Chapter 35: Red Dawn
A sword was an extension of the arm. It went where it was guided. It cut its target once it connected. In the hands of a master, it was a paintbrush: blood was its paint and the body was its canvas.
Naruto was far from a master, but with Samui's guidance, he was getting there. He never handed over a sword blade-first, even if it was wooden. He made sure to swing with his whole arm, maintaining a grip that was firm and steady, but not tight. He coated his sword with a thin layer of chakra to sharpen its blade and lessen wear and tear.
Slowly, but surely, he honed his potential at swordplay, and when he mastered the basics, the time came to choose his personal weapon.
Samui had taught him to wield a tantō and a katana, and stressed that the most important factor in choosing a specific sword was the range he wanted to have in a fight, and what sword he felt most comfortable using.
The tantō was a short, single-edge sword: longer than a kunai, far shorter than a katana, and capable of being wielded with one hand. It was perfect for close-range assassination and sufficient in fending off swords with greater reach.
A katana had a long, thin blade. It was best suited in controlling distance with its superior range and performing swift, clean kills. However, the katana's length was a hindrance in close-quarters combat.
This was why Samui used both swords, so she could switch between them when the need arose. However, Naruto's fighting style was different. If he couldn't use his speed, Shadow Clones or genjutsu to get out of the way, and a kunai or taijutsu wouldn't suffice, that was when he planned to use a sword.
With that in mind, he chose the tantō.
"A good choice," Samui had said. "I prefer it myself."
After that, his training intensified. Whenever they weren't on a mission, Naruto trained. If they were resting at camp, Naruto performed a few kata. Samui was a meticulous teacher, drilling precision into his stance, his swings, and his footwork until he moved like a well-oiled machine. She was blunt with her criticism, but never unfair, and she made sure that he knew what he did wrong.
Then came the sparring, a good way for Samui to test what he had learned and beat him into the dirt. He was faster than she was, but she put in a lot of physical strength behind her blows and punished any openings she saw with brutal efficiency.
Losing was discouraging, but it helped him learn, and five months of training had paid off in spades.
Their latest spar was the first time they used actual swords; it took place in a clearing close to a hotel in the Land of Fire. It was a sign that Samui trusted him, and he was pleased to have come this far, as live steel carried the risk of accidental injury.
He could heal injuries off better than Samui could, but missions could come at any time, so it was better not to take any risks.
Tantō clashed as Naruto swatted away Samui's slash, ducking quickly to avoid her heel whipping his jaw. Nothing was banned when it came to kenjutsu, and at such close range, using taijutsu was encouraged to catch opponents off-guard.
Since this was meant to train his skills with the blade, all jutsu were off-limits for the spar. Although, Samui did teach him how to transition between swordplay and ninjutsu so that he wouldn't be affected in a real fight.
Just as Samui was about to bring her heel down, Naruto swept out her front leg, but she landed on her feet with a cartwheel. He straightened up and slipped around her lunging fist, aiming to grab her arm and twist it behind her back. She plunged her tantō in a backstab as he made his move, forcing him to jump away.
Anticipation, situational awareness, adaptability, all of these were skills that a master of kenjutsu needed to have. While he possessed these skills as a master of genjutsu, it was a different story when it came to mastering the blade. Fortunately, he didn't need to master it, he just needed to be proficient.
Naruto moved in low, crashing his forearm against her sword arm, then pointing the tip of his tantō at her neck.
"Do you yield?" Naruto asked.
Samui's tantō hung dangerously close to his neck. She'd switched to a reverse grip, and her lead foot was in between his feet, free hand poised to knock him off-balance.
The question was, how quickly could she do it before he stabbed her?
"We'll call this a draw," Samui said, retracting her blade. "You've improved, Naruto."
Naruto smiled, and sheathed his tantō in a charcoal gray scabbard. "I have a good teacher."
Samui nodded, before she pursed her lips. "I'm going to visit the hot springs. When I return, we'll go over the spar in detail."
"Cool," Naruto said. He watched her leave with a sway in her stride and shook himself after staring for a bit too long, heading over to their hotel room.
This was the closest he got to beating Samui in their spars. It would be a different story if he could use ninjutsu or genjutsu, but his improvement was clear as day. Thanks to her tutelage, he had finally incorporated kenjutsu into his fighting style.
It would take time for Samui to return from the hot springs, so he decided to lounge around on his bed. Samui's breasts strained her shoulders and lower back, putting her under undue stress. Taking a nice soak after a mission or strenuous workout helped her body and mind relax. As such, Naruto tried to find hotels or inns that had some kind of hot water bath attached, and sometimes, he even paid for them to ensure that Samui was in tip-top shape.
He also got to enjoy the hot springs himself, if he felt like doing so.
It was one of the reasons why Samui had grown closer to him. They wouldn't be sharing a room if they were merely teammates. Of course, he'd also spent five straight months with Samui, something that was still pretty hard to believe.
Other than Jiraiya, it was the longest he'd spent together with anyone. Even with Kurenai, his mission to the Land of Waves or his search for Tsunade had kept them separated. Not with Samui, though.
They travelled all across the Elemental Nations, completing several missions and earning praise from their clients. While they never got to save another country or rescue another princess, their missions ran the gamut from information gathering to assassination, and it had tested them in various ways.
Samui walked inside the hotel room, towel wrapped around her curves. She reached her bed and immediately dried her hair before combing it. Once she was done, she lay flat on the bed, revealing her back to him as her towel draped around her rear and upper thighs. She gazed at him with piercing blue eyes.
The word that could best describe Samui was reserved. She could talk a lot when it came to something she was passionate about, like history or modern technology. Most of the time, though, a wordless gesture or a short sentence was enough to convey what she wanted.
And what she wanted right now was a back massage.
He rolled off his bed and grabbed the bottle of oil from her nightstand, climbing on top of her shapely hips. He took in a deep breath, slathered the oil on his palms and rubbed them together. Then he got to work.
He began by kneading the muscles in her lower back, focusing on the effort she put into strengthening her back and shoulders and abs, how she constantly tried to find solutions to her problems.
About three months ago, Naruto had offered to give Samui a back massage in the aftermath of a tough mission, one that had left her stiff and barely able to function. She reluctantly agreed, with the caveat that she remained fully clothed and sat upright. That was fine with him, since he didn't want to be tempted or push her too far.
