Naruto:A New Path

Meetings at Sand

Naruto leapt through trees with a frown on his face. His team, consisting of Shikamaru and Sasuke, was ahead of him moving at a steady pace. It had been a few hours since they had left the Leaf village and things had been rather uneventful. There were no missing ninja looking for fights, no evil organizations looking for destruction, or bandits looking for a quick buck but then again it had only been a few hours.
Naruto's frown deepened, knowing his luck things would go from normal to bad in just a few seconds and then to worse in an instant. He wondered if every ninja went through this when on a mission but guessed that it shouldn't be too surprising in the world they lived in. Jiraiya had been right, there would always be conflict on the world regardless of what they did.
A sigh escaped the Chunin's lips as he followed his teammates. Part of him was glad to be out on a mission since it had been almost a week since he saw any action but the other part of him wished for a few more days of rest. Missions were incredibly exhausting both mentally and physically and more than a week would be needed after the mission he had gone through.
From the looks of things the next mission would be no better than the last one. It had only begun and things were already looking bad. For one, none of them were familiar with the Sand village or its surroundings meaning that they would have to trust a former enemy ninja to guide them through it safely. Secondly, Sasuke was acting a lot more emo-ish than usual, not even sparing a word. And finally, he had left his poor wallet, Gamma, all alone and out in the open. He was sure that Jiraiya would find it and drain it of cash, sometimes his master was just too unbearable. Naruto sighed once more, making Shikamaru snap his gaze towards him.
"Will you stop your sighing already?" he snapped with an irritated sigh, "You're starting to sound like me."
Naruto chuckled. "We wouldn't want that would we?" he joked with an easy-going smile. Shikamaru turned back to the path they were taking, noticing that Sasuke had gone ahead of them, "Are we almost there?"
"Not even close," Shikamaru replied with a sigh as he took out a scroll from one of his Chunin vest's pockets. He opened it to reveal a map of Fire Country and its borders, "According to the map it's a day-long trip from Konoha to the Sand. Considering the speed we're traveling at and the distance left we should be there a little past midnight."
"Good," Naruto said with a smile, "Should we travel the whole way there?"
Shikamaru kept his gaze on the path before him, his map on his vest's pocket once more. "Don't think so," he answered with a thoughtful look on his face, "Remember that even though we took this mission, we can't be too vulnerable around Sand since they were our enemies a few months ago. Call me paranoid but I don't want to be too weak around former enemies."
Naruto nodded, remembering his fight with Gaara. If he was to fight the Sand jinchuuriki again then he would need all of his strength. He still wasn't sure if his words had changed the Sand ninja but being too careful around him wouldn't be a bad idea.
A single hooded ninja stood on the dunes around the Sand village, the ninja's arms were crossed as he looked at the faraway village. His physical attributes giving his gender away, the broad shoulders underneath his brown hood and his large height revealed him to be a man.
The air reeked of blood as the man turned on his heel, walking away from the village. Corpses of Sand ninja were scattered around him as he continued to walk as if nothing was wrong. He stepped on the corpses without hesitation, stepping on the open guts of a corpse, causing a stream of blood to shoot off the corpse's stomach.
The ninja had to get ready since he already knew that they would send ninja from Konoha due to his feats. It was a good thing to have so many spies around the Sand village since it meant that he could always be prepared. A few Leaf ninja wouldn't stop his plans since his goal was too great to be stopped. He continued to walk through the desert, knowing what needed to be done.
Gaara stood on the roof of his family's home. It was nighttime which meant that he had no one to talk to, which was a good thing since he had a lot of things on his mind. He was thinking of the mission he had been assigned. He was to help out a Konoha team in finding and killing the ninja they had called the Red Death, since he left the sand a deep crimson color every time he attacked. While on this mission he was too also spy on the Leaf ninja and kill them if they showed too much interest on the Sand village. In the past he would've simply killed them even if he didn't need to but now he didn't know what to do.
