Setting Up Shop

Damien exhaled a deep breath as he opened the door to the administration building, his future hung in the balance of a single conversation. The male would silently kick himself for having spent the money his father had given him to start his business on his penthouse, but the male had needs and those needs came at a price. However with the local paper, lady luck seemed to Shine some favor on him, it seemed Kumogakure was in need of someone of his skills. If he could land this job then it would do more than pay for his company, he would even be able to pay his father back with a claim that it was profit from his business. The man smiled to himself at the thought of outsmarting his father, not that it was hard Damien had been smarter than his father since he could remember. How the man was the CEO of his company Damien would never understand, but it would change when the male was able to repay his debt. His father was foolish enough to accept his bet, and the idiot would pay for it.

"Hello, can I help you?" Came a woman's voice that broke through the male's thoughts bringing him back to reality from his thoughts of getting out of his father's shadow. "My name is Damien Darhk, I am here to answer the ad in the paper this morning. I believe I am more than qualified to preform the services the village needs, assuming you can afford me." The male stated in his typical self absorbed tone that caused people to hate him, "Ah, yes have a seat and someone will be right with you. The woman replied as she motioned to the seats behind the male, "I hope it is not a long wait, my time is valuable." The man scoffed as he went and took his seat to wait, he knew that he needed this job but at the same time he knew his skills were valuable. He wasn't going to try and act polite to get a job, that just wasn't who he was. They could either hire him for his skills or they could refuse him for his attitude, but he sure as hell was not going to kiss anyone's ass to get this position.

“Wait, we got an applicant already?” screeched a disbelieving voice followed by the sound of heavy footsteps coming from down a hallway before the doorway that led to a VIP exclusive area was slammed open revealing Ryuko in all her glory. Unlike the current Raikage Nariko who was known to sometimes lounge around the administration office in nothing but a sweatsuit and pants the priestess was dressed very respectfully in her fancy light pink dress.

As far as nobel standards went it was far from being dressed to the nines and a bit on the more casual side but it was more than professional enough for doing office work and meeting in. She could have elected to wear her shrine priestess robes instead but to Ryuko it was all about wearing the right outfit for the right task.

In the last several weeks since waking up she had embarked on the task of revitalizing the village’s economy which had fallen into a major slump during her absence. So far it had been a smashing success and she’d generated more funds in one budget then most people could ever dream of possessing in their entire life. Of course there was the small matter of her spending most of those funds to make various improvements to the village but that would quickly pay off during the next budget report.

The biggest thing she felt the village was lacking out on was a master crafter. A Civilian dedicated full time to providing high quality goods and services to the people that lived within the village. She’d heard stories about what the one’s in other villages had done, even seen some of their work first hand with some of the weapons that Shimiko had on her and felt like her village had to get in on the action.

“Hello Sir Damien, tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I Ryuko Shizu Von Rose, assistant to the Raikage , will be seeing you today. Please come this way.” Introducing herself politely as possible she gave the man before her a welcoming nod and gestured him towards the Vip section so they could speak details in privacy.

Arriving at a well furnished parlier she showed Damien a very comfortable looking leather chair then sat at the seat across from him. Between them was a small coffee table that someone had already set with two cups of steaming green tea and a plate of fancy pastries to snack on.

In the lobby she had been glancing at him with a warm smile but while her smile hadn’t changed the look in her eyes now had changed to something more calculating as if she was evaluating his every move and word.

“As you said Sir time is valuable. I don’t intend to waste any of yours in wasted plesnentres and roundabout inquiries. My primary questions for you are the following. What can you do for this village and how much funding do you require to do so?” asked the priestess rather bluntly.

She liked to think off herself as a good judge of character. The fact that Damian had responded to her ad so quickly spoke volumes about him and she could see the ambition burning in his eyes. He was the type of person that if she played her cards right and got on her side would make for a very useful ally indeed.

It wasn't long after he had taken his seat that he heard the screech from behind the door followed by the heavy footsteps that burst through the doorway with a sense of importance, what stood in the doorway Damien's mind could only produce one word to describe, Stunning. The male had always had an attraction to powerful women, and this one commanded attention when she entered the room. He would say her appearance was pleasing to the eye, she held a nice figure, the light pink dress fit her form nicely and he liked the blue in her bangs as it drew the attention to her eyes, a beautiful blue iris with a white pupil, that caused the man to feel as though she was piercing his soul with their beauty as she looked at him.  He would catch himself just staring into the woman's eyes when she spoke and introduced herself as the assistant to the Raikage before asking for him to follow her. The man was surprised, with the way she entered the room, he would of easily thought her to be the Raikage. The woman carried a sense of self importance, another trait that the male found to be attractive. Damien would nod and stand to follow the woman, shaking his head as he walked behind her as he tried to clear his mind. He couldn't let himself get caught up in a beautiful woman right now, he needed to focus.

When they arrived in the parlor Damien would remove his travel coat, hanging it on a rack next to the door as the woman would gesture to a leather chair while she took the chair opposite of it across the small table. Seeing the cups of tea and the pastries on the table as he sat would cause the man to smirk slightly. He knew most people liked to discuss business with tea, but he would of much rather preferred a scotch on the rocks like he had when talking business with his father. Still he wouldn't be an ungrateful guest, picking up the tea and smelling it's sweet aroma before taking a sip. It wasn't that he disliked tea, he just preferred his scotch when it came to business. The woman, this Ryuko Shizu Von Rose, would jump straight to the point in asking what he could offer and funding he would require. Damien would set his cup of tea down, before leaning back in the chair and folding his hands in his lap.

