Chapter 7- The Daughter Of Ozymandias the Great

"Knowing too much of your future

is never a good thing."

- RICK RIORDAN, The Lightning Thief

As most of the clocks in Konoha ticked over to half past one in the afternoon, five people gathered in front of two huge green doors, built into an equally large stone wall. On either of the doors were Kanji painted in bright red which, when the gate was closed, combined to spell out the word 'hidden', rather fitting all things considered.

Kakashi barely seemed any different from usual except that he had a grey backpack slung over his shoulder, the same could be said for his three pupils. Kamen was the exception.

His usual black scarf had been discarded in favour of showing off his facemask, his padded black shirt had been covered by a thin silver coloured armour and on each of his limbs were similar looking arm and leg guards, all of which were reminiscent of something an anbu would wear.

A lazy whistle broke the silence as Kakashi looked Kamen up and down a little, "Well would you look at that, just missing the mask and tanto and you'd be the splitting image of an Anbu!"

Kamen eye smiled offhandedly, he hadn't been too confident when he had been preparing for this journey, he was quickly getting whisked up in events that were out of his control and he didn't like that too much.

He hadn't brought much except for a kunai which was hidden in his right boot and some scrolls which were stashed underneath his arm and leg guards, but even with these things, he didn't feel very reassured. There was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind, like all of this was going to go horribly wrong. That and he had never heard of Ozymandias, meaning his team had most definitely not gone on a mission to escort his daughter, especially not within the two weeks prior to the chunin exams, that was just insane, but rather than show his inner stress, he simply said: "You know what they say about clothes making the man, Kakashi…"

The white-haired scarecrow eye smiled obliviously before answering with a completely straight face under his mask, "That it's a sexist idiom?" It took Naruto all his might not to burst out laughing at his sensei's response, though Sakura next to him was simply nodding in agreement, "That's not- You know what, never mind, shall we get going?"

Though it was a question the dark-haired time traveller wasted no time in leaping up to the branches of the oversized trees above, swiftly followed by team seven. Kamen only noticed a few seconds after departure that he was going too fast for the genin and quickly slowed down to match their pace, which Kakashi had been matching from the beginning.

The group advanced in silence for a while, but of course Naruto wasn't going to tolerate it for long, "Ne, Kamen-sensei, how long will it take us to get to Otafuku Gai?"

The man in question could practically hear Kakashi's pout as he hung at the back of the group's haphazard formation, "Why don't you ask your actual sensei Naruto? I've only really only visited the place once, I'm sure he can tell you exactly how long it takes to get there."

Kakashi's pout receded for a second before he realised what Kamen was insinuating; that he, Kakashi Hatake, the most moral of morally moral men had been to Otofaku Gai on a regular basis, or at least often enough for him to know exactly how long it took to get there! How preposterous!

Otafuku Gai was a hub of gambling, prostitution, drugs and other such illicit activities. The whole place was basically a huge red-light district, though Konoha didn't dare interfere with its activities because of the revenue and tourism it attracted from all over the elemental nations. Not to mention the opportunity it gave disguised Konoha Kunoichi to gather information about other countries, though such methods were official frowned upon, that didn't mean that in the shadows the practise wasn't forced upon certain up and coming anbu recruits.

At Naruto's expectant gaze, Kakashi gave his answer, "I suppose at the speed we're going; we should reach our objective by tomorrow morning." Seemingly satisfied with that answer Naruto turned his attention to some light flirting with Sakura, which she promptly ignored, or if the young blond got to heated, answered with violence.

All this time Sasuke had been as silent as a mouse, his sharp black eyes having been studying the inter-personal dynamics of the mismatch of people before him. Sasuke was smart. His so-called 'fans' like to brag on his behalf, and he himself was on occasion a little too prideful of it, but this didn't change the fact that he was indeed smart. He had to be, not only because his dear brother was, but also because he had been in charge of the entire Uchiha clan's territory and funding from the age of seven. Nothing wizens you up like a kettle of vultures circling overhead and a pit of vipers lapping at your feet.

It was thanks to said intelligence that Sasuke knew something was strange about this entire situation. None of what had been going on made much sense in his opinion. Kakashi had, from what the raven-haired boy could deduce, only know Kamen Sakamoto for two days. Though for a shinobi this was long enough to know every nitty gritty little detail about someone, it was most definitely not long enough to trust someone. And there was the paradox, Kakashi seemed to know very little about Kamen and yet trusted him enough to bring him along on a mission; it was unthinkable to the last loyal Uchiha. And the way they interacted was way too natural, the flow of their conversation was too smooth, almost like a pre-written play.

