When Stuck in Darkness Light a Candle

by TigerHeart

The Fourth Great Ninja war has ended, but the young Kazekage's struggles have only begun. Fuu the Seven-Tails Jinchuuriki who was Gaara's love, had died some time ago. It's only now that Gaara can process that fact. To make matters worse, Gaara has lost his ability to do ninjutsu and he's plagued by nightmares that seem way too real.

5. Attack of the Silver Scorpions

A/N Hi all. I think it's been over a year since I last posted a chapter. If you are still reading this then thank you so much for your interest. I'm still working on this fanfiction as well as tales of a rogue Jinchuuriki. It's been quite busy, the main barrier to my progess in writings is poor timekeeping and organisational skills, which I have been improving upon. Everyone has their own methodology when it comes to writing. I tried different scenese of this chapter jumping back and forth not in chronological order. I think that slowed me down in the long run because as I was getting stressed thinking about another scene which I started already but hadn't completed. Anyway I hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think! ^_^

---

Gaara and Shira had been training from noon until half two in the evening and Gaara felt terrible the whole time.

Gaara knew that that the exercise meant that at least he was preventing his body from getting fatigued too easily. But, that didn't stop him from being discouraged at every turn. The effects of having no chakra could not be overstated. Gaara's physical prowess was greatly diminished. He'd become more sluggish, couldn't jump as high, and his punches didn't hit as hard.

He couldn't help but feel the whole thing was pointless. He couldn't see how this was going to help get his chakra back. His motivation to keep up came only from not wanting to disappoint Shira. Fortunately for Gaara, that was more than enough to get him through the gruelling regime.

Never the less, when it was over Gaara felt a bit better and he made sure to thank Shira profusely at the end of the training session.

Shira bowed down respectfully to Gaara. "You've done well again today Gaara-Sama."

Gaara was in a mindset that caused him to be adverse to praise. So he responded by saying "I've only done what I must, Shira. Everybody has to train if they want to keep themselves fit."

Shira could see in Gaara's eyes a lack of self-belief. He stared at Gaara trying to think of something to say.

Gaara noticed Shira's heavy gaze and asked "what is it?"

"Oh come on, Gaara-sama. Don't be too negative! You should smile at the completion of every workout. It helps you stay consistent!"

Gaara considered Shira's words. "Hmm. You make a good point."

"Also once you get your chakra back, you'll be so much stronger than you were before!"

Gaara closed shut his eyes and thought deeply. His mind was wracked with anxiety and nervousness but he tried to force the negative feelings down. He had to be positive, he would have to defeat the necromancer and get his chakra back. There was no other choice. He couldn't descend into despair and apathy. He had to push forward.

"You're right Shira" He finally said with an exasperated sigh. "I hadn't thought of that. Thanks, that encourages me even more!"

Shira smiled. "Yes! That's the attitude. I felt the same way as you do now, back when I was younger. I thought I'd never be a Shinobi like my father."

Gaara smirked and finished Shira's sentence. "And now you're training the Kazekage."

Shira laughed, delighted by Gaara's words. "Exactly!"

Not wanting to linger on the same topic, Gaara changed the subject. "Since that mission was cancelled have you gotten a chance to meet your teammate Sen?"

Shira nodded. "Oh yes I have. We had a nice meal together. It was just the two of us reminiscing about old times before Yome and I joined the special forces."

"That's nice. How is Yome doing in the special forces anyway? I've seen some reports and they look pretty positive."

"We'll she's valued there for her abilities. We don't get to see much of each other though. That might change soon though, hopefully."

"Oh, why so?."

Shira sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. "I was thinking about leaving. My contract ran out two months ago, I haven't renewed it yet. They've been trying to get me to renew it, I've been putting it off. If I were to leave Yome wouldn't be long following me."

"I see." Said Gaara. "Well it would be nice to have your old team back together."

Shira nodded. "It certainly would be."

"It sounds like Yome has feelings for you. Do you feel the same way about her?"

Shira shrugged his shoulders. "I was so focused on my career that I never paid much attention to her. I certainly didn't reciprocate her feelings before. But now? I don't know. I think things are different. A career in the special forces didn't fulfil me, maybe having a relationship with Yome can? But then again my father always wanted me to be in the Special forces. It's such a privilege, and It's my duty to the village to stay…"

"There are many ways to find meaning and purpose, and many ways to serve your father and Sunagakure, Shira."

Shira frowned. "I don't know, I've never thought about anything other than being the best Shinobi possible."

"It's difficult." Said Gaara. "People are so dedicated to their home, to their honour and to their expectations that they forget about themselves and others immediately around them. You've done much for this village Shira, and you still do a lot. But what's the point if you can't look after your friends too? Don't be ashamed to leave the special forces if you really want to go. If you want to stay, then stay. But don't stay out of the fear of shame."

Shira allowed Gaara's words to settle in his mind for a moment. He looked into Gaara's eyes briefly then looked away. Shira had been suffering under the pressure of perceived expectations of him, Gaara's gentle encouragement made him feel slightly at ease and his heart felt lighter. "Thanks Gaara sama."

There was a moment of silence as neither knew how to carry the conversation on. Shira felt uncomfortable with revealing that particular part of his feelings so he decided turn the conversation around on Gaara.

"What about you Gaara, are you interested in anyone? What about Matsuri? I know she's your apprentice but you guys are pretty much the same age, from what I've seen of her she seems to be sweet on you."

Gaara thoughts went to Fuu and he sighed. "It's complicated. My love is unrequited. The woman I fell in love with is dead now. I can't get over her."

Shira's voice quietened significantly. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Who was she?"

"Another Jinchuuriki. I met her at that Chunin exams. Do you remember the green haired girl from the Hidden Waterfall Village."

Shira thought for a moment as he scoured his memories. Then his eyes widened in realisation. "Oh yeah I do remember! Fuu was her name wasn't it? Nice girl, a bit weird. Wait… she was a Jinchuuriki! So does that mean, the Akatsuki…"

Gaara nodded solemly. "Yeah, they got her."

"Damn! Such a shame!" Shira shook his head. "When did you find out?"

"I heard rumours shortly after the Chunin exams. When we became more aware of the Akatsuki I had my sources look into them and found that they'd taken two other Jinchuuriki already. Between that and the rumours I just assumed the worst, I didn't really have the time of think of it since I was just so busy with my duties as Kazekage.

There was still a part of me that didn't want to admit it though. I didn't fully find out for sure until recently."

"And, what happened recently?"

"You know those dreams that I was having? She was in them. They're not really dreams but something more. I journey to another realm when I sleep. That realm is where my chakra is gone, and Fuu's trapped there. A lot of others are too."

Shira was taken aback and he was filled with existential dread. "So what you're seeing is some kind of an afterlife? It doesn't sound like the afterlife is too good."

Gaara shook his head. "No. It's no afterlife. It's a dirty trick, a Jutsu by some necromancer."

"If it's a man behind it, once you defeat him you can get your chakra back?"

"Yes. That's one of the things I hope for. I'm more concerned about rescuing Fuu though."

Shira was stunned by the revelation Gaara dispensed upon him. "If there's anything I can do, let me know." He said in a hushed and uncertain tone. Shira knew that he wouldn't have the slightest idea of what to do if her were in Gaara's shoes.

"Actually" Gaara said, "I sent Matsuri off to look for info. Can you check up on her? She should be in the library now or on her way back from the library. Tell her I'll be in my office waiting."

Shira didn't respond as he mulled over the implications of what Gaara was saying in his head.

"Uh Shira?"

For another few seconds Shira was practically catatonic, then suddenly he realised what Gaara had asked of him. He snapped into action and stood to attention with a salute. "Right! Sorry! Of course Lord Kazekage! I'll be on my way!"

Gaara nodded and the two parted ways without exchanging any more words.

---

The village of Sunagakure was made up of a large number of densely packed clay and stucco houses which filled a great fortified valley. The village truly deserved the name hidden because it blended in with the vast desert that surrounded it. The buildings themselves were circular or ovular, purposely built to resist even the harshest of sandstorms. Shira deftly jumped from one roof to another. He had planned to spend the afternoon with his teammate Sen, however he had a task to perform first and figured that he might as well bring Sen along.

Sen was lazily resting her back against a wall at their agreed meeting place when she was roused to sudden attention by Shira bounding onto the ground in front of her.

Flabbergasted, Sen asked "Why were you running on the rooftops?"

"Oh Sen good! Look I'm sorry about this but before we hang out there's just one little thing I have to do."

Sen rolled her eyes. "What is it?"

"I just have to go to the library and tell Matsuri that Gaara was asking for her."

"Oh, that doesn't sound like it'll take too long. Good"

"Will you come with me?"

"Might as well."

---

Matsuri strode frantically out of the library through the halls of the Sunagakure compound. She'd spent hours scouring through records in the library checking all kinds of categories from forbidden Jutsu to missing Ninja and even reading old legends and folk tales in case they had some kernel of truth to them that applied to Gaara's situation.

At first her efforts seemed in vain. Nothing promising showed up and she got quite frustrated. After six hours she was about to give up when she stumbled upon the profile of a missing Ninja that piqued her interest. The missing Nin was a Funinjutsu master with some macabre abilities. Matsuri began by reading the man's bio, and her sense of dread grew as she learned more and more about him.

There was more information in the dossier, however having scanned through the bio Matsuri decided it was enough. She wanted to get back to Gaara as quickly as possible. Matsuri had borne witness to many of the plots against her Sensei's life. She felt that Gaara's loss of chakra was almost certainly the result of another such plot, and she knew that many of Gaara's adversaries would try and take advantage of the situation. When accessing the computer files in the library she noticed some unusual glitches and errors in the software. It made her quite suspicious.

Her nerves had only grown as she made her way through the hallway of the Sunagakure compound. She stopped at a window and took a glance outside scanning the buildings and streets for anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing and she moved on. Finally she began to near the exit. The doors of the compound were within sight. Two Sunagakure shinobi in standard attire stood at the doorway like sentinels. Matsuri was nervous as she approached them and gripped her weapon tightly.

"Hi Matsuri-Chan." One of them called out to her as she passed by. He smiled warmly at her.

The other guard scoffed at his partner. "You're on guard duty!" He chided.

"Oh right!" Said the first guard as he dutifully stood back to attention.

Matsuri for her part was nervous of the two guards as she didn't recognise either of them. Granted Sunagakure was a big place, and she was well known enough for being the Kazekge's disciple and for being one of the few survivors from her regiment in the 4th great Shinobi war. So it wasn't the first time somebody would call out her name that she didn't know.

She gave them a curt nod and kept an eye on them as she passed by, glancing back every once in a while to check that they hadn't moved.

She was so focused on the two that when some shadows darted about her peripheral vision she did not react immediately. Her mind took a moment to process what those shadows were.

"Look out!" one of the two guards cried out to her.

Matsuri snapped to attention. A barrage of shuriken was fast approaching. She jumped. The shuriken missed her and lodged themselves into the dusty ground.

Six shinobi now stood before Matusri, looking down at her from their vantage point along the rooves of two houses. They were like a murder of crows gathering around a wounded animal. Each individual had varying equipment.

Some carried numerous scrolls on their backs, others wielded an assortment of weapons. All of them were clad in leather and mail armour covered in black cloth. Wrappings of cloth or masks hid their identities and what little semblance of humanity they purported to have.

"Who are you?!" Matsuri asked angrily! "What do you want?"

