Moving On (Jin & Saza)

Saza had made it his mission to find Jin.

It had quickly become apparent that coming here and helping out was a bigger task than he'd imagined. For one - the bickering. He figured that the people would find common cause and rally together after the passing of the Kazekage, but the reality was the furthest thing from that. The people fell into groups, the sand village fractured, and people seemed to be vying for power as though this were a feud in some daimyo's inner court. Frankly, Saza was disappointed, and he was struggling to find a way to bring the people together.

Then he had the idea to consult a fellow outsider.

So Saza opted to find Jin, skulking about the encampment until he caught the Jinchuuriki's scent. Knowing him he'd probably be somewhere training, but this wasn't quite the same as the old Sand Village he knew, and so he had to look for whatever spot the young man frequented the most.

Jin would not be too hard to find, helping the folks who were too low on the food chain to even be registered by the main clans of the village. Those who were the literal back bone of the village, or at least were when there was a village to be the back bone of, now they were being barely taken care of by those with power left to fend for themselves in most cases. At this particular moment however Jin was helping one such family by delivering a package of meat and water that the scouts had managed to collect on their last hunting trip into the desert away from the main caravan. "Here you go, I know it is not much but we are heading some place far less barren where resources should be more plentiful so please bare with it."

Bowing to the elderly woman he left the package with he moved on to another family with an identical package of rations. He had until this point been bolstering the rations for the non-combatants with his own rations combined with some donations from other shinobi who like himself didn't belong to any of the main clans of the sand village. It wasn't much but every little bit extra was worth it to keep the morale of the people up as they rested here during the heat of the day, trying to stay out of the direct sun with their tents. Shortly after making this delivery he eyed a figure he didn't quite recognize, his light hair not too unlike the sand that surrounded them and the markings on his face were a new touch that the young Jinchuuriki had not seen atleast among members of his own village before. "Greetings, are you here to help make sure these people are fed before we have to get moving again?"

Saza approached Jin with a low, brief wave. He had some things to say, but right in front of other people wasn't necessarily the best venue for that, so he just started with pleasantries, for now. "Something like that. Glad to see you're doing well, Jin. It would have been cruel irony if something happened to you." He remarked. He looked at what Jin was doing, and felt vary proud to see that Jin was doing what he could for the people that needed it most. He had a bone to pick with the well-to-do's right now, so seeing someone looking out for the less well off really made his heart swell.

"When you have a moment, do you mind if I pull you aside? I have some things I'd like to discuss." He remarked, looking again at what Jin was doing. "Take your time."

"If by well you mean not dead, then yeah I am doing well" Jin would respond, keeping up a cheerful demeanor he used when dealing with the public in need. Moving on to the next family to deliver their share with a smile, though when Saza requesting that he step a way for a moment Jin knew it was for something important. Signalling to one of the others who had been helping to distribute the food he handed his sack over, "I have something important take care of make sure that the rest of these are divvied out properly"

The only response was a quick nod letting the young Jinchuuriki turn back towards Saza, "So shall we go hunt something up to help bolster the rations while we speak?" No matter what Saza's response was Jin would turn away and start heading away, traveling deeper into the desert and away from the crowd since it was obvious that whatever Saza wanted to talk about he wanted as few witnesses as possible. Once they were well out of sight of the caravan Zanjiro would let his Facade drop, his attitude and stance changing almost immediately to reveal just how exhausted he was. Without the smile lighting up his face, and the need to be strong for those around him he looked almost like death warmed over. His shoulders were slumped, his eyes slightly sunken, the rings around them so dark that it looks like someone had been using him for a punching bag. As Jin started to speak again, his voice was as tired as he looked... maybe even more so "Saza right? Akito told me you were back and since I have been around here and know just about everyone traveling with us, by at least sight and as I don't recognize you at all kind of means you are a new arrival."

"So what is it you want to talk about?"

Saza simply nodded at his proposal. It wasn't an invitation to hunt as much as it was to find privacy. The two of them could hunt whatever with their hands tied behind their back. But at least it would give them some time to chat.

He looked at Jin's face as he walked alongside him. The perfect mask fell off and his tiredness came forward. It was a look Saza knew all too well. The young sage, for a moment, felt guilty now, as he considered adding yet more to the Jinchuuriki's burden. And yet the village demanded that he did. He knew it deep down, and so did Akito. It would take some more pain before they could truly heal.

"You may or may not be familiar with the situation going on with the clans. To be honest, I wouldn't blame you if you chose to ignore it. The village is having trouble selecting a successor to its Kazekage. With Akito's blessing, I've decided to throw my hat in the ring, so to speak." He said, not beating around the bush. He stopped there, just to see what the jinchuuriki would offer as a response. But it was clear that Saza came to tell him this for a reason.

