Author's note: Although I promised that I would tell you about Nashiko, Minami and their teams' whereabouts, I want to show you something new in this chapter, namely Gaara and company. I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The original characters belong to me.

Chapter 22: The Declaration of War

Inside the Hokage Tower

The Hokage had been busy since the Chuunin Exams had begun. The blonde-haired woman was reading through some important letters while doing some paperwork. However, there was two letters which seemed to gain her attention and Shizune could notice this.

"What's wrong, Lady Tsunade? I mean, who wrote this letter you're reading?" she kindly asked her.

Tsunade smirked after reading this. "Heh, it's nothing special. This letter is from the Fifth Kazekage himself" she answered while facing Shizune.

The black-haired lady smiled in return. "I see. Gaara will be present during the finals of the Exams, correct?" she asked her again.

Tsunade nodded her head. "Yes, but he will bring someone with him, more than just security that is" she said. "The Hidden Sand Village's infamous "Sand Scorpions" will be present to see the finals" she added, causing Shizune to be surprised.

"The Sand Scorpions…you mean those….." she was at loss of words, now knowing what to say.

The Hokage chuckled in amusement by seeing her reaction. "Yes, the team from the Sand Village widely acclaimed for their extraordinary talents. In fact, the kids have been considered child prodigies, given that they won last year's Chuunin Exams hosted by the Sand Village. Some even say they are the new Sand Siblings, except that they are different, of course" she explained while musing over this.

"So they will also be attending the finals as observes. This should be interesting" Shizune remarked. But she suddenly shifted the tone of her voice. "Should we send a message to him in return?" she asked with uncertainty.

The blonde-haired woman only waved her hand whimsically in return. "Don't worry. We have Temari giving our greetings to him. She will stay in the Sand Village for a few days before heading back to us" she explained to ease Shizune's concerns.

The black-haired woman nodded in return. "Anyway, what about this letter? Based on this signature, it looks like it came from the Hidden Mist Village" she asked while holding the other letter her Hokage had taken interest to.

Tsunade sighed in annoyance while narrowing her eyes. "Who do you think? It's Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage" she answered with little enthusiasm in her voice. "She also wants to attend the finals of the Exams. And of course, I can't deny her, considering that a team of Mist ninjas are participating" she muttered, not feeling pleased to have her rival coming over.

Shizune dropped a sweat in return by seeing Tsunade behaving this way. "Well, at least it would mean a lot to the relationship between our villages. I mean, it's great that the Mist Village takes the initiative to develop good relations with the outside world. After all, they were previously stuck in isolation until the Fourth Shinobi World War" she pointed out.

This made the Hokage smile, knowing that her assistant spoke the truth. "Can't say I disagree with you on that, Shizune. I should be actually looking forward to this" she replied with a smile directed towards the black-haired woman. But she shifted the tone of her voice. "Any news from Naruto and company so far?" she asked her assistant this time.

"I'm afraid not. But we can all assume that they have reached the Train Mountains and have started the second phase" she answered as honest as she could. "I beg your pardon, Lady Tsunade, but for some reason, I feel like we shouldn't have sent those participants to that island. From what the rumours about that island say…I feel that it may not be the best place for young genins to be on" Shizune began expressing her concern for those on that island.

Despite this, the old, but young-looking woman still smiled at her, probably to show understanding for her concerns. "I know how you feel. But until we arrive to observe the third phase, we must entrust the security of this phase to Naruto and the team he has assembled" she encouraged her.

This made her assistant smile in return and she nodded her head. "You're right. My apolegies, Lady Tsunade" she said with regret in her voice, although Tsunade was giving her a look which could be read as "don't feel bad over yourself about it".

In the Kazekage's office, the Village Hidden in the Sand

The Village Hidden in the Sand had changed in the decades after the Fourth Shinobi World War. While the majority of the buildings were made of clay and stucco, many other buildings had been built by other materials, at least something that could withstand the harsh sandstorms. In addition to that, there were signs of flora around the village. Palms and oasis grew along the streets and it had transformed the valley the village's location was centred on from a barren crater into a lush valley. Travellers in the harsh deserts would often find sanctuary within the Sand Village, whom they considered to be a paradise. The changes had made life in the village healthier and prosperous.

