Scarlet Justice: Full Blossom – ep. 42
"Inscriptions"
[Spilled Ink, Part 1]

"You will continue to have the zones tighten in this season. It will be up to you as the leader on the ground to deal with it as it happens."

I hold the phone to my ear while making notes about an unrelated thing. It is getting close to the time where I will have to deal with certain village elements before they cause us too much trouble. My talk with Karin the other day confirmed that the Foundation is starting to infringe on some of our friends' personal space.

That will not do.

"There is something that you can do to help yourself, and that is to organize patrols to search specifically for evidence of human activity. You have a few dedicated trackers on your roster, and more than a few people who can support them. Once you figure out where and when the infiltrators are setting up, it will be easier to either evade or eliminate them. From the reports I've looked at, there should be no jounin from any faction in those areas. Nothing you can do about it if it turns out to be the case after all...you're looking at a different set of parameters in that scenario." I tap my pen against the desk. "Yes, as far as you're concerned, it stops being your issue. You would be well served in making a hasty retreat and reporting back to the village if that is what you're up against. I see. No, the level should be low in general. You will not have to worry about any reprimand or heavy handed decisions. Major General Aomine will be looking over things carefully for the next while. A relief, yes. We need more advocates like her. Yes, of course. If the new data doesn't reach you within the next two days, contact me again. Yes, alright. Take care, and good morning."

I hang up and finish my notes. From here, I should be free to take care of today's business.

The next stop will be the Hokage's Office, where Tamaki should have my reports ready.

"Good morning, Lili. Here you go."

"Good morning, Tamaki. Thank you kindly." I take the documents and look over them as Tamaki sits at her desk. She types away at her computer, and I frown at the information in front of me. "Time is growing short, it seems."

"Seems like it," she says without turning.

"Might I borrow your phone a moment?"

"It's no trouble at all. Imari is handling the majority of calls today."

"Thank you." I dial the number from memory and wait. "Hello and good morning. This is Lilith Kobayashi speaking...I have a matter that will be of great interest to Lord Hiashi Hyuuga. It is not strictly urgent, but it is something that I believe should be tended to as quickly as possible. Yes, the documents will be here with Special Aide Kurogane. Feel free to make copies as you wish. Yes, of course. Thank you. Good morning." I hang up and set the papers down on Tamaki's desk.

"Stirring up trouble, then?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense at this point. I promised that trash that he was going to die, and this will ensure that I can keep said promise."

"Almost feel sorry for the little prick."

"You're a better woman than me, in that regard." I check my watch. "Any changes with scheduling?"

"Nope. Everything's right on track."

"Good. Then I'll have a look for her in the usual places. As always, you've been invaluable to me."

"I do try my best." She stops her typing to look up at me. "Stay safe out there, Lili."

"I will, Tamaki."

She nods before going back to her work, and I head off once more. Informing the Hyuuga that there has been unauthorized monitoring of their family, no matter how brief, will set Hiashi and Danzo on a collision course. It might not seem like much, but the window that will be created due to necessary damage control will be more than large enough for us to slip through. We want to pressure those Foundation lackeys as much as possible, and force them to make a mistake.

That boy especially. His meddling has gotten far out of hand, and so I will put an end to it permanently.

I follow Erika's chakra signature to a book store in the middle of the village. She emerges with a thick volume tucked under her arm.

"Erika, my love."

"Lili. Good morning."

"Good morning." I peck her on the cheek in greeting. "Have we been well lately?"

"Yes. I wanted to make a certain purchase for the purposes of self-study. The intricacies of atmospheric flow and interference with regards to externally generated chakra constructs is a field that has yet to see extensive study."

"Funding issues," I say with one hand on my hip. "It's always the case. Yuno and I were on the phone for a few hours the other night being bitter about it. I'm going to get her up to speed on some of the ideas I had from Naruto's training session."

"Very intriguing. Perhaps we could discuss it ourselves later?"

"Certainly."

"Thank you. I assume that you did not come by simply to exchange greetings, though I would not be bothered at all if it were the case."

I laugh softly. "You always know how to charm a woman, Erika."

"Mm. I wonder about that at times..."

"But your perception is correct, as it usually is. I've come to let you know that we've started turning the gears. Sai is becoming a menace, and this is the time to put him along with his rodent friends away properly. Hiashi has been informed of the Foundation's encroachment on the family's privacy. Specifically the monitoring of Hinata and Hanabi."

"He will not be pleased with that, to say the very least of things."

"An understatement if there was one. The period of recalibration is our time to strike. From what Lord Hokage has mentioned, Danzo will not have the luxury of slotting in another person to replace Sai if something should happen to him."

