This chapter is much later than I'd like it to be, even if it's only by a few hours. Fortunately though during the final stretch i became a little hyper; here's hoping it keeps up as I start the next one. Anyways, it's hot as hell here, hotter than you'd expect in Scotland anyway. I'm gonna take a break, cool down, then get started again.

Disclaimer:... ok, Naruto, after that last manga chapter (495) I really have to say this. WHAT... THE... HELL? That guy... damn.

Invaders from the instigating lands

The landscape shimmered waveringly under the gaze of the sun as the eyes were tricked with a small mirage. The thin air was made even denser by sweltering heat, one which the dry earth did little to console for. There was scarcely a stream in sight, nor a tree or any vegetation. All there was were the many hills and plateaus the filled the line of view in every direction. This place was hardly the most desirable, it would take long and disciplined conditioning for one to adapt to this place. Unfortunately, it was this conditioning that Naruto and Gaara were lacking. They walked through a narrow valley, where even here they were at the mercy of the sun above.

"Man… it's too hot!" Naruto gasped, as he limped along the rigid road. He had been used to the moist conditions of Nami no Kuni; he had even found Hi no Kuni to be unreasonably warm. As it was, he felt almost ready to collapse where he stood. "Who the hell would want to live in a place like this?"

Gaara didn't reply, he was putting all his efforts into pretending he didn't notice the heat. Despite the shame he felt from it, even he who had been raised in the desert had lost his ability to cope well with the heat. If not for his knowledge of these climates, most likely he would be looking as desperate as Naruto right now.

Up in front of them, Deidara caught the other blonde's words and gave a small smile. Glancing over his shoulder with a cocky expression, he looked over the two boys and restrained himself from chuckling. "Here I thought Kisame's students would be tougher than that." he said, as he turned his eyes ahead again. "Even if you can't bear it, don't share it. That's the sorta thing I can picture him saying."

"No… I really don't think he would." Naruto replied, looking at Deidara with tired eyes. Even if their sensei would promote toughness, it was incredibly unlikely he would emphasise that with rhyme. But what was more important at that point was what else Deidara said. "Are you picking a fight with me?" he asked, before jerking his thumb over to Eko. "This thing is hot as hell, you wanna carry him?"

"Sorry to burden you."

Too exhausted to deal with Eko's sudden mood, Naruto simply let his arms hang loosely in front of him. Even though it was only around midday, he was ready to call it quits and crawl into the nearest shadow. He also had a feeling that if it were just him and Gaara on this mission, the latter wouldn't protest. But with Deidara here, Gaara would refuse to appear weak, and with that left Naruto's chances of cooling down.

"Relax, we're there." Deidara suddenly said, jerking his head to the path in front of him. Both Naruto and Gaara screwed up their eyes as they tried to see just where "there" was. All that they could see were the valley walls on either side of them, and the tip of the incline not too far away. But as they steadily grew closer to that slight apex, a much broader landscape came into view.

Though perhaps small by most common comparisons, the village that lay before them completely filled their line of view. The terrain down there was far from regular, most of the buildings seemed to have been built around the cracks and crevices, while others were made inside the very earth that supported the village. Rope bridges led over the pits and between the buildings, offering meagre means of getting around for those lacking the skills that ninja utilised. From the buildings that could be seen, the architects seemed to focus well on making them blend in with the rocky spires that had been hollowed out and utilised themselves. All in all, it seemed nothing here was wasted. There were even sparse patches of trees on the buildings, though how they survived was anyone's guess.

"Is this place really a village?" Naruto wondered aloud, as he and Gaara followed Deidara down towards the strange community. It looked to him to be more like a city belonging to ant soldiers he'd once had a nightmare about. The tiny people moving over the bridges and past the holes in the walls didn't exactly help with that image.

Deidara looked back at him again, a curious look in his single visible eye. He turned his attention back to the village, regarding it for a moment. "Iwa uses the same basic architecture for its outposts as it does for its main body." He explained, regarding the familiar scene with mixed feelings of delight and annoyance. "That way Iwa Shinobi are always in their element, ready for whatever happens, yeah."

"If there is a Shinobi presence here, why are we taking the conventional entrance?" Gaara asked, watching the gate below for any signs of movement. Though he had little problem with taking out a few Shinobi, he knew that raising alarms would only make their job more difficult when they got down to it.

