Title: A Demon's Tale
Author: swiftstar85
Genre: Drama/Friendship/Romance
Rating: T for some strong language, violence, suggestive material, and crude humor.

~Chapter Twenty-Four~

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, though I wouldn't mind if I did.

It took two hours for them to reach the lake with the wolf in the lead, and Sen riding its back. It wasn't too easy trying to keep up with the wolf but the Sand siblings and the two Shadoai adults kept up very well.

It was after the wolf appearing out of the night did they decide to break camp and head straight up to where the Third Tail's whereabouts were suppose to be. It had not even been hard to decide that was the next course of action. They needed to find the Third Tail immediately before any trouble came meeting them. Namely the bastard, Kabuto or even the Akatsuki. Gaara just hoped that they wouldn't even have a problem with Sanbi, itself. But for some reason, he doubted that. And so did Shukaku.

According to the Sand Tanuki, the giant Sea Turtle did not like him.

Gaara even made a point to tell the others that there may be a fight, so they should be on their guard as they approached the lake that the wolf had told Sen about.

Reaching the lake, the three Sand Shinobi and the three Shadaoi found it almost difficult to see. There was a bright splinter of a moon hanging over the night sky, allowing the very dim light to shine the way. But rolling across the lake, there was such a thick cloud of moisture so it was very difficult to even see the dark water. The night mist was moving like smoky tendrils across the water, making Sen clutch onto the wolf and look around nervously, along with Rin and Temari. All of the Kunoichi didn't like this at all.

Even Kankuro was a little creeped out enough to grip his scroll straps tightly with his hands and look around with wide eyes.

Both Gaara and Chiro were the only ones to keep their cool as they let their eyes slowly scan the entire area. They couldn't tell exactly how big the lake was because of the night mist but they were sure it was very big. If it was hiding a Tailed Bijuu, it must have been.

'Shukaku, can you sense the Sanbi?' Gaara asked the sand demon within.

There was a long pause as Shukaku stretched out his senses before jerking it back and starting to growl, not exactly sounding pleased one bit. 'Oh, yes. He's here. I can smell him. But he's not the only one that's here. I smell that kid, Yukimaru here. And that woman, Guren. But they're not alone. That disgusting death kid is here. They're just about half way across the lake.' He growled.

Gaara quickly glanced at the others, giving them a quick wave to move back away from the lake. They were quick to step back into the shelter of the trees, while looking around in alert. Chiro was gripping his large scimitar tightly, ready to pull it at the first sign of trouble. Temari's hand was on her giant fan, ready to whip it out and it was just the same for the others.

"What is it, Gaara?" Kankuro murmured to his younger brother, his dark eyes flickering around the dark lake. "You sense something?"

Gaara shook his head as he kept a tight grip on his sand, but trying his best to keep his Chakra level down. He didn't want Guren or Kabuto to sense him. He hoped that the Third Tail wouldn't sense him yet until they were gone. "Shukaku. He smells the Third Tail here. But Yukimaru's here with Guren and Kabuto too. Kabuto must be doing something." He said in a very quiet tone.

Temari gritted her teeth as her dark green eyes flickered around the lake before looking over at Gaara. "I wouldn't mind facing Kabuto, Gaara. Not after what your reports said about what he almost did to Quoi." She said acidly.

"Keep your head, Temari." Gaara warned. "Kabuto's a lot more dangerous than you realize. And we still don't know what this Guren is capable of. Chiro, Rin and Sen has told us that she specializes in crystal manipulation but that's about it. Besides, if we start a fight, it might provoke the Third Tail to attacking us. And none of us really stand a chance against water."

Temari made a face as she looked right at him but shook her head. "I don't know about that. I might be able to stand against its water based attacks with my wind fan. I do possess the wind elements with it." She said in a low voice.

Rin's eyes brightened a little and she stood up a little taller, looking over at Gaara. "Hey. That might just work." She said quietly.

"We must remember that the Sanbi is a Tailed Bijuu. Even if Temari possesses the wind element," Gaara warned all of them. "Would she really be able to stand a chance against the Third Tail Turtle?"

Temari stuck out her bottom lip and pouted at her youngest sibling, her arms folded across her chest. She was not happy that he put it like that but she knew he had a point. They all knew that he had a point. They were dealing with a Tailed Bijuu after all. It was going to possess a great amount of Chakra that all of the others but the One Tail couldn't stand against.