Erika nods. "I see. Then it is important that we act with haste. Are they aware of the other elements?"

"They are not. And I'm going to take full advantage of that fact."

"My thoughts are the same. What window would you like?"

"Twenty four. We should start as soon as possible. Make sure Ino is looped in."

"Understood. I will start the routines as soon as I reach home again."

We share a hug and part ways. There's nobody too close...they seem to have enough of a respect for my known capabilities, and Erika's for that matter. It means that we can move forward smoothly. Taking care of some business with Yuno should help to keep them guessing.

I reach the Nagano home in short order. It's a cozy looking place with a small footprint and two levels, a roof that is just peaked enough to let water and other items slide downwards, and one tall tree directly behind it that also provides shade as the branches reach over it towards the front. A barrel for rainwater sits to one side on a tree stump.

"Yuno is in," I say to myself. A few light knocks bring her from the opposite side of the house.

"Morning. Oh, Lili! Nice seeing you here," she says with a smile. Her hair is still a bit messy, so it looks like she's just woken up.

"Good morning, my darling. Hopefully I haven't bothered you too much just now."

"Was thinking about breakfast. Did you want anything? Kettle's still hot."

"Nothing for now, but thank you kindly. I wanted to follow up on a few things, with regards to our research project. Have you had a chance to go over the notes?" I ask.

"Not too thoroughly, but I gave them a quick skim the day I picked them up from the box. Gotta say, it's a hell of a theory...and something I totally agree with. I think this is the path forward."

"Do you?"

"Yeah. Nami and Aniki had roughly the same thoughts. We're probably gonna consider different jutsu as we can observe them, but what you've put forward is a great start."

"Then I'll get the Hokage to put his stamp on it, so that you're afforded some extra protection from busybodies. As for how we will proceed, I have this for you and the others, when you can get to it. I've broken down what we need at this stage and the subsequent ones. If the heavens will it, we will proceed through all of these stages smoothly."

I hand Yuno a scroll, which she unrolls and looks at curiously.

"Huh. Okay, I see how this will work."

"Edelweiss could take care of things themselves, but I don't want them to be in the limelight just yet. There are things that need to be done discreetly, while they all still have the element of surprise. I am going to take care of one such thing soon."

"Sounds ominous," she says.

"It should. How does that plan look to you?"

"Solid enough. Lots of bankrolling, but I'm sure you can handle that part."

"Will that be okay with regards to your development?"

"Absolutely. Combat work is obviously necessary from time to time to keep the rust off, but it's not a regular requirement for me anymore. Long as I can make some lateral moves, I'll be fine. The breakdown looks good, and if we can get this through then the three of us will have a lot more time on our hands for research and development."

"Excellent. I do not think your professional development should suffer as a result of this, but I can put in a good word either way. I'll make the submission to Shikaku today, then."

"Strike while the iron's hot. Sounds good to me," Yuno says.

"Then you can start working on ideas."

"Already got a few, hehe."

I pat her head. "Make sure you eat first. And rest on your days off. I know that your brother and Nami will make sure of that, but don't let it get that far."

"Got it, boss lady. Looking forward to starting this awesome journey! We're finally gonna get to the bottom of that ultimate jutsu mystery!" she says with a bright smile.

"We surely will. Every proper revolution needs a secret weapon, hmhm. I will see you later, my love."

"See you, Lili. Thanks for dropping by!"

I wave to her before the door closes, and make my way back onto the village streets. My unauthorized minders are keeping their distance still. Perhaps they've been getting a good pull on their leashes lately. I don't really care...their threat level is non-existent at this point.

Next stop, the Jounin Commander's office.

"Good morning, Commander Nara. I have a request to make of you."

He sets down his pen and leans back in his chair, then gestures for me to continue. I set a scroll on his desk and he starts to read through it.

"Thank you. We spoke at one point about making use of your clan technique for the purposes of research. Have you and your membership come to a consensus on this?"

"Right, you did ask about that." He takes a scroll from one of the drawers in his desk, and sets it down next to mine. "A few conditions, just to make this sort of thing nice and neat. At some point I would like you to see Inoichi at Intelligence and have him confirm what you're doing. Just so that we have some extra verification and the like."

"One can't be too careful," I say.

"That's right. Choza is onboard, and he has one or two people in mind if you need them for physical experimentation."

"Ooh, lovely. What about your side?"

"I have a few people that would be into something like that, yeah."

"Execellent. I can add another line to the budget, then...it should be well within calculations, even at this point."

