Naruto 1. A tool for the second time

**Title: **Combined Elements  
**Author: **Synchro  
**Rated: **T  
**Summary: **Orochimaru is on the move again. Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, and Gaara have been sent to stop his plans, but they face unforgiving environment, as well as a new Jinchuuriki?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters in this FanFic except Saara Mizu and some of the minor enemies. Everything else belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**Chapter 1: A tool for the second time**

The room was extremely dark. A single candle, mounted on a round table, lit the small area where the two men sat. One of them, seated on what looked like a throne, had skin as white as snow. It made a sharp contrast with his straight, pitch black hair that hung to about shoulder length. His eyes were lined with a light purple color that ran down the sides of his nose, almost reaching his smiling mouth. The smile was a thing of nightmares. It was thin and evil, matching his eyes. They shone in the light of the candle, pale yellow in color, with slitted pupils like that of a snake.

"You seem to have a plan in mind Orochimaru. Care to share?" The voice came from the other man, a younger one, with white hair, tied back in a pony tail, and fair skin. The candle light reflected on his round glasses, making him look frightening. His eyes spoke of intelligence and knowledge, matching his strong voice. He too was smiling, a scary smile, though nowhere as evil as his partner's. The man sat on a stool, leaning forward, to allow his elbows to rest on his knees comfortably.

Orochimaru nodded slightly, and stared off into the darkness, still smiling. "It always seems as if you know what I'm thinking Kabuto." He paused. "The current Kazekage of the hidden village of Sand, Gaara of the Desert, is it not? It seems he is extremely powerful, more so than before." Orochimaru's voice was a soft hiss, matching his snake-like eyes. "I know we were unable to use that power correctly the last time, but what if we take a second chance with him?"

Kabuto continued to watch Orochimaru closely, trying to get a hint out of that smooth face. He pushed his glasses back in place before answering. "The power contained in him would be useful, yes, but how do you plan on harnessing it? According to our sources in the Sand village, he has almost completely changed personalities. Before, it was easy for us to control the blood thirsty monster, and have him as a tool for destroying Konoha, but apparently he is now very attached to the village he leads."

At this Orochimaru's smile spread out into a grin. As the flame on the candle flickered dangerously, he replied. "Our method is simple. If Gaara is too attached to work for us, we have to deplete whatever he is attached to…" Slowly, his tongue flicked out, and he licked his lips, as if even the thought of this plan tasted good. At that moment, the flame blew out.


	2. Sound vs Sand

**Combined Elements**

**Chapter 2: Sound vs. Sand**

Gaara sat at a desk in his office, with a whole stack of papers hiding him from view. His white and blue robe was an odd contrast to his short, deep red hair. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, bringing up his hand every now and then to touch the tattoo above his left eye. Being Kazekage wasn't always exciting. Most of the job consisted of paperwork and writing. He felt as if his eyes were going to pop by reading any more documents, and he wasn't even half way yet.

He sighed deeply, and turned his head to look out the window. His light blue eyes swept over the rounded, sand buildings of the hidden village of Sand. Everything was peaceful; the people were busy with everyday activities down in the street. Gaara found himself wishing he could join them, but the pen he held in his hand was a constant reminder of his duties. The people down there needed him, as their Kazekage, and the thought of that made him feel satisfied enough to keep working.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and Kankuro, Gaara's older brother stumbled inside. His face was covered in sweat, which ruined the intricate designs that covered it. He was completely out of breath, and had to lean against the door to keep his balance. Gaara appeared from behind the stack of papers, and shot a questioning look at his brother. Kankuro took a deep breath and talked. "There is an enemy shinobi outside the wall. Temari and the guards are currently fighting, but this guy is really powerful. He seems to use sound as a weapon…" He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because Gaara was already out the door. Kankuro watched his brother vanish down the hall before allowing himself a short rest.

* * *

"Kamaitachi no Jutsu!" cried a female voice. Temari stood in front of the guards, her huge, iron fan swept in front of her as she raised slicing whirlwinds. Behind her, a large sand wall separated the fighters from the rest of the village. About 50 meters in front of Temari stood an extremely large man who was wearing a heavy black cloak. His hair was gray with age and he had countless wrinkles covering his face. In his hand was a tiny, round whistle with three holes. In response to whirling mass of wind approaching him, he raised the whistle to his mouth, covered all but two holes, and blew. The sound that emitted from it was loud and sharp, causing all of his opponents to cover their ears in pain. It was almost possible to see the sound waves traveling through the air as it dispersed the winds, leaving no evidence that Temari had ever done anything.

The guards stood, watching in astonishment. Finally, one of them managed to whisper, "How? It's impossible." Temari frowned. _How is he able to disperse my winds with mere sound? It doesn't make sense. I hope Kankuro hurries up and gets Gaara. I'm still too weak from my last mission to defeat this guy._

The old man looked at Temari tiredly. The whistle was still positioned at his mouth, and he moved his fingers slightly before sounding it again. This time the sound was even higher in pitch than the last, but quieter. The guards stared as they actually saw the sound vibrations with the naked eye, racing towards them. Temari's eyes widened as she flipped her fan over to cover and protect her entire body. Her mind was frantically trying to think of a way to protect the guards behind her, but it was too late.

Most of the guards had just enough time to throw up their arms and protect their faces when the sound waves hit… a thick wall of sand. When all the sound had faded away the wall collapsed, and at the same time, Gaara landed in front of Temari. "Leave him to me. I'd like you to get everybody currently outside the walls, inside. Replace the normal guards with Jounin level shinobi."

His voice was as calm as his appearance. He hadn't had enough time to change into fighting clothes. The Kazekage robe fanned out from his body. He carried his sand gourd on his back, arms crossed comfortably and he kept his eye on the enemy.

The old man smiled and removed the whistle from his mouth. "Kazekage of the hidden village of Sand: Gaara of the Desert. I've been waiting for you." Gaara frowned at him, and continued to examine the old man. It seemed the whistle was his only weapon, since it didn't look like his body could withstand much close combat. The cloak could easily hide other approaches to battle though, so it was best not to assume too much. "Tell me what you want. I have more to do." Although he said it with confidence, Gaara flinched at the thought of more paperwork. Hopefully this battle would last a little longer so he could enjoy himself.

"My master has business with you. He would like you to join him once again in the destruction of Konoha, as his equal partner. Should you refuse he has asked me to destroy the whole of the Sand village and spare not a single soul except yours." With this, he brought the whistle to his mouth again, but did not use it.

Gaara didn't move; he did not even flinch. From what the man had said, he concluded that Orochimaru must be the 'master' he was talking about. His main aim was to destroy Konoha, and he had attempted to use Gaara before.

"This is a waste of my time." The sand that had fallen on the ground earlier shot forward, speeding towards the old man with deadly force. Using the same note as he had used to disperse Temari's wind, the old man sent out three shields of sound in front of him. The sand collided with a huge crash, leaving a large cloud of dust behind. The first two shields were penetrated and dispersed, but the third one held, stopping the sand before fading away.

Gaara watched, trying to figure out the old man's tactics. He kept at it, continuously bombarding the man with waves of chakra-infused sand. It had as little effect as the first attempt, since the man seemed to posses amazing breath control and was able to keep blowing the whistle whenever attacked.

Suddenly a wall of sand shot up in front of Gaara, bending back slightly as the attack hit it. He hadn't noticed that as the man blew his defensive note, he changed his fingers slightly to allow a direct attack to follow. The sound had been so low that it couldn't be heard, and it didn't come in visible waves, but rather in piercing needles. Gaara realized all this in an instant as the sand sunk back to the ground, revealing the old man once again standing on front of him.

"I'm impressed. Very few have ever been able to block my piercing sound needles." The old man grinned, revealing several missing teeth. The whistle was still at his mouth, ready to be used for defense or attack in an instant.

Gaara did not reply. It would be a waste of breath. Slowly, he raised his arm, sending a massive amount of sand towards the old man. It curved around, moving with incredible speed to cover the old man completely. "Sabaku Kyū." His open hand pointed towards the mound of sand, waiting to make sure the opponent was completely encased. Then, Gaara closed his hand into a fist. "Sabaku Sōsō!" The sand compressed with a loud crunch, exerting incredible pressure to crush the man with his whistle.

He waited, watching the sand mound in front of him. It was doubtful that the old man would be defeated with a technique like this, but it could reveal another technique if there was one. At that moment, the mound exploded, together with a large release of high-pitched sound. The old man had covered himself in a shield of sound. _Interesting._

The whistle was brought back to the mouth. However, this time the old man did not release a single note. He closed his eyes and started playing, a very depressing song, something which you could find at a funeral or the like. Every note he played emitted a different type of wave. Some were fast, some were slow, most were visible, and some were not. The air became a mass of sound waves, controlled by the man's chakra to move in whichever direction he indicated. Suddenly, the song ended with a single, wailing note. He stretched out the note, keeping it in the air. Everything seemed to stop, even the wind. Then, as the note started fading away, all chakra controlled sound waves, sped towards Gaara.

Gaara glanced around. The sound waves were everywhere: in front, at the sides, and at the back, maybe even below ground, but he wasn't worried. Sand flew out of his gourd, encasing him in a large ball of hard packed sand. Inside it was dark and humid, but this did not bother him. He could hear the sound waves bouncing off, some slicing partly through, but none even coming close to reaching him. Gaara covered one eye with his fingers. "Daisan no Me!" Outside the ball of sand, some leftover particles swirled around each other, compressing until they formed a complete eyeball. He could now see everything that was happening outside, while remaining safely inside his shield.

The man looked slightly stunned that his attack had been defeated so easily. The whistle was clamped in his hand, which hung at his side. Suddenly, the whistle started trembling and shaking in his hand. His eyes widened in surprise and confusion. The whistle exploded, and some sand fell to the ground. At the same time, Gaara dispersed his shield, smiling. "How did you…?" The old man stared at his hands, where some broken shards of the whistle still sat. "Every time I attacked you with my sand, I had some small particles enter your whistle. These build up, eventually allowing me to build up the pressure inside…" Gaara moved his feet to stand more steadily, and brought his hands together. "Ryūsa Bakuryū!" The sand at his feet rose higher and higher, to thrice the size of his opponent, creating a large wave of sand. There was no escape. The old man could only watch and pray as the massive wave of sand approached.

