For better or worse, I do not own Naruto, Frozen, or Fullmetal Alchemist

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Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has written some pretty amazing stuff!

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Chapter 25: The Blooming Oasis

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Previously: Having rested and recovered in Arendelle, Naruto and his friends set sail back to the continent to enact his grand and secretive plan.

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Land of Wind

Just off the southern coast

Two Weeks Later

When he inevitably wrote his memoires about his awesome adventures, Naruto was planning to write a chapter or three about how it sucked to go from a land of eternal winter to an eternally hot desert. And whoever called that petty would be bloody well locked up in an ice box and dumped in the middle of said desert to find their way back home. That'll be another chapter, Naruto blearily thought while greedily eyeing the water jugs that Haku was policing.

And another chapter asking how it's possible to run on slippery-gets-everywhere-why-do-people-live-here sand in nothing but stupid getas!

Unfortunately their options were rather limited. The Land of Wind dominated most of the southern coast of the continent, with the rest either in the Land of Fire or carefully watched by them. Haku and Tayuya had been adamant that travelling through the desert while dodging the nation's patrols was the least dangerous route…in term of human threats and the hunter teams undoubtedly after them.

"Now I get why Tora was so explicit about why we were not to Summon him," Karin panted.

"Yeah, but it was worth it," Tayuya weakly smirked. "Those threats he made? For if we did Summon him? Man were those creative. We should make that Cat our official interrogator…you know…when we get somewhere civilized. As in…has water."

Haku said nothing, using all of his willpower to maintain his cool persona.

And so went Day One of Naruto's grand scheme to change the world, upon returning to the continent.

XXX

Land of Wind

A few more kilometres north of the South Coast

Later

They struck at Haku first, somehow correctly identifying him as the slipperiest of them all.

Tayuya and Karin fell an instant later, leaving Naruto staring at them in disbelief while sliding reflexively into a fighting stance, fingers crossed to create Shadow Clones.

Then he shouted, "Let them go! Seriously man! I'm not even here to cause trouble!"

Sand was wrapped around his friends and family, immobilizing them, without another soul in sight.

The only reason Naruto was not desperately doing something else however, was that he was unscathed, and while the grips on the others were tight, they were still able to breathe.

Karin was frantically reaching out with her senses, but predictably it was Haku who caught on first, suppressing the urge to try a jutsu; the entire region was their enemy if they chose to provoke it. "It's Gaara of the Sand, isn't it?"

"Yeah, this is just like his jutsu. Should've thought about him before coming here," Naruto sheepishly admitted, rubbing his head while trying to figure how exactly Gaara knew so precisely where they were.

"Gaara!" Naruto called out again. "We get the message, we'll stay put tell you get here!"

Nothing happened.

"Ernf. Whatever he's using to track us," Karin grunted, still unable to sense the terrifying figure Naruto had described, "he might not be using sound. Try writing a message in the sand."

It was awkward, with some impatience from the captives as Naruto figured out how to write words in the sand without the grains immediately filling them in, but even before he was done writing the full message the others were released.

Not once did they notice the eyeball floating overhead.

After a minute of just looking around, Haku pulled out some reading of his, striving to project confidence for the others. Karin and Tayuya discussed ninjutsu, while Naruto bounced up and down on his toes with excitement. He was confident that Gaara was doing much better since they had last seen each other, especially given how they had fought together against those fake ANBU. His parents' Scroll implied they might even have been from Root.

Haku was preparing himself for combat while doing a credible job of pretending to study up on the Transparent Escape Technique. Developed by Jiraiya of the Sanin (and posterchild of Deadbeats R Us), he had passed it on to the Fourth Hokage, and now Haku was striving to master it broaden his proficiency at Silent Killing, knowing that Naruto's plan would doubtless require a multitude of assassination (whether his friend was willing to admit it or not, even to himself).

Karin and Tayuya were also discussing the ability to kill without sound, for while Karin was still learning to do so while simultaneously cloaking her chakra, the drawback of the Chakra Suppression Technique was that the user was unable to perform any other ninjutsu at the time. While the Silent Killing did not require chakra, it was most effective when your target could no longer see you; sight being the sense even veteran ninja were generally most reliant upon. To try and accomplish this, Karin had (before hitting a stinking desert) been practicing to achieve the Water Release: Hiding in the Mist, along with Water Release: Water Clones Technique to use the two techniques in tandem (with plans for Naruto to teach her Shadow Clones later). Yet, being the cautious young women that she was, she also wanted to learn how to collaborate with her friends and family for the inevitable battles in their future.

