Clouds O'er Sunagakure [Noboru, Kiseragi, Suna]

He fucking hated this country.

Even before they exited the boat, as they travelled up a river to a port town, the air was already arid and so hot every time a breeze rose from the rocking waves of the river without any heat in it Kaito felt as Fujin was blessing him in particular. At least when there was storm weather in Kumogakure, there was the promise that the rain would come in soon enough when the light’s show started. Here, the stifling heat bore down unrelentingly.

It had not been the best idea to craft this armor in full black fabrics and lightweight metals just to bring it to the Wind Country, to be sure. Dark as pitch or ink, the armor drank the sunlight and held on to it as if it were the most precious of resources to be found in this land. Fortunately, the boat crew had afforded some silky white cloaks to the duo of ninja they transported. The white silk would reflect most of the light in the desert, and prevent the duo from suffering from heatstroke. The desert was a dangerous place, especially to outsiders. The white silk would reveal only Kaito's face and from the knee below, showing his greaves, but most importantly his headbamd and the trusty eyepatch that covered the white eye.

The trip through the desert had not been too difficult. Even though the village’s were supposed to be “hidden”, they were all but that. Noboru and Kiserai knew exactly where to go, what landmarks to look for, and had an estimated time of arrival. Didn’t make the trip any easier.

“I fucking hate this country”, he would say outloud when he knew only himself and mayhaps Kiseragi could hear it, in between enabling and disabling his Byakugan to keep tabs on their environment every 50 meters or so, always when he knew the Lord Raikage or others wouldn’t notice the veins. In spite of being his new Kage, he didn’t have full confidence in the man, for he had just met him days before, and as such he didn’t want him finding out about the white eye.

Soon enough, and after finding the essential landmarks, they came to a rock formation that seemed to match the description of the village. A shield wall, stretching far and wide, tall walls that could’ve dwarfed the Kumogakure’s own walls if he remembered it properly. He didn’t see the Kumogakure walls too often from the outside, in the distance. “We’re here, Lord Raikage.”

The duo approached the Cleft, a noticeable enough gap in the rockface. As they entered, they approached a booth, likely where a guard would sit to receive visitors. He knew that if he was in guard duty, he’d likely be there, and so that’s where he aimed at, Byakugan enabled and hidden under the silk cloak so as to not attract attention to the bulging veins, however he would disable it should his Byakugan detect anyone coming closer or within sight, especially once he came in range of the first guard he could find.

A ninja should indeed adapt to their environments. Kaito knew as much, however, he had been crafting this armor for a long while, and he did not have the time to create an armor for this occasion. With the ice steel he had obtained, a controlled temperature would be feasible to obtain, creating an advantage within this desert environment against other opponents. After all, what was the use of specialising in weaponry and taking up blacksmithing if he wasn't going to have tools specialized for each situation? He nodded to Kiseragi's comment, but left it at that.

Already within the shade of the Cleft, the difference in temperature was astounding, and Kaito inhaled a breath of fresh air, exhaling with relief, before disabling his Byakugan once he took the measure of the one within the guard house. As they approached, he mimicked Kiseragi in running a hand under the hood to reveal his rugged features. The man within the booth was an elder ninja, but that didn't discount any valor he might have in Kaito's eyes. To be so old in the ninja business was a valuable trait in Kaito's eyes, as one might grow old in a business with such high mortality rate by either being extremely competent or by being a coward, and Kaito very much doubted the Sunagakure would post a coward at their gates. As someone who endured his fair share of gate duty, he could empathize with the old man already.

Upon being asked for his ID, he procured the document from his weapon pouch, a small booklet with his identification as a ninja; boring bureaucracy but a necessity in this world. Identification, rank, village, authentication. The mark of civilized society. He slid the document through the window slit, without word, as his Kage had already spoken and nothing else was asked of him.

The newly appointed Raikage commented on an idea he had for the Kumogakure; personally, Kaito failed to see how a desert village's infrastructure would've aided the Lord in coming up with an idea to improve the storm land's village, except if it was to take the natural geography and biome into consideration when crafting defenses for the village.