Fountains had been created around the village and in order for them to preserve the precious water, the villagers had built canals around the town and it was greatly welcomed among the population. Sometimes, especially during the summer, people were allowed to cool themselves in these canals, as they weren't that deep.

The Fifth Kazekage was Gaara of the Desert, a close friend of Naruto, as well as Temari's youngest brother. He was now sitting in his office reading some papers, while a certain brown-haired man dressed in black clothes while having facial paintings on his face stood by his side. He was Kankuro, Gaara's older brother, as well as another younger brother of Temari.

Together, they were the children of the Fourth Kazekage Rasa and his beloved wife Karura. Gaara had managed to reform from a weapon seeking vengeance against the world, to a wise and just ruler of his village. This was all thanks to Naruto, who had managed to open his eyes to the world. As such, Gaara would always consider the blonde-haired man to be his closest friend.

"Don't you ever get bored of reading through those papers, Gaara?" Kankuro asked in his laid-back voice.

The red-haired man only smiled at his brother's question. "My job as a Kazekage demands such tasks, Kankuro. And I read those papers not for the my own sake, but for the sake of this village and it's people" he said in return.

The Kazekage's brother only chuckled in return. "I know. I'm just teasing ya" he said with humour in his voice.

Temari was getting a good look at the view from one of the office's windows. She was glad to see that not only the Leaf Village, but also the Sand Village had begun to change, especially since the wards were over. She also wondered about how her husband and son were doing, as she knew they were on the Train Mountains for the second phase.

The door to Gaara's office opened and a brown-haired kunoichi entered with hurry. Both the Kazekage and his brother focused their attention at her. Gaara smiled. It was his wife Matsuri, whom he had married sometime in the aftermath of the war. Although she was reluctant at first, she soon realized how deeply she cared about the Kazekage. Even though they were husband and wife, Matsuri would often address him with honorifics, something Gaara had kindly asked her to refrain from doing. Nevertheless, she did it.

But as the three siblings got closer look, they could see that Matsuri was panting. She also seemed scared. "Lord Gaara…uninvited guests are demanding to see you" she said while panting. "Lord Baki and the rest of the guards tried to throw them out…but the strangers easily overpowered them!" she added.

"What!?" Temari was shocked by her sister-in-law's words. She then faced her youngest brother. "What shall we do, Gaara?" she asked him.

The Sand Siblings readied themselves as Matsuri got by their side. Kankuro held something covered in bandages while Temari brandished her giant fan. Gaara on the other hand, stood on his feet, accepting Matsuri's embrace.

"Let us confront whoever those uninvited guests are" Gaara declared and put on is giant gourd behind his back. "I wanna know who dares threaten the safety of our village" he added.

Kankuro gritted his teeth by hearing that enemies were inside. "Who are they, some wannabe Akatsuki or something? Whoever they are, we're gonna make sure they will regret ever setting their foot here!" Kankuro said.

But before they could exit the room, they were stunned to see three strangers dressed in white. And of course, they were wearing white hoods that made their faces unseen. From what the Kazekage and his siblings could describe, the one in the middle was a male, while each by his sides was female.

Gaara took a few steps forward to confront them, although the strangers stayed where they were. "Is this the best security you have, Kazekage?" the one in the middle asked him mockingly. He then began laughing softly. "If so then I must say this: your subordinates are unworthy of guarding you" he then stated.

The red-haired man was not intimidated by his taunt and remained calm. "Get to the point, stranger. Why have you come here uninvited?" he said lowly.

One of the female strangers began speaking up. "You dare addressing our brother as a stranger? You should kneel before him for forgiveness or else…" she was stopped by the one in the middle by his hand.

"Restraint, sister" he told her with a commanding voice and she remained calm. He then refocused his attention at Gaara. "So you want to rush to the facts? Very well, I shall grant your wish. Because it may be your last after all" he then said to the Kazekage who narrowed his eyes in return.

"Why do I sense such…..enormous amount of chakra from the three of you?" Gaara asked them.

Suddenly, the other female stranger began laughing at what Gaara said. "Heh, how amusing you humans are. You and your curiosity, it demonstrates your feeble minds" she mockingly said.

"Don't you remember us? You know who we really are, as should everyone else you have fought alongside with" the one in the middle said and suddenly, the black opening of their hoods showed Gaara and his siblings their blue eyes. They widened in shock.