Even if she tensed from his touch and didn't seem to enjoy it, she was limber after he was finished. A week later, she asked him for a massage, and eventually, it became a regular routine. As she got more comfortable with him, she allowed him to touch her back while she lay down.
Last week, she exposed her bare back to him and fixed him with her penetrating stare, making it clear what she wanted him to do. It was something he didn't want to test, and he was about to refuse, but she said something that stuck with him since.
"It's fine. I trust you."
It was that confirmation that allowed him to caress her aching muscles, and it was yet another thing he had Jiraiya to thank for. While he'd participated in Jiraiya's massage lessons to indulge him, it was a skill that had proven to be useful.
Finished with her lower back, Naruto's hands trailed up her spine and worked on her shoulders. Finding the right balance between a rough massage and a soft one was key, and the pleased sounds that came from her mouth let him know he was successful. One time, she'd fallen asleep and he was taken by the peaceful expression that had enveloped her face.
She really was beautiful. That was why he wouldn't let himself enjoy these massages. He didn't want to go down that road of temptation, not until he returned home and settled things once and for all.
Eventually, Naruto had finished massaging her back. He set the bottle of oil on the nightstand and sat on his own bed. The oil soothed the skin and left little residue, which was perfect for the both of them.
"Thank you," Samui said, glancing at him.
Naruto smiled. "You're welcome. Are we going to talk about that spar?"
"As soon as I've dressed up."
A puff of smoke emerged, and Naruto held a hand out, examining the chakra signature that suddenly appeared at the foot of his bed.
"Hey there," Naruto said, waving his hand at a small red messenger toad.
The toad presented a scroll. "Greetings, Naruto. I come bearing information. I wish I came bearing glad tidings."
Naruto grabbed the scroll, opening it and reading its contents aloud.
The Akatsuki have abducted the Kazekage.
His heart lurched. They should have had more time; according to Jiraiya's intel, the Akatsuki weren't supposed to have fully mobilized yet. Nevertheless, he continued reading.
Gaara was abducted at night by Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand. I'm too far away to help you out on such short notice, but Tsunade has dispatched two teams to investigate. You and Samui will rendezvous with them at the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers. Your mission is to assist in recovering Gaara from the Akatsuki, and if possible, capture either Deidara or Sasori.
Do what you need to do to ensure that this mission ends in success.
Jiraiya had signed it at the bottom. Naruto breathed in deeply, nodding at the toad. Once it departed, he stared at Samui, averting his gaze when he saw her dressing up. It was a good thing that he hadn't removed his gear.
The Akatsuki had finally come knocking, and he was ready to answer their call.
Leaves rustled. Limbs creaked. Air gusted. Naruto emerged out of thin air, landing in an open field between his enemy and his allies. Kakashi stared ahead with both eyes. Sakura's fists were clenched, muscles coiled to strike. The old woman that was with them had a calculating gleam in her eye, while the brown pug looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.
As for the enemy, he was tall, thin, clad in a black cloak emblazoned with red clouds. His black hair was wrapped in a ponytail, and with his sensor, Naruto saw two active Sharingan. The Leaf symbol on his forehead protector was slashed through the middle.
"Naruto Uzumaki," Itachi Uchiha said. "I've wanted to meet you for so long."
Naruto smirked, putting on an aloof air. "Well, here I am."
Samui was at his back, granting him confidence he sorely needed. He was standing face-to-face with the man who had massacred the Uchiha clan, a genjutsu master without peer. A long time ago, he considered Itachi to be the last man he ever wanted to meet on the battlefield, but he had grown since then, and Itachi's chakra reserves were far too small for him to be the real deal.
"Kakashi-sensei, are you guys okay?" Naruto asked.
"As okay as one can be in times like these," Kakashi said, body primed to move at a moment's notice.
Apparently, Itachi was okay with letting them talk. Was he that confident in his skill?
"We're about to engage," Sakura said, staring ahead with a startling amount of focus.
"Careful, Sakura," Kakashi said. "Stick to your role."
"Heed your teacher's words," Itachi said. "What would Sasuke say if you perished before your reunion?"
Sakura took a step forward, and the earth shook beneath her feet. "He'll be speechless after I bring him your head!"
Naruto wasn't willing to risk seeing Itachi's reaction, but the scowl on Sakura's face wasn't so surprising. Her bravado was.
"Very well."
Itachi burst into motion. Naruto deflected the shuriken flying at him with a burst of wind and raced ahead of Kakashi, blocking Itachi's kunai with his tantō. Itachi pushed against him with the kunai, but Naruto kept his eyes closed, seeing him with his sensor and avoiding the Sharingan's thrall.
He jumped back, and wove around Itachi's horde of fiery bullets, cursing the lack of water on the grassy field. One bullet had come close to him, but he was ready, and a stream of fire caught the bullet in mid-air, extinguishing it.
"You possess some skill," Itachi said. He pointed at him with his finger. "However, you will have to show more than that if you want to survive against me. If you don't, you'll be coming with us."
In spite of the danger and the tension that hung in the air, testing his might against one of the strongest ninja in the world was exhilarating. He tossed a kunai that landed square at Itachi's chest. It went right through, but Itachi smiled.
"Disappointing," Itachi said in Sarutobi's voice. "It's better this way. Now you won't be a danger to anyone."
"I taught you better, Naruto," Kurenai said. "But I'm not surprised. You're nothing without me."
Naruto grit his teeth and broke through the illusion in an instant. It was a dirty trick that he'd use if he had the chance, but it was a trick that wouldn't work on him.
Itachi was in his guard, kunai outstretched, but Sakura was there, too. A moment passed before she punched Itachi, and the top half of his body exploded in a fountain of blood. The top half of Itachi exploded in a fountain of blood.
The blood transformed into a murder of black crows, joining the crows that emerged from the clone Naruto killed to coalesce a few metres away. Itachi reformed, completely unharmed, while Naruto reunited with his allies, Sakura close behind.
"It appears that you might be more than a nuisance," Itachi said.
"Naruto, how are you doing?" Sakura asked.
"I'm fine," Naruto said. "You holding up okay?"
Sakura rolled her shoulders. "I'll be a lot better once the target's been eliminated."