When all the sand had settled, the old man was nowhere to be seen, buried under several layers of sand. Just to make sure, Gaara crouched down, placing his hands on the sand at his feet. "Sabaku Taisō!" The sand that covered the man compressed, crushing him. It was over.

Some sand trickled out of Gaara's ears. He had used it to shield himself against the sharp sounds that had hurt the guards and Temari. He collected the rest of his chakra-infused sand, stored it back in his gourd, and turned around without another glance. He'd have to send a message to Tsunade in Konoha, to tell her that Orochimaru was moving once again. And then… well… then he still had a lot of paperwork to do.

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this FanFic except Saara Mizu and some of the minor enemies. The rest belong to Masashi Kishimoto. 


	3. A new mission

**Combined Elements**

**Chapter 3: A new mission**

The hall was completely empty except for the sound of approaching footsteps. From around the corner, Tsunade walked lazily towards the door of her office, making plans for the day. Her duties as Hokage came first, of course, but if she worked quickly, there would be some time for other things. Maybe she could get Shizune to gamble some with her later on. She smiled at the thought before turning the knob and opening the door.

At the sight of her room, Tsunade stopped. All intentions of fun activities for later on were wiped away by the enormous pile of papers on her desk. A deep sigh escaped her. This was apparently one of those busy days, and it had gone so well the last few weeks… Slowly, she headed over to her desk and sat down.

While she fingered through the documents on her desk, one report caught her eye. It came from Jiraiya, who was currently out on a mission to collect information on Akatsuki. He would never send in a report unless there was something important to tell, that lazy pervert. She opened the file and started reading.

Jiraiya had heard several rumors that Akatsuki was in the Snow Country, tracking down Orochimaru. So, being the great ninja he was (Tsunade rolled her eyes while reading this), Jiraiya had gone to investigate. What he found was quite interesting. Orochimaru had taken control of a small village in Snow Country. The village was located in the middle of nowhere, among the mountains. He had not yet been able to find it, since he also had to keep track of Akatsuki, but he thought it might be worth sending a team. Wherever this village was, Orochimaru was doing his best to hide it.

Tsunade frowned. Why would Orochimaru take over a village in the middle of nowhere? She put the report aside to go over again later. At that moment, Shizune burst into the room, carrying Tonton with her left arm, and holding a letter in her right. "An urgent message from the Kazekage has just come in!" Shizune deposited the letter on Tsunade's desk, among all the papers. Then she sat down to rest with Tonton on her lap.

The frown Tsunade carried got deeper as she opened the letter and read through it. Shizune looked at her worriedly, wondering what had happened for Gaara to send a message with the fastest hawk they had. "Orochimaru is on the move again. His plan remains the same, to destroy Konoha, and he tried to get Gaara to join him by attacking the village. Gaara defeated the sent ninja, but thought we should know about this." Shizune's eyes widened as Tsunade talked. "What will we do? We don't have a clue where Orochimaru is."

Tsunade shook her head and tossed Jiraiya's report to Shizune. She turned around in her chair and stared out the window at the village below while Shizune read the report. When she had finished, there was silence.

Shizune cleared her throat. "Do we send a team to look for this village?" Tsunade grimaced, and then nodded. "That is the smartest choice, but we have so few teams available. Orochimaru is dangerous; we cannot send an unprepared team. But most of the Jounin teams are already on missions." She turned back around and looked at Shizune. "Get Kakashi's team for me."

* * *

A while later, Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno were standing in the Hokage's office, waiting to hear about their mission. Naruto was as energetic as usual, almost jumping with excitement where he stood. "Is this a dangerous mission? Do we have to protect a VIP? Or track down and kill top criminals? What is it Granny?"

Tsunade shot him a warning glare. "Don't call me that!" She sighed, leaned back, and looked at each of them in turn. "The hidden village of Sand was attacked by a ninja using sound as a weapon. His goal was to recruit the Kazekage, but of course Gaara fought him off. Orochimaru is on the move again, and I want you three to investigate it. That is your mission." The room was silent for a second, until Naruto yelled out: "Yes! I've been waiting to go after that creep again. We will save Sasuke."

Kakashi looked at his former student. "Didn't you hear what the Hokage said? We are to investigate, not attack." Tsunade nodded. "I've received a report from Jiraiya which gives us a clue to where Orochimaru might be. I'd like you to go see Gaara first and get any details there are about what happened. From there on, it is your choice. Please send updates regularly."

Naruto was about to protest, but Sakura had spotted the annoyed look on the Hokage's face and dragged Naruto out of the office. Kakashi followed with a copy of Jiraiya's report in his hand.

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this FanFic except Saara Mizu and some of the minor enemies. The rest belong to Masashi Kishimoto. 


	4. New recruit

**Combined Elements**

**Chapter 4: New recruit**

Gaara sat at his desk… again. It was late in the afternoon and the sun's rays could just be seen peeking above the wall that surrounded the village. He sat with his back towards the door, looking out the window at the people below. Gaara enjoyed simply watching the people of the Sand village as they went about their activities. He had finished all the paperwork for that day and was just waiting for the team from Konoha. Tsunade had sent back a message with the hawk that she had sent a team for investigation, but she had failed to mention which one it was. He sighed and longed to go on just one more mission. It would be nice to escape all the paperwork for just a little bit.

Then the door burst open. "Gaara! Nice to see you again!" Naruto walked in with a large grin on his face. Sakura and Kakashi followed right behind him. "Hey Gaara!" Sakura smiled, and Kakashi greeted him with a wave.

Gaara's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and then he smiled. Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi were some of the few friends he had. He didn't completely understand Tsunade's reasoning for sending them, since Naruto wasn't particularly suited for investigation, but he was sure she knew what she was doing. Besides, Kakashi and Sakura could keep Naruto under control if his spirit took him too far.

Gaara motioned towards several chairs that stood in front of his desk. As the three ninjas sat, he started talking. "Tsunade sent a message that you are investigating Orochimaru and need some information. Would you prefer if I start telling you all the details of the fight?" Kakashi nodded. "That's what we came for. When you're done, we also have something to show you, but that can wait."

In reply, Gaara turned his chair slightly, so he could look out the window while talking. He told them of the whole event, starting from when Kankuro came to fetch him, until he sent the message to Tsunade by hawk. His gaze traveled over the village, inspecting every bit of it, before occasionally returning to the three listeners. Even Naruto was quiet, as Gaara told them of every detail.

When he finished, his eyes turned back to Kakashi. Kakashi took the hint, and dropped the copy of Jiraiya's report on the desk. "Jiraiya is out on a mission to collect information on Akatsuki. While doing so, he found out something interesting. We'd like to know if there is anything you can add."

Naruto watched Gaara carefully as he read the documents. He was still grinning widely.

_One day, I'll be a Kage too. You just wait Gaara. We can be Kages together, and have peace between the villages._

Sakura guessed what he was thinking, but didn't say anything. Naruto still had a long way to go, but maybe someday, he could actually accomplish his dream. She remembered how everybody used to doubt him, but now, now a lot of people actually believed in him. He had achieved a lot.

Gaara finished reading and handed the folder back to Kakashi. "This is all new to me. I'm afraid there is nothing I can add. All I know is that he is starting to move, and he is aiming for great power." Kakashi nodded. He hadn't expected anything more. It was surprising to them all that Orochimaru would want to take control of such a small village, not to mention in Snow Country. What would he want to do there? "We'll head out to Snow Country tomorrow morning then."

Gaara nodded. "I'm finished here, so I'll lead you to your rooms." The group left the office and walked through the town. Several people greeted Gaara enthusiastically, and he gave a nod in return. They accepted him, and it made him feel great. Plus, he had the company of Naruto and the others. It was quite enjoyable, and he caught himself smiling.

* * *

"Come on Naruto!" Sakura's voice rang out through the sand building. "We still have a long way to go before we reach the boat. You'll make us late!" It was early morning. The sun had barely risen above the horizon, and behind the walls of sand that surrounded the village, it was still very dark. Few people were out in the street where Kakashi and Sakura waited. Naruto was late; he had overslept, and was now hurriedly putting on his clothes. "Why didn't Kakashi wake me up earlier." he grumbled.

When he was done, he ran downstairs. "Come on! Gaara said he'd meet us at the entrance to the village. You don't want to make him wait too long do you?" Sakura balled her fist at him as he stepped out of the building, closing the door behind him. Kakashi smiled. Those two were always at it, arguing the day away.

The team walked towards the entrance, enjoying the crisp air before it got too warm. Naruto didn't look forward to more running in the desert. He didn't understand how people could live here, and wear black too! Just look at Kankuro! That guy was impossible! He shook his head and kept walking. This mission was a chance to gather more information about Orochimaru, and more importantly, it was a chance to save Sasuke.

They reached the entrance, a passage running straight through the thick sand wall. Gaara stood there, resting with his back against the wall. His sand gourd was it his feet, and he was wearing full clothing for a mission. Kakashi raised one eyebrow at him. Gaara looked up at them. "I'm going with you. They threatened the village, so I'm going to teach them the side-effects of doing so."

Naruto was practically jumping for joy again. "That's great! We'll definitely succeed with Gaara on our team!" Kakashi smiled, and nodded his approval. "Welcome to the team, Gaara."

From the Kazekage's office, Temari and Kankuro had been watching their brother and the Konoha ninjas. Kankuro leaned against the wall. "I don't see why he would want to make Orochimaru pay. It was only a threat. The village didn't even receive a scratch, besides, wouldn't it be safer if he stayed when people threaten the village?" Temari just stood by the window and grinned at her brother. "Did you honestly believe him when he told us that? I'm pretty sure he is just trying to escape from being Kazekage for a while. You can't really blame him." She pointed towards the huge pile of papers on the desk. Kankuro groaned.

