Chapter 18

The Burning Sands

Tengoku

"Hey Naruto!" Nagi shouted across the hall. "How many bottles of water to pack?" he eyed his duffel bag and contemplated shoving another few bottles in the lumpy looking pack. Ten more maybe…

"What?" Naruto shouted back from his room. "Just the one canteen should be enough?"

"What?" Senjii shouted across from his room, poking his head outside. The boys had all chosen rooms on the same floor, same corridor. "Guys just bring enough to not slow you down. Honestly haven't either of you been to the desert before?"

"I crossed that same desert more than a year ago!" Naruto chimed back in, adjusting the jacket on his white ninja 'suit'. Despite the heat they expected, Jiraiya had told them to dress properly. The heat wouldn't kill you, but the sand might, and the nights were bitter cold. Naruto chose to wear a lighter material shirt all the same. The jacket would come off easily enough if he got too hot.

"Yeah well, not all of us have an auto-regenerating body." Senjii said as he shuffled into the hallway. He too had his Jacket slung over his shoulder.

Jiraiya came up the stairs and looked at them with a wry grin.

"I wish I could come with you. It sounds like a lot of fun. But Mabry and I need to head down to one of our suppliers." He nodded his head at the map of the world that was framed in the hallway. "You know which wind stream will take you there?"

Naruto nodded, stepping out into the hall. "I've got a stream that will take us to within a mile of Suna. Then we'll need to walk." Naruto frowned. "I really wish there was an easier way to come back. It would take a month just to come back home from there."

Jiraiya shrugged. "We know there are streams that come back, we just don't know where they originate. Or how to find them at all. You finding the entrance stream was pure luck in the first place."

"Livingston. He found the stream." Naruto sighed. "Maybe we'll get lucky and find one."

"Let's go guys!" Nagi declared as he stepped out of his room, two duffel bags oddly shaped because of all the bottles of water in them strapped to his back.

Naruto and Senjii laughed only to earn them a dark scowl from Nagi. The three friends walked out, meeting up with two members of the Spirit Wolf Clan and heading for the wind river that would take them to Suna.

Border of Wind Country

The girls saw the contingent of Sand Ninja from Sunagakure waiting by the edge of the trail. The grassy plain they were on was getting more sparse with every mile they put behind them. Sakura saw what looked like a shimmering lake in the distance, but she knew it was just an illusion caused by an endless sea of sand.

The Sand nin were only three in number, standing there just watching the wagons roll up to them. When they got close enough Sakura realized that she recognized one of the Ninja. If she remembered correctly his name was Baki, and he was the Jounin assigned to Gaara and his siblings.

Kakashi had also recognized him and had walked up to him. Baki, startled, recognized Kakashi instantly.

He grimaced. "Kakashi. You are still alive."

Kakashi nodded looking around. "So it would seem. And I think I will keep it that way for a while yet." He looked squarely at Baki. "Was it necessary to bring this many Nin?"

Sakura looked at the two of them puzzled. The area was empty except for Kakashi, Baki and two more Sand nin.

Baki nodded. "The Prince is a very important person. His herald told us of the attacks and the assassination attempt. If he were to die while in the custody of Sunagakure, it would bring shame to our village and our Kazekage."

Baki made a hand signal and a hundred Sand nin burst from under the dunes. In a flash they were arranged in flanking positions on either side of the caravan.

The prince leaned out of his wagon, not bothering to step outside. "Are the preparations being made?" he asked Baki.

The Sand jounin nodded. "The ship will be waiting at the dock in Ayabayure in two weeks. It will take us one week to get to Sunagakure, where your majesty will be hosted by the Kazekage for two days. Then we will escort you to the Port city of Ayabayure and your ships."

Kakashi cocked his head. "We will be along for the ride. We will be escorting them while on the ships and until the Prince is safely home."

Baki looked intently at Kakashi but said nothing. He turned on his heel and as if on cue, the Caravan lurched forward, the Sand nin on either side.