"First I must say, you are a quiet stunning individual, had I known I would be in the company of such beauty I would have dressed more appropriately. That comment aside, I appreciate it when people get straight to the point. However, your question is not such an easy thing for me to answer. An easier question would be what I can't offer you, you know the saying a jack of all trades but a master of none? I laugh at that saying, I was raised in a corporate office from the time I was four. I mastered my first craft by the time I was eight, my second a year later. I was considered a business prodigy at the age of eleven, and I alone have a net worth of 1 million Ryo. I am a master architect as well as a world class surgeon, and while I may not be as useful as shinobi reguards to certain things, I know my way around fuuinjutsu and have a wide array of different formulas to enhance my crafts. Darhk Industries has connections world wide, we have telecommunication, weapons, armor, specialty devices that you won't find anywhere else, facility blueprints, whatever you desire I can find a way to get it for you. Not to mention that my company also owns the rights to the only Vibranium mine in the world. I work fast, and I have never make a mistake. You won't find a better crafter than me."

Damien would stop talking, taking a moment to take a sip of his tea while he allowed the woman to process his verbal resume. Setting the cup back down on the table, Damien would look once more back into the woman's eye's. "Now as for my price, 2.5 Million Ryo." Damien would pause again, watching the woman's reaction to his words before he stated his terms. "That is a Two Million Ryo investment into Darhk Industries, and then the extra a Five Hundred Thousand Ryo goes to me for my time and services. In return for your investment, you will receive twenty thousand shares in Darhk Industries, as well a special package deal for you and your shinobi for allowing me to move Darhk Industries' headquarters into Kumogakure. Now those twenty thousand shares will earn you five hundred thousand Ryo a month as a royalty, as well as grant you partial rights within my company. Which pretty much means, while I will consider your advice, when it comes to what happens to the company, Ultimately the final decision would be mine alone. However, I will also give you this. While my company supplies crafts all over the world, I will sell my finest work only to the Shinobi of Kumogakure. Additionally, I would be willing to discuss terms for shinobi of Kumogakure to receive a discounted rate on all goods, compared to that of normal market price, just as a show of good faith between us. All I ask is access to all technology Kumogakure currently has or might obtain in the future."

Speaking up loudly enough to make sure Damian would be able to hear from the lobby and the noisy footsteps that had followed had all been a calculated move on Ryuko’s part. At her level moving quietly was child's play and it would have been trivial for her to slip in unnoticed but she’d wanted to grab his attention for several reasons.

First if he thought she was overly excited by him responding to her ad then he might be easier to negotiate with since it would play to his sense of pride. That and she was hoping to make a good impression on him since the sound she was generating would let him know he wouldn’t be kept waiting.

With his short dark hair and business suit the man had dashing good looks that were mostly wasted on someone like her who wasn’t interested in the opposite gender. She did note however that the brand of clothing he was wearing was a fairly expensive one. The kind that some fraudster looking to scam her out of money would never bother spending money on.


Though honestly who would be dumb enough to try pulling a stunt like that well known Jounin like her? It would be like literally asking for a death sentence, especially since she was not known for being kind to hardened criminals. There was one time a couple years back where a traveling snake-oil merchant had shown up to her mansion door. Being a medic herself she knew he was peddling garbage and had immediately skanked him in the heart with a kuani to prevent him from running off and extorting more victims acting as judge, jury and executioner with one swift blow he hadn’t even seen coming.

She’d left the body strung up on the outer fence for two entire weeks as warning to all unwanted solicitors. It seemed the message had been received as after that day nobody looking to hawk strange and exoctic wears had darkened her doorstep again.

The moment he’d introduced himself she’d already known he was the real deal to begin with. She wasn’t the woman currently running the village while Nariko was out attending the chunin exams for nothing after all. With her full access to the intelligence network they had at her fingertips there was no way she wouldn’t know of a prominent business like Darhk Industries and the family that ran it since they had been very successful over the years and employed many people.

That said it wasn’t like she personally knew every small detail about them off the top of her head. It was more very broad strokes rather than at a granular level so when she found out the full extent of just what the man could do to say she was impressed was an understatement.

“My aren’t you a renaissance man. Of course I accept. You shall receive 2 million ryo from me personally and 500,000 from the village” She exclaimed with a grin knowing she was making a power flex move. She hadn’t so much as flinched at his asking price and was now playing it off as if 2.5 million ryo was no big deal. Frankly that much to have a company like his provide priority service to her village was a steal.

She had done the village budget for the month herself after all and knew exactly how much they had to work with. Paying all the money directly from the village was feasible but it wouldn't’ have been the smart play since that would have left her in the same position she’d started in with no discretionary funds left for emergencies. Those that did not save for a rainy day often found themselves in trouble once one inevitably came around.

“Would you care for a real drink to celebrate?” she asked as got up from her seat and personally walked over to a nearby alcohol cabinet opening it up and withdrawing the finest bottle of scotch whisky that she had on hand while one of her servants brought over a tray that contained two wine bottles and a bucket of ice cubes placing it on the table before Damian.

[2]

Damien was shocked to see the woman not even react to his price, and then she immediately accepted the first offer he put down, he had prepared for counter arguments, changing of terms, or even for the woman to interject additional terms on behalf of the village. If this woman truly spoke for the village of Kumogakure and she wasn't just fucking with him, then this could easily go down as the smoothest business transaction the male had since the first time he help his father with a corporate take over when he was eight. The woman had no hesitation in her acceptance, the woman would stand offering Damien a "real" drink to celebrate. This would cause the male to raise an eyebrow as he watched her walk to a nearby cabinet, both out of curiosity of what the woman referred to as a real drink and he couldn't help himself from taking in the view of her from behind as she walked. This woman could break a man without lifting a finger, it was clear Damien would have to watch himself when he was around her.