Itachi hadn't moved a muscle. "I see that your prowess at genjutsu isn't merely reputation, Naruto. However, I wonder how the Blade of Illusion would fare against the Mangekyō Sharingan's unrivalled power?"
"Don't try him, and don't attack him on your own," Kakashi said. "Itachi is too dangerous to be taken lightly."
Sakura nodded, but Naruto looked directly into the Sharingan. "Normally, I'd agree, Kakashi-sensei, but the real Itachi is far away. This guy we're facing is nothing more than a clone."
Before Kakashi could respond, Naruto appeared in front of Itachi, Rasengan swirling in his palm. "You want to beat me? Then next time, bring me your best!"
He shredded Itachi's torso. The body fell to the ground, and Itachi's form flickered away, revealing the body of a dead Sand ninja.
Disgusting.
Samui had joined him at his side, frowning in distaste.
"He was stalling us," Naruto said.
Samui nodded. "We'll have to catch up. Ready to go?"
"Yeah." Naruto turned away from the Akatsuki's unfortunate victim. He focused his chakra.
"Going somewhere?" Kakashi asked, from right behind him.
Naruto turned around and faced his old teacher. "There's no time to waste."
"I'm aware of that," Kakashi said, headband covering his eye once more. He hadn't changed a bit on the outside, but on the inside, his chakra reserves had increased dramatically. "We'll head out together. Understand?"
Gaara was in danger, and with every minute wasted, the chances of rescuing him slipped further and further away. However, he was working on a team, and Kakashi was more experienced than he was. It would be better to face the Akatsuki with greater numbers.
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei."
"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Naruto?" Sakura asked, smiling at him. It made her whole face glow.
Naruto returned the smile. "Yeah, it has."
Sakura's pink hair was still long and lush, flowing freely in the wind. Her green eyes were still dazzling, and her forehead was still clear, with a red headband wrapped at the crown of her head. However, she'd swapped out the bright red dress for a tight-fitting dark red shirt that had a similar white pattern and black shorts, showing off her slender curves and muscular physique. Black gloves covered her fists and black sandal boots cut off at her knees.
Chakra was being funnelled to a point at her forehead, yet her chakra reserves were still refined, potent. He was given a stark reminder of the crush he had on her a long time ago.
"Where'd you learn how to fight like that?" Naruto asked.
"Lady Tsunade taught me," Sakura said.
Naruto chuckled. "Really? How is Gr – the Hokage doing these days?"
Sakura smiled. "Really well. I'm glad she decided to teach me. I wouldn't have come this far without her."
Tsunade had been infamous for her monstrous strength, and judging from how she nearly killed Itachi's clone in one hit, it seemed like Sakura had learned how to harness that strength.
"That's good to hear," Naruto said. It looked like Sakura had done everything she could to make good on her promise.
"Who's your teammate?" Sakura asked.
Samui set a hand on her hip. "I'm Samui, from the Hidden Cloud."
Sakura smiled. "I'm Sakura. Nice to meet you."
"You too."
The old woman was still watching him. She wore a black long-sleeved outfit underneath a white poncho that many from the Hidden Sand wore. A dark brown headband was wrapped around gray hair tied up in a bun. While this was the first time he'd seen her, he had a feeling she was the Hidden Sand's esteemed elder Chiyo.
"Kakashi, I still have the scent," the pug said, startling Naruto with his grizzled voice. He was used to talking toads, but not talking dogs.
Kakashi nodded. "Good. Lead the way, Pakkun."
But Kakashi trusted him, and if it meant saving Gaara, he'd do whatever it took to do so.
The newly formed team travelled towards their destination, Pakkun leading the way as they jumped through the trees. Naruto trailed close behind, not wanting to waste a single second.
Kakashi caught up with him, and it caused a flicker of nostalgia to pass through him. It was just like old times, it seemed.
"How have you been, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi chuckled. "Pretty well." Silence fell between them as they continued to travel, but Naruto had long gotten used to it. "You've grown, Naruto."
He said it like it was obvious, because it was the truth. Naruto had gone through personal ordeals and harsh training, and he came out stronger, going on to complete plenty of missions with ease. Not only had he grown, he was confident in his skill and who he wanted to be.
"I'm glad that I did," Naruto said.
"So am I." More time passed, then Kakashi came up to his side. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
The serious tone and the way his voice rose just above a whisper made it clear what he was alluding to.
"I did," Naruto said.
Kakashi sighed. "I see. For what it's worth, you never needed watching."
Naruto nodded, stiffly. "Thank you." Kakashi might not have known who was watching him, or how much finding out had hurt him, but he appreciated his gesture all the same.
He scanned the area. Samui was watching their rear, while Sakura was around the middle and Chiyo was out of earshot. It was as good a time as any.
"You know, Kakashi-sensei... my dad was a pretty cool guy."
Kakashi's lone eye widened, before closing in a smile. "He was the coolest. He'd be so proud of you."
A strained smile crossed Naruto's face. "I know. Thanks for telling me what you could about him."
"I wish I could have told you more," he said, shame lacing his words.
"Would you have told me who my dad was, if you could?"
"Yes."
Naruto's smile grew. "Then don't worry about it. It's not your fault."
It was Sarutobi's choice to keep this from him, not Kakashi's. Kakashi's immediate response confirmed it, proved it to be more than wishful thinking.
"Kakashi, aren't you going to introduce me?" Chiyo asked, having reached them after their conversation trailed off.
"It's an honour to meet you, Lady Chiyo," Naruto said. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I've heard many things about you."
"Good things, I'm sure," Chiyo said.
Naruto smiled. Thanks to Temari, Naruto was fully aware of her prowess as a master of poisons and puppets, so seeing her on a mission of this stature was a surprise. She was supposed to be retired.
"I'm surprised to see you with us," Naruto said, vocalizing his thought.
"There's someone I want to see," she said, and she left it at that.
It took the team nearly a full day to reach the destination that Pakkun was leading them to. Even running at full speed, there was a long distance to cover, and Naruto couldn't go at full tilt without leaving everyone behind, or worse, burning through his reserves. He had a lot of energy, but it wasn't limitless.
Frustrating as it was that he couldn't save Gaara right now, he had to be patient. On the way there, Kakashi told the team why Gaara had been captured by the Akatsuki, and that Naruto himself was in danger because he was a jinchūriki. More importantly, he found out that Chiyo had been the one to seal Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, into Gaara.
