Sasuke Uchiha felt the sand underneath his feet displace with every step he took. The hot sun beating down on the parts of his exposed skin as he ran along with his teammates... His teammates. He looked in front of him, to his old Sensei, the Jounin Kakashi Hatake. He hadn't changed much in these years, which was... not exactly a comfort, but it was somewhat reassuring. He then turned his head to look at another one of them, Sakura Haruno. She had grown as a Kunoichi, now with short hair, a gray shirt, but a red shirt which, somewhat, matched her old one. She had apprenticed under Tsunade Senju, to which she became a medic-nin... well, somewhat. Because she studied under the Godaime, she also became freakishly strong. Because of this, Sasuke found himself admiring her more as a teammate... perhaps even more at times. He then turned his head to look at his other- well, his other "teammate". His name was Sai, pale skin, an emotionless expression, a Tanto, and some scrolls. The Uchiha respected his strength, but the boy seemed to be... inhuman at times. He was there to replace-

The Uchiha let out a sigh... He was thinking about him again. It's been two and a half years since he disappeared... Killed. Anbu had found a group of triumphant Shinobi who had proclaimed they had killed the Demon, much to the joy of the Civilians of Konoha, but much to the anger of the Hokage. She had them locked away, and had them sentenced to death... Naruto.

His Friend.

Sasuke was told, when he woke up after the surgery, of what Naruto did, and how he went missing. And it made him reevaluate, it made him regret, and, perhaps most importantly to Sakura...

It made him stay.

These years, he had trained hard in order to respect the memory of his friend. His brother. Of course he was angry, and of course he still wanted to kill Itachi, but... he reckoned his opportunity will come. Naruto practically sacrificed his life in order for Sasuke to continue his career as a Shinobi. He trained and rose to Chunin, and if everything went correctly, he'd become Jounin.

But that was for the future.

Right now he, Kakashi Sakura, Sai, are making their way to Sunagakure in order to meet with Gaara the new Kazekage. Sasuke recalled his relationship with the Jinchuriki, their battle during his first Chunin exams and the invasion which followed shortly after, as well as his fight with Naruto. There have been tensions between Suna and Konoha after the Kazekage had heard of what had happened to Naruto. Thus why they were sent, to re-establish relations with the nation.

Upon making their way to Suna, however...

"Halt! State your business!" A guard would call out to them. Kakashi stepped forward.

"We're ninja from Konoha, we wish to speak with the Kazekage." He says in his usual polite, professional manner, his hands in his pockets. One of the guards looked at another, to which they began to talk inaudibly, before nodding and allowing them passage. They were led to the main office building, but upon entering they found, not Gaara, but instead his sibling, Temari.

"Where's the Kazekage?" Kakashi would ask the two. The fan-user and puppet-users looked at each other, and then back at the Konoha Jounin.

"He's gone. He's been kidnapped by the Akatsuki. And Kankuro was attacked by them as well, I don't know where he is..." Temari would state, worry and alarm clearly evident in her voice. It was at this point another person entered the room. Sasuke turned his head to see that it was the Jounin that taught the sibling trio, Baki. He didn't even acknowledge the Konoha nin, just getting straight to the point.

"Kankuro has been found." He said.

"What? When?" Temari would ask, pushing past Team 7 and approaching her former sensei.

"Just now. The guards said that a pillar of black appeared out of nowhere in front of the gate, and when it disappeared, he was there, injured." He reported. "We've already taken him away to be healed." Temari let out a sigh of relief... there was one worry down the drain. Although this news of a black pillar was disconcerting. She looked at Team 7, and they looked back.

"Get my brother back, then we can talk." She seems to bark out. The Konoha nin collectively nodded, and soon departed from Suna to rescue the Kazekage... Little did they know, that they were quite behind...


A heartbeat.

...

Labored breaths.

...

Dilated Pupils.

...

Cowardly Expressions...

Fear. A man in tatters of what was a black cloak with red clouds decorating it, with red hair was running. His expression was frantic, tripping over the rocks and stones of the cave, his wooden body parts scraping against the abrasive walls. Extra limbs were attached, blades and other weapons, all shattered, or blunt, bent and disfigured. Even his body was chipped and damaged... This was Akasuna no Sasori. Sasori of the Red Sand, member of the Akatsuki.

