Ok, so here's the new ch. hope everybody enjoys. Don't forget to review.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form but if I did this is how it would go.

CONFRONTATION IN THE DESERT I

Out in the forest a frog came into a large clearing and stopped. Jiraiya sat calmly on the giant frog and surveyed his surroundings. A few moments later Jiraiya was joined by two other frogs carrying his companions. This was their third stop. Shino slid off the frog and lay down, without saying a word. He spread his his arms and let his body relax. Jiraiya noted this and slid off his frog as well to go speak to him. Hinata also slid off her frog and began rubbing her legs. She had not expected the physical drain of riding a frog. It had not been to bad at the first stop and Jiraiya had told them it would be an enjoyable ride when they got used to it. Unfortunately they didn't know how long it would take to get used to. The drain of chakra wasn't too bad until it was actually compounded by the frogs skin and motion. It was the actual landing of the frog that made it hard to keep balance. On top of that she had to grip the vest with all her might at all times to keep from falling off. Jiraiya said they had to find a way to make themselves more comfortable, but at the moment they had been unable to do so. Hinata also sat down thinking of how much riding frogs sucked. She almost wanted to trade spots with Kiba. Jiraiya hadn't been joking about what he said about their breaks she was definetely not looking forward to keep going. She closed her eyes and tried to rest as much as she could. Jiraiya meanwhile had reached Shino and was sitting next to him. "I know this is a huge drain on you, I want to speak to you when we break for lunch. Just you and me I have a lot of things to discuss with you. Also, I got something that will help you. I...hmm we'll speak later. Kiba is almost here. I know you heard me so you don't need to answer. Rest up... for now." Jiraiya said. Shino did as asked he simply lay there and moved his arms over his head. This helped with the cardiovascular circulation. As Jiraiya stood up Kiba came crashing into the clearing sitting on top of Akamaru.

Kiba was laughing gleefully. "What are you guys doing! Tired already?" Kiba teased. He saw that they really were being wore down and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, I was just joking. Ano...we're making great time though..." He wanted to lift their spirits somewhat, but they were to tired to respond. Jiraiya was the only one who seemed unphased. He was walking towards him calmly.

Jiraiya found Kiba's taunts distasteful, but he didn't say anything. He didn't fully know how their relationship worked, but he figured this was Kiba's way of relating to everyone. He pulled out the map and waved Kiba over. Kiba dismounted Akamaru and they made their way towards Jiraiya. Jiraiya unrolled the map so Kiba and Akamaru could see it. "Ok Kiba, This is where we're heading." He began to explain directions to Kiba and pointing out landmarks for him to guide himself by and where they should expect to meet next. Kiba listened well and noted all the details. Even though Kiba didn't want to admit it he was coming to respect Jiraiya's organizational skills and his knowledge of the land. After a few minutes of discussion Jiraiya finished his directions and rolled up the map. "You can take a short break if you want. We'll take off in a few minutes." Jiraiya offered.

Kiba shook his head. "We'll head out right now and rest at the next stop. I'll travel on foot so's not to wear out Akamaru." He began walking forward and looked back. "We'll see you at the next stop." With that he began running and before he left the clearing had taken on his beast form and was running with Akamaru at his side.

Jiraiya sat down and decided to give Hinata and Shino a longer break. They would easily catch him, Jiraiya let out a sigh and contemplated their journey.

Out in the desert Itachi and Kisame were conversing. "So you think Kakashi's group is on the way here and that green suited piece of trash is in the second group following them." Kisame said.

"Gai, yes. That is what I think. So, what group would you like to take." Itachi said.

Kisami chuckled. "Since you put it like that, I think I would enjoy tangling with this...Gai." He said and chuckled again.

Itachi nodded. "Remember we only need to buy some time. Don't do anything stupid and underestimate him." Itachi warned. Kisame sneered at this his chakra sword shifting in anticipation. He turned around and disappeared. Already on his way to find his targets. Itachi looked out over the desert and asked a question. "I wonder Kakashi, did you bring Naruto. I hope so it would save me a lot of time and effort if I could see how far he's come along now." Itachi also stepped forward disappearing from view. He too was on his way to find his targets now.