Deidara shook his head in response, before raising his hands to his mouth. "THERE'S NO ONE DOWN THERE, YEAH?" he yelled, startling both Naruto and Gaara behind them. He then looked back at their affronted faces, before cracking up with laughter. "Ha ha ha, with the Gobi Jinchuriki down there the Tsuchikage wouldn't spare many Shinobi. We'll only have problems if we start wrecking the place, or if someone recognises me, hm."

Naruto let himself hang over again, he really couldn't handle Deidara's nature all that well. He was like an overly eccentric Utakata, even if he was a lot more experienced. Naruto couldn't tell if it was the situation, or just something that came with being around Deidara, but the ex-Iwa-nin seemed kind of like he was letting loose.

They descended down to the broad gate down below, a rusted wall of metal standing on a pair of old looking wheels. There was a guard post there, but like Deidara said there were no sentries in sight. As such they were able to get there without interruption, Naruto and Gaara glad to be in the shade of the iron barrier. Faint streams of sunlight pierced through rusted holes, but that was the most that got through to them.

"Man…" Naruto thought, as he let himself fall flat on his rear, with Eko falling beside him. He lifted his head back as he took in the cooler air, though it was still stuffy at least it wasn't burning hot. Nonetheless, his stamina had taken a pretty heavy hit. "Next time… next time Yagura and Utakata can do this."

"C'mon, we've barely started." Deidara said, looking over his shoulder as he placed his hands upon the old metal gate. Then with a hard push and a grunt of effort, the gate groaned along as it was moved aside. After a few moments, there was an opening big enough for the three of them to walk through. Reluctantly, Naruto got back to his feet and put Eko back in place, before following Deidara and Gaara out of the shade and into the village.

It was surprising to see, but Naruto and Gaara were soon to find that the sun wasn't so much of a problem here. Just a few dozen yard walking returned them to the shadows once more as the stalagmite buildings eclipsed the blazing orb from view. That made the place even more impressive; the buildings were much large than Naruto had anticipated. And from what he could see, it was rightly so.

Up there on the walkways and inside the buildings, many numbers of people were moving in different directions, only a few of which investigated the strangers to their home. Deidara stepped before the two genuine strangers, looking up at the buildings with an expression half of nostalgia and half something less pleasant.

"Alright then, this is where things get tough." he said, turning on the spot to face Naruto and Gaara. It looked like he was now adopting a more official stature than what he had had when he was yelling at the top of his voice. "What we need is to draw out the Shinobi battalions, but we can't afford unnecessary casualties. So we'll do it like this; one of you will make an attack on the aviary to make sure no message gets out. Meanwhile, I'll create enough of a commotion to bring the Shinobi, and maybe even the person we're looking for, out in the open. While that's happening, whoever's left will be in charge of picking the enemy off. But if the Jinchuriki is a no show, we'll need one alive to interrogate."

He finished his explanation, leaving Naruto and Gaara to take it in. It seemed like a fairly simple plan, even Naruto had little trouble understanding it. He gave a broad grin, and tapped Gaara on the shoulder before moving towards Deidara. "I call the picking off and stuff!" he said, before blinking in surprise. Much in contrast to his expectation, Gaara had grabbed his wrist and pulled Naruto back. The two stared at each other for five full seconds, before Naruto's face drooped with disappointment. "Really?"

Gaara gave a nod of reply, before releasing his grip on Naruto. Deidara watched the two curiously as the other blond sighed, before he and Gaara raised their hands. Slowly, gradually, a globule of incredulous sweat gathered on Deidara's brow as the two boys began to play a game of janken. He could hardly believe his eyes, but as the two began pumping fists to each other, his doubt steadily decreased.

"Jan…" Naruto said, providing unneeded sound effect to an already embarrassing display. However apparently only one of the three people present seemed to think such a thing, and Gaara was being dead silent. "Ken… Pon!"

The two hands flicked to their positions, and for the first time Deidara was able to realise there truly was some skill behind that worthless game. Both boys had begun to display their choices, but in a fraction of a moment they feigned, switching their results in a way of common trickery. It seemed that in this case, Gaara's eye and hand was quicker. His scissors beat Naruto's paper.