Matsuri was responded to with action, not words. One of the Shinobi in the group charged at Matsuri with a sword.

Matsuri recognised the attack and with her chain she countered it. However the attack was a feint. The Shinobi jumped back and threw kunai at her head. Open and defenceless Matsuri closed her eyes and braced for death. Death did not come, but a clanging sound rang out in her ears instead.

Matsuri nervously squinted her eyes open to see that one of the two guardsmen had come to her defence deflecting the kunai with one of his own. The other placed a reassuring hand on the young woman as he stepped up from behind her. "Get going Matsuri-Chan. We'll hold them off!"

Matsuri looked at the man's face, his eyes were wide and alert with a glint of fear like a rabbit in a field looking out for danger. But there was a resoluteness in his expression too. This man was not going to run away. Matsuri felt bad for being suspicious of him earlier. "Thank you!" She wheezed. "I owe you one!"

"Say nothing of it." The man replied with a smile. "Now go!"

Matsuri needed no further encouragement, she nodded to the man and moved to run off. However after only taking a couple steps the assassins intercepted her

She stopped in her tracks. Thankfully for her though one of the guards knew what to do. He cast a number of quick handsigns placed his fingers to his mouth and shouted. "Fire-Style! Fireball Jutsu!" Like a great dragon he puffed out his chest taking in a mighty breath of air and then released a stream of searing flames from his lips. The flames spewed out in a line for a couple of metres before exploding into a big fireball near the assassins.

Since the asassins had to dodge the flame an opening was created which matsuri took eagerly. She gave one final salute to her two protectors before fleeing the scene as fast as her feet could carry her. She escaped by moving onto the rooves of the houses and from there she ducked into the narrow laneways where she hoped she would be concealed from her attackers.

Only a minute had passed a when she heard the dying cries of the two Ninja who protected her. The ghastly sounds caused Matsuri to stop in her tracks and forget that she was running for her life. She thought of the man whose eyes she looked into. He'd just sacrificed his own life of protect her. The thought that he had just died caused Matsuri to fall onto her hands and knees. "Dammit! Why!?" She cried out under a hushed breath, partially to herself and partially to the universe.

In the distance she heard an unfamiliar voice shout. "Let's split up and look for her!"

Remembering the seriousness of her predicament, and realising that she could meet the same horrid fate as those that protected her Matsuri came to her senses and got up. There was nothing she could do for now except move on. The noble sacrifice of the two guards had allowed her to get some distance from her assailants and she didn't want to make that sacrifice be in vain.

She rounded the corner of the laneway she was in, then ducked into another laneway. From there she eventually made it to a larger street designed for horse and cart as well as pedestrians.

Much to Matsuri's relief there were two masked Anbu black ops present looking over the street from a rooftop. The sounds of the battle had attracted their attention. One Wore a Boar Mask and the other had an eagle mask. The two men jumped from their vantage point, their capes fluttering in the air as they descended. Like cats they landed deftly on their feet.

"Matsuri." Spoke The Eagle Masked anbu recognising her. He was the second stranger now that recognised her today. It was becoming more usual for random Shinobi in the village to know her name. "What's happening."

Matsuri replied in a series of panicked words and stutters. "I'm being attacked! Six Ninja! I don't know who they are! The guards of the library compound they, they, they! We have to move!"

"Alright calm down." Said the Boar Masked Anbu. "We'll escort you to the Kazekage." Both Anbu drew their swords which were sheathed on their backs.

"I'm afraid you won't be doing that!" Shouted an unfamiliar voice. It was the female assailant. This time she was accompanied by only two team-mates who carried a sword and scrolls respectively. The hitwoman had two knives at her hips and in her hand she carried the decapitated head of one of the guardsman who protected Matsuri.

The hitwoman irreverently kicked the head onto the ground like it was a ball or some other plaything. "This will be you next!" She taunted in a sickly voice behind her mask.

As the head rolled towards Matsuri and her two new guardians Matsuri noticed that the skin had been seared off with fire and the eyes were melted from their sockets. Never the less an expression of extreme terror and pain could still be interpreted from the decapitated head.

"Bastards!" Bellowed one of the Anbu as he rushed towards the trio with his sword.

The trio responded in formation. The assassin holding scrolls pulled one out revealing an intricate pattern of complex Funinjutsu seals. The seals were released and a volley of projectiles were sent the way of the two Anbu and Matsuri. The other male assailant casted a wind style jutsu which produced a gust of wind to speed up the projectiles.

Matsuri and the two Anbu braced for impact. Matsuri used her chain to block the projectiles by weaving it round extremely fast in a circle. And the Anbu used their swords alone to block the weapons in a display of extreme skill and grace. It wasn't enough. The hitwoman moved in having been given an opening. In a split second she was behind one of the Anbu. In the next second the man was set on fire. He shrieked in pain and horror and in the next second after that he was sliced open. By the time the other Anbu moved to assist it was too late. The hitwoman backed away behind her two teammates. Once she was at a safe distance, she laughed manically.

The odds were against Matsuri now.

The three assailants repeated their combo, after all it had worked the first time. Another scroll of projectiles was fired, boosted in speed by wind to distract their enemies. The Anbu used his sword to block the weapons once again, powerless to do anything else. Matsuri however had adapted her stance, she stepped back far enough so that she could dodge the onslaught of projectile by jumping deftly to the side. This time she was ready to intercept the attack. She rushed at the hitwoman and caught her completely off guard just before she was about to finish off the Anbu. Matsuri wrapped her chain around the hitwoman, binding her arms to her side. The hooked blade at the end of Matsuri's chain dug into her enemies flesh but this was the least of the hitwoman's concern. The Anbu that she was about to kill now stared at her with hatred and murderous rage. He lifted his sword and used it to bring the wrath of vengeance for his lost comrade down on the hitwoman. "No! NO!" She Cried before being silenced for good.

There was no time to relish in their victory. Matsuri and the Anbu once again readied their weapons for the next stage of the fight. Their opponents stared down with piercing focus in their eyes. They'd underestimated matsuri before, but now they'd be more cautious and more dangerous.

The Anbu beside Matsuri shouted a taunt at their opponents. "Your friend is dead and soon you both will be too!"

The two assailants didn't respond to the Anbu's threat. Unlike their female former colleague they didn't talk to their enemies. Instead they made eye contact and nodded to each other silently preparing their next move.

"Looks like they're going for the same tactic." Said the Anbu. "You're quite skilled with that chain. Block any projectiles they send our way and let me finish off these lowlifes!"

Matusri nodded. "They don't seem fazed at all by their comrade's death. We should be careful."

"Damn you're right. They're dangerous! We need to end this quickly!" With that the Anbu rushed forward and Matsuri followed suit.

The Funinjutsu master launched another wave of sharp objects from a scroll.

The Anbu stopped running and allowed Matsuri to rush forward in front of him so she could spin her chain and block the projectiles.

Once the volley ended the Anbu jumped out in front of Matsuri. His sword was drawn and he was ready to attack. But the wind style user stood ready to intercept him. The Anbu was struck down with sharp blades of wind.

Matsuri stepped backwards nervously, still spinning her chains in a defensive manner.

The two assailants rose from the stances and walked after Matsuri, their eyes glinting with sadistic satisfaction.

"You've caused us a lot of trouble girl." Said the scroll master.

"Way too much trouble." Said the other. "You killed our teammate, for this you'll pay."

"Shut up! You're the ones who attacked me!"

"We would've given you a swift death girl!" Said the Wind Sytle user. "It would have been easy if you'd just given in! But because you had to make things difficult your friends had to die! And because you've been so annoying we're going to make sure to torture you."

"It's been a while since I've had the pleasure of skinning somebody!" Added the funinjutsu user.

As the two drew closer Matsuri folded her chain in half. This doubled the weight of the chain and therefore its force, and enabled her to use it like a nun-chuck. "If I'm going down I'll make sure to take one of you with me!" She shouted as she lunged at one of her enemies successfully disarming him.

However the other moved in and grabbed hold of her. He twisted her arm and forced her to drop the chain.

The ninja whom Matsuri disarmed kicked her to the ground. Matsuri shrieked from the pain in her back and was stunned, helpless to fight back as she was secured.

"Hahaha!" Shouted one of the assassins triumphantly. "You're mine!"

"No!" Said Matsuri quietly which a choke in her voice. "Please!"

"You'll get no mercy from us girl!" Said the scroll master as he produced a kunai knife from his utility belt. "Now then! I'm going to make a nice incision in your skin, starting from your back and then I'm going to peel it right off!"

Matsuri struggled against her captives. She pushed and clawed at the ground frantically. She let out screams begging for help that echoed well into the village.

"Enough!" said the Seamaster he knocked matsuri's head into the ground. "It seems I'll have to restrain you!"

He cast a few quick hand signs to charge up his chakra and then pressed his fingers into her neck. Intricate black seals and runes emerged onto matsuri's skin and formed a small circle around the point of contact.

The seals inflicted a sharp burning sensation onto Matsuri and she cried out in pain. When the pain stopped her cries dissipated into a gasp and she found that her movement was highly restricted so that all she could manage was to twitch her fingers and barely purse her lips.

"There! This curse mark should hold you in place long enough for me to get the job done! There's no escape now!" The ninja began to cut into the clothes on Matusri' back and tears began to well up in her eyes.

When Matsuri was about to abandon hope of rescue the familiar voice of Shira rang out from behind her.

"Let her go!" he bellowed.

Matsuri and the two Ninja looked up to see Shira standing like a lion atop one of the buildings, his grey hair bristled in the wind.

Two Ninja laughed as they stood to face their new opponent. "You don't look so impressive kid!" Taunted the Sealmaster "Let me guess you're a Chunin? You can't handle us alone, you don't know who you're dealing with! Walk away if you value your life!"

"Let's just kill him and be done with it brother!" Said the wind style user.

"As a matter of fact," said shira addressing the sealmaster, "I do know who you are. Sealmaster Okuda and Saga of the Wind Style, both of the silver scorpions."

Okuda and Saga's eyes widened.

"I think you're right Saga we should kill him."

"Then what are we waiting for." Shouted Okuda. As he pulled out another scroll.

"I've already begun charging up my attack Okuda." Said Saga as he cast a number of hand signs.

Shira adopted an energy building stance from his perch, he sucked in air and curled his fists and pressed his elbows into his side while holding out his forearms in front.

After sucking in the air he began to let out a deep growl like a bison ready to charge.

"What a fool thinking he'll have time to charge an attack against us!" Said Okuda as he released the volley of projectiles that were stored in the scroll's seal. "Now Saga! Speed up my attack and kill him!"

Saga followed Okuda's orders and casted a wind style jutsu to speed up the projectiles.

Thinking he'd won Okuda grinned behind his mask. However the grin soon turned to an expression of utter shock and horror.

Seeing the projectiles approaching Shira gripped the edge of the roof and pushed with all his might launching himself onto the ground in front of his enemies. Like a peregrine falcon Shira pierced through the wind at an inhuman speed. The projectiles flew far away from their intended target.

"Impossible!" Saga said, astounded. "Such speed!"

When Shira got up he cast one single hand sign and adopted another energy charging stance. "Seven heavenly breath's First activation!" Upon speaking the name of his technique he suddenly went into a frenzy. Shira's skin flared red blood and his veins popped out under his skin. A yellow aura of chakra became visible all around him and it blazed like a mighty flame.

Saga was paralysed with fear upon being so close to his enemy. "Get him away from us Okuda we can't fight him at close range!"

