2. Sahara

I don't own Naruto or Young Justice. This story was constructed for pure entertainment and nothing more.

Bruce Wayne was glad that he was able to arrive at the Watchtower earlier than he expected. It was going to be an exceptionally busy morning. It was becoming a habit in this kind of work, he accepted. There were times where he wasn't able to leave the Watchtower for days. And, as much as he hated to admit it, that was a good sign in crime fighting. A prolonged silence meant that his enemies were plotting something diabolical which often cost more resources to be allocated. He didn't need to go back to the manor for a good night's rest. That was the purpose of the resting rooms that were built in the lower section of the floating space fortress.

There was so much to be done and little time to do it.

Recently, his responsibilities have nearly doubled in size within the Justice League. The newly assembled covert young Justice Team, or Team as it was called within the group, had been taking up most of his time. Bruce was relieved to know that there was an isolated team he could deploy when situations arise. But that was it, all of the Team members were young.

Some were too young.

Did he make the right decision all those months ago?

That question always lingered in the corner of his mind. There was that undoubting realization that him and all of the other superhero mentors are relying on the Team's help too much. A thought that once they send them out there for a field mission, one, some, or all of them, would not return.

However, the billionaire pushed those thoughts out. They served no purpose in accomplishing the mission.

Yes, all of this served the mission and there was nothing more important than that.

A rhythmic beep came from the holographic computers of the Watchtower. A warning. The League's computer had picked up a rising situation on the home planet.

Bruce tapped on the holographic buttons to receive more information.

"Batman," a tall, green humanoid figure clad in a black suit with red straps that intersected on his torso, red belt and a blue cape came to his right side. Martian Manhunter's eyes projected an impression of concern. "The League computer—"

"I'm already on it."

Imprinted on the holographic screen of the computer was a red reticule that positioned itself above the Sahara Desert. On the corner of the HUD, there was an indication of a massive energy reading. Batman cursed inwardly. There were at least a dozen explanations as to how this would have come to be. What made matters worse was that explosions were often the leading cause of such high levels.

Was it artillery?

Was it meta-humans?

The dark knight didn't forget the leaguer that stood by him, "The League's sensor arrays picked up a large energy output in the Sahara Desert."

"What could have caused such a high reading?" The Martian asked as he stared at the digital data in front of him.

"That's what I want to know too."

Martian Manhunter nodded, "Were we notified of any military presence on the area?"

"No."

Martian Manhunter stood adjacent to Batman and summoned his own holographic screen. "I will contact the nearest military air base to proceed surveying the area."

Batman faced the Martian Leaguer, "Don't. The League's systems were the one who picked it up. If we haven't received any reports of disturbance, this could just be another glitch to which we need to do an entire system flush."

A sigh escaped from the Martian's thick lips, "Red Tornado has yet to determine the origin of the computer virus."

"We've all been distracted from our main priorities lately," Batman spoke.

"The Team, the Kobra-Venom, T.O. Morrow, The Injustice League, this is turning out to be a busy year."

The dark knight didn't speak, though he made sure to nod.

"This could be merely nothing," Martian Manhunter reassured Bruce as he studied the holographic computer once more.

"Contact any near Justice League members to respond."

Bruce preferred someone who could answer right away. Leaguers like Flash, Green Lanterns, or Superman. The faster they were able to dismiss this, the better. The billionaire superhero had a list of priorities that resources were better spent on.

Batman typed on the holographic keyboard that was suspended in the air, "Watchtower to Superman."

"Yes, Bats," Superman's voice clicked through the speakers. "I read you."

"The Watchtower sensed a disturbance in the Sahara Desert. We need you to investigate."

"Can't, I'm a little busy right now."

A news video appeared on the screen of Superman battling a group of robbers who were trying to escape in a white van. The man of steel was trying to make sure that the bullets wouldn't ricochet off his frame and accidentally injure any bystanders caught in a crossfire.

Martian Manhunter spoke to his right, "Flash is occupied at the moment as well and both Green Lanterns are out patrolling their designated sectors."

"Get a hold of Wonder Woman," Batman ordered.

The towering green Martian pushed a few holographic buttons. Moments later, he let out a disappointing gust of breath.

"She is out on leave. She will be attending an Amazonian ceremony. Would you still like me to call her?"

"There's a high possibility that this could merely be a bug in the system," Batman replied. "Forward the information to her through the League's message system just in case."

