Sarutobi frowned. As he had said, this was not something that would normally be done. The very idea of allowing a completely unknown quantity to be trained, and eventually serve as a ninja, was setting off all kinds of warning bells in his finely tuned shinobi mind. Especially one that apparently had the ability to bypass every kind of security known to, at the very least, Konoha nin- and genjutsu. On the other hand, an A class mission brought in several hundred thousand ryou to the village, after expenses. This payment, even if the coins were debased, would dwarf ten of them, easily. And then too, there were the subtle warning signs that this boy was not one to be trifled with, even by a Kage. They were only growing stronger the longer he was in the boy's presence. And if those same infiltration skills could be brought to bear on behalf of Konohagakure...
It was fortunate that Kage level ninja have excellent control over their emotions and facial expressions. Otherwise, the visitors might well have been treated to a drooling Hokage. Composing himself (not that anyone would have known the difference), he gazed levelly at the intruders. “We do, on several conditions.” Noting Laharl's rising indignation, as well as Flonne's trembling lower lip, he raised a hand to forestall any outbursts. “Hear me out, please. I merely wish to have Flonne evaluated, to determine her potential. After all, it would not do for us to waste the Great Laharl's time, now would it? We would also like to keep these,” gesturing to both the coin still in his hand, as well as the contract on the table before him, “until after the evaluation. And lastly, I will need to know quite a bit more about you, and your associates, before making my final decision. Is this acceptable?”
The smile had returned to Laharl's face. “Very well, old man. We'll be back in two days, at noon for this evaluation of yours.” He half turned, and then glanced back. “Oh, and next time – it's the Great Overlord Laharl, if you don't mind. Flonne, Etna, we're leaving.” He turned, and strode back to the center of the room.
He was followed almost immediately by Flonne, who only pause briefly to bow to Sarutobi. “Thank you so much for this – I promise I will not let you down, ninja-san,” before almost skipping to the center of the room, slightly behind the Overlord, who was looking around in annoyance.
“Etna! Where are you?” Glancing around the room, it took a few seconds to find the wayward member of the trio, sitting comfortably in one of his easy chairs, apparently absorbed in a book she had taken from the shelves.
Etna took her time standing. “What? I was bored, so I found a little light reading.” Grinning at the at the entire room, she continued. “Mind if I borrow this until we get back? It'd make some great bedtime reading.” And before any of the ninja present could object, she was with the other two, and they were gone.
Sarutobi let out a long breath that he did not realize he had been holding. Unsurprisingly, he was the first to recover. After fingering both the coin and the contract, he preformed a half hearted Kai, hoping that they had just been caught in some elaborate genjutsu. Unfortunately, both the items stubbornly refused to disappear. Shaking his head slightly, he turned to his still slightly stunned guards. “Well, if nothing else, that was interesting. There are several people I will need summoned. Jiro, you are to find Iruka Umino and Mizuki Touji, as well as Ebisu.” Turning to his second guard, he continued. “Hiroshi, you are to find Anko Mitarashi and Kakashi Hatake. I want them here as soon as possible. Impress on them that this is an S class summons, especially Hatake. Lateness will not be tolerated."
Hiroshi shook his head doubtfully. "S class? Isn't that overreacting a bit, sir?"
"I certainly hope so. But there are too many unknowns here, and I do not like being in that position. By the way, did either of you see just which book that Etna took with her?”
Jiro spoke up first. “I'm not sure, but I think it was the ANBU T&I manual for dealing with ... difficult cases.” Sarutobi nodded.
“That is what I saw as well. Now, both of you, move! There is no time to waste.” They nodded, and quickly shunshined away.
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(Posted Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:00)
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