"Your effort to remain what you are is what limits you."

- The Puppet Master from "Ghost in the Shell"

(One month earlier prior to the assassination of Sumitomo)

One morning, one could see a red-brownish woman standing at the house in front of her. The woman is making sure that no one would see her by looking around. The coast is clear and she's ready for the go. The house she's looking is isolated from the other houses. She approaches the door and knocks.

"COMING!"

The girl could hear the owner of the house coming towards the door and is ready to greet her. The housewife, who wears round-shape glasses and black hair and the look of a timid woman, opens the door.

"Hitomi-san! Just a sec…"

The owner looks at the girl realizing that it wasn't Hitomi her friend but someone else. The girl looks at her sternly.

(BGM: "Ironside" Excerpt by Quincy Jones)

(FLASHBACK)

It was 5 years ago, in a small temple where the same girl was punched in the face and knocked to the ground. It looks like she took quite a beating, bruises and cuts all around her body where in fact she wears a white kimono for a wedding. She then looks at the timid housewife looking at her from above who is wearing an Akatsuki cloak.

After remembering what the housewife did to her, she immediately punches her in the face with all her might that she sends her flying 20 ft. away from her that might have rivaled Tsunade's. The housewife crashes at the wall and lands on the ground. The girl vanishes and reappears in front of the housewife. She kicks the housewife in the face but the latter quickly uses Taijutsu to counter her. She succeeds hitting the girl and punches her away. The girl gets up and sees the housewife doing hand seals.

"RAITON: RAIKOUKEN!" (Lightning Sword)

A lightning shaped-sword is formed in her hand. Now, the Raikouken is a Raiton ninjutsu where the user focuses his/her chakra into creating a sword. The jutsu can slice up almost everything and like the Chidori, it is used for assassination purposes. The housewife immediately attacks the girl with rapid speed. But to her horror, the girl effortlessly dodges the attacks as if she was expecting it. The housewife then remembered something. It was in the girl's bloodline. The girl begins to use one of her techniques. "DOTON: RASENJIMEN! (Spiral Ground)"

The girl performs hand seals and places her palm on the wall. The walls begin to turn into a sticky wet area as the housewife's legs are stuck on the ground due to the jutsu. Wasting no time, she performs another jutsu. "AISUTON: OOKAWA FUSHIDO! (Ice: River Bed)" The wet mud is quickly turned into ice and quickly spreads around. The housewife breaks the ice with her fist to get out but the girl flying kicks her to the kitchen. The housewife gets up from the ground and grabs a large knife. As the girl enters the kitchen, the housewife ambushes her by slashing her. The girl, as expected, dodges it but when the housewife sees an opening, she executes a spin kick at her ribs which sends her to the other room. Then, the housewife throws the knife at the girl. The girl leaps above and performs hand seals. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" The girls spits out multiple fire balls at her foe. In order to avoid the attack, the housewife grabs a table and uses it as a shield. The girl lands on the ground and in quick as lightning speed, charges at her while the latter is still holding the table. She uses her fist to smash the table and then breaks the housewife's face. The latter is send towards the wall again. Then, both women grab their respective kunais and faced each other. The housewife gets up and they circle around each other. They haven't tried to attack yet knowing that one will expect a counterattack. The confrontation didn't last long.

"Hey mommy, I'm home!"

They didn't hear the door opening but they look at the small girl. The women quickly hide their weapons behind them.

"Hey, honey. How was the academy?"

The girl looks at the mess and then at the women.

"Mommy, what happened to you?"

The wife doesn't want her daughter to know that she was being targeted. "Well honey…there was a rat and me and my friend here," she glances at the girl, "tried to kill it but it was too slippery."

"Really?"

The wife nods. The daughter looks at the girl. The housewife notices this. "This is an old friend of mommy's. I haven't seen her for a long time."

The girl nods at the daughter. "Hey honey, I'm Hotaru. What's your name?" The small girl didn't answer her question. The wife could tell she's nervous.

"Her name's Megumi", the housewife answers.

"Megumi eh? Nice to meet you. How old are you Megumi?"

The girls hesitates for a while and then she slowly answers. "I'm 5."