It never hurt to have another shuriken up your sleeve.

In terms of teamwork for a joint assassination, Haku could perform the Water Release: Hiding in the Mist, but him fulfilling a support role was an obvious waste of his talents. In turn, Tayuya was feeling rather insulted that Karin had turned to her, sourly informing her cousin that the same applied to her. Plus, while Karin did have the Water her element affinity, hers was for Earth regardless, which was focused on other techniques. "If we're joining that army of Haku's, and building a bigger one, just find someone from that to help you!" Tayuya finally snapped.

None of them bothered mentioning Naruto helping, for despite all of Haku's work, their blonde cousin was still too loud and explosive in his fighting style to serve as a discrete assassin.

"But once we get a big enough army, you'll need me for other stuff!" Karin shot back. "We'll need doctors and scientists and I can do both and teach others!"

"You were Orochimaru's lab assistant. Assistant! One of many! And having him as a reference will not make anyone happy! They'll—" Tayuya caught herself from swearing while glancing at a serene Haku. "Candidates'll run the other way!"

Karin nearly said something about Tayuya's own former employment did not make her trustworthy as a bodyguard, but knew that was a line to stay away from. Instead she snapped, "I'll run all the standards of conduct by Naruto! It'll just need his approval!"

The young man in question was now sweating from more than just the heat, as the single comment brought to light more just what he was trying to take authority over.

Realizing she had gotten off topic, Karin scowled. "But that's in the future, and for now it's just us and we've got to be prepared! Who knows who'll come after us? Oh wait, yes we do know. Everybody!"

As if on cue, Gaara came into view, running over a particularly large sand dune.

Followed by what looked like a small army.

XXX

Land of Snow/Arendelle

Royal Palace

Royal Suite

"Ugh! I miss Naruto and the others!" Anna sulked.

"They have their own lives to live," Daimyo Elsa gently reminded her sister, re-reading the diplomatic response from the Land of Iron. It appeared that General Mifune, the leader of the Land of Iron, was cautiously intrigued by what Arendelle had to offer. 'Cautiously' being the key word since while what appeared to be miracle armour for dealing with ninja was tempting, the man was understandably sceptical. Moreover, Iron was strongly invested in remaining neutral, and whatever agreement they might make would have to respect that. "Besides, we'll be seeing them again."

"Oh?" Anna perked up. "What's that tone of yours mean, oh all-knowing sister mine?"

"It means that since learning how a hero to our nation was treated, I've been reconsidering our relationship with Konohagakure," Elsa bluntly answered. "Naruto and I discussed what to do in the future, and I gave him some suggestions, which should help make things easier for him in the future."

Throwing Elsa a flat look, Anna pointed out the obvious. "You just said that they had to 'live their own lives,' didn't you? Not one minute ago?"

Giving an embarrassed shrug and smile, Elsa acknowledged this point. "Naruto still needs a lot of help with politics, the subtle kind at least, and this'll help him. It was more of advice than anything."

"And that's why you're in charge," Anna agreed, reaching for some more chocolates. "Still, I miss them! Naruto was so fun! When he wasn't training. Or any of the others. Which was rare. But it was still fun! Like when I got to throw snowballs at Karin when she was practicing being quiet and sneaky!"

"Yes, she seemed to really enjoy that," Elsa dryly noted.

"Haku kept encouraging me!"

"You can't marry him."

"Elsa!" the younger sister yelled in annoyance.

XXX

Continent

Land of Wind

A few more kilometres north of the South Coast

A little time and some sanity have only made him more dangerous, Haku instinctively knew. While he had never met Gaara himself, he could see the measured calculation in the young man's eyes, as opposed to the bloodlust he would have had at catching four intruders he could have rightfully slaughtered.

"Uzumaki," Gaara said levelly in greeting.

"C'mon, call me Naruto," the blonde groaned. "Besides, 'Uzumaki' that refers to all three of us," gesturing at himself, Karin, and Tayuya, "now." Then he frowned. "And can you let them go already, they weren't doing anything!"

The Sunagakure ninja was unmoved. "They were clearly foreign ninja traveling through our territory. While in most cases that might be ignored for the sake of avoiding conflict with other nations, particularly since none of you were anywhere near any of our more strategically important locations, yet have the appearance of ninja despite lacking headbands. Suspicious individuals like that are usually either spies or missing-nin." He glanced pointedly at Naruto's forehead. "You don't have one either."

