Elements of War

Forward: Here it is, the midseason finale... kinda. I really didn't plan on having several weeks pass between posting the last chapter and these two, but with graduation and trying to find a new job after getting laid off, et cetera, I haven't been feeling much up to writing. I also may be getting evicted and/or losing my internet, depending on who decides they haven't gotten enough money from me recently first. Hopefully that won't happen, but if I don't post again for a bit, the chances are that something like that is the reason. Anyway, enjoy chapters ten and eleven.

Chapter 10
The Library

"And how go your preparations for the chuunin exams?"

"As planned, Lord Hokage. Everything should be ready in time."

"Very good, Shikamaru. I trust you and our liaison to the Sand village are getting along fine?"

Temari and Shikamaru exchanged glances. "He's not too insufferable, Lord Hokage," the sand kunoichi responded.

"She's only a little bothersome, I suppose."

Tsunade smirked. "Very good. Then I hope—"

"Aloha, Lady Tsunade!" a voice interrupted. "Best wishes from Lord Jiraiya."

The Fifth Hokage turned with a miffed look adorning her deceptively youthful visage. "What is it, now? He hasn't written in almost a year."

"And he sends his most abject apologies, ma'am," the messenger toad said as he plopped down onto the Hokage's desk. "But I'm afraid the situation is dire."

Tsunade removed the letter from the toad and looked it over. She remained calm for a moment, but then her eyes widened and she gasped. "Naruto has been kidnapped by Akatsuki?" She crumpled the paper. "And he said he could handle them!"

"Naruto..." Shikamaru repeated. "So he's in trouble again."

Tsunade scoffed. "And apparently there's some kind of medical emergency involved. Some kind of poison Jiraiya has never seen before."

"He sent a map of the exact location he will be waiting for you," the toad said.

She studied the map carefully. "They're not in an area with a lot of natural healing herbs... it would be difficult to plan what to bring for an unknown poison, too..." she looked more closely, rubbing her chin. "I see... Sunagakure is near there." She turned to Temari. "Am I correct to assume they have some kind of greenhouse with a variety of herbs?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage," Temari confirmed. "And I'm sure Lord Kazekage would leave it to your disposal should you need."

"Very good..." Tsunade said. "I wish I could go, myself... but I know someone who would be just as qualified, and probably would like to go more than I would, besides."

"I would be happy to come along with Ms. Haruno, as well. She will want a guide from the sand village to get through quickly," Temari said.

Shikamaru nodded. "I volunteer, as well."

Tsunade frowned. "Are you forgetting about the chuunin Exam? You are a proctor."

Shikamaru nodded. "I understand, but Naruto is an important member of this village. Beyond that, I would be the best choice to retrieve him. He's my comrade, and I know him better than any of the other shinobi outside his team."

Tsunade sighed. She was really too sentimental. She could just as easily send a higher ranked shinobi as backup with Kakashi and her student, but she felt in her heart that sending Shikamaru and Temari would be the right choice. "Then… just try to be back in time for the exam. Otherwise I'll have to think of some excuse…"

Shikamaru's face softened. "Yes, Lord Hokage."

- - -

Aang blew softly into a thin flute, allowing a lilting melody to emerge from it, wafting over the plains. Itachi and Kisame joined him on suona and the zheng. From the ground emerged prairie dogs who sang along. Katara giggled as Momo chased the small creatures about.

"Wow, I never thought a criminal organization would be so laid back..." Naruto commented.

"You're one to talk," Sokka quipped. "Anyway, he's right. As much fun as I'm sure it is getting a bunch of big rodents to form an orchestra, we do have things to do."

"It's not a problem for us," Kisame responded. "We're just waiting for the others to get here."

"Aang hasn't even mastered earthbending, yet!" Sokka retorted. "He's only picked up a little from fighting with Toph, so far. And he still has firebending to learn!"

"I could show you a little firebending, Aang," Itachi said. "Fire is my family's natural affinity, and while it is normally applied to ninjutsu, I've seen enough master firebenders in my life to have learned the technique with proficiency."

Aang looked pensive. "I… I don't think so… I don't really… want… to learn firebending."

