"We are well aware of our father's mistakes. But we are not entirely bereft of young and powerful shinobi, despite his best efforts."

"Hm. Anyone stand out to you? It's interesting to see who the younger generation hears of..."

"The current host of the Ichibi."

"Her? Strong, I'll give her that. Wouldn't have taken her as one for politics," she says, voice mild.

"She's not, really. That's one reason you're talking to us instead of her. She's smart enough to know when she needs help and not too proud to ask for it. The invasion made her... reevaluate her priorities."

"Smart. Certainly a refreshing approach, though the usual method is presenting a singular, trustworthy leader. People feel more confident that way, for some reason."

"A single target to take the blame, maybe."

"Does tend to be like that. Means one big screw up doesn't tend to drag everyone with experience down, though."

"But there's less of a chance of that happening, if it's a group that can work well together."

"Perhaps. I can name a few problems a group approach might have avoided, at least - if you're serious about this, I would suggest studying your history. Theory can't substitute for experience, but there's something to be said for letting other people make the inevitable mistakes for you."

"Good advice, thanks."

"Hm. Any other steps you're planning, beyond having conveniently timed political debates in conveniently public places?"

"We're still fishing for ideas and potential support, at this point."

"Good. You'll have a harder time convincing most people, and you'll need to convince the daimyo, too, and he's unlikely to take hints of things changing well."

"Do you think he might take actual change better than hints?"

"The tradition is for the daimyo to at least approve the Kazekage, if not outright appoint them. He'll be hesitant about anyone who reeks of revolutionary ideas, but if a change can be presented to him already made - well, he's not exactly prone to interfering with our internal politics."

"Good to know."

"I don't know for sure how easy a time you'll have convincing the other jounin when the time for approval votes comes around. That something needs to change, sure. That you three are the change needed? That's a riskier proposition."

"Well, that's only natural. We haven't yet shown any concrete value. But there's time to change that. What sorts of things do you want your Kazekage to do or have done?"

"More opportunities for and encouragement of increases in power, both in terms of fighting ability and political influence," she says immediately. "The old system discouraged development and learning of new techniques, and discouraged even jounin from getting at all involved with politics."

"More collaboration than competition?"

"Exactly. Stronger together, and all that."