A/N: Can't believe this thing is already at 30 chapters. Long road to this point. Thank you all for the support throughout. My goal is for this thing to reach 500 reviews by the end, but if it doesn't, oh well. Regardless, this chapter is where things pick up a bit (though it'll be another chapter or two before the fighting starts)

Time for chapter 30

Enjoy!

Neji exhaled through his nose and glanced to his left. They had exited the village nearly an entire twelve hours ago, and their pace had only slowed a handful of times. Rest was going to be a rarity. His assignment to accompany Sasuke across the Land of Fire five days previously had been a sudden one, and a thing that he found greatly surprising. Of all the people to be chosen for such a task, Neji would not have included himself in the running for a variety of reasons. He hardly knew either Sasuke or Naruto, and his task on the journey was confusing to say the least. He had been decisively beaten by Naruto once before, and yet he was being sent to face him again. The broad reasoning behind the mission was logical, but the specifics were confusing.

If the rumours and reports were true, Naruto had completely overpowered Gaara after Sasuke had failed to do so two consecutive times. If more ludicrous-sounding tales were to be believed, he had done so quite easily as well. If that was the case, the mission Neji and Sasuke were embarking on was entirely pointless. Gaara was a seeming impossibility for Sasuke to defeat, and Naruto was much the same to the Hyuga. In fact, the blonde supposedly battering Gaara in domineering fashion heavily implied a newfound level of strength that represented an unclimbable mountain for both himself and Sasuke.

'Then again, he himself clarified to me that he was unable to freely access the upper reaches of his strength. Given that he was almost certainly enraged, the power he used against Gaara may not be consistently present. Even so, I'm likely to lose to him again unless I get tremendously lucky, though it pains me to admit it.' Neji pondered as he and his unlikely companion sprinted across the open fields of the rural country. It was quite unlike him to take up such a dangerous task when there was no direct, personal benefit. Should they succeed, temporary fame and prestige would almost certainly follow, but it would be superficial. It would do little for him in the long run.

Perhaps he was driven to willingly go along with the assignment to simply see what there was to see. Unlike Sasuke, he wasn't fully invested in the situation emotionally. Naruto meant virtually nothing to the branch Hyuga beyond a desire to overcome him, and Gaara of the Sand was more or less an enigma. In spite of this lack of interest in the people involved, Neji still found himself curious as to what exactly drove Sasuke to so doggedly pursue them. His friendship with Naruto was the easiest answer, but it was clear that there was far more to it than that. He held an obvious disdain for the diminutive redhead, but for it to burn so powerfully was frankly puzzling.

While the girl's crimes in Konoha had been numerous and unsettling, they had actually done minimal lasting damage. Kiba and Shino had recovered from the beating they had received quite quickly, and Sasuke himself was completely healed. The whispers of a separate murder she had committed likely held some truth, but the victim in question wasn't one that the Uchiha had known personally to Neji's knowledge, and Sasuke had hardly ever been one to preach of justice and righteousness. With all of that in mind, the chances of Sasuke's hatred for Gaara being born purely from her atrocities felt quite unlikely, as strange it sounded.

'Based upon what I know, he doesn't know her well enough to despise her on a personal level. They met for the first time when they faced off against one another at the beginning of their match. His only experiences with her were in combat. What on earth could have triggered this?' Neji wondered to himself. What limited conversation he and Sasuke had shared on their hours-long run up to this point had been on the topic of what they planned to do upon arriving in Uzushiogakure. Through these exchanges, the Hyuga had deduced that this operation was much more about Gaara than Naruto. Sasuke obviously did care for his teammate, and wished for him to return to Konoha, but his focus was very much on his trilogy with Gaara.

A single look at the raven-haired genin was extremely telling. His eyes were fixed on the horizon ahead, and they never wavered. His body held a tension that only a person fully consumed by an ambition could endure. Facing Gaara again meant the world to him. He was out for something, and it could have been any of an endless list of possibilities. Redemption, retribution, revenge, clarity, perhaps even blood. Anything of the sort would fit.

'Who knew something so outwardly simple could possess so many potential layers? It doesn't concern me, not really, but it certainly is something to think about. I have a feeling I'll be given answers once the chaos ensues.' the Hyuga mused. A slight chuckle then escaped him aloud

'Funny. It's so unlike me to pine after knowledge that doesn't pertain to myself.' he thought to himself. A moment after this thought had crossed through his mind, Sasuke stopped running abruptly, prompting Neji to do the same and await an explanation. After a time, he was given one.

"I think it's time we rest. It's late, and we should get some sleep. We've got a tent each, so start setting up." the Uchiha said shortly before unpacking the knapsack tied to his back. For around five minutes, the genin worked in silence; the uninteresting sounds of unfolding cloth and the pounding of stakes filling the silence. Once they had both finished establishing their separate tents, they cast each other tired looks.

"Tell me something, Sasuke." Neji said, earning a cocked eyebrow from the ever-brooding Uchiha.

"What would you like to know? Can't guarantee an answer, though. I'm only half-conscious." he replied smoothly. The Hyuga took a seat at the entrance of his tent.