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this FanFic except Saara Mizu and some of the minor enemies. The rest belong to Masashi Kishimoto. 


	5. Incident on the boat

**Combined Elements**

**Chapter 5: Incident on the boat**

Several heads turned to watch the group of ninjas as they entered the small sea-side village. They could have been described as more than an unusual. It was hard to say which one of them stood out the most: Gaara with his blood red hair, Naruto with his orange jumpsuit, or Kakashi as the oldest of the group.

Naruto and Sakura had managed to get through the desert without too much sunburn, although you wouldn't be able to tell from Naruto's complaints. First, they went by all the shops and bought needed supplies for surviving in Snow Country's wilderness, including a new set of clothes for Gaara. Then they searched for a suitable hotel. The boat wasn't scheduled to leave until the next morning, so they had some time to kill.

Naruto and Sakura went to find an open area in the forest where they could train, Kakashi remained in his room to read his book, and Gaara explored the village market. He didn't much like the new outfit, but he was going to need it, and it was more comfortable than the Kazekage robe. He walked around the stands, glancing at the things for sale, and thought about the Sand village. He knew Kankuro and Temari would do fine for the short while he would be gone, but it didn't stop him from worrying.

In the evening, the whole group got back together in the hotel restaurant, ate dinner, and went to bed. Each had their own room on the same corridor as the others. The beds weren't very comfortable, but at least the rooms were clean. Each room even had its own bathroom. Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi were asleep almost immediately. Gaara lay on his bed, looking out the window for most of the night.

* * *

The horn on the boat sounded loudly as it slowly moved away from the dock. Anybody who had still been sleeping would have been quickly awakened by that sound. It was a large boat, more like a cruise ship. Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi and Gaara stood at the railing, watching the familiar land disappear.

At around noon there wasn't a piece of land in sight. The boat cut through the small waves easily, picking up more speed as it went along. Naruto had already grown impatient five minutes after departure, so he had gone to explore. By now Sakura had had enough of the never changing view as well and walked toward her cabin down below. Inside the boat is was dark and damp. The lamps and fake, fancy carpet didn't do much to improve the conditions.

When Sakura arrived at her cabin, she found it was very cramped. The bed fit into the wall, and she had to pull a lever to make it descend. It was less comfortable than even the beds at the hotel, and she soon found herself walking towards the door again. Even joining Naruto in his exploration was better than staying in that cabin for too long.

Outside, Kakashi and Gaara still stood in the same place, simply enjoying the sea breeze. Neither one of them talked for a long time, until finally, Kakashi cleared his throat. "We should discuss what our course of action will be once we get to Snow Country." Gaara nodded, still staring at the sea. "According to Jiraiya, Orochimaru has control over a small village in the middle of nowhere. The only thing we know is that it is located among the mountains. Some clue that is." Kakashi smiled under his mask. He hadn't heard Gaara joke more than twice in all these years. "I guess the only thing we can really do is start looking. I borrowed a map from the library in Konoha. We'll know to avoid the few cities there are, and look instead where no village is listed for miles." Again, Gaara nodded. Plan settled. The two ninjas resumed their silence.

Suddenly, the stopper in Gaara's gourd flew out, followed by sand. Just in time, the sand formed a shield in front of Gaara. It bent back dangerously where the icicles hit it, but the sand held. Both Gaara and Kakashi were surprised by the sudden attack. They hadn't anticipated this. The two ninjas pushed back from the railing, backing to the middle of the boat. The water next to the boat was swirling, forming a small whirlpool. Kakashi and Gaara stepped back as the water suddenly rose to form a huge dragon type creature. This wasn't a normal jutsu. The eyes of the dragon shone bright blue, and it was looking directly at them. The whole massive body was formed out of water, making it partly transparent. If you looked closely it was possible to see the setting sun behind the creature with shining eyes.

The dragon bared its teeth at the two ninjas. Then it heaved back its head spit out more icicles with frightening speed. Gaara stood next to Kakashi, with his arms crossed, ready for battle. The sand was limited to that in his gourd, but it would have to do. The icicles bounced off another shield which hid both Kakashi and Gaara from view. "Gaara, could you keep your sand near for defensive purposes?" Gaara turned his head to look at Kakashi, and then nodded. The sand wall dispersed, allowing the dragon to see them again. Kakashi stood with his legs spread wide, while his hands moved at unthinkable speed to form several signs. Behind him fire formed in mid-air. The fireball kept growing, and slowly it formed into a dragon as massive as the one next to the boat. The only difference was that this dragon did not have the strange shining eyes. Before the fire dragon was completely formed, the water dragon again spat out a rain of icicles, attempting to break Kakashi's concentration. However they were easily blocked by Gaara's sand, and soon the second dragon was complete.

It turned on the deck, facing the water creature and without warning, flung itself at the icicle-spitting monster. Both creatures screamed an ear-piercing scream as the elements collided: each one destroying the other. Soon, there was nothing left, but some steam. Kakashi and Gaara waited incase another attack came. In the meantime, Naruto and Sakura had managed to find their way back to the deck and were demanding and explanation. The other passengers and the crew also looked stunned and confused. The captain's voice rang out over the speakers, assuring everybody that there was nothing wrong.

Finally, Gaara gathered up his sand and went to retrieve his stopper. Kakashi explained what happened to Naruto and Sakura who were both stunned at first, and then disappointed at having missed all the action. The rest of the day, was spent quietly. No more attacks came. Naruto was sulking in his cabin when night fell, and Sakura and Kakashi were having dinner in the back. Gaara again stood in the same spot as before the attack. Although it hadn't been too hard to defeat that dragon, the shining eyes still worried him, as did the amount of sand in his gourd. It wouldn't be enough to defeat a strong opponent like that sound ninja that had come for him a week before. Hopefully they would reach land soon.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this FanFic except Saara Mizu and some of the minor enemies. The rest belong to Masashi Kishimoto. 


	6. Search for Orochimaru

**Combined Elements**

**Chapter 6: Search for Orochimaru**

The next morning, the boat arrived safely at the docks of a medium-sized village. Everywhere they looked there was snow and ice. The view was cut off by mountains in the distance. The weather was clear, with no clouds in the sky, and the sun beating down, yet Gaara still shivered in the cold. Needles to say, he wasn't used to these cold temperatures, even with his new outfit. The rest of the group also wore winter clothing, with long sleeves and thick jackets. They walked off the boat and around town for a while. Every one of them discreetly asked the villagers for anything they knew about Orochimaru. This took most of the day, since they had to be careful not to reveal too much of their interests. Orochimaru was extremely dangerous, and it would be a big mistake to proceed without utmost caution.

In the evening, the ninjas got together in the bar of their small hotel. It would be the last night spent in a bed, since tomorrow they would head out into the wilderness and start their search. Their bodies were slightly rigid with cold and each of them ordered hot chocolate to get the feeling back in their fingers.

It was still early when Gaara stood up and walked to his room. He had a feeling that sleep would be limited out in the cold, harsh land of the Snow country, so he wanted to make it an early night. Sakura and Naruto soon followed his example and both walked up the stairs together. Kakashi ordered one more cup of hot chocolate, and after that, he too headed for bed. None of them looked forward to spending nights out in the open, but at the same time, each ninja was burning with desire to find Orochimaru.

* * *

The only sounds that could be heard at breakfast were that of slow munching and drinking. Their table was located nearest to the fireplace, so they could enjoy the heat while it lasted. Even Naruto was quiet as he smeared butter on the bread. None of them had any idea how long they would be staying in the wilderness. Kakashi had made sure that they'd have enough supplies for three weeks. If they still hadn't found Orochimaru after that, they would have to return to the village first.

When each one of them was finished, they all stood up together and walked towards the door. Their bags already lay there. Each of them was carrying one pack with their personal supplies and one more with supplies for the whole group. Stepping outside, they were bombarded by the wind. Unlike the day before, the skies were now grey with clouds.

Kakashi overheard the villagers walking by. It would probably snow in the late afternoon. If they could make good progress before then, maybe they had time to look for a cave or other means of decent shelter.

Slowly the group headed out, into the direction where no other villages stood. They walked in a line, Kakashi at the front, with Naruto behind him, Sakura after that, and Gaara last of all. This was strategically the best option. Kakashi had his sharingan, so he would most likely spot enemies in front of them. Naruto was there to cover his back, and look to the left of the line. Sakura behind that was slightly more protected, so if anything did happen she could use her medical skills. She was also asked to watch the right side. Gaara had the automatic sand shield which would protect any attack coming from the back.

At noon, they stopped for lunch, using the wall of a cliff as shelter from the relentless wind. Naruto had talked a lot at the beginning of the journey, but even he was starting to tire from the wind and cold. A small fire warmed their fingers enough to grasp their sandwiches. After lunch, Sakura grabbed some paper and a pen out of her bag. In order to keep track of where they had been, she sketched out a map, labeling the possible village locations they had already searched. They all doubted that the village would be so close, but better safe than sorry.

Soon, the line was resumed as they kept walking, and every one of them kept an eye out for suitable shelter against the snow. The clouds were still thick overhead and they seemed to be getting darker still. There was no doubt in anybody's mind that snow was on the way. Naruto rubbed his hands together, trying to keep them warm. He was grateful for the gloves he had brought from Konoha. They were made out of wool, but even so, the cold managed to penetrate them.

That night, they spent their time in a small cave, which Gaara had seen from his position in the back of the line. They didn't get there in time to escape the snowfall, but it was better than nothing.

A whole week passed as the group traveled farther into Snow Country. Sometimes they were lucky to find a cave or an outcropping for shelter, but most nights were spent in the open air. Everybody's mood had dropped several levels since they started, and the weather didn't help much. They reached a large expanse of forest, which was unfortunate since the sun couldn't reach them at all now.