Sasuke however, had no more time to ponder the matter, not that he hadn't already been doing so for a while as he hadn't even notice the sky's orange and pink tint, "Alright team, I'd say it's about time we stopped for the day, it'll be pitch black before we get the tents up otherwise."

The group gradually slowed until they came to a full stop before an outcropping of particularly dense trees and shrubbery, though in the centre of it was just enough room to set up a few tents, "Okay, as usual Naruto will head out with a shadow clone to gather sticks, Sakura will set up the tents and Sasuke will set the traps."

Kamen flashed a quick glance over the group as they prepared to rush into action, a slight smile tugging at his lips as he interrupted, "Why don't you guys switch things up a little? Sasuke puts up the tents, Sakura gets the sticks for a fire and Naruto sets the traps?"

All four members of team seven turned to look at Kamen as though he had just said the most ridiculous thing that had ever passed a person's lips, so incredulous were their looks that Kamen felt like defending himself. Whether verbally or physically, he wasn't too sure, "Why would we wanna do that Kamen-sensei? I'm the best at gathering sticks, Sakura's real quick at putting up the tents and Sasuke-teme isn't terrible at setting up traps!" "Meaning I'm the best" Sasuke added on swiftly and seamlessly.

Kamen, in the three days of knowing these kids, had grown to enjoy 'teaching' them. He imagined it was why people wanted to have children, to teach them the things that they themselves had never known as a kid, to make them better than they themselves had been, to have a little mini-me to mould into the best possible person. Although in this case one of them really was a mini-me, "Exactly, if you only stick to what you know and are good at, you'll never get any better. Imagine a situation where Sasuke is out of action, for example if he were injured as you were retreating from an enemy, who would set up the traps then?"

Kamen used examples and made up situations a lot, but there was a good reason for that, because he believed that using complex terminology and pretty words were worth nothing in the face of a concrete example, something that Jiraiya had helped instil in him through his training methods. And his point was only proven when the three young genin didn't need any more convincing than that, each setting out to perform their unfamiliar tasks.

Sakura parted from the group and vanished off into the forest a little nervously, Naruto fumbled around the clearing with ninja wire, bells and flash tags while Sasuke was busy studying a metal pole that, he couldn't for the life of him, figure out where it went in the supposedly quick and 'easy-to-set-up' tent.

The two adults on the other hand were sat on moss covered logs they had pulled from the ground and begun using as improvise seating, doing work of their own kind, "You know Kakashi, I've never heard of this 'Ozymandias' guy, nor his daughter?"

Kakashi nodded slightly, shifting his bodyweight on the log to try and get into a comfortable position, "That's not surprising, until recently he was just a minor noble in the Daimyo's court, that is until he decided that he was too good to serve under someone else. He abandoned the capital and set off towards the northern border of the Land of Wind to set up his own town, Ren'ai Fuun. I heard it started off pretty badly because of the location he chose, a little know place called 'the valley of red sand', but that in recent months the place has been booming economically, though I didn't hear why…"

Kamen furrowed his brow in confusion. He strained his mind for any hazy memories of such a place as Ren'ai Fuun or even the 'valley of red sand', but for the life of him couldn't remember a thing. Until a little flash of something, a conversation he had had with Sakura once, about her fight with one of the members of the Akatsuki, "That valley of red sand you mentioned, wouldn't have anything to do with Sasori of the red sand would it?"

Kakashi flinched slightly, his eyes widening with surprise that Kamen knew that man's name. A sombre aura washed over the white-haired man. He knew a lot about Sasori, he had made it a point at one time… He had found out that his father had killed the red haired puppet master's parents; a potential enemy should always be watched closely, though in recent years he hadn't heard much about him, "That's right, it was a battlefield during the third great shinobi war, one that gave both Sasori and the valley their names…" Kakashi scanned his surroundings, spotting Sasuke, finally finishing off the first tent… only for it to collapse and Naruto… trapped in a mess of wires while one of his clones tried to help him. They wouldn't hear, "Sasori massacred more than a few Konoha shinobi, including many genin, during that battle… I… I lost a few friends to it."

