Chapter 26: Sunagakure
They saw the entrance to Sunagakure long before they reached the village. The circular fortress of rock walls, with its single entrance was as distinctive as the Hero's Gates of Konoha, and just as unnatural. Temari kept the younger genin and academies entertained during that last hour of walking by telling them how the massive stone wall had come to be.
Naruto had to admit, the story was interesting, if disturbingly similar to how the village of Konoha was built by the Shodaime Hokage. His counterpart, the Shodaime Kazekage, a powerful ninja in his own right, brought his people to camp at the base of a large mesa, their traditional sanctuary.
For years this mesa had been their place of retreat when war or sandstorm threatened. However, his ninja told him that a sandstorm of incredible power was coming, one that could overwhelm even the mesa if precautions weren't taken.
"But no one knew what kind of precautions. How do you stop a sandstorm?" The genin and academies listened intently. Their travels had been interrupted several times as they had been forced to seek shelter from such storms, and they had already gained a healthy respect for their power. "The Kazekage stood with his trusted friends as they discussed the problem. Then he did something that changed everything."
The pause was devastating at this point. Naruto could feel the tension in the air surrounding the Genins and academies, as could the rest of the chuunin. Naruto glanced over at Sakura, and the two teammates traded a grin. She was a good story teller.
"He looked down, and saw a desert rat digging itself a hole in the hard sand. They say that the Kazekage nearly fell over laughing as the irony of the situation hit him. He was about to propose, effectively, that they all become rats." The giggles and chuckles swept over the group, as even the jounin joined in on the tension breaking qualities of laughter.
"Yet he turned to his people and said, 'In all our time, the desert's creatures have never mislead us. We will again take their advice, and dig ourselves a shelter.' The ninja of the village set to work with their jutsus, and shortly enough, their mesa had become a fortress of rock. The sandstorm swept over and around the mesa, but never inside of it."
Her story apparently finished, Temari turned to look at the veritable fortress that was looming ever closer. "We're close enough now to get the lead out." Temari declared, as she prepared to launch herself forward. Tsunade's hand fell to her shoulder. "The academy students can't keep that kind of pace for long."
Temari scowled at the Hokage. "Your academy is more lenient than I thought."
Her scowl was matched in its intensity by that of Shikamaru. "Our academy just started a new session three months ago. The vast majority of the academy students came with us, including the new students."
Realizing the implications, Temari sighed. "Walking it is, then. I'm amazed they made it this far if they're that new."
"Baa-chan." Tsunade turned at Naruto's oft-used nickname. "We can move faster than this."
Naruto saw the eyeroll coming even before it happened. "Were you listening just now at all?"
The jinchuuriki smirked. "Yeah, but you forgot something in that discussion."
"What?"
"Me, of course." A note of pride carried through Naruto's tone as he said this. Shikamaru smiled as he realized what Naruto was talking about, and nodded. "That would make sense. They've impressed even me so far, but they can't keep this up for much longer. I don't think we'll make the village before some of them begin to pass out."
Tsunade looked at the genius chuunin for a moment, before nodding to the blond. The powerhouse ninja nodded as he took up the necessary stance. Called the horse because of the similarity that it bears to a samurai on mount, with the legs spread shoulder width, bent at the knees, feet to the front, back as straight as possible. Naruto's index and middle fingers made the stylized cross handseal, molding the chakra necessary to perform the technique that he had often overutilized as a young genin.
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." He declared, as he felt the chakra release from his body in rivulets. The streams of chakra hit the ground all around him, each one forming itself into a solid matter replication of the infamous prankster. Knowing precisely what they were there for, the Kage Bunshins moved amongst the genin and academies, each one picking up a student or young ninja and settling them onto their backs. Naruto picked up Konohamaru himself, before turning to Tsunade and nodding.
The Slug Sannin nodded, before raising her hand directly above her head, palm up, elbow at a fourty-five degree angle. Sweeping out from the shoulder, she brought the open palm around and forward, her arm extending to a full extension as it pointed in the direction of Sunagakure. The surrounding ninja recognized the signal for what it was, and nodded. In that instant, every Konoha ninja present focused as much chakra as they could possibly mold down to their feet, and lunged in the direction of Sunagakure.
They were nothing more than a river of blurs.
1
The guards on the rampart of Sunagakure had noticed the small army of incoming humanity twenty minutes previously. Unsure of the results of Sabaku no Temari's mission, they were understandably tense as their far-seers notified them that they bore the uniforms and forehead protectors of Konoha ninja.
