Seven years after the Kyubi attack
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No!"
"Are we there yet?"
"NO! STOP ASKING THAT ALREADY!" Jiraiya yelled in anger. Between the heat and Naruto's constant chattering, he'd swear he'd go insane at any moment. Then he noticed something in the distance, and narrowed his eyes to see it better. Then, he turned to Naruto and said: "Yeah, we are there already. Sunagakure is just behind those dunes."
"Finally!" Naruto threw his hands in the air.
The heat was downright oppressive, and his thirst was becoming nearly unbearable. He wished he had listened to Jiraiya's advice and didn't drink all the water from his canteen the first day they were in the desert. But after two hellish days waddling through an ocean of sand, their journey was already over.
After much, much time, and much, much stalling on the Kazekage's part, Sarutobi finally managed to convince his Sunagakure counterpart to accept the visit of a Konoha diplomat, in order to strengthen the relationship between the two villages, as well as to "help" with his Jinchuriki problem. While the intention to help was genuine –or else Sarutobi wouldn't have send Konoha's best seal master alive as its representative– Sarutobi had other less selfless motives behind such action, namely, evaluate the threat said Jinchuriki could pose, as well as the Kazekage's intentions on how he was planning to use him.
Jiraiya requested to bring Naruto with him to the mission, believing that having a Jinchuriki who also happened to be a kid of the Suna Jinchuriki's age would help to connect with him. Koharu and Homura vehemently opposed to such thing, since not only it would mean taking Naruto out of the village despite not being a ninja, but bringing him into a foreign village. Sarutobi, however, agreed with Jiraiya's reasoning. Besides, if something happened, Naruto had one of the Sannin taking care of him.
Tsunade also opposed her husband's idea, but for different reasons. She felt that Naruto was too young to do such a journey to another village, and all the possible dangers he could face, besides losing Academy days. Jiraiya spend a whole hour convincing the Slug Princess that he would make sure that Naruto would return from the trip unscratched, and that Naruto would work extra hard to make up for his absence at the Academy.
Naruto was elated when Jiraiya informed him about the trip. He had never been outside Konoha's walls, and he was dying to see the world out there. He was amazed by the lush forests of the Land of Fire –which made Naruto wonder why it was called the "Land of Fire" instead of the "Land of Forests", and that such name would only make sense if somebody set those forests on fire. Jiraiya begged Naruto not to try to make their country's name more meaningful– and was marveled by the watery landscape of the Land of Rivers. But when they reached the Land of Wind...
"This place should be called the Land of Unbearable Heat!"
But fortunately, they arrived at the large rift in the middle of a large stone wall which was the entrance to Sunagakure, flanked by a couple of Suna Chunin. After they verified the Toad Sage's identity, they allowed both him and his son access to the village.
The hallway that was the rift was completely covered in shadows, and thus had a much cooler temperature, something both Konoha residents greatly appreciated. After a short walk, they arrived at the village proper.
Naruto took some moments to contemplate the village before him. The village was composed almost exclusively by spherical, cylindrical or conical buildings made of clay –Jiraiya would explain him later that clay was easy to mold and hardened fast in a heat climate, making construction work easier and faster, plus clay-made buildings, while weaker than brick-and-concrete buildings like those from Konoha, helped to keep the inside of said buildings cool– and there were none of the abundant plant life that was so common on his home village. Even if it was in the middle of a desert –again, Jiraiya would explain him that no plant could live in such place, and thus most plants were kept on greenhouses–.
They immediately headed towards the Kazekage Estate, a massive spherical building with the kanji of "Wind" inscribed on its front, which was placed in the middle of the village. Just like the Hokage Tower in Konoha, not only it was where the current Kazekage worked, but it also doubled as his and his family's residence, should he choose to live there.
While Suna looked wildly different from Konoha, the atmosphere was rather identical: carefree kids played in the streets, traders sold goods, civilians walked through the streets headed to their usual jobs, some ninja patrolled said streets while others watched everything from the buildings' roofs...
Naruto guessed that deep down, most ninja villages were just the same.
…
Kazekage's Estate
Jiraiya and Naruto were sitting on a couch on a large room, while they waited for the Kazekage to receive Jiraiya, which, according to the Suna Jonin that received them at the entrance, it should be soon.
"So, tell me Naruto, what do you think about Suna?" Jiraiya asked, not afraid of a potentially tactless response, since they were alone.
"Eh, it's okay, I guess, but I prefer Konoha. It's really hot in here, and there's no green," Naruto dryly replied.
Jiraiya guessed that Naruto wouldn't be very happy there. From an early age, he always had a fondness for plants. He loved to play in their house's garden when he wasn't training, and even had a corner when he was growing some plants. But then again, it could have been the fact that he grew up in a place with trees as far as the eye can see, and the contrast was rather jarring.
"Have you even been here before?" the blond asked.
"Yes, multiple times. But this place has hardly changed from the last time I was here. Well, I'm seeing some new power lines, but that's it," Jiraiya mentioned.
"Do you know the Kazekage?"
"I'm afraid not. I met his predecessor once during the Third War, but that's about it. Then he mysteriously disappeared."
"Weird. Did they think it had something to do with you?"
"Fortunately not."