He was able to master human puppetry. He was able to kill the third Kazekage and use his body as a puppet to manipulate Iron Dust... But, in an ironic twist of fate, everything seemed to turn against him. It wouldn't be long before he found himself cornered in whatever cave he was in, looking back at... the monster which stood before him.

And that horrific sound... both beautiful and haunting...

The sound of a flute.

Black energy swirled and saturated the air with the sound of the flute... his puppet, the Third Kazekage, was standing in front of him, with eyes that glowed a malicious red. Chakra strings attached to his limbs, but seemingly severed. But this was not what terrified him. No... It was who was standing next to it. There was silence. The sound of the flute had stopped... This being, he was the one who played.

He was tall. Taller than Sasori, for sure. He had long, smooth, blonde hair, which was tied into a ponytail. He wore all black, with some orange detailing here and there, a red swirl on each arm. On one side of his hip there was a sword, sheathed, and on the other was the flute. The flute was beautifully made, black material with red and orange designs, and hanging off the end of the flute there was a tassel with a strange, black amulet hanging off of it. and His face was narrow, chiseled. And glaring down at Sasori were piercing blue eyes, his pupils slits. His skin was pale... and there was a scowl on his face, which sent shivers down the puppeteer's spine.

The red-headed Akatsuki looked up at the victor, his face attempting to form an intimidating look and failing. His body visibly shook from fear... He heard the blonde speak.

"Where is Gaara?" He'd ask. His voice was cold, and deep, and it sent dread all the way down to Sasori's core as he began to breathe heavily... and he was compelled to confess.

"D-Deidara... He's the one who has him. Blonde, long hair, blue eyes..." Sasori looked up as he somewhat described this being's own appearance, swallowing in anxiety. "He can create explosions with his clay... you'll see him flying on a clay bird of sorts." He says, looking down at the ground, at this point probably bowing down at this figure. And then Sasori heard him chuckle... He felt the slender fingers of the figure run through his head, as if he was a dog... It hurt his pride, but his fear and his bodily instinct to survive overcame that.

The blonde began to walk away, and the corpse of the Kazekage fell limp, crumpling to the ground, returning to its state as a puppet. Sasori let out a breath, long and drawn-out, a relieved smile making its way onto his face. If he was in his old body, he'd be sweating bullets... and then his breath hitched. The sound of a flute...

He looked up at the Blonde's retreating form, his hands to his face and playing the flute as his body began releasing copious amounts of a black, mist-like, suffocating energy. It began to circle around Sasori's form, as he began to let out fearful whimpers... And then darkness...

The blonde watched the mutilated corpse of the puppeteer fall on the ground next to the third Kazekage. And he began to walk away, the black energy seeping into his body, seemingly by the pores of his skin. Upon exiting the cave where he had his battle, he brought up a hand, the same black energy appearing once more.

"Find him." He'd say in a cold voice. The Black energy seemed to acknowledge this, and flew off from his hand...

"Kuruma." He'd then call out... clear, red chakra began to seep out from his skin, before detaching from his body and forming a fox, about the size of a horse, white in fur, and five tails swirling out from his end. The blonde gave him a nod, and the fox returned the gesture. He climbed on the back of the fox, and they ran to follow the black energy...

"I'm coming Gaara... just hang on."


Hey you guys! I first want to apologize if I messed up the details of Team 7 being sent to Suna. I'm quite inexperienced with this specific arc of Shippuden, so feel free to DM suggestions or corrections with the Shippuden Timeline. Anyway, this is the first real arc after all that introduction! Exciting isn't it? :D

Secondly, voting is still up.

- Kurotsuchi: 0

- Shizuka: 1

- Ino: 8

- Fu: 1

- Tayuya: 2

- Temari: 1

At this rate, it appears Ino is going to win, like I previously said. I'll most likely keep the vote open until... Chapter 15? Anyway...

Thank you all so much for reading and supporting the story! Feel free to ask any questions, R&R, etc. Of course, flames will be ignored.

Thank you!

Nitro!