new branches | way of the future

[Yagami Iori]

He garnered many stares while trotting through Konoha. He hadn't been here in years, a decade or so, thus he took little offense to the civilians and bystanders of the Leaf who gawked at him in amaze. With Ryūsa no longer accompanying him once he arrived to the Hokage's administration building, leaving him to sight see and entertain himself for the duration of his visit with the Hokage. Suna and Konoha were allies, he saw no need to be overly cautious while among friends; therefore, he remained calm and collected while making his way through the spacious building.

"Hi," he smiled, jumping onto the receptionist's desk with a warm smile. "I'm here to speak with the Hokage."

"Just sign in--," the young kunoichi began to recite her usual instructions before looking up to face the person talking to her, only to see it was a talking cat, with clothes on. "Whoa! You're a cat, and you talked!?"

"Quite perceptive of you, you must be quite the kunoichi." Matamune's wittiness got the best of him, his retort, however sarcastic, was ignored as the blonde haired receptionist was immediately engulfed by his cuteness. "I have business with the Hokage."

"Awww~you're just so cute!" She squealed, all of the other young women in the reception area pointed and snapped pictures. Matamune was overwhelmed. This was nonsense; if he didn't know any better, he would've sworn they'd never seen a cat before. "You need an appointment to meet with the Hokage, cuteness-chan. Who might you be?"

"The Kazakage, Tottori Matamune." He announced with a smile. "Now, may I speak with the Hokage?"

"Oh my god!" She began to panic, heart pounding. "I'm so sorry, Kazekage-sama! Forgive me. Ishiki-kun! Alert the Hokage that his guest has arrived."

[Masahige]

Once he'd been alerted that the Kazekage had arrived, Masahige sent back the assistant with word that he was ready to see his guest. Masahige had been waiting for this meeting after the Hidden Sand sent word of their trip a week ago. It was a strange coincidence, he found, that both the Raikage and the Kazekage were present in the Hidden Leaf at the same time. And even more coincidentally, just after the death of Naruto Uzumaki. They certainly did have impeccable timing.

Whatever the case, Masahige swept those thoughts under the proverbial rug. He didn't need them ruining his meeting with the Kazekage. He sat patiently at his desk, waiting for his visitor to walk through the door of his office.

[Yagami Iori]

Entertaining the receptionist was relatively entertaining, and relatively easy. He did simple things, like smoke his pipe and talk about the type of food he wanted. The men present seemed displeased and disinterested, as they should of been; although, the women present, let's just say the Kazekage's presence could start a riot if he allowed it.

"Kazekage-sama," the blonde receptions called to Matamune, who turned around with a flick of the one of his two tails. "Hokage-dono will see you now."

"Very well," he offered one last smile before jumping off of the table to the door below, ashing his pipe in a the bowl of milk that sat on the floor beside the desk. He shook his furry head as he walked off.

In a matter of moments he was lead to the Hokage's office, where the door was opened as strode down the hall. "The people of your village are rather peculiar." He said after jumping up on the top of the armrest of chair that sat in front of the Hokage's desk. "I assume cats have become a rarity in this region?"

[Masahige]

"I'm afraid all of my receptionists are single and have been talking about owning cats for quite awhile," Masahige replied.

"You've simply been caught in their obsession of the week. Welcome to the Hidden Leaf Village, Lord Kazekage. I am Kusunoki Masahige, Shichidaime Hokage. It is a pleasure to meet you."

[Yagami Iori]

"So it is true then? Naruto-san has really died?" stepping as close to the desk as the armrest allowed, his big green orbs shifted their gaze to the side momentarily. He came all this way fully aware of Naruto's passing, which he learned about from the scroll sent to him by Naruto's son, Uzumaki Sato, who is was a valuable friend of his - and by extension, so was Naruto.

"I made my visit here after hearing word of the Rokudaime's passing, but I had high hopes that this wasn't true. It seems it was," he stopped, reaching into the inner pocket of his haori to retrieve his pipe.

"Nonetheless," he inched closer to the desk, extending his pipe as if he was offering Masahige a smoke. The gesture was completely friendly, though it was truly a rare occurrence. "I've come to discuss the terms of our alliance."

[Masahige]

Masahige closed his eyes to reflect on Naruto's death, much as he had when in his meeting with the Raikage. He did not dwell on his thoughts, however. The pressing matter of the alliance between the Sand and the Leaf was to be discussed; that much Masahige was already aware of.

"Indeed," Masahige replied. "I'm hoping that our recent loss and shift in leadership will not negatively affect the alliance between our villages."

[Yagami Iori]

"Yes," he replied, a plume of smoke drifting from his furry lips. It was good to know that the relationship between the villages would remain intact. Good allies are always so hard to come by. "It would benefit both Suna and Konoha for us to maintain current our alliance. I have every intention of doing so."

Breathing through his nose, he pondered for a moment. "My only concern is for your village, with Naruto-san's death, your strongest weapon has been taken from you. A new jinchūriki has likely been chosen, or sealed already, hn?" he asked in a half-interested tone, not really expecting the Hokage to respond, since there were more crucial matters than who was the new host of the Kyūbi. There was one thing that was important though, and would likely effect the world.

"Hokage-san, the new jinchūriki for the Fox, do you trust their capabilities with it?" he asked while lifting his pipe towards his maw once again. "There are many evils in this age we live in, and these days you are only as strong as your allies."

[Masahige]

"It was decided that keeping Kurama 'in the family', so to speak, was the best possible option to maintain control over the him," Masahige replied. "The new vessel has been chosen and the sealing has already taken place. With time, she will grow into a fine kunoichi with more excellent control than what she possesses now."

Masahige was not overly concerned about the strength of his villages. Despite what many have come to believe over the past sixty year, the Hidden Leaf did not survive strictly on Naruto's power alone. There were many strong shinobi and kunoichi in this village, and each of them were capable to protecting the village if the time came for them to do so. As much as he knew, or hoped, Matamune was not suggesting the Hidden Leaf was weak without Kurama's power, Masahige could not help but feel somewhat perturbed.

"Until the day when she is ready to face the outside world, the rest of the Hidden Leaf is more than ready to do so in her place."

Not that Masahige would ever make the mistake of fully relying on one individual's power.