"Ootsutsuki Hagoromo. The humans call him the Sage of Six Paths."

"What do the humans think of you and your father?"

He snorts. "Father taught them to use their precious chakra, so they like him. They don't like us as much. The one who caught us sixty years ago just sold us to the other humans, like things. Yagura, my last container, was surprised I could talk. But he was nice after, and listened to me about damaging the ocean, until that masked man put a control illusion on him."

"Masked man?"

"He wore a mask, and only had one eye, and felt like an Uchiha who had some Senju in him. He was mean, and made Yagura ruin his village. I saw him once through Yagura's eyes. He had an orange mask, with a spiral, and a black cloak with red clouds that covered the rest of his body. He said he was Uchiha Madara. He was not; Madara was an Indra reincarnation, and that line is very obvious."

Hm.

"I met someone named Uchiha recently, a young man. He rules the shinobi in the land to the west. He said that a group of humans called the Akatsuki has begun hunting Tailed Beasts. He asked me to offer you his protection from them."

"The Uchiha over that way? He's an Indra, like Madara. Indra was always very protective of family, though he sometimes forgot other people existed. I suppose he might be wiser, now. That's what reincarnation is supposed to do."

"Why does he want to protect me, and what does he want?"

"He does not like the Akatsuki. He believes they threaten the peace he is working for, and wants to deny them their quarry, because you have historically been used as weapons. He wants you to move somewhere he can keep watch over you and if you are willing, a pact of mutual aid or an alliance. He does not, so far as I am aware, intend to seal you himself."

Isobu rocks back a bit. "Hm. Moving would be inconvenient. I have to go places a lot, to work on the ocean. I don't know what he could offer me, for an alliance. If he has some coast, he can do what Yagura did, and protect that part of the ocean from damage, but that isn't much. But it could also be really bad, if the Akatsuki got us - have they been hunting the others? I noticed some of my siblings going very quiet. If they're collecting us all... That's really, really bad maybe, especially since just sealing us doesn't stop us from talking."

"The Uchiha may have more information on what exactly the Akatsuki are doing than he shared with me. I can call he and his friends over if you'd like to talk."

"Alright, I suppose."

She tilts her head back and tosses a stream of blue light into the sky.

Sasuke arrives soon enough.

"Hello," he says to Isobu. "I am Uchiha Sasuke, jounin commander of Oto, in the Land of Rice Fields. It is on the northern part of the continent, to the west of the peninsula at the north-east corner. Ellisaria indicated you were open to negotiations?"

Isobu nods, but seems hesitant to say anything, eyeing Sasuke a bit warily.

"This is Isobu," she says. "He is here to repair the damaged coral and keep the fishermen away so that the fish can regrow."

Sasuke nods. "That's good. We've been having to repair the soils in Rice Country, lately. People over-farmed. Is the ocean something important to you?"

Slow nod. "Ah. Yes. It's my job."

"Hm." He has an inkling of an idea - treating Isobu as the responsible ruler of the oceans might be off-track, but it's a circle he knows how to move in. "We have a very small coast, with very few fish nurseries, and not much trade passes through us, but we might be able to help you. I realize that staying near us would hamper your efforts, so I would propose a trade - our honored daimyo has been working to raise the profile of Rice Fields in the scientific arena. Already many people know that we have valuable, and often accurate, information. People are usually more ignorant than malicious. Publishing papers, and giving the information to everyone about how important the ocean is, and what they can do to protect it, might be able to impact policy some, and make your job easier once the Akatsuki are dealt with."

"In the short term, I can speak to the local fishermen. They are likely more scared of you, but people usually treat the tailed beasts as transient fears. I can explain to them why not fishing here is better, and they will trust that I will remember them if they transgress."

"I would not ask you to obey me. You are clearly sovereign here, and disrespecting that would reflect ill upon me. Even if you cannot or will not defend us fully, helping protect you in turn protects us."

Isobu squints, then nods slowly. "Your words make sense." Then, to Ellisaria, "Does he seem good on his word, for this?"

"He has treated fairly with me thus far. I do not believe he is lying to you."

He nods, decisively. "I will accept your deal, for now," he says to Sasuke. "But if you are lying, I will leave again."

"I have no wish to constrain you." He bows, slightly, as is appropriate from one leader to another. "Isobu-dono, it is my hope that we will have a most fruitful alliance."

That went well.

"Congratulations."

He nods, opens his mouth to say something - 

And the sky explodes! Quite artistically, if Deidara does say so himself.

He also, with a sense of satisfaction, had set himself on the edge of the sensor's likely threat-detection range. He knew ballistic missiles would come in handy.