A fluctuation.

The sensation caused a furrow to appear on Naruto's brow.

He glanced at the wall enclosing Sunagakure from the sandy plains beyond.

It appeared... that the snake had made his move.

It might have been concealed, but the killing intent of the intruder was astonishingly dense. If he was not mistaken, Orochimaru should have been visiting to discuss the cooperation between Otogakure and Sunagakure. Rasa had yet to respond to his offer and was supposed to inform Orochimaru of his decision on the latter's next visit. There was no logical reason for Orochimaru to be after Rasa's life at this stage.

If so, there was a trace of possibility that the Kazekage never betrayed Konohagakure even in the previous timeline. Naruto briefly reevaluated what he already knew about the absent father of his first jinchūriki acquaintance. Perhaps subconsciously, Naruto labelled Rasa as a man who did not care about human emotions and was not loyal to alliances. He might have looked down on him, even if only vaguely, for his incompetence in managing his familial situation and maintaining his composure despite the sway of benefits. His demise at Orochimaru's hands in the previous life was not necessarily because he had doomed himself due to his greed either. He may have also humbly refused or asked for more time to make his decision as he had done in this timeline. His death was an unfortunate accident, not wrought upon himself but a product of Orochimaru's selfishness.

With such a realisation, when Naruto came to Rasa's rescue in the form of a certain violet-eyed redhead, the eyes with which he looked at the Kazekage changed.

If the man in question felt discomfort due to this change, he certainly did not show it.

Naruto assisted Rasa during the brief skirmish, which passed quickly as if the conflict had never happened. Orochimaru was compliant, backing off as soon as his first blow aimed at Rasa's vital points was avoided smoothly. It might have been out of respect for the Kazekage, who reacted swiftly by using Jiton to block the fatal attack. He might have also planned to spare Rasa if the latter was capable enough to skilfully escape the jaws of death. The blond in disguise did not know the snake Sannin well enough to determine his motives, but he did not care enough to dwell too long on the matter.

Although Rasa could never have caught the sneak attack in time to survive the assassination attempt, Orochimaru never discerned that there was someone else present during his hit-and-run.

"You should be more on guard, Kazekage-sama," Naruto advised with a word of caution, "I will be leaving soon. The scheduled programme that has provided cover for my presence here shall end after this final fortnight."

Rasa inclined his head in agreement.

"I understand. I am grateful for your aid. I, Rasa, owe you my life," the Kazekage replied formally.

Naruto felt the corners of his lips tilt upwards.

"There isn't any need for that. This is all for the benefit of Konoha. You are, after all, the leader of the village allied with mine," Naruto deflected lightly, refusing the life debt that Rasa so artlessly tried to push onto him.

With that not-quite-there smile on his face, Naruto promptly disappeared from Rasa's sight.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

"Well done, Sō," a redhead commended as he appeared in front of a whiskered blond.

"Master," the shorter figure greeted, setting down the materials he was using to craft an amulet with some fūinjutsu function or another.

"Come, let's switch back," Naruto returned to his usual appearance, standing at the same height as the blood clone before him.

"Yes, Master," Sōjirō answered, obediently taking the form that Naruto had just shed.

"You have to quit that habit of calling me 'Master' every time. You guys didn't have this problem before," Naruto grumbled, taking a closer look at the amulet that the redhead was working on before his arrival.

Sōjirō cocked his head to the side.

"Master must have noticed it by now," he stated clearly.

Naruto flinched back and looked up at Sōjirō warily.

"Don't say it..." he mumbled in denial, although his words held no restraining power.

For once, the clone did not obey.

"The fact that you were so much more restricted in your previous lifetime," Sōjirō continued reasonably.

Naruto gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut.

Of course, he had noticed.

"The life I am living is real," he insisted, turbid anxiety wrenching in his gut as he grabbed the blood clone's collar and stared harshly into Sōjirō's eyes.

He just did not want to accept it.

"Master. We know that," Sōjirō responded calmly, his eyes tranquil in contrast to the agitation of his creator.

Naruto was also aware of that.

