Through the eyes of the Blind.
A Naruto fan fiction
By: Tayuya fan boy.
Chapter one: A walk in the forest.
On a road, there walked a man. Not just any road, but a road that wound through the great forests of the Leaf Village. Today the road was quiet; save for this man there had not passed much traffic. The Leaf Village was not popular for its hospitality towards travelers and as such the roads to and fro was seldom busy, but today seemed as best; peculiar. Perhaps it was because a stranger had come to visit, or something stirred with in the village that had made this day seem uncharacteristic of a day in the Leaf's forest. What it may have been was of no concern to the traveling man. He had little intention to meddle in the affairs of the local shenobi, and was by him self no more than a weary traveler seeking an audience with the Hokage. Why? He would not say - even if asked.
How ever strange this day may have seemed, it would not appear as odd as the man walking the road. A quick glance and even the most untrained eye; not that many of those were watching the roads; could tell that he was not a local. He was not, not so far a local as the other villages were concerned either. No, his home was far and widely distant. Perhaps the reason for his strange apparel, yet one who seems odd in a place where odd could lead to death shrouded by mystery, is not all that wise. How ever, despite better judgment, the man had made no effort to appear in an appealing way. It was not that he did not wish to it was simply a matter of he could not; for the fact was that he was blind. Even if he wanted to appear as a local, he could not, for he has no idea what they look like. So, all his life, even all his travels in strange places, he had stuck to wearing the clothes that was his. It was traditional to his tribe and even though he had no way of telling what it seemed like, he had worn his clothes with the same distinctive pride as the other members of his tribe. That was; long cotton robes, of various colors, loose under shirts and pants, and the traditional masks that had practical uses in the dessert. His was of blue color, now long bleached and faded by the weathers of his travels, tied to his waist by a long yet thin sash that would appear to have little other uses. His mask, made from the fine silver found in his dessert home, covered for the most part his eyes; for which there were no slits; and the bridge of his nose while the rest of his face and neck was shaded by the blue linen that tied the mask to his head. He also wore a turban on his head, but the turban was of a special kind and was removed as rarely as his mask.
Yet as strange as he seemed; in these parts of the world; there were two other facts about this man that was particular and in a sense to others strange, besides his lack of sight. The first was; he never revealed his face to anyone. He had good reason why, but the reason that most people had accepted was because it is considered impolite to stare at a blind man's face. Yet, even though he does shun his pale eyes from the world, this was not his reason. The second was; he had no name. Yes, it does in fact seem strange; a blind man, always alone, who is a stranger by no name. He had a name, yet he had sworn his name for no one to know until the debts of his people would be settled. What debts? He would not say – even if asked.
He walked, the way he always walked, in a steady rhythmic pace. Most of the locals have lost the sensibility to walk, especially the way he walked. This was a trade he had learned from the wasting deserts of his home; run in the desert and the camels would find your corpse soon enough, probably eaten by the vultures. He had, since leaving his home behind, kept to the principles that was taught to him there. It took some time, but the results showed, not only in reaching one's destination but also in the patience that one is taught by an enlightening walk. However, the dust of these roads had the tendency to settle on his robe, and upon entering a village would make him appear to have little sense of what a wash is. He had, despite being in a constant state of worry for his hygiene, come to accept this as a sign of the long days he had spent traveling. He enjoyed traveling; not that he could see the world; but experienced it none the less. His travels had a purpose and would one day come to an end. The first key to the end of his travels was now not far off; in fact it was just around the next bend – the front gate of the Leaf village. All he had to do now was pass through, but this may not be as easy as just walking through the front door; or could it? When he had set out earlier, he had hoped it would be that easy. The idea was to ask for an audience with the Hokage, or at least entrance to the village and then spending some time walking the streets as a blind piper until the Hokage had time to see him. He had waited some time for an opportunity to see the Hokage, and now he was having second thoughts. Something about this day did seem . . . odd.
The Blind Piper stopped. Activity by the gate had caught the attention of his fine ears, the sound of voices, heartbeats and breathing trailed down the road. He was before the bend now, leaning against a tree out of sight from the road, listening more closely. Judging by the density of the bones that muffled their heartbeats, the piper could tell there were seven male, one female, and a mutt; the dog he had caught scent of now as well. Two of the men were distant from those who crowded the gate. 'Probably the gate guards.' He thought quietly.