He had had no one on his life when growing up, not even the uncle he had loved like a father. He became the monster everyone feared and thought that nobody understood his pain and motives. When he met Naruto he saw him as just another fool but it wasn't until their fight that he learned who he really was. The Leaf ninja had shared his pain, not having anyone and feeling as if his existence didn't matter. Gaara had felt relieved to know that he wasn't alone on the world, someone had shared his pain and understood him better than anyone.
When Naruto told him that he fought to protect people, he had been at a loss of words. How had Naruto forgiven the people that brought him pain? Why did he work so hard to protect those bonds? Even though he is still trying to figure out those answers, he feels as though he learns a little more each day. His bond with his siblings grew deeper and they were not uncomfortable around him anymore. He was starting to see what a bond was and already guessed as to why Naruto fought so hard to protect his precious people.
"I won't kill anyone," Gaara muttered to himself, gazing at the night sky. 'I won't be the tool of the council,' he decided as he watched the stars, set on changing his ways.
"Good morning!" Naruto cheered as he walked around camp, the sun rising on the horizon. He gazed at his two teammates and noticed that they were still asleep, clearly not minding the sand underneath them. "Are you guys serious?" he sighed out.
Receiving no answer Naruto ran a hand through his hair, thinking of a way to wake up his team. The Chunin suddenly smirked, his prankster side resurfacing.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu," he muttered as two clones appeared before him, both with mischievous smirks.
Ino walked around Konoha with a determined expression on her face. Her chakra control had increased as had her reserves. She was on her way to the hospital to find the 'legendary sucker' Tsunade. Since her last mission she had wanted to learn some medical jutsu, enough to help heal Naruto or her other teammates if the situation came.
The kunoichi entered the hospital to see that it was a little emptier than normal but it was to be expected since most ninja had been healed meaning that there were not as many visitors. She made her way to Tsunade's office, knowing where it was since she had gone there when Naruto was about to be discharged. On her way there she ran into Hinata, carrying a single white flower.
"Here to see Kiba again?" Ino asked with a knowing smile.
"Y-yeah," Hinata responded in a quiet voice, shy around the confident kunoichi, "H-he hasn't woken up yet but the medics told me that talking to him would help."
Ino nodded with a small smile, glad to see that Hinata was looking at the positives. "Well I have to go meet with Lady Tsunade," she began, walking around the Hyuuga heiress. She gave the other kunoichi a confident smile, "I want her to train me so that I'll be able to help Naruto out a little more."
"W-wait," Hinata tried to call out in a quiet voice but Ino had already left, "What does she want with Naruto?"
Sasuke slept on the sleeping bag he had set up the day prior. The team had made it out of the deep forests of Fire Country and was now on sandy terrain. As they had planned before, they had set up camp in order to be one-hundred percent the next day. He had been against the idea but had still made sure that everything was comfortable so that he could sleep, which is why his brows furrowed in confusion when he felt way too warm.
Now, Sasuke might have been emotionless most of the time but, contrary to popular belief, he could still actually 'feel' things. Which is why when he opened his eyes to see a bald burly man on his sleeping bag wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, his eyes grew to the size of saucers.
"AAAHHH!" Sasuke screamed as he shot out of bed. He glared at the man and froze when he noticed he was naked, "W-wh-what…?"
"What's wrong Sasuke?" the man asked in a hurt tone, "You act like you don't love me anymore."
Sasuke shook violently, thinking of rather disturbing scenarios before he finally threw up in disgust. A hysterical laugh pierced the dunes making Sasuke snap his head towards the source. The man dispelled as Sasuke growled when he saw Naruto rolling on the sand, holding his sides in pain.
"You should have seen your face!" Naruto laughed as tears rolled down his eyes.
"Bastard…" Sasuke growled as he clenched his fists.
"Shhh," Naruto shushed as he pointed at the sleeping Shikamaru. Sasuke glanced at the lazy Chunin and fought the urge to smirk.
This time an old skinny man made his way to Shikamaru's sleeping bag. The two members of Team Seven focused on the scene when the clone suddenly stopped on its tracks, a shadow attached to its own. A kunai caught the clone between the eyes as Shikamaru rose from his sleeping bag with a smirk on his face.
