Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

BIWRC

Breaking Into The Enemy's Backyard

Previously on BIWRC;

Meanwhile, in the middle of the Suna Desert. There were two figures heading in one certain direction to an unknown location. "I still don't know why you left him alive. If they find him then they will be able to find us. And do you know how hard it is for Leader sama to find us a new hideout!?"

"Shut up. I hate your whining voice. And besides, what better way for them to fear us if they have no proof of our power or something to fear us for. And that brat was the brother of your prey. The prey that ruined your arm." Deidara's partner said with a gruff tone.

"Aw shut up Sasori! At least I beat a Kage level Shinobi while you only have a low-Jonin opponent which is why it was a cake walk." Deidara said, finally addressing the name of his partner.

Deidara was flying on something of a white owl made of clay that actually flew regardless of its own weight or that of Deidara's own in addition. But wrapped on the back was Gaara.

"You could have at least left our target alive so it won't die already. If the Kazekage does, then we will have to release the Ichibi." Sasori said and Deidara huffed. Then the two figures in cloaks went on without any interruptions. Where they were going, only they knew but soon enough, they will be found and this entire day marked the unfortunate beginning of an inevitable war.

"Will you please slow down!?" A pair of squirrels were looking for acorns on the branches and a couple of birds were building their nest when they all heard those words. And they were wondering about that blur, whizzing past their trees followed by a group of slightly slower blurs. "We want to get there too but this is not what anyone of us had in mind!"

Jimae Uchiha and the rest of the Konoha team, sent to help Suna retrieve their kidnapped Kazekage, were having more troubles. Naruto just couldn't stay in one place for as long as a couple of minutes, which was like torture for him. "Jiraiya-sama, was he always like this?"

"Only when he is onto something worse than a hound dog chasing a feral cat!" The old Toad Sage shouted into the wind to make a clear response. "That boy always gave me a headache whenever he wanted training, even skipping out on meals and sleep! I am in my fifties for Kami's sake!"

Thankfully for him, Jiraiya couldn't hear the snickering and giggling in the wind. The Konoha Shinobi couldn't help it after how they imagined what the worse Naruto did for this old pervert of a toad. "I didn't think that Naruto will be as bad as this ever since we got that lead back in Sunagakure."

Everyone nodded while unaware that somehow, Naruto heard that clearly. His mind soon took a turn down memory lane. Back to when the trek was scheduled to go where a survivor of the squad sent in a hurry against those who have kidnapped Gaara, his older brother Kankuro.

XXXXX

Flashback: A few hours ago,

"Kankuro almost died against the kidnappers!?" Naruto shouted in disbelief. They were bouncing between tress once again but this was in the direction of the desert village. "I ran into him and the rest of Gaara's family. I didn't think that any of them will be done in that badly!"

"It is nice to hear how you respect the Shinobi from other villages but what really matters is that Kankuro-san is still alive. He can tell us who attacked Sunagakure ages ago and a Shinobi like him has promises of evidence." Kakashi replied to Naruto. The blonde didn't need longer than a moment to figure out what Kakashi has in mind.

"It could work Sensei." Naruto answered and then turned to his girlfriends who were trying to catch up. "And who better than to save the life of a friend but with the luckiest girls in the world?" Kakashi and company were amused enough to shake their heads while Sakura and Hinata playfully scowled at the blonde.

"Sure, lucky to be with the biggest blond rebel in the country that just happens to have nothing to confiscate." Hinata then said which got everyone embarrassed, including herself. But the blonde just smiled to see his initial girlfriend talk about something of that caliber and not lose consciousness.

"Whatever Hinata-chan, Naruto-kun, we still need to move our asses." Sakura retorted with the famous temper that most men fear from the Hokage. Still, the blonde was proud to see that Sakura has finally found what she was born to do and her temper has been justified to some extent; she is no longer a whiney brat throwing a temper tantrum.

Soon enough, the sands and winds of the Wind Country have blasted their faces. Still, they were able to make out the buildings of Sunagakure in the distance. Mirages might slow them down but this wasn't one and the Shinobi will not be delayed from assisting a village in need.

