Naruto:A New Path

A Look Into The Past

The group assigned with the assassination of Red Death arrived at the Sand village, defeated. They had proved no match for their target and needed back-up for their mission. Out of all the ninja on the team, Shikamaru was the only one with a basic understanding of how councils worked since his father was part of the shinobi council back in Konoha. He had told the team that the council would always look after its people before anything else, at least that's how it was supposed to work. If what Gaara had said and the council couldn't be trusted then they were in trouble.
The council would probably give them a couple of Genin or Chunin, if they were lucky. Shikamaru didn't really mind since he had come to the conclusion that rank didn't mean everything. Gaara was a Genin but he could easily defeat a Chunin if he wished while Sasuke was a Genin but was Chunin level at best. He didn't really mind what the council would give him since they were just more chess pieces to add to the game, Red Death was clearly winning but he was sure that with the right pieces, they would be able to take down the 'king.'
"Hey Shikamaru," Naruto suddenly called, snapping the lazy Chunin from his thoughts. The shinobi in question turned to the blond with a lazy expression, "I have to do some things around the village. Could you talk to the council without me?"
Shikamaru raised an eye-brow, not sure as to what Naruto had to do in a foreign village. "Um, sure it's no problem," he responded, "But could I ask what exactly you have to do." Naruto broke into a grin, the lazy Chunin sighed, "On second thought, I don't want to know."
"Alright, I'll meet up with you guys outside the Kazekage's office," Naruto said before walking away from the group, sweat running down his face due to the tremendous heat.
"I'm leaving as well," Sasuke announced as he began to walk away from the group, "I don't feel like putting up with a council at the moment."
Shikamaru rubbed the bridge with a groan. "It's just you and me then Gaara," he muttered, turning to his right. His right eye twitched when he saw no sign of jinchuuriki, another one had left, "Dammit, now I have to meet the council myself… What a pain in the ass."
Naruto walked through the streets of the Sand village, avoiding bumping into people since the streets were too crowded. He didn't understand the reason for this since he assumed that most people would be doing whatever job they did but he guessed that things worked differently on this village. Right now he was looking for some new clothes, dark blue and black attracted too much attention on the desert, not to mention how warm they were.
At first he thought of buying something orange but knew that Ino would tear him a new one if he did. A sigh escaped his lips, he really didn't think that his old clothes were bad. Whoever said that purple was a good color anyway? It was a depressing color compared to his orange. Or course, he would never say these things to Ino since she was way too scary when mad.
A small shop caught the Chunin's eyes. It was located in the corner of the street he was currently on. It had a white sign on one of the windows, it read, "Ultimate Ninja Gear Store!" Naruto noticed that not many people entered the store, in fact they tried to avoid it. Deciding that it couldn't hurt to take a look, the blond approached the store.
When Naruto entered the shop he was instantly welcomed by a cool air hitting against his skin, he closed his eyes and welcomed the cool air on his body. "This hits the spot…" he muttered with a dreamy look on his face.
A chuckle echoed through the empty store, making the Chunin snap his head towards the source. "My, my. We don't get a lot of foreigners around here," a middle-aged man chuckled with a kind smile on his face. He sat behind a desk, that Naruto assumed was where people paid. The man had short brown hair, a bushy brown mustache and reading glasses adorned his scarred face, "Where are you from, young one?"
"I'm from somewhere a lot less warm than here," Naruto replied as he walked over to the man, not trusting him enough to give an exact location.
The man nodded with a polite smile. "Don't worry, I understand you ninja types. Giving your village's name would be an unnecessary risk, right?" his light tone never faltered, "It's alright with me. Why don't you look around the shop? I don't get many costumers so make yourself at home."
Naruto nodded with his gaze around the store. "How come you don't get many costumers?" he asked, looking at the goods the man sold, "This stuff looks good."
"I guess it's because…" the man trailed off, an odd look on his eyes.
Naruto's eyes narrowed on the man, he was acting too suspicious. Call it paranoia but he felt like he couldn't really trust anyone on this mission, save for his team. Everything about this shop seemed weird, if the man didn't get any costumers then how was the place still running? Why was it that everyone avoided this store? Was he missing something?
The man suddenly reached under the desk, pulling out an all-familiar gas mask. The atmosphere in the shop turned cold, Naruto shifting into a ready stance in case he decided to do something. The man simply stood behind the desk before breaking into a smirk and muttering something.
