Hopefully this one will be better.

Red Dawn Five-Suna

"Geez, I'm getting bored, un." complained the clay user.
"We'll get there soon!" said Naruto, dashing along through the trees. "It's not far."
"Um… Naruto-kun…" said Hinata. "I think we should take a break."

Naruto skidded to a halt.

"Sorry. Okay, we'll wait here for half an hour, then go on. Right?" said Naruto.
"Okay, un." said Deidara. He seemed a little subdued.

They stopped, Hinata taking the opportunity to look around as Naruto waited impatiently. Deidara got out some food, eating it and then starting to make a sculpture.

All in all, it was a very boring rest. Especially for Naruto, who couldn't wait for it to end.
"Let's go!" he called, on the dot of the half an hour.

Grumbling slightly, Deidara got up, leaving the sculpture behind.
Hinata too got ready, and the three left.

Minutes after they had, Deidara grinned, putting his hands together.
"Katsu!"

Naruto stopped again.
"Why?" he asked.
"Why not, un?" countered Deidara.

Naruto thought about that for a moment, then shrugged.
"Fair enough. Let's go."

* * *

It was some time later when they finally reached the desert, Sunagakure coming into view over the horizon.

"Right, I have a plan of how to get in. I make an explosion to the right, a big one, and while the ninja go to look at it, we sneak in and bang! We talk to Gaara!" explained Deidara as they got closer.
"No." said Naruto shortly. "We're just gonna go and talk to him."
"But… then I don't get to explode things, un!" complained Deidara pitifully.
"See my caring face."

* * *

"Kazekage-sama!"
"What is it?"
"There are ninja wearing the cloaks of Akatsuki at the gates, they want to talk to you."
"Send the best jonin available to defeat them."
"One of them is Uzumaki Naruto."

Gaara stopped, silent for a moment.

"Get some of our ninja to accompany me. I'm going to talk to them."

* * *

"Naruto." said Gaara. "Why are you dressed as an Akatsuki? Your friend Hinata, too."
"Simple." said Naruto. "I joined them."

Gaara frowned.
"I thought they wanted to kill us."
"We did." piped up Deidara from behind Naruto.

The sand ninja behind Gaara drew weapons in the blink of an eye.

"I'm here to apologise, un! Nothing personal, un…" said Deidara, trailing off. "I'm gonna meet you back at the trees, right Naruto?"

He turned and ran, some of the sand-nin clearly wanting to follow, but obeying Gaara's silent command as the Kazekage raised his hand.

"Naruto-kun. What do you want here? I am no longer a Jinchuriki."
"But you could be." said Naruto

Gaara stared at him.

Naruto explained.
"We need all nine Jinchuriki to bring about peace. We could give the Ichibi to someone new, but it would be easiest to have someone who knows it."

Gaara thought about it.

"Why would I want it back?"
"It improves your power. And we could give it back so it has less control, our Leader has this awesome sealing technique."

"No." aid Gaara.
"No?"
"No. I'm the Kage here, I can't go and join a terrorist organisation. Naruto, I'm not going to register you and Hinata as missing-nin. And you can tell that explosives guy that if he does anything else to harm my village I'm going to have him hunted down and killed, but for now he's off the list." said Gaara.

Naruto sighed.

"Is… there anything we can do to change your mind?" asked Naruto.
"No. I'm sorry. Good luck with the Peace." said Gaara.
"Then thank you. I hope to see you soon." said Naruto with a formal bow, especially for him.

He turned, and he and Hinata left.

* * *
Some time before
* * *

"Damnit! I can't find his track…" complained Kiba. Akamaru gave a mournful bark of agreement.
"Byakugan." said Neji.

Looking around, he scanned the woods.
"There are traces of odd chakra around, fitting that used by Naruto. He went that way." said the Hyuuga prodigy, pointing in a direction that, coincidentally, was the exact direction of the Akatsuki hideout.

"Let's go." said Shikamaru.

The others nodded, and they went to go.

Sakura stopped Sasuke.
"Are you alright, Sasuke-kun?" she asked.
Sasuke turned to face her, his eyes downcast.
"Nothing will ever be alright again. I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. Sorry for everything."

He left.
Sakura went after them a second later.
He'd said the one thing she wanted most to hear. But it didn't help. What could she do for him?

* * *

"Mission was a failure." said Naruto. "We met with Gaara, and he accepted the apology, but said he couldn't join us. He wished us good luck."
"That'll have to do." said Konan. "Come to the main room in half an hour."

Naruto nodded, and he and Hinata returned to the room that, to Hinata's embarrassment, they were sharing, to relax before the meeting.

Well, Naruto did.
Hinata, after putting down the small bag of travelling supplies she had, went straight to the training area to practise.

"I have to get stronger. If I don't, the Akatsuki might not let me stay here. With Naruto. I have to get stronger."

* * *

"You're right, Neji." said Kiba. "We can smell them both now."
"It's still maybe a day before we arrive, I think." said Neji.
"Troublesome." sighed Shikamaru. "We should rest here."
"No, we have to rescue Naruto-kun! His youth cannot be allowed to be lost to Konoha." exploded Lee.

"I… don't want him to leave." agreed Sakura.
"I never apologised…" murmured Sasuke.

This time, all of them looked at the Uchiha prodigy.
Then at each other.

"We'll move again in the morning." said Shikamaru.

