Pokénin 014 (Pokemon/Naruto)

After reading the scroll, Tekai turned to the carriage driver, interested in hearing his side of the story. 

“Lies, young dragon, lies! I may have gambled some, maybe even a few hundred, but not 1,000 ryo! It is a set up, a set up to take away my carriage, put me behind on my permit's payment, and kick me out of the noble quarter!” Jin pleaded. 

Tekai frowned, uncertain if the older man was speaking the truth. 

Jin must have noticed Tekai's reluctance, as he raised his voice, and became desperate. 

“The rumors! I shared a few rumors, and I am being punished, this is injustice! Please, mighty dragon, show mercy, and see that my issue is dealt with fairly!” Upon making such a loud commotion, a decently large crowd had gathered, and were muttering to one another. 

Tekai felt irked by the ‘show’ that had occurred, and noted the eyes of many retainers, clansmen, and foreign shinobi were on him. His sharp hearing picked up on the fact that the majority of people felt sympathetic for Jin, but were too scared to speak up or stand up for the elder. This made Tekai call into question the validity of the orders. Before he could say anything to the contrary, Paul spoke up. 

“I saw you at the ceremony yesterday, I know you are new to officiating, so you may not be aware of your token's functions. Channel some chakra into the central path on your token, and you should feel it resonate with the seal stamped on the orders, confirming their veracity.” Paul, still holding the scroll, held it close to Tekai so he could examine it. 

Having experienced his token being checked by the tiki masked Ohrot clansman earlier, Tekai had realized there was more to this wooden token than met the eye. Paul's words should be without falsehood. 

Holding it up for inspection, there were five separate grooves on it. When Paul said to insert chakra into the central path, it was obvious to Tekai he meant the groove in the middle. 

Pumping some chakra into his token, he felt as if there were several features that could be unlocked depending on where he directed his energy. It was certainly something worth asking Cynthia or maybe even Uncle Borah over, but for now, he followed Paul's directions, and stuck to the central path. 

As soon as his chakra flooded the wooden construct, he felt it resonate with the stamped seal on the paper. 

‘Acceptance. Veracity. Truth.’ Three words seemed to float in Tekai's consciousness like some sort of genjutsu, then disappeared as soon as Tekai cut his chakra from the token. 

It was a weird experience, but it checked out. 

But should he blindly follow orders? Or rather, should he allow Paul to go through with them? 

Glancing at the stoic Paul, the pleading Jin, and overhearing the mumbling crowd in the background, Tekai felt as if there was more at play here than he was seeing with his eyes. 

First things first, Tekai sorted the events into a cohesive order so he could make sense of them. 

When he first met Jin, he had been excessively friendly. Not only that, but he had several suspicious points about him. He cut off his gossip at the juiciest part, and when they transitioned between the noble quarter and the market district, he had loudly flaunted Tekai's status to bypass scrutiny.   

Secondly, Paul had assaulted the ponyta first without asking for money, and said that Jin shouldn't come here without any ryo. Yet this was a contradictory set of actions. Why did he start with violence, and then search for some cash? When the crowd spoke up in the background, it really did sound like Jin had been hung out to dry for selling secrets. Inherently making this gambling claim sound faulty or perhaps coerced. 

Lastly, there was still the fact that Jin had to have deliberately stopped his carriage in this exact same spot, knowing he would be confronted. Was his act of kindness nothing more than a persona? Were carriage rides really free of charge to officials? Why didn't he want to be searched by the Ohrot official? 

Tekai felt like he was caught in some minor plot, and it pissed him off that the ‘friendly’ old man had likely used him, and that Paul was likely acting as the tool for someone else's revenge. 

Knowing these two things, the smart thing to do would be to step back, and let Paul do exactly as the warrant had described. Afterall, Tekai didn't want to make enemies with whoever was directing Paul from the shadows. 

However, was this justice? 

Would he be a hypocrite for treating the case regarding this old man with more gravitas than that of the life of the goon who had bumped into him not ten minutes earlier? 

Should he let the quiet shouts from the crowd influence his decision? Was public opinion something he cared about? 

