Flames of Duty

Chapter Seven: Unexpected Guests

"And there we go, all the poison has been removed from his body." said Haku with a smile while looking at the unconscious form of Kankuro "Now he needs rest but I think he will be back in full force within a couple of days."

"I...I see, thank you very much!" said Temari bowing toward her, while keeping a worried expression on her face. She was not only worried about her brothers (obviously that thought was at the top of her worries) but she was dumbfounded by the technique used by Haku to treat Kankuro and the other wounded.

'That wasn't Iryō Ninjutsu, I'm sure about it. I wonder what it could be...' her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a sudden heat wave that was felt by the whole village. Temari fell to her knees feeling her throat dry as well as the rest of her body 'W-What is this?! T-This heat is not normal!'

Around her, everyone seemed to feel the effects of the sudden rise in temperature, except for Haku, who looked out of a window with calm eyes. Fortunately, the incessant heat only lasted for a few seconds and, much to everyone's confusion, the sunlight seemed to disappear slowly.

"What now...?" breathed Temari walking toward a window before gasping at the sight of the sky covered with black clouds "T-This is...?!"

A drop of water fell against the window glass, shocking her, and then another and another one. In a few moments, the whole village was covered by a heavy downpour, leaving everyone speechless, especially those who had never witnessed such a phenomenon. The rain lasted for a few minutes but was enough to cool the air and Temari continued to stare at the village with incredulous eyes.

"What happened...?"

"I think I know." said Haku surprising her "But to be sure, it's better to go. We'll be back with Gaara soon, don't worry." and with that, she disappeared in a Shumpo, leaving behind a decidedly confused Temari.

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FLAMES OF DUTY

Chapter Seven: Unexpected Guests

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[With Naruto]

Naruto sheathed his sword as the temperature slowly dropped. Around him, for miles and miles, the desert had become an expanse of glass and around him, that glass had even melted due to the temperature produced by his Bankai. His clothes, wet from the rain generated by the use of such powerful flames, were slowly drying thanks to the residual heat, but he didn't notice, simply looking at what was left of his opponent.

'I am glad that my powers haven't been weakened by the process of rebirth.' said Kurama in his usual deep voice 'However I am surprised that there is something left of that ninja. His body was not made of flesh and blood but of wood and metal after all.'

His words were truthful, since only a partially melted metal skeleton remained of Sasori but Naruto, having already seen that material in the previous days, recognized the metal that made up the Sasori skeleton.

"Chakra metal."

'Chakra metal? Mh, that makes sense.' nodded Kurama 'Although rare, that metal is able to resist the Bijuu chakra, which is extremely corrosive and destructive, so I think it is normal that it survived all that heat, albeit in part.'

Naruto looked around, noting that all the Sasori puppets had been destroyed in those few moments, even though there were some partially fused parts belonging to several puppets. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes for a moment and concentrated on locating his friend and the other Akatsuki member. When he opened his eyes, he could only sigh "I would have expected something more, but apparently the children of this world are not as fast as they think." and with those words, he disappeared with a Shumpo.