AN. Idea I had and yes I know it's most likely crud, but if you think you can do the idea justice your welcome to it. Pounded this out a few min ago
Sarutobi sighed as he entered his office and made his way over to the chair behind his desk. Once again the civilian council was nagging him again. He grunted as he looked at the paper work on his desk and decided that he deserved a break.
Standing up he decided to check on a few things and afterwords to go visit Naruto. Idly making a shadow clone to keep up appearances he made his way to a specific spot on the wall. Channeling chakra into his hand he touch different areas of the wall and seemed satisfied when apparently nothing happened. Suddenly he stepped forward and vanished into the wall.
Applying chakra to his feet he began to slide down the slope inside the secret passage as the wall closed behind him. Even as he began to pick up some speed he took out his pipe and filled it with something other than tobacco. Leaning idly to the left to follow the turn, he lit it with a quick burst of fire natured chakra before inhaling deeply.
Finally after descending an unknown amount he entered into a small room from the sloped tunnel and quickly came to a stop after changing the chakra he was gliding on to stop himself. Taking another puff from his pipe he was half way to the rooms exit when a sinister voice stopped him.
"Hello Sensei, it seems I can finally get whats owed to me." hissed a voice from a dark corner of the room.
Recognizing the voice of his old student Orochimaru, Sarutobi spun around caught off guard even as the snake sannin walked into the light and stood passively, eyes locked with the hokage's, both waiting to see who would make the first move.
Slowly Sarutobi reached into his robes, eyes sharp and never wavering even as he slowly gripped what he was searching for under his robes.
Suddenly his arm whipped out in a blur and an object flew forth flying unerringly at Orochimaru's head. The Snake sannin moved just as fast however and caught the object a half foot from his face. He only inspecting it for a few moments before stowing it away into his own cloths.
"Thank you Sensei" he replied with a smirk even as he walked closer to Sarutobi, who after throwing the object had yet to make another move.
Finally standing face to face Orochimaru took the pipe from the hokage's unresisting hand and inhaled deeply himself before handing it back.
"Just because you won the bet it doesn't mean you have to gloat." Sarutobi finally replied bitterly as he turned around and finally exited the room, trying to save face even as Orochimaru followed him still smirking.
"Oh but Sensei everyone knows the best time to gloat is after you have won." he said even as the two men, who many would say where sworn enemy's, exiting into an absolutely immense cave that seemed to house an entire city in it.
Grunting the hokage spoke at last. "Are you still planning on invading during the Chunin exams?"
"Yes, nothing has changed drastically so my part of 'the play' will be ready. I will 'Mark' Sasuke and 'tempt' him to myself afterwords." he said before frowning to himself.
"As you know if the Seal fails then he can be made aware of 'The Great Play', if however it works then he will sadly have to remain an outsider." he sighed, "Itachi and the rest of the Uchiha clan would be disappointed, but unlike his 'team mate' Naruto he has failed multiple tests and had to be removed as an actor."
Deciding the discus such issues later, the two starting making small talk even as they walked though what looked like a duplicate of Konoha.
This was the true hidden village, an exact match to the one above but rotated 90 degree's and full of people. Everyone from the young, to the old, and most shocking a large portion of those that had 'died'. Each and everyone of them were ninja.
These and other hidden villages were the true hidden villages. An entire ninja civilization built on the awesome power of chakra that ninja's had. Sarutobi couldn't help but chuckle as he made his way to the true hokage tower as he broke away from Orochimaru.
Oh the look on the civilian council's faces if they ever found out that everything they knew was a complete sham, nothing but one giant theatrical play, put on by the ninja's of the world, each and every village completely hidden and independent from the village the civilians lived in.
That of course does not mean that enemy ninja will not fight against each other with all they have, but instead of a life or death battle it was more akin to a war game with simulated combat. When two ninja clashed and one was outmaneuvered and 'killed' then they could no longer join in the 'great play' and adjustments where made to it.
Even missing nin where nothing but part of the play. Oh sure some had found out, or when told tried to tell others, but when every ninja in every continent was after you, they didn't last long.
Their where those who where raised while taking part in the play, and those who couldn't be trusted and where killed or reduced to outcast's with the gift of chakra stripped from them and memory's altered.
Even the academy topside only served to let new blood from the outcast's and civilians into 'The Play' if they passed the test's and where deemed able to handle the information. If not then they would never learn the deeper secrets of chakra and where left in the play as pawns to add randomness to 'the play', never growing beyond what the real ninja scale would classify as Chunin.
A real ninja ranked Chunin fighting against a S class ninja unaware of 'The Play' would always loose if fighting for real. The 'Pawns' would never have access to the training real ninja could get or the knowledge base build upon for hundreds of years on end.
Idly coming out of his thoughts Sarutobi took his seat at his real desk and set about organizing the next part of the play.
"Oh well, at least when he goes to train with jiraiya he can spend time with the rest of his clan" Sarutobi muttered to himself as he went over the paper work, sighing sadly as he thought of Naruto's Parents.
The kyubi no Yoko threw a very large monkey wrench into "The Play" and was a very real threat to the 'True hidden village'. The Aftermath forced them all to scramble and change the play in major ways. The way 'The Play' was working out so far would have the outsiders and civilians thankful once again for the ninja's saving them from the big bad 'Uchiha Madara'.
Still let it never be said that the bijuu where immortal because apparently Minato had found a way to actually kill the beast and leave its vast power to Naruto. No one was truly certain everything he had done to ensure the kyubi was killed but there was enough information to work at least some parts into 'The play'.
Sighing the hokage cleared his mind and went back to work, above him the civilians of the village and a part of the 'ninja force' unaware that just about everything they knew was wrong.