On one particularly bad day, Naruto stumbled over some loose rocks and managed to twist his ankle. Sakura took care of him, and scolded him for being such an idiot. Kakashi watched as Naruto turned red with embarrassment. "We'll camp here for a while. Everybody's senses are numbed by the cold. There is no hurry, so I'm sure that if we rest a day or two, we can prevent these types of accidents." Everybody agreed, and they set up a small, but comfortable camp under the trees. While Sakura sat by the fire, editing the map to fit their most recent findings, Naruto, Kakashi, and Gaara went out by themselves. Each one of them hoped to find something, anything that could lead them to the village, though they knew the chance was miniscule.

Naruto walked carefully, because his ankle was still a little sore, and eventually he left the forest to enter a clearing. The snow crunched under his large boots and reflected in the sunlight. The sky was finally starting to clear up, so the sun peeked through now and again. That's when he saw it. Ahead of him was a steep cliff that rose up high above the forest, but what was more interesting, was the sliver of smoke rising up from behind it. His energy returned as soon as he noticed it. Finally, they had found the village.

Completely ignoring his sore ankle, Naruto ran back to the camp at full speed to tell the others. But what he failed to notice, were two shining blue eyes watching him from the top of the cliff.

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this FanFic except Saara Mizu and some of the minor enemies. The rest belong to Masashi Kishimoto. 


	7. Introducing Saara Mizu

**Combined Elements**

**Chapter 7: Introducing Saara Mizu**

Naruto burst into camp, almost knocking over Sakura, who still sat by the fire with her map. "There is smoke! Smoke behind the cliff! It could be the village!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs, and Sakura covered her ears in pain. "Calm down Naruto." She put a hand on his arm, getting him to calm a little, although her own body was twitching with anticipation.

It only took a few moments for Kakashi and Gaara to appear. "We heard you yelling. What is it?" Gaara frowned at Naruto. It didn't have any effect as Naruto jumped with excitement, telling them what he had seen. Three pairs of eyes lit up at the mention of a possible village behind the cliff. They had been traveling in the cold for more than a week, and it didn't get easier. The sooner they found the village, the better.

Kakashi nodded. "Let's pack up, but leave our things here. It would be better if we all went to investigate, so we have full force incase they notice us." The other three nodded, and Naruto's grin spread from ear to ear. Finally, they would be able to find Sasuke. As if reading his mind, Kakashi pulled Naruto aside. "Listen. I know you want to find Sasuke, we all do. But right now, we will only investigate. Orochimaru cannot change bodies for at least another year, so it is important that we don't get ourselves killed before the time is right. Do you understand?" Naruto pulled a face, but he nodded. "Yeah, I understand." Kakashi gave him a pat on the shoulder before returning to the others to help pack up.

Soon all of them were ready. Their things were packed away in water proof packaging and hung from a tree incase wild animals had smelled the food. Only the necessary items for combat were taken, since the plan wasn't to fight in the first place. Sakura also took a medicine kit, just in case.

The ninjas resumed their line, but this time Naruto was in front, leading them to the clearing he had stumbled across before. As they reached the edge of the clearing, Kakashi made them stop and hide behind several trees. He scanned the area and the cliff, seeing the smoke that Naruto had been so excited about. From what he could tell, the smoke probably came from a chimney; a good sign.

With his hand, he signaled the others to approach the cliff carefully. They sprinted through the trees until they reached a clear stretch of land just before the cliff. Looking up, it seemed to stretch a mile into the sky, though in reality it was much shorter. They had no idea what lay beyond the mass of ice and rocks in front of them. Gaara removed the stopper from his gourd, placing it within his jacket pocket, and Kakashi lifted up his forehead protector to reveal the sharingan. They weren't going to take any chances.

Hesitantly, each of them stepped out from behind the cover of the trees. They surveyed the wall of the cliff. It was extremely steep, with sharp peaks of ice jutting out. The landscape they had entered was now almost completely made of snow and ice. It made Gaara feel slightly uncomfortable. He wouldn't be able to create new sand from the ground here.

Each of them gathered chakra at their feet and started climbing the cliff. It took only a couple of minutes for them to reach the top, but as each of them looked over the edge, a frightening sight greeted them.

The surface of the cliff spread out for more than a kilometer, creating a glassy field of ice and snow. It stopped where the cliff resumed its drop to a small village below. The smoke they had seen came from several chimneys, but there were no people in sight. Among the wooden buildings, there wasn't a single soul to be spotted. The answer stood in front of them.

At the other side field stood Orochimaru, and at his side was a girl of about the same age as Naruto, Sakura, and Gaara. He had manipulated his new body to look exactly like the old one, and it made Naruto angry to even think of him manipulating Sasuke's body like that. A devilish smile decorated his face as he looked straight at them. It was obvious that he had been expecting them.

After the initial shock wore off, each of the ninja were examining the girl. She stood comfortably next to Orochimaru, with her hands in the pockets of her pants. The pants were loose, fanning out from her hips, to come back at her ankles and they were blue in color. Covering the top of her body was a tight dark blue shirt with light blue sleeves which fanned out at the wrists. What caught everyone by surprise was that the shirt only reached above her belly button, leaving the rest of her stomach exposed to the cold air. Her feet were in open sandals, yet it didn't seem like she was cold in any way. Over her shirt she wore a light purple vest with two pockets at the front.

Her hair was brown with some natural highlights, and tied back into a braid which reached to below her shoulder blades. Green eyes examined them from behind black, slightly rectangular glasses. Pale skin hinted that she originated from Snow Country.

Kakashi frowned. This was unexpected. Orochimaru wouldn't take a girl like that with him unless she was of great use to him. To be able to face five of them like this, with just the two of them, it didn't bode well. They would have to form a plan, quickly.

But it was too late. Naruto had finished staring at the girl next to Orochimaru, and his attention shifted back to his dire enemy. "Give us Sasuke back!" He yelled out, while simultaneously bringing his hands together. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" About twenty copies of him appeared, each with two kunai in their hands. Without hesitation all of the copies launched their kunai at Orochimaru. The sharp weapons sped towards him as his smile only grew.

Suddenly, a wall of water appeared before him and the girl at his side. They all stared as the kunai bounced back, and Gaara even gasped. It was so similar to the way his sand protected him. By now, it was impossible to spread the evil smile on Orochimaru's face any further. "I see you've noticed the resemblance. Let me introduce you to Saara Mizu. As you have probably guessed already, she is a Jinchuuriki such as Gaara and Naruto."

Gaara frowned. So now that he had resisted Orochimaru, he just grabbed another powerful Jinchuuriki to fight for him. How pathetic. Orochimaru seemed to know what he was thinking. "You Jinchuuriki make great tools, honestly." Gaara's frowned deepened, and he watched for the reaction of Saara. She looked away, her mouth formed a thin line, but she did nothing to stop Orochimaru from calling her a tool.

This comment was too much however for Naruto. "How… how dare you!" He raced towards the two enemies, together with all of his clones. But before he reached them, Saara took her hands out of her pockets. She raised her arms to the approaching Naruto, and spread her fingers. Water shot forward as missiles, twenty in all, hitting each of the clones and Naruto himself. The clones disappeared and Naruto fell back to the ice painfully. He glared at the girl, and tried to get up, but something was holding him back. His gaze went to his legs; they were covered in ice. Naruto was literally frozen to the ground. Then he was pulled down by an arm of water, which covered him as soon as he hit the surface of the ice and froze his whole body in place. "What?!" Naruto looked stunned. He was able to raise his head enough to see the girl in front of him. "Why? Why do you fight for him? He calls you a tool! We are not tools!" He continued to ramble, almost giving her a lecture. Saara's eyes narrowed and with a flick of her finger, the water covered Naruto's mouth freezing it shut. He was now forced to breathe though his nose. A small smile crossed her face. She was enjoying this.

Turning back to the three ninjas still left, she realized it wouldn't be so easy from now on. Gaara's sand already hovered above his shoulder, ready to be released. He needed to test her abilities and give Kakashi and Sakura an opportunity to strike. The sand shot forward, heading straight towards Saara. It struck a wave of water about the same size with a loud crash. The sand twisted and turned, trying to reach the girl, but each time it was interrupted by the water. The battle continued fiercely, and each time the water hit the sand, some of it fell away to the ground useless.

Saara's eyes widened as she realized what this meant. That boy could not control wet sand. All she had to do was drown the sand he had left in an ocean of water. A smile crossed her face, and Gaara realized she had figured out his weakness. He watched carefully as Saara crouched down and placed her hands on the ground below. He realized a little too late what she was up to, as he sunk into the surface that he had stood on the moment before. Saara had melted the ice under him, creating a small pond of freezing water. She allowed him to sink until his shoulders and then froze the water to form ice once again.

Now only Kakashi and Sakura were left, but Gaara's actions had allowed them study their opponent. They would not be so easy to defeat. Saara still stood next to Orochimaru, who had not moved from his spot. However, he was getting impatient. This girl should have finished them off by now, and instead she was having fun. "Get serious." Saara blinked and looked at him. "This is an order. Get serious and show them your full potential." He was sick of this game. These ninjas were in the way of him destroying Konoha and they were getting on his nerves.

Saara sighed. He knew how painful it was for her to unleash the power of her Bijuu. But she knew that he really didn't care. She turned back to her opponents, closed her eyes, and prepared to face the pain.

Kakashi watched carefully as Orochimaru ordered the girl to unleash her full power. He guessed that, as a Jinchuuriki, her full power consisted of using her Bijuu. When Saara closed her eyes, Kakashi took advantage of the situation. In one swift movement he pulled out a scroll, bit his thumb so it bled, placed the blood on the scroll, and summoned thousands of razor sharp kunai. The kunai glowed as he used his chakra to control them, and move them in a full circle around Saara. This all happened so fast that her eyes hadn't even opened yet, but when they did, he got the shock of his life.

Whereas her eyes had been a nice green color before, they now shone with a piercing blue light. There was no pupil, it almost looked like she was blind, yet she looked straight at him and the kunai. The eyes were exactly the same as the water dragon that had bothered them on the boat, and he immediately understood that that dragon had been a small replica of the Bijuu locked inside Saara.