Suddenly feeling nervous, Naruto gave an awkward grin and scratched the back of his head. "Well, y'know."

"Know what?"

"About the missing nin thing…" Naruto trailed off.

"No, I don't."

Naruto blinked. "You don't."

"No."

Haku, Tayuya, and Karin had caught on, but Naruto was too distracted by finally having a civilized conversation with his fellow Jinchuuriki. "You mean no one told you guys?" His bruised ego was also trying to get a word in.

"After your performance during our failed Invasion," Gaara calmly elaborated, not at all troubled by referring to it, "our intelligence agency made you a priority, and I have kept abreast of their most recent reports. I even read the latest update an hour before deploying with my troops yesterday." Some of the various young men and women behind him flinched, but most were more composed than would be expected given how they were working with someone who had long been an indiscriminate serial killer. "There was nothing that might explain why you would be brazenly traveling north through our deserts."

While it was nothing explicit, everyone seemed to catch a hint of 'my deserts.'

No one disputed this.

With Temari and Kankuro however, each was both sufficiently introspective and familiar with their younger sibling –both past and present versions of him— to realize that this impression was less from Gaara not wanting to openly claim ownership over this domain, more of people projecting their self-awareness that they were in an environment that a known killer had near complete control over.

"Ah well," and while Naruto's smile was still a bit nervous, it was also a bit impish. "I'm a—"

"Naruto!" Karin hissed.

"Like it makes a difference right now," Tayuya sourly pointed out, while Haku's silence was taken as agreement with the older Uzumaki.

Undaunted, Naruto tried again. "I'm a missing-nin now."

The majority of the Sunagakure instinctively set into combat stances, weapons drawn and ready to attack.

"Oh put them away, you brats," Kankuro groaned towards those who had prepared to fight, while massaging his temples, his body at ease. Gaara had Naruto Uzumaki's companions out of commission, and while he did not know what exactly was going on, it was clearly something more complicated than the greenhorns with them assumed. Plus it looked like Uzumaki reaction –as if meeting a good friend again— was sincere.

"Some of them are as old as you, and the rest aren't much younger," Temari deadpanned, equally at ease as her siblings, fan securely fastened to her back. Both she and her older brother were more familiar with the trespasser after all. "But seriously," she addressed her comrades, "put those weapons away. If they attack, Gaara will protect you." Privately she knew how hard a time they all were having at accepting that, but she was not going to miss on a prime chance to offer her baby brother support. "And yes, this is the guy who beat up Gaara and Shukaku, on his own, but that was in a forest, not a desert. Gaara has the advantage here."

All of those weapons were quickly sheathed. They might be trained killers in a world where paranoia was a survival trait, yet for those very reasons obedience was something carefully conditioned into them.

(Such policies had been less than effective with Naruto)

Kankuro smirked at the reactions to that as his sister simultaneously made their little brother seem more impressive and trustworthy, and made it clear that needlessly starting a fight with Naruto was…unwise.

Seeing that he was not in imminent danger, Naruto turned to Haku. "Why wouldn't they know? They've got to be hunting for me, right?"

"If you mean Konoha, then yes," Haku calmly agreed, hiding his mild annoyance that he was still suspended in mid-air by sand. Even disregarding the mortal threat it posed, it was hardly comfortable. "But they wouldn't want it to be known to any of the other nations. They'll be keeping it quiet as much as possible while hunting for you."

For what seemed like an eternity, Gaara stared unblinking at Naruto, yet Haku and Tayuya could read his thought process readily enough. The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki suddenly on the run despite his heroism in defending his homeland only a few months ago. This was a serious international crisis waiting to happen, and that was without considering the chaos a missing-nin with such potential power was capable of wrecking. More importantly, the puppet user had raised a valid point that while Naruto had won before, this time the terrain immensely favoured the sand user, meaning he could readily dictate whatever happened next.

But the two of them also knew that such thoughts were hard to consider when face-to-face with Naruto's charisma, friendliness, and smile.

Unexpectedly Gaara finally made his decision. "We need to return to our Village, you will follow us part way while we discuss this."

Haku, Karin, and Tayuya lightly dropped to the ground as they were released.

The Sunagakure ninja shifted with unease, with Temari taking the role of spokesman. "Are you sure, Gaara? He is still an intruder, and we have protocols."

