The Hidden Truths of the Village Hidden in the Leaves
Summary: Starting after the trip to the Land of the Waves, Sasuke has developed a sense of overprotectivness a shinobi feels towards their partner and Naruto has to deal with new surprises every day. The secret behind the Uchiha clan massacre is revealed and Orochimaru is scared of one man. ANBU and foxes flock towards Naruto as much as danger does. A whole new take on the life of Team 7 and co.
The next week, Team 7 had off to recover from their A-rank supposedly C-rank mission. They weren't allowed to train, much to both Sasuke's and Naruto's displeasure, but they didn't have to spend it in the ninja hospital either, so that was a great big plus. Kakashi, though, had almost everyday meetings with the Hokage where Sarutobi would spend half an hour berating him for not returning after finding out it was more than what a genin should deal with.
Kakashi's response?
"They dealt with it better than some junins I know."
That only got the Sandaime angrier and his rants would start all over again. "From your report, not only did Sasuke almost die in the fight against that Mist shinobi, Haku, but the Kyuubi had also almost broken free! That would have resulted in more than just Naruto and Sasuke's deaths!"
"Yet it hadn't happened and they are both alive and well while the seal is still very much in place."
They could go on for hours like this and there would never be a victor in their arguments. The fights would only stop when someone came with some important work for the Hokage or he had to leave for a meeting. This went on for the whole week until the silver haired junin finally snapped.
"You may be Hokage and you may know a lot of things about Team 7 from the files you get, but I would like to warn you that I am their sensei. I have trained with them and gone on silly D-rank missions with them, but it is still I who now know their skills best. And you would be surprised by just how much they have improved and gotten stronger. So, Hokage-sama, I would like to implore you to let me do my job and not meddle with my team. Your concern is appreciated but not needed."
Sarutobi wasn't happy with it but he let it go. One thing he learned about teachers and apprentices was that the student always picked up the teacher's stubbornness, and as such, Hashirama's and Tobirama's stubbornness had passed from them to Sarutobi, to his three students, to their students and onto Kakashi. Sandaime shuddered to think that this generations old stubbornness will pass onto Naruto and Sasuke, amplifying their already stubborn natures tenfold. Oh, the tragedy! The horror!
However, he couldn't let Kakashi get away with this completely. If he allowed the masked man to do as he please, those poor kids will keep getting A-rank missions and one of them just might die. If they are lucky, that is. He knows that far worse than death for such young and ambitious ninjas would be an injury that will stop them from fulfilling their dreams, and since one of them wants to be Hokage...
"I will leave the evaluation of their skill levels to your fine judgment, if," the masked junin frowned with his visible eye at the punctuation on the word. He did not like that tone. It promised nothing good. "If your team proves themselves in the upcoming Games."
Kakashi actually couldn't repress a groan at the news. He had hated the Games when he had to participate in them, mostly because he had to pull his team's weight in most of the challenges. Then there was the other half of the challenges he found incredibly boring. "You can't mean the Genin Games?"
"Yes." The Hokage sounded very pleased with himself. He knew this would be his reaction. After all, he had viewed those Games as well and he had seen just how bored the prodigy had been. "As you know, four genin teams that have especially stood out and haven't participated in the Chuunin Exam yet are called together to compete against each other for the honor of choosing a higher ranking mission than what genins usually get. Of course, this time it will be approved by me and will have the right pay value. You will get more equipment. That is, if they win."
"And who is their competition?" He asked for the courtesy of it. He really doubted that any genin team could beat his team after the whole Zabuza and Haku thing. In particular, he doubted any pair could beat Naruto and Sasuke in a two on two fight. With how they had fought like a team when freeing him, not even needing to talk to convey a plan and how they trusted each other, it looked as if they had been partners for years.
Sarutobi noted the indifference in the casual question and couldn't help but wonder what Kakashi had seen in them on this mission. Then again, this is the first team the man had ever passed so they must be quite something. 'Just how much have they improved? How much stronger are you, Naruto?'
"Take a look yourself." Ha said as he handed over the files. He observed the junin as Kakashi read through the assembled groups. Sarutobi had been hesitant to include Team 7 into the Genin Games because of the dis-functionality seen at the first glance, but especially because of Naruto and Sasuke. There were people on those teams selected that the Hokage knew could cause a scene or draw out the worst in the two boys. And knowing those two, neither of them is going to take it lying down. He knew that Kakashi will also realize this and he hoped with all of his might that he won't sign his pupils up for these Games. "Do you still think they should participate?"