Konoha

Asuma could taste the blood in his mouth. He turned his head sideways and spit it to the ground. He looked through the sweat and blood dripping into his eyes at the two ninja standing in front of him. His body sagged against the ropes that bound him to the post in the middle of the village square. He could hear the sobbing coming from his right. He knew it would be Ino without even looking, but refused to look at her. He would show no fear, facing this punishment. He could sense Kurenei in the crowd as well, and hoped that someone would stop her from doing anything rash.

Danzo's voice boomed down at him again. "Warriors of Konoha! This is what happens to failures. Better he died with his team than to come back in shame and disgrace!" He nodded to the two ninja in front Asuma again and they began another round of beatings. Fists and kicks to his face and torso, while he was tied and unable to defend himself. It was a public torture.

Asuma could see the logic in it. Danzo was using him to make an example. To set fear in the hearts of would be rebels. Also as Asuma was the son of the previous Hokage, it cemented the change even clearer for those that had any lingering doubts as to who ran things now.

Part of Asuma wanted to swear at Danzo, to tell him what he thought of the fascist. But that would sign his death warrant, and Asuma had a lot to live for. Also, he was sure Danzo was hoping for just that, and he wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

After a few more minutes, Asuma felt the world go black.

Shikamaru stared at the scene in front of him, his face impassive, his mind working a million miles a minute. To show any emotion would signal to Danzo where his loyalties lie. For some reason he had a feeling that Danzo was always watching.

He calculated that Danzo would beat Asuma into a pulp, but there was also a perhaps fifty percent chance that he would decide to kill him on the spot. Shikamaru was looking at the beating of his sensei, but he was also watching Danzo for any sign of what he was going to do. Shikamaru was planning for that contingency and planning fast.

His attention snapped back to Asuma when a final blow to his head knocked him unconscious. He saw the two Root Ninja look back up at Danzo for directions on what to do next. Shikamaru saw Danzo nod to the ninja with an evil satisfied grin, and suddenly Shikamaru knew where this was going.

They were going to kill Asuma.

Shikamaru brought his hands together and made his handseals quickly. It was time to see if his hastily constructed plan would work. This would have to be flawless.

Directly ahead of him was a Root ninja. Shikamaru had seen him before, he was an explosives expert. Shikamaru's shadow grabbed his in the thick crowd, unseen. The Root ninja didn't have time to react before he found his hands flash down to his waist and launch a series of explosive balls and tags at both Danzo and the two Root ninja by Asuma.

Shikamaru tried to keep his movements as small as possible so as to not give away what he was doing from the thick of the crowd. He folded his tongue inside his mouth, to ensure that the root ninja couldn't give away what he was doing.

The explosives went off close enough to the Root ninja to completely distract them from Asuma. Danzo seemed unfazed, scanning for where they came from.

Shikamaru acted quickly, releasing the Root ninja but grabbing the citizen to his left. He made that citizen push the Root ninja into the open space before the ninja could realize he had been released.

Shikamaru then released that citizen and shouted. "He's the one! He's attacking the Hokage!"

In the melee no one knew who shouted that, but eyes turned towards the ninja who looked bewildered. He opened his mouth to protest but three kunai embedded themselves in his chest. Shikamaru had thrown them from the center of the crowd. No one had seen him move.

There was general chaos as some of the explosives were on timed release and were still going off. The crowd began to scatter. Danzo swore, the effectiveness of this execution was now lost. The witnesses to it were leaving.

"Throw him in a cell!" He ordered the two Root ninja. With one last look at the dead ninja who 'betrayed' him, Danzo turned and went back inside the tower. He knew that ninja personally, and he was loyal to a fault. He had clearly been framed, and Danzo had a limited list of people who would have been able to do that. But he had no proof. It just showed that he was right; that there were ninja working against him instead of for him.

But he would crush them. All of them. Konoha would prevail. He, Danzo, would destroy them.

One Week Later

Sunagakure

Calamity had exceptionally sharp eyes.

It helped her in her archery. She could see targets from a long distance away, and aim with perfect precision. So it was with some confusion that she saw five objects fall from the sky a few miles to their right.

They were within a few miles of Sunagakure according to Kakashi, and indeed she could see the looming cliffs in the distance. So those falling objects to their right…what were they? Could they be…?

