. "I need you two to preform the Heavenly Transfer Techique... I don't trust animals to carry this letter..." He demanded. The two assistance preform the technique and sent the letter to the Gokage Summit on the desk ready for everyone to see. Although because this isn't preformed by any lightning ninja, it wouldn't get there until all the Kage got to the Gokage Summit. "Now be gone!" He said and withen an instant the two assistants left. "If that's how they want it then fine, might as well start wearing my Armour in case..." He said getting on his armour. "Still fits perfectly!" He said with a grin. He put's his weapon sheath with the weapon in it on his left side and heads out of his office. "Why don't I train some before they come..." He says walking towards the training grounds.

Touzoku

The Tsuchikage's assistant, Yui of the Yuki family, was a young girl Touzoku was quite familiar with - it was because of Yui's ability that Touzoku had even been able to come to Iwagakure to begin her life anew, free of the burdens of her past. As she had done with her prior leadership, now dead, Touzoku had divulged the nature of her presence as well as the nature of her abilities, thus upon getting the beck from the Tsuchikage, Touzoku was more than capable of surmising exactly what services were going to be requested to be rendered. As promptly as Yui brought her the message, Touzoku was in the Tsuchikage's office, her dinner now cooling alone on her dining table.

"Yes Lady Tsuchikage?" she asked politely, entering the room with a swift knock. Despite the imposing power and position that Akaritori had, Touzoku was not intimidated by it. Despite the rather hawkish attitude of the Tsuchikage, this was a vacation compared to Touzoku's older duties. The fact that she got a lot of free reign in her role as Black Ops leader for Iwagakure didn't hurt. It allowed Touzoku to use her abilities in a controlled fashion in an attempt to save her own sanity, as well as make the judgment calls she wished to make.

Touzoku often found her conversations with the Tsuchikage to be rather funny - Touzoku being a bit of a dove on more issues. This was even more comical given Touzoku's abilities as one of the most skilled assassins in existence. But, her gifts were not ones she chose, but rather ones she was born into and ones she would use for the right cause. It would be up to Akaritori to convince her and then, she would have to convince herself.

Dear Atlas
We have sent this message to inform you that you are being summon to join in the Gokage summit. We expect your arrival soon as there is much to discuss.

The message was short an sweet he had received his summons and it was now time for the kage's to convene and discuss the pressing matters at hand, namely Konohagakure. This was in by no means a surprise to Atlas who was hoping that the letter would come sooner in fact, as soon as he finished reading he looked up to see the boy, Azusa, attacking him again not that he was surprised this happened at least 3 times a week. His lightning armour flared to life instantly in response to a lightning attack as the boys attack quickly left his hands being absorbed into his Armour.

"Didn't know LRA could do that did you boy, the gears of war churning and everything is moving into place. I have to attend a summit but since you are so full of energy afterwards I'll teach you what it means to control lightning and For you information I just haven't tanned in awhile!" Atlas beamed, the boy had potential.

'Let the games begin."

~Kii~

Kii was...Tired!
He was so tired. They'd spent most of the night roaming around, trying to divine geographical locations from rocks and trees and...This one time Ryou even tried asking for directions! It was a good thing Kii managed to stop Ryou. Although a sweet kid, Ryou was too trusting. Besides, asking random strangers where a ninja village was probably was a pointless endeavor. Kii felt like he was stressing over the matter through the night. It was when night fell that everything seemed to just go wrong. Supplies went missing, strange animals were constantly lurking, and, for some reason, Kii felt like there was some growing distance between himself and Ryou with Shira. He couldn't exactly tell what, but, ever since being given this mission, Kii felt like Shira wasn't being forward with her feelings. Kii wasn't sure if that was a good thing, a bad thing or if it was a big deal or hardly anything to fret about, especially as the night provided problem after problem for the group.

However, they persevered.
The trio managed to conqueror the plains, the mountains, the highroads, and the forests and they found the Hidden Leaf Village.
It was lucky that, as if by magic, a few courier birds managed to offer some communication between Kii and his ally on the inside, Taiho. Kii had managed to send enough information to Taiho to, without giving anything away, that they were on the way and to make some means for them to get in. Kii didn't let anything on that they were coming from Iwagakure or that they were ninja. They were kids. Typical kids with a need to work for their families. The idea wasn't too far off, right? Especially seeing as Taiho himself arrived under similar circumstances. Kii even threw a few Republic bashing statements just in case the notes were monitored. There wasn't any reason for teh ninja to suspect them, Kii was certain.

