Ryu's feet left the soft heated area of the desert, only to return after a few weeks travel. How scenery could change so drastically so quickly was beyond him. Leaving the village behind Ryu made sure that the seal was working. With it the village would be protected for as long as it held against intruders. Even if by some amazing chance some crazy freak of nature managed to break the barrier, he could always put it back up. All he would have to do is make sure that it was stronger to ensure that it would not be broken again. Slowly as the walked, the boring sand and rocks of the desert was replaced with a grassy plain. Even the try air, that would often turn his throat raspy was transformed into humid area. Just by walking Ryu could tell that it had recently rained in the area, his feet sunk deeper and deeper into the mud with every step that he took. Even in the peaceful area, everything wasn't normal, he could see charred grass and dirt. Places where probably during one of the many storms that plagued this area had started a wild fire. With no people around to bother to put them out, it would obviously get out of control. At least on one occasion it had obviously covered an extremely large area leaving almost nothing but scarred earth in his path. As he walked he saw no wildlife, he was used to that. Everything but birds and a few lucky insects would most likely burn alive in this area anyway no much more to say about it. Ryu quickly got bored and continued moving, taking out a bottle of sake and began to drink. Over the years he had formed a high tolerance for the stuff, he could drink bottles of booze and still never get drunk. That came at the price of many drunken nights which after months of trying he still could not recall though. As he left the transition zone trees began to get more common. He was crossing off over into the fire country. Charred earth became a thing of the past and was replaced with lush green wildlife. Things actually managed to keep alive here and Ryu would enjoy the sights if he didn't feel threatened. He never had any intention of taking a detour around the world to get to his destination. But in that same concept that would mean going through the fire country. Sure it would be easy to walk around konoha, but avoiding everything else would be difficult.
If he was spotted by any other ninja he would have to fight his way out and he was ready for that. Twisting his goryu ring Ryu took off his headband from his arm and put it at his shoulder. Without it it would take someone getting extremely close and knowing of sands ranks to confirm who he was. By that time if they had managed to notice, they would already be dead. For about two days Ryu crept carefully though the land of fire, using a basic map to try his best to avoid the largest structures that would hold the highest concentration of people. He was hating this option, his caution was slowing him down to the point that maybe creeping through the other villages would have been faster. But unless he wanted to turn around and head back now, he was stuck doing this. After a while he finally came to the boarder of the land of fire. After he crossed here everything would be perfectly fine, just regular unclaimed areas and friendly territory. Sure he could run into a few bandits here and there, but that was the worst case scenario. If he did, well he wasn't going to be the one who got robbed. Taking out that bottle that held some sake Ryu began to cross over, into an unknown area. After nearly a week he felt like he had made some progress. At this rate he would make it back home in no time. What made things alot better, he wouldn't have to spend long in Kumokagura, it was just to see if the rumors were true the the raikage had been killed. But on his way back he knew for sure that he held no intentions of taking the same route. He would be easier and possibly more filling to cross though the many other villages instead of one huge one that they were not allied with. Slowly making his way through, Ryu was met with yet another drastic change of scenery. From lush forests that covered miles to high mountains and clouds. Chances were that he would get in without a problem, just since they should be expecting him. But as he got closer to the village he began to hear of things that happened. Quickly Ryu began to put them out of his mind, not wanting to get caught up in another villages affairs. He would quickly walk in find out what he needed and then leave. He kept that mindset through his entire travels and even as he headed through the gates and into the village.
Mon 29 Jul 2024, 3:32 pm by 
