A.N.: So here finally comes the next chapter. Read and enjoy. I don't know when chapter 29 would be out, I almost had it but then a plot bunny came and decided I have to rewrite it. On a more positive note, chapter 30 is ready for release whenever 29 is. And virtual cookies to all my faithful reviewers.

A.N.2: Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If you think I do, my aunt is selling her house in Tanzaku town. It's cheap and in good condition.

Kakashi was scared and it had nothing to do with the fact he was currently fighting the Tsuchikage and a couple of his guards and not faring too well. It had more to do with the demonic aura in the air. He was no coward, but ever since the fateful day every bit of demonic chakra scared him out of his mind. Call it a phobia if you want, Kakashi preferred calling it common sense.

This time it wasn't nearly as strong as when the Kyuubi had attacked nine years ago, but somehow it felt even worse. Maybe it was because there were three demons here. The sight was really terrifying. Naruto was enveloped in a red shroud resembling a fox with enormously long ears, one tail swinging behind him. The Iwa ninja stood tall and proud, enshrouded in maroon chakra in the shape of a monkey with two tails flailing around. Close to them was the Suna boy, sand gathering around his body, forming parts of an animal Kakashi couldn't recognize. Sand was flowing into the room through every door and window, obeying the call of its master. It was forming into giant tendrils, ready to strike at command. Kakashi didn't even want to think about what would happen if one of them struck him. He doubted he knew a defense strong enough to stop it.

Once more his memories took him back to his sensei's last battle. Thinking back to it, he couldn't understand where Minato-sensei had found the courage necessary to stand against the Kyuubi in all its might. Just feeling a small portion of its killing intent was enough to make his knees shake. He supposed that the Yondaime was just that awesome. 'But so many people fought that day,' he remembered. 'Where did they find their courage?' He pondered over it for a moment. 'Konoha was attacked,' he realized. 'There was nowhere to run. They were – we were – fighting for our homes and families.' Now Konoha was far away.

'Is it still worth fighting for? Wouldn't it be better to run than be crushed by a power we cannot resist? What is here to fight for?'

Then he realized it was his sensei's son fighting there. Could he simply abandon him? He had a duty here. He remembered his earlier words about the genin being bound to die soon. Did he really believe it or was he afraid to get close to somebody who might be gone before he knew it? Or was he simply too scared of losing anybody that he isolated himself completely? He didn't know. And he didn't know why he was meditating over it now. The last Dust Cube had nearly crushed him. He retorted with a Lightning jutsu. He had to compose himself before he'd get killed here.

And perhaps he should stop running from his past as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~near the dais~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Tsuchikage surveyed the situation. It wasn't favorable for them. Roushi was holding his ground against the two jinchuuriki, but on the other fronts the fight wasn't going so well. The Suna ninja along with the few from Konoha had overcome their initial confusion and were now utilizing their greater numbers. The Iwa guards were losing and dying. He absentmindedly jumped from his spot, the ground he stood on a moment before turning into a mud river, courtesy of the Hokage. He raised a Stone Wall to stop a Wind Bird from the Kazekage. That reminded him that even his own situation wasn't rosy. He was fighting two Kage here and even when they were holding back due to the civilians still present within the room, he was having trouble. It was made even worse by his own hips, which picked that particular time to start hurting. Oonoki cursed them and valiantly ignored the feeling of two kunai embedded in his sides. Even if his pride tried to protest, his decades of battle experience told him it was time to call a tactical retreat.

He took a moment to survey the locations of all his surviving shinobi. There weren't many, but it wasn't hopeless yet. He turned a direction none of his subordinates was standing and created a Dust Cube far bigger than anything he had used in this fight. He winced as he realized how much chakra it cost him. He let it fly. It nearly hit the Kazekage, but the man dodged swiftly. Pity. Oonoki had hoped he would try to block. The cube moved forward, crushing several slow Suna ninja and one injured civilian in the process until it slammed into the wall. There was a brief flash of light and then the wall and adjacent part of the ceiling came crashing down. A cloud of dust shrouded the vision of everybody in the room. Then a strange sound was heard. The younger shinobi present were startled. Some of the older recognized it. It was a signal. Whatever Iwa ninja were still alive moved to act.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the ballroom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kurotsuchi would have never believed that she would be one day overjoyed to hear a signal to retreat. But now she was. She wanted nothing more than to get out of here.

