The Journey to Iwagakure(Char Dev/Open)

(OCC: Current Rotation being; Zen'no, Ren, Nakago, etc. Others are welcome to join but this is how we'll start if off.)

Ren had grabbed his bag quickly before the 3 shinobi began their voyage to Iwagakure.  To make this journey they needed to head through the huge forests of Hi no Kuni and although Zen'no enjoyed the view and the experience, the forest was massive and he knew it was easy to get lost if he zoned out or stopped paying attention to his surroundings.  He had 2 leaf ninja with him however, one being the Hokage himself so he knew he would be fine.

There was a slightly awkward tension in the air as they walked through the forest for Zen'no and Ren did not expect the Hokage to join them and while it wasn't a horrible thing, it was not prime either.  No one had spoke for the first hour or so that they had been walking and Zen'no was not planning on bringing anything up for conversation.  This was a mission and socializing with conversation not prevalent was not something he was required to do.

Ren was chugging along with Zen'no and Nakago.  He could feel the obvious tension in the air.  He was feeling it for the past hour or so.

All this dead silence is a real damper.  I've got some handless shinobi escorting me to Iwa probably because something big is happening and I've got a pissed off Hokage tagging along about ready to go on a passive aggressive rampage.  I hope things are warmer in Iwa.  If Rivu is still the same guy I knew years ago then he should have something nice set up when I get there.  Maybe a buffet or something.

Ren's stomach rumbled and he looked over at the Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, is it cool that you are out here with us?  I mean you left the village without a word to anyone.  What if some catastrophic event happened to the village and they needed the Hokage with all his abilities to defend it?" Ren grinned wisely.

Laughing loudly at Ren's question in good humor, Nakago had a smile on his face with a twinkling eye. While pretty much ignoring the Iwa shinobi, Nakago was happy to address his Chuunin ninja. As he followed the two, he replied, waving his hands animatedly, "Haha! That's a good question! One you are right to ask, with how I addressed you earlier... If something were to go down in Konoha, I have a few seals up so I can get back there at a moment's notice. No matter where I'm at, Konoha is close to me." He replied, alluding to a certain jutsu he knew.

Upon replying, he returned to smiling softly. It was a nice day out, after all. The sun lightly faded through the trees, and there was life everywhere. He loved the forests of Konoha, his home. It was paradise to him. There was no place anywhere else more beautiful than his home, Nakago decided. Still, even as he admired the landscape, he was alert. His eye picked up on all movements, keeping track of both Ren and Zen'no as he traveled behind them.

Finally, he decided to nitpick for information. Keeping his expression in the same happy smile, he spoke up, breaking the silence again, "So, Hands-kun, Hyuuga-kun, do you know what it is, exactly, that the Tsuchikage wants with Ren? I know you traveled a lot... Do you have close ties to Iwa? It's good to have friends everywhere, after all."

Ren began to speak and asked the Hokage if it was alright that he was here and not protecting his village to which the Hokage laughed and responded wholeheartedly. Apparently the village were covered in seals that allowed him to always be able to come to its rescue which meant only one thing; That the Hokage was able to use the Flying Thunder God technique. Zen'no would have to be careful of this and would make sure the Hokage did not place any seals anywhere in Iwagakure. As they talked, the Hokage turned to Zen'no and asked him what the Tsuchikage wanted with Ren. Glancing back at the Hokage while still continuing to move forward and to make sure he didn't get lost, Zen'no responded without showing emotion.

"I believe Tsuchikage-Sama and Ren have met before and perhaps he wanted to see his progress over the years to see if he has matured or gotten stronger. For a definite reason, I am not entirely sure but I guess we will find out soon enough. I have lived in Iwagakure all my life and although I may not have the strongest ties to the village itself, I have very strong ties to the Tsuchikage."

Zen'no looked over to the Hokage and flashed a quick grin to him and spoke one last line.

"I don't know about having friends in distant lands, but it is always good to have allies."

Ren glanced over at Zen'no when the Hokage was speaking about his village seals.

I don't know if he should have revealed that information in front of this guy. The Hokage would be able to take this guy down but if the wrong person knew about his seals that could spell trouble. If Zen'no is really one of the Tsuchikage's men then I don't think there will be much of a problem.

Ren snapped back to reality when the Hokage asked what business they could have in Iwa. Zen'no wasn't sure and neither was Ren.

"Zen'no is right. The Tsuchikage and I have met in the past. I was a refugee in his village a couple of years ago. I was pretty rough around the edges at that time. The piece Zen'no has doesn't mean anything specific except that Rivu has business with me. Considering the distance travelled and amount of time it has been since we've last seen each other I'm probably not being summoned for a party."

