CHAPTER 19: The Forlorn Oasis

The trek to the desert took a bit over four days.

The landscape changed quickly.

From lush trees, to less trees, to no trees at all.

Sand started, and there was the border to the Land of Wind.

Then they had to go through an ancient mine to reach their destination, passing through rocky mountains.

"The desert is divided into several regions." Sasuke said.

"Since when are you a geography expert?" Naruto teased.

"Ever since Kakashi tried to lead us to Tanzaku as a practical joke, I'd guess." Toru tried. The huge scroll he was lugging for this mission was making him sweat bullets.

Sasuke ignored them. "The massive peaks to the south are what separates us from Suna. The center is the hottest part, and Suna is located a bit more to the East."

"Why the hell would they build a village near the hottest, driest part of the world…?" Toru wondered.

"It's a good place to defend, because basically no one wants to endure the trip with an entire army. And there's not that many resources in this desert, either. Once they set up some farmlands, they were mostly self-sustaining. They only set up trade routes later on." Sasuke answered.

Naruto nodded. Hiruzen had said something similar.

"Sarutobi-sama said that was how the village of Whirlpool was founded, too. Far away, in an unattractive location. Until they became a real threat, everybody left them alone."

Naruto sometimes wondered why he looked so wistful when talking about the now gone village, but had never asked.

Maybe when he came back.

The desert was extremely hot during the day. The sun set, turning the sky red.

Then it got almost as cold during the night. The three new Chūnin huddled around the campfire.

Sasuke promised himself he'd learn some Fire technique to avoid feeling this cold ever again.

As soon as he got back.

The village of Isago, more than fifty kilometers away from Suna had been built near an oasis.

It must have been beautiful before the drought.

By picturing what the now rotten palm trees must have looked like, the patches of yellowed, dry grass, it was easy to see why it had once been called the Jewel of the Desert.

The stone architecture was still holding up well, and was apparently typical for this region.

It was the first time either of the boys saw this type of stone block buildings. It looked very different from Konoha in every way.

A man greeted them at the village's entrance.

He gave them water and led them to their accommodation for the coming weeks.

The man, named Kanjiro, gave them a briefing on the general situation.

Suna had removed its troops from the village when the drought came, preferring to focus on more "important" locations.

Such as the mining towns to the south of Suna, or protecting the caravan routes from more opportunistic bands of thieves.

Isago had had a trade route set with Konoha once, and they had leveraged this relationship. In exchange for funding the construction of an advanced well, they would sell their products, animal skins and wool, fruit and oil at discounted prices over the next ten years.

It was a deal Konoha was happy to accept.

"My Fat-… The Hokage also instructed us to deliver this to you, Kanjiro-san." Sasuke said, handing him an expensive-looking scroll.

"Thank you, shinobi-san. May I ask what…?"

"Plans for building an aquifer on your own, should you need to do so again. As well as emergency water reserves. It is not that much, but if used sparingly, it should cover the village's needs for the next three weeks, and by then, the aquifer should hopefully be done." He motioned to Toru, who unclasped the big one he had been carrying.

Kanjiro looked up in gratitude.

"This must be a gift from the providence. I thank you humbly, and your Hokage as well." He said, bowing deeply.

As they left, Toru muttered something about this having nothing to do with spirituality. He had to carry this huge scroll for days.. Sasuke elbowed him.

The aquifer's construction was well underway.

It would still take more than two months, at the rate they were going.

Time Sasuke didn't think they had, the alloted time for the mission had been a single month.

And, if he were completely honest with himself, he would admit that he didn't particularly want to spend two months in the desert heat.

They had done some construction work in the past, and they knew how to follow a plan well enough. Naruto had his clones, too.

He thought about it for a night, and figured there was nothing else they could really do.

And that's how he roped his team into building an aquifer.

"These kids sure work hard, don't they?"

"At this rate, we'll have water again in no time!"

"…I think the short black-haired one winked at me. And why is he wearing no shirt..? He's going to get heat exhaustion."

"Maaaaan… This takes forever." Toru whined. His shirt was nowhere to be found. He had gotten sunburned in the first days, but by now he was getting used to it somewhat, sporting a healthy tan.

Sasuke ignored him, digging deeper with his pickaxe.

One Naruto brought him his refilled water gourd, from which he drank greedily. He never was sure whether this one was the original, or if he was bringing more stone down.

They used a system of ropes to move the stones in and out.

When they came without anything in hand, they would just walk up and down the walls.