"What will you do if, and possibly when, we get blown completely out of the water in Uzushio? You seem quite invested in this, but even you must know how abysmal the odds are." he asked directly, not bothering to censor himself in any way at all. Sasuke stared down at him for several moments before giving a predictable scoff.

"We won't lose. Well, you might. Naruto's a juggernaut at this point, so there's no shame in that. I'll break Gaara, which is all we need. With her as a bargaining chip, we can make him come back with us." he replied bluntly. Neji frowned at his sentiments and shifted slightly.

"How can you be so sure? You've already fallen to her twice. No offense, but your confidence is misplaced." he said. Sasuke joined him on the ground and rested his chin on his knees.

"Both times I fought her, I figured things out about the way she fights. She has weaknesses. Ones that I can exploit. I had no way to be ready for her the first two times." he said. Neji tilted his head to one side.

"It's unfortunate that neither one of us was conscious during Naruto's encounter with her. It seems that he found the formula for beating her. He did it easily, apparently." he commented as he recalled what he had heard about the unseen battle. Sasuke shook his head and picked at the grass on the ground.

"Naruto just clattered her. He isn't a strategist, and never will be. I could feel his chakra in my sleep. He overwhelmed her with raw power. Makes sense, given how much power he showed against you in the last few moments." he replied. The Hyuga was briefly annoyed by the reference back to his loss, but it quickly passed.

"I'd never actually been knocked out before that match. He hit like an explosive tag. Logically, that route to victory against Gaara doesn't exist for you. She's quite obviously stronger than you past a certain point." Neji said.

"Yeah, that's not how I'm going to go about this. There are other ways to diffuse her." Sasuke said vaguely, increasing the branch Hyuga's interest.

"It sounds to me like you have something in mind. Would you mind telling me what it is? I'm just dying to know." he asked semi-sarcastically.

"She's strong, but she's a complete mess. Everything is an ugly charge or a wide swing. She's also totally crippled in confined spaces. I can poke holes in her approach, and I can kill her for those mistakes. I almost did the second time we fought." Sasuke explained. Neji extended his legs out in front of him to stretch them.

"Sorry to say, but technical skill can be overcome by raw power, no matter what the so-called 'experts' tell you. If you're outclassed physically, your chances of turning that fight around with nothing but skill are slim to none. It's frustrating, but it's the truth." he said. Sasuke shot him a challenging look.

"I have ways of closing that gap. Don't you worry." he assured his short-notice companion. Taking his shift in tone as a cue to end the conversation, Neji shrugged his shoulders and began to retreat back into his tent.

"I wish you luck. We won't arrive for another four weeks, so we have plenty of time to think and talk tactics. Get some sleep. The pace won't slow tomorrow." he said before closing the flap.

The rest experience by the boys only lasted a few hours, but it was just enough.

It was visible in the distance. The outline some kind of wreckage. It was enormous, and it consumed much of the horizon. It was still roughly a mile a way, but it was all that was visible. At the sight, Naruto motioned for Gaara to increase her pace to match his energized jog. It was a long run, but one that eventually paid off with an absolutely fascinating and heartening sight. After five minutes of near-sprinting, they reached the edge of the great sight. Once there, the blonde admired it for a second or two before leading his fellow Jinchuuriki beyond the border of the wilderness and what lay before them.

Gaara's eyes widened as she and Naruto entered the boundaries of what she assumed to be their final destination. All around them were broken down structures and cracked stone streets. It looked like a relic of the past, and the landscape was vast. It was a massive, broken, abandoned city. A consistency throughout all of the visible ruin was a swirl symbol that marked most of the larger chunks of rubble. Running through the center of the city was a wide river, clear and blue. It was early morning, nearly a full month after their departure from Konoha. The journey had been long, arduous, and even a bit painful, but they had finally arrived.

"I think it's time for you to explain where exactly we are, Naruto." she said breathlessly as she admired the broken but beautiful architecture. The blonde took several long moments to answer, as he himself hadn't finished taking in the new environment around him. Once he was finished, he turned to Gaara and smiled.

"This is, or used to be, Uzushiogakure. The Village Hidden in the Whirlpools. It was destroyed a while ago, and people haven't lived here for a long time, but it was where my family came from. This was the home of the Uzumaki clan way before I was born." he explained. The redhead's eyes widened at the new information as several things snapped together in her mind. His insistence on keeping that fact quiet still perplexed her, but his insistence on travelling as far as they did now made sense. Uzushio was a maze, a grotto, and a stronghold all in one.

It was hidden away on a forgotten coast, miles and miles away from all other civilization, it was massive and seemed to be quite intricately designed, and several large structures in view were still intact. It was an absolutely perfect fortress.

"One day, I found a book at my door that was written about this place and its history. I think Old Man, er, the Third Hokage left it for me. He never told me anything about my parents or anything like that, but I'm pretty sure he was the one who let me in on this place." Naruto said, seeming to be thinking aloud. Gaara noticed a slightly pained quality to his voice at the mention of the deceased Kage. The man's passing had clearly affected him. In response to his dip in mood, Gaara took his hand.

