A Triumphant Return? [Requesting Entry]

[Senju Kazuki]

It had been a long time since the Godsfall fight. Kazuki blacked out for a long, long time. In fact, when darkness receded he had no idea where he was or when, but it certainly felt he had died and returned from the clutches of Death itself. His body was incredibly sore and he found himself unable to muster his chakra. Luckily he was covered in shadows, in a cave of sorts if his eyes weren't deceiving. And as an Ancient Hybrid, of the Deep Court, shadows were all he needed for nourishment. Time would pass as the Sunan Sennin's wounds slowly mend. Eventually he would be able to test his balance and even attempt small steps. He was unaware of how much time had passed since the fateful battle that shook the very foundations of the Wind Country nor he was capable of knowing how much time had passed since he had regained his senses. One thing was certain though, he was all alone. Once he was sufficiently strong, the Deep Court Hybrid ventured outside his cave and, using the stars that littered the night sky, discovered were he was. Lady Luck certainly showered him because he wasn't that far from Suna's gate. He was clueless to how he moved himself, or who moved him, but he guessed he could use a single night to reach the gates and, in a sense, find safety. If there were still safe places out there.

Fortunately he guessed correctly and, despite his weakened state, the Senju Overlord only took a single night to cross the desert and reach the gates.

[First attempt at returning, still very rusty-]

 

[Raizo]

One of the scouts positioned atop the walls of the village would be scanning the area, his eyes giving him the keen ability to see further than most, and potentially pigeon-holed him into this role within the village. Suddenly his mouth would drop open at the sight of the figure slowly making its way towards the gates. It was a tired figure, it was an old figure, but it was a familiar figure.

"I... I thought he died... ATTENTION! ATTENTION! REPORT TO THE KAZEKAGE IMMEDIATELY!"

Within no time, word would travel through the dispatch of the village and into the ears of the primary figures of the village. Higher shinobi would be put on alert, the Steward would be notified, and the Kazekage would be given the direct communication as soon as he could be reached. A smile would appear upon the Kage's face.

It would take mere moments at his current physical condition, many would still be in a bit of a tisy rushing around prepping whatever was needed, gathering medics at the gate to embrace the returning shinobi and assist him if his condition was even worse than his current appearance. Someone who had been disappeared for years was surely worse for wear, right?

The Kazekage, a man who wasn't even part of the village prior to the disappearance of this figure, would begin to make his way out of the confines of the village. There was a smirk upon his face as he waved to the traveler.

"Hello there, and welcome back on your return to the village. Many thought you might not have survived your encounter out in the desert, and so few accurate details exist of that night... but that is for another time. Please, come this way. Medical staff are at the gate if you need treatment."

Raizo would then pause for a moment as an embarrassed look would wash over his face before a large smile would follow, "My apologies, I never introduced myself. I am the 11th Kazekage, Ryuzaki Raizo. Welcome home, Senju Kazuki. I have heard many stories of you."

Since that fateful night, the night of The Shattering, Kazuki, along with the remaining Sennin and previous Kage, were at beast Missing In Action and at worst presumed dead. It was good to see one of them finally returning, but the world had changed very quickly the past few years since the disappearance of the Hybrid had been within the walls of Suna.

 

[Senju Kazuki]

"Hello there, and welcome back on your return to the village. Many thought you might not have survived your encounter out in the desert, and so few accurate details exist of that night... but that is for another time. Please, come this way. Medical staff are at the gate if you need treatment." Kazuki would hear as he reached the gates. For a moment, he beleived he was allucinating after so much time alone but as he rose his weary eyes, the Senju Overlord concluded he, for the first time in a very long time, not alone. "My apologies, I never introduced myself. I am the 11th Kazekage, Ryuzaki Raizo. Welcome home, Senju Kazuki. I have heard many stories of you." The former Sunan Sennin stood there dumbfounded for a bit. His mind was trying to process the words that had been spoken to him. 11th Kazekage? Was he the only one that had returned? How did they know about the fight? It was supposed to be a secret, if he recalled correctly, but his mind was still hazy and unable to connect the dots. He wasn't surprised, however, that he had a welcoming party. He knew Suna had scouts all over the place and he also knew that how weak as he currently was, his body constantly emitted a deathly cold aura, so there were no surprises he was expected. He certainly didn't expect it was the Kazekage waiting for him. Whoever this guy might be "11th Kazekage? Was I the only survivor? Did not anyone else return?" he muttered at first, quickly shooting another question "Who are you exactly?" He knew he was probably being rude but how could someone blame him? He fought a war against a Daimyo that wanted them all gone from the face of world. He, somehow, survived that confrontation and after, Zabucho knew, how much time later arrived to his adopted village being welcomed by a guy he didn't know that claimed he was the Kazekage. "I do not require immediate medical attention, I will survive. I just need darkness, plenty of it." he remembered part of his customary politeness.