The male's thoughts would be interrupted by the woman pulling a bottle of scotch from her cabinet, and for the first time a sincere smile would form on the male's face. He was so mesmerized by the scotch, Damien didn't even notice the servants sitting a tray with a bucket of ice and some bottles of wine on the coffee table in front of him. "Um, yes I would love a drink." Damien replied, finally finding his voice. He would have thought the woman would have wanted to talk more business before celebrating, but he supposed he could just continue while they celebrated. Noticing the tray in front of him, Damien would grab the tongs and puts some ice in the two glasses for Ryuko to pour the scotch. "I hope you don't mind we continue discussing our business while we celebrate, as there is a lot of ground to cover between us as new business partners." Damien stated as he pulled a small scroll from his suit unrolling it on the table next to the tray, touching the seal with a gloved hand the seal would activate revealing the item sealed inside. It was a single stone that looked like steel, only shinier like silver. If Ryuko touched the stone she would be able to feel a slight electric charge, "this is the Vibranium I spoke of. It's as strong as steel except it seems to hold some kind of resonance, that I believe is in direct relation to the terrain where it is found. We've been mining it for the past month, and our early prototypes have shown that it allows electricity to flow more freely to it. Now I understand many of your shinobi have an natural affinity for the element, so naturally I believe the utilization of this metal into weaponry for your shinobi would prove beneficial. As such in anticipation of this meeting I have already given the order to begin the production to outfit all your shinobi with these weapons."

Ryuko gave a light giggle in response to the shock that was plain as day on her new business partners face after she accepted the terms of his payment so readily without trying to futz with them in the slightest. It wasn’t like she was making light of him so much as she found his expression to be almost cute.

“Why the surprise?” she asked “You must know that one so high in the administrative food chain such as myself has to make literal life and death decisions on a daily basis. Often one has little time to waver or think as even the slightest delay can cost lives. To be a leader one must be able to make bold decisions.” she explained.

He’d had something she wanted namely his services and she had merely taken decisive action to secure them. She might have been a noble but that didn’t mean she’d been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. For someone like her who’d come to the village without a single dime in her pocket from her family she knew better than most of her peers the value of money.

Damian might have been asking for a lot, more than the average person would ever earn in a lifetime in fact but Ryuko knew a good deal when she saw one. She’d never have amassed more personal funds then some ninja villages had otherwise. The fact that her investment would pay itself off in a mere short 4 months made for a stellar bargain.

Why look a gift horse in the mouth and try and change the terms on a deal that was plenty sweet enough right out of the package? Trying to sweeten the deal for herself would just be plain greedy and risk spoiling the entire thing. Besides she had no interest in messing with the day to day of how the company was ran. If her experience with being an investor in Ayano’s cafe had taught her anything it was that it was better to leave such things to the experts while she focused on her own work and just racked in the cash.

“Of course, please do continue.” said Ryuko demurely as she poured first Damian a full cup of scotch before pouring herself one and then retaking her seat. She usually preferred beer but this was a special occasion and it was nice to have a change of pace now and then. It was a shame she’d have to stick to one glass though. Couldn’t risk getting tipsy let alone drunk when she could be called to battle at any time.

There was some business related stuff she wanted to ask him about but she’d figure they’d get to that. No need to rush things and offend him, especially given the more personal nature of her request. She was gearing herself up in preparation to face a deity and while she was counting on her teammate Shimiko to make some of the arms she’d need and the fact she could make most of her armor herself that still wouldn’t be enough without the support of someone like Damian to fill in the cracks.

Picking up the stone that Damian had unsealed Ryuko felt a tingle of static electricity run through her fingers as she gave the object a close inspection before placing it back down on the table. In a way it reminded her of the materials that Super-vibro swords were made of but it was clearly different.

“I’ve worked with a lot of metals over the years but nothing like this.” She admitted admiringly. She’d once discussed making armor for the Raikage with Nariko that would have these exact type of properties but at the time she hadn’t been able to locate a suitable material to make it out of. To think that years later someone would come along and figuratively dump what she’d been looking for into her lap.

“Tis seems I’m not the only one in favour of bold action. You have my gratitude. I’m sure we’ll be ordering equipment made from this in vast quantities” The priestess replied to the revelation that Damian had already put a production order in before even meeting with her because he was simply that confident that he’d get the job. For someone like her a metal that was only as strong as steel had limited application but she knew well enough that she was more of an anomaly then the norm in those regards. For the average shinobi those weapons would be a massive leg up.

Who knew maybe she could mix it with her adamantite to get a new type of material with both of their properties. If she made part of her new armor like say the gauntlets out of it then it would allow her to cast lightning related jutsu though her hands quicker and more efficiently.

“Will you be putting raw Vibranium on sale on the open market?” Ryuko asked out of curiosity. The harder it would be to obtain the more pricey it would become and vise versa. Not that price was necessarily too much of an issue for her but things would be easier if she didn’t have to ask Damian a personal favor just to obtain some of the unprocessed material for her own private use.

Taking a dainty sip of her scotch she waited for Damian to bring up the next topic since he clearly had more to discuss. She was content in allowing him to set the pace of the conversation for now and would interject on subjects she wanted to cover when a good chance to do so arose.

