I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 1: Familiar Faces
Gaara of the Desert walked across the barren wasteland, almost aimlessly. The sun mercilessly shone on the earth, and the air shimmered in the heat, but the Fifth Kazekage didn't feel it. He had grown up here, and became accustomed to the temperature. I wonder how Temari is handingly the cold in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. After my assignment is over, I should visit her. It was winter elsewhere in the world, but for the Village Hidden in the Sand, there was no change in the heat. It kept coming down in harsh barrages, baking the land beneath it, only to be soothed by the cool nights. It had been a while since the Kazekage had seen his older sister and her family. Gaara walked a little bit faster, the thought of seeing family again quickening his steps. He looked around and didn't see his bodyguards anywhere. I've fooled them. Gaara understood their jobs, but he liked traveling alone. There was something about having other people travel with him. He didn't know what it was, but Gaara didn't enjoy it. He liked the quiet, with the only sound for miles being his gourd sometimes clanking about the buckle of his sash, or the odd animal that happened to cross his path. Eventually, the sand gave way to the occasional shrubbery, and then grasses, and before he knew it, Gaara had found himself in a large, grassy plain. He saw a row of huts in the distance, and the smoke that rose from them. He took a second look at the smoke, noting that it was black, and besides that, it was too large even for a festival. He jogged to the village, and saw that many of the huts were destroyed, and those that were still standing were burning or had sustained heavy damage. Gaara saw something move inside one of the few huts still standing, and he walked inside. As soon as he stepped through the doorway, a sliver of steel flew at his head. The sand immediately jumped forward and caught the sword before it connected with the Kazekage's forehead. The man who swung it was wearing a blue tunic and he was a middle-aged man. He was trying to get the sword out of the sand.
"Get the hell away from us! You already took all you can! Leave my family alone!" Gaara released the man's sword.
"Sir, I'm not here to harm you. I'm the -" Gaara watched as the sand caught the blade again, this time it was aimed for his stomach. The old Gaara would have buried the man in sand and then crushed him into oblivion. Instead, Gaara, only gripped the sword with his sand and yanked it away.
"As I was saying, I'm the Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand. I'm not here to hurt you. Now please, tell me. What happened here?" The man cowered in the corner, and looked into Gaara's eyes with fear. I know that look. People used to look at me and cower often. But no longer. He slowly approached the man and knelt down.
"I won't harm you or your family. Please, let me help. Who did this?" The man looked at Gaara, and then slowly relaxed.
"A group of powerful ninja. They were destroying everything. They took everything of value, and then just started killing people. They were led by a man with white hair. He held lightning in his hand and had a bandana over his left eye." Gaara was shocked. It can't be Kakashi. The Sixth Hokage wouldn't just destroy a village like this. But the more he thought about it, the more it seem likely that the Copy Ninja was the culprit. His Lightning Blade, the white spiked hair, and his eye being covered. But he would have worn the forehead protector of the Hidden Leaf Village. Gaara decided to think on it later. Right now, these people needed his help. He extended his hand to the man, who took it and stood up.
"Gather everyone who is alive, and then head west. Eventually, you'll come across a Hidden Sand outpost. Hand the guards this." Gaara handed him a card that had the mark of the Kazekage.
"They will take care of you. You and your fellow villagers are safe now." The man went to a door and opened it. Two women, one old and one younger, and two children, a girl and a boy stepped out. Gaara walked the man and his family outside. He heard something clinking, and turned around to watch as the Crow descended from the building.
"Gaara! Get down!" Kankuro readied his puppet to strike, but a barrier of sand prevented it from moving anymore.
"Brother, these people need our help. They aren't enemies." Kankuro leapt from the building, and walked to his younger sibling.
"What are you doing? We lost you in that sandstorm! You know you aren't supposed to leave our sight. It took everything I had just to track you down!" Gaara had summoned a sandstorm to prevent his bodyguards from following.
"Kankuro, I need you to take these people back to our village. They could use some protection. I can handle myself, I don't need the bodyguards. The sand will protect me."
"I'm not leaving you again. I'm going where you're going. I'm your brother, and I'm not letting you head to the Hidden Leaf Village alone."
"I am your Lord Kazekage, and you will do as I say." Kankuro realized there was no changing Gaara's mind. You could argue with your brother, but you can't argue with your Kazekage.
"Fine. I'll take them back. But you better send word that you got there safely as soon as you get there."
"Fine brother." Gaara headed back out into the plains.