The female's heart beat erratically, almost as if uncertain of how it is supposed to beat. Beating fast, then slow and soft, caught in a broken pattern. 'Was she heartbroken?' It sounded that way. The five males that stood by, caught in brief conversation, had their hearts beating rapidly. 'Preparing for combat.' Piper's thoughts stated his observation. The dog's emotions were the easiest to decipher. It was at the same time in a state of contentment, slight fear and excitement. One male, whom Piper had immediately identified as platoon leader, was assessing the best strategy to undertake; and it seemed as though he had a mind for tactics. However, due to unawareness his fine strategy had given away the entire purpose of his unit. The Piper was glad to have stumbled upon such a lucky find of situation. So, there was something stirring in the village. Call it a blind man's sense.
'Perhaps it would be worth to investigate their hunt?' Piper thought. 'It might give me some insight into what to expect of the Leaf shenobi. It might also buy me time, with the village in a state of alert, I doubt to find entrance easy. Perhaps if the dust had settled, I could try again.' He felt disappointed. Yet again had his purpose been halted by the purpose of another. 'Perhaps…' He thought up hope. '…If I could aid them in some circumstance, I might find favor with the village. Then passage would be as easy as walking passed the front gate.' Though not visible behind the linen of his mask, the Piper smiled, or rather more grinned in a pleased manner; if it was at all possible to see, it might have seemed like an evil, sinister grin. The Piper, as he so often did, disappeared.
It dawned on him only moments later, after he had settled his thoughts, to look for the one the Leaf shinobi was looking for. Passing the road he had not heard anything, and that did disturb him. He does not mind not seeing anything, for he could not from birth, but when his ears failed to notice, it gave him reason to implore why? 'Could it be that this shinobi, or rogue ninja, was simply that good?' He thought, as he hung away in the distance. He had to maintain an extensive distance for, as he learned, one among the platoon had the eyes he had heard rumored belonged to the Hyuuga clan; residents of the Leaf. This held particular interest for Piper; he had still to hear it in combat. 'No.' His thoughts trailed. 'There was only one who could evade my ears. An Anbu ninja, one I have a score to settle with.' He still could not locate the other ninja, but that was the thing about sound. Unlike sight, the ear has the ability to notice only a selected amount of sound, especially if other sounds were present. Above the rumbling feet of the ninjas ahead of him, it was difficult to hear anything else, but a well trained ear; such as his; could extend the range of its selection. They crossed some ground before Piper caught sound of the hunted, which appeared to have stopped briefly but was now moving again. Their feet, four pair by the sound of it, made less noise than that of the Leaf shinobi. All but two of their group. The first thumped loudly on the branches because of its heavy weight, and the other because it was encumbered by some form of wooden furniture. It was wooden, judging by the way it absorbed sound, was hollow on the inside and circular in construction. It had content, but about this he heard little. 'What did these thieves steal?' Piper thought quietly in the rear distance. 'Certainly the Leaf holds little prospects for endeavoring thieves. Unless you're into trait secrets, which are many people's business, but then one should hire more capable thieves, surely.' Little about the second group of shinobi was revealed to the Blind Piper, but facts about the Leaf's platoon streamed in; for them he had little concern, he sought to know why the Leaf would be under attack. It's been a while since he traveled this region, and news of the Leaf had eluded his ears, though only because he was out of range.
'I can not pass by these shinobi.' He thought to him self, listening to the thumping trail left behind by the Leaf platoon. 'I might move into the sight of that byakugan, and beside that, their hound may pickup on my scent despite being preoccupied with the enemies'. I could rouse their suspicion. I suppose I would have to curb my enthusiasm, for a little while, watching this play out from behind.' He gathered what he knew, listening as far off as his abilities permitted. They were headed away from the village in a hastily pace, moving in the direction of the border. There the Leaf had little authority, but what the Piper still could not decipher was their final destination. 'For some, the forest might be the final destination.' He thought. The shinobi groups sped across the branches, as Piper followed slowly behind, his sandals soundless and trackless on the floor of the forest.
He stopped abruptly. They had stopped abruptly. It appears one of the group's members had stopped to face the Leaf shinobi. Either they had a lot of confidence, with good reason, or they had no remorse for sacrificing one of the team. If the latter would have been true, then so would the first; yet most obviously, the Leaf was dealing with a ruthless group.