Itachi shrugged. "Well, sometimes what you want to do doesn't coincide with what you have to… and what you will do."

"That may be so," Aang said. "But if I can beat the Fire Lord without firebending, I'm going to do it."

"Very well, Aang," Itachi said. "I understand. You're not ready for it. How about I teach you earthbending, then?"

Aang looked a bit confused. "Earthbending? How would you do that? You're not an earthbender."

"True, but you know of what those of my family are capable. Having seen plenty of earthbending masters in my time, I think I can help you."

"Okay…"

- - -

Jiraiya summoned his messenger toad to him. "Well, did you find Tsunade and tell her? What has she decided?"

"She's going to send Kakashi and Sakura, as well as Shikamaru of Team 10 and Temari of the Sand," the toad responded.

"Sakura…?" Jiraiya repeated. "Why would she send that girl? I know she's been training under Tsunade, but this is a case of an unknown poison. Even Shizune would be unable to treat that…" He looked back at Zuko, who was still in a feverish state. He hadn't regained consciousness for awhile, but his vitals were okay. Still, if he went many more days without treatment, the damage done to his nervous system would be permanent. There was no guarantee he would even survive.

"It will be another two days before they get here, sir," the toad continued. "Lady Tsunade said once Kakashi's team gets here, Zuko will need to be taken to the Sand Village for proper treatment."

"Sunagakure, huh?" Jiraiya mused. "I just hope they can make it in time…"

- - -

"Widen your stance, Aang," Itachi ordered. "An Earthbender's strength comes from balance. No matter what comes at you, never let your root break."

The young airbender dropped his pelvis almost in line with his knees. "Ugh... this... is really... uncomfortable."

"Hold that pose," Itachi said. He dropped into his own earthbending stance. His balance was perfect. "Now I want you to block my attacks, just the way I taught you."

"Sure," Aang said. "But... I don't know how this is going to help my earthbending without real earth to bend."

"You forget," Itachi said. "I have that covered." His sharingan eyes bore into Aang's, and he suddenly lifted his arms. Large stones ripped themselves out of the ground and he slapped the rocks with the palms of his hands, sending them flying toward Aang in a predetermined pattern. For a moment, Aang was surprised that Itachi could earthbend even though he wasn't actively trying to earthbend as well, but his musings would have to be left for another time, as the boulders neared him.

Aang moved his arms to block, bringing an arm over his head to block high and down to protect his groin low. He brought his arms together in a chamber to block the mid strikes. His legs remained firm as Itachi stepped up the speed of the attack. The stones shattered centimeters from the boy's arms and the shards dispersed harmlessly. After ten minutes of this grueling exercise, Itachi finally stopped.

"Very good, Aang," the older man said. "You have basic defense maneuvers down. We'll work on your footwork, later."

Aang panted heavily. "Thanks, Itachi." He plopped down in the dirt for a breather, and Itachi also sat several feet away on a large boulder. "Hey, Itachi..."

"Hn?"

"It's... about your little brother. What did you do to make him hate you so much?"

The Uchiha's face remained calm and expressionless, but he turned his face away. "His hatred is entirely justified. I took from him everything but hate." He turned back to Aang. "It will make him strong... and, more importantly, it will keep my village safe from his wrath."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Have you ever been responsible for the death of your people, Aang?" Itachi's eyes were hollow as he spoke, and the Avatar could clearly see his pain.

"Yes," Aang said. "At least, I feel that way. When I learned I was the Avatar, I just wanted to hide. I didn't want to take that much responsibility. And when I learned they were going to take me away from my teacher, Monk Gyatso... I ran away. Because of that, I ended up frozen for a century, and all the Air Nomads were wiped out by the Fire Nation."

Itachi nodded and waved Aang over to him. The Avatar approached and as he came within arm's length, the Uchiha reached out and poked him with two fingers on the forehead. Aang hobbled back, his tattoos glowing faintly. "Aang... not all the Air Nomads died that day."

The Avatar regained his balance. "What do you mean?"

"Some did escape," Itachi said. "No masters were able to escape... mostly young children. However, most of the Air Nomads' decedents now live in the village hidden in sands in the very desert to where we travel. They are the last representatives of the Air Nation."

