Kumor = Person(s) of Kumobr /

Konohan = Person of Konohabr /

Sunese = Person of Sunabr /

Iwaian = Person of Iwa

Yes, I borrowed writer168's "Eight"'s demonyms. If you haven't already read it, I totally recommend it, not that any of this is related to that.


Sunagakure was quiet tonight. Even on the merriest of days, the villagers of the sand tended to retreat back into their homes soon after sundown, before the cold desert chills came. Only the foolhardy, or the suicidal would stay outside then. Such was the way of life in the desert.

Tonight, there was only the whispers of the wind as it whistled through the streets, with not even the slightest murmur from the living.

Their Kazekage was dead, his body found rotting in a ditch.

Their allies betrayed.

Their military strength shattered on the walls of Konohagakure, due to an experiment in madness orchestrated by the criminal Orochimaru.

And now they waited.

Even the death of the Third Kazekage had not brought so much strife and uncertainty. As loathed as Rasa was, he was the glue holding Suna together.

And now he was gone.

The Sand held its collective breath, and waited; for the impending economic collapse, for a retaliatory expedition from Konoha, for Iwa to take advantage of all this and invade, for something.

All they knew was that this was the end, by whatever hand that decided to move first.

There was only one building in the village with signs of life tonight; the Kazekage's Office, if it could be called that anymore, given that there was no Kazekage. In the council's meeting chamber, every notable in Suna still alive was gathered.

Temari felt like an exhibit.

The three of them were standing in a line a few paces from the main round table where their father once held council. His empty seat was painfully noticeable.

They were distinctly out of place; her, Kankuro, Gaara. Three Genin in the sea of elders and Jonin, who were only there due to the shadow of their deceased father.

Kankuro still had his arm in a sling, with his other arm gripping a crutch. How he forced himself to soldier back to Suna before collapsing was nothing short of a miracle. For once, his war paint was absent, showing his striking resemblance to their father.

Gaara merely stood quietly by her, though unlike before, his being silent no longer carried the threat of explosive and imminent bloodshed. She didn't know what happened exactly, but the battle with the blonde Leaf nin had changed Gaara, still bloody wounds notwithstanding. He seemed… peaceful, for the first time, in a very long time. Thoughtful, even.

The three siblings stood silently, while the council's 'discussions' raged on.

"We must prepare for an invasion! Konoha will not show mercy to us," a councilman shouted.

"Prepare with what? Our Kazekage is dead! We lost a quarter of our men at Konoha, and as many retreating through the desert! Most of those still alive are wounded in our hospitals!" another hissed back at him.

"We need to elect a new Kazekage to lead our defence!"

"And who will lead our glorious last stand?" Baki mocked, his words laced with derision. His shoulder was still bandaged, healing a deep slice from a Konoha sword.

The man paled.

"Well, um… Perhaps you, or Honoured Grandmother Chi–"

Baki gave the man a scornful snort. "I will not be pressganged into a fool's errand, and nor will elder Chiyo. Even accounting for the death of the Third Hokage, Konoha has more than enough men to crush us into the sands at will, and that's if Iwa doesn't take this as an opportunity to avenge their losses from Morodoki Valley. Onoki was the only thing holding the war hawks at bay. Once they hear of our loss, even the fence-sitter will take what he can."

"Almost three-quarters of our Jonin core is dead, wounded or captured! We don't even have a Kazekage!" yet another man added, slamming his fist on the wooden table.

"So, what will you have us do? Roll over and beg for Konohan mercy? We know what we would do in their stead, they won't show any!"

The council continued its shouting match, like a pit of vipers, ready to tear each other to pieces even before their enemies came knocking at their gates.

They had always been like this; Sunagakure shinobi. Fighting among themselves, competing with those they called comrades for the slightest advantage, for a few drops of water.

None of them were soft, like Konohans, or dogmatically deferral to raw power, like the Kumor. They needed a leader to break them into line. A Kazekage, to direct their anger and poison and malice outside, rather than inwards, to rule the indomitable sands.

Kazekage.

Kazekage.

Kazekage. The word echoed again and again in her head.

The scene reminded her of when her father was still alive. He could silence squabbles with but the slightest levy of his gaze. As a father, she despised him for what he did; to her, to her little brothers and the memory of her mother and uncle. Yet there was no disputing his power and authority as Kazekage. He was Suna itself; its unfeeling harshness embodied in a man.

