Naruto's Life Redux Ch. VII: War has Begun!

Alright well we're back with another installment. Glad y'all liked the last chapter, I did notice some reviews of inconsistencies but no examples, if you find anything like this I need to know so I can correct this. I don't sit down and write out everything in one sitting. Like I've said I'll write bits and pieces of a couple of stories at a time and whatever really peaks my interest in the moment will get a lot of my attention, so if there are any inconsistencies you can send me a PM or submit a review after this chapter telling me what they are and I can update the story so everything flows better.

Now I'm glad 99.99999% of didn't take the "fuck you, fuck me, fuck this, blah blah blah" crap seriously. Apparently one person felt attacked and had his own little fit so if for some reason you're reading this well congrats you're a liar when you said you'd never read another of my stories oh and if you're gonna leave a review like that at least don't be a bitch and not allow anyone to PM to reply, it just makes you look stupid.

Now that that's been addressed I know a couple people feel that Temari has cheated on Naruto and as nice of a dynamic as that could be to explore I don't feel like taking that alley (someone's thinking I'm lazy for this but whatever). I'm sure many of you were into things before you actually tried them, that's all I was insinuating. All of these are just fantasies she wants to try, now maybe I did a poor job wording this and if that's how you feel then fine I'll take that one, but I'm here to confirm that Temari HAS NOT CHEATED on Naruto.

Now that that's done let's go ahead and get y'all a sneak peek into the future before we pull it back to the present. Oh and all of the futures we've seen can pop up at any time now that we're in the Shippuden era, so you WILL 100% see one of those snippets at some point, maybe even this chapter or the next, who knows…well besides me of course.

Temari looked worn out and beaten down staring up at the older man. "You won't get away with this you scumbag."

"My darling, I already have." He replied with an evil glint in his eye, "I'll make sure nobody even remembers who you are." He said striking fear into Temari.

She tried to reach for her fan but with the rubble she couldn't reach it.

"Such a shame you only practiced with that fan of yours."

"RASENGAN!" Naruto yelled coming out of nowhere but slamming his signature jutsu into the geezer sending him flying away from his love.

"You okay?" He asked turning to Temari, his eyes were slitted and red.

"I think I should be asking you that question." She replied

"What does that mean?"

"Your eyes Naru, they're red again."

"Sorry." He said looking away and soon the color changed back into his bright blues.

Naruto quickly got the rubble off of Temari and they left quickly to try and get Temari to a medic.

Normal Timeline

A couple days had passed from when Naruto killed the masked assailant and Naruto has slowly gotten back into the flow of things. He had been under strict orders by both his master and Hokage to remain in the house for a couple days to see if anything else would happen. On the bright side it gave Naruto and Jiraiya plenty of time to beef up security for the property to Naruto's standards.

Over and the I&T department it was proving to be a challenge to get any information from the corpse. Of course this was being kept as a top secret operation and worth an S-rank pay for those at the department and unless they wanted to lose out on that kinda pay or worse, get killed by their Hokage they were all keeping their mouths shut.

Training Ground 7

"Sure is taking him a while to get here." Shikamaru mused with a yawn.

"Still yawning and lazy as ever aren't you Shikamaru?" Naruto said showing himself and smiling at his friend.

"Damn, I was hoping to get a couple minutes of cloud watching in before you two showed up."

"Too bad, but something important came up the other night."

"So what happened?" The Nara asked

"A couple of nights ago I was attacked by someone who looked like ANBU." Naruto started and produced the mask as Shikamaru and Sakura's eyes grew wide.

"Listen, I already talked to Baa-chan about it and it isn't one of our own ANBU. So either another nation has sent one of theirs to kill me or someone working in the shadows, who doesn't associate with Baa-chan, wants me dead." Naruto continued, "Now it goes without saying that this is a top-secret and if anyone here leaks it I'll know exactly who to interrogate, plus you're my…friends, so it's only right you get to hear things from me and not from someone else."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Shikamaru asked

"I was forced to stay at home for a couple days after the incident, so as a result the security of my property has been drastically overhauled. Don't even think about attempting to step foot onto it without my authority." Naruto replied

"Sorry to keep you two, I'm sure you have things to do." Naruto said but neither left.

"Umm, what're you still doing here?"

"Well we were thinking that we could go out and get lunch together as a group, with everyone else of course, we haven't done that in such a long time, at least with you." Sakura said

"Maybe later, I'm full right now, thank you though." Naruto said and soon Sakura left leaving Shikamaru and Temari.

"How'd you get his mask?" Shikamaru asked

"That's a stupid question to ask don't you think?" Naruto countered

"I mean, how did you kill him without him using a technique my father told me about that all ANBU are trained to use in case they could be captured."

"Easy; I stabbed him through the heart."

"That still would've given him a couple minutes or less to perform the jutsu." Shikamaru replied

"Not if the blade's laced with a poison that attacks the nervous system and brain; forcibly shutting them down and killing them." Naruto answered

"Why'd you leave that detail out?" The Nara asked

"It isn't necessary to know about what I am just yet. Maybe some of them do, but the others don't need to know just yet."

"Damnit Naruto! When's the right time then huh!? When the Akatsuki attack? Look if we're really your friends like you hesitated to say then you would've already told us about your status."

"Whatever."

"I'm trying to help you damnit! Why is it so hard for you to let us into your life, we all consider you a friend. Why can't you do the same?"

"BECAUSE NONE OF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF WHAT I WENT THROUGH, WHAT I CONSTANTLY GO THROUGH!"

"You sound like Sasuke."

"Don't you dare speak his name around me. I could care less if he dies. The only reason I act like I give a damn is because of Sakura. I just don't want to have to constantly hear about her Sasuke. He had the chance to kill me after our fight but he didn't…honestly he would've done me a favor and all of you. No one would have to deal with the Akatsuki coming after me or even this assassin situation." Naruto said and was going to continue but got a swift punch across the face from Temari. She quickly grabbed the front of his clothes and brought him close and she let loose on him.

"DON'T YOU EVER SAY YOU'D RATHER DIE YOU HEAR ME! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW THAT WOULD AFFECT EVERYONE, AFFECT ME! I NEED YOU DAMNIT, I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU TRULY THINK OF ME BUT I NEED YOU NARUTO!" She yelled before finishing softly, "Don't ever say you'd rather die."