In the medical building,

"What do you think, honorable elders?" A Suna nin asked a couple of senior citizens that were standing over a familiar man stripped to his boxers and retaining the same black hair, with no makeup this time. "You were a medic Shinobi that can rival Tsunade of Konoha. Can't you do something, Lady Chiyo?"

Chiyo is an elderly woman with black eyes and lavender coloured hair tied in a bun, in her fight with Sasori she let her hair loose. She wears the traditional Sunagakure outfit which consists of a dark coloured, loose fitting outfit with a poncho-like top.

And, Ebizo, her brother is an elderly man that is characterized by his heavy-lidded eyes that give him the appearance of actually having no eyes at all. He also has very long eyebrows that frame each side of his face. Along with a turban wrapped around his head, he wears the traditional Sunagakure outfit which consists of a dark coloured, loose fitting outfit with a poncho-like top.

"I have been once but this poison is nothing that I have ever come across. If I was half my age, I can use a Medical Ninjutsu to extract the venom from his blood and then I will have three times the amount of time to make an antidote. This is beyond me." Chiyo said in a neutral tone. "I thought we have been telling you brats to handle yourselves, not ask us old bags to do for you."

"B-but…but…" That same Suna nin had the misfortune to be the one to explain all this to an elderly woman who was as stiff as a statue and as scary as a demon. But he was spared when the doors to the room opened, to let in a certain group of Shinobi with headbands with the symbol of a leaf.

"My girls know the technique; she will do it." This was a blunt icebreaker but the atmosphere was soon filled with relief at those words. They sounded honest and confident enough.

Of course, the senior welcoming community went south a little. 'That…the Shiroi Kiba of Konoha (White Fang of Konoha)!' Chiyo saw Kakashi's hair style and eye color, mistaking him for his father. And the cyclops saw it,

"No! You've got the wrong man!" He shouted out, trying to get to the enraged man. He had heard about Chiyo and Ebizo and how his father once went against the former's son during the last Shinobi War. Kakashi figured that Chiyo will have a grudge against his father since the latter's child perished against a Shinobi of Konoha who was on the level of the Densetsu no Sannin no Konoha (Three Great Sages of Konoha).

"Silence!" Chiyo shouted until she momentarily gagged, like someone grabbed her by her scarf. Turning around, she saw a certain blonde holding her daggling like a little girl, with a disappointed look on his face.

"I thought you called for us to help with Gaara and his brother. And now you attack one of the men you want to help you?" Naruto said and Chiyo scowled.

"You don't know what that man did to my family!" Chiyo was stubborn as for her old age but Naruto knew better.

'Yes, I know about this man's father and what he did during the Third Shinobi War. But his name is Kakashi, you know that that too." Naruto replied in a tone that showed a little of his anger, like a wooden door trying to hold in a room filled to the brim with water; there were little streams of it leaking out.

Regardless, Chiyo turned to have a better look at Kakashi and finally noticed the face mask. That was definitely not the Shiroi Kiba's style. "Oops. Sorry." The atmosphere was killer to say the least as everyone watched as Ebizo finally slapped Naruto on the head to release his 'little sister'.

Sakura and Hinata were soon put to work, using a healing technique named the Saikan Chūshutsu no Jutsu (Delicate Illness Extraction Technique). With both of their hands covered in visible chakra, the two Kunoichi attracted the poison and venom like a magnet with metal coins. Too bad that the process is as painful as one can imagine, Kankuro looked like someone was digging something through his flesh; the other doctors had to restrain him to his bed.

Also, the technique made both Sakura and Hinata break out in a visible sweat as they struggled to keep the venomous agent within their indirect contact. Naruto figured that they needed something to hold it so he reached for a beaker; a test tube wasn't going to cut it yet. "Thank you Naruto-kun." Sakura muttered while trying to ignore the tingling in her legs, "Now we can use this venom to make an antidote to help Kankuro's body to flush out the rest of the poison."

"I will handle it until you two are really to join me in the greenhouse." Chiyo gently took the beaker from Naruto and let herself out of the room. "And good luck trying to get anything out of that reckless brat." Nobody had anything to say to that but Kankuro did have something to give to the Konoha Shinobi for sure.