 

[Raizo]

It would seem that the Sennin would be rather confused, which was understandable. That said, there was one question that caused his expression to change to a more concerned one;

"Who are you exactly?"



The Sennin seemed to imply that he didn't need medical attention, but to Raizo it would appear that maybe he was suffering from either some memory-based issue or some trauma to his mental faculties.

"I am Ryuzaki Raizo... the 11th Kazekage" he would repeat, this time a bit slower, with a raised eyebrow. Hopefully, this time it would sink in a bit more. Then it would hit him, maybe the confusion was just generally on who he was? But if that was the case, would his explaining his whole personal history even satisfy the question the Senju was actually asking? Probably not, so he needed to make it clear for the confused figure.

"Hmmm... let me explain in a way that I think might be a bit easier for you to digest at this moment." Once more he would pause, thinking back to the information Sousuke had been giving him on the village and the previous leadership, in the event they ever returned. Luckily, Kazuki would potentially be the easiest to relate his own story to in a short enough window. "My story shares some similarities to yours in how I came to be part of this village; I didn't start out my life in this village but when I came here I fell in love with it and was embraced by it, in large part thanks to the approval and support of Takahashi Sousuke."

In his mind, this should have been enough, for now, to hopefully fill in enough blanks for the Sennin to process. It was, however, a grossily toned down and generalized version of the whole story.

"10th Kazekage Sunahoshi Katsuo, Sennin Okayama Roku, Ex-Sennin Toraono Kuro, ANBU Captain Ruin, ANBU Body Bag, ANBU Psychosis are all still declared as Missing In Action. We are aware of this information thanks to Sennin Roku's foresight to send back a member of his team to relay the information, the ANBU Gluttony. Gluttony only had details on the information concerning his group, a group infiltrating the Palace of the Glorious Immortal, while his information on your group, the one who was to confront the actual Daimyo, did not have any further information outside of your group membership. You are the first to return that holds first-hand knowledge. There have been other pieces of information that have come out throughout the country, either from remnants of Ishii Shiro's camp, various other people of the desert, or from those in Soons. Mostly rumors that are hard to substantiate."

He would pause for a moment to let that information process for the Sennin. "The battle may have started to move in secrecy, but the impact, even without knowing what all transpired, has resonated deeply over these past several years. Godsfall has been split open, creatures roam the desert, and various other calamities, while we cannot fully connect the links, all seemed to resonate from the night you all made your move to end the war with the Daimyo."

 

[Senju Kazuki]

"I am Ryuzaki Raizo... the 11th Kazekage" the figure would indicate again, this time slower and with an added eyebrow raise. It was clear the Kazekage was starting to believe Kazuki had suffered severe brain damages but then he seemed to realize something else. The Deep Court Hybrid had been absent for a long time, Sunagakure had changed since the Senju Overlord's great absence. The man in front the silvery haired male was an unknown factor, just stating the rank would do nothing to shed some light. "My story shares some similarities to yours in how I came to be part of this village; I didn't start out my life in this village but when I came here I fell in love with it and was embraced by it, in large part thanks to the approval and support of Takahashi Sousuke." Kazuki would slowly nod. This made some sense why he was there and he was the Kazekage and why he didn't know him at all. The Deep Court Hybrid didn't feel the need to not believe this man's words because that was something Sousuke would do, in fact, he had received such endorsement before from the Steward. "That is something he would do, yes." he would mutter. "Congratulations on becoming the leader of this great city. I hope you do your predecessors proud." the silvery haired male would add, this time with a clear voice. His best wishes were actually quite sincere. He didn't wish to see Sunagakure fall, either under bad guidance or due to its many enemies. If this man had been named Kazekage, he had some merit to deserve such position, especially if he had been endorsed by the Highlord of the Takahashi Clan.

