Sakura and her husband left Union HQ in the later hours of the night, not even past an hour from the middle of it. They'd planned this to be the case, and despite what some might think to be common sense, the pair – Sasuke, rather – found traveling alone would be far more effective, and safe, than bringing any accompaniment back to Konoha.

His wife secretly worried that his decision may be partly clouded by relics of the past, but she brushed it off, confident and well-aware of how capable he was in protecting the one he loved.

For Sasuke, this decision was more pertinent to the fact that both of them were more than capable of defending themselves – and along with Sakura's medical jutsu, and his own recently acquired knowledge in how to aid and still defend her, hopefully, if worst came to worst – he was certain that in the worst case scenario, if they had to fight, they could still run. And that was something he was counting on – his speed and secrecy in moving over vast, long distances with ease would prove invaluable here tonight.

He wanted to doubt that anyone might be interested in making a move against them, but the history of their world and his own experiences told him otherwise. And more than that, Sasuke knew that he could get the both of them to Konoha much more quickly, and much more secretly, than if anyone else had to come along.


"Won't you at least let some guards accompany you to the border?" Mifune had insisted on seeing them off, that is without anything more than stopping them and striking up the conversation before the pair had a chance to leave the massive stone buildings.

"No," Sasuke was insistent, he didn't want to take any chances of attracting attention – and more people meant more attention. He knew his plan, and he knew the responsibility and trust that had been placed in him.

The elderly man dropped his chin a little bit, just enough to stop himself and show some manner of the respect he felt Sasuke wasn't realizing to the man. "…If that is the case," he'd taken a moment before speaking, "I wish you well on your travels."

The darker-haired one already had Sakura's shoulder in his palm, guiding her towards the now open double-sided, reinforced doors, "Ha," was the only remark to escape the Uchiha's throat, though the man did make short eye contact with Mifune. And they were off.


The ex-general had been informed, of course, of Sakura's brief visit not too long ago. He hadn't instructed anyone to eavesdrop, but seeing as it would be near impossible not to do so considering the nature of their conversation – specifically, that no barrier obstructing eavesdropping other than the specialized stonework and layout of the building – it was for this reason, Mifune had become slightly concerned. Or perhaps it was more appropriate that his interest was piqued – Sakura didn't seem to want to say much to him, even with a guard or two present and available to help them if the couple had accepted it.

His concern was more for whatever connection existed between Eien and Sakura, and in this strenuous time, if there was a risk… Eien may know something of it, considering recent events and her perpetual fear over the Kuroi's activities.

That was his main concern.

And so, after the pair had travelled off a decent distance, nearly out of the watch's line of sight, he turned to the three men gathered with him. "Keep at a distance, only to the border. Do not reveal yourselves unless it is absolutely crucial to their survival." The samurai nodded and took a brief bow before rushing off, disappearing with nothing more than a gush of wind that rustled the old man's clothing.

'This better not be anything…' Mifune hoped against his seasoned intuition.


The following morning, just as the sun began creeping over the newly frosted land of Iron, the Kazekage headed towards the country's southwestern border, accompanied by a few Samurai and the shinobi from Waterfall village. They'd be splitting ways just after crossing the border, and the Samurai were more of a gesture in their presence than anything.

It didn't take long for the mountain paths to become slippery and treacherous as the morning sky lit up, warming the thin and thick sheets of ice and snow, causing the water to spill over and refreeze as soon as it reached shade once again.

Luckily for him, Gaara could just use his sand to overpass these conditions, but it would have been a bit too rude in the presence of Samurai, who were not skilled in any sort of practical ninjutsu at all, and the Waterfall-nin who technically, as tangential members of the Union, were in a way under him too. And so, the group took their time exercising caution and determination in navigating the sheer drops, cliffs, and climbs of the region.

For the Kazekage, he considered it a good opportunity in taijutsu training.


It wasn't until closer to the hour ten o'clock that their party reached a particular summit along the path, if they'd turned around Union HQ was visible some miles away. Several smaller peaks jutted out and around the building, it was nearing the end of winter season and they'd been very fortunate to have only a few snow-ins and two true blizzards this year.

The pine forests and sheer rockfaces, blanketed in a thin veil of ice and snow which disappeared more and more the longer they were out here; along with the sun's radiance and its brilliant interplay of reflections from the snow and ice, made for quite a scene. It was tranquil, almost otherworldly.

The group turned back towards the rest of their journey, bidding a nonverbal farewell to the Samurai accompanying them, just as the sounds of heavy footsteps were heard approaching from the opposite end of the steep rise.

The Samurai stopped, silently crouching and positioning themselves – despite such heavy armor, they'd been well trained in that art, at least. The Waterfall-nin were readied, Gaara himself prepared to offer his sound defenses and crushing, debilitating attacks at any moment.

The opposite party – by the sound of it they were ten, maybe twenty strong – came into view as they reached the summit, causing the Kazekage and his group to lower their battle-ready state and fully show themselves.

"Report!" One of the Samurai called out, there shouldn't be this large of a patrol all together at once.

"Sir," one of the opposing party answered, "There's been a lockdown at HQ. Communications are cut-" The red-headed leader's vision instantly turned back towards the building, nothing seemed out of sorts. For the building to be locked down meant only one of two things: an enemy attack or infiltration, or politics… He feared the second option more so, and that it were true.

"There was no communication prior?" Gaara asked, to which the Captain of the approaching Samurai's contingency shook his head. "We only know of it through scouting reports, a large group has gathered and its been growing steadily over the past hour."

'A large group of Samurai,' Gaara understood. That meant when the building was put to lockdown, meaning nobody could get in or out, the Samurai patrols and scouting units returning probably hung around there. It made perfect sense if communications were cut off too, none of them would have any idea what was going on or where to go – so they would, in all instances of their training, remain nearby in the event of a true infiltration or enemy attack. These Samurai, the fifteen or so of them, likely were made aware of the events and grouped together on their way back to HQ.

"Are your external comms open?" The Captain blinked at Gaara, before shaking his head slowly and in responding, "…No," they realized this meant a true shutdown of communications, something that would only be done in the event of either an infiltration so great as to affect politics, or due to a political concern.

The Kazekage fought off a sigh, he'd wanted to get back to Suna, check in on Shukaku, check in on his village. There had been some communication between them, he'd updated Kankurou and the village Elders, even sent a hawk out this morning. Now that had to change again… they would not be pleased.

He only hoped the political reasons were something good enough that he could use.

Silently, the group turned and headed back to Union HQ, this time with the help of Gaara's sand.