"Hey Kakashi!" Calamity shouted down at the Jounin from her perch atop the lead wagon. Kakashi barely nodded to acknowledge her call-out, his face buried in that book he had started back reading. They were safely in Wind Country Territory so Kakashi gave the illusion of being less alert. Calamity though had a feeling he was more alert than ever. For one thing, he hadn't turned a single page in miles.

"Sweety, can you tear yourself away from that book for a second and focus on a real woman?" Calamity said loudly with a smirk on her face.

Kakashi blushed and looked up at her, to the accompaniment of laughter from the Prince's staff and Sand Nin in earshot.

She nodded off to the east. "I saw five objects fall."

Kakashi turned quickly and stared off into the distance, his body tensing. The Sand Nin also seemed to stiffen and look off to the east. After a few seconds Kakashi relaxed. When he turned back to Calamity she could see he was replacing the Konoha headband over his Sharingan eye.

"Nothing to worry about. Just some foolish birds." Kakashi said nonchalantly and went back to his book.

The Sand nin laughed and continued walking, glad to be almost home.

Calamity glanced at Sakura and Hiruka and winked. Looks like the boys had come to Suna as well.

The wagon train entered into the city of Sunagakure with much fanfare. The citizens had come out to greet the Prince and his entourage. Streamers floated down and music played. The Kazekage knew how to greet royalty. The Prince would spend a lot here and inject money into the local economy.

The girls grinned at all the revelry. A stark contrast to the weeks spent in the wastelands and then the desert.

"Girls," Hiroka said. "I am absolutely filthy. The very first thing I am doing is finding a hotel room with a cold shower."

"Hear hear!" Calamity chimed in while Sakura nodded vigorously.

"Sounds good girls. Then we can see about finding those foolish birds." Kakashi said quietly, appearing close to them. "And stay close. We are unknown warriors in a Ninja Village. Do not be fooled by this hospitality. We are being watched very very closely."

The girls looked around and noticed that some of the Sand Nin were indeed watching them.

Kakashi nodded. "Let's do our best to be low key." The girls shook their heads in agreement.

"Hey! Where's Gaara!" A loud voice boomed over the crowds and the music. With a sense of dread the girls and Kakashi looked back over at the lead wagon.

There, in full white suit, with his two team mates flanking him in all white, the sun shining behind them like a light, stood Naruto with his hands folded and a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Hey Gaara! It's me! Where are you?" he shouted again, laughing. Senjii and Nagi grinning as well.

Sakura saw that Sand Nin were closing in on Naruto and the guys so she signaled to the girls and they started making their way back to the wagons. A shout went up from the crowd and someone shouted. "It's the Kazekage!"

They all looked up and saw Gaara approaching on a wave of sand twenty feet off the ground. Naruto smiled even wider than before and Hiraishin'd to on top the wave next to Gaara. The crowd gasped and the Sand Ninja, Baki included, drew their weapons to protect the Kazekage.

But Naruto made no attacking moves.

Instead he held out his hand to Gaara, who seemed shocked by it all.

"Naruto. You are a fool," Gaara said quietly, but without malice, shaking his hand. The Sand nin seemed to relax their guard a bit, but not completely. Baki recognized now who Naruto was and was startled. The transformation was glaring. The small boy had grown several inches in the past year and his muscle tone was evident under the white suit he was wearing. Even the white outfit, although odd for a Ninja to wear, was a big difference from the orange jumpsuit Naruto was famous for. A lot must have happened to him, Baki thought.

Senjii smiled and looked around from their position. Sure it was a flashy entrance, but really only the Spirit Wolf clan members Ravi and Rasheed – brothers – felt like sneaking in would be to their benefit. The city was just a stopping point so that they could get their bearings before starting the search.

He spotted a familiar head of pink hair and froze. Sakura, Hiroka and Calamity were glaring at them. He nudged Nagi who looked over startled.

"They look upset. What did you do?" Nagi asked Senjii.

"Me?" Senjii replied plaintively. "Naruto is the one palling around with the Kazekage of this place."

Naruto looked carefully at Gaara. "So you're the Kazekage now? Good job!" He said without a hint of jealousy.

Gaara looked at him, with what could almost, almost, be determined to be a smile. "I hear something about a mysterious village at the edge of the world. And it's leader, a man in white who wipes out cities with a single blow."