A door opened, and another Suna Jonin, a woman in her twenties with purple marks on her cheeks appeared.
"Jiraiya-san, Kazekage-sama is waiting for you at his office"
"About time. Is there a place where Naruto can wait while I'm with the Kazekage?"
"Yes. Kazekage-sama said that Naruto-kun can spend the time with his children. I'll take him with them," the Jonin offered.
"Good, that way Naruto can get closer to the Jinchuriki" Jiraiya thought. "Alright Naruto, this might take some time, so be patient, and be nice to the Kazekage's children."
"Sure thing dad," Naruto nodded as he saw Jiraiya leaving.
"Please, come with me Naruto-kun," the female Jonin said, extending her hand at him.
"Ok, eh..."
"Maki. My name is Maki," the female Jonin replied, smiling a bit.
"Alright Maki! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! But you already know that, right? Hehe!"
"You're quite a lively child. I'm sure you'll have no problem in making friends with the Kazekage's children."
"I hope so!"
…
Jiraiya entered the Kazekage's office, and saw the man himself, Rasa of the Gold Sand, the Kazekage, already waiting for him, sitting on his desk with a frown on his face. The Sannin put his best smile, and sat on the only empty chair.
"Kazekage-dono, is a pleasure to finally meet you," Jiraiya greeted, as cordially as possible. The Sannin, however, was cursing on the inside. He was really good at infiltration and information gathering, but diplomatic affairs were so out of his range of talents. He had to measure his words carefully as not to spark an international incident. Konoha already dodged a shuriken with Kumo, and the last thing he wanted was to unwittingly provoke Suna and made those two villages to ally against Konoha.
"Jiraiya of the Sannin. While I always wanted to meet a living legend, 'pleasure' isn't the word I'd use. We both know why you are here, and nobody but my ANBU are listening, so you might as well dispense with the pleasantries and go towards the matter at hand."
"As you wish, Kazekage-dono," Jiraiya replied in a neutral tone. "As the Hokage's letter said, I'd like to know the reasons behind creating a Jinchuriki, as well as what do you have planned to do with him."
"What, are you afraid that we might use him against Konoha?" Rasa asked, raising an eyebrow. "Should I worry about a preventive war?"
"We both know that's not gonna happen, so cut the act, Rasa," Jiraiya sharply asserted, and immediately cursed inwardly. Not only he had talked the Kazekage in a disrespectful tone, but addressed him by his first name instead of his title. Judging by Rasa's expression, he didn't take it well.
"Act!? I'm not the one who's acting, Jiraiya. Since the end of the war Suna has been steadily losing clients to Konoha, including the Wind Lord himself. The disappearance of the Third Kazekage turned the village into a mess. Defections were a daily occurrence. Bandit attacks over our supply caravans multiplied drastically. And when I made an attempt to recover part of our lost strength, Konoha forces me to accept an emissary demanding information about our internal affairs. We may be allies during the last war, but Konoha had done very little for us after it ended."
"Hey, we weren't having a great time either! Do I need to remind you that the strongest Tailed Beast attacked Konoha not even ten years ago?"
"If you're trying to make me feel sorry for Konoha, then stop it. You're only embarrassing yourself."
Jiraiya repressed the urge to yell at the man's face, and breathed heavily. "I don't want to do that. The Hokage's concerns lies exclusively over your intentions with the Jinchuriki, and your standing with Konoha."
"This is the proof I needed that I was doing the right thing. See? Before news that we had a Jinchuriki leaked, nobody gave a shit about us. But after that happened, we have oh-so-mighty Konoha meekly asking us about our intentions. Alright Jiraiya, you can go back to Konoha and tell this to your Hokage: I will do whatever it takes to make Suna a strong village, and if Konoha, or any other village gets in my way, there will be reprisals."
"That's a bluff. Jinchuriki or not, Suna lacks the ability to wage war against Konoha," Jiraiya boldly stated.
"On our own, maybe. But finding allies willing to crush you won't be hard. I heard about what happened with Kumo, you know. And the minor villages aren't too fond of Konoha either."
Jiraiya was starting to sweat bullets. This was the kind of stuff he wanted to avert. Fortunately, the meeting wasn't over yet, and the Kazekage didn't hear what Konoha was willing to offer.
"You misunderstood me, Kazekage-dono. Konoha does not wish to engage in any war with you at the moment. We only want a guarantee that our alliance still stands."
Rasa raised an eyebrow, and stared at Jiraiya with an amused look. "Alright. Do you want to hear my demands, or do you have an offering already prepared?"
"The latter. I'd like you to hear what the Hokage had allowed me to bargain with. Such as some S-class secrets that nobody outside Konoha knows."
The Kazekage leaned forward. "You have my attention."
"First of all, that Konoha also has a Jinchurki, which holds the Nine Tails, for some years. A kid the same age as your youngest son."
"So you managed to get something out of that mess. Alright, tell me more about him."
"He's the blond kid I brought with me."
A deafening silence followed Jiraiya's statement. Rasa's eyes opened so wide, the Sannin thought they'd fall out of their sockets.
"So you sneaked the Jinchuriki of the strongest Tailed Beast inside my village, without my knowledge."
"I believe I did that."