"Those eyes…they aren't Rinnegan…" Gaara thought while seeing these eyes.

"We cannot afford wasting time explaining all the details, but we will give you this. This is a declaration of war!" he suddenly said with a commanding voice and pointed his finger towards the Kazekage. "Two weeks from now, the Five Great Nations while be annihilated by the Brotherhood of the Blue Moon and its armies, starting with the Land of Fire!" he declared loudly to the group before them.

Temari, who was stressed after hearing this stranger's hateful words, angrily swung her fan, hoping to blow them away with her wind. "YOU ROTTEN BASTARDS!" she shouted as the wind blew through the building strongly.

After the wind stopped, it appeared that the trio had disappeared from their spot. This made her curse in anger while lying on the floor, although Matsuri tried to calm her.

Kankuro faced his brother. "This is seriously messed up! Who the hell were those people!?" he asked in anger. "As far as I can tell, they weren't either wannabe Akatsuki or Madara Uchiha!" he added.

Gaara thought about this sudden grim situation. "I don't know, but I would like to inform the other Kages about this declaration of war" he said. "It would be best if the Hokage were informed of this event. It's obvious that these people have something in storage for the Chuunin Exams" he said grimly.

Matsuri suddenly faced her husband with great concern. "What will you do now? Other than informing the other Kages, I mean" she asked him.

The red-haired man faced his sister, who had managed to have her spirits lifted thanks to Matsuri's support. "Temari" he called out and she immediately faced him with a nod. "I'm afraid that you will have to return back to the Leaf Village sooner. I want you to be our eyes and ears while you're there" he said and she nodded after hearing this. "Kankuro?" he suddenly asked his brother.

"What is it?" he asked in return.

"Could you bring me Chiasa? Me and Matsuri must tend to Baki and the others injured by this intrusion" he requested. "I sense a storm coming" he added, making Kankuro smirk in return.

"I see. So you wanna have the Sand Scorpions accompany Temari?" he quizzed with amusement. "Damn right I will bring her! You just take care of Baki." he said, accepting Gaara's request.

Gaara showed appreciation and looked at his wife, who eyed him in return. "I must call on Komaza to gather the Sand Council. I'm sure they are more than willing to hear about this" he to her before exiting his office.

On a cliff overlooking the Village Hidden in the Sand

The three strangers were standing far above the cliffs that gave them a perfect view of the Sand Village. The one in the middle removed his hood and it showed his youthful face and blue eyes. He also had long white hair that reached his back. He mused while seeing the village so far from where he stood, coupled with the fact of the actions he and his sisters just did.

"That most definitely set fear in their eyes. I could see it, even in the Kazekage's eyes. And to think that people used to fear a misbegotten boy like him" he expressed his opinion of Gaara with a smirk on his face. "I would really like to meet him some other time" he admitted with interest.

The two women beside him also removed their hoods, revealing their blue eyes and teal-hair. But they had different hairstyles. The first one had short hair that reached to her shoulders, while the other one had long hair that reached to her back, similar to her brother.

"So what now, brother?" the one with short hair asked him. "Shouldn't we go visit the other Five Great Villages?" she asked him.

Her brother only closed his eyes by hearing this. "No. I think we will leave the rest of our plans to our armies and loyalists" he said and suddenly reached for something in his sleeve and held it in his right arm. It was the Orb of Asura, which was glowing brightly as the lighting itself. He opened his blue eyes to see the orb. "And besides, we have someone who needs their rightful belongings returned" he commented while eyeing it.

The other sister with the long hair smirked by seeing this. "You really are a cunning fox, Mikazuki. Instead of rewarding your servants, you took the reward right before their noses" she said while calling out her brother's name.

"They have probably discovered your actions. But we could care less about what happens to those children. Even their rowdy sensei is unaware of the business we had with his students" the one with the short hair remarked while chuckling.

Suddenly, Mikazuki raised his hand to get his sisters' attentions and they willingly followed him. "Our work here is done for now, Tukiko and Tukiyo. We best return home to our family. The almighty Hirohito calls" he explained to his sisters by their names and turned around to walk away.

The two sisters followed him, knowing better than to keep their family waiting. But who were these people? And why the arrogance towards mankind?