There were about ten people digging at any point in time, most of them civilians. The village had no real ninjas, or people trained in the shinobi arts.

Sometimes, during evening time, Naruto and Toru took turns explaining some basics about chakra.

It would likely not change their lives, — their kids, maybe, though, they were young enough — but just knowing how to use it could speed up their recovery, and grant them greater strength, vitality.

Plus, they seemed interested, so it was not much of a pain.

The people were very friendly, once you got past their cold exterior, and most nights, they were invited to eat at their homes.

Now, Sasuke just hoped Toru would not manage to get them in trouble by flirting with the wrong person.

Why the hell was he like this, even? He was even younger than Naruto, by almost a full year, there was no chance he had reached puberty already.

…God, what would he even be like in three… four years?

He snorted. It seemed like Toru's time training with Itachi had just made him even more excitable.

He could understand it, somewhat. Itachi was a bit too reserved.

They trained as they could.

While digging, they refined their chakra control, and built up their strength, as well as their stamina.

During lunch break, they shared whatever interesting tidbit they had heard or read. Some stupid jokes as well. Both Toru and Naruto found that provoking Sasuke brought joy to their lives.

They sparred during the evening, before eating.

Then they basically passed out.

After around two weeks and a half, they reached water. A missive was sent to Suna, confirming the completion of the well.

The joy the villagers felt was contagious and an improvised party was thrown.

Toru danced with a cute girl with tanned skin, and would not shut up about her for the next few days.

They spent the last days making sure everything was running as it should, and that aquifer was up to standard.

"Again, I cannot thank you young ones enough." Kanjiro said, bowing for what felt like the millionth time.

"It's fine, really." Sasuke said, a bit embarrassed.

"It's not much, but please take this." He handed them three vertical silver bar pendants. "This is something our artisans made for you."

Sasuke took all three, surprised. "I… Thank you very much, Kanjiro-san. We'll treasure them."

He never had cared much for jewelry, but this was a nice gift. He would make an exception. He handed the two others to his team.

The three of them bowed at once.

They left at sunset.

There was something strange about the desert.

Something that sounded like a distant roar in the night. They had already started hearing it when they were in Isago, during the last days, but the villagers had just told them it happened, from time to time.

The sand felt like it moved toward the south. That was Suna's direction, Sasuke thought uneasily.

Naruto proposed to keep on going, apparently just as disturbed as he was. All three of them agreed, and they dashed across the dunes, using their chakra to stay above the sand, and gliding down once they reached their tops.

The sound seemed to be getting louder. Then it stopped entirely.

The sand didn't stop moving, though.

Two hours later, they felt chakra so ominous and thick they could almost see it.

Something was coming toward them, from the sky.

They accelerated. It wasn't enough.

Something dropped in front of them, almost soundlessly.

The sand parted, revealing what was hidden behind it.

Toru paled. "Oh, fuck no." He whispered.

"I've finally found YOU!"

Sweat ran down the boy's entire face, and he was shaking. A manic grin, complete with bloodshot eyes made sure he painted a terrifying picture.

Gaara of the Desert had been looking for them ever since Suna got the message that the aquifer had been completed.

He had scoured the desert for days.

Ever since he had come back from Konoha, his emotions had let mother able to… influence him more than usual.

When he had heard about who exactly was less than fifty kilometers away from him, he sneaked out of his village, headed to Isago.

Mother was so close to the surface he had to stop a few times to let her out, if only partially.

Then he learned he had come a bit too late. The Konoha shinobi had left.

Unfortunately, his rage at learning this led him to lose control of himself close to the village of Isago.

A few people had likely been killed by the resulting sandstorm Mother had created when he let her out.

But neither he nor she cared about this place.

A few hours later, she had calmed enough that he was able to regain control.

He was Gaara of the Desert. He breathed, now in one of his colder, more murderous moods. Finding someone who had left just hours ago would be child's play, for him.

The desert answered his call

He was seeking three specific people.

The Hokage's son.

The Sarutobi he hadn't had the chance to kill yet.

And… the Uchiha boy who had tricked him, preventing him from having the fight he had craved.

He would fix this…

Right now.

"I think all the rules are off." Sasuke said.

Naruto hesitated, considered pulling his sword out, but settled for his staff.

Cruel monster or not… Gaara was still a boy their age.

Both Uchiha activated their Sharingan. Naruto called forth Lightning chakra, focusing it into his legs.

Gaara laughed a high-pitched laugh.

"You three… I haven't forgotten about you."

Gaara's chakra became even more oppressive, thick and heavy.