At the thought of her mother, she was made all too aware of her brothers who stood next to her.

They were the last of her family. Her father had been so powerful; so dominating and omnipresent, she never really registered the possibility that one day, the man could be gone.

And now he was.

She took a deep breath, ignoring how her legs ached from the 3-day retreat from the Leaf.

She was the eldest now. Her mother had told her before she died; that she had to care for her siblings, but neither Kankuro nor Gaara ever felt like they needed caring for. That, and their father's name had been more than enough of a shield for all else. Now, she was all too aware of Kankuro's broken arm, Gaara's swollen eye, and their bleeding wounds.

May the ancestral gods strike her down for her stupidity. She was already regretting it.

She took a step forward.

"Temari…" Kankuro warned warily. Gaara merely watched them in silence with his one open eye.

"I know what I'm doing." She didn't.

She took another step forward. Then another, until she was standing right up at the table.

The councillors took no notice, with the exception of Baki, whose singular visible eye watched her with a raised eyebrow. She unstrapped her iron war fan and brought it down on the ground with a heavy thud.

They turned to look at her, falling silent temporarily. Here goes nothing.

"Lady Temari?" One of the councilmen addressed her. It had been the man that proposed defence preparations. His name, Temari never bothered to learn. Councilmen flitted in and out, their tenures often cut short by Suna's backstabbing ways. Only the strongest lasted long. He had been a recent addition to the council, and Temari had just assumed he'd be gone soon enough. "We have not requested your input yet," the man continued, but Temari raised a hand to silence him.

"I wish to nominate myself as Kazekage." She tried to do the best impression of her father that she could. The same tone that left no room for question. The tone that she herself had been cowed by so many times in the past.

"Genin Temari," another councilwoman began, stressing her rank. "We will overlook this joke as we understand you've gone through many stressful situations these past few days. After all, surely you cannot be serious. Were you not the one who lost to the Konohan Genin during the third round of the Chunin exams?"

She bristled at the memory, but she couldn't show weakness.

"I would argue, councilwoman, that it is a well-known fact my honourable father kept Kankuro and I as Genin specifically to accompany Gaara in preparation for our invasion. I believe it would be rather redundant to evaluate our skill based on some show match rather than our service to Suna," she said, suppressing the scowl that threatened to twist her lips.

"I invoke my right as a Kazekage candidate to challenge all who would dispute my claim." Temari declared firmly.

Outside, the winds howled; the only sound that sliced through the thick silence that was beginning to suffocate her.

She took solace in the sound. She was "The Wind Mistress", the finest wind user in a generation. The winds hid nothing from her, and sliced her enemies to ribbons at her command. Now, they gave her strength to face down this pack of desert jackals that would sooner tear her to bits than bow in submission.

A low, gravelly voice broke the impasse.

"I support my sister's proposal," Gaara said. "I volunteer as her second against any challengers that may wish to dispute her claim."

Temari thanked whatever gods listened to her prayers as she saw several of the council flinch. Gaara had changed, but they didn't know that. They still saw him as a monster. An uncontrollable, merciless force to be feared, as the rest of the village did.

An image that she'd have to rectify.

"Lord… Gaara," the title was clearly uncomfortable for the man to say.

"I support Temari's candidacy as well," a second voice spoke up from behind her, interrupting him. "She's wise and intelligent. She learnt all our father had to teach of war and ruling, and mastered it all." All lies, but Kankuro was always the one with a way with words.

"She's one of the strongest shinobi in the village despite her age, and you know that as well as I do. I am also prepared to stand as her second."

The silence returned, dripping with anticipation. Neither the siblings nor the council were willing to speak further, unwilling to back down and break the impasse.

To submit was to reveal weakness.

To reveal weakness in Suna was to invite death.

"Unless any other candidates are nominated. I will be obliged to cast my vote for Temari," Baki began. "As Councilman Hiro stated, we are in a dire need of a leader, now more than ever. As her teacher, I can attest to Kankuro's words. Having a Kazekage is better than milling with uncertainty with no Kazekage at all."

The councilman in question seemed sick to his stomach, wishing he could have taken his words back now that his colleagues looked ready to murder him. Temari made a mental note to thank Baki for his support for her insanity by turning the council on itself.