"Formation four," Takeshi-sensei commanded. She exchanged a quick glance with Kageromaru, who had joined them recently, and assumed her position on Takeshi's left flank just as her teammate stood on his right. Sensei threw a few of his explosive clay balls to clear them a path. He was running low on them, but this situation warranted their use. As soon as the blasts cleared them a path, they ran forward. They noticed the still surviving Suna shinobi doing the same. Soon they were all gathered near the hole the Tsuchikage had made. Only Roushi stayed behind.

"Get going," Oonoki commanded. "We have to get out of Suna yet!" They took off running, the Tsuchikage stopping to throw a Dust Dragon to deter any pursuers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage's manor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roushi cursed inwardly. They left him behind.

"That's a good reason to leave them, isn't it?" Yonbi no Satori offered his opinion.

'Nobody asked you,' he sent back.

"You didn't have to," the overgrown monkey smirked. "I know what you think, remember."

'How could I ever forget.' Roushi mentally rolled his eyes. 'You'd never let me.'

"Too right."

'But this isn't a good time to defect. In case you didn't notice we're in the middle of a battle in the heart of an enemy territory and the sand is about to bury us alive.'

"So what?" The Four-tailed Ape shrugged. "I'm with you."

'So we should stick to them if we want to survive,' the red-headed man explained.

"You're a pessimist," the Satori huffed.

'I prefer realist,' Roushi corrected. 'And now we should really work on getting out of here.'

"If you insist," the demon sighed. "Do you need more power?"

'Maybe a little.'

Roushi felt the power of the Bijuu surging through his veins. He swung his chakra tails around, knocking away the attacking wave of sand. A scream of rage reached his ears, but he paid it no attention. He had to act quickly. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki looked ready to pounce.

His fingers flew through a lengthy series of handseals. It took him longer than he would have liked, but the benefits of his jutsu of choice outweighted the delay. He almost didn't make it. The little blond boy was already in the air, flying at him, when he finished. The ground in front of him shifted, a dragon's head made of molten rock rising out of it. A long neck soon followed. The red slitted eyes of the attacking boy widened in surprise and fear. The Kyuubi vessel swung his single tail forward before the Lava Dragon smashed into him. The child was sent flying. The dragon didn't stop its movement. It turned towards the Ichibi jinchuuriki, who was readying another wave of sand to bury him alive. The Yonbi-empowered technique pierced right through it and continued on its path barely slowing. It headed straight for the redhead. The sand surged to protect its master, but it did him little good. It barely cushioned the impact before he was thrown backwards. The dragon turned once more. This time it was headed towards where the two Kage were standing. They quickly moved out of the way. The dragon flew out of the room and dissipated. Roushi ran along the path it cleared for him. Nobody tried to stop him. Only the sand twitched around him and he thought he heard a shout of "mother wants blood." Then he was out on the street.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the ballroom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto picked himself up from the wall he had landed in. Everything hurt, but his tenant was already taking care of the damage.

"That filthy monkey," the Kyuubi seethed. "Kill him for it."

'He's running,' the boy pointed out. 'And nobody asked your opinion.'

"Impudent brat."

'I love you too.' He ignored the demon's growling and got to his feet. He looked around. He couldn't see Roushi anywhere. That was strange. Where did the Iwa jinchuuriki go?