Naruto grinned and put his hand behind his head. "Guilty I guess. So what's with the parade? Knew I was coming?"

"The Parade was for me you young whelp!" The Prince bellowed from his vantage point near his wagon. He smiled though at the display of power. Gaara on the sand and Naruto appearing next to him by magic. "Now stop stealing my thunder and clear the way so my son and I can get to the Kazekage's Tower." He laughed as he re-entered the wagon.

Naruto flashed back to the wagon with Senjii and Nagi while Gaara turned and moved the sand wave back with him towards the tower. There would be time for talking later. Naruto spied the girls after Senjii whispered something to him. He looked shocked then ecstatic. Waving at them in the crowd and motioning for them to come.

The girls continued to glare at the boys, angry at basically being upstaged. All hopes of keeping a low profile gone they too hopped on top the wagons and rode with them.

Kakashi sighed and melted into the crowd. He had seen a flash of a familiar face earlier, so he knew he had something to do.

Temari was startled at the change in Naruto. Her brother had changed so much because of this boy that he was never far from her thoughts. When they had heard about his banishment Gaara was enraged. It had taken them weeks to calm him down, to not go immediately and devastate Konoha.

She remembered a loud mouthed, brash, impulsive boy. What she saw before her was someone else entirely. Not only was he physically different. Taller. Broader shoulders. His mannerisms had changed. He seemed to be more…still. The fidgeting he had been known for was gone. His smile was just as warm and friendly towards them, but something…something was off. He seemed to have matured, if that was at all possible in such a short space of time.

Kankaru was looking at her oddly. He had noticed it as well. Gaara was too enthralled with his first real friend to be bothered by either of his siblings at the moment.

Nagi and Senjii were off to the side of the room, explaining to Sakura, Hiroka and Calamity why they were there.

"A damn treasure hunt? You've come halfway around the world on a treasure hunt?" Calamity said loudly.

Temari's head spun towards them. Treasure hunt? And they were in Sunagakure?

"What treasure?" Gaara asked solemnly.

Naruto smiled and pointed at Senjii. "Senjii can explain it."

Senjii launched into the tale of the two swords and how he wanted them for their ability to slay demons. Gaara bristled a bit at this, but Naruto explained the fight they had with Ji-Hoon's demons and monsters. Gaara, Temari and Kankaru listened intently.

"So there is a whole land full of demons?" Kankaru chimed in.

Naruto nodded. "That's what Mabry says. The land of the dead and its capital city Yomi. The Tailed Beasts are just soldiers from there. I spoke to my…tenant…about it as well."

Temari rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Why should you have these swords? If they're in the Wind Country they belong to the Kazekage, or at the very least the Daimyo."

Gaara looked at her and shook his head before Senjii could protest. "We wouldn't even know they existed or their location." He looked over at Naruto and the other members of Tengoku. "But Temari makes a valid point. This is our land. We will take a percentage of any treasures found. Fifty percent."

Senjii opened his mouth to argue but Naruto glanced at him sharply. This did not silence the two Spirit Wolf Clan members however. "Our leader has already bargained for fifty percent!" Ravi exclaimed.

Gaara looked at him coldly. "He will settle for twenty five percent or nothing at all."

Naruto looked around the room and said loudly. "Everyone just relax. It's a treasure hunt! It's going to be fun! Worry about the gold and stuff after." He turned back to Gaara and continued with the stories of his adventures since leaving Konoha.

The tension in the room remained palpable.

Somewhere in Grass Country

Orochimaru sat in his chair and watched the display before him. It was really quite remarkably what a year of training had done for the boy. The added motivation of the sporadic reports of Naruto's progress had spurred him on to even greater heights than Orochimaru had foreseen.

Sasuke moved fluidly, decimating the small army gathered before him. His Sharingan eyes spun madly, anticipating moves, countering attacks. His sword lashed out like a viper's tongue, stabbing and maiming, but not killing.

This bothered Orochimaru. The boy still seemed reluctant to kill. Not that it mattered. He just wanted the Uchiha's body, skills and eyes to be sufficiently trained for when he took over his body. He had another year or two* to wait though.

A lot could happen in another year.