"What about Captain Marvel?"

It was nine thirty-seven in the morning, Eastern Standard Time. Billy would be in school right about now. Bruce couldn't get him to leave the campus even with such an understanding relative. Captain Marvel was simply out of reach as well.

"I know his schedule. He won't make it," a sigh escaped from Bruce's lips.

"What other options do we have?" Asked Martian Manhunter.

"Send the Team."

X-X

It was scorching hot.

That's what Naruto felt as he continued to lie on—what seemed to be a crater of sand. Totally bogus, he concluded as he recollected what the Kazekage had told him. The sand was not as soft as snow. In fact, the sand made Sakura's punches feel like a pillow compared to what he just went through.

The blond struggled to stand up. His partner's chakra started to envelop his entire body, healing the cuts and bruises that cracked on the surface. He felt his bones align themselves once more. His joints were a bit relaxed now as Kurama's chakra healed him mostly.

An abundant amount of questions began to fill his head. But, the one that dominated all of it had to be the absence of clothing.

Seriously, why was he naked?

The whiskered teenager lifted his left hand above his right shoulder. From his shoulder to his wrist, Naruto's right arm was covered with various, black seal-markings. Supplying chakra to one of his markings, a scroll emerged onto his left hand in a cloud of smoke. Constructing a ram handseal, Naruto was able to retrieve a necklace with nine wooden magatama beads, an orange tee shirt, a pair of black pants and matching high-top ninja sandals that he was so fond of.

It took seconds for him to get dressed.

He whipped his head around to survey his environment. And, to much of his displeasure, he stood in a sea of sands.

This was just so perfect.

What happened anyways? At first he remembered snaking through a stack of paperwork on his desk—then a black out later—he was standing in the middle of a desert. Well…it's not that he didn't mind escaping one of the most tedious responsibilities of being a Kage.

But, for him to appear randomly in a desert?

Did he subconsciously employ the Hiraishin again?

Sakura often berated him for abusing his father's prized ninjutsu. But, he couldn't help it. The Flying Thunder God was very useful in most—if not—all situation. For example, if you were already late to a council meeting but forgot to have breakfast, the Flying Thunder God was there. If your friends invited you to have dinner over their house but didn't have enough time to stop by at the store, the Flying Thunder God was there. If your best friend asked you to a double date but discovered that she was totally annoying, the Flying Thunder God was there.

Okay, so all of those were small problems. The point was, his father's Hiraishin technique was certainly flexible in a sense that it could be applied to EVERYTHING.

Though, this did seem out of the ordinary.

Why in the world did his dad put a marking all the way out here?

Was it to escape the strenuous job of signing every god forsaken paper that ever existed?

Could this barren desert serve as his personal training ground?

Did he use this to escape the infamous wrath of Konoha's Red Hot Habanero?

A bead of sweat started to gather from his temple. Yeah, that was probably it.

Naruto observed the sands below him. No, it was impossible. He couldn't feel the Hiraishin seals anywhere and he didn't remember ever visiting a desert such as this. The endless dunes just rolled through the horizon.

The young Hokage shifted his eyes towards the blue, cloudless sky. He carefully observed the position of the sun. It was still in the middle of the afternoon. Obviously, there was no way he was able to see the constellations. Navigation, Naruto thought, just got a whole lot complicated.

Forming a dragon handseal, Naruto applied a small earth pressure around his vicinity with the help of his chakra. Minutes later, he was given an answer.

He was only a few kilometers north of the equator?

The Uzumaki heir beamed audibly. This was wonderful news! What luck, really! This meant that Sunagakure was somewhere south to southeast from where he was standing.

The blond closed his eyes for a moment. Mustering all the natural chakra that was within his reach, Naruto tried to sense the direction of Sunagakure—or any village or town for that matter. He gathered all the elements around him, but abruptly opened his eyes.

There was no village hidden in the sands.

Where the hell was he?

X-X

"Around 0930, Justice League scanners picked up a massive energy output in the Sahara Desert."

Kaldur'ahm listened on as the whole Young Justice Team strapped themselves on the Bio-ship's chairs. They were en route to the African fields that much he had digested. Not less than a few minutes ago, He was supposed to be going through combat training with Black Canary. Then, unexpectedly, all the other members had been ushered in the cave and were immediately commanded to travel to the hottest desert on the planet.