With that Temari left feeling conflicted and that she was having a relapse of her fight with Naruto a few years ago.

'Nice going idiot. Do you even know what you want with her?' Kurama asked

'Why do you care?'

'I need entertainment from time to time ya know.'

'Honestly…I don't know what I want to come out of this relationship. I enjoy her company but I hate that I'm being forced into this. She's an incredible sexual being and I'm interested in trying what she wants to but it has to be right and at this moment I just don't feel that I love her. I don't know why she feels this way about me considering we've barely done much as a couple so it confuses me.'

'You humans have never been simple beings at times.'

'Well aren't you helpful.'

With that Naruto was left alone in the training area. For an hour Naruto just stood there, unsure of what to do next. So he did the only thing he knew, he trained. From morning to midnight Naruto trained, but it wasn't vigorous. It was calm but methodical; every move he did had purpose. When he was finished he walked home slowly thinking.

The desert

Trudging through the desert were two cloaked figures. One was short and wide while the other was tall skinny. The only sound you could hear from them was the sand moving and the bells on their hats. The Akatsuki were making their move.

Konoha

Naruto made it back home but didn't go inside. He quietly went to the roof and sat on it looking up at the moon. He didn't know why he was thrusted in this situation but if he was honest with himself, he'd rather go back out training with Jiraiya. While he was out there he could forget about all the politics and this forced love shit he was thrown into. He was a soldier who maybe had a soft spot for a girl but he definitely wasn't the romantic type, no matter how much of a front he put up, it just wasn't him.

"What the hell am I doing? This just isn't me…am I ever going to love Temari or is this really just some political bullshit? I wish you were here Kaa-chan, I could really use your help right about now." He said as his eyes came back down to earth as he looked out west towards the desert.

He didn't know why but for some reason he felt something that didn't sit well with him but he didn't know why. After a while he leaned back against the slant of the roof and soon fell asleep.

Suna

Out to the far west of Konoha, Gaara was in the fight of his life against the Akatsuki who attacked out of nowhere, taking the village by surprise in the dead of night.

Gaara had certainly gotten stronger in the last 3 years but he was still dealing with an Akatsuki member who wasn't worried about protecting others like Gaara was.

"Let's see what you'll do against this one. C-3!" Deidara said as a small clay doll was in his hands and soon grew to enormous proportions. "True art is an EXPLOSION!" Deidara yelled dropping the doll and awaiting to detonate it and wipe a huge chunk of Suna off the face of the earth.

"GET BACK!" Baki yelled as citizen tried running away to avoid the blast, some held onto their children knowing this was it for them.

"You're too late, HAAAA!" Deidara said exploding the clay and watching the beauty of his art.

When the dust settled everyone could only see sand above them and realized that Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage had managed to save them all with his Ultimate Defense as it took the impact and force of the explosion allowing no harm to befall his people.

"Lord Kazekage did it, he saved us!"

'Never doubted you Gaara.' Kankurō thought smirking up at his brother who was breathing hard as Gaara had used up a ton of chakra and a lot of his own sand to block the explosion.

"Hn, you're in range now. HAA!" Deidara said igniting a small clay bird that flew past Gaara's face and the explosion blinded anyone from seeing if he was ok.

"HAS TAKAMARU BEEN SENT TO THE LEAF!" Baki yelled

"Yes sir, he should arrive in a few hours sir!"

"Good, we need them now more than ever." Baki said as the smoke cleared and Gaara was falling to the ground to the shock of everyone. Their Kazekage had actually been defeated right before their eyes.

"GAARA!" Kankurō and Baki yelled out as Deidara swooped down and grabbed him with the tail of his clay bird and flew away to rendezvous with his partner.

"Took you too long, we're behind schedule now."

"I will admit that he was tougher than I thought."

"That's why I said we should both attack him, now look at us, we're gonna be late and if anyone's dying it's going to be you."

"Sasori my man relax, I got him didn't I?" Deidara replied coolly

"Too slow."

And with that the Akatsuki had completed the first stage of their hunt, next was to extract the beast

The Next Morning

Konoha

"WAKE UP KID!" Jiraiya yelled as he and Gamabunta landed on top of the invisible dome covering his property, which served as a part of his new security system.

Upon hearing something crash into the dome, Naruto's eyes snapped open and without thinking he tapped his chest twice, activating his stealth suit and he launched up passing through the dome and landing on Gamabunta.

"The hell was that for!?"

"It's Gaara." Jiraiya replied

"I knew it." He said under his breath.

"The Akatsuki have made their move and have captured Gaara. Tsunade is ordering your team and Temari to get ready as quick as you can and meet in her office to be debriefed."

"Damnit."

"Wake her up while I get Sakura and Kakashi." Jiraiya said as Naruto hopped off and Jiraiya leapt away on Gamabunta.

Naruto passed through the barrier and landed on the ground without a sound and entered the house and went into the Master bedroom to find Temari getting ready for the day.

"What was that loud boom?" She asked

"Gaara's been kidnapped by the Akatsuki, get your things ready, Baa-chan wants to see us yesterday." He said as her eyes grew wide and she wanted to worry but as a shinobi she knew she needed to stay calm and focused or else she couldn't help her brother out.

It took Temari only a couple minutes and soon the blonds were running to Tsunade's office.

They entered a few minutes before Kakashi and Sakura arrived and it wasn't a pretty scene.

"I DON'T NEED ANY HELP DAMNIT! LET ME FIGHT THEM MYSELF!" Naruto yelled

"AND WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE THEM ON!? GAARA WAS A KAGE AND JINCHURIKI LIKE YOU AND STILL LOST TO ONLY ONE OF THEM! HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY THINK YOU'LL STACK UP TO TWO OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME!? THEY'RE S-RANK NARUTO! S-RANK! THEY'RE ON PAR WITH ITACHI DAMNIT!" Tsunade snapped back slamming her fist on the desk.

"Because I have a technique that I've worked on that could work." Naruto said looking away.

"You can't be serious Naruto. You've barely scratched the surface on that technique. It would be stupid to try and field test it on these guys, who have no problem killing you. You don't even have control over the Nine Tails yet, it's not a smart idea to try that technique." Jiraiya replied

"I DON'T CARE DAMNIT…he's the only one who knows my pain and I'm the only one who knows his. I HAVE to save him; it needs to be me."