Somewhere, lying by an oasis in the desert, near the Village Hidden in the Sand

In this small oasis, three children were relaxing by its palms. One of these kids had reddish-brown, spikey hair and blue eyes. He wore black cape with brown belts and brown sandals while carrying a gourd on his back. But for now, he had laid his gourd by the palms to take some time listening to the winds. His forehead-protector was actually tied to one of the belts around his stomach. He was one of the members of the infamous Sand Scorpions, as well as the son of Gaara and Matusri. His name was Tsubasa.

"Are you listening to the winds again, cuz?" the easy-going voice came from a boy who was dressed in a dark green turban-like hat, which also had the Sand Village's protector around his forehead. The hat had also a white feather attached to it. The boy had actually light-brown hair but he usually wore this hat of his. But he also wore a white scarf around him, as well as a dark green suit and sandals. He also had purple facial markings across his face, but they were mostly drawn as lines across his cheeks and eyebrows. Despite not retaining so many similarities to his father, he was actually Kankuro's son, and a member of the Sand Scorpions. His name was Atsushi. "Best you have some water before it all disappears" he said to his cousin, who only ignored his teasing.

There was a third member of the Sand Scorpions with no relation to either the Kazekage or his family. It was a young girl with long, brown hair that was tied into a spiky ponytail. She had a general normal looking face from that of her teammate and wore her forehead protector around her forehead. She also carried a couple of fans along with her, and they were known to be sharp and deadly as a couple of giant ninja boomerangs. This was Haruka, the only female member of the group, as well as the one who tended to clash with Tsubasa.

"Just let him be, Atsushi. It seems like he's acting all high and mighty like as usual" she added with sarcasm in her voice.

This made Tsubasa open his blue eyes, and he sighed in annoyance by his teammate's statement. The red-haired boy eventually walked away to stand out in the open, hoping to avoid hearing either Atsushi or Haruka speaking.

"What a couple of idiots, I can't believe we all graduated in the same year" he said to himself.

But he and his teammates were caught in surprise by the sound of a whistle. They knew who it belonged to. They could see a Sand jounin with his eyes shut coming towards them. He had brown hair, but was in his middle ages. It was the jounin known to the people of the Sand Village as Otokaze. The Sand Scorpions gathered to meet with him.

"Well look who it is! It's our good ol' Otokaze-sensei! What brings you way out here?" Atsushi asked him.

Both Tsubasa and Haruka sighed in annoyance by hearing Atsushi's savvy antic before focusing their attentions on Otokaze. It was Tsubasa who spoke up. "I take it you were sent by Chiasa-sensei to find us, correct?" he asked him.

The jounin nodded his head as a yes. "But it is not just her that demands you returning to the village. Your father, the Fifth Kazekage, has summoned the Sand Scorpions to his office for a mission. You three are to return home immediately" Otokaze explained with formality.

Atsushi raised an eyebrow at this in confusion. "Easy there, pal. What's the big rush?" he aksed as he could notice that the jounin sounded somewhat desperate.

Otokaze sighed deeply before replying to the young boy's question. "The reason is because there's been a declaration of war against the Five Great Shinobi Nations, including the Land of Wind" he revealed to them and the young Chuunins widen their eyes in surprise by hearing this. "A few hours ago, a trio of strangers barged into the Kazekage's office uninvited, knocked down the security and for no reason, declared war against the world's strongest nations" he added with a short explanation.

"A declaration of war….." Tsubasa uttered out words slowly. "Has my father been responding to this by any means?" he asked the jounin.

"No, he hasn't made any declaration of war, but he has put the village in martial law. He has ordered security to be tightened" Otokaze answered.

"Then lead us the way, Otokaze-sensei! We're right behind you!" Haruka suddenly said to him and he happily obliged by leading the way.

While Haruka sprinted after the Sand jounin, Tsubasa and Atsushi ran back to the oasis to get their belongings before catching up to them. The brown-haired girl only mused by seeing this and she decided to tease her teammates.

"Are you guys feeling ashamed of yourselves for carrying such weight on your backs?" she asked them mockingly.

While Tsubasa ignored her teasing, Atsushi faced her with an annoyed glance. "Bite me" he said in return while continuing running.