Temari was running a few steps in front of Gai and his team. Scanning the barren desert for any changes when all of a sudden her foot sank into the sand and she tumbled forward. She had not seen anything wrong this was totally unexpected. She had no time to think it through as she tried to run past this obstacle with zero success. Gai and the others had been following so closely behind they too were unable to escape this trap. They were all sinking in the sand. Neji was quick in thought and thought it was quicksand. However he noticed that it wasn't as he tried to move slowly back and was successful however he did not feel it becoming more solid and suddenly his left foot sank harder than his right. He suddenly knew it was some kind of jutsu that was doing this with the sand. Unfortunately he could not figure out this situation. Everyone else came to this realization slowly and stopped struggling thinking that would give them time to figure out a way out. This was not the case however. Once they all stopped struggling they all sank into the sand up to their chests and shoulders. Temari had had enough of this and yelled out in frustration. "What the hell is going on!"

Once she said that the sand instantly hardened and they did not sink anymore. As a matter of fact they couldn't move at all. As they all struggled to move a laughter rose from behind them. They all looked towards the source of the laughter, but couldn't get a clear view of him. It seemed that wouldn't be a problem as he walked around them making sure they could all see him. Laughing the whole time. He wore a black robe with roses on it as well and a headband of the village of mist with a long cut running across it. On his back sat a huge sword wrapped in bandages. His skin was blue and his hair was black. On the outside corners of his eyes he had what seemed to be gills. Even though he also had a nose. They couldn't tell if they were just for show or if they served a purpose. He finally stopped walking though and looked up at the sky. "What the hell is going on! Huh! I was wondering the same thing. I didn't think that a water summoning in the sand would give you so much trouble. Looks like if I hadn't undone the jutsu you guys would've died right now." Kisame started laughing again. "Then what would I do. I couldn't have fun anymore." He instantly turned serious and looked at the shinobi stuck in the sand. All of them were glaring at him with a desire to fight. "Is that all you got. You can't even get out of there. Don't tell me that moist sand is enough to stop you." He mocked. "If you can't even get out of this simple trap then you're not even worth fighting." He was starting to become aggitated were these the guys everyone was worried about. Maybe he should have gone after the other group. They might have been more fun. He reconsidered when he saw Gai. "Oh do you remember me from Konoha... what did they call you the blue beast?" He laughed again. "They should change your name to the dead beast."

Temari felt the frustration rising. She couldn't form any seals in their current condition none of them could. How could she let them fall for this trap. She wanted to scream, but she knew she had to keep her cool. Her mind started working on the problem, but she could not see any way to get out of this. Fortunately for her she wasn't the only one working on the problem. Gai looked deep in thought and after a few moments he answered Kisame's question. "I don't remember you...but if you want to fight the noble blue beast of Konoha then I'd be happy to oblige." Gai slowly began pulling himself out of the sand. Kisami saw this and smiled. He didn't interrupt him, he just waited until Gai had gotten up and was once again standing on solid ground and dusting himself off.

Kisami let out a short laugh and said. "Ooohhh, I'm glad you don't disappoint." Gai rushed at Kisami with lightning fast speed and engaged him in hand to hand combat. While the fighting would look intense to most people Rock Lee realized they were both just feeling each other out. Rock Lee had also figured our how to get out. By flexing and relaxing his muscles rapidly he began vibrating and was able to move in the sand. Once out he quickly went to Neji and began digging him out. They then dug out Tenten and Temari. As soon as Temari was out she lunged towards Kisami.

However before she could take a step a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned to see Neji. He began speaking as soon as she looked at him. "We need to find Naruto. Don't let your emotions get to you we all fell for the trap and were careless we can't do that again. We have to split up do you want to help us find Naruto or will you stay here and fight?" Neji asked. The sense of urgency barely contained in his voice.

Temari thought about this and came to the conclusion that Neji was probably better suited to find Naruto. "I'll help here." She said. Neji nodded and turned to Tenten.