Tsunade knew he was going to say something like that and it was the only hope he had of her agreeing. "You at least need a guide for the desert so take Temari."

"Fine."

"And a medic will be needed to help Suna and Gaara, so take Sakura as well."

"Now you're pushing it."

"Don't make me send your ass home Naruto." Tsunade replied narrowing her eyes as Naruto's fist tightened.

"It's going to be ok Naruto." Temari whispered to him. She was still conflicted about how to feel about him after yesterday but her brother's life was at stake and she could see just how much Naruto cared for Gaara in his own way. "We'll get him back I promise." Temari continued to whisper to him as she snaked her hand into his as their fingers locked and he looked down to her and nodded his head to say thank you and he squeezed her hand to give her reassurance of his thanks and that it was genuine.

"I guess Sakura will be needed, I'll be waiting at the gates then." Naruto said leaving through the window and taking off.

"I assume Kakashi-sensei is going to be running point until the desert where I'll take over and guide us to Suna." Temari said

"That would be correct. Go ahead and catch up to Naruto, I'll fill in Sakura and Kakashi when they get here. Dismissed." Tsunade said and Temari followed her fellow blond's route and left via the window.

Jiraiya and Tsunade couldn't help but smirk. They'd end up just fine, it'll take time to get through the rough patches, but they'd be fine in the end. They had no doubts of that.

"Did you inform Naruto that Sakura and Kakashi would be joining?" Tsunade asked

"Just like you told me to."

"So why was he so resistant to having help?"

"Because of what he said, he and Gaara are the same, so I guess you could say it's a pride thing."

"Idiot." Tsunade said shaking her head and soon directing it to the door as Kakashi and Sakura entered.

"Alright you two, the Kazekage fought the Akatsuki last night and we don't know how it ended up, but I'm assuming it wasn't going well since they asked for our help so you'll be undergoing this mission with the assumption that Gaara has been kidnapped. Now I already told Naruto and Temari that he was in fact kidnapped for the purpose of making sure they'd be focused. Yes it's dirty but I believe it's necessary to accomplish the mission of getting back Gaara and defeating the Akatsuki. Kakashi you'll be taking point up until the desert, from there Temari will take over and guide you to Suna. Once there, Sakura, you'll help them out in the hospital and make sure everyone is okay while you learn all the facts. We don't know all the details but assume the worst understood?" Tsunade firmly said

"Hai!" The two replied standing tall.

"Good, meet up at the front gates, Naruto and Temari are already waiting on you and he isn't in the best mood." She said and the two took off quickly. It wasn't because Naruto was pissed off, it was WHY he was pissed off that made them move quickly. They know what Gaara means to him, not on the level that Temari knows, but they still know, and that's one thing to not keep him waiting on. Especially when they don't know the full extent of his power.

Front Gates

"I…I'm sorry about yesterday." Naruto said to Temari while waiting for the rest of his team.

"You don't need to apologize. I know you don't love me but hopefully one day you do, because I've grown very fond of you and find you very attractive." Temari said as she walked up to him and gave him a hug burying her head into his neck. "We'll get him back." She whispered and then pulled away to kiss his cheek. As she was about to step away to give him space she felt two strong arms wrap around her make her feel like the safest person in the world.

"Thank you." He said holding her tightly. "I've mistreated you and you don't deserve it. I can't say I love you and I don't know what I want out of this relationship, but maybe one day I'll come to love you." He continued as he pulled away looking down at her. The two stared deep into the other's eyes and Naruto lifted her chin slightly and went down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips getting Temari's eyes to grow wide and blush in surprise.

The two broke away and waited for a couple minutes before Kakashi and Sakura finally arrived. "Alright looks like we're all here. Everyone ready?" Kakashi asked

Everyone just nodded with Naruto keeping his eyes locked to the west. "Let's move!" Kakashi commanded and soon the group was heading out to aid Gaara and the Sand. 'Hang in there Gaara.' Naruto and Temari both thought while running side by side.

After a couple hours of silence Naruto finally spoke up. "Sakura, I don't know if you know about me. About what I am. I am very similar to what Gaara is. The creature that I fought after the Chunin Exams was the One Tail Beast. In total there are 9 Tailed Beasts, around 18 years ago the Nine Tailed Fox attack our home and the Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself to slay the beast right?"

"Yeah, he's a hero for killing the demon." Sakura replied not knowing where this was going.

"That's not true. The Fourth Hokage couldn't kill the beast so he did the only thing he could, he sealed it into a newborn. The attack happened on the day I was born, I am the jinchuriki for the Nine Tailed Fox and the Akatsuki want the demon inside of me for their own agenda. That's what's happening to Gaara right now, the Akatsuki are after the beast inside of him because of the amount of power it holds and I can't let that happen. We both grew up isolated from everyone and feared for what we hold back. I was lucky though; I was able to form a couple bonds but Gaara wasn't able to. I won't let anything bad happen to him again!"

Sakura was absolutely floored at the revelation. Everything made sense now though, the people who hated Naruto and always talked behind his back and looked at him like he murdered a family member, it all made sense now. They knew this whole time the demon was inside him, but it seems like they mistook Naruto as the demon itself.

"I…I had no idea." She said

"I know, I kept it a secret on purpose."

"Well I won't let them take you from us, you're not a demon and they shouldn't get to determine who lives and dies. We'll stop them and save the Kazekage." She firmly stated

"Hn." Naruto replied turning forward again and increased his speed not wanting to waste a single second. 'I've never seen him this impatient before, but honestly…I can't blame him.' Kakashi thought as he tried to get Naruto to fall back into formation. Naruto just ignored as his chakra flared to life and surrounded him. It was surprising to Kakashi and Sakura to see him give off that much power and energy but to Temari she knew very well the extent of his reserves and knew this was nothing to what he could unleash. She was lost in thought until she felt something splash against her face.

Her first reaction was to look up to the sky to see if it was beginning to rain but the night sky was clear. So she looked back down and ahead and saw another drop come flying her direction and saw that it came from Naruto. He was actually crying, and it was for Gaara. It was for knowing just how badly he was mistreated by his own village and because he had to fight the Akatsuki alone unlike Naruto who had a team with him. Temari was now beyond touched and knew she'd fight by Naruto's side to save her little brother. 'Thank you, Naruto.'

