Hidden Artisan Village

It wasn't long after we left the small village that we had to stop and rest. All of us were low on chakra from our fight against the rogue ninjas. We set up camp on the side of the road. Baki got out some rations and Kankuro gave out some chakra pills he had been given before leaving.

"Who was your opponent Gaara? I was surprised when it took you so long to take them down," said a Kankuro with his mouth full. I rolled my eyes at his bad manners.

"You might know him, his name was Sumaru Yakira," I said nonchalantly. I hoped that the reaction to me saying Sumaru would be good and it definitely was. Kankuro choked on his food and went into a hacking fit. Baki halted eating and stared at me strangely. Temari was the only one that didn't realize who Sumaru was, she was confused by the reaction of Baki and Kankuro.

"What's the big deal? Who is this Sumaru," questioned Temari. She was definitely curious to hear Kankuro's answer, just as I was.

"Sumaru Yakira is a puppet master legend! He trained under Sasori of the Red Sands and was one of the few to get puppet prosthetics. He left the village shortly after Sasori did in search of him. Sumaru apparently had a huge obsession with his master," said Kankuro with excitement. Temari rolled her eyes at Kankuro's sudden enthusiasm and I smiled at it.

"Don't be so excited about him Lord Kankuro he was still a traitor," said Baki with a slight bitterness. You couldn't really blame Kankuro for his obsession with puppets. I had expected such a reaction out of him.

"What puppets did he use? What were his abilities," asked Kankuro gleefully. My face darkened a little, should I tell them about the child puppets?

"He didn't use any puppets, just his puppet prosthetics. They were a chakra beam and an air cannon. There were also boosters in his legs," I told him. The child puppets would be a burden I alone would carry. I didn't want to ruin the mood by talking about them.

"Really? That's pretty cool," admitted Kankuro. Baki was giving him a death glare now which Kankuro was totally oblivious to. It wasn't really normal to talk about your murderous enemies like they are heroes.

"How close are we to the Hidden Artisan Village Baki-sensei," I questioned. Moving away from our little run-in with the rogue ninjas might be best for Kankuro's safety. I didn't want him to get reprimanded by Baki for how he was talking.

"Just about a day's journey from there," responded Baki. A day away huh? I was curious about what we would find in the village. It wasn't a very powerful village but it was renowned for its weapons. They were of a quality like no other, coveted by almost every Hidden Village. I secretly hoped I would be able to buy one of their amazing weapons. Any visit to the Hidden Artisan Village was rare and not to be wasted. I had plenty of money since I was the son of the Kazekage, as much as he didn't like me. Hopefully, this mission would breeze over quickly, after fighting all those rogue ninjas I had enough excitement for one journey.

"Listen up, rest up for a few hours, and then we will move out. We have a tight schedule now that we were delayed by those rogue ninjas," said Baki. We all quickly finished our food and spread out to sleep. Everyone but Baki and I was quickly asleep on the ground. That fight had truly worn us out, Baki had made the right call to let us all rest before heading out. We couldn't show up to the Hidden Artisans looking all ragged and tired.

"Aren't you going to sleep Baki-sensei? You were fighting just as hard as the rest of us," I said to him. Baki quickly shook his head and surveyed the land around us. I understood he wanted to seem invincible and tough in front of his genin but even Baki needed rest. I stood up and walked over to him, earning a surprised glance from Baki.

"I have more chakra than you right now Baki-sensei, you need to rest. We will need you to do all of the negotiations with the Hidden Artisans so we can't have you tired," I told him unwaveringly. I didn't want to even try to do the negotiations in his place due to his lack of energy. Baki hesitated but then submitted to my logic and went to lay down. He was much more tired than he would ever admit I imagined. Pride could be a pretty terrible thing in situations like these. Once Baki was asleep along with the other two, I decided it was time to test out one of my new Jutsu. Not all of the Jutsu I had been given was combat Jutsu, there had been a rare few other kinds of Jutsu. This one had caught my eye, not sure why but I learned it anyway. My regular sand poured out of my gourd and began spreading out in individual particles. Almost invincible to the human eye, they floated around the surrounding area until they were a tan glint in the air. This Jutsu was called Sand Particle Sensor, if anything walked through and hit one of the particles I'd be made aware of it. It was very precise, had a low chakra cost, and didn't require much concentration. The downside was of course if it got wet or was rainy it would work, wind also would wipe it out. I sat down and vigilantly paid attention to the Jutsu. I sensed insects, small breezes that made the Jutsu falter that I had to fix, and birds moving through the air. I was glad this Jutsu didn't take much chakra, it was very useful in situations like this. I didn't even have to keep my eyes open, I could half-sleep while keeping total watch over my surroundings. Only a few more hours of this and then I would be free. Maybe I shouldn't have volunteered to take the whole shift.

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"So that's the Hidden Artisan Village," I said. A large cluster of buildings with clay roofs and marble walls was visible in the distance. It seemed very elegant and beautiful for just a bunch of buildings. This village was far different from the Hidden Sand, where the buildings were all made of stucco. Elegance is definitely the word to describe the village, which was odd since it was a shinobi village. I guess the Hidden Artisans were just different from most.