"So... I was right. Airbenders are still around."

"Yes," Itachi said. "But even in the village of sand there only a handful of shinobi who have a wind affinity, and not all are Air Nomad decedents."

"Even so," Aang said. "That's amazing news. I thought I was the last one. Even if they aren't Air Nomad in culture, it's still good to know that... something is left."

"It is, isn't it?" Itachi's smile was faint.

- - -

Two figures stood in the hot desert, their forms garbed in black. They both wore kasa upon their heads as well, which further disguise their appearance. The taller figure spoke to his crouched comrade. "Are we just going to wait here for Itachi and Kisame? Hm?"

"We are," the other man said. "You would be wise to develop a habit for patience, Deidara-bozu."

"Ah, Sasori-dana, life is fleeting and beautiful. Hmm. One can't wait around forever; sooner or later, everything worthwhile ends."

"If something were so important, it would not end so easily." A long, scorpion-like tail protruding from Sasori's backside wiggled perturbedly. "True beauty lasts forever!"

"What of the simple snowflake?" Deidara said in response. "What of the beauty of the meteors that light the sky for an instant before being burned to nothing and the singular moment of the sun rising in the east. What of the bakawali flower, which only blooms but once a year at midnight?"

"Deidara."

"What do you say to the cherry blossoms or the autumn leaves?"

"Deidara!"

"And what about the very fleetingness of human life which blazes brightly for—"

"Hey, brat!"

Deidara paused and turned to his senior. "Eh? What are you going on about, Master Sasori?"

The hunched Daybreak member lifted a wooden hand and pointed across the dunes to a cloud of dust blowing its way across the desert. "Your quarry... it's passing us right now."

Deidara looked to the front of the dust storm, adjusting his eyepiece to magnify the image before him. Indeed, it seemed as if the Wind Shadow was going on a trip. "I wonder where he could be going..." The blond man turned to his partner. "What do you think? Should we follow him? Attack him while he's alone, hm?"

"That would be unwise," Sasori said.

"Pff." Deidara looked skeptically at his partner. "It sounds like a good plan to me. A true artist has to respond readily to new circumstances. Your obsession with sticking to your plans without exploiting a tangent here or there is exactly why your puppets are all so... mechanical."

"My puppets are mechanical," Sasori said. "Because they're machines."

"Always quibbling over details," the blond said as he raised his hands. On the palms of his hands, tiny mouths opened, coughing up a great deal of clay. The clay formed itself into a giant bird, and Deidara hopped on. "You stay here and wait for Itachi. I'll go get my beast." With that, he flew off after Gaara.

"Insolent brat..." Sasori sighed.

After a while, Gaara reached the spire of the spirit library. This was his own special sanctuary where he browsed the lost knowledge of generations. Currently, it was buried beneath the sand, but he and the spirit who kept the library, Wan Shi Tong, had come to an agreement. He used the power granted him by Shukaku to lift the sand from the spires of the library, letting the winds blow it away. In a moment, the desert revealed the magnificent building to the Wind Shadow, and he moved toward its entrance.

"Hold it!"

Gaara paused and looked back. A disheveled figure was running toward him, obviously having been caught in his sandstorm. "Who approaches?"

The figure heaved as he came to a stop a short distance away from the hole in the desert floor Gaara had created. "You... you... I mean... I'm Professor Zei. I teach anthropology at Ba Sing Se University."

"Zei," Gaara repeated. "What is it you want?"

"I... I've been looking for this for years!" he said, pulling a scroll from his robe and unrolling it. He adjusted his glasses and peered at the scroll, a large drawing of the legendary spirit library, and looked back at the actual building. "It's more magnificent than I'd thought... this is the library, isn't it?"

"It is," Gaara said. "However, Wan Shi Tong is wary of humans. Before I came, a captain from the Fire Navy found the library, used the knowledge within for his own ambitions, and burned much of his collection."

"So... Wan Shi Tong exists as well..." the professor said. He shook off his awe. "Ah... yes. Of course I only wish to enter the library for knowledge's sake. I have no ambitions other than to learn all I can."

"Then... perhaps you would be allowed entrance," Gaara said. "Follow me."