Land of Wind

Out in the desert Kankurō had tried to chase after the Akatsuki but it was a short fight that lead Kankurō to learn about a secret he didn't want to accept. The foe who combatted his puppet technique perfectly was none other the Sasori of the Red Sand. He was a legendary shinobi that everyone in Suna knew about. He even create his own branch of the military dedicated strictly to puppetry. 'Damn it all.' Kankurō thought as he fell to the ground with a stab wound from a poison laced blade attack, curtesy of Sasori.

"You aren't half bad, but I'm still the puppet master boy." Sasori said as he turned and trudged his little body away from the scene.

Hours had passed until finally a search party had found Kankurō at nightfall and brought him back to the village and straight to the hospital. Baki was informed of the situation and immediately went to the hospital to see him. 'Where's Temari when you need her? She was supposed to be coming here around this time anyways.' He thought rushing to be by his students side.

Hospital

"KANKURŌ!" Baki yelled bursting into his room to see medics around him trying to figure just what the hell is wrong with him. "Give me a report! How is he?" Baki ordered

"He's been poisoned sir, and it's an unknown toxin. We can't make an antidote if we don't know what it's made of unfortunately." The head medic replied

"S-sen-sei." Kankurō croaked out.

"I'm right here Kankurō." Baki said

"I know…who was behind…the attack." He said dry heaving.

"Who?"

"S-Sasori…of the Red Sand."

Baki's eyes grew wide not believing his ears, but he looked into Kankurō's eyes and knew he heard correctly. "I'll be right back Kankurō. I need to pay some people a visit. Stay strong, Temari should be coming back to the village shortly. By now it was already morning with the sun burning the desert.

It was a long walk to the edge of Suna for Baki but after some time he finally arrived at a huge compound that looked ancient. After taking a couple seconds to collect himself and remind him of why he was doing this he entered and slowly walked up the winding set of stairs until he came into a room with two old people, each sitting on a pillow with a small watering hole in between them.

"Honored Siblings." Baki started, "I humbly request your assistance, we urgently need you."

"Dusty ancient texts should be bundled together and stowed away on a high shelf. What should we do now?" The old woman replied

"A group called the Akatsuki has come into the possession of the Shukaku. Failure to act will only invite disaster." Baki answered

"This is your generation now; you just have to deal with it on your own." Said the old man sitting opposite of his sister.

"You two have maintained powerful channels across the Five Great Nations. Including special routes through allied lands. There's only so much intelligence we can gather on our own."

"We've been retired for ages now, we left behind our attachments to this world long ago." The woman answered, "Although I guess it would be nice to see my grandson's face one more time." She mused

"This will work out in your favor then." Baki countered, "It just so happens your grandson is a member of the Akatsuki; Lady Chiyo."

Night fell once again and inside the hospital Chiyo and her brother Ebizō arrived to see Kankurō. Chiyo took a look at his chart to see that he was indeed poisoned, but instead of having a fast acting one Sasori purposely left him alive for only a short amount of time as he's confident they won't find the antidote for him. "So typical for him to do something like this." Chiyo stated

Sasori and Deidara

The two members were making their way to their rendezvous point and were finally approaching actual ground and leaving behind the desert.

"About time, wouldn't you say Sasori my man."

"Let's hurry up, I don't like to keep people waiting." He said as they kept moving with Gaara in tow.

Sand Hospital

In Kankurō's room Chiyo was trying to come up with the antidote but wasn't having any luck as each one kept burning up and failing. "Hmm." Chiyo mused

"What other methods have you tried?" Ebizō asked

"Well, we've asked for some help from the Leaf, so we're counting on them to bring an expert." Baki replied

The next couple of minutes entailed the elders talking down to Baki about their apparent "Need" for dependence on the Leaf. As much as Baki tried to get them to understand that that isn't the case the siblings wouldn't listen and kept rambling on about focusing on training their own to take care of themselves instead of relying on the Leaf.

The Forest

Day was finally breaking and Kakashi decided it was enough of a break and it was time to move out. Temari, Sakura and Kakashi were all on the ground, but no Naruto. "Hey Kakashi-sensei, where's Naruto?"

"Right up there." He said pointing straight up and the girls both turned their heads up to see Naruto standing on a branch looking out over the horizon towards the Sand village.

'Just one more day until we reach the Sand village. Hang in there Gaara, I'm comin' for ya.' He thought to himself and soon they were moving out.

Suna Hospital

Chiyo had been working all night but couldn't come up with any results.Kankurō looked like he had seen much better days and it was obvious to everyone in the room.

"He's got a day at best from the look of things." Chiyo said

"I'd say he'd be lucky to make it to tomorrow, personally." Ebizō countered

"Sasori has really outdone himself this time. Poisons are indeed my specialty but this one is beyond even me. His skills have grown immensely since I last saw him."

"There has to be something though." Baki said

"You're only hope would be that Slug Queen Tsunade. She was always coming up with counters to every poison I ever came up with during the Second Shinobi War."

"But that's impossible, Lady Tsunade is now the Hokage and has her own village and duties to worry about, and even if we could get her here it would take three days." Baki said

"I know good and well; I wasn't being serious about having her come here. That'd be the last thing I'd want."

Elsewhere Team Kakashi had finally reached the desert and Temari took point and began the trek to her home.

With Akatsuki

At the same time that Team Kakashi made it to the desert the Akatsuki duo of Sasori and Deidara made it to their hideout. Once inside they were met with a hologram of what appeared to be the leader who made it very clear they were late. Deidara gave the half-ass excuse of him being more challenging than expected. The leader said nothing and went through some signs before summoning a giant statue with multiple eyes.

"And now, let everyone gather." He said and soon 9 of the fingers of the statue were filled with the holograms of the entire organization.

"Let's begin." He said

Leaf Village

Back in the Leaf Tsunade was doing some work until she reached for her cup and tea and noticed it crack. 'Damn, that's not a good sign.' She thought as she reached for the drawer in her desk and pulled out a piece of paper and slammed in down. 'Group 3, numbers 117037. Shit, this really isn't good.' "Shizune!" She yelled out and soon her assistance arrived. "Give me the list of every available team. We need to send back up for Team Kakashi." Tsunade said and Shizune quickly handed over the list. "Get them ready." The Godaime said as she made her way out of the office and down to the front gates.

