On The Road

He couldn't believe it, even though he had been taken off missions for the time being in order to run a genin squad once they graduated Kazuo still found himself being sent on a D-Rank mission. A D-Rank mission? How was that going to pay the bills that he had? Being a shinobi wasn't cheap, you had to pay to have a home to come back to, food to eat, substantial medical bills; it all was just plain rough. The elemental nations were in peace at the moment so the call of help from Sunagakure did not go unanswered. It shook Kazuo mentally that there was something and someone out there that would want to injure helpless civilians on a large Shinobi nation. Was this an omen for things to come? No, that was preposterous wasn't it? The man who had attacked the village was dead, there were no significant things that stated, 'Hey I'm a loyal member of organization this!', and everyone assumed he was just a former Sunagakure ninja that had something against his former home. The Sato clan member finally had his things packed up, grabbed his identification and travel papers, and set out of the village. It was hard every time he left his home of Kumogakure, it was days like this where he wondered if he would ever see the village again. But Kazuo was a jounin now, he had everything going for him. He wasn't going to get hurt or killed on a simple D-Ranked mission that was just to rebuild Sunagakure no Sato was he?

The village hidden in the clouds was a village of mainly Raiton aligned shinobi, one which Kazuo was of as well. The jounin had no idea why he was who he was, so he just assumed that everything came from his unknown deceased father. Kumogakure seemed like the perfect place for Kazuo to lived, and for that he loved his village. He fit in here unlike in Kirigakure where he was born as Kaito. Not many people except for the Raikage knew about Kazuo's name change and origin, nor did many people know that he was a child of rape. Everyone assumed that he was just a poor orphan who had lived in the village his entire life without even traveling about. None of the children knew him at the academy in the first day and so everyone considered him to be anti-social until the training started to occur. Once he proved how much of a true shinobi he was, everyone started to talk to Kazuo giving him his first friends in years. But then, everything changed when they were put on their genin teams. Kazuo had lost his two closest friends due to their sensei, and Kazuo hated to think about them. Their deaths still remained accidents in the eyes of everyone except for Kazuo, and no one could testify otherwise due to the fact that the Sato's first mission as an ANBU black op was to kill his former sensei. Oh how he remembered that day well, and how he relished the fact that his demonized teacher was dead.

The arms of Kazuo told a different story, one of no ANBU acceptance. He was called Teguchi because of it, he couldn't be branded with any of the tattoos. Even a temporary one that would be erased every weekend or so. His one simple allergy had led him to become the agencies 'trick' which spawned his code name. His days in ANBU were never forgotten for they were fond memories, but Kazuo hated to speak of them. Maybe with time he would open up to his comrades about his horrid past whoever his comrades might be in the future. As Kazuo walked out of the clearing that surrounded his village he picked up his pace and started for the southwest. Quickly the sights and sounds of Kumogakure had fallen away, now mountains and valleys made their way into Kazuo's view. Every time that he had a mission he always slowed down around these parts. Many might see them as a wasteland, but he saw them as beautiful and a true amazing sight of nature. Not many ventured out here when they were on their missions so Kazuo had no distractions. But of course he had to remember that there was a bigger thing at hand than just a trip to Sunagakure no Sato. The sand village had been attacked, and it was up to him and many of the other Kumogakure ninja -whom had neglected to leave yet- to help out as much as they could. Besides, even if it was a D-Ranked mission, it was still a mission.

Travel Post: 1/3

He had been traveling for miles now, not stopping for anything even though he knew the most important thing was rest. The scenery was starting to change yet again, the rock that he had become accustomed to was starting to be left behind from plans and fields of bright green grass. Neutral lands are what the jounin had started to enter into now, rumors that Iwagakure no Sato had been trying to claim some of these have been heard among the villagers, especially the jounin. It wouldn't be a complete shock to Kazuo, he always knew that Iwagakure might be more militant than others in the past years. In that moment the blond-haired jounin had exited the lands of Kaminari no Kuni and stepped into neutral territory. It was only a few feet in where something caught his eye, the sun hit whatever was in the ground which made Kazuo stop to dig it up. He was expecting something small like a bottle cap, or maybe a coin of some sort. But what he did find was something that made him grow silent and cold. Not one, not two, not even three, but four headbands had been laying next to each other, undisturbed for the longest time. One was of Otogakure, another of Takigakure, the third of Yugakure, and finally one of Shimogakure. All of minor villages that were wiped out in the last shinobi war. A lone scrap of paper was tied to the final headband. 'Here lies the last fighting shinobi of the minor villages. Our death is nearing, always remember us,'

A lone tear was shed and the headbands were held in Kazuo's hands for a moment. He didn't know what to do with them, there was no way to return them to their rightful villages. Old headbands had become a thing of the black market, it wasn't illegal to have them, but illegal to sell. It was after a brief moment that Kazuo decided that he wouldn't leave the almost perfectly preserved headbands here to decay. He stuffed them in his pack, for he would take them home and hang them with pride in remembrance of these fallen shinobi. A small prayer was said and yet again Kazuo was off. It wasn't even ten minutes before the blond was greeted with an old friend from the academy who had now been assigned to a genin team. "Hey, Kazuo! What's the big rush?" The jounin smiled and looked at the genin team behind his old friend, noticing that they had grown since the last time he saw them. "Sunagakure's been attacked, D-Rank to go repair the village. Buuuuut a mission is a mission no matter how you look at it," The man nodded and a serious look was on his face, "We're returning from an escorting mission to Konohagakure, should we join you?" However Kazuo shook his head, "For a D-Rank mission? I think Lord Raikage would rather want you four home, besides, it seems like your little genin here need some rest," A chuckle was given when the genin tried rebuking Kazuo's statement, but of course they soon realized that he was right.