"Kakashi."

The voice floated in the air. The alley Kakashi had found himself in only had one exit, but he knew that before entering. He turned around to look lazily at the speaker, the man he had followed. He smiled at the familiar sight of green tights and a bowl haircut, with the thickest eyebrows on any Jounin alive.

"Maito," Kakashi nodded in greeting. Gai seemed different, more sedated. His customary exuberance was missing. Kakashi saw a shadow behind Gai and realized his apprentice and doppelganger was with him as well.

"What are you doing in Suna?" Kakashi asked Gai.

"I suppose I could ask you the same thing." Gai said, sighing. "Danzo sent us as ambassadors to Suna. We are to appease the Kazekage that Danzo has no intention of moving against him, but wants peace instead. Danzo cannot afford another war as yet. We lost a lot of men in the battle with Iwa. Did you hear about that?"

Kakashi nodded. "We ran into Asuma a few weeks ago, he told us."

Gai looked startled. "You saw Asuma? On his failed mission? Ah yes… I see now. You were protecting the prince. Could you not have let Asuma kill him? His punishment was…brutal."

Kakashi's eye grew dark. "Tell me."

While Gai told the tale of Asuma's public torture and almost execution, Kakashi noticed Lee getting angrier and angrier. There was a lot of pent up rage in Gai's apprentice. Most likely feeling like there was nothing he could do, Kakashi thought.

"…so he's locked up in the Konoha dungeons until further notice." Gai finished his tale.

Kakashi swore. "I assume it was either the Yamanaka or Nara clan that interfered?"

Gai nodded. "Shikamaru."

"Good for him." Kakashi said thoughtfully.

Kakashi looked at Lee. "Lee, Sakura and Naruto are in town. Why don't you go and find them."

Lee was dumbstruck. "N-Naruto? S-Sakura? Here?" he looked at his sensei who nodded in approval. In a flash Lee was gone.

"Gai, Konoha needs our help. My thoughts when I left was I'd be able to find a way to overthrow him. But it seems our best bet is assassination."

Gai sighed. "The man is guarded like an emperor. Impossible to tell how many ROOT members are with him at any given time. And now he has loyal Iwa nin as well. He may not be the strongest ninja, but he's incredibly well guarded. He is always one step ahead."

Kakashi paced. "Naruto founded a warrior village. But the place is peaceful. The warriors it would generate are a few years from being ready for any sort of battle. Naruto himself is not ready. He could probably wipe out the CITY of Konoha, but we need more precision than that. I'm afraid my plan to find help to attack Danzo is a failure. So far."

"Don't give up hope Kakashi." Gai said. "You are safe for now. So are Asuma and Anko, who is also in the dungeons. Konoha is hell but we are alive still. The citizens of Konoha do not need outsiders to save us. We would lose our pride. Our self respect. We will come up with a better plan soon enough. An opening will appear for one of us to take him out. Till then you are safest far from Konoha."

Kakashi swore in frustration. "What are you going to do about Lee?"

"Lee is holding onto a lot of rage. He's helpless like the rest of us. I wish I could find an outlet for him other than training. It seems to add to his feeling of helplessness."

Kakashi looked thoughtful. "I'm going on a mission to the Crescent Moon kingdom. Sakura and her new teammates are protecting the Prince. Why not send Lee with us, as a training mission. It would be good for him to have a break from the troubles of Konoha for a while."

Maito Gai stared up at the sky, a gust of wind and sand swept past them. "I will be stationed in Suna for a few months. I think that's an acceptable form of training for Lee. I will talk to him later." He walked up to Kakashi and they clasped each other's forearm.

"It is good to see you brother." They both said in unison.

"Wow!" Naruto remarked as the tiger leaped through the ring of fire to thunderous applause. The massive crowd watching the circus act was very appreciative of the feats. Even Ninja appreciated good entertainment.

Sakura and Hiroka squealed as a clown squirted water at them. Calamity laughed so hard she almost choked on her cotton candy. They were having a blast just relaxing.

The Prince and his son sat with Gaara and his siblings in a VIP box in the stands. They were for the most part also enjoying things. Gaara himself seemed impassive, but his siblings and Naruto who kept glancing at him could see that he was flabbergasted. Gaara had never had a chance to enjoy such simple pleasures in his life.