Hotaru looks at her carefully. "5 years old huh? You know, I have a little boy once. He'd be 5 by now."

The housewife approaches her daughter. "Megumi, me and Hotaru are going to have some grown-up talk, so I want you to go to your room until I say so, okay?" The little girl nods and proceeds to her room. Soon after, the housewife looks Hotaru. "You want something to eat?" she asks.

"Sure", Hotaru replies.

She was no ordinary housewife. Everyone knows her as Maki Hino but during her days as a member of the Akatsuki, her real name was Yuka. No last name since she dropped her last name because she killed her parents and some gambling lords. She has then retired and lives peacefully until now.

"Can I get you something to eat?" Maki asks Hotaru.

"Some sushi rolls and tea, thank you."

In a few minutes, Maki prepares the meal and gives it to Hotaru and the latter thanks her. While Hotaru is eating, Maki looks at her sternly.

"I suppose it's too late for an apology, huh?"

"You suppose correctly", Hotaru sarcastically replies.

Maki then talks to her furiously but with a low volume. "Look bitch. I need to know if you're going to start shit on my baby girl!"

"You can relax for now. I'm not going to murder you in front of your daughter, okay?" Hotaru calmly tells her.

"You're more rational than Itachi led me to believe you were capable of."

"It's mercy, compassion and forgiveness I lack, not rationality."

There is silence in the kitchen. Maki knew Hotaru is beyond pissed and she would do everything to get what she wants. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

"I know fucked you over. I fucked you over so bad I wish to Kami that I didn't. You have every right to get even" Maki trying to ease her up.

Hotaru just rolls her eyes. "Oh no no no no. To get even, even Steven? I would have to kill you. Go to Megumi's room, kill her. Then wait for your husband, Mr. Hino, to come home and kill him. That would be even, Yuka. That would about square."

Yuka was definitely losing the verbal war. "If I could go back in time, I could but I can't. All I can is that I'm a different person now."

All Hotaru could do is roll her eyes. "Oh great, I don't care."

"Be that as it may, I know I do not deserve mercy or forgiveness. However, I beseech you for both on behalf of my daughter." Yuka then shows a picture of her daughter. But Hotaru interrupts her quickly.

"Bitch you can stop right there." The B-word is like being slapped in the face. "Just because I have no wish to murder you before the eyes of your own daughter does not mean parading her around in front of me is going to inspire sympathy. You and I have unfinished business. And not a goddamn fucking thing you've done, in subsequent 5 years, including getting knocked up, is going to change that."

Yuka realizes that whatever defense she could come up with, she'll get shot down by her former comrade. The only to settle this is the battle to the death.

"So when do we do this?" Yuka asks her.

"It all depends. When do you want to die? I don't have the time to wait and…"

"How 'bout tonight bitch?"

Hotaru grins. "Splendid. Where?"

"There's a covered forest area that is used for training. We meet there at midnight, wearing our Akatsuki cloaks…"

"I lost mine. Not that I care of."

"Then, forget the cloaks. We'll dress all in black and wear masks. I can guarantee you we won't be bothered. Now, I have to fix Megumi her snack."

Hotaru leans back at the wall as she watches Yuka fixing her daughter's snack. She thinks that things have changed, but she firmly believes that leopards don't change their spots.

"Itachi said you were one of the greatest battle strategists in the world", Hotaru politely comments her. Yuka snorts.

"That's crazy. I know he didn't qualify it. So you better kiss my ass. And why the hell didn't you use your bloodline jutsus. You think I'm not worth it? Please, I can kick your ass 'til next Tuesday."

Hotaru smirks. "Hey, if you want your butcher knife to stick in my ass, that's fine with me."

"Very funny, bitch…" What Hotaru didn't know is that Yuka plans to ambush her. "VERY FUNNY!"

Yuka uses a fire beam jutsu which is aimed directly at Hotaru. The latter dodges it and throws a shuriken which the former avoids it. Hotaru quickly throws a kunai at Yuka's chest, thus killing her. She watches the housewife fall down to the ground and approaches her body. She takes a good look at her and goes to Megumi's room. As she carefully opens the door, she sees Megumi sleeping like an innocent angel. Hotaru closes the door and teleports away from the house. One down, more to go.