Front Gates

"Another mission already?" Tenten whined

"Essentially it's the same one that I've given to Team Kakashi, get to the sand and help them out. Understood?" Tsunade ordered

"Yes ma'am, we'll get there in three days." Guy said with his signature smile.

"I think we can do it in a day and a half sensei." Lee responded with usual energy.

"That's the spirit Lee!" Guy replied

"No matter how you slice it, it'll take us three days, no point in making a promise we can't keep." Neji said

"Well I guess we won't know until we try." Guy answered and soon they were off running towards the Sand.

"Haven't changed one bit." Tsunade with a smirk.

"I wonder how much Naruto has changed." Lee said as they were now jumping through the forest.

"Yes, it's been quite some time since we've seen him hasn't it." Neji replied

Somewhere in the desert

"The hell are we just sitting here waiting, we need to keep moving!" Naruto said punching the wall to his left and cracking it.

"We can't Naruto. Sandstorms are incredibly dangerous to try and navigate in. Even for natives like myself can get lost in this storm. The sand blind you and you lose all sense of direction. You could end up heading north towards the land of Earth, or even be off by the smallest margin and miss the village by a long shot. The best course is to wait it out." Temari answered as she walked up to and placed a hand on his shoulder as she leaned into him and whispered, "I know you want to hurry up and save him, believe me I do too, but we'd only hurt ourselves and the mission if we just went ahead and you know that. People have died of thirst from wandering out during the storm. Just trust me about this please, the desert is my home after all."

When she finished Naruto visibly relaxed and Kakashi was amazed at Temari, 'I can't believe he actually listens to her and calms down. Matter fact I can't believe she knows how to talk him down. Those two are quite the interesting pair if I do say so.' The copy ninja thought as he patiently waited out the natural phenomena.

Suna

Back in the hospital Kankurō's sedative wore off and he was feel the pain once more and writhing in agony. "Quick get the sedative." One of the medic said as Kankurō was held down so he could be administered the sedative.

"Our only hope is that the Leaf team gets here by tomorrow morning when they're due to help us." A medic said

"Hang in there Kankurō." Baki said trying his hardest not to break.

"That is, if Kankurō can survive until then and if they brought an expert." The medic said

"A sandstorm just rolled into the desert as well and could very well delay them for some time." Baki said

"Then all hope is lost." The medic replied

"I can't believe it. To think we've sunk so low as to rely on the Leaf for help." Chiyo said as her brother guided her out to the hall so she could finally get some rest.

'Asleep, that's good. You haven't had any rest sis.'

The next morning

Team Kakashi finally got moving again and soon made it to the village entrance where they were greeted by two shinobi. "Lady Temari you were with them!?" "Yes, I was coming to discuss the terms for the Chunin Exams but heard what happened to Gaara and left immediately with these three."

"Follow us." The guards said as they ran towards the hospital. "I hate to report this to you but they also got Lord Kankurō." "What!?" Temari gasped in disbelief.

"After Lord Kazekage was taken Lord Kankurō decided to go after them and was left poisoned, he doesn't have much time left."

Hearing this only pissed off Naruto even more as his whiskers grew darker and his pupils became slitted. His eyes still stayed blue but he was getting close to having the fox influence him some more. On top of that his chakra exploded and a visible blue aura was seen and the ground shook beneath him. "Take us to him right now!" Naruto barked and the two chunin nodded in fear and began racing towards the hospital with Naruto running right next to them.

"Don't give up just yet Temari. Let me take a look at him." Sakura said with determination and fire in her eyes and Temari nodded in approval.

Hospital

"Kankurō!" Naruto yelled as he entered the room with everyone else.

'Him!' Chiyo thought as she saw Kakashi enter as well, 'The White Fang of the Leaf!' "Damn you!" Chiyo yelled as she ran towards Kakashi and jumped up in the air.

"Huh?" Kakashi said absolutely having no idea what the hell was happening.

"Back off granny!" Naruto yelled as he let his chakra explode once more but this time it shook the entire hospital and even people outside could feel the tremors and were wondering just what the hell was going on.

Chiyo immediately landed in fear at the amount of chakra this young man held. 'Who is he!?' She thought in bewilderment.

"That's my future husband Lady Chiyo, please don't piss him off, and Naruto this is one of our elders, similar to the ones the Leaf has." Temari said over her shoulder as she came to her brother's side.

"You're the boy they chose to marry Temari off to?"

"Damn right. You got a problem?" Naruto said still angry.

"Sis, take a closer look at that man back there." Ebizō said and his sister looked behind Naruto and got a better look at Kakashi as the blond joined Temari's side and Sakura began taking a look at Kankurō.

"He looks like him, but that isn't him. He's been dead for over 20 years and you know that. You even wept over not being able to get your revenge. It's time to let it go." Ebizō said

Chiyo merely laughed it off as everyone looked confused as hell. The awkward air didn't last long as Kankurō once again began writhing in pain, "Let me take a look at him." Sakura said tying her hair back and asking the room to clear out.

"I'll be outside watching over ok?" Naruto whispered to Temari but as he turned to leave Temari reached out and grabbed his wrist. She wasn't looking at him, only at her brother but she nailed the grab.

"Stay." She whispered, "Please stay."

"You sure?" He asked and the answer he received was a look from Temari and he knew the discussion was over right there.

'Such a flip flop character. Says he doesn't know what he wants from this yet does this shit. I swear you humans are the dumbest and most confusing species.' Kurama thought as he saw what was transpiring.

Chiyo looked back not believing this young girl could do any better than an expert like herself, but she was content with sitting back and watching. Afterall everything she tried failed and who knows the girl might get a lucky break and save the young man.

Sakura checked Kankurō's eyes with a flashlight and opened his mouth and took a saliva sample.

"Wait who the hell are you?" A medic asked

"A Leaf village medical ninja." Sakura said

Sakura leaned down to Kankurō's chest and listened to his heartbeat and in an instant knew what they were dealing with. "We're definitely dealing with a heavy metal-based toxin that attacks the muscle tissue destroying the cell's integrity.