"Tell sis I said hi!" The Kazekage walked until the village disappeared from view. He entered the forest, and watched as different animals scurried around. He began thinking about the ninja who attacked the village. Could it have been Kakashi? No. It's not possible. Gaara felt the need to tell the Sixth Hokage about it when he arrived at the Hidden Leaf Village. Another assignment added to this. As if I didn't have enough to do anyway. Gaara walked deeper into the forest, but he felt the sense of someone following him. After a few minutes of waiting for them to go down another path, he was sure that they weren't just traveling. He stopped and turned. No one was there, but there was a voice. A very similar voice.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the great Fifth Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand." There was no mistaking it. It was Kakashi's voice. Gaara didn't drop his guard though.
"Lord Hokage, come into view so we can talk. I have a message to deliver from the Hidden Sand Village." The Jonin dropped from the trees, and Gaara saw Kakashi dust himself off.
"What is this message? Did something happen?"
"Yes, but it has nothing to do with my message. There is a problem. A village was destroyed about seventeen miles northwest of here was destroyed. And from what people have told me, they believe it was you who destroyed the village, Kakashi. If it was you, please tell me why you did it, and why I wasn't informed of this decision because the village lies on the border between our villages." Kakashi looked at Gaara, and sighed.
"What made them think I did it?"
"They gave a description that was spot on, down to the lightning in your hand, and your white hair, and your left eye being covered. Was it you?" Kakashi sighed and reached up to his forehead protector, which Gaara noticed for the first time that it had no markings on it. The Kazekage readied himself for battle, and watched as the Hokage lifted it up. There was no sharingan though. His left eye was normal.
"Two things. First, yes it was me. I destroyed that village. Second, I am not Kakashi Hatake. I am much more powerful." The cork in the gourd was forced off and the sand inside began pooling at Gaara's feet. The white haired ninja dropped his right arm and grabbed the wrist with his left. Suddenly a ball of chakra appeared in his hand.
"Lightning Dagger!" Gaara prepared himself for a fight. He threw his hands forward and the sand leapt forward. The other shinobi dodged and evaded, and then he did something unexpected: he threw the Chidori at Gaara. Some sand came forward and blocked the blast, or it at least attempted to. The Chidori seemed to phase through the sand, and Gaara had to duck or else he would have been struck in the head. He saw the other shinobi with two Chidori, one in each hand. And he was laughing.
"Is this all the Kazekage of the Sand has to offer? Is that all?" Blast after blast struck the forest, and Gaara found himself on the defense. But he had a trick up his sleeve. Or more correctly, it was about to be up this mysterious stranger's sleeve. Gaara threw both his hands up, and a column of sand erupted from underneath the man. It launched him into the air, and that's when Gaara stopped being surprised and started to expect this man could do anything. The man drove his hands down, and the sand seemed to flow out of the way, as if he was parting an ocean made of sand. He landed on the ground, and smirked.
"As much as I love playing this game with you, I have better things to do. My friends will be able to take care of you. I'm sure you recognize some of them." The ninja snapped his fingers, and a few people came out of the shadows. Gaara immediately recognized the white haired one.
"Kimimaro." He saw another one, a man with bandages over his face, and spiky brown hair. A shorter man was next to him, wearing a tracker-nin mask from the Village Hidden in the Mist. On the right side, was a tall dark skinned man, with stitches all over his arms and a mask over his mouth and nose. The final one, was a girl. She looked to be about twenty or so. She could easily have been a child. She wore a green flak jacket, and two purple streaks down her face. She looked out of place with the others. The others were killers, but the girl didn't belong. The other four didn't hesitate to attack. Gaara fought valiantly, but it happened too fast, and he wasn't able to fend all of them. The ninja watched from a distance as the Kazekage was slowly defeated and kneeled before the bloodied man. He dropped a book next to him.
"When you get to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, give this to the Sixth Hokage. He'll be excited to know I finally got him his birthday gift."
Hello everyone! I just wanted to say thank you for reading and giving this story a chance. Please review, that way we'll know what you guys like, what you don't like, and how to make our stories better! Also, special giveaway! A plot request goes to the first person to correctly guess who the four ninja are that are with this duel-wielding Chidori Shinobi and Kimimaro! Plot requests are a way for you to decide what can happen in the story! The only time I deny a plot request is if it will drastically change the plot. And if I deny it, I'll let you know and you can ask for something else. So enjoy the giveaway, and take care everybody!