:Appears in puff of ninja smoke: Here's the next chapter. I really appreciate the reviews I received. Thank you all so much!

Warning: This chapter contains swearing.

I used referance from Wikipedia to some things in this chapter. (For example: Sasuke's attack moves). That site really helps a lot!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the anime/manga "Naruto"; Masashi Kishimoto owns "Naruto". Any trademarks, characters, storylines, plots, etc. from the anime/manga "Naruto" belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I would also like to say that ratings, page formats, chapter scroll bars, etc., (this goes for all of my stories and this one as well) that my stories are using are all thanks to

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---Normal POV---

The grassy terrain quickly transformed under Team Seven's feet as they traveled towards Sunagakure. Hours had passed by uninterrupted as the sandy country became closer.

Becoming tired from the quick traveling on foot, the group of ninja decided to stop for a break.

The vibrant blonde, Naruto, pulled out a bag of chips from his small carrying bag and dug into it happily. The group sat on a few rocks that were scattered on the ground.

"We have a very broad situation on our hands." Sasuke said monotonously. "If the Kazekage doesn't give us any suggestive hints leading to the Sand Nin, we could be stuck looking for them for weeks. That is, if they haven't arrived before we get there."

"In addition to what you're saying… I know this is wrong to say, but… perhaps the Kazekage will lie to us!" Sakura said.

"But he's the Kazekage. He wouldn't lie unless need be." Naruto retorted.

"…And this is exactly our mission." Kakashi added. "You guys get a few hours of rest. I'll keep watch."

"We'll rotate shifts." Sasuke said.

"Jeez! Can't you just swallow your damn pride for once?" Naruto scoffed under his breath before sitting behind a rock to sleep.

---

Naruto looked around at the scenery around him. Buildings, houses, and stores surrounded him. Silhouettes of people passed him, fading in and out of his view. "Am I back in Konoha?" Naruto muttered to himself, looking downwards. He decided that he wasn't when he saw sand scattered across the cobblestone pathway. Not knowing what he was doing, he noticed the miscellaneous figures going in one direction. Clueless, the adolescence followed them.

Without warning, the blonde in the orange jumpsuit was caught in the current of the crowd. He could hardly move as he was propelled forward in the midst of the group. He was shoved outwards, landing face first on the rocky path.

He groaned, rubbing the side of his face that he landed on. A shadow overcastted him, and he looked up, hand still covering his scrape. "Huh?" He asked, not quite able to see the figure against the sun.

Naruto noted the figure's slightly spiky, short hair. The intimidating figure had his arms crossed. It reminded him of…

"Gaara?"

The figure lifted his foot. Naruto couldn't believe that he didn't notice, but the figure had grown into a giant. Naruto's eyes widened and his heart jumped to his throat. The giant Gaara began to put his foot down, intending to squish Naruto like a helpless bug. It seemed like forever he had to wait, but yet he couldn't move. He was frozen in fear. The blonde squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the painful impact.

---

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he flung himself into a sitting position. It took him several seconds to adjust. He still had his hand plastered onto his face. Drool ran down his chin.

Naruto removed his hand, and mopped up the drool with the back of his sleeve.

"Oi, Naruto! You're up! I was just going to wake you." Sakura said. Naruto grunted in response. "Alright, I'm up, I'm up."

He rose to his feet slowly, looking dazedly at the scenery around him. 'What a strange dream.' He thought to himself. In truth, Gaara still scared him out of his wits. He had caused a lot of fear throughout many. Naruto wondered if he had changed at all from his sadistic ways.

Kakashi and Sasuke emerged from seemingly nowhere, and without further ado, they were on their way.

---

Gaara backed up quickly to dodge tails that were whipping past him. The red head looked upwards to see what the commotion was, and was met face to face with an enormous demon. Gales of wind that were created by the tails were sharp against his skin and made him bleed.

Gaara stared at the crimson blobs on his arm, and wondered feverishly why his sand armor hadn't protected him. It was then that he realized that the demon was the Kyuubi.

It roared deafeningly. The deformed shapes of the newly discovered ninja appeared behind it and on top of it, but the Kyuubi didn't seem to mind.

