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Sakura's POV (Eastern Forest of Irminsul - Terra)
"So Naruto Uzumaki is missing?" Gaara said, amused with a raised brow.
"I am certain he is not dead, but I see why that would lead to this proposal." As soon as Gaara finished his words, Ren flinched as Sand suddenly surrounded him and restrained him, his body stuck in a sand ball with only his head stuck out. The Anbu attempted to react, but one suddenly froze as if stuck in place, and the other was sent flying by a gust of wind. Before either could counter or recover, they were detained by sand. All three float up into the air to face Gaara and his siblings. The older sister smiled cruelly as she stood on a giant fan, the older brother chuckling openly at them.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Ren roared. "We came in peace, and now you attack us?! We came seeking a relationship, but make no mistake, the Stone will not forgive this!"
"Stop yapping, insect," Gaara replied murderously, and Ren and the Anbu cried out in sync as their orbs tightened. "I recognize what I am doing and the consequences it may bring. But do not heedlessly threaten me; the Stone is weak. They wouldn't have bothered trying to turn the Leaf's ally if they were not. I imagine the Cloud was your first option, but they've been less than friendly to the other Great Villages since its inception. Figured the Sand might be willing, and to be fair, knowing my father, he very well may be."
"Then free us! This will benefit your homeland as it does ours! You are a soldier! Your father would not condone this!" Ren roared.
"That he would not. Unfortunately for your lot, I care little. See, Naruto Uzumaki is a friend of mine, and I am certain he will return. That matters because I owe him something of a favor you'll be helping me repay…" Gaara assured the man.
"You insolent monster!" Ren roared, but Gaara cut him off roughly, grabbing his face.
"This insolent monster's opinion is the only one that matters," Gaara told Ren. "Now die. Sand Coffin!"
The three siblings watched as the balls condensed, crushing and killing the men instantly, the discarded sand, blood, and viscera raining to the ground below.
"I know we need Naruto on our side for our plans," Kankuro exclaimed after a moment. "But is it really wise to do something like this? Poor bastard wasn't wrong; if daddy dearest hears of this, there will be hell to pay."
"It is just as I said, I care little about it myself. But as a friend of Naruto Uzumaki, I can not allow his homeland to be destroyed… not yet." Gaara answered. "Besides, a war at this moment would greatly cost our plans."
"So we needed to nip that in the bud." Temari agreed. "But the Stone may very well react to this."
"They cannot sister," Gaara assured. "Think carefully. Humans are cautious and cowardly by nature. Without alerting the other villages, they cannot raise a problem with these deaths. They'll merely cut their losses and likely abandon their current plan."
"Is this to finally win over Naruto?" Temari asks.
"Not really," Gaara flippantly answered. This will undoubtedly help, but he will eventually come around alone. With the world we live in and the being who is, he'll have no other choice…"
"Naruto Uzumaki," Gaara whispered to himself. "You showed me the folly of my ways. But soon you will see your own."
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Naruto / Sasuke's POV (Southern Swamps of Irminsul - Terra)
Naruto and Yuno marched up the trees of the Blechumi Clan, exhausted, filthy, and more than a little done with the day. Naruto was seemingly coated in blood; his shirt was barely clamped to by thin straps around his shoulders, and his usually bright eyes seemed dull. Yuno was less bloody and damaged but just as exhausted. As they marched up the tree, the sun was slowly falling, the light of day dimming and damning them to another night of rest.
Without the swamps teeming with demons, his clones had managed to go much farther. In fact, they had covered the entirety of the Southern Swamps, encountered and either aided or impeded various clans and had been thorough in their search. With so many copies of himself branching out to search, Naruto decided they would deal with the mosquitoes.
His interaction with them had been short and brutal; the creatures seemingly just mindlessly hunted for food and feasted upon anything they could overwhelm. Ichumi explained that both the Mosquito and Krookorook Clans had kept the swamp oppressed and the population of all clans low. After meeting Muri and the Blechumi Clan, the idea made his blood boil. With Ichumi explaining they hunted the entirety of not only Irminsul but Terra as a whole, the decision became finalized.
