A Show of Force

With that, the three of them left Kumogakure, shrouded in mist, and stumbled down the mountain path. Yugito Nii stood far away to see Moriyue off. That tsundere simply refused to admit she was worried about Moriyue's safety; she had only come out to relax because training had tired her out.

The group traveled in silence. When Moriyue saw the small forest at the foot of the mountain, he could not help feeling emotional. That was where he had fallen to his death before.

He touched his chest. The Dog Talisman was still there, which put him at ease. He was no longer a useless weakling who could be bullied by anyone. This trip outside the village would also let him investigate the whereabouts of the other talismans and see whether anyone had already come into contact with them.

"Right, let's introduce ourselves. You should already know me—you were the ones who tested me back then. My name is Moriyue. Mori as in forest, yue as in surpass." Moriyue felt it was necessary to communicate with his two temporary teammates. They would be fighting as a team, so it could only help to know one another.

The two ninja were the male and female ninja who had watched Moriyue spar with Darui earlier. They seemed quite easy to get along with and did not put on any airs.

"Ah, all right. My name is Ando. I'm eighteen years old, currently a reserve member of Darui's squad, and a Genin. My favorite food is red bean bread, and what I hate is..." The male ninja with slightly grayish hair straightened up, his face solemn, like a student called on by the teacher while slacking off in class. He spilled every last detail about himself without reservation.

The female ninja beside him could not stand it any longer. She covered his mouth outright, cutting him off before he could talk about spying on the aunt next door when he was seven.

"Ahem. My name is Kazeki. I'm also a Genin, a sensory-type ninja. I specialize in healing and reconnaissance, and I serve as support within the team."

Moriyue had been listening to Ando's childhood stories with great interest, but Kazeki's reminder made him remember that this was supposed to be an introduction. Once he heard Kazeki introduce herself, he nodded. See? This was what an introduction was supposed to be. This was professional.

"A sensory-type ninja, huh? Well... I'll be counting on you from now on." Moriyue solemnly patted Kazeki on the shoulder. The Dog Talisman could not heal injuries, so treatment still had to be left to a professional.

Kazeki shuddered all over at Moriyue's pat, as though she had been startled by something, and hastily retreated several steps. She then seemed to realize her rudeness and hurried forward to apologize.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to. It's just that I... don't really like being touched. I'm sorry!" Kazeki bowed deeply. The core of this mission was Moriyue, and they knew they were not as strong as him. If they did not get along with him, he might make things difficult for them.

Oh no, I lost control for a moment. I'm done for... Despite her expressionless face, Kazeki was panicking inside. He's going to hold it against me, isn't he? He definitely is, right?

"Ah, sorry. I was the one who failed to notice before. That was rude of me. It wasn't your fault." To Kazeki's surprise, Moriyue showed no negative reaction to what she had done. Instead, he nodded seriously, looking as though he was genuinely reflecting on it.

Ando also breathed a sigh of relief and wiped away sweat that did not exist. He became even more curious about Moriyue.

"Compared to the other hotheads in the village, his temper is unexpectedly good..." He had seen the tempers of those other hotheaded guys before. They were practically living powder kegs. They could restrain themselves somewhat around their own people, but with outsiders, if they disagreed, they would start fighting without the slightest hesitation.

"If there's nothing else, let's keep moving. We should get there as early as possible. We're going this time to become Chunin." Moriyue smiled and encouraged the two of them. Though Kazeki and Ando thought he was joking, the atmosphere did ease up considerably.

The atmosphere was no longer as oppressive as an iceberg. The more they talked, the better they got along. They discovered that although Moriyue had only become a "ninja" recently and was far stronger than them, he did not put on the airs of a powerful expert. Along the way, he humbly asked them about things he did not understand regarding ninjutsu. They knew Moriyue was not really a conventional ninja, and more realistically, he was a man destined to die who still had some value to exploit. But that did not affect their respect for him.

The three chatted and laughed along the way. In the end, they encountered no danger and successfully arrived at Sunagakure.

Moriyue handed Darui's documents to the tattooed Sunagakure guard wearing a white cloth over his head. The guard told them to wait there, then returned to the village, seemingly to verify the authenticity of the documents.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Moriyue carefully observed Sunagakure.

Sunagakure was surrounded by desert. They had swallowed plenty of sand on the way here, and even now, outside Sunagakure, a layer of yellowish dust and sand hung in the air, blurring everything from view. The buildings here were designed to suit the harsh environment, all resembling cave dwellings.

They basically just dug holes into pillars of sand and stone, then polished them a little before moving in. They looked extremely simple.

In truth, it was all out of necessity. Sunagakure's natural conditions were harsh, and it had few resources to begin with. The Land of Wind's Daimyo had also cut Sunagakure's funding, leaving the village poorer and poorer. Then, just when Rasa emerged as someone capable of controlling Gold Dust, Orochimaru schemed against and killed him. From then on, Sunagakure had no choice but to form an alliance with Konoha.

That would never happen in Kumogakure. The Daimyo cut their funding? With the tempers of Kumogakure's hotheads, if he dared cut their funding today, the Raikage would dare lead his people to wipe out the Daimyo's entire family tomorrow.

What use was a damned Daimyo who acted against their interests? If not for the trouble, they would not even let the Daimyo continue to exist.

It was somewhat exaggerated, but that was broadly how things stood. Every village had a different culture and its own distinct traits.

Moriyue's group had waited there for quite some time. Ando believed the newly appointed Kazekage was giving them a show of force, and Kazeki nodded as well. Kumogakure did not have good relations with the other ninja villages, after all, so being singled out was nothing unusual.

They were all growing impatient when a ninja with short red hair, a Kazekage hat, and a massive gourd of sand on his back slowly approached. The character for love was carved into his forehead, he had no eyebrows, and the dark circles beneath his eyes seemed permanent. The newcomer was the One-Tail Jinchuriki—Gaara, the newly appointed Kazekage.

"I thought Kumogakure would not participate. It seems I miscalculated. Everyone, welcome to Sunagakure." Gaara displayed a passable smile and generously spread his arms wide.