Gaara slowly twisted to look every one of his comrades in the eye, before answering. "Naruto Uzumaki is one of the most promising ninja of his generation. He also deliberately risked his life to stare down a rampaging Tailed Beast to save his Village. Multiple witnesses reported someone of his description, in large numbers, being in the thick of the fighting. But now he is here, apparently being hunted by that same Village now, and has appeared here. Why?"

Without waiting for anyone else, Gaara took off running again. After a moment's hesitation, Naruto followed in silence. Gaara accepted this, until he sensed that everyone had caught up enough to overhear his next sentence. "I won't ask you why you're here, but I do need to know if my home and people are endangered."

XXX

They ran in a long line across the desert, Gaara's only other words being tips to help the foreigners handle running on the shifting sand so it was not as much of a strain for them despite their earlier difficulties.

Curious, Naruto glanced back at the handful of Sunagakure ninja closest to him and Gaara, being the first to start following his fellow Jinchuuriki, with Kankuro and Temari keeping an eye on those had been the most hesitant, and thus a few steps back from the rest of the group.

Three in particular caught Naruto's eye, since they were running a little more ahead of Tayuya and Karin, but alongside Haku.

He could not help but notice that the boy with scars on his face about Naruto's age, and the girl that was a bit younger, were all missing headbands as well, with the latter struggling to keep up and seeming nervous. Why doesn't even seem like she should be here. A stark contrast with the muscular young man's stoic expression. The third member was more impressive however, wearing the flak jacket of someone who was at least a full chunin, with what looked like a large roll of cloth on her back. The eyes above her face paint –or tattoos?— were openly inquisitive as she starred back at Naruto.

"Matsuri, the youngest, is my student, and still in the Academy" Gaara calmly said without looking back, while the young girl blushed. "She was abducted as bait by those after Shukaku."

"The Akatsuki?" Naruto asked with concern, even though he could see that his fellow Jinchuuriki was alive and before him.

Gaara glanced back briefly at the tone in Naruto's voice. "I do not know of them, this was another group, seeking to revive their leader of old, Seimei. Had I gone alone, they may have succeeded, but I chose to take some company. Shira, the man with the scars, and Maki," Naruto looked back to see the other two each raise a hand in greeting, "were particularly of value."

"Great to hear!" Naruto beamed a smile at them. "Thanks for helping Gaara!"

"It was technically against orders," Maki deadpanned. "The orders were that no help would be given, with the higher ups probably hoping Gaara would go alone and get himself killed and out of their hair. But Gaara said we had new orders to come, so we did. All of us were available, and had no reason to doubt him, but that's why we've mostly got genin with us."

"Sounds familiar," Naruto snarled. "Granny, the Fifth Hokage," the Sunagakure ninja besides the Sand Siblings blinked a few times at that, with a few nearly stumbling, "tried to help me, but she couldn't do enough. The Daimyo himself wanted me dead, and I don't know why really, but I think it was because he didn't trust me. Feared me." The cold seriousness in his tone, and the memory of what Naruto had done to Gaara kept it from seeming like arrogance. "There was another guy pushing it forward though, Danzo, Danzo Shimura I think, who I'm pretty sure was the one who ordered those fake ANBU to attack us both. He was behind it all, and he forced Granny into a position so that she couldn't do anything without risking a civil war. So I escaped to save her and the Village from that choice."

Haku and Tayuya suppressed the urge to react to how smoothly Gaara had fished such priceless intelligence out of Naruto, at the cost of details that were relatively minor in this situation; especially since the Ichibi Jinchuuriki still held the advantage here. Meanwhile, Shira and Maki's lips quirked a bit in approval, while Matsuri thought this was just a friendly conversation between inter-village friends.

Although it's possible that this Naruto Uzumaki wants the world to know how he was wronged, Maki acknowledged. Still, Gaara's proving his worth as a leader again. In truth Maki suspected that 'recruiting' her and the others was really Temari's idea, but no one would punish Gaara over something like that, especially since it had proven a success. Regardless, she agreed with the decision. Aside from the moronic consequences of losing control of a Tailed Beast, since he had become saner, Shukaku's Container had become far more valuable, despite his years as a monster with the blood of innocents.

But now he's started to embrace the same teachings as Pakura-sensei, Maki thought. That was why she was willing to give him a chance. Because what makes shinobi strong is indeed that they treasure and protect their family and village.

"I'm glad you are alright," Gaara calmly said. "As it was," deftly changing the conversation back as if what Naruto had just said was of no consequence, "those that I took with me all proved their worth. Although without those two in particular, defeating those terrorists would have been far more difficult."

