Chapter 2-Making a Statement
Ulquiorra looked at the vast desert of Wind Country that led to Suna, as he felt it was the opposite of Hueco Mundo in many aspects, and yet the same in others. The cruel winds, sand everywhere, and the many different creatures that had long since learned to survive the harsh environmental hazards it held for many years. The former Espada didn't care for it though, as he had no interest in any of these things, or their similarities to the cold dark realm of the Hollow world.
The first thing Ulquiorra did upon finding himself here in the Elemental Countries was to see if all his powers were indeed still with him and did some discreet testing. Everything he had been in terms of being an Arrancar, much less an Espada was still intact, and had used it in terms of getting around the different places of the world using Sonido. It was almost amusing to see the looks people gave him in cities and in towns while making sure the hole still in his chest kept out of sight. The last thing Ulquiorra wanted was for some kind of unnecessary panic attack from some moron humans, who then ran to some ninja, and brought different people onto his back.
Not yet.
During his time wandering for the past few weeks, Ulquiorra Schiffer saw that not much had changed in this world, which wasn't really a surprise since it was roughly over three years to the several hundred that took place in Hueco Mundo, and realized time worked with significant difference. Again, the former Espada didn't care about that, as he had no real interest in time, and relativity to the different realms of the Universe.
And now here he was, just a few hundred feet away from Suna, and already their was a smell in the air of humans being the pathetic trash he had always called them in the past. Of course, the Arrancar knew it wasn't anyone from Suna, as he knew Gaara would never let anyone boss him around, and sink the village if they tried since the sand here was one big hammer for Gaara to swing should he get pissed off. Of that, Ulquiorra remembered that much about the one-tailed Jinchuriki, and knew if there was one place he should go to see a long lost friend it was Suna.
So why did he get this feeling something bad had just happened to Gaara?
Using Sonido once again to further decrease the gap between himself to Suna, the former member of the Espada found that the village had just recently been attacked, as indicated by the tall tale signs of smoke seen from several places, and stopped when he was soon surrounded by Suna Shinobi. Each of them armed, looking at him suspiciously knowing he could be an enemy, as they had never seen someone like him before in terms of his choice of clothing, complexion, and overall form.
"Identify yourself," said a Suna Shinobi to Ulquiorra's right.
"I'm here to see Sabaku no Gaara. Judging by the smoke behind your walls when I was travelling here...I came at a bad time," said Ulquiorra before he looked behind the Suna Shinobi in front of him to see Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and some pale skinned boy that could almost rival the Arrancar himself.
With the exception of the fake smile of course.
"Who are you?" said Sakura, as she saw Ulquiorra just stare at her with his unreadable face, and saw Sasuke out of the corner of her eyes narrow them at the former Espada since his face looked similar to Itachi in terms of being emotionless.
"My name is Ulquiorra Schiffer. I came to this village to speak to Sabaku no Gaara. What has happened here?" said Ulquiorra, as he kept the tugging feeling in the back of his mind to obliterate the four Leaf Shinobi from existence, and make himself a target.
"The Kazekage has been kidnapped by the Akatsuki. We're here to help save Gaara at the request of his siblings since they need superior Shinobi to do what they clearly can't do themselves," said Sasuke with a smirk in hopes of impressing this man before them and to make himself known to foreigners entering Suna.
"So Gaara is the Kazekage now, huh? I must congratulate my old friend when I save him myself," said Ulquiorra before turning around having already sensed where the Akatsuki members had taken Gaara.
"Wait! You said you were friends with him? Since when?" said Temari having walked in on their conversation.
"Some time ago. Its been awhile and I'm sure he doesn't recognize me. However, I know after we talk, he'll recall who I am, and embrace me in friendship as I did so long ago with him," said Ulquiorra and walking away with his hands in his pockets like he always did before vanishing from sight.
"What kind of Jutsu was that?" said Sakura while looking at Kakashi and saw he was also confused since he had never seen anything like it either.
Sasuke was seething at not being able to use his Sharingan to copy it.
"We'll find out more about him later. Come on you three. We need to track down the two Akatsuki members and save Gaara before that new guy does," said Kakashi, as he felt a cold shivering sensation crawl up his spine, and the Jounin felt like he had just missed something important.
But what was it?