"And is currently in the same building as I am."
"That is correct."
"And is in the same room as my own children."
"Trust me, I guarantee you that neither you, your children or any citizen of Suna is danger."
Rasa remained surprisingly calm
"Do you know that doing such a thing is not a good way to improve the relationship between our villages, right, Jiraiya?"
"Believe me, I had my reasons to bring that kid here."
"And that would be...?"
"To help your son."
"Excuse me if I don't believe you, Jiraiya."
"You can believe what you want. Listen, I know that the kid is having trouble keeping the Tailed Beast under control, that's why the Hokage send me here instead of somebody with actual diplomatic skills. I can tell that whoever did the sealing, he or she made a rather crappy work. I happen to be one of the world's best seal masters, and if you allow me to take a look at the child, I can create a seal that will contain the demon properly. You can consider it a gift from Konoha as token of our good will."
"A tempting offer, Jiraiya, but how do I know that it's not a trick in order to get close to my Jinchuriki?"
"The fact that you have Konoha's Jinchuriki in your grasp. Who also happens to be my adoptive son. Do you think I'd dare to risk his life like that?"
"A ninja should be willing to sacrifice anything, including his loved ones in order to accomplish his goals and destroy his enemies. That's why I had no qualms about turning my kid into a Jinchuriki."
"That's a grim thought. But then again, I didn't have to bring Naruto here. In fact, I actually took a huge risk doing so. But I did it because I thought it would be very beneficial for both Naruto and your son to meet somebody else with a demon inside, plus you can see the difference between a seal that can hardly contain a Tailed Beast, and a seal that can contain it properly."
The Kazekage crossed his hands below his chin, and stared at Jiraiya intently. "I need to think about this. You'll hear my answer tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, both you and that kid will stay here. I'll have somebody prepare a guest room. You're dismissed."
"Thank you for your time, Kazekage-dono. I'm sure that you'll decide what's best for everybody," Jiraiya said as he stood up and left the office.
…
While the meeting between Jiraiya and the Kazekage took place, Maki brought Naruto to a large room with a long table, a couple couches, some drawers and a few bookshelves. The room's two occupants immediately turned their attention to Naruto the moment he entered the place. One was a tall blonde girl with blue eyes and her hair styled in four pigtails. The other one was a boy with spiky brown hair and black eyes, who was shorter than the girl.
"Naruto-kun, these are Temari-sama and Kankuro-sama, two of Kazekage-sama's children. Temari-sama, Kankuro-sama, this is Naruto, the son of Konoha's emissary."
Naruto walked towards the two kids, extended his hand at an intermediate space between the two of them, and introduced himself with a well-rehearsed line. "Hello! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Nice to meet you!"
It was the girl, Temari, who took his handshake offer, and gave him a rather strong handshake.
"Nice to meet you too, Naruto. Welcome to our village," Temari cordially greeted.
"I'll leave you alone. If you need me for whatever reason, I'll be outside in the hallway," Maki informed before leaving.
An awkward silence followed Maki's departure. Naruto thought it was his responsibility to break it. And he would break it good.
"So...which one of you two is the Jinchuriki?" Naruto asked, blissfully oblivious to his extreme bluntness.
Temari and Kankuro almost choked upon hearing Naruto's question.
"H-How do you know...?" Kankuro stuttered.
"My dad told me. It was the reason for why we came here, you know. I remember he told me it was his son, so it has to be you, right?" Naruto pointed at Kankuro.
"Actually, the Jinchuriki is our little brother Gaara," Temari clarified.
"Where he is then?" Naruto asked.
"As of lately, we barely see him. He spends most of the time with our uncle Yashamaru. He's helping Gaara control his powers," what Temari was saying was an S-class secret, but given that Naruto knew about Gaara already, he saw no point in keeping the rest of the details hidden.
"What a pity. I was dying to meet somebody who's like me," Naruto commented, a bit disappointed.
Temari and Kankuro choked even harder this time. Kankuro looked as if he was going to have a heart attack.
"Don't tell me you also have a monster sealed inside-!"
"WHAT THE HELL!? AND THEY LEFT US ALONE WITH YOU!?" Kankuro yelled.
"Kankuro!" Temari shouted in a chiding tone.
The door slammed open, and Maki burst into the room, kunai in hand. "I heard a scream. Is everything alright?"
"Yes, Maki-san, everything's fine. Except my brother, who's still an idiot," Temari explained as she hit Kankuro on the back of his head.
Maki nodded, and left the room once again.
"Eh, it's okay, I got that pretty often. But don't worry, the Nine Tails won't get out of here anytime soon, hehe," Naruto reassured as he patted his belly. "In fact, that's why we're here. Dad says he can make a better seal for Gaara so he won't have any trouble controlling his powers."
Both siblings looked even more shocked than before.
"Really?" Temari asked, as her eyes gleamed with a hopeful glint. "Can he do that?"
Naruto nodded and smiled.
"That would be a gift from heaven. Not only is Gaara getting worse trying to control that monster, but it's also taking a toll on his mind," Kankuro said.
"Yes. Maybe he will even be able to sleep," Temari hoped
"Wait, he can't sleep?" Naruto asked, confused. Temari shook her head.