Of course, after the fact, she had to sit through Baki lecturing her for an entire hour for her recklessness back at their mansion.

Well, she had to learn about the snake pit that was the politics of Suna sometime. Nothing like hands-on experience and the constant risk of death by betrayal to force herself to learn.


An almost endless desert surrounded Sunagakure. The largest in the world in fact. So large that locals and foreigners alike just called it "The Great Desert", for they knew that no other could be larger. Its sand dunes spanned from horizon to horizon, its winds kissed the unprepared with deadly effect. The heat blistered and wilted away the forsaken who dared come ignorantly.

The desert gave life, but only for those who knew it. Foreigners would never understand the desert as they did. Suna itself was founded in a great valley, its homes hidden from the deadly glare of the sun by shade, with oases enough, all protected by great stone walls that allowed their ever-vigilant sentries to spot any travellers from miles away.

Perhaps these were the reasons why neither Konoha nor Iwa, dared come.

The "Konohan-Sunese Declaration of Friendship" was the first treaty she had signed upon her ascension. Technically it was before her formal, ceremonial ascension as Kazekage, but by law, she was now Kazekage, with the full authority of the station.

Their terms were surprisingly lenient; a renewal of the alliance, joint missions, mutual military aid where possible, and the wording even avoided terms like "surrender" and "defeated", to allow them to save face. The Konohans probably saved her life; if her first act as Kazekage was to surrender, she'd have had a very, very short tenure.

Despite that, she was aware past the pretty words, Suna was very much the far weaker partner in the "Friendship". A fact that she had to remedy, quickly.

She went with Gaara and Kankuro on one final mission as a regular shinobi, to rescue some Konoha Genin, cutting down a Sound kunoichi and saving that infuriating boy that mocked her in the Chunin Exams. She'd noticed that he'd been wearing the greens of Konoha's Chunin. She would've taken pride in that she beat him in rank at least, if it wasn't for the fact that it spoke more about how desperate Suna was and its backwards traditions of succession, than her own skill at arms and leadership.

For what it was worth, she'd miss those days when life was simple, and they could just work together as a team. Gaara had just started to become more amicable, more caring too. Now, unless it was something major that demanded her attention, she would not be able to gallivant away on missions again.

Her ascension passed without much fanfare. There were many who still did not trust her, and nor did she trust them in return. There were daggers hidden in every shadow, every face hiding secrets, and she'll have to pacify them all soon enough. The hat her father once wore hung heavy on her head. Was this why he became Kazekage? To protect them? To sate his power-lust? To prove he was second to none?

"Here are this month's expense reports Lady Kazekage," her assistant said, dropping a stack of papers onto her desk. He was young, only a year older than Gaara, one of the many she and Kankuro grew up with. Naïve, but loyal. She would need her own clique, those loyal to her and her alone.

"Thank you Saichi," she tried not to groan as she began sorting out the papers. More reports about their dire financial situation, as if she wasn't already aware. Even without war indemnities to pay, Suna was in dire straits, now that her father's gold was gone. "Is there anything else?"

"There's a team waiting outside ready to do their mission report. Shall I send them in?" Saichi answered smoothly.

"Please."

Whatever gave her an excuse to stall her work. Working in this heat was unbearable, even for a life-long Sunese like her.

Two women and a man walked in. It would be more accurate to say two girls and a well-built young man. Sen, Yome and Shira.

"Lady Kazekage," they bowed in unison.

"Rise. Report?"

"All things were stable, contrary to our spies' reports. Iwa has seemingly stayed on their side of the border. They're not exactly friendly, but whoever's heard of Iwaians being friendly?" Sen snorted.

Yome glared at her friend. The shorter women continued, "there were some bandits around the village our outpost was in, but we eliminated them. Genin Shira must be commended, taking out 10 of the 15 bandits. No injuries sustained."

"I see. Good." Temari leaned back on her chair. A boring report, but a boring report was a good report. Exciting reports usually meant risk, injury and death, though not necessarily in that order. She'd much rather not lose even a single more shinobi than necessary.

"Genin Shira."

"Yes Ma'am," the well-muscled boy straightened up, speaking for the first time.