A sandstorm started.

Gaara roared and two things happened.

The desert seemed to lift up.

No. It was trying to climb up their legs.

They jumped to avoid getting pulled down.

The blades of wind Gaara had summoned slash at them, tearing through their arms and legs.

"Since when can he do that too?" Naruto shouted, in pain, over the sounds of the raging storm.

"He's a jinchūriki!" Sasuke screamed back. "All bets are off, when it comes to their abilities."

'So that's a jinchūriki?!'

What a bad time to figure that out.

"Toru!" Naruto screamed.

His teammate understood at once. He tried to meet Gaara's eyes. Gaara screamed, in delirious laughter.

"No more illusions this time!"

The sand covered his eyes, and three eyes made out of sand appeared, focusing on each of them.

"Damn it!" Toru let out. There went their best bet. "Gaara!" He shouted.

Toru continued. "You're weakened! I can see your chakra levels! Compared to how you were in the exam, you're dead on your feet!"

It was true. Gaara was drenched in sweat, and half-delirious.

His chakra was still heavy, and he was still stronger than them, though. They were in the desert.

No answer came.

He tried again. "If it's me you want… Then let them leave!"

This time, he reacted. "I will crush all THREE of you! Not one! Not two!"

Toru gave up.

Sasuke met their eyes. He caught Naruto in an illusion.

'What the fuck is he doing..?' Then he realized.

Sasuke was talking to him through the Genjutsu. It was very short sentences, and he could not answer back, but he got the gist of it.

'Bind Him We Burn Then'

He dug some trusty ninja wire out, while Toru and Sasuke spat fireballs at Gaara.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Four clones appeared next to him, one hand bound in wire, the other holding a staff.

They disappeared in a burst of Lightning. With their Sharingan, both Toru and Sasuke could stay out of their way.

The clones passed Gaara, and Naruto focused chakra into the wires, making them stronger.

Lightning passed through, and he channeled some into his hand to avoid getting electrocuted.

Lightning was strong against Earth, as Gaara figured too late.

The wires cut right through his sand and before he knew it, Gaara was bound.

"Fire Style: Cranium Carver"

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame"

The sky burned orange from the glow of the superheated flames that the two Uchiha rained down on Gaara.

He screamed in pain as he was roasted alive, his sand incapacitated by the Lightning still coursing through him.

It had been a combination they had practiced before with Kakashi.

It also had been overkill for most situations they had faced. Not today.

'Guess that makes us murderers…' Naruto thought.

"Was this enough..?" Toru breathed hard. Fire Style had always been a bit more taxing on him than most Uchiha.

"I can't see through the smoke, there's too much chakra in the air. I can't see him, either." Sasuke answered, scanning.

"There's no way anyone could surviv-"

"SAND TSUNAMI" a muffled voice roared.

This time, the desert actually lifted off.

Naruto almost got swallowed, but Sasuke managed to pull him out with the help of his own wire.

"I can't believe it." Toru muttered. "We might actually die here."

"Keep on running!"

Behind them, Gaara was shifting. His burned flesh rippled, and peeled off in a grotesque show.

The sandstorm increased in intensity.

Gaara transformed into a creature that seemed to be made of sand entirely. He became more than two meters tall, his arms long and heavy.

He let out a burst of wind that shot through the sand avalanche, turning Sasuke's left arm to a mass of bloody flesh.

"Sasuke!" Toru screamed. He tried Genjutsu again, but none affected the monstrous Gaara.

The only clone who had survived appeared behind Gaara, staff wreathed in Lightning, a technique he always had trouble maintaining.

It cut the sand mass in two horizontally. Gaara let out a gurgle.

He then finally relinquished his hold on his chakra.

The desert fed into its body, and the monster that Gaara had become… doubled its size.

"He's got even more?!"

Then it doubled again.

"We can't wait! This is the One-Tailed Beast! We won't be able to fight it if he transforms fully!"

Its size doubled again. He was now almost ten meters tall, and almost as wide.

But what scared both Sasuke and Toru was that they could feel the chakra building up.

By a rough estimate, Gaara, or the One-Tail rather, was only at about a fifth of its size… and its full power.

They had no chance.

Feeling so hopeless brought back terrible memories of the mission where Kurenai had died, and Sakura had lost both an eye and an arm.

All three of them had sworn never to let something like that happen again.

So how did it come to this…?

"Are we really going to die here…? In the desert?" Toru asked, voice small.

No way.