[3]

Damien would simply nod at Ryuko's remark of gratitude, it was simply good business in his eye. Even if his plan to get this job fell through, he was sure he could have people lined up for blocks to buy the stuff. This partnership merely gave the village first claim to his creations, he could easily make the same offer to any other village if he wanted however it was easier this way. Damien would nod at Ryuko's question about it being on the open market, "it will be on the market, however since the Vibranium was discovered in Kaminari no Kuni. The sell of it will be exclusive to the village, as I view that to make the most sense. No point in supplying your future enemies with what is meant to give you the edge should this prosperous peace were to fall apart. Of course that would not stop them from coming here and buy it, as money is money and my employees wouldn't pay attention. Unfortunately, due to the natural electric field that encompasses the mine that we found the Vibranium. We can't get any mining equipment down there and so all mining must be done by hand, this adds an increase in the market price compared to the steel. Costing 2000 Ryo per unit, due to having to pay so many employees to harvest it." Damien figure there was no reason to sugar coat it, honesty at this stage was important. Besides with the woman dropping two and a half million on him and his company just now, he was sure that two thousand Ryo would not be hard for her to pay if she sought the material on the market. Damien would pull a small notebook from another pocket with a pen, looking briefly over his notes while he took a drink of the scotch. "Good age." The male stated as another smile would form on his face as the taste of the scotch washed over him. "Now as for that special package I spoke of," Damien continued not wishing to get off track, "according to my numbers, we can give each of your shinobi a set of Kunai, Shuriken, and senbon made of Vibranium. As well as headbands, flak jackets, and combat gloves, the gloves will also hold Vibranium as it would help your shinobi with flowing chakra through them. This will all be covered by your buy-in to the company, however I would like to make it a little more personal. Therefore all of your high ranking shinobi, including yourself will receive a custom item. Designed by myself but made explicitly for the Shinobi in question, to fit their style or personality." Damien would stop there, this conversation had been slightly one sided, the man had openly stated that he was going to make the village better. Though he hoped the woman wouldn't be offended by his bluntness, it wasn't that anything was wrong with the village, it was simply he wished to help it be even better. But he need to give the woman a chance to speak of any requests or anything she might need of him, considering the ad asked for immediate assistance he assumed there was something important the village needed.

“2000 ryo is very reasonably priced.  You’re quite the screwed businessman.” Remarked the priestess with a knowing grin.  Putting your wares for sale at a price that people could afford them was tricky business.     Part of the reason she hadn’t put her own material on the market was the sheer cost to produce it made it too expensive to the point few would be able to afford even a small amount.

It was too labour intensive to sell at costs to anybody but a close friend and she’d be damned if she sold something so valuable at a loss.   Of course there was also the small matter of her not wanting it to fall into enemy hands and used against her.  She’d developed it in secret by accident while trying to reproduce the special material Santa had given her. It wasn’t quite as good as the naughty are nice metal but it was the next best thing. She knew first hand just how tough it was and the fact she was planning to make her own armor out of it spoke volumes about just how high grade of a material Adamantite was.

Vibranimum might not be as tough but it was a hell of a lot more affordable meaning she could actually use it to equip the troops instead of only a select few chosen elites like her squadmates.  The fact Damian was already doing just that was music to her ears.

“Feel free to keep the rest of the bottle.”  suggested Ryuko feeling that the man had more than earned it.  It was a rare brand she’d imported from overseas but it wasn’t the only one she had in stock so she could afford to be generous as long as she wasn’t giving him the entire case.  Since he seemed to like it she figured he’d appreciate the small gesture of her appreciation.

“This sort of thing is exactly why I put an add out in the first place.  The best crafters in our village are a team of ninja. Suffice it to say they have other responsibilities so asking them to provide for the entire village would be a fool's errand.  I need a company such as yours for mass production.” explained Ryuko who knew what she was talking about because she was one of the crafters she’d been talking about.

She ran a store on the side but it was her blacksmith apprentice Lutz that made the bulk of what they sold while Ryuko herself focused on the few custom commissions that came her way.  What Lutz made was better than average but he was just one man and couldn’t be expected to outfit an army of thousands.

For Ryuko herself the best she could hope for was to outfit herself and her squad with made a few side projects now and again.  She needed someone like Damian around to make mass production possible.   She had big plans to revolutionize the country and couldn’t do them all with just the ninja engineers on hand either.  Natsuru and Niko could only make new buildings so fast.  Just like Shimiko could only make so many new weapons for her.

“Keeping the Vibranimum to the village will be simple enough for the most part.  Not just anybody can simply waltz into here uninvited.  The sale of your other wears in general to outsiders is perfectly acceptable but as you said Tis would be best to maintain some edge.” said Ryuko firmly.

It would be impossible to keep the Vibranimum isolated entirely to her village but she could keep the amount that leaked out to a minimum. An individual might be able to arm themselves up with it but never an opposing army.  

“As for what I need personally, I am preparing for a fight more difficult than you can possibly imagine.  I need an exceptionally strong spear or lance, capable of piercing the toughest of scales and more importantly a shield capable of blocking said spear or even an attack from a god himself. Ideally the shield would be able to absorb the chakra of attacks that strike it and then store it for later use. ”     said the Priestess with a straight serious face fully aware of just how difficult a request she was making.  

The paradox of which was stronger was the ultimate spear or the ultimate shield was an age old one.  If she had to ask which she would prefer of the two of them it would be the shield since she had an ability that would allow her to tank attacks meant for other people but only if she could defend against them herself.

“Of course asking for you to craft not one but two items for free would be far too covetousness of me.   I fully intend to pay for at least one of them as well as provide the materials for both in exchange for you agreeing to keep the details of their production classified.” she said offhandedly before taking another sip of her drink.

