Hi no Kuni was a rather temperate land in its entirety, from one border to the other, giving the nation a uniform biome that was iconic for its massive lush forests with snaking rivers and the life teeming within. Rokumaru had more or less adjusted to the cooler and much more humid climate and the animals that lived among the branches in every direction, though not to the full extent that he wanted; the redhead now knew well enough to either stick to the winding roads and trails winding between the massive tree trunks, or to quickly travel through the trees without indulging the temptation to explore. Unlike the desert he could not yet roam these woods freely as he pleased due to the massive fauna hiding amongst the leaves and brush, giant spiders whose webs couldn’t be broken by kunai and tigers the size of a merchant’s wagon. The redhead had become familiar enough with the danger hiding beyond the great walls of Konoha to know to leave it all be and go about his business, despite how boring that was.

This made leaving Hi no Kuni an interesting occasion as Roku eventually left the towering monolithic trees behind for the cold mountain ranges of Kaminari no Kuni on the peninsula to the North. With the Chūnin Exams winding down back in the Leaf the redhead was growing tired of the countless masses of strangers and foreigners he had to deal with on a daily basis, deciding to continue on with his travels before the Exams truly ended and everyone was rushing back to their own homes again. There was nothing about the Hidden Leaf that was pushing him away; admittedly Rokumaru found Konohagakure to be a very respectable village that could offer more work for him, if he chose, but it was being to lose its exotic appeal as he grew accustomed to life within it. Now it was time to continue with this directionless path that Roku has set out upon, leading the boy out of the warm forests of the Land of Fire.

Along the way he crossed through the Land of Hot Water and was tempted to spend a few days enjoying the soothing waters of the hot springs that the nation centered its trade around, but instead chose to save it for the trip back after descending from Kumo. Better to soak in near-boiling water after having spent a few weeks freezing in the mountains, he figured. His sedate walking pace and the pleasing shortage of bandits to harass him along the roads let him pass through the minor nation after a few days, the forests he walked through growing colder and less dense as he went. The few shinobi he passed along the trails wore Yugakure’s hitai-ate with three right-leaning lines across the middle, but they always let him be.

The Land of Frost was, while lightly forested, so foreign from the dense groves looming just miles behind as the ground grew rockier and the air colder as Rokumaru went; he briefly traveled the path descending towards the sea while passing through the nation until crossing the border to Kaminari no Kuni. The path immediately switched from a gentle slope down towards the frigid, rocky coast to an arduous hike up switchbacks and along cliffsides that quickly let the redhead know he had not found the main path through the nation made for civilians. It was definitely kind of the Kumo-nin to build their village only several dozen miles from the border as he had read enough geography texts to know these mountain ranges traveled on for thousands.

The air grew thin with oxygen noticeably as he ascended higher into the mountains, a sensation that only furthered the constant fatigue Roku felt. At night he constructed a dome of sand off the trail that acted as a pretty useful igloo and was spared the chilling temperatures outside, only having to deal with the fallen snow that had accumulated overnight temporarily burying him. All in all he was making good time towards the circle on the map he had in his mind. On his third night in Kaminari no Kuni he was spared from traveling any further when a patrol of Clouds had dug up his igloo of sand and broke it open with a sword to catch whoever was hiding out, apparantly, and after explaining his intentions to find work in the village one of them graciously offered to take the effete migrant the rest of the way.