Off to his left, the boy wonder scanned through his personal holographic computer that suspended above his left black, padded glove. "Woah! These readings are off the charts! This has got to be caused by a large explosion."

"As far as we know, there are no confirmed military activities in the area." Batman spoke through the holographic screens of the Bio-ship.

"Baddies in the Sahara Desert," Kid Flash observed.

Batman remained expressionless, "Hopefully not. This could be nothing more than another bug in the League system."

Robin raised his eyebrow, "League systems can get viruses?"

"Unfortunately," the dark knight responded. "League grids aren't completely perfect as much as we want it."

"So basically, you're wasting our time." Superboy crossed his arms over his chest.

Aqualad was utterly shock at Superboy's attitude towards Batman. His King often reminded him to show his utmost respect towards the members of the Justice League. It was a magnificent group of heroes that dedicated their time towards the peace and safety of Earth's citizens. He fully understood that only a few knew what it meant to have the courage to stand against such formidable adversity.

"Superboy!" Aqualad heard Miss Martian behind him.

Batman narrowed his eyes, "Never. Any day spent with the Team serves toward the mission."

Kaldur saw Robin widened his eyes a little.

"Would've fooled me," Superboy spoke as he snatched his gaze away from the holographic screen.

"Then what is our objective?" The Atlantean warrior wanted to get out of this uncomfortable exchange as soon as possible.

"We have triangulated the exact location of the energy spike. Deploy and investigate."

"Understood," Kaldur gave a stern gaze. "We will report back within thirty minutes."

However, Batman wasn't finished, "The Sahara Desert is near the borders of Bialya. Tread carefully. We don't want an international incident on our hands."

The Team nodded in acknowledgment.

"Batman out."

X-X

"…say what?"

Kuruma sighed. "I do not know where we are."

"What d'you mean 'I do not know where we are'? You're better at sensing than I am!" The blond Hokage exclaimed.

Nine tails swayed behind the colossal fox, "True. However, this land is entirely foreign to me. By the way, did you know that we are currently standing in the middle of a desert?"

"I ALREADY KNEW THAT!"

Kurama lifted his paws up, "I was merely reminding you."

"We haven't even been here for that long!" Naruto was irked that Kurama challenged his mental capabilities. "How in the world was I going to forget?"

"You have an annoying habit of dismissing even the most minuscule details."

"Whatever. I was signing a bunch of stuff for the ninja academy—then poof!" Naruto supplied his words with hand gestures. "I was under the sun, which is really hot."

"The sun? Hot? Impossible."

"Shut up."

The gigantic fox cupped its jaw, "You were always looking for ways to escape those mountains of paperwork, but for it to reach this extreme."

"Oi," Naruto said with irritation. "I already got Sakura on my back for 'misusing' the Hiraishin. I don't need you to join."

A snort came from the massive beast, "You inherited that technique from your father. You can do with it as you please."

The blond grinned as he nodded, "Finally! Someone who gets it!"

"Actually," the behemoth nine tailed beast confessed. "I do not understand."

Naruto raised his fists slightly, "What's not to get?! The Hiraishin is a useful tool in my arsenal."

"I comprehended that fact," Kurama was forced to sigh at Naruto's atrocious communication skills. "Why be a Hokage at all if you did not want to bother with such…pesky responsibilities?"

"Ya mean all the paperwork and stuff?"

The tailed beast nodded.

The youngest Hokage crossed his arms, "Look, dun' get me wrong, I like being a Hokage even if I have to put up with the reading and signing. They could ease off y'know. But, hey, whatever…and it actually helps me with connecting with the other villages."

"Politics?"

"Duh! I gotta pick up where the old man left off!"

"The old man being…?" Asked Kurama with an elevated eyebrow.

"Hagoromo."

"A noteworthy aspiration, however," the fox started. "Do consider that you are carrying another soul in your body."

Naruto blinked, "Why?"

"I should have never let that old man seal me again."

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed. "You agreed to be my partner in protecting Konoha."

Another blast of disappointing breath left the jaws of the nine tailed fox. "That, I did."

"Well, anyways." Naruto began as he interlaced his fingers behind his golden locks. "I guess, we have to—"

Kurama's head whipped up.

"NARUTO MOVE!"

X-X

It was fast. Freakishly, scary fast!

Naruto was super glad that he was able to sense it kilometers away. Because whatever that thing was, it didn't intend to cease. And the way this incoming object was accelerating, it looked like it was about to tackle him straight to hell!