It was just that... If this world was really...

The blond took a deep breath, restraining his rampant emotions as he took a step back with difficulty.

He just could not accept the possibility.

The possibility that the true nature of this world was the terrible situation he had thought up.

Hopefully, those suspicions were but a figment of his overactive imagination.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

"Everyone, gather up!" Kakashi shouted, clapping his hands crisply.

"Kakashi-senpai, the Suna siblings are not set to leave yet," Sōjirō remarked, fiddling with a braided cord of chakra conductive threads.

Kakashi eye-smiled, speaking cheerfully, "That's exactly why. We have to handle the exit protocols before they come out."

Sōjirō nodded, suggesting reasonably, "So you should hurry and go submit the relevant documents. It would not do for us to be late because you chose to dally when you could have done this in advance, senpai."

Kakashi gave a long sigh. "Sōjirō-san, you are about the only person who can tell me how to be on time and get away with it."

"Yes, yes. Now go," Sōjirō replied, shooing him away impatiently.

"He listens to you," Sasuke commented from where he was observing the situation.

Although Kakashi who was not on alert did not perceive his presence, Sasuke had been in the main hall all along. The Uchiha heir was not usually a morning person, but he was awake now (without anyone having to drag him out of bed) and waiting in the hall all this time. The raven-haired teen had been pulling all-nighters to maximise his gains from consulting (mostly through spars) with the only known Shakuton user, Pakura. Knowing the end of this period during which he could just look for her whenever he needed a revelation to spur on his progress was drawing near, Sasuke was zealous in his pursuit of mastery of the chakra nature.

"Sasuke..." Sōjirō informed with a troubled frown, "You are in quite the state."

Incidentally, Sakura happened to come down the stairs right then -- her eyes were immediately drawn to the sight of the completely worn-down Uchiha.

She snorted, "He's right. You really should take a look at yourself in a mirror. I'll help you pack so just hurry up and get yourself washed."

Clothes in tatters and hair a messy clump no longer resembling the rear of a duck but rather its nest, Sasuke looked like he had tumbled through an explosion of ink, dirt, scraps of paper and bits of unidentified items that stuck out of his hair. The dark circles that ringed his eyes were like a tanuki's, and his shoes had been misplaced somewhere in the village. He had ink smears from the undried ink pressed on his face and arms, incomplete hiragana characters overlapping with small cuts and bruises on his skin.

Sasuke, who was in a bleary state from lack of sleep, nodded blankly and trudged towards his assigned room, his carefully written notes the only pristine thing on his person.

He was unlucky enough to cross paths with Kankuro who was, unlike Sasuke, very much a morning person.

It was unfortunate for Sasuke that their temporary place of residence was a hotel that was meant for the highest ranking of the Kazekage's guests, Kogane no Taiyo. In other words, this was simply a wing of the Kazekage's Residence. Although it was said to be such, the five were allocated rooms in the personal quarters of the Kazekage family. Hence, they really were just living under the same roof as the Kazekage and his kin. This was an honour not allowed to many as well as a small precaution to allow Sōjirō to best protect Rasa's safety, though the latter part would never be brought up.

Kankuro did not even try to conceal his mirth and burst into a fit of laughter, snapping Sasuke out of his daze.

The Uchiha looked down at his own body covered in filth and rags, blanched and cursed colourfully.

Then he flashed out of the hallway using Hiraishin without further ado.

Kankuro was still cackling when Naruto came down to check on the space distortion caused by Sasuke overcharging the Hiraishin no Jutsu.

"What happened?" Naruto questioned the two who had not intervened in the situation which led to Sasuke almost causing a major mishap in space-time.

As for Kankuro, who was wheezing from how hard he was laughing, he did not have to ask to find out. The young puppeteer was likely the source of Sasuke's chagrin. The prideful Uchiha was probably mortified when he was so blatantly humiliated.

"All-nighters," Sakura summarised concisely.

Naruto nodded in understanding.

He, too, once witnessed the effects of Sasuke burning the midnight oil first-hand.

This patient of hypersomnia and clinomania after missing several nights of sleep was not a pretty sight.