Off in the hallway Chiyo was surprised at Sakura, and the medics in the room were also shocked. "You learned all of that in one look?" "May I see his charts please?" Sakura asked and the medics didn't hesitate to hand it over. "Yes of course, here you go." "We were trying to get a breakdown of the poison but are still missing some blank points." The other medic said

"I know exactly what'll happen. The cardiac muscle will weaken to the point where the heart will collapse and cease functioning altogether." She said flipping through his papers. "At this point, I'm doubtful that we can make an antidote in time." She continued

"Are you saying there's nothing you can do?" Temari barged in.

"I'm gonna need a few things and quickly. It's gonna be pretty crude but it's the only option we have." Sakura said as the sand medics agreed.

Akatsuki hideout

The Akatsuki had finally begun pulling out the Shukaku chakra from Gaara after some preparation time. Gaara was officially on the clock.

Hospital

Some time had passed and Sakura finally began the procedure. She had a liquid next to her. "Make sure to hold him down, this next part is going to be the hardest for him." Sakura said as Temari, Baki, Naruto and 2 shadow clones got in position to hold him down. "Don't you think we should hold him down?" A medic asked Naruto.

"Hate to break it to you, but I'm plenty strong to keep him down. You need to be on standby incase Sakura needs something from you." Naruto replied as the medics looked to Sakura who only nodded her head in agreement.

Sakura began pulling the liquid that was now acting more like plasma and she pressed it down into his chest and Kankurō tried shooting up but the 3 Naruto's wouldn't let him and kept him down on the bed. "Keep him down." Sakura said as Temari and Baki held down harder.

'I need to force my chakra into him. Pure the toxin from the cells and force it to the surface. Draw it into the solution and extract it.' She thought and soon drew it out and into a bucket. This procedure continued until she drew most of it out and soon they began creating the antidote.

"I drew out most of the poison and he should be ok, but he isn't out of the woods." She said as everyone was able to take a sigh of relief.

"Please don't hesitate to ask for anything." Baki said

"Well first I'm going to need a list of all the medicinal herbs this village has, these bandages need to be replaced with new ones and an IV drip needs to be set up stat." She said as it was clear she was taking over.

'You've really grown Sakura, I'm impressed. Under a lot of pressure and you maintain your cool the way a shinobi should and you did your job to get Kankurō out of harm's way for now. You earned my respect.' Naruto thought as he watched on and sat down next to Temari.

"You ok?" He asked

"Yeah, just relieved he's not in immediate danger anymore. Thank you." She said before giving him a quick hug and leaning back against the wall.

"You remind me of that old Slug Queen Tsunade. Isn't it strange you turning up in our village like this." Chiyo said as Sakura undid her hair and tied her headband back to the way it was.

"Well she is my teacher after all, and it was by her order that I come."

"Here's the list of herbs you asked for." A medic said

"Thank you very much." Sakura said

Outside Takamaru returned with a message and it was soon rushed to Baki. "A message from your Hokage." Baki said as he handed it over to Kakashi who read it and Naruto walked over hearing news from the Leaf. "What's it say?" Naruto asked

"Team Guy is on their way to back us up."

"Aw crap. Well this place is about to get a whole lot more hectic then." Naruto said not wanting to deal with Lee of Guy just yet and definitely not under these circumstances. "Well hopefully Neji keeps Lee in check."

"Lord Baki Kankurō has regained consciousness." A medic said and they entered the room as he was coming to. "Kankurō you alright?" Temari asked

"You're finally here Temari."

"Sorry to be a bother."

"Shut up, I'm just glad you're alright now." She said with a soft smile.

"Baki, would you mind taking me to Kankurō's battle sight. I've been known to have a good nose for tracking. If even the slightest sent is there I can track them." Kakashi said

"No need. Bring me my puppets, I assume they were recovered." Kankurō said sitting up.

"Take it easy Kankurō, you nearly died." Naruto said getting the middle Sand Sibling to have his eyes grow wide. "N-Naruto, you're here too?"

"Yeah, I'm here to kill those Akatsuki bastards for taking Gaara, so don't you worry, I'll get rid of them for ya."

Kankurō nodded and it put him at ease for a little as he looked up and really noticed just how much he's changed, "You've gotten taller, and bigger it seems."

"Perks of training with the Pervy-sage Jiraiya I guess." Naruto quipped getting Kankurō to chuckle a little.

After a few minutes one of Kankurō's puppets was brought in. "You might not be able to follow Gaara's scent since they split when I fought one of them, but you can definitely follow the one I fought. The last thing I made sure to do was get a scrap of his clothing. It's right in there." Kankurō said pointing to the hand that opened up and revealed the small piece.

Kakashi knelt down and picked it before standing and addressing Kankurō, "You're an excellent shinobi for doing that. Even in the face of defeat you went down fighting. Exactly what I'd expect of a Sand shinobi, you should be proud."

Kankurō smiled hearing that. He knows it wasn't much right now but it will definitely be the thing to help them out to find Gaara.

"Summoning Jutsu" Kakashi said and in a puff of smoke Kakashi's 8 ninken appeared with Pakun on top. "8 ninja hounds at your service." Pakun said

"Been a long time Pakun." Naruto said walking up to the pug.

"Well well well, if it isn't Naruto."

"You haven't changed one bit Pakun."

"You too." He pug replied

"Yeah, ok." Naruto sarcastically replied

"Alright enough chit chat, I need you guys to track this scent." Kakashi said and soon his ninken all rushed out to do their job.

"Other than the Inuzuka clan back in the Leaf those are the best noses you could ask for. They'll find him in no time." Naruto said looking back at Kankurō and Temari.

"Kankurō there's something I must ask you." Chiyo said

"L-Lady Chiyo and Lord Ebizō what're you doing here?" he asked in shock

"Am I right in presuming that the one you fought was Sasori?"

"Yeah, Sasori of the Red Sand. He told me so himself."

"I'm unfamiliar with this Sasori character, but it seems like you know who he is." Kakashi interrupted, "Will you tell us?"

Outside in a greenhouse late at night Sakura had been hard at work with some medics coming up with an antidote and after some trial and error they finally came up with the antidote.

They quickly rushed over to the hospital to give it to Kankurō and even though it had a rough taste he forced it down. "Now just sit back and rest some, ok." Sakura said as Kankurō was trying to get over the horrible taste.

