Yojo squinted, his golden-colored eyes narrowing to look through the black turban wrapped around his head and draping over his body. He felt the sand shifting beneath him, small clumps of the fragmented dirt leaping up off the ground into the air like gusts of wind pulling at it. In any normal case, the phenomena would not have caught his attention, yet when paired with the sight in the distance ahead of him, the whole thing brought a tantamount sensation of petrification to his soul. This kind of power, the way that he saw sand and stone rising from the earth, i-it was impossible- it was like the hand of god was grabbing and kneading the rock and brimstone of this godforsaken hellscape into something resembling a city. It rooted him in awe and fear, to see such a thing take place. He did not need his sharingan to see it all clearly, to see with blistering clarity the way that an entire civilization was literaly and figuratively rebuilt in a day.

It unnerved him, terrified him even- he would admit that in private. Still, by the sounds of awestruck shinobi behind him on the sand dune overlooking the seaside clearing the village was being made from, he knew that he had to project the image of confidence and tact. "Th-That's impossible. What the hell is that thing?" one of the Ops members asked, coming to a halt besides Yojo who kept his gaze fixated on the otherworldly dance of stone and sand. "Well there's something you don't see everyday" the Tokubetsu Jonin replied, humming with a somewhat melancholic tone. It betrayed the tumult of emotions he felt. "I want you to return with the others to Konohagakure. Tell them what has happened here. Don't do anything rash, don't do anything stupid" Yojo commanded, unfurling the turban around his head to let his sweat-coated hair have some freedom for a change. He hated desert ops like this.

"What about you, commander?" one of his squadmates asked, "What about the Kumo-nin we were tracki-" they continued, reminding him of their original mission. Yojo frowned, but made sure to not let the others see the expression. "-Tell them they disappeared into the sands. There's nowhere for them to go anyways, even if they survived the ambush. Of course, feel free to kill them if you encounter them on your way back to Hi no Kuni" Yoshihiro instructed, turning to fully look at his team of five. They were startled, blindsided by literally stumbling on the sight of a village being rebuilt as they walked over an unassuming sand dune. Yojo cracked a small smile, something he hoped came across as comforting. "I will be fine. Trust me" he said, though these days he always hesitated internally when speaking the word 'trust', it was a force of habit. "If these Sand-nin find you, they may kill you, commander" a Leaf-nin warned, something that Yojo scoffed at. "All the better to be made a martyr then, eh? Besides, what can one Leaf shinobi possibly do? I'm just here as a tourist after all" he said, undoing the Leaf headband dangling from his neck and placing it in his satchel.

"Now leave" Yojo commanded sternly, tired of reassuring the sheepish shinobi. The order was enough to get things moving. He watched his squad body flicker away, leaving him alone on some godforsaken sand dune. He sighed, rubbing the back of his sweaty neck.

The Tokujo began meandering down the large sand dune, keeping an eye on the village forming along the coast from nothing. He ran scenarios in his head about what might go wrong He had only come to the remnants of the Land of Wind in an attempt to track down Kumo-nin that had scattered across the Land of Fire after the victory at the Land of Frost, picking off the stragglers and whatnot. This was a surprising find, to say for sure- and while he knew little of the Land of Wind, save for its destruction, he felt obliged by his status as War Council Director to do some impromptu diplomacy... Diplomacy that would most likely require pretending to be a refugee.


Yojo would eventually make his way down to the stream of haggard and tired refugees making their way into the sandstone gates of the newly constructed city. They didn't seem to pay him much attention, in fact, so far as he could tell, his presence barely registered in the minds of most people. Instead, eyes were fixated upon the sky, upon the bird soaring through the air as a symbol of a reclaimed homeland for a wayward people. If not to the sky, then to the buildings around them their attention shifted. The architecture, the minute attention to detail, it was all so finely planned and constructed that it nearly betrayed reality. How could something made so quickly on such a large scale be made with such an innate attention to detail? Yojo looked at the spires rising up from the buildings around him, at the open courtyards and marketplaces waiting to be refilled by vendors and stalls. The whole scene seemed much like a family returning to a furnished home after months away travelling. Indeed, joy was the emotion that reigned supreme over the crowded masses filtering through the streets and alleyways of the newly constructed village. They had seen the bird soaring above for miles around, and now that they were here, they could piece together their lives once again.

For his part, the Leaf-nin gradually made his way to what had to undoubtedly be the center of the village and the residence of the Kazekage. It was something close to a fortress, with solitary spires and towers stretching upwards to the heavens. He felt like an isolated speck as he began walking across the lengthy bridge over a hollowed out ravine to the base of the tower. Perhaps he should have felt afraid? He certainly could sense the shivers running up his spine, but they didn't overwhelm him. Instead, as he kept a wary eye on the bird circling over the village, a sense of curisotiy overtook him. He had to see this all for himself: this city, its people, and perhaps most importantly of all, the one who made it.

In a single day, his entire portfolio of War Plans had been upended. Now, he had to start making them again all from scratch, starting with assessing who this Kazekage was, and assessing their ambitions. He had had his fill of expansionist rulers, he hoped it would not be the same in this southerly land of sand and stone.

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