Gaara was no fool after all; they had abducted his personal protégé, so obviously it was a trap tailored for him. A hostage situation was so outside of the type of missions Gaara was used to (i.e. kill everybody), that he knew he needed help, and his siblings were obvious, too obvious, in this. But he had not survived so many assassination attempts without being adaptable. So he had grabbed the most readily available bunch of ninja in the hopes they would have something to offer that might improve Matsuri's chances of survival, including Shira who had been nearby and Gaara had slightly more trust for than most, and headed off.

Letting everyone see him command a group of normal Sunagakure ninja, and bring them all back alive was icing on the cake in terms of Gaara's dream of becoming Kazekage.

XXX

Land of Water

Western Region

It was a typical civilian village in the Land of Water. A series of light rivers crisscrossed the ground before entering it to flow under the multitude of bridges, with a light mist hugging the ground. Stone buildings made up the homes with the poorer people living in snug wooden ones to keep out the damp chill, while plant-life flourished everywhere. The area around the village walls had long ago been cleared of any cover for those trying to sneak up on their homes, an unconscious act by even the non-combatants within this militant nation.

Right now however, it made it easy to see the individual who's slow advanced had stopped a hundred meters from the town, standing on the lush grass while the mist whispered around them.

"It's probably a trap," Ao declared, as if nothing more needed to be said, as he and the others stood in front of the village wall.

"B-but she's got a Kekkei Genkei," Chojuro nervously pointed out. "She's in as much danger as any of us, and no r-reason to be with the Fourth Mizukage."

We've seriously got to find out how to bring up his nerve outside of battle, Mei reflected. Maybe get him laid? She disagreed with casual sex, but it was starting to seem like it was time for desperate measures to get Chojuro to fully demonstrate the decisiveness that made him worthy of his blade on the killing ground. Eh, give him some more time to work it out. He's still young.

More of her advisors spoke up now, but she only paid half-attention to them in case they brought up something she had not already considered. She had already concluded this was no trap. Not with a foreign Kekkei Genkei user, and one who looked half-dead at that. The sort of detrition you'd expect from spending the last few years in maximum security, but her eyes… No, I'd say her spirits still as fiery as her flames, Mei cheerfully thought, enjoying her little forage into poetry.

Not that Mei had ever met the person herself, but the gossip and half-remembered reports had been telling.

The woman in question was still standing a hundred meters away in the open before the Rebels, trying to project an air of patience, with balls of fire hovering over her head.

Pakura of the Scorch Style.

A Jonin-Captain of Sunagakure, whose reputation had spread far and wide, telling tales of her prowess and loyalty.

Her current condition however was why Mei felt safe enough to be so…irreverent.

One thing that the rebel leader had remembered about Pakura was how while her hair was naturally a dark green, she had framed her face with long strands of it dyed orange, the results being so striking that Mei had no difficulty remembering it. This woman however had only raggedly green hair that had clearly been cut short with a kunai in service of practicality. Even from a distance it was easy to see that the remaining hair was greasy and as filthy as her skin, doubtless because while on the run the most Pakura could have managed was splashing a few handfuls of water on herself from any streams she encountered.

The once lithe frame was emancipated from what was visible through clothes that were distinctly lower-class civilian, and thus someone any Kirigakure shinobi of good standing would overlook if she was forced to try and blend in. Still, if she's got enough chakra to maintain those fireballs despite the shape her body's in, then her reserves in her prime must have been impressive, Mei acknowledged. High praise from one whose chakra supply was frankly massive; albeit not on Kisame the Tailless Tailed Beast's level.

Still, this was not a woman here for a fight. The fireballs were clearly a form of self-identification, and Mei doubted that Pakura had knowingly led anyone here (and as a Jonin-Captain she would be intimately familiar with most of the tricks), and there was enough of a fight in her spirit that it was unlikely that Yagura's goons had broken her.

Finally, if she did cause trouble, this was a town that was quietly but openly in support of the Rebels. Consequently, as a gesture of friendship they had layered the area around it –including in front of Pakura— with large buried pockets of Boil Release that Mei had hidden underground. With minimal effort, her and her forces could release the corrosive gas to consume Pakura.

Not to mention the traditional assortment of trip wires, seals, explosive tags, pit holes, etcetera.

The point was that this was a strongly defended position that would require either a larger force than could be hidden from Mei's agents, or small team of powerhouses; but even the latter were well known to her and her spies kept track of their movements. She would know if they had been deployed.