"Unfortunately I have had no choice but to make myself familiar with the current state of politics, since I have somehow became the face of those not represented by the clans means my support has some considerable weight behind it, even though I am not in a position to even try to take on the lead of the village myself." Jin said, staring off into the distance, he was well aware of his own weaknesses, and frankly the day to day minutia of running a village would be well into that wheel house, as he hasn't even so much as headed up his own team of yet, he wouldn't even know where to begin on managing a village, "I lack the experience needed for something like that, though I refuse to let another Noa take the throne." A sudden outburst of rage noticeable as he mentioned the previous Kazekage's name, a slight increase of the temperature around him before he reigned everything in.

"Unfortunately the clan heads vying for the spot are so focused on their own families, and fighting with the other major powers to try and take over that none of them have exactly filled me with the confidence to back any of them, especially since not a single one of them, or their families have bothered to aid the regular people, intentionally taking patrol duties around their own section of the caravans. And most every resource that their scouts have gathered up were delivered to their clans tents, and only the scraps were handed into the populace as a whole." The passion that Jin had started to show while filling Saza in on the observations that he had made during these times where the people of the village should be uniform and supporting each other evenly as one people rather than separate factions within. "While at the rate things were going, it probably would have been Akito I had supported in the end since he at least made the effort to come to me face to face and aid me in picking through the ruins to try and find a headcount on those we are missing it was like picking the least of a group of evils. Now with you throwing your hat into the ring there is a chance that the common folk might actually be cared for...." Jin would turn towards Saza, a violent glare in his eyes, "That is so long as you aren't going to just be a face for someone else? A veritable outsider appearing out of nowhere, someone that those who had been pushed to the wayside could rally behind. A person who was conveniently away during the villages greatest time of need, yet to return the prodigal son just when the bickering over the hat comes to a head."

"I hope you can understand why I am skeptical about this whole thing, especially seeing as you told me yourself that you met with Akito before coming to me." While Saza had not given Jin a reason to doubt him, it wasn't like the young Jinchuuriki had much reason to trust him either, what with Akito knowing full well the kind of person that could easily earn Jin's backing and the timing of everything was more than a touch convenient. "This isn't like you boy, you aren't known for being distrusting of others, And frankly I don't know whether to be proud of you, or frightened for you right now..." The old monkey's voice boomed in the young Jinchuuriki's head.

Saza nodded, walking alongside Jin. He had his hands in his pockets and gazed forward. "I understand that. The clans lately seem less interested in the fate of the ordinary people and more focused on not allowing their rivals to grasp power. It definitely is... well, it's a weakness we have - for sure. The only reason why Noa was able to hold her spot was that she could enforce it -- if she weren't able to do that then she might have been ousted. Not necessarily the best situation for the village's people, I'll admit. I've traveled plenty and seen a lot of the way things are done elsewhere, and in that regard we have plenty to learn from them." He sighed.

"What we need, and what I intend to provide," Saza began, "is structure. Structure that isn't built by the clans, for the clans. It will be structure created with the intent of treating everyone here fairly and equally. And I also intend to provide a way forward. I hope to accomplish all of that without being a despot or dictator or what have you. If I intended to take power by force, then I wouldn't even be talking to you." He chuckled. "But I think that I can do better than those that came before me."

He looked back at Jin. "While it's true that my ancestors are Neppa clansmen, I am a Horobi. We don't live in the village, but we serve it anyway. My grandfather's act of sealing the yonbi into you was an act of service for the village. Our bond with the village has been to give, and expect little in return. And perhaps, by leading the village, one might say now we're taking everything. But in an ideal world, leadership is but another act of servitude. And in this case, I would be happy to provide."

"So -- " He concluded. "I hope to win your support. Because frankly, I will need it. If we stand together maybe we can pull the village out of this mess and seek greater things in the world around us."

"Stability, that is exactly what we need right now. Well that and security, the latter of which should be helped by us finding a new place to make our home. And while so far just from the fact you don't have obvious strings pulling you in different directions that makes you a better candidate than each of the clan leaders..." Jin would start, Saza was talking a good game so far but he represented a bunch of unknown variables, like where does his loyalties truly lie, does he truly have the villages best interest in heart or is he just a puppet of one of the powers who was not in a great position to take control on their own. Then there is the fact his loyalty lies with some unknown force outside of the village itself, he has been gone for a long time just to show up to try and fill the void in the villages power structure. "And I am in total agreement that the leader of the village should be serving those in their care, making sure that they are healthy and able to care for themselves as a whole. I understand that it is not possible to do so on an individual level no matter how powerful and capable a kage is they are only one person and kind of outnumbered by their villagers, but bringing prosperity to the village is the best way to make sure that their people are taken care of."

