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The Frozen World

They were running at full speed for almost an hour, during which the mist turned into a light rain and the waters became slightly choppy, causing them to drift a bit further than expected when heading to their destination.

The moment they reached the sand of the island, Sasuke felt his legs turn to jelly, but he tried to stay standing. Naruto didn't look affected by the long distance at all though, which figured. Sasuke leaned over, breathing heavily, as the two of them looked and what this island had to offer. Its appearance seemed almost tropical. The sand, even when damp, was a bright beige, it was practically white and blinding them. They looked up, following the lines of trees, which were all made of iron and steel. It was a literal concrete jungle. No sense of life lingered anywhere, making it hard for the two of them to gauge which direction to head off towards.

"What do you think, Sasuke?" Naruto broke their soundtrack of heavy panting.

Sasuke didn't have an answer though. He was unsure of where they should go. This entire location was man made...meaning...

"Is there a chance they expected our arrival?"

Naruto thought, making an obviously pensive expression. He lifted his arms to cross them in front of his chest, staring off into the distance. Sasuke couldn't help but just watch him as the gears in his head processed the entire mission up to that point. Even though his childish tendencies still were present, he'd always held himself with such confidence. Sasuke felt the edges of his lips tip up towards a smile. And as Naruto tilted his head back down to look at Sasuke, he caught a slight glimpse of it.

"What?" Naruto said, defensively, as his face flushed of color.

"Nothing." Sasuke stood up straight, remembering that they were on a mission and success was key. He started to walk forward, cautiously. He couldn't feel any heat or any vibrations. He looked behind him at Naruto sitting on the ground, eyes closed, meditating.

Sasuke nodded to himself. If he was unable to sense anything, maybe in his sage mode, they'd find some answers.

Naruto opened his eyes, his baby blue's now a piercing golden. He stood up again, walking up to Sasuke.

The island was eerily quiet, with only the rhythmic crashing of the water on the sand acting as background noise. Naruto took a moment to get a sense of his surroundings and then looked towards the left. In the distance, the sand turned to larger rocks, with the same steal tree's lining the area.

"I'm getting something from that way." Naruto nodded in that direction, and Sasuke took a step towards it, but immediately, Naruto ran past him.

"Ay, Naruto!" But, of course, Naruto didn't respond. He was zoning in on a large boulder fixed beyond the trees. It seemed mildly out of place, and could possibly be an entrance to an underground layer.

Sasuke started running to catch up with Naruto. He'd told himself that he was going to control the reckless nature of his teammate, but it wasn't working out too well. Sasuke exhaled heavily. He might just have to cover for the recklessness, or pray that it doesn't end up sending the mission south.

They paused in front of the large boulder and Naruto reached out to touch it.

"Under here."

And channeling all of his sage power, he—quite easily—lifted the boulder enough to move it from the pristine staircase that lay beneath, beckoning them to come inside.

Naruto and Sasuke stared down the stairs, that were dimly lit by electric candles, and headed deep into the darkness.

"Let's go." Naruto said, not waiting for Sasuke's approval before heading down the stairs. Sasuke still couldn't sense any life beyond the staircase, but he trusted Naruto's sage mode to not lead them astray.