"What just happened?" Naruto asked in confusion.
"You didn't think I would fall for it, did you?" Shikamaru asked as he dusted his pants, "I've known you for quite a while and you're pranks won't work on me anymore."
"Whatever," Naruto pouted before breaking into a grin, "I still got Sasuke though."
"Hn," Sasuke huffed with his arms crossed, irritated at having been made a fool of.
"Anyway," Shikamaru began with a yawn, "Let's pack this up and get going, we have a long day ahead of us."
"Right," Naruto agreed as he made a few clones to clean up the camp. As soon as the clones were done, the group set off once more on their way to Suna.
Tsunade sighed as she sat on her office's desk. Since she was the best known medic of the Leaf they had made her the head of the hospital, meaning that she was now responsible for it. She had no idea what had made her take the job but now she was stuck with it and to make matters worse, Shizune would always make sure she didn't run off somewhere. She glared at the pile of paperwork on her desk before hearing a knock on her door.
' Finally, a distraction,' Tsunade sighed in relief as she cleared her throat. "Enter," she called as the door opened to reveal Ino. The legendary medic furrowed her brows, not having the slightest idea as to why Ino had come looking for her, "What can I help you with?"
"I want to train under you," Ino announced with her eyes full of determination.
Tsunade looked over the girl with a careful eye, taking another apprentice wasn't something she had had in mind but something about Ino intrigued her. "Why would you want to train under me?" she questioned, "From what I heard, you're training under Kurenai."
"I am," Ino responded with her gaze downcast. "But I want to learn medial jutsu so that I can help heal those close to me," she turned her gaze to Tsunade to reveal the desperation on her eyes, "Watching Naruto so hurt on our last mission and not being able to heal him made me feel so helpless. I don't want to ever see him like that again so please help me."
Tsunade sighed, understanding the reasoning of the young kunoichi. She knew how Ino felt, a little too well in fact, it was how she had felt around Dan whenever he got hurt. She thought of giving her a chance, why not? There was also the fact that there would be hard battles ahead and having an extra medic wouldn't hurt. Having more time away from the hospital wold only be icing on the cake.
"Fine," Tsunade agreed, smiling lightly at the exited expression on Ino's face, "I'll train you in medical jutsu but I have to warn you that my training will not be light."
Ino nodded with a determined expression. "Don't worry, I don't plan on quitting," she assured with a grin, "If I did then I wouldn't be able to show my face around Naruto again."
"Very well," Tsunade said with a smile on her face, "We'll start your training tomorrow at eleven in the morning sharp."
"Isn't that a little late?" Ino asked with an odd look.
"Do you want to train under me or not?" Tsunade growled, making Ino laugh nervously, "I'll have my assistant Shizune take care of things here so I'll be able to focus on your training a little more."
"Right," Ino nodded with an exited smile.
"Then I hereby accept you as my apprentice, Ino Yamanaka."
Naruto, Shikamaru and Sasuke walked around the streets of the Sand village. Their buildings were made of brown stone, and the streets were just as lively as in Konoha. Seeing their headbands many civilians threw them wary looks and others would enter their homes in what appeared to be fear.
Sasuke smirked as he walked, seeing the fear people had of him made him feel powerful and dangerous. He turned to his teammates to see that they were both acting as if nothing was happening, simply ignoring the reactions of the civilians. The Uchiha frowned at this, they were no better than the weaklings that had called themselves Uchiha once, the two idiots weren't taking advantage of the fear people had for them.
Naruto sighed as the three ninja continued to walk around the village. People might be shocked at seeing them here and saw them as dangerous but in reality they were completely lost. The mission scroll the Hokage had given them had told them to speak with Suna's council, what they failed to explain was how to get there. He had thought it would be easy to find them since important people were usually in the tallest buildings but the streets were so narrow and crowded that it was impossible to know where they were. Jumping around the rooftops would be a bad idea since it might agitate some people and start conflict.
"Troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered with a lazy expression. Walking around a warm village under the scorching sun had never been one of the things he looked forward to. Finding the council was his first priority since it would mean that he could take it easy after that. He had tried asking people but they just wouldn't answer him and turn away.