XXXXX

Now in present time,

"Is the scent still strong?" Kakashi asked the dogs by his side. He had a summoning contract as a gift from a late teammate and they are among the best summons for following trails left anything that moves.

"Eh, yes, it is. Just like on that filthy rag you shoved into our noses. The sand was bad enough, that guy needed to change his collogue, seriously." Pakkun was the shortest and yet the eldest of the pack. He also talks in the way of a cynical middle-aged man.

Pakkun is a small, pug-like dog with brown fur and a dark brown snout and ears. He has pink-coloured paws and wears the standard outfit of Kakashi's ninken which consists of a blue vest with the heno-heno-moheji seal (1) and a Konoha forehead protector, but his is worn on top of his head in a similar style to Sakura. He also wears a bandage on his right front leg.

"Whatever. It is still difficult to stay on Gaara's signature. It's shrinking every time we make a step. I can't tell where it's coming from!" Naruto shouted. He was a sensor as another result of his training with Jiraiya; or at least from the old pervert's notes while sage was out drunk most nights. "Wait! Stop!"

Naruto's company halted as soon as the blonde shouted those two words out. "What is it brat? I thought that you were in a hurry to find the Kazekage." Chiyo said in an annoyed tone. She came along, not just to rescue Gaara but to have one final encounter with Sasori of the Red Sands; he happened to be her estranged grandson.

"They already caught onto us." Naruto simply said. "Don't you feel it?" The company of Shinobi pondered as what was wrong with Naruto then they all felt it. A feeling of dread and fear, with the thoughts of death on the horizon. It is the one that is typically found with very powerful users of Chakra that have a dark and bloody history.

"You in the shadows, come out." Naruto then said out in the blue but it was not answered by nothing but silence. Instead, a figure jumped out from within the trees and landed right in front of the rescue party.

"This is as far as you go Naruto-kun. I can't have to getting in the way of our Leader's plans." Kakashi scowled along with Naruto while the rest of their company were a little slow to see who this is supposed to be.

"Itachi…" Sakura and Hinata begun,

"…Uchiha." Chiyo and Jimae finished. "It is true. You, the third greatest traitor to Konoha is within the same ranks as my grandson. You people are a bad crowd for him."

"Lady Chiyo…" 'Itachi' said. Somehow, this man just rubbed Naruto the wrong way; like there is something up about 'Itachi'. "Then you figured out about Sasori. And yes, he is one of us. Our Leader had heard of his reputation and recruited him. The offers of a whole world of victims for him to turn into puppets just was too good for him to pass up."

Then 'Itachi' turned to Jimae, with a grin on his mouth. "It seems that the rumors of an Uchiha appearing out of the blue were true. And I thought that the Uchiha line was doomed when my darling younger brother failed." Jimae didn't even twitch a muscle.

"I am not the Uchiha who went mad and tried to harm my brother and his close ones. Sasuke only made all the Uchihas look like madmen in the making. My goal is to give our clan a new beginning, with or without your help." 'Itachi' chuckle darkly to hear that from Jimae.

"Very well. If you are going to live with the burden of our cursed clan on your shoulders, then so be it." Jimae said nothing, he had nothing to answer to a fugitive killer.

"Whatever. You may already know why we are here." Kakashi said to this figure in the infamous black cloak with red pictures of clouds. "And we are not turning back. Are you going to try and fight us, Itachi?"

"I have orders from our Leader to make sure we fully extract the Ichibi out of the Kazekage without any interruptions. We will begin collecting the other eight Biju in the Elemental Continents once we are done." 'Itachi' spoke like some kind of proud underling trying to use his boss's evil plans to intimidate their enemies.

"If you are still going to try then so be it! Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!" 'Itachi' shout out a large fireball that the Uchiha Clan is known for it been used as a 'coming of age' tradition of theirs. But this one is rather slow, every one of the targets were able to dodge it like a rogue soccer ball from a kids' game. "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)!"