The two entered the library, where the large owl spirit greeted them. "Shukaku's Sacrifice," he said. "Why have you brought this human, here?"

"He was outside the library," Gaara said. "He claims to be a professor at a university. He wants to learn more about this library and its contents."

"Why?" Wan Shi Tong asked. "Who are you out to destroy?"

"No one, sir," Zei responded. "I only want knowledge for knowledge's sake."

The owl looked from him to Gaara and back to Zei. "Hmmm. I suppose I could allow this one human to peruse my collection. One condition, however. To prove your worth as a scholar, contribute some worthwhile knowledge."

"Please accept this tome as a donation to your library," Zei said as he offered a thick book.

"First edition," the owl said. "Very nice." He passed his wing over it and it disappeared. "Enjoy the library."

- - -

"Sasori," Itachi said as Appa touched down on the sand. "Where is Deidara?"

"Hmp," the hunched man said. "He saw the one tail leaving his hidden village and decided to go after him. They aren't too far from here... you can still kind of see the mushroom cloud up there." He pointed up to the sky where the sand from Gaara's unveiling of the library was floating high above.

"Foolish," Itachi said. "As usual."

"The 'one tail?'" Naruto interjected. "You mean Gaara? You'd better not lay a hand on him!"

Sokka caught the young man as he nearly jumped out of Appa's saddle. The water tribe boy was lucky that Naruto was tied up. He was hard enough to handle without his limbs' freedom of movement. "Hey, fire ninja guy, settle down," he said.

"So, Itachi," Sasori said, noting the orange clad shinobi. "You've succeeded in capturing the nine tails. Ahead of schedule, no less. You'll make the rest of us look bad."

"It shouldn't be a problem," Itachi said. "We can seal them both."

"Umm," Aang said, interrupting the Daybreak members. "Can I ask you something?"

"As you wish, Avatar," Itachi said.

"Um... what's this business about one and nine tails? And 'sealing them both?'"

"Yeah, I'm a bit confused about what you guys are talking about," Sokka said.

"It would take some time to explain," Itachi said. "But... you have all heard of the Nine Tailed Beasts, correct?"

"I think I heard some stories about something like that. There was a cat, a tanuki, a fox..."

"Gran-gran told us a story about a three tailed dragon-turtle," Katara said. "I don't think we heard about any others, though..."

"That's right," Itachi said. "There are nine demons of extraordinary power. Some of these demons have been sealed within humans, such as this one, here." He pointed at Naruto. "His is the most dangerous of them. The all powerful nine tailed fox."

Sokka jumped away from Naruto at that comment.

"However, sealing the demons in individuals is dangerous. Sometimes they cannot control the destructive power of the beasts. Some have simply been driven insane by the spirit. It's unpredictable, so Akatsuki has the current mission of extracting the beasts and sealing them away in something else… something with which we can control that limitless power."

"So you can use it to defeat the Fire Nation!" Sokka said with gusto. "That's a great idea!"

"Hey, that's not a great idea!" Naruto said. "They're kidnapping us!"

"That's enough discussion," Itachi said. "We need to make sure the nine tailed fox is sealed quickly. You should take Naruto back to the hideout." Itachi turned to Aang. "It's a fairly long trek. Aang, would you allow Sasori to borrow your bison, so that we may extract the kyuubi with all due haste? You recall how he transformed before... it could happen again if we don't act fast."

"Y-yeah," Aang said. "That sounds fine."

"Good. You, Katara, and I will go assist Deidara, then." Itachi turned to Sasori. "We will be there, soon."

"Alright," the man said. "But don't make me wait too much longer. I hate waiting."

"Hey," Sokka said as the hunched Akatsuki leaped onto Appa with Naruto. "What about me?"

- - -

"Temari!" Kankuro greeted his older sister happily. "You weren't supposed be back for another week!"

"Something came up," the eldest sand sibling said. "Team 7 from the leaf village is going to need access to our medical facilities."

"The leaf village?" Kankuro asked. "But... why?"

"There's no time for questions, Kankuro!"

"Alright, alright!"