"Yes Lord Gaara, we will be spending the rest of the day here and then leaving tomorrow morning for the Hidden Leaf," said Baki. The jonin definitely sounded and looked much more energetic than he had been. I of course was a little weary from not sleeping, though resting my eyes had helped a little.

"What are these ninjas like? I know about their legendary weapons but what about the actual ninjas," asked Temari. A good question considering we are about to be negotiating a renewal of a peace treaty.

"The Hidden Artisans has long been taken advantage of by the Five Great Nations and even other small Hidden Villages. They are very cautious of outsiders since many of their incredible weapons have been stolen in the past. Do not expect to get a friendly welcome," answered Baki coldly. I was hoping for a little bit more optimism, his response lessened all of our excitement. As we got closer to the village, stares from many farmers and other people began to grow. I understood that we weren't going to get a warm welcome but this was way more than that. Everyone stopped to give us glares or suspicious looks. Some started whispering while others began to get away from us. Looking at Kankuro and Temari I could tell we all felt uneasy about the situation.

"Is this how it normally is Baki-sensei," I asked. Our treatment seemed way too over the top.

"No, only the ninjas are usually this cold but not all the citizens. Something must have happened," he said warily. After hearing that we were all on guard. This situation wasn't looking very good. As if fate had read my mind, several Hidden Artisan ninjas appeared around us. They all had weapons that shined, glimmered, and seemed extremely deadly. Sand shot out of my gourd and surrounded us all at my command. If this was going south I might as well be ready for it.

"Surrender yourselves, thieves," shouted one of the ninjas. One threw a shuriken that I easily blocked and another charged forward. I grabbed him with my sand and threw him back. He tumbled into the grass and his comrades quickly charged afterward. I created a box around us and simply let themselves exhaust their strength. Their weapons had much more of an effect than I would have thought but still proved useless. Then they all suddenly stopped which made me frown. They were giving up already? My thoughts were silenced as one of the walls blew apart and crumbled. A figure of a man wielding a huge war hammer walked forward. He must have used some kind of Jutsu or his ear hammer had special properties.

"Surrender," ordered the huge man. He truly had an impressive aura surrounding him. He had short hair and broad shoulders, paired with cold eyes. Baki stepped forward to stand in front of the man, looking almost like a child compared to him.

"We are the Hidden Sand delegation that has been sent to renew the treaty," said Baki calmly. I wondered how he could be so composed when in such a dire situation. We were heavily outnumbered and in a foreign land, we were at a disadvantage if they attacked.

"I have orders to bring you in under suspected thievery," boomed the man. He definitely wasn't taking no for an answer.

"We just arrived here, there wasn't any time to have stolen anything. What precious treasure do you accuse us of stealing anyways," questioned Baki. The surrounding ninjas all had visible looks of hatred and shame when Baki asked that question. This must-have happened recently if we were suspected.

"One of our greatest weapons, the Dragon Blade," said the large man with frustration. He had definitely written us off as guilty already. Most of the Hidden Artisan ninjas seemed to have done the same. Baki had stiffened at the mention of the Dragon Blade, it must be important if Baki knew of its existence.

"Very well then, as long as you promise to treat us with respect we will allow this investigation. Let me make myself clear though, you are not hassling some small Hidden Village or lowlifes. We are the Hidden Sand, one of the Five Great Nations, and these of the Sand Siblings, the children of the Fourth Kazekage," said Baki with steel in his tone. The Hidden Artisan ninjas and even the large man lost some of their confidence. They definitely thought that we were just some pushover genin and a lowlife jonin. They now looked at us with apprehension, especially me. I could see fear in their eyes and for the first time in a while I liked it. If they dared mistreat my siblings or Baki then they would know the wrath of the Hidden Sand jinchuriki.

"Alright then, tell your genin to put his sand back in his gourd," said the large man. I did as he said and put all my sand back into the gourd. We were then surrounded and escorted through the village. Nasty looks and flares followed us all throughout the village. This blade might be a lot more important than I thought it was. If the whole village, even the inhabitants that weren't shinobi hated us enough to give us these looks then it was a bad situation.

"Where are we headed," I asked the Hidden Artisan ninja. Scowls were all I got except for one of them. He was a young man with silver hair and an uncertain look.

"We are headed to Lord Soshiro's office, our leader," said the silver-haired man. He was immediately pushed by one of his fellow ninjas and then shoved by yet another. I was about to intervene when the large man who had been leading us whipped his head back and gave a death glare. The two that had hit him shot back into their positions and put their eyes straight ahead. Looks like they were scared of the big man, as they should in my opinion. Abusing their own comrade in any situation was totally unacceptable. Even if you hated that person he was still your comrade. You couldn't show disrespect and hatred towards them at any cost. The silver-haired man solemnly got back into line with his head down. I would have to thank him later for showing me kindness. Even if we were supposedly proven guilty I doubt that the Hidden Sand would allow us to be killed or locked away. Just what did they hope to gain by doing this? I understood they were looking for justice against those who had stolen the Dragon Blade but they wouldn't gain anything. The Hidden Sand wouldn't stand for our arrest or mistreatment and then the Hidden Artisan would be crushed. This felt like quite the blunder in my opinion.