Kamen nodded silently, fully understanding the pain that was showing on Kakashi's face and in his eyes. Nothing would wash away the blood which had stained the elemental nations during that war, though if history repeated itself, it would be concealed under a much larger ocean of blood and despair.

The sound of Sakura stumbling back into the clearing with her arms full of neatly arranged sticks drew the adults away from their conversation, she approached the pair and set the stick down next to them, swiftly moving to light a fire between the two, "So Sakura, how did your little outing go?" The pink haired girl scrunched her nose up slightly, before answering in a slightly disgusted tone, "There were way too many insects and dead animals! I even had a slug climbing up my arm, I hate those disgusting things…" Sakura shivered as she thought of the memory, though it was a good job she hadn't been looking at Kamen as the Irony of her words were almost enough to make him burst out laughing. The future holder of a summoning contract with the slugs was expressing her hatred of them!

Sasuke arrived to the embers of a soon to be campfire glowing under the slightly callused hands and soft breath of his pink haired teammate, a thoroughly annoyed scowl gracing his features. He had managed to get the tents up after several tries, though that wasn't without having caught his finger in the sliding metal pipes, hit his hand with a mallet, gotten stuck under the tarp and almost stuck a tent peg through his foot. Though his sour mood quickly lifted as he saw that he wasn't having the worst of it when Naruto arrived.

The blonde's poor orange jumpsuit had tears and bloodstains in several different places where he had accidentally set off his own kunai traps, that and his eyes were bloodshot from clumsily setting off a couple of flash tags on the outer perimeter, "What happened dobe? Couldn't remember where you set up your own traps? Must have more in common with squirrels than just the whiskers."

Naruto flashed the dark-haired boy a miffed glare but was too tired to fully retaliate with his usual gusto, instead settling for a, "I just hope my tent doesn't fall on me when I'm sleeping."

Kamen eye smiled softly towards the pair, "Don't worry, me and Kakashi will keep watch for tonight, so you can all get a full night's sleep." The white haired jonin nodded in agreement, and with an eye smile and condescending tone added: "You deserve it with all the hard work you put in!"

Naruto squinted at his official sensei, "Hard work that we wouldn't have had to do if it wasn't for you two!" Kakashi chuckled slightly at that, the blonde already having forgotten that Kamen had only made a suggestion, they had been the ones to follow it, though it was true that he made a convincing argument, "Maa, it was a learning experience, I'm sure!"

The orange clad boy huffed slightly. He might have been an endurance freak, but mental energy was something he had very little of. There had been too much thinking and too many lessons that he had taken in today. That may have been why in favour of doing his usual routine with his sensei, he left towards one of the four one-man tents.

None of the people in the clearing failed to notice this attitude which was highly unlike the usually energetic jinchuriki, but either they didn't think it was polite to pry or, in the case of the two adults, knew that Naruto wasn't the kind of person to be down and out, he always got back up on his feet. Though Kamen was the only one who knew all too well how badly that could wear away at one's soul.

Gradually the clearing fell silent as the friendly chatter died down, and soon enough Kamen was the only one left awake, taking first watch. The cold darkness closed in on him, but for the first time in a long time, the flickering flames of the campfire were enough to keep it at bay. His mind drifted, though his senses stayed sharp.

Flashes of his life passed before his eyes. A small boy facing off against two kinds of demon on a bridge, the cold wind blew over his body and reached through his clothes to his pale skin. A large and calloused hand running through golden locks as a hearty chuckle resonated from aged lips, the soft and even breathing coming from the tents reached his ears. A fierce battle followed by an emotional funeral with rain coming down from above and incense burning in the wind, the comforting smell of burning wood ash reached his nose. A muddy battle ground with blood pooling in a child's mouth as a blonde woman finally escaped her mental curse, the feeling of slick saliva reached his lips as his tongue passed over their dry surface. The fearful promise of a lonely child who had lost a dear friend, the sour memories reached his mind. The burning inner courage of a young teen as he faced off against six immortal beings who were but one false god, the bright orange and red flames reached his retina.

The death, the endless death that followed him, everywhere, the darkness was closing in- "Kamen-san?"

The dark-haired man was snapped out of his thoughts, his white knuckles and pin prick pupils flashed towards the source of the voice. Kamen froze, his fist barely an inch away from Sasuke's face as the air pressure from the movement alone made the young boy's hair dance. A slightly shocked look graced the Uchiha's features, but he quickly recovered narrowing his eyes slightly. Kamen lowered his arm, bringing it stiffly down to his side, his eyes going back to the fire, "I-I'm sorry about that, I was far away."