Naruto whipped out a seal tag with a simple fūinjutsu matrix with the function of evening out spatial distortions.

It was not that bad -- at least the fabric of space-time did not tear or twist enough to generate a wormhole -- but there was a likelihood of future complications such as space storms. Even if this would not affect the average person, users of space-time ninjutsu would face difficulties in using their techniques within the vicinity. For example, if an insufficiently proficient user of Hiraishin was to attempt to teleport to the coordinates of a space storm, the best-case scenario would be losing a limb or two. If the worst happened, not even a body would be left behind.

Gaara poked out his fluffy head of carmine hair that was distinctly different from the vermillion-red hair of the now-dead Uzumaki clan, peering down at the events transpiring within the home while sleepily rubbing his eyes.

Kankuro noticed Gaara's face upside-down through the window and shrieked shrilly.

"Daiki?" he yawned, half-asleep.

Naruto's expression softened unintentionally, and he opened the window for his fellow jinchūriki to enter the Kazekage Residence.

"It's me. Slept well?" Naruto replied, the familiar yet unfamiliar words coming out as if by habit.

Gaara blinked slowly and staggered into the blond, not quite fully awake.

Naruto caught Gaara, allowing the other party to lean against him for support.

Gaara gradually came to.

"Good morning, Naruto," he greeted, nonplussed and apologetic about his half-conscious behaviour. "I'm very sorry for troubling you."

"Not at all," Naruto answered kindly. "I didn't feel troubled."

He hesitated for a moment, weighing over the consequences of speaking the next words.

Seeing Gaara looking so disconcerted, however, Naruto decided to just go with it.

"I did not disappear. I just exist as a part of Naruto. Whenever you look at me, know that I will look back at you," Naruto murmured lowly, his words just loud enough to be heard by Gaara. "Don't waste time mourning over me."

Gaara's head snapped up, and his cheeks began to burn in shame as memories of the embarrassing scene flooded his mind.

It was fine when he thought of it as something just between Daiki and himself. After all, that just before his companion of the past few years disappeared for good. Daiki was so real, so human. It was so even if Gaara could not see him most of the time. Moreover, Daiki's personality differed from Naruto's just enough for Gaara to view him as a different person from the start. It never clicked that, even if Daiki was momentarily an individual, he was still a part of the entity "Naruto".

Then again, Gaara could not be blamed for his ignorance. Most bunshin techniques did not allow users to receive feedback from the dispelled clones. Such a jutsu only included Konoha's special technique, the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Shadow clones are unlike ordinary clones, which are illusory, and clones of specific chakra natures, which require the user to manipulate them not unlike how a puppeteer controls puppets. Each shadow clone is animated, with individuality. Though not as pronounced as in the blood clones, it was true that shadow clones did share this trait. Most importantly, shadow and blood clones would transmit all of the experiences that they gathered to the caster of the technique.

This made shadow clones an excellent tool for infiltration and information gathering.

"Feel free to come to bother me whenever you like. I won't get annoyed with you, Gaara," Naruto spoke mildly.

Gaara flushed even redder.

"I apologise," he said meekly.

"I meant my words. You're a precious friend to me, Gaara. I don't mind you pestering me like the two rascals on my team," Naruto laughed freely.

Not trusting his voice, Gaara nodded mutely.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

When Kakashi returned with the exit permits, the whole assemblage was already gathered.

While Baki and Temari were awkwardly lingering at the edge of the group, the other seven very naturally gravitated together. Gaara had introduced Yashamaru to the four from Konoha, while Kankuro occasionally raised a question about puppetry to Naruto. Sakura and Sasuke competed in a game of chakra Gomoku (a simpler variation of Go), which comprised a flat board that encased a thin layer of multicoloured grains (a magnetic sandlike substance that was not quite metal). It was more of a drawing board than a Go set, and the tool allowed the user to practice fine chakra control.

Sōjirō was discussing all kinds of matters with Yashamaru, the two only falling short of revealing classified village information, while Gaara quietly listened to them talk.