* * *

"The mission to retrieve the old host of the Ichibi was a failure." said Konan. "This leaves us with only one alternative. We must find a new host for it. Naruto, you are obviously out of the question. Who will offer?"

The members of the Akatsuki grumbled.

They didn't want to risk the mental dangers of being a Jinchuriki.

"Um… I'll do it…" said Hinata.
Everyone looked at her. Naruto had an expression of disbelief and fear on his face.

"You can't do it!" he said. "No. You shouldn't have to."
"I… want to." whispered the young Kunoichi.

Konan looked at Hinata. She understood why.
"Hinata will do it. All of you, meet here in an hour for the jutsu. I and the master will teach you all the new technique." said Konan. "Hinata, I would like to talk with you."

Furious, Naruto left the room.

* * *

Naruto re-entered the room, along with Deidara, Itachi, Kisame, Tobi, Zetsu, Hidan and Kakuzu.
Konan was waiting in there, along with an orange haired, heavily pierced figure. The leader, Pein.

Hinata was in the centre of the room, kneeling.

"These are the handsigns." began Konan abruptly, showing a long series of the signs.. "After doing them, we must channel chakra to the technique for eight hours."
"Eight hours?" groaned Naruto.
"Be happy, the old technique took days." grinned Kisame.

A statue began to grow from the ground, formed by Pein.
"Onto your fingers." said Konan.

Nine of the Akatsuki flashed onto their fingers, leaving Naruto to look around wildly and then take the remaining finger.

"Fūinjutsu: Genryū Kyū Fūsoushi!" cried Konan as the group finished the handsigns.

From the statue, a blue shape formed, like a dragon, and then another, and another, until there were nine of them. Deep within them was a strange, almost golden light.

The tendrils reached for Hinata, striking her, the golden chakra pouring into her, seeping into her mouth, her eyes, her nose.

She gave a silent scream.

Naruto averted his eyes.

"Please, Hinata-chan… be alright."

* * *

"They're in there." said Neji. "What's the plan for getting in."
"You don't need a plan, nii-san."

The door had opened.
"But you're not bringing us back." finished Hinata.

Behind her were Naruto, Deidara, Kisame and Itachi.

"Naruto, Tsunade has killed Danzou. You are free to return to Konoha." said Shikamaru.

"But I can't. I'm with Akatsuki. We're going to save the world." said the blonde ninja.

"I don't believe this…" began Sakura angrily.
"Naruto. Please, come back." said Sasuke.

Naruto looked at him, and smiled.
"I'm glad you're back, teme."
"Dobe…" whispered Sasuke. "I'm sorry."
"So you should be." said Naruto. "I forgive you."

"Naruto-kun! You once said that you would become our Hokage." said Lee.
"I wish I could." said Naruto.

"Hinata! Why are you here?" shouted Kiba to his old teammate.
"Where else should I be?" she asked. "But at Naruto-kun's side?"

"You finally told him…" sighed Kiba. "Damnit."
"You won't come with us?" asked Shikamaru.

"No." said both Naruto and Hinata.

"Troublesome… then we'll have to make you."

At that, the Konoha-nin ran towards their old friends.

Itachi, Deidara and Kisame tensed to respond, but they didn't need to.

Through holes in the ground fine golden sand was welling up, wrapping itself around the unsuspecting ninja, holding them still.
"Sabaku Kyu." said Hinata quietly as the sand wrapped around the ninja.

"Hinata!" cried Naruto, recognising both the technique and that which always followed it.

"Sabaku Sos-" Hinata began.

Naruto grabbed her, and kissed her.

The sand collapsed, the Konoha-nin falling to the ground, injured, shocked, but alive.
Hinata fainted.

"We clearly can't win against you and Hinata-chan." said Shikamaru.

Naruto was shaking Hinata awake, succeeding only for her to see his face and faint again.

"And that's without those three behind you." added the Nara.

Naruto had managed to wake Hinata, and she was standing, unsteady on her feet, the sand streaming towards her.

"So we're going to give this up for lost for now." said Shikamaru. "Good luck."

"No." said Sasuke. "No. He didn't give up on me, ad I won't give up on him. I'll bring him back if I have to destroy this country and slay every other ninja in it."

Sasuke drew his kusanagi, throwing a pair of shuriken at Naruto and beginning to run.

Sand whirled up, blocking the shuriken, protecting Naruto.

Sasuke stopped.
"Continue and I'll have to kill you. Naruto did not turn on Konoha like you." said Hinata, her words boring into his soul. "Konoha turned on him."

The angry words from the previously quiet Kunoichi shocked him into silence.

The sand flowed up Hinata's back, forming into a gourd and solidifying.

She turned to re-enter the building.

"We're leaving." said Shikamaru. "We can't do this."

Shikamaru turned to go, followed by Neji, and a reluctant Kiba and Lee.
Sasuke stood there, katana still in hand.
"Sasuke-kun… let him go." said Sakura.

The Uchiha nodded slowly, and turned to leave.

* * *

Byakugan-All Seeing White Eye
Fūinjutsu: Genryū Kyū Fūsoushi- Sealing Technique: Illusionary Dragon Nine Creation Seals
Sabaku Kyu-Desert Coffin/Sand Waterfall Funeral
Sabaku Soso-Desert Funeral/Sand Waterfall Funeral

* * *

I think I have outdone myself. But hey, I would, wouldn't I? This is almost as long as the rest put together…