Naturally, Ren was not invited by the Daimyo to go to the Capital with Temari. But that certainly wasn't going to stop him. From what he heard, the man had designs on Temari, but even if he was going to be completely professional, this was never going to be just a courtesy call where the Daimyo wanted to meet the next Kazekage like he tried to portray it in the invitation letter.
Obviously, there was a larger scheme afoot. Ren honestly didn't like his chances of helping Temari with that. He was not a political animal. But he would make do with simply being there, silently supporting her from behind and making the Daimyo keenly aware that Temari was taken.
Not to mention, he could always do some secret ninja stuff on the side and place his teleportation markers for some later shenanigans.
The very next day, Temari and Ren boarded a caravan heading to the capital city, followed by several other ninjas from Suna, killing two flies with one slap by escorting both Temari and the caravan.
Kankuro joined them, too, under a protest. The man wanted to stay in the village to play with his puppets, but the scowling Temari twisted his ear enough that he vehemently yelled his agreement soon enough.
In a way, it was necessary. Having two members of the Sabaku family there would be a show of respect to the Daimyo. Temari wanted to repair the rift between the man and the village. As long as he was reasonable, she intended to at least put in the effort into it.
Sunagakure might have shed its heavy reliance on the Daimyo's funding thanks to Ren's ideas and seals, but free money was free money. There was no need to be hostile to the governing body of the land. It was winning them exactly nothing.
A civil war was out of the question, too. Hanzo the Salamander had already tried and succeeded in overthrowing the Daimyo of his country, and it ended in tears not only for him but also for everybody in that country.
Sunagakure did not have the manpower and skills to govern a country anyway. They could barely govern their own village. Without Ren, they would still be suffering a slow economic death.
Giving a country, any country, into the hands of these idiots would be doing civilians a disservice in Ren's opinion. He wasn't going to get behind such a plan.
The current governance was not the best. But at least it was doing its job semi-competently. That was one thing these big countries could be praised for. Even in the Land of Wind, with the majority of its land being a desert, the ordinary people could still survive and live okay-ish lives.
The journey to the capital lasted seven days at a leisurely pace. While Suna was somewhat in the center of the Land of Wind, just located more to the north, the Capital City was on the south-eastern coast, pretty much on the other side of the country.
They could have been there in a day and a half if they ran there at their usual ninja speed, but that would have been undignified according to Ebizo. Temari, as the Kazekage successor, had a certain status.
"She is no dog to come running to the Daimyo whenever called." The old man said when they were organizing the trip.
And Ren was starting to see where the strife between the village and the Daimyo came from, just from that one sentence. But the old man was probably not wrong. It wouldn't do for Sunagakure to look too eager.
Hence, Temari did not travel like a ninja. Instead, she traveled like a noble lady, clad in her ceremonial kimono while riding with Ren in a... some sort of camel-drawn coach Sunagakure had for exactly this kind of occasion.
The ride was bumpy, uncomfortable, and boring, but Ren couldn't really complain. Temari looked magnificent in the black and gold kimono. She looked even better with it half taken off, lying on the bed. With nothing to do and easily drawn privacy seals, Ren spent most of the journey doing the very eager Temari.
After all, they could easily leave shadow clones in the carriage and teleport back and forth between the much more comfortable house in the Little Garden.
They barely separated from each other during the seven-day-long journey, as if trying to make up for all the lost time since the war started, and Temari became too busy with the village matters.
Sometimes Hinata, Ino, or both joined them in bed, at other times they enjoyed food or some game together. A few hours a day were dedicated to training, and Temari was very eager to improve now that she had some time to spare for it.
Just as Ino was eager to tortu-, ahem, guide her, or Hinata was happy to provide the medical aftercare for all the injuries, even those that didn't come from the training. Especially the love bites, scratches, or small bruises from their nightly activities. Temari seemed almost reluctant to part from those, always pouting without realizing it, while the amused Hinata was healing her. But it wouldn't do for her to look anything but pristine during her stay at the Daimyo's court.
It truly did not help that Ino had noticed on the third day and started teasing Temari by wordlessly showing off her own hickeys with her body language and skimpier clothing as if they were some sort of prize, irritating the hell out of the sandy-haired kunoichi.
Ren could only shake his head in amusement at their antics. The ridiculous thing was that Ino knew what she was doing. Her actions and the catfights that ensued motivated Temari to put in more effort in her training out of sheer spite.
That... was certainly not a method he would ever employ with his own students, but alright. If it works, it works.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end eventually. Soon enough, they arrived at the gates of their destination, and after passing a halfhearted inspection by the bored gate guards, they entered the Capital City of the Land of Wind.
