The Missing Hokage

by Rushe84

Here is my response to Perfect Lionheart’s “Missing Hokage” challenge, with the slight modification that the scroll of forbidden seals remains in Konoha. This is rated “M” for coarse language and heavy violence in later chapters.

4. Under a Waterfall

Author Notes: Unfortunately I've been putting off and procrastinating with my writing so the much anticipated update hasn't come out until now. While I understand that I claimed the fateful exodus from Konoha would happen in this chapter, I've decided to put it off until chapter 5 - the reason being that I wanted to add certain plot elements to the story to prevent it from feeling rushed or bland; as well as flesh out a couple of my original characters. I didn't like how I did the Hassari, so I changed them a little bit; they are now commanders with a great amount of skill using their specialized clan jutsu - the Dark Forging. I'm also trying to avoid common conventions used so often in fan fiction and even the manga itself, so expect some rather unconventional choices and concepts - I hope.

Chapter 04: Under a Waterfall

- Two months later -

"My son said all of that?" Takanori Misako laughed uproariously as she rolled in her seat and slapped the arm of the chair in which she was sitting. Tsunade had agreed to spend every other weekend as Hokage to give the Daimyo a brief respite for his hard work during the week. Her first order of business had been to have a meeting with the heads of every ninja clan swearing allegiance to Konoha; this included the Hyuuga, the Inuzuka, the Yamanaka, the Aburame, and more recently the Takanori - the Uchiha were obviously no longer represented. While it was true that the Takanori clan was actually headed by Tensuki of Sunagakure, Hassari Misako had been elected as the representative of the Konoha branch.

"Kazuki-san appears to have quite the imagination. So, I'm beginning to wonder which parts of his story I should believe and which parts I should tease him about later." The Hokage finished with a small grin as she took a quick sip of her green tea. "He acts as if he's some sort of… alien."

"We are technically aliens in your country; but I'm sure you mean that he claims not to be human." Misako chuckled softly, which caused some of the other gathered clan heads to groan or shake their heads disapprovingly. "It's as you say, Hokage-sama; Kazuki has a very active imagination, and probably reads too much manga… however, he's been forged with a lot of power that he doesn't know what to do with. My son is unfortunately trying his damnedest to discover his identity and role in life, and since he's having so much trouble he kind of makes things up as placeholders until he's decided." Misako finished with an uncertain shrug.

"What do you mean by 'forged, exactly? Is he really stronger than the average shinobi?" Inoichi, head of the Yamanaka, queried curiously as he gently tapped on his clean-shaven chin. "This has something to do with your being classified as weapons, doesn't it?"

Misako leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms under her generous breasts and closed her eyes in thought as she considered his question. After a moment the woman decided to come clean, so she answered. "Part of the Takanori claim to fame involves a ritual performed on our youngest shinobi as soon as they enter the academy; it's what makes us so different from other people. I can't tell you about the ritual itself, except that we call it the Dark Forging; which is actually the reason why our navy chakra is so commonly known as Dark Chakra." Misako explained before lifting her chakra-coated hand so that the gathered jounin could see the navy energy collected in her palm.

Chouza's heavy, boisterous voice drowned out whatever grunts his fellow clan heads made as he leaned forward in the two chairs he sat on and placed his ham-hand on his knee, "All of the Hassari were forged to have great powers, and so therefore are considered to be the same as a katana? Basically your entire family exists to be dangerous weapons to be used during times of war." He did not voice the startling similarity between such an existence and the actual containers of demonic chakra, though as his statement hung in the air most of the assembled ninja knew what he had been getting at.

"Well, we're still people if that's what you're implying; but that's actually part of Kazuki's problem, though. You see; when we were living in Sunagakure, Kazuki used to help my husband with his job as a photographer. He would have such a blast playing with the children of the clients and peeping into the changing rooms that he never wanted to commit himself to joining the military. He was so sweet back then, though." Misako recalled, her tone lilting in humor as she remembered the simpler times; back when her boy was just a boy. "So, when Yuzuki decided that she wanted to attend the academy, her brother didn't join her no matter how she begged."