In the Kazekage's office, Village Hidden in the Sand

Gaara, Temari and Kankuro were having a meeting with the official teacher of the Sand Scorpions. It was a youth-looking woman with short brown hair, who was dressed in a black and white robe, similar to a nun or a priestess. But this woman was more than just a jounin. She also served as a member of the Sand Council and currently, she was considered to be its youngest member, as well as the only female in the group. One of the reasons why she was held deeply in respect by the villagers and the Kazekage, was because of her relation to Ebizo, one of the infamous Honoured Siblings. She was actually Ebizo's granddaughter, Chiasa.

"Lord Kazekage, are you sure about this?" she asked with formality towards Gaara.

Gaara sat on his chair while thinking about this situation, while eyeing the woman with his blue eyes. "The situation has now become dire, Chiasa. And it starts while the Chuunin Exams are ongoing in the Leaf Village. However, the students are not specifically on the mainland, but on an island" he explained to her.

"At this rate, I can only imagine if something is about to happen on that island. What if those ruthless people show up and tear the children apart!?" she asked with distress in her voice.

But she was eventually calmed down by Kankuro, who comforted her. Gaara gave Temari a sympathetic look before telling her something. "We must not let our spirits die, sister. For now, all we can do is to entrust the security of Shikaien and the others to Naruto, your husband Shikamaru and the team they have gathered. I am confident they won't let such things happen to them" he said with a slight smile before focusing his attention on Chiasa again. But while they do that, I must make sure that a similar tragedy must not befall on the Chuunin Exams" he said to her.

Chiasa widened her eyes by hearing this, but she knew what the Kazekage spoke of. "You mean like the time the Sand Village entered into an alliance with the Sound Village?" she asked to clarify it and Gaara nodded his head in return. The brown-haired woman showed understanding to this. "I understand. But I doubt that either Orochimaru or a follower of Madara Uchiha did this declaration of war. These people did their crimes years ago. But when the world war ended, new criminal organizations did in fact rise. And I know that one of them is too personal for you to be speaking off, Lord Gaara. But even so, I have a feeling that a new threat emerges" she stated her opinion.

The Kazekage closed his eyes to think about what she just said. "It is too early to mask the culprits. However, I agree with you on the fact that neither Orochimaru and Madara Uchiha could have done it. They are long gone. And like you said, new threats rose up after the world war. One of them was a threat that personally affected the Sand Village...and my family" he said, recalling back to the past of an enemy he fought against years ago. Even Kankuro and Temari were also remembering that time, and they wished they could have forgotten it. Gaara soon opened his blue eyes again. "But this decleration of war is the work of someone who calls themselves "the Brotherhood of the Blue Moon". That name is completely new to anyone of us" he explained to her.

"I think that the first thing you should do once you reach the Leaf Village, is to quickly inform the Hokage of what happened here as soon as possible" Kankuro said to his sister and Chiasa. "Meanwhile, Gaara and I will scramble to inform the other Kages about this declaration" he added while facing his younger brother.

Both Temari and Chiasa understood what was said and they would gladly do what Kankuro suggested, as they knew that if something was not done by stopping these threats, they could eventually escalate into a Fifth Shinobi World War. But such hypothesises were not worth thinking about…..for now.

On the Train Mountains, at Team Hideki's location

Team Hideki was still in the deep jungle, searching for a key. So far, they had stumbled upon some plants, which they had easily dealt with. But even so, they still didn't get any key, much o their irritation.

Kimiko sighed deeply at this. "How long must we keep wandering through this jungle?" she whined while scratching her neck. "These mosquitos keep biting my neck and I haven't had a shower for a couple of days!" she added. But her teammates didn't seem to care about what she complained about and kept moving. This made the blonde-haired girl even more irritated and stressed. "When are you gonna start acting like gentlemen for once?" she quizzed sternly while following them.

Guy and Hisoka had their eyes peeled for anything suspicious they could stumble upon in this jungle. They suddenly discovered something moving in the bushes and stood their ground. But eventually, three Rain ninjas carrying masks around their faces jumped out of the bushes and readied their weapons.

Guy smirked by seeing this. "Rain ninjas, huh? This should be exciting" he remarked while preparing his fighting stance.

Hisoka was not necessarily intimidated by their opponent's weapons or appearances, so he only closed his eyes to reject them. "I hate to inform you about this, but we don't have a key in our possession" he said to them.