Naruto's eyes widened.
Sasuke sat on a tree, watching some Sand ninja train. By the looks of things they were nowhere near his level, it looked like Konoha was really the most demanding when it came to ranks. He really had nowhere to go but didn't want to be near the fools on his team. There had been a time where he had actually developed a kind of friendship with them but now he was trying to get rid of it. Friendship wouldn't help him be strong enough to kill Itachi. If he was to kill the person he had admired when he was young then he would need to be as cold-hearted as possible.
Severing ties with his 'friends' would be his first step on the road to kill Itachi, he would avenge his clan in order to redeem his family name and show that the Uchiha were the strongest clan in the world. Now he was on a mission where they actually got to kill, meaning that he would be able to show his strength.
He watched the ninja with a smirk on his face, he really couldn't believe how inferior they were. His attention turned to two ninja wearing Chunin vests, by the looks on their faces they were discussing something serious. They communicated through whispers that Sasuke wasn't able to hear. The Uchiha activated his sharingan, focusing on the ninja's lip movements.
"Did you hear what the council did?" Sasuke made out from one of the ninja.
"Yeah," the other responded, "I can't believe it myself. Doing such a thing would start conflict with Konoha." Sasuke watched the other ninja nod with a solemn look on his face.
"Hiring a mercenary to kill the Konoha team is too low for words."
Sasuke's eyes widened as he deactivated his sharingan. The council was planning on killing them. Having heard enough, the Uchiha jumped away from the branch and set off towards the Kazekage's office. He had no idea what he was going to do but telling his team was out of the question. If his team heard about it then they would get to kill the mercenary, something he wished to do himself. But if he didn't tell them then he would be the only one on lookout and would get to kill the mercenary before anyone else.
Sasuke smirked. 'This mission isn't too bad after all,' he thought in excitement as he jumped through the roofs of the Sand village, not really caring if he caused some kind of commotion. He was an Uchiha and he was about to show how ruthless he could be.
Naruto facefaulted, not believing what the man had said. It was really no wonder why he didn't have any costumers and why he gave off a creepy vibe. The blond Chunin had been ready for anything. Even for a second he thought that the man was Red Death and they would start fighting in the middle of the village, but no. The man just had to say the weirdest thing.
"I sell masks of Red Death because he's so dreamy! I managed to see him take down some ninja and caught a glimpse of the mask. He was so dreamy!'
The 'man' whined. "Please don't leave young one," he pleaded with a hurt look on his face, "I promise I'll give you a discount for anything you buy here."
Naruto instantly smirked, he saw buying clothes as a waste of money but if they were cheaper than usual then he was in. "Okay then, I'm looking for some new clothes," he began, pointing at his current attire, "These clothes are way too warm for a desert, do you have anything that won't be too warm."
"Yes we do," the man said with a smile, pointing at the back of the store. Many shelves were filled with clothes of all kinds, "All the clothes in that section are made of a light, yet, strong material. I guarantee that the desert heat won't bother you much with them."
"Alright," Naruto nodded as he moved to see the clothes, large part of him wishing to get out of there as fast as possible.
The sun was setting on the Sand village giving it an orange glow. Shikamaru leaned against the outside wall of the Kazekage's office building with his arms crossed. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be exhausted. He had been talking with the council for about two hours and after some heavy negotiation he was able to make them give his team some backup.
The council had been hesitant since they didn't want to weaken their defenses. Shikamaru had argued that Red Death was lowering their numbers and was an immediate threat to their village. If one man was able to kill so many Sand ninja then a ninja village would be able to annihilate it, at least that's what Shikamaru thought. He found that the council was mostly made up of high powered civilians with no clue of how things worked on the ninja world. After some time they had finally agreed, saying that Konoha would owe them for it.
He hadn't been able to get shinobi above Chunin level but he had guessed that already. The council had told him that they would look for available Genin and have them meet outside the Kazekage's office building. So far, he hadn't seen any sign of Sand ninja coming his way though it had been about an hour since he had spoken to the council.
Earlier he had seen Sasuke but the Uchiha didn't appear to want to talk. He had left after seeing that the lazy Chunin wasn't moving, not saying where he went. There had been no sign of Naruto or Gaara yet, making him sigh. He was sure that wherever they were was a lot better than where he was.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, Shikamaru turned to his left and saw Naruto walking towards him with an irritated look on his face. The blond Chunin was wearing different clothes that appeared more appropriate for the desert weather. He wore a long-sleeved white shirt with red stripes running along his arms and shoulders, light brown ANBU pants with a kunai holster on his right thigh and his old black shinobi sandals and headband.