That wasn’t such a bad deal really.  Even if he was making one of them for free, the fact he wouldn’t have to pay for materials meant only labor would be involved so he’d end up making a net profit in the end simply for keeping his mouth shut.   Those items were to be one of her trump cards, one she didn’t intend to use if they were to have another Shinobi world tournament but for serious life and death matches.  

There was no helping the existence of her armor leaking since she’d be wearing it often but she saw no reason to advertise such top of the line equipment if she didn’t absolutely need to.   The fewer that knew the full details of how they worked the better, especially when she considered just what she wanted the shield to be able to do. Considering she was fully planning on taking hits intentionally it would be able to act as a secondary chakra source for her supplementing her own supply which was on the more average side.   Her intention was to become an unyielding wall that could stand up to anything thrown at it.

“Do you have anything to add about gear my people could use or should we move on to discussing infrastructure next?”   asked Ryuko innocently.  Frankly speaking the general improvement he’d be making to her forces just from his package and the one custom item was already quite a bit and worth the cost she’d invested into him so far alone.   The fact that he’d be able to assist her in other matters such as enchantments and surgery's made for an especially good deal.

[4]

"Much appreciated, Miss." Damien would reply to Ryuko's comment of keeping the bottle, "it'll make a fine addition to my collection." he added as he took another drink from his glass.

Damien would listen as the woman spoke of preparing for a fight, he heard of the Bijuu and their destructive power rivalling the gods. Could this be the fight she was speaking, but the idea of facing one was insane. With the way she was talking ahe must be crazy, to face such a monster alone, and she was asking for a spear and a shield. Damien had never crafted anything like what the woman was asking, but just the idea of it made the male's hair stand on end. A shield that could withstand the might of a God, and a Spear that could Kill a God. They would be his crowning achievements, his master project. They would showcase his abilities, and prove to the world once and for all that he was the greatest crafter in the world. The inflation of the man's ego would be apparent as his mind drifted briefly of his dream, only to be called back when the woman mentioned keeping it's production details classified. It was a simple request, and one that he could easily accommodate. He would never discuss the details of his creations in public, but considering the corporate world was full of spy's it would not be impossible for someone to infiltrate the corporation. This would mean that he would have to more than likely do the work within his private Workshop, and lock out even his personal assistant. "I can agree to keeping it classified, there will be no blueprints, there will be no record of their creation. I will work on them in my private Workshop, I will make you both of course to your specifications. But you will have your shield that can rival the power of a God, and the spear to prove that even gods can die." Damien would pour himself another glass of scotch having already finished the first glass, even a blind person would be able to tell how excited he was about the idea of creating such items. Damien was nearly raised on scotch for most of his life, as such the male could hold his liquor and knew when to stop from going overboard. Two glasses was nothing compared to some celebrations he had gone to in the past, and he would still be capable of functioning through the rest of this business meeting.

"I would say we can safely move on to infrastructure, while my company has thousands of projects currently in development that I am sure you would be able to use for your forces, until I have a working prototype I do not wish to discuss them. More of a personal preference, I hope you don't mind. But considering the amount of projects that fall through because it wasn't fully planned out, I don't even hear about half of them, and they don't come to my desk without a working prototype for me to decide if the company will go through with it or not. However I will say, we have big plans for the future." Damien would pause closing his notebook, before leaning back in his chair with his glass. He would swirl the liquid in the glass, watching it as he contemplated his thoughts before looking back up to Ryuko. "I guess I should start with a question, what sort of infrastructures are you inquiring? I notice Kumo is already very industrious, and my company has thousands upon thousands of blueprints of all kinds, it would help to have a general idea of what you need or are looking for."

Being as perceptive as she was Ryuko could tell by the look on the businessman's face that he thought she was a little loopy. Of course it wasn’t every day that someone talked about fighting a god and meaning it in a less than figurative sense. Just because she was moderately strong as a high end ninja went in her own estimations didn’t mean she was foolish enough to attempt something like that on her own either.

You’d have to be suicidal to try and take on something like a bijuu alone when you had the option to bring support along. No matter how strong she got or how good her equipment might be she was still ultimately only one person. She wasn’t conceited enough to think mastering the new power she sought would make her invincible.

“Once they are ready we will have to hold a public ceremony so that I can award you though acclimations” suggested Ryuko who felt slightly bad that she’d had to ask him to keep her gear under wraps to such a degree. It was only right that a craftmas get credit for his work especially for such a masterpiece as such a shield and spear would be. It was fine for others to know that such things existed if she could make them think they were for mere ceremonial purposes.

Ryuko wanted very much for the village to be run like a Meritocracy. It was only natural to acknowledge the efforts of her subordinates when they achieved things of great value. Damian was more of an outside contractor than an actual member of her military but that didn’t mean that putting on such displays had less eccentric value to them. The prestige he would gain from being acknowledged on the public stage would be immense.

“Tis fine to keep it to things you have working prototypes of. I know well that not all lines research leads to where you might expect them to. The trick is not to get discouraged when it doesn’t work out right away. You never know what might seem like a failure for one project can be put to use elsewhere.” said the priestess wistfully.

“In general I’m searching for things that would improve the village both from an economic and a military standpoint. For the navy better shipyards that would make maintaining our existing fleet cheaper and enable us to produce a new kind of ship while a hull lined with steel.” she said. Such a thing hadn’t been possible before since an iron haul would make a ship too heavy for practical use but she had Niko working on a new form of propulsion.

“I’m also looking to increase our educational capabilities. We’re already in the process of planning a more comprehensive level of training for our gennin but beyond that we could use better training fields as well as some sort of vocational facilities for more specialized tasks such as farming.” she said with a far off look in her eyes.