"If he falls asleep, even if it's only a moment, the monster will take over his body and will go on a murderous spree. Only the monster's power keeps Gaara barely functional while permanently awake, but like my brother said, it's doing nothing to help his mind."
"Let's hope your father can convince ours to let him take a look at Gaara's seal and patch him up somehow," Kankuro added.
"Anyway, while we wait...what do you want to do?" the blond girl asked.
Naruto's eyes darted to the large table, where two wooden dolls with a few strings attached to their body parts laid. The Jinchuriki quickly rushed towards the table and grabbed them. "Hey Temari, are these your dolls?"
"Actually, they're Kankuro's."
"Really? You play with dolls?" Naruto asked, barely holding his laughter.
"They aren't dolls, they're PUPPETS!" Kankuro angrily said as he snatched the puppets from Naruto's hands.
"They look like dolls to me. Only they look more boring. Though they do have a lot of moving parts."
"I'll show you the difference between a doll and a puppet," Kankuro growled while attached the strings to his fingers. He then made the puppets to stand on their feet, and made them fight each other. "See? It requires skill and lots of dedication, but the results speak from themselves!"
"Whoaaaaa, that's so cool!" Naruto said, his eyes fixed on the puppets. "So you're training to become a performer?"
"Actually, I'm training to become a ninja, and so are my siblings."
"I'm a ninja too!" Naruto proudly claimed. "But what puppets have to do with being a ninja?"
"Puppetry is a ninja art too, exclusive from Suna! Some of the deadliest ninja from Suna were puppeteers!"
Naruto, however, continued staring at him puzzled.
"You'd understand it better if you saw an actual ninja puppeteer. Their puppets are as big as an adult, and they're full of lethal weapons. What my brother is using is no different from the tools of a street performer," Temari commented.
"Well, I have to start somewhere, right?" Kankuro protested. "I'll be using a combat a puppet before you realize it!"
…
Konoha Academy
Even without the Sharingan, Sasuke had no trouble dodging the fist aimed at his face, and with a quick movement, he delivered a low kick at his opponent's legs, making him fall on his back. Sasuke placed his foot on his defeated foe.
"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha!" delcared the teacher overseeing the fight, a tall, fat and broad-shouldered man named Daikoku Funeno.
Sasuke's fangirls –which were pretty much all his female classmates minus Hinata– burst into a series of loud squeals as they repeated his name ceaselessly. For those near them, it was almost like having a flock of seagulls screeching into their ears.
Sasuke himself didn't understand why they got so crazy. Sure, he won, but he was fighting against somebody who telegraphed his attacks a month in advance. Even a blind baby could have won against such unworthy foe.
"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm starting to miss Naruto. Sure, the guy's loud and obnoxious, but at the very least he made me work for my victories," Sasuke commented.
It has been almost a week since Naruto left, and all of sudden Taijutsu practice became infinitely more boring. None of his opponents lasted more then ten seconds.
Daikoku scratched his head. He was really hoping the spar would last a bit longer. "Er...does somebody else wants to spar against Sasuke?"
All the boys averted their gazes. His question was met with silence. Daikoku then turned at Sasuke with an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry then. We'll have to let other people spar for the time being-"
"I-I will spar against him!" a high pitched voice said, making everybody to gasp in unison.
"Hinata, what are you doing?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "You can't fight against a boy!"
"I...can't?"
"Technically, we usually don't make boys fights girls, but there's nothing written in stone about that. I mean, you will have to fight against a ninja of the opposite gender sooner or later, so we may as well start now," Daikoku commented. He then turned at Sasuke. "If it's okay with you?"
"Pass. I'm not going to hit a girl," the Uchiha replied.
"What's wrong, Uchiha, afraid a girl might kick your ass?" Kiba mocked.
"Well, you didn't volunteer to fight me, so I know that you're afraid that I will kick your ass. This girl has more guts than you," Sasuke retorted, making Kiba snarl in anger.
"Hinata, why do you want to fight Sasuke? If you want to spar now, I'm sure one of your female classmates will be happy to be your opponent," Daikoku asked.
"N-Naruto-kun always fights Sasuke-san b-because he says that S-Sasuke-san is strong, and y-you can only get b-better b-by fighting strong opponents. I-I want to g-get stronger t-too."
Hinata never felt the need to spar against Sasuke. While she meant what she said, Naruto was usually her usual opponent when they trained together outside Academy hours. However, she didn't have Naruto for the time being.
"Alright Hyuga. You get your fight. It can't be worse than my previous three fights," Sasuke shrugged as he got into his usual fighting stance. Hinata also slid into the Gentle Fist stance.
Sasuke eyed her opponent, the only girl who wasn't a fangirl of his, but of Naruto's instead. Though then again fangirl was an unfair label. Hinata and Naruto had a genuine friendship. They talked, laughed and were there for each other. The Uchiha also suspected that the Hyuga had a crush on Naruto, but then again he didn't care much about that stuff.
Before the fight began, Hinata activated her Byakugan. Sasuke felt a tinge of jealousy. All the Hyugas awakened their Byakugan when they reached certain age, yet he still didn't awake his Sharingan yet. The fact that his brother awoke it when he was younger than Sasuke is now didn't help.