Kakashi's eye had narrowed slightly as he read three troublesome names for the two boys and one for Sakura. However, that was the only reaction he gave and it lasted less then a second before he returned the file to the Hokage. "No, I don't think so."
Sarutobi was just about to sigh in relief when the other shoe dropped and he almost fell out of his seat at what he said next.
"I know so. Sign them up."
00000
To say that Naruto was excited at the news of the Genin Games was an understatement of the century. The boy was practically jumping in place and vibrating with anticipation as the junin explained the situation to his three cute students. Sasuke seemed to be taken in the blond's excitement as well as there was a strange pleased glint in his dark eyes. Kakashi didn't want to know what was running through the young Uchiha's head. Sakura seemed uncertain but curious, so he had no doubt the other two's anticipation will rub off on her as well and then they were set to go.
"Anosa, anosa! Kakashi-sensei, who will we be fighting? When do the games start? When can we go on a super cool A-rank mission?" Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle at the ball of energy that was his youngest student. The blond was now right in front of him, staring up at him with sparkling blue eyes and waiting with bathed breath for the answers.
"I can't tell you who you will be up against or what sort of challenges you will face, but I can tell you that it will start in two days at 8 in the morning, so please don't be late." Anime style veins appeared on all three of the genin's foreheads and Kakashi had the decency to sheepishly rub the side of his mask-covered nose. He swore he heard someone mutter 'baka' under their breath behind him, but when he cast a casual glance around, he frowned when he found no one. He knew his mind wasn't playing tricks on him so he extended his chakura field to feel if there was anyone nearby, hiding, but he found nothing. "Please be by the shinobi monument by then."
"Is something wrong?" Sasuke asked, noticing the strange looking around. He cast a glance around as well, but he found nothing.
The white haired man smiled at them with his visible eye. "No. Not at all." The raised black eyebrow told him that the Uchiha didn't believe him but Kakashi didn't elaborate or share any more. "Be sure to be well rested for the day, which means only light training. You don't need any special weapons, a few kunai and shuriken will do just fine. And as for the mission, it will start two days after the Games. It's a B-rank mission, not A, and it will be a joint effort mission with the other genin teams. It is an event only the four most noticed teams participate in and the Games decide which team will be the leading team."
"As if which sensei will be the leading junin?" Sakura asked while Naruto seemed to deflate at the news.
"No. Which team will play the deciding factor in the mission. As an example, imagine that this group of 16 is attacked during the mission. That's 16 different shinobi thinking in 16 different ways. Each and every one of them will want the others to do things his or her way and such imbalance in power could effect the efficiency of the mission or get us all killed. By predetermining which team will act as the 'leaders', we prevent everyone from doing as they please. The 'leading' team will still take orders and instructions from other junin but the one who will ultimately decide if a plan will be put in motion will be the sensei of the Genin Games winning team because it is obvious that he or she has trained their team the best. And if we were to split up, the members of the winning team would act as leaders, a temporary chuunin, if you will. Like with my capture by Zubaza, Naruto and Sasuke took the initiative to try and save me. In a similar situation, if we were to win, you three would decide if the junin ninjas are worth the risk of the rest of the squad."
"So we would get a taste of what it feels like to be in a true shinobi squad and the responsibility of being a ninja." Sasuke summarized and Kakashi nodded.
"It's supposed to be the first dangerous experience you are to face in a somewhat controlled environment, and it probably would have been, had we not ran into Zabuza and Haku. Since those two are S-class wanted missing ninjas, you should find the next mission dull in comparison."
That doesn't mean that you should relax and that it won't be dangerous. A voice that was becoming quite familiar said in Naruto's ear and the blond did his best to repress a grin. He and Kurama had been talking a lot lately, but the demon fox would often just go back to his naps or ignore Naruto, so the blond would have to find other ways to amuse himself. Thankfully, Konohamaru had been quick to seek him out as soon as the boy heard that he was back in town. If it hadn't been for him and some of his friends, Naruto was sure he would have gone insane from boredom! As it was, they had dragged him all across the village, playing hide and seek and tag (all shinobi style, of course, though the kids were still a bit clumsy with some things) and Naruto had never been happier. His generation might be wary of him but it would seem that the youngsters at least liked him.