They stood there for what seemed like ages. Kakashi stared as he felt the chakra emitting from her body. This was frightening. The power that came from the girl was immense, more than what came from Naruto when the nine-tailed fox awoke. He wondered if this was also the kind of power that Gaara possessed, yet was afraid to release.

Orochimaru grinned and licked his lips as he watched his newest toy release part of the Bijuu. But he was still getting impatient. Saara was waiting for Kakashi to release his kunai, but Kakashi was still too stunned to do so. Her power was great, but he was bored, so he decided to take things into his own hands. "Get out of my way. This is taking too long." He pushed her aside, making her loose balance for a few brief moments. Kakashi took advantage of this, releasing the spell that held the kunai in place.

The automatic shield of water protected her from most of the kunai as she stumbled, but a few managed to penetrate. One stuck in her arm, penetrating to the bone, and making her flinch in pain. Another one created a shallow gash on her stomach. Orochimaru was hurt as well. Two kunai had ripped open his sleeves, and from the right one, a necklace fell to the ground. His eyes widened in fear, and he grabbed for it, but it was too late. Saara had noticed the necklace falling out too, and as soon as it hit the ground, the ice melted, allowing his to sink down into the ground where it was frozen in place.

Kakashi watched it all from a safe distance, and he gazed with interest as Saara suddenly turned away from them to face Orochimaru instead. Her eyes blazed brighter than before and there was water swirling at her feet. Orochimaru shot a glare at Kakashi before returning his gaze to the angry Saara. "It seems you've won this time, Kakashi. But watch out for the next time we meet." He smiled once more and jumped off the cliff. Kakashi took a step closer in surprise, as the village disappeared. It had been an illusion. Only Saara and Orochimaru were real. He looked at the girl, who stood near the edge, trying to see where Orochimaru had gone.

At that moment, Saara felt a searing pain through her stomach. She gasped and clutched her belly, falling to her knees. A burning sensation built up in her throat as she coughed up several droplets of blood. She knew her body would give up soon. Crawling to the place where the necklace lay buried, she melted the ice again, and grabbed the gold chain. It felt cold in her hands, but at least it was safe. With this, she collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

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Author's notes: Omg, this chapter is long. I wish I could write this much for school assignments! Maybe I should have split it in two, but I just couldn't find a good place to split it. Reviews are really appreciated, especially on this chapter. It makes me feel good to hear people's opinions after having spent so much time on it.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this FanFic except Saara Mizu and some of the minor enemies. The rest belong to Masashi Kishimoto. 


	8. Explanations

**Combined Elements**

**Chapter 8: Explanations**

Sakura gasped as Saara collapsed. Without thinking about what side Saara was on, Sakura ran over and inspected the girl. Her whole sleeve was by now covered in blood. Sakura pulled out the kunai, her hands glowing green, and started to heal the wound. When she was done with the wound on the arm, she stopped the sluggish bleeding from the cut on her stomach. It would heal easily without her help, so it was better not to waste her chakra. Then she remembered how the girl had coughed up blood, and quickly her hands travelled over the body as she inspected her organs, muscles, and bone.

In the meantime, Kakashi headed over to Naruto and Gaara. He grinned playfully at the two frozen to the ground. Gaara was in the worst condition. The part of him that wasn't buried in ice was shivering, and his lips had a blue hue. Kakashi released a fire jutsu on the ice that covered Naruto, doing the mouth last. As soon as he was free, Naruto started mumbling something about evil and fairness. Kakashi smiled and headed over to Gaara. This would take a little longer, since Gaara was completely frozen in the ground. He got started, putting a constant fire power on the ice as it slowly melted. It helped warm up Gaara as well, and soon he felt better… except for still being stuck in the ground.

By the time Gaara was free, and standing dripping wet on the sturdy ice, Sakura had finished treating Saara. "Sakura, why are you healing the enemy?" Naruto frowned. He wouldn't forget that little mouth-covering ice trick any time soon. "Because I get the feeling she isn't our enemy anymore." Sakura smiled, and continued to treat Gaara and Naruto. Kakashi was unhurt, so when she was done, he picked up the unconscious Jinchuuriki and they walked back to the spot where there things lay in the forest.

They set up camp again, gathered wood for the fire, and rested. It was decided that they would wait until Saara woke up. She owed them an explanation, several of them in fact.

* * *

Saara woke up ever so slowly. She felt a heat towards her right side, and a heavy weight rested on her body. When she opened her eyes, she saw a thick brown blanket covering her, and a large campfire on her right side. She thought back, trying to figure out what had happened for her to end up here.

Her sight was a bit blurry, so her hand reached up to touch her face: her glasses were gone. Saara sat up, wincing as her stomach complained. When she looked to the side of her mat, she saw her vest, neatly folded with her glasses on top. As soon as they were back on her body, she looked around.

At the other side of the fire sat the four opponents she had faced earlier. She frowned at the sight of them. Why had they taken her here? How come her arm was healed? At that point, the girl stood up and walked over to her. "You better lie down and let me inspect your stomach. It seems to be causing you pain still." Saara lay down at the girl's command. "Who are you?" She asked, as the girl's hands started glowing green above her exposed stomach. Instantly, the pain subsided, and Saara's eyes widened in surprise.

When Sakura was done healing the girl, she nodded in approval of her own work. "I'm Sakura Haruno, healer and ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village." She then pointed to the others. "Kakashi Hatake and Naruto Uzumaki are my team mates. Gaara no Sabaku is Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village." She noticed Saara staring at Gaara.

Saara's mind stumbled into a state of confusion. How could a Jinchuuriki be a kage of a hidden village? Why were these two normal ninjas hanging out with two Jinchuuriki? And why did it look like they were all friends?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Sakura pushed a bowl of food into her hands. "Eat that. Hopefully your stomach will settle down a little." Saara looked up at her, confusion clear in her eyes. Then she looked back at the bowl, and shook her head. "No, it will never settle down. Not as long the Bijou is sealed within me." Sakura nodded, understanding. "That's why you didn't release your full power right away, isn't it? Using that power is painful, because your stomach and some other organs are weak since the Bijou was sealed. Am I right?" Saara looked up at the other girl, trying to see how trustworthy she was, then nodded as an answer and picked up a spoon.

When the bowl was empty, Kakashi spoke. "Will you tell us why you were fighting for Orochimaru?" From that question, Saara seemed to remember something, and her hand flew up to her neck. When she felt the familiar gold chain under her finger tops, she calmed down. Her hand clasped around the round gold pendant that hung from the chain. Her eyes went back to Kakashi, who was still waiting for an answer. She didn't trust them, but they had taken care of her wounds, so she owed them an explanation.

Before she started, her hands ran down her braid. It was in pretty bad condition, barely a braid anymore. Saara took out the small blue ribbon, and her fingers ran through her hair, checking for knots. She had extremely thick, wavy hair, so while she took care of it, she began talking. "I was born in Water Country. The Bijou, Atarichi, was sealed into me at 4 years old, which is rather late compared to other Jinchuuriki. She is a water dragon with the eyes you saw when I released her power. Since she was sealed into me at a later age, my body barely accepted her and I've been having health problems since."

At this point, she had finished brushing her hair with her fingers and started redoing the braid. "Orochimaru found me in the small village where I lived. He asked me to join him, so I could use my powers for proper work. I knew he was evil from his appearance and the way he acted. There was no way I would ever join him. Then one night, he came and stole the only reminder of my original parents. That is how he forced me to fight for him." She shrugged, her story finished.

Kakashi frowned. She obviously kept back a large part, but that wasn't what bothered him. "So you did not live in a hidden village? Does this mean you never had ninja training?" Saara shook her head. "I do not fight unless forced to. Fighting to me is pointless and only gets people hurt or killed. When I do fight, it is with water only. I know nothing of ninja tactics or traditions."

At this, Naruto stared. She was so powerful, yet not a ninja. Kakashi had warned him to stay quiet before the girl woke up, but he could no longer contain his curiosity or his beliefs. "That is not true! We fight for those important to us and for our village. Not to hurt or kill. That is why we should fight, including you."

"And if people didn't fight, there would be no need to protect those important to you." She glanced at him. He had obviously been doing his best to control himself, but she had a feeling that mouth was not something easily shut. "Besides, I have nobody important to protect except myself."

Gaara closed his eyes when he heard her talk like that. It was so similar to what he thought before meeting Naruto. Except she hated fighting and he had loved it.

Naruto was about to argue again when Sakura threw a rock at him. "Shut up Naruto. She has talked enough. It is time for her to rest some more." With this, she pushed Saara back down on the mat, and brought a glowing green hand to her eyes. With one touch, the girl was asleep, and Sakura brought the blanket back in place.

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Author's notes: Eesh. Boring, I know. I've just been trying to have it all make sense.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this FanFic except Saara Mizu and some of the minor enemies. The rest belong to Masashi Kishimoto.


	9. Daily Routine

**Combined Elements**

**Chapter 9: Daily routine**

Gaara was startled when he heard Saara's voice. He had watch duty every night, since he couldn't sleep anyway, and the only sound so far had been the crackle of the fire and the wind in the trees. Naruto would sometimes emit a grumble in his sleep and toss around under the heavy blankets, but that was normal.

His eyes travelled from one cot to the other, checking on all the sleepers. Saara's was last in the circle, and as he watched, she tossed and turned. Gaara jumped down from the tree he was resting in with a soft thud. His boots sunk into the layer of snow. Slowly, he walked over and watched more closely.

It was obvious that Saara was having a nightmare. Her face was covered in sweat, and a scared frown could be seen. Gaara wasn't sure whether to wake her up. Some people could be vicious if you woke them, especially when they were in a nightmare. He remembered all too well how it felt to be stuck in the ice, and he didn't feel like risking it.

At that point he was shocked out of his thoughts by her voice. "I… I am not… I am not a tool… no…" Gaara took a step back in surprise. He knew what she was dreaming about. That moment, when Orochimaru had called her and all Jinchuuriki a tool, was all too fresh in his memory. He felt rage boiling inside him as his enemies face appeared before his mind's eye. _'You Jinchuuriki make great tools, honestly.' _

Gaara shook his head as if throwing out the image. He gently placed a hand on Saara's forehead, and whispered. "We are _not_ tools." With this, Saara seemed calm down, and the frown disappeared. She was sleeping peacefully again when Gaara leapt back in his tree.