"Since we're all here, let's set off!" Kakashi exclaimed, his eyes crinkling in the picture of joy.

Baki shifted uncomfortably at the not-so-subtle sense of alienation from the rest of the group.

They marched out of Sunagakure's gates openly in the middle of the day, as though fearing that their departure would not be known by the masses.

"The sun," groaned Sasuke, squinting at the heat waves rippling off the dunes.

"Get on," Gaara said curtly.

He had constructed a magnificent boat of sand, complete with a wide sail that was currently closed.

Naruto and Sōjirō hopped on first, not at all taken aback by the sand structure. The rest swiftly followed suit, leaving Temari and Baki who were hesitating on whether it was a good idea to go ahead and leave themselves vulnerable like that. Since the boat was entirely made of sand, this was equivalent to a massive weapon that Gaara could control with but a thought. Unlike Kankuro, Sakura and Sasuke -- who trusted in Naruto's decisions -- or Kakashi -- who did not care, Baki was aware of Gaara's ability to kill humans with such apparent ease and was more sceptical. Temari, not at all like Yashamaru and Naruto who trusted Gaara, was secretly afraid of her brother, who was the vessel of the Ichibi.

"Hurry up or just head back to Suna!" Kankuro yelled down at her, irritated by her indecision.

Temari gritted her teeth at her brother's provocation, steeled her nerves and clambered onto the sailboat.

Naruto flicked a wrist, causing winds to blow, and the boat was propelled forward when Gaara raised the sails.

Thanks to the sailboat, they soon arrived at the edge of the desert expanse. Naruto stopped the air currents that had powered the journey of the wind-spurred boat of sand. The pocket formed by winds ferried the shinobi across, allowing them to reach the border within four hours.

As it crumbled and merged with the desert, the group of ten alighted while brushing off residue that had clung to their clothing. Only Naruto and Sōjirō were completely unruffled, though their hairstyles might have been upgraded by the strong winds. This was courtesy of one of the many seals that Naruto invented for personal use, one that kept filth from remaining on his body. This was a useful multipurpose seal that prevented him from getting dirty, eliminating discomfort or odours that accumulate on the long missions that did not allow him the leisure to find a river to bathe in.

"Will we be stopping to rest?" Yashamaru questioned, his expression as gentle as ever.

He appeared unmoved by the high-speed journey, his relaxed demeanour wholly uncontrived. It was uncertain whether this was because he was just so good at acting that he could naturally feign normalcy despite being fazed by the unorthodox mode of transport or if he was really as calm as he seemed. He was dusted with a layer of fine sand but did not appear any worse for wear. His legs did not tremble like his niece Temari's and he did not seem to feel dizzy due to motion sickness like his nephew Kankuro. The other adult in the Suna party, Baki, looked queasy when he staggered off the remains of the sand boat.

Naruto surveyed the group.

They were in a pathetic state.

He glanced at his side. Kakashi looked fine, as did Sakura and Sasuke. They were already acclimated to such bizarre modes of transportation.

Naruto decided to temporarily shelve the idea of propagating a series of sailboats used to cross the deserts of Kaze no Kuni.

He briefly met gazes with his clone.

Sōjirō nodded inappreciably to show his understanding.

He pulled a stack of talismanic paper and a self-inking brush. Sōjirō then pulled off the cap and deftly drew several bold strokes on a sheet before sticking it on Baki's forehead. The effect of this was that he now resembled a Jiangshi, a particular type of zombie rumoured to be prevalent in some other part of the world. Soon, Temari and Kankuro also received the same treatment.

The effects of the paper talismans were immediate.

Baki and Kankuro immediately improved in complexion and Temari stopped shaking.

"These prevent motion sickness. Do not remove them until the end of the trip. These talismans are single-use and I will not draw more even if you ask for them," Sōjirō informed, bluntly.

He accentuated this statement by sticking one on Yashamaru as well.