'I know. But I also know that I'll have you to back me up.' He sent to his inhabitant, whose only answer was and irritated and embarrassed Tch before he retreated into the safety of his own little dark corner, where he knew he was safe from the kid's teasing. Naruto would have chuckled at the grumpiness of such an action but he had to restrain himself. He really didn't want to answer awkward questions right now, and he wasn't even sure how it would all be taken.
"However, please don't take it lightly. From what I've seen, you won't get bored by the Games. You have quite the competition." Kakashi said, almost making the youngest member of the team snort since he just heard something similar from the kyuubi.
"So the competition will be tough, but what about the Games themselves? What are we doing?" Sasuke asked, leaning against the red railing of the bridge where they always meet before missions or training.
"I already said I can't tell you about that." The junin countered, not believing it was the Uchiha who wasn't paying attention.
"You can't tell us who we'll be facing or what we'll be doing, but that doesn't mean you can't tell us if we'll be playing stupid board games, sports or some shinobi kind of games that involve acting like a true shinobi. I'm sure that you can at the very least tell us if the challenges will be group or individual ones." The raven haired young man explained his request, those dark eyes intently focused on the silver haired man's equally dark visible eye. The other two genins stood to the side, watching the staring match like one would a game of pin pong, almost not daring to draw a breath.
Kakashi thought over what his most talented student said and realized that such a thing had never occurred to him. Then again, while he may have a sharingan eye, not even he notices everything, especially not like an Uchiha would. He learned that during his ANBU days. But now is not the time to be reminiscing about the past. Instead, he had a young Uchiha to answer. "Alright, that much I can tell."
The dark haired boy looked pleased with himself and the other two moved closer, as if they were about to hear some great big secret from the mysterious man that was their sensei. The junin watched them for a moment before clearing his throat. "There will be four types of challenges: team, individual, partner and squad - mixed genins from all teams, like a sports team - type of challenges. The teams gather their points from each game by adding all the individual point of each team member. Partners are chosen freely, meaning it's not arranged, although some challenges might require you to draw lots and that would decide your partner. Squads are completely random selection, although there will be one where two leaders will be chosen by lottery and they will chose their own squads. The games themselves are not board games but they do require some strategic thinking, and they are not silly carnival or festival games, although your precision at throwing kunai and shuriken might be tested. There will be sports type games, mostly for the squad section, but the dominant type of challenges is shinobi challenges. I really can't go deeper into explanations than that."
"That's okay, Kakashi-sensei. You already told is quite a bit." Sakura said with a smile, already slightly worried about the Games. There were thins she could do, no problem, but there were things in which she couldn't keep up with her teammates if her life depended on it. She just hoped she won't drag them down too much in those challenges. 'Then again, the same could be said for Naruto. If it's something new to him, it might take him a few tries to complete it. Sasuke-kun won't be happy with me if I drag him down like Naruto probably will.'
While she was thinking, she missed the shared glance between Naruto and his rival. Not that even they knew what it really meant, but it was a promise not to lose. Anything further than that was lost to them, but the fact they sought each other's gaze set alarm bells in Kakashi's mind. 'Could it be? No, no. It's almost unheard of. He's an Uchiha! But what if it is?'
"Well, I'll leave it to you, then. Bye." And with that, the junin left with a whirlwind of leaves, unable to shake away his thoughts.
00000
On the day of the games, Kurama had to scream at the top of his demon lungs in order to wake up Naruto in time for him to get dressed and ready and for him to have some breakfast before leaving for the Genin Games. Not at all happy with his inhabitant, Naruto had gotten out of his warm bed and set about his daily routine with a lot more grumbling than usual. That is, until Kurama said one golden sentence.
Hurry up, boy! Today is the day of the Genin Games!
That had woken him up in seconds and got him super energetic with excitement as he started rushing to get ready, impatient for the Games to start. Kurama could only grumble in exasperation at his silly vessel but he didn't want to damper the kid's good mood. He was actually interested and a bit curious about how the Games would go. He had never seen them before.
"Yosh!" Naruto yelled as he ran out of his apartment and hurried towards the shinobi monument to the fallen ninja of the Leaf. He had a big grin on his face as he ran down the streets, then jumped from rooftop to rooftop before finally slowing down for a nice walk. It would be stupid to exhaust himself right before the Games and he didn't want anything to ruin this day when he shows everyone just how great he really was.
There is no way you would get tired from that run. Not with constantly having my chakura in your system. The Kyuubi said, pride and arrogance in his words. Naruto rolled his eyes and then projected that to Kurama as well, earning himself a half hearted snort for his efforts. Annoying brat.
