Another week, another chapter of The Will of Fire. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out, even though I got hit by another case of writer's block for a while there... Anyway, make sure to check out the rest of my stuff! I just updated Tales from Training this last Wednesday, and will probably post another chapter of it soon, so stay tuned, my faithful readers. And if you like it, make sure to leave a review saying so! It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling on the inside.

Chapter 9

"Sakura Haruno!" The kunoichi stood at attention, eyes fixed on her mentor and leader.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" He grinned and put his hands behind his head, still fuming inwardly at the invasion of his privacy by the ANBU earlier.

"Jin Furutachi!" He slouched, nodding at her.

"You three will be accompanying the sister of the Kazekage back to the Kaze no Kuni, as well as assisting with a threat to the security of their village, their leader, and to you too, Naruto." Naruto's grin fell off of his face, and he slammed his fist into his palm, scowling.

"Akatsuki?! What happened, Tsunade-baa-chan?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes at his nickname for her, but continued.

"This morning, we received a message from the Sand. Their border scouts had seen two figures in long cloaks entering their borders, headed in the direction of the village. From the description the scouts gave, it's most likely Akatsuki, but we can't be 100 percent certain as of now. As the Kazekage is a jinchuuriki, we can be sure that they will be headed right for him." As she said that, the door to her office swung open, and Temari, wearing four loose pigtails and looking harried, rushed into the office.

"My brother, is he alright?" Tsunade shook her head.

"We don't know that yet." Before she could continue, Naruto made the connection and shouted, pointing at Tsunade accusingly.

"GAARA IS THE KAZEKAGE? WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME?" Tsunade rubbed her temples and closed her eyes; deep breathes, Tsunade told herself, deep breathes are the key to staying calm.

"I assumed that Jiraiya had filled you in. But that's besides the point." Naruto caught the barely-suppressed anger in Tsunade's tone and wisely shut his mouth. "Naruto, Sakura, Jin. Your A-ranked mission is to protect the Kazekage's sister on her return to the Sand, and assist in any capacity against the Akatsuki threat that they deem necessary. You will be lead on this by Kakashi Hatake, who is late as usual. Any questions?"

"Tsunade-sama," Sakura interjected, stepping forward, "since Jin isn't officially a member of the Leaf ninja, should he really be accompanying us? No offense, of course, Jin." He shrugged.

"None taken."

"I see your point, Sakura, but on the advice of both Jiraiya and Kakashi, I have allowed Jin to treat this mission as his entrance exam. Should the team succeed, he will be instated as a Leaf genin. Anything else?" Sakura shook her head and stepped back.

"No ma'am!" The three replied as one, and Temari was surprised to see Naruto fall into line as easily as he did; the last few years have really changed him, she thought, momentarily distracting herself from her fear for her brother.

"Very well. Gather yourselves and meet at the village gate in one hour!" And with that, the chunin, genin, and genin hopeful escaped the Hokage's office, leaving Temari alone with Tsunade.

"Temari-san, I'm sorry I don't know more about." Tsunade's face softened as she walked out from behind her desk, laying a hand on Temari's shoulder. Temari nodded, taking a deep breath and fixing a stony look on her face.

"Gaara is one of the toughest shinobi I've ever seen. I know that he will be just fine. Still, a big sister is going to worry, you know?" Tsunade nodded, painful memories jumping to the forefront of her mind.

"I understand wholeheartedly. Now, let's enjoy a bit of sake before you return home." Temari smiled.

"That's what I'm talking about!"

As soon as they exited the building, Naruto felt someone tap on his shoulder.

"Naruto, can we talk for a bit?" Jin was standing just behind him, and Naruto nodded.

"Sakura, we'll meet up with you at the gate."

"Don't be late." she said shortly, before turning away and walking down the main street towards her home.

"What's up, Jin?" Naruto asked, and Jin walked past him towards a side street, beckoning him to follow. Naruto did so; whenever Jin "needed to talk" with him, he knew better than to make a big deal out of it.

"Who is Gaara, to you?" Jin asked point-blank, and Naruto sighed inwardly; he had been worried that it was going to be much worse.

"He's a friend, from when I took the chunin exams. He's from the Sand, obviously, and he's also a jinchuuriki to the Ichibi bijuu, Shukaku." Jin nodded slowly. "He had a hard life, just like I did, although he didn't have any friends to pull him out of the darkness, and he spiraled down, farther and farther into anger and sadness, and became an emotionless weapon of death. When the Sand and the Sound attacked the village, I chased after him and fought him, almost to the death, to protect my home and my friends. He had lost himself to the Ichibi spirit, and he nearly lost himself to his own hatred, but he pulled himself up with his desire to learn what made me so strong. And he saw my resolve to protect my precious people, what we call the Will of Fire here in the village, and it changed him. Well, that and the beat down I game him." Naruto laughed, and Jin smirked.

"You know, Naruto, you're not as dumb as I am sometimes tempted to think." Naruto stuck his tongue out at Jin, and Jin laughed quietly. "I went to Kaze no Kuni when I was a kid, with my parents. Tou-san was a trader, and sometimes he would take Kaa-san and I along with him, so we could see the world with him. Well, on the way back from Sunagakure, we were held up, by two nukenin from the village. We handed over all our money, but it wasn't enough for them. So they cut off Kaa-san and Tou-san's left arms, as a souvenir and a reminder." Naruto was silent as Jin talked; Jin didn't like talking about his past, and the few times Naruto had prodded, he'd gotten a belt to the face.