Tsunade took another sip of her tea, but silently her eyes moved over the assembled clan leaders to gauge their reactions rather than interrupt. Inoichi seemed to be entertaining fond memories of his own daughter's childhood, judging by the warm smile on his face. Shikaku wore the same look, though his smirk seemed more intimidating that his friend's. Hyuuga Hiashi appeared to be impatiently listening with his eyes shut and mouth in a slight frown; it was as if he felt that Misako was wasting their time. However, both the Inuzuka and Aburame leaders wore blank expressions that could not be read. Patiently, Tsunade took another drink as she returned her attention to Misako's story.

"Then, just after my twins turned ten years old, I was relocated to Konohagakure and took my family with me. Kazuki had to leave all of his friends behind in Suna and start a new life here." Misako frowned as any mother would when thinking about the unhappiness of her child. "When we found out that the Konoha academy put out nine genin a year, Kazuki became sure that it would be a good way to make some more friends. As well as to help support his sisters in their careers." she added as an afterthought. "Kazuki became a ninja just to make friends; but after being able to graduate in two years, getting selected as a chuunin at a young age, and becoming the heir of the Takanori clan my boy doesn't know who he is anymore."

"He was only in the academy for two years? So, Kazuki-kun is some kind of child genius? Like that Neji boy?" Inoichi prompted, which evoked a cold look from Hiashi. "I'm starting to feel glad that you aren't with Sunagakure anymore!"

Misako laughed again, but this time it lacked the same bolster that it had earlier. Shaking her head, she felt the need to correct her peer before the misconception spiraled out of control. "No mother wants to call their son stupid, but Kazuki certainly isn't a genius or anything. It's more like he's a weapon who knows how to use himself very well; and by that I mean he's able to kill whether he understands his opponent's technique or not." Then, as if they hadn't been talking about anything more than the weather, she turned to look directly at Inoichi and smiled, causing him to lift an eyebrow in confusion. "I've answered all of your questions, now you should answer mine."

Blinking in surprise, the blonde man took a moment to recover his composure before returning her smile with a brilliant one of his own, "What would you like to ask?"

"It's just that my eldest daughter, Koyoko, wishes to marry into an established shinobi clan. I wanted to know what kind of life she might have as Yamanaka Koyoko…" Misako then glanced towards Hiashi and smiled again, "…or Hyuuga Koyoko. Or even Akimichi Koyoko." Misako finished with a wink, causing Chouza to laugh in a deep rumble. It was eerie how easy it had been to suddenly change the dismal tone that the meeting had taken on; perhaps it was the mention of the younger generation, a popular topic in Konoha…

Inoichi's teeth sparkled in the light as he rubbed his chin in thought, "Koyoko aside, I have a feeling that my daughter Ino might have an interest in young Kazuki-kun as well. So why don't we discuss both Yamanaka Koyoko and Takanori Ino at the same time?"

"Right!" Misako exclaimed as she jumped to her feet and slammed both of her fists boyishly into her hips and puffed out her chest, "So, if we're done in here, Hokage-sama…?"

"Yes, you are all dismissed." Tsunade chuckled as she tapped a stack of papers to align the pile. "Except for you, Hyuugai-san; I'd like to speak to you in private." The pale-eyed man neither nodded nor made any gesture to leave, though anyone who knew the Hyuuga Head would understand that he already had a gnawing suspicion what the Hokage would wish to speak about. It had to be Hinata.

- Land of Wind -

Shizune yawned widely as she sat up in bed and groggily scratched an itch on her stomach. Blinking her eyes blearily, the jounin glanced at the calendar to see that today was marked as the day they would have to pack up and begin their journey to the Land of Whirlpools. But that didn't exclude them from their morning training! Therefore it befell Shizune to approach Naruto's bedroom and knock on the door, calling out, "Morning training, Naruto-kun." A sleepy mumble was her only reply, reminding the young woman that Naruto had stayed out all night talking to his new friend Gaara. Well; that wasn't her problem!

Though she had been thrilled to find out that the Takanori Manor was one of the few privately-owned residences with actual wooden doors, Shizune grunted in annoyance when she found Naruto's door locked and barring her entry. However, it only took a little bit of negotiation with a pair of lock picks before the door swung open and the smell of a little boy's room wafted out into the hallway, nearly gagging the medical Jounin. Naruto's floor was completely hidden under his dirty and sweaty clothes, a teetering stack of manga which he'd borrowed from Kazuki and piles of sand from the open window; reminding Shizune about the downside of living in the desert. Letting out a humorous sigh, she crossed the floor to shake Naruto awake.