'Fuzz butt,' Naruto sent back eagerly, enjoying the sputtering it earned him. He was snickering under his breath so much that he almost missed a square rock that was now following him. He stopped and quickly turned around, staring at the "rock" with two eye holes, not really comprehending what he was seeing. 'What the hell?'
Kid, are my demon eyes deceiving me, or is someone seriously trying to pass that off as a rock? Kurama, equally baffled, asked of his vessel. He had seen many dumb things and even dumber people who did those dumb things in his long life, but the gigantic fox has yet to see a level of stupidity whoever was inside this "rock" was showing.
'If you're seeing things, then so am I, Kurama.' Naruto thought back as he started walking again, pretending to ignore the rock. The rock followed him and after a few steps, he stopped, again followed by the rock. He threw an annoyed glance at the thing, wondering why people called him a bad ninja, since he would never do something this dumb. Probably because you wear orange when one of your specialties as a shinobi should be stealth.
'Shut up, Fuzz butt.'
Don't call me that, damn it! The kyuubi roared but quieted down when Naruto started messing around by running left and right, then back and so on a few times before the fox lost its patience. Stop messing around! You're going to be late if you continue like this!
That was more than enough motivation to make Naruto stop abruptly, the "rock" nearly crashing into his legs at the suddenness. The blond placed on hand on his hip and the other pointed at the rock in a rather dramatic manner. Kurama couldn't help but sweatdrop at the action. Damn it, kid.
"Stop right there! This is a really bad camouflage method and I am insulted that you thought that I, the great Uzumaki Naruto, would fall for this weak trick! Now show yourself before I become really angry!"
There was a moment of silence, then a familiar voice said from underneath the square "rock". "As expected of the man I call rival for the title of Hokage! Yosh! Brace yourself, Naruto-nii-chan!" A smoke bomb suddenly went off underneath the "rock" and Naruto heeded Kurama's advice to step back as the thing exploded. When the smoke cleared up a bit, he saw three kids on their hands and knees, coughing from the dust and smoke in the air. It was two boys and a girl. Naruto instantly recognizes them as Konohamaru and his two best friends Udon, a kid with short dark hair and glasses who likes math a bit too much for Naruto to consider him normal, and Moegi, who has convinced herself that she already has the sex appeal of adults at their young age of six.
"We used too much powder, kore!" Konohamaru, the Third's grandson mutters to his friends through their coughs.
"Gomen, Konohamaru-kun." Udon apologizes even though it wasn't his fault. Naruto felt Kurama's eyebrow twitch, the demon slowly but surely losing his patience.
"Hi, nii-chan!" Moegi greeted, a small blush on her face. Out of all of the kids in their class that met and adored the blond genin like a fun older brother, these three liked him the most. Udon and Moegi met him through Konohamaru, who was very proud to call himself Naruto's first subordinate. He was their oyabun and favorite playmate and Naruto very rarely turned them down when they asked to hang out with him. Konohamaru had missed him greatly while the orange clad shinobi had been in the Land of the Waves and he had tried many times to get his ji-chan to call them back. When he had come back, Konohamaru had practically stolen him out of the Hokage's office and dragged him off to play, much to Hiruzen's embarrassment and the rest of Team 7's bemusement. Kurama had found the whole thing very funny, although Naruto never found out if it was because the Hokage felt humiliated or if it was because of Konohamaru's antics.
"Um, hi." He answered back, still not sure what to think about what just happened.
"Nii-chan, let's go play in the woods today!" The Honorary Grandson demanded happily as soon as he recovered. Naruto smiled down at them, ignoring Kurama once again repeating that the Genin Games will start soon, and replied a bit apologetically.
"I would love to, but I have to participate in the Genin Games. They're starting in about 15 minutes, so I have to hurry. Ja!" He waved and turned to leave when he heard three pairs of footsteps following after him. "Eh?"
"We'll go with you, nii-chan." The scarf wearing boy told him with a big grin and the victory/peace V sign with his fingers. Udon nodded and Moegi added that they wanted to cheer for him. Naruto stared down at them before an even bigger smile stretched across his whiskered cheeks.
"Then let's get going and kick some butts!" He raised a fist over his head, punching the air and his three young companions did the same before they ran off.
