Arriving for War

A few hundred Kumo shinobi made their ways into the gates of Konoha. They had traveled for two days. During their travels they began to prep for war. It had been a long time since war had come to Konoha, but Kumo had fought against a vicious Oto ten years before. The scars hadn't quite faded from the Kumo shinobi. Leading the pact was Kei Raiken, the Raikage. A Kage's fear is to be the Kage that has to enter war time, but this war couldn't be helped. For Kei, it was personal. Once the Kumo shinobi received their orders they fanned out into the Fire Country. Kei however continued to the Administration Building.

Kumo's shinobi would be welcomed warmly to Konoha and taken care of along with Konoha's own, no matter where they were to go within the Land of Fire. Konoha's supply depots would be open to them as well.

In Konoha, Kei will find that there is quite the bustle of activity and excitement at this declaration of war. Everywhere there are ninjas out and about, busy doing something to assist in the war preparations. The Administration Building is also bustling as new reports come in and orders are sent out to ninja teams just as fast. Among all this hustle and bustle, Kei would be able to find Tomoe and her advisors.

Kei finds Tomoe within the bustle of the Administration Building. "Tomoe, we have brought a decent amount to aid outside the village." Kei spoke freely and with ease, though his face was strained and concerned.

Tomoe turns from the person she is talking to and smiles at the Raikage, walking over to greet him and leaving her advisors and aides to sort things out themselves for a few minutes. "It's nice to see you again Kei, thank you for your help." She looks as if she has been very busy since daybreak, if not a little before.

"While our forces hold the frontline, Seiya an I are going to infiltrate Kusa. Hana is doing everything she can on her end, which means Kusa will be occupied with two fronts. They won't expect it. There are rumors of a girl named Ayaka who is rallying Kusa troops to revolt against Zaru. If I can get their aid it may be enough to push this war on its side." Kei looked around at the scene around him. It made him anxious.

"An infiltration of Kusa, hm? That sounds quite exciting." Tomoe looks as though she wishes she could go, if she didn't have to attend to the Konoha side of the war and help with morale in the village. Although good, there's no telling which way it may go. "Rallying against Zaru, hm? This sounds a little like what one of my genin reported. Come, let us go to my office and I'll share with you what they have learned?" she invites.

Kei nods and follows Tomoe back to her office. "I see you have planned accordingly." Konoha is busier than any village Kei has ever before seen. His village was far from the danger of Kusa but it was part of their alliance to aid Konoha in war time.

Before heading to her office, Tomoe delegates the task of responding to incoming intelligence reports regarding the movements of Kusagakure's ninjas to another of her high ranking ninjas, ensuring the war operations will continue smoothly while she and the Raikage speak.

"Of course. It is wiser to be over-prepared than under-prepared."

Tomoe pulls out the scroll from her desk and opens it before beginning to give Kei the highlights, "Senna and a Kusa jounin were speaking about how Zaru had failed to get in with S rank ninjas. The Kusa Ninja Academy graduation exam is a fight to the death and many were disappointed that the tournament was not as well. A competitor named Ayaka congratulated one of my genin and seemed to behave quite unlike the other ruthless Kusa-nin and even went so far as to mention to him that Kusa seemed divided." She looks up at Kei. "That's the one you're speaking of, is it not?"

She looks at the document and adds, "Ah yes, a bit of interesting information, although maybe not directly relevant to the war. Two of Kusa's shinobi were discussing the Otogakure participant, who they claim had a cursed seal he did not activate during his match."

She closes the scroll and hands it to the Raikage in case he would like pursue it a bit more later.

Kei thinks for a moment. He tries to assess the situation and the information gathered. Much of his intelligence is similar, too similar to be merely a coincident. "We need to find Ayaka. As soon as we push back the invading forces I'm going to launch a mission to find her. As for Senna's S Rank friends... well I that is a matter we will deal with later. Same for the Oto Genin. Where am I most usefull at the moment?"

Considering the two of them were gathering intelligence at the same place and in the same fashion, it does not seem overly odd that they received similar information.

"Our intelligence suggests that Senna and Zaru have failed to acquire many S rank assistants for now. And furthermore our intelligence from the front lines suggests they are sending genin to fight in this war. Perhaps this showing of their forces is a mere ruse and they intend to catch us off guard," Tomoe muses aloud.

"Your troops would be most effective assisting with the front line defenses. If you have any higher ranking members who are well suited to scouting and gathering intelligence, it would be wise to deploy them. They may have better luck until Kusa realizes there is an alliance between the two of us. As for you, the infiltration mission you had planned would be a wise means of destabilizing their situation at home and breaking their morale. Unless you had some other insight or intelligence on the matter?" Tomoe isn't going to squander the skill and wisdom of another Kage by simply ordering him around.

Kei thinks for a few moments before speaking up again. This time his words are heavy. Kusa is a Pawn. It's a piece to something else. Do you remember what Urimono said? 'Go back to your puppet Zaru'. Hana allowed me to view Senna's file. An S rank Kunoichi who specializes in tactical missions and poisons. She is one of the few Poison experts in the world, and the deadliest of them. Why would she want a 'puppet'?[/color]

"For that matter, why would Urimono be using Senna and Zaru as his pawns? But yes, that makes sense… why would a single weak village desire to go up against a larger major village? Unless they had allies…." Tomoe continues to muse aloud. "I wonder if the Oto genin is connected to this, and Zaru is from Otogakure, yet my scouts have only increased in Oto since we returned from the tournament and have reported nothing." She looks over at Kei. "Has your intelligence detected any other unusual activity in the smaller villages lately?"

Kei shakes his head. "Only in Kusa. Oto is still struggling to gain strength." Kei starts to think, and suddenly he is lost in thoughts. They had pieces to a puzzle, but until more was revealed they wouldn't be able to see the bigger picture.

"Yes, that is what my intelligence suggests as well. But what if they were preparing something beyond the reach of our intelligence?" Tomoe ponders on this. "Perhaps you would be best suited to seeking more information on these topics? While Kusa and her puppet masters think that everyone's attention is focused on Kusa and Konoha, there may be other clues ripe for the gathering elsewhere."

What an interesting treaty. Tomoe nods at this. "The frontlines, hm? Mind if I accompany you there?" There's nothing quite like a bunch of kages showing up to the front of a 'war'.

"Sure, Tomoe."

OOC: Perfect, I will let you make the topic. Time to introduce a couple more pieces to the puzzle. And this one has a twist!