"On it!" Said Okuda as he pulled out yet another scroll. "Take this!" He shouted as he released the seal. Out from the seal came a massive boulder of rock. It flew out at the speed of a charging horse and was big enough to crush three people.

As the rock approached Shira made no attempt to dodge it. He didn't need to. Instead he leaped forward with his fist raised and shattered the rock into fragments with his bare hands. The boulder didn't even so much as slow him down. He continued his onslaught. As Shira approached Saga fell to the ground in terror and met his end with a killing blow to the head from Shira's rock breaking fists. Shira did not stop and kept running towards Okuda who uselessly attempted to fight Shira off with a sword he conjured from a scroll. Shira's sheer speed was too much for Okuda to handle and Okuda soon found himself at the receiving end of a volley of blows from Shira's fists. Each punch he received felt like a block of Iron. The sheer force of Shira's punches launched him into the air. Shira did not let up he jumped up into the air and roundhouse kicked Okuda into a building, splattering him against the wall. When Shira was done he stretched out his arms and let out a puff of air. "Ok Sen, come out now!"

Shira's teammate emerged from a laneway where she had been laying in the shadows hiding. "Wow Shira, you've gotten a lot stronger.

"Never mind that Sen! Use your healing abilities on Matsuri here!" Shira turned to face Matsuri. The curse mark that was placed on her had worn off and she was free to move once again, but she was still recovering from the encounter and she stumbled as she tried to get up off the ground. Shira rushed to Matsuri and used his arms to support her in her weakened state. "You OK?" He asked.

Matsuri didn't reply, instead she stared at Shira absentmindedly with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.

"Hey, Matsuri!" Shira said again as he gently patted Matsuri's shoulder with the palm of his hand.

"Oh Sorry!" Matsuri exclaimed as she suddenly registered what Shira had just said to her earlier. "I'm fine now that you guys came."

"Let me heal you." Said Sen as she came to Matusri and took Shira's place in supporting her. Sen placed her hands where Matsuri's curse mark was formerly located and used her medical Ninjutsu on Matsuri. Sen's hands radiated an ethereal blue aura of chakra as she transferred some of her energy to Matsuri in order to re-vitalise her and help her body heal it's wounds which thankfully were just a few minor bruises. Sen's talents didn't lie in medical Ninjtusu alone however. She was also an accomplished sensory Ninja and so she was alerted to the other hostile Ninja before anyone else. "Hey Shira, there's another one coming!" She warned. "He'll be on us in another minute."

Shira nodded and gave Sen a thumbs up before taking up a defensive stance.

"Thanks Sen." Said Matsuri as she stood up and gently nudged Sen off of her. "I should be good now, was just a little bit shocked is all. We need to get going!"

"Not just yet I'm afraid." Replied Sen as she turned away from Matsuri and drew out a kunai of her own. "He's here Shira!"

The next member of the silver scorpions to arrive was different from the other three. He was a powerful looking man, who was practically a wall of flesh and carried with him a huge metal hammer. He arrived alone without any backup yet, as Matsuri stared up at him she felt more scared than when she was facing off against the trio from before.

Even Shira seemed nervous as he briefly turned back to Sen and Matsuri to utter a warning to them. "This guy is Gin of the crushing hammer, he's stronger than the other three, the second strongest of the silver scorpions." Shira's voice betrayed no fear but Matsuri and Sen could see the uncertainty in his eyes.

"Indeed." Replied Gin as he pushed forward onto the scene, in one muscular arm alone he held his two-handed war hammer. "I see you've done your homework." Said Gin. "But so have I, Shira of the Seven Heavenly Breaths.

It's quite rare to see a Taijutsu specialist these days. Given what I've heard about you it's no wonder that our newer comrades lost to you. Those two brothers were useless, I don't know what Abu saw in them. A pity about Daji though, she sure showed some promise."

Shira frowned as he was used to fighting opponents who underestimated him. Surprising his opponents was a favoured tactic of Shira's but it seemed that this time that would prove difficult for him. He made a hand sign and charged up his chakra for the next attack, but in order to buy time he tried to engage Gin in conversation.

"Who are you working for and what do you want with Matsuri!?"

"For the first question." Gin began. "I don't really know much, you'll have to ask our leader Abu, it's some business he has with a man in your village. And for the second question isn't it pretty obvious?"

"I'll give you a warning." Said Shira. "If you surrender peacefully and tell us everything you know you might just get your freedom! But if you don't then you'll die! Fighting us isn't worth the trouble, chose wisely!"

Gin sighed. "Are you an idiot? As if I'd betray Abu like that. Besides at this point its personal. I didn't care much for the two brothers they were pretty useless, but I liked Daji. You shouldn't have killed her!" Gin gripped his Warhammer and gritted his teeth. "So go ahead use that attack you've been charging up, let's see how well it works."

Shira smirked. "You're no different from the rest. You underestimated me too, and now you'll pay the price.

Seven Heavenly Breaths! Second activation!"

Waves of chakra visibly emanated from Shira as he went into the second stage of his enhanced power state. His skin once again flushed bright red, his blood vessels popped up from underneath his skin and his eyes became crazed. His second state was so powerful that the chakra it released caused the air around him to blow out, Matsuri and Sen shielded themselves from bits of light debris that blew about from Shira's unleased power.

Then in a split second the wind calmed and Shira disappeared into the air, reappearing half a second later behind gin to land a leading strike. Gin blocked it with the haft of his hammer. The ground erupted around them. "You're certainly fast!" Taunted Gin. "But I can predict your moves."

Shira pushed off of Gin's hammer and somersaulted in the air landing on deftly on all fours ten metres away. He stood back up quickly. "It seems I'll have to go all out!" He said. "Third activation! Fourth activation!"

Dust rose into the air, obscuring Shira from everyone's vision. Another powerful shockwave emanated with the same force as a minor earthquake, the ground itself shook and some chairs tipped over in nearby buildings.

Shira took off once again erupting out of the cloud of smoke, he flickered through the air so fast that his form was barely discernible.

However, Gin was prepared for Shira's attack. He pressed his hand on to the ground, "earth style hexagonal pillars!"

Massive mounds of earth erupted from the ground between Gin and Shira and caused the ground to Shake. Matsuri lost her footing and fell on her knees. The pillars were numerous and got in Shira's way. He dodged some and spent his strength destroying others with blows of his fists.

Gin looked on in amazement as Shira was able to punch his way through the earth style attack. However he cast a another few hand signs and just as Shira cleared the pillars Gin pressed his hands onto the ground again shouting "Earth Style! Earth Wall!" A tall and two metre thick wall of sandstone formed from the ground which Gin infused with his chakra.

The wall knocked Shira into the air and sent him flying.

"No!" Shouted Matsuri as she clasped her hands together at her mouth barely able to contain the tension she felt.

Sen for her part looked on wide eyed and with worry.

As shira began to descend he recovered from his dazed state, in anger he gritted his teeth and shouted "FIFTH ACTIVATION!"

"Dammit!" Gin shouted as he ran away taking cover in the inner lanes of the city casting earth style jutsus causing the buildings around him to collapse and shin smashed his way through pursuing Gin at top speed.

Matsuri stared on in amazement. "So much power, he's on another level. What kind of Ninjutsu is that?"

"It's not." Sen replied.

"What?"

"Shira can't really use Ninjutsu at all. He doesn't have any talent for it."

"So is that Taijutsu?"

"Correct." Said Sen. "Shira has trained in Taijutsu harder than anyone else and became the best Taijutsu specialist in the entire village."

Matsuri put her index finger in her mouth and blushed. "He's amazing! What kind of Taijutsu even is that?"

"That's his own unique technique, the Seven Heavenly Breaths. It increases his lung capacity enabling him to move faster and with extreme focus and precision. It's very risky though as it forces his body to use its full possible strength without any limit even to the extent where it'll cause him damage."

"How long can he remain in that state?"

"I don't know." Said Sen with a frown. "It's been a while since I've fought with him, back then he could only go as far as the third activation. He's pushing himself harder than I've ever seen before. He'll be in trouble if he doesn't take Gin out soon!"

"Oh no!"

"I need to help him Matsuri, is it OK if I leave you here awhile!"

"Go! I'll follow at my own pace!" Said Matsuri as she gestured for Sen to leave.

"Thank you!" Sen said as she made a mad dash in Shira's direction. It was easy to pick him up as he left quite a destructive trail behind him.

Gin laughed in excitement. "Even after unleashing all that power you're still standing. Impressive! I haven't faced anyone as strong as you in quite a while. But I've got you all tired out now!" He lifted his hammer and charged. Shira dodged but Gin was quick to follow up. Although his hammer was heavy and clunky Gin wielded it with the speed of the wind. He twirled it about forcing Shira to doge again and again. Every lunge was followed with another. This fast style of attacking didn't use the full force of the hammer but a blow could still hurt. Shira dodged these attacks one after the other but every once in a while Gin would get a hit in. Shira grew increasingly light headed until suddenly he was forced into an awkward stance. Gin brought his hand down onto the bottom of this hammers handle. He lifted it and swung at Shira's with a full force attack. It was an attack that could shatter the bones of an elephant. Shira jumped away. He narrowly escaped. However he didn't land on his feet but fell to the ground on his back. Gin freed one of his hands and picked Shira up by the neck then pressed him against the wall of a building. "It's over for you!"

"I don't think so!" Sen shouted as she threw cacti at Gin. Gin tossed Shira aside and blocked the cacti with his hammer. The impact caused the cacti to release spores. He laughed hysterically. "Hahaha such a weak attack, I don't even know who you are! Get away girl, this is none of your business!"

"I don't think so!" She shouted as she made a hand sign. "Wood style! Cactus Iron Maiden!"

Gin cried out in terror as tendrils of cacti erupted from the plants that Sen had thrown grew around him holding him in a vice like grip. "Impossible!" He shouted. "Wood style!? Nobody's been able to use that in a hundred years!" He struggled in panic trying to loosen himself from the grip of the plant tendrils but it was in vain. "Come on!" He gasped. "Focus!" He stared at the cactus that restrained him, it looked threatening as it covered him in thorns, but then he realised that he felt no pain from the technique. "A genjutsu!" He chuckled at the realisation. "Haha. It was the spores. A nice trick girl, you had me fooled! But it's over now. KAI!" He shouted as flushed his chakra stream to shake himself out of the illusion. In doing so the vison of the cactus faded. "Now then!" he began to say as he reached for his hammer, suddenly realising that his hammer was nowhere to be found. "Huh?"

Gin died the very next second.

He didn't comprehend what happened next as Tenten of the Hidden Leaf village who had just arrived on the scene picked up his hammer and brought it down upon his head.

After Gin's lifeless body collapsed to the ground Tenten stared lovingly at the Warhammer. "Oooh I like this weapon." She said as she trailed her fingers across it's shaft. "This one has character to it."

Shin picked himself from the rubble, he had shuffled up to matsuri slowly. "Trust me, that weapon has a shitty personality. I know first-hand."

"Oh no." Tenten said as she spoke to the weapon in subverted motherly way. "I think you just had the wrong master. But don't worry I'll take good care of you!"

Sen chucked. "I thought tenten was normal, but I guess everyone on team Gai has their quirks."

"Amazing Tenten!" Said Matsuri as she arrived to the scene. "I hear you're really good at using all kinds of weapons. Think you could show me some moves."

Tenten puffed up her chest pridefully. "Sure thing."