00000
Hizuren Sarutobi heard a knock coming from his door and he called out to the person to come in, all the while studying the scroll in front of him. There were two signatures there, right under the order/request, and one of them was his. The other belonged to both his successor and predecessor, the Yondaime Hokage, the most loved leader of the Hidden Leaf to ever exist.
Sarutobi sighed as his visitor walked into the room, closing the door behind him. He looked back down at the scroll, tracing the kanji with an old finger as he read over the document he by now knew by heart.
" ... and because of the great skill and loyalty he has shown, I hereby officially assign ..."
"You have summoned me, Hokage-san." The man spoke up and the Sandaime returned his gaze to him. He was relatively young, around the age of 25, not that anyone could know that with the red and white fox ANBU mask he wore to protect his identity. He was dressed like all the other ANBU shinobi, black reinforced clothes under a light purplish-gray chest protector and arm guards, only he wore a sleeveless black shirt that exposed his strong arms. He had a sharp katana strapped to his back, a leg holster on his right tigh and a waist pouch on his left hip. His feet were clad in black ninja shoes but his forehead protector was blue underneath that mask. Only Sarutobi knew this, since he was the only one to see this man's face in four years now, and even that was a very rare occurrence. He had long black hair tied neatly in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He didn't have a single scar on his body, showing just how great his skill was. He stood with pride and power radiating from his body but there was no ill intent. In fact, his aura was so peaceful, one would never guess that he was one of the most successful of the elite.
" ... to protect and watch over Konoha by ..."
Sarutobi smiled at the young ANBU captain, the only one who never had a squad of his own but earned himself the position for his exceptional skill and loyalty to the Leaf. "I see you still cannot bring yourself to address me with -sama, even after all these years."
The ANBU person tilted his head lower in apology and respect. "Please forgive me, Sandaime-sama, but I feel uncomfortable calling you 'Hokage-sama' when my heart still pledges loyalty to Yandaime-sama."
"It is alright. There is no need to be so formal. I have watched you grow up and advance in ranks as much as Minato has, perhaps a bit more, but I know that, to you, he is your Hokage." The old man smiled, knowing that this particular person could match Kakashi in their admiration, respect, hero-worship and adoration for Lord Fourth. To Kakashi, he was the sensei that always cared for him and never let him down. To this man, he was the inspiration of loyalty and moral, the one man that taught him how to cherish those closest to him, who taught him how to become stronger by protecting those he loved. Yandaime was loved by all, but Kakashi and this man could easily be said to be his most loyal and trusted men. After all, he had given them both, at one time, the task of protecting those who Minato considered his most important persons.
Kakashi had been released of his duty but this man had not, and he refused to be.
"Hai."
"The mission that has been given to you has been tasking, I know. Yet you have been keeping everything under your control for years now, all from the shadows." The raven haired man nodded, uncertain where this was going. "You have sacrificed a great deal for this mission and you still refuse to leave it. That is very admirable."
"Thank you, Sandaime-sama."
"However, now come the difficult times." Hiruzen said with a sigh. "Despite your order of protecting your charge, you must not interfere with his growth as a ninja. In other words, there are events when you are not allowed to protect him unless the situation is dire. And such events will be upon us soon, starting with the Genin Games."
" ... protecting and watching over the vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, despite any other Hokage's wishes, till he is dismissed by the vessel himself, Uzumaki Naruto ..."
"I know, Hokage-san."
"I know you do. However, this isn't the only reason I have called you here." The old man gathered up the scroll and locked it in his desk's special drawer. He replaced it with a map of the Hidden Villages and handed the man a scroll. He quickly took it and started reading. He did not like what he saw. "A new Hidden Village has been born. I do not like the vibe of it, nor the timing. We can't say for sure who their leader is, but there most definitely is a powerful Kage there. However, as you probably read there, that Kage has traveled with the group I have been worrying about and that same Kage is preparing a few teams for the upcoming Chuunin Exam. We know what this group wants, but not what this new Kage wants. I am warnimg you in advance to keep a sharper eye on your charge, as well as to the growing concern of mine that the time will soon come for you to leave the shadows and protect your charge in the daylight."
"Are they traveling towards Konoha?"
"Not yet. But they will try something, and relatively soon, I'm afraid." The Hokage said as he interlocked his fingers, his elbows on his desk, and rested his chin on them. "The time will soon come for you to walk in the clear light again. You and the truths you secretly carry."
The man reached up and took off his mask, revealing a handsome face that framed his black eyes. "Hai."
" ... signed Yondaime Hokage, Nsmikaze Minato ..."