"Mother wants blood!" Gaara's voice was distorted, but Naruto recognized it anyway. His friend was completely enveloped in sand, taking the form of a miniature Tanuki. Only the tail was missing, but it was slowly forming from the sand lying around. It didn't take a genius to realize what was happening. Naruto cursed. If the Shukaku got released here… he didn't want to think of the implication. Then the sand monstrosity moved and started running. "Come back so I can kill you!" Naruto cursed again. If Gaara let out his tenant in the village, it would be even worse. He forced his still aching legs to move and rushed after Gaara.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near the dais~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Kazekage felt relieved when the Iwa jinchuuriki ran away. Finally the disastrous battle was over and they could regroup. Then he noticed Gaara being completely out of control. Oh crap. The nightmare hadn't ended yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Streets of Sunagakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Kill him!" Shukaku demanded. "I want his blood!"

'Yes, Mother,' Gaara agreed. 'You'll get it.'

"Let me out! I'll kill him!"

'No, I'll kill him myself.' He was in pain and that was a sensation he wasn't used to. Even when Naruto had wounded him during their fight it didn't hurt that badly. He wanted revenge and that thought drowned all others. A small part of his mind insisted that he shouldn't be doing this, but he paid it no heed. He was interested only in the escaping form of Roushi and nothing else mattered. Around him the citizens of Suna who didn't flee yet were scattering out of his path. He ignored their squeals of terror. They were insects to him. Insignificant.

The Kazekage manor was near to the center of Suna, just next to the Administration Tower. There was a lot of ground to be covered before they left the inhabited area. Roushi was running fast and Gaara found that his sand-covered body moved too slowly to catch up with him. He created a platform of floating sand and jumped onto it. He commanded it to move forward. He immediately started gaining on the runaway Yonbi jinchuuriki. Roushi noticed that as well and quickened his pace. He managed to get to the outskirts of Suna before the deranged Ichibi vessel reached him.

"Obnoxious little brat," the Satori commented. Roushi agreed wholeheartedly. He turned around, running his hands through seals. Gaara jumped down from his platform, his monstrous sand arms reaching forward to grab the Iwa ninja. The sand between them melted, forming a snarling dragon's head. Gaara saw it, but was too slow to dodge. Or perhaps he didn't care, already having forgotten his earlier encounter with this very technique. He merely crossed his arms in front of him and summoned more sand for his protection. The dragon slammed into it. It didn't gain the speed necessary to break through the Shukaku's defense, but it managed to throw the sand monster backwards.

Gaara landed on his back painfully. He managed to avoid further injuries, but the old ones were irritated and began hurting more than when they were first inflicted.

"Let me out! I'll kill that filthy monkey," Shukaku screamed.

'Yes, Mother,' Gaara answered. He didn't even have to use the Forced Sleep technique. He simply closed his eyes and succumbed to unconsciousness.

"I'm free! I'm finally free!" Shukaku gloated. He picked himself up from the ground, his sand body slowly reforming and growing even bigger than it was before. "I'm going to squash you," he promised the startled Roushi.

"So the Tanuki is out," Yonbi commented. "He's even crazier than I remember him."

'What does it mean for us?' the Iwa ninja asked.

"Duck!" Roushi didn't waste a single moment to jump out of his position. It wasn't a moment too soon. He barely managed to vacate the area before it was hit by an Air Pressure Bullet. Sand was thrown into the air, obscuring the vision of everybody around.

"The Kyuubi is coming," The Yonbi informed its host. Before Roushi could form a thought, it continued. "Yes, I know it isn't good, so we should just run. And don't worry, they won't be following us. The Ichibi would turn on him. Before they're finished with each other, we'll be long gone."

'You sure?'

"Of course," the Satori rolled his eyes, "and now run. We don't have much time." Roushi obeyed.

Naruto arrived just in time to see Shukaku fire the Air Bullet. He noticed the Iwa jinchuuriki dodging. He looked around, trying to guess when the next attack would come from. He didn't expect it to come in the form of sand enveloping his legs, trying to squash him. He flared the Kyuubi's chakra, sending it flying.

"Gaara!" He shouted. The sand monstrosity turned towards him.

"So here you are, worm," the giant snarled. "Come so I can crush you!"

"Shukaku," the Nine-tails said.