Of course, the far-seers, with their infinitely sadistic sense of humor, neglected to mention that Temari was with them. Their ability, perfected over years of training the optic nerves to accept high levels of chakra to enhance their visual perceptions over long distances, required very specialized training. And is so usual in the ninja world, the student tended to receive qualities from their master. Universally, pulling-wings-off-the-sand-fly humor was a quality that passed from far-seer to far-seer. That and perversion on a degree surpassed only by the infamous Sannin Jiraiya. Many a far-seer wished that they could learn of the man's many legendary peeping techniques. With those, and their long-distance vision, imagine the peeping they could achieve. It was enough to induce nosebleeds.
The far-seer on duty, however, decided that it might be time to let them know who the approaching party was once they saw the ninjas begin to move at full speed, obviously intent on getting to the village as quick as possible now that they were on the harder sands. "I can see Sabaku no Temari among them, as well as the Godaime Hokage. They are friends."
The guard captain locked a glare onto the far-seer, before sighing. "Signal for the gate to be opened, and notify the Kazekage that his sister has returned." Turning to look at the oncoming swarm once again, he sighed, and turned to his lieutenant. "You know what to do. Get to it." The ninja bowed, before running along the ramparts. Hugging the curvature of the stone-carved pathway as they led him into the carved hallway that lead to the village proper, he quickly found himself looking out over the village itself. Bringing one foot up to the edge of the rampart, he quelled the reflexive, primal fear of what his animal instincts knew would be a fatal fall, and threw himself off over the edge. Crossing his arms, he threw them out again, channeling chakra into the garb that he wore, which took the chakra, and stiffened strategically placed parts of the material, turning his garb into a hang-glider. Using a shift in his shoulders to change his heading, he redirected himself for the jounin lounge, and moved his arms closer to his body. The reduction in surface area resulted in less wind holding him up, giving gravity the purchase it required to begin pulling him back down, increasing his speed as a result.
Inside the jounin lounge, Baki saw the incoming manglider. Reaching out lazily, he grabbed a thick rope, and gave it a sharp yank. A set of thick cushions dropped into place. He heard the muffled yell of thanks as the manglider tucked his arms in tight next to his body, chakra still channeled to keep the fabric stiff. The stiff fabric kept him from closing his arms completely, which would result in his falling like a stone from the loss of wind-based suspension. Yet the sudden increase in gravity's purchase allowed him incredible speed as he came in for a very abrupt landing on the thick cushions in the jounin lounge.
Baki shook his head at the manglider. He knew from his dealings with them that they tended to be adrenaline junkies of the highest order, but they were invaluable for their ability to quickly relay messages across the Wind Country. The abundant thermals of the country gave them more than enough lift to reach even the furthest parts of the country in times that made all but the fastest ninja look slow by comparison.
"Whew… been a while since I was sent here." The manglider's voice was muffled not only by the cushion, but the tight ball that he had rolled himself into to avoid injury upon landing. Unrolling himself, the man sat up, looking over at Baki. "Hey, Baki. Temari is back, and apparently its mission successful, cause she's got one hell of an entourage with her. Time to roll out the welcome mat." He said, as he flopped back onto the cushion.
A half-smile came to Baki's face before he turned away from the manglider, making his way over to the remaining jounin that the Kazekage had entrusted with this duty. He knew the man would make his way back to his post eventually, once the adrenaline from his previous flight no longer had him shaking.
1
Baki stood at the head of a half-dozen jounin in the square that the stone corridor dumped out into. Designed as a killzone during invasions, ninja who managed to make it through the gauntlet of the Stone Corridor would be faced with fresh ninja ready for close combat once they were dropped into this square. It also served as a reception area, both for ninja returning from missions and for other, less common situations. Such as the reception of a large number of high-ranking refugees such as those coming from Konoha.
Baki smiled as he saw Temari land in the square, the Konoha ninja following suite around her. He was slightly surprised when he saw hundreds of the same blond ninja manage to also land fluidly, each of them bearing a child or very young ninja on their backs. He knew the boy in front of him very well, having headed up the observation mission on the boy during his first trip into Suna territory, almost two and a half years ago. The boy had changed considerably since then. For one thing, his control had grown considerably since then, as he managed to disperse the chakra necessary to move at high speeds instantly, without the usual small hop that most ninja used to aid in its dispersal.
A small smile split his lips. It seemed that once again Gaara was correct. Konoha's council had no idea what kind of potential this boy had if they were only willing to dig for it. Not for the first time, he wondered if the villages hadn't become so drunk on the power of bloodlines that they ignored even greater strengths that could be achieved through the work of their members.
But that was for another time, Baki knew. At the moment, he had a missive to deliver, from one Kage to another. Finding the distinctive form of the Godaime Hokage amongst the ninja, Baki quickly made his way through the crowd, finally coming to kneel at the foot of the blond.