"Alright then, begin!" Daikoku said, making a chopping motion with his hand.
Sasuke and Hinata dashed towards each other they clashed in the middle, and traded many punches and kicks. For the first few seconds, they successfully parried all the hits, until Sasuke saw an opening and landed a kick on the Hyuga's abdomen, pushing her backwards.
"Hinata? Can you continue?" the teacher asked. Hinata nodded in reply.
Once again, Hinata dashed towards Sasuke. Sasuke was expecting that, being Hinata the heiress of a rather powerful clan specialized in taijutsu, she'd be a worthy opponent, but nope. Her footwork was sloppy, her attacks slow, and had some trouble remaining focused. After trading a few blows, Sasuke once again sent her to the ground with a well placed punch to her gut. And once again, Hinata got up.
It seemed that what the Hyuga Heiress lacked in talent, she made up with sheer determination. It seemed that after all the time they spend together, Naruto was starting to rubbing off on her.
This time, thanks to Sasuke getting confident, Hinata managed to land a strike on Sasuke's shoulder, and he felt it as if it was on fire.
"This is the Gentle Fist?" the Uchiha thought, wincing in pain. "This girl is more dangerous than she looks. I'll have to finish this quickly."
Sasuke went on the defensive, careful not to let any of those palm strikes from hell to touch him again. He didn't have to wait much for the Hyuga to reveal an opening, and went for the kill. He delivered a series of fast punches to her ribs, and finished with a powerful kick that send her once again into the ground.
"Okay, I think that was enough. Winner, Sasuke Uchiha!" Daikoku declared.
Once again Sasuke's crowd of fangirls cheered furiously. Sasuke ignored them, walked towards Hinata, and extended his hand. Hinata looked at him for a moment, and took his hand, letting him help her back on her feet.
"Nice fight. You even managed to hit me once." He meant that as a genuine compliment despite being so easy to interpret as a belittlement.
"Uh...t-thank you, Sasuke-san..." Hinata replied. "I knew that I c-couldn't win, but if I could hit y-you once at least it w-would be something."
"Well, it was certainly more than what the rest of my opponents managed to accomplish," Sasuke said, glancing at the crowd besides him.
"Okay, I think that was enough for you two," Daikoku intervened. "Now do the Seal of Reconciliation."
While Naruto was usually very unwilling to do said seal with Sasuke whenever they sparred –not that Sasuke was any less guilty of such thing– Hinata had no problem. After locking their fingers, they returned to the crowd.
"Okay, who else wants to show their abilities? Come on, I need two new volunteers..."
…
Hours later, Sasuke was on his way home, hoping that today he could train with Itachi. Things hadn't been good at home recently. Itachi and their parents would often get into heated arguments that Sasuke couldn't fully understand, but the words "duty", "honor", "clan", "family" and "shame" were uttered by both parties. After that, Itachi would usually leave the Uchiha compound and would not return until sunset.
However, it appeared that today wasn't going to be one of those days, since Itachi was already waiting for him at the compound's entrance. He was carrying a backpack, and had a suitcase besides him.
For some reason, Sasuke had a very bad feeling about that image.
"Sasuke, you're back. I was hoping you'd be here soon," Itachi greeted his younger brother in a neutral tone.
"Nii-san? What are you doing with that suitcase? Are you going somewhere?" Sasuke asked, afraid of the possible answer.
"I'm afraid yes, Sasuke. I had an argument with Father and Mother again, the worst one so far...and they just disowned me. I'm no longer Itachi Uchiha, just Itachi."
"W-WHAT!?" Sasuke couldn't believe his brother's words.
"I just wanted to see you before I left this place. I wanted you to know this from me than from our parents. And most importantly, I wanted to say goodbye"
"But...you can't leave!" Sasuke cried, tears almost forming in his eyes. "You are my brother!"
Itachi kneeled before Sasuke. "Listen me, Sasuke. Uchiha or not, disowned or not, there are two things that nothing will ever change: the fact that you're still my brother, and that I love you."
"B-but...I don't want you to go!" Sasuke cried again.
"I know you don't want to. Being away from you is the most painful part of this mess. But Father and Mother don't want me being part of the clan anymore, and honestly, I can't live under the same roof as them either."
"But you can't leave!" Sasuke repeated. "Let's go and talk with Father and Mother! I'm sure that whatever happened, we can fix it!"
Itachi smiled sweetly at his little brother. "My little brother, you're still so innocent...unfortunately, the reason for my banishment is way too complex for you to understand yet."
"But...what are you going to do now...?"
"I already rented an apartment. I'll bring you there so you can see it once I'm settled. Now you have to be strong, Sasuke. Keep working hard on being a ninja like you have done so far. Make me feel proud of calling you my brother."
Sasuke didn't say anything, just stayed there, crying. Itachi then pulled him into a hug. The Uchiha prodigy then stood up, grabbed his luggage, and left the place that he had called home for all his life.
After watching his brother disappear, Sasuke spent some more minutes there, motionless. Then, he returned to his house. He didn't greet his parents like he usually did. He didn't even demand for explanations as for why they had kicked out Itachi from the clan. He merely went to his room, and locked himself there.