At that moment Kisame noticed they were free and disengaged himself from his fight with Gai. He once again started laughing. This laughing had interrupted Neji but he had laid out the plan so now it was only a question of carrying it out. "So now we can get serious!" Kisami yelled with obvious glee. He jumped up in the air and threw his sword above his head. He quickly formed his seals for his aquatic shockwave jutsu. As soon as he finished his seals he took a deep breath and his chest expanded to unreal proportions. He opened his mouth and water started coming out of his mouth. It looked like he had become an open fire hydrant the way the water shot out and it did not stop it began flooding the desert. Large waves of water were spreading in every direction Neji and Rock Lee both began running in the direction they had been heading before the encounter. With Kisami performing such a huge jutsu he would not be able to catch them that easily. However Kisami did see them and started shooting water in their direction. They stayed a step ahead of the ever growing waves though and were able to escape narrowly as the wave crashed behind them the water kept coming but now not at such alarming velocity. They did not stop however, they had purpose to run faster. As Neji and Rock Lee got further away Neji's mind was still amazed at the amount of Chakra Kisami displayed. Not only had he flooded a part of the desert, but his trap had used a lot of chakra to summon that much water under the sand. He wished his comrades luck because they would not have an easy time with their opponent. Kisami decided to let them go. His only goal was to buy some time and he had accomplished that. Now, he just wanted to have a little bit of fun. The landscape had completely changed now. They were now standing on what seemed to be a lake.

Tenten, Temari, and Gai were all now using their chakra to stay afloat. Kisami caught his sword on his way back down. Gai was not about to let this guy get off easy. He ran toward Kisami making waves as he ran and was upon him in no time. He unleashed a flurry of attacks. Kisami was barely able to dodge them. He still hadn't landed, but Gai didn't care he wanted this to be over as soon as possible and kept attacking. Kisami was laughing as he started using his sword to block Gai's punches. He didn't punch back, yet, but kept being evasive until he landed. Once his feet were on the water Kisami immediately stabbed his sword still wrapped in bandages in the water. It remained standing there. Kisami did not miss a beat though and kept up with Gai's attacks only one punch landed, but Kisami was not phased. Gai threw a powerful roundhouse kick. Kisami saw the kick before it was fully launched and put his hand out to meet it. He caught Gai's leg half-way through it's trajectory, but was only able to slow it down. However that was all he needed. He had created an opening and threw a punch of his own which landed right below Gai's chest and sent him flying backwards all the way back to where Temari was now standing. Kisami grabbed his sword quickly and let himself sink underwater. Where he had been standing a large explosion went off. Up in the air Tenten had launched a large amount of projectiles with exploding notes. Underwater Kisami swam downward escaping the projectiles that had followed him. They did not explode and lost speed underwater. Kisami began laughing again. That girl had almost singed his hair he thought.

Tenten landed next to Temari and Gai once again. "So what do you think Gai-sensei?" Tenten asked.