When the show ended, they gathered outside the main tent.

"I loved this circus!" The prince exclaimed. "They must come with us to my kingdom!"

Alarmed, Sakura and Hiroka tried to explain to the prince that they may be headed into danger, to which he was dismissive. Calamity was watching Hikaru who seemed fascinated by the tiger that was being rolled away in a cage.

A week later, Naruto, Senjii and Nagi stood facing Sakura, Hiroka, Calamity and Lee by the exit of Sunagakure. There had been a lot to catch up on, and Gaara had wanted to hear about Naruto's village and what had happened to him over the past year. Naruto had been thrilled to be talking to Gaara again. A person from his past who had no grudges towards him. A real friend. Still, Naruto found himself not revealing the exact location of his village. He didn't know why, but felt he should keep that secret for now.

Nagi and Senjii had smiled and let Naruto catch up, meanwhile exploring the city themselves. Neither had ever been this far east and it was vastly different from anything they'd ever seen.

The girls had been keeping an eye on the prince and his son, but also glad to share their tales of this mission with the boy's team.

Lee's tearful reunion with Naruto and Sakura was an embarrassing spectacle. His appearance had shocked everyone. Naruto and Sakura for a friend they hadn't seen in a year. Nagi, Senjii, Hiroka and Calamity for his appearance. They had all gotten along well, although the girls were at first hesitant about him coming along on their mission.

Kakashi explained to them that Lee was a formidable fighter, and they had no idea what they were getting themselves into by going to that island.

Today though, today they were all parting ways. Naruto and his team were going treasure hunting, and the girls were going with the prince to the Port city to set sail.

"Be safe Sakura! Lee!" Naruto waved exuberantly. "Take care of yourselves Hiroka! Calam!"

Hiroka and Senjii exchanged a look that didn't need words spoken. Pride, desire, happiness, worry. It was all there.

Calamity winked at Kakashi and hopped on top the nearest wagon, ready for her trip. Kakashi nodded at the boys, and Gai who stood nearby. Kakashi also noted several new additions to the Prince's entourage, going about hustling and getting the caravans ready. He looked at them carefully, noting their faces for future reference the walked to the head of the caravan.

The two groups parted ways, off to their own individual adventures.

"Right! So what's first!" Naruto turned around and asked Nagi and Senjii.

Senjii grinned. "Well we have our map, and we have a starting point. The Kazekage has assigned a team to us, with camels and supplies. It's a few days walk from here."

Nagi looked at the two of them and smiled. "Naruto, aren't you worried about the girls? Kakashi made it seem like they might be walking into a trap."

Naruto shook his head. "Kakashi is with them, so is Lee. Plus those girls can really fight. I trust them. Besides, I have a backup plan in place."

"Wanna let us in on it?" Nagi asked.

Naruto laughed. "Not really. Let's go treasure hunting!"

The boys found their group preparing to ride out. Kankuro was with them.

"Gaara asked me to accompany you. I feel he would have liked to come himself, but there are a lot of duties associated with being Kazekage." He offered by way of explanation. The two Spirit Wolf clan members sat on their camels, lower half of their faces covered by their scarfs. Their eyes glared at Kankuro, obviously upset that he was coming along.

Perhaps they hoped we could leave without giving Gaara his share, Senjii thought amusedly. Maybe they don't realize we have thousands of miles of sand all around us, and pissing off a Kage who wields the power of sand would be monumentally stupid.

Naruto just smiled and nodded. They all mounted the camels and rode out, very uncomfortably, towards their treasure. As they left through the exit, they took a sharp turn east. Riding around the Cliffside of the village.

"That is the direction we must go." Kankuro said, pointing towards what looked like a shimmering lake, and barely discernable mountains.

Senjii, Nagi and Naruto stared at the sweltering, shimmering plain before them, wondering what they had gotten themselves into.

A few days later

Sakura looked out at the ocean, feeling the sea breeze against her face. She hadn't been on a ship since Naruto, Sasuke and she had been to the Land of Snow. She smiled as she remembered that time; a much more innocent time for her.