When Tekai was having difficulties searching for an easy answer, Gil provided him with the nudge of confidence he needed. 

‘Instinct. Trust. Self.’ Gil passed along. 

Tekai paused in his thoughts. 

‘Strength. Instinct. Together.’ 

Gil was right. He was overthinking this mess. 

Tekai was a Dragon, it was time to start acting like one. 

As everyone seemed to be waiting with anxious energy, watching Tekai to see what his reaction would be, he started up the Dragon Dance. At first a few people chuckled at the silly looking moves-Tekai imagined to them it must look like he was doing the Killer Bean dance-but they weren't laughing with what came next. 

Within a minute of mobilizing his chakra, a dense aura of purple-azure haze began to surround him. 

Tyranny and the breath of danger began to suffuse the air. 

The silence so thick a pin drop could be heard. In fact, Tekai managed to hear several people loudly gulp, and a few others began to slowly back away as the promise of violence colored the air.  

“Old man Jin. Did you drop me off in this spot knowing I might help you in your confrontation?” Tekai asked in a deep timbre. 

“Young dragon, I did naw-eh…” Jin met Tekai’s eyes, and must not have liked what he saw, as he was quick to gulp, and avert his eyes. 

“...yes. Yes, it is my shame. I apologise for misleading the young dragon. I brought you into this.” Jin hung his head low, and admitted his fault. “But I deny ever having made a wager of 1,000 ryo!” Jin crushed his fingers into fists, and squeezed his eyes tight as he shouted like his life was on the line. 

Tekai's heart palpated, and his eyes dilated. It felt like Jin was telling the truth. Yet the way he stuttered, the fact that he had used him, it made Tekai want to spit in disgust, and dismiss everything he had claimed. 

‘Instinct. Never. Lie.’ 

“Fourth Grade Paul, did you witness the gambling match in question? Did you see with your own eyes the price as quoted on the text?” Tekai asked, his aura blazing. 

“I did not. However, I am serving a warrant, and Old Jin is a repeat offender. I do not need to tell an esteemed individual like you what that means. Please stand aside so that I may execute justice.” Paul said with finality. 

Tekai stared the older teen down, and felt a tug on his heartstring. He also spoke the truth. 

Taking a deep breath, Tekai decided he would choose the middle path. Neither was right, yet each followed their own road. Jin had done him a great disservice dragging him into this mess, yet he had also been gravely cheated by the system. He was deserving of punishment. It was as Paul said, justice must be served, but Paul wasn't the only official here. 

Checking to see if he could still make his hands glow green with the Mystic Palm technique, Tekai wiggled his fingers mid dance, and saw that he hadn't forgotten what the clone had learnt. 

Grinning to himself, Tekai stood back, and watched as Paul administered his ‘justice.’ 

“This farce has gone on long enough. Old man Jin, I shall discharge my orders and seize all your assets once the punishment has been delivered!” Paul snapped Jin's right wrist, then stomped down on his left leg with a sickening snap. 

Jin softly cried out in pain, and flopped down onto the damp, stone paved road. 

Afterwards, he motioned to his remaining two goons to seize the ponyta and the carriage. 

“Unhand my property.” Tekai menacingly declared towards the goons, and took a step forward. 

“Boss?” Goon #1 looked at Paul with an uncertain look. 

Goon #2 was smarter than he looked, and had already jumped down from the carriage, and hid behind Paul. 

“Are you certain you wish to get in between an official act of justice, Tekai Tatsushiro? I will be forced to report you should you advance any further.” Paul stepped back, yet a pad of paper and a brush were resting in his hands, as if he were eager to write such a report. 

“Ah. It's not worth it boy. Forget about this old man's folly, and leave this place.” Jin muttered between pained gasps. 

“Those 5 silver coins you pocketed. I used them to purchase him. Old man Jin is my indentured servant. All his things are my things until he has paid them off.” Tekai lied in an incredibly calm tone, one so calm, it was paradoxical with the aura of tyrannical dominance cascading off his shoulders. 