* * *

The group spent two more days in the forest, waiting for Saara's arm to completely heal and for her stomach to settle down. On the second day, she was able to walk without clutching her belly in pain. No more questions were asked, since nobody expected any answers.

Saara borrowed a coat and an extra pair of boots from Sakura, although the Jinchuuriki was almost a head taller. She told the others that she only fought in the clothes they saw, because at her strongest point, the water rips away anything else.

The others noticed she was rather shy and didn't talk unless spoken to. Naruto had by now forgiven her for freezing his mouth shut during the fight, and he could often be seen next to her. He never stopped talking, telling her about everything he could think of. Whenever he asked her a question or asked for her opinion, he just continued on without a pause. Saara only answered a few times, but she didn't seem to mind his babbling.

Kakashi, Gaara and Sakura were more reserved. They didn't trust her as quickly as Naruto, but Naruto was just a special case altogether. Sakura stayed close to the girl to make sure her stomach didn't act up again, and Kakashi and Gaara mostly avoided her.

Since Saara's first day with the group was spent on her cot, she took the task of cooking. It turned out she was quite good at it, even with the poor ingredients. Everybody ate it greedily and even Gaara asked for seconds.

In the evening, Saara stood up and explained that she would like to take a walk. Sakura inspected her carefully, deciding whether she should permit it or not. From her investigations, she knew Saara's stomach was extremely weak. It was probably the inconvenience that came with the Bijou. Gaara was unable to sleep for fear of having his Bijou taking control, and Naruto had whisker-like markings, large canines, and trouble controlling chakra.

But at the moment, Saara looked stable, and Sakura nodded. As an extra precaution, she decided to have somebody go with the water girl. "Gaara, could you accompany her please? Orochimaru could still be trying to get her back and her stomach might act up again." Gaara nodded and stood up. He followed a small distance behind Saara as she walked through the woods. They stayed in complete silence, which they both preferred. At one point, Saara sat down at the base of a tree to rest. Some snow at her side melted and shot towards her hand. Her fingers moved gracefully back and forth, playing the water. Gaara settled down on a branch above her.

He watched her movements. They were incredibly similar to the way he controlled sand, which he already knew, but now that he looked closely, there were also some differences. He concluded it probably depended on the element that was being controlled.

Earth was a stable element. You needed to have a strong will to control it, or it would just stay where it was. The more complicated his attacks got, the more Gaara had to concentrate. Chakra helped, but most of his moves still depended on will.

Water was more of an unstable element. It flowed on its own, never really staying in the same place. Water always chose the easiest way to flow, which in this case, was wherever Saara willed it to go. It was easier for Saara to control water, than for Gaara to control sand, and for this reason he guessed, her movements were graceful, whereas his movements were clumsy in comparison.

The next day passed in basically the same routine. Saara cooked, since she had to rest some more, and after dinner, she took a walk, with Gaara following her to make sure nothing happened.

The day after, they started moving again. Now that another person was travelling with them, they would have to get more supplies. Using the map Sakura had made, the odd group headed back to the village they started from. Another week passed and everyday, after travelling few miles, Saara cooked dinner. And everyday after dinner, she went out for a walk. Sometimes Naruto would go with her instead of Gaara, but Saara preferred a comfortable silence over Naruto's endless voice, so she was glad that Sakura mostly sent Gaara.

The whole way back to the village, they were watched, and they knew that Orochimaru would soon make a move again. Until then, they decided to simply get more supplies and continue searching for the village. Saara decided to join them in their search. She hated Orochimaru with a passion, and her skills were handy in the environment they travelled. There was nowhere else for her to go anyway.

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Author's notes: Sorry about the wait. I was on vacation in America with no computer at hand, so I couldn't type this chapter until I came back. I hope you like it anyway.

Thanks so much to A-Z-a-z-0-9India for my first review! 3 I really appreciate it! And in answer to your plea: there is very little chance that I'll be pairing Gaara and Saara. In the beginning I thought about it, but I don't think it would be a good choice. They will however become good friends, and I have something special in mind for future chapters. Can't spoil everything by telling though! ;D

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this FanFic except Saara Mizu and some of the minor enemies. The rest belong to Masashi Kishimoto.


	10. Different Thoughts

**Combined Elements**

**Chapter 10: Different Thoughts**

After a well deserved rest at the hotel, the group set out again. They had decided the night before, that they would retrace their steps partly before continuing in a new direction. The only thing they could do was search and wait for Orochimaru to attack again.

On the first day, everybody picked up the daily routine again. Saara continued to cook all the meals with the new supplies, Sakura took care of the rest of the camp, Naruto spent his time training and switching guard duties with Gaara and Kakashi. In the evening, Saara would go out for a walk with either Naruto or Gaara to accompany her. The weather had cleared up slightly as well. There were fewer blizzards as they travelled and the sky was clear of clouds almost everyday. The only stable element was the temperature, and even under the heavy clothing they wore, none of the travellers could suppress a shiver every now and then.

Saara had gotten her fighting clothes fixed in the village, so there was no longer a gash in her shirt sleeve. Along with that, she used some money from Kakashi to buy her own coat, boots, gloves, and hat. Sakura had shown particular interest in the style of Saara's fighting clothes, so Saara offered to let her examine them one night.

Sakura accepted the offer gladly. First she inspected the vest. There was nothing special about it except for the design on the back. Her fingers traced the blue water droplet that adorned the back in the middle of a brown circle. Saara explained, "That is my 'family' symbol. Actually, I no longer remember who my family was, so an old man in the village where I stayed was kind enough to create an unofficial symbol for me. It is simple, but I like it anyway." The vest itself was a light purple color to give some variation with the rest of the blue clothes. Sakura nodded in understanding. She didn't ask any questions about Saara's past anymore, since they were never answered. Saara chose herself when to reveal more about herself, and this suited Sakura just fine. She had come to enjoy Saara's company. The other girl was silent, had intelligence that matched Gaara, and her kindness almost matched Naruto.

Next Sakura inspected the pants. The legs fanned out, coming back together at the ankles. They were light blue in color, the same color as the sleeves on Saara's shirt. The shirt was what intrigued Sakura most. The main body was dark blue, and it only reached to right above the belly button. The sleeves were slightly transparent and fanned out like petals starting at the wrist. To keep the sleeves close to the arm, a small blue triangle reached out to wrap around the middle finger. It was a strange design that Sakura had never seen before, but it looked nice and she decided to look into the style when they were back in Konoha.

In the evening, Sakura settled down to read while Naruto and Kakashi stood guard. Saara stood up, put on her gloves and hat and went out for her usual walk. She knew that either Gaara or Naruto would follow, hopefully Gaara because she was in no mood to talk. Showing Sakura her clothes had brought Saara to ponder about her family. She knew that she was born in the hidden village of Mist, but after the Bijou had been sealed into her body, the village had kicked her out. She was still so young when they had brought her to a small fishing village far into Water country that she had no idea who her original parents were. The people of the village nicknamed her Saara Mizu, which she had used as a family name ever since.

At that point in thought, she felt a hand tap her shoulder. Gaara stood behind her, and when she was about to ask what was wrong, he held a finger over his mouth to indicate silence. Saara looked at her surroundings and realized they had gone much further than usual. Her ears picked up the sound of loud voices not too far away, and she understood why Gaara had interrupted her thoughts. Looking back at him, she nodded and they sneaked closer to where the voices came from.

Both of them reached the edge of the cliff they stood on without making any noise. A narrow valley stretched out below, its base covered in snow and ice. Some brush grew at the edges of the valley, protected from the harsh northern wind.

While Saara examined the surroundings more closely, Gaara was interested in the three men at one end of the valley. It was impossible to see any features since they were still far away and covered in immense, thick clothing. He could see that the men were huge both in height and weight. Gaara didn't spot any forehead protectors, but it was obvious that these three were ninjas from their graceful and careful movements.

"Let's get closer and spy on them for a short while. I'd like to know what they're up to. They might even give a clue as to the location of Orochimaru's village." Gaara suggested. Saara nodded in response, and he noticed she was deep in thought.

Gaara shrugged and started moving down the cliff, to some thick bushes in the valley, near the men. They would have to make a large detour to get there without being noticed. Saara would probably follow as long as he didn't bother her line of thought. When he looked over his shoulder, it turned out he was right.

When they reached the bushes, both of them crouched and listened. The wind carried the whole conversation to their ears as if the three men were standing right next to them.

"Should we really do this?" A high-pitched voice whined. Saara flinched. It was hard to believe that one of those huge men could have a voice like that. "Kyu is right. We can still turn back without the boss noticing." This voice was much lower than the last one. It seemed to belong to the biggest man of the three, but she couldn't tell for sure. "We came this far now didn't we? What is the point of turning back? Besides, think of the reward if we come back with three Jinchuuriki and tell the boss that we killed the other two?" It seemed this prospect brightened up the other two as they nodded. "You're right! Orochimaru will be proud!" The high voice rang out again. This time, Saara's fingers itched to apply some ice to that mouth. Gaara noticed it and smiled.

His mind had already been racing to figure out a plan. Saara had told them all that she didn't fight, and he wasn't about to force her. There was no doubt that he could handle the men, unless they were water users, which he hoped they weren't. Still, maybe he could get Saara to help out. "If I take them out, would you be willing to be handle our defence? I'm not asking you to fight, just protect us from harm." He watched her expression slowly, hoping for a favourable answer.

Saara was rather surprised by his inquiry. She thought that people like these Leaf ninjas and Gaara were too good to be true. Everybody had always forced her to fight, or at least expected it from her. Now Gaara was actually asking nicely and twisting it in a way that she wouldn't have to attack. She supposed it was still fighting, but the way Gaara put it, defence sounded alright. After a slight hesitation, she nodded.