Kumogakure already had more than enough factories, what it needed now was to raise the knowledge level of the people so they could work more effectively. You would be surprised just how useful having something like say a dedicated agriculture department would be able to do for them in the long run.

What Ryuko was searching for was something beyond just a mere metropolis like the village was in its current state but pushing her entire country to the cutting edge of both science and culture. Focusing solely on military gains would be a mistake. Yes they needed to be strong to fend off a possible attack but what was the point if they became nothing but brutes seaking conquest for conquest's sake? They would never achieve true long term prosperity that way.

“Lastly, I realize this might sound silly but I would like a facility for researching the development of air travel. We’re Kumogakure, the village hidden in the clouds. It’s long past time we mastered the sky for Hakkin’s sake” proclaimed Ryuko proudly. The ability to fly was one of humanity's most long held dreams. As things stood only a select few could accomplish that though the use of jutsu or other special abilities. If she could make that dream a reality and bring it to the masses the possibilities where endless.

[5]

Damien would listen as the Lady Von Rose would list her desires, all of them seemed doable. The shipyard would be a simple design, though the idea of a steel hull floating would be something the male had his R&D department look into. His company had information from all over the world, and he had seen first hand some of the equipment the R&D department had developed for just such tasks, designing an operation for the village to benefit from the many agricultural areas would be child's play for the male, Shinobi weaponry was a core function of the his company, designing and stocking a training facility would be as simply as unloading a darhk industries warehouse. Nothing really enticing to the male, until her last request. The mention of Air travel would cause the male to raise his eyebrow, was it possible she had seen his notes? Did she know that Darhk Industries was currently looking at air ships and their usage, or was this simply her own personal desire as it was his own. Damien would not answer right way, twisting his wrist stirring his drink as he thought. Finally the swirling of the liquid in the cup would hault and the male would take a drink before speaking, "The shipyard will be doable, however you will need to give us time for such a large task of a steel lined hull. The same goes for the training grounds, however as far as the farming." The male would stop talking leaning forward and pouring more of the scotch into his glass, "my company has many tools and other information that could help your people with handling livestock, growing crops, as well as improved ways of fishing and tree harvesting. We can also build a cultural and history museum that will ensure you're people never forget their history, This will help both your farming and educational needs." With these words the male would lean back in his seat, once more swirling his drink in his hand. He had answered all but one of her request, the ideas that had been running through his mind. He had been pressuring his R&D department for months, but still they haven't brought him a prototype. Should he break his own rule and tell Lady Von Rose of the works within his company without a prototype, the male would take a drink of his scotch and the glorious taste of it washing over him would answer his inner question for him. "As for your last request, I would like to inform you that Darhk Industries has had several projects of possible long range air travel in the works for the past several months. Additionally, I would inform you that while I do not have the prototypes of such designs as of yet. Some of the project directors believe they are close to a break through, now that aside." The man would clear his throat a little, as if something was caught in it. "We have had success in one-man gliders that can carry the average human with the correct wind currents and settings, perhaps you may find use in this. I understand shinobi have all kinds of ways to manipulate their chakra, perhaps you will find more use for them." The male would beam a smile before taking a last drink, emptying his cup for the final time. He would not pour himself another, but he would lean forward setting his glass upon the table before adding. "We also have a design for War Balloons, through travel through balloon is a gambit. Wind Currents determine so many factors do to how they operate, hot air only controls the up and down not the forward momentum. They would best served as a defensive line, capable of bombarding attackers from above and crippling their siege weapons. Though with the proper carrier for transport it would be possible for there use on the Frontline."

It wasn’t so much that Ryuko had read Damian’s notes like he had suspected as that she was simply a well read and well educated young intelligent woman with a vision. For the longest time she had cursed her fates for being born a noble. For not being able to decide her own future, for having to run to the church to avoid being placed in an arranged marriage but for once she was grateful for being placed into a position where she had the means to enact her will upon the world.

That Damian had appeared right when she needed him most to move forward with her grand plans was a sign from her god that she was moving along the correct path. This man was everything she could have ever hoped for and more and if it wasn’t for the fact she wasn’t into guys she might have been tempted to give him a big kiss on the spot.

“Yes I would expect as much. Frankly if you told me you didn’t need time I would be quite troubled. Tis will take time to amass the capital for all this. Rome wasn’t built in a day after all.” said Ryuko giving Damian a wan smile. No matter how much of a miracle worker both of them might be they wouldn’t be reforming the country overnight.

“Those all sound truly fabulous. With everything you can build I can’t wait to see what this country will looks like in another five years.” replied Ryuko, her eyes practically sparking from the mention of a cultural museum. Some of her plans were things with timeframes that spanned decades to complete but that didn’t mean that shorter term prospects were to be any less appreciated. It was always hard to tell what the future might bring so thinking of anything beyond the next few years in concrete terms was dangerous since any of it could be subject to change.


“Even just the gliders alone would be a huge improvement. Most people think of war in terms of land or sea battles but Airpower is the way of the future.” she said speaking now as a general more than a civics leader she had been previously. “If the balloons are at the mercy of air currents then we simply need to learn how to control them or find alternative methods of prepolision to generate forward momentum.”

If Science and technology wasn’t enough then she was more than willing to supplement it with chakra to fill in the cracks. She half wondered if the propeller idea that Niko had presented her could be adapted for use in the air. The idea was to spin the blade to generate thrust so theoretically it might just work albite with lots of fine tuning.

“This might sound weird of me to say when we’re pouring so much money and effort into making such fantastical things a reality, but I hope we don’t actually end up having to use them. My goal is to bring peace to this continent, not more destruction. That said I’m not so soft hearted and foolish as to not be prepared just in case. One never knows when barbarians might come knocking at their footsteps.” the priestess lamented.