No, what Mei was waiting for, was for one of her 'advisors' to come up with something to explain how Pakura was here. It did not take a genius to figure out why a Kekkei Genkei user who had spent years a prisoner of Kirigakure was here to see the Rebels, yet breaking out of the prison known as the maximum security facility in the Land of Water was another thing. Especially in that state. Frankly, it was a miracle she had lived to make even the journey, or had not collapsed before them already.

"Listen you brats," snapped Ao, drowning out the rest. "Pakura was the personal prisoner of Jonin Captain Mustang Roy! And he might act like a self-absorbed ladies' man, but don't you fall for it! He's as sly and dangerous as they come, and she's only here because he wants her to be."

Ah… Mei's habitual smile became a little more real as pieces started to slide together. As dashingly handsome as he was, Mei too knew there was a sharp mind beneath Mustang's beautiful dark eyes. Unfortunately, as much as she might wish otherwise, he was not potential husband material. His role in the Bloodline Purges aside, she suspected that with him they would spend too much of their time playing mind-games or little competitions against each other. Exciting with a boyfriend perhaps, but not something she was interested in long-term. Although the gossip insisted that his pretty little bodyguard somehow kept him in-line without violating his male ego.

That those two 'war heroes' –as Hawkeye was also touted— had a role to play in Pakura's presence would definitely help explain things however. Either this is indeed a ploy of Mustang's on Yagura's behalf, in which case we have to tread lightly, with this as something to lull us into carelessness later, or it seems the Flame Ninja's ambition has finally gotten ahead of him. Either way, Mei was confident she could turn this to her advantage once she found the right lever. Hmm, unless that's his intention. Make a clumsy move so that I try to blackmail him, and turn him into an informant, while he's really feeding me false information? Probably better to just kill him.

"Ao," she said aloud, "have you confirmed there's nothing of immediate concern."

He scowled, but differed to her authority. "I've been doing my best, but I haven't found anything suspicious yet. Aside from the obvious," he added on while gesturing at Pakura. Mei sent him a light glare at that bit of insubordination, but said nothing. He was simply voicing his worry, and his trained caution (read: paranoia) was precisely why he had lived long enough to complain about 'the good old days' and the general failings of the younger generation. Privately, Mei conceded that as his reward for surviving so long he had earned the right to grouse about that; just not as much as he tended to.

She let the silence stretch out before he grimaced and bowed his head. "My apologies. I see no threat to us, including any signs of anything hidden upon Pakura, or signs of biological warfare," the Byakugan could not see if someone was infected with a contagious disease, but someone of Ao's talents could casually identify any symptoms, and in Pakura's state she would be especially susceptible. Moreover, ninja were habitually inoculated against the few viruses that left the initial host unscathed, or had deceitfully long incubation periods. "All she has on her are a few kunai and a letter that has no seals on it. Indeed," he continued, "her chakra reserves are nearing depletion. She will soon be unable to sustain her fireballs."

"Well then," Mei declared, making her way forward. "We'd best go see her." Lightly she made her way across the field, deliberately crossing over one of the hidden pockets of her own mists of Boil, confident that it was secure enough to handle her weight. Spread out, her bodyguards and top lieutenants followed her.

With the arrival of her intended hosts, Pakura was able to dismiss her Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder as a gesture of respect, as opposed to the undignified necessity because she was too exhausted and vulnerable to maintain them. 'No need to be rude to someone before killing them,' was Mei's personal rule. Sadly Pakura was not a man, so there was no excuse to flirt.

"I am Pakura of the Scorch Style," the desert woman said in greeting, "former Jonin-Captain of Sunagakure, and here to offer my services to your army in tearing down the Mizukage."

"Mei Terumi, Commander-in-Chief of the Rebels," was the pleasant reply, even as she automatically dissected and categorized the situation. The venom that had slipped in while saying 'Sunagakure' was particularly of interest. "We would be happy to have you, but, I must ask, how did you escape?"

Pakura croaked out a bitter laugh. "When my people betrayed me to Kirigakure as a peace-offering, Mustang was present, and advocated for my imprisonment. He slapped a high-level prison seal on me, and left me in total isolation except for visits from me, hoping that would make me desperate enough to do anything for more company." Indeed, the rasp to her voice hinted at disuse. "I gave them enough to keep them satisfied, but he kept visiting because he knew I was holding back, and was willing to wait until I told him everything he wanted." Her smile was like a shark, eyes triumphant. "But I never gave him what he really wanted."

