A Trip to the Capital [Private]

[Night]

Yakan gazed out the window, looking over the village of Sunagakure. The window was set within the tan walls of the room used by the high council to discuss current affairs and handle the governmental decisions that pertained to the village. Earlier that morning Yakan had turned over the duties of running the village to other council members, as he often did. Still a very powerful and active young shinobi, Yakan frequently needed to leave the village for a variety of reasons. One of the purposes of the council was to handle the day-to-day affairs in his stead when he was on leave. He often left a clone or two behind lest they needed to pass emergency information back to him.

Today was one of those days. Yakan looked fondly over his village, but he knew that soon he would have to leave. He'd been scheduled to travel south to the capital of Kaze no Kuni to meet with the Wind Daimyō. Normally the current affairs of both the nation and the village could be discussed between the two by coded messages, but occasionally personal meetings functioned better, and were often simpler.

A team of Yakan's most skilled Jōnin entered the room. The seven of them all had donned identical, knee-length, hooded black cloaks, and their faces were obscured by brown, wood-carved masks that had been decorated with purple paint. Each one bore the hourglass insignia of the village on the forehead. These warriors all excelled in one or more of the village's classic arts: Ninja puppetry, cloth techniques, and Jiton ninjutsu.

They stood silently, waiting, knowing that Yakan had heard them entered. After a moment of silence, Yakan turned to the council table behind him. Upon it was a uniquely carved mask for him, as well as an identical cloak to match the troupe. From there, the group of eight descended from the council room at the top of the spherical Kazekage's Mansion down to the bottom, exiting there. They traversed through a series of smaller streets to the edge of the plateau that surrounded the village, making sure that as few eyes as possible saw them. One could never be too careful.

The force proceeded north-east, opposite the direction of the village's only real entrance and exit. Here, on the opposite side, the passed a watchtower just before reaching the edge of the village. The Sunagakure nin there knew that the group was to leave, and subsequently the watchtower guards used their Doton ninjutsu to open a small passage through the plateau wall here. This was a secondary entrance and exit to the village that could only be opened and closed with Doton techniques, and which was locked by a series of seals that only the authorized ninja of Sunagakure could manipulate.

Having passed through this less conspicuous exit and having it closed behind them, the group looped around and began their journey due south to the capital.

[Night]

A day and a half later, the group from Sunagakure reached their destination. Dusk was setting in just as they arrived at the gates of the Land of Wind's capital city.

The Land of Wind capital as not a strikingly beautiful place, but it was certainly upscale from the clay and tucco construction of Sunagakure. Like Sunagakure, the capital was surrounded by a high, dense wall. It was not quite as immense as the plateau that Sunagakure was set into, but it was plenty to defend against the winds and sandstorms that blew over from the desert. The capital rested on the coast of Sunagakure, though it was due south from the village, in reality it was almost on the far east of the entire country, where it sat a comfortable distance a way from a clifftop.

As the troupe waited at the north gates, Yakan looked to his left, staring out over the vast, calm ocean that sparkled with the starlight.

After a pair of high-ranking officers met them at the gates and confirmed their identities, the troupe was allowed to enter the village. The interior of the capital was radically different from the shorter, sturdier constructions of Sunagakure. Here, everything was made of a dark-tinted glass, and the majority of the buildings were skyscrapers in comparison to any others in the desert country. The dark windows reflected the burning sunlight in the daytime hours, and so at night most of the windows were opened and the citizens came out to move about freely on the ground. Most of the structures in the capital, particularly the larger towers and building, were all connected by walkway tubes, also with the same dark tint glass.

Since the sun had just dropped below the horizon, the capital bustled with nighttime activity. Under the cover over the crowds, the force of eight, led by the pair of officers, slipped largely unnoticed through the village to the center, where the government offices and secure guest quarters were. Yakan inspected the capital closely, surprised by the progress of the various remodeling projects even just since his last visit to the Wind Daimyō.

Exhausted from their trip, the squad wanted to do nothing but rest when they finally reached the tallest tower in the center of the city. They were taken inside and led upstairs by their guards, who were then dismissed. The force was given the most elegant of the suites. Vast bowls of fruits and nuts were prepared for them and their furniture was of the highest quality. There was one master bedroom, where Yakan would sleep, and two additional rooms. A pair of his shinobi would rest in each room, and the other three would spread out in the central area of the suite, directly positioned for defense if anyone were to break in.

Though of course, with such precautions taken, no incidents were had that night. Yakan slept peacefully, eager to catch up with his old friend, the Wind Daimyō, the next day.

[Night]

Before Yakan awoke, his shinobi were already prepared for the day. They made sure they ate and spread out to secure the whole floor of the building. Shortly after them, Yakan awoke. Left in peace alone in the suite he ate breakfast and bathed quickly in the wash room. No longer needing the disguise he wore while traveling, Yakan donned his regular attire. Boots designed for the desert terrain, with dark trousers, a light ivory shirt and lightweight black jacket.

