Stone Barrier [Mission|O]

[Akihiko]

His travels had taken him from the gates of Kusagakure to the lands of earth. The voyage to Tsuchi no Kuni was a short trek, and his familiarity with the area only benefited his speeds. Increasing the ground covered in a day by two-fold, Mugen was forced to rest one night before continuing his search. However, at the break of dawn, he packed his camp and made way into a local city, where he hoped to search among the citizens for answers. Though it was likely that some bribery would be necessary to his cause, and as the thought crossed his mind, the shinobi promptly dug into his pockets. A scowl of disappoint as he remembered spending his last dime on that darn world map. Thankfully, this would serve to benefit himself and the village of kusagakure.

Standing at the edge of town, the shinobi threw his cape over his shoulders, buttoning it quickly at his neck. All at once he felt a temperature change, and the resistant material did well to cool him beneath the blazing sun of Tsuchi no Kuni. A suspecting gaze befell the small city, and Mugen made way to the bustling market. The roars of vendors advertising and competing for customers filled the streets, people played their hand at bargaining, and the daily entertainment ensued as planned. Step by step he made his way through crowded streets, ducking to avoid the consumers in their daily plight. But there was one who caught his eye, and old fortune teller who sat behind a swirling crystal ball.

^{— SEARCHING FOR IWAGAKURE}

[Akihiko]

She was an ugly old woman, a large nose protruding from her thickly wrinkled face, and her voice rang out like nails on a chalk board. "Helloooo my pretty, why not dabble with fate?" she laughed as her hands shifted around the aura of the small clear globe. The boy paused, wiping long locks of his golden mane from his gaze, his tongue flickering with excitement. I doubt you could help me in my quest to find Iwagakure," he whispered as he leaned in, grinning slightly as their gaze met. Her eyebrow arched, and the old woman threw herself back with a maniacal laugh.

"Boy, I have just the thing for you. Follow me," she cooed, leaving her comfortable stand and ducking into the building behind her. Curtains of beads marked the entrance, a strange passageway, but nothing less was to be expected of the traveling gypsies of the Tsuchi area. As he stepped into her house, he felt immediately immersed in the enigmatic air, a haze of sorts rose from her nightstand. The old woman had looked back to her follower, grinning once more before disappearing into a back room. In the meanwhile, Mugen found himself a seat on her sofa, leaning back with patience and excitement.

It was only moment later that she returned, a small parchment in her hands. "It isn't the answer you're looking for, but it should help you in your quest to find Iwagakure," she explained, handing him a letter written out to a 'Masamoto Ayame'. The letter, which was written by a close comrade of the women, spoke of an espionage mission in regards of the village of Iwagakure. Her constituent had made significant progress in his quest, but was unable to continue due to rising suspicion concerning their identities. This author of this poorly tailored letter, declared that the village was hidden well into the mountain range, and that a small path near the town meadow would lead him there. As he finished reading it, he returned it to the fortune teller, thanking her for her help. But as she guided him out the door she bid him farewell, offering him one last bit of advice in his search. "The meadow is just north of here, a couple miles north of our village clock tower." And like that, he was back out on the densely crowded streets of this village, searching again for answers.

^{— SEARCHING FOR IWAGAKURE}

[Akihiko]

A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he left the crowded streets of the market, moving towards the plaza at a hurried pace. It wasn't long before he came upon the village clocktower, a large manifest that brushed the clouds, stacked high on a throne of bricks. Mugen could only look up at it with appreciation, for this was the first step in his mission to find the village of Iwagakure. Pulling a small bronze compass from his pack, he held it in the view of sunlight. And after spinning several times around the axis, the small black hand finally pointed north. A grin and a nod was all it took for the shinobi to proceed, and so he tucked the compass into his pocket before escaping the bounds of the earth. With a powerful leap he began his advance, capering from tree to tree until the meadow came into full view.

The meadow was a small body of water, koi fish swam elegantly beneath the motionless pool. "Its around here somewhere..." he began, but Mugen was cut short by the distinct path marking entrance into the mountains. A small wooden sign pegged into the earth, read: "beware, tresspassers will be killed." The kagehebi couldn't help but to laugh, he knew the emptiness of these threats, and was certain that this path would eventually lead him to the gates he so sought. He stood briefly at the head of the path, smiling proudly before dispersing in a cloud of dust. The flaps of his dark endowment shuffled in the wind as he continued to climb upwards high into the mountains, leaping from one boulder to the next in his route to Iwagakure.

It wasn't long before he stopped again, sliding down inbetween boulders at first notice of an approaching person. He could hear them, several people approaching from the higher altitudes, but they hadn't noticed him yet. Mugen's heart pounded with anxiety, a bead of sweat rolling down his face in the heat of the moment. The three possible shinobi had stopped; turning to the others one spoke out, "did you hear something?" "They've found me," ran through his head, and he reacted accordingly. Clutching a small rock between his fingers, the shinobi unveiled the piece of earth, launching it as far as his strength would allow. It smashed against a boulder a long ways down the mountain, and the three shinobi turned to the source of the sound. "Lets check it out," declared there leader, and the three fled down the mountain, allowing Mugen to escape with his life for now. Clearly, something was true about ayame's letter.

^{— SEARCHING FOR IWAGAKURE}

[Akihiko]

The shinobi felt the sun wearing down on him as the day pressed on into evening, the sun fell back into the earth, and stars rose to the skies. Mugen had been traveling this mountain for hours, and his journey was not over yet. Besides the three shinobi, a coupled dropped shuriken had been the only sign of ninja in this terrain. It was sloppy, but efficient enough to keep the village hidden in the endless range of mountains. In his efforts to evade the three shinobi, he had unwillingly strayed from the path. It was pure luck, that placed him back on his way. And he now chose to move along side it, to avoid any run-ins with unwanted company.

But as the sound of crickets began to consume the night, Mugen finally found it. Off in the distance, he could see the perimeters of the village, which seemed moreso of a kingdom due to the castle walls surrounding it. Sinking down into the rocks beneath him, the shinobi laughed to himself. At last his days of effort had payed off, granting him the location to the village. Pulling a world map from his pocket, a small writing utensil marked the location of Iwagakure on the folded parchment. Surely this success could bring pride to Kusagakure, granting them a slight advantage over the foes who knew not of Kusagakure's location.

To assure that this was the village, the shinobi clung to the rocks until he saw several shinobi return to the gate. Each proudly wearing the symbol of stone on their headband as they pressed through the castle gates. With the location confirmed, the shinobi disappeared into the mountain ranges. Leaving east towards the shores of Tsuchi no kuni, he'd stray completely from his original path. To insure that his tracks were covered, the shinobi doubled back several times, leaving the remnants of a fire in the opposite direction of his route. If things went accordingly, no one could even know he was there.

^{— FOUND IWAGAKURE & EXIT}