"So I'm a little... Hesitant, to go back. I will, but I might not stay as calm and collected as I usually am. Just... bear with me, okay?" Naruto patted Jin on the shoulder, smiling softly.

"No problem man. I've always got your back. Now, you have all your stuff on you, don't you?" Jin nodded; all of his ninja tools and equipment were sealed into a scroll that he carried in his pocket. "Awesome, all my stuff is still packed from yesterday, so we have time for some breakfast!" Naruto punched the air, grinning ear-to-ear, and Jin followed him down the street, wondering if they'd end up at Ichiraku again.


Through the desperate heat of the desert in summer, Baki carried the immobile body of his former student and current leader. His arms were stuck out at angles to the rest of him, and so Baki found himself nigh-constantly readjusting Gaara's position on his shoulder. From his position, he could see the four other members of his team in front of them, one carrying the tall, blonde enemy, two sharing the weight of the hunched-over Akatsuki, and one carrying Isago.

"Baki-taichou," a voice ventured out from behind him, and Baki took a deep breath.

"What is it, Kiyosuke?" His voice, intended to sound gruff, instead came out weary, and Baki wondered how long he had been carrying Gaara; even to a native ninja like himself, the desert seemed foreign, hostile, and vast. Only the boy currently propped on his shoulder had ever seemed completely at ease in it.

"What exactly happened to Kazekage-sama, Kankuro-sama, and Isago-san? How did they end up like this?" Baki looked over his unladen shoulder; Kiyosuke, a tokubetsu jonin of twenty-four, was panting heavily, Kankuro's seemingly-lifeless form laid over his shoulders.

"It's an ancient seal known as the Toki no Fuuin." Baki sighed, eyes checking their perimeter. "This seal is an S-rank technique, and is only taught to the Kazekage's hand-chosen bodyguard as a last resort. The seal creates a field of energy around its creator, and anything caught in this field is immobilized, unable to see, think, hear... Essentially, they are frozen in time, until the seal is de-activated."

"That's very impressive, Baki-taichou. But, why don't we just release the technique on Kazekage-sama and Kankuro-sama?"

"I wish it was that easy, Kiyosuke." Baki shook his head, sweat dripping off of his head. "Fuuinjutsu isn't something our village is known for; in fact, it's said that, as a village, we are the weakest ninja in regard to fuuinjutsu, and the strongest in ninjutsu. Releasing the seal is extremely complicated, to discourage enemy ninja from just having at it until they succeed. If the seal is tampered with too much without the correct steps being taken, the sealed ninja will die and their bodies will be destroyed, to prevent the enemy from gaining knowledge about its true workings." Kiyosuke's jaw hung open and they shuffled along in silence, the sand rustling underfoot.

"So, what happens now?" He asked finally, pulling a canteen from his belt and taking a quick drink.

"We return to the village, and take Kazekage-sama, Kankuro, and Isago to the hospital, and the two Akatsuki will be taken to the maximum-security prison where they will wait until they are unsealed, drained of chakra, and returned to their home village."

"That makes sense, Baki-taichou. Thank you for putting up with my dumb questions." Baki chuckled.

"You know, I heard something of that sort from one of my students a few years ago." Kiyosuke perked up, despite his fatigue.

"Really, Baki-taichou?"

"Thank you for putting up with my stupid questions, Baki-sensei."

"That's what sensei are for, Temari."

"Yeah, really." Baki smiled, and continued the long march back to the village.


Sakura stamped impatiently and checked her watch again; five minutes to go until they were supposed to leave for the Sand, and no one but herself and Temari had bothered to show up yet.

"I'm very sorry to keep you waiting, Temari-san." Sakura apologized, and Temari waved her off, her cheeks slightly red.

"It's no problem. Men are like that, showing up at the last second and only putting in minimal effort until there's something in it for them." Sakura laughed, and some of the tension she felt loosened.

"I know, right? I had that problem with a guy from the hospital I was seeing a year back; barely on time, never put in the effort unless he thought I was hinting at something more..." Sakura trailed off, and Temari laughed a bit louder than Sakura expected.

"Tell me about it! Shika-kun is just like that as well, in everything he does! The chunin exams are going to start in two months and he comes up to me, hands in his pockets and barely awake, asking if we'd sent the notices out yet. He was supposed to send them weeks ago! And even when we're alone, he-" Temari's potentially-embarrassing story was cut short by the arrival of a habitually-late jonin, a book in his hand and a bag over his shoulder.

"Sorry I'm late Sakura, something came up last minute that couldn't be avoided. Where's Naruto and Jin?" Kakashi looked around the gate area, but the only other people he saw were Izumo and Kotetsu, lazily relaxing in the security booth.

"Actually, Kakashi-sensei, you're a bit early. And Naruto and Jin aren't here yet, though they should be here soon." Kakashi nodded, and looked over at Temari, who had taken a seat on the ground beside Sakura.

"Temari-san, always a pleasure." Temari smiled at him, clutching her fan on her lap.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi and Sakura turned to see Naruto and Jin jumping from a nearby rooftop and landing a few feet away from them, big goofy grins plastered on their faces.

"Glad to see you two are on time." Sakura nodded at them, and Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"Alright, we should get on our way. The journey to Sunagakure is a long one." Kakashi said, offering his hand to help Temari to her feet. She gratefully accepted, and Naruto nodded solemnly, the grin leaving his face.

Gaara... I'm not going to let you beat me!