It was the heavy set male who had volunteered, although Piper had only now heard that he was male, and that was if he had volunteered. Judging by how he stood about with confidence nearly as big as he was, he had most certainly volunteered. Who would not be confident with a structure like that, but as a blind man might suggest; never judge by what you see, unless what you see is what you have heard. Something, however, seemed vaguely familiar about this man, as if he had heard of him before. 'Yes.' Piper's thoughts agreed as he hung back, listening in on the fight. 'Largely build, rude as an ox and a dangerous bandit. This must be Jirobo of the south gate, member of the sound four but…' Piper's thoughts paused, he was caught in uncertainty. 'What would Orochimaru want to steal from the Leaf? Surely his work with Sarutobi ended, slightly out of fashion, but had still ended.' Piper's thoughts trailed from the combat scene, and were surprised to find that the Leaf shinobi was caught in a clay dome when his senses returned. It was not surprising; Jirobo was a master of the Earth release jutsus and famous for being a chakra thief. Piper could tell that was his intention from the low hum of chakra flow that emanated from the earth dome. 'It would be interesting to know if the Leaf shinobi was aware of the chakra drain. It would tell a lot of their abilities if they were.' He thought. He had heard a lot of rumors about the sound fives, fascinating stories about their ability in combat and how they train on unwary travelers. The most fascinating was of course, Kimimaro and his unique blood limits. Then there was the others as well, Sakon and Ukon, that arachnid specialist and the Kunoichi that formed the whole of their unit. Loyalists to Orochimaru. However, he had only noticed four members, and was now certain that Kimimaro was missing; he would have easily recognized him, or at least the way his dense bone structure absorbed sound. The first time he had heard that unique talent, Piper was fascinated; being himself also unique because of his own blood limit. Other than that Kimimaro was a friend, only because they have had the opportunity to train together, once upon a time. Kimimaro was younger than him by a couple of years, and his own talent had surpassed that of Kimimaro. To date, Piper is aware, that he has been the only one to have broken Kimimaro's bones. To be precise, both his arms and several ribs, and some of the extras he was able to grow. Yet of course, this did little to hamper Kimimaro's fighting ability. None the less, Piper had found a serene and very enjoyable challenge in Kimimaro; it would have been one friendship he would have cherished, had Kimimaro not had other priorities. 'I should have to reassess my loyalties.' Piper thought, intrigued with how this day played out so far. 'Indeed, had thought this day held a strange tang to it.'
Piper's senses were restored once again by the sound of earth tearing apart. They escaped, it seemed. To what use though? Jirobo was a formidable talent, and with the rumors that Leaf shinobi had little talent; rumors that had started because of their failure to complete the chuunin exam, some time ago; this chase may as well end here. However, Piper did not entirely believe this, proven by him staying a while longer to see this play out. He may admit though, he stayed purely out of curiosity to learn exactly what Orochimaru would want from the village. A new vessel perhaps? Orochimaru's hunger for power certainly did not limit himself to mortality. 'Yes indeed, Death is a charming fellow.' He thought. 'Hard to elude, but easy to persuade.' Combat out in front on the forest floor had come to a short stand off; it seemed that the Leaf shinobi was intent to split their group as well. Moments passed, the group shod off once again on the high branches. Another reason Piper had stayed was for the opportunity to see the byakugan in action; it was the fourth eye he had learned of and hoped for the opportunity to see its talent in action. He was not being granted this yet, as a fat kid had stayed behind to face Jirobo. He had no interest in seeing this kid get slaughtered, so he quietly snuck away to follow the others.
It took Piper precious time to catch up once again, by which time the Leaf shinobi was already caught in Kidomaru's famous spider nets. It seemed these Leaf idiots had the tendency to fall into traps. Piper almost thought it was intentional, but that would be an insult to the sound ninja. He stood by idly, quietly within the shadows. He knew they could not see him, except for that Hyuuga kid. He leaned against a tree, listening in. The group had split once again, and this time Piper's wishes came true, as the Hyuuga stayed behind. It was apparent that his gentle fist techniques were well suited to challenge Kidomaru; this should be interesting. The fight continued, and Piper could not believe his luck, or his ears. This Hyuuga kid was a few talents short of being a genius, but certainly had the confidence. Piper had learned that the byakugan has its weakness, which Kidomaru exploited, but made up for it when it counted. 'No, this kid is up to his neck in it.' Piper thought. The Hyuuga did surprise him in the end though. 'Perhaps these rumors of a weakened Leaf, is not true after all. I did perhaps under estimate their abilities. Also on account that Jirobo have not come stomping by yet.'