The Kyuubi snapped at him with its long teeth. Gaara managed to dodge the attack. Kunai were piercing him, making him recoil back out of their aim.

The red head backed into something solid. He turned around, only to find something all too familiar. A roar erupted from both the Kyuubi and the sandy monster behind Gaara, the Shukaku. The Shukaku raised a clawed limb, and flung it down to crush him.

---

Gaara awoke from the atrocious nightmare startled and shaken. "…Shukaku." He muttered under his breath. He could feel the demon's smug mood. "I hate you."

'Ooooh, some strong words there, brat.'

Gaara flared his nostrils in frustration, and tried to block out the vile monster. He walked towards the entrance, trying to see through the dark chakra that imprisoned them.

A dark flash caught his eye. He concentrated on the flash, and he made out a circular rim-like object, like a halo. There were a couple of them lying amidst the same spot on the floor. He wouldn't have noticed it had he not looked hard enough. He frowned, recalling the ninja wearing the same things around their limbs.

He looked towards his brother and sister, but found them still unconscious. He walked back to the corner of the cave, leaned back against the wall, and looped his arms around his knees. A flimsy sigh escaped his lips as he continued to endure the Shukaku's mental torment.

---

Naruto rubbed his eyes contentedly as they walked down the sandy cobblestone pathways of Sunagakure. People were doing their daily business, not paying any mind to the Leaf Ninja.

"The Kazekage's office is this way." Kakashi said, leading the way. "Be respectful to him. Remember, you represent Konoha."

At long last, they approached a tall building. Entering into the lobby, they found the stairwell, and began to climb it.

Kakashi notified the secretary of their arrival, and knocked on the door gently.

"Come in."

The office was tidy. The floor was made entirely of marble. Bookcases were full of scrolls and thick folders, documents, and informative-looking books. Sculptures of Chinese dragons were carved out of jade. Charms hung from the ceiling in specific places, mostly around the Kazekage's main working desk.

Sitting behind the desk was the ruler of the land of wind and sand, sifting though the documents in front of him. He wore what all the Kages did; a white robe, with a white hat placed on his head. Cloth draped down from the back half of the hat onto his shoulders. The kanji for "wind" was embroidered in red onto the front of the hat.

Bowing politely, Team Seven seated themselves in front of him.

"What brings Konoha Ninja to Sunagakure?" He asked, looking at them from underneath the rim of the ruler's hat.

"We would like information on the most recent missions you have issued, Kazekage-sama." Kakashi said.

The Kazekage said nothing, while pouring a cup of water for himself. He took a sip, and lowered the cup slightly.

"Why would you require such information?"

"We found some Sand Ninja in Konoha, but they would not tell us what they were doing." Kakashi said.

'Kakashi's quick on his feet at lying!' Naruto thought amusedly, knowing that was not the reason why he wanted to see the records.

"How strange. I don't recall sending any ninja there." He said monotonously.

Everything seemed to stand still, as Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke held their breath nervously.

"…Even so, I will answer your question by showing you the missions scroll."

The figure stood, and walked to a bookcase. The three teenagers let out their breath in one big sigh. He scanned through it, and then pulled out a big scroll. He handed it to the silver-haired Jounin.

Naruto looked around the office. He blinked in surprise when he saw two security guards by the door he hadn't noticed before. They had black metal bands wrapped around their limbs, their hitae-ate wrapped around their arms, which were crossed.

The Kazekage motioned the ninja towards him. "Would you refill their canteens? I'm sure they're empty from the trip through the desert." He said. Each member bowed and thanked him. The security ninja took their canteens away. Once they were brought back the team excused themselves and left.

"What did it say?" Naruto asked eagerly, once they were a ways away from the building, and not surrounded by many people.

"Nothing about the three." Kakashi answered. "Our only option now is to find them." He began to walk.

Suna's sun beat down on them. Sakura and Naruto took long drinks from their canteens, but Sasuke decided to save most of his just in case, and only took a sip. Kakashi had went off to drink some of his water elsewhere. When Sakura asked why he had done so, Kakashi simply replied, "You guys have never seen my face. Why should I show it to you now?"
The answer made all three sweat drop, and they continued out of the country.

