The leaves of the colourful desert trees swayed ominously in the dark of the night. There was a quiet whistle as the wind whipped around the caves and huts built on the base of the mountain. A young woman turned to look out at the sky from where she had been seated folding sheets, her fair hair whipping around her face with the movement. The air was trembling. Something was coming.

"Quicky! Lady Senkensha has had a vision!" A voice cried out into the night. Rising quickly to her feet, she placed her task to the side, hastily making her way to the cave that was located beside one of the entrances to the labyrinth in the mountain.

Her gut churned with a sensation that wasn't entirely fear. Breath puffing out in the cold air common to the desert at night, she slipped past the heavy curtain that kept out the chill and came into position, seated beside her brethren with her feet folded underneath her bottom, hands resting on the knees of the navy hakama that was common for the students under training.

The elder of the people of the mountain, Senkensha, sat on a mound of cushions, her normally tranquil face grave. Looking toward to the row of youth undergoing Tenrei training, her wrinkled face cracked the smallest of sad smiles.

"My children, it mat become necessary for us to move. The time will be arriving when your gifts will be needed." The elder stated.

"... rd Gaara. Lord Gaara. Gaara!" Blinking, Gaara stirred in his seat, looking at the evening sky through his window. What had he been thinking about when he sat down? Lifting his head, the young Kazekage made eye contact with his older brother.

"Yes Kankuro, what is it?" He asked, his tone even. Kankuro paced forward and handed him a thin folded sheet of paper.

"We just received this letter from the guard town stationed outside the forest surrounding the Gold Mountains." Gaara's eyes scanned the sheet before he began to unfold it.

"The Gold Mountains you say? They are a self sufficient people who do not utilise the way of the shinobi are they not? What business could they have with our village?"

"It's a message that they are passing on from the elder of the mountain. Apparently she's known to be quite the fortune teller." Kankuro informed him. Opening the sheet fully, surprised that it was really just a strip, the Kazekage felt his eyes widen slightly at the words.

Beings not of this world are coming, and with their arrival, there will be war.

A murmur began throughout the cave. Some of the Tenrei trainees were sending each other glances as they tried to remain calm. Leave the mountain? Such an idea had never been humoured before. Outside of their mountain sanctuary was a world of greed, deceit and shinobi. They had not been raised among that world. They were not trained for that world.

The young woman wasn't listening however. She grit her teeth as she felt her nails dig into her leg. The air was being disrupted by something, but what was it? No... who was it? Who could possibly- she flinched when she felt the foreign chakra breeze through the sensory barrier at the outskirts of the deep forest that surrounded their mountain sanctuary.

The girl's hands fisted as the air around her began to crackle. Stay calm, stay calm... the guard town was in that direction. They would deal with it. But this chakra felt so...hostile. It was not safe. Would the town be able to cope?

"B-big sister?" Looking down, she made eye contact with her younger sister who was looking up at her with discomfort. Narrowing her eyes ever so slightly, she reached over to grasp the small girl's hand, calming both the child and herself. Lifting her head up as she tuned back into what was happening at the meeting, she spoke up, still in position with her sister's hand in her own.

"We must hide." She said. Though she did not yell, her voice rang clear through the space, bouncing off the walls of the cave and silencing all chatter. Her people looked at her with confusion. One of the men scoffed.

"Why must we? We-"

"There is something dark and cruel approaching the sanctuary." She interrupted, green eyes glittering as she felt what might have been the whole mountain shuddering.

"If that is the case then we must defend ourselves and fight!" One of her fellow trainees stated, hand grasped into a fist. She shook her head.

"For now we need to get our vulnerable people to a safe place. Do not forget that we are first called to protect others and then to fight." She reminded him. Staring her down, the young man sighed and nodded when she did not fluster, backing down.

Rising, the people began to make their way to the cave's exit when the sharpest chill stabbed the young girl and she cried out as the wind screamed outside.

"No!"

"Beings not from this world? What, like aliens? And a war? What does an old lady living isolated from the world know about war?" Kankuro queried, his face and tone clearly not believing a thing written on the slip. Gaara said nothing, reading and re-reading the note again.

War was always an apparent possibility in the shinobi world, anyone from any nation with exposure to ninja would be able to tell. However, perhaps it was the fact that someone that was cut off from much of the world was mentioning it that caused the dull feeling to settle in the pit of his chest.

"Do we know anything about the people of the Gold Mountain?" He asked. Kankuro's eyebrows raised at the Kazekage's interest and he looked out of the window of the Kazekage tower as he shrugged and frowned.

"Most I know is that their settlement is considered some kind of sanctuary, but I'm not sure if that's for people, animals or plants. Like I mentioned earlier, the elder has been said to have the ability to foresee future events, though the fact that she's from such an isolated area tackles her credibility a little bit." He finished almost sarcastically, glancing over the clay buildings that housed the people of the village.

Gaara was just about to speak when a ninja burst into the office, a member of the aviary team. Stopping immediately once he entered the office, the ninja, stood straight with his hands pressed firmly to his sides.

"Pardon the intrusion Lord Kazekage, but we have just received a distress message from the guard town at the forest the surrounds the Gold Mountains!" He reported. Kankuro's head jerked away from the window and he faced him with shock.

"What did you just say?"

"The guard town say that they were attacked by shinobi and are requesting our aid." The ninja reported again, more calmly.

"How long will it take to reach the Gold Mountains on foot?" Gaara asked. Kankuro lifted his head as he worked to recall the information.

"It's a two and a half day journey without stopping at best but that's only based on the occasion that the desert doesn't act out during that time." The puppet master stated. Gaara nodded at him before he looked at the ninja.

"I want you to get Lady Temari to organise an aid response team consisting of at least three medical ninja. They are to leave early tomorrow. Summon Sari, Matsuna and Jirobu to the village entrance immediately. We will be leaving tonight." Kankuro gaped at him.

"You're not serious? For crying out loud, you're the Kazekage, Gaara! You can't just up and leave whenever-"

"Kankuro." Gaara interrupted, rising from his desk. His elder brother silenced instantly. Gaara not letting him finish his spiel was unusual. In fact, Kankuro wasn't sure it had ever occured since his younger brother had lost his hatred for the world.

"Yes?"

"I get the sense that this isn't a simple aid mission, there is something taking place with the people of the Gold Mountain. As Kazekage, I am responsible for handling shinobi affairs within the Land of Wind. It is unthinkable that any of our Sand shinobi would attack an isolated people from our own land like that." Gaara began shedding his Kage robes as he walked around his desk. Kankuro gasped at what he was suggesting.

"You mean-?"

"Yes, it's very possible that foreign shinobi attacked. In the event that this is true, I believe it would be best for me to sort it out myself, don't you agree?" Gaara said as he hung his robes in the small cabinet that he used to house his Kage attire and hat before turning around. Sighing, his older brother acknowledged his point and nodded.

"I will be leaving the village in your care in the meantime, will that be alright?" Gaara finalised, sparing his brother one of his small smiles.

"U-uh, yeah, of course." Kankuro watched him walk past without a second glance as Gaara began to instruct the reporting ninja while they left the Kazekage office.

Suddenly realising that he was going to have to call a council meeting to explain why the Kazekage was leaving the village, Kankuro groaned. Damn it, Gaara!