"We've prepared rooms for everyone, please get some rest for the upcoming battle." Baki said

"But Gaara-" Kankurō started

"He's right Kankurō, we might need to travel far and fast tomorrow so we're going to need some rest, not to mention we've been running a lot as it is. Plus you're in no condition to fight, Sakura just told you to sit back and rest." Kakashi said

"If it's all the same with you Kakashi-sensei I'll be spending the night at my family house, Naruto you're welcome to join." Temari said as Kakashi nodded and Naruto nodded before following his fiancée.

As Naruto left Kankurō looked at his back and remembered the words Gaara shared with him not too long ago, it was the impact that Naruto had on him. He reflected on when Gaara was just a killing machine and now he's changed so much because of one interaction with Naruto.

"Naruto." Kankurō called out.

"Hn?" Naruto replied stopping and turning around at the room exit. "What's up?"

"Save my little brother, will you?" He asked shocking Temari and Baki.

Naruto only smirked before answering, "Consider it done. Just make sure Gaara knows that he owes me one alright." With that Naruto followed Temari out and to her home as she showed him a little around the village first.

After a while they finally arrived to her old home and it was a weird feeling for her coming back to the house she once lived in. When they got inside Temari immediately turned around to hug Naruto tightly as a few tears dropped from her face. "Thank you so much Naruto. Thank you." She said holding him tightly and burying her face in his neck.

"Bring him home…please bring Gaara home." She said and soon felt two strong arms wrap around her and seemingly wash her fears away.

"I'll bring him back and make sure those two pay. You don't need to worry anymore ok." He said as she looked up at him in awe of the control he had over her emotions. Just from simply wrapping her up she felt completely safe and that he meant every word he just said. "Thank you." She said burying her head into his neck once more and soon fell asleep right on the spot.

'It's definitely been a long day hasn't it?' He thought looking down at his fellow blonde.

He carried her upstairs and found what used to be her room. It was pretty bare but after stumbling into Gaara and Kankurō's he knew this third one definitely had to be hers.

As embarrassed as he was to do this next part he got her undressed before putting one of his shirts on her that was a little big. He quickly undressed himself down to his boxers and soon had her snuggled up against him and off to the land of dreams he went.

Early the next morning before the sun came up Naruto woke up and looked down to see Temari sleeping peacefully into his chest. He summoned a shadow clone and then used the Replacement Jutsu as he got ready and went to a training ground on the outskirts of the village.

Once he was a good distance from everyone, he summoned a shadow clone to stand guard before he sat down and began meditating. 'Clear my mind and focus. Find that energy, latch on to it and bring it to me.' Naruto thought as he exhaled deeply. For the first 15 minutes nothing happened but soon black lightning started to crackle around him. It wasn't anything impressive to warrant attention from the ANBU though. Soon his chakra flared to life covering him and the wind began picking up as well as the black lightning becoming more frequent.

Naruto opened his eyes and his sclera and irises are black while his pupils were slitted and red. The wind stopped and everything calmed down for a little. Naruto stood up and turned to the clone and they began sparring. It really wasn't much of a contest as Naruto was beating around his clone like it was nothing. His speed, agility and strength were all increased to the point that after only a couple minutes the clone finally dispersed and Naruto reverted back to his normal self and could feel the fatigue instantly slam into him and he dropped onto one knee and began panting.

"Damn, I need to hold that form longer. And draw more power. I can't do shit in that form for long."

'Hmm, seems the brat is trying to call upon that power. Interesting.' Kurama thought from inside the Uzumaki.

Naruto finally recovered his breath and made his way back to Temari's. The sun was starting to break the horizon as people were starting to get their day underway, though you could feel that no one had a desire to start their day. Their Kazekage had just been defeated and taken away from them, their hope and light had been stolen. Naruto clearly noticed this and promised to himself he'd bring back Gaara even if it killed. These people were so lost without Gaara, it was clear just how much of an impact Gaara has had in such a short time, and it showed even more how much Gaara had changed himself and how the people now viewed him. It put a smile on Naruto's face knowing the people of the Sand village were no longer afraid of Gaara or looking at him like a weapon or monster.

Naruto entered to see Temari getting breakfast ready and they made eye contact as he entered the room and a small smile broke on her face. "Morning. Guess you went out to train or something." She said

"Yeah, just testing some things out is all. Needed to be far away so I didn't draw any attention to myself."

"Well as long as you're safe that's all I care about." She said walking up to him and looping her arms behind his neck. "It would be nice to wake up to a note so I know what happened to you so I don't worry ya know." She said grinning before leaning in to give him a quick peck on the lips. "I know we've been through this time and time but I care for you. I know I don't know much of the things you've been through, but I'd greatly appreciate it if you open up to me. Could you do that for me?"

"I suppose I could, but only on the condition that I do it on my time when I'm comfortable."

"Wouldn't want it any other way Naruto." She said smiling at him before letting go and was ready to go back to the food but something in his eyes said he wanted to do something to show his thanks. "You know if you want to kiss me you can. I definitely don't mind spontaneously being kissed considering you're a damn good kisser." She said biting her lips to give him a hint that she's really into him.

A look of relief washed over him and he tenderly kissed her much to the enjoyment of them both but Temari wanted him to know just how much she liked his lips so she pushed him to the wall and whispered to him, "I know you want to kiss me differently, more passionately, so do it." And with that Naruto pinned her to wall and aggressively kissed her much to her enjoyment as he could feel her lips curl up into a smile as her arms looped his neck again and her thigh teased his groin.

"Now that's a fucking kiss." She said after separating and licking her lips like a predator. "Sit, you need your energy for today if you're gonna get those bastards back and save my brother."

"Right. Thank you." He said as he found his spot and soon the two began eating quickly before meeting everyone else at the front gates.

"Alright seems like we're all here. Pakun says the trail ends at some blocked off cave in the Land of Rivers." Kakashi said and everyone understood.

"Hold on one second." Baki said walking up to the group. "With all due respect Kakashi we could use Temari here in the village. This is about the time she lives in the Sand for a couple months anyways." "Is that true?" Kakashi asked Temari who nodded her head begrudgingly. "Alright, then Temari for the time being stay here and help Baki, I'm sure you guys need to tighten up security and at least hold an image of strength incase word leaks."