'Really?' Naruto retorted sarcastically. 'I wouldn't have noticed.'

"Cut your sarcasm," the fox chided, "we have no time for it. It's sometimes said that Shukaku is the god of the desert and you are about to find out why."

'Is it just me or do you really sound scared?' Naruto mentally raised an eyebrow. 'And what's the big deal? We beat him once before.'

"He didn't have time to fully unleash his power back then," the kitsune pointed out.

'Even so, you have eight more tails,' the blond reminded him.

"And he has the whole desert at his command," the Nine-Tails retorted. "We can beat him, but you must be careful. Don't let a single grain of his sand get close to you. You don't want to know what even one of those specks can do to your intestines."

'I understand.'

"You better do. And watch out, here he comes."

Sure enough, the sand monster was walking towards them, murder in its strange yellow eyes. Naruto considered his options. Last time he had managed to win through his use of Explosive Tags. He had none of those now. He had no weapon at all, his only kunai lost after Roushi's dragon smashed him into the wall. He couldn't even remember when he had dropped the ANBU's sword. Probably when Roushi had first hit him. He looked around for anything he could use, but shinobi weapons and equipment generally didn't lie at every corner even in shinobi villages, so he found nothing. He only came to the discovery they were still in the residential area. 'I have to take this elsewhere,' he realized. The stone plateau around the village had already served him once, so he decided to use it again.

He jumped high into the air, using his chakra to stick to a wall of a building before jumping again, this time reaching the roof. The houses on the outskirts of Suna weren't as big as the hive-like structures near the centre of the village, so the Shukaku still towered over him. One giant fist came down to smash him, but he didn't wait for it to fall. He ran across the rooftops out of the village. Shukaku predictably followed.

"Come back!" The sand demon shouted. "I'll get you back for last time!"

"Try it!" Naruto shouted over his shoulder. The only response he got was a wave of sand rising in front of him. His eyes widened. It was huge. Far bigger than anything he saw Gaara use before.

"I told you the Shukaku is a god within the desert," Kyuubi reminded him.

'Better tell me how to get out of this,' the blond shot back.

"I thought you already knew."

'Wake Gaara up,' Naruto stated.

"Exactly."

'But that doesn't solve the tsunami.'

"You have my power at your disposal and can't think of anything?" Kyuubi sounded angry. Well, angrier that usual. "You're even more pathetic then I originally thought."

'Just shut up.' He had no time to talk with his tenant now. The huge sand wave was almost on top of him. He concentrated his chakra cloak in the front and jumped straight into the approaching mass of sand, releasing his power in one burst. The sand was thrown in all directions, but began reforming quickly. Naruto barely had time to run through the gap.

"Did I mention that Shukaku's power grows the longer he is out?" The fox sounded bored.

'You didn't.' Naruto scowled. 'And you seem to be enjoying yourself quite a lot.'

"Of course," the beast grinned. "You're about to realize you cannot take him with your meager skills and would have to allow me control."

'Not. Going. To. Happen.'

"Don't be so sure, whelp. And don't even try to challenge me to another game of chicken."

'Wouldn't dream of it.'

The conversation was cut short by the sand under him shifting, about to form another wave.

"I'm going to kill everybody!" Shukaku shouted. Naruto swore. If the Ichibi unleashed his sand on Suna…

"Why do you even care?" Kyuubi asked. The blond didn't bother to answer. He had to act fast to save the village. "This isn't your home," the fox added.

Naruto quickly considered his options. There was no way he could wake Gaara in time. But maybe he could distract Shukaku and make him forget about Suna. He took a deep breath. He had only read about this technique before, never attempting to perform it. But he knew the proper handseals and the tips on molding his chakra. And none of his other jutsu would have the desired effect. His fingers flashed through the unfamiliar sequence. He lifted his joined hands to his mouth and exhaled. Flames erupted from his mouth. He didn't bother with the fine details of the technique, forgoing the forming of the proper shape to gain longer reach. He was surprised how well he was doing. The flames were long and hot, holding together in a snake-like body. Naruto tried to direct it at Shukaku, but failed. The fire refused to bend to his will. 'Guess I really have to practice,' he thought.