He was granted only a few seconds to act.

With a fluid motion, a three-pronged kunai emerged from one of the markings on his right arm. Catching the weapon with his left hand, Naruto laced the knife with enough wind chakra and threw it with all his might.

As the kunai knife flew, Naruto summoned a shakujō with the assistance of another marking. The golden staff was taller than him; about a few centimeters. There was a beautiful, woven orange fabric wrapped around the staff. At the head of the staff was a large metal sphere which also sported its own ring. Within the loop were twelve rings that jingled as the blond twirled the staff.

True enough, the advancing figure swatted his odd shaped knife away like a fly. This was incredible enough, in his opinion.

A second later, the object was meters away. It was inbound and ready to knock him.

But, too bad.

Naruto Uzumaki vanished in a golden light before the object was able to touch him.

The blond Hokage appeared beside the discarded kunai. He retrieved his three-pronged weapon and held it firmly between his teeth. Naruto had to match the speed of whatever was trying to get him.

The teenager's grip on his staff tightened. Assuming his opponent's attack were linear, Naruto planned to throw the knife again and appear above the rushing target fully immobilizing it with a quick Rasengan.

He silently wished this would work. There were other methods to bring down his assailant, but they required too much attention. The whiskered teenager needed to stop this person quickly.

His vision danced all around. It was difficult for him to focus at the task at hand.

It already got complicated too fast. An approaching bad omen from the universe seemed inevitable.

Although the dust obstructed much of the image of his opponent, Naruto knew it was human because he sensed a decent amount of chakra inside their system. And he knew that they were still under that cloud of dust because chakra constantly pulsated from them. Whoever they were, they dispensed chakra so wastefully.

It kinda reminded him of his genin days.

Slowly, the dust began to dissipate.

The rings on his sage staff jingled wildly as he brought his weapon closer to his body. Naruto arched his torso forward and bent his legs in anticipation of a dashing attack.

Naruto narrowed his sapphire eyes as the human figure became clear.

There, standing mere meters away from him was a woman. She had a sickly umber colored hair, a light skin and a skinny frame that slightly suggested a state of malnourishment. Her light pink tee shirt billowed. She was wearing the shortest pair of shorts Naruto had ever seen. There were some cuts on her legs that probably resulted from her landing. Most importantly, Naruto was able to smell dried up blood on her fingers.

However, that wasn't what surprised Naruto.

It was the fully activated Byakugan that worried him the most.

X-X

"…is that?"

Kurama narrowed his crimson eyes, "It is."

Naruto blinked, "What's a Hyuga doing way over here?"

They were able to catch a roll of dense chakra that emitted off of her frame. It was extremely malicious. Come to think of it, Kurama was able to sense her pernicious human emotion that was generally laced with chakra from such a vast distance. How was this possible?

"I think, we are about to find out."

Kurama slammed his paws together in an effort to muster any available chakra he can. For this encounter, the gigantic fox concluded, they most definitely needed every single ounce of it.

He lowered his gaze towards his blond partner.

"Naruto," Kurama spoke. "Hold her off until I have accumulated enough chakra."

A nod came from the boy, "Uh-huh. Got it."

"I cannot believe it, but your chakra reserves are almost depleted." Kurama warned him.

Naruto clenched both of his fists, "That's probably why I feel a little bit whoozy…"

"Do not commit any unnecessary risks until I can replenish your supply."

"Sure thing."

X-X

"Recognized. Zatara; one-one. Zatanna Zatara; A-zero-three."

Batman was inside the cave going over mission briefing with the Team he had just sent out. He didn't need to turn around to face the newcomers. The League's systems had named the people that had just arrived.

"…we don't want an international incident on our hands," Batman warned the Team.

He saw them register his instructions.

"Batman out."

"Zatara," the caped crusader addressed a middle aged gentleman with black hair and gray eyes that wore a white buttoned shirt, red bowtie, a yellow vest, a black blazer and matching slacks, a pair of black shoes with a black hat and lengthened cane.

"Dad! Hurry up and tell him!" Zatanna was off to left; a bright, black haired teenager with blue eyes and light skin. She was dressed in a lavender top with white pants and casual flats for her feet.

"Zatanna, patience!" The magician leaguer tore away his strict gaze from his daughter to Bruce. "We have a situation."

"Yes, the League's computer warned us already. The Team was just deployed."

That earned an audible gasp from Zatanna and a surprised expression from her father.