"It's fine, I should have known better than to sneak up on you." Kamen was slightly shocked at the young Uchiha's words, in his other life he had never been on the receiving end of such words from his teammate, but he quickly corrected his thought process. He wasn't Naruto and Sasuke wasn't his teammate, here and now, Kamen was Sasuke's senior in more ways than one, and the raven-haired boy understood that well, "Did you want something?"

The last loyal Uchiha carefully made his way to the log that was still set up in front of Kamen, resting his body upon it awkwardly, "I was curious as to where you came from? Did you know Kakashi when he was younger?"

Kamen smiled softly, some memories from his other life still fresh in his mind, "I'll answer the easiest first, I haven't known Kakashi for long, only two days and yet we've come to a mutual understanding… Because of your first question…"

Sasuke frowned slightly, he didn't quite understand what his secondary sensei meant, his words were shrouded by their structure and by the shadow of Kamen's soul, "I don't understand?"

Kamen didn't want to say this again, didn't want to use the memories of mangled corpses and dead friends to simulate a different tragedy and yet he did, "I lived in Kewagakure, which used to be land of claw."

Sasuke's eyes grew darker, there was something about the way Kamen was talking that he really didn't like, "What do you mean 'used to'?"

Kamen looked up to Sasuke as his midnight blue orbs gazed into a void, "I mean that it used to be in the land of claw… It's … Gone now… There was a battle during the third great shinobi war and a lot of people died, almost everyone in fact… I haven't actually met another survivor from there so I might even be the last one…"

A grim smile grace Kamen's lips as he looked away from Sasuke and into the sky. He was the last one, or at least the only one, who had seen what he had seen, lived through what he had lived through. Everyone else was gone, erased by all of the nine tailed demons and their cursed jutsu. Though Kamen couldn't think of that for long as Sasuke pulled him away from his thoughts with a dark and trembling voice, "You mean… You mean you're like me? Is that why you're strong? How can you be so carefree?!"

Wild, bordering on crazed eyes stared down at Kamen, Sasuke having leapt to his feet, pushed by his outrage. However, as Kamen looked up at him in surprise, he saw the regret of his words wash over his face, a paleness tinting his skin, "I-I didn't mean that… I'm sorry."

The time traveller watched as the survivor of the Uchiha clan's massacre sat back down, looking ashamed of his own words, "Don't worry about it Sasuke… I wouldn't say that I'm like you… I don't think anyone else in the world has gone through what you have, seeing your family being cut down by your own brother… That's not something I would wish upon my worst enemy... But we definitely have some things in common… As for my strength and carefree attitude… They're not as genuine as I'd like them to be…"

Sasuke looked back up at Kamen, the look of regret gone and instead replaced with confusion, "You think I'm strong Sasuke? You think your brother is strong? There are people out there who could wipe us both out in one fell swoop. Do you want to know why?" Sasuke nodded swiftly and yet with a hint of disbelief at his words, "Because we aren't strong, neither me nor your brother. You on the other hand… Just because we can cast a few fancy jutsu and just because we can physically overwhelm a number of opponents… That doesn't make us strong, it means we're weak… Both me and your brother have killed, killed more than you can imagine and that makes us weak. Because the courage it takes to be what you are Sasuke… What Sakura and Naruto are… To be young children in this kind of world who are subject to the whims and cruelty of those who outrank you or are older than you, and yet to also have the kind of spirit and kinship that I see in you… That takes strength beyond anything me or your brother could ever produce, no matter how much we try… Remember these words well Sasuke; your team could overcome every hardship the world has to offer if it were to unite as one."

A pensive silence invaded the clearing as the sound of insects singing off in the distance seemed to become mute, mourning in place of the two waking humans. Neither moved for a long time, not until Kakashi came out of his tent to relieve Kamen of his post, at which time Sasuke also headed off to sleep.

The morning came too quickly for the raven-haired pair, neither having slept well because of their haunted minds. And yet both hid their fatigue and trauma with practised ease. The group of five cleared up their temporary camp of almost all traces that they had even been there, only a highly trained ninja would notice the soft earth under which was buried the ashes from the fire.

