Mist hung low between the trees as Lady Tsunade led the way along the narrow forest path, illuminated by rays of morning sunlight that filtered faintly through the forest canopy. Patches of melting frost clung to roots in the shade on either side of the path, adding to the chill in the air. Shizune followed close behind, and Sakura brought up the rear, her breasts rising and falling rhythmically as she walked...
For the day of their departure for the Gokage Summit had at last arrived!
"Look at you, Lady Tsunade!" Sakura said brightly, jogging a quick circle around her mentor. "You look so Hokage‑like in your Hokage robes and hat— nothing like your usual self at all!"
Tsunade frowned. Was her disciple implying that she didn't normally look very Hokage-like? What was wrong with her usual clothes!?
"You seem awfully chipper this morning, Sakura," Tsunade observed. "I'd even go as far as to say you've got a sort of healthy glow about you… did something good happen to you?"
Sakura's face fell.
"Ugh…" she groaned. "I'd rather not talk about that, Lady Tsunade."
Sakura had woken up in a veritable puddle of her own love juices this morning, thus resetting the day counter to unlock Philosopher Mode. Deep down, her loins yearned for fulfilment, to grant passage to something… but to what, exactly? There would be plenty of time to unravel this mystery as she walked, she thought to herself.
She sighed. At least now, her mind was as clear as a philosopher's... She groaned again at the thought of all the stupid things she had done while muddleheaded with arousal… like changing Lee-kun into a girl and getting caught fooling around with her Shadow Clone in Lady Tsunade's office…
"Then, how about this? I'll test you on your knowledge of the region while we walk," Tsunade proposed. "It's important for a Hokage to be well-versed in geography, after all. So, tell me about the Land of Iron."
"Well, it lies directly north of the Land of Fire, about level with Shimogakure and Takigakure," said Sakura, chewing her lip as she pictured the world map in her mind's eye. "It's a cold place— covered in ice and snow half the year. Since it's far inland, it doesn't get any warmth from the ocean currents that go around the Land of Lightning, drifting in from the eastern seas."
Tsunade nodded in approval.
"What about the terrain? Strategic targets? Strongholds? Critical infrastructure? Any important figures?" she then asked. "What about the surrounding countries? Are they allies? Neutral? Hostile?"
Sakura frowned. What was the point of knowing all that? It wasn't as if they were planning to invade the place; attending the Five Kage Summit was little more than a glorified holiday, really. She doubted Sasuke would make a move this time, but Obito… no, probably not.
With the Three‑Tails dead, the Akatsuki's plans were dead in the water until it regenerated, which meant Konoha was safe for now, too; but… it could be days, weeks, months, or even years before the Tailed Beast reincarnated. It was rather stressful, not knowing when the end of the world would begin.
"Er… well, there's the Three Wolf Mountain Range, obviously…" she said haltingly. "The Land of Iron is led by the general of the samurai, Mifune… and as for the surrounding area, er… Takigakure, they're friendly… and Orochimaru's Otogakure, obviously not very friendly…"
Tsunade shook her head with a sigh. Apparently, Sakura's explanation left much to be desired… she was still a long way from becoming Hokage, but to be fair, her grasp of non‑canonical subjects was rather limited.
"What people usually call the Land of Iron is actually a coalition of three different countries that turned away from the shinobi way," Shizune explained. "There's the namesake, the Land of Iron itself, to the south of the Three Wolves where it's coldest, the Land of Medicine to the east, and the Land of the Hunt to the north."
The Three Wolf Mountain Range was an oddly shaped rocky protuberance that resembled three open jaws; each of which sheltered a different village from the eternal snow: Awakening Wolf Village on the south-west side, Howling Wolf Village to the south-east, and Nourishing Wolf Village to the north.
"You should at least know one of these names," Tsunade said grumpily. "Did Sasuke not tell you where he found your special eyedrops? I'm the one who told him where to find the medicine, after all…"
Due to their falling out, Sakura hadn't had any opportunity to wheedle the information out of him. Once she ran out of eyedrops, she had told herself, that would be it… but it seemed like Tsunade knew exactly where to find more.
"Awakening Wolf Village is where the samurai are trained; they're in charge of guarding the three countries against foreign invasion," Shizune went on. "Howling Wolf Village is the holy land of medicine, and Nourishing Wolf Village is in charge of feeding the three countries; they hunt the giant beasts that live in the north for sustenance."
Further to the north lay a prehistoric forest where the temperature soared above zero, warmed by the oceanic stream that wound around the shinobi continent anticlockwise. The place was a vast graveyard of colossal creatures, their bleached bones rising so high they seemed to scrape the clouds. For the sake of humanity, Sakura could only hope that whatever had left those remains behind was long extinct…
And unbeknownst to Sakura, this boneyard had also been the real Madara's hideout in his old age!
"It's been quite a while since we last visited Howling Wolf Village, hasn't it, Shizune?" said Tsunade, letting out a soft sigh as she reminisced about her youth wandering the world. "How about we stop by once were done with this summit business? I'd like to see how far the pharmaceutical world has come while I've been cooped up in the village."
"Well, I suppose... I don't see why not," Shizune said, flipping open her day planner. "As long as we don't stay too long, your schedule does allow for a bit of leeway, Milady…"
"Excellent!" Tsunade beamed. "Medical ninjutsu is but one discipline of medicine; one must not neglect pharmaceutics. You would do well to keep that in mind, Sakura!"
"It's a date, then!" Sakura said happily. "Ooh!" she added, clapping her hands giddily. "Maybe they'll have invented some sort of supplement that promotes breast growth!"
"If only," Shizune muttered under her breath. "I'm surrounded by titty monsters left and right... maybe I'd have a love life if I weren't so flat… and so busy babysitting Lady Tsunade."
"What was that?" Tsunade said sharply.
"Nothing, Milady!"
…
On the third morning of their journey, the trio finally reached the northern border of the Land of Fire. Sakura glanced eastwards, towards the Valley of the End. She had never seen it with her own eyes, and she hoped she would never have occasion to.
All things considered, it was rather a good thing that the Land of Iron and the Land of Hot Water, the holy land of tourism, lay more or less in the same direction when starting from the Hidden Leaf. Many gastronomical stops were made at the fine restaurants, inns, and ryokan along the way by the three kunoichi as they travelled northwards at a leisurely pace.
In truth, they could have made the trip to the Land of Iron in a single day if they'd run the entire way, but then it wouldn't have made for much of a holiday, would it?
Sadly, towards the end of their journey, the routes leading to the Land of Iron and the Land of Hot Water diverged, and as a result the inns grew scarce, so they had to go without sleeping in warm beds by the end of the second day. But all in all, looking back at the Land of Fire behind them, the trip had gone rather smoothly; oddly enough, Tsunade had seemed determined to avoid any gambling parlours, much to Shizune's relief.
"Milady is growing up!" she had said, shedding a blissful tear.
Which brings us back to the present: after crossing the border, the three kunoichi continued northwards into the frozen Land of Iron, until…
"That chakra…" Tsunade muttered suddenly, her eyes narrowing. She stopped dead in her tracks. "Sakura, Shizune, on your guard. Someone's coming."
The wind howled as a blizzard swept in, whipping great swathes of snow into the air…