Over the past 4 years, Sasuke has received enough training from Orochimaru and Kabuto worthy to surpass his former Genin comrades. Along the way, he has also gained new jutsus from those he killed courtesy of the Sharingan. But Sasuke remembered the proposition which is to fight Itachi. Thus, that made him motivate more to train harder. Orochimaru was proud that Sasuke has progressed further than he expected.

Unfortunately, even up to now, Sasuke has no idea of Orochimaru's real plan for him, which preferably remains that way, in Orochimaru and Kabuto's sake. Sasuke still remembers everyone in Konoha. He knew Sakura was dead and Naruto disappeared 4 years ago. As much as he would hate to admit it, he missed them as Team 7. They were his family until the mess came. He missed Naruto more, for why he did not know. He recalled that time when he defeated him at the Valley of the End, he wanted to leave him but couldn't.

His thoughts are interrupted when he sees Kabuto looking around the village and then disappears. This wasn't the first time he has seen Kabuto like this. Although this has happened in the past, he ignored it at first. It wasn't until that Kabuto would look as if he had something to hide. Sasuke knew Kabuto is a man of mystery, but why would he leave the village at night and return at early morning is unknown to him. Nevertheless, Sasuke has to go to his room and sleep early because Orochimaru told him earlier that he would be teaching him a new jutsu.

Gaara missed sleep. But it's not as if he slept before. He looks at the night, contemplating on his thoughts. He recently became a Jounin along with his siblings, thus it has earned him respect from a few so far. He pushes that topic and plans to find Naruto again. When he had learned that Naruto vanished, he would order or ask Kagami to send him to find the missing Leaf-Nin. Kagami knew to follow him rather than oppose him. The first few months were hardly called a success. No clues, no tracks, no nothing. As time passes by, his hopes of finding the one who saved him from darkness were dwindling yet he hasn't give up yet.

"Um…Gaara-san?"

Gaara turns around to see a Chuunin of his new home. Her name is Akari and her father in fact was the steward of the Sand. He notices she seems tense.

"Yes, Akari? What is it?"

"I…'m sorry I disturb you…I…"

Gaara smiles at her. "It's okay." Akari nods at this and blushes. "The Kazekage would like to talk to y-you. I don't know why."

Gaara nods at her. "Thank you, Akari. You can leave."

Akari leaves, leaving Gaara to think on why Kagami would want to talk to him. They hardly get along with each other and ever since from the beginning, he knew something's up with Kagami. He couldn't figure out what it is though. Another thing is that he notices everytime he and Akari bump into each other, she seems timid and blushes in front of him. Even though he was 16, Gaara isn't yet certain on emotions and romance. True, he is now cuter than anyone would expect, but none of them didn't have the guts to talk to him for longer periods of time, except Temari, Kankuro and Akari. Akari reminded Gaara of the old Hinata.

Gaara leaves his house and decides to take a walk today. Over the years, he has gained respect from the villagers but there those who fear him. Today, Kankuro and Temari are on separate missions and they would arrive tonight. When he reaches the Kazekage's office, he looks Kagami. The 42 year old man, who is wearing the Kazekage outfit minus the headpiece, sits on his desk with his elbows on it and his hands touch together.

"Ah, Gaara, you came", Kagami politely greets him. Gaara just looks at him. Kagami sighs and realizes that the Jounin was never big on words.

"Okay, going back to business. I have something to tell you."

Gaara raises his eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Look. I know you and I were never close since you don't trust me."

"What makes you think that I never trust you?"

"I can tell, Gaara. I know you never trusted anyone, even your siblings."

Needless to say, Gaara doesn't know what was going on. "What exactly are you getting at? I don't have time for this."

Kagami sighs. "Well, you see…"

Suddenly, the door opens and Gaara and Kagami see the latter's assistant. "What's the meaning of this!?!" Kagami yells at the assistant.

"I-I'm sorry, Kazekage-sama!" the assistant nervously apologizes. "B-but, the team you sent to the Lightning Country came back and the mission failed!"

"WHAT?!?"

"They were ambushed by a group of skilled assassins."

"What? The Akatsuki?" Gaara asked.