Without realizing it, Gaara breathed a sigh of relief. He turned back to the enemy, who were still hesitating and arguing. Slowly, so he wouldn't alert the enemy, Gaara's hand reached over his shoulder to pull out the cork in his gourd. Normally, he would force it out with sand, but now it was important to remain quiet. Some sand leaked out and spread apart. As individual grains, so as to remain unseen, they floated over to the three men.

Saara watched closely what Gaara did with the sand. For her, the grains were easily visible in the air, but the three men weren't paying much attention, so she wasn't worried. The sand disappeared again behind a bush on the other side of the men. After a few seconds, a life-like replication of both Saara and Gaara emerged from the bushes. Saara's eyes widened. She had never seen anything like this before. Could he actually make things so real from only sand? Either way, she resolved to try it with water the next evening.

The fake Gaara moved his hands in exactly the same way that Gaara was doing next to her. A large amount of sand emerged from the fake gourd to speed towards the three men. They had noticed the two fakes by now and were already in a position of defence. As the sand approached with amazing speed, Saara could hear one of them laugh. Both her and Gaara frowned, wondering what was so funny. Right before the sand reached them, the biggest of the group formed several seals. The snow behind the enemies melted, forming a giant snake. It wasn't nearly as powerful as Saara could make it, but it was water, and Gaara cursed under his breath as he saw it.

The snake shot forward, its mouth wide open, and seemed to swallow all the sand. While passing through the mouth, the sand fell to the ground useless. The high pitched voice sounded again. "You can't win from us! We know your weakness, and the girl is useless. She wouldn't fight to save herself!"

Gaara decided that he couldn't win this without the help of Kakashi or Naruto. Three water ninjas was too much in an environment made completely of ice and snow. He still remembered the last time he got stuck in the ice and was in no way willing to repeat it. The sand clones would last until they got back up the cliff, so retreating was the best option.

As soon as he stepped back, Saara put a hand on his shoulder, signalling him to stop. He looked up, confused, and then saw her eyes. They were alight with fury. She flicked her hand, and soon afterwards, one of the men stumbled over the ice. It was the one with the strange voice, and Gaara could see him tugging at the ice firmly plastered over his mouth. "I thought you didn't fight."

Saara shrugged and responded. "That voice can make anybody want to fight, and I'm _not_ useless." She said the last part firmly, as if confirming it with herself as much as Gaara. The fake sand dolls collapsed, and useable sand shot back to Gaara. The two remaining enemies seemed rather surprised, but quickly resumed their fighting stance. This time, both of them created snakes, while their third partner was still attempting to remove ice from his mouth in the background.

Both Saara and Gaara stepped out of the bushes. The anger in her eyes had been so deep, that Gaara decided to stay out of the fight. Besides, there wasn't much he could do. Saara would probably finish this quickly, and that feeling was confirmed as she raised an eyebrow at the two snakes. "Is that all you can do?" Without any hand movements, a huge water dragon formed before her. Gaara instantly recognized it as a slightly smaller version of the dragon they had fought on the boat. Only this time, the eyes weren't shining with a bright blue light. It took only five minutes for Saara's dragon to defeat both snakes. She ended up choking the three men by sending a small amount of water down the wrong tube.

Evening was falling quickly by now and it was almost too dark to see properly. Gaara and Saara ran the rest of the way back to camp, where Saara went straight to bed, and Gaara told the other about the fight.

Neither of them were in a very talkative mood. Gaara was frustrated. At last he had taken the chance to do a mission, instead of the constant paperwork. Finally he was able to battle again, and now he was completely useless. Orochimaru simply had to send a mass of water ninjas to fight, and his sand would be worth nothing anymore. Normally, water ninjas were still relatively easy to defeat, but in these surroundings, it became impossible. He never liked to rely on others, and this wasn't easy for him.

Saara on the other hand was confused. That night she simply tossed and turned, rethinking all of her morals and ideas. Fighting to protect herself and Gaara wasn't so bad. She actually liked Gaara and considered him almost to be a friend. Certainly, her actions would have been no different with Sakura, Naruto, or Kakashi. They had been kind to her and Gaara hadn't even expected her to fight. Sakura had taken care of her every time Saara's stomach acted up. Kakashi had even trusted her to borrow money. Everything she had believed now turned out to be wrong. Naruto had been right when he said that people should fight to protect those important to them. From now on, she wasn't going to be useless to anybody.

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Author's notes: Wow, I haven't written in a long time. So sorry about that! My inspiration was basically non-existent, and school has started again, so I have limited time.

However…as an apology, this chapter is extra long. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this FanFic except Saara Mizu and some of the minor enemies. The rest belong to Masashi Kishimoto.


	11. Friendship & Ideas

**Combined Elements**

**Chapter 11: Friendship & Ideas**

During the afternoon, the day after the encounter with the three water ninjas, everything was quiet. Gaara was still fuming with frustration and an empty feeling of uselessness, while Saara was lost in thought, and the rest didn't bother them. Kakashi stood at the edge of the camp, leaning comfortably against a tree. They still kept up the guard duty, although nothing had ever come to them yet. Naruto was out to train, and the rest were sitting around the fire, attempting to keep the heat within their bodies. A piece of ripped clothing captured Sakura's complete concentration. Everybody had long learned not to disturb her when she was like that. If you did, heads would roll.

A spark jumped away from the flames, and unto Gaara's bare hands. He flinched, returning from his own little world. The whole day he had been ignoring the others and their surroundings, but now, he looked around, wondering how late it really was. At the other side of the small fire, Saara sat staring into the distance. Her usual braid hung loosely over her shoulder, almost completely hidden in the fur lining of her coat. Only her hands were bare, and when Gaara looked more closely, it seemed she was playing with a strand of water. He leaned slightly to the right to get a closer look around the fire.

Saara had formed the water into a long string, letting it stay in that position while at the same time leaving it as flexible as the real thing. It rested between her fingers, and as she moved them, she twisted and knotted the string of water, eventually ending up with a complicated figure. Gaara was so concentrated on following the movements of her fingers, that he almost looked frozen in place. When Saara had done all of the figures she knew, her hands automatically started over.

By now Gaara attempted to memorize at least one of them. Slowly, he allowed some sand to separate from his gourd, not bothering with the cork. It gathered in his hands, and with much concentration and will, he made it form a long string. Next he put his hands in the right position, attempting to have the sand rest on them, but still retain the same length. But as soon as his concentration shifted from the sand to his fingers, the 'string' fell apart again. He tried several times without success.

When the sand collapsed again and he was about to give up, he felt somebody come to sit next to him. "You should use your imagination more. Think of the sand, not as sand, but as an actual string. It cannot fall apart, it cannot stretch. All it can do is twist and turn according to your movements." So Saara had noticed his useless attempts. He felt a little embarrassed, but none the less, he wanted to succeed.

"What is this for anyway? Did you think of it?" He didn't think it could be used in fighting or anything else. So why did she do it? "It is just a game that the children in the village used to play. They use real string and try to memorize figures as well as create new ones." Gaara was surprised at her answer. She used her abilities to play games? He had always thought of sand as a nuisance. Great for fighting, but useless and annoying for anything else, yet this was actually fun.

He tried a few more times, with Saara giving tips and showing him how to move his fingers. Eventually, he grasped the concept of imagination. The sand no longer fell apart when he concentrated a little more on his fingers, and within minutes he finally completed a figure. As strange as it was, he enjoyed doing this. It calmed him and made him forget other events.

The afternoon wore on, with Gaara learning more figures from Saara. Eventually, Sakura finished fixing the clothing, and joined them with a real piece of string. She already knew some of the basic moves, and soon memorized the new ones Saara presented. Even Naruto gave it a try, though he was too impatient to learn the complicated figures. He entertained himself by trying to make one figure as fast as possible. His fingers soon became a blur and he was sure nobody could go faster, until Saara proved him wrong. She was even able to keep up the pace without looking at her hands.

In the evening, Kakashi switched guard duty with Naruto, and Saara started cooking their dinner. Gaara joined Naruto and Sakura cleaned up the camp. Although the string game had taken Gaara's frustration away for a while, it soon returned. He remained quiet during dinner and afterwards. When Saara had helped Sakura clean up, she stood, stretched, and walked into the forest. Gaara automatically got up and followed.

This time, Saara made sure they didn't wander off too far. She had no intention of repeating yesterday's events. A small clearing appeared in front of them, and she settled down at the base of a tree near the edge. Gaara easily jumped up and sat down on the thick branches. They remained in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the crisp, evening air. Then Saara interrupted. "Gaara, do you think you could lend me some of your sand? I have an idea." Truth be told, she had been thinking of this all day. She hated seeing him so frustrated, and after the string games, Saara was almost positive her idea would work.

Gaara was confused by her request, but didn't see any harm. After removing the cork from his gourd, some sand leaked out to hover by his ear. When there was enough, he closed the gourd again and let the sand drop down into a neat pile in front of Saara. She smiled and thanked him before letting some of the snow next to her melt. The water pooled into her hand, and she then dropped it onto the sand, making it wet and useless for Gaara.

Saara kept adding little bits of water until the pile of sand was replaced by a pool of mud. Next she attempted to remove some water, so the mud became slightly stronger and more solid. Finally, a grin spread across her face. "I'll need your help for this."

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Author's notes: First I make you wait forever, and now there are two chapters in the same week! To be honest, I just had the right inspiration for this chapter.

Thanks silver-wings69 for the review. I'm glad you like the story, and I always appreciate hearing comments. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this FanFic except Saara Mizu and some of the minor enemies. The rest belong to Masashi Kishimoto.


	12. An interesting find

**Combined Elements **

**Chapter 12: An interesting find**

When Gaara and Saara returned from the walk, Kakashi couldn't help but notice that Gaara seemed to be feeling a lot happier. He was slightly curious as to the cause but put the thought aside when resuming his guard duty. The others now crawled into their bed rolls, attempting to keep the warmth from escaping their bodies. It was no easy task. As soon as any bare skin was exposed, the wind that wasn't blocked by the trees would whip away all traces of warmth. Eventually, three of them managed to fall asleep with Kakashi resting in the nearest tree. Gaara closed his eyes to rest as much as he could.