"And the fact that you are descended from one of the major clans is one of those things that is a concern and a blessing at the same time, it is a concern because you may be just a good available face for them, not obviously connected but they are the ones behind your decisions. As for the blessing part, even if they aren't pulling your strings they may be placated by having some relation to the person in charge." Jin would shrug at this point, "Now as for winning my support, that is pretty easy. Win over those who are being ignored by the major clans, because if I was to throw my support behind anyone it will either influence them to do the same, or make them feel isolated and ignored. Either way I would rather have them influence my choice as opposed to the other way around."

Jin stopped and turned towards Saza, a noticeable fire burning in his eyes, the obvious exhaustion he had been showing since they got away from the public melting away. As he spoke a strength was there in his voice that had been missing up to this point, "Now even if you earn their support and through that mine I will be watching you to prevent another Noa from happening. I get that in this world jobs are limited, and we are competing with every ninja village out there for a limited amount of income so that will cause some fighting. But the problem was that she intentionally made aggressive actions against one of the major powers without warning our people, especially when the attempt failed and backlash was incoming. And I refuse to let something like that happen again."

"Well, my first act in office wouldn't be poking any lions, that's to be sure." Saza nodded. He definitely didn't want to do anything that would put the Sand, fragile as it was, at risk once again. "And as much as I would like to simply return to the Sand village with hedge clippers, now isn't the time. You're right -- stability is what we need most."

The moment Saza took to formulate his next words was also a great moment to fill his pipe and light it. "I was thinking that we need to, at least for now, find a new place to put down our roots. It doesn't have to be permanent, but perhaps it will be. A place that's defendable, where people can feel safe. I think that's what we're missing most now." He remarked. "Then, we need to build back up and regain our health. Only then can we think about taking back the Sand village."

Some wouldn't like Saza's plan of essentially abandoning the Sand. Even if he did plan on coming back. But it was just not feasible right now to reclaim the utterly destroyed settlement.

"I've wandered around the old stomping ground of the Kojima clan. Earth country." Saza said, thinking back to its craggy cliffs, carved canyons, and towering peaks. "I think, we go anywhere, we go there. It is desolate, yes, but also incredibly defensible if you find the right places, and resources aren't as hard to come by as they seem."

"But I guess I've ventured off topic." Saza remarked. "I'll do everything I can to support the clanless people, because that's the right thing to do. I hope that in doing so you all can count on me to lead."

"Good thing that, cause I think even the elderly would go to war on you if you did." Jin would say, cracking a weak smile sighing as he continued, "And frankly I would love to have first crack at burning that tree to the ground. I already did some work giving those who died in the assault a proper funeral but I left the main forest standing. Though I can say this much, the leaf did leave us with with plenty of resources to help us rebuild our village when we can find some where to set down roots again."

While Jin still hated the leaf for what they did, he had to admire the power they showed and respect the fact that the sand would have the resources to build a bigger village than the one that was just destroyed. "Actually here is an idea, when we get to a decent spot I know of at least one Genin who has a decent knowledge of scroll sealing, you can send me, him, and maybe another person with the same skill set or a combat capable chuunin to help keep watch while we go and collect some materials to actually build from."

"As for retaking the Sand Village, I don't think that should even be close to a thought, yes we lost our homes but by the time we are situated and can take it back any and everything that would make it worth it will probably be lost to the sand and scavengers. Especially since those who failed to flee in time to survive are now ash on the wind. So unless the populace brings it up themselves because they are ready to re-open those wounds I wouldn't even mention it to them, let us focus on the future." Jin would shrug, he knew that Saza said it would be a later thing, but getting trapped in the past rather than just learning from it is liable to lead to the same mistakes being made, and who knows whether or not the leaf would have people waiting to see if they tried to retake their home, be it under the order of that old fogey, or some gung ho fools looking to make a name for themselves. Chuckling slightly at Saza's comment about their new possible home being desolate, "Well to be fair we are desert folk, desolate is kind of the norm for us. So long as we can find a reliable source of water and break the rocks till we find proper dirt we should be fine. Though I might have something to contribute to our defenses assuming we have some powerful earth users among our ranks to control a bridge over a pit of lava. And I already promised you that if you earn their support you will have mine. Though I will be watching"