"We should get going first." Said Shira with a sigh. "I don't want to have to perform the sixth activation of my Seven Heavenly Breaths if yet another enemy comes along."

"Right." Said Tenten who was now torn away from her momentary distraction. "I came to escort you guys back to Gaara. Let's go!" She swung around carrying her new hammer over her shoulder and began to lead the way forward. The others quickly followed in tow.

---

Abu, the leader of the silver scorpions hid in a narrow dark alleyway. He lay flat against a wall and concealed himself in the shadows with his black cloth and face coverings. His son Scairp came around the corner bleeding from the wrist of his left arm. Despite Scairp's injury he showed no signs of fear or panic, and neither did Abu.

"Tell me Scairp my son. What news have you." Abu's words were emotionless and matter of fact.

"Bad news father."

Abu sighed. "This was meant to be a simple mission. In and out! We kill our target for that damned snake Tojuro, then he tells us what we want to hear. But of course it wouldn't go simply now would it."

To be honest father, said scairp, "I know I've said this before, but Tojuro won't tell us what we want to hear."

"Oh not this again Scairp! I don't' want to listen to your whinging!"

"You don't listen to me, that's exactly the problem. And you're not listening to me now! I haven't; even told you the news yet!"

"All right then." Said Abu. "What is it."

We're all that's left." Said Scairp blankly.

Abu's cold eyes widened. They could not hide his shock and disbelief. "What?' Abu shook his head No! No that can't be! Gin couldn't have died!"

Scairp shook his head. "I saw his corpse father. They eviscerated him! His head looks like it's been flattened with a boulder."

"No. You're wrong!"

Scairp gritted his teeth angrily. "Father I've had enough of this! Gin's dead, don't start denying that too like you deny mom's death!"

Abu punched the wall beside him with enough force to break a hole through it. "Enough! Don't say such lies! Your mother is alive and she needs us, Tojuro will tell us what he's done with her so long as we complete this task for him! We'll meet up with Gin and then take that girl down!"

"For fuck sake! Gin's dead! I saw him die! And you know what father? A bunch of nobodies I've never even heard of killed him. It wasn't even Anbu! I was holding them off while Gin was fighting." Scairp pointed to his wound. "As you can see here!"

"Anbu?" Abu asked, completely ignoring what Scairp said about Gin. "Did you lose them?"

"Just barely. We should get going. Forget Tojuro! He has nothing to offer us!"

"No son, we can't let all this be for nothing!" Said Abu as he dug his hand into a loose brick and crushed it merely by squeezing his fists. "We're going to meet up with Gin and the others and then we're going to find Tojuro and force him to tell us what we want to know!"

Scairp placed the palm on his hand on his head and said nothing.

Suddenly a voice appeared from the rooftops. "Oh, don't worry Abu! You won't have to go a searching!"

"Tojuro!" Abu shouted gritting his teeth. "Where is my wife!"

Tojuro appeared at the entrance to the laneway. Behind him were fifteen Sunagakure Anbu black ops that were affiliated with his faction. "Oh, about her yes. I'm going to send you to where she is"

"Where is she?"

Tojuro looked at Abu for a moment with disbelief beofre breaking into uproaras laughter. "Oh Abu, you don't get it do you."

"Don't get what?"

"Your wife is in the afterlife. But don't worry, I'll send you to meet her! Hahahaha!"

Scairp decided that he had enough of listening to Tojuro's taunting. "Tojuro! You've tormented my father for long enough! It's time I end you!" He took some of the blood from his wound in his hand and pressed his palms to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" With a loud bang and an explosion of steam a giant scorpion was teleported to Scairp's location. It was as big as a house and caused the walls of the surrounding buildings to collapse into rubble.

The scorpion looked down upon the Shinobi with it's beady insectoid eyes and reached with it's chitinous claws.

Tojuro and the Sunagakure Shinobi scrambled away to try and get some distance from the mighty arthropod. However one of them was caught up in the scorpion's pincers. He screamed in terror.

Scairp who stood atop the summoned creature emotionlessly watched the man struggle for his life. He knelt down and tapped his scorpion lightly with his knuckles. It was a simple command that Scairp had trained the scorpion to receive.

The scorpion understanding Scairp's message snapped the unfortunate man in half. His torso and legs sputtered blood as they fell onto the ground.

Abu stood in front of the scorpion not having budged an inch. He looked at the ground, his eyes clouded over in rage. His illusions were shattered. "You were right all along Scairp." He muttered.

Once Tojuro a safe distance he signalled to his men to attack. Once they had regrouped Tojuro's men acknowledged their leaders orders and rushed towards the two remaining silver scorpions.

Abu seeing the men charging at him looked for brief moment to his son. "You were right Scairp." He sighed loudly. "You were right."

"About time father." Said Scairp as he steadied himself on his scorpion. "I'll let you have fun with these guys."

"I will get vengeance!" Shouted Abu as he faced Tojuro's men head on. Abu felt no fear. The air around him began to heat up like the anger in his heart. He breathed in. Then sharply huffed out smoke from his nostrils like a dragon.

Abu unleashed a firestorm on the Anbu. When the smoke and flames cleared the only thing to be seen was Abu still marching onward uninterrupted and charred corpses at his feet.

Tojuro watched with fear and uncertainty as Abu approached. "Dammit! He's stronger than I remember!" Tojuro said nervously to the captain of his team.

The captain drew a tanto from the sheath at his side. "Nothing I can't handle Tojuro." He said in a gruff voice. "I'll let you tackle the son. I'll take Abu, after all your wind style doesn't go up well against his fire style.

"Good." Tojuro huffed as he trotted away to face off against Scairp. "We've wasted enough of our resources on them already as it is. Let's end this now Captain!"

---

Matsuri's journey back to the Sunagakure headquarters went without any further encounters. She entered the Kazekage's office to greet a very bedraggled Gaara. It seemed to her that he'd been trying to calm himself down, and he'd done so with little success.

He sat at his desk with a flushed face. "Ah Matsuri." He said as the entourage came into his office. He pulled at his hair as he spoke. When he looked up and saw the state of Shira and Matsuri he looked away having lost some of the composure he'd tried to muster up. "Damn it! Why!" He muttered instinctively. He tried to keep his mutterings under a hushed breath, but much to his embarrassment and to the second hand embarrassment of everyone else who was present, Gaara's panicked self-talk was quite audible.

There was an awkward moment of silence after this as nobody in the room dared say a word. Gaara having realised his mistake cringed to himself clenching his eyes shut for a moment to contain the frustration he felt at himself. He gulped and in doing so put aside his embarrassment for the time being. He would overthink about it later on when he was alone and no doubt berate himself over it. But there was serious business that Gaara needed to address, so he stood up from his desk and gestured to Tenten with his hand to come closer.

Tenten took a step forward. "Yes?"

"Can you bring Rock Lee here please?" Gaara asked with a slight quiver in his voice.

"Absolutely!" Tenten said with a tone of sympathetic eagerness and a salute just before running off into a hall nearby.

"Shira, Sen." Gaara said, his voice now beginning to become more normal. "Thank you for both being there to help Matsuri, you have my undying gratitude."

"It's only my duty Sir." Said Sen.

"Any time Gaara." Said Shira with a smile. He then looked to his side facing Matsuri and nodded to her once again saying "any time."

The door flung open breaking up the conversation and Tenten returned with rock lee in tow. Lee nodded to Gaara as he entered.

"Alright." Gaara began. "Rock Lee, Tenten. I have an update for your mission. It's being upgraded from C-Ranked to A-Ranked."

Rock Lee's eyes widened with excitement and Tenten's narrowed with uncertainty. Both had expected a very simple C ranked mission without much hassle. Lee was quite happy at the chance to prove his metal once again, but Tenten was less reckless and more apprehensive.

"What is it Gaara!" Lee asked with the eagerness of a puppy's eyes. "Who is it that you want us to fight? I will happily take on any opponent!"

Tenten facepalmed at her teammate's antics. "Oh Lee."

Slightly taken aback at Lee's attitude Gaara had to take a moment to think of how to respond. After a few seconds of deliberation he said "Uh, while unfortunately you may have to fight someone I'd be hoping that won't come to pass. Your mission is now to guard Matsuri from any further attacks."

"Oh. Guard duty then?" Said Lee with slight disappointment.

"Yes." Said Gaara. "I'll see to it that your pay will be increased to the A-Rank rate accordingly."

Tenten nodded and with a smile, quite pleased with the mission and the pay rise. Rock lee saluted vigorously in acknowledgement of Gaara's request. Despite the fact that he was hoping to chase down Matsuri's assailants he wasn't going to let himself get distracted from the purpose of the mission that was now assigned to him.

Gaara clasped his hands together and bowed to the two Leaf Ninja to show his gratitude. "Thank you both."

Gaara's respect for Tenten and Rock Lee was immense. Tenten had proven herself to be quite an effective fighter during the 4th great Shinobi war having wielded one of the Sage of Six Path's weapons masterfully. As for Rock Lee, Gaara had fought the man in the past when they were both qualifying to become Chunin and were stacked up against each other in a knockout tournament round of the exams. The memories of the fight were still fresh in Gaara's mind, it was the first time since fighting some of his father's more voracious assassins that he'd ever been properly challenged by an opponent. Gaara had just barely managed to win the fight. In doing so he inflicted a terrible wound on Rock Lee. It was one of the many things he'd done in his troubled past that Gaara was ashamed of. Despite his injuries though Lee managed to recover and become even stronger. Gaara, before he lost his chakra had also increased in power of course. One doesn't become Kazekage without being quite formidable. Gaara was indeed easily the most powerful Ninja in all of his village. Despite this fact, Gaara still wasn't sure if he'd manage to defeat Lee again if they ended up in a life or death struggle with Gaara's power restored to him. Given all of this Gaara was quite relieved to have the two Guard his treasured student. His faith in the leaf Ninja pair was so strong that he was almost completely assuaged of his fears for Matsuri. Almost.

Matusri herself was also quite relieved to have Lee and Tenten guard her. So much so that she set aside her shock from recent events and focused on the task that Gaara had given her earlier. She approached Gaara with some papers she'd carried with her and handed them to him eagerly. "Sensei, I think I have your guy."

Gaara took the papers from Matusri's hand without looking at them. He stared at her and couldn't help but think about how powerless he was to protect her in his current state. The frustration and anxiety was visible in his eyes. "Matsuri I'm so sorry that you had to go through that just for some files. I hope they're worth the trouble I put you through."

"Take a look Sensei."

"Yes." Said Gaara as he nodded graciously. "But first, I have to know who was it that attacked you?"

Matsuri was about to say to Gaara "Don't mind that! Just take a read of the files I brought!," but she was interrupted by Shira who stepped up to answer Gaara's question.

"They are known as the Silver Scorpions. An assassin group of one of the few Ninja clans in Kaze no Kuni that is not affiliated with our village."

"More assassins coming to give me trouble!" Gaara growled through clenched teeth, completely unable to hide his anger. Some of which came from his childhood trauma.

Shira wanted to smile at Gaara to give him encouragement, but could only manage to contort his face into a wistful wince. "I know you must be tired of dealing with assassins at this point. When I trained last I saw that you'd been dealing with quite a few. But you always took them in your stride." Shira looked around the room at everyone else. "You also have us! Me personally, Kazekage, I'd give my life to protect you! It's my duty."

