Oh Konoha, with its clear skies and greenery that seemed to span over every single inch of the country. Gin took a deep breath, filling her lungs with its clean air, a cloudless sky overhead. Gin smiled. She woulnd't miss this place for a second. She was currently enjoying the beautiful scenery as she stood atop a mountain that overlooked the village in question. The section of the Senju compound that her fight with Sousetsu had reduced to little more than smoldering ashes was reconstructed already, almost as good as new. She wondered if they had put up some kind of memorial for the people that had died that night. Gin frowned. It was still a rather unpleasant memory, though her need to get stronger in order to ensure the survival of both her family and herself. it was always good to have a purpose. She supposed that if there was any silver lining to the whole situation, that was it.

Now, it was time to head back to Kirigakure. She missed the sweet humidity and damp climate that the village often brought with it. That, and she also needed to take care of the three little bastards that she now called her students. They were a lovely bunch, all three of them. She looked forward to kicking their asses and taking them on missions for the sake of hr own entertainment. She could just see it now, the three of them being chased by some unholy monster while she watched from a nearby tree as she cackled and laughed. She needed that in her life at the moment. Gin could only hope that Ren would heed her warning and come back to the village as well. She worried for the boy, though she knew that he was more than capable of fending for himself. He was strong, more so than most.

The thought made Gin smile fondly. He was so young and even so was on par with Chie and Reiko. It made her proud. She had built such a nice family for herself. It was good to see them grow and mature into the people that they wanted to become. She would be glad if she got to see them again, even though they had just come back from spending quite a while together in Takigakure. Soon, the day would come for her to take them from the clutches of Sunagakure, but not yet. She knew that taking them to Kiri would likely spark a conflict between the two villages. A story would be spun to make it seem as if Kirigakure harbored a traitor that had just kidnapped and stolen precious citizens of Sunagakure. Gin would rather keep the conflict as her own, involving as few people as possibly in what could turn out to be a suicidal endeavor.

Nevertheless, now was not the time for that. She needed to get going. How bothersome this was. If only there were some sort of rail line that could take her straight to where she wanted to go. Hell, she would settle for just some company - even Sanosuke would do. Running for several days on end was boring. She only had herself to talk to and likely nothing decent to fight along the way. She sighed as she ran, jumping from one tree branch to the next. She wasn't looking forward to this, but it had to be done. Might as well get it over and done with.