"Aaah!" Naruto exclaimed, his hands gripping his hair as he turned on the spot. He seemed more than a little disappointed in his loss, and had half a mind to request best two out of three. But he knew well that Gaara wouldn't go for that, and the rules stated that the outcome had already been decided. Reluctantly, he let out a sigh, before looking at Deidara. "Which way to the aviary?"

Utakata sat by the window of the room he was using, the one previously belonging to Momochi Zabuza's partner Haku. He had pulled up a chair and was sitting by the window, but he was by no means admiring the view. Down on the window sill waiting patiently was a carrier pigeon, one that had been called by special means. It looked up at Utakata as it awaited its command, but the wounded boy seemed hesitant. He looked to the small scroll in his hand, though he had written out the contents he was still uncertain about going through with his plan.

He turned his eyes down to the ground outside, leaning on the sill as he listened to the sound of grunting. Far below, Yagura was having a sparring match with Fuu to determine her capabilities. Ever since returning from last night's mission Yagura had been in a serious mood, but his uncertainty was clear. Despite his attempt at interrogation he had failed to get anything out of Utakata about the events that transpired during the climax of their mission.

It seemed Yagura was taking some of his frustration out on Fuu down there, disguising it behind training. Fortunately however close combat wasn't Yagura's greatest strength, Fuu was just able to keep up with him. She ducked under his kicks and knocked his punches aside, yet to take a serious punch, but also yet to be dealt one. Angry though he may have been, Yagura was keeping himself as restrained as he could for the sake of the others.

Fuu dropped to the ground and threw her leg out, hoping to catch Yagura off guard and knock him to the ground. It failed however as he hopped over it, resulting in Fuu's rolling back to avoid possible counterattack. Though her movements were sharp and fast, she lacked the consistency to take advantage of the situation. It seemed like Utakata, she was the type that preferred not to get noticed in battle.

Yet there she was, doing her best to get stronger so that she could be of more use. Though the match was a means of Yagura evaluating her, it had been Fuu who requested it be done. She had said that she wanted to be more dependable, and Yagura had been far from against the idea. And in any case, after the commotion caused in Nami yesterday it seemed best to lay low. Hence the reason they were doing such a thing now, rather than looking for more work. Though they had been paid, Yagura had been hoping to get a streak of jobs. That hope had been dashed however, another factor to add to his intensity.

"Niisan is trying his best to keep things together." Utakata thought, watching Yagura with a calm expression. He then turned his eyes to Fuu, seeing the sweat shining off her bare skin as she threw in more effort than she ever had in her life. "And Fuu-chan is doing whatever she can to be of use…". He dropped his eyes down to the pigeon, before slowly coming to his decision. He took the bird and tied the scroll to its legs, before lifting it to the air. With a wave of his hand, he sent the bird on its way, the small creature flapping its wings frantically as it made its way to the tips of the trees.

Yagura turned his eyes up, watching the source of the sound that had caught his attention. He hadn't a clue as to who Utakata was contacting with that bird, and so far his friend had been unwilling to disclose a reason to anything that had happened lately. It made him a little angry that the person who called him brother was acting so mysterious, it was almost like he was being made fun of. He lowered his eyes as Fuu came at him again, throwing her leg in the air as she tried to catch him off guard. With little to no effort, he ducked under her shin and shot his hand up, pushing her leg up and forcing her to fly to the ground.

"Ow…" Fuu moaned quietly, as she pushed herself to a half reclined position. She rubbed her aching rear, wincing from the pain of hitting a root full on with her bottom. She looked up at Yagura with a pout, childishly blaming him for her pain. Her look soon disappeared however as Yagura bent over and took her hand, pulling her to her feet. "Eep!" she squeaked, surprise causing her cheeks to redden a little.

"From what I understand, that kekkei genkai of yours needs physical contact to work right?" Yagura asked, taking no notice of her look before or after helping her up. He waited as Fuu nodded in reply, but she seemed to be suddenly shy and unwilling to talk. "That's fine if your opponent doesn't detect you, but if you're taking on a mid to long range fighter, you'll need a lot more than that."