He chuckles. "Always ten steps ahead. Can't hate that. And for my purposes...think you can let me in on what you're planning?"

"Well." I take a few steps forward and lean over his desk. "We're hunting for the origin of jutsu. A technique that would allow us to erase the bounds between fantasy and reality."

He raises a brow. "Something like that..."

"You might see where I'm going with this."

"I might. Yin and Yang, then...interesting. Who've you got on this?"

"Yuno, Koichi, and Nami. They will be pulling more cohorts into our orbit soon enough, but we're starting on this now as a privately funded project."

"Structured as missions for now."

"Mm-hm."

He nods and rubs his chin. "Creative way to go about it. So you're looking for something that goes beyond the usual creation arts. Things like Wood Release, or that technique the Uchiha used to use, once upon a time. Izanagi."

"Yes. We were thinking of that technique during our discussions," I say. "Though that is a temporary thing, meant solely to decide wars and other types of conflict. What I seek is something far more flexible."

"Something like that could wreak havoc on the economy...or rather, it definitely would."

"Hm." I pull myself upright and run a hand through my hair. "As you've correctly said before, I am several steps ahead when it comes to such matters. The world I mean to create will have less friction in these happenings than you would expect."

"I don't think ambitious even starts to describe that."

"A vision beyond words. How flattering...I can see why Yoshino fell for you, what with your smooth talk and all," I say with a smile.

"Always going on, eh."

"Always."

He slides the scroll towards me. "That's plenty for my purposes. Scroll's all yours. Take that to the archives and you'll have everything you need in moments. The book hounds know where to look."

"Thank you kindly." I take the scroll and place it in one of my sleeves. "This will be a great help, Shikaku."

"Glad I could be of service. I'll be looking forward to what you come up with, after you take over the world and everything."

"Oh, that day might be coming sooner than you think."

"I don't doubt it." He raises his mug to me in salute. "Godspeed, Lady Hokage."

I wink at him before leaving.

A few more hours pass as I idle at one of the local sandwich shops, grabbing a snack in the meantime. Gaining copies of the texts for the Shadow Imitation Technique was easily done, after a quick stop to see Inoichi and have him do a minimally invasive mind reading. The bond between Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi cannot be understated – they were among the clans that first formed the Leaf alongside the Senju and Uchiha. Akimichi especially wield power behind the scenes as one of the village's premier clans, even if it isn't immediately obvious and people treat them like oversized buffoons at times. Gaining the trust of all three heads isn't just a strategic concern, though it helps. Having them in my corner will mean a lot for what I mean to do next. Taking actions that will change the very foundations of this village, and the entire world eventually.

My new home, when it is completed, will have plenty of security features so that I can casually open classified documents whilst lounging in bed. For now, I will want to have secure set ups so that certain elements within the village will not be able to scrape information away so easily. The technique scrolls are secured in my work box as a result. I am quite excited to look at them once the opportunity arises. For now, I will deal with this ROOT business, unsightly as it will be.

"Hm."

Chakra is flowing through the seal on my left arm, and I understand this as a request from one of our many serpentine subjects. I focus and they appear in a cloud of smoke next to me, a man-sized snake the colour of desert sand.

"Princess Lilith, I have a message for you from one of our brothers," he says with the scroll in his jaws.

"Thank you kindly. Be well the rest of your day." I take the scroll from him.

"As you wish, Princess. An honour to be of service."

He disappears as quickly as he came. I ignore the mutterings of the other patrons and read the coded message on the scroll. Nothing too unusual is happening...some mobilization which we can cut off, listed with a few coordinates that I will figure out in a moment...more killings and small villages being wiped out. Nobody really has a clue what that means, and it's bothersome that it's come up again like this. I wonder if Jiraiya has put any extra focus on that.

"Let's check this area that you have mapped out, Anko-nee..."

I pull a card out of my pouch and set it down on the counter, then roll up the scroll and put it away. With a flicker of chakra, the map appears before expanding into a three dimensional image at my command. Looking at the numbers, we have something happening directly north of the village, out near the Sound Country border...or rather, Rice Country once more. The old name has yet to catch on properly, again. With the Special Occupied Zone – what was once the Hidden Sound – in place, there is more of a focus on identifying suspicious activity and putting a stop to it. Someone seems to have called on Akatsuki to stir up some trouble there. If it's the team that has been destroying territory lately, it might be trouble. All I can do is wait for Hiruzen's orders at this point, since he will have a copy of this information on his desk soon enough.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Boss."

"It's not a problem, Shino. Are you well?" I ask as he takes the seat next to me.

