Sasuke's POV (Irminsul Wildlands - Northern Mountains)
It was a strange sensation and moment for Sasuke. He could see nothing as they were transported; it was over instantly, yet Sasuke could feel the leftover alien feeling throughout his body afterward. However, the new environment soon grabbed his attention—or rather, the temperature of it.
As Sasuke cautiously took in his environment, he realized he had been brought to some kind of wintery mountain range. Sasuke found himself standing on one of the slanted mountain peaks. A powerful breeze sent a dull chill through Sasuke. As far as his eyes could see, there were more mountains; however, Sasuke could see what seemed to be a massive wall of mist in the distance. Something over there was melting the snow. It was certainly worth investigating…
"Dear Okama, not these godforsaken mountains!" A slightly panicked, more high-pitched complaint. Sasuke blinked as the small summon of Naruto flew out of the snow, shaking and cursing as it did. "I was hoping to avoid these forsaken peaks. Though I suppose better than any of the humans…"
"I'm behind you, raccoon," Sasuke interjected. "Where are we or the others?" The small raccoon jumped, seemingly startled by Sasuke. Before it whipped around and eyed the Uchiha.
"Oh dear, this will complicate matters. Hello there, human; for the record, I prefer the title Tanuki. Or even my name, perhaps." The raccoon replied sarcastically.
Sasuke was surprised by the gall of the creature. However, diplomacy would be vital in recognizing its usefulness in the current situation. "Forgive me, Muri, was it? You said we'd be randomly transported and likely split up. We should be able to track the others with you here, right?"
Muri nodded, seemingly pleased with the more respectful tone. "Excellent! I was worried you'd be as rude as our summoner! Anyway, the mission is the least of our concerns right now. We must get moving!"
"I certainly agree we must move quickly, though. Why else would we move if not for the mission?" Sasuke asked with a raised brow. "I do not have time to waste; my blood is in danger."
"So are we," Muri replied while looking around as if searching for unseen threats. "See, there are not many clans present in these damned mountains. But those who do are particularly powerful and territorial. It's unlikely the others were brought here due to the harsh nature of the clans and our arrival as well. We should leave before we run into said clans."
"Unacceptable," Sasuke replied instantly. "If there is even a minuscule chance the others could be here, we must check. Besides, as you said, with fewer clans, there would be fewer places to check. And if they are there, they would surely need aid." Muri seemed to sigh at that. It took a lot of work to read the creature's body nature.
"We cannot risk it. Perhaps once we gather as a group, but now we would lack the power to survive the wrath of any of them." Muri countered.
"It will not be an issue. Should they choose to earn our ire, I will show them the power of the Uchiha. I will not slow down until I have ensured Yuno's safety." Sasuke bluntly countered.
Muri growled at this, which Sasuke struggled to find threatening before it leaped onto Sasuke's shoulders. "If you insist, I suppose we can try. Naruto did mention you during our training. So, you must be considerably powerful. However, the three clans of these peaks should not be underestimated. Even more importantly, it is cold. So let us seek our enemies; at least their lands will be a sanctuary from this cold."
Sasuke allowed a slight smile on his face. Pleased, the beast had seen reason and fixed one of their immediate problems with a flex of chakra. Heated fire nature chakra seeped into the air, causing moisture to evaporate and even slowly melting snow around them. Sasuke quickly marched through the melting snow with another more controlled chakra flow.
"Ah, impressive. I decided I do not dislike you, human." Muri nodded from Sasuke's left shoulder. "Head southward for now. Once we are closer to a clan, I'll give more specific directions. In the meantime, however, it would be wise to inform you of the clans we are to confront and the others we can expect, well, the notable ones, anyway. There are thousands in all reality. Though luckily we will not have to deal with all of them."
"Thousands?" Sasuke questioned, now somewhat interested as the two trekked down the mountain towards the next peak. "If that is the case, how are there so few summoning clans? Surely, the others could achieve the same with some cohesion."
"Well, as I said earlier, to become a summoner clan, you ideally need a convergence point. Some clans manage without such, perhaps they manage to send a summoning scroll into your world or a summoner manages to find their way into ours, but it is a rare occurrence, to say the least. Furthermore, the very nature of life in this world keeps any said cohesion or collusion from occurring. See, every clan, summoner or not, has no love for another clan. There is some level of cooperation between the major clans, but that is merely to avoid violence from them. For example, the toads and slugs are well known to be friendly to one another because their summoners are teammates. But even then, the two do not fight each other's battles or even share resources. In fact, those of the "lesser clans" tend to be more, well, as you humans would say, savage. Due to their low chakra ability without the resource of convergence points, they are often less intelligent and more animalistic. They live life pursuing food, safety, and power. They worry not about the complexities of life you and I bother ourselves with. They are happy as long as they can eat, raise their young, and gradually grow in power. However, due to the difficult and rare odds of becoming a summoning clan, they often war with each other violently. Convinced less suitors of the convergence points will increase their chances."
"I'm assuming, with the warning you gave earlier, the clans we will be meeting with are the violent type you speak of." Sasuke guessed.
"The worst of them, debatably." Muri agreed. "Due to the harsh conditions of this biome and their rivals, the three clans that call these peaks home are harsh and powerful. There is, firstly, the Crescent Moon Bear *7* Clan, large bears known for their ability to cause avalanches with their roars. They are easy to spot due to their large size and white crescent moon marking on their chest. They are known to be incredibly fearsome if provoked but are unlikely to attempt to kill us outright. In fact, they will likely be interested in you swaying to become a summoner. However, we will be in trouble if we do manage to upset them. Due to the potential for a peaceful encounter, we will seek them first."
"It's Easy enough, so we deal with the bears and then seek out the others, correct?" Sasuke asked.
"That is the plan; however, we may need to fear encountering the second clan. The infamous Snow Weasel Clan." *8* Muri said while glancing around as if worried merely saying their name would bring them to the forefront. Sasuke could not help his brow raising in bewilderment at the comment. "Do not take them lightly! They are known to be one of the most ferocious of beasts! While small, they travel in large groups and have fangs capable of piercing any armor. Even escaping them isn't a great option due to the speed at which they travel through the snow. They are known to eat whatever they encounter and never fail to fall for their selected prey."
"I do not underestimate my foes," Sasuke assured. "Merely recognize no being is unstoppable. Every foe has a weakness…" Sasuke trailed off as his mind drifted back to the days when he had heard such wisdom. Before his mind could entirely drift, he felt a twinge in the air. His chakra bristled as he suddenly felt a presence… more than one. "How would we know they're coming?"
"Well, obviously, I would sense them but we just got here so I haven't bothered… oh no."
"Even his summon is a goofball…" Sasuke complained as he willed Besmirched Flambe to his hand and lowered himself into a loose stance. Muri oddly transformed into a large raccoon, displaying his fangs as he did so. It seemed combat would not be avoided.
Before Sasuke could blink, the snow around them erupted, and several slender weasels flew from the air. Unlike the smallest ones Sasuke had seen before, these were monstrous. Each was three feet long, covered in bright white fur; said fur seemed stained with blood; their eyes were bloodshot and locked onto the two. Each flew towards them, mouths wide open and full of knife-like teeth. Sasuke felt no fear, however.
No one would stop him from aiding his family…