"No, but they call themselves the Kurochi (Black Earth), from what Kankuro had told us."

"How is my brother?"

"He's fine despite suffering minor injuries. But your former sensei Baki…he was among those who were killed. I'm sorry."

Gaara nods. "Take me to my brother now."

The assistant leads Gaara to the hospital to see Kankuro, leaving Kagami alone in the office. He closes his eyes and thinks of the failed mission. "Heaven will surely be glorious as you have fleshed your whole. Think of the future of the children." It was then a mysterious figure shifted out of nowhere right in front of him. The figure looks at Kagami.

"Seems that the mission is successful, Kagami-san."

"Yeah, yeah. Why the hell do we have to say those stupid words? Couldn't we at least have ourselves some secret high-fives?" Kagami grumpily replies. "And by the way, why didn't you kill that freak's brother?"

"That is our leader's orders. Do not kill Gaara of the Sand or to those who holds dear to him until the right time comes."

"Yeah, her ass."

"Now, now Kagami-san. Four years later, you still fooled everyone yet you're an average Kazekage", the man smirked.

"Hey! Take that back! Why don't we switch roles to see how you'll feel being the Kazekage Enja!?!"

Enja snickers. "Forget it."

"What now?"

"Have some of your spies to follow Gaara. Do not kill him until you get the final order. Is that clear?" Kagami nods. "If someone were to find out your identity, either kill him or her or get out of this place immediately."

What the men didn't know is that Akari is eavesdropping on their conversation. She was shocked to know that Kagami is the enemy and no one knew! In the state of shock, she yelps out a bit loud. Unfortunately, Kagami and Enja hear her. Akari quickly runs away as if her life depended on it.

The two members of the Kurochi look at the door. They knew someone was listening to them.

"Can I get to kill whoever the hell was listening to us for a long time? Please? Please?" Kagami begged. "You know I haven't killed someone for a long time."

Gaara is currently at Kankuro's bedside. The puppet master is still in coma but the doctors told him that he'll wake up the next day. Gaara looks at the clock at the wall. It's 7:47, and Temari should be back by now. The thing was, he was worried about Kankuro and now Temari. The statement Kagami said about his siblings still fearing him was true. They still feared him, but only a little bit than before. Gaara didn't treat them with fear as much as before. He only uses that trait when he gets tired of Kankuro and Temari having another argument.

The door opens and Gaara looks around to see Temari entering the room. What surprised him is that Temari's left arm has been bandaged.

"Is he okay?" Temari tenderly asks Gaara.

"He is. How was the mission?"

Temari roughly shakes her head and grabs a chair. "The mission to the Mountain Country was a failure as well."

"What happened?"

"We, um, ran into the Akatsuki…" The way Temari told him is in tone of sadness and fear. "The fight wasn't easy. My team died because of my stupidity."

"It's not your fault. No one knew they would be coming" Gaara tries to comfort her, in his manner.

"Still I…"

"Don't blame yourself. Kankuro's mission was a failure as well. Baki-sensei was killed."

Temari was shocked. "What? Baki-sensei? No…"

"Kankuro will wake up in the morning, then we can ask him what happened."

Temari leans on her chair, contemplating on what happened recently. "The mission was obviously S-Rank. We went to one village which was located at the Mountain Country because we were sent to assassinate some local tyrant. By the time we got there, everyone in the village was killed. Blood was everywhere. Men, women…even the children…" Temari tried not to break down but recalled seeing a slain one-year old girl gives her a scene that she will never forget. "There, we saw five Akatsuki members, including the infamous Uchiha Itachi. We fought but we were losing. I thought I was done for when they were attacked by a group of nins."

"Probably from the Mountain Country" commented Gaara.

"That's the thing. They aren't. I took a good look at them and they weren't wearing any headgears. The way they fight was swift, brutal and unpredictable."

"Can you tell me more?"

"If the Akatsuki members are brutal, these guys are beyond deadly. No, I'm not exaggerating, I swear. Their jutsus…can tear ¼ of a small village."

This causes Gaara to widen his eyes. "Seriously…"

"I'm not kidding! They fought the Akatsuki with ease…or something like it. I didn't have time to watch the spectacle and I had to run away for my safety."

