Into and Up [Echo]

Walking through Kumo with Echo, Kozai frowned. As of yet, he had not yet reported back to Echo, which disturbed him. He had a mission after all, or at least he formerly had. Arcanis was dead, of that he was certain. So, turning to the man, he would speak in a quieted tone, hoping to get in as much information as possible before reaching whoever they were going to talk to.
"Lord Echo, I have completed the mission that you assigned me. The target that you asked me to investigate is now dead of unknown causes; evidence of this is provided by the sudden disappearance of his dimension, which was collapsing last I saw it. However... there are several other urgent matters that require discussion, one of which is the safety of the village. It has been... jeopardized since you left. Missing ninja sightings have increased, and I managed to kill one of the more audacious ones. He has a most curious chakra type, but I'll ask about that later. Most significantly, I prevented Agito River from obtaining your seat of power."
He waited for Echo to respond, bracing himself for the worst.

He clicks his tongue once at this information, his eyes flicking towards Kozai as they walk towards the Kage building. "So Arcanis is dead...? Interesting...His realm collapsed..Possibly a chakra network failure from the backlash of it?" He theorizes before shaking his head once. "Call me Kuushou on foreign soil Kozai, you say Agito attempted to take Iwagakure? Did he gather a force? Or did he simply try to announce himself Leader? Like I see so many other fools attempting...Missing-Ninja, my own Shinobi attempting to take my seat...Kozai, it seems this matter is more urgent then we realize...So." He begins pausing in his steps and with a casual draw from his pack he pulls out a rather ornate pen and a pad of paper, he writes down some quick notes and..a combination to a safe and smirks slightly. "Kozai, I want you to go pick out a mask..Anaconda, sounds fitting for you...Also, take good care of my hat and my village." He says, allowing what he just said to sink in to the Shinobi while handing him the note. "Memorize those and then burn them." he orders simply.

[Granting ANBU and Leader Rank to Kozai, the new Tsuchikage.]

Kozai smiled as Echo began asking questions. How wonderful this was! This meant that Echo had concern for his villagers, possibly a remnant of his past years. Echo had to come from somewhere, after all, it was rare that people materialized from nothing.
"Arcanis was slowly going insane, having no control of the 'voice of rage' in his head. It is my hypothesis that he committed suicide from this, but I have no proof of that. The dimension itself, however, possibly collapsed from his chakra network suddenly becoming... empty."
Kozai missed Arcanis... but not that much. He had been interesting conversation and a battle partner, nothing more.
"As for Agito, he simply sat down at your desk and stated himself as leader. He was even about to send you a message that he would do so. I quickly dissuaded him from such foolishness by draining his chakra. He should now be in Taki... that is, if he's not still attempting to take power again. I've obtained a copy of the part of his DNA that generates Thunder Release; so I'll make good use of that as well."
Seeing the orders, Kozai would take them, bowing slightly in obeisance. "Even though I have authority, your orders still have sway over my actions and the fate of the village. Speaking of the village", he would say, pocketing the orders for future reading, "the missing ninja I slew had a most interesting chakra release... have you knowledge of a 'wood' or 'plant' element?" This was one of Kozai's consuming interests in research.
[Requesting Leader rank and the benefits thereof]

He hums and begins walking again his eyes scanning the village set out before him, already planning his entrance. However the state of Arcanis's sanity was never really in question for him. "I don't think hypothesis is the right word.." He notes a bit of amusement creeping into his tone. "Science and planning is important Kozai but don't forget your instincts...No need to end up like some other stick in the mud I know.." He says with a small chuckle.
He hums in thought "I saw Agito just before I had to leave...I'll have to have him watched..the River clan has been giving me trouble...Near was the clan head and I am his murderer after all." He says with no guilt or concern entering his voice...more like noting that his eggs might be a bit too salty, something said with a shrug of his shoulders.

He arches an eyebrow at the revelation that not only does he have access to Thunder Release DNA but..Wood Release...which is much more..interesting, for various reasons. "Did one of these Missing-Ninja have Sharingan Kozai?" He asks simply, he does have some knowledge of Wood Release..But with Kozai's ambitious nature and insanity...Well, he might prove a valuable asset if one traitorous Uchiha happens to cross his sights. "Be careful mixing the eyes of the Uchiha and the flesh and blood of a Senju Kozai..it's dangerous..For various reasons, if you ever attempt to do so, contact me immediately and wait for me to arrive...So I can provide protection." He says now looking less...rather, he looks more...his Authority made clear..
This is something important..if the boy ever to acquire Rinnegan....
He'd need training...harsh training....
[Approved.]

Kozai nods, keeping that in mind. Instinct... how long had it been since he had followed his gut rather than his mind? Hmm... it seemed also that Agito had actually obeyed his orders and gone to Taki without any kind of resistance... how good! Well then... it seems that he had dug into more destructive secrets. Academics was proving to be more dangerous than he had previously thought.
"No... unfortunately not. I have had my interest in the sharingan piqued... by a one 'hell's angel': Kiranomo. She was in the village before, and I met with her recently near Taki. She seemed to be particularly interested in both Sharingan and the hyuugan clan doujutsu, the byakugan. Since I have little knowledge of these things... where did such eyes come from? I've seen precious few in Iwa..."

The Jinchuuriki walks up to the Raikage's tower and grins ferally, it's show time...
He turns towards Kozai once and says "The Hyuuga clan is spread out thinly throughout the Continent...It could be from anywhere..." He says with a shrug of his shoulders.
He rolls his shoulders and takes his first few steps into the Raikage building, letting his wild chakra run wild before he says "Go back to Iwa, Kozai." He orders before he marches inside.

[Exit, into 'Kumogakure Traditions.]

So, no answers then... Kozai smiled. He would just have to do it all himself. Memorizing the papers, he tossed them into a hobo's fire nearby , where they would become mere ashes. Time to put the pieces of a plan together... he WOULD attain the knowledge he desired.
(Exit.)