Chapter 51

The mountain rocks were sharp.

If they didn't know how to stick to things with chakra, keeping their hands and feet from sliding precariously on these ledges, their hands, and feet would have long since been sliced open.

The terrain was rough, and the air was thin. They were tiring a bit faster than they were accustomed.

But that held true for all teams.

They'd had to wait til almost sunset to determine where to go. The last thing they wanted was to climb down, only to realize they'd been climbing down the opposite side.

Kyofu had suggested waiting until night fall to see if they could tell where the village was by the glow of civilization lights. And they could, luckilly. They'd all gotten some sleep earlier and were now trecking through the mountain with nothing more than moonlight to guide them, following the glow of the village before they, eventually broke the cloud cover.

They were also noticing a great many campfires from their perch from on high.

"The teams must have come down earlier." Kyofu assessed. "They've gotten quite a head start."

"We'll catch up now." Naruto asserted.

Ryoko agreed. "They sleep, we move. We'll probably catch a few off guard if we hurry."

Ultimately, every team was heading towards the village. So step one, head towards the damn village. Step two, find their target on the way somehow and step three, beat the crap out of their hunters if they managed to track them somehow.

Simple and really their only option they couldn't exactly comb across the whole mountain in four days.

It was late, more likely than not approaching dawn by the time they decided to make camp. Ryoko hunted their meal, a mountain goat. Naruto volunteered to take the first watch.

Without any ninja tools on them, they couldn't lay down a perimeter with traps. They were left with the simple tired, tested and true 'shifts' system.

Once his teammates were settled in for what was left of the night the blond quietly formed a seal. "Kagebunshin no jutsu" He whispered.

Ten clones were arrayed before him, kneeling down as they huddled close.

"Go on and try to find em." He whispered. "Split up."

The clones nodded and each took off down the slopes with additional grins.

It had been a while.

-0-

Onoki all but knocked the door off its railings when he slammed it open. His eyes were wide and worried, contrasting sharply with the thunderous expression his face bore.

"Ryoutenbin." Koutou greeted, still sipping at his tea the pieces hadn't been moved at all since he'd moved his piece. "Don't be so loud. The girl is trying to think of an opening move." He said.

"Grandfa...Tsuchikage-sama." She whimpered, wincing as one of the samurai held her down more firmly as she squirmed.

Onoki took one look at the girl and at the men holding her before he brusquely demanded "Let go of her! Now!"

The men hesitated looking to their lord in askance.

"Our host has made a demand." Koutou intoned, drinking his tea. "Respect it."

They let go.

The girl rubbed at her shoulder but seemed otherwise unharmed. She turned towards her grandfather and opened her mouth to speak before he held up a hand.

"We will have words about this later." He said, and with a wave of his hand an Anbu was at the girls side, shimmering into existence before they were both gone in a wisp of smoke, leaving the Sandaime with the Daimyo.

The younger man blew at his tea, cooling it before he spoke. "You've been standing around for well over an hour." He said towards his men. "Go, get some rest. You've earned it."

The men hesitated, but slowly began to file out of the gardens, leaving their lord alone with the enemy commander in dusk's twilight.

"Do you play often?" He inquired.

Onoki bowed stiffly working his jaw as he tried to pull the words free of his throat. "On behalf of Iwagakure I must offer my most sincere-"

"Ryoutenbin." The man interrupted firmly, keeping his eyes on the board as he spread his hands out in a welcoming gesture. "Play a game with me. You're not responsible for children acting foolish."

The small man's jaw was tense. And anyone with the mind to look could have seen his teeth grinding together before he bowed stiffly and marched forward, taking a seat across from him.

He set his piece down on the tile with a sharp crack.

Koutou took in a breath, taking up his own piece and settling it down with a much more gentle touch, the tile leaving only a small clicking sound.. "I didn't realize she was your granddaughter."

-Crack- "Do not feign..." He stopped himself before uttering the careless insult. "You didn't kill her."

-Click- "I didn't come here to kill children." He answered drolly.

"...I will see that my men secure your residence better. I will reprimand them accordingly for their carelessness and it was carelessness I assure you." -Crack-

"I would hope so." He answered. "If you've resorted to sending your non graduated granddaughter as an actual attempt on my life I'd worry for the girls sake."

The older man looked at the board, then he stood up off of his seat. "I'm sorry but I must be going, your security must be seen to immediately."

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