Piper stepped out from the shadows, his steps, as always, silent and trackless. He came to stand between the two bodies that lay in the dust, both were dead. On the cheek of the Hyuuga rested a small leaf. 'The leaf is calling to its own.' Piper thought, his face expressionless in the sight of death. 'Maybe he could still live. It would be a waste to see such talent go to waste.' He stood over the Hyuuga now, peering through the veils of his mask. For a moment Piper wished he could see if only to glance upon the fourth eye of legend. He was content not to though, but wished now rather for the chance to fight against it. The same way he would get the chance to face the Sharingan, one day. 'Of course…' It dawned on him. '…That's what Orochimaru is after. The sly, yet intelligent, bastard.' Piper smiled faintly, though not visible.
Piper sat down, legs crossed, back turned to the Hyuuga's corpse. He fished out his flute from the inner pockets of his robes, and began to play a soundless song. No one could hear this song, except those who are beyond the living; but that was only rumored to be so in legend. Piper had never heard the Death song him self, but he knew how to play it, and played it often. He finished the song, there was feint sounds of almost non existing footsteps behind him followed by the clink of a coin dropped in the dust. 'Yes.' Piper thought. 'Death is a charming fellow. Hard to elude, easy to persuade. Just play him a song only he can hear, and he will leave a coin and a soul untouched. Or so is said the legend of the Death song.' Piper grinned. He did it again. Piper fetched the coin from the dust, felt it with his fingers and put it away, along with his flute. The coin held the face of the Hyuuga. He left behind the corpse of Kidomaru; and the Hyuuga kid with the leaf still resting upon his face; as he went in search of the remaining groups, if there were any remains.
Some distance away he found traces of movement, shrouded by the scent of a hound. It appeared that the ninja with the hound had taken a detour towards the river, accompanied by Sakon and Ukon. He was interested in pursuing them, but had already collected what he sought. The coin in his pocket would proof to be an adequate bargaining chip, with it he could buy his way into the Leaf village. Surely, the Hokage would be concerned with the life of a fellow shinobi, but entrance this way might seem rude. Deeper into the forest, Piper became aware, sounded with battle. Several explosions, probably from paper bombs and smoke grenades, had caught his attention. Somebody was certainly caught in a furious fight. 'Possibly that scruffy kid with the loud mouth.' Piper thought, but was not entirely certain. He chose to investigate rather deeper into the forest, it did seem as though Sakon and Ukon had their opponent silent. He approached the combat scene cautiously, catching wind of flute music. He froze; no one he knew among the sound five played the flute, so far as he heard rumors. It was a strange melody, appearing to have no musical structure. It sounded; at most simple way to describe it; as if the flutist played selective notes in an unstructured pattern; it seemed odd. The notes appeared random, but the more Piper listened he was able to gather the structure and purpose of the music; it was, he deducted, a puppeteer charm. 'Oh, you sly piper.' He thought, smiling in fascination. He closed in on the scene, the music becoming louder. The flutist was certainly capable of maintaining good breath control, not expecting less of a puppeteer technique's requirements, but this person played without a single pause. "Fascinating!'