Sasuke was lost in his own thoughts. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the thinning streets thoughtfully. 'Something's not right here. These people are frightened... But of what?'

---

Shuffling sounds snapped Gaara from his daze, and the red head looked around to see the outline of Kankuro moving. His brother sat up and rubbed his head. "What the hell?" He muttered.

"Kankuro." Gaara said, catching said person's attention. The older sibling stood, and shuffled his way over to the youngest of the three.

"Do you know what happened?" He asked, plopping down beside Gaara.

"They used our exhaustion to trap us."

"Do you think we can escape from here?"

"Shukaku says it's not worth trying."

Both were silent. The affects of the darkness were already affecting their hope. It seemed unwise to escape, since the ninja were so strong. The pathway that led them here would be very hard to trace back, since it broke off in different branches.

Having nothing else to do, and to keep his mind off of the cold, Kankuro collected the dislocated parts of the marionette Karasu, and proceeded to put it back together. Gaara paused for a moment to actually consider helping, and decided to since it would take his mind off of the Shukaku's annoying bickering.

'Whoa! I can't believe you're actually helping somebody! The world is coming to an end! Run for your lives!' Shukaku teased. Gaara ignored the comment, and began to lock pieces together.

Temari groaned, and propped herself up on her elbows. She still looked pale and scratched up from the terrible fall she had experienced.

"Are you okay, Temari?" Kankuro asked.

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine…" She said, looking around hastily. "Have either of you seen my fan?" Kankuro shook his head, and Gaara said nothing. The oldest sibling sighed. "Great…" She scooted over to them, to see what they were doing. "How come Karasu's in here and not m-" "Shh!" Kankuro said, shooting her a glare.

"Maybe they left it in here by accident, but Karasu's probably our only chance at escaping, so don't say anything; they might be able to hear you!" He said, whispering.

The three of them worked on rebuilding Karasu. Few parts were completely destroyed, so they managed to get most of it completed, even though most, if not all of the parts were weakened and beaten up.

Gaara could hardly see what he was doing, but knew it was important for them to finish building Karasu as soon as possible. He picked up three pieces to work on. As he tried to join the hinges between the pieces, he got lost in his thoughts. He thought about the halo shaped things, the ninja that wore the bands, and the chakra sealing them in. Suddenly, he froze, staring at the pieces in his hands.

"Gaara, what is it?" Kankuro asked, noticing Gaara's pause.

"I have an idea."

---

Naruto traveled quickly across the terrain beside Kakashi. The blonde haired adolescence and the silver haired adult traveled in the front of the group, while Sakura and Sasuke took the back. They had been traveling for two hours since leaving Sunagakure.

Naruto concentrated on other things to keep his mind off of exhaustion. He looked at the scenery, which was made up of sand. He looked up at the sky, staring at the clouds. He then began to notice how thick the clouds were, how they hovered almost directly over them in the sky, and how they were darkening heavily. The blonde felt a twinge of worry in the back of his head, and then began to slow down, holding his arms out to signal the rest of the group to follow.

Soon, the group had stopped moving entirely. They stood still, catching their breath.

"What is it, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Sorry for stopping, but I think we should find a place to hide soon. I have a super bad feeling about that!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing towards the dark area of sky.

Kakashi nodded, understanding. "If it's a thunderstorm, we'll be the first things struck down, since we're the tallest things around. We could go back to Sunagakure, which isn't too far, but judging by how close the clouds are, we'd never make it in time before the storm hits." Kakashi paused. "Any suggestions?"

"We're not safe unless we're underground," Sasuke muttered. "So I suggest we keep going. Keep lookout for any place that seems safe to rest in. There should be some, since many animals have to burry underground to survive in the desert."

"Brilliant!" Sakura chimed, but went ignored by Sasuke. The group continued traveling.

It had been about an hour, and Team Seven had not stopped again. Exhaustion was clouded over each ninja. Rain had started to pour upon them; lightly at first, but then in buckets.