"With that commendation from your team lead, I shall review your profile. All things permitting, I shall consider reducing your probation period."

The boy bowed without missing a beat, "thank you Lady Kazekage."

She waved her hand lazily and spun her chair to look out at her view of the village, "You are dismissed."

She heard one set of footsteps leave, but she was all too aware of the presence of the two Genin behind her.

"Don't you have something else to do?" she drawled, mentally preparing herself for the stack of accounting summaries.

"So cold Lady Kazekage," Sen teased as she walked up next to her chair.

"You know what I mean."

"So, what's it like?" Yome spoke up, sitting on her desk.

"Boring. Tiring. So decidedly unexciting that I want to take my fan and slice every well-digging petition I have to read into ribbons political fallout be damned," she replied dryly.

The two girls next to her laughed. It felt good. Almost as if she was a child again, carefree with her friends, who were just her friends, and not her subordinates who she had the power of life and death over.

"It was a stupid, stupid move I know." She rubbed her temples in lieu of some much-needed sleep. With the Chunin Exams coming up, that was even more work. She had to delegate that to Kankuro or Gaara as soon as possible. "I don't know what I was even thinking when I did."

"It wasn't stupid Tem," Yome said while chewing. She had gotten into Temari's stash of sweet chestnuts she had in her drawers as a snack.

"Yeah. Your father was stupid with his laws on shinobi eligibility. Our village is stupid with its backstabbing ways. You? Nuh uh," Sen said. "How many Shira's do you think there are, that would be competent, if not exemplary shinobi, that were barred from being Shinobi under the old laws? Without you, short stuff would've never had the chance to grow closer with our resident Taijutsu expert."

"Hey!"

"Anyway," Sen waved away her teammate's complaints. "You did this Temari," she said, pointing at Shira's file. "I don't think anyone else could have done what you did. You're the new Suna. The stronger Suna, unbound by stupid tradition. All you need is for those old assholes on the council to change their minds and die."

"Hah!" she let loose a dry laugh. "That'd be the day."

"You're also the first female Kage in all the Elemental Villages Tem. That's a step forward for all Kunoichi. Your name will be remembered forever whatever else you do." She moves closer, placing a hand on the ream of her chair.

"Now you're making me blush." Her lips quirked. She takes the slip of paper Sen discreetly hands to her. The walls have ears. ANBU ears. Ears that she didn't trust.

"Well. It's time for us to go Yome," she said, stretching. "We shan't take up any more of your time Tem."

"Thanks for the report." Both reports.

"Are you entering the Chunin Exams?" Code for 'careful in the village.'

"You bet!" Yome replied, giving her a thumbs up. 'We'll keep an eye out for more information.'

They closed the door with a click.

She read the small piece of paper, frowned, then channelling a little chakra, shredding it into a thousand little pieces silently, before sparking a small flame to finish the rest. Another nuisance to take care of; a councilman on the move. She began thinking of any rivalries she could exploit.

The tendrils of the council's cliques may run deep, but Temari was learning too.


Far, far above, a white bird flew.

Though it wasn't really a bird. From how it flew, she knew this was no bird, but some sort of chakra-based construct, carrying a black-cloaked stranger.

Akatsuki.

Tempted as she was to ride the winds up and strike him down, Akatsuki travelled in twos. Baki and most of the shinobi in the village who were manning the artillery would have to take care of the false-bird and its master, while she dealt with the other, the one who approached from the sands.

The hunched one walked forwards leisurely, towards the gates of Suna.

The gates of her village.

Only Temari and her personal guard stood in his way. Around them, the desert winds howled their fury at the transgressor's presence.

The man stopped, perhaps twenty feet before her. Her guards leapt forward in her defence, anticipating an attack.

"Lady Kazekage!" they chorused in unison, swords and fans drawn, waiting for her command.

The Akatsuki did not move. She waved them aside, and stepped forward.

"Akatsuki," she spat. "What business do you have with Sunagakure?"

The man looked her in the eye. "If you have to ask, Lady Kazekage, you should already know." She did.

His tail twisted and turned like a snake behind him; a pale white bone-like appendage tipped with a blade. "I am rather short on time today. If you would give up the Ichibi Jinchuuriki, the Akatsuki will not bother your village again."

She stiffened. Then she barked a harsh laugh.