The Rain ninja in the middle only laughed in return. "Oh, but that's fine by us, because we ain't here for some bullshit shinobi test!" he said with a lust for battle.

"We are here for BLOOD!" the tallest of the Rain ninja exclaimed with madness.

Hisoka sighed in annoyance before opening his eyes. "A bunch of battle-hungry fools, huh? Great, just what we needed" he sarcastically said while facing the Rain trio.

Guy only chuckled at Hisoka's attitude. "Don't be so disappointed, Hisoka. At least they aren't plants" he tried to encourage his teammate. "I'm up for a perfect match like this" he said gleefully.

But as the Rain trio charged towards their targets, they fell through a hole, after running on what they believed to be simple dirt in the jungle. As they fell down, Team Hideki could hear screams of agony after they fell and it shocked them.

"What the hell just happened!? Those guys fell through something!" Kimiko asked with unease, as she refrained from taking any steps further.

Guy and Hisoka slowly approached the hole and they were given a horrified view by what they saw. In the hole, deep, large spears made of woods stood with their sharp fronts aimed upwards. But the more terrifying view was to see the Rain ninjas lying dead among the spears. Some of the spears had been painted red by their blood. Both Guy and Hisoka could not stand and watch this for long.

"I am completely horrified, what kind of people lays deadly traps like these?" Guy asked with utter disbelief. "These almost looks like traps used by poachers" he added.

Kimiko gulped after hearing this. "Traps used by poachers…oh dear God" she exclaimed with uneasiness.

Hisoka could sense something elusive and he decided to activate his family's famous Kekkei Genkai. "Kaminaraigan!" he said and his eyes became blue. He could see something in the air and it happened in the jungle. "This isn't the work of some poachers" Hisoka said lowly as he faced a big pillar of smoke in the air, making his teammates confused. "Obviously this is the work of one of our competitors. Whoever it is, they are hell-bent on eliminating their foes, using lethal methods" he explained and began jumping towards a branch.

Kimiko snapped in outrage at this. "WAIT! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING, HISOKA!?" she yelled as she followed her black-skinned teammate.

Guy was about to follow his teammates, but not before taking a last glance at the hole in the ground. He then decided to give them a brief nod to those dead ninjas as a sign of expressing sympathy towards their fate. He then took off, catching up to his comrades.

Somewhere, hidden from the world itself

In this darkness where no light shines, there was an ancient man of old sleeping inside a throne room of celestial waters. In this throne room, no one else but the ancient man was there. But the silence was interrupted, once a beautiful and celestial melody was played. This melody actually made the ancient man cry, even as he slept. His mouth, despite being dry, began to move, and even speak. Tears streamed from his closed eyes, as the melody itself made him emotional in his deep sleep.

"Mother…..brothers…why…..why did you abandon me? Why…am I cursed by living this…..existence?" the ancient man asked lowly while tears stream from his eyes. "What credit…did I ever achieve?" he asked lowly again.

But then someone entered the throne room and the bright light which came from the doors opening actually made his elderly eyes open. His eyelids began working to open themselves, and it took a while as he could hear steps nearing him. Eventually, he managed to open his blue eyes and the irises focused on the ones who stood before him while kneeling.

"We have returned home, almighty Hirohito" Mikazuki said with the uttermost respect while holding the Orb of Asura in his right hand. His sisters were also kneeling beside their brother. "The stage has been set. In two weeks, we shall start our introduction to this world and succeed where others has failed. All shall kneel before the undisputed god and authority in this world: the almighty Hirohito Otsutsuki, our great leader…and father" he made his report to his master with uttermost declaration, as the ancient man's eyes continued to pierce him.

To be continued…

Author's note: I hoped you like this chapter. We got to know how Gaara and the rest of the Sand Village had been doing since the aftermath of the world war. We also got a brief introduction about who the Sound ninjas' "business partners" were. I won't spoil the rest yet. And we also got to know Gaara's kid and his team. And by the way, here's what I think which voice actors the Sand Scorpions would have.

Tsubasa – Michael Sinterniklaas

Atsushi – Wayne Grayson

Haruka – Cassandra Lee Morris

Chiasa – Erin Fitzgerald