Now that his enemies are scattered to avoid the Katon: Gōkakyū, it was an ideal time for 'Itachi' to use a wide-spread technique like this one. He done this by taking out a handful of shuriken, coat them in chakra created flames and sent them into the wind; like the embers from the wings of the mythical Phoenix.

This time, there was no room for error so every Shinobi needed to parry away the shuriken with one of their own or with a Kunai. "Haa!" Sakura then made her move. While putting a glove on her hand, she struck the ground beneath them and cracked the earth into large chunks that shot out into the air. "Take these!"

But Sakura wasn't done giving her friends heart attacks, she grabbed each of the large pieces of earth and threw them like a baseball pro at 'Itachi', forcing the killer of the Uchiha Clan to dodge each of them just barely. But he didn't count on being struck in the side when he moved to the right in order to dodge another chunk of dirt.

"Never underestimate the power of Teamwork, Akatsuki!" Hinata shouted from the shadow that last one, from where she landed a hit on 'Itachi' with her clan famous Taijutsu style of Juken (Gentle Fist). And yet this was more than a team attack, it was also a distraction on her part for another ambush.

"Feel the power of a large rotating ball of energy! Odama Rasengan (Big Ball Spiraling Sphere)!" Naruto appeared out of the rubble a lot like Hinata and with a Rasengan more the size of an over-sized basketball. And it hit 'Itachi' worse than a falling boulder.

Unfortunately, that was when the criminal in the cloak decided to stop playing around in this fight. He recovered from the three-pronged attack to send two Kunai with explosive tags at Sakura and Hinata while grabbing Naruto by the neck.

"You have power Naruto-kun. But you thought too small and now I am not holding back anymore. Face the mirror of your soul!" 'Itachi' shouted and his eyes turned to the black three-blade shuriken in a red background. And Naruto is caught in its gaze, unable to move and in the grasp of the man who killed his own clansmen; it seemed hopeless for anyone to help the blonde when 'Itachi' revealed a Kunai in his sleeve and prepared to go for the killing blow.

"Futon: Ochiiru Gikaze Fusa! (Wind Release: Trapping False Winds Sealing Chains)!" 'Itachi' gasped when he was bounded by chains that appeared as if from the ground at his feet. "Don't be too shocked, 'Itachi'." Naruto appeared behind him, revealing that it was only a Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) under the influence of the Genjutsu. "If you were the real deal then you would have killed me instead of being caught in my trap. Nobody said that I attacked you after the girls got you to lower your guard. That Odama Rasengan was just for extra damage."

While Naruto taunted 'Itachi', the man in the cloak struggled against the chains until they noticed that they were growing slightly bigger each time. "And don't even try to get out, these are special chains that I came up with. They feed on the chakra or life force of their prey. Struggle if you want but you will soon regret it."

'Itachi' tried a few more times and the chains just got bigger and bigger, heavier too. Using the Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Jutsu) will just trigger the effects of the chains all over again. "Okay Naruto-kun. You've won, so what are you going to do now?" But Naruto took everyone by surprise when he simply placed his hand on 'Itachi's' head and stared into it, as if to burn right through with imaginary heat vision.

"I want you to know that the next we meet; you better not send another decoy. If you are the honorable man, fleeing the village to keep it safe, then you will be there in person. Understood?" Naruto spoke as if to an imposter with some kind of communication device with the real Itachi.

"…Understood Naruto-kun. You just be ready once that day comes." 'Itachi' said before Naruto released him and snapped his fingers. The chains made of wind tightened around their captive to the point that flesh was squeezed out like juice out of a lemon, with the sickening sounds of bones breaking apart.

The silent atmosphere was killer to say the least but then Chiyo gasped and out a closer look at the body. "This isn't Itachi Uchiha, this Yūra! He is one of the members of our village council!"

"Most likely a sleeper agent." Naruto added. "Which would explain how the kidnappers knew how to get into Sunagakure and take Gaara by underhanded means." Chiyo growled to herself; the thought of this man working for criminals and that she didn't see this coming was one of the factors that caused Gaara to be captured in the first place.