Sakura's bright green eyes dodged from side to side, desperately hoping for a place to stop. Her bangs were getting stuck to her face because of the rain. She lifted her hands to brush them out of her vision.

Rocks had gradually grown in one particular area, and now it was a great, jagged hill. Many small tunnels and crevices were dug into it by animals that were in the same situation as they were.

Sakura slowed down, stopping the rest of the team for the second time. "There might be a small cave that has room enough for all of us in that clump of rocks, so I think we should split up and search the entire thing!" The pink-haired girl suggested, panting from the non-stop traveling.

"You're right, Sakura. Don't lose sight of each other, though." Kakashi said. He seemed slightly tired as well, his revealed eye scanning the area.

'Why do we have to keep an eye on each other? That's strange... It's almost like he can sense something that we can't.' Sasuke thought suspiciously, but went to search anyway. The four of them scattered across the miniature, rocky mountain.

-

Sakura was on the highest part of the mountain, looking for a sign of some sort that there was an entrance to a cave. She was surprised when she noted she hadn't caught her breath yet. She had begun to feel exhausted a while back, but it wasn't as bad as it was now. She glanced to the left, and further down, Naruto was there. He was digging through the rocks in various places.

Figuring that there was no entrance on top, she started to proceed her way down.

Sakura paused when she heard an unordinary sound. She couldn't place it. She frowned and turned, looking each way. There was nothing that she could see.

The pink-haired teenager put a hand to her throat. She still hadn't caught her breath, and it was starting to worry her. In fact, it was almost harder to breathe than before! Knowing that something was definitely wrong, her eyes darted around, looking desperately for a team member. She knew Naruto was searching to the left of her and not too far away, but now she could barely see him!

"Help!" She cried loudly, hoping he would hear her. She sounded quiet in her own ears. Her head began to hurt, and black fog seeped into her vision. She tried again to call for help, but she couldn't seem to make a sound. The last thing she saw was dark wings that seemed to loom venomously over her.

-

Naruto was searching near the top. He looked up and spotted Sakura, and saw Sasuke looking a ways away at the bottom. He stepped carefully around, making sure not to step on loose rocks. The fall wouldn't be fatal since it wasn't really high up, but it would still hurt likehell if he didn't land on his feet.He pulled loose some rocks, but didn't find any place that they would all fit in. His muscles were completely exhausted, and he didn't know why. The blonde adjusted his hitae-ate on his forehead, and sat down on a boulder that bulged from the side of the mountain.

Naruto rubbed his eyes, a headache pounding inside his skull. He had a confused expression on his face when he found that he still couldn't breathe properly. "What the..?" He said. His voice was scratchy. He shook his head, hoping that would clear it all away. His eyelids drooped, and he fought to stay conscious.

"Help!"

'That's Sakura's voice!' He thought, forcing himself to look upwards. There was a strange whooshing sound, and then it was silent. He got up on shaky legs, and grabbed onto the side of the mountain for support. 'What's wrong with me?' He thought feverishly, then looked around for Sasuke and Kakashi, but found nobody. The sky was completely black now, and lightning shot down from the sky close to where they were.

'Crap…' Naruto thought, his sight becoming hazy.

'Maybe I'm just thirsty. This heat can get to anybody.' The blonde reached for his canteen and found it empty.

'Double crap…'

The same whooshing sound repeated itself, and he saw shadowy wings before he passed out.

-

Kakashi walked around the backside of the small hill, seeing nothing that they could hide under. "This is bad." He said to himself. "There isn't shelter anywhere here." The silver-haired Jounin sighed. He hoped that his team would find something.

"Help!"

Instantly registering the word and who said it, Kakashi appeared at the top of the hill in a cloud of smoke. There was a whooshing sound, as if something was flying close by. He unlocked his hands from the disappearing jutsu symbol, and looked for the pink haired girl. He covered the entire surface area of the top of the mountain, but there was no sign of Sakura. He heard another whoosh, and he turned to face the sound. Nobody was on that side either.

'Now I know I'm right, but I should've trusted my senses earlier! Someone has been following us!' Kakashi thought, pulling his hitae-ate upwards from over his second eye quickly. A scar ran vertically down his eye. His eyes revealed red irises with three black marks each surrounding the pupils.