"Were you being followed before you arrived here?"

This caused Temari to think what Gaara asked her. "No. I made sure no one followed me. I'm definitely sure it wasn't Orochimaru's lackeys."

"What were the Akatsuki doing there anyway?"

"They said that they were looking for the vessel of the Kyuubi."

This got Gaara interested. "Kyuubi? The demon that terrorized Konoha 16 years ago?"

Temari nods. "They even asked us of his whereabouts. As if we know anything about it! Shika-kun told me about the Kyuubi. But what's strange is that they've been looking for it for 4 years! Shikamaru-kun told me that when they ran into them before."

Gaara digests the information. If the Akatsuki was looking for the Kyuubi, why they haven't tried to capture him, he thought. If so, the Kyuubi could be very powerful than the Shukaku. A knock interrupted his thoughts. Akari reveals herself to him and Temari, looking tense.

"Forgive me if I disturb you Gaara-san, Temari-san", Akari apologized.

Gaara can tell she's tensed. "What is it Akari?"

Akari enters the room and closes the door. "I wish to speak to you Gaara-sama. It's about the Kazekage."

"What about him?" Temari asked.

"Um, when I was about to serve him some tea when I heard him talking to someone. T-they mentioned about spying at you and something a-about not killing you or your siblings until the right time comes."

"What?" asked a stunned Temari. "I know Kagami would want to kill Gaara but us too? Tell me you're kidding!"

"N-no! I'm not! Kazakage's visitor said something about fooling everyone since he's…you know, the Kazekage."

"Do you know who the visitor was, Akari?"

"No. I got out before they knew I was listening to them."

Gaara breaks his silence. "They probably know you were there. But there's a possibility that they didn't know that you were there."

"Gaara, what do we do now?" asked Temari.

"We wait", Gaara replies. "There's nothing we can do at the moment. All we can do is wait for what they have in store for us."

And that, both Temari and Akari nod. "Temari, you might as well go home. I'll take care of Kankuro tonight", Gaara tells her. Temari agrees and she and Akari exit the room. On their way out, Temari has been quiet for a while, which kinda makes Akari nervous. Then, Temari stops walking and faces Akari.

"There's something I need to know and I want you tell me the whole truth. You know my reputation, am I right Akari?" Temari asks her in a threatening tone. Akari nods.

"Everyone hates my brother here yet you showed him some compassion. Gaara had those kinds of people who ended up trying to kill him". Temari recalls what Yashamaru was trying to do with Gaara when the latter was young. "I need to know that you're not playing him or us. So you better cough it up or help me Kami-sama I will beat you up with my fan!"

Akari is stunned at this. "I-I…to tell you the truth Temari-san…I never saw Gaara-san as a monster…not what like the others would think of him. No one understands him because many think he's a demon, but I don't. It's just that I never have the guts to socialize with him. When I do, my parents would take me away from him. I am telling you the whole truth, Temari-san."

Temari takes her time to think about what Akari said. She could tell that she wasn't lying, but still, she has met better liars before. Still, Akari might be telling the truth. Suddenly, the blonde Jounin realized something else: does Akari have a crush on Gaara? That would be impossible, she thought. However, she still has to see if the girl is really telling the truth.

"Look, Akari. It would be best that you better stay away from Gaara for a while since he would be targeted by Kagami. Is that understood?" Temari orders her. Akari nods and the two walk away to their respective homes. Unknown to them, Enja has been eavesdropping on their conversation. He, however, decides for Kagami to settle this. He doesn't have time and disappears into the night.

"Sasuke-kun, you should be happy. After all, you have every jutsu in your arsenal to defeat your brother. This is one of them."

Orochimaru looks at the young Uchiha while sitting on a chair with a scroll rolled out on the table. He could tell that his charge and future victim is skeptical about his offer.

"You gave me the Curse Seal, I think that's enough", Sasuke tells him flatly.

"Really? But is it enough for Itachi only? You need more. Believe me, this will benefit you."