He dropped on his bed, and cried his eyes out until he run out of tears, and finally fell asleep.
…
Kazekage Estate, Next Morning
Shortly after Jiraiya and Naruto woke up, Maki the Suna Jonin entered the guest room they had slept in in order to inform them that the Kazekage had invited them to have breakfast with him and his family. She also informed that Gaara would be there.
"Alright, that's good," Jiraiya said, confident, as he started to get dressed.
"Why is that good, dad?" Naruto asked.
"The Kazekage is rather protective of Gaara, given that he wasn't with his siblings, and has a personal caretaker. The fact that he's willing to have Gaara present means that he trust us to some degree, and maybe he will accept my offer of fixing his seal. If everything goes as planned, not only we will help that poor kid, but will secure an alliance with Sunagakure."
…
Meanwhile, in the estate's dinning room, Rasa and his two elder children were sitting on a large, rectangular table, waiting for their guests and remaining family to join them.
"So, dad, are you going to let Naruto's father fix Gaara's seal?" Temari asked with hopeful eyes.
"I'm not comfortable with the idea, but it appears to be the best solution so far. Gaara has a lot of trouble controlling the demon. If this Naruto you talk about is proof of the man's sealing ability...by the way, are you sure he was a Jinchuriki?" Rasa asked.
"He showed us his seal. It appeared to be the real thing. Only Jinchuriki have stuff like that," Kankuro commented.
"Well, we will learn the truth soon," Rasa said.
The room's door opened, revealing Jiraiya and Naruto, escorted by Maki. After being thanked, the Suna Jonin left.
"So, what's for breakfast? Because I'm so hungry! Do you guys have ramen here?" Naruto asked excitedly.
"Who the hell eats ramen for breakfast?" Kankuro asked in disgust.
"You'll have to excuse Naruto. He gets rather...out of control with an empty stomach," Jiraiya said, laughing nervously as he and Naruto took a seat.
"Jiraiya, these are Temari and Kankuro, my oldest children," Rasa motioned to the two kids at his sides, then he fixed his eyes on Naruto. "And I believe that this is the Jinchuriki, right? Your son Naruto."
"Yup, that's me! Remember that name, because when the old man retires, I'll be the next Hokage!" Naruto proudly claimed.
Rasa couldn't help but chuckle. "The kid had some big ambitions Too big, some might say."
Before Naruto could reply, the door opened again, and a redhead child entered the room followed by an adult.
The child, who appeared to be Naruto's age, had short blood red hair and black rings around his blue eyes. The adult –both Jiraiya and Naruto guessed it was Gaara's caretaker– had shoulder length, sandy blond hair and purple eyes.
"Ah, we're all finally here," Rasa mentioned.
"Sorry for the tardiness, Kazekage-sama," the adult said as he and Gaara walked towards the table.
"It's okay, Yashamaru. I know that taking care of Gaara is not an easy job. Fortunately, one of our guest might make that task easier. Or so he says."
"Why is that woman called Yashamaru? Isn't that a male name? And who is this woman by the way, didn't you guys say that your uncle was taking care of Gaara?" Naruto asked.
Temari and Kankuro could barely repressed their laughs, while Rasa glared at him, annoyed. Yashamaru merely smiled.
"I have a male name because I am a man. And yes, I am Gaara's uncle. But yes, my looks makes others to mistake me for a woman, it has happened before."
"WHAAAAAAAT? You're a guy!?" Naruto shouted in shock. Then he turned at Temari. "Wait a minute, you're a girl, right?"
"Of course I am! Don't I look like one?" Temari harshly replied, visibly offended.
"Well, so does this guy!" Naruto protested, making Kankuro to laugh even harder.
Jiraiya facepalmed. Naruto was the nightmare of every diplomat. Fortunately for them, neither Rasa nor Yashamaru were taking his antics seriously.
"Gaara," Rasa said, fixing his eyes on his youngest son. "These are Jiraiya and Naruto. They have come from Konoha to meet you."
Gaara looked at Jiraiya with impassible eyes, and then looked at Naruto.
"I see," was all what he said.
"Gaara, do you notice something special about this kid?" Rasa asked, and waited expectantly at his son's response.
Gaara parsimoniously walked to Naruto, and inspected him. So far, there was nothing remarkable about that boy except for how loud and obnoxiously cheerful he was. And then...he felt a shiver.
"Father...there's...something inside this kid...something Mother doesn't like...Mother wants to kill this child..." Gaara grimly commented.
The blonde almost jumped out of his chair. "Hey, what the hell did I do to your mother!?" Naruto protested.
"So it is true, your son is a Jinchuriki," Rasa concluded, mildly fascinated. "Yet he looks so...normal."
"Of course I am normal! I might have a demon inside me, but that doesn't change who I am!"
"I already told you that Naruto is the difference between a good seal and a shoddy one," Jiraiya interjected.
"Can he access to the demon's power?" Rasa asked again.
"Yes, thought I'm not going to teach Naruto how to use it until he's older. "
"A foolish decision. For a Jinchuriki to reach his potential, they should be trained to control their demon as soon as possible," Rasa replied.
"He still struggles to control his own chakra, so I don't want to take an unnecessary risk and put him in danger."