"Sharingan!"

With his new view, he looked for chakra signatures. He saw many areas that were strange, and he concentrated on them.

As soon as he focused, he could see the chakra. It was everywhere; the dark chakra flooded the entire hill, and the desert around it. It pulsated in the air, and it even surrounded… himself? He had no time to contemplate on it.

"Argh!" Kakashi clasped his hands over his eyes, feeling pain pool in them. 'W-what's happening?' He thought, feeling the pain seep into his mind. The headache was massive. Letting his hand drop from his eye, he grasped the ground in his clutches.

Both of his Sharingan eyes were clouded over with dark chakra. They pulsated. Kakashi panted, standing upright. He could still see, but it was so hazy he couldn't understand what he was looking at. His breathing hitched, and his eyes widened as something pierced through him. 'I didn't… sense anything. I let my team down...' He let out a long sigh as he passed out, seeing dark wings that were the same colour as the chakra.

-

Sasuke circled the bottom of the rocks, also looking for a hidden place. Not seeing anything, he sighed hopelessly. He began to walk away from the hill to wait for his team, but a hole caught his eye. He turned back, walking quickly to it. It was surrounded by rocks. The raven-haired boy moved some rocks away, and stared into it. He couldn't hear anything moving inside, so it was empty. It seemed big enough for all four of them, maybe more.

The clouds wept heavily upon Sasuke, who was already soaked to the bone. 'How can it rain so much in the desert?' Hethought.He felt a shiver run through his system, and stood. He looked around for Sakura, Naruto, or Kakashi. Strangely, he couldn't find anyone.

"Help!"

'That was Sakura!' Sasuke thought mentally, climbing the hill quickly. Nobody was there. He went down again, and searched the opposite side. Nobody was there either. There were two strange whooshing sounds which he distinguished as something flying around. He then heard Kakashi.

"Sharingan!"

'Kakashi! Something's got to be wrong…' He thought, and then heard a cry of pain. There was another whooshing sound. He climbed to the top again to find nothing. There was absolutely nobody left around him. He was alone in the desert. Or was he?

'I need to find out where they've gone!' He thought, his dark irises turning red, just like Kakashi's.

"Sharingan!" He scanned the air, seeing the same chakra signatures that Kakashi did. There was so much chakra in the air that it made him dizzy. Still, he continued to try to decipher it, to locate the being causing all of the chaos. Sasuke breathed in sharply as he ducked an attack of long, sharp kunai.

"What-" He had no time to think as more kunai was thrown at him. He hit the oncoming objects with his own kunai. He pulled out more from his pockets, and held one in each hand. He stood on guard. Finally, the figure appeared in front of him.

It was moving too fast to see clearly, but it had giant wings made of the same dark chakra pulsating everywhere.

Sasuke let out a grunt as he just managed to dodge it. He stood still, waiting for the being to circle back and attack him. 'Ready… Now!' He thought, and then began to proceed with his plan. "Lion Combo!" He kicked the winged enemy into the air, and then proceeded to throw more kicks at it. It fell to the ground, and Sasuke delt the final blow of his technique. He let out a sigh. The figure lay on the ground before him.

Suddenly, it was gone. "What!" He exclaimed angrily, looking about for it. He was suddenly pinned to the ground, immobilized by the creature. He stared at it through his Sharingan eyes, lookingat the being's face. It was entirely mutated. Its bony but sharp claws dug into his shoulders. A ghostly growl reached Sasuke's ears, and he tried to get the figure off of him.

Sasuke maneuvered quickly, and kicked it. He elbowed it harshly, giving him a small moment. He performed all of the signs necessary.

"Fire Style – Art of the Phoenix Flower!" He said, inhaling a deep breath, and then blowing fire from the sign formed by his hand. Fireballs shot towards the figure, and it didn't have time to react. It was struck by the fire, and it recoiled back painfully.

Sasuke got to his feet faster than he knew he could, and began to create jutsu symbols with his hands, preparing to hit it again with fire. His Sharingan eyes were beginning to feel exhausted. It was unusual.