"What bothers me…" Gaara explained painfully through still clenched teeth "Is not that I'm afraid for my life. They're after something much more important, they're coming after my reason for living!" It's that now they're coming after people who are close to me! That's what's messing me up Shira! I don't care about myself! I can handle the prospect of my own assassination! But I can't deal with the idea that any of my friends, any of my loved ones could now be marked for death by one of my enemies! I don't want to let anyone else die! Not anymore!"

"People die!" Tenten interjected in a calm but firm voice.

Everyone except for Rock Lee stared at her in surprise. Rock Lee for his part nodded in agreement.

Gaara was completely stunned. He'd heard Tenten loud and clear. He understood what she said. But the only response he could muster was to simply ask "what was that you said?"

Tenten repeated herself and elaborated slightly. "Maybe you can save some people sometimes, but you can't save everyone. People die."

"Like Neji." Lee chimed in wistfully.

Gaara felt fit to pick up the desk and throw it at Tenten. But he knew that she meant no malice. Furthermore he knew that she was right. "You cheeky bitch!" He said aloud looking at Tenten in the eye.

"Don't talk about my comrade that way!" Lee growled at Gaara. As the rest of the room remained silent.

Tenten stared back at Gaara meeting his angry gaze with her own stern expression. "What was that!"

Gaara kept his eye contact with Tenten. "I said, you're a cheeky bitch and…"

"And?" Tenten asked.

"And, you're absolutely right. God dammit!" Gaara roared as he smashed his fists into his desk. When he was done he looked at Tenten again and offered an apology. His voice returning to his normal tone. "I apologise for my remark. Thanks for your input, I was in need of it." He then whipped spittle off his lips.

Tenten sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck and spoke hesitantly, "Heh, it's ok. You're welcome, I guess."

Matsuri who was previously eager to get a word in and tell Gaara to read the files she'd brought was completely silenced. Shira nodded on approvingly and Sen was bewildered at how somebody could be so uppity with the Kazekage himself. Lee shrugged his shoulders and forgave Gaara for the emotional outburst.

Gaara wiped the sweat which had accumulated off his brow and sat back down. "We need to move back on to topic. Shira! Tell me more about these silver scorpions. Their name sounds vaguely familiar but they've never been employed against me before so I hadn't looked into them. Who hires them? Where do they get their money?"

"Various people." Shira explained. "They run their own operations, and they've worked for criminal organisations as hired muscle before."

"Ah yes." Interrupted Gaara. "Now I remember! They were involved in the robbery of our villages gold mines before I became the Kazekage. A pity my father caught everyone involved except them." Gaara shook his head. "Anyway, please continue."

Shira nodded. "Indeed. They're also suspected of being involved in more recent robberies of shipments. Though we can't say for sure as the evidence is inconclusive. One thing we do know is that they're involved in drug production. I remember reading a report detailing an encounter that one of the special forces squadrons had with them during a mission to assault an opium production facility. They were acting as the personal bodyguards of the drug baron in charge of the operation."

Gaara nodded. "That's all well and good but do you know if anyone here in Sunagakure has hired them?"

"We don't know for sure." Said Shira. "But I have my suspicions. There was a time when the special forces were investigating them for their gold mine robberies, however orders were received to set the investigation aside. Apparently someone higher up said that they weren't important enough to investigate. I thought it strange to be honest. Some of them are pretty dangerous."

"Who here do you suspect that they work for?"

"Who do you think?"

Gaara's anger returned to him. This time he didn't keep it suppressed like he would do in a council meeting and once again lost his usual composure. He pushed his nails into his skin so hard that he drew some of his own blood. "Tojuro!" Gaara growled. His voice was so low and guttural that it barely sounded human. "I swear I'll have his head some day!"

Despite Gaara's lack of chakra powers everyone stepped back in fear, feeling his killing intent. Rock Lee in particular was shocked and wide eyed. For a brief moment he saw Gaara as the younger more troubled and more murderous version of himself. Suddenly he felt a dull ache in his formerly injured leg. It was as if his muscles and bones cowered before Gaara's fury and in remembrance of what Gaara had done before.

Everyone's frightened reaction wasn't noticed by the Kazekage at first as he was too involved in his fuming. However he looked up and in a brief moment registered their frightened reaction. This bothered him greatly. It send memories into his minds of his childhood when people in his village were all terrified of him. It caused him to panick. His eyes opened wide as if he were a puppy that had incurred the wrath of his master. He drew in a sharp breath and started to babble panickedly. "Oh shit, no I'm a monster! This is bad. No good! Can't" He clenched his eyes and drew in a slow and deep breath and held it for a second. When he breathed out he started laughing manically. Then finished with a greath sigh. After this he was back to his usual stoic self.

Matsuri wasn't sure what she'd seen. She'd heard rumours of Gaara's troubed past but didn't know much about it. Her master almost never spoke of it. And when he did it was just brief mentions in passing. She had always seen him as a strong an powerful and competent man. His sudden outburst of his mind shutting down caused her heart to beat quickly in fear. Gaara was strong the man she could rely on to handle pretty much anything she thought. If he couldn't handle something then who could? Given how traumatic his past as a hated jinchuuriki was it wasn't surprising that he'd have psychological scars. But Gaara was the epitome of stoicism and she'd mistakenly believed that he'd entirely overcome his past without any lingering effects. Everyone in the room stared unsure of what to do. Matsuri decided that it would be best to offer his some comfort. She tentatively stepped towards him. "Gaara?"

Gaara snapped to attention and turned to face Matsuri. "Ah yes. What is it?"

"Well, um." Matsuri began before she got interrupted by Gaara.

"Oh! Matsuri! I'm so sorry. You brought me some files? Thank you! I think I'll take a look at them now!"

"OK!" Matsuri squeaked, surprised about how Gaara could just snap back into business after his emotional outburst. She handed Gaara the paper's she'd been holding and he started reading them. As he took in the information Gaara began to clench his hair and his breathing became worried and laboured. When he finally finished he looked at Matsuri worriedly. "I think you are right Matsuri. I think this is the guy. Although I hope you're wrong."

Matsuri nodded in agreement. "I hope so too."

"Thanks for all your hard work." Gaara bowed down to his student as if she were the master. "Go now and rest."

"If you need anything else just let me know OK Gaara?"

Gaara nodded. "Yes Matsuri. Thanks. But for now I need you to take a break." Gaara looked at Lee and Tenten in the eyes. "Go with her. Don't leave her side you two! Got it?"

"Got it!" Lee and Tenten said in unision before following Matusri out of the office.

"Shira, Sen!" Gaara ordered. "Take a read of this. I wanna see what you think!"

"Yes Gaara Sama." They replied in unison.

The files Matsuri had brought Gaara described a man named Devadatta, he had gone missing nine years prior and hadn't been seen or heard from since. The picture of Devadatta was that of a stern looking man in his thirties with red face tattoos, tightly cropped hair and a Fu Manchu moustache. It was more half a decade old and probably no longer accurate for identification purposes. Underneath his picture read the following;

Devadatta of Sunagakure;

Ninja Class: Jonin, Rank S

Affiliation: Unknown. Missing Nin, Formerly Sunagakure

Nature Release: Earth Release, Yin Release, Yang Release,

Devedatta is proficient in the Puppet Master Jutsu, being capable of controlling as many as five puppets at once with ease. However his true strength lies in his mastery of Funinjutsu (Sealing Jutsu). Devadatta mastered every Funinjutsu technique in the village and has even improved upon many already existing techniques. Many of these innovations are still used in the village today. He has also created a number of Funinjutsu techniques of his own. There is very little data on techniques of his own creation as he had no students and destroyed many of his own Ninja Scrolls before his defection. His most powerful known innovation is the the "Beast Style Puppet Necromancy" Jutsu. With this Jutsu Devadatta can seal a wild animal into a sealing formula which kills the beast but manipulates its chakra to turn it into a type of corpse puppet that lasts as long as chakra remains within the puppet. Other sealing techniques of his creation revolve around charging existing beast-corpse puppets with chakra siphoned from other life forms.

Devadatta's motivation for abandoning the village isn't verified. But It mostly likely due to the death of his family at the hands of an accident involving the Ichibi (One-Tails). He swore revenge on the 4th Kazekage and his son and was a suspect for the 4ths murder. However investigations have proven the individual responsible to be orochimaru.

Some have speculated that he joined the Akatsuki but after the destruction of the Akatsuki no evidence of his membership has surfaced.

---

Scairp stood triumphantly on top of his scorpion. He laughed uproariously at Tojuro who was caught in the arthropods pincers, held in a vice like grip. "What's wrong Tojuro?!" He taunted gleefully. "Don't like your bones being crushed!? This is what you deserve, swine!"

Tojuro gave no response but continued to try and pull himself out of the pincer's grip in the same way he did before as if he hadn't heard a thing Scairp said. All around them was the wreckage and devastation caused by the clash of the two ninja. Buildings had collapsed to rubble all and dust hung heavy in the air. Many of the sections of crumbled walls had slashes and gashes in them from wind style attacks that Tojuro employed. The ground was littered with the burnt corpses of Tojuro's Anbu and the slashed bodies of Giant Antlions that Tojuro had summoned in a feeble attempt to combat Scairp's own summoned beast.

"At long last. The time has come where you will pay Tojuro!" Scairp exclaimed as he watched Tojuro squirm frantically but to no avail. "At last I will have my revenge!"

He tapped on the scorpion giving the creature a final order. "Kill him!"

With the strength of its mighty pincers the scorpion sliced Tojuro in half. The two Chunks of battered corpse fell to the ground. Scairp heaved a sigh of relief as he watched Tojuro's body fall to the ground. For a brief moment Scairp felt immense stillness and he became aware of the gentle soft wind caressing his cheek.

"It's done." He uttered in a barely audible whisper. "I can't believe it."

He basked in his accomplishment for another moment, before lightly tapping the black carapace of the giant scorpion below him saying, "good job, you can go home now."

The scorpion responded with a brief hiss that sounded a puff of trapped steam being released, and then was teleported back to its home, leaving in its wake a cloud of smoke and debris that obscured the battered urban street for about ten seconds.

Scairp fell from the air, but landed on his feet safely by using a release of chakra to cushion the fall.

Thinking he'd won Scairp looked ahead at the disappearing smoke with the expectation of seeing Tojuro's body, but instead he was shocked and dismayed to see nothing there. "What the hell?" He exclaimed.

Suddenly Tojuro appeared behind Scairp. He raised his hand and pinched his fingers all the while wearing a triumphant smirk on his face. "Wind style wind sword!" Tojuro used the chakra at his fingertips to sharpen the air. He pulled the air into blade of wind and let it loose. Scairp only barely had time to jump to the side.

He didn't escape the attack completely and it cut off his hand. Scairp yelled out in pain. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his blood sputtering stump and curling into a ball of panic.

"That scorpion of yours was a bit of trouble but without it you're pathetic. You even fell for such a simple Genjutsu!" Tojuro sneered.

Scairp strained against the pain from his severed arm just enough to spit in Tojuro's direction, but he missed.

"Huh! Defiant as ever I see." Tojuro said unfazed. "Never mind, your father is probably dead now, my men will have taken care of him!"

Scairp stared back at Tojuro with a defiant angry gaze, but then his eyes drifted to the figure behind Tojuro and they softened. Despite the loss of his arm a smile crept its way onto Scairp's face

"Yeah, well just look behind you." Scairp said with a proud smirk.

