It had been a while since Ronin had left their forest, but this was urgent. And maybe they'd been apart from the larger world for too long. Ronin didn't even know if he would be welcome here anymore. So much had changed since his last visit, which had been recon during the last war the stomp--well, it wasn't polite to think of them like that, especially since he needed their aid-- the village ninja has waged on each other. It had been the wars, really, that had dissuaded them from joining the villages. Better to remain small and peaceful, tending to and protecting their forest than to engage in such bloodshed.

So Ronin perched his bird, and took a few hops to the ground. He didn't want to be big again, even though he was old enough to still remember a time when big had been the normal size, but needs must, even if it made him feel so clumsy and slow. It was so much harder to get and keep people's attention when he was small, which, truthfully was usually one of the best benefits. The hand seals were hesitant at first, then picked up and then--

It was disorienting, making him feel like he was being spun in a tornado, and Ronin remained kneeling for a moment, shaking his head.

To an onlooker, it would appear like a flickering image of a man, suddenly growing (and not all at a pace with himself) and distorting and finally settling into something solid. The very solid, and very real, chakra and all, man, was dressed in green--leaves, it looked like--and carried a very sharp sword. And an instant later, a hummingbird fluttered down and set himself on the man's shoulder.

Ronin smiled sadly at his friend's forlorn chirp. "This won't take long; then I'll be back to normal."

But he had a mission, so Ronin marched up to the first ninja he could identify. "I'm Ronin of the Youjin Clan. I've come on a peaceful mission and it's vital that I speak to your leader as soon as possible."