Ire. That was all the suited gentleman could feel. Watching what amounted to a brief, yet completely asinine attempt at an attack left a sour taste in his mouth. He had no idea why such a stranger would suddenly appear, make threats, only to leave without so much as an introduction. It was much more irksome than he would let on.
___ Sevreral days later...
He couldn't let such an attack go without getting some kind of retribution, some kind of answer on who done did it, and so began arranging plans to meet with the leaders of both the Hidden Valley and the Artisans. If it was war those no good weapon smiths wanted, he'd bring them a cold hell.
At the foreman's home the sounds of laughter could be heard. A rather large, black dog could be seen with a trio of riders. Three small children screemed and hollered in delight as their makeshift steed kicked about in circles. Facing away from the children, the two smoked up a large cloud as Kori laid down the Fuyuki Group's next course of action. "Nami, before we start cultivating lands I'd like you to go and meet with the kind folks over in the Hidden Valley. I'll send Shuck over to Artisans and send them a message. I'd rather not deal with that old war-hawk... Looking ahead the father of three didn't blink as he was ordered to meet with the shinobi of this land. I'd go myself, but I'd rather deal with the craftsmen instead. I can't honestly believe they'd issue an attack like that without some kind of push. I'll go investigate the situation while you handle the Valley-nin. Without much resistance Nami complied with the given orders. Kori & Nami Exit
Entering the long since, untouched, village with a gold processing center was like entering most places with little significant value. It seemed like a lot of places in this Land of Rivers had vastly gone unused, like the new administration had neglected them. It had an old workshop, and more importantly, a place to call home for now. Yamazaki was not unaccustomed to living in what was once somebody's before her. Still, there was time to assist the local populace with maintaining the machinery that kept the place working, so she got to work not long after setting up her gear.
While some might see Katsumi's actions as benevolent, they were far from it. She was not intent on working for free, and the locals in the Village were able to keep her supplied with ryo and gold in exchange for her technical prowess. As she was given her first task of the day, she looked to the crank-shaft for a pulley system that had been rusted pretty badly. "Hnnn... whatever this old group was before me did, they did not do it very well.", she hissed in contempt as she used her iron sand bloodline to blast away the rust, like one would use a modern sandblaster. It was left shiny and new, especially after she oiled the moving parts and lubricated them properly with grease. "One down."..., she said with a huff as she then got to work on the next one. She had several of these minor projects ahead of her.
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[Crafting Project - Mechanism Repair I : Rank A]
Katsumi worked hard over the next few hours, fixing a gear-crank system for one of the machines that helped crunch the mined gold into dust, which was then able to be measured exactly for sale. It was a task that many might see as complex and menial, but it was one that took the skilled and knowledgeable hands of a master. The wear and tear shown made it clear that nobody had really taken care of the place. This did not stop her from doing just as much since it was clear that such a valuable asset to the Land of Rivers, and now herself, would need a capable figure in keeping the gears of industry turning. It was not an entirely selfless effort, but if everyone benefitted then there should be no complaints. That is how the renegade Hidden Star kunoichi saw things at least.
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[Crafting Project - Mechanism Repair I : Rank A]
"This place really needs some T.L.C... Good thing the local market is saturated with a gold surplus.", Katsumi remarked to herself as she worked on a new project. A pulley device meant to help move mine carts in and out of the gold mine. It was a pretty standard way of moving things along via automation without the need of human effort to push and pull full carts of ore. The 'Fallen Star' formerly of the Village Hidden in the Stars had to give this small mining town some credit, they must have had somebody that looked out for them at one point. Possibly from the Village Hidden in the Valley or some other source. This Land of Rivers had always been known for one renegade group to another. Finally, with a manipulation of her iron sand and some well placed oil and grease, the mechanism was repaired and ready for service once more.
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[Crafting Project - Mechanism Repair I : Rank A]
There was a sense of pride about Katsumi as she turned around to the place she had called her workshop. While she had not been given a permanent place to call home, this would do well enough. It certainly beat wandering from ruin to ruin in the Land of Wind, scouring for technological remnants of the Hidden Sand Village. Here, there was at least enough to keep her with the essentials; food, shelter, and a source of viable income. "I think I could stick around here for a while. At least until I am able to get on my feet and get a bearing on the surroundings.", she remarked with a soft shrug of her shoulders. "Still, it's no mansion.", she had to lament in a bit of selfish desire.
Katsumi had never had the finer things in life, coming from a household in a small, lesser Village. Then her life on the run as a renegade of that very Village had never given her much opportunity to enjoy the finer things that money and a wealth of it could bring. Hell, before she had come to Katabami, she had even considered robbing the place. However, plans changed when she saw the state of disrepair and neglect the settlement had suffered without a skilled mechanic or a proper land manager to keep operations smooth. It was a change of heart that she rarely had, as when it came to the life of a Rogue Ninja, it was your own personal survival that had to be taken into consideration over everyone else.
The days turned into a couple of weeks, and as Katsumi settled in to her new role as Katabami's resident mechanic, she could not help but feel like she could expand her services beyond just this settlement. The whole of the Land of Rivers likely suffered from the lack of a proper manager, and given the state of neglect that the gold processing center of a nation had been in, it was likely that either the Tanikage had not assigned any patrols out this way, or there were signs that anything beyond the actual Hidden Valley Village were not a priority. "Guess this place needs me as much as I need it. It's no Hidden Star Village, but maybe it can be the start of a technological revolution.", the puppeteer said with a toothy grin before punching a hand into her fist with determination. This was going to be the start of something grand, she could just feel it.
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[Crafting Project - Mechanism Repair I : Rank A]
So over the course of the week, Katabami Village saw a complete overhaul of it's mechanical workings. The Star Kunoichi took on the task of getting the mine's automated systems refitted with new parts and putting them back into operation. The villagers were growing on her, but Katsumi felt she could go ahead and drop them in an instant if they became too much of a burden on her. Even though the rogue was concerned about her own survival over everyone else, a part of her felt good at being wanted for her talents. It was a void in her heart that she had felt since her defection that had felt filled, at least temporarily in this moment. If Katsumi could help it, she'd never let it stop.
With the mine back up and working after a week's worth of work, Katsumi took some time out with a cigarette as she sat atop her new home and workshop. Puffs of her exhale could be seen drifting into the night sky as she gazed upward at the stars in the cosmos. She then pulled a single shard of The Hidden Star Chakra Meteorite she had affixed to a necklace and held it up to the sky. Somewhere out there, people were training to hunt her down for this trinket. But, here, right now there was a group of people grateful for the thieving mechanic's master crafts that would bring their home back to a point of prosperity within the Land of Rivers. "You want it, come and take it...", she mumbled with the cigarette in her lips before she dropped the necklace and let it lay upon her chest were it always stayed since the day she had stolen it.