“In time we will sell many of our ideas to the other nations that we live alongside so that they may improve on their own as well.” She said before finishing her glass with one long swig and then placing it on the table and looking wistfully out the window. The view at this time of day was spectacular and wanted it to remain picturesque for as long as possible.

Honestly she would have been happy to just give away a lot of what they were developing. The more people’s standards of living went up the less they would have any desire left to wage war. The problem was the other ninja nations would regard her gift with suspicion if she gave it away for free, but would accept it far more readily if she asked for money or other goods in exchange. Profit was something everyone could understand after all speaking of which….

“Beyond everything else I’m looking to expand this country and improve our image among the other nations using soft power. Putting out new programs through the media that will both showcase our culture and entertain the masses. I expect that Darhk Industries will have a key role to play both in production and merchandising.” said Ryuko said, one of the favourite words all businessman liked to hear with a sharp toothed grin on her face. Once could practically hear the cha-ching sound effect going off in the background as she spoke.

[6]

Damien was taken a bit off guard when the woman spoke of not wanting to have to use the war machines, not very many people are willing to spend this kind of money and not want to play with their new toys in the male's experience. This woman was different, and she was right it was weird however the male would not say it out loud. He care little for whether she used them or not as long as she paid him for it, the woman's mention of selling the ideas to other countries would cause the man to raise his eyebrow once more. Not only did she not want to have to use them, she wanted to help improve the other nations as well. What kind of woman is this, the male wondered as his attraction to her continued to grow. It wasn't just about her strength or power, she spoke of the one thing Damien valued above everything else. The only thing the male enjoyed more than his crafts, hell even more than sex. Profit. Damien would fold his hands on his lap as he leaned back in his seat, "You have a mighty bright future planned ahead of you, but I assure you that you will have the full support of Darhk Industries in any form we can offer. There are only a few more things I would like to discuss if you don't mind, however these are more of a personal preference for myself. The first I would like to make improvements to your medical facility, my company has state of the art equipment that will improve the overall function of the entire operation. The second is that I require that you name me the village's head of the medical division as well as the lead surgeon, as I play second fiddle to no one when it comes to my art. The third and final thing that I will require is that my company, receive a monthly stipend for general services rendered. While your initial contribution covers the starting package for you village and a stake in the future developments of the company, the services you require will require a lot of man hours, costs of materials, etc. And while I can pay my employees their normal wages, a monthly bonus would provide added incentive for them to work harder as well as faster."

Well to say they wouldn’t be putting the new toys to use would be a bit of misnomer. At the very least she’d have her people do practical field training with them. It wasn’t like she was going to let them sit in the docks rotting away. The new boats would be perfect for patrols and protecting the trade convoys. Airships would be great for a vigilant eye on the border.

She was looking into making a special teleportation network for the transportations of goods but it might be worth looking into building some trains as well in order to move people around better. It wouldn’t hurt to have alternative methods for moving supplies around.

When Damian requested a bit more of her time she gestured for him to please continue. Baring an absolute emergency she wasn’t in a rush to be anywhere. There was a lot that went into running a massive village like the one they were in but it wasn’t like she personally had to do all the paperwork herself.

Her main job was to set the policy and she had capable subordinates that she delegated the work of enacting said policy to. That didn’t mean she didn’t have her own work to do but she'd have to be a real idiot as the acting head of state to be buried in it.

“Far be tis for me to say no to an improved hospital.” replied Ryuko with a smile. As a medical practitioner herself she knew how important that sector was. Keeping it cutting edge and state of the art would quite literally be saving lives.

As for his second request that was easy enough. They didn’t currently have a chief medical officer, Ryuko being a doctor was the closest they had but given where she knew she was heading with her responsibilities she knew she wouldn’t have the time to personally figangle the day to day operations of their hospital.

“Very well, I hereby appoint you Damian Darhk as the Kumogakure chief medical officer with all the honors, privileges and responsibilities that the title convales. May you serve us proudly.” the priestess declared solemnly. She’d already been planning to hold an award ceremony for him in the first place, so the amount of extra work she was generating by giving him an official position was minimal.

She wondered how he’d react if she’d told her about the transition that would soon be coming and out her desire to make him into a noble complete with his own parcel of land to govern. She’d already trusted him with a lot of top secret material but she couldn’t spill the beans on this one just yet. Everything had to be in its proper place first before she made a move and finished laying the foundation for the new government.

“Understand however that in the event of an emergency someone else such as myself might have to take over for you temporarily. As a Civilian tis too risky to have you on the front lines.” He was too frail to be on the battlefield. The last thing she needed was to lose one of the village’s most valuable minds to a stray arrow or kunai.

That left the last request which was a bit of a head scratcher. It wasn’t like she was expecting his company to do all these projects for the village for free. The starter package she’d given him was basically to get them to commit to coming to the village and give them what they needed to begin production.

She was still going to have to pay for the stuff they’d be making.
Still considering they would be providing a lot of jobs and in the long term additional revenu she could look at the stipend as a sort of government subsidiary which wasn’t that unusual. Sometimes you just needed to do that sort of thing to keep the ball rolling. The biggest problem was how much she should offer.

Too little and she’d look cheap, Too much and she’d be seen as an easy mark, someone to be taken advantage of. It was better for them to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship since if either one of them thought they were being used unfairly things could get messy fast. Physically he might not be a match for her but intellectually he was one of the only handful of people she’d meet that could keep up.