Frowning the entire time though, Sen had been very quiet as she thought about every single detail they knew so far. She has asked a few questions on their journey to this lake; questions about this so called Kabuto and about his abilities. But after learning that he had some very dangerous medical jutsu and dealt with dead bodies, it made her shudder. But it did spark some idea in her head and she had to look over at Gaara. "I think I have an idea about what to do. It's going to be very risky but I think it might be the best that we can do so far." She told him.

Gaara frowned at her but nodded for her to go on. Any plan right now would do because he didn't really have one. He wasn't even sure how he was going to be able to connect his Chakra with the Third Tail's Chakra so he could try and seek out the Jinchuriki. That is if he was still alive.

Of course, when Sen actually told him and the others her plan, he wasn't so sure that it was such a good idea. It was risky, as she had warned them but it might work anyway.

For several hours, the group of six sat among the trees and waited. That was all they could do until something actually happened. They would have to wait for the Third Tail, Sanbi to come out of the water or for Yukimaru, Guren or Kabuto to have noticed them camping out near the lake. It was a miracle that they haven't been seen yet. And if they had been, no one came after them.

They rested until dawn and that's when they heard the water startling to bubble and splosh within the lake. Everyone stood up quickly and looked towards the lake, watching as the morning mist was starting to bubble along with the churning water. There was only very little light in the sky but it was enough to see that there was something rising out of the water.

Something very big.

"It's coming!" Gaara said, quickly looking at the others, sharing a nod with his brother and sister. "Be ready. I will immediately head towards the Third Tail and try and speak with it. You distract Kabuto and Guren. I don't want them to interfere."

"We're not going to hurt Yukimaru, are we?" Sen asked, sounding very worried.

Kankuro made a face but kept his mouth shut. But Gaara met the young Shadoai's eyes and shook his head. "No. If we can avoid it, we will. But if I know Kabuto, he's going to fight us to keep us from talking with the Third Tail and talking it into coming with us to keep it safe from the Akatsuki. If I can find the Jinchuriki, then that would be the good thing." He said quietly.

Chiro frowned as he looked over at him before looking around the lake until his eyes fell on three people they could see in the mist. It wasn't easy spotting them but they could just barely make them out. Guren was standing back with the gray haired guy, Kabuto while they watched as Yukimaru was standing right up at the water's edge, looking like he was concentrating very hard. It seemed to be taking a lot out of him trying to summon the Third Tail. His entire body was trembling.

"He's not doing so good." Rin said, now sounding very concerned at the fact that Yukimaru was starting to get a bloody nose while concentrating. "It's killing him!"

Gaara frowned with everyone else before sharply looking towards the water as something big and white was starting to push up to the surface. Three long tails rose out of the water, dripping wet as a huge shell was revealed. It was a massive looking creature with sharp points all over its shell and along the three tails. It's head was almost clam like though with one gleaming red eye looking in the direction of the one who summoned it. It was growling, so it was clearly not happy that it was being summoned out of the depts of the lake.

But then that gleaming red eye tore away from Yukimaru and looked directly at where Gaara was standing.

'Oh, crap! Sanbi senses us. We better move fast before he decides to attack.' Shukaku growled.

Gaara quickly shot a look at his companions, giving them a sharp nod. "Move! He sees us! Distract them while I deal with the Third Tails!" He said quickly before throwing out his hand and creating a large patch of hard sand. He jumped up onto it and sent it flying towards the Third Tail, while his brother and sister moved quickly in blurs, along with the three Shadoai towards Yukimaru, Guren and Kabuto.

Shortly then, Kabuto had realized that something had distracted the Third Tail and was frowning. But when he picked up some strange signatures, he spun around, snatching one of his kunai from his pouch on his leg. He didn't know who...scratch that. He swore violently when he saw that red haired Sand Manipulator quickly approaching the Third Tail. More or less, he gritted his teeth when he saw a pair of black blurs appear about fifteen feet away from him and the other two.

Standing not too far away, giving him a very dark look, were the two older Sand siblings. Kabuto dipped his head down, frowning deeply right at Temari and Kankuro. He let his eyes flicker to the three standing behind them, not recognizing any one of them. But he really didn't worry too much about them. He was more worried about the two that he actually knew about.

"So, you're here." Kabuto said darkly, gripping his kunai tightly. "How'd you find out about this place?"

"You again?" demanded Guren just as Kabuto had said that last bit. She didn't even care that Kabuto was looking at her rather surprised.