"Whatever," Rasa dismissed with a wave of his hand. "So if you fix Gaara's seal, Gaara will have access to the demon's power without losing control, right?"
"Exactly."
"If that's the case, then you have my permission to do it."
"Excellent. Then, this is all what I need to start the process. First, a safe room to work in, then..."
…
Many hours later...
The process was hard and exhausting, mostly because a shield of sand would often appear at random times, interfering with the sealing process. A byproduct of the Tailed Beast, Jiraiya had guessed. Though Gaara said that, according to his uncle, it was his mother's spirit protecting him. On top of that, he had to work while two Suna Jonin watched him intently.
Jiraiya had demanded the two ninja to leave, but they weren't going to leave the Kazekage's son and the village's Jinchuriki alone with a foreign ninja.
After much work, Jiraiya had replicated the Four Symbols Seal that kept the Nine Tails prisoner inside Naruto on Gaara, and he removed the shoddy seal that could barely contain the Tailed Beast. Both of them exited the room, and a Suna Chunin escorted both of them towards a room where Rasa, his children, Yashamaru and Naruto were waiting for them.
"The process is finished. It has been a success," Jiraiya announced, smiling. Gaara, however, remained impassible.
"Great! I knew you could do it, dad!" Naruto cheered.
"Those are some great news indeed," Yashamaru commented, smiling.
The Kazekage took a stept forward. "Gaara, how do you feel?"
"I can't hear Mother anymore. But other than that...I feel good," Gaara answered.
"I see. Let's do some tests and see if Jiraiya's handiwork is as good as he claims to be, okay?" Rasa asked. "Gaara, lie on this couch. I'll use a genjutsu to make you sleep."
"But you told me that I should never sleep..." Gaara calmly replied.
"I know. But if Jiraiya's seal works as intended, you should be able to," Rasa explained, motioning to the couch.
Gaara nodded, and did as his father asked. Rasa cast the genjutsu, and Gaara felt asleep. Nothing happened. Five minutes passed. Nothing happened. Ten minutes passed. Nothing happened.
"It's amazing! Gaara is sleeping and the demon isn't taking over! Jiraiya, you're incredible!" Temari gushed, completely elated.
"I never get tired of hearing that," Jiraiya replied with a foxy grin.
"Your work is indeed worth its praise, Jiraiya," Rasa conceded. "Though I still want to do one more test."
"Do all the tests you want, the results won't vary," Jiraiya said, confident.
Rasa rocked Gaara until he woke up.
"Father...I was asleep...did something happen?" Gaara asked, a bit worried.
"Nothing. The seal worked. But I want you to do one more thing for me. Go to the door, please," Rasa instructed.
Gaara nodded, and did as he was told. Once there, he turned towards his father. "I'm on the door. What should I do-"
Gaara was interrupted when he saw his father tossing several kunai at him. The redhead kid yelped and instinctively raised his arms in self-defense. Fortunately for him, a wall of sand formed between him and the bladed weapons, protecting him from any harm.
Gaara was pale with shock. Rasa seemed pleased. Everybody else were dumbfounded.
"...what the hell?" Naruto asked, almost in a whisper.
"Good. He still has the sand. You were good on your word, Jiraiya," Rasa said, satisfied.
"You threw a kunai at your son's face..." Jiraiya whispered, shocked. His shock then turned into anger. "YOU THREW A KUNAI AT YOUR SON'S FACE! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"
"I needed to check if Gaara had still access at the demon's power," Rasa replied. His voice was completely devoid of regret.
"And what if that wasn't the case? You could have killed him!"
"But I didn't. Stop fretting over that already. It belongs to the past."
"To the past...? IT HAPPENED JUST NOW!"
Rasa decided to ignore Jiraiya's protests. "The seal worked as you promised, and in the name of my village I thank you for that. You can now go back to your village and tell your Hokage that he has nothing to fear. Suna and Konoha will remain allies for the foreseeable future."
Jiraiya glared at the Kazekage, and muttered a curse under his breath. "Naruto, go and pack your stuff. We will leave tomorrow morning."
"What, so soon? But we've been only here two days! And I barely got to know Gaara!"
"Naruto, we came here to do a job, and said job is done. There's nothing here left for us, so we must return. Besides, I promised both the Hokage and your mother than we will be back as soon as possible."
"Okaaaaaay..." Naruto said, dejected.
…
Once again, Jiraiya and Naruto were invited to have dinner with the Kazekage and his family. Jiraiya declined the invitation, but encouraged Naruto to go so he could spend at least some more time with the Kazekage's children, especially Gaara. The Kazekage finished his dinner quickly and left the dinning room, claiming he still had some things to do, leaving the kids alone under the watch of a couple Suna Jonin.
"Tell your father that I thank him for what he did for me. It's good to know that I won't hurt people unwittingly again," Gaara spoke up.
"Yeah, I will," Naruto replied as he stuffed his mouth with food. "You're welcome!"
"By the way, since you're like me...does people treat you...differently?" Gaara asked.
"Differently? Oh, I think what you mean...if they act as if I'm going to go insane and try to kill them or something?" the blond boy asked. Gaara nodded. "Sadly yes. Do people in Suna treat you like that?"