"Finally," Naruto sighed out with a tired expression on his face. Shikamaru threw him an odd look, having no idea what had him so worked up, "I've been walking around the village for hours, looking for the way here."
Shikamaru couldn't help but let out a chuckle, making Naruto glare at him. "I see you decided on a new wardrobe," he pointed out in a casual tone, "How come you didn't buy anything orange? I thought you like that color."
"I do," Naruto said through tears. Shikamaru sweat dropped at his friend's antics, "But if I do buy something orange then Ino would kill me for sure."
"Women," Shikamaru sighed out with a smirk on his face, "Possibly the greatest bother out there."
"What did you just say?" came a loud irritated voice.
Temari of the Sand stomped towards Shikamaru with an angry look on her face, making Shikamaru sigh even louder. Behind her, Kankuro stood with his usual attire on and a puppet strapped to his back.
"Looks like we're all here," came Gaara's monotone voice from where he stood, on a building's roof. He jumped down to where the shinobi were, not noticing Shikamaru's right eye twitch.
"It took you guys long enough," Sasuke scolded as he walked over to the ninja with his hands in his pockets.
"Okay, before we begin," Shikamaru started before turning to Gaara and Sasuke with an accusing glare, "How long have you two been here?"
"A few minutes," Sasuke answered nonchalantly while Gaara simply stared at Shikamaru.
"A few minutes," Shikamaru repeated with a frown on his face, "I've been standing here for over an hour like an idiot. You guys get here and ten seconds later our backup team arrives. What a pain in the ass, bad luck must love to piss me off."
Naruto chuckled before turning to the Sand siblings. "You guys are the team that's supposed to back us up, right?" he asked to clarify things. Receiving a nod from the two he continued, "That's good since we already kind of know each other even though it wasn't on the best terms."
"Right, this way we know of each others abilities," Kankuro admitted with a nod.
"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Temari asked the question everyone was thinking.
Even though he was a Chunin, Naruto didn't know what to do next. He knew what the goal at the moment was, get to the village Red Death was guarding. It was a large group so he didn't think that they would be able to go unnoticed. Throwing a glance at Shikamaru, he noticed that the lazy Chunin didn't seem to know what to do either.
"I suppose we should rest for now," Naruto suggested with a tired look on his face, "Since we ran into Red Death earlier, we need some rest."
Temari's and Kankuro's eyes widened, having no idea that they had actually engaged Red Death in combat. "You actually fought him? None of our shinobi could get away from him alive," the Sand kunoichi exclaimed in disbelief.
Sasuke smirked. "Why so surprised?" he taunted with an amused expression, "It's obvious that we would do better than the ninja here."
The two Sand siblings frowned at the comment. "He's not serious," Naruto said in a light tone, trying to bring the tension down. The two Sand ninja narrowed their eyes on Sasuke, "R-right Sasuke?"
Sasuke turned his face to the side with a smirk on his face, his arms crossed on his chest as a sign that he wouldn't retract his words. The two Sand siblings gritted their teeth before Temari reached for her fan, she was going to show the brat how strong her village was.
Sand wrapped around Temari's wrists, stopping her from taking out her fan. "G-Gaara," she gasped out in shock before turning to her brother, "What are you doing?"
"Don't let him get to you," Gaara's voice remained cold as the sand began to leave Temari's wrists, "It would be unwise to fight with the team we'll be traveling with."
Temari huffed in annoyance before turning away from the Leaf shinobi. Kankuro remained with his eyes hardened on Sasuke, he remembered that the last time they met he hadn't been entirely like this but he supposed that he just didn't spend enough time around him.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered with a frown on his face, "We'll meet at the village's gate tomorrow morning at eight sharp. Get some rest because we won't get much tomorrow."
Sasuke chuckled and walked away from the team of shinobi, enjoying the looks the Sand siblings held. The three Sand ninja were next to leave, Gaara with an emotionless face while Temari and Kankuro had scowls on theirs. Naruto ran a hand through his hair as he turned to Shikamaru, who had a serious expression on his face.
"We have to watch Sasuke…" Shikamaru commented with his gaze on the retreating forms of the Sand siblings, "His attitude is starting to become a problem. Remember that this mission's prime objective is to strengthen the ties between the Leaf and Sand."