After the chat the four were on their way back home and Kazuo was back on track to his D-Rank mission. He had left neutral lands and had now entered the large country of Hi no Kuni, the same country that housed the great nation of Konohagakure no Sato. He would take the long way around, avoiding the village and almost all of the guards. He had no intent for destruction or harm so if a Konohagakure shinobi were to see him it was unlikely that they would stop him. He remembered passing through here as a child, having just hopped the boat and was on the run from his home nation of Kirigakure. It was back during his final days of being called Kaito, before he created a new name for himself. It was a surprise to see someone who had such a rough past end up being so lovable and playful like him. As he took to the trees and landed on each gracefully, the thoughts of his own village now being left unprotected surfaced in his mind. What if this was all a ploy, a trick in order for the major villages to be left vulnerable to enemy attacks just like Sunagakure's attack was? It would be very logical to do in Kazuo's mind, but of course, Kazuo learned how to think and act like a criminal in his days as an ANBU. But now, his worries had to be pushed aside for all he needed to focus right now was his mission. He needed to focus on Sunagakure and nothing else, even if it was killing his sanity to do so.

Travel Post: 2/3

Of course something like this would happen. He would obviously be caught up by one of the patrolling Konohagakure no Sato shinobi who had been patrolling. Had it been his striking resemblance to two of their Hokages? Or had it been the more obvious sign, his headband? It took quite a long time to argue with the shinobi, by the looks of it the boy seemed to have just gained a chuunin ranking by how new his flak jacket looked. Even with his travel papers and mission assignment in hand the chuunin didn't even think of a reason as to how to stop this so called intruder. The normally happy and lovable Kazuo was getting annoyed, finally just being the bigger person and walking -in his case more like jumping- away. The tree limbs were now getting larger and thicker as he sped away from the chuunin whose screams could still be heard. He must be a famed Yamanaka for that much screaming to be heard from this distance. With that thought Kazuo chuckled to himself as he thought of the Rokudaime Hokage's friend Ino of the Yamanaka clan. From what the history books told him she always screamed and was louder than the average genin. Now that Kazuo thought about it, he knew more about Konohagakure's history more than his own village's. Maybe because the most exciting things happened there than back home where he lived. Either that or everyone just envied Konohagakure and the Hidden Leaf wanted every country for themselves.

That was the most absurd thought that Kizoku had ever though in his entire life. The peaceful village of Konohagakure wanting to take over the other four major shinobi villages? It made him laugh more than it should and it easily gave away his position. The birds around him fleed at the loud, obnoxious laughter of the twenty-five year old jounin. After hours of running through the treetops of Hi no Kuni, Kazuo finally was greeted with a lone grain of sand that made its way into his eye. He quickly rubbed it out and inspected it, making sure that it wasn't just a piece of dust that had found its way to where he was now. Good, he was closer than he was before. It was times like this where Kazuo was thankful for the clothes that he wore, besides the long shinobi pants that he had his normal attire was fit enough for the desert that the jounin wouldn't die of heat stroke. It was after a long time of hopping from tree to tree until Kazuo found the limbs becoming weaker and thinner, his journey to Sunagakure was nearing an end when finally he flipped off the tree branch and landed in a pile of sand. It was only a small pile, not connected to the large and massive desert that made up most of the horizon in front of him. But at least Kazuo knew he was close. Pulling out a small item of food, the jounin quickly regained his strength and stamina back and made his way out to the Hidden Sand village.

It took him a few more minutes to get to the large desert sands that were just on the horizon moments ago. It was all of the sudden that a large heatwave hit the jounin and he could almost instantly feel the sweat start to form on his neck. The sands slowed his movements slightly, but he trudged on. The heat was horrendous and he now remembered why he requested to rarely be sent on missions to Sunagakure. How had he survived when he was a genin and wearing that large overcoat? It was absurd to think that he had once almost killed himself by the heat because of his choice of clothing. Either way, Kazuo pushed all the thoughts off to the back of his mind and focused on the structure in the distance. There was smoke rising from it, that was clear from a distance, and Kazuo knew this was the Hidden Sand. A smile crossed his jaw and he sped forward. D-Rank mission or not, he was going to be ready to help out the village of Sunagakure no Sato whatever the costs. But the jounin had no idea what would really happen on this mission, how much could be lost just because of one little slip-up. For even though this was a D-Rank mission, his life would be on the line. A smirk now fully on his face, Kazuo finally approached the large village, noticing that there was a shinobi at the entrance to the village. He must be the person to report to, and that was exactly what Kazuo was going to do.

Travel Post: 3/3