Chapter 27: Calling Home

About halfway through the week we were sat in the Consulate communications center in casual clothing, about to have the conference with Tou-san. I was at the head of the table and had Sachiko on the right carrying a stack of papers as well as a notebook and pen for any notes.

Tou-san connected into the communication conference, and was sitting in a room I hadn't seen before.

“It's good to see you, Daichi-kun! Sachiko-chan, I hope you're well.”

“You too, Tou-san.”

“Of course, Kohaku-sensei.”

“Good, good. So. The quarterly update. Shall I do the usual?”

“I'll update you on Konoha, then we'll go through family updates, any new retainers, the military situation, an economic update, the progress projects including construction and any new issues?” I asked, and got a nod in reply. “Sounds good to me. I noticed you're in a new room?”

“That's right! Hawk's House was completed with the most recent set of construction seals, so we've started to furnish it. What do you think?”

“I like it. Not too opulent, but it looks comfortable and practical,” I replied before getting to business. “Alright, we still need to do team training with Yasu, so I'll get started. I assume you got the most recent shipment?”

“That's right. Thank you; I know how boring making those seals must be for you.”

“It's not too bad. I get to practice my chakra scribing technique, so at least it’s not a total waste. Anyway, what else is there… our training is going well. Everyone's healthy. I'm almost done with the automatic sword-sealer; that should hopefully be ready within the month, though it'll depend a bit on how much training and life interfere. And, well, hmm...” I paused as I pretended to be deep in thought, then cheekily finished “can't really think of anything else!”

“I feel sorry for you, Sachiko-chan, if my son tries to be funny with you too,” he said joking at my neglecting to tell him if I passed my graduation exam and if the Hokage allowed my request for my retainers to make up my immediate genin-cell.

“It is a sacrifice necessary for my service, Kohaku-sensei,” she replied in a deadpan before finishing it off with a classic ninja saying: “I endure.” As if my humor were as bad as being tortured, or physically and mentally damaged. Tou-san burst into laughter, and with a big grin I spoke up.

“And see, Tou-san, Sachiko-chan's sense of humor continues to grow!”

“Yes, yes. Well done on breaking down your retainer, Daichi-kun. Now stop keeping an old man waiting.”

“Alright, alright. Wouldn't want you to forget what we were talking about. So, we passed the Elite Genin Graduation Test, as if you expected any different. And Hokage-sama was kind enough to allow my retainers to serve in the same genin cell.”

“Good. I know how much you like having Sachiko around especially; I'm glad she'll be able to continue to support you.” I knew what he was insinuating, but even if we weren’t in any way together, it was true; I'd have been miserable if Sachiko wasn't assigned to my group, and while Yasu was a bit more of a “quiet outdoors-type”, he was familiar and comfortable. Funnily enough Sachiko, who normally insinuated such things with a totally matter-of-fact, everyday tone, had a faint blush.

“But that's pretty much it. So what's happening with you guys, on Hawk's Haven and in our little town?” I asked with a faint moue of displeasure when I said the name.

“OK. Well, as I'm sure Kaa-san told you last weekend, your little imouto turned two, and is getting into all sorts of mischief. This last week, she managed to get into Kaa-san's sealing supplies, and well, Kaa-san ended up having to get the wallpaper replaced. She was not pleased. I doubt little Ayumi-chan will make that mistake again. Other than that, everyone is in good health. Kaa-san passed her Expert Sealer's Exam, which she's been keeping kind of quiet; I've had to tell people on her behalf. I've also heard that Otou-sama is quietly bragging about your “contribution to improving the art of the sword” and is starting to equip his top retainers with your seal-blades.”

His air quotes around that sentence were hilarious.

“Really? Well, I'll congratulate Kaa-san when we next speak. Expert Sealer's where things really get fun, too; she must be getting close to a mastery in her specialty. And as for Ojii-sama, tell him if he'd like to send a vial of his blood, I'll make him one with all the bells and whistles. It'll be fun to see what I can come up with to add on top of that…” I started to go into what I thought of as “sealing mind” as the possibilities came up, but Sachiko tapped me lightly under the table with her foot and I refocused. Truly she was the best minion. “Oh, and Sachiko, make a note to make another dozen blades, a mix of air and water, to go along with it.”

“Other than that, some of the Clan elders are still on me to take on some concubines,” he continued with a faint look of irritation. “You mother says she doesn't mind, and could use someone to help her gang up on me; I think she just wants some free baby-sitters.”