XXXXX

Later,

"So this where the scent ends." Kakashi said and Pakkun nodded, there was nothing more the pack of Ninken could do now. They all excused themselves in a puff of smoke, not that it bothered any one of the Shinobi. After running into the Akatsuki imposters, feeling a sample of the power from the real ones, they can't afford to relax for even a second.

"Hello youthful Shinobi!" Thankfully, there was more strength in numbers at the gate. Team Nine was returning from a mission until Tsunade got to them via messenger hawk. And while they planned to rest, the word of the Hokage was absolute. At least Naruto could see how much they changed over the last three years.

Mighty Guy and Rock Lee remained pretty much the same, with the latter slightly taller and more mature. But it was the rest of Team Nine that have changed the most, to show that they made it to Chunin sometime after Naruto left for his training trek.

Tenten now sports a long-sleeved, high-collared white blouse with maroon edges, black fingerless gloves, low-heeled sandals and a black forehead protector. She wears maroon, puffy hakama-styled pants with the exposed parts covered in bandages and the shuriken holster removed. She seems to always carries a large scroll behind her back.

And Neji changed the clothing and bandages of his former wardrobe for a white kimono-shirt with long, loose sleeves, matching pants, a navy-grey apron tied around his waist, and black shinobi sandals. He stopped wearing the straps that framed his face, instead allowing his now longer hair to do that instead. When on missions like now, he usually carried a tan and black drawstring bag over his shoulder.

"Whatever Guy, it is still nice to see more Shinobi for this cause. Our enemies are of the league that they can destroy an entire village if they desired one day." Kakashi said in his 'infamous coolness' that Guy couldn't stand. But there was one man that was blocking out the interactions around him. Naruto's mind wasn't for pleasures, only that there is only one obstacle in their way.

"So here it is. Where my brother, Gaara has been taken to." Naruto said, facing a large boulder with a large tag with a seal and the Kanji for 'five'. The blonder wondered on how such a large and painfully bright thing was still hidden along with the cave. It must be because only civilians will be wasting their time out in the middle of nowhere; Chakra and Ninjutsu can hide a lot from the eyes of civilians.

Meanwhile, inside the cavern,

"The Kyubi brat has found our hideout." Inside the cavern was the same large statue of a monster stuck in the ground with both its head and hands poking out of the cavern floor. And on top each of its ten fingers was a figure in the cloaks of the Akatsuki. "Both his little party and Team Nine that is led by Mighty Guy."

"Yes." The man with the bizarre eyes answered. "Both Kakashi and Mighty Guy will be an issue once they get in. Thankfully the key to unlocking the door will keep Team Nine too busy to do any harm. But the real issue is Lady Chiyo, she is a bigger threat than any of them alone."

"Rest assure Leader-sama! I will take care of the brats! Sasori will deal with the old lady. They both have this coming for years!" That voice was, unmistakably, Deidara's. And Sasori seemed to want to raise an eyebrow but was unable.

"And since when did you care about that much, Deidara?" Called it!

"Since never! That is why I am counting on the old crone to kill you and be too worn down for me to kill! She is so crazy for a retired lady that I am ashamed to say such things!" Deidara shouted in retort. The Leader just sighed,

"Get over it Sasori. That is just how Deidara shows the respect he has for our enemies. Now all of you get your focus on, time is of the essence to fully extract the Ichibi. That Kyubi boy had brought our enemies to our backyard sooner than planned."

"Yes, Leader-sama!" Then the figures in cloaks stiffen and the nine, spirit-like dragons continued to delve into the helpless Gaara's body, causing him to scream louder in pain.

End of Chapter 2.

*Hey guys! I finally got this chapter published! This story was about lost when I had to get the hard drive on my laptop replaced. Hopefully I can get back into the groove. I do have all the time in the world to update this story.

And thanks to all of you who actually helped me achieve one of my rookie dreams of being a Fanfiction author on ; to publish even just one story worth at least a thousand favs. And I agree, Boiling Ice: Of Fire And Wind is my masterpiece. And to think that I thought of it while taking a summer walk home from the park? *

1. A face drawn by Japanese schoolchildren using hiragana characters.