"The Kazekage sends a welcome, and asks to meet with you and your advisors immediately upon arrival." Baki, having delivered the message, motioned to the jounins. "These men will escort the rest of your people."
Tsunade watched the man carefully. A high-ranking jounin, she knew what little existed in his file by heart, as she did with the files of every other jounin on his par. "Escorted… where?"
Baki recognized the suspicion in the tone. It took very little time for him to realize its source, and he smiled almost ruefully. "To quarters that the Kazekage had prepared for your people. He wasn't sure what size group to expect, but he did the best that he could. Still, I don't know if there is enough space for this many." He said, giving an appraising glance to the entourage.
"The academy students can multi-bunk." She said, turning to look at Kakashi and Asuma. "You two will see to it that they're situated. Jiraiya, Shikamaru, you're with me. Sakura, Naruto, you two help make sure everyone else gets situated."
Baki's eyes met with the aspiring Hokage, and he shook his head. "Actually, the Kazekage has asked to meet with both Sakura and Naruto as well. I believe that he wants to thank them personally. He never did get the chance after your little encounter with Akatsuki."
Tsunade nodded at that, and turned to look at the two of them. "You heard him. You're with us. Raidou, Genma. You two are to see to settling everyone in." With assignments handed out, the ninja streamed out around the Hokage and her chosen escorts, following the lead of the Suna jounins.
As the river of humanity began to peter out, Tsunade nodded to Baki, indicating for him to take the lead. The jounin smiled, as he and Temari lead their visitors through the streets of Sunagakure.
Naruto hadn't really seen the village during his previous visit. With his attention focused on the sole goal of recovering Gaara from the Akatsuki, he didn't really notice much of it. He didn't really notice the way that the ground was covered in a fine layer of sand, or that underneath it was a layer of hard rock, matching the color of the surrounding barrier walls. He didn't really notice the construction of the buildings, how they were as smooth as running water, connected by levels of bridges running back and forth between them. He saw the ninja running across the bridges on missions of all kinds, and soon began to realize how few there really were. Although he didn't know the exact number of Konoha's forces, he was pretty sure that their group here, plus the group that presently occupied Tobihi outnumbered them by close to two-to-one.
Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, Naruto joined the others in front of the Kazekage. The redhead had redecorated the office since his father had held the post. His father, who had been so fond of the screen that hid him from those who came to report or receive missions, was to Gaara's mind embodied by that veil. It was the same way he had lived his life and dealt with his family. He could see them and decide on them, but they could not see or decide on him.
He would not let himself fall victim to this mentality, and with that in mind he had removed the veil. The display had been rather impressive, as his sand ripped the veil from the wall and compressed it into a small ball of metal bar and cloth. He had replaced it with a thick cushion, raised up above the level of visitors by a set of sandstone blocks. He sat in a half-lotus on this cushion, his eyes passionately analyzing his visitors as they walked into the room.
Tsunade smiled slightly as she saw the set-up. A large rug of the blue that symbolized the Kazekage covered the stones that undoubtedly held his seat above the cushions put out for them. The difference between their relative heights was the ultimate in psychological warfare, putting him at a distinct positional advantage above them. It was one hell of a way to remind them of the advantage he held over them.
She was therefore surprised when he stood up, and walked down to the bottommost step, and took up a seat, putting himself on par with them. Looking at Naruto, the Kazekage felt a smile tug at the side of his lips. Allowing it to pull a little, he saw the jinchuuriki's eyes widen at the sight of Sabaku no Gaara smiling.
Once Naruto recovered from the shock, notably faster than those around him, he took the time to take in Gaara's features. The redhead looked considerably better than he did when Naruto last saw him. Dying had this little effect of making people look less than their best. So did lack of sleep, and it was amazing to Naruto how much healthier Gaara looked, now that he could sleep without fear for his mind.
"Thank you." The Kazekage said to the blond. "Both from myself, and from my village. Without your aid, they would have been down another Kazekage. Now, to business." He said, turning his gaze to meet Tsunade. "This Danzou is a presumptuous man. He has already sent me a letter." Gaara held out a hand, and a tendril of sand brought it over to him. Naruto noted that there was a slight strain to Gaara's face, as the kanji on his brow let off a soft light. Although he could still control the sand, it seemed to take more energy than he was used to. Perhaps, with the loss of the Shukaku to provide the chakra to power the sand, he needed to improve his chakra capacity to be able to use it as well as he could before.
