Journey to Iron

Only a day into the journey and Kazuya had arrived in the barren southwestern region of the Land of Earth that shared the rocky terrain of its native country with the deserts of the Land of Wind's outer fringe. Back in his youth, this kind of scenario would have put the Hokage off, with his childhood having been spent entirely in the serene greenery of the Land of Fire's lush forests and fields, but years of experience have brought many travels to places with terrain he'd not imagined in his youth. This place was not so different from a location in the Land of Lightning where he'd spent many years honing certain aspects of his skills and personality, though the weather up there was certainly colder.

With just a day and a half left on his journey, the Hokage pressed forward with his faithful companion. Having spent so much time alone together, the two had talked plenty, but even more time had been spent thinking about the future of the village and, in particular, the clan. Kazuo generally ran things in his brother's stead whenever Konohagakure business took over his time, but soon, that would no longer be possible. In just a few short weeks, Kazuya's younger brother would depart for a journey of his own, not unlike the one Kazuya had taken in his youth. He understood the need for such a task, but Kazuya was still left with concern over the future of the Uchiha. He already had to worry about what shinobi might succeed him as Hokage, but now he would need to find an heir to the Uchiha Clan. It was a custom almost exclusively reserved for the eldest son of the previous leader, a line directly descended from the original Uchiha, but neither Kazuya nor Kazuo bore any children. It was a difficult situation, to be sure. One that would take up most of the Hokage's thoughts during his travels. Then there was the matter of the summit...

[Exit -> Land of Iron]

Fenrir had never been to this particular area, but he had been to places near it on missions before, and he was just as uncomfortable in Konohagakure as he was here. In fact, he attributed nearly none of his feelings or behaviors on where he was, but rather, who he was with. In the village, he is often with individuals that he would put little to no trust in. When he was out here he was alone, or in this case with Kazuya, the only person he did trust. He couldn't possibly be more at ease, although he still remained alert for possible attackers. While he trusted Kazuya, he found it difficult to trust the other ninja of the world, as some were always looking for a way to gain, and robbery tended to be their method of choice.

Fenrir thought too, but not of village affairs. He thought of the summit they were headed to. Fenrir had been told that they were going to a Kage Summit, an event which he had never witnessed. A meeting between the five most powerful shinobi in the world, along with one suboordinate each, seemed like a recipe for disaster. Fenrir knew that Kazuya would be able to keep a level head, and thought the same of himself, but he hadn't met many ninja from other villages that he could say the same of. Whenever members of opposite villages encountered each other, it could be even worse than when Uchiha and Hyuuga fought, or when the Senju and Uchiha fought. Once again, Fenrir thought about how much his clan seemed to fight, the thought taking him back to the genin he had been training when he left. He wasn't sure why, but she wouldn't leave his head. For the rest of the trip, she remained in the back of the head, accompanied by darker thoughts of the past. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop trying to think of who she reminded him of. None of this would show on his mask-covered face, simply uneasy thoughts within a restless mind.

(Exit to Land of Iron)