He was careful not to respond. There was a time and place to do so, and it wasn't in the middle of a mission. The least he could do was tune her out so that he didn't have to hear her excuses.
Samui had deigned to join him after Kakashi had told his tale. For the majority of their journey, they had occupied different parts of the formation, so they didn't get much chance to interact.
"So you really are a jinchūriki," Samui said.
Naruto nodded. He wasn't surprised that she had been suspicious, since he'd used the Nine-Tails' chakra on more than one occasion, and he'd spent time meditating to control how he reacted to its potent, chaotic chakra. Besides that, her sensei was Killer B, a jinchūriki just like him.
"I'll protect you," she said.
Naruto blinked, before a smile bloomed on his face. "Thank you."
Even though she was a ninja from a foreign land with no reason to be nothing more than professional, she'd been good to him. He was grateful for her acceptance and her support.
It was only a matter of time before Naruto sensed four different chakra signatures, and he considered racing ahead. However, their arrival was imminent, and if the Akatsuki were around, he needed all the support he'd get. They wouldn't be fighting to waste his time, they'd fight to break him.
A large torii gate appeared across a wide river that the ninja were standing on, waiting for them. It took no effort at all for the team to close the gap and join them.
"Late as always, eh, Kakashi?" Might Guy said. He hadn't changed at all, but that was to be expected for a ninja as seasoned as him.
"You know me, Guy, I like to make a big entrance," Kakashi said.
Naruto glanced at Guy's teammates. Lee had grown taller and stronger, but otherwise, he was the same. Tenten was dressed in a white long-sleeved blouse with red trim and red hakama pants, a massive green scroll attached to her back, and had her hair done up in her twin bun style.
The biggest surprise was that Neji Hyūga was with them. A single black glove covered his right arm up to the elbow, and he was dressed in a loose white shirt with matching pants, a dark gray apron covering his waist. His chakra thrummed with the warmth and vitality of fire, and his white eyes exuded calm.
"So you guys are our reinforcements?" Naruto asked.
Guy smiled with sparkling teeth. "That's right!"
A team like theirs had years of experience and camaraderie, and since everyone was skilled in some kind of close range or weapon-based combat, they were a force to be reckoned with.
"It is good to see you, Naruto," Lee said, smiling just as widely as his sensei.
Tenten smiled, too. "Yeah, it's been so long. How are you doing?"
Naruto smiled. "Pretty well. It's good to see you guys."
It was easier to smile now. Koyuki had shown him that he didn't have to keep up a cold mask all the time to hide his pain. He could smile and be genuine without putting his heart on his sleeve.
"Is she with you, Naruto?" Neji asked, staring at Samui. The memory of their last interaction – where she defended her teammate from being killed at Neji's hand – struck him like a freight train. He was about to defend her, but he saw Samui take a step forward.
"Yes," Samui said. "How are you doing?"
Neji's face was a stoic mask. "Well. You have no need to fear, I no longer mean to do you harm."
"Cool," she said, but Naruto wasn't imagining the frostiness in her eyes. He stared at the boulder and noticed two things about it. There was a tag on it, and his sensor became fuzzy if he tried to stare past it.
"There's a barrier around the seal," Naruto said. He stretched out his sensor. All of the meditation he did over the past five months helped him focus his vision, expanding his range to five hundred metres in total.
His sensor let him see in every direction all around his body, with no natural blind spots. When he focused, he could stare through walls and other obstructions, and his sensor would let him know about any chakra signatures on the other side.
The key restriction was that it required active focus if he wanted to make the most of his range. Furthermore, the more he expanded his range, the more chakra he had to expend. Doing so made him a target if he used it for too long.
That was why he'd developed the twenty-five metre zone of vision, which automatically informed him of any chakra signatures in the area. It barely needed any chakra.
In any case, he could only detect two seals in what looked like a five-point barrier seal.
"Neji, can you see any other seals?" Naruto asked.
Neji nodded, and the veins around his eyes bulged as he activated the Byakugan. "Yes. There's one on a rock 500 metres northeast, another on a tree 350 metres southeast, a third on a rocky cliff 650 metres northwest, and the last inside a grove 800 metres southwest."
Naruto nodded, and immediately made four Shadow Clones that raced away to reach the seals. "Thanks, Neji. Once my clones pull off the seals, we can get inside."
Lee laughed. "That is very impressive, Naruto!"
"It sure makes our lives easier," Tenten said.
"This is no time to get complacent," Guy said, frowning sternly at the boulder. "Our enemy is just ahead, so we should take this time to prepare for battle."
It was good advice. Nobody would make a barrier of this strength if they didn't have something to hide, and the five-point seal wasn't something a traditional four-ninja squad could disable, assuming none of them could create tangible clones. Even if they could, the tags were far away and hard to find, which would only waste time unless the squad had a powerful sensor.
Clearly, this wasn't something he could do on his own. It was another reminder that he couldn't do everything on his own, but it was a reminder he was glad to have.
Memories appeared in his mind, made from clones of the Shadow Clones he'd sent.
"My clones are at the tags," Naruto said. "What should we do now?"
"You'll have to rip off all five tags at the same time," Kakashi said. "Then we'll enter in the buttonhook formation. Sound good to you, Guy?"
Guy gave a firm nod. "It does. Neji should be the perfect lookout. Should I break the boulder?"
Sakura tightened a glove. "Allow me, Guy-sensei."
Their plan had been set, and Naruto reached the tag in short order. A dispelled clone let his other clones know what to do, and on a count of three, Naruto ripped off the slip of paper.
Jets of water rocketed upwards as Sakura dashed forward. Chakra formed at the tip of her fist and in one earth-shattering punch, Sakura reduced the boulder to rubble, smashing open an entrance to the cave.
Naruto jumped off the boulder once Sakura made contact. When he landed on the water, he faced her and saw the pleased smile on her face, the glint of pride in her eyes. He thought it was bravado that she'd shown when she threatened Itachi, but seeing her now, his assumption was off-base.
It wasn't just bravado, it was confidence forged from a determination to succeed, real confidence built from overcoming failure and adversity and tragedy that would break a lesser person. It was the type of confidence that could mould a person into something inconceivable.