The three ninja turned a corner and Naruto's right eye instantly twitched. "Now I know we're lost!" he snapped in anger. In front of him nothing but sand, "How the hell did we end up here?"
"Man this village is such a pain in the ass," Shikamaru groaned.
"Perhaps I'll be able to help," said a monotone voice from behind the trio. The three ninja turned around to see Gaara standing on top of a building with his arms crossed, an expressionless look on his face.
"Gaara of the Sand…" Sasuke growled with narrowed eyes, his last fight with the Sand ninja not being one he was proud of.
"Calm down Sasuke," Naruto broke in with a serious look on his face, his eyes studying Gaara, "We can't get into a fight here."
"He's right," Shikamaru agreed, "If we fight here then we'll have several Sand ninja after our heads, so let's not do something stupid."
Sasuke snarled at the two ninja. "Do you think I'll listen to some no-class shinobi like you? I'm ending this before it begins," the Uchiha charged at Gaara, jumping high in the air before throwing a horizontal kick.
As he got closer to the target, Naruto suddenly appeared before him catching his kick as if it were nothing. Sasuke tried to break away but a Naruto clone kicked him away. The Uchiha landed on the ground with a growl, having no idea when the Chunin had the time to create a clone. He instantly stood back up but found that he couldn't move any further. His eyes gazed at the ground to see his shadow a little larger than before, meaning that he was now under Shikamaru's jutsu.
"I told you to calm down…" Naruto said to Sasuke in a cold voice, his eyes calm and collected, "Genin."
Sasuke gritted his teeth at the blond Chunin, furious at the thought of being inferior to him. The Uchiha hadn't thought much of Naruto's strength until now, the loser had managed to block his attack with ease and knock him away with a rather painful kick. Had Naruto become stronger than him?
Naruto turned to Gaara with a nervous smile. "Sorry about that, but we do need some help," he lamely said in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"Very well," Gaara began in the same emotionless voice, "You're searching for the council?"
"We are," Shikamaru informed with an irritated look on his face, his shadow still holding Sasuke.
"Follow me then," Gaara instructed as he leapt away from the building, Naruto following close behind him.
Shikamaru sighed as he let go off his jutsu, frowning when Sasuke glared at him. "Remember that we're in a former enemy's village," the lazy Chunin began, "This mission serves as a way to improve relations between our villages, this is our true objective. Naruto and I aren't ones to pull rank but if you jeopardize our mission then we have no choice but to assume our authority." With that the Chunin leapt after Naruto and Gaara, leaving an angry Sasuke behind.
Sasuke glared at the retreating figure of Shikamaru before following after them.
'They will pay for this,' he thought as he clenched his fists, 'They only managed to hold me because I was distracted but next time I'll show them the true power of the Uchiha!'
Naruto, Shikamaru, Sasuke and Gaara stood before a large building that had a somewhat similar appearance to the Hokage's office. The light brown building stood in the middle of the village, much to the annoyance of Naruto since it should have been obvious.
"You'll find the council inside," Gaara informed with his arms crossed.
"Thanks for the help," Naruto said with a grin on his face.
"It was no problem," Gaara replied with a light nod.
"Let's go inside, the sooner we're out of this heat the better," Shikamaru suggested as he entered the building with his cheeks flushed from the heat. Sasuke followed behind him with a frown on his face, not bothering to acknowledge the others.
Naruto nodded at Gaara. "See you later," he said with a light wave before following after his teammates.
The blond Chunin found the inside of the building to be a lot cooler than it looked. It somehow kept the warmth away and by Shikamaru's relaxed expression, he knew that he felt the same relief. They were in a large room with a few receptionists' desks on both walls, decorations such as paintings and coffee tables adorning the room.
Naruto moved to talk to one of the receptionists while Shikamaru sat on a cushioned chair with an irritated sigh and Sasuke leaned against a wall with his eyes closed. He met the gaze of the receptionist and saw her flinch when seeing his headband.
"M-may I help you?" she asked a little afraid.