When they did arrive at the gate they'd already been met by a few ninja in the forests. It was fortunate that they weren't trying to sneak in with random ninja gear else they would have been caught long ago with the sentry ninja in the woods and trees. When they got to the front the guards had already been informed that the trio were arriving, thanks to Taiho, and they were given a short list of questions and inspected slightly. Kii had told the group, long before they reached the woods of the leaf, to conceal their ninja related gear as best they could. Kii, specifically, didn't carry anything, but he knew that Ryou carried ninja tools. They had to hide them. They couldn't come off as ninja, but coming off as kids (teenagers) that liked to play ninja was fine...So long as it was marketed right.

There was a long wait at one time in which one pair of ninja went to go and get Taiho. Taiho and a woman came back. They'd been asked similar questions that Kii answered at the gate for verification purposes. It was lucky that Kii and Taiho had already practiced that situation through letter and Taiho knew Kii well enough to answer anything that was left out.

They were in.
It was early in the morning now. They'd traveled a whole day and hardly had any rest and Kii couldn't remember the last time he'd ate. Ryou brought food...But there was no way Kii was going to try it. Kii wasn't that desperate. Knowing Ryou's parents, there was probably cow brains in there to tide Ryou over just in case he truly did become a zombie.

"We will have to meet Taiho for work around dusk today. I guess this is our chance to explore the village," Kii said, emphasizing the statement in a way that hinted that he meant spy. Words were important now and they couldn't say things that could give them away or that were ill thought. They had to be incredibly cautious, "I think we would be alright splitting up in pairs. At least one of us should stick with Shira, because she tends to get lost," Kii said, though Shira had a pretty good sense of direction. Kii just said that because, if anything happened and Shira was found out she would have back-up. But there wasn't a need for them all to travel together. Spying was more effective if they could cover more ground, didn't look like they were all three suspiciously listening in on others, and if they had the chance to, as individuals, meet many different sorts of people so they could combine more information at the end of the day.

"There is a Warehouse where will be staying. It's here-" Kii would say, showing Ryou and Shira on the map, "We will meet there at Dusk. Taiho said we'd be fed and we'd have a bed, but there's a lot of work that we'll have to do. So try not to wear yourselves out too much and, if you can, get a little rest beforehand," Kii explained, looking at his friends. Kii would pause a moment, thinking everything over, "Any questions?" Kii would ask, having not exactly volunteered to watch Shira himself. Honestly, Ryou was more mellow headed and, if there ever was a situation in which Shira was in danger, Ryou would be a better talker. He could appeal to people better than Kii. Kii's overprotective nature was definitely a flaw that he was aware of, so he was kinda hoping Ryou would volunteer.

Kota stood in the Training Grounds, performing some melee techniques that he had learned some time ago. He used his Ninjato, but he had rather preferred a samurai's sword instead. Atfer a bit of that, he performed some hand signs, breathed in, and let out a small fireball...it was a little pathetic, actually. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" After the fireball had came out quite tiny, he sighed and hung his head low. "Damn...I'm terrible at Ninjutsu...all I know is Kenjutsu and Taijutsu....and I'm not even all that great at them." This time however, he breathed in, then out slowly. "Maybe I can try that jutsu...dad taught me how to do it some time ago....but I wonder how they're doing...." He thought in silence, then finally snapped out of it.

"Alright...I can do this!" He grinned, holding his hand out, he began to move his hands to form a ball shape in his open hand. Suddenly, chakra began to form within his hand. He stared out at the wooden post that he had set up, until he had finally completed the ball that he was making. Although not perfect, it was somewhat good. His breathing began to thicken from so much chakra being consumed by the technique. Finally, he began to rush towards the post, throwing his arm out in front of him and bringing the ball into contact with the dummy. "Rasengan!!!" The chakra began to cut away at the post, along with the rasengan cutting into his hand. He clenched his teeth and grabbed onto his arm to keep it there, until he was knocked by the force. Falling flat on his back, he began to breath heavily, sweat dripping from his face. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! I almost had it that time!"

~

The Samurai continued to guard the Gokage Summit for the Kage to arrive. It was a matter of Republic security and they knew it as well. The General sat silently in the darkness, thinking to himself. "I wonder when we'll attack..." He began to think silently. The thought of the Republic destroying Konoha was on his mind. This wasn't rare for most people in the Republic, considering the growing hostile actions between the two. Silently, he stood, then put his helmet on, proceeding to walk towards the meeting room to await the Kage. Outside, the snow was beginning to calm down.