Soon the ninjas arrived at the spot Kankuro was concerned about.

"Well, this is the place," Kankuro said, and turned to the children: "Now show us what you can do".

All of the cousins glanced at Mekano. He shrugged and made a few steps forward. Then he suddenly dropped off to the ground and sat in a certain meditative pose. He wove strange hand signs and cried:

"Dark Style: Sensory Tracking Technique!"

And he closed his left eye, and his right robotic red eye diminished its focus, as if 'closing' too.

Mekano grew silent, slightly frowning. He seemed to be accumulating Soul Energy.

The cousins were patiently waiting for him, watching him carefully. But not everyone could bear this much silence.

"What is he doing?" Kankuro raised eyebrow.

"Shh!" Shamo told him to hush. "Please, he needs to concentrate!" she whispered.

Kankuro shrugged and hushed up again, waiting.

Gaara was attentively watching this extraordinary cyborg child.

After some minutes of anticipation, Mekano finally opened eyes.

"Well, what is it?" Shamo impatiently dashed at him, being anxious.

"Hana was here," he quietly declared, frowning. "I sensed her pure and strong energy among many other dirty and weak ones. I assume those latter belong to her kidnappers".

"Where does the trace lead?" Kankuro leaped up.

Mekano went silent for some minutes. Then he slowly stood up, and turned back, glancing at Kankuro:

"They lead..." and then he hesitated, as if wanting to find proper words. Then he suddenly said: "They lead underground, deep down, where there's big gathering of energy, as if a whole town".

Hearing this, Kankuro, Gaara, Temari and Sand ninjas gasped in shock - a whole town?! Under their desert?! And they didn't know about it?!

"Are you sure?" Temari doubtfully crossed arms.

Mekano nodded.

"Yes".

"Unbelievable..." Kankuro murmured in stupefaction.

All of the friends were dumbfounded.

"I think it's partly logic," they suddenly heard Shusui's deep voice.

"What do you mean?" Shamo got surprised.

"I mean, Kazekage and his men couldn't find any trace of those sand bandits because every time they arrived at their hideouts probably the whole camp was drowned underground... And when something is sucked by the sand, it surely leaves no trace," Shusui shrugged.

Everyone widened eyes.

"Yeah, that makes sense..." Kaen fell in his thoughts.

"I don't know... I think it's weird," Kankuro raised eyebrow.

"What do you think, Gaara?" Temari looked at her brother, being slightly confused.

"I think it is possible..." Gaara fell in his thoughts, putting hand on his chin. Then he frowned and raised his head: "We must investigate. That is by now the only clue we have, so we have to check it. Furthermore, eastern ninjas always had strong sensory skills, so I do believe my nephew".

"Your nephew?!" Temari raised eyebrow.

"Well, if Mekano is Shamo's cousin, he is my nephew... Isn't he?" Gaara calmly shrugged.

Hearing this, and seeing her father's gesture, Shamo giggled. She got happy that her father accepted all of her cousins as his kinsmen, and not strangers, even though he had never seen or known them before.

Temari chuckled, palming her face.

"Oh goodness..." she uttered.

Kankuro laughed as well.

"Fine, let's get down to business," Gaara turned serious, and held his hands high: "Sand Waterfall Pit!"

Instantly the ground was cut in a fissure and the whole sand started falling in it like a waterfall!

But Gaara took enough amount of sand to form his Sand Suspension and place everyone of his group onto his flying bunch of sand.

"Oh wow, such cool moves you got father!" Shamo was amazed, "Please teach me them sometime!"

"Sure. That's what your mother sent you here for," Gaara chuckled, being happy to be praised from his newly discovered daughter who reminded him of his beloved woman more and more.

"Well, let's dive in?" Kankuro asked.

"Yes," and Gaara made his sand bunch slowly move down into the pit, taking also the whole group.

They dived deeper and deeper, and soon, they reached the absolute depth, the flying sand bunch of Gaara landing on the solid ground and dissipating in the wet sand that met it there!

The friends widened eyes.

The sand waterfall couldn't reach this deep. It was dissipating right in the air, causing smoke.

"Gee, seeing the sand wouldn't even reach the depth..." Kankuro looked up at the waterfall, raising eyebrow in stupefaction, "Just how deep is this place?"

"That's not important. Main is that it actually exists," Gaara frowned, and closed the pit again, the ceiling covering the huge cave.

It got dark.

"Hey! Ugh good job Gaara, now we cannot even see anything!" Kankuro grumbled.

"Not to worry," Mekano's voice called out, and abruptly a robotic sound was heard, Mekano's robotic red eye lighting up, and shedding red bright light on the front, as if a strong red torch!

"Wow..." Kankuro and the other Sand villagers were impressed.

Mekano had closed his left human eye.

"Good job Mekano," Shamo beamed.

"Anyway, what is this place?" Temari looked around, noticing they were in a strange square-formed corridor.

The friends also curiously glanced around, and opened their mouths in astonishment - there were weird paintings on the sand and stone walls!

"What are these?" Kankuro touched the paintings on the walls.

"They look like ancient hieroglyphs..." Temari approached the walls too.

"Interesting..." Gaara uttered, and viewed the paintings carefully.

Shamo was watching the paintings, being surprised and curious.

Suddenly they heard Nami's gasp!

"Nami?" Shusui looked at his younger sister, being slightly worried - why was she so scared?

Little Nami walked up to the walls and touched a giant painting of a yellow light ball.

She then suddenly put her hands together, as if in midst of praying, and closed her light blue eyes, slightly bowing to the painting of the yellow ball.

Shamo and her cousins, as well as the Sand villagers, got dumbfounded - what was she doing?

But then Shamo carefully looked at the yellow ball and gasped in shock!

"It is the Sacred Spirit!" she exclaimed, "It is the Sacred Spirit depicted there!"

Gaara widened eyes, as well as Shamo's cousins.

"Yes, it is true..." Gaara murmured, and walked up to the painting, touching it, taking a deep breath. "So it is the earth's history depicted here, huh?"

"Yes," Shamo answered, watching the drawings, "It is shown how the entire world was created by the Sacred Spirit, including the earth..."

"These drawings date before the intrusion of Kaguya Otsutsuki..." Gaara concluded. "That means this is an ancient temple preserved under the sand..."

"Maybe that is why I felt its energy so strongly," Mekano assumed, "But it is clearly dirtied. It seems those bandits have made this place their main hideout".

"If so, then we're on the right track," Gaara puckered, "Can you check their energy trace once again?"

"Yes, Lord Kazekage," Mekano nodded, turned off his eye-light and cast his jutsu again.

"So strange... We never knew this temple existed..." Temari crossed her arms.

"How could we know?" Kankuro raised eyebrow, "It is stuck so deep under the sand, and it dates back to millennia... and even further. Imagine when Kaguya visited us, and this temple was built a lot earlier than that".

"Yeah, I guess you're right".

Abruptly Mekano's eye-light turned on again, and woken cyborg boy stood up, declaring:

"I've found them. Follow me," and he proceeded forward.

"Good job!" Kankuro grinned and went after him. The others also followed them.

"How many of them do you sense?" Gaara frowningly asked.

"Quite many," Mekano answered, puckering. "But I will do anything to retrieve Hana".

"As well as all of us," Shamo added, clenching fists.

"Good. Then let's see what your parents have taught you," Gaara smiled.