Search: To the Ancient Library

Just before leaving the village, I gathered supplies for the journey - specifically water - and then ran out of the village toward my destination: the ancient library at the heart of the Ressa Desert. I knew this journey would be difficult and this would be a personal trial in and of itself. This will be one hell of a journey. Worth it, though, that's for certain. I would use the technique I used in the race with Neo and run using the frontal areas of my feet to increase my general speed without expending much stamina. I would need all of it if I want to make this journey in one piece.

I was already a mile into the journey. The sun was scraping at my body and the general heat of the Ressa Desert made my body want to catch on fire and melt. The sky was clear, so there was no salvation from its intense gaze, but I had to continue running. My body in reality was still functioning perfectly, my muscles back in shape from the race between me and Neo, my speed finally back to being worthy of the rank of Kage. This journey was a test of willpower if nothing else and could already notice the signs that this journey would be a struggle for my sanity.

Nightfall had come rather quickly and I decided to sleep for a few hours to regain my strength, so that when I wake up, I can start running again in full force. I began thinking of my village and how much I longed to be home again. I fell asleep thinking about it and, interestingly enough, I had dreamt of it. I dreamt of my duties as the Tsurikage and what it meant to the people of the village and even my own parents. Everyone in the village seemed proud of me and proud to be a part of Morigakure as much as I. The dream was relieving and put my mind at ease from the earlier tension in running through the desert and its harsh weather.

I woke about three hours later and it was still dark outside, the moon bright and the stars shown so clearly in the night sky. The weather was perfect for the time being and so I decided it'd be a good idea to get a head start before the sun came up. I stood up, stretched my legs, back, arms, and neck and then began a full sprint toward my destination, where hopefully the tower would be. I took out the map and rolled it out to make sure I wasn't back-tracking, and as I knew that I was moving in the right direction, I got on the frontal areas of my feet again and shot toward my destination with freshness of mind.

The sun finally came up and I had made great time so far within the past day. I stopped for a moment to check the map. I had marked off the area where I had slept last night and also where the village was on the map. In relation to where I was then, I was about halfway to where the tower should be, as the old man had pointed out and had it marked on the map he gave me. I nodded and continued running, only to stop and jump down low to the sand minutes later. Maybe thirty yards away, there were sand wanderers settling themselves to rest for who knows how long. Scavengers, I thought to myself and then grinned. It's been a while since I've done some fighting. Maybe I'll use these guys as target practice. I then jumped back up to my feet and walked toward the group of scavengers, keeping a serious grin on my face.

As I got closer to them, they took notice of me and ran toward me angrily. "Hey! Piss off! Go back to where you came from, unless you're looking for a fight." I made my grin noticeable and answered their threat. "Excuse me. For one, I'm not going to stave from my path because of your groups' petty squabbles. Secondly, a fight is exactly what I'm looking for. I need some good target practice." The rest of the group came in front of me and got ready for the slaughter that was about to happen. "We don't know who you are, but if it's a fight you want, you can have it!" They all ran toward me and my muscles tensed. So weak, I thought but one of them got a hit on my upper chest and I moved back a foot. Maybe I should just get this over with. Better things to do. They all came at me again. To them, I probably looked like a mirage because of how fast I moved. I circled the group twice: eight men in total, no weapons in hand except three who have a kunai. So ill prepared. I'd say they're maybe chuunin at best. After circling them the second time, I pivoted and punched the first man in the throat, followed by a back-up palm strike to the second man's jaw knocking him to the ground. The six remaining men looked around, most likely wondering what's happening. I quickly slid to the other (left) side of the group, kicking in one of the men's knees and then finishing with a standard chop to the side of his neck, cracking it and then using the momentum of the slide, I pushed myself up into the air and kicked two more men in the temple with the very front end of my feet. Those two seemingly collapsed in slow motion and as they fell, I landed on my feet behind the last three men, knocking the back two mens' heads together, knocking them out cold. The last one turned around only to see my fist making contact with his forehead, knocking him out as well.

"Well, that's that. Sweet dreams." I then took out my map, skimmed it over quickly, and then began running toward the supposed location of the large tower while putting the map back in one of my Kage outfit pockets.

As the second day continued to draw on, I continued to run. The winds were beginning to get much more harsh and the sun felt like it was only getting more intense. Made sense considering it was getting closer to mid-day. However, within the next hour, the winds would hit danger level and the sands would begin to fly with the wind, making it nearly impossible to continue running in the right direction. Luckily, my eyes were keen enough to be able to see through the dense sand and see the map when I took it out of one of my Kage outfit pockets in the front. It seemed that I was facing the right way, but I wasn't sure that I would be so fortunate as to keep on the same path through the remainder of this storm. Knowing this, I punched straight down into the sand so that a hole the size of a human body in fetal position and I then jumped inside the whole and curled myself into such a size and allowed the moving sand to cover me. To keep me from suffocating, I used my Kage outfit as a shield to allow me to breathe safely without inhaling any sand that may suffocate and kill me. The sandstorm raged on for about four straight hours before it began to finally subside. In the fifth hour, I pushed out of my tiny, human-size hole and shook all of the dust off of my body. I need a shower when I get back to the village. The storm never completely settled and my body was suffering from a minor numbness and itchiness from all of the sand during the storm. "Well, at least now I can finally see the sky and sun. Now I can return to my task of finding the tower, or library."

It became nightfall quickly. The sky was finally clear again, the moon full and the stars shining brightly across the sky. It was perfect timing, considering I had just made it to the tower. It was huge to say the least; it looked similar to the size of a tall watchtower. I also noticed what the old man had said, and I now understand why he said this place was...off. Perhaps it seemed this way because it was so incredibly ancient and had appeared so suddenly. Regardless, I ran the rest of the way toward the tower and judged quickly, as I was running, the chakra I needed to keep my footing steady on the tower's surface. I was five feet away from the tower when I jumped and firmly placed my chakra-infused feet on the surface and stood still to make sure that the surface was not made of a sand-like substance. Thank god it isn't made of sand. That would make this more difficult than it needs to be. Knowing that my safety was assured, I ran up the tower to the opening at the very top and stood on the ledge. "How convenient. A rope to carry me down without accidentally falling to my death." I then grabbed onto the rope and slowly but surely descended the tower.