Unfolding the letter, Gaara began to read. "To the esteemed, if youthful, Kazekage." Gaara's sand swirled up behind his head, forming into a pair of crude hands, making sarcastic quoting motions in around esteemed and youthful. "I trust that by this point in time, that spying sister of yours has notified you of the changing of the guard in Konoha." the sand formed into a noose, dangling a featureless body. "I accept her actions as those of a shinobi, but I must notify you that if she is caught here again, she will be killed. I must also demand that, if any member of the previous Konoha government should come to seek refuge at your village, you turn them over to me as soon as possible." Gaara folded the letter, before spitting on it, and tossing it aside.
"The rest of the thing just patters on about how he is treating our alliance as a peace treaty, and nothing more. Gaara shook his head. "He is not fitting to be a Kage, much less the Hokage. Of all the Konoha shinobi I have met, I know of only a few whom I would be willing to even acknowledge as Rokudaime. This Danzou is not one of them."
Gaara smirked as two more letters were born forward by his sand. Naruto noted the drop of sweat that ran down his face. "These are from the Raikage… and Otokage. The Raikage hopes that the new Hokage will be more willing to agree to 'fair' terms. The Otokage says that this changes nothing."
The two letters fell as the sand drew away from them. "For my part. I personally stand with the Godaime Hokage and her people. This man is not the Rokudaime Hokage. He is the Shodaime Masshakage."
Naruto couldn't manage to suppress a snicker at that. Sakura, Tsunade, Jiraiya and Shikamaru joined him with smiles and chuckles. "I can just see his face when he sees that." Tsunade said. She, and the rest of her entourage had taken places on the cushions, and she herself had adopted the same lotus-styled posture Gaara had used. Leaning forward, she balanced her elbows on her knees, and looked directly at Gaara. "None the less, we need to make a decision of what to do. Allies though we may be, I have no intention of just letting that man have my village."
Gaara nodded. "Agreed. We must come up with a plan. Shadow-user." Gaara said, looking at Shikamaru. "You are the most qualified present." The Nara mumbled something resembling 'very troublesome,' before he adopted his thinking posture.
Naruto was examing the office from his cushion. Unlike the Kazekage and Tsunade, he sat in a deceptively relaxed posture, something he had picked up from Gai. Called a 'ready' stance the legs were kept bent at the knees, held at just past a right angle to one another. The edge of one foot was flat to the floor, with the sole of the other foot flat on the floor near by. The dominant arm, in his case the right, was left draped on top of the standing leg, which would be the leg of his dominant side. His left arm, the less dominant, was used to prop up the upper body, giving the stance its dangerously deceptive relaxed pose. In a moment, he could easily roll to either side, drop his head or upper torso out of attack range, block or grab with his right hand, or use his legs to grasp an opponent and prevent them from using their arms or from fleeing.
His examination of the room brought his eyes to rest on the photo of a man whom he presumed was the present Daimyo, as he was the only person in a photo to have neither a ninja's headband, or the Kazekage insignia somewhere on the photo's frame.
Shikamaru sighed. "Its troublesome, but whatever plan we use, we need to enact it within the next year. If we wait any longer than that, Danzou will be able to graduate a class of genin as big as he likes, and then he'll have the ability to churn out so many ninja to use as living shields, we'll never stop him.
"The first thing we need to do before we attack is try to convince the Wind Daimyo to stop sending so many missions to Konoha. By doing this, we'll cut of at least some of the funds Konoha gets, which will leave Danzou with less money to use in a battle against us. If we can convince the Fire Daimyo, we might be able to seriously hamper his ability to fund his operations. This will also limit his ability to train genin to throw in front of us."
Naruto couldn't quite suppress the horrified expression. How could someone conceive of doing that? Tsunade noted the expression on his face, and knew that it matched her own feelings. "The Fire Daimyo won't be too difficult. Naruto made a good impression during his previous mission for the Daimyo."
Naruto felt something nibbling at his memory. The Shogun had sent escorts for the Daimyo's and he remembered what the others had said that meant for ninja relations. "What about the Shogun?"
Shikamaru thought on it for a moment, his expression growing grim. "If he decides to take action, it might very well turn out that he decides to flatten Konoha. He might use the village as an example. Tsunade-sama…" Shikamaru trailed off.
She looked over at Jiraiya, and the two Sennin nodded. "We'll deal with this personally. Gaara, as of this moment, I'm officially putting all of my ninja on extended loan to Sunagakure. Hatake Kakashi is being declared Hoseisan as of this moment, and will be your intermediary when necessary."
1
1
Beginning now, I'm going to start throwing definitions of all Japanese terms at the end, as I obviously tend to use them quite often. I will start by defining those from chapter 25 as well
Honoo – Flame
Hanran – Rebellion
Tobihi – loose definition would be sparks flying from a fire
Massha – Jester (Ergo, the Masshakage would be the Jester Shadow)
Seisan – adjective describing ghostly qualities. Hoseisan is a title that will elaborated upon in the next chapter.