Piper pitched his ears, there was no sign of the opponent but this was probably because he was hiding; however, the sounds of the flute did make it difficult to perceive the details of the fight, mostly concerning the flutist. The music stopped, there was a scuffle as the opponent appeared, followed by a successive poofing sound. The puppets disappearing. It was the platoon leader that had taken on this fight, which meant that the scruffy kid had gone on ahead, but Piper was not sure why. The wooden baggage was also gone. 'Perhaps Kimimaro awaited them from the edge of the forest, to carry away the…coffin?' Piper thought. 'So, Orochimaru did collect a vessel. Not using you, Kimimaro? No, you're too weak by now, aren't you?' He was aware of Kimimaro's condition, and hoped silently to get the chance to pay him a final goodbye. Something happened up ahead, the same strange tang in the air he had sensed earlier, and had experienced moments before, tainted the air of the forest. He noticed now that the flutist was female, a kunoichi – the only kunoichi of the sound five; Tayuya. He had heard little of her, except that she was a rude, foul mouthed bitch. He had never crossed paths with anyone who had faced her in combat yet, and there for knew little of the jutsus that she possessed. The sounds of cloth sailing through the wind reached him; she had just unleashed her cursed seal. 'This might be interesting to see.' Piper thought. 'Indeed, what a day.' He grinned. 'A coin and a show; a show of a fine specimen.' He attempted to scan Tayuya with his available senses as far as his ability could let him, he was hopeful to be the first to tell tales of her ability. Another feat he could tuck into his sash; it was thought that no one ever survived after a run in with this girl. 'Probably never had a boyfriend? No doubt he can hear the Death song, if she ever had one.' Piper wanted to laugh, but was certain they would hear him; not at any time a good thing. 'So, little Tayuya, what songs can you play?' He listened…
There was talk, then the battle resumed. A new song played, one with enchanting quality and a slightly, in a strange way, beautiful melody. Piper listened closely, and then became aware of the sound's quality. Shock traveled through his body; it started at his ears and tingled down to his toes and made his neck hair stand erect. 'Genjutsu!' His thoughts chocked. 'And one that targets my major sense! This is it. So that is the last thing one would hear, go figure.' He prepared to resist, it was not intent to target him, but he could become a victim none the less. The sound traveled like an avalanche towards him, ready to plunge him to certain death. "Release!" Piper spat under his breath, poised to reject her Genjutsu while he hoped no one heard him. It worked, but only barely. He pitched his ears; the song had stopped, there was movement but not in his direction. She was too busy collecting yet another victim to notice him, rather thankfully Piper relaxed. 'That was close.' The battle was not over, by the sound of it. She was now caught in his trap. 'How did he…' He noticed his broken finger, and then reality dawned on him. 'A shadow bender!' Piper's eyes, if it was visible, grew rapidly, threatening to leave no space for his face. It took him several breaths to calm him self; his heart beated madly and he began to sweat. 'Would this one have the answers I'm looking for?' Piper thought, he had trouble focusing as his thoughts paced a thousand words a second. Old glimpses of a time he had wished to forget, but could never let go, flashed before his eyes. Piper could see… Piper could relive…those moments. 'Does it matter?' He said to his own mind; his hand had slipped under his robe absent mindedly, gripping the hilt of his sword. He could not release his tight grip; his hand would not let him, his heart paced. He tried again, still no reaction from his hand. He had to calm down; he could not let his anger and anxiety control or conflict with his actions. 'Later.' He attempted to persuade his hand. 'Soon.' He began to relax, then: 'NOW!' His mind yelled. He could not control him self as his hand swung out his sword from underneath his robe. He began walking towards the two struggling figures in a cold, slow pace. Murder was on his mind, and it clouded his conscious thought process. His senses awakened, more than it has for years – it's been a while since his last episode. What, it must have been four years to the day? That did not matter though; all he saw was his need to shed the blood of that vile, wretched shadow bender. Then he heard it, it was far away but closing in rapidly. Three more shinobi, possibly backup. His mind returned slowly, yet surely. When he came about, he found himself standing a few feet away from the battleground. The approaching shinobi had forked their movements; one headed for the river, the other this way, and another seemed to avoid any contact as it headed out front. Piper disappeared; his sword snuggled back in place on his back. 'Perhaps I should store my sword where my hand could not find it, next time.' He thought idly, as he returned to a distant look in spot. He returned his attention to the battle in front, where the new reinforcement had just shown up. Tayuya had retreated to a safe distance, and was probably planning to employ a second Genjutsu assault. Piper wanted to leave, but decided to stand by. Maybe he could see more tricks be pulled from Tayuya's elusive bag. The new arrival was female and, by the sounds of her heart beat, was familiar with this shadow bender. 'Let's not go there again.' Quite familiar, it seemed.
She had a strange weapon with her, a fan. 'So like a girl.' Piper thought sarcastically. 'However, if this one uses wind style jutsus, Tayuya might be in for it. She does not have any weapons, other than her flute, which means wind is the superior force here.' He listened closely as combat resumed, but knew Tayuya would not survive. Not only is she out matched, but also out numbered. 'It would be sad to play witness to the demise of a fellow flutist, and we have a common enemy. No doubt she would seek revenge.' Piper began to convince himself. He was a good guy, only a little misunderstood. 'Why not? I suppose. I did save the life of a Leaf shinobi; it would only be fair to repay the sound in kind. Should not though, expect a reward from Orochimaru.' Piper snickered. He readied himself, awaiting the perfect moment to snatch her out of combat.