"NO!" Zatara exclaimed, "You must bring them back!"

Batman narrowed his eyes, "What's going on?"

Zatanna pushed her dad aside, "They're in danger!"

"I can feel a strong mystic presence and raw power," Zatara said.

"The energy spike came from the Sahara Desert." Batman was surprised to say the least. It was unlikely that he was able to sense from such a distance.

Zatanna produced a sharp exhale, "No way!"

"Is it possible that you are sensing another sorcerer near Mount Justice?"

The magician leaguer shook his head, "It can't be. I am familiar with sensing most sorcerers like Jason Blood, Felix Faust, Wizard, even Witch Boy and Doctor Fate."

Zatara paused to clear his throat.

"This one is different."

"Zatara," Batman gave him a stern look. "What's its grade?"

"I fear that it's in a level much higher than my own. With Doctor Fate's current…idleness, we will run into complications."

It was Zatara's turn to stare down the dark knight.

"The Team won't be able to handle this."

That thought he managed to drive off earlier, found its way into his head once more.

X-X

The woman leaped forward. It was another linear attack and her frame was too rigid. She easily missed by at least a meter away. Something, Naruto found very appealing.

This woman was no pushover and as much as Naruto didn't want to admit it, he was currently weak. Not in the sense that she was going to overpower him but the blond felt that his systems were drained. Never did he think he was going to experience this all his life. Sure, there was that time when he could barely stand up to Gaara in their genin days. Or the time he rescued the whole village from Pein's wrath. The Konoha savior had been in bed for days that time.

But, this was different from that. So, different.

While evading her attacks, Naruto felt sluggish. The blond didn't have full control of his body. It was as if there were weights tied down to each of his limb. It couldn't help that the woman in front of him supplied her attacks with a freakish amount of strength. It wasn't on the level of Tsunade's or Sakura's and for that he was deeply grateful. Those, the whiskered teenager reflected, he could never handle.

A noticeable punch sailed through the air. The blond Hokage was able to dodge it by twisting his upper torso. In their distance, Naruto had no doubts that he would be able to retaliate in seconds. He brought his hand up and lifted the golden staff upwards. A delightful smile graced his expression when the metal smashed against her jaw sending her into the air.

Before she could soar through the beautiful, cloudless sky, Naruto grabbed her right ankle and threw her onto the dunes.

But, Naruto was quickly disappointed when she landed gracefully.

Without hesitation she continued on her relentless onslaught. The blond matched her speed magnificently. Bobbing in and out of her attacks was super undemanding. It looked like she didn't have a structural form to follow. All of attacks have been rather tactless. A punch that tried to hit his jaw, an elbow that tried to connect with his stomach and a kick that tried to take his balance.

They were too easy to read.

Another left hook came whizzing past his golden locks as he ducked under her arms. Here, he was perfect to strike. Here, he hoped to paralyze her wholly.

Or give him more time…whichever one worked.

Naruto delivered a contusing left jab to her ribs. When she recoiled forward, the blond stepped to her side and with both hands slammed his golden staff onto her back. It carried enough force to create a little crater below her. Most definitely, it had enough power to break her spine.

Not that he wanted to in the first place. Hopefully, Naruto could recover some answers from her then—in return she would get her ability to walk again.

Realizing that he didn't need the extra assistance of the Hiraishin at all, the Uzumaki heir pocketed the knife that was uncomfortably resting between his teeth.

"Assaulting the Hokage? Seriously?"

Her back twitched rhythmically. Naruto figured that she was still reclining to the attack. Although, he did hold back his strength by a considerable amount. The Uzumaki heir found no point in killing her.

He needed to know her identity.

He needed to know why she went ape-shit crazy and attacked him.

He needed to know who she recently murdered.

He needed to know how she got that Byakugan.

"Okay okay," Naruto spoke with a deep sigh. "I know we're past apologizing. But, don't sweat it! I can heal you."

She was silent.

"I just need a couple of answers."

Her frame suddenly paled and melted out of form. Naruto widened his eyes as a realization just materialized in his head.

He had been duped.

X-X

Aqualad stopped to turn to his Team who had all activated their stealth technology to camouflage with the color of the dunes. His sleeveless top and slim bottoms were difficult to distinguish against the surface of the grainy earth. "We are here."