“How does 100,000 ryo a month sound?” she asked. That was the same amount she gave to an active clan district for maintenance costs, provided said clan was pulling its weight. Until recently the village had been paying that every month to the Chinoike and Yokai clans but the latter had grown soft and indulgent so she’d recently cut them off and they would remain as such until they shaped up.

“That is of course contingent upon your company providing its continued service. If for whatever reason no work is done for a month so too shall you see no stipend.” added Ryuko with a predatory grin. She had a very simple philosophy when it came to these things. Those that do no work, don’t get.

[7]

Damien would simply nod at Ryuko's remark of the risk of him being on the front lines, he understood fully. He was no soldier nor was he a field surgeon, he preferred the comfort of the hospital. But he had the utmost respect for those that could work in those conditions. "I will ensure you have a top notch team at your disposal in the event of such a case."

Damien would be satisfied with the 100k stipend a month as it would provide him with what he needed to support bonuses and other incentives for his employees, though he couldn't help but snicker at Ryuko's comment of the stipend link with continual services. "That is more than acceptable, and I don't mean to sound rude, Lady Von Rose. However I feel I need to inform you, that I am no slacker and I do not tolerate that behavior from any of my employees. As long as you have work to be done, it will be done I assure you." Damien was a very no nonsense type when it came to business, though some would speculate that he was always like this. In truth the male had a very stern work ethic drilled into him from a very young age, he worked hard and expected the same level of dedication from those who worked for him. "You spoke of a team of crafters before, I would like to meet them if possible. I always admire the work of others, and to see their work and what they can help provide to the village may help me in being able to help the village myself." The male would clear his throat, that would handle all the pressing matters of their partnership. The rest of the things could be discussed if and when they came up, and since the only thing they had not discussed was the tech and other materials the village had. Though the male was not concerned about that, he could easily have his assistant acquire later. No there was something else on the man's mind that had caused him to clear his throat, "there is one final matter I would like to discuss with you. I believe we have taken care of most of the details, however with Darhk Industries setting up our headquarters in Moonspire. There is a lot of open land, as well as potentially threats to me, my company and the products we would be shipping to the village. I would like to employ your shinobi as guards for such threats, of course I will cover their salary myself. While I have in my employ guards already, having a few shinobi around would ease my mind slightly." Though there was nothing forcing the woman to say yes, his company should be able to protect it's own goods. But considering the world was full of shinobi, and he had non in his employ caused slight worry for the man. Sure he could hire some mercenaries, but when a man's loyalty is swayed by a high price. One cannot guarantee their loyalty, however those whom have received proper respect and loyalty to a village that held stake in the company would not be so easily swayed. Besides many shinobi within these villages hold power unlike any other in the world, having a few around the tower would be a great improvement to the overall protection of his life both literally and figuratively.

Ryuko nodded at the mention of a top notch team. It didn’t matter how good of a healer she was herself even if she mastered Rafaela and gained the ability to restore lost limbs with ease there was still only so much she could do as one person, especially since even doing that for just one person would deplete her energy reserves fast. It wasn’t the kind of thing that could be scaled up. Having a good solid core of doctors and nurses was critical for dealing with the outbreak of any disease should they occur.

“Forgive me. While the vast majority of the men and women in our forces are quite diligent, lately I’ve had to deal with a handful of more lackadashal individuals who can’t seem to take their responsibilities seriously.” Ryuko said with a rueful smile as if silently trying to say she wasn’t trying to offend him with her remark.

With money being somewhat tight still while the process of revitalizing the country was going on she found it extremely annoying when she paid a salary to someone, only for that person to turn around and basically do nothing for a month. No mission, no training just sitting at home being a useless bump on a log.

That was why she put such a premium on people that were willing to put the effort in and get the job done. Even if they weren’t all the way to Chunnin or Jounin level yet that just meant they were worth polishing up so that they could shine at their brightest.

In Damian’s case that was giving him the money and the platform so that his corporation could thrive, which would in turn help the country do the same. A lot of the money she was pouring into him would go on to create more jobs and the people with those jobs would then pour the money back into the economy by purchasing goods and services.

“As a matter of fact you’re speaking to one of them right now.” Ryuko admitted with a light chuckle. She’d omitted the fact that she was a member earlier because she didn’t want to seem overly boastful of her own capabilities. When it came to quality she was the best armor crafter the land of lightning had to offer, but her output was so severally limited that it made her more of an auteur then a proper blacksmith in general.

“I’m planning to hold a private dinner party with the other members of the Thundercats squad in the near future in order to introduce them to a potential new member. A distinguished artificer like yourself would be most welcome to attend. Tis not often that we get the chance to speak with another Master, the girls will be positively thrilled.” replied the Priestess who was sounding more than a little excited herself at the prospect.

Maybe that would be a good time to show him her special adamantite metal since she’d never really gotten the chance to explain how it worked to the rest of her squad before falling into a coma. The fact that even the priestess herself felt that it was pricey said a lot when she’d just dropped 2 million ryo like it was nothing.

“That sounds fine to me. I see no issues with allowing you to hire some of my men as guards. Tis refreshing for them to be getting good honest work.” said Ryuko with a happy grin. Frankly speaking she had been half thinking about assigning him some guards to begin with to insure his safety. Something she might do regardless just to make sure nobody tried to kidnap him while her back was turned since he was both highly valuable and now knew a lot of state secrets. If he wanted to foot the bill for at least some of that she had no complaints about it.

With the way things were going the improvements she was making would lead to increased peace and prosperity but also a decline in ninja related work. With less bandits around and less wars they wouldn’t be called on as much for offensive roles but if she could transition them towards more defensive ones things could still work out quite well for them.

[8]