Though the quintet were silent in their resuming of their journey, the silence didn't last long as the sound of hustle and bustle from a busy town reached their ears. Kakashi's predicted time it would take to get to Otafuku Gai technically hadn't been wrong, though it was ironic that they had camped barely twenty minutes away from their target, "Alright, the mission details said that miss Lisandra, the young princess's caregiver, would be waiting for us at a Hotel with the girl and a small escort…"

Naruto was the first to express his feelings on what was said, though less because of quick wit and more because of a lack of filter to his words, "Wait! If she has her own escort, then what are we here for?"

Kakashi nodded seriously, seeming to finally be acting like an actual squad leader, "It's likely that what ever threats to her life there may be, she thinks that ordinary samurai guards won't be enough… Either way, we have a mission, so it's time to get started, I think I know where the hotel mentioned in the mission's folder is."

The group of five set out with trepidation into the bustling town of Otafuku Gai, though one of them couldn't help the rising dread within his heart. A lot had passed yet there was much more to come. Kamen knew this better than anyone, but this was the first time since he had arrived in the past that he was heading into a fully unknown situation.

It didn't take long for the group to arrive before a very large and very posh looking hotel, a flashy golden sign hanging above the sleek doorway with the words 'The Fortunate Tortoise Hotel' painted in an intriguing red, "So this is the place Kakashi? It doesn't seem like somewhere royalty would hang around-"

Just as Kamen finished his phrase a shrill voice echoed out from behind the doors of the hotel, "MY LADY! YOU MUST BE PATIENT!" The only answer the voice got was a swift, "I DON'T WANNA!" And with that the doors to the reception area burst open.

A young girl, no older than ten, had kicked the door open. The peculiar green and pink dress she wore was wrinkled all over, as though she had just fought her way through a bar fight. Despite this, long dirty blond locks hung behind her rather neatly, reaching down to her waist, which was no large feat as she was even shorter than young Naruto. Her bright big cerulean eyes had narrowed pupils as she flashed a peeved look towards the small crowd which blocked her path, however as soon as her glare latched onto the headbands toted by four out of the five people, it dissipated, "KONOHA SHINOBI!"

The young girl leapt towards the group, her arms snatching the closest person to her, which happened to be Naruto. The young blonde, completely unprepared, toppled to the ground in an awkward tangle of limbs. Kamen's midnight blue eyes widened slightly as the so called 'princess' began feeling him -or rather his past self- up, "Jeez, you're meant to be a shinobi? Where's all the meat and muscle?"

The predator raised its sight and instead locked on to Kamen, eyes scanning him up and down as a peverted old man would an attractive young woman. A wave of self-consciousness washed over Kamen as he crossed his arms in front of his body armour, unfortunately that wasn't the right idea because as soon as he did the young girl's eyes began to sparkle, "Now that's what I'm talking about, those are some tasty looking biceps!"

Kamen couldn't help but want to back away as the so-called child began stomping her way towards him. Luckily for the dark-haired time traveller, the shrill voice from before finally caught up and grabbed the impending law-suit in the making by the collar. Slightly out of breath, the voice began in a more composed tone than before, though her wrinkled face still betrayed her anger, "My Lady, how many times must I tell you not to run away from your bodyguards and harass strangers!"

It was only as the slightly elderly woman realised quite who her ward had been pestering that she adressed them, "Oh my, if it isn't the Konoha Shinobi we hired, I was told that the son of the white fang would be coming along but I hadn't expected you'd look so much like your father!"

At that the withered woman bowed deeply, forcing her charge to do the same, "I am Lisandra Geldwyn and this little miss here is Shale of Ren'ai Fuun, daughter of Ozymandias the great!"

Author's Note:

Another chapter done and dusted! This one took me quite a lot of mental excercise because I kept wanting to do too many thing. Originaly Sakura was the one who approached Kamen at night (have fun imagining how that would have gone) and Shale was going to be your typical pompous and stoic noble, but I decided that that old tale needed a little spice added to the mix. Anyway, I'm thinking it didn't turn out too bad in the end. I'm hoping you guys are getting a little bit hyped up over the uncharted territory! I can give you this as a little prelude (no spoilers though): There's going to be a (hopefully) pretty badass fight and a little bit of romance in the next chapter so look forward to it!

That's all for now though, don't hesitate to review the story and if there are any questions which I can anwser without spoiling anything, i'll anwser them at the end of a chapter! Bye for now!