Another path

Hinata's resolve

- I'm glad too. It's nice to have a change of air once in a while.

- Oh, that's for sure ! We did look forward to this event as well. Having all our friends around is such a nice thing !

- Too bad they're here too...

- Well, it's true those assholes from Konoha are here too, but let's focus on the tournament !

- Yeah, we won't let them spoil our fun. "

Matsuri and Yukata watched in awe how their Kage was casually chatting with his sister and Tenten. She had helped them in the past - three years ago exactly, and since then the inhabitants of Suna and Uzushio were very close. They lightly trotted behind them as Tenten stopped to show them an ancient building which used to be the house of a founder of the village.

* Kiri's group *

Half-way through their visit, Kakashi and his group had bumped into the one from Iwa. They were led by Amegami Sakuya, a jônin with long silver hair and the questionable habit of solving issues by throwing kunais at those she disagreed with. The Tsuchikage was being carried by Akatsuchi.

" - What happened ? Kakashi asked while looking at the agonising old man.

- The tower at the central place was too tall and he stuck his back while trying to look at the top of it.

Kakashi sweat dropped when he heard his fellow jônin answer, though he couldn't say he was surprised.
They kept walking together, making the visit both a bit more fun and a bit more tense.

* Kumo's group *

They were lead by the main counselor of the Uzukage : Kitagawa Hamon. He was a stern fifty years old man. A lot of scars adorned his aged face and his eyes were those of a man who had witnessed what no one ever should. He had retired as a shinobi after the blade of a katana remained stuck in a wound in his chest. Since he had no access to medical attention during a five weeks long mission, the blade stayed there and the tissues began to heal around it, making it impossible to remove it without tearing apart both his right lung and diaphragm.
Needless to say, the visit wasn't very funny. B did try to fool around but A's fist on his head along with Hamon's glare quickly silenced the Jinchūriki.

* Taki's group *

Fortunately (in Fū's opinion at least), it was Utakata that lead the group from Taki through the village. She was absolutely ecstatic when she realised he was a Jinchūriki as well and she spent the rest of the trip overwhelming him with questions. Utakata being Utakata, he did his best to ignore her but she was so persistent even him was losing his composure. Thankfully for the others, the samurai accompanying them did the commenting, leaving Utakata to his misery.

* Hoshi's group *

Higure was leading his group toward the hotel after they finished their visit. It had been quite fun and his group was a quiet one. He was about to turn around the last street before the hotel when he suddenly heard loud shouts. He turned around but couldn't see anything. He sighed. If he remembered well, the hotel for the Konoha delegation was nearby. Those idiots had probably said or done something stupid again...

* Konoha's group *

Hinata didn't enjoy the tour one bit. It was tense, Suzuka was colder than ice and the council was minutes from snapping. She could foresee the upcoming crisis and yet she couldn't do anything. It was nerve wracking and she hated it. She wanted to talk to Suzuka. To tell her how people had fought for her in Konoha, to revoke her banishment and to improve the opinion people had of her. She wanted to tell her she had always looked up to her, almost worshipped her. She wanted to thank her for the scarf all those years ago...