Nakago wasn't worried about anything right now. Well, he was worried about Ren, but that was it. He'd see how Ren was during this trip, and then he would finish guard duty with the kid, and then they would see if everything was alright. Still, for now, he was content to see how it all played out. "So the Tsuchikage sounds like a good man. Good. I'll be happy to further strengthen the bonds between our villages. I was worried about this at first," Nakago admitted, showing that even Kage's can be human, "and still am, to be honest. It sounded like another kage was demanding one of my ninja come to him... But now it's sounding more like someone wanting to visit a friend. I was worried about losing any of my shinobi... I may be strict, but it's because I feel like a parent to all of Konoha." Nakago laughs a bit, rubbing the back of his head, "I mean, everyone is valuable to me in my village. Loosing most of the Uchiha was a terrible loss, after all. Ren is a Hyuuga, and one of the children of Konoha. He is important to me and the village. I guess I'm like a father worrying after his children."

Ren quickly confirmed what Zen'no had said to the Hokage and described his past as a refugee.  The Hokage replied with an understanding response stating that he may have gotten a little carried away but that he was just being a doting "parent".  Zen'no believed his words and continued to walk on towards Iwagakure.  It made sense that the Hokage was worried that they were trying to steal the Hyuga since he was Ren was supposedly a great ninja and people had previously hunted the Hyuga to try and unlock and study their kekkai genkai.  Zen'no and the Tsuchikage had no plans on taking or investigating Ren's eyes though they were definitely interested in his strength.  Not to kidnap or take him, but to make him an ally would definitely be in their best interest.  Now that the Hokage was involved it was possible things could end up a whole lot better for the bunch of them.  However there was also the possibility that things could end a whole lot worse.

Zen'no stayed silent and let the two Konohagakure ninja talk amongst themselves.  He was to escort them to Iwagakure as a special mission from the Tsuchikage but unless they talk to him first on the way there, he had no intention of making any small talk on his own.  Zen'no was a man of plans and the future and the little things going on in the present interested him very little.

Ren heard the Hokage's words and gained a new understanding of him.

Hm.  Guess he isn't just an uptight guy.  Watching over the entire village is definitely similar to having an unbelievable number of children.

Ren shuddered at the thought of having to watch more than a handful of children in a house.  They continued to walk for some time with silence.  To relieve the feeling of being a bit bored, awkward, and restless Ren quietly made a beat with his mouth.

"Walking to Iwagakure with Zen'no and Lord Hokage.
Nothing around to get in our way.
The Tsuchikage summoned me for some reason
I ain't complainin cuz I get to enjoy the season.
Lord Hokage with me so it's not treason.
Ren Hyuga of the leaf, son."

Ren was free from his restless feeling.  He looked around as they walked to check for anything suspicious.  Ren pulled out a small bag of candy when he saw nothing abnormal.

"Hey, Hands-san why don't you tell me how you met Rivu while I eat a bonbon?

[exit]

((Do you guys want to finish this up so we can get to Iwa?))

Aaaand, now Nakago was bored. He was bored, just walking along, with nothing to do. Plus, his robes were kind of sweaty. So, it was with that in mind, that he took off his hat, wiped his forhead, before replacing it on his head, and then, seemed like he was going to take off the robes, before sighing and dropping his arms,

Then, Ren started rapping. Nakago, curious, as he had never heard of rap before, listened intently to the rhymes. When Ren was done, Nakago chuckled, "Well, that was clever!" Then, Ren asked Zen'no a question, adopting Nakago's pet name for the guy. I'm bored with nothing else to say, so I'mma end this post here. :/

[exit]

The Hyuga began to speak in a strange musical way that Zen'no had never heard before. It was interesting but not pleasant and he wasn't sure what to make of it. It shortly stopped however and Ren began to eat some candy but not before asking Zen'no how he had met the Tsuchikage. Zen'no was not about to reveal much about his past to this random stranger and kept quiet as they walked. They made their way out of the forest of Hi no Kuni and entered Tsuchi no Kuni while continually heading towards the village. The rest of the traveling was quite boring and no one spoke realizing that Zen'no was not interested in socializing but only the mission at hand. Although the Hokage was the highest in rank among the three, Zen'no was pretty sure he was the oldest and wasn't sure if that was the reason, but he enjoyed the silence.

The village could be seen coming up and they were all growing restless to finally be there. They picked up the pace and shortly they arrived in Zen'no home of Iwagakure.

[exits]

(OOC: I'm creating a new topic in Iwa that we can continue this in.)