Gai rand his forearm over his forehead and thought about it. "He's strong physically stronger than anyone I've fought before and fast. We still don't know what he can do, but he's exhausted a lot of chakra already so we definitely have a chance." Meanwhile Kisami was underwater swimming towards them. Gai and the others sensed him coming just before he broke the surface and jumped away as he rose from the water swinging his sword in a wide horizontal arc. Temari had jumped back as well, but was almost directly in front of him. She quickly reached for her fan as he raised his sword ready to bring it down. She pulled out her fan and swinging it full force in a horizontal arc aimed at Kisami's sword. Kisami was unable to bring his sword down due to the force of the wind. Tenten had thrown what seemed to be a ball with blades sticking out at all angles at Kisami's sword while he had it raised. As he tried to swing it down again there was an explosion. The force of the explosion knocked the sword out of Kisami's hand and sent blades flying everywhere. Temari swung her giant fan once again sending the blades coming at her back in Kisami's direction. However the force of her swing caused Kisami to also go flying back as well. As Kisame came to a stop Gai came out of nowhere and landed a solid hook on Kisami's cheek which sent him flying even further away this time Kisami crashed through the water unable to control his fall. As Kisami continued his trip Gai reached down and picked up Kisami's sword. Tenten and Temari came closer to get a better look. Gai was beginning to unwrap it when Kisami's voice reached them. Kisami was no longer laughing and his voice had now turned serious. "You dare touch my property." He was now standing with and open hand stretched out towards them. Suddenly the sword hilt in Gai's hands shot out thorns that seemed to be made of bone. They penetrated Gai's skin and he let out a yell. Then the sword flew from his hands opening up huge cuts. Tenten was standing in the way of the sword and Kisami. The sword flew directly at her with alarming speed. Tenten tried to move out of the way, but was not quick enough. The bandages on the sword loosened and it made contact with Tenten it violently scraped her clothes like sand paper and it caught her shirt and ripped it off at her abdomen. The sword under the bandages was like a nest of thorns and as it scraped along Tenten's soft skin it ripped it off without mercy. Her wound was not deep, but it was wide and there was a lot of blood. All this happened in less then a second. Tenten was not ready for the pain that shot across her body and lost control of her chakra. She instantly fell underwater and began sinking. The water began to make her bleed faster. Temari quickly put up her fan and dived in after Tenten. Tenten had curled up in a ball and was tightly gabbing her abdomen the water they had been standing on was salt water and the salt content was making her wound feel like it was on fire. The pain was excruciating. Temari swam after her as fast as she could, but felt like she was taking forever moving underwater. Meanwhile on the surface of the water a menacing voice had stopped Gai from diving in after them. "If you try to save them you will forfeit your life. Face me and my great blade 'Samehada'. Beat me if you want to live...you already know the alternative." Kisami was standing calmly now. He casually swung his sword upwards and brought it to rest on his shoulder. Gai stared at his oponent with intense anger. He began to concentrate and veins began appearing on his forehead.

Gai said to himself. "We will not die here." The water at Gai's feet began to become aggitated rapidly until there were huge waves riding away from him. He was deep in concentration and his body tensed violently. Blood was dripping from his clenched fists and he used the eight gates opening jutsu. Keimon gate the sixth gate was now open. Kisami was impressed, he assumed his fighting position. He now saw why Itachi had said not to underestimate them.

Naruto and the others were flying full speed behind the surprisingly fast ferret. When suddenly the ferret stopped and just as quickly turned back and ran towards them. They all turned to see where the ferret was running. Could it be that they had passed up an entrance out here in the desert. They were about to begin following the ferret when Naruto looked back towards the way they had been heading and there was a shadow there. A shadow Naruto recognized. "You!" He yelled. Everyone turned to see who it was Naruto was yelling at. Other than Naruto only Kakashi recognized the cloaked figure that was standing before them.

PREVIEW

Action, and more action, and what does Jiraiya want to talk to Shino about? Oh I can't wait.

RSO

dragonman180- Looks that way, but with them being so mysterious, you never know. Oh good observation. I don't know what to tell you about Gaara...you'll have to keep reading to find out.

danny- yeah, it's good to be alive. Hmmm...I guess it won't hurt to tell you now. I had actually planned to kill off Hirai early in the story to make it totally different, but I ended up liking her character so I made some changes so I can put her in the spot light later on. So many ideas so little time. Jiraiya and his team are just starting...give Shino some credit he's to cool to freak out. lol j/k. Don't worry about reading right through it. You have no idea how weird it felt actually having to go back and find it so I could point it out. Surreal hard to believe how much I've written. Feels like just yesterday I...sorry I lost my train of thought. Oh about the ch's. sorry. It's just hard to find a stopping point and...ok sorry I just gota little lazy. Man, I didn't think anyone would notice though. Oh yeah, NaruHina moments. Hopefully they will be worth the wait.

vandrad- sorry, I don't know how to separate the chs. I tried underlining and whatnot, but it doesn't seem to work and I want to carry all the plot-lines. Sorry.

acrazygirlofmanynames- OHMYGOD, are you psychic? J/K. thanx for the review.

dualrasengan- sorry, I try.