Minutes later, a feverish, scarred body was plopped down onto a hospital bed. He was pale, and his facial scar burned bright red. Sakura, the pink haired apprentice of Tsunade, waved everyone else away. She took a bowl of water and let her energy flow into it. The water collected itself around her hands and she pressed her hands onto Zuko's shivering flesh. The water seeped through his pores and Sakura traced her fingers across the major routes of blood flow. She could sense the poison in his body, and the water collected it as she went along. When she was finished, she pulled the water out of his body with globules of venom suspended in it.

"Alright," she said. "That should take care of the immediate danger. Now I just need to mix some herbs to counteract the damage already done."

As she left to find the proper herbs, Kankuro turned to his sister. "So... what's going on?"

"Naruto was kidnapped by the Akatsuki."

"Naruto... aren't they...?"

"Yeah," Temari said. "They want the Sacrifices. That means if they're around here, Gaara could be in danger, too."

"Aw, hogmonkeys..." Kankuro said. "Gaara's not even here, right now."

"What? Why did you let him leave?" Temari shouted.

"Well, I didn't think he'd be in any danger," Kankuro said. "Besides, how am I going to stop him? He loves that damn library!"

"And we don't even know exactly where it is," Temari said. "He doesn't let anyone go with him."

Kankuro worked his jaw. "I'll go look for him. We know his general direction, at least."

"Alright... but at least take Baki along. I don't want you running into one of the Akatsuki alone."

"Sure," he said. "I'll even take along some of Gaara's elite."

- - -

Deidara clung to one of the spires of the library. His clay constructs creeped inside the building, scouring the area for his quarry. One earthen spider wandered across a bookshelf in front of which the particularly tired looking shinobi studied the contents of a scroll. The spider's eye absorbed the information it saw and sent a vision of its prey to its master.

"So, he's a real bibliophile, hm?" Deidara commented. "I wonder... what's the best way to flush him out?" His fingers intertwined in a blur, and his chakra energy flowed out of him to signal his minions of his wishes. "This ought to do it... hm."

Clay creatures scuttled their way through the tomes and scrolls and toward the bookshelf at which Gaara stood. The Wind Shadow mused on an illustration of a lion-turtle looming over a prostrate figure. The lion-turtle was an old legend, and they had disappeared from the world long before the dragons had.

Suddenly, an object hit the back of the scroll and seemed to cling. Before Gaara could turn the parchment to see what had attached itself to his reading material, the scroll burst into flames. Gaara dropped the burning paper to the floor and buried it in sand. Explosions flowered through the hall, and the young shinobi village leader smothered the flames in sand, doing his best to quell the damage. He spotted an unfamiliar form at the end of the hall.

"Who are you?" Gaara asked coldly.

"Hmm... I am a simple artist." The figure brushed his hair in the shadows. "This library... it is an affront to true art. It attempts to preserve when true art is fleeting. It's an abomination. Hm!"

"So you want to destroy this collected knowledge out of some twisted sense of aesthetic?"

"Yes. That, and I want the Ichibi within you."

Gaara was silent for a moment. "Shukaku... why do you want it? Are you from the Daybreak Organization?"

"So you've heard of us." The figure laughed sharply. "I might be willing to spare this place."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. The sand that swirled around his body instantly coalesced and shot through the air, a sharp point plunging itself into the figure's head with a thunk. The figure fell to its knees and the Kazekage could see it seeming to melt. It was some kind of clay clone!

An explosion, larger than any of the others, rocked the wing, blowing countless books and scrolls to dust. Gaara's demon inmate had wrapped its jailer in a sphere of sand, protecting him from the explosion. The shinobi allowed the sand to fall and looked at the devastation. He heard a shriek of rage in the distance. Wan Shi Tong was not amused. Neither, for that matter, was he.

The great library shuttered and began to sink into the sand. Deidara leaped off the spire and onto his clay bird. "Whoa," he said. "I didn't think I made it that explosive... hm."

"Mortal!" Wan Shi Tong screeched, flying out of the tower. "You dare to attempt to destroy this bastion of knowledge?" The knowledge spirit perched on top of the spire on which Deidara had clung and looked down on the blond shinobi. "Typical. When you're not using knowledge for evil purposes, you attempt to destroy it. Well, I'm taking it back!"