"Come on, little brother; it's time to wake… Ittai!" Shizune shrieked as her foot came down on a caltrop that had been left out; and in her attempt to regain balance by putting weight on her other foot, she managed to step on an open manga and lose her balance completely. With a loud crash, Shizune ended up on the floor, but not before knocking over a basket that had been set on the edge of the Takanori's dresser they were borrowing; the jounin ended up covered in all of Naruto's used laundry. It took all of her willpower and discipline not to scream out in horror, instead calmly removing whatever green fabric had landed on her face first. "Ah, Naruto-kun's boxers…"

Naruto gasped as he jumped out of bed with a kunai in his hand. It only took him a moment of staring at the woman on his floor before he busted out laughing at the top of his lungs; childishly pointing at Shizune's flushed cheeks, wide eyes, and hanging jaw. "Nihihihi NYAHAHAHA!" the hysterical blonde barked wildly, clutching his stomach and doubling over uncontrollably.

"Naruto…" Shizune growled softly as she slowly climbed back to her feet, her shoulders trembling somewhat from her fury. "Training is going to last two hours longer!"

"Do you mean it!?" Naruto gasped in excitement, his widened blue eyes gleaming and his entire body screaming in delight as he leaned happily towards Shizune. "Alright! I'm going to go get Hinata-chan so that we can get started!" Naruto dashed from the room while still dressed in his pajamas, leaving Shizune swearing under her breath in seething rage.

It took Naruto several long minutes to realize that Hinata wasn't in her room; he'd even taken the time to check under the bed and peek into the closet. There were no signs of forced entry and nothing suggested the hint of a struggle, so it stood to reason that… Hinata must have gotten up earlier so that she could train more. The two of them had promised to surpass that baka Sasuke together, so she must be out somewhere trying to catch up to the Great Naruto so that she wouldn't slow them down!

Shizune came to a stop in Hinata's doorway, immediately noticing how different it was that the room was in perfect order when compared to Naruto's nightmarish living conditions. She sighed heavily at Naruto's knowing grin, realizing that it was her place to set him straight. "Hinata went to visit Kazuki-kun when you didn't come back last night. She probably stayed the night in Yuzuki-san's room…" she explained.

"Are you sure? How do you know that?" Naruto challenged, not quite ready to abandon his brilliant logic.

"I'm your guardian for right now, so it's my job to know where you all are when it gets dark. Why don't you go ahead and talk Kazuki-kun into joining us as well? His training doesn't end just because he's already a chuunin, you know…"

"…I forgot that he was already chuunin…" Naruto murmured softly, hanging his head in disappointment that he was so far behind a guy who was only a year ahead of him. Yet this didn't stop a bright light from illuminating behind his eyes as he realized, "We're all going to become chuunin for sure after the selection exam! Dattebayo!"

"Just go get her so that we can begin." Shizune advised with a bemused grin.

- Takanori Fire Branch -

Kazuki looked up and pressed a finger to his lips as Naruto came in through the door to his bedroom, indicating that the other boy should keep his voice down so early in the morning. While Kazuki's room wasn't quite as perfect as Hinata's, the only thing on his floor was a pile of manga in a neat stack, though a number of posters had been crookedly taped to the walls. His bed was in the center of the outer wall, just under the window and between a pair of dressers. Kazuki was lounging on the bed with one arm tucked behind his head while his other hand gently smoothed Hinata's hair as she slept with her head in his lap.

"I heard that she came over here last night…" Naruto mentioned as he strode into the room and came to a stop next to the bed, remembering to keep his voice down as he'd been instructed. "Did she train with you?"

"No. It turns out that we both like the same kind of manga; we read them until we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer. The silly little cupcake has been asleep the entire time; even when Naruto-kun and Shizune-san were yelling next door." Kazuki replied calmly, continuing to run his hand over the girl's silky, midnight hair. Because he wasn't wearing his Kakashi-like mask, Naruto could see that Kazuki looked somewhat tired and maybe a little bored.