"Affirmative," Robin's outfit also went through a transformation. Underneath a beige cape was a sandy, padded full body suit with matching gloves, tightly built golden utility belt, and combat boots. He was looking at the holographic screen that appeared above his beige glove. "Coordinates match."

Off to his right was a blond girl who wore a lightly tanned midriff-bearing uniform: a sleeveless top, an extended mask that only exposed her eyes and mouth, utility belt, a quiver and bow, a tactical pouch strapped to her right thigh, fingerless gloves, slim-fitting bottoms with padded knees and combat boots. She also had her hair in a ponytail. The young archer frowned as she placed her hands on her hips, "Except there's nothing here."

That was true. They had been searching for twenty minutes now. There was nothing but sand. The Atlantean should have already reported to the dark knight, but found himself incapable to do so. Nestled in his gut was a deep acceptance that maybe they overlooked something within this sea of grainy earth.

"I can't detect any other anomalies in the area. Either it disappeared or there wasn't any to begin with," Robin reported. Kaldur noticed a slight disappointment in his tone.

A tall short, black haired boy with a taupe colored long sleeve shirt that had a S-Shield branding imprinted on the front of the clothing. A pair of sandy colored jeans and combat boots covered his bottom form. Superboy kicked some sand in the air, "I knew it! This is a waste."

"Maybe not."

The Atlantean turned to the green Martian in a lightly tanned hooded cape and wore a matching body suit underneath. Her hands covered her head as she, Kaldur assumed, tried to mind sweep the area. A simple surveying technique Martians employed to detect any organics within the area.

"You found someone?" it was the Team's speedster who had his full body armor cloaked in golden brown hues to duplicate the sand; all except for his right arm medical apparatus which was pure white.

"Yes, half a kilometer to the east."

"How many are there?" Aqualad needed to know any unknown variants.

"Four."

X-X

Naruto swiped his golden staff across but the woman managed to evade it. She ducked under him and managed to kick him into the air.

When he landed, the brunette aggressor was already onto him. Deflecting two straight jabs with his staff, Naruto barely created enough room to perform. Flashing through the required handseals, the blond swiped his staff diagonally. The rings on the loop jingled chaotically as winds shot forward.

The woman was able to avoid an advance and vicious alteration of the Kazekiri again. It was certainly irritating that she had a consecutive success in missing the unnoticeable attack. This had been the third time.

She came at him from the left. What she did surprised him, though. At first the brunette advanced by running but then at the last moment—when he felt she had closed in the gap between them dashed forward with supplements of condensed chakra.

He didn't have enough time to dodge it. The blond took the blunt force by raising the staff horizontally across his chest to ease off some of the impact. The twelve rings on the staff rattled wildly.

Naruto was impressed. To be able to push him back…he hadn't felt this in awhile.

The woman clutched onto his staff and drew him in. Surprised at the sudden strength, Naruto was forced to follow her. In the corner of his perception, he was able to see a right hook that hastily rocketed towards his left cheek.

Oh, crap!

He felt the amount of chakra that augmented that hook. Naruto had no choice. He wouldn't be able to withstand it.

Within a few moments of a second, Naruto released his golden staff, hastily throwing the pocketed Hiraishin knife and disappeared in a golden light.

A colossal boom reverberated throughout the dunes. The chakra that was released on the tip of her knuckles chaotically discharged. Howling winds submitted to the force and created a cloud of sand.

That was Tsunade's technique.

How the hell did she learn that?

The young Hokage panted heavily as he picked up his kunai knife. He had used the Hiraishin twice now.

X-X

"Are you absolutely certain?" Aqualad needed to hear those words one more time. The way the situation was progressing...he didn't like it.

"Yeah, dude. I see only two targets," Kid Flash mentioned as he equipped his goggles.

"They're definitely metas," Robin observed with his own pair of binoculars.

"I don't understand…" Miss Martian drawled out. "I can definitely sense four organics."

"Maybe they're away, fighting somewhere else." Superboy had a better vision than anyone else. Kaldur had no doubt that he was able to clearly see everything that was happening beyond this sandy hill.

"No," Miss Martian pointed at the two people that battled on top a sea of sand. "All of the minds I sense are present."

Artemis had retracted her bow. Snatching one of her explosive arrows, she looked towards Aqualad.

"Orders?"

Aqualad lowered his gaze. Batman had strictly stated that their objective was to investigate. Now that they've discovered the source of the disturbance, should they go ahead and eliminate the threat?