"Yes."
"What? But you're like, the son of the Kazekage! They should treat you with more respect!"
Sure, Naruto was also the son of a Hokage, but in his case, very few people knew that, as it was an S-Class secret. Gaara's parentage was public knowledge.
"Actually, it doesn't matter much. They can only see the potential danger he represents. Though I can blame them, given that there has been quite a few incidents when Gaara lost control of the monster," Temari commented.
"Good thing you and your dad came here. Now maybe we can convince people that Gaara won't harm them anymore," Kankuro added.
"Eh, well, I don't think their opinions will change much. If this village is anything like mine, they'll continue avoiding Gaara like he's the plague. That's what they do to me at least," Naruto mentioned, a bit sad.
Gaara looked thoughtful. "I see then. How do you cope with it?"
"Truth be told, sometimes I want to yell at them. To make them realize that they have nothing to fear from me. That whatever happened in Konoha seven years ago won't happen again," Naruto expalined, bitterness leaking through his words. Then he smiled. "But not everybody is like that. I have mom and dad, and Shizune-neechan, and Hagane-chan and Kaida-chan, and Hinata...and as long as I have them, I don't care what other people think."
"Then should I stop trying to get everybody else to acknowledge me?" the redhead asked.
"What? No, of course not! You deserve to be respected. It's just...don't feel too bad if they don't do now. If you ever feel down, you should go to the people who likes you. Your dad is kind of an asshole," Naruto blurted, then he gasped upon realizing what he said, turned towards Kankuro and Temari and smiled bashfully. "No offense."
"None taken," Kankuro replied. Temari just nodded.
"But you have your aunt –I mean uncle– and your brother and your sister are pretty cool, and I'm sure they'll help you deal with this crap," Naruto motioned at Kankuro and Temari. Both of them smiled sweetly.
"Yeah, I mean, we don't see each other much, but that's going to change soon!" Kankuro declared.
"And if our father has a problem with that, well, he'll have to deal with it!" Temari added.
"Thank you, to both of you, it...it means a lot to me," Gaara said. Naruto smiled at him.
"By the way, Gaara, what's all that talk about your 'mother'? I thought that she died when you were born..."
"Uncle said that the sand that protects me from harm is the spirit of my mother. Sometimes I hear voices in my head urging me to punish those who wrong me...but since your father reinforced my seal, I can't hear her anymore."
Naruto remembered a conversation he had with his parents when he was four. They told him that, if he ever heard a voice inside his head, he should tell them immediately. They didn't elaborate any further, leaving the blond boy rather confused. It became much clearer once he learned the truth about the Nine Tails being sealed inside him.
"Actually...that's not your mother, but the monster they sealed inside you."
"Oh..." Gaara looked dejected.
"But that doesn't mean that your mom isn't with you! My parents tell me that since my birth parents died to protect me, their spirits will be always watching over me, protecting me in mysterious ways. I'm sure your mom will protect you and your siblings as well!" Naruto quickly added.
"That's...a comforting thought. I never thought that my real mother would want me to harm others."
"Of course not! People like us exist to protect others from these monsters. And that's what I want to do when I grow up. I'm going to be Hokage so everyone will know that I'm protecting my village!"
"That sounds nice. Maybe I should try to become Kazekage too."
"And you will be the best Kazekage there is!"
"And we will be there to support you, little bro," Temari added. Kankuro nodded.
The four kids continued talking and laughing until it was time for all of them to go to bed. During the trip back to Konoha, Naruto would tell Jiraiya how much fun he had during the time he spend with the Sand Siblings –as he nicknamed them. That moment Jiraiya knew that the alliance between Konoha and Suna would last for many decades, but it would be thanks to Naruto's unwitting efforts.
...
Konoha
Itachi, formerly known as Uchiha, studied his new home, a three room apartment consisting on a bedroom, a small kitchen, and a bathroom. It was a huge step down from his rather cozy home in the Uchiha Compound, but it was enough for him. Due to having so few personal belongings, he took almost no time to settle in.
While Itachi had done a myriad of B-Rank and A-Rank mission, the former Uchiha was penniless. When you're part of a big clan, all the money from missions goes to the Clan Fund. The Clan Head, or a designated treasurer would manage the fund and use it to cover the clan's expenditures, such as food, clothes, weapons, water and electricity. Adult clansmen had a small allowance that they could spend however they pleased. Most of them used said allowance to buy things for their children.
Naturally, Itachi didn't get any money from said fund, so he had to ask for a small loan to the Konoha Bank. Fortunately, his reputation as a young ninja prodigy was enough guarantee for the bank. He had used that money to buy food, some clothes, a stock of weapons, and to pay the first month of the rent. The loaned money would run out soon, and the bank would demand the money back just as soon, so he needed to do well-paid missions as soon as possible. Fortunately the Third would have no problem with it.
Lying on his bed, Itachi couldn't help but wonder if he did the right thing. Maybe he should have tried a bit harder to convince his parents to drop the hostilities with the Konoha higher-ups. Maybe he should have become an ANBU and use his position as a mediator.
His exhaustion beat his troubling thoughts, and the disowned Uchiha soon fell asleep, unable to shake the thought that something terrible was going to happen soon.