One would expect the city to have some grand name, but no. For some reason, all capital cities were simply called that, and this was not an exception. The city was literally called the Capital City of Wind.
As Ren stepped out of the coach, followed by a very dignified-looking Temari clad once more in her clean ceremonial kimono, the first thing he noticed was the distinct lack of Japanese culture.
Back in the Land of Fire, things reminding him of feudal Japan were abundant. In the Capital City of Fire? No matter where you looked, you would see at least one mark that would instantly make you go, 'Oh, yeah. That's Japanese, alright.'
But here? Nothing.
It seemed to be a completely different culture. If they did not speak the same language, Ren could absolutely believe he was in some medieval Middle Eastern or Arabic country.
The distinct Japanese-style roofs or wooden buildings with sliding doors were nonexistent here. Instead, just like in Sunagakure, the buildings were made out of some sand-colored rock, and the roofs were more rounded.
The people were usually tanned or had darker skin, but unlike in the other towns Ren had visited in the Land of Wind, people seemed to prefer wearing fewer clothes rather than protect themselves from the heat by fully wrapping themselves in something from head to toe.
When he looked out of the window while passing through the city, he saw sweaty, half-naked men working, women in skimpy clothing dancing in front of what looked like a brothel, street vendors, both men and women, sitting under the shade of a roof of their makeshift stalls, fanning themselves while shouting advertisements for their wares, and kids running across the streets, weaving through the crowds of people that passed their carriage on the sides of the street.
It was a very bustling city, and its location right next to the sea definitely only helped, as the usually dry air that permeated Sunagakure and the majority of the Land of Wind was instead swapped with a refreshing, if a bit salty, breeze coming from the nearby sea.
They had stopped in front of the Wind Daimyo's castle. A massive building that looked like something where a Sultan would live, rather than a place where you could find a Japanese-esque ruler.
The whole place was located on a more elevated ground than the city underneath it, giving them a beautiful view of the whole city and the sea.
Far in the distance, ships appeared and disappeared on the horizon behind the glittering sea, with more of them coming and going, intending to dock or starting their journey at the port. Despite himself, Ren found himself amazed at the view and squeezed Temari's hand.
"It is a beautiful place, isn't it?" Temari asked as she looked at the view, leaning slightly on Ren with a small smile.
"Yeah. It definitely has its own charm." Ren agreed. The Capital City of Fire had nothing like this.
Temari chuckled and, standing on her toes, she pecked Ren on the cheek before gently pulling his hand, "Come. You can admire the view once we are housed. If nothing else, they always give their guests a room with a good view of the sea."
Ren smiled at her back, "Alright." He nodded and turned to follow her, subtly noting how the armored samurai guards grimly watched them like hawks, hands on the katanas in the sheaths strapped to their belts.
"How welcoming." Ren hummed with a healthy dose of sarcasm.
These people were supposed to be their welcoming committee, and so far, they were doing a shit job at it. A clear sign of disrespect from the Daimyo.
Temari looked at them and snorted, "It's just their job. Take it as a compliment. We are the biggest threat around, and their vigilance acknowledges that."
But then a small, mischievous smirk appeared on her face, and Ren knew she was up to no good.
She rolled her eyes, "Though, if we really wanted their Daimyo dead, I would have simply accepted his proposals and poisoned him during the wedding night. Lucky him that I am already married, right?" She cheekily asked Ren, but the question was obviously aimed at the guards observing them.
Letting out an exasperated breath, Ren silently patted Temari's head and gave her a 'Must you?' look. Sadly, she had learned some bad habits after spending a week straight with Ino. Her eyes crinkled in amusement as she merrily nodded.
"They are going to relay our conversation to their Daimyo. Maybe it will save us some unnecessary trouble." She said with an unrepentant shrug, completely ignoring the now irritated guards and their hostile looks.
Ren inwardly groaned. She was not wrong. But also, she was making unnecessary trouble at the same time! Then again, 'What else did I expect from Rasa's daughter?' He inwardly grumbled, throwing an apologetic look at the nearby samurai, one that the arrogant asses promptly ignored.
Some of them even narrowed their eyes at him.
Well, alright. He was a bit irritated now, too. Nobody liked being ignored, and he was pretty blatant there. Turning back to Temari, who gave him an expectant look, he nodded in agreement. They wanted to be rude? Two could play this diplomatic game.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" He spoke toward the samurai, "Do your job and lead the way, chucklefucks."