There was something about the situation that made her laugh. The Akatsuki were without exception S-class criminals; monsters who could take down hundreds of regular shinobi each, and countries on their lonesome.

Here, they faced two of them. Temari knew her strengths, and she wasn't weak. She had come far from her Genin days and perhaps would've been a Jonin in regular times, but she had no illusions about her skill and ability to defeat even one S-class criminal, even with a squad of experienced Chunin and Jonin at her back. Yet this man was asking her politely to hand over Gaara, as nonchalantly as one might ask for a mission report.

She smirked. "Oh? You want my cute little brother?" She unfolded her fan. All three moons unveiled. Anything less was to invite death.

What would her father do? He'd prioritise the village over any one of them, even if they were his own flesh and blood. She supposed she was worse than him then. She won't let them take Gaara away. Not now, when he had changed so much. Not ever.

"You'll have to walk over my cold, dead body."

"That can be arranged." The man answered simply.

Chakra threads began forming at his fingertips. "It'd be interesting to have a second Kazekage as a puppet, though I doubt you'd live up to your predecessor."


Temari didn't know what to expect when the Five Kage summit began.

The tall, foreboding hall was lined with plate-clad warriors; samurai of their host; who sat in the centre of the concave table.

Around said table; five of the most powerful shinobi on the continent. Well, four and herself. It had been more than 2 years now, and she almost felt like she was still the girl who stepped forward out of reckless bravado.

Rasa's shadow was long. She kept asking herself: what would her father do? The man was the one to sleepwalk them into catastrophe, yet he was the only role model she had for reference. If he was terrible, and she couldn't even live up to him, what did that make her? How could she be Kazekage, when she couldn't even protect her own family, let alone the whole village?

Gaara had told her that she held no blame for his capture, but she knew damned well she did. If she had been more careful, Sasori of the Red Sand's poisoned tail would not have caught her in the leg when it pierced her war fan. Hell, if the Konohans were even a little bit slower, then Suna would've been in search of a sixth Kazekage. Honoured Grandmother Chiyo paid dearly for Temari's own stupid mistakes.

She looked around, putting on her most disdainful expression as she levied her gaze at her fellow Kage, Kankuro and Gaara standing vigilant behind her.

The fence-sitter of Iwa Onoki. A of Kumo's A-B duo. Mei Terumi the Breaker of the Bloody Mist. And Danzo Shimura; a village elder who according to her spies had taken control of Konoha after the attack by the Akatsuki, sitting there bandaged and silent.

She knew his type. She knew many like him. Old men and women who were always busy plotting, scheming in the shadows for their anachronistic ideas that belonged to the Era of the Warring States. She broke many of them on her path as Kazekage; sending them into exile, disgracing them by revealing their secrets, and occasionally, even arranging "accidents" when all else failed.

Danzo meant nothing to her. She much preferred dealing with his predecessor.

She absentmindedly noted that if Tsunade were here, the Kunoichi would have outnumbered the Shinobi. How ironic that would've been. She supposed that why was the Mizukage was subtly eyeing her like an interesting piece of meat.

The only surprise was how decidedly… undiplomatic the Raikage was. Every other word coming out of the muscular man's mouth would've been enough cause for a diplomatic incident in calmer times. That, and the grotesque plant-man hybrid that sprouted through the floor, announcing the Akatsuki's presence.

Attacking a fortress of Samurai, along with the 5 Kage, and their chosen bodyguards? She had to admire their boldness if nothing else, she snorted, as she watched Sasuke Uchiha bleed from cuts on both his arms, a reminder of her deadly winds as he tried to flee from her little brother's sand.

That was revenge for making Gaara bleed, 3 years ago. Gaara glared at her for intruding on his fight, but she could live with it.

When she saw her brother's tears, she only regretted not slicing Sasuke Uchiha into ribbons when she could.

They trekked through the snow, Gaara volunteering to tell Kakashi Hatake about the news about the Allied Shinobi Forces, with her deftly nodding her assent when the other Kage raised their eyebrows at her retainer's outspokenness.

Temari decided to let Gaara do all the talking when they met the Konohans, only extending the expected courtesies befitting a Kage.