"W-what do you mean?" Fuu asked, as Yagura stepped around her. She watched as he looked off into the woods for a while, seeming to become lost in his thoughts. That troubled her a little, she didn't really know Yagura to go off on a tangent like that. "Um… Yagura-kun?"

Yagura turned his eyes over his shoulder, fixing his cold stare upon Fuu's face. She nearly shivered from that look, it felt like he was looking at a complete stranger right now. "You're weak." he said, not bothering to sweeten his words. Fuu blinked from his statement, her expression blank. Though having Yagura say that didn't really surprise her, the way he said it made her stop in her tracks. "Outside your kekkei genkai you have no offensive ability, no defensive and can only hide underground. Those skills are fine if you're fighting with a team, but when you're on your own you need to rely on your own strength."

He turned his head back to the woods ahead of him, looking away from Fuu so not to break his own train of thought. His brow creased seriously though, he didn't want his words to be taken lightly. "I don't know why it is we're being brought together, but I doubt it's for fun and games." he said, speaking the thoughts that had gone through his mind on many an occasion. "But from what I do understand, Naruto and Gaara came to get us because they need our help for something. Since they got me out of Kiri, I owe them my assistance. It's because of that that I have to say this… you're a burden."

He took a pause there, knowing that those words would probably have hit hard. He listened for any signs of Fuu's reaction, but he didn't hear so much as a gasp or a sigh from her. He let out a long drawn exhale from that; he didn't really know how to interpret the silence. "We got you out of there to help us, so we can't afford to be watching over you every step of the way." he said, his voice taking a softer tone as he tried to make what he said easier. "You can't rely on us all the time, you need to be able to look after yourself."

Waiting again for a response, Yagura began to feel that maybe he had gone a little too far. When there was nothing but silence behind him, that idea became more solidified. Cautiously, he turned his head back to look at Fuu, only to find to his surprise that she had disappeared. Frowning in confusion, Yagura looked around to see where she went. But she was nowhere around, the only person in his range of vision was Utakata. He settled his eyes on that person, hoping for some light to be shed on the location of the missing Fuu.

Utakata stared down at him, giving an overdramatic thumbs up. However, the older boy coupled that gesture with a look so cold it made Yagura freeze, unable to say or do anything as Utakata disappeared back inside. Yagura was then left alone in the wilderness, his hands closing into fists and his jaw tightening. "Damn it." he murmured, gritting his teeth angrily. It looked like he really had gone too far after all.

If only Gaara had had the slightest inclination as to what Deidara had meant by "commotion", maybe he would have better been able to anticipate how to deal with the situation. His first thoughts of the former Iwa Shinobi had been that he seemed rather professional, if not a little over involved in his work. It was because of that that Gaara had been completely surprised by what he saw.

He stood one a place that connected two spire-like buildings, roughly a hundred feet off the ground. From the looks of things, he wasn't the only one hiding in the shadows due to what was going on. All over the place, people had been confined inside the buildings not due to martial law, but because Deidara had destroyed the bridges connecting the buildings.

All around the place explosions could be heard as the artist of Akatsuki swooped by in a clay hawk, dropping his sculptures on the wooden and stone crossings. Gaara watched as he flew by, studying the excited grin on Deidara's face with discomfort. "Not even Naruto would-" he began, before closing his eyes and bowing his head. "No, this is just like something he would do as well."

Despite the starkness of Deidara's plan however, Gaara had to admit it was an effective one. With the bridges taken out, there was only one kind of person who could move freely here. And with the amount of noise being created, those people should be springing into action at any moment now. It was with those thoughts that Gaara straightened up, turned around, and leapt up to the openings of the buildings.

People jumped in fright as he suddenly appeared, this strangely athletic stranger in their midst. In moments the entire crowd's attention was drawn on him, not a single face showing calm or relief. The reason was obvious of course, aside from the fact that there was a bomber outside who had trapped them all, they had no way of knowing who Gaara was either.

"All of you head further inside." Gaara instructed, moving his eyes over the mass of people. They were all hesitant, their worry only increasing as the danger of the situation grew. Gaara recognised this and decided to speak ambiguously, hoping for quick results. "This situation will be dealt with, but your safety is a priority. Please all of you head to the lower levels so we can focus on the enemy."