“Hahaha, you expect us to believe you bought a high class carriage, and a champion racing ponyta for only 500 ryo?!” Goon #1 belly laughed. 

Tekai eyed the man as if he had a screw loose, then shared a glance with Paul. It was a brief shared eye contact, but in it, Tekai shared his disappointment, and utter lack of disregard for Goon #1 as a functioning member of society. 

Paul took a slight deep breath, showing perhaps the first crack in his perfectly crafted facade of calm. 

Whilst Tekai and Paul were silently threatening one another, the rest of the people present were still taking this sham of an event to be the show that it was, and were loudly discussing the events leading up to it. 

“Lad…thank you. Thank you for saving me, and granting me justice!” Jin covered his head, and wept into the street. 

“Examine the money in his carriage. Take my word that this was handled legally.” Tekai slowly explained, never once breaking eye contact. 

“I see that these coins are freshly minted with no scuffs, nicks, or grime. As they were the sole coinage found upon his person…they could only come from you. I look forward to our future interactions, Rising Dragon.” Paul very seriously paused to look at Tekai, as if he were burning his image in his mind, then turned around to leave.  

“What about the other 500 ryo?” Goon #1 asked as he ran to catch up. 

“Why don't you go ask young master Ryu.” Goon #2 sweetly said. 

“Uhh, never mind.” Goon #1 replied. 

“Arf!” Houndour barked. 

“Oi, Paul, catch.” Tekai tossed five silver coins worth 100 ryo each at his back. 

Paul caught them, and glanced back at Tekai, then nodded in respect, before he resumed his departure. 

Paul's houndour, plus his two goons scrambled after him. The crowd dispersed shortly afterwards, as their entertainment had ended. 

‘Fight! Conquer! Submit!’ Gil demanded of Tekai. 

Smiling to himself, Tekai rubbed his pokeball. Finding a rival like Paul could only be healthy. The man was a deadly dose of reality. People like him set the tone for this world, where guys like Goon #3 could have their lives ended so that others with higher power/status would not be offended. 

While it was a crazy thought, it was good practice for when he had to verbally spar with people from other nations or creeds. Dialogue was a weapon of its own, and Tekai would be a fool not to hone it. 

With that thought in mind, Tekai released the Dragon Rage now that he no longer had to posture. 

Once the violet-azure aura dispersed, Tekai almost felt like collapsing once that tyrannical aura left his body. The chakra expenditure had been monstrous, and if he pushed it for another minute, he felt like he might collapse. 

Fortunately, he had been stepping side to side performing the Dragon Dance the entire time. That soft chakra regen had really helped out, and was critical to restoring his supplies even now. 

Performing a few stretches, Tekai turned to regard Jin. He had spent 1/50th of his annual income on this guy. While he had only said that the man was an indentured servant to save his livelihood, it was also a punishment for dragging him into this mess. Tekai fully intended on plying the guy for gossip, and could use the services of a discreet, fast coach in the future. 

At the end of the day though, this ‘friendly’ old man was a scammer, and Tekai did not appreciate being used like that. So while he wouldn't leave him destitute like Paul had planned to do, Tekai had other uses for the old man. 

After all, in a world like this, professional scammers had much to teach. 

“Champion race winning ponyta, hmm? There must be more to this gambling than you let on.” Tekai grinned as he gripped Jin with an iron clasp on the shoulder. 

“Ah, not that arm!” Jin moaned. 

Tekai half smiled to himself, and remained silent. He had wanted to do nothing this morning, but take a quiet, peaceful ride to a restaurant, and grab a nice hot meal before meeting with his cold, beautiful, aloof sensei. 

But Jin's machinations had ruined that. 

Not only had he over spent on basic gossip, but he also had stopped someone's plot to satisfy his own moral hypocrisies. 

To say he was pissed would be an understatement. 

“O-oi, say something, don't look at me like that.” 

Tekai ignored the liar’s babbling, and examined his wounds. 

A broken wrist, and a shattered tibia. 

Oh yes, he'd make for an excellent test subject. 

Hands glowing mint green, Tekai got to work.