Sasuke is still thinking about one of Orochimaru's offers. It was true that the former Sannin had taught him, along with Kabuto, very powerful jutsus in the past but he wasn't sure if these will benefit his battle against Itachi. Sasuke maybe ready to fight but four years later, Itachi may have new jutsus to dispose him in a heartbeat. After giving some thought, he decided to accept his sensei's offer.

"All right, I'll accept your offer", Sasuke confirms to Orochimaru. The latter is pleased.

"Very good. Summoning will be very useful for you. But, you have to master it first. Manda…let's just say he needs a good beating in order to follow my orders. But remember this Sasuke-kun, never show your weakness around him. He will kill you."

This makes Sasuke upset. "That's crazy!"

"Just follow his needs and you'll be fine. But first things first, you need to learn some snakes to control…"

The following week, Gaara and his siblings are being monitored by the ANBU under Kagami's orders. The siblings knew of this and pretended to ignore it where in reality, they were making their own investigation on Kagami, the Kurochi and the Akatsuki. The three jounins are in an undisclosed location where they make sure they are not being spied on.

"It's too damn risky I tell you", Kankuro complained. "It's just the three of us against him? We don't even know what he's capable of!"

Temari looks at her brother sternly. "We don't know that. But it's better than him planning something bad on us!"

The puppet-user nin looks at her. "Are you sure Akari heard it correctly? She might be deaf or working for him."

"I doubt it", Gaara answers Kankuro's question. "I can tell."

The trio is silent, then Kankuro speaks up. "It would be suicide. We need evidence to proof that Kagami is working for the Kurochi and, if possible, their connection with the Akatsuki."

"All I know is that he's up to something. We should steps ahead of him, if anything else happens", Gaara replies. "I'm not saying it's going to be easy. If we make a mistake, we would be branded as liars and conspirators."

At this time, Temari breaks her silence. "So, any plan of what to do?"

No one spoke afterwards. They have no idea what to do at the moment but for now, they decided to eat their breakfast which is made by Kankuro.

"Hey, Kankuro. Food's excellent!" Temari comments.

"Pfft! You're just bluffing!"

"No, she's not", Gaara cuts in. Kankuro takes this compliment in. Whenever Gaara says something, he means it, whether it's a threat or not.

"Well, thanks", Kankuro replies with a smile.

"Definitely one of the best breakfasts I've ever had!" Temari chimes in.

Kankuro grins. "You mean one of the best breakfasts you've ever had without Shikamaru's "sauce"?"

Outside of the siblings' house, an argument can be heard.

"YOU FREAK! YOU'RE DISGUSTING!" Temari shouts at Kankuro, who was laughing hysterically.

"Oh yeah? "OH SHIKA-KUN! YUM YUM! I WANT MORE! GIMME BREAKFAST, YOU LAZY BASTARD! IT'S SOOOO GOOD!!!"" Kankuro repeating what Temari had said earlier. Needless to say, the blonde Jounin is both embarrassed and furious.

"YOU ASSHOLE! I can't believe you would watch me sleep aside from Gaara!" Then, Temari looks at Gaara. "No offense, Gaara."

"None taken", Gaara answers back.

"Please, everyone can hear you moaning like hell! I'm sure the entire village can hear you! Heck, Shikamaru can even hear you! Tsk, tsk, corrupting the poor innocent children's minds", Kankuro continued laughing.

It was time for Temari to get serious. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Ha! I'd like to see you try!" Kankuro taunts her.

So, Temari chased Kankuro around the house while hitting him with her fan. Gaara continues to eat peacefully.

Kagami looks at the clock. It was 6:30 p.m. He has to quickly plan a way to finish his assignment. To be honest, he hated being the Kazekage. Sure, it has its perks like being treated like a king but he has to work like an over-worked ANBU. Then again, he was working like crazy as a Kurochi member. He knows Gaara is planning something. To know your enemy is to know what they are planning, doing or thinking for that is the way of the Kurochi. You don't just sit there and do nothing. Their only obstacles are Orchimaru and the Akatsuki and if possible, the other Sannins, Tsunade and Jiraiya. They have another obstacle as well but…

A thought hit him. He called out his secretary to send him a surveillance tape recording on the day he and Enja talked. A few minutes later, his secretary hands him the tape and left. He inserts the tape at the player and played it. He watches the screen very carefully. None, he thought. He presses the fast forward button and sees nothing. It was until he saw a girl in front of the doorway. He then recognized her as the steward's daughter. Great, he thought, guess he'll have to kill her.