(With Ulquiorra)
It wasn't hard for the Arrancar to find the two Akatsuki members and their little hideaway they had to conduct whatever it is they were doing in the sealed area with Gaara. In all honestly, Ulquiorra didn't care what they did so long as it was stopped before it was even started, and found the cave that the two were in with Gaara with seals on the bolder of a door to block any unwanted guests from stopping them.
An unwanted guest was exactly the kind of person Ulquiorra was at the moment, as he had made it a profession during his time serving Aizen, and like any unwanted guest he did what anyone in his position would do.
He grabbed the boulder with the seals on it and pulled it out of its position with it flying high into the air easily as someone would throw a kid's toy ball with the greatest of ease. The two members of the Akatsuki looked up in shock, as did the other members of the Akatsuki from their assigned projections to see the Arrancar entering the natural cave of a room, and saw Gaara on the ground with his demon about to be extracted.
"And who the Hell are you? Do you know him Sasori?" said Deidara, as he glared at the Arrancar, and wondered if this guy was Itachi's twin.
The two had the same damn stare!
"My name is unimportant. I don't give out things like that to trash. I am here to retrieve Sabaku no Gaara from your...care. Nothing more," said Ulquiorra while the hunched over one named Sasori laughed like he was joking.
"Do you realize who we are? How strong the two of us in this room here are?" said the hunched over one named Sasori with the Arrancar simply staring at them unimpressed.
"You seem to be under the impression that I care or that I should fear you for your skills. Why is it that human trash like you has this belief that you are better then everyone else? It seems to be something that I have yet to truly understand when it comes to the more arrogant side of your species. Though in all honesty, I would rather kill such pathetic pieces of trash, then try to understand them, and remove the problem all together," said Ulquiorra seeing the shadowy members of the Akatsuki look at him like he had grown two heads.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" said one of the shadowy projections.
"As I said before, I don't give out things like that to trash, and I intend to kill anyone that stands in my way of retrieving Sabaku no Gaara," said Ulquiorra walking further into the room before suddenly appearing to Sasori and struck the man in the neck with enough force to knock the head clean off.
With the man inside of the puppet to come out while the body Sasori was just in fell over ironically like a puppet with its strings cut.
'How did he move that fast?' thought Deidara while Ulquiorra picked up Gaara and then quickly appeared near the entrance/exit.
"Deidara! Sasori! Stop him now!" said the shadowed projection that was in the middle of the others while Sasori revealed his puppets and Deidara was making bombs with the mouths in his hands.
"Right! Prepare to go boom!" said Deidara grinning evilly at Ulquiorra while the former Espada just raised his right hand's index finger with a small ball of green energy forming there much to the surprise of the Akatsuki members watching this.
"Cero," said Ulquiorra simply before firing his attack at them and it was only through substitution did the two manage to escape.
Using Sonido to once more land on solid sandy ground, Ulquiorra put Gaara down just before moving his head slightly to dodge the blade aimed at his head from one of the many puppets Sasori had summoned to aid him in battle. To the Arrancar's right, Deidara was forming his explosives into shapes, and waiting for the right time to strike knowing that Gaara could not be harmed in order to extract the demon from the young Kazekage.
"Die fool!" said Sasori, as his small army of puppets moved to either kill Ulquiorra, or move him away from Gaara so Deidara could blow the man up.
"I don't take request from trash like you," said Ulquiorra before blanketing the area with a small fraction of his spiritual pressure to freeze them both in place, as the former Espada disappeared from the Puppet Master's sight, only to appear behind him, and take his head clean off with one swipe of his hand.
And reveal the man was in fact a living puppet.
"My turn!" said Deidara now that the strange invisible weight was off of him while high in the sky on his clay bird and saw just as he was about to unleash them saw Ulquiorra was nowhere to be found.
"Yes. It is," said Ulquiorra making Deidara turn around and was shocked beyond belief to see the Arrancar standing on his clay bird pointing his index finger once again at him with the green ball of energy there once more.
'Oh crap,' thought Deidara while staring at his death.
"Cero," said Ulquiorra before firing and this time hit dead on.
When Ulquiorra no longer sensed the blonde haired Akatsuki member, he descended to the ground, and stood over Sabaku no Gaara's form. Reaching down, he checked for a pulse, and found one on his long lost friend before turning to see Leaf Shinobi along with an elderly woman that was clearly a native of Suna.
