By morning, Kitsumi and Kakashi had recovered, at least to the extent that travel was possible. Kakashi still had a deep gash on his right leg, and Kitsumi hadn▓t fully recovered from the punch, but it was no safer to rest where they were, than to continue onward. If they made good time, they could reach the safety of the Suna by nightfall.
They managed to maintain a good pace throughout the day, and reached Suna as the sun fell, despite the injuries. As they approached what they thought was the gate, they noticed a suspicious lack of guards. They moved closer to investigate, and discovered several dead ninja, with the emblem of sand Jounin emblazoned on their arms. Kakashi motioned for the other two to stay back, and walked towards the scene. However, the timing seemed to be horrendous, as several sand ninja walked through the gate, probably to replace the dead guards. Kakashi didn't even wait for them to find the scene, and simply held up his hands, and motioned for the others to do the same. When the sand guards realized what was happening, they quickly secured the leaf team, and two led them into the city.
Once they entered the city proper, a team of ANBU began to follow them slightly apart from the guards. The team was led across the city, to a large tower, resembling a sandcastle of gigantic proportions. The guards led them through two giant stone doors, ornately engraved with a visage of the first Kazekage. His hollow eyes shone menacingly, as they separated his face. Behind him, a set of spiral stone stairs led them to a bleak office that looked out of place in the grandiose hall. In the office sat the Kazekage, wearing the traditional blue robe, his face covered by a veil. He was flanked on the left by an advisor and on the right by an ANBU.
"Kazekage-sama, these are the ninja we found by the dead guards at the west gate." The guard speaks quickly, and when he is finished, the Kazekage turns to the ANBU and whispers in his ear.
"Kazekage-sama says that he doubts that these three could defeat the gate guards," he pauses briefly for more whispering, "but that we can't be sure. He says that if they complete a mission for Suna, they will be cleared of all charges."
"What's the mission?" Kakashi blanked his expression; his grin faded.
"Kazekage-sama says that you are to assassinate a certain rogue ninja, Subaku no Gaara." The ANBU finished recounting, and the Kazekage returned to his upright position.
"How strong is this Subaku no Gaara?" Kakashi's voice remained calm and disinterested.
"He was scheduled to partake in the upcoming chuunin exams." The other man speaks this time, but no one pays much attention.
"Alright, we accept. Oh, this is the reason for our arrival." Kakashi pulls out the scroll the Hokage gave him, and places it in front of the Kazekage, "Now, how do we find this Subaku no Gaara."
"He can probably be found on the cliff surrounding the village; you can get up there from a flight of stairs behind this tower." The man stood up, "I will lead you there." The man lead them back downstairs, and out through the Kazekage's face. They circled the tower, and arrived at the bottom of a set of large stairs.
"This is where I leave you." and the man turned and walked in the other direction, leaving the team to climb the staircase. The stairs led very far up, after all, the wall surrounded the village. When they reached the top, they saw a boy with red hair, a pale face, and large black circles surrounding his eyes.
He looked down at them from the top, his arms held on each side. On his left, a blond girl with a large fan strapped to her back, on his right, a brown haired boy with a large parcel wrapped in medical tape.
"Mother told me you were coming." The center boy's hollow voice echoed eerily, "She told me you would try to kill me, but it is you who will die.■ Suddenly the ground began to shake, and sand lifted up from the wall and shot toward where they stood. The team jumped away, only to be caught by the two others.
Hinata's jump was blown off course by the girl with the fan. She managed to land nimbly, but was cut off from her team mates. Kakashi jumped over soon after, and started forming handseals. Hinata decided to let him perform his technique, and stayed out of the way.
"Gakon: Housenka no Jutsu!" Kakashi flung several small fireballs at the girl. She swept the fan off her back and blew the fireballs out of existence.
On the other side, the twins faced off against the boy. They easily evaded his attacks, but could not seem to end the fight either.
"Kagebunshin no Jutsu." Kitsumi created two clones of herself, and sent them into battle for her. However before either could do anything, the boy cleared them, and wrapped his arms around her several times, his joints unlocking like wooden parts. Just as all seemed lost, the body in the death hug disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and the limbs reverted to their original state. Naruto took the opportunity to run up and hit the white parcel on its back. The impact was good, and the girl turned over to look.
"Kankuro! Are you ok?" She looked over, giving Kakashi the time he needed to slip his hand around her head, and put a kunai to her neck. Then, the forgotten red head reminded everyone of his presence with a tentacle of sand, which ensnared Kakashi's leg. It began to slowly climb up his body, slowly trapping him inside.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto rushed furiously at the offending ninja, attempting to punch him in the face. Sand interposed itself and Naruto didn't hit anything. Refusing to give up, Naruto tried again, but this time expected the sand.
"Kuchiose no jutsu!" Kitsumi appeared clasping his hand and continued his punch, hitting the boy solidly in the face. When she pulled her hand back, the boy's skin began to chip and peel, revealing another layer within.
"I'm sorry mother." The boy seemed to pay no attention to them and began talking to himself, "Yes, I will kill them for you mother. I will mix their blood with my sand." The boy began to take on a brown glow, which seemed to rotate wildly around his body.
The sand moved towards him, flying around in the aura of chakra that surrounded his body. The other two backed off suddenly, separating themselves from their opponents. Before the team could react, the sand began to fly out in small pellets, which tore through Kitsumi and Naruto's skin. The wounds bled, and more sand pellets fired. Whenever a pellet came close to an open wound, the blood would spill towards the sand, and be absorbed by it. Soon they all had a large number of these wounds, Kakashi and Hinata had already passed out from blood loss, but the twins took refuge in the site of sealing.
They looked out of their eyes, unable to control their bodies. The damage was too great. Before they decided to quit watching, a great flare of orange appeared in the cage, the Kyuubi.
"Well, it doesn't look like you're doing too well out there brats." The Kyuubi smiled sarcastically at them.
"What about it, you know if we die you do as well." Kitsumi retorted.
"Yes, this is why I▓m here to make you a deal. I'll let you use some of my chakra." An orange mist began to seep through the bars and envelope the children. The mist followed them through the mental paths, and into their bodies.
By the time they regained consciousness, they were entirely enveloped by a orange corona, protecting them, and deflecting the sand. Their wounds also began to heal, the many cuts on their arms simply vanished, while the deeper wounds took longer. After several seconds, there was no sign of the previous wounds at all. The pair then charged the boy, their auras connected in a flash of light. In the end, the dual orange pushed back the brown sand, and the boy collapsed exhausted. The pair then focused on the two others, Naruto the boy, and Kitsumi the girl. One punch each caused them to slip into unconsciousness, and the twins followed them soon after.