Issei needed to leave, go somewhere else for a while. With the recent stress of his mother's death and his encounter with his ancestor, despite powering through it, he felt negative energy around him in his own home, constant reminders of everything that was wrong. Furthermore, Ninshiki wasn't going anywhere in terms of recruitment. He had recruited Teru and Rogue, but the three of them were not strong enough as a group to get anything significant accomplished, and Issei had greater visions for what he created. So, his first thought was that he could travel to Iwagakure and visit old friends while also trying to spread word of Ninshiki, but after a while he started thinking about his ex wife and he didn't really want to go anymore. He hadn't been to Kumogakure in a long while, but it wasn't particularly his favorite place since the altitude was so unbearably high. Konohagakure was beautiful, so he considered that as an option, but what became his choice was in fact Sunagakure, simply because he had never been before and he felt that experiencing a new place would be an enriching experience as well as an opportunity for growth as a group in Ninshiki. Not that he was inviting Teru or Rogue with him, no; he figured he needn't bother them, and he preferred to travel alone anyway. He would inform them of any new members when he returned, and hopefully they would all assemble as a group united towards a singular goal eventually.

There was no denying that Sunagakure was a long ways away, and Issei would have to spend almost a week travelling to pass through the Land of Fire in order to get there, so he would get his fill of forests and nature during the journey. He wore his Ninshiki robe and had the sets of additional outfits and armor sealed away in his handwraps so as not to weigh him down. Surprisingly enough, he had ensured he brought plenty of food for the road, he was well rested, and he felt excited to be out and about in the world, outside the confines of the place he was far too familiar with. During the cold nights, he rested high in the treetops, surrounded by the symphonies of creaking branches, fallen leaves and crickets. During the days, he continued moving forward, relentlessly, determined to pass through the forests to the grassy plains, through the plains into the Land of Rivers, and through the Land of Rivers into the badlands and the sands that signaled arrival in the Land of Wind. Issei remembered stories of the clans in the sand, from masters of puppetry that gave him jarring flashbacks to his torture, to shinobi who became embodiments of the village itself, able to manipulate sand to their liking, to the extremely rare art of "Magnet Release" and the ability to control metal using chakra. He hoped that those he attracted to Ninshiki would be so unique and powerful, as the more diverse his group was, the more they would be capable of. He longed to look upon the fabled, sprawling wall that guarded Sunagakure no Sato. For the first two days, progress was slow, but two more days passed and then he was there, on a solitary path in a huge clearing of desert, and in front of him stood the wall, the village hidden deep within. He took a moment to bask in its novelty before going ahead, the sun beaming down on him, an ant in size compared to the vast landscape of the desert. "A whole new world."


[ Travel Complete ]

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