Driven By Madness

The Red Sand

It had been six months since the kyubi attack had occurred that fateful day. The village was recovering slowly, but they needed to stay true to their strength. The other villages could not see any weakness or they may attempt to take control during this tremulous time. Therefore, the third hokage sent one of their best, and only ninja with a sham of a team on a last ditch effort to show that even with the tree damaged, it still stood strong and had many leaves that should not be underestimated. This treaty was two-fold. One, they needed to fix the old treaty as it had many holes in it allowing for both sides to suffer economic troubles and was very self-serving. And two, this mission would show the strength and resolve of the village using their youngest jonin available. The Hokage lit a pipe as he stared out his window, high in his tower and whispered to the wind, "Show them we are not to be trifled with, Hatake. Show everyone..."

The heat waves were visible as the sands shifted below the sweltering sun. It was a four day trip from Konoha to Suna, and the ambassador sent to discuss the development of the treaty was still only a civilian at heart. The constant nattering and whining spewing from his mouth was only making the trip last much longer than it was originally intended. The routes being taken to reach the village hidden in the sands were infested by snakes, scorpions, and lizards of all kinds; some poisonous to be certain.

The team assembled to escort the ambassador had been silent the entire way, communicating only by morse code and sign language when necessary. This decision was made by their leader, a boy younger than all of them and son of one of the most disgraced ninja in their village. Many had grown to accept the consequences of the man's actions as their ideals changed from complete the mission to save their comrades due to the new policies and laws the Third Hokage had been instating, but it had only changed the looks of disgust aimed at the Jonin to looks of pity.

The rolling sands began to part like an ocean as a worn path traveled by many slowly became clearer. This meant that they were close to their destination and the civilian ambassador would cease his constant whining. Just as the Jonin thought that it could not come soon enough, an explosion of sand erupted like a geyser to the left. He immediately began making hand signs as his subordinates got into the triangle formation around their escort.

A puppet that looked extraordinarily human, with brown hair and even plainer brown eyes, flung kunai with deft precision at the jonin, cutting off a few strands of silvery hair as he ducked and finished his hand signs and exclaimed, "Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu, " then brought his hand to his mouth to blow a massive sphere of fire, bigger than even a house, to incinerate the puppet. 

When the flames finally flickered out, not even the ashes of the puppet's remains could be seen, and his team watched in awe. This boy, not even an adult, had more chakra than some of them combined. Although many had attributed it to the gift, or curse some believed, granted to him by a dead comrade, he continued to resolutely ignore the assumptions. To him, no one would ever believe him or understand what all of it really meant. No one would know what had actually happened that fateful day or why he had this bloodline in his eye besides the Hokage themselves. It was a symbol of his mistakes, and a reminder to never hesitate again.

As he was pondering, he heard a shout to his right, "Kakashi-senpai! Look out!"

Time seemed to slow as his blood red eye, black markings that had been swirling slowly within its depths, widened and the strain caused the markings to spin at a rapid rate. He raised his arm up, sheathed in an armored guard, and barely managed to block the spiked metal tail that had appeared silently behind him, poised to stealthily strike its unaware target. The tail had stalled when its presence became known, and everyone could easily see the purplish liquid dripping from the tip. One slice could have meant the end of him, since none of them had any medical experience except the techniques he had been able to copy from his partner. And they were only temporary stabilizers.