"Hey, I don't think you quite understand what I'm—" The Akatsuki member was cut off when the giant owl charged him, screaming with rage. Deidara's bird was almost too slow to dodge the angered spirit. "Hm!"

The young Akatsuki operative realized that the library was sinking, his quarry still within. "Wait... wait, you stupid bird!" he shouted. "I need what's inside there!"

"That's why you're not getting it," Wan Shi Tong countered, turning around for another pass.

Deidara spat out a plethora of small clay flies from the palms on his hands. The tiny creatures swarmed Wan Shi Tong and they exploded around the spirit. The owl wavered in its flight, but kept coming strong. Deidara leaped off his bird as Wan Shi Tong snapped at him. He dropped into the window and down the spire into the heart of the library.

Foxes surrounded the shinobi, growling angrily. "What's all this, hm?" He thrashed about as the kitsune attacked, smacking the canines away. The foxes were of little consequence, but he was taken off guard when a heavy book came down upon his head. He stumbled to his knees and looked behind him. A bespectacled man stood there, eyes wide with panic.

"Get out of here!" Zei said. "I've been looking for this place for years, and I won't let you take it away!"

"Yeesh, I can't believe I just got clocked by a bookworm," Deidara said. He spat out a lump of clay and shaped it. "Oh, well, I'll just have to get rid of you." He tossed the clay at the man, but a wall of sand intercepted it, and the explosive detonated harmlessly. Deidara turned to see the rust haired Wind Shadow looming over him. "Hm…"

A tendril of sand reached out for Deidara, and the young Akatsuki member leaped back, attempting to evade it. However, enclosed as he was in the halls of the library, he was unable to maneuver effectively. Guess this was a bad idea, he thought. He tossed a barrage of bird at the boy, but the attacks were stopped easily by a wall of earth.

Gaara thrust his palm forward behind the wall, and a clawed hand emerged from it, whistling through the air, unhindered by wind resistance. It grasped the blond's left arm and Gaara clenched his fist. "Desert Coffin," he announced to the Daybreak shinobi, lest he be unaware of the name of the technique that would defeat him.

Deidara shouted, but he used the opportunity to launch another flurry of clay figures at his opponent, taking advantage of the gap in his defense created by forming the arm. Gaara's defense was quick, however, and he withdrew the arm to recreate the impenetrable wall. The blond man knew he had to get out of the building if he was going to put his plan in action, now. He used the distraction to leap back up the spire, and exited the building, only to run into Wan Shi Tong, who was waiting for him.

"Go back, mortal," the knowledge spirit said, "And I will bury you with my library."

"No, thanks." Deidara leaped back onto his bird and flew away from the owl. He had only a little clay left, now, but one was a C3 explosive, his most powerful, and the other was homing. With just these, he could probably defeat Gaara.

As Deidara expected, the human sacrifice emerged from the library, a cold, lethal expression still on his face. "To be stopped from below would put me in such a bad mood," he told the sandbending shinobi. "That, and I'm tired of your expressionless face." He tossed a clay doll from his perch, and it hurtled down toward the library. "I'm going to destroy that precious library of yours, hm!"

Wan Shi Tong intercepted the explosive. He beat his wings hard to create a strong gust of air which repelled the bomb right back toward Deidara. "You'll suffer your own poison, mortal!"

The shinobi gasped. That clay was going to strike him if he didn't move fast. He forced his transport to climb, and the bomb struck the underbelly of the clay beast. At the same time, Deidara leapt from it as far as he could. The clay bird was, of course, ripped apart, but it had blunted the force of the explosion. It wasn't by much, unfortunately, and the shinobi found himself being buffeted about by the shockwave of the explosion.

He wouldn't be taken down without a fight, however. When Gaara had entrapped his hand, he had quickly chewed some of the sand with the mouth on his hand, mixing it with his explosive saliva. The explosive clay was buried somewhere in that shinobi's blood-soaked sand. Without the distraction provided by protecting the library, however, he could not be certain that Gaara would use that particular sand to protect himself, as he still had plenty of sand within reach.