Winds stormed through the trees cutting the forest to ribbons, Tayuya was the obvious target but it seemed as though this kunoichi had forgotten that. Piper saw his chance, and grabbed it. Two strikes had hit Tayuya by the time he was able to grab her, tearing into her flesh. He had to make a starting run, jumped in, grabbed her and skidded off a flying log, landing on the outskirts of the wasted battlefield. He came through unscaved, moving too fast to be touched by the piercing winds. He propped the unconscious body of Tayuya against a tree, and leaned in to listen if he could find her flute. It laid some distance away, among the rubble of logs and leafs. He dashed in, collected the three pieces and disappeared again. He pulled Tayuya over his shoulder, her blood soiling his robe to make it appear almost purple in color. He paused to listen if they had spotted him; they did not. They were too busy noticing each other, to notice his fast movements. He shook his head as he walked away, disappointed about the amount of destruction caused by the kunoichi's attack. 'What can you expect of a desert dweller?' He thought to himself.
He had to stop for a moment to tend to Tayuya's wounds, and did so a short but safe distance away. She suffered for the most part only flesh wounds, deep but nothing serious. Piper suspected that her pride may have taken a bigger knock, and of course her flute was damaged. 'Nothing I can't fix.' Piper thought, running his fingers over Tayuya's flute. Though he would do that later, first there was the case of her broken body. He paused, for some time, after he kneeled beside her. He had studied numerous medical journals and books; it was a common trade in his home desert; and knew how to treat her, but it was just that he had never worked on a female before. Sure, the books he had read and studied did cover unisexual medical knowledge, but it was not the knowledge that lacked. He was not sure about the correct manners. 'Should I wake her and ask for permission to tear her shirt off?' He thought, but she would be in immense pain. 'I could concoct an herbal pain killer. I still have some of the herbs that Sasori sold me.' While his thoughts wavered, so did she. He decided that he would remain discreet. 'Tear her shirt off, but cover her again. It's not like she can accuse me of anything, I can barely see. I would have had to feel my way around though.' Piper thought, and then was confronted by thoughts he has not had much experience with. He tore her shirt off in any case, putting his thoughts aside. The first and major wound she had suffered spread across her chest. It felt almost like an askew sword wound, starting below her shoulder all the way down into her left rib cage, avoiding the most part of her… Strange and unfamiliar thoughts crossed his mind again. He had come to know these things simply as pectoral glands, other men had several words to describe it; he preferred his own, it led to less distractions. She was loosing blood, he had to act and not dwindle on his thoughts. He straightened his mind, as he began sewing her back together with the supplies from his medical pouch. No one knew exactly where he stored anything on his person, but it never seemed as though he carried anything on him. This was his method of avoiding the hassle of having to teach a thief a few lessons, and where he walked so did many thieves. After her wound was sown up, he treated it with a soft gel. It was a herbal mixture from the desert he knew as his home, which aided recovery, cleansing and ensured that scars would not remain afterwards. He repeated the procedure on her second wound, which was located across her thigh. It spread from a few inches above her knee cap, curling around her thigh to her hip. While sewing her wound shut, Piper noticed that her lower back was also wounded. It sounded as if her lower vertebra was broken. This, Piper deducted, must have happened when he grabbed her; at that speed he is capable of applying enough force. He broke Kimimaro's arms in the same way, so it came as little surprise to him. To treat this, he would have to make a strong carriage that would be capable of holding her back in place while he carried her. He clothed her in a spare robe that he pulled from his traveling bag, and went in search of wood to build what he had in mind. He had to hurry, he knew, by now the cleaning crew would be sweeping the forest for her remains. He returned quickly, she was still fast asleep groaning with pain. 'Yes, I will give you that painkiller as soon as you're awake.' He thought as he began timbering the carriage together. He was an excellent carpenter, this he had learned through his travels doing day end jobs where ever possible.
Moments later the Blind Piper was walking again, Tayuya tightly strapped in the carriage he had swung across his shoulders. He was aiming to be at the sound village by sun down, and had to make up a lot of lost time; especially if he wanted to return to the Leaf with his bargaining chip. Everything was back on track, he had luggage but this he would shake off momentarily. In fact, things were much better; he had found a way into the Leaf village. That was something he had sought to find for four years, and was denied several times. Yet, now with the new Hokage taking seat, and her having a reason to see him, things might just go his way, he hoped. The Leaf had eluded him far too long, and he would not let anything get in his way again.