A Cut Here, A Death There [Akatsuki Only]

Kenpachi had been wondering around the old village of Kiri, looking for new specimen to steal away back to his hidden work laboratory. It was raining, no surprise there, being as it was usually rainy during this season in this Hidden Village. Kenny walked for hours, in no specific path, looking for someone who he thought might be of the Uchiha tribe, or someone who possessed an ocular KKG. He was hunting for a reason; the reason to implant the ocular KKG into himself.

Kenny, with his expertise, could make this happen - and work. He was once Leaf's greatest medical ninja - and it came with great practice that he could pull off what he was wanting. Now, during the time he had been walking around, Kenpachi came across a man who flaunted his KKG to an onlooking crowd. They marveled at how he could use his Sharingan, and thought he was really something. Kenny, now resting a shoulder against the side of a shop door, was talking to the owner for a bowl of soup. Though, to him, the soup was just to give the teenager showing off his ocular KKG.

Taking the soup, Kenny walked over to the other, and offered it as a gift. As the other accepted, Kenpachi had already marked him for death. There was no word exchange, there were no complications to this. The only reason Kenny had marked this man was for openly showing off his gift.

As the rain grew stronger, people started to go inside their homes to get out of the cold, rainy day. It was around 3:00 PM when only Kenpachi and a few other people were left outside, tending to what they had to get done. One of these few people were the Sharingan user, who had begun his way home. Little did he know that Kenpachi was following him, from a distance. The Sharingan male made a left, into a small, quiet area of homes. It was the right time now. Kenpachi made himself known, but only long enough for the young man to realize just who he was, from earlier. As the teenage male fell, his throat slit, all he could see was Kenpachi's glare. The emptiness within; the cold stare of a man with nothing to lose anymore. As the others knees hit the cement, one of Kenpachi's Harvesters had already grabbed onto the dying body, and was readying it to be taken away - back to the hidden lab.

"Take the eyes, and place them on the shelf with the others. Scan the body, to see if anything else can be of use to me for later. Do not fail me, Harvester, or you will be the next to be my experiment."

With that, the Harvester was off; and so was Kenny. He had more pressing things to look for... A Byakugan user, or an even better KKG... The Senju.

Making his way back to the village gates, Kenpachi didn't give the guards any reason to be alert, to let them be aware of who and what he was. They wouldn't find out until hours after he was gone what had happened, if they even found out.

Now, outside the gates, Kenpachi walked the open land, the rain a steady beat on his head; the puddles a constant "splosh" as his feet waded through the ankle high water. He planned on putting a few miles between him and the village before sundown. Looking at the sky, he figured it to be around 5:00 PM now. He thought to himself about how it would be sundown within two or so hours. He needed to hurry his pace.

"The goal was to keep a low profile, Kenpachi."

The voice echoed from a hooded figure drenched in rain. He stood there and let the water drip down his wooden body. He was more than just a puppet, he was a living creature that had malefested itself into the frame of the creation. The rain poured into the living puppet, almost as if he was a living creature. But that was it, he was not living. He was not dead.

"But I have found a few more to join us. A genin, and another who strives for the swords." Kaseki's eyes began to glow an odd and errie violet and red light. Almost as if it was a ball of chakra. This was the true Kaseki, something shown only to the second member. "I'm hoping you haven't revealed our original plans to anyone, yes? I'm also hoping you haven't mouthed the name of our operation."

Kaseki peered through the rain, the water falling and dividing them. He had to be sure it was him, and not another scout playing around with transformations. He was tired of toying with people.

Kenny kept his pace, only to hear the first of the organization speak to him from the side. He had been waiting, hidden, it seemed. "It is a low profile. He had a low sharingan. I could use it on you, if you'd like." He turned, his gaze meeting the others. He looked at the colored orbs, his face having a somber, dull look.

"A genin, you say? Are they strong enough? And one striving to obtain swords... I take it you mean the mist swords. If so, very good. It would save me the time of going after them individually. As for having loose lips, no, no I haven't." He turned again, taking a few steps further in the direction he was to travel again.

"And you, Kaseki? What methods are you using to recruit our members? I will help, if I can. But, my ways are a bit more...." his voice trailed off, as he chuckled. "A bit more bloody."

Kaseki thought about the idea he told the other two. Sure it had been part of his plan, but not the whole thing. "Then all is well. I have no need for the Sharingan, not yet at least." He thought about the others, and the mess they may cause. It would all fail should one reveal just the name. Who knew what would happen should they get the wrong idea. But he had another plan... one that existed between only the two in the rain.

"That genin is our first step to getting a Tailed Beast. I'm sure I can convince him to become a Jinchuriki." That would be it. If they could start with the Nine-Tails, this would be easier than they had originally planned.

"I need to busy them, and see where their skills lie." He gave a small laugh, "One of us needs to get our hands dirty and colored with red. That's why we have you, my friend." He snickered at the thought, "I'm just a myth among the leaf. A child that ran away from home. To them, you're the real threat. Let's keep it that way."