There was nothing to lose at this point, Deidara decided. He launched his homing bird while still in midflight, and it made a beeline for the jinchuuriki. Gaara drew sand around his front, and the doll exploded harmlessly. Deidara then release the explosive properties of his clay, and an explosion erupted from the sand, blowing Gaara back.

Deidara landed. Or, rather, he was caught by a small pair of hands. He looked over to see who had saved him from what might have been grievous injury, and saw the face of a young boy with a blue arrow tattooed on his forehead. "Eh… an airbender?" He looked toward the Kazekage for a moment, seeing him land as well. It seemed that his sand had followed him, probably cushioning his fall, but also burying him in sand. He hopped out of the small boy's arms, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Well, I didn't think I would be saved by a member of an extinct culture, today, hm."

"It's no problem," Aang said. "I'm the Avatar, helping people is my job. Besides, you're Itachi's friend, right?"

"Itachi?" Deidara said, looking around and seeing the Uchiha. He frowned. "Hm. Something like that." He still remembered the day he had been inducted into Daybreak. That guy had thoroughly humiliated him. No, they weren't friends, but he wouldn't kill the guy until after they had completed their mission.

"It seems as if you're having trouble with this one," Itachi said. "Do you require assistance?"

"Not at all!" Deidara said. "As you can see, I blew the competition away, hm!"

"Really?" Itachi asked, looking to where the human sacrifice had fallen. A loud shriek was heard from there, and a globe of sand arose from the desert floor.

"Oh…" Deidara said. "Well, you know… maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea. I'm out of my clay and almost out of energy, too. Perhaps you could help, Avatar."

"Me?" Aang asked. "But… well, I don't know… it's not really my philosophy to attack someone without provocation."

"Let me explain it to you this way," Deidara said. "That guy over there… he may not be that bad a guy. But what possesses him is the one tailed beast. With it, he can use both earth and wind elements at the same time. Not only that, but most of these people who are possessed tend to be mentally unbalanced, and the demon contained within can also assert its personality in times of stress." He turned toward the howling Wind Shadow. "And it seems he's become rather stressed, now. If you don't help, I'm afraid we'll have a rampaging spirit on our hands."

The monk nodded. "I understand. It's also my job as bridge to the spirit world to stop something like that from happening, but just the same I'm going to try to reason with him, first. Maybe we can get him to agree to have the spirit taken out on his own."

"Unlikely," Itachi said. "Those who have power are not often willing to give it up, even when that power is likely to destroy him."

"I'll try, anyway," Aang said, and with that he walked toward the sphere of sand. Above, Wan Shi Tong watched passively. The one who had destroyed his library was defeated, and now the spirit was allowing the building to sink into the desert floor. "Hey, excuse me, Mr. One Tail," he said to the pulsing sand. "Is there any way you'd be willing to come with us? We just want to extract the spirit inside you. It's really dangerous, you see, so it would probably be best for everyone…"

Gaara could hear Aang's muffled voice through the walls, and he could see him with his single eye floating above the sphere. He was already partially transformed, with sand forming half a raccoon-dog's face with the spirit's eye staring out from it. He was confused as to why this person affiliated with the Akatsuki was wearing an old air nomad outfit, but it hardly mattered. He was trying to kill him by taking the spirit away. He couldn't allow that. He had to protect his people.

A vein-covered arm of sand popped out of the sphere and reached for Aang. The boy dodged it, but it kept following him. He stopped and swept his arms, creating blades of air which chopped the arm into pieces. "Hey, there's no need to get violent!" he said. He was answered by a triad of Gaara sand clones which rose from the desert floor and attacked him with far greater speed than what Aang would have expected from piles of sand.

- - -

Sand stung Appa's eyes as he flew through the air. The sandstorm had blown in suddenly and the bison was now flying nearly blind. Sasori was pretty sure they had started going in circles. Finally, the bison landed, and Sasori descended from the saddle, Naruto wrapped in his long tail. "It seems we will have to proceed on foot from here, after all..." He was glad that he had injected the fox boy with a sedative. The boy was still semi-conscious, but he should stay quite mellow for the next several hours. He began to trudge through the sand, leading the bison behind him.