And it was clear that just like him, Sakura had earned that confidence and propelled herself to whole new heights.
The nine-ninja team moved inside the cave: Guy, Chiyo, Sakura and Tenten entered from the left, while Kakashi, Lee, Samui and Naruto entered from the right. Neji was keeping watch on the outside.
Naruto immediately witnessed Gaara laying on the cave's floor, eyes closed. And somebody was sitting on his body.
"So, you finally joined us, huh?" the man said. "Hmph! Took you long enough." He was from the Hidden Rock. Long blond hair hid the left side of his face, and he wore a black cloak with red clouds. He was a dead man.
Naruto maintained a cool mask. He just had to wait for the perfect moment to strike.
"What's wrong?" the blond man said. "The jinchūriki's right here, but unfortunately for you... he's already dead." He rapped Gaara's face with his knuckle twice, and Gaara didn't twitch.
No, he was wrong, he had to be, but when Naruto scanned Gaara's chakra, he found nothing. Gaara was dead. They were too late.
He took a step forward, teeth grinding against one another. Samui set a hand on his shoulder, and when he whirled around to face her, she shook her head. He saw the concern tinged in her eyes and forced himself to calm down, before he could rip him to shreds.
"I'm guessing you're the jinchūriki," the blond man said, staring straight at him with slanted blue eyes devoid of empathy. "What do you think, Sasori, my man?"
If the hunched man was Sasori, the blond one must have been Deidara. The only thing that the black cloak on Sasori's body didn't cover was his face, and his mouth was covered by a mask shaped like a beard. His hair was coiled in five black spikes.
"I think I'll take hold of the former Kazekage," Sasori said in a clicking, guttural voice. "His corpse still holds some value, since the jinchūriki will stop at nothing to take him back."
Deidara grunted. "You sure you want to do that?"
"What's your point?"
A sly smirk crossed Deidara's face. "It might be hard for you to hear this, but I want to take care of the jinchūriki."
"Look, we have a quota, and we're going to stick to it," Sasori said, glaring at his partner. "You've already taken down one jinchūriki. Don't push your luck."
"Under normal circumstances, I'd let you do your thing, my man," Deidara said. "However, I'd be remiss if I didn't test myself against all the ninja in this room. After all, an artist must seek ever-greater stimulation if his senses are to remain sharp. Hmph!"
"You'd be wasting your time," Sasori said.
"Would I? I heard the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki was pretty strong, and he's brought along the Copy Ninja and Might Guy. All I see are canvases worthy of displaying my art."
Sasori's scorpion tail twitched. "Art? You call those pyrotechnics of yours art? Art is beauty captured and left behind for posterity. Can you capture an explosion?"
Deidara smirked. "You can capture the moment."
"But that moment is transient, and that is why it isn't art, because art is eternal beauty."
Naruto didn't know what was more infuriating: the fact that these two were arguing about art, or that they weren't remotely afraid of the ninja assembled to defeat them.
"Would an eternal explosion count as eternal beauty?" Deidara asked.
"Tenten," Guy whispered, and Tenten flung five shuriken that whistled through the air, nearly invisible to the naked eye. However, Sasori's tail deflected all five shuriken, and he hadn't moved an inch.
"If you could create an eternal explosion, then maybe your point of view would have some merit," Sasori said, like he hadn't just been attacked.
Deidara grunted. "You wound me. We are both artists, and such, I respect your point of view. I can see the appeal in an everlasting structure that leaves its viewers in awe and poignant reflection on the nature of your creation, but is my art lesser because of its transience?"
"Yes," Sasori said. "Memories are fleeting, and like your explosions, the memory that your art created will fade into the void and lay forgotten for eternity. Is the point of your art for its audience to cling to a memory that will evade their grasp and erode with time?"
"No," Deidara said. His palm began to move, like it was chewing something. "The purpose of art is to incite reaction, and what greater reaction is there than to create a moment that will last for a lifetime?"
"A moment that can be remade repeatedly, for eternity."
"Hmph! Well, I don't agree, my friend. I told you you wouldn't like hearing what I had to say."
Sasori growled. "Are you trying to make me angry, Deidara?" His tail inched towards Deidara, a purple liquid seeping off its tip. "Why don't you tell me about your art again?"
Deidara clenched his hand, and released a bird made of white clay. It rapidly expanded, and swallowed Gaara in its mouth. "Art is an explosion, and while art might be eternal beauty to some, your grotesque puppetry isn't! Hmph!"
Sasori's scorpion tail lunged at Deidara, but he jumped on its head and took flight. Naruto's eyes were narrowed to slits as he tried to figure out how to bring Deidara back. But he needn't have worried, as Lee stepped up.
A whirlwind of dust kicked up as Lee sprinted along the wall of the cave, launched off it and spun in mid-air, catching Deidara by surprise with a cry of "Leaf Hurricane!" and knocking Deidara back to Earth.
Naruto disappeared from view, racing towards Deidara before he could get up. Sasori unleashed a barrage of senbon straight at him, but he was able to avoid them and keep on moving forward. He was aware that the senbon were hurtling towards the others, but Samui was there, and she created a wide wall of fire that burned the senbon to ash.
"Naruto!" Kakashi shouted.
He was immediately alert to the senbon that Sasori had just launched, flying at a far faster speed than the previous batch. Naruto sucked in his breath and blew out a large amount of wind, deflecting all of the senbon. Then he grabbed Deidara's throat and shoved him into the cavern wall.
"You think you can sit on Gaara's body and get away with it?" Naruto said, scowling at the mad bomber.
"I have and I will," Deidara said, a wild gleam in his eyes. "But you're forgetting something, aren't you?"
Naruto tightened his grip against Deidara's throat, and bared his teeth. Deidara's visible eye flickered upward, as his clay bird was being demolished by Lee, unable to do all that much without its master's commands. Lee landed with Gaara's body in his arms, as the clay bird's remains splattered all around him.
"Naruto, I have recovered Gaara's body," Lee said.
Naruto nodded tersely. "Thank you." Lee was incredibly capable, and he had a bond of his own with Gaara, forged through fighting together against a common enemy. He knew he could count on him.
Deidara gasped for air, straining out a laugh. "What does it matter? He's already dead. Hmph! You should have seen the others we captured. They were feared, hated because somebody else chose to seal a tailed beast in their bodies. Their existence was filled with loneliness and suffering. If you ask me, they're better off dead."
