It was morning. The ninjas were preparing to pack up because, as Shao Lin said, Lao had already recovered and would be able to continue the way.

Shikamaru gathered all of the Leaf Village ninjas and they began to discuss their matters, while the siblings were packing up:

"Listen, guys, you all know we were sent here by Lord Hokage to retrieve Naruto, but since Naruto is willing to help these fir-needle guys out, we need to inform the Hokage about it. He must know."

"Yeah, you're right," Sakura agreed.

"But who will return to inform him?" Hinata wondered, "How will we manage it?"

"Hmm... I think I remember how that Grey Ninja, Nao Lin, said things about his using eagles to spy on our village. If he can send one of those eagles with our letter attached to its foot, we will manage to send the letter to Lord Hokage," Sasuke suggested. "Like that, all of us will stay together with Naruto to aid him, and the Hokage will be informed as well."

"Brilliant idea, Sasuke!" Shikamaru smiled.

"Alright. I'm going to tell Nao about it." Sasuke stood and walked towards the siblings' tents.

"Well, I guess it's decided." Shikamaru stood too.

Hinata and Sakura went on to talk about girlish stuff. Naruto didn't know what to do. He looked around and spotted Gaara and Lao Shin together. He got curious and walked up to them. They sat under a tree together and talked, with smiles on their faces. It got Naruto interested - why on earth would Gaara be talking with such passion to a weird vampire girl like Lao Shin? Gaara was known as a single guy who never actually got on well with girls, considering the failure of his arranged marriage... When he came closer to them, he heard their conversation:

"So, that's your hobby? Raising cacti and looking after them? That's adorable! You seem to be caring. I love cacti too, I admit. Their thorns are really beautiful, a lot more beautiful than leaves - the way they prick into flesh, and the bleeding starts..." 

Lao's eye sparkled. Gaara was a little startled by her sudden thirst for blood.

"Anyway, you love cacti because they're plants of the desert, right? After all, you're a sand guy."

Gaara chuckled:

"It's not just that. Cacti are in fact really persistent plants. They live in the desert and the sand, that's right, but I admire their great power to survive in critical conditions... What's more, as you've mentioned, they have thorns, and they don't really seem as attractive as other plants at first glance. In fact, they seem even scary, but when you reach the inside - the sweet juice they've got - it can remind us that it's not the surface that matters, but what lies inside."

"Oh, so you love philosophy too, huh?" Lao laughed. "I agree with you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow - why would Gaara talk so elatedly with a girl he barely knew, and what was more, about his hobbies? So passionately? No, it was really weird! That wasn't the Gaara he knew.

"Hey, you guys, what are you up to?"

Lao and Gaara started, but when they noticed Naruto, they regained their composure.

"Naruto, it's not good to sneak up on people like that! Didn't your elders teach you?" Lao frowned, "If only you were my sibling!"

Naruto got even more confused:

"I didn't sneak up. I've been here for quite some time, but you guys didn't even notice."

"Oh, forget it!" Lao swung her hand. "We were just sitting, chatting, enjoying the fresh air... nothing special." She stood, but clearly seemed annoyed that they had cut into their conversation. She smiled at Gaara: "See you later, cutie redhead!"

Gaara returned a smile. Naruto was astonished - she called him "cutie redhead", and he was happy?

"Um, Gaara, what's up with you?"

Gaara stood, regaining his serious look:

"Nothing."

"But you were talking with her in such a manner! I've never seen you like that before."

Gaara stopped, and without turning back, asked:

"Naruto, mind your own business. I don't rush in when you and Hinata do your thing, do I?"

Naruto widened his eyes in embarrassment:

"Do our thing?!"

"Exactly. Well, later."

"Hey, wait up! You cannot just declare a thing like that and walk away! What do you mean by that?"

Naruto grew mad at Gaara's irritating calmness, but the Kazekage didn't answer, just went into his tent to pack things up. Naruto was shocked:

"Yeah, things are just getting weirder and weirder... Could Gaara really be interested in that scary woman? Oh, goodness..."

Meanwhile, Sasuke was walking towards Nao Lin's tent when he spotted Mao Shin - the girl with an orange cloak and twin-tails - playing shogi with a strange guy who had wrapped himself in a pitch-black cloak and wore a pitch-black hood hiding his face. Sasuke got a bad feeling as if this guy reminded him of death. Nevertheless, he continued his way up to Nao Lin, who had almost finished packing his bag.

"Hey there, Nao Lin. I need to ask you a favour."

"Oh... What is it?"

"We need one of your eagles to send information to our Hokage."

"Fine."

They sent the letter to Kakashi in the Leaf Village. Then, they followed the sibling ninjas on their journey.

"So, Lao, anyway, where do you think that guy of yours is now?" Naruto asked.

"We don't know, Naruto, but he's on this continent, and close somewhere to the ocean, because that is where he came from."

"So, how are we supposed to find him?"

"We will search for him everywhere. We will find him. We will ask about him in every village we stop at. We will sense the darkness he leaves as a trace to follow."

Thus, the great ninjas of the Hidden Leaf, the Kazekage of the Hidden Sand, and the strange ninja siblings from another continent, headed out together on a grand journey to find the darkest enemy they had ever encountered.