Tojuro shook his head. "You really think I'd fall for that? I suppose it would be worth a try. I've been in this game far too long to fall for such tricks."

Tojuro was about to cast another blade of wind to finish Scairp off when he heard the plodding of heavy footsteps behind him and he realised that Scairp was not trying to trick him.

Tojruo turned around in shock to see Abu barrelling towards him. Abu's eyes burned with a dragon's fury and his feet literally kicked up flames as they stamped down beside the charred corpses of Tojuro's men.

'What! He killed them all? But how?" For the first time since the previous council meeting with Kankuro, fear crept up Tojuro's spine. He knew he alone was no match for Abu. "is this the end?" Tojuro thought to himself as his legs became jelly like and barely prevented him from collapsing onto the ground.

Time seemed to slow down for Tojuro as he watched Abu charge towards him. Suddenly, a puppet weaved it's way between the two men. Abu skidded to a halt. He cast a few handsignes and sent a gust of flame it's way. The puppet released a torrent of water from a gun in its arm. It wasn't enough to quell the flame however, and the pupped was charred.

Abu looked once again at Tojuro and continued his advance. He didn't notice a charred limb wielding a pointed blade emerge form the smouldering puppet. The limb flew through the air, disintegrating as it took it's course, but the needle penetrated Abu's left shoulder. Once again Abu stopped and pulled the blade from his left shoulder. Another puppet skittered it's way behind Abu. It looked like a big barrel with a demonic head. It opened up and chakra threads pulled the preoccupied Abu inside. Abu shouted and once again Tojuro became aware of sound. Suddenly Tojuro became less light headed and in a matter of seconds Abu was swallowed up by the puppet. Spindly puppet arms bearing long sharp blade cascaded through the air once by one making their way to the hole of the puppet.

But Abu was not finished yet. He let out a fierce roar. A blazing vortex of blame ruptured into a mighty explosion. Shattered the puppet and sent the blades of the arms flying with a wave of red fire. Tojuro jumped to the ground on his right side. One of the blade cut across his left cheek and the flames singed his clothes and hair.

After a couple of seconds of pure panick Tojuro looked up expecting the worst. All around him buildings were on fire, and even the dusty road had patches of flame flickering here and there. Through the haze of the smoke Abu stood. He had managed to with stand all of the blades that came his way, except for one. One single spiderlike puppet arm blunged a blade into his head, Abu tenderly inspected the wound seemingly unable to process what was happening and fell to the ground.

Kankuro stepped out of the shadows and for once Tojuro was relieved to see the young man. A Squadron of twenty Anbu black ops were next to follow, they poured out from the rooftops and laneways surrounding the street. Some went to where Abu lay on the ground.

Tojuro scrambled to his feet and stood upright as he greeted Kankuro. "Thank you Kankuro. Your actions are most commendable." He looked over to Abu's direction, the anbu black ops were crounched down around his position. "Good job killing that bastard! He was a real pain in the ass"

"I must thank you too Tojuro." Said Kankuro. "Good job tracking down those attackers with your men! I'm sorry we couldn't get here in time. Are you all right yourself."

Tojuro's expresion melted as he once again realised that all of the men under his command were killed. Tojuro was overcome by guilt. "I am but I wish I wasn't." Then Tojuro felt fear, knowing that he might be held accountable not only for the death of his own men, but for the for all the damage his plot had caused. 'I have to tie up all of the loose ends' he thought. "Listen Kankuro, there was another. We need to take care of Sc… ahem… that other guy"

He turned around to see that Scairp had escaped. "Dammit!"

"Don't worry." Said Kankuro. "He can't have gotten far. I have men scouring the village as we speak. We must get back and arrange a council meeting."

Tojuro nodded. "Indeed."

---

Shira and Sen put down the papers which Matsuri had found. Sen subconsciously folded her arms and shivered as though she felt a chill run down her spine. "What the hell? I've never heard of Funinjutsu like that."

"Me neither." Added Shira who had an expression of deep concern on his face. Part of the concern was regarding Devadatta but the other part was involving the Kazekage who sat before him. "Gaara?" Shira asked nervously. "You killed this man's family?"

"I know this man." Gaara muttered to himself with clenched teeth. "Father told me I'd killed him. He never told me Devadatta survived the ichibi incident."

Shira looked at Gaara nervously. "There was an accident involving the Ichibi? When?"

Gaara looked at Shira square in the eye with a face so expressionless that it wasn't physically possible to betray any less emotion, even if he was wearing a mask. "You guys aren't from inside the village walls. You're from the outskirts so I'm guessing you never saw my rampages."

"No." Said Shira in a quiet tone.

"Well, then the coverups of my father worked."

"Coverups?" Shira and Sen asked in unison.

"Yes." Said Gaara as he looked them in their eyes. They stared back with some dismay evident in their expression and this caused Gaara to falter in his gaze. "I suppose I'll explain.

When I was of ninja Acadamy age my father decided to test me, to see if I was able to handle the Shukaku. I failed that test and he decided to send assassins my way.

Devadatta was one of the people my father used. He was more devious than the others. He knew that many people had failed before, and he figured that his chances would be better if he brought out the Shukaku. So he triggered me emotionally by insulting my mother. After that point I don't remember much but he must have gotten away. When I woke up I was all alone amongst some rubble. I remembered what Devadatta had done to me and I found his house and used my powers to cause it to collapse. I didn't bother checking if I'd killed him or not and I was later told by my father that he was dead. I think my father was impressed that I'd managed to defeat him. He covered up the whole incident and at that point stopped sending assassins my way."

By the time Gaara had finished explaining his case, his gaze had receded so far down that he was staring at his torso, his posture curved in on itself.

"So you killed his family when you caused the house to collapse?" Shira asked while Sen looked on with the same amount of shock as her teammate.

Gaara sighed and grunted. Then there was dead silence in the room, as Gaara's posture shifted so that he was no longer collapsed in on himself, and was instead staring resolutely into Shira's eyes. "Correct."

"Why Gaara?" Asked Shira asked in pained disbelief. "Why go after his family."

Gaara's gaze switched to Matsuri this time. "I didn't go after his family. They were not my aim. I only wanted to destroy his property."

"How do you know that?" Sen asked with concern on her face. She was beginning to question everything she'd previously thought about her Sensei. "What's to say you are not just rationalising your previous actions."

Gaara responded calmly and precisely to Matsuri without a stuttering on a single word. "Because, I remember that time well. Devadatta had really angered me, and I wanted to destroy his property to anger him in return, besides, knowing my former self I would would only kill for three reasons. If I was ordered to by my father or another village superior who gave me a mission, If somebody was trying to kill me or if the opponent was so powerful that killing them proved the value of my existence."

Shira and Sen blinked at Gaara barely able to comprehend what he was saying.

"I wasn't ordered to kill his family, his family weren't the ones trying to kill me, and I didn't even know that they existed so I definitely wasn't trying to prove anything to myself when I crushed them. It was just an accident."

"Just an accident?" Sen whispered incredulously.

"I'm surprised my father sent a family man to kill me. What a fool he was!" Gaara shook his head and rolled his eyes. Then suddenly a realisation came to him. "He was impressed when I defeated him, and he sent a family man after me. He must have really thought Devadata would have succeeded in killing me!" Gaara's head fell into his hands and hid from Shira and Sen whatever anguished expression he made.

Despite their shock and disgust at learning about Gaara's sins of the past, both Shira and Sen couldn't help but feel pity for the man before them. They had both looked up to their parents, and couldn't imagine what it must have been like for Gaara.

Shira then remembered how Gaara had saved the village from destruction at the hands of Deidara of the Akatsuki. Gaara could have allowed the village to be destroyed when facing off against Deidara, in doing so he would have easily defeated the rogue ninja. However Gaara concentrated all his defences on protecting the village and very nearly lost his own life because of it.

He then remembered Gaara as he stood before the allied shinobi forces armies and gave the first speech that unified the 6 nations which had frequently warred in the past.

Sen's sympathy caused her to try to understand Gaara better, so she asked him a question that was on his mind. "does it ever bother you though, what you've done in the past?"

Shira stares at his teammate and at his trainee, curious of the answer to that question himself.

"No." Said Gaara resolutely. "I can't change the past. I can't change what I've done. I can only act now."

"What about all those you hurt?" Sen asked.

Gaara's lips twisted and his arms folded. "The entire village used to hate me!" He tried to calm his temper as he spoke, but wasn't entirely successful. His words came out louder and more fast than intended. "Many more than just my father's assassins tried to kill me! I was only a child!"

Sen leaned away from Gaara and her face became a nervous smile.

Seeing this Gaara shut his eyes and calmed himself down. "I'll admit that I killed many people in self-defence, and some in anger." He sighed. "I don't hate the village, not anymore. Many still hate and fear me even now. I can't blame them as I did many things to earn their ill will. But I do not hate myself for my past, I merely don't want to return to it."

"I'm sorry." Said Sen. "I spoke out of line."

"No. You didn't." Said Gaara. "You're concerns were understandable." Gaara turned to Shira. "You had them too didn't you."

Shira gulped. "Uh. Yes. I won't lie. For a moment I forgot about all the good things you'd done."

Gaara scrutinised Shira's gait and expression for even just a single ounce of dishonesty. He couldn't find it and sighed with relief. His relief was short lived however, as after studying Shira's appearance he realised that Shira had not been checked by a medical professional, except for a brief treatment from Matsuri.

"Thank you both for your time." He said as he gathered the papers Matsuri had brought. "And most of all thank you for saving Matsuri, I'll see to it that you'll both be rewarded handsomely. Now, Shira you need to get a medical nin to look at you, now!"

"One thing first." Shira interjected while raising his right hand with his index finger pointing upwards. "I have some information that might be useful."

Gaara shook his head. "No, get a doctor to look at you first. Tell me afterwards."

"I think Gaara-sama is right." Said Sen. "Come on, let's go."

"My wounds are mild, and what I have to say, will only take a moment, and it might be very useful to you Gaara."

"I'll look forward to hear it after you get to a doctor!" Gaara replied.

Shira nodded at Gaara's insistance. "Yes Gaara-sama." Then both he and Sen turned and left the room quietly, leaving Gaara on his own.

"They were both quite honest with me. I'm glad." Gaara sighed. Then suddenly he banged the desk in anger with his right fist. "I should have told Shira to go see a doctor immediately, and Matsuri too! What the hell is wrong with me!"

---

A tense feeling hung in the air as the Sunagakure council convened for an emergency meeting. The statues of the previous Kazekage's stood guard as they always did in the meeting room and some of the councillors subconsciously looked to them for inspiration as they sat down to discuss the recent attack.

Ebizo, the most venerable village elder and head of the council was the first to arrive. He sat down at his spot upon the most prominent seat of the round table and watched carefully as each of the councillors entered. He eyed them up with suspicion, watching the gait and their overall demeanour for any signs of weakness or treachery.

Baki was the second to arrive, he saluted the two guards at the entrance and promptly rushed to take his seat, where after nodding in greeting to Ebizo he tapped at the table and looked around with impatience, eventually facing Ebizo and asking, "When shall we get the meeting started?"

"As soon as possible." Ebizo replied. "We need a few others to arrive first."

On cue, Joseki and Ikanago arrived. Their heated conversation about the attack and the upcoming meeting could be heard in the hall. They were already discussing an appropriate response to the attack and they made no attempt at hiding their words. When they entered the room they had finished their exchange and sat in silence waiting for the meeting to begin.