Naruto and Yuno had gone out to either scare off or eliminate the clan of bloodsuckers. However, it had been a challenging task. For one, the pure amount the nest contained was enough for Naruto to go all out. And more than enough to discover Yuno had a crippling fear of mosquitoes. Most bugs were no problem for her; however, the flying parasites were an exception. Which left Naruto to deal with the hive and protect her. Worse yet, many decided to hide inside the cave next.
This left Naruto and a hesitant Yuno to lead a clone army to siege the cave system, which was full of foes. It had been dark, disturbing with the raw amount of blood and corpses, and taken quite a while to complete. Even the fearful Yuno eventually had to chip in for them to escape alive, though having managed to destroy the hive and scare off the survivors. Naruto had been tired at that point; once the clones had all either willfully or not expelled, however, he felt half dead.
His mind was also exhausted. He felt ashamed he hadn't found anyone else or signs of the Wolf Clan. Knowing his friends would spend yet another day without his help made Naruto feel sick. But he was too tired to deal with the demons tonight. Based on Yuno's equally exhausted look, she felt the same.
As such, the dejected two walked up the tree, the definition of melancholy in spirit.
Sasuke's POV
Since the encounter with the mosquitoes, Sasuke and Muri's journey had been relatively smooth sailing. The hawks' speed and apparent reputation remained unbothered as they traveled. Sasuke had taken the opportunity to scout the lands before him using his Sharingan.
In the east, he saw several human-like camps that looked like they held homes of various clans and more in the west. This was worthy of note to Sasuke; these clans were more likely to hold his friends. They would need shelter, food, and water for guests or to keep them. When they reunited with Naruto, he would use this knowledge and whatever knowledge Naruto had gathered to figure out their next move.
But the most interesting thing he saw lay in the west: a giant orb of glowing chakra surrounded by a scarlet barrier. Muri had explained it was the chakra anchor, a natural construct of chakra that sat upon the link of Terra and Earth. Apparently, it also fueled and directed the summoning technique the clans used to aid and gain aid from humans, though he had been confused and concerned about the barrier around it.
Certainly worthy of note, Sasuke's gut told him it would be important. But locating his allies came first, something Muri reluctantly agreed with.
Soon, they arrived within the Swamps of Southern Irminsul. The speed of the hawks allowed them to quickly close in on Naruto. They spotted some unique trees that Muri recognized. Apparently, they were the famed trees of the clan of Peacocks. As soon as Sasuke heard they liked humans, he was certain Naruto would be there. Arriving with a boom of air, Sasuke and Muri looked down on the clan of frightened peacocks. Suddenly, a blur appeared in front of them. Revealing a floating, exhausted, and irritated Naruto in front of them.
"God damn it, you scared me emo!" Naruto cried angrily. Suddenly, his face froze before a goofy smile bloomed. "Muri! You're okay, little buddy!"
"Naruto!" Muri cried happily, jumping off Sasuke and wrapping his short arms around Naruto's neck. Spinning in circles happily, the raccoon coed happily. The goofy blonde was more than equal in his joy. Petting his summon and laughing heartily all the while. Sasuke felt a small amount of satisfaction but stomped it down as he prepared to ask who was here with him.
"Sasuke?" Yuno's voice cut through his plan. Sasuke turned and saw his cousin looking similarly exhausted as the blonde. All the same, Yuno burst out in a giant smile and, similarly to Raccoon, wrapped him up in a hug. "Thank Kami, you're okay." She whispered as she held him. Sasuke rolled his eyes but allowed it. He was sure she had been through much- "There were giant scary mosquitoes, Sasuke! They almost drained me dry!" She cried dramatically, hanging from Sasuke like a child. Sasuke sighed. She always did this when stressed around him.
"I'm sure you handled yourself well," Sasuke said. "Besides, I'm sure the idiot managed to protect you at least."
"It was terrible cousin!" Yuno continued to cry.
"With my partner in crime, I'm ready to face whatever Irminsul has to offer!" Naruto cried.
"Believe it!" Muri agreed joyfully, forming into a giant raccoon to fist-bump the blonde.
"GIANT MOSQUITOES!" Yuno further dramatized it.
To think Sasuke had been impatient to find his friends…