"You!" said Sakura pointing an accusing finger at Ulquiorra, who just ignored her, and made the pink haired kunoichi even angrier.
The Arrancar remained silent at her dramatic pointing while watching the elderly woman check on Gaara, a concerned yet guilty look in her eyes, and knew she had some kind of hand in the Kazekage's life in growing up. Turning away from her, the Arrancar saw the Leaf Shinobi were itching for a fight, and Sasuke had wanted to get answers about the man's abilities. Ulquiorra easily deduced it was to get more power in order to kill Itachi, which the Arrancar could care less about, and began walking away.
"I thought you wanted to talk to Gaara," said Kakashi calmly while the pale man just stopped to look at him with the wind blowing his white trench coat in an intimidating fashion.
"I do and I will. Just not around trash from the Leaf," said Ulquiorra seeing Sasuke and Sakura draw some kunai while preparing for a fight.
"Take that back!" said Sakura in a demanding screeching tone.
"Why should I? It's the truth," said Ulquiorra seeing Sasuke activate his Sharingan and Kakashi scowling at him.
"Careful who you insult Ulquiorra-san. Doing so to an Leaf Shinobi is not good for your health," said Kakashi in an authoritative voice while Ulquiorra himself just looked at him with his usual unreadable face.
"This is not your country Leaf Shinobi. I can insult you here in this one all I want. If you have a problem with hearing the truth in my words, I suggest you leave this place, and do not act superior to your betters," said Ulquiorra seeing the Jounin narrow his eye at him.
"What did you say loser?" said Sasuke before going through hand signs for a Fire Jutsu.
"Sasuke don't! This guy just took down two S-class Missing Nin and doesn't even look winded in the slightest," said Kakashi, as he saw Lady Chiyo still hovering protectively over Gaara, and knew the Kazekage would awaken soon.
"You! The one responsible for saving Gaara. Its clear to me that you have some form of speed ability that surpasses anyone here. Can you take him back to Suna?" said Chiyo, as it was the only explanation for Gaara being successfully rescued from the Akatsuki, and for some reason Shukaku was not in the mood to possess him.
It was almost as if Shukaku knew something was here, near Gaara with far more power then itself, and didn't wish to provoke that entity.
"Of course," said Ulquiorra while giving nothing away in his voice before picking up Gaara, as he didn't want to be around these four Leaf Shinobi anymore then he had to for the second time today, and was gone a second later.
"The Hokage will not approve of you trusting the Kazekage to a stranger over us Lady Chiyo," said Kakashi seeing the old woman glare at him.
"I do not serve the Hokage of Konoha. I serve the Kazekage," said Chiyo before heading back to Suna with the others following behind her.
(Suna-Moments Later)
Temari was happy to see her brother was alive despite being unconscious, as Ulquiorra Schiffer placed Gaara on the hospital bed, and walked over to the window with his usual emotionless face giving nothing away. As he looked out the window, the Arrancar was thinking about many things that filled his mind in regards to the Leaf, the Akatsuki, and how to handle them now that he had made an enemy of the latter of the two.
"Thank you for saving Gaara," said Temari at last before bowing slightly in front of him just as Gaara started to stir.
"Where am I?" said Gaara looking at his sister apparently talking to the dark haired pale skin stranger with green eyes.
"In Suna's hospital. This man here saved you from the Akatsuki," said Temari smiling at Gaara and sat down next to him.
"Who is he?" said Gaara seeing Temari smile turn into a frown.
"You don't know? He said you were friends," said Temari turning to see Ulquiorra not even looking back at them.
"I do not know him Temari. I have never seen him before now," said Gaara, which made Temari's eyes widen in shock, grab her iron fan next to the bed, and went into a defensive stance to protect her brother.
"Who are you?" said Temari with a hardened gaze at the Arrancar.
"A friend," said Ulquiorra like it was the most simplest thing in the world.
"Your lying!" said Temari seeing Ulquiorra turn his head slightly to look at her.
"Am I? How?" said Ulquiorra before turning fully to face her.
"Gaara has never seen you until now," said Temari while Gaara looked at the Arrancar with calculating eyes.
"I see. You seem to be misinformed on some things. Gaara has never seen this version of myself until now. That much is true. However, we did meet at one point three years ago, in the Leaf village during the events of the Chuunin Exams, and was the first person to ever defeat you in combat," said Ulquiorra seeing Gaara's eyes widen in shock and so did Temari's at his words.