Kankuro was next to arrive. His demeanour was rather dour. Worry and anger were evident in his expression. Kankuro was the only one in the room not to wear an expressionless facade on his face. Ebizo, sighed and could only hope that Kankuro wouldn't derail the conversation from the track he felt it must go.

Sajo stormed into the council meeting room. Much like Kankuro he did not wear a lack of expression on his face. He looked frantically around to each of the council members, making eye contact with them. "Does any one of you here know who was it that dared to attack our village?!"

Ebizo gestured to Sajo to sit down and wait. Sajo grumbled but complied with Ebizo's instruction.

The last to arrive was Tojuro. Upon entering the room he scanned around looking at all of the council members, most of whom were too concerned with their own thoughts about what they wanted to bring up in the meeting to pay attention. Ebizo however made eye contact Tojruo, who in turn met Ebizo's gaze for a few seconds. Tojuro nodded towards Ebizo and then gulped and blinked before taking his seat.

"Hmm." Ebizo murmured to himself as he closed his eyes and clasped his hands together. "Let us begin the meeting." He announced. "Enough of us are here now."

"I think we should keep this one short!" Baki said loudly as he tapped the table repeatedly with his index finger. "We need to come to a decision on what to do fast and we don't have the time for our usual laboured discussions!"

"I concur." Tojruo said with weakly, before clearing his throat."

"Indeed!" Sajo said vehemently. "There are citizens trapped under rubble right now as we speak!"

Ebizo slammed his hands into the table with surprising vigour despite his rather withered appearance. The sound that emenated was loud enough to get the others to quieten down.

"Baki." He spat.

Baki was a battle hardened, scarred and tattoed man. But he replied to the head of the countil with a sheepish, "Yes Lord Ebizo?"

"You interrupted me!"

Baki nodded apologetically.

"However", said Ebizo with a sigh. " I'll pardon you this once, because you are right."

Baki nodded politely and with a hint of relief in his demeanour.

"As you all know," Ebizo continued, "we've had an attack on our village. Not everyone is here. Goza is on a diplomatic mission in Kumogakure. Ryusa is currently handling the rescue of citizens from the rubble of fallen buildings. So there's no worry about that Sajo, but thank you for your concern. Our Kazekage is not here either, but that's fine."

"Where is he?" Tojuro asked sternly and with a devious glint in his eye.

"Busy!" Replied Kankuro who shot a jagged gaze at both Tojuro and at Ebizo.

Tojuro frowned "Busy with wh..?"

"As the regent Kazekage my presence is all that's required! SO SHUT UP AND LEAVE MY BROTHER OUT OF THIS!" Kankuro shouted in interruption while slamming his fist on the table.

The whole council looked on nervously, except for Ebizo who gave jagged stare Kankruo's way.

"Kankuro, I'm too old for this" Said Ebizo sternly.." If you persist in behaving childishly I'll have to reconsider your position as regent Kazekage!"

"But lord Ebizo, Tojuro was trying to provoke me, and derail the conversation."

"I was not!" Tojruo protested.

Ebizo ignored Tojruo's protest. "I know he was Kankuro. So calm down."

"Thank you Lord Ebizo." Said Kankuro respectfully.

Ebizo peered at Tojruo with his sunken eyes." Upon realising he was caught out Tojruo rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the table rather than meeting Ebizo's eyes.

"I'm not happy with your conduct int this meeting either Tojruo. If my sister Chiyo were here shed have smacked you across the face for causing a ruckus at a time as critical as this!"

"If I may, Lord Ebizo.."

"Yes Joseki. What is it?"

"Whether or not Tojuro was trying to stir a commotion his point still stands. At a moment of instability such as this we need a Kazekage who is present and can take action. Gaara should be at this meeting!"

Tojuro wanted to chime in at this moment, but knew better than to try and push his luck. He simply smirked in satisfaction.

"Yes, yes. Thank you for your input Joseki." Said Ebizo. "Normally I would agree, but it is fortunate that the Kazekage is not here as he will be one of the topics of our discussion."

"What?!" Kankuro said sharply.

"For the second time, Kankuro, calm down! I have no intention of harming your brother. It's quite the opposite! It's his safety that I am concerned with."

"Then we are in agreement." Said Kankuro.

"I would like to think so but that remains to be seen."

"Kankuro." Said Sajo. "I have my doubts about you."

"What doubts?" asked Kankuro.

"I mean this with the utmost of respect. You are a good brother. Too good, in fact.. In recent weeks I have begun to wonder whether you are more loyal to Lord Gaara, or to the village."

Kankuro responded carefully, giving precise consideration to each word he uttered. "I have no conflicting loyalties, my loyalty to my brother, and the village are not mutually exclusive."

"the conversation has already gone off topic!" Said Baki as he chimed in. "Lord Ebizo I suggest you impose some structure upon this meeting!"

"Yes that is a good idea Baki." Said Ebizo. "Everyone from hence forth you will have to take a stand to speak. And you will only take a stand when I permit you to. Does everyone understand?"

The council members all nodded.

"Good." Said Ebizo. "First let us discuss the attackers. It's not clear to me who they were, however I know some of you have been dealing with them already." Ebizo looked to Tojuro. "You led a group of men to deal with some of the attackers Tojuro. I have to applaud you for your swift action. Tell us what happened and what you know."

Tojuro took a stand and cleared his throat. "Yes. Um, I believe the attackers are from a group known as the Silver Scorpions. They are a mercenary band from our own country who aren't affiliated with the village. I was listening to a debriefing from some Anbu under my command when I got an urgent message from some of my other men who had noticed some intruders. I gathered as many men as I could at a moment's notice and we all rushed to the scene. We saw that the enemy had split off into two groups, one of which was already being engaged, so we pursued the other.

"Tell me Tojuro, how many Shinobi were there in total?"

"There were six in total Lord Ebizo. However my men and I only pursued two of them." Anger spiked in Tojuro's expression before his shut his eyes and swallowed it down. The next words he spoke were slightly fainter. "They were the two strongest of the group, including their leader Abu. I thought since we outnumbered them eight to one that they would pose no issue. I gravely underestimated Abu, their leader. All of the men under my command lost their lives, and if it wasn't for Kankuro who stepped in to save me at the last moment, I would have died too." Tojuro turned to Kankuro. "I know we have our disagreements, but you have my thanks."

Kankuro nodded solemnly.

Ebizo motioned for Tojuro to sit down before he pressed fingers into his forehead to deal with the stress he felt from Tojuro's report. "That's a lot of men killed. This incident is the largest loss of life our village has sustained since the war. The families of those men will have to be kept in the dark for the time being, that won't be easy for them. But we don't want this news getting out either." After a brief sigh, Ebizo nodded to Kankuro. "Excellent work Kankuro for killing that bastard."

Ebizo then looked around and saw that the councillor who had thus far remained silent wished to speak. "Ikanago, I see you have your hand up. Take a stand."

Ikanago, the sole female member of the council stood up and cleared her throat. "I would also like to congratulate Kankuro on his defeat of Abu, who was probably the strongest fire style user in our nation since Pakura of the Scorch Style was alive. You more than any others in your family remind me of your father."

"Thank you." Kankuro said while maintaining his solemnity.

"Rasa", Ikanago began before clearing his throat correctively, "pardon me, Lord Fourth Kazekage did not have much time for the silver scorpions. He didn't trust them." Ikanago turned her gaze to Tojuro and eyed him with suspicion. "But if I recall correctly, Tojuro did you not employ them yourself in the past?"

Ebiso rubbed his chin. "Thank you Ikanago, I was not aware of this, it must have been before I came back out of retirement. Care to explain Tojuro?"

"Glady." Tojuro said calmly as he stood up. He had prepared for this type of question. "I hired them on two occasions in the past, it was at the time when our Daimyo made the stupid decision to cut our budget. Do you remember that time comrades? Do you remember how we had to cut down our manpower. How desperate things were?"

The council members all thought back with dread to the time that Tojuro spoke of. Two decades ago, partially due to corruption, and partially due to incompetence the Daimyo of the Land of Wind's administration decided to drastically reduce Sunagakure's funding. The village didn't have the capacity to field as many Shinobi as it once did. Many Shinobi went into early retirement, many more were laid off.

The shinobi that the village could afford to field by necessity had to be of an extremely high quality. In other words they had to be elite machines of destruction. Personal wellbeing and identity were thrown to the wayside. It was at this time that Gaara was made into a Jinchuuriki. Mental instability among the Shinobi of Sunagakure increased. The number of Shinobi who abandoned the village to become rogue Ninja also increased.

All the while the same basic operations which were required to the for the stability of the state had to be carried out. After all there were no fewer state assets to protect, rebels to quash, assassins and spies to uncover, bandits and criminal organisations to eradicate, towns and cities to guard, and foreign threats to be ready for.

The village's resources were stretched thin. But the village's competitors, like Konohagakure or Kumogakure continued to grow more powerful. They did not have their funding cut in the same way. In the end Sunagakure conducted an attack on the neighbouring Land of Fire's Konoha just to force the Daimyo's hand and coerce him into giving the village more funding.

Every member of the council shuddered remembering this time and seemed to have more sympathy for Tojuro. Their suspicion of him decreased. The exception was Kankuro who knew that Tojuro was being manipulative by bringing this time up.

Tojuro continued to explain himself. All the while he waved his arms about dramatically and spoke with pain in his voice that was at times genuine and at times exaggerated. Kankuro could tell the difference between when tojuro spoke with an honest tone and when he spoke with a feigned air,, but the other councillors couldn't. They were too busy shuddering at the memories that Tojuro's words brought up.

"You see comrades, " Tojuro explained , "at the time I did not have enough men under my command to meet the demand for work. I hired the Silver scorpions at a very cheap price I assure you, for a mission that involved the guarding of a shipment of artifacts which were ordered by a noble from the Daimyo's dynasty. This mission would have taken weeks, and I did not want to use some of my men for it, as the task wasn't really that important for the safety of the village. At the same time though, the client was an important one and I didn't want to turn down the work from him for fear that it affect the reputation of the village. So that's why I hired the silver scorpions. They were also the most capable mercenaries I could find for the price I could afford!"

"Did you make a profit off of the mission?" Ebizo asked.

Tojuro nodded eagerly. "Yes! Subcontracting the job out to them made us a tidy profit! One that was much needed at the time!"

"I see." Ebizo rubbed his chin. "It makes sense that you would hire them then."

"They did their job well So I hired them again a second time to relieve some of our men from a mission to guard an archaeological excavation from the same site those artifacts were found in. That time however, they decided to try to steal some of the treasures and clashed with our men resulting in the death of one of their members. After that neither I or anyone else in the village had any dealings with them."

Ebizo rubbed his chin. "Yes I can understand your reasoning behind hiring them. It was terribly foolish of the Daimyo to cut our funding, our village grew weak as a result of it."

"Yes." Said tojuro. "And it still hasn't recovered back from the glory days of old."

Ebizo shook his head. "I once thought as you did Tojuro, that the village had grown weaker. But after the last war I believe the younger generations have more than proved their strength and resolve."

Tojuro remained silent.

"I have one more question for you. Tojuro. You mentioned that you and your men chased two of the silver scorpions. You said one was killed by Kankuro. What about the other one?"

"He's still alive." Tojuro muttered. He did not want to bring up the fact that Scairp got away. But he could see no way of denying it.

Tojuro had managed to successfully wipe away all traces of his involvement in the incident except one. That one trace was Scairp, who was still alive, and if captured could potentially reveal Tojuro's involvement.