"I know," Naruto replied with a solemn look on his face, disappointed in his friend, "I didn't want to do this but looks like we'll have to tell him to stop directly. If he doesn't then we'll order him to stop."
Shikamaru nodded with a sigh. "This mission is already pretty lousy," he pointed out as he began to walk away from the Kazekage's office building, "We not only got beaten by our target, lost in the village, cooked by the desert but now we have to watch over Sasuke."
"Don't put it like that," Naruto whined with an annoyed look on his face, "I'm already having a shit day, you don't have to make it worse by pointing out our problems."
Shikamaru smirked. "You're right, we'll just deal with all of this tomorrow," a yawn escaped his mouth as he stretched his sore arms, "Any idea where we'll be staying?"
Naruto shrugged. "I figured we'd just get a hotel room," he admitted, "Since we don't have our headbands I'm sure that they won't mind us much."
"I guess," Shikamaru muttered with a yawn, "I just hope nothing goes wrong tomorrow, we need a break."
The two continued to walk behind Sasuke, the Uchiha having no idea where they were going. The two Chunin knew that they had a tough day ahead but for now they would enjoy their rest time.
A new day began back in Konoha. The sun peaked through the horizon, birds chirped as they flew around the village, people came out of their homes and shinobi began their daily routine. Things looked peaceful in the village but the training grounds were another story. Many shinobi trained to hone their skills, pushing their bodies to the limit.
Ino panted with trickles of sweat running down her face. Tsunade stood in front of her with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. The training ground they had been using was full of craters and large cracks on the ground, proof of Tsunade's monstrous strength.
Tsunade had met with Ino at the time designated. She had told her student that she spoke with Asuma and understood that her chakra reserves were a little low. To be a medic one needed to have near perfect chakra control but to be a good medic then she would need to have a larger chakra capacity.
Another thing about her new student was that she relied mostly on genjutsu and ninjutsu that left her exposed. The legendary medic would need to drill new jutsu and taijutsu styles to her student since no student of hers would be weak.
Deciding on fixing her weaknesses first, Tsunade had begun to spar with Ino, in reality the medic attacked while the younger kunoichi dodged for her life. Having the young kunoichi use most of her chakra in order for it to adapt to the usage and grow. Watching her student's worn out expression told her that she was on the right track. Her medic side kicking in, she decided that it was enough of their first exercise for the day. Having too much training could have a negative effect.
"That's enough for now," Tsunade announced, smirking as Ino instantly sat on the ground through heavy breathing, "Now we'll start the next training."
Ino froze, shock on her face as she stared at her new master. "W-what?" she muttered nervously, shifting a little on the ground, "I thought we were done for the day…"
Tsunade sighed, crossing her arms. It looked like Ino would need a little more commitment to her training. "We haven't even begun yet. Just because you've used up most of your chakra doesn't mean that you can't train your body," she scolded in the motherly tone she used for Naruto, making Ino pout, "Don't give me that look. Remember that in order to grow stronger you need to work hard, it's not something that happens overnight. You have to be really committed."
"I am," Ino shot back a little defensibly. The only reason she was doing this was to help Naruto in the future. She didn't want to see the blond Chunin use the fox's chakra ever again, it made him merciless and wild. Knowing that Naruto hated it too made her promise herself that she would do everything in her power so that he wouldn't have to use it anymore.
Gathering her thoughts and determination, Ino grinned in confidence. "I'll work extra hard from now on…" she began. Tsunade raised an eye-brow at the kunoichi, she had seen that same expression of confidence in another blond she knew, "Believe it."
The Leaf and Sand team walked through the desert, all wearing light brown cloaks over their clothing. They had set off early in the morning and were nearing the spot where they had last spotted Red Death. Engaging the ninja was out of the question since they didn't feel prepared, their objective today was to find out what he hid in the small village.
The group came to a halt, the small village visible in the distance. They stood on top of a small hill that overlooked the desert, having many rocks around it made it a good place to hide for the meantime. Shikamaru had yet to talk about the plan he had come up with, if he had any.
"So what now?" Kankuro voiced everyone's question in a casual tone.
Shikamaru sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand. "I have no idea," he deadpanned, making the group of shinobi face fault.
"What the hell Shikamaru!" Naruto exclaimed in annoyance, "I thought you said you would come up with something. Don't tell me we have to go all the way back to the village to come up with a plan."