"Did the book describe this place's layout?" she asked curiously in an attempt to change the topic. Naruto snapped out of his trance and gave a surprising nod.

"Yeah, actually. I don't remember a lot of it, but I think I know where a few things are." he replied. The redhead stepped closer to him and wrapped herself around his arm.

"Give me a tour as best you can, then. If this is going to be our base of operations for the time being, I'd like to know my way around." she encouraged him. At this, the pair began to traverse the former hidden village. It truly was the size of Konoha, if not larger. There were numerous different sectors, each defined by a different type of standard building. Much of it was wrecked, but enough of it had maintained for patterns to be noticeable. In the hour that they spent on the southern side of the river that ran through the center, they identified three distinctly different areas.

One was clearly a residential district, with several of the buildings in the area broken open to expose what appeared to be the bedrooms of former inhabitants. Another was what seemed to be a market, as there were numerous covered areas where tipped-over tables lay. The third and final area they observed was entirely one enormous building. Shockingly, it was more or less undamaged. There were cracks here and there littered throughout its stone exterior, but it hadn't fallen like many of the other large buildings. At this discovery, they stopped exploring to focus their attention on it.

"What do you think it is? It's larger than any building in Suna." Gaara asked as she stared up and marvelled at the structure's height. Naruto shrugged and gestured towards the large door.

"Only one way to find out." he said as he tugged his companion along towards the entrance. It took him several tries, but he was eventually able to force the door open with his free arm. With the door now ajar, the pair entered the building. What they saw answered the most obvious question of 'what' immediately. Scattered across the floor in front of them and up two opposing staircases were books. Hundreds of them. They had been thrown from the vast shelves that occupied the distant walls of the building. It was a library, and an extremely large one at that.

"I feel so small in here. It's enormous." Gaara breathed, completely mesmerized by the aged store of knowledge before her. Naruto's reaction was no less mystified. It was awe inspiring. The sheer number of books was staggering, and it appeared that there were multiple levels to the library. It took both of them nearly five minutes to fully grasp the sight.

"Wanna look around, or should we save that for later?" Naruto asked. The redhead tightened her grip on his arm and stepped back, accidentally off-balancing the blonde. Once he had regained his balance, Gaara shook her head.

"The sun has yet to rise, and this place is exceptionally large on its own. I say we make the most of our time and explore the other side of the river. We have all the time in the world." she said. The former leaf genin smiled and allowed her to lead him out of the library. They then made their way to the river several hundred feet to the north of the enormous library. Upon reaching the edge of the river, they encountered a problem.

"What's up? You look nervous." Naruto asked Gaara, who looked quite apprehensive about stepping any nearer to the water than she already was. It took the blonde no more than ten seconds to deduce what the issue was.

"You don't know how to walk on water, do you?" he asked. The former Suna genin shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"Other than the odd oasis, there are no bodies of water in the desert. It wasn't a skill I felt the need to learn. They taught it in the academy, I think, but I hardly attended past the first year." she explained. Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"I'm guessing you don't know how to swim either. You could float yourself over with your sand, right? That could work." he suggested. The redhead thought for a moment.

"Perhaps, but what if I lost my balance and fell in? We have no idea how strong the current is." she pointed out. Naruto gave her a humorous look.

"You're trying to get me to carry you, aren't you?" he asked with a jovial grin. Gaara flushed red and glanced away from him.

"Am I really that transparent?" she asked meekly. The blonde laughed out loud and scooped her up, causing her to squeak and reactively wrap her arms around his neck for support.

"Yup. You're pretty easy to read for me at this point. Don't worry about it. I don't mind." he said as he escorted her across the river.

"I swear, that gourd is even heavier than you are." Naruto grumbled. Gaara gave an exaggerated pout and lightly knocked her forehead against his cheek.

"We've been over this a thousand times. I can't help that I'm little. I may have been bigger if I hadn't been born prematurely." she grumbled. They then reached the northern side of the river. Once they were firmly grounded, Naruto set her down and ruffled her messy red hair.

"Yeah, well, you're still fun-sized. Don't sweat it. Makes carrying you easier." he said playfully. Gaara gazed up at him with pink cheeks and sighed.

"At least it benefits us somehow. I do like being cradled." she admitted. After a few more light quips back and forth, the Jinchuuriki set out to explore the second half of Uzushio. Just before they could enter the ruins, Gaara stopped. Naruto made it roughly ten feet before noticing and glancing back over his shoulder. The girl was staring back in the direction from whence they had come with narrowed eyes.

"Gaara?" the blonde called out quizzically. Gaara flinched and turned back to face him once again.

"Oh, sorry. I was just...admiring the river." she said quickly. It was a blatant lie, but Naruto opted not to press the issue any further.

After all, there was a tremendous amount of exploration yet to be done.

A/N: FORESHADOWING. None of what I write is all that subtle, but I do try to drop in little hints as to what's coming. In fact, I gave a few pieces of information away in this chapter if you were paying attention. Tell me what you thought of this one :)

See you next chapter! Read and Review!