It was times like this that she wondered if Gaara should've been Kazekage instead. Perhaps when he was younger, he hadn't been suited for it, but then again, neither was she. Now, he had grown into a fine young man that won over not-a-few hearts and minds in Suna, who Temari was proud to call her brother. Temari could see him, working his way to Kazekage in imitation of the Uzumaki boy, winning over those who didn't see his way.

He wouldn't need her schemes and lies. He would be merciful, and that would've been enough.

"Gaara, are you all right?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. He's had a long day. They've all had a long day.

"Yes, I'm fine," Gaara began wrapping his cloak around his neck. "Let's go home." 'And prepare for war,' was the unsaid task at hand.

The three of them continued through the snow in silence.


There was sand, but no wind on this battlefield.

A shame. But it wasn't like it would help her much.

Even with 10,000 shinobi behind her, the Third Tsuchikage, Gaara, Naruto Uzumaki's shadow clone, and Shikamaru by her side, she knew they had no chance.

Well technically, it was likely closer to half that now from her last eye-balling. The reincarnated Kage tore through them like paper.

Not the least her father.

"Oh? You'll be my opponent Temari?" The stench of ash buffeted the air, even with the distance between them. He was just as she remembered, the last time she saw him, except from the grey sclerae and the little cracks criss crossing his skin. "Yes." They were equals now. She was no longer the little girl who feared the man's every word and chastisement. "And what has become of the Sand?" "I am Kazekage now." She stated bluntly. "The village lives on, despite your failure." "I see." The reanimation's face looked… almost pensive. Did he regret his decisions? "Then I must applaud you for that much. I hope you have kept Gaara on a leash better than I did, that boy –" "That boy, is a better man than you ever were, father." She glared at him. "Gaara is Suna's finest shinobi, and you couldn't break him. He loves the people, and the people love him." Unsaid were the accusations that lingered on from three years ago, those thoughts that cursed the man for leaving them and forcing her to step into his life. "He is a tool, and shinobi are tools," he stated impassively. "I thought I taught you better than that Temari." "Well," she grinned. "Sorry to disappoint, father." She unfurled her war fan. "I only wish Kankuro were here. I'm certain he had choice words for you. It would've been a touching reunion with the four of us," she leapt back, taking flight with her fan. "Gaara!" And with that, a wave of sand flew over her head, crashing into the tide of gold.

All that remained was the Second Tsuchikage.

And Madara Uchiha.

She wondered if there was a curse with the red-eyed bastards that made them plague her again and again. Their clan was massacred, couldn't they stay dead?

The air thickened with tension, with only the sound of quiet sobs and desperate prayers from behind her cutting through the thickening silence.

She remembered the things she read of the legendary shinobi then morbidly thought about all the different ways her life could end today. A simple kunai in the neck, roasted alive by a fire jutsu, crushed by a boulder as collateral damage, maybe bisected by the Uchiha's famed war fan, which was conspicuously missing.

Really, she wouldn't even be surprised if the reanimated shinobi could shoot snakes that could kill her from those damned eyes.

There was a little more wind now, swirling, rising; she could hear its whispers as they sang to her.

Maybe it was madness, but she felt a grin crack across her face, heaved her war fan over her shoulder and strode forward. She heard the sobs and prayers grow just a little bit quieter as she felt 5,000 pairs of eyes on her.

It almost reminded her of when she became Kazekage, only that death was a certainty, rather than just merely "likely".

The Kazekage had to set an example, didn't she?


Sen, Yome, and Shira are filler Suna characters. Shira's the pseudo-Rock Lee. From what I recall, the two girls were some of Temari's only (named) friends. It made sense to use them as the "base" of Temari's clique as she strong-armed and politicked her way up Suna's political food chain. In this timeline, Temari beats out Mei and Tsunade in becoming the first female Kage, by a very small margin.

The latter scenes are a little more Gaara centric, given that it was his relationship with Rasa/Sasuke/Naruto that drove the Sand Sibling's scenes, so I tried to angle it as Temari acting as a protective older sister.

I wanted to write a little bit more, up till Madara's reaction to a majority female Kage lineup given his already (probably) sexist reaction to Mei and Tsunade, but at that point, I couldn't think of much to change other than that. It'd just be canon, but with Temari instead of Gaara. The 5 Kage still lose, and I didn't want to rehash canon.

The epilogue would be just Shikamaru complaining about being a trophy husband, and all the sand.