Sasuke seemed resigned too, his eyes focused on the ever-growing monster.

'Why did I become a ninja?'

Naruto wondered. It had been because he had wanted to learn more about chakra.

Because he had wanted to become stronger.

Because he had wanted to protect the people he cared about.

This included both Sasuke and Toru.

He also had made promises to both Karin and Ino.

His chakra raged within him.

With it, something ancient awoke inside him. It had been the same feeling as when they had faced the Uzumaki. When trying to protect Sakura.

He put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Naruto pulled .

In a flash of lightning, a spectral blade near Sasuke's mangled hand. A second one followed, this one a little bit smaller. A daishō.

A chain appeared, linking Naruto and Sasuke. Toru saw it all happen with his Sharingan.

Naruto took hold of the longer sword.

It became physical, a black katana.

This time, Naruto felt conscious of what was happening.

"This one conducts chakra." He said aloud, somehow knowing what it was for.

Lightning sparked along its length.

"Help me out here." Naruto looked at both of them, eyes looking purple in the night. "Your chakra. We.. We're going to kill Gaara."

The words felt bitter on his tongue.

This was the moment he always had known would come. Where he'd compromise the only principle he really had.

Sasuke just nodded, and Toru followed.

Fire chakra flowed along the blade, and at the same time, Lightning sparked.

The beast had become even larger.

Naruto felt exhausted. Manifesting the blade, and channeling chakra into the sword had taken all he had.

"Sasuke."

"Yes."

"Take it. It's yours. Take him out, please."

He just nodded.

Sharingan spinning, he hurled himself toward the beast. He knew exactly where its weakest point was.

Its head, where Gaara was cocooned in sand.

Uchiha Sasuke flew, a point of red and blue light in the night sky.

With a sound like a tearing, burning and sparking altogether, he went right through Gaara, bisecting him horizontally.

Gaara's body fell and the beast halted its formation.

The sand crumbled.

"…Did it work?" Toru asked, feeling absolutely useless.

"I hope so, I don't have much more in me." Naruto's chakra recovered fast, for sure, but this was just too much at the same time.

They went toward Sasuke, who they could see standing over the two pieces that had been Gaara.

"…How the hell is he still alive..?"

The redhead screamed, fearful. "I won't die!"

"…" Naruto approached him.

"I won't cease to exist! I refuse!" Gaara continued to yell.

Naruto stood next to Sasuke, who was looking at the downed boy, something like pity in his eyes.

"Is he dying?" He asked Sasuke.

He seemed hesitant. "He's a jinchūriki. I think if anyone might survive being cut in half, it might be him."

Naruto moved towards him, Toru in tow.

"Don't come near me!"

"If we let you go… Would you stop?" Naruto asked, feeling emptier than ever. "Will you ever stop killing?"

Gaara said nothing.

"Will you?!"

"…Yes. Yes! I swear so!" Gaara screamed, eyes manic. A hint of a crazed smile started to shine through.

"…Naruto." Toru looked at him, eyes still Sharingan red. "He's not telling the truth." He said simply.

"Thought so." Naruto stepped closer. Lightning coursed along his staff.

"No! Pleas-"

The staff smashed right through his face, splattering blood, bone and brain matter around Gaara's downed form.

Toru didn't look away. Nor did Sasuke.

Naruto's hand shook. Why did he feel like crying?

"…It was the only way." Sasuke said, looking just as empty as he did.

The trouble had only started.

"Why did he come here if he was almost out of it?" Sasuke wondered aloud.

"…" Naruto said nothing. He was lost in thought.

"Either he was relying on this transformation… or he was even crazier than we thought." Toru mumbled.

Sasuke stayed silent, eyes frightened.

"Cousin..?"

"…Guys, do you see this?" He asked, pointing at Gaara's body.

On his right shoulder, a seal was gleaming red.

Naruto could approximate one reading of it.

It was not the full seal, as it had been compacted, but his blood froze.

Living Host. Wind. Container.

These were the main elements that composed it. He could take a guess at the rest, but he could see that they would have something more immediate to deal with.

"Guys. The seal. It only works as long as the host is alive." His voice cracked. "It's breaking."

"Oh, please. No." Sasuke closed his eyes.

"What? What?!" Toru asked, eyes wild.

"The Tailed Beast of Wind is about to break free."

""""""""""""""""

AN: If you enjoyed this novel you can support me on patreon so i can keep delivering more chapters.

You will also get early access to 30 chapters ahead of webnovel.

Pat reon.com/Godlynovels (remove the space).