"Secondly, while you are in Sand, we believe it would be wise of you to attempt to speak to the Kazekage. If this is not feasible for whatever reason, then please inform me why on return message. Otherwise do so. You do not have to form a solid channel between our village and theirs; simply indicating that should things come to a head between Sand and most other governments in that region, Moon would back them."
So the letter had said. And while Makoto was desperately not-thinking about most of the rest of the letter, that part...that part he could do. After some thought, that was the most interesting section of the whole thing.
Because the idea that, even in a small degree such as this, Moon was willing to break its vaunted neutrality...that meant something big was afoot. Something he had relayed to his traveling companions, just so they would be prepared in case it happened soon. But it had also occurred to him that he hadn't done a whole lot of investigating into the frankly alarming rumours going on around the country.
At the same time, even if they had worked together before on a mission, Sousuke might not want foreigners poking around into Sand affairs. (Actually, that didn't seem to be the case; Nanami had previous acquaintance with both Sand nin on that mission, after all. But Nanami was a civilian doctor, and that was not really the same thing as a foreign ninja.)
More to the point, the last time he had been there he had identified himself as a mercenary. That...might prove difficult to explain away.
Of course, the very day he decided he ought to go and do that and started on his way from the hotel to the tower, the whole setup changed. He stopped in his tracks in the streets of Sietch Zensunna, conflicted.
Ah.
Did that change things...? Maybe a little.
Not a lot, I should think. Wasn't that the other Sunan on the team...?
Was he? He pondered for a second. You know, I think you're right. That seems fortunate. Or rather, I don't know as if that's luck rather than Sand having demonstrated a real commitment to ending the storm.
He resumed walking. Either way, it was still a sort of luck. Although, he certainly hadn't known at the time that Katsuo was the heir to an ancient bloodline that historically ruled Sand any more than he'd known Sousuke was the Kazekage at the time.
Well. Steward Kazekage.
The significance of that now being apparent.
I have never understood how humans passed down titles through bloodlines. There is no guarantee your descendants will be adept at ruling.
My family sort of does it too. It's...complicated. He tried to think of how to put it in a way that didn't sound snobby. Well, basically, if you know from a young age that you're going to take over, it gives you more time to practice the necessary skills, as well as having people close to teach you them.
I suppose that could be an advantage. It sounded a bit dubious. Regardless, that isn't important--what little I recall of the past mission, and your impressions of it, indicates we still will not have any problems.
Hopefully.
The question was whether Moon's limited an nebulous assistance would actually be of any worth to Sand, or rather whether the Kazekage would consider them such. The leaders would no doubt try to maintain their neutrality just in case Sand's enemy's carried the day, but if his mother was sending such straightforward information to him, they would not be displeased if he threw in with the village. What it would actually amount to was his assistance, possibly Sheimi's as well. Tatsuya would be a good hand to watch Miki in the meantime; he wasn't actually a Moon ninja and had no obligation to any of this.
When Sand had just declared war on Wind that...might not be much of a weight added to their side of the scale. One, maybe two ninja from a country not traditionally known for warfare...that was probably not a big deal.
And did this mean Katsuo intended for Sand to take over the Wind Country government...?
There are...presumably...good reasons for this.
He did know that Wind Country's government was shady, after all. Still, operating in the light of day, openly, wasn't exactly something he had been taught to do as a Warden.
It was a stirring speech, all in all. But Makoto had never been especially moved by emotion; he was a practical person at his core. And he was unsure if Sand was really prepared to go to war. That didn't mean he didn't think he should side with them. No. It meant he was unsure of victory. And if he openly identified where he was from, and then they lost...
So he had a solution to that, really. The simplest one in the world. One that had, in all truth, occurred to him when he had read his mother's letter; either she or whoever she had obtained the information from had clearer seen this end result coming. And if Moon was leaning toward pitching on Sand's side--even if they hadn't and would never declare such openly--that meant that their intelligence suspected Sand held the advantage.
The Kazekage Tower rose in the sands above him as he approached, gleaming a dull silver. Ostentatious, certainly; an official ninja village vanity, most likely. But then, Sand seemed far more fond of tall buildings than he was used to. Perhaps it was only natural for people who had spent decades underground to want to touch the sky.
(Or perhaps it just looked tall to him because Moon's buildings usually were, at the most, two stories. When he drew nearer to it and nearly level with the base, it did not seem quite so lofty.)
There weren't many people left in front of it when he reached it; he had intentionally dawdled extensively while thinking. His long black and blue coat billowed out behind him as he walked toward the entrance with deliberate steps now, expression even. He wasn't going to see the Kazekage, past acquaintance or no, by bounding up like an enthusiastic Genin. With his height, he might even be mistaken for one around here.
The only proof he had of his nationality was his passport, tucked in his pocket. But he also had that stamp identifying him as a friend of Sand on the visa tucked into his passport, so...just in case Katsuo had forgotten him from the Maelstrom mission...
"Stay safe."