Yukimaru, quite startled, looked from the Third Tail to Gaara and then to Kankuro. He was still concentrating rather hard, ignoring the blood spilling down from his nose onto his chin. "You!" He said with some strain. "Why...why did you follow us here?"

Kankuro shook his head as he gripped his scrolls tightly, ready to pull them out immediately if there was going to be a fight. His dark eyes flickered over to Yukimaru, whose body was trembling from the strain he had while trying to control the Third Tail Turtle. "We already told you why we came, Yukimaru. We're here for the Third Tail Jinchuriki. And we will be taking it with us!" He said, sharply. He, however, glanced over his shoulder when Sen stepped forward, joining his side.

"Yukimaru, please! Just let them take the Third Tail! They only want to protect it from the snake guy, Orochimaru!" The young Shadoai said, sounding just a little worried about how this was going to go.

Kabuto narrowed his eyes before shooting Guren a look. "You didn't tell me that they were here in the Land of Hot Water! You should have said something about them!" He almost snapped at her.

Guren shot him a nasty look of her own as she stepped a little closer to Yukimaru before looking dangerously at the intruders. "Why should I tell you anything, four eyes? Besides, I don't even know who these people are other than those three!" She jabbed her finger towards the Shadoai. "They're suppose to Onsen workers! But it looks like I was wrong about them." She said, glaring at Sen, Chiro and Rin. "You're not Onsen workers, are you? Who are you and what Ninja Village do you reign from?"

Chiro gripped his scimitar tightly in his hand as he shifted a little closer to Sen, who lift her head up higher. He merely glanced to Rin as she reached into her hip pouch and pulled out her former Ninja headband. She didn't waste a moment to tie it around her forehead, letting Kabuto, Guren and Yukimaru see the symbol of the leaf etched in the metal.

"I am Sen Zangetsu, the future Shadokage of the Hidden Village in the Shadows!" The youngest Shadoai said, firmly.

"And I'm her bodyguard, Chiro Nagataka. I'm Shadoai, one of the skilled Ninja of the Shadow Village." Chiro merely stated, his voice rumbling with a threat within.

Rin lift her head as she shifted her weight a little while raising one hand to point towards Kabuto and Guren. Her other hand was close to her chest, yet her fingers were pointing in the same direction as the other hand was. "And I am Rin Hayashi. Konohagakure Ninja and allied with the Shadogakure Village." She nodded to Kabuto. "If you choose to fight us, you will be my opponent. You're suppose to be a medic ninja. But so am I. We'll see whose medical jutsu can be the deadliest." She warned him, her eyes narrowed.

Guren huffed haughtily before she placed both hands onto her waist. "Well, it seems that you guys out number us though. That's hardly fair." She then lift one hand and clicked her fingers with a loud snap.

Right out of the trees came four men, well armed. They were no doubt Ninja, though it was a question of exactly what kind of techniques they had. They didn't look much but it had been a known fact that Ninja should never been underestimated by their looks. Both Temari and Kankuro knew that. Rin knew that. Sen and Chiro may have not had too much experience fighting other ninja because of how isolated their home village was, but they knew not to underestimate their enemies either.

"Well, seven versus four." Sen said, her tone rather hard. "That's hardly fair."

Kankuro snorted as he yanked off his scrolls before throwing them outward, unraveling them. He made a quick sign with his hand and with a burst of smoke, all three of his puppets popped out of the scrolls, chattering their teeth like grinning skeletons. "Nope, Sen! Seven versus seven! We're equaled in numbers!" He dipped his head down a little as several glowing blue strings emitted from his fingers and connected to his puppets. "Now, do you really want to do this, people? Cause I can guarantee you, you're gonna get one big slap in the face if you try and stop us from taking the Turtle."

All seven of their opponents looked highly hostile at his words. Kabuto was actually very livid that they had even found the lake that the Third Tail was hiding, more or less, that they were there for it. "Your assumptions is going to get you killed, Sand Shinobi. The Third Tail is not going any where with you. It belongs to Orochimaru." He said, acidly.

For only a brief second, Kankuro noticed Yukimaru's eyes darkening at the words of that but it was gone as soon as it came. He merely just glanced away, towards the Third Tail, which was watching as Gaara approached it on his sand. "You're just going to let him say that about your brother like that?" The Puppeteer had to immediately ask.

Yukimaru's eyes flashed with a little surprise as he looked back at Kankuro. But after a brief moment, he looked sullen and shook his head. "That thing is not my brother." He said, almost coldly.