"That's exactly what I'll be assigning you to do." Baki said to Temari as she looked upset at not joining the hunt for her brother but she knew where her role lies. "Yes sensei." She replied before turning to Naruto and an unspoken message was relayed between them. Temari hugged Naruto one last time praying it wouldn't be the last and just for her own sanity whispered to him, "Bring him back." "Whatever it takes." He replied before pecking her forehead and turning to leave.

Kakashi, Sakura and Chiyo all followed Naruto. Along the way Chiyo informed the group that like Naruto and Gaara there were others in the world; 7 to be exact, each of whom held a different tailed beast. In theory the One Tail Shukaku is the weakest while the Nine Tailed Fox is the strongest, but no one has been able to prove if this is true or not. Chiyo also told them that should a jinchuriki have their tailed beast extracted from them, they will die instantly. "The only group of people who can survive an extraction and potentially even live are the Uzumaki, full blooded ones at that."

'Kaa-chan.' Naruto thought as the image of his beautiful red haired mother came to mind and this only made Naruto speed up and run faster, 'No! I won't lose anyone else! I'll save Gaara!'

"Naruto slow down!" Sakura yelled

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME TO WASTE, I'M GONNA SAVE GAARA AND BRING HIM HOME!" He yelled back as his chakra came alive but more intense than he's ever given off and it shook everyone to their core to feel and see just how much he was putting off. "Naruto, you'll burn out your reserves if you do that." Kakashi said "Don't worry sensei, I've got enough to do this for a whole day and be just fine." Getting everyone's eyes to widen in shock. 'Who is this boy?' Chiyo thought to herself.

The journey continued and later on they were confronted by Itachi Uchiha, while Team Guy and Pakun was faced against Kisame Hoshigaki. Both fights were difficult to overcome for the Leaf village teams. Kisame especially with his nickname of being a Tailless Tailed Beast, was proving to live up to the name. No matter what Team Guy did Kisame was just stronger and at one point had Guy's students trapped in a Water Prison Jutsu. It took Guy opening the sixth inner gate to finally defeat Kisame though…it wasn't Kisame. The body that was left after Guy used his Morning Peacock technique was someone else much to the team's confusion.

With Team Kakashi they had a difficult time with Itachi due to his incredibly strong Sharingan. Even with Kakashi's warning to not look into his eyes Naruto ended up getting caught into a genjutsu. Naruto didn't realize it at first and kept trying to fight Itachi who turned out to just be crow clones. Naruto tried to break the genjutsu but Itachi cranked it up and sent his crows in as they turned into shuriken burying themselves into him. Then Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi and Gaara appeared on different parts of his body belittling him and even using his own hand to choke him. 'Damnit, it's just a genjutsu, but shit it feels so real. K-Kurama. I hate to ask… but I need your help.'

'Forget it. You need to get out of this yourself.'

'Bastard.'

Naruto was about out of ideas until he focused for a minute and soon black lightning began appearing around his body and his eyes changed color. In a burst of chakra Naruto broke the genjutsu and quickly shut off the chakra so avoid questions.

"You okay Naruto?" Sakura asked

"Yeah, what happened to his clones?" He asked

"What clones? It's been just him the whole time." Sakura replied

Naruto's eyes grew and realized just how early and strong the genjutsu Itachi used was. 'Damn, you're something else Itachi.'

Kakashi and Itachi continued the fight and when finally Kakashi used a shadow clone to grab a hold of Itachi giving Naruto the perfect time to strike. "Now Naruto!"

"Right!" He yelled out as he and a clone were both running with a huge Rasengan and the Nine Tails was influencing him as his eyes were now red and slitted. "Giant Rasengan!" Naruto yelled slamming the powerful jutsu head on and causing a huge explosion.

When the dust settled the body that was on the ground wasn't Itachi's much to everyone's surprise. Lady Chiyo said that the man they were looking at was one of the Sand village's jonin by the name of Yūra. The same Yūra who went missing shortly after the Akatsuki attacked Suna.

After finishing the fight Kakashi wanted to take a minute to rest, but Naruto was still ready to keep going. He knew what was at stake and every second they waited was another second closer to losing Gaara. Unknown to them these fights would give the Akatsuki enough time to start finishing up extracting Shukaku from Gaara's body.

As the groups resumed travel Team Kakashi had noticeably slowed down in pace and Kakashi soon ordered a stop to take a short break much to Naruto's irritation. He knew it was the right call but given the circumstances he'd rather bet that he wouldn't need any rest to fight. Team Guy on the other hand continued on but they also noticed that Guy was tired after using the Sixth Gate of Joy. Lee voiced his concern and after getting told he was just fine Guy's head slammed into a branch and he fell to the ground unconscious allowing the group to get some much needed rest.

Night

At the battle sites Zetsu showed up and disposed of the bodies used to impersonate Itachi and Kisame.

Back in Konoha in some underground facility Danzo was speaking to one of his agents. "I've made certain that you'll be assigned to Team Kakashi. I've made arraignments. Not only are you close to Naruto Uzumaki in age, you're stronger than anyone of your generation in the village. Most important of all, you possess those incomparable talents with a paint brush. From today, until the completion of your mission, your name will be Sai."

"Sai. Yes, I understand." Sai replied with a fake smile.

"And wipe that fake smile off your face when you're with me." Danzo said

"Forgive me, I read that in order to win people over one must be able to smile. I've been practicing, but creating facial expressions, it's still quite difficult for me." Sai said

End Chapter

Well that's a wrap on that chapter. We'll be getting into the good fights next chapter and soon after the arc is wrapped up we'll be exploring Danzo more and maybe doing the first Shippuden movie. If y'all want the first one just let me know in the reviews and I'll work on it soon after finishing the next chapter. I know for sure I'll be doing the third Shippuden movie and every one after that but for now I just wanna know if y'all want the first Shippuden movie or not and we'll go from there.

As usual, please Favorite and Follow myself and the story to stay up to date on everything and drop a review. Feel free to PM me any questions or concerns you have and I'll get back with you as quickly as I can.

And just to reiterate what I said all the way at the top. TEMARI DID NOT CHEAT ON NARUTO!

Alright hope you all stay safe during this quarantine/social distancing and I'll see ya later.