"We have arrived, make sure to show Lord Soshiro the proper respect given for his title," said the large man. This guy was acting like he was second in command and I wouldn't be surprised if he was. He certainly fits the bill for intimidation and power. I looked at the building we had stopped at and found it to be even more impressive than the village. It had soaring marble arches and large windows, along with dark oak doors at the front. It made the Kazekage's office look ugly when comparing the two, this building had serious elegance. Entering the building the inside was no different from the outside. Hardwood floors and there were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. This place felt like a palace if I was being honest with myself. We walked up a huge marble staircase and then down another fancy hallway. We then stood in front of two massive dark oak doors that went all the way to the ceiling. Four shinobi that had been guarding the door opened it, two on each door. Entering the room, it was a little less elegant than everything else due to papers and books scattered about. A gray old man sat at a large desk with huge windows behind him. He was intently reading a book and seemed not to notice our entrance. This guy was the leader of the Hidden Artisan? He seemed far too old and senile to be a powerful shinobi. Maybe he was a political leader, not a military one. The large man was probably in charge of the shinobi while the old man handled everything else.

"Lord Soshiro I have brought forth the Hidden Sand ninjas who have stolen the Dragon Blade," said the large man. I frowned angrily at his statement, why were we already convicted of thievery? This guy was getting on my nerves big time. The old man looked up with an expression of weariness and annoyance.

"Lord Naki, I am glad you have caught the supposed perpetrators but where is the proof of their guilt? We must be careful when accusing such important guests of these actions," said Lord Soshiro. He definitely wasn't like everyone else, he was thinking of the politics of this situation. He knew how big of a mistake this was but couldn't openly go against Lord Naki who was probably equal to him or slightly less than him in influence.

"They are the only foreign ninja in this area that we know of and no one who isn't a shinobi could have gotten past my guards," said Lord Naki stiffly. Jeez, this guy was a total airhead and very single-minded. He didn't believe that anyone but shinobi could have gotten past his ninjas, a logical way of thinking but there was still a chance someone who wasn't one could have stolen the Dragon Blade. This Lord Naki wasn't thinking about any rogue ninja or ninja from other ones that could have infiltrated the village. This guy was too proud to be thinking logically about this, he was trying to cover his blunder by getting a scapegoat. Under his watch, the blade had been stolen so now he was trying to correct his mistake.

"Do they have the Dragon Blade on them? Why would they still come here to negotiate the treaty if they had already stolen the sword? There are too many illogical actions by them for them to be the thieves," said Lord Soshiro shaking his head. Lord Naki's body stiffened and I saw his fists clenched in anger. These two definitely weren't close, probably had a constant power struggle going on.

"They are the only ones that could have done it," growled Lord Naki. The situation was in danger of getting out of hand, maybe it was time I intervened.

"Excuse my interruption but what if we helped you find the Dragon Blade? That would clear our name and solve your problem," I suggested to them. Baki quickly gave me a glare which told me he didn't like my proposal at all. The Hidden Artisan shinobi present also didn't like the idea of Hidden Sand shinobi working with them and snooping around their village.

"I don't like the idea, but if you can clear your name then I will allow it," said Lord Soshiro. His response surprised me very much, I didn't think he would let us roam freely. Lord Naki smashed the bottom of his warmer hammer into the ground which caused it to crack.

"If you let them free then they will escape! They have stolen the Dragon Blade, we must excite them for crimes against our village," roared Lord Naki. This guy was really hostile, he didn't want his name tarnished for losing the Dragon Blade so he was latching on to us so he could say he caught the thieves. But execution? Imprisonment would be a stretch but if he killed us it would spark all-out war. Not like he could anyway, we weren't about to let a bunch of Hidden Artisan ninjas take us down.

"What's to stop them from simply running away," asked Lord Naki. He was still simmering with rage but even he knew that he couldn't go directly against the elected leader of the village. Baki stepped forward and sighed a little.

"You can keep me here as a hostage while we negotiate the treaty, what we were actually sent here to accomplish. My genin are more than capable of finding the thief," said Baki confidently. At least he had confidence in us, I didn't know the first thing about tracking someone but it was still nice he thought we could. Kankuro and Temari looked a little uneasy about leaving Baki here but I knew he would be fine. We would clear our name while he accomplished our mission with the treaty.

"It's settled then, please escort this man to one of our conference rooms to negotiate. Let these children free, don't have them followed Lord Naki it will only hinder their search," ordered Lord Soshiro. Lord Naki was very unhappy but complied with Lord Soshiro's orders. We were quickly escorted out of the large room and back out to the street in front of the building. Kankuro, Temari, and I all looked at each other with varying levels of annoyance. This was going to be one huge headache, I could already tell.