When he was ready Yakan exited the suite, locking it behind himself, and proceeded to the room where he and the Daimyō would meet. As he passed by them, Yakan nodded to the nin positioned along the way. When he reached the opposite side of the floor he entered a room with two comfortable couches and a low-laying glass center table that also bore dishes of fruits and nuts. The far wall of the room was the side of the building, and as such the entire wall was glass. Yakan enjoyed the view of city from here.

Just behind him entered the Wind Daimyō. Turning around, Yakan exclaimed, "Ah! Soyokaze!" The Daimyō's face light up with an ecstatic expression, pleased to see his old friend. The two embraced briefly before sitting down and grabbing a handful of food to snack on while they spoke. Their discussion ranged for hours and covered all manners of affairs and statuses throughout the nation. Yakan addressed how the presence of the shinobi village continued to impact the economy in a positive way, while Soyokaze helped bring word of foreign affairs, particularly of the other shinobi villages, to Yakan. This culminated towards the end of their conversation.

"Yakan," Soyokaze hesitated, as if he were unsure how to continue, "I need... To directly request a mission of you."

Yakan sat up from his relaxed position on the couch, intrigued. "My friend, whatever mission you have, I will gladly task to the best of my men." But Soyokaze only shook his head.

"You misunderstand me." The Daimyō corrected, "I mean that I must request you undertake the mission yourself." Yakan's eyes grew wide as he realized what Soyokaze was really asking. The lord of the Land of Wind continued, "I know that you are the Kazekage, and I would not normally ask you to stray far from the village, but something pressing has arisen..."

Yakan thought deeply on this. Surely, he could leave the village in the capable hands of the high council. There was no question it would be just fine. But Yakan grew so curious now. What mission could possibly be of such importance that the Daimyō himself saw it pertinent that the Kazekage accept it directly?

"We've received word..." The explanation began, "from some scouts in the east, not far past the Land of Fire, that- Well... Do you know of the bijū?" The Daimyō paused to ask.

Yakan furled one eyebrow. "You mean those beasts the warring villages have been trying to capture and control? I've heard of some monstrous-sized animals of some sort, that rumor has it leave paths of destruction in their wake. Some have also said, I believe, that they might have some relation to the spirit Shukaku that wanders the desert?"

Soyokaze nodded. "More or less. Shukaku is, yes, believed to be one of nine such creatures, each with a respective number of tails. Harnessing the power of such a creature could have limitless applications..." The Wind Daimyō's words seemed hopeful, but his eyes dropped. He continued, "I fear that war may yet reach your village as well, my friend... Controlling one of these creatures might be necessary to secure the safety of Sunagakure as well."

Yakan now began to realize that the other high-ranking government officials likely suggested to Soyokaze that he ensure one of the beasts was brought under the control of the Land of Wind. But surely they couldn't... They couldn't intend to send him after Shukaku? The desert spirit was feared in all the land for its rampages of destruction and violence... Memories flashed in Yakan's mind of the orphanage he grew up in, the structure leveled and his childhood friends slain... No doubt by that same desert spirit. Rage began to well up within Yakan.

"As I was saying," Soyokaze continued, "We have reports from over in Uzushiogakure that one of the beasts is there. It has eight tails... Er... Well, tentacles. It's an ushi-oni, and apparently, a huge one. Supposedly some warriors have tried to subdue, but with no success. The other officials here..." That confirmed Yakan's suspicions, "Have urged that we attempt to bring it under our control, and they know that you in particular have rare skills as a shinobi." The Daimyō paused again, as he wasn't sure how to continue.

Yakan nodded solemnly in response. "The village can indeed survive without my immediate presence. I'll return with my force immediately and put together a fresh team to travel east."

Soyokaze shook his head. "This is really almost out of my hands even." He looked at Yakan apologetically. "They're quite adamant that you go immediately. We can send you east by ship, you'll cross the ocean and enter the Land of Tea in a day, and it will only take the next day's journey on foot to pass through the southeast corridor of the Land of Fire and make it to the location reported for this beast."

Yakan pondered this for a moment before nodding. "It can be done. I only need a few warriors with me. I'll send half of the force back north to the village, and the other four of us will depart immediately. You have a ship ready?" Soyokaze nodded.

"Good." Yakan said, focused now. His rage toward the spirit Shukaku fueled his determination to find this ushi-oni. Perhaps with its help he could subjugate Shukaku, or at least get some revenge. "Then if there's nothing else for us to discuss, I should handle the matter as soon as possible." Both nodded, and Yakan and Soyokaze shared the goodbye of old friends.

As he said, Yakan then sent four of his force back north to the village to update the council on what had happened, while Yakan and his three best shinobi deparated by ship for the Land of Tea. In two days time, they would reach the spot the Daimyō had marked on a map for Yakan, where the Hachibi was reported to be.