Fortunately his initial aim wasn't too far off. The flame projectile hit the ground next to Shukaku's feet, sending droplets of molten glass flying. It didn't hurt the demon, but it had caught its attention.

"Try fighting somebody who can fight back first, you coward!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs.

"I'm not a coward!" The blond allowed himself a smile. The Ichibi sure was predictable.

"Then come and get me, if you can," he taunted. The monstrous tanuki roared and sprung forward. Naruto ran in front of him, leading the demon away from Suna.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage manor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Kazekage sighed. Covertly, of course. It wouldn't do for the village leader if he was seen distraught by his subordinates. The fighting had finally died down after the Iwa delegation ran away. Now the worst danger had passed the real headache began.

The question was, what should he do now? Should he consider Sunagakure already at war or was there still hope for a peaceful solution? Taking a look around, he decided it was unlikely. He turned to the group of jounin and ANBU gathered around.

"Assemble a search party," he commanded. "Follow the Iwa shinobi. Act if you have the opportunity, but don't engage the Tsuchikage himself."

"Understood."

"Scatter."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the ballroom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo could finally breathe freely. The Iwa jounin who was threatening to kill him if he lowered his guard for just a moment was finally gone. He took a look around. Where was his team? He had noticed Naruto chasing after the Iwa jinchuuriki and Gaara, but he knew nothing about Hana and Hotaru. He was torn. Which one of his students should he try saving first? Naruto was facing two powerful opponents, but at least he was conscious and relatively uninjured. The girls could be slowly dying under the debris for all he knew. And there wasn't like he could do much against such powerful demon vessels. He decided to trust Naruto to handle himself for a while and went to search for his other students. He tried asking first. The silver hair of Kakashi shone like a beacon not far from him.

"Dog," he called his friend's ANBU codename. "Have you seen my students?"

"Well," the man said wiping off the blood flowing from a multitude of minor scratches, "Naruto just ran off chasing after the two monsters."

"I noticed that," he replied. "Everybody did. Did you see my other students?"

"I saw the Inuzuka with her family," Kakashi offered, "but it was near the beginning of the battle."

"And Hotaru?"

"I don't know," the ANBU shrugged.

"Lioness took care of her." Both men turned startled to the speaker.

"Hokage-sama!" They both fell to their knees before their leader.

"At ease," Sarutobi said. "Don't worry about Hana and Hotaru, they got out of this safely. Only Naruto is still in trouble. Go to him and Dog, you go as well. I'd go myself but I have to smooth the diplomacy." They both bowed and departed.

They ran alongside each other through the mostly deserted streets of Sunagakure. Only a handful of shinobi were running around, pretending they knew what they were doing. It was easy to follow the path the three jinchuuriki had taken. The tracks of the giant Tanuki were unmistakable. They lead straight ahead to the edge of the village. Soon they came within sight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~outside Sunagakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto stopped when he reached the bottom of the cliffs surrounding Suna. It took him only a moment to determine that he wouldn't be able to climb up in time. He'd have to face Shukaku here and now. 'All I have to do is wake Gaara. I can do it. But how? He's covered in so much sand.' He couldn't think of any technique that would help him here. 'Guess I'll have to use brute force.'

He concentrated on turning his chakra to Wind. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. He imagined his body to be a large drill, the blades of wind whirling around him. Much to his surprise the chakra around him started to move in circles. He didn't stop to ponder on it. He had a demon to defeat and a friend to save.

He leapt forward. Shukaku tried to hit him while he was airborne, but Naruto's movement aided by the Kyuubi was too fast for him. The blond flew through the air and slammed right into Shukaku's chest. The sharpened chakra pierced the sand body. It was hard and solid, but he got deep inside. It wasn't deep enough. He couldn't see Gaara's body.