"Don't move."

Kagami felt the tip of the kunai at his neck. Of all the things…he didn't notice someone was sneaking up behind him.

"Who are you?" asked an angry Kagami.

"Nothing that concerns you, Kagami-san", the intruder tells him.

"If you're here to kill me, do it."

"Why in a hurry Kagami-san? I have questions for you."

Kagami looks at the mirror in front of him and sees the face of his attacker. "Uchiha Itachi…" he muttered. "What do you want?"

"You are Kagami of the Kurochi, am I correct?"

"How the hell…" Kagami asked Itachi but he was interrupted.

"How do I know does not concern you. Now, your group has been a thorn in our side."

"Wow, could you be more anal when it comes to words?" Kagami sarcastically replies while rolling his eyes.

"I know the Kurochi murdered one of our former members", Itachi spats back. Kagami disbelievingly looks at him.

"Excuse me? IF we murdered one of your lackeys, I would've known that by now! But, hey, gotta thank the one who killed your…"

Itachi presses the kunai at Kagami's neck. "Yeah, wise man of words. Continue to reply like that and you'll feel how a very sharp blade can kill you."

"Yeah, that'll do", said Kagami. "What are you going to do? Pull a sweet F.A. on me? Is this the ruthless, coldhearted killer of the Uchiha clan?"

Gaara hears a knock on his door and opens it. He sees Akari in front of him, twiddling her thumbs.

"Hello Gaara-kun", Akari greets him as she puts her hands in her pocket. Gaara takes a good look at her. It seems that she looks uncomfortable.

"Ichimouji Akari, sorry if I called you at this time. But, I need something from you…"

"If it's about the Kazekage…I'm sorry, Gaara-kun but I'm not going to join in your little revolution", Akari sternly tells him. Gaara was surprised. One minute he was talking to a very shy Chuunin, the next has her growing a spine.

"Who says I was planning one?"

Akari shrugs. "There was the intention."

"But that doesn't necessarily mean I'm not going to stop Kagami."

"Gaara-kun, if you're planning to stop him, you'll risk losing your head."

"No one will stop me."

"You don't know that! We don't know what Kagami is capable of! He didn't become the Kazekage because of his brains."

Gaara stares at the girl. He can tell that there's something bothering her.

"You can tell me what's bothering you", Gaara calmly tells Akari. The latter raises her eyebrows in surprise. He grins. "I am known for reading faces."

"Too damn trippy creepy. But you weren't known for your social actions. Remember after you got back from your mission a year ago, you told a fellow Jounin who gave you a document and you said "please go"? The Social Courtesy of the Sand told me that "Please go" has been replaced with "thank you"."

"You're not answering my question…"

Akari sighs. "Look, if I get involved, my father will be in grave danger and I don't want that to happen. If you are as understanding as you claim to be, now's the right time."

Gaara takes time to collect his thoughts. "Akari, we are living in a world where every village is at each other's necks. Almost everyday, many ninjas are killed because they were just "following orders" of their respective Kages. If Kagami is working for the group that nearly killed my siblings, then justice must be served."

"You sound as if you were an avenger or something. You can't change everything, Gaara-kun. Everything's set in stone. You can't just blink and wish that we would achieve world peace. The cycle of life and death will continue. I'm sorry if I'm telling you this but you're fighting a government that can endanger you or your siblings."

"Let them try."

"You're putting too much risk on yourself. Why are you doing this? Why are you so willing to flush out a corrupt official?"

Gaara then remembers Naruto. "If I were to do this, it is because of one person who told me that everything in life is precious to me." But to him, he doesn't remember if that was Naruto who told him. "Before, I used to despise this village. I used to despise people around me. I felt the urge to kill or to destroy. That was the only thing that kept me living. I was death…no, I am death. Then, he came along and showed me that no matter what happens in your life, both good and bad…I also realized that my effort to remain what I am is what limits me…"

Akari notices Gaara looking down. "You okay?"

"I'm fine", Gaara answers back.

