Sarutobi, Mitsuo had experienced much on his travels to Sunagakure, and he had enjoyed the experience very much. He had made new friends and had proven himself to be quite the strategist. He felt he had probably made his Sensei proud for sure with his performance in the exams, even though he lost. He was also happy that he had been able to come closer to Ukiyo, the beautiful and truly unique girl who he had once hurt when they were in the academy. All he wanted to do was protect Ukiyo like his own sister.

Mitsuo pulled the white traveling cloak back on over his clothing. He was a Chuunin now, and that meant that he was going to be going on more important missions for his village from now on. He was determined to advance as quickly as he could and make it into the ANBU, thus fulfilling one of his lifelong goals. As an ANBU operative he would be directly under the Hokage, making him one of the people in charge of protecting his kage, another one of Mitsuo's dreams. He had taken a gamble with the exams and had come out ahead of where he thought he would be.

He looked down beside him and saw the unmistakable form of Chisoku, his cheetah companion. He scratched the beautiful king cheetah between the ears, enjoying the feeling of the unique mane under his hands. Chisoku purred his approval and flicked his tail back and forth happily.

"I'm glad I have you with me, old friend. This trip would be quite lonely if it weren't for you." Chisoku nuzzled Mitsuo's hand gently and began to move forward through the sand, his slender body leading the way for Mitsuo as the pair made their way across the desert towards their true home.

(307/600 Suna > Kono)

There was something about having grass beneath his feet that made Mitsuo more happy than anything. It wasn't that he didn't like the sand, he had quite thoroughly enjoyed his time spent in Sunagakure no Kato, but it just didn't feel like home. As he passed the Hi no Kuni border he stopped for a second, taking in the sheer beauty that was his homeland. If he could capture this moment and keep it in his mind forever he would and he swore to himself, wishing he was better at drawing. He pulled out a sketchbook and took down a rough sketch of the beautiful landscape facing him. He smiled as he noticed Chisoku had taken to prowling ahead, running through the trees and grass. He sketched in the cheetah, chuckling to himself softly as he did before restoring his pencils and his sketchbook in his bag, removing a cigarette from it and placing it to his lips. He lit the smoke and inhaled deeply as he continued on his way back to his village.

He enjoyed his smoke and the scenery, wondering what kind of welcome would await the newly ranked Chuunin on his return, assuming that his sensei would have more training for him to do, not knowing any of the events having occurred in his home village while he was away. He wondered what Tatsumaru would say, having no idea that Tatsumaru had been killed in battle and Takeshi-sensei had been appointed the new Hokage. A lot had changed in Konohagakure no Kato, but Mitsuo was none the wiser, only noticing how beautiful the land was and thinking on his time spent in Suna.

As he stepped through the gates of his home village, he noticed a sombre mood around town. He wasn't sure why but he would have plenty of time to figure it out, as he made his way to search for his sensei and tell him of his travels...

----------------------------------------------------------

Travel Sunagakure > Konoha complete (637/600)