'What? What's happening?' Sasuke thought, but shook his head. His head was beginning to feel fuzzy, and he couldn't concentrate that well.

"Fire Release – Dragon Flame Jutsu!" He inhaled deeply again, and then blew harshly through the same symbol made by his hand. A long flamethrower shot through the air towards the weird thing.

It dodged, and before Sasuke had time to move, he was knocked to the ground again. The Dark Seal on Sasuke's neck pulsated within the other seal on top of it that Kakashi had put on, but it didn't have time to break through. The figure raised a fist, and Sasuke's eyes widened in shock before he was knocked out.

---

Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari were near the entrance. The red head had told them his idea, and they both agreed to do it. The Sand Nin almost had full chakra from resting.

"Manipulate Karasu to go through the barrier." Gaara said, the cork that sealed his gourd popping off. Sand seeped out, and circled the marionette.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Temari asked.

"We don't have any other choice." Gaara replied.

"Okay, I'll do it on three. One… Two… Three!" Kankuro began moving his fingers, which pulled various strings connecting to Karasu. It began to walk.

The sand circling the doll climbed upwards and encased it thickly. Karasu walked through the barrier slower than before because of the added weight. The sand began to crumble away quickly; the dark chakra ate away at the armor. It got at the sand and couldn't reach Karasu. The doll broke through the strong chakra, all of the sand fully gone.

Gaara had to grasp his forehead from the strain of keeping the sand on Karasu as a shell. He closed his eyes for a moment, and recollected his strength. Sand kept reapplying itself to the areas on the strings that were caught in the chakra, so that the energy didn't cut off the connection between Kankuro and Karasu.

"Command Karasu to collect those bands." Gaara said, pointing towards them.

Kankuro nodded, and moved his fingers again. Karasu walked towards them, and picked them up.

"Make it throw them back through the barrier."

"But won't they disintegrate?" Temari asked worriedly.

"Just do it, Kankuro." He glared at his brother. Kankuro was forced to ignore Temari's comment. 'What's Gaara thinking? The chakra will do the same thing it did to his sand!'

Karasu threw the bands through the chakra. They landed on the ground, rolling in circles, and then falling flat on their sides.

"Don't pull Karasu back through the barrier, or you won't have a puppet by the end of this." Gaara stated, and went to get the bands. There were seven, and each had a slightly smaller circumference than a basketball would.

The red head picked up one, and saw that there was a break on one side. He opened it from the break and clasped it around his right arm. It shrunk down to fit tightly around his arm. The break sealed itself. He picked up one more, and repeated the action on his left arm.

"Here." He threw two at Kankuro and two at Temari.

"Put these on." Gaara commanded.

"Why?" Asked Kankuro. "They'll just get stuck, and we'll never be able to get them off!"

"Yeah, he's right." Added Temari. "Then they'll know that we've been trying to get out, and something bad will happen!"

Gaara glared at them, and then walked briskly towards the barrier.

"Wait! You'll get incinerated!" Temari exclaimed. They both watched as their little brother walked to his death carelessly.

The red head disappeared though the chakra and stood on the other side.

"They're filled with the dark chakra, and they diffuse the energy through you. The more you have on, the more chakra you have, and the more you can standenergy like this. I could walk through it without getting harmed because of them."Gaara explained.

"How did you know that?" Kankuro asked, watching Gaara seal the last band on Karasu's left forearm.

"I figured the bands weren't for decoration purposes only on those ninja."

Temari put on her bands, and then put Kankuro's bands on his arms for him, since he was still commanding Karasu. The two walked out of the barrier, and Temari suddenly darted off to the side. She picked up a big object, and placed it on her back.

"I found my fan." Temari said. "Now, let's get outta here!"

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Holy cow, I didn't want this chapter to be so long! It's sixteen pages! I didn't want to divide this into two chapters though. D: Please forgive the length!

I'm sorry if this was boring (…Again… -- :sigh:)! But hopefully it'll get better in the future, since the plot picks up in the next chapter or two. :3 At least, I plan for it to…

Again, please review! They really do help:D Thanks to everyone that reviews!

Phoenix-Roar