11

                                    

                                          
The small group of Konoha ninjas were very thankful that the walls of Suna had finally come into view. It was a three day travel to the country at a moderate pace and they were all ready for a soft bed and hot food. Tsunade turned to her followers and smiled.
All of Naruto's friends had insisted on coming. All of Team Ten, Team Eight, Team Gai, and Iruka had come along. Jiraiya and Shizune were behind her, talking between themselves about their favorite blonde. Kakashi and Sakura had not wanted to come, but Tsunade had told them they would come willingly...or spend the entire time in the hospital while she was away. For Sakura, that could mean one of two things; for Kakashi it meant only one thing.
So they had begrudgingly come along.
The guards at the wall saw them coming and smiled. It wasn't often they got visits from allies, being one of the more out-of-the-way villages.
"Welcome to Suna! May we see your passports please and reason for visiting?"
Tsunade nodded and produced all their paperwork. She would have done her infamous finger flick to the forehead, but she had to be diplomatic nowadays. Besides...Naruto might not like it if she attacked his people...
Her mood dropped slightly when she thought of that. Konoha was no longer his people. But then again, Naruto had never truly been Konoha's when they didn't want him.
The guards gave the passports the once over and handed them back. Tsunade took a step forward but was stopped by a raised hand.
"Reason for visiting? You don't have a scheduled visit planned and Kazekage-sama was not informed of your coming."
"We've come to visit a former Leaf ninja who joined your ranks."
The guards looked confused for a moment before the lights seemed to come on and they smiled brightly.
"Uzumaki-sama? Yes, he's at the academy teaching right now. He has done very well here over the past year."
Tsunade smiled and nodded her head, happy with the report. As they walked into the city, the guards called out to them again.
"Be sure to visit the Kazekage first please! He'll take you to Uzumaki-sama personally!"
Tsunade just waved her hand and led the group to the Kage tower.
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Gaara had been having a typical morning looking over documents, signing where necessary, and sipping tea in between. Life in Suna had become a bit more hectic once Naruto's experiment was revealed to the public. It was about a half and half affair. Some wanted the green, others wanted to retain their heritage as the Village of Sand. Gaara had decided to compromise. He had commissioned Naruto to make several parks around the city and to start on some farms later in the year, around the planting time. This appeased most.
The richer denizens of Suna had demanded that Naruto use the green to make their homes more beautiful and had gone away somewhat angry and more frightened. Naruto did not take to being bullied just because someone thought they were better than everyone else.
"If you want your land to be green simply for your own selfish reasons, then you had best get used to seeing sand forever. I have no intentions of helping only those who have the power and money."
Gaara chuckled at that memory. Suna's small council had demanded that he make Naruto use his powers 'for the good of Suna' and Gaara had let out a small amount of killing intent to make his point clear.
"Naruto's power will not be used for such petty purposes. His goal is to help Suna as a whole, not her 'noble' subjects."
"Then I suppose you might tell us why Uzumaki's property is a veritable paradise in the middle of the desert? That seems like he is keeping the power for himself."