"Sorry if I came out very-Mary Sue-ish at you. Say, do you want to eat some ramen?"

But before Gaara could answer, an ANBU appears beside Gaara.

"What's the meaning of this?" demanded Gaara.

"The Kazekage-sama has been murdered!"

Both Gaara and Akari are stunned by this latest development. "What?"

"His throat has been slit."

"But that's impossible!" said Akari. "His office is well guarded!"

The ANBU answers her concern. "We don't know how his assailant got in and out. If you excuse me, I have to report to the others."

The ANBU-nin disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving two baffled teens.

He opened his eyes and found himself in an unknown location. He didn't know where he is at the moment or how he got here. He doesn't even know what happened. He gets up and realizes that he wears a different outfit from before that composed of a black sweater with a white shirt inside and brown cargo pants. Right now, he feels disoriented and confused. What happened? , he thought.

He gets out of the alley and walks around for a bit while covering his body with his arms. It's not that he was scared, but he has no recollection of his past. He sees people engaging in some mindless chatter, but there is one thing that sparks his interest.

"Did you hear? The Kazekage is dead!" said one bystander.

The Kazekage was murdered just now, that he learned immediately. He then realized that he was in the Hidden Village of the Sand and that he knew who to look for. He went towards one Chuunin who is walking around the area.

"Excuse me? Can you please tell me the location of Gaara?" he asked.

"Gaara? Well kid, he's sort of busy at the moment. Hell, every Jounin and Chuunin here is busy right now. If you want…"

The Chuunin takes a good look at him carefully. He notices that he's tired.

"You okay kid? You look like hell."

"Seems like I've been there…", he muttered.

"If you want, I can take you to the hospital and have you for a check-up."

He thanked the Chuunin and followed him to the hospital. Then, he was sent to one of the rooms. After the Chuunin left, Naruto looks at his reflection at the mirror. He looked the same but his features have matured into a very handsome young man. He removes his sweater and looks at the mirror again. Aside from few scars, everything seems to be okay. He then looks at his necklace. He quickly noticed a gold ring inserted at the necklace. Now, he is confused on to who this ring belongs to. His thought is interrupted when he hears the door opening.

Gaara quickly enters the room with Kankuro, Temari and Akari behind him and to his surprise, he sees the impossible. He turns around to see them.

"Naruto…" It was all Gaara could muster.

"Holy…" Kankuro replies with surprise.

"Cow", Temari replies.

"Moo?" Akari meekly mutters.

Naruto grins at Gaara. "Oi Gaara!"

The siblings could not believe what they saw right now. Naruto alive? What's next? Sakura resurrected from the dead? Naruto noticed their disturbed looks.

"What's the matter?" asks a confused Naruto. "It's as if you guys just seen a ghost."

"Oh we're seeing more than just a ghost", Kankuro answers back.

"What the hell are you talking about? What's going on? How did I get here? I wanna go home!"

Gaara decides to take the initiative and approaches his blonde savior. "You might want to sit down for this."

Naruto then notices Gaara's Jounin vest. "Hey, you're a Jounin now."

"Sit", ordered Gaara. Naruto follows his order and sits on the bed.

"We don't know how to tell you this", Gaara begins his revelation. "But…"

"But what?" Naruto interrupts. "What's going on?" This time, he is scared.

"Naruto," Gaara continues, "you disappeared for 4 years."

Naruto widens his eyes. "No…it can't be…"

"Why?"

"I…I…don't remember anything…I don't remember anything at all…"

UP NEXT: Naruto returns after 4 years, but with no memory of what happened to him during those years.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

1. Sorry for the late update. First off, I got a case of writer's block and very busy schoolwork (namely my college thesis). You guys notice the sloppy writing in this chapter. It's because of my frustration to come up with ideas and these are all the things I could think of, so sorry for the mess. BTW, the first scene is a reference to my favorite film "Kill Bill".

2. The storyline will be different from the manga (duh).

3. For those of you wondering, "What about the Kyuubi?" Just wait for the answer by reading the story. The revelation will fall like tiny snowflakes.

4. Merry Christmas to all of you.

Any feedback/criticism/comments/suggestions would be appreciated. Please do it constructively.