Lee was nearby, as he always was these days. But he was not the Lee Sakura remembered. He was much more quiet, much more reserved. His training also seemed ridiculous. Even on the ship, he climbed ropes, did laps on the railing of the boat, threatening to fall off and into the water below any second. Sakura didn't remember him being this way. It was…disconcerting.

Lee had been told to not tell Sakura and the girls about the fate of Asuma, and he obeyed his teacher. The girls didn't need the guilt of that to distract them from the mission at hand. He did however take it upon himself to act as the girls' guardian. Lee knew he owed Naruto that much. He didn't doubt they could handle themselves, but yet he vowed to himself that he would let not one drop of their blood hit the ground.

Calamity sat lazily in a deck chair. The ship was massive, and had a swimming pool in the front deck. As she lazed around she idly wondered at the way the world works. One day they're fighting for their lives in the forests of the badlands. Next they're crossing a massive desert. Then they're being hosted by the Kazekage as special guests, now they were on a luxury liner headed to the world famous crescent moon kingdom, but it was probably a death trap waiting for them.

Life was funny.

One of the servants was throwing a bucket of dishwater off the back of the boat when he slipped and fell over the railing. Another servant tried to grab onto him but missed and failed. The servant who fell did a backflip in midair and attached his feet to the hull of the ship.

"Whew," he let a gasp of relief escape his lips. He was preparing to climb back up when a wave splashed up and hit him full force against the hull.

He popped into smoke. The watching servant sighed and went back about his work.

Hundreds of miles away, a ship that should not be able to float eased its way through the waters of the eastern ocean. It's crew a motley assembly of the undead, flesh rotting even further in the sea air.

As one all their heads turned to the east. Thirty voices spoke as one. "The nine times cursed one has been found master Ji-Hoon. We are sailing to the east."

"We have found something!" One of the Suna men that accompanied them shouted down to Naruto's team. They had been in the mountains for days now, following the map that Senjii had found. Kankuro said that no one from Suna ever came this way anymore. The mountains were a death trap if you got caught in a sandstorm. Millions of loose rocks and boulders would batter a person to a pulp, he explained. Plus the trade routes had changed.

Senjii and Nagi were the first ones up the slope towards where the Suna man had called out to them. There was a small trail, long since abandoned. Right to the side of the trail there was a three foot tall stone tablet. They all gathered around and looked at it in awe.

There, engraved in the stone, were three heads. The place where might have been three crowns implanted in the stone were scratches and digs.

"This must be where that diary said they pried off the crowns of the three kings." Nagi said excitedly.

Kankuro stared in disbelief. He had partly believed that this was all a waste of time, but to actually see this marker…

"So what does the marker say?" Senjii asked, but not to anyone in particular.

Kankuro spoke up. "It's a very old language. And I don't understand all of it. But it says 'Beware the three kings. They walk. Beware the three kings. The power of the ancients within. Beware the three kings.'"

A soft whisper blew through the gathered men.

"To hell with this." One of the Suna men said and turned around; determined to walk home. Kankuro grabbed the ninja before he went too far and reminded him that Gaara had ordered him to accompany them. The man grew pale and stood his ground.

"So where do we go from here?" Nagi asked.

"Let's look around. If this is a grave marker, the tomb has to be nearby." Kankuro said. They all split up to scour the hillside.

Several hours later, no one had found any sign of an entrance. They made a small camp as night was falling. The Suna nin were seeing about the fire and food while Naruto and company discussed where to go from here.

"There has to be a clue somewhere here." Senjii said frustratingly.

Kankuro nodded in agreement. "The marker would not be here if the tomb is not here. It is here somewhere."

One of the Suna men spoke up. "We should not stay here. This mountain is cursed. Death will stalk us here."

Kankuro growled at him. "You are ninja of Sunagakure! Death is always on our backs. We will face anything that comes with honor, the honor befitting of Suna! Do not let me hear you speak of this again."

Silence fell over the camp, just the sound of the fire crackling broke the cool evening.

A soft wind blew through the camp, a ghostly laughter faintly drifting through the air. The camels started to make noise, pulling hard against the ropes that bound them.

All the warriors stood up and looked around. The laughter seemed to come from everywhere yet nowhere.