"Lord Ebizo, I beseech you, please allow me to have the sole responsibility of finding this fiend. It's personal and I feel it is my duty to honour my fallen comrades!"

"They are our fallen comrades too!" Ebizo replied. "I will not stop you from pursuing him of course, but it is the duty of the entire village, not just yours alone to search for this murderer! We should try to capture him alive to find out why they attacked our village."

Tojuro nodded and said nothing.

Ebizo motioned for Tojuro to sit down. He looked to all the councillors and asked, "Who among you knows about the other group of these Silver Scorpions and what their fate was?"

Kankuro raised his hand and was given permission to speak. He tried his best to deliver his message soberly, and for the most part he spoke in a matter of fact way. However traces of quelled uneasiness made themselves known through the way he squeaked or rasped a few of his words. "I have bad news and good news. The good news is that the other four silver scorpions are confirmed to be dead. The bad news is that also on our side there are four more casualties in addition to the ones Tojuro mentioned earlier." Kankuro paused and allowed his words to sink in.

Hearing Kankuro's report made Ebizo's old and wrinkled face look even more dishevelled. "So the other four caused more casualties too? It's as I feared." Ebizo muttered. "At this point I just hope Ryusa doesn't find anyone dead under the rubble."

The rest of the council reacted in much the same way, although silently since they weren't allowed to speak. Tojuro reacted with the most dismay. He bit down on his index finger and stared down at the table with watery eyes, although he seemed to be staring into an abyss.

"Please Elaborate Kankuro!" Instructed Ebizo. "Who were they?"

Kankuro nodded and replied. "The casualties are two Anbu black ops whose identity has not been revealed to me yet, and the Chunin's Hachiro and Kado, who were guarding the village library, where the attack initially took place."

The grave news sank deep into all the council members, but none greater than Sajo who hunched over the table. His usually squinted eyes were now wide open, which did not go un-noticed among the other members. For a brief moment, all eyes were on him as he struggled to restrain himself. "Hachiro and Kado, they were two of the trustiest men in our village. Their families…" His words trailed off as he bit down on his lips to silence himself. He bit down so hard that he drew blood which trailed down his chin. He sat up and breathed in then sighed loudly through his nose.

"Forgive my outburst, Lord Ebizo." He said in a gravelly and haggard voice. "We must consider the wellbeing of the village at this time."

Ebizo nodded. "All is forgiven Sajo." The wise elder turned to Kankuro once again. "Tell us everything else that there is to know Kankuro, I don't think I or anyone else can take the suspense any longer.

"Of course." Kankuro said as he told the council about the events that unfolded. He informed the council that Matsuri, Gaara's former student was the target of the attack. He neglected to mention that she was conducting research for Gaara, but did say she was in the library. He described how first the two library guards came to her aid followed by the two Anbu and how in the end Tenten of the leaf village, as well as the Chunin Shira and Sen of their own village managed to finally put a stop to the attackers.

The council listened intently to what Kankuro had to say. Many of them visibly cringed as they heard the account that Kankuro gave of the deaths and property destruction that resulted from the skirmish. Each of them had a lot to say after Kankuro had finished. Ebizo being the council head spoke first. He asked if Shira and Matsuri were receiving medical treatment, and was relieved to hear form Kankuro's response that both had been given a check-up by a medic and were found to be in good condition, receiving only some minor injuries. Ebizo had no further questions and gave permission to the other council members in turn to make their own comments and opinions.

Baki put his hand up to speak.

He had previously been Kankuro and Gaara's sensei, and was the Jonin leader in charge of the sand siblings team when they were Genin. He felt concerned that his criticism of Gaara's decision to hire leaf shinobi during the previous meeting would affect how Kankuro felt about him. Baki knew only too well that Kankuro was indeed paranoid about people trying to undermine his brother's position, and this paranoia was not without good reason. In his own heart Baki knew that his criticism only came from genuine concern about Sunagakure's welfare, and from the fact that he respected and expected more of Gaara, rather than from a desire to undermine Gaara. But there was no way Kankuro could know that outright. So in an attempt to reassure Kankuro in of his loyalty Baki went on to compliment Gaara.

"Tenten has really proved herself to be quite capable. I know this was a point of criticism in our previous meeting but I am behining to think the Kazekage was perhaps right to hire those hidden leaf ninja after all! Furthermore his choice of Shira – who has also proved himself now I must add, - as his Taijutsu trainer has proven to be quite wise too. Wouldn't the council agree."

Kankuro nodded and smiled at Baki gratefully.

"Well," replied Tojuro, "I don't know for sure how much I entirely agree with Baki on the decision to hire leaf Shinobi, but without a doubt Baki you are right about Shira. He is a marvellous Taijutsu expert, the likes of which this village hasn't seen since the time of the first Kazekage. If only more of our villages youth were like him!"

"Shira is an outstanding Shinobi!" Chimed in Sajo who once again returned to his usual squinting gaze, having regained his composure. "I think he could well be promoted to the rank of Jonin at this point."

"Let's not get distracted." Said Joseki who was next in line to speak. "Shira has proven himself and we can talk about that later, but there are more pressing matters at hand."

"Agreed." Said Ebizo. "Please continue Joseki."

"Gladly." Replied Joseki. "We need to organise a search party to find the last of the bastard silver scorpions. Secondly we need to find out why they attacked our village. We still don't have a clear motive, just a vague suggestion that it might be something to do with revenge against us.

Thirdly we need to address the fact that our Kazekage isn't in a position to properly lead us right now. I rest my case and I ask our council leader to move the discussion forward."

All eyes turned towards Ebizo. The elderly council leader sat up straight and gave a faint smile. "Thank you Joseki, well said. Now that we have…" He paused as his expression suddenly changed and he looked jaggedly at Kankuro and Tojuro. His piercing gaze lasted two seconds before he returned to his previous satisfied demeanour and continued with what he had to say. "Extracted… the uh, necessary information we should come to a conclusion as to what to do swiftly! Firstly the search party. Who shall we send to hunt the silver scorpions.

Tojuro raised his hand and looked at Ebizo with a pleading expression. "Please Lord Ebizo, allow me. For the sake of my dear comrades!"

Ebizo kept a poker face but dragged his nails against the table. "Fine Tojuro! You can organise the search party!"

"Thank you lord Ebizo!" Said Tojuro as he pressed his head and hands against the table and bowed low. "I won't let you down!"

Kankuro stood up. "Hang on a minute!

"Kankuro enough!" Shouted Ebizo.

Baki tugged gently at Kankuro's sleeve. "Settle down my former disciple." He whispered.

Kankuro looked to Baki and sighed as he sat himself down once again and clenched his eyes shut.

Ebizo looked at Kankuro for a few seconds, said nothing and then faced Tojuro.

"You should start the search immediately. Leave the rest of the meeting to us!"

"But lord Ebizo.." Tojuro began to protest.

"Are you questioning my decision?"

"No." Said Tojuro sullenly.

"Good, then get started on your important work!"

Tojuro bowed and exited the room slowly with a loud shutting of the door by the two Sunagakure Shinobi standing guard outside.

"Alright." Ebizo continued. "Joseki, regarding your second issue. I will entrust you and Ikanago to lead an investigation into the silver scorpions. You two must find out what you can. We must know everything about them.

Joseki bowed by pressing his forehead and palms into the table. "It will be done."

Ikanago bowed in a similar fashion. She then turned to Joseki and said "I know exactly where to start our investigation, I have some copies of files about Abu and his son in my office."

"Excellent Ikanago. That will get us off to a quick start." Joseki said as he nodded to Ikanago. Both then nodded to Ebizo telling him to continue.

Ebizo nodded back at both. "Very good. There are two more matters to take care of. Firstly although there isn't any evidence yet of this being an attack our Kazekage personally, it is a possibility and we must act accordingly."

"It is suspicious that one of their targets was Matsuri, my brothers disciple."

"Ebizo nodded. "Indeed. We must also assume that whatever force orchestrated this attack may know of the Kazekage's condition and that despite our best efforts our Kazekage's situation has been leaked to outside forces.

"Perhaps." Said Kankuro. "But I am not so sure. People have been trying to kill my brother for a long time, and though in recent years he has proven himself to the village as a whole I wouldn't be surprised if there was still some few people who would be willing to take such drastic action against him"

"Such conspiratorial thinking without the backing up of evidence won't help us now." Said Ebizo.

"But come on Lord Ebizo." Kankuro shouted! "Which is more likely? That the information just got out to our enemies despite our best efforts, or that someone from inside the village, an enemy within, is trying to strike at my brother!"

"We need to act on what we know for sure, not off of mere hearsay." Ebizo said coldly.

Kankruo sighed and shook his head. "I don't know how you don't see it."

"Consider my words." Said Ebizo as he repeated himself. "We must not act of hearsay. Instead, we must act on what we know to be true, or…" he trailed off and stared at Kankuro with his palms open and his head tilted sideways "what we find out to be true…"

Kankuro nodded, meeting Ebizo's eyes. "OK."

"Good." Said Ebizo. "Now then we must correspond with the families of the deceased, I'll leave that up to you Sajo.

Sajo nodded. "By your will Lord Ebizo."

"Now there is just one final item to discuss." Said Ebizo. "We must also ensure Gaara's safety. To do so we must devise a strategy to protect him from any further attacks and reorganise his personal guard. It will be necessary to confine him to a specific location which should be heavily fortified, but also include escape routes."

"Are you suggesting I keep Gaara confined?" Asked Kankuro.

"Those weren't suggestions." Said Ebizo. "This is a policy that we must vote on now. All in favour raise your hands."

Ebizo, Joseki, Sajo and Ikanago raised their hands. Kankuro and Baki kept their hands at the table.

"Ebizo's suggestions are reasonable and have your families best interest at heart. Perhaps Gaara could use this as an opportunity to secure his bloodline." Said Ikanago.

"You know I can just ignore the council's vote, right?" Said Kankuro.

Baki sighed. "I'm afraid Kankuro that you can't. A regent Kazekage doesn't have all the same powers of a Kazekage."

Kankuro looked surprised, and the other council members looked on in embarrassment or amusement.

"One more thing Kankuro." Said Ebizo. "I know that you are concerned about this procedure, so I will allow you and Baki, or you alone if you prefer to prepare Gaara's personal defence strategy."

Kankuro sighed, he knew he wasn't going to get a better deal than that. "Fine. I accept those terms. I just hope Gaara won't have to travel anywhere."

"Excellent then the meeting is concluded." Said Ebizo. "We all have important work to do, so let's get to it!"

---

"I hope Ameno doesn't notice I'm gone." Shira muttered to himself nervously as he thought about the scolding he could get from the brunette medical nin who treated his wounds.

Ameno insisted that Shira stay in the ward for the next few hours to be monitored. She was a classmate of his in the academy and so, she knew just how much he could push himself. Shira's wounds were mostly minor, but they were numerous and would require a few days rest to recover from properly. They consisted of some lacerations and bruising in his back as well as a few pulled muscles in his arms and legs. Shira's body screamed in pain, but he disassociated himself from the pain as he rushed to Gaara's office. Shira knew that his wounds weren't crippling or life threatening. That's all he needed to know to allow himself to forget about the wounds. He would rest soon, but not before delivering some information that he considered potentially useful to Gaara.

If you got this far thanks For Reading! We are well into the story now, but there still a lot more to come. Feel free to leave a review!