Well'p. The news spread.

Even in the rural towns that he disguised himself in, he'd heard of it. When does the Tsuchikage leaving the country not warrant some talk?

Right, those feelings. He'd since...suppressed them. It was not easy. Hours of meditation each day, often intermittent when their voices just kept grating on his ears. That cave was just too limiting. He couldn't handle the shackles of the Stone back when he lived in the village, and the stone itself served as a prison he lived in willingly. With a single Snake hand seal, his entire form began to shimmer in that already dim alley. Not with light, but rather a sort of visual-static. It was only the briefest of moments until he was completely hidden from sight. Yes, he was ready. For anything that happened, he would just let it.

This would be it, he thought. Or maybe it wouldn't, who knew.

A test, of sorts. Maybe it was like that with her too. Was it all just a ruse to see if they were strong enough or not? No, not with the Leaf. That was his and his alone. But what of what he did after that? Surely he had some rationale. None in his mind, at the least. For now, he would have to do with what he thought now. And he could think it ever so much more clearly without all those words jumbling around in the air about him. He walked his own path towards the south, now. Yes, the same path that the person his former country called 'leader' was taking. It would be interesting to see the state of internal affairs since he left the purview of that government.

And, indeed, the state of international affairs. A new Kazekage being installed, after all this time? They, too, would be an interesting target. For observation, no less! He wished only to see them with his own eyes. Erm, eye. The chakra potency was, of course, important too. So maybe it was proper to say eyes. In either case....It was something a little irksome, not to know what was going on in the world. But hey, voluntary hermitage was a choice, wasn't it? This was just a little excursion. It wasn't as if anyone was going to stop him, anyhow. The path he was taking...it was not that of the ground, either. No, walking on the wind suited him best, tiny platforms forming upside-down footfalls for his individual paces. After all, why rush when there was nothing but time? Plus, no footprints, no trail. The ANBU were fools, the entire lot. They only suspect what they believe to be within the realm of possibility, and completely ignore the rest. That was the better for him, though.

This will be good for me. Whatever happens. I don't want to hide any more.

He followed that trail not as if a predator tracking its prey, no. More like a curious youngling eager to discover just what something was. Besides, even puppies like to play-fight. And, oh-ho-ho, this had been backed up in his system for far too long.

No, wait. Voluntary? No, this wasn't of his own choosing. He was made to hide like this. It was either doing so, or being hunted relentlessly no matter where he went. That twang of anger was breathed away soon enough. He didn't want this to be about being controlled by his feelings. That was what happened in Konoha. He never apologized for it, but he knew what its source was.

So tiring.

{611/600}

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