“Well, there's no chance you could make someone as awesome as me,” and how true that statement was “but I wouldn't mind having more siblings, even half siblings, if you wanted to, Tou-san. I won't be upset if Kaa-san is allowing it.” And she'd have to be; she was technically the head of my family, not Tou-san, due to clan-law favoring sealers and Tou-san's spat with Ojii-sama all those years ago.

“Well, I'll tell you what I told them: I'll think about it when the situation in Wave is a bit more stable. It's not like I'm that old, the interfering busybodies.” I laughed a bit at that.

“So, that was family. Now, onto retainers and vassals. They've been getting settled in at Hawk's Haven. You currently have eight samurai of good experience who have sworn themselves to you, as well as a round dozen of their apprentices; the three with families are settling in on the island, while the rest are off earning you points with the other Whirlpool military commanders. As for ninja, you're doing a bit better there; the collapse of Mist, and our own position have meant that a lot are attracted to us. As you know, you've got a full clan, if a somewhat small one, as vassals; the Matsuoka are up to thirty seven members, of whom eleven are combat capable. The independents and families are up to a total of twenty six ninja, of which there are fully four worthy of being jonin ranked and a good score of chunin. Four of those ninja are recent additions; they'll need blades – two water, an earth and a lightning. One of the ninja is from Uzushiogakure, and has his own Pelican; we'll need extra ammunition and fuel-seals, if possible” I nodded, and Sachiko made a note of this without even being asked.

“I've set the earth-user to work on the island, while the others are proving themselves with the combat group. And that ends the retainer update!”

“Militarily, we're doing very well. We finished installing your upgrades to the Cyclone defense system seals, and the sensor network is finally all up and running; there aren't any more gaps in coverage. I managed to get the island declared a permanent Whirlpool Naval Basing Site, mostly because of our harbor; at times we have up to five hundred workers, soldiers and sailors on the Island, and there's always at least a full century assigned to permanent duty. They've been building a permanent base, which is good for employment.”

“That's good to hear; it's always best when your defenses are free, after all. Did you talk to the base commander about using our seal-work to reduce our taxes?”

“Yes, and the Navy's been quite happy to go for it. Our taxes have been halved for this year and the next; if we supply another five Pelican pilots with full equipment for light operations, they'll be forgiven entirely.”

“Is it worth it?”

“Monetarily, not quite. But, there is an allowance for ammunition for training with the Pelicans, and our men will get more experience; it helps the island security too, and there are still the occasional left-over pirates.”

“Do it, then. How are the private guards shaping up?”

“Pretty well. Apart from your retainers, we've got just over eighty sailors and a hundred and forty professional soldiers sworn to you. We've been focusing on training them up to work with our forces and operate Cyclone systems, as well as training more marines. We're expecting the fifth patrol-craft to be ready to be picked up from Uzushiogakure in another six weeks. The troops are on track to be able to operate as training cadre a year from now.”

I smiled. That was significantly better than I had expected. “Excellent. Get them as trained up as possible; I want to announce the militia program whenever I can finally visit. It'll probably be another year or two though.”

“That's fine. It's not a pressing priority, given all the changes that are happening. Shall we move to the financial update?”

“Lets. How are we doing?”

“Well, we're doing very well so far. The trading company you set up with Hikaru-san managed to expand our re-supply contracts with the various military forces, and the pair of patrol craft we've been using as escorts have proved sufficient to drive off any potential pirates. The income from the seal-blades keeps increasing, and the war was very good for royalties from the Cyclone Seals. The Pelican income is something, even if your cut isn't that large. The payments for your men working as mercenaries continues to improve as well. Even with your heavy investment into the island, and the recent purchase of the iron-mines, we'll show a significant profit, especially if we don't end up paying any taxes to Whirlpool. Our policy on low taxes is about to run out on the island too, so we'll see more income from that soon.”

“Good. And the taxes will stay at that new level until I arrive; I'll announce the partial tax reduction for families with active Militia service. It'll help with morale and make them feel like they’re earning the lower rate.” Low taxes, eventually normalized – it was literally right out of Machiavelli’s The Prince for pacifying recent conquests, and had worked out surprisingly well. Lowering them again in return for militia service was my own twist though.

“So cunning,” he teased. “As for projects, well, I already mentioned your trading company. The most recent set of construction seals and finished materials finally got us keeping up with demand for things like sewers and pipes as you demanded in the “building code”. The water-sanitation seals are up and running. We've gotten a recent shipment in of superior soybeans, rice and other staples, and will start planting in fall. The humidity-collection seals and the water-storage seals have proved effective, and the current crop is looking larger than normal due to the improved irrigation. Two new warehouses are still under construction, and one was just completed last week. The first expansion of the docks is finished as well.”