Naruto grabbed Deidara's wrist and slammed his hand against the wall. "I'll beat all of you. As long as I'm alive, you'll never capture another tailed beast!"
He heaved out a hacking cough, spittle dribbling along his lips. "You're different from the rest, just like Gaara was. At least he had a couple of people who cared. In the end, though, it doesn't matter. Hmph! We'll capture all the tailed beasts, no matter how hard you try. Maybe you'll get lucky and have someone try to defend you before you die."
Every cell in his body ached to kill Deidara where he stood, so that he couldn't harm anyone else. But if he captured him, they could learn so much about how the Akatsuki operated, and find new ways to defeat them.
Deidara's hand twitched, and a clay spider crawled out of the mouth embedded in his palm. Naruto saw the chakra within the spider expand and jumped back. The spider didn't explode, but Deidara was free.
He charged at Lee and threw the spider at Naruto in the same movement. This time, the spider did explode, forcing Naruto to dodge. It granted Deidara enough time to catch up to Lee and reveal a hedgehog in his palm, using it as bait.
"Now I'll show you!" Deidara shouted, throwing the hedgehog at a rapidly approaching Naruto. The hedgehog curled into a ball and spun, but Naruto was able to sidestep the explosion. However, he wasn't able to help Lee, and when the smoke cleared, Deidara had managed to retrieve Gaara's prone body.
Lee had been knocked to the cave floor, but he sprung up to his feet. Naruto glanced at his teammates, and saw them fending off Sasori's onslaught of senbon. He grit his teeth, and chased after Deidara before he could reach the exit and fly away.
Samui reached his side just as he was about to leave. She wasn't injured, which was one thing he could be fortunate about.
"I'm going after Deidara," Naruto said.
"I'm coming with you," Samui said, and her tone held no room for argument.
Naruto nodded firmly. "Then let's get going."
"You need more support," Kakashi said. "Getting you alone is exactly what Deidara wants."
Samui frowned. "Naruto is more than capable of fighting Deidara on his own, and I will be there to support him."
"Go ahead," Chiyo said. "Let us take care of my grandson."
Naruto made eye contact with the wizened ninja, saw the determined resolve lining every wrinkle on her face. "I'll leave you to it."
Kakashi's jaw tensed up. "Don't be reckless, you two. Remember, your lives are more important than the mission."
Naruto smiled. "We'll be careful."
"We'll join up with you once Sasori is defeated," Guy said. "Until then, keep him in your sights."
"Will do."
With Samui at his side, Naruto left the cave to see Neji engaged in combat with Deidara. Deidara used Gaara's body as a shield, before leaping onto the cliff and running along it to reach the forest above, avoiding the volley of fire Neji unleashed from his palm.
"Neji, we're going after Deidara," Naruto said. "The others are fighting Sasori of the Red Sand."
Neji frowned. "Allow me to join you. I've seen how Sasori fights, and I believe my skills will be better suited in assisting you."
Naruto turned to Samui. "What do you think?"
Samui stared at Neji, pursed her lips. "I don't mind if he joins us."
"Then let's go," Naruto said. "There's no time to waste."
Naruto, Samui and Neji ran through the open field, following Deidara into a thick forest. They had taken a triangle formation with Neji taking point, since he'd be the first one to see Deidara, and they were fast enough to keep him within sight. Samui was on Naruto's right, and while her expression was one of calm focus, he could see the slight furrowing of her eyebrow.
She hadn't forgotten what Neji did to her comrade, and Samui kept a mean grudge. Not only that, her anger was the type that festered like an infected wound. She could keep it contained, and act professionally, but he never liked seeing it. Fortunately, he'd never faced her ire directly.
"Be careful," Neji said. "There's a trap waiting for us."
Naruto reached out with his sensor and once he got close enough, he saw twenty dots of chakra clustered along the tree branches. They looked like spiders with huge hind legs. Weaving through hand seals, Naruto filled the forest with dozens of deadly wind scythes, cleaving through the spiders before they could explode.
The three-ninja team split off, maneuvering around ruined branches and fallen trees. Neji flicked two shuriken to both of his sides, catching a pair of clay scorpions that Naruto hadn't caught with his wind jutsu.
More traps of this nature waited for them, but instead of destroying the forest to destroy the explosives, they got in close, and when the clay animals jumped at them, Samui caught them in a net woven from lightning chakra, neutralizing them completely.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Naruto said.
Samui nodded. "Very cool."
"Let's keep focused," Neji said, rather brusquely. It seemed like he hadn't completely let go of his grudge against the Hidden Cloud, even though he'd kept it to himself for the duration of their alliance.
Eventually, the trio of ninja came across a wide clearing surrounded by massive trees. Deidara was standing on the opposite side of the clearing, Gaara's body sprawled out at his feet.
"You want him?" Deidara said. "Then you'd better come get him!"
Naruto scowled, slamming through a set of hand seals before charging at Deidara. Deidara grinned and the grass beneath Naruto shook before exploding. When the smoke cleared, Naruto wasn't anywhere to be seen, but of course, he was always one to take advantage of any opportunity.
"I know you're still around!" Deidara said.
And he was right, as Naruto had made himself disappear from Deidara's view and used a Shadow Clone to trigger the explosion. He hadn't moved an inch, but the real difficulty of retrieving Gaara's body had been made very clear.
The clearing was layered with explosives and other traps that would doom them if they took the wrong step. In addition to that, Naruto had to concentrate to see minuscule amounts of chakra littered all around, coloured like smoke.
"Deidara can rapidly increase the concentration of chakra in his clay from range," Neji said. "That's how he triggered the last explosion."
Naruto smirked. "Good to know."
"Are there any areas that won't explode?" Samui asked.
"Yeah," Naruto said. "Just follow my lead."
With a stern nod, Samui followed Naruto as they rushed towards Deidara, slipping around the areas with the largest congregation of detonating clay with enough speed to avoid Deidara's attempts at catching them off-guard with explosions.
In less than a minute, they had reached Deidara, and Naruto thrust out a Rasengan at his chest. Deidara smirked, and his body shone, bulging and bubbling as his skin turned milky-white.
"Got you!" Deidara shouted.