Because no one reaches jonin-captain without the strength of will to resist torture to some degree, Mei coldly tacked on. No matter how bad it is, some secrets would remain squirreled away; unless of course, they are given willingly to your captors. That was one of the reasons Konohagakure's own T&I was so infamous, with their leader being someone who was well known to have successfully resisted horrific torture in the past, and now made his victims break with solely psychological warfare. Plus of course, some of the Yamanaka could directly read minds. The unimportant or unimpressive prisoners were given to the more junior interrogators of course, inflicting traditional torture to free up their superiors.

And yet despite her own people's treachery, -and even if that was false, Mustang would have spent a lot of time working to convince Pakura of it—she never really sold them out? She kept them thinking that she had more to offer?

While Mei appreciated that Mustang had sparred another person the horrors and violations found within Yagura's prison (and no, they were far from exclusive to the women), she knew that he was not soft-hearted. Some did consider him that, but Mei was well aware that his superiors only permitted that 'eccentricity' because he had proven to them precisely how ruthless he was during the Bloodline Purges. When killing people facing merciless extermination, if you wanted to survive you had to be willing to kill every man, woman, and child before you. The Rebels intelligence files on him reported that he was still ready resort to torture if necessary during missions, though he claimed that it had also proven to him how unreliable it could be.

For Pakura he had likely coached his arguments against physical torture in terms of using her inevitable hatred against her homeland to the advantage of the Bloody Mist; gently leading her to believe that the treachery of her own superiors should be repaid in the same currency. And yet despite that, she had not. If not for the sake of her former superiors, then perhaps for others back home?

And despite how her situation should have appeared hopeless, she never gave up on her own life? Mei wondered, feeling herself warming up to this woman.

"Commendable," Ao flatly complimented, but his word choice simultaneously notified his comrades that even he saw no signs of deception. "And it's not hard to guess why you're here if you want a place to recover, but are you really willing to help us fight the Bloody Mist?"

The filthy ex-prisoner shrugged. "I fought Mist ninja before, and now I've got an actual reason to hate them. They still demanded my life as payment for peace and broke their word and then made me suffer for all those years. But I'm also hoping you guys will be willing to build something better, as opposed to just fighting for revenge or putting yourself in power."

Ao was unfazed, but Chojuro gave an adorable pouting scowl in anger. "We are making something better. A Village that cares for its people," and several of the others nodded in agreement.

"You haven't yet answered how you escaped," Ao bluntly pointed out, catching his boss' cue that he was to take the lead.

Pakura shrugged again, but this time it seemed to take more effort. "Mustang. Mustang and his little trained dog broke me out."

"You mean his aid Hawkeye, or an actual pet dog?" a puzzled Chojuro asked for clarification. To his mind it was a legitimate question in the world they lived in. For the older shinobi present, they knew it was irrelevant.

"Hawkeye. Although in one of Mustang's previous little chats, he mentioned she had a puppy now."

"Oh, cool."

"Kids these days," Ao muttered in disgust before getting the light interrogation back on track. "So Mustang decided to let you go out of the kindness of his own heart? His personal prisoner? What's the catch?" His Byakugan had not detected anything wrong with her, and the throbbing veins around his eye were subtle enough she probably would not detect them. And if she did and proved too risky to trust with that information, she would be dead anyways.

The former Hero of Sunagakure pulled out the envelope that Ao had already seen she carried, and held it up to them, the tears on it clearly indicating that she had already opened and read the contents. "Apparently he wants to defect, and I'm a peace offering that'll also strengthen your forces. When he came to visit me, he said that things had changed. That now he too knew what it meant to be betrayed by his leaders he had trusted. Then he deactivated the seal suppressing my chakra, left me some tools to escape with, and planted evidence to make it look like you guys broke me out, which also helps your reputation. There were also directions to find you guys on the letter. Although it took me about a week or two to make sure it wasn't another trick on his part. That you're the real deal…" she limply trailed off before visibly shaking her head to re-orient herself.

Looking defiant again, she stared down the (confirmed) rebels. "And yes, I went along with it to get out, and because weakening Kirigakure would mean that less of my own people would be at risk from the Mizukage's forces."

"Are you planning to return home afterwards? Expose the deception?" Ao asked. "You were martyred as my memory goes, used as an excuse for further hostilities against Iwagakure."