His understanding of the sandy-blond ANBU of Sunagakure allowed him to deduce that the man probably was not nearly as well as he made himself out to be. Even if he did not explicitly mention his indisposition, Yashamaru did request a break before continuing. It could indeed be construed as care for his niece and nephew but Sōjirō interpreted it differently since he knew that Yashamaru was a stubborn guy who refused to show weakness. Despite his mental illness, he had chosen to bury it all deep inside himself in the previous timeline and was only saved this time because of outside interference.

Sure enough, Yashamaru did not act to remove the offensive paper rectangle stuck to his forehead which significantly restricted his field of vision.

"Ah! Since we're still on land right now, I might as well hand these out first," Sakura muttered, digging through her bag.

She triumphantly raised the special storage scroll that could be identified as a product of the famously exalted Ketsusai brand by the distinctive insignia of a swirl of flowers.

She unfurled it and sent chakra through the scroll, ejecting ten neatly leaf-wrapped parcels each the size of two fists.

"'Suke, help me distribute them," she instructed, piling half of them into his arms.

Grumbling half-heartedly, Sasuke did as his teammate told him to.

He gave one bundle to each of their travelling companions from Sunagakure before returning to accept one from Sakura.

Upon receiving his, Naruto did not wait for any explanation. He could guess what the contents of the scroll were after recognising it as a matrix which prevented interaction between each article that was deposited. Although it was not a civilian-use scroll, it was not very popular amongst the shinobi either. That was because, for its exquisite design and exorbitant price, this item was not very useful for most shinobi. Those who bought it either used it like Sakura, keeping cooked food warm and ready for consumption, or used it as a herb storage medium as the scroll's contents would be isolated from decay.

The original intended purpose of the seals was never released to potential buyers. Only the functions of the scrolls were published. How people decided to maximise their use of these masterpieces was out of the maker's control. Naruto enjoyed hearing stories about the many ways people repurposed the seals, sometimes in direct contradiction to the actual intent of their creation.

In this case, the fact that this complicated scroll was expensive and rare was not because Naruto was fooling around while making something dysfunctional. This scroll was special because it did not limit the size of each object. Essentially, an entire house could be stored in the scroll despite its capacity being only that of thirty items. This alone made it more valuable than any other storage scroll that was sold under the unnamed brand. Even if that was the only role of this seal matrix, any buyer would have been profiting despite its price.

What made this matrix revolutionary was the fact that it also did not distinguish between living and non-living things within each defined article. Even if thirty houses were to be stored, each containing complete furnishings and inhabitants, capacity would not be exceeded. The only limitation would be that each object would have to be whole and disconnected from the ground before it could be stored. If someone was observant enough, they would also realise that this scroll could also imprison thirty humans. As they could be completely isolated and time within this matrix is warped such that it is virtually stagnant within provided that the object stored did not contain within it a space of its own, thirty people could be locked away without realising it until they were freed by someone who found the scroll or the ink on the scroll faded away, whichever came first.

When this possibility was discovered by Hiruzen through an accident, he deemed it too dangerous and overpowered and placed a ban on further production before anyone else learned what it was capable of.

"Eat. I used ingredients that would help settle the stomach and keep you satiated," Sakura spoke while unwrapping the leaves of her portion.

When she was explaining to the others, Naruto already bit into the onigiri and was chewing on the plump and fragrant grains of rice (there was nothing good about it other than the rice).

The mixture of herbs was indeed good for the reasons she mentioned, but the taste left a lot to be desired. In nicer terms, the taste of the herbs was too strong and she did not season it very well. In not-so-nice words, it tasted awful.

After the first bite, Naruto had to block his sense of taste to eat the rest.

Gaara did not eat, merely rolling a perfectly spherical rice ball around in his hand.

Sōjirō finished one onigiri out of politeness, and also to avoid angering the cook in his Master's stead.

Kakashi eye-smiled while "clumsily" dropping the onigiris out of "negligence" after he tasted it.

Sasuke did not dare to open the package. He was Sakura's favourite guinea pig and knew best how terrible her cooking was. It was to the extent that he would rather starve than subject himself to that atrocity.