A bead of sweat rolled from his head, "Where is the Bialyan border?"

Robin pushed a few buttons from his glove. It only took him a few moments to find out. "Approximately 1200 meters north."

That was too close for comfort.

Avoid an international incident.

This could not be stressed even more.

Breathing heavily Aqualad managed to croak out his Team's directives. "We will subdue both…"

Superboy and Kid Flash rushed to his side when Kaldur faltered slightly.

"Dude! Are you okay?"

Straightening himself, Kaldur wiped some sweat off his head and took a drink from his water pack. "I am fine. We must focus at the task at hand."

"Look, you're dehydrated. We'll handle this," Artemis sharply suggested.

Kid Flash gave him a reassuring grin, "Yeah don't worry about it. Robin can take over in command."

That earned a shocking gasp from Batman's protégé, "What?!"

"You have to start somewhere dude."

Aqualad smiled. He was thrilled to be in such a caring, tight-knit group. Not wanting to bring them down, Kaldur stood up. He had responsibilities and Atlanteans always delivered.

However, a wall of wind stopped him in his tracks. He was whiplashed onto the nearest small hill of sand.

X-X

"That Hyuuga is very strange."

"Nope," Naruto shook his head. "She's not from the Hyuuga clan."

Kurama raised an eyebrow, "The Byakugan says otherwise."

"Trust me, she's not. Her taijutsu doesn't resemble an ounce of Gentle Fist. It's just randomly generated moves based on opportunities."

"Could it be another form of the Gentle Fist. It is possible that she could have altered some moves."

"She didn't," All those times spent sparring with Hinata finally showed some light. "The moves she was doing earlier were too sloppy. The Gentle Fist is rigid, but quick. Since it's a close practice it usually results in becoming too predictable."

Kurama blinked, "Are you saying that her actions are unpredictable?"

"Yeah."

"But, you were able to easily comprehend her attacks awhile ago."

"f'course. I can see her attacks and react to them. It's pretty easy enough. It would've been better if I knew what she was going to do before she does it so that I can always be one step ahead of her. And, it's much easier to take her out that way."

"Perhaps," Kurama sounded like he wanted to emphasize more.

"When she was able to draw me in, a kick would've been better. Y'know, to create some distance between us to pull off some sort of ninjutsu…at least, that's what I would've done. But she aimed for my head instead."

A snort escaped from the beast, "Her goal is elimination then."

"Oi," the blond retorted. "She flew at us! It's obvious that she planned to kill me!"

Kurama rolled his colossal eyes, "She could have gotten information of your invincibility. With that alone, this woman inferred that you were in your Sage Mode."

The Uzumaki heir scratched the back of his head irritatingly, "Could be."

"Although," Kurama paused for a few moments. "Her chakra is strangely familiar."

The blond raised his head to meet Kurama's eyes. "How?"

"Well," Kurama cleared his throat. "For starters, her chakra is completely covered in pure malice. That is how we were able to detect her presence from a distance. Then, there is that aspect of her energy that is similar to the air or the sands. It is as if she accomplished a perfect ambient synergy. I can think of a few that we have fought, but only one being—who I know definitely carries the same characteristics."

The young Hokage stared firmly into Kurama's feral slits, "You don't think that she's…?"

Kurama scoffed, "No. You and the Uchiha were able to seal it."

"Then, what are you saying?"

"I believe this woman is possessed by Madara Uchiha."

[A/N] I was able to finish this chapter faster than I expected, which is very unusual. I hope that I didn't reveal that much within this update, I don't want you to digest a block of information for it to choke you and have the story dull. That's a big no-no. Additionally, I want to apologize for the line breaks. It seems I'm having issues where the normal line breaks won't appear in between paragraphs after I save the document into FF Doc Manager. Like, the line breaks only before the document begins and after it ends. Totally weird...but I'll live past it.

As you've read the second chapter, I'm pretty sure that you can tell that I have Naruto's power-level at current cannon; which means he has: Toad Sage Mode, Kyubi Chakra Mode and Rikudō Sennin's Body.

According to Wikipedia, a shakujō is a Buddhist, ringed-staff primarily used in prayer. This will be mainly Naruto's weapon of choice since he inherited and familiarized himself in the teachings of the Rikudō Sennin.

Anyways, here you go! I hope you enjoy the update. Leave a review or PM me to let me know what you think so far, yeah?

To all you mothers out there, Happy Mother's day!