Now, Kankuro and even Temari looked on the gray haired kid with disgust. They both couldn't believe he would say something like that. "How could you say that with such a straight face?" Temari demanded, her eyes full of anger. "Of course he's your brother! Just because he's a Jinchuriki doesn't mean he's not your brother! Our brother is a Jinchuriki!"

"Yagura is dead!" Yukimaru said, now looking slightly angry. His small slender hands balled up into fists to show that he was getting angrier by the minute. "He died the minute he abandoned me!"

Now, the Sand Siblings, the two Shadoai and the Leaf Kunoichi looked surprised to hear him say that. They didn't know what to make of it. "What? What do you mean he abandoned you?" He's right there, in the lake." Sen asked, frowning and tilting her head to the side, looking towards Sanbi.

Yukimaru just shook his head with a look of pain and anger in his eyes. He didn't want to tell them anything. He didn't want anyone to know the truth about him and his brother. No one knew about it but Guren.

Huffing impatiently, Guren only shifted her weight. "Oh, jeez! Can we just get to it now? I'm done talking! It's not your business to know about Yukimaru! It's not like it's going to matter anyway after we kill you, losers!" She shot the five men a look, jerking her head for them to attack. "Rinji, Gozu, Kigiri, Kiho and Nurari! I don't want any one of them to walk away from this lake alive!" She ordered.

All Five nodded and charged to take on the four Ninja. Kankuro was quick to intercept three of them while the others moved quickly to take out the others, Guren and Kabuto included.

Rin was quick to intercept Kabuto before Temari was. She spared a quick glance at the Wind Mistress in apology but Temari didn't seem to care. She just wanted to take down someone. So she put her attention on Guren, deciding it was her that she would take out. Chiro and Sen fought side by side with their own opponents while Yukimaru just turned his attention onto the Third Tail to watch the face off with it.

'You're all fools. The Third Tail will drown you all if you attack it.' He thought grimly to himself.

Gaara approached the Third Tail Turtle quickly but cautiously, keeping his eyes on it. He did not want to spook it into attacking him. He wanted a less than violent confrontation with Sanbi and its Jinchuriki host. It would make things a lot easier for him if he didn't have to fight it.

Of course, the Third Tail didn't want to make it easy for him.

Growling at the approaching Kazekage, Sanbi dipped his head down low before shooting it back up and spitting out a flood of water at him. The blast of water nearly knocked Gaara right out of the air from his sand. He had to use a quick manuiver to avoid getting any of it wet. It didn't help too much when a patch of it did get hit and fell in globs towards the lake.

Gaara quickly moved back, keeping crouched low to his patch of sand. "This is not a good idea!" He growled to himself, and Shukaku.

'Duh! That's what I've been trying to say! You want to face the Third Tail, you're going to need me, Gaara! Let me take control!'

The young Kazekage growled at the idea and moved quickly to avoid another blast of water. He did not want to depend on Shukaku to face another Jinchuriki! Though, he did have some trust towards his Bijuu, he didn't not entirely trust him. He wanted to do this his way.

Shukaku growled at Gaara for his own thoughts, obviously not liking being ignored. 'You can't face him this way, kid! You need me! Right now, all you are is a moving target! Our sand is not going to do anything against the Tailed Beast of Water! But if I can get close enough to him, maybe I can connect our Chakra so you can get inside his mind!'

Again, Gaara ignored him as he dodged another blast of water being shot at him by Sanbi. He knew that Shukaku had a point. He was just a moving target. But maybe, just maybe he could get his sand around the Turtle and hold him down.

Shooting out his hands, Gaara's Sand Gourd exploded from his back and shot towards the Third Tail, quickly moving around the water blasts and attempting to engulf the Turtle. Only clumps of sand ended up getting soaked and fell into the lake below. He watched very carefully as his sand grabbed a hold of Sanbi, now trying to weigh it down a little.

But, once again, Sanbi growled in irritation before it lashed out its tails and slapped against the lake's surface. Tidal waves exploded upward and soaked the sand, rendering it useless.

"Dammit!" Gaara exclaimed in frustration.

However, Gaara's head jerked down when another blast of water shot from the Turtle's mouth and squarely hit him. His eyes widened as the sand under him gave out immediately and he fell towards the water. 'No! Dammit!' He cursed loudly within his head.