The sand around him tightened, threatening so squeeze the life out of him. He flared his chakra and the grains were pushed away. He forced himself to move forward.

"Nice situation you got us in," the Kitsune commented. Naruto ignored him.

"Gaara!" He shouted. "Gaara! Can you hear me?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~with Gaara~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Something shook him. It wasn't enough to rouse him completely, but it sent him into the realm between dreams and waking. What was it? He mused idly.

"Nothing," Mother replied. "Go back to sleep." If Mother said it was nothing, then it was nothing. He didn't close his eyes, because they were already closed, and started drifting back to sleep. Then he heard something. He neared wakefulness once more. What was it? Ah, now he could hear it better. Somebody was calling his name. Who was it? He knew that voice, he was sure of it, if he could just remember…

"Sleep, child." Mother sounded stern and displeased. He should obey her.

"Gaara!" The voice sounded again, this time closer.

"Sleep!" Mother ordered. He didn't like being ordered around. He opened his eyes out of spite.

"No!" Mother screeched. "I won't go back!" He felt tired and hurt and something was forcing his eyes closed. It would be so easy to give in and sleep a little longer…

"Gaara! Can you hear me?" Naruto. It was Naruto. His friend was calling for him. He tried to answer, to open his eyes.

"No!" Shukaku yelled. "You can't force me back!"

'You bet I can,' the jinchuuriki answered. He pushed hard to regain control over his body, but the Ichibi refused to let go. A battle of wills started and Gaara was exhausted before it even began. But he couldn't give up. His friend needed him. He couldn't let Naruto face Shukaku alone. He knew the blond was strong, but Shukaku was god of the desert. He willed with all his might to stay awake, to force the Ichibi back into the seal, but his strength was rapidly leaving him.

Then suddenly the Shukaku's power faltered.

"No!" The demon screamed. Gaara seized the opportunity. He forced his eyes open and concentrated on the waking world. "No!" Shukaku screamed again, but his voice sounded weaker. His hold over Gaara was slipping. The giant sand body began falling apart. He started falling as well, but he called on the sand to slow his descent.

"Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed. He was still enveloped in Kyuubi's chakra, but his tail had already disappeared. The chakra cloak was dissipating and when he reached him, only his eyes remained red, but even they quickly morphed to blue.

"Are you alright, Gaara?" The redhead didn't understand why the blond was asking him. It was he who had just tried to kill him, so why? "You're wounded!" Naruto exclaimed. "Come on, let's get you to the hospital."

"Why?" the tattooed youth asked.

"Why what?" Naruto looked into Gaara's dark-rimmed eyes puzzled.

"Why do you care?" The expression on Gaara's face spoke of total befuddlement.

"Because you're my friend," the blond stated. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I just tried to kill you," the tattooed youth explained.

"That was Shukaku," Naruto replied. "And we really should be going."

"That we should," a familiar voice stated. Only now he noticed Tenzo along with one Konoha ANBU standing close. He also spotted two trees growing near. He puzzled together what had occurred here. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," his guardian replied. "But can you please refrain from pulling such stunts in the future? I can't do that every day." He gestured to the trees. Creating them left him in a state of near exhaustion. Mokuton was created from Earth and Water and while there was earth in abundance everywhere, there was hardly any water in the desert.

"Believe me," Naruto answered solemnly, "I don't want to do this ever again."

"That's good to hear. And now let's get back."

"Yes, let's head back," Naruto replied. He stood up with Gaara still in his arms, swayed on his feet and fainted. He landed on top of the other boy.

"Aren't they cute together?" Kakashi commented.

"Keep your comments to yourself," Tenzo chided. He picked Naruto from the ground. "Take Gaara and let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The plateau above Suna~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roushi met with the remains of the Iwa delegation not far from the village. There were pitifully few of them, only eight counting him.

"So here you are," the Tsuchikage stated.

"Yes," he answered evenly. Inside he seethed. They had left him behind without as much as asking him to act as their rear guard and now they acted like nothing had ever happened. And for them it probably didn't. He was just a jinchuuriki, a living weapon, a being less then human in their eyes, so what did it matted if he died doing his duty.