"Samui!" Naruto shouted.
Samui stabbed Deidara with her tantō, channeling lightning chakra into him and stopping the explosion before it could detonate. Deidara had baited them with a exploding clone. Gaara's body had been left behind, and Naruto saw a clay raccoon peeking out of Gaara's chest.
Lightning crashed from above, annihilating the raccoon before it could explode. Blue sparks crackled across Gaara's body, and while it wouldn't bring him back to life, it wouldn't hurt him either.
"Bastard!" Naruto shouted. Dirty tricks were part and parcel of a ninja's toolkit, but this was taking things too far.
"Focus, Naruto," Samui said. "We're almost there."
Naruto immediately formed a clone to retrieve Gaara's body, and searched for Deidara's real body. Neji had gone on the hunt, and he was closing in on Deidara's hiding place in the trees. A clay bird blasted towards Neji, but he jabbed it with his left hand, leaving the inert bomb behind. He caught up with Deidara and slammed his gloved right hand into Deidara's chest.
A black seal array erupted across Deidara's body before lighting up. Deidara lurched backwards... then a log appeared in his place, an explosive tag taped onto its bark.
"Even in an inferior state, art is still an explosion!" Deidara screamed, diving back to the clearing.
Neji jabbed the explosive tag, protecting him from harm, before following Deidara onto safe ground.
"Give up," Neji said. "We can neutralize your explosions, and it's only a matter of time before you run out of clay. You've lost, Deidara."
Deidara grinned. "I'll admit, using lightning chakra to stop my creations was a clever trick, but the best artists know how to adapt."
It was time to finish this. Deidara forged a clay bird and hurtled it at Naruto and Samui, but to him, the bird became a scorpion that mocked his ability to create true art.
"Release!" Deidara said. He was scowling, a manic fury erupting in his eye. "You think that genjutsu can contain my art? Don't make me laugh! Genjutsu is nothing more than a giant farce. It's just parlour tricks, manipulation!"
Naruto smirked. "These parlour tricks are enough to beat you."
"Hmph! That's where you're wrong!"
Deidara released another clay bird. It raced towards Naruto again. Naruto threw a kunai that split it in half.
"Hah!" Deidara formed the hand seal that let him detonate his clay, but nothing happened. "What?"
His hand spat out a clay spider that scuttled towards them. Samui casually threw a shuriken at it.
"Explode!" Deidara roared, but it didn't. "Genjutsu will never contain my art!" He reached into his pouch and threw out a shuriken made of clay. "Take this! Explode!"
Naruto dodged the shuriken, and just like all of the others, Deidara failed to unleash his art on the ignorant masses.
Deidara howled in enraged laughter. "You... you... you monster! What did you do to my art?"
Naruto glared at the insane bomber. "You killed Gaara, so taking away your art is exactly what you deserve!"
Neji shook his head. "He's been defeated, Naruto. Let's end it here."
"No," Naruto said, and his eyes flickered red. "He has to suffer first."
Samui stared at him until it became uncomfortable. "Did you forget our mission?"
No, he didn't. He remembered where he was, what his mission was supposed to be.
Then he looked at Deidara's continued descent into insanity that he had triggered. He'd implanted a tiny amount of his chakra inside Deidara just before his clone rushed at him, and used it to infect his mind like a parasite.
As soon as Neji told him how Deidara had detonated his clay, Naruto knew how to win. When he cast the illusion that transfigured Deidara's bird, he had layered it behind another genjutsu that would activate the chakra he sent earlier.
It was like a bomb had went off, and from that point onward, whenever Deidara channelled chakra to make his clay explode, the majority of the chakra would actually be redirected to his feet, forcing him to watch his art fail him over and over again. If he tried to increase the amount of chakra he implanted into the clay, just enough would enter to keep him placid.
Not only that, the genjutsu would only activate whenever Deidara thought about his explosions. It was an insidious, dirty trick, but it had done its job.
Deidara reached into his pouch. "You want to take my art away from me?" He pulled out a large wad of clay and began to chew. His chakra began to rise at a frighteningly fast rate, concentrating itself at a single point on his body.
"Think again!"
Naruto appeared in front of Deidara and slit his throat, before he could finish whatever he started. Blood gurgled from the wound, and Deidara collapsed, all the chakra he gathered fading to nothing.
He had wanted to capture Deidara so that they could learn more about the Akatsuki, but he was far too dangerous to leave unattended. As a result, one member of the Akatsuki was dead by his hand, and the rest were bound to follow.
Naruto went over to his clone. Wordlessly, his clone handed over Gaara's body, and unshed tears formed around Naruto's eyes. He'd avenged Gaara's death, but it didn't matter in the end.
His fellow jinchūriki was dead. His friend was never coming back. And even if he killed Deidara a thousand times, there was nothing he could do to bring Gaara back to life.
Naruto intended to return to the cave where the rest of the team were fighting Sasori, but his teammates had arrived at the clearing, one minute after Deidara had been defeated. Their appearance had cut through the stupor he'd fallen into.
"Where's Deidara?" Kakashi asked. His Sharingan was hidden once more.
"Dead," Samui said. "Naruto killed him."
"I see. What happened to Deidara's body?"
"We burned it," Neji said.
Kakashi nodded, looking no worse than before. "Good job, you three."
"What happened to Sasori?" Naruto asked.
"He's dead," Kakashi said.
"How?"
"Sakura was able to crush the body that you saw," Guy said, and like Kakashi, there was no sign of injury on him. "He revealed that he'd made the Third Kazekage into a puppet, but I was able to defeat it with Lee's assistance. Things got a bit hairy when he revealed his true form, but with Lady Chiyo's help, we were able to come up with a plan that resulted in Sasori's defeat."
Tenten winced. "He had a lot of weapons, and even more puppets. We disposed of nearly everything he had so he couldn't come back."
Naruto gave the other ninja who hadn't spoken a once-over. Sakura was breathing deeply, Lee was cut up in a few places, and Chiyo was winded, but overall, everyone else was okay. Alive. Considering that Sasori had been defeated without any major casualties, that was a victory he could cherish, even if he hadn't been able to kill Sasori himself.
"Excellent work," Neji said.
Tenten dusted off her hands, a tired smile on her face. "Wait until you see what I got, Neji."
Neji chuckled. "I shouldn't expect anything less."