"I'm with Uzumaki on this one," Temari growled in irritation, glaring at the lazy idiot that had been assigned to her team.
Shikamaru suppressed a groan, everyone was glaring at him. He didn't understand how it had been his fault, he had given no promises on coming up with a plan. Even the emotionless Gaara had a hind of annoyance on his eyes while Sasuke made his mood clear with a hardened glare.
"It's not that I didn't come up with anything," Shikamaru admitted with a frown on his face, "It's just that the only ways to get into that village would be to send just one person and we can't do that. Three of us couldn't handle Red Death, imagine what would happen if only one of us fought him."
Temari frowned. "I guess you're right," she agreed, her gaze on the open desert that surrounded the small village, "It would be impossible for a group of ninja to be unnoticed in an open place like this."
"Then I'll go," Naruto broke in, taking everyone by surprise. Shikamaru turned to the Chunin with a frown on his face, going alone would be suicide. Noticing their looks the blond waves his hands in front of him in an attempt to calm them down, "Hey it's not like I didn't learn anything from Jiraiya-sensei. He thought me a jutsu that will make me invisible, it would be perfect for an open place like this."
"What about your footprints?" Shikamaru argued, "You'll still leave tracks on the sand regardless."
Naruto waved a hand dismissively. "All I have to do is apply chakra to my feet as I walk. It will leave small footprints but I'll keep a steady stream of wind to cover them up," he noticed that Shikamaru was still unsure. The rest of the team looked hesitant to accept his plan, even Gaara had a hint of concern on his eyes, "You know that this is the only way. I'll be to the village and back in less than two hours. With my shadow clones I'll be able to gather information faster than anyone else, you know that this is our best and only option."
"Dammit," Shikamaru groaned, "Go but make sure to come back alive, Ino would kill me if something happened to you."
Naruto grinned as he nodded at his teammate. "Be sure to come back," Gaara voiced, his gaze on the distant village, "If you run into this Red Death, I'll be there as fast as I can."
"I'll help you out too," Temari assured. She was eternally grateful to Naruto, he had put her brother on the right path after all. The least she could do was watch his back.
"Kick some ass over there," Kankuro joked with a grin on his face.
Naruto nodded at his team, watching Sasuke throw him a small nod. He chuckled, the Uchiha was very tough to figure out. First he appeared pissed at him and the next minute he appeared to be friendly.
"I'll be back before two hours," Naruto said as he used two hand seals, turning invisible before everyone's eyes. Shikamaru noticed that he was still visible, though only barely, a tracker ninja would be able to spot him but he had been right when saying that it would be perfect for an open space like the desert.
Naruto ran through the desert, using chakra to keep his footprints to a minimum before having wind chakra push away the small trail he left. His sight focused on the village, watching the old buildings coming closer and closer. Whatever it was Red Death was hiding there he would find it no matter what, his teammates had given him their trust and he had to be successful at all costs.
The mercenary furrowed his brows when seeing Naruto disappear. He figured it was some kind of original jutsu since, as far as he knew, there had never been sighting of such technique. Things had been rather calm in the morning though there had been a major flaw in his initial plan. He had decided on killing the whole team but the addition of two more ninja hadn't been expected.
Killing the whole squad would look rather suspicious. He thought of killing the jinchuuriki and Konoha shinobi but dismissed the thought after seeing that they appeared to be close. The only way to do his job would be to separate the two Sand ninja from his targets. Accomplishing such a task wouldn't be easy.
Since he was a mercenary he only knew a few, though powerful, jutsu. It was rare in fact. Not many mercenaries could use jutsu and those who did would charge an incredible amount of money. Leaving his respective village at the age of ten, hadn't given him the time to learn any kind of jutsu. The jutsu he did know he had picked up from his travels around the world.
The best course of action would be to leave the ninja to Red Death. If he planned things right then he wouldn't have to worry about the other two ninja and could focus on the other brats. For now he would watch, like a predator watching its prey.
Naruto frowned as he walked through the small village. The buildings were made of old worn out wood, the windows appeared to be covered by household items, and there wasn't a hint of life. Not even animals were seen on this village. The only sound on the area coming from the wind hitting against the sand.