Suddenly, something collided with him, stopping his fall into the water. He was startled at first before he glanced down to see what he had landed on, only to be surprised to see a large white wolf. He had to double take it for a moment before realizing it was one of Sen's. The young Kazekage quickly looked over to where Sen was fighting one of Guren's thugs. She had quickly glanced over her shoulder back at him before meeting his eyes and offering him a quick smile before going back to what she was doing.

Gaara merely jerked his head into a nod before looking back to Sanbi. He glanced at the wolf, who looked back at him before turning its full attention onto the Third Tail. "Thank you for your help. But I will take it from here. You best go help Sen. Because what I'm about to do, it's going to be very dangerous." He said as he hopped off the large wolf's back onto the ground near the lake.

'So I'm taking it that you're finally agreeing with me?' Shukaku asked, almost smuggly.

The young Kazekage just lowered his head, his eyes narrowing almost dangerously. He didn't want to do this. But he knew that he was in a huge bind with the Sanbi. He was going to have to do this. There was no other way. And he wasn't going to endanger his siblings or the other three. And fighting the Sanbi as himself wasn't going to help too much.

So he had no choice but to transform.

"No. I'm not. But if you hurt anyone, you already know what will happen." Gaara warned his demon before he began to unlock the mental gates he had around Shukaku. He really did not want to give Shukaku any control but Sanbi wasn't giving him a choice. It was too dangerous for the others to fight him, and it was proving even more difficult fighting him. So Gaara would have to give another Tailed Demon a try. He only hoped that Shukaku would live up to his promise of not harming anyone.

A painful sting rose up within his head, making it unbearable for his eyes to stay open. He had to close his eyes tightly as the sting grew to excruciating pain. He hated having to transform into the Sand Beast, but right now, he didn't have much of a choice.

The transformation was as painful as it always had been. It made Gaara clap his hands over his head to try and help some of the pain but it didn't work. He couldn't stop the groan of pain from turning into a terrible howl. He knew very well that it had caught some attention. He didn't have to look to see the horrified looks on those who had never seen such a transformation like Gaara was going through right at the moment. He couldn't care less about it right now. He would have loved to see the horrified look on Kabuto's face when he realized what was happening. He could almost see the Leaf betrayer's eyes growing wide with fear. Gaara wanted nothing more than to see it there for what Kabuto had done to his young student.

But right at the moment, all the young Kazekage could do was concentrate on the pain that he was going through.

Finally the Sand Gourd on his back exploded all around Gaara, forming a huge cloud all around him. But it wasn't just his sand of defense that exploded all around him, hiding his very presense from any watching eyes. Tons of sand spread out, swirling all around the young Kazekage until the very Beast of Sand rose up from the cloud and snarled at the Three Taile Turtle, who began to growl right back at him.

"Oh my god!" Sen gasped as she looked up at Shukaku with horror. "What is that thing?"

Smirking somewhere near her, Kankuro dipped his head down with satisfaction as he looked up at the giant Sand Tanuki who was having a growling war with the Third Tail. "That's Shukaku, Sen. Don't worry though. He won't hurt us. He knows better than to do that. Cause if he does, Gaara will make sure they both suffer the ultimate consequences." He told her.

Rin frowned as she glanced over at him before looking back up at the Sand Demon with a shake of her head. She was surprised, yes. But she had seen a lot worst. "Shukaku, the Blood Thirsty. I've only heard stories of him. But never seen him. He thirsts for blood." She said calmly. "But between him and the Nine Tails, Kyuubi is worst. I have seen what that creature does. He thirsts for total destruction."

Any one who heard merely glanced at one another or her while Kankuro and Temari shared a concerned glance. They weren't concerned for how Rin was saying it. Or for her. They were concerned because they knew she had a point and it did worry them of what would happen if Naruto lost control over his Demon again like he had while fighting Orochimaru. They knew that Gaara would do anything to help him when it happened. But they surely hoped that it wouldn't kill their younger brother any more than it would if something happened to Naruto. All they could do was keep their fingers crossed.

Snarling, Shukaku crouched low to the ground as soon as he laid eyes on the Third Tail Turtle in the lake. He was growling viciously like a beast hunting its prey. He was not surprised when the Third Tail starting growling in rage and even fear when Sanbi saw him. It was not very happy to see the Beast of Sand.

"Shukaku!" Sanbi snarled in an ancient and raspy sounding voice. It startled almost all to even hear it. It was obvious that the Turtle hadn't used his voice in a long time before Yukimaru, Guren or even Kabuto.