Pakura's face locked up with rage and her breath quickened as she seethed with fury. "Guess Mustang never mentioned that part," Ao blandly noted. "He probably didn't want you entertaining thoughts of going home. Even for vengeance."

In truth, this was the part that would determine if Pakura the Scorch Style would live to see another dawn. The Rebels could not risk a viper in their bed, one who retained loyalties to a foreign power that would seek to not just weaken the threat the Land of Water poised to Wind, but outright cripple it. Betraying the rebels so that their proud nation collapsed from within.

Certainly not one as resourceful and powerful as Pakura would be, once she started to recover.

"I will never return home," Pakura spat before catching herself. These displays of emotions were unbecoming for a ninja, particularly for a Suna shinobi, and drove home how rusty she had become. Nothing some food, rest, and company with those not trying to make her into their puppet.

Although she conceded it was theoretically possible Mustang really had been just looking out for her, sparing her a far, far harsher treatment at the hand of Kekkei Genkei haters. The kind that began with brutally sterilizing you to prevent 'birthing monsters', and then keeping you alive for as many years as they could draw it out.

That possibility did not endear Mustang to Pakura however, because pity was something she also despised.

And then she remembered she no longer cared about those codes of conduct anyways. Even if some aspects of them would remain useful to remember right this moment.

Taking a deep breath, Pakura elaborated. "I could never stand amongst those warm, golden dunes, without seeing all of the blood that I spilt in their defense. My blood. The blood of the men and women and outright children that I'd been given to command. And yes, even the blood of those who had leaders just like ours. I did all of that to keep my home, the people living there, safe. All the people I left back there, including my student," she kept Maki's name to herself, "who blindly follow the lies of those in charge and supported them. It's not fair to them, but I know I'd never be able to look at them without seeing it. Even if I didn't know exactly what the Kazekage said happened, I still knew he'd just use it to justify more of his violent idiocy, and they gobbled it all up."

"Being a prisoner made you a pacifist?" Ao sceptically asked. Chojuro was just confused, 'pacifist' being a rare word in the Land of Water.

"Hah!" she barked. "If I had Rasa," the Fourth Kazekage, "before me right now I'd gut him with my bare hands! No," and she composed herself, "but I won't fight just because it's the only option I'm capable of entertaining. I've seen where that leads. The people who become like that. As for vengeance, it'd be nice, but I'd much rather enjoy the sun and stars again as much as I can, along with everything else out here. I want to be strong enough to kill anyone around me, but I also don't want to waste my life anymore. I want to enjoy it. And if I ever went back, even if Rasa was killed by the very people he'd lied to, it'd still be expected of me to become a ninja and lock away my emotions and be a good little soldier. Or train kids to grow up to be like that. No. Never."

Belatedly Pakura realized she had been barring her soul to complete strangers without even realizing it, but before she could be seized by the shame, something else did. Before she could fully process it, she was swept up in a warm hug, while large soft things were pressed into face. "That's all we need to hear~!" sang Mei as she swirled Pakura around. "So let's get you washed up and rested, and then we can catch you up on what's been happening. In fact, you'll be pleased to hear that Rasa's dead now. Assassinated on the job even, embarrassing really~."

Having completely forgotten she was supposed to be uncomfortable about what she had just done, Pakura felt a burst of anger as she tried to free herself, and Mei quickly released her. "You'll fit in just fine, and we'll be happy to have you," she smiled, but Pakura was unsure if it was genuine or not. "But seriously," and now Mei's nose twitched, "you're having a bath even if I have to dunk you in myself. Maybe me too after you went and hugged me like that."

Now her subordinates were also sufficiently distracted at the thought of both attractive women (for Pakura was still visibly striking under the grime) bathing to hopefully forget about their newest member's little rant. Men, Mei sighed to herself. When will I ever find a decent one? Well, at least Ao still composed. Although she was unsure if he had the empathy to realize what she had done, or why.

Pakura suddenly found herself too exhausted and confused to deal with this weird woman, and decided to just go along with it. It had been an exhausting few days getting here, and she was at her limit, feeling completely and utterly emotionally drained. She had been told she had a place to stay, and they were talking about a bath. That was all she needed to hear. Now I've just got to be sure I don't fall asleep in the water. Who knows what this crazy woman would do next.

Author Notes:

Glad I could finally introduce Pakura. I really enjoyed her episode, and how Keeperoftheninjaway used her for his own fic, so I decided to use her here. Instead of Kirigakure killing a valuable prisoner, they faked her death to both send a message and pump her for intelligence.

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