"I'm alright. How is the food here, by the way?"

"Trash. It's by God's hand that they remain in business...even the coffee smells awful. Ugh. You and your fellows can have the rest of my sandwich if you want. Calories are calories to your colony, yes?"

"That's the gist of it. I'll wait until we're outside," he says as he pockets the sandwich. "You know how people get these days."

"Unfortunately. I can't believe I came to this village more open-minded about such things than so many people. I didn't exactly mind creatures of the earth before, but you would think with so much happening daily...and the fact that the Aburame have been part of the Leaf for such a long time..."

"As you like to say, Boss. Humans can be strange in their ways."

"Mm. Futaba was lamenting about such things the other day when we spoke. By the by, how is she?"

"Doing well on her end, too." He pauses. "Her hair looks nicer recently. Smells a bit different, too."

"In a good way, you mean."

"Yes."

"You're welcome. Flower oils are a tried and true method of keeping one's hair fresh and healthy, without the use of outrageous chemicals and the like. I wonder if I should consider banning that garbage once I become Hokage. They would find one thing or another to call me a dictator over, so I wonder if this could be an opportunity in itself..."

"You wanted to hear about how surveillance is going, Boss?"

"Yes, yes. Forgive me again for that bad habit of mine," I say with a smile. "Please tell me what you've observed, my love."

"Right." He adjusts his glasses. "I've conducted normal surveillance as we discussed, and it's as we assumed from earlier. There are anti-insect measures being taken with each Foundation member at differing times, and with differing levels of thoroughness. However, we did note some interesting changes with regards to certain members, including the aforementioned Sai, and so I requested assistance from Miss Erika in order to determine where we stood."

"What did you find out from that?"

"Specific persons have been deployed to keep watch of designated targets, such as Hanabi, Hinata, and Fio. This extended to Team Asagao, as you yourself observed earlier from your talk with Jugo."

"Yes."

"We have details on their movements as a result of our combined observations." Shino hands me a small card, which has some codes and coordinates that we like to use as a group. I scan them one by one and gain an understanding of what is going on.

"Nothing on Nami?"

"Their lack of concern for clearing the surveillance spheres while monitoring her her suggests that they view her as generally unimportant. It seems she's done very well in keeping herself off their sheets aside from general data."

"Helpful for us. So that means we can pick them off at our leisure...good. I'll have Erika deal with the rest of them, since there are certain elements that I need to get rid of with more delicate means." That, and I don't want him getting too deep into this mess as it is now. It's certainly overbearing on my part, and he knows that much. I simply don't want him getting hurt, even as I respect his decisions and autonomy. It's not something that I'm likely to just get over. I don't want to lose people if I can help it, especially not with the power that is coming into my hands. Being too smothering is the least of my worries at this point.

"A suggestion, Boss?"

"What is it?"

"I would like it if you kept me at least this distance until the completion of our mission, if possible," Shino says. "I understand your concerns, but I think that I can play a part in a support role."

"That is true. You've been nothing less than brilliant so far, Shino. And of course you've seen right through me once again."

"Sorry, Boss. I didn't mean to be accusing, or anything like that."

"It's alright. I do have my tendencies. As long as you stick with Erika, you will know everything that you need to. Tell her that she has my blessing to give you marching orders."

"Thanks, Boss."

"Of course. Was there anything else?"

"Nothing at this moment, Boss."

"Then we should have everything we need. We will take care of business, starting tomorrow. Tell Master Aburame to let things proceed at their own pace, and not to panic at any reactions coming out of the Hyuuga camp."

"Alright. Good luck, Boss. I'll see you later. Oh, and thanks for the snack."

"Not a problem, darling. You take care, now."

He nods and leaves my side at the counter, as quietly as he came in. I slip the small card into my pocket and take slow sips of my water while thinking, compiling every bit of information that I've gained over the past while and organizing it inside of my head, in my own way. Locations, timing, counter surveillance, targets seen and unseen.

As soon as feel like I'm finished, I drain the remaining water from my glass and take my leave from the shop. My feet take me at a casual place towards the first set of coordinates listed by Shino, so that I can scout the area and etch its nuances into my mind for the next day's events.

A lot is happening at once, and I don't expect to be perfect. That much isn't possible, even for someone like me. Perfection isn't necessary, in the end. All we need to do is get rid of this menace, an obstacle towards our mission of changing the world and how it functions. I want to protect those who I love and care for, from the threats that they might be aware of but cannot see or touch as they are.

Things must change. And I will be the one to change them...no matter how much blood will run through the streets as a result.