Desert winds

Naruto unfurled a makeshift shemagh off his head, the sandstorm he had just been engulfed by in the early moments of the morning dissipating and revealing clear blue skies and the endless sands of the desert.

Sweat poured down his head, the Uzumaki taking a swig of an empty waterskin (it didn't make him less tired but it gave him some comfort) as his legs trekked further and further into the land.

He had been pursued to and past the borders to river and suna both. In hindsight, he should have taken more water from those cool streams he dived into to rid himself of his scent, regret at his misfortune in travelling over warm pale gold sand and living under the hateful gaze of the sun. His targets, and he had to kill a few, were jonin, or hunter nin, dangerous and difficult to fight, but when he had his full arsenal, it was easy to dispatch them. He tried not to kill his opponents, but he wasn't sure if everyone survived.

Arms and legs aching and burning, even under his tan, he walked on and on, one minded determination. He needed to get to Suna, needed to see Gaara.

He didn't know how long his sandals thudded against the ground, his now worn trousers caked with sand, wisps of his cut jacket flowing in the wind, his only comfort the scarf wrapped around his neck, made from a jonin's own shirt, blue and tight nit.

Until he opened his weak, sleep deprived eyes, and saw a dot in the distance.

One that became a blot.

That became a block.

That became a building.

And then a wall.

And then a city.

It was huge. He had no other thoughts, as he neared more and more and the brown wall seemed to arch above and above, until it blocked out the sun. It was so much taller then the leaf's wall, built high and high to keep out the sand storms, the scars of its assault visible on the structure itself.

Maybe there were people rushing to him, he wouldn't have known. He was too busy looking at the wall, as his vision darkened, and he dropped face first into the floor.

He had made it. Suna.

…

"Lady Tsunade, surely you can't send our troops into wind country to search for Naruto!" Homura, old member of a sort of advisory council to Hiruzen and now nothing but an entitled old man told the hokage.

"I can do whatever I damn please, you old fool! He is our jinjuriki, and a possible missing nin-"

"Possible? He attacked one of our kunoichi- your student mind you- and several other shinobi after his escape! You can't possibly think he is innocent."

Tsunade stayed silent for a moment, then motioned for her assistant Shizune to come to her.

"Make sure we get a line of correspondence with Suna. They need to tell us if- when Naruto gets to them. Make sure they understand our position of power, and how desperately we need him."

"What if they hide him?" The black haired kunochi, holding a few scraps of paper asked.

"Then one of our spies will tell us, and then it will be war. One we'll win."

…

"You're awake." A redhead spoke, his burgundy vest, long waist reaching fabrics dangling past his body. Naruto noted how little his body had changed compared to his, his stature better, his muscles corded and big, giving him a larger frame, and finally his height. As he pulled himself from the bed he had been put in, he began to tower over Garaa.

A glass of water floated next to Naruto, the object balanced with an impressive show of control on a platform of sand. He took the cup, drinking in small sips, and then swallowing the thing whole in one big gulp. He still had that same sense of gluttony from when he was younger, maybe learned from his huge appetite he had from a young age.

"Thanks for that Gaara. I'm in Suna right?"

"It has been a while. You have changed."

A tense silence followed.

"Did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Attack your teammate?"

Blue eyes locked onto turquoise.

"I-I had to Gaara. She was going to be hokage, and I couldn't let her. I needed to be the one."

"Wasn't she one of your precious people?"

Ah, that phrase. It had been so long since team 7, since he had uttered it he felt he could have forgotten it. But flashes of Haku running through his mind told him he never could have.

"I thought she was, for a while, but I was wrong. It was a mistake though, I should have left her alone, worked to better myself, made links and forged alliances rather than trying to kill her. It was a mistake."

Gaara made some sort of contemplative grunt, then continued, his choice of action simple.

"Well, then we will need to lie. Push a narrative that you only defended yourself, that she attacked first, that you needed help so you fled to us."

Naruto looked up, his mind racing.

"You would defend me just like that?"

"You would do the same."

Naruto took a hesitant step forward, then hugged the boy, his true friend.

"But Naruto, I can't protect you forever. I'll teach people to give you lessons on subterfuge, give you an escort, but even if I plead they will come for you and negotiations will break down, and I can't go to war for you when I don't know if I'll win."

"That makes sense. But what after? I just give up on being hokage? I give up on that dream?"

Gaara thought himself for a few moments.

"There hasn't been a hokage like it in all history, but plenty of kage have been put in power via coup. All you would need is power, and influence. You have been branded a traitor but if we put that seed of doubt in their mind, the idea that you are innocent, the younger generation, including your friends would be more willing to be on your side. A prosecuted jinjuriki, attacked and forced to flee coming back and taking the village may be compelling."

And Naruto hated it, but he needed to say it, to suggest it.

"And the son of the 4th hokage too."

"What? That-makes sense. And it works for us, either way you put it. A successor to him or one who was betrayed and used by him."

The two clasped their hands together, in agreement.

"You know Garaa, you're scarily good at this."

He smiled.

…

Naruto walked out, a white facemask covering his whiskers. Garaa made it clear he wasn't to be seen in public to give them as much time as possible inside Suna before he was driven off by Konoha.

The sun was above, noon he guessed, the heat and brightness reflecting off his new white garb, soft comfortable silk that twisted in the light breeze. He was out to meet his escort, a jonin he was told.

"Hey, Naruto. That you?" Asked another blond, her hair done up in bunched up twintails, a grey garb and large fan on her back. He recognized her from the chunin exams but she was older now, 18 years old he guessed, taller and with a fuller figure.

"Temari? I'm guessing you're my escort."

She gave off a bright smile, one he liked the look of, genuine and caring, whilst fierce as well.

"My brother gave me the job of watching over you to make sure you don't get trampled or something. I guess it will give me a break after the constant missions I've been going on."

Naruto smiled back.

"Well, my valiant escort, do you have anywhere in the village you would like to show to a visitor?"

Temari smirked, holding her chin in her small hand, looking up and to the left in a kind of concentration.

"A lot. Let's get some lunch first."

…

A/N: Naruto got to suna

Yes I am doing a temari romance. Yes it is still a harem. cya