All over the place people exchanged looks, they seemed to be trusting Gaara. They all turned to the doors in the hallway and quickly headed in, the masses becoming a rush as the explosions drew nearer. Gaara turned around once certain that they were doing as told; now he could focus on the enemy without the civilians getting in the way. He raised his hands and put them through a series of seals, before placing his fore and middle finger over his closed right eye.

In his other hand there gathered a small whirl of sand, compacting together into a small sphere. The colour of the sand faded and darkened slightly as it took on the form of an eye; the sclera staying the same while the iris and pupil darkened respectively. Once it was completely formed, Gaara crushed it in his hand and scattered the sand in every direction.

Naruto jumped from wall to wall as he followed the directions Deidara had given him. He moved quickly in the hope that if he finished up before things were over, he could go to the place Gaara was and at least help out. It was bad enough that this place apparently held very few Shinobi, it didn't seem he was going to be able to let loose at all here.

He found one of the taller buildings in the area and ascended to the top of it, hoping to get a better view of the area from up there. He stood on the tip and crouched low as he scanned the area, before finding a building which seemed to fit Deidara's rough description. It was a tall cylindrical building holding what basically seemed like a large wooden hutch at the top. A balcony extended full circle around it with posts acting as perches for the birds that came and went.

Naruto flinched as he heard a noise somewhere to his right; an explosion far in the distance. As predicted, a pair of Shinobi rushed out from the aviary and lent on the fence as they looked over to the place the noise had come from. They saw the smoke and immediately set to action, hurrying back inside.

"Shit!" Naruto thought, bounding off the building towards the aviary. Deidara had overestimated the time it would take Naruto to do this and had started early. If Naruto didn't act fast, these guys could call for backup. Even if Iwa was a distance away, they couldn't afford to chance that there was another outpost near enough to cause problems.

Taking Eko in hand and placing the fingers of his other in his mouth, Naruto let out a shrill whistle. As commanded, Akira, Hotei and Daisuke leapt up from the lower reaches and landed on the balcony of the aviary. They each stared inside and bared their fangs, letting out a low growl that scared the birds into staying inside. That offered help there, but the Shinobi inside were now alert to the situation. They were acting faster, one preparing a bird while the other took an explosive tag from his pouch.

"Hurry!" Naruto thought, as he came to a rapid stop on the walls of one of the buildings. He took Eko with one hand on the hilt and the other on the flat of the blade, pointing the tip towards the tag wielding Shinobi. With a burst of chakra from him, and Eko doing the rest of the work, he fired a small dart of Fuuton chakra at the guard. Silently praying for the attack to work, Naruto began running once more. He watched as the ripple of air shot through the wall of the aviary, just enough to pierce and go through. Unfortunately however, the guard had moved before he could be hit, and had now placed his tag upon the aviary wall. "Shit!"

Barely a moment later there came a small explosion that blew part of the aviary wall off. Not even Akira could have kept himself there, he jumped back from shock. The other Shinobi used this moment to throw the eagle on his arm out, sending it on its way.

There wasn't much other choice in this situation, Naruto placed his fingers in his lips and whistled again. From the shadows of the building appeared Shinmaru, Kunimei and Koyane, the three of them leaping up after the eagle. Of course, none of them could dream of catching the bird, but what they managed was just as useful. Naruto reached just behind them and leapt into the air, using the three dogs as places to jump off. Soon he was high in the air, almost upon the flitting eagle. With a burst of chakra, he used the Fuuton: Reppusho to knock the bird out of the sky, forcing it to fall down below.

FRWHIT!

Naruto's eyes widened in shock as something darted past him at an indomitable speed. At first he had thought it a kunai, but when the thing spread its wings and flapped hard, it became clear that it wasn't. It was a peregrine falcon; one of the fastest birds alive. Naruto knew there was no chance that he could catch up to it, and so tried the only possible trick he had. Taking Eko across hi shoulder, he pumped Fuuton chakra into it and swung hard. The blade of wind formed shot out to the falcon, large and threatening. But as his expectations were, not even that could catch up.

"Damn it!" he thought, as the small bird disappeared into the distance. He landed on the rooftop with a shocked look, his failure apparent right at that moment. Iwa was going to know; their time had just been cut short.