"10th Kazekage Sunahoshi Katsuo, Sennin Okayama Roku, Ex-Sennin Toraono Kuro, ANBU Captain Ruin, ANBU Body Bag, ANBU Psychosis are all still declared as Missing In Action. We are aware of this information thanks to Sennin Roku's foresight to send back a member of his team to relay the information, the ANBU Gluttony. Gluttony only had details on the information concerning his group, a group infiltrating the Palace of the Glorious Immortal, while his information on your group, the one who was to confront the actual Daimyo, did not have any further information outside of your group membership. You are the first to return that holds first-hand knowledge. There have been other pieces of information that have come out throughout the country, either from remnants of Ishii Shiro's camp, various other people of the desert, or from those in Soons. Mostly rumors that are hard to substantiate." He would pause before giving a short summary of what transpired in the Wind Country since then. "The battle may have started to move in secrecy, but the impact, even without knowing what all transpired, has resonated deeply over these past several years. Godsfall has been split open, creatures roam the desert, and various other calamities, while we cannot fully connect the links, all seemed to resonate from the night you all made your move to end the war with the Daimyo." The Ranger Lord began considering all the possibilities. "I am the first to return then. That is troubling!" It was a troubling thought that the former Kazekage and two Sennins, let alone three ANBU were still missing. But despite all that had just learned, there was still one piece of the puzzle missing. One more piece to fill the gaps. "How long was I missing?"

 

[Raizo]

The short... or long... depending on how exasperated the poor Senju was, summary seemed to do the trick in helping him come around to Raizo. He wasn't sure if it was the mentioning of a similar background, Sousuke, or just the general breadth of the information they had received from Gluttony that helped assure the man, but it ultimately didn't matter. He was just happy to see that even though this Kazuki person carried himself differently than those of the village he had met so far, much more darkness about him, that he shared one thing with the people of the village; the ability to embrace someone who cared for this village. It was an odd little quirk he noticed about this place. It seemed like Suna, the actual location, seemed to be a much more influential force than many realized. Was it some sort of magic?

Oops... my mind was wandering...how long has he been gone, oof...

For the first time this conversation, the expression on the Kazekage's face would turn dour.

"There isn't a real easy way to put this..."

Would it be too jarring to tell this man the amount of time he had been away? He has already been bombarded with enough information to put lesser men into shock, but would this be the final straw to break someone who was still clearly recovering?

Can't think of it that way, he was chosen as a Sennin of the village... so he is strong, right? Right.

"It has been roughly 8 years since you, and the others, went missing..."

He stood ready now for how this news might be taken. Being told that not only did everyone you know disappear but that you yourself have been gone for nearly a decade. Returning home as a stranger... it had to be tough.

"Would it be best if I brought you to Sousuke... I am sure he can help you... process all of this."

Did I just say Sousuke could help him process all of this... that man is a robot, that isn't reassuring. Crap, I wish I knew this Kazuki better, then I could have potentially offered another familiar face to help him ease back into everything. Damn it, what a situation to be in...

 

[Senju Kazuki]

Kazuki would notice that the Kazekage's face would turn dour before answering his question. "There isn't a real easy way to put this..." The Senju Overlord would simply motion for him to continue. It didn't matter if it was easy or hard, he had to know how much time had passed since their disappearance. "It has been roughly 8 years since you, and the others, went missing..." Suna's diplomat stood there a bit dumbfounded which was remarkable in itself because he was rarely surprised by anything. The Silvery Haired Male of old seemed to have a supernatural way of knowing everything which wasn't entirely correct. The Deep Court Hybrid simply had a very curious mind and a thirst of knowledge that led him to learn as much as possible about as many fields as possible. Given his naturally long longevity he simply had been able to study for far longer than most in the world. "8 years?" he would mutter with a slight tone of chock in his voice, something his face didn't allow to transpire. He had lost 8 years of memories. The village was vastly different, the country was vastly different. And what of his clan? Who was still alive? Kazuki was still musing, actually gazing the ground, when the current Kazekage suggested something quite sound. "Would it be best if I brought you to Sousuke... I am sure he can help you... process all of this." He would raise his piercing gaze. "That would be for the best." was all that he had to say until he changed his mind. "What happened to the Senju Clan in my absence? Are my kin still alive?" He had to know how his family fared in his absence. Would he have to restore the clan's glory once again, just like when they were forced to abandon Konohagakure and settle in Sunagakure?

[Topic Left]

 

[Raizo]

"Let's go ahead and go inside" he would say as he would motion to the Senju before tapping onto his communication device. "Please have Sousuke meet at the Kazekage Tower. Please inform him that the reason is Senju Kazuki has returned."

He would not need to hear it, he could feel it. The buzz generated within the village from hearing that name again. It would not probably take all that long for the news of Kazuki returning to reach all corners of Suna. It was a good thing, one he did not wish to rain down upon, but he knew they would have to pester and prod the Senju with questions at some point. There were answers they needed as a village and there were answers that Kazuki needed as an individual. For now, however, it would just be enough to welcome him home.

[Topic Left with Kazuki]