Growling in return, Shukaku nearly grinned nastily as he eyed the Third Tail, swinging his tail in the air like he was a cat getting ready to pounce on a mouse. "Hello, Sanbi. Nice to see you after all of this time. It's been nearly a hundred years, hasn't it? You're looking ugly and old as ever? Dude, you really need to get some sun though. I hear it's healthy for your skin." He taunted before crouched lower to the ground. "Now, get over here! My human wants to talk to yours!"

And then he lunged at the Third Tail.

Sanbi snarled back at him but instead of charging to meet the Tanuki head on, he retreated away from him. Gliding a little on the surface of the lake, the Turtle moved further away from Shukaku, believing that he would not follow him into the water.

He was saddly mistaken.

Shukaku was determined to connect his Chakra with Sanbi's, so that Gaara could locate the Third Tail Jinchuriki within the depts of its mind. He had no problem jumping into the shallow parts of the lake, splashing huge waves everywhere while lashing out to grab a hold of the Sanbi. He grunted in satisfaction as he claws wrapped around Sanbi's throat and held him up above water when he tried to quickly sink into its safety zone.

"Oh, no you don't! Sanbi! Quit being such an old coward!" Shukaku snarled as he held as tight as he could to the Turtle when he started thrashing in the lake to get the Tanuki off of him.

Together, the two Bijuu began to wrestle violently within the lake, sending water every where. It even knocked some of Guren's men off their feet and even made Kankuro swear loudly when some water got into the joints of his puppets. It was not good when Crow, Black Ant or even Salamander got wet.

Snarling at each other, the two Bijuu contined their water fight before Shukaku began pressing his Chakra against Sanbi's. He was trying to goad the Turtle into using his own Chakra against him.

For a long few minutes, it didn't work because the Sanbi was too busy trying to yank himself free from Shukaku's grip. But when it realized that the One Tail was striking against him with his hot, course Chakra, he growled and struck back. That was all that Gaara needed once the Chakra clashed against one another.

So Gaara quickly opened up the connection that would allow him access into the Sanbi's mind.

Entering the mind world of the Sanbi's mind was not what Gaara expected at all. Nor did he like it when he saw what kind of world that the Turtle had created for his own mind. Gaara had opened up his mind's eyes only to nearly jump in panic to see a vast ocean surrounding him while he stood on a very small sandy beach. There were large angry tidal waves rolling over each other with a stormy cloud cover high above. Angry lightning and thunder boomed and cracked against the sky, making it so loud that Gaara had to cringe.

Yes, he realized. The Third Tail Turtle was one very angry demon.

"GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY MIND, YOU HUMAN!" Sanbi's aged voice roared in fury as the ocean nearly exploded in front of him, revealing the very demon. The Turtle's one burning red eye glared at Gaara, nearly paralyzing him right on the spot. The Chakra pressure pushing against him was nearly unbearable. It was crushing against his chest, making it harder to breath.

But relief suddenly came to Gaara as Sand quickly swirled all around him, turning into Shukaku's large tail. It curled around the young Kazekage in a protective embrace while the Sand Demon crouched over him, growling at Sanbi for trying to attack Gaara with his Chakra Pressure.

"GET OUT NOW, SHUKAKU! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE COMING INTO MY MIND WITHOUT INVITATION? YOU AND YOUR HUMAN WILL DIE FOR THIS!" Sanbi snarled in a loud, booming voice.

"Oh, shut the hell up, Sanbi!" growled Shakuku as he lift his head a little higher. "We just want to talk to your human. It's very important if we see him."

Sanbi's only response was snarling loudly before waving his three long tails and trying to strike out at Shukaku and Gaara. He snarled in frustration and rage when the One Tail curled over Gaara and protected his human from the strike. "GET OUT NOW! I ORDER YOU TO LEAVE MY MIND RIGHT THIS...!" The Third Tail bellowed.

"Sanbi, what is this? Why are you yelling and waking me up?" a very calm and young voice echoed over the roaring oceans while a boy flickered into view with mist swirling all around him.

Both Gaara and Shukaku had to stare in astonishment at the young boy. They hadn't expected this at all.

Yagura of the Third Tail Turtle was not what they expected. He was much younger than Gaara and couldn't even be past ten years old. He didn't look a day over nine, in fact and that's what stunned the young Kazekage the most. Especially when he recalled Yukimaru even telling him that his younger brother was the former Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village.