"That's pretty creepy." Naruto said out loud.

The laughter died down and the wind dropped all of a sudden. Kankuro noticed the change in the temperature, from cool evening to a fast rise in heat. That plus the lack of wind...

"Sandstorm!" He shouted. The Suna nin ran for the camels, taking long cloaks with them. They each tackled the camels to the ground, covering their eyes, and pulling the heavy cloaks over both themselves and the camels. Muttering a Jutsu that all Suna nin learn at a young age, the Cloaks became a thin sheet of solid rock. Strong enough to protect from sand, but not much else.

"Naruto! Guys!" Kankuro bellowed at them as the wind picked up to a shrieking gale. "Find shelter! Fast!" he too lay down flat, dragging his cloak over himself.

Senjii, Nagi and Naruto looked at each other. "Remind me to ask them about that trick afterward!" Nagi shouted at Senjii before melting into the shadows.

Senjii took his swords and slashed as hard as he could against the ground forming a hole which he hopped inside. He had done this a long time ago, when he'd first seen Naruto go berserker, so he hoped it would protect him against what was coming.

Naruto saw the two Spirit Wolf clan members looking around frantically for somewhere to shelter. He formed a quick Rasengan and slammed it into a giant rock. It created enough of a space for both of them. He ushered them inside and forming two more clones, moved another rock in front of it. There was still plenty space, but it was better than nothing.

That just left Naruto exposed as the sandstorm hit them. The noise was deafening, more than just sand, it was rocks and boulders the size of people being flung around like leaves. Naruto was going to create another Rasengan hole for himself, but saw rocks heading for the cloak sheltered Suna nin and Kankuro. Before he could react, one giant boulder smashed through one, shattering the cloak like glass. Blood and screams erupted from the impact, to be drowned out by the noise of the sand and the wind.

Naruto saw more rocks heading for the others and acted without thinking. He pushed his hands forward feeding chakra into it; as much as he could muster. He forced an immeasurable amount of wind in a blast to move those rocks away from his comrades.

It was an explosion of gravel and dust as the force of the wind coming from the east met the force of Naruto's wind chakra blast. The unstoppable force of a sandstorm met the immoveable force of Naruto's jutsu. Rocks that were caught in the middle turned to dust. Dust found itself pushed to the side and around. Naruto parted the sandstorm like a rock in a stream, making it go around the encampment.

Kankuro could not believe his eyes. He could see through a crack in his 'cloak' to what Naruto was doing. That shouldn't be possible.

Naruto fell to one knee, feeling the strain on his body. But the sandstorm was not letting up. He called on all the chakra he had, needing it to fight against nature itself.

Suddenly Senjii was there behind him, bracing his back. The hole Senjii was in was fine, but he could see Naruto needed some help. A heartbeat later and Nagi was there too. Both of them held him up straight while he pushed chakra and wind to battle the storm.

Seconds turned to minutes. It felt like an eternity but Naruto held on.

As fast as it began, it was over.

The wind just stopped and became normal again. The last of Naruto's chakra blast decimated a path in front of them, crumbling boulders and pieces of the cliffs to dust before he could stop.

He fell backwards but Nagi and Senjii caught him. The Suna nin released their jutsus and clambered back to their feet. The Spirit Wolf brothers broke free of their shelter, staring in disbelief at Naruto. They'd seen everything from their vantage point.

This was the leader of their village. A man who could fight against the power of a sandstorm, and win.

Naruto fainted into a deep sleep. "Is he alright?" Kankuro asked.

Senjii grinned but didn't bother to answer as Naruto let out a loud snore. "He'll be fine." Said Nagi with a smile.

Kankuro went to check on the Suna nin who had been crushed. The cloak jutsu only protected against sand, not rocks as large as this one. As he approached though he saw a hole in the ground where the huge rock had hit. Looking closer, through the gore and body of the crushed Suna nin, was a hole leading into the ground. The rock had passed clean through him and broken into some underground chamber.

Moving aside what was left of the body carefully, he peered into the hole. It was at least two feet in diameter, but it was clear that it was a lot deeper than one might initially think. After staring into it for a few seconds he called out to the others.

"Over here! The tomb is under us!"