Naruto nodded. "We're here to meet with the council," he explained, "We were suppose to go over some details on our mission."
The receptionist looked over a piece of paper listing many names before turning to the Chunin with a smile on her face, taking him by surprise. "You're the ones after the Red Death!" she said with glee, "The council is expecting you. They're on the third floor, it's the only room there."
"Right," Naruto responded with a nervous smile. He moved back to his team and motioned for them to follow him.
The three moved towards the stairs with Shikamaru sighing rather loudly. "Stairs…" he groaned, making Naruto chuckle, "Anyway, what did the receptionist say? She looked rather happy."
"I don't know what she meant but she asked if we were the ones after the 'Red Death,'" he responded.
"Might be the name of the person behind those slaughters," Shikamaru suggested.
"Might be…" Naruto agreed with a serious expression, somehow he knew that the name would hold true in the future.
The man known as Red Death walked around the dunes of the desert, looking for his needed victims. The ninja smirked beneath his gas-mask, a small team of Sand ninja walked the desert with kunai on their hands. He chuckled, they were clearly watching out for him. From what he saw they were no higher than Genin level since he saw many mistakes on their formations. They were clearly adults from their height, an easy kill from the looks of things.
Sand picked up around the team of Genin, covering their vision. One of the Genin watched the sand turned a crimson red before noticing that one of his comrades was gone. The Sand ninja turned to his other comrade and watched as his body was suddenly ripped in half by an unknown force, blood splattering out of his body as organs and tissues covered the terrorized man.
"Do you fear death?" came a deep voice from outside the whirlwind of crimson sand. The Genin shook in terror, he tried to move but found that his body refused to move.
"P-please… don't kill me," the Genin begged with a few tears falling from his eyes.
"That's funny," Red Death said with a chuckle, "Why should I spare you? Nobody spared my people and only helped once they were gone, why do you think I'll help someone like you?"
The Sand ninja gasped when a deep cut appeared on his right arm, running from his shoulder to his wrist. So engrossed by his wound, the Genin didn't noticed the shadow appearing behind him with the outline of a scythe on its hands.
Naruto and his two teammates entered the Sand's council room. It was a large room with a large circular table on the middle, there were a few windows on the room and many decorations filled the room. The council men and women sat around the table, all appearing to be veteran ninja from the scars and tired looks on their faces.
"Good to see the Leaf sent a team to aid us," a councilman said with a light smile, though it appeared forced.
"It's an honor to be of service to you," Shikamaru responded with a light nod.
"Let's just get down do business," a councilwoman said with a bored tone on her raspy voice, "We're here to speak about the terms of the mission."
"Right," Naruto agreed.
"Your target has been nicknamed the 'Red Death,'" the councilwoman informed with a frown on her face, "Nobody has survived his attacks so we have no idea of his fighting methods. He is rumored to attack a small village a few miles from here constantly. We will give you a map when our meeting is over."
"We have no definite location on the culprit," a councilman said, "You'll have to search the desert if you wish to find more about that person. It is unknown is he acts alone, if he doesn't then you are to kill his followers."
"That is all about the mission," an old woman said, "You are to start the search when you see fit. The ninja we assigned to accompany you will meet you outside."
"Understood," Naruto and Shikamaru responded in a firm tone.
"You are dismissed," a councilman said in a raised tone.
The group of Leaf ninja left the room, finding Gaara standing in the hall with his arms crossed. "Shall we get started with our mission?" he asked in an emotionless voice.
"You're the ninja they assigned?" Naruto asked incredulously. Receiving a nod from Gaara, the Chunin sighed. Sasuke had already tried to fight Gaara and having the two of them on a team would prove to be too much trouble, "Fine, let's get going then."
Shikamaru suppressed a groan as the team began to move out of the room. Things were already looking troublesome and knew that there would be conflict on this mission. From the looks of things Sasuke was still mad at Naruto and wary around Gaara. If they didn't handle things properly then a fight would eventually break out between them and that was the last thing they needed in a mission like this.
"This is going to be such a pain in the ass," Shikamaru muttered as the team headed out of the building.