The next morning Sakura woke up first and immediately looked at the sky. There were no clouds in sight, which lifted her mood slightly. The day would be cold no doubt, but it would have been worse if it snowed. Allowing the others to sleep, she prepared breakfast together with Gaara who had given up on his own fake rest. Several days passed as the group travelled further into the desert of snow and ice. The daily routine remained the same, the weather continued to stay clear, Naruto continued to talk at a constant rate, and the others continued to ignore him. The only change noticed by Kakashi was that Gaara and Saara's evening walks got longer. They came back later every night and were exhausted by the time they arrived at camp. Naruto and Sakura eventually noticed as well, and tried to follow the two Jinchuuriki a few times without results. Only Kakashi managed to follow them once successfully, but when Naruto and Sakura asked him what he saw, he just shook his head and smiled.  
After another week passed, Naruto came up with a brilliant plan. They would climb one of the many mountains surrounding them and check if a village could be seen from the top. Kakashi pointed out they wouldn't be able to see very far because other mountains would block their view, but Naruto was dead set on checking if his plan would work. So they chose the highest peak they could see and started climbing. It took two days to reach the top, and when they did the sky was too clouded to see very far. The small group spent the night on top, trying to keep a disappointed Naruto from making a big fuss. Everybody was forced to wear double layers and even that was hardly enough to keep a stable body temperature in the freezing wind which bombarded them at the peak. The next morning was still cloudy and grey, but towards the afternoon the clouds started drifting apart and a few weak rays of sunlight managed to shine through. At the end of the day, Kakashi turned out to be right as their view was mostly blocked by neighbouring mountains. However Naruto managed to spot something interesting right in between two smaller mountains in the east. It looked to them like a large area of rock, though they couldn't tell for sure. All of them agreed it was better than nothing, so they headed back down the mountain, in the direction of the rock area, hoping to find some clue of this darn hidden village.

Kakashi was in the lead as the group ran out of the valley between the two small mountains they had seen earlier. Naruto had lead them the wrong way twice before Kakashi took over, so after another half a week of travel they were finally faced with a grey expanse of rock. The area was huge, stretching into the distance for miles. It seemed as if some massive creature had ripped out mountains and earth, leaving a bare area of solid rock with several large boulders dotting the landscape and some snow contrasting to so much grey. Kakashi ordered them to split up and search for any clues which could lead to a village. The entire day was spent searching before everybody gathered back to the centre of the area with empty hands. Disappointed faces prepared dinner and set up camp. Saara and Gaara left for a walk while the others busied themselves with pointless tasks. Sakura was about to sit down and focus on mending Naruto's gloves when Saara and Gaara burst back into camp. The other three were immediately alert and before the two Jinchuuriki could explain; the entire camp was surrounded by about twenty ninjas in thick cloaks.

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I'm so sorry for making you wait so long for a new chapter. This one is short, but the next one will be long. A fight is on the way and I've got a special surprise. Hopefully I'll have time to write it before school starts again.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this FanFic except Saara Mizu and some of the minor enemies. The rest belong to Masashi Kishimoto.


	13. Muddy teamwork

**Combined Elements**

**Chapter 13: Muddy teamwork  
**Silence reigned over the bare expanse of rock. The wind played softly with the long cloaks of the enemies. Kakashi counted nineteen ninjas in total when a sneering laugh cut through the cold air. Orochimaru stood in his usual attire on one of the boulders, displaying that awful smile. Kakashi's group organized themselves in a circle, as if protecting an invisible object in the middle. They were at a huge disadvantage in both numbers and environment. The rock area provided limited water for Saara to use, and creating sand out of rock was more difficult for Gaara than normal earth and clay. At least Orochimaru wasn't in the mood for talking and they were spared his rude comments. His intent was clear, and the ninjas surrounding them didn't hesitate when he slowly raised his hand.

Naruto barely had time to make his shadow clones as the group was attacked from all sides. To Gaara's dismay, nearly all of the ninjas used water, and only a few fought with sound. Gaara and Saara kept their distance from the enemy using water and sand, whereas Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura defeated the first few in close combat. While Kakashi dodged and punched, he kept a close eye on the two Jinchuuriki. A small smile formed on his face when he saw a real piece of teamwork. Gaara was fighting two water ninjas at the same time; attempting to place a hit whenever his enemies were busy making hand signs. By the time he brought the finishing blow to the last ninja, almost half of his sand was lying wet and useless on the ground. He turned around to distract whichever enemy was facing Saara, giving her the opportunity to pull the water from the wet patches of sand on the ground. This cycle continued, with Saara providing dry sand when he needed it, and it allowed her to collect extra water from the bare environment.

Eventually the only enemy left got buried under dozens of shadow clones, leaving the rock area covered in bodies. Only Orochimaru still stood on the boulder; his smile having turned into a grin. His plan was working perfectly so far. The area provided a disadvantage for the two Jinchuuriki, he had caught them unprepared which forced Saara to fight in thick winter clothes, and he had used the worst ninjas in his possession to wear them out. Now he was left with a group of twenty-five of his best ninjas, including himself and Kabuto to defeat the invaders and get rid of this delay to his grand plan. He really was a genius.

"It seems all of you have improved… some. However I suggest we move to another area." With this, Orochimaru nodded at the dead bodies, whose names he didn't even know. "This scum is blocking the way for the real fight." He smirked before jumping from one boulder to the next, slowly putting more distance between himself and Kakashi's team. Landing on a boulder close enough so they could still see him, he turned around and waited. Sakura and Naruto's eyes met; as did those of Kakashi and Gaara while Saara glared at Orochimaru. All of them knew they couldn't escape this fight. Orochimaru had undoubtedly made a plan to prevent them from getting very far if they ran away. The most they could do now was stretch the time before the fight and attempt to catch their breath.

Several ninjas appeared behind them, but didn't attack. They advanced slowly on Team Kakashi, forcing them towards the area where Orochimaru now stood. The three Jinchuuriki and Sakura looked at Kakashi, who nodded for them to follow his lead. One step at a time, he approached Orochimaru, taking as much time as the enemy ninjas would allow. Every second was crucial to recover and increase their chance of survival. There was no doubt that this new group of ninjas were highly skilled compared to the other group.

Finally, they were unable to stretch the time any further and stepped into the area Orochimaru had picked out. It was larger than previous area, and fortunately had more snow for Saara to use. Gaara had recovered all of his sand, and was already shifting into his fighting stance. A soft hiss reached their ears, as Orochimaru spoke. "Kill them." Immediately, the small group was attacked by the surrounding enemies. Every member of the expanded Team Kakashi had a hard time fighting off several ninjas at the same time. They had a set pattern, attacking with two at a time before falling back for the next two to attack.

Saara was finding it more difficult than the others. She had undergone no ninja training whatsoever, and these new enemies were too quick for her to see their actions. Despite the water protecting her automatically, she had several scratches and one deep gash across her thigh, mere minutes into the fight. Naruto too, had several bruises forming near the scratches he had already received, and only half of his shadow clones were left. Kakashi shot a desperate look at Gaara, hoping he understood the message. Gaara caught the look before turning around to smash his sand into an enemies face. He bit his lip, trying to figure out what to do. In the few split seconds that the enemy fell back, he glanced at Saara. She was breathing hard and suddenly cried out when another deep gash appeared on her shoulder. He made the decision as soon as the cry reached his ears; almost half of his sand surged forward, taking the enemies by surprise and allowing him to jump out of their reach. Within seconds he reached Saara, using the same sand trick to push her enemies away. His arm slipped around her waist, carrying her as he jumped again.

Saara blinked in confusion as she found herself suddenly soaring away from the ninjas she had been fighting. Her wounds were throbbing, but she ignored them as she tried to sort out her mind. Everything was happening so quickly she couldn't keep up. Only when she was set back on the ground, did she realize that Gaara had been the one to pick her up. They were now at the back of the area, and she could see Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi still fighting. Their enemies had by now recovered from Gaara's sudden actions and were approaching them again. At that moment she realized what he wanted to do. It was time to test her brilliant idea from that evening walk days ago. She automatically shifted into the position they had practiced, and Gaara followed her example. Their position was nearly identical, with just a few differences from their lack of time in the past week to train. Kakashi smiled as he kept one eye on them and one eye on his opponent.

Their enemies were quickly approaching, and when they landed a few dozen meters ahead of the two Jinchuuriki, Gaara made the first move. He stretched his arms out to the side, palms turned up and fingers slightly bent, before snapping them back and out to the front with his right palm covering the back of his left hand; the sand in his gourd shot towards the enemies. A split second later Saara made the same move, only turning her hands slightly to the left. The water that lay collected around her bent and looped, twirling around the beam of sand that was racing towards the enemy ninjas. Right before the sand reached the face of the first opponent, Saara turned her hands to the right, making her position identical to Gaara. The water contracted around Gaara's sand, merging with it before smashing into a surprised face. The enemy flew back to land on his behind a few meters away; his shaky hand reached up to wipe his face clean... of mud. The force had been so big that his nose was undoubtedly broken, and his entire face was red and sore.

Meanwhile, Saara and Gaara had started moving again. Their hands and arms moved the same way at the same time and the mud twisted and turned to knock two more ninjas to the ground. At the other end of the clearing, time had stopped. Orochimaru was frowning, while Naruto and Sakura stared in disbelief. Kakashi just looked on with a smile bigger than the last, ad the enemy ninjas were contemplating helping their comrades or continuing their own fight. After a minute, they too resumed their fight with renewed energy. Despite still being outnumbered, Kakashi now knew they could win.

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I didn't plan on ending the chapter here, but I wanted to get it up before tomorrow, since I'm leaving for the entire week. I'm planning to have two or three more chapters before the story ends. :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters in this FanFic except Saara Mizu and some of the minor enemies. Everything else belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.


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