His mother wouldn't have signed off with that unless she anticipated danger. And it had never, in his experience, been wise to ignore her instincts.
He glanced around as he entered, uncertain where to go.
"I'm here to see the Kazekage."
So the letter had said. And while Makoto was desperately not-thinking about most of the rest of the letter, that part...that part he could do. After some thought, that was the most interesting section of the whole thing.
Because the idea that, even in a small degree such as this, Moon was willing to break its vaunted neutrality...that meant something big was afoot. Something he had relayed to his traveling companions, just so they would be prepared in case it happened soon. But it had also occurred to him that he hadn't done a whole lot of investigating into the frankly alarming rumours going on around the country.
At the same time, even if they had worked together before on a mission, Sousuke might not want foreigners poking around into Sand affairs. (Actually, that didn't seem to be the case; Nanami had previous acquaintance with both Sand nin on that mission, after all. But Nanami was a civilian doctor, and that was not really the same thing as a foreign ninja.)
More to the point, the last time he had been there he had identified himself as a mercenary. That...might prove difficult to explain away.
Of course, the very day he decided he ought to go and do that and started on his way from the hotel to the tower, the whole setup changed. He stopped in his tracks in the streets of Sietch Zensunna, conflicted.
Ah.
Did that change things...? Maybe a little.
Not a lot, I should think. Wasn't that the other Sunan on the team...?
Was he? He pondered for a second. You know, I think you're right. That seems fortunate. Or rather, I don't know as if that's luck rather than Sand having demonstrated a real commitment to ending the storm.
He resumed walking. Either way, it was still a sort of luck. Although, he certainly hadn't known at the time that Katsuo was the heir to an ancient bloodline that historically ruled Sand any more than he'd known Sousuke was the Kazekage at the time.
Well. Steward Kazekage.
The significance of that now being apparent.
I have never understood how humans passed down titles through bloodlines. There is no guarantee your descendants will be adept at ruling.
My family sort of does it too. It's...complicated. He tried to think of how to put it in a way that didn't sound snobby. Well, basically, if you know from a young age that you're going to take over, it gives you more time to practice the necessary skills, as well as having people close to teach you them.
I suppose that could be an advantage. It sounded a bit dubious. Regardless, that isn't important--what little I recall of the past mission, and your impressions of it, indicates we still will not have any problems.
Hopefully.
The question was whether Moon's limited an nebulous assistance would actually be of any worth to Sand, or rather whether the Kazekage would consider them such. The leaders would no doubt try to maintain their neutrality just in case Sand's enemy's carried the day, but if his mother was sending such straightforward information to him, they would not be displeased if he threw in with the village. What it would actually amount to was his assistance, possibly Sheimi's as well. Tatsuya would be a good hand to watch Miki in the meantime; he wasn't actually a Moon ninja and had no obligation to any of this.
When Sand had just declared war on Wind that...might not be much of a weight added to their side of the scale. One, maybe two ninja from a country not traditionally known for warfare...that was probably not a big deal.
And did this mean Katsuo intended for Sand to take over the Wind Country government...?
There are...presumably...good reasons for this.
He did know that Wind Country's government was shady, after all. Still, operating in the light of day, openly, wasn't exactly something he had been taught to do as a Warden.
It was a stirring speech, all in all. But Makoto had never been especially moved by emotion; he was a practical person at his core. And he was unsure if Sand was really prepared to go to war. That didn't mean he didn't think he should side with them. No. It meant he was unsure of victory. And if he openly identified where he was from, and then they lost...
So he had a solution to that, really. The simplest one in the world. One that had, in all truth, occurred to him when he had read his mother's letter; either she or whoever she had obtained the information from had clearer seen this end result coming. And if Moon was leaning toward pitching on Sand's side--even if they hadn't and would never declare such openly--that meant that their intelligence suspected Sand held the advantage.
The Kazekage Tower rose in the sands above him as he approached, gleaming a dull silver. Ostentatious, certainly; an official ninja village vanity, most likely. But then, Sand seemed far more fond of tall buildings than he was used to. Perhaps it was only natural for people who had spent decades underground to want to touch the sky.
(Or perhaps it just looked tall to him because Moon's buildings usually were, at the most, two stories. When he drew nearer to it and nearly level with the base, it did not seem quite so lofty.)
There weren't many people left in front of it when he reached it; he had intentionally dawdled extensively while thinking. His long black and blue coat billowed out behind him as he walked toward the entrance with deliberate steps now, expression even. He wasn't going to see the Kazekage, past acquaintance or no, by bounding up like an enthusiastic Genin. With his height, he might even be mistaken for one around here.
The only proof he had of his nationality was his passport, tucked in his pocket. But he also had that stamp identifying him as a friend of Sand on the visa tucked into his passport, so...just in case Katsuo had forgotten him from the Maelstrom mission...
"Stay safe."
His mother wouldn't have signed off with that unless she anticipated danger. And it had never, in his experience, been wise to ignore her instincts.
He glanced around as he entered, uncertain where to go.
"I'm here to see the Kazekage."
