Chapter One
Another Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto, and don't/won't make any profit from theese articles. But enjoy and as allways, reviews are encouraged and appreciated.
Harugo sat, cross-legged, at the open gates of the Hidden Leaf Village. A mere ten minutes again he had recieved his mother, Hinatas blessing and good luck wish. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Keiyoko appeared out of no-where. ''Ok, my father gave me the only rule, that who-ever wins gets automatic entry into the Chunin Exams'' said Keiyoko. ''We'd best get going then'' said Harugo, standing slowly. ''I'd say may the best ninja win, but we both know that's me'' said Keiyoko. Harugo, ignoring the trash talk took off down the dirt road and leapt into the trees, leaving his rival in the dust. He was sure he would make it first. After a while he stopped, a twig snapped nearby. ''Who's there ?'' shouted Harugo, no reply. The only was a bird call somewhere in the distance. ''Probably nothing'' thought Harugo. He stopped again when he entered a clearing, a tall man stood on the opposite side, he wore a turban and the bottom half of his face was covered in bandages, leaving only his eyes visible. ''The Sharingan ?'' whispered Harugo. A long brown bag rested on his shoulder. In the blink of an eye, he was gone. Harugo pulled out the scroll, it had come with a map of the route from The Hidden Leaf, all the way through the desert to The Hidden Sand Village, Sunagakure. He was close, past this clump of trees was a small stream, past that was the desert, then Sunagakure. He quickly jumped through the trees, stopping at the stream to refill his water bottle. After it had filled to the brim he placed it back in his satchel and crossed the stream. ''Is it just me or did the temperature just shooted up ?'' thought Harugo, wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead. All of a sudden there was a rumbling and the young Uzumaki found himself surrounded by Suna-nin. ''What's this ? Another leaf sneaking across the stream ?'' said one of the ninja, laughing. ''Sneaking ? What are you talking about, I'm on my way to deliever this to the Kazekage'' said Harugo, revealing the scroll. ''We've heard that one before, havn't we ?'' said the same ninja, turning to his team, who nodded and mumbled in agreement. ''Enough talk, let's take him in'' said another ninja, before striking Harugo on the temple with the hilt of his sword...
Harugo opened his eyes and looked around, he was in a small, clay chamber. A barred window was the only way light could enter the room. He found himself chained to the wall, roughly seven feet off the ground, pulling at the chains proved useless. Then came the sound of a door opening and below him, through a decent-sized wooden door, came three Suna-nin, followed by a tall, auburn-haired man wearing a black vest and brown baggy trousers, a huge gourd was strapped to his back, held in place by a leather belt. He had strange black rings around his eyes and the kanji for love above his left eye. ''Release them '' he seemed to say. ''They have done nothing''. ''Them ?'' thought Harugo, looking around. The sound of chains shaking caused him to look up and sure enough, in exactly the same position as the young Uzumaki, hung Keiyoko Uchiha. ''These are the sons of the most powerful ninja in the Land Of Fire, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto'' said the auburn-haired man. The ninja shifted uneasily, probably remembering previous exploits against the Hidden Leaf. One ninja took out a pair of keys and leapt up, onto the wall, unlocking Harugos chains, then Keiyokos. Harugo landed on his feet and bowed, Keiyoko landed next to him and did the same. ''I understand you have something for me, but before we get to that, my name's Gaara, and you are ?''he said. ''My names Keiyoko Uchiha, and this is Harugo Uzumaki'' said Keiyoko, introducing them. ''So... What is it you have for me ?'' asked Gaara. ''A letter from the Hokage'' said the two children in unison. They both took out their scrolls and held them out. Gaara took the scroll from Harugo, much to Keiyokos annoyance. Gaara read through it, smiling, he handed the scroll back to Harugo. ''Tell your father I accept his invitation, and to spare for us a bottle of sake'' He said. The sound of running footsteps echoed through the corridor behind the Kazekage and his group. ''Lord Kazekage'' someone shouted. ''I have bad news''. ''What is it ?'' asked Gaara, as the ninja stumbled through the door. ''Lady Tsukibara hasn't returned, plus, the guards we sent with her havn't made their hourly status report'' said the ninja, slowly regaining his breath. ''Did you send scouts to search the area they last reported from ?'' asked Gaara, his eyes narrowing. ''Yes, they too failed to report back''.
''I fear the worst, we must send word to the Hidden Leaf, asking them for assistance'' said Gaara. ''Allow us to go'' said Harugo. ''No'' Gaara said, sternly. ''You and my brother, Kankuro, will search the nearby area, if you do not find anything then you will return to the Hidden Leaf'' said Gaara