And a sinister smile fell upon his face.

"A tailed beast, eh?" He gave this some thought. Sure, having one already in their possession would be nice. But at the same time, they would have to protect them from others wanting the beast within, as well as dealing with the person being a Genin. Genin meant inexperience, and inexperience meant death in Kenny's world.

"I need a task done. It will save me time if it is done for me. Have the Genin do this, to busy them. There is a Byakugan user in Kumo. They are there for a short amount of time, maybe a week or two longer from now. Have the Genin bring me their eyes. I want the eyes properly contained, so they do not go bad during their travels. If the Genin can do this, and not make our organization known, then they are reliable. If not, then they need more work, and will require petty tasks before we can fully use them for our main task at hand. If he or she is successful in my small task, we can discuss them being the Jinchuriki we need." Kenpachi inhaled deeply, his large frame growing bigger in his chest, then exhaling slowly, his chest compacting. He was thinking on the other member.

"As for the sword collector... Have them busy themselves gathering what swords he or she can. Keep them busy with collecting bounties while they search. They can make us money while they go about their personal collection. But, when they find such a sword that we need, or can use, have them bring it back to the base. There, we will see what weapon is best suited for whom, and we can make the weapon an asset to our organization. Now for you and I..."

He slipped his hands in his shirt fold. "What do you need of me, being as you have made your way this far to just see me?"

Kaseki listened to the words of Kenpachi, agreeing for the most part. It would be ideal to busy them both to retrieve items, but to have them fail would only make Akatsuki weaker. He had his own plans and was already on his way to carry them out.

"What do you need of me, being as you have made your way this far to just see me?"

Kenpachi had slid his hands into his pockets only to think on the matter with Kaseki. He had to plan everything out to just make sure everything wouldn't crumble. "I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page." He said, his body as lifeless as driftwood, his arms like broken branches, and the dirt around his feet his personal marsh. "I'm already working on my new frames, improving my builds. Soon you'll see Kubikiribōchō again. For now, I have it sealed." he paused, only to take a thought into his words. He wasn't foolish to send them away on missions.. yet.

"I'll train both of them. The collector to be strong enough to use the blades should he return, as well as the other in Ijutsu to make sure your Kekkei Genkais remain unharmed.

This is to your liking, yes?"

"Yes, seems fair enough. I agree that is wiser. I will go about my business for now, unless I am needed on the frontlines of our plan for now. I seek to have the eyes I want within a few weeks. At that time, I will need a week to recover, but after.... Afterwards, our plan will be able to be able to fast forward. We will need to find the Bijuu or the Jinchuriki who hold them, and with my knowledge - holding them won't be a problem. I'm not good at negotiations, so that would be your forte in the plan if you wish them to join us."

He chuckled, remembering his history of obliterating anyone who would not give him the information he seeked when he was Konoha's ANBU Captain. Patience and negotiations were never his strong point. Maybe that's why he went into the path he was in now.

"You have them sealed, you say? Hmm." He gave this some thought. "Maybe you should build a poison frame that would be able to make the opponent pretty much lifeless, but keeping them alive enough to not actually die. If that is possible." It was just a suggestion, and if it was possible, it'd work wonders when their plan came to fruition, or if they needed a strong constraint for someone. Like an unwilling Jinchuriki.

Kaseki's mind held the memories of serving in Konoha's Anbu force. It was only after he found that his friend had become ROOT, only to be trained to kill Kaseki. But that was years ago...

"Well, we both have our past with Konoha." Kaseki said, "However I doubt the acting Hokage even remembers an artifact like me. It's been Two-Centuries, and with Danzo dead, I could only imagine that my files were erased from time."

He hated trying to fight, he felt that with a silver tongue he could deal more damage than with an iron sword. But that was why he led the Akatsuki the way he did. Kenpachi was the fist, Kaseki was the voice.

"I have many base frames stored away. Poison is my next experiment." He told Ken, "However some of my best creations are locked away in Konoha. Maybe I should try to get a few."

The idea seemed to make sense. He disappeared as a child with radical dreams, not a legendary fighter like Madara. To the village, he meant nothing. After all, hey did give up looking for him. But over the years, the ones that knew him were dead, as well as the generation after them. If his name did exist, then he was just a bedtime story. Nothing more... nothing less. He was no nightmare, he was no dream. He was just a story.

"I see. I must take my leave, I have some errands to run, and I need them done within a few days. I'll be cutting it close, now. I'll be at the hideout shortly, setting up my surgeries and KKG removals. I'll be gone after that for a short amount of time. If you need me, send for me. I take it you have an agenda you need to do as well, and recruiting the other members. Make sure to establish my expertise with them, and if you feel the need to assign me a partner, I am fine with that. I take my leave, Kaseki. See you soon." He turned, and by the time he finished turning, he was already taking off at a top speed, making his way off to his destination. He needed to finish his own agenda, and rapidly. But, rapid wasn't always clean. And he didn't like unclean work..