Temari and Kankuro, both of whom were very hungry due to having skipped breakfast, scarfed down an entire onigiri each before the taste even registered. By the time they gagged, trying to throw it back up, it was too late. It tasted terrible, but the efficacy of the herbs could not be denied. It was near impossible to vomit after eating and, even if they felt like their mouths were filled with mud, they did feel better after eating.

Baki, out of pride, acted like a martyr, heroically sacrificing himself by consuming poison.

Yashamaru, like Naruto, chewed properly. It almost made the others think that these two anomalies were eating different things from the rest of them. He also swallowed while seeming like nothing was out of the ordinary. The slight tremor in the hand that sent the horribly-tasting rice ball to his lips was the only sign that betrayed his reluctance to eat.

When Sasuke realised upon closer inspection that Sakura was not eating the rice balls she had given out, but rather normal onigiri with pickled plum filling and nori wrapping, he felt hopeful. And so, he opened the package doubtfully. He did not expect much. Perhaps she would have put the same thing in his onigiri -- it would not taste that bad but would not be fantastic either.

Sasuke closed his eyes and braced himself before taking a bite.

His eyes flew open in disbelief.

He stared at the contents of his onigiri as tears flowed from his eyes.

Tomatoes.

He was so enraptured with the taste of his favourite fruit that he finished it before he knew it.

"'Kura, you..." he said emotionally.

"Yes, I put sun-dried tomatoes in it," Sakura replied offhandedly, still nibbling at her onigiri.

Sasuke beamed uncharacteristically and confessed, "Words cannot describe my love for..."

Temari leaned forward, feeling the (imaginary) tension.

Unfortunately, her anticipation was immediately crushed.

"Tomatoes," the four members of Team Seven finished the sentence together.

To them, there was no suspense.

This was not the first time Sasuke declared his passion for tomatoes. Besides, even Kakashi could tell that there would never be any romantic chemistry between the members of this team. They worked well together and were more tight-knit than family, but their relationship was not amorous in nature.

Once the simple meal was completed, Naruto whipped out a different flying invention from the previous round. This one had proper seats, rather than looking like a raft with a sail attached. It resembled a streamlined gondola affixed with broad wings. In the words of another world, this was a rudimentary aeroplane.

Baki pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What is it this time?" he asked in dread.

"It flies," Naruto explained succinctly.

The tall jōnin paled and took a step back.

"What's with these youngsters and absurd transportation methods?" Baki muttered to himself.

Kakashi assured brightly, "Don't worry, it's safe!"

The Suna additions did not know, but this vehicle was already much more reliable than the previous flying contraption that the Konoha company rode to get to Sunagakure.

"You can sit anywhere except the first and last seat," Naruto told them.

The two seats in question were quite obvious. There were a total of six rows, four of which were wooden benches that could accommodate two passengers each -- secured firmly to the base of the gondola. The two rows at the fore and rear were single-seater chairs.

"What is the maximum load? Is it possible to make this thing bigger? How does it fly? Why does it look like a bird? Can the wings move? What is it called?" Kankuro chattered excitedly, craning his neck to attempt to take in the whole layout of the mysterious vehicle.

"Maximum load depends on the materials used in construction. This one can take two thousand kilograms," Naruto explained scrupulously. "It can be made bigger, but that will need a stronger material and advanced auxiliary fūinjutsu matrices to make it fly. It flies with upthrust -- basically, it needs at least two Fūton users as pilots. One would steer and the other would help direct the winds using chakra -- they are also called the aeronaut and navigator. The more proficient the aeronaut, the faster the aircraft. The more knowledgeable the navigator, the more direct and efficient the route. It's designed like this so that it can effectively catch updrafts. The wings don't move unless they're about to come off. It's called..." He trailed off.

He never named it.

A flying machine?

Oh, well. Whatever goes.

"Hikōki," Naruto announced without originality.

An aircraft would be an aircraft. A watercraft would be a watercraft. Aeroplanes were just flying machines, so he would just refer to them as such. It did not matter whether or not his inventions ended up with nice-sounding names.

If he were any less creative, he would have called it "Narutoki" -- the Naruto machine.

It was catchy enough, if not a bit narcissistic.