Before he got far, however, he noticed a shift in the currents. There was a sand skiff approaching, filled with sandbenders, a group of benders with mostly earth affinity, though three had the affinity of air. They had been taught by the container of the one tailed beast.

Kankurou stood upon the skiff as they passed by the cloaked shinobi. He recognized the clothing as typical of Akatsuki, and, further, he definitely recognized the bright orange coat that garbed the young man in the grasp of his tail. "Hey!" he called out.

The sandbenders halted the skiff in front of Sasori and casually pushed the sand and wind aside, creating a bubble of calm about them all. The old ninja stared at them with agitation. "You should get out of my way. I don't like keeping people waiting."

"Then hand over the kid, and we won't keep you," the elder sand brother said.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," the other responded.

Kankurou growled and leaped onto the sand, removing three large scrolls from his back. He dropped them onto the ground and they unrolled themselves, revealing the names of Kuroari, the black ant, Sanshouuo, the salamander, and Karasu, the crow. With a series of hand gestures he summoned the three puppets, lifting them into the air by thin strands of chakra energy flowing from the tips of his fingers. He jerked his fingers, sending Kuroari scurrying.

Sasori dropped Naruto on the sand and caught the quad-armed puppet with it deftly. He leveled his impatient gaze at the face-painted shinobi. "I suppose I'll just have to make this quick." He looked around the sandbenders, with Baki standing among them. "I'll have to thin the heard, first, I suppose."

The young commander of the squad of sandbenders gasped as a seal in his mind suddenly broke at Sasori's command. Memories of his time with Akatsuki came flooding back, and his mission as well. He knew he had to help his master, now, and to do that he would have to kill his other self's teammates. He pulled the sand he had been keeping at bay toward himself and compressed the grains into three earthen stakes, then shot them through the hearts of three of his teammates. That left two more sandbenders plus Baki.

The two other sandbenders noticed immediately that their leader had diverted his his share of the workload, and when they heard the grunts of their dying teammates; they instantly reacted by diverting their own bending to wrap themselves in a concealing cloak of sand. Baki reacted to the sudden wall of sand that bore down on him with typical elite ninja efficiency, diving for cover and studying his surroundings closely.

The squad commander quickly found one of his subordinates and attacked from behind. Unfortunately, it seemed that it was a sand clone, and he suddenly found himself ambushed by his two former comrades. He suffered some minor damage before managing to dive under the sand. He took one of his foes underneath as well, performing the desert coffin technique, crushing the man's lungs.

The final bender threw up her arms, causing the desert floor to lurch, and the commander was thrown from his cover. She attacked him, but after a short exchange, he gained the upper hand and punched her into the side of the sand skiff. With great effort, he pulled a great tentacle of sand from the floor and allowed it to fall on the stunned bender and the skiff, crushing both.

Meanwhile, Sasori had crushed an attacking Sanshouuo as well as Karasu, which had tried to circle around. "Your puppet's hidden poison preparation is worthy of praise," the Daybreak member said.

"What?" Kankurou asked. "That's... the first time my puppet's preparation has been seen through so deeply."

Sasori laughed. "It's because the one that created your puppets—Crow, Black Ant, and Salamander—was none other than me." He laughed dryly. "A cute kid like you being my opponent has been the most fun I've had in a long time."

"So wait..." Kankurou said. "You're the one they called the puppet army's genius model creator, Sasori of the Red Sands, right?"

"For my name to be known all the way down to a kid like you," Sasori said, "Is an honor."

"You left the Sand over twenty years ago," Kankurou said. "Why?"

"What good is it for a person about to die to ask that?" Sasori leveled his tail, poison dripping from it. It shot out, and Kankurou pulled Kuroari's decapitated head into the tail's path, deflecting it. At the same time the puppet's arm, poisoned knife bared, shot at the puppet master's head, which Sasori narrowly avoided. "Close," he commented. He brought his tail around again. "But this time I will make sure my poison is delivered into your veins!"

"Rasengan!"

The puppet master suddenly found himself being tossed aside like a doll by a rear attack. He slid across the sands and glanced to the point of contact, seeing a wide dent there. Then he looked back to where he had been standing and saw his former prisoner standing tall, seemingly unaffected by his sedative now. "So... it's... Naruto!"