"It can't be. Uzumaki Naruto died at the hands of Uchiha Sasuke. You look nothing like Uzumaki Naruto," said Gaara, as he had been so angry with Konoha, but politics at the time had demanded the now Kazekage keep the newly remade alliance with the Leaf, and not break it once more.
"Yes I know," said Ulquiorra seeing Temari was still on guard against him.
Not that she could hurt him.
"Prove to me you're Uzumaki Naruto," said Gaara seeing the Arrancar just look at them for a moment before opening up his white trench coat and parting it to reveal the whole where his heart had been.
"This should suffice," said Ulquiorra seeing the surprise of their faces of seeing a hole in his body that went all the way through and the fact he was walking around because of it.
"What about the past? Tell us something only we would know," said Temari, as she still wanted more proof, and a hole in the chest wouldn't cut it.
"I summoned the Boss Toad Summons by the name of Gamabunta to help combat you in your one-tailed state," said Ulquiorra seeing Gaara nod slowly since no one really knew about that.
"I see. You are him," said Gaara without a doubt in his voice with Temari putting her fan away seconds later though she was still on edge.
"So...what now?" said Temari seeing the man formerly Uzumaki Naruto not answer and head for the door before stopping.
"Whatever alliance you have with the Leaf, I suggest you terminate it immediately, and seek the means for this village to stand on its own two feet without them for support. Do you really want to stay allies with a village that betrayed me Gaara? Betrayed me for the betrayer I was sent to bring back?" said Ulquiorra seeing Gaara narrow his eyes and knew the memory of that moment three years ago burned forever in the Kazekage's brain.
"No. I don't. The Wind Daimyo will not be happy if we try do," said Gaara seeing his old friend nod once.
"If that's the case, tell him of the Leaf's way of treating Jinchuriki for accomplishing their missions, and the truth they demand you keep secret three years ago about my death. See how responsive he'll be then," said Ulquiorra before leaving the room.
Within the hour, the Leaf Shinobi had returned to see Gaara was sitting up in his bed, and appeared to be deep in thought about something. When Kakashi tried to greet the young Kazekage, but the instant the Jounin did, the red haired man glared intensely at them in a way two among the group of Leaf hadn't seen in three years, and it was still frightening then as it was now.
"Is something wrong Kazekage-sama?" said Kakashi seeing the intense look from Gaara.
"Yes. Tell your Hokage that the alliance between our villages is now over," said Gaara seeing the shock on their faces.
"What? Why?" said Sakura seeing Temari stand up now and put a hand on her hip.
"Does he need a reason Pinky? You have 6 hours to get out of Suna before we declare you hostile and throw your asses in prison for interrogation," said Temari seeing the girl glare at him.
"How dare you! Do you realize the consequences that will happen between our villages for threatening me? An Uchiha elite! We'll go to war!" said Sasuke seeing Temari smirk at him.
"Bring it. You think the Wind Daimyo will be so friendly with yours after we tell him a few things about your village you demanded we kept secret? Hardly," said Temari, as she saw them go pale, and wide eye at the implication of what particular secret that would be exposed.
"And what brought about this sudden spark of courage?" said Kakashi seeing Gaara's eyes narrow and killer intent fill the room.
"Uzumaki Naruto's memory and your dishonoring of it," said Gaara in an icy tone that made Kakashi once again feel the shiver that ran up his spine at something being amiss.
"What? That loser! You're weeping still over him?" said Sasuke before the killer intent in the room became oppressively thick and Gaara was only letting them live due to his weakened condition.
"Get out of Suna. Get out or I will kill you!" said Gaara with his tone of voice and killer intent proving he intended to carry out the threat.
Regardless of how weak he was feeling right now.
"Your going to regret this," said Sakura before they left.
"Not likely," said Temari, as she knew her brother well, and knew that Naruto had been his first real friend who was taken away from him.
Gaara had never gotten over the loss and had to play nice with the Leaf then due to all the things happening around them. Now there was no need to play nice, there was no need to be civil with those that turned his stomach, and there was no need to honor an alliance with a village that had no honor.
(A/N: YAY! Another update. I don't think the chapters for this fic are going to be long like my others. I think they're just be straight and to t the point