“Wow, Tou-san. I'm impressed. How much am I paying you?” I wasn't paying him anything, and we both knew it; he was however drawing pay as the Military Governor's Deputy for the Island, but due to the size of the Island that was pretty negligible – only about as much as a military Captain without any active-combat bonus. In other words, barely enough to live off. Luckily he had incomes from his own lands, Kaa-san’s income from selling seals, and rather large invested savings. The government pay was basically a rounding error.

“You know how much you're paying me,” he answered with a smile.

“I do. Double it.” He laughed out loud, and I smiled. “Alright. I'm glad you've managed to do such a good job with the island in such a short time. So. Now onto my favorite part. Issues.”

“There isn't really anything that needs your attention, other than one problem.”

“The insects.”

“That's right. The area is just too large for standard anti-insect seals, and while we've spread them to every home, the workers are still having issues when outside. We've lost two to sickness already, even with the new clinic, and will lose more before the year's out.”

I sighed. “Can you get Kaa-san to work on something for it? I'd do it myself, but I doubt I'll have the time. Tell her I'll give her a fortnight's stored chakra.” That was a huge amount; enough to buy a half dozen Pelicans, or about the equivalent purchasing power of $200,000. Being an intelligently designed Jinchuriki had its benefits.

“I think she can focus on it for a time with that. Any ideas?”

“Nothing I'm sure of. Maybe something that detects and traps bugs the size of a mosquito or smaller, with a cyclically varying volume so it captures them, compresses the area, squishes them, then resets? That would be my first idea, at least. Or possibly a scanner paired with very weak directed light beams? See what she thinks.”

“Will do. Alright, that's it then. Love you, Daichi-kun. Stay well, Sachiko-chan, and make sure to give my son all the trouble he can handle. Give my congratulations to Yasu-kun when you see him, and all of you enjoy the fruits of your progress.”

“Love you too, Tou-san. Have fun on the island. We'll talk again soon.”

“Thank you, Kohaku-sensei. I will follow your instructions,” Sachiko replied with a bit of a grin. Tou-san's informality was definitely infectious; he could always get Sachiko to lighten up more than I could, which was totally unfair.

And with that, we went and fetched Yasu for some team training. Yasu was an interesting kid; he was one of those “quiet, watchful, calm” types, and loved to spend time out in the woods. He specialized in tracking, both as a sensor and using more traditional techniques, and was pretty skilled with camouflage and stealth, traps, and traditional ninja weapons like kunai and shuriken. He was decent with a sword, though Uncle and I were training him to be better. We got along pretty well, but he always preferred to watch me than actually interact with me, and was I think a bit intimidated sometimes so we weren't as good friends as I was with Sachiko.

Within the team, he mostly had a scout/rogue role, while I was the tank/artillery, and Sachiko was the misdirection/support, though she was good enough with water jutsu and a few combat oriented wind ones to play “tactical caster” when needed. She was also pretty damned amazing at espionage, but that wasn't really a combat task. Sachiko, who was then 17, and Yasu, who was 16, both had skills and bodies that could have easily qualified for Special Jonin. With their slowly developing sets of body-seals, which included DEWS, HUDs, and Cyclone seals as well as a genjutsu-defense I'd modified from the one designed for Bijuu, they had everything they needed to be jonin save for battle experience. Their seal-blades and custom Pelican summons were just icing on the cake.

Considering the weird mix of VIP and combat monster that I represented combined with my team's potential, I was very interested to find out what Sarutobi would have us doing, and who he would assign to be our team's Jonin-Sensei. By the time the end of the week came, I was legitimately exited to find out, and a bit impatient, so I was distracting myself by harassing Sachiko more than usual by trying to make her exhibit visible emotion, or find me new and interesting books to read or training exercises to practice.

After being so busy, downtime could actually be really difficult to deal with.

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If you haven't seen it, you may enjoy checking out Badass. Set in Worm (a modern semi-gritty superhero story), and with elements from Fate and Badass of the Week, it's crack-taken-seriously, over-the-top pulp-fiction style violence with an overpowered protagonist, and banned on two other sites. Hell, even the light-hearted omake jokes in this were considered too subversive to persist.

Do note, backlog processed, so no more daily releases on Badass.

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I've also begun posting another of my stories, Far Strider, onto RRL. Here's the synopsis:

A college student finds himself transported into a strange land with burgeoning magical powers, and is taken in by Ned Stark. Will he sink or swim in this medieval society, and will he ever get home?

OC-insert without knowledge of Game of Thrones, new planeswalker. Slow power ramp.

Second crossover: Star Wars (around chapter 39).

Currently releases daily.