"Too late to run now," the Satori commented.

'Shut up,' he sent back.

"Why so rude? I only echo your thoughts."

'And that's exactly why you should shut up.'

"Get moving, everybody," Oonoki commanded, cutting short Roushi's conversation with his tenant. "Suna undoubtedly already sent their hunters, so we should put as much ground between ourselves and them as possible."

"What about water?" Kageromaru asked. It was unheard of a genin to question their Kage, at least in Iwa, but everybody was so stressed out that they didn't care about protocol.

"There's an oasis not too far. If we move quickly, we can reach it. And now go." With those words the midget man jumped forward, his entourage following him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Great Wind Desert~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What was that supposed to mean?" Sasori shouted. His usually calm and collected demeanor was gone.

"What are you referring to?" Orochimaru's face remained calm and impassive.

"The stunt you just pulled!" The puppeteer was uncharacteristically angry.

"What stunt?" The Konoha nukenin raised an eyebrow.

"Don't play dumb," the masked ninja scoffed. "I know you caused the mess."

"I don't know what are you talking about." The Snake Sannin looked like the embodiment of innocence.

"Cut it, Orochimaru." The former Suna ninja was in no mood for his partner's mind games. "Do you think I'd believe that a comatose patient suddenly woke up and attacked the one who put him in that state? What kind of idiot do you have me for?"

"And what if I did it? What does it matter?" Orochimaru's manner was nonchalant.

"It destroyed out plan, that's why it matters."

"Destroyed?" The pale man raised an eyebrow. "I merely sped it up."

"Sped it up?" Sasori hissed. "Don't be ridiculous. You completely botched it. I'd like to see you explain it to our Leader."

"He'll understand it." The taller man sounded completely self-assured.

"I wouldn't be so sure," the shorter one growled. "More likely he'll let you know the power of Pain."

"You're a pessimist."

"More like a realist," Sasori corrected. "And I'm beginning to doubt your loyalties, Orochimaru."

"I assure you I'm loyal to the Akatsuki," the pale man lied through his teeth.

"It's not me you have to convince," the puppet master pointed out.

"I know." And he did. But he didn't plan on convincing Pain anyway. His Immortality jutsu was finally finished, all that was left was obtaining a good body. And he knew about one, the newest addition to Akatsuki. He had always coveted the Uchiha's Sharingan and more so the Magenkyo version. Its current owner would protest, but that didn't concern him. Sure, Uchiha Itachi was good, but he would be no match for the greatest of the Legendary Sannin, as Orochimaru referred to himself. Soon all the techniques in the world would be within his reach. Then he would go to his newly built Hidden Sound village, which despite being still under construction was already a formidable fortress. The Akatsuki had provided generous funding in hope of using it as their basis of operation. Fools the lot of them. Orochimaru made sure that the Sound shinobi were loyal to him and him only. The Akatsuki would have to go homeless, at least until Pain finally conquered the Hidden Rain, but Orochimaru couldn't see it happening anytime soon. The self-proclaimed God had an awful lot of trouble with mere mortals.

He allowed himself a small smile. Yes, any trouble he would get into for this were outweighted by the benefits. He didn't care for the Akatsuki's agenda one bit. He had his own goals and one of them was the destruction of Konoha. He had originally joined the organization in hopes of getting help with it, but they were moving too slow for his tastes. Orochimaru never liked waiting for what he desired, Sarutobi-sensei's lessons in patience never etching into the young prodigy's brain. He wanted to see Konoha burn and he wanted to see it soon. Having it weaken in a war against Iwa was a good way to accomplish it. He would have preferred to do it himself, but Otogakure was still too weak.

But even if his plan failed, simply seeing Sensei's face in the moment he realized his foolish dreams of peace had just crumbled was priceless. The Konoha nukenin was going to savor the memory for a long time to come. Yes, life was good.

Next time: Aftermath of the battle