Creating a few clones, Naruto had them scout the area. The clones left without a word, knowing that they couldn't utter a single sound, leaving the Chunin alone. The blond continued to walk around town, finding no reason as to why Red Death appeared to protect the place. There was really nothing special about it but then again he hadn't really checked the place out much. It the clones didn't find anything then he would simply leave. Worrying his teammates wouldn't do any good.
Naruto's head snapped to the right, gaining the memories of a clone, before running in the same direction. He could see a building, much like the rest, except that this one was a lot larger. Spikes of rock penetrated the building's walls and its wooden doors were fully open.
He walked into the building, finding it to be safe enough. He found himself in a large room with windows covered by tables that had been nailed over them. The room was a little dark with light coming from the holes the spikes of earth had made. There was debris inside the building and a lot of dust covered the area, from the looks of things nobody had been on the place for a while.
"I know there's someone there," came a voice, making Naruto freeze on his steps.
' Alright, maybe there is someone here,' he admitted to himself as he looked around the room before seeing a man.
The man sat cross-legged on top of a large earth spike that stood before him. He had a white beard, short gray hair and worn out robes covered his body. The elder man had clearly lived a long time, his face wearing many wrinkles speaking of wisdom.
"It's alright, I'm glad to finally see someone after all this time," the old man said in a kind voice. Naruto found himself relaxing, his invisibility jutsu dropping, "Well, nice to meet you. I say, you're rather young to be on your own."
Naruto found himself grinning, the man spoke like a kind of grandfather. Something about the man relaxed him, as if he could really trust him. "It's alright, I'm a shinobi," he responded as he walked towards the man before settling near the large spike of earth, "What are you doing here all alone?"
"I was meditating," the old man confessed. Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly, a little embarrassed at disturbing the man. Seeing this the man chuckled lightly, "Do not worry young ninja, I'd rather speak to someone than meditate. My name is Ayumu, it is nice to meet you."
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you," the old man's eyes widened slightly before he relaxed. The Chunin looked around the room, watching the earth spikes in puzzlement, "What happened here? I was looking around outside and there was no sign of anyone."
The man sighed and closed his eyes. "It's been like this for some time now…" he trailed off, "This village was never too populated, most of its inhabitants preferring to live on the Sand village. As time passed more and more people left this village in search of better lives. Soon I was the only person living here yet I can't leave even if I wanted to-"
"Red Death…" Naruto broke in with a frown on his face. Ayumu nodded slowly, a small smile on his face.
"I'm unable to leave since I hold something very important that Red Death doesn't want exposed. But don't let Red Death fool you, remember that pain can really change people," Ayumu explained in a wise voice. Naruto nodded slowly, agreeing with the old man, "A few decades ago there was a village…a village called the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools. Red Death was part of this village, having grown up with a family and friends Red Death was foreign to pain…"
"What happened then?" Naruto asked as Ayumu's expression changed to a sad one.
"It was during the Second Shinobi war that Red Death's village was destroyed," Ayumu informed. A gasp escaped Naruto's mouth, he hadn't really paid more attention during his academy days but the concept of a whole village being destroyed was too incredible to believe, "Family and friends died in front of the then Genin, Red Death. Now Red Death looks for revenge against the villages that had allied themselves to Whirlpool. Those villages include the Suna and Konoha."
Naruto nodded in understanding, finding that Red Death's reasons weren't really unjustified. "How do you know all of that?" he asked, growing a little suspicious, "Anyone who's ever faced Red Death has been killed so how do you know all of this?"
The man smiled sadly, a downcast expression on his old face, "I used to be Red Death's sensei. I'm the thing Red Death hides... his past."
Shikamaru frowned from his spot on the edge of the cliff. It had been a little over an hour since Naruto left and there was still no sign of him. Not even the small village on the distance had changed even in the slightest, it was times like this that he wished the Hokage had sent a Hyuuga on this mission. Having one would have certainly made things easier on the mission but then again their attitudes ruined their good skill.
Sasuke suddenly chuckled with his arms crossed. Shikamaru gave him an odd look before turning back to the desert only to see the blond Chunin walking towards them, his jutsu inactive.
"Get ready everyone," Shikamaru began. He had no idea as to why Naruto had stopped using his jutsu but it was sure to get Red Death's attention. Sasuke and the three Sand siblings stood behind him, ready to spring into action. Sand suddenly picked up around Naruto, blocking him from view.
"Let's go everyone!" Shikamaru ordered as he dashed to where Naruto was, the rest of his team behind him. Round two against Red Death was about to begin.