Kiseragi made a comment about how the village looked different from what it had been described to him, and on that note both he and Kaito agreed; in his short service as a Jonin after Kutari first left the village, the redhead had gotten into reading as part of his self-imposed training regiment to deal with the bureaucratic side of things, and he had learned much and more, including Kumogakure's advances across the world and the fist they clenched around the nation's throats.

A wasted effort.

In their hubris, they had stretched themselves too thin, unable to hold any territories. The terror incarnate Kenshin razed their borders, eliminating any Kumogakure forward positions, sending the heads of their soldiers to remind the Lightning Lords of their incompetence. Then finally, he scorched the Hidden Cloud's presence from the Wind Country. Nothing could be done about it; at the same time, Nobunaga threatened Kumogakurian supremacy, before being put down by the Young Conqueror, while Kirigakure lead a joint army of their own and vassal forces to stomp out Kenshin from Sunagakure before Kumo could properly retaliate. The story was convoluted and a lot of fiction seemed to blend with reality, likely misinformation campaigns meant to destabilize a proper counter attack. Not that Kumo could've done anything about it.

What good is to conquer the world if you can't defend your own land?

Kenshin might've proven to be a good Raikage; worship of strength is commonplave in the Land of Lightning, and even if its citizens can't see beyond the basic understanding of Strength to enjoy the more refined ways of its application, Kenshin would've surely occupied a pedestal within their dreams if he did not haunt their nemightmares already. Yet he had chosen to attempt the recovery of Sunagakure after expunging Kumo's presence; there was no evidence to support whether he was responsible for the current state of the village though. On the affermatch of Kirigakure's assault, it was reported that the Water and Fire Countries forces put the country through sword and fire, and not much was known afterwards.

Of course, there was evidence to support that someone did in fact rebuild the place. But Kaito did not appreciate the comments about Kumogakure's effect on the land while obfuscating the effects of posterior action. Was the old man trying to taunt the ninja before him? A foolish game to be played, but it was just that: foolish. Sunagakure had suffered the fate they had deserved, much like Kumo did later on. They were weak, and they were taken advantage of. If the old man was trying to imply it was Kumogakure's fault for the sorry state the village had been in, Kaito could've confirmed that for him. They had sent killers, not masons.

Even though the elder appeared to want to bait a reaction out of the Kumogakurian ninja, Kaito understood the implications of tension should he reply with their side of events in what regarded the latest invasion of Suna. It was just more likely the man assumed the last they had heard of this village had been in regards to their own occupation. No point in wasting their breath; the man had not insulted them anyway, by pointing out that at one point Kumogakure held Sunagakure's fate in their hands. Moreover, Kaito had been warned not to embarrass the village, and if the Kage wanted he could defend the "honor" of the village, whatever that was. He never had the chance to ask Nobunaga, or the four Kumogakurian ninjas killed by the Young Conqueror that night, what their opinion of honor was. When he killed Ghost as he lay down in that hospital bed, he never wondered what his opinion in honor might've been. Honor did not cross his mind when he tried to assassinate Zento for trying to take his rank.

Honor was a tool to a ninja, to be used in their favor against their adversaries, should they be stupid enough to hold on to it.

Another tool of the ninja was paranoia; in healthy doses, it would temper the mind and prevent it from going lax. In unhealthy doses, it would make friendly banter sound like provocation. Kaito held his tongue all the while the elder talked, maintaining his composure as cryptic as it had been, the black pupil and iris of the Uchiha eyeing him stoically. As he gave them back the documents along a visitor's permit, he thanked them for their presence with a smile and a bow. More mockery? Who cared. Not Kaito; at least that was the impression he tried to give. He retrieved the document with an emotionless "thanks", and prepared to follow in the footsteps of his Kage onto the village.

Silly geriatric menace. Tricks are for kids.

..................
WC: 855
/potential exit into Sunagakure
Will do claims when exit is confirmed.