Chiyo walked over to them. Her eyes were filled with sadness, focused solely on Gaara. Naruto turned away from her.
"Let's go back to the Sand Village," Naruto said, voice cracking like crumbling sand. "We should put Gaara to rest."
Nobody objected, not even Chiyo. Sakura was frowning, concern for him shining in her green eyes, but he didn't need it. He was fine.
Moving through the water and the fields and the forests, running back to the Hidden Sand Village... all of that was easy to do because he was still alive to do it. All he could think about was about the person he was carrying in his arms.
Gaara had saved him from his inner torment. He truly understood everything he'd experienced and showed him he could recover, become a better person. It was thanks to Gaara that he could really accept Jiraiya's guidance and act on Temari's advice. Gaara was someone truly precious to him, one of the only people in the world that he trusted unconditionally, and losing him was a bitter pain.
The worst thing about Gaara's death was how callous it was. The Akatsuki only killed him because of the tailed beast inside of him. Gaara had become Kazekage, just like he told him he would, but that didn't change anything. They didn't care that Gaara went through unimaginable hardship and pain, and still managed to overcome his demons.
He had family who loved him and a village to protect, but it didn't matter to them if they stole Gaara's future and robbed his precious people of all the time they could have spent with him.
The Akatsuki didn't care about any of that. And they'd do the same thing to him. It was a sobering reality, but he'd carry that weight until the Akatsuki lay battered and broken at his feet.
Even though hours had passed, he'd barely noticed until the forest ended and the desert began, sand sloughing through his toes.
"We're here," Chiyo said, and when Naruto looked ahead, he saw the walls protecting the Hidden Sand. It was pretty late, but the sun still shone since autumn was in full swing.
"Let me see him, Naruto Uzumaki," Chiyo said.
Naruto scowled, bitter tears of resentment and anguish threatening to fall. "You don't get to look at him. You don't get to touch him. You're the reason why the Akatsuki killed him!"
"I know," Chiyo said, and Naruto looked at her, shocked from her blunt admission. "It was his father who told me to do it, but I was the one who chose to seal Shukaku inside of him. I thought that doing so would strengthen our village, but I never considered what Gaara would go through."
Naruto's scowl hardened. "You didn't. You never asked him how he was doing. You never knew how much was hurting. Gaara didn't deserve any of this!"
"No, he didn't," Chiyo said. "The least I can do is give him another chance."
"What?"
The regret on her face cut through his anger. "I have made so many mistakes in my life, and children like Gaara have suffered for them. The world is filled with such well-intentioned fools, but knowing that people like you and Gaara are here gives me hope that the future can change for the better."
Chiyo walked around him, so she was standing right in front of him and Gaara. "I will revive him. Let me right the wrong I have made."
Naruto swallowed deeply, and fell to his knees, gently setting Gaara's body down on the sand. Chiyo descended to the desert floor with him. Then she placed her hands on Gaara's stomach, and vibrant blue chakra erupted to life around them. She wasn't just transferring chakra to Gaara, she was pouring her very life into his body.
However, her chakra was rapidly depleting, so Naruto thrust his hands over hers. "Use my chakra, Lady Chiyo."
Chiyo smiled. "Thank you." She grabbed his hands and the blue glow hovering above Gaara became so intense that its light was blinding. His chakra ebbed away, but it was going to a good place.
"Do me a favour," Chiyo whispered. "Protect Gaara like you would protect your own life, and become Hokage like no one else has ever been. I truly believe you have the power to change this world for the better."
Naruto nodded. "You got it."
Slowly, but surely, the light began to dim until the glow faded entirely. Chiyo was still holding onto his hands, her wrinkled face deathly pale. But Gaara's body twitched, and his eyes opened. Chakra was emerging from deep within his body.
"Naruto?" Gaara said.
A smile beamed across Naruto's face. "Welcome back, buddy."
Chiyo's jutsu worked. Gaara had come back. Gaara was alive.
There was one more thing left to do. The Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra bubbled around him, forming a cloak with one tail. It was toxic chakra, drenched in the Nine-Tails' undying hatred, but it was more potent than anything he'd ever seen. So Naruto let go of Chiyo's hands and focused, purifying the chakra with the shortcut Jiraiya had taught him.
It wasn't practical to use in battle, but for this, it would be enough. When he finished, the single tail was orange, flickering and flowing like a flame of life. He wrapped it around Chiyo's waist, letting the chakra enter her body, and when he stood, she stood with him.
She was on the brink of death, but this tail would keep her tethered to life.
"What are you doing, child?" Chiyo asked.
Naruto smiled. "You should get to see your village one more time."
Chiyo froze, before cackling wildly. "Very well." She looked down. "Gaara should lead us there."
Gaara blinked owlishly, before grabbing his knee. "I'd be honoured to."
Unfortunately, he couldn't stand on his own power, but Sakura stepped forward to rejuvenate his bones and muscles that had suffered from rigor mortis, and Lee came forward to help Gaara stand. He draped Gaara's arm over his left shoulder, and Naruto's left shoulder supported Gaara's other arm.
Together, Gaara was able to lead Chiyo and the rest of the team that had fought to save him, crossing through the desert to return to the Hidden Sand Village.
On the way there, ninja from the Hidden Sand came to surround them, cheering for Gaara's return, weeping tears of joy that their Kazekage was still alive. Kankurō and Temari were at the forefront, grinning at their brother from relief and happiness and a myriad of other emotions, and Naruto and Lee let them carry him back to his home.
When he saw how loved Gaara was, Naruto grinned. Gaara truly was worthy of their grace and their empathy. He always had been.
Eventually, they reached the walls that welcomed all visitors to the Village Hidden in the Sand, and Chiyo looked at it with wide, unblinking eyes, soaking everything in. She made eye contact with Naruto, smiling widely, and nodded once. It was time.
Naruto let go of the elder who had given her life so that Gaara could live in her stead, and Chiyo slumped to the sand like a puppet whose strings had been cut. It was the end for her, but for Gaara, it was a second chance.
A new beginning.
Naruto's Stats: Ninjutsu - 4.5, Taijutsu - 3.5, Genjutsu - 5, Intelligence - 4, Strength - 3, Speed - 4.5, Stamina - 5, Hand Seals - 4. Total: 33.5