[Chikamatsu Kiyoshi]

     Southwest Moku no Kuni, early 1024 - prior to the Akazaya Chuunin Exams

     It lacked the stark beauty of Kaze no Kuni, to be sure, but it was still quite a sight - especially after the plains of Na no Kuni. The Sunagakure party crested a ridge, coming out of the belly of the mountain ridge bordering the two nations.

     From their vantage atop the cliff, a sea of treetops stretched out to the horizon, rivers cutting through. Somewhere in all that vegetation was the aim of their trip: a hidden base of the Tanjo, who had been fighting against the Wood Daimyou, hiding here in the southwest.

     Kiyoshi walked the whole way, unafraid and unbothered, flanked by his bodyguards. A small amount of other Sunagakure Shinobi were in front of and behind them - enough to be sufficient protection in case of an attack, not enough to warrant too many wandering eyes on the road.

     By the time they'd reached the scheduled meeting place, a clearing shadowed by tree canopies overhead, Kiyoshi's ankles had been hurting for quite some time - he wasn't as used to walking on hard, packed dirt roads as he was sand or the deck of a ship.

     The Kazekage created a small glass dove, tied the letter he'd received from Niina Nanjo to it, and sent it flying into the nearby cave that he suspected the Tanjo were waiting within, for a signal.

Kazama Fuu | 235 words