"It's so weird…" Naruto murmured as he watched in fascination as Kazuki's hand repeatedly brushed Hinata's hair, "…I never see you training; but you're still so much stronger than anyone I've met. Well, besides Kakashi-sensei and Ero-sennin, anyway. How…?"

"I don't know." Kazuki interrupted in a tone much quieter than Naruto's, aiming to avoid waking Hinata. "I don't try very hard, but somehow I can just get through people's jutsu." Finally Kazuki caught Naruto's eyes and gazed at him in complete seriousness, "Maybe I'm the reincarnation of a powerful assassin. You know, I was born on the same day that the Niidaime Kazekage died…"

Naruto gulped as a chill ran down his spine, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable to be in his peer's presence. "We learned about him in the academy. So… can you perform any of his amazing jutsu? Like the water control…?"

"Water control?" Kazuki questioned in confusion, so confused that he stopped patting Hinata. "The Second…" he paused as realization dawned on his face and his eyes warmed with contained laughter, "Oh, you mean the Second Hokage! Those are two completely different men, Naruto-kun." Gently, he began stroking the girl's hair again, chuckling when she made a small moan in her sleep. "I was just kidding anyway; I don't even know when the second of any kage died. I've just been taking a break from training because of my mission right now."

Naruto scoffed in light of this new information, but this time he forgot to keep his voice down, causing Hinata to grumble and stir. Both boys watched as she sat up and cutely rubbed the sleep from her eyes, a lock of her steadily growing hair still in her mouth from having been chewed on in her slumber. "Is it morning now?" she murmured as she perched on the edge of Kazuki's bed; until she realized that Naruto was in the room smiling at her. Hinata's face turned red as she looked from Kazuki to Naruto, but before either of them could say a word, she fell over backwards and fell off of the bed, fainting before she even hit the floor.

While Naruto let out a wave of fresh laughter, Kazuki peeked out over the side of his bed to stare down at Hinata, who had actually woken up as soon as she had struck the sand. "That was kind of silly, cupcake." he mentioned as she stared back up at him, blinking her large, lavender eyes in embarrassment. "You should at least say 'good morning' to us, right?"

"You're always so annoying in the morning, Onii-chan!" a new voice filled the room seconds before a brunette strode in and stood with her arms crossed over her chest, an upset look on her face. Like Naruto, Yuzuki was still in her pajamas. Even as Kazuki rolled his eyes and sat back in his bed, Yuzuki brushed past Naruto to help Hinata to her feet, offering to perform their morning hygiene together without the boys. Thus, Hinata was dragged off with a blush on her face and unable to speak.

"I don't mind you dropping by for a visit, even as early as this," Kazuki mentioned as he swung his legs over the bed to sit on the edge, "but you look like you came here for something in particular. Did you want me for something?"

"Oh, yeah! Shizune-nee-san wanted to invite you to train with me and Hinata this morning!" Naruto recalled excitedly, his sapphire eyes lighting up the same way they had when Shizune had mentioned it in the first place.

Kazuki had no problem with it at all.

- Konoha -

Tsunade set aside the last bit of paperwork that she was willing to do before lunch. With a heavy groan, the woman dragged herself out of her chair as she tossed the completed form into the out box, only barely noticing that the ANBU weren't picking them up nearly as fast any more. It took until she reached for the doorknob before an agent slipped in as silent as the night to process the document. "Have Takanori Koyoko meet me for lunch, alright?" the old woman instructed, not bothering to look over her shoulder to see if the assassin had heard her.

The Hokage was greeted with warm smiles as she entered Naruto's favorite shop, one of the few places in the entire village that didn't spike the prices on anyone that had made friends with Naruto. This was only part of the reason why she'd had the overpowering urge to have a bowl of ramen instead of something more filling. "What can I get for you, Lady Hokage?" the proprietor prompted as Tsunade took her seat between two customers who were already slurping their soup.

"Two bowls of jalapeno ramen and a bottle of sake, please. I'm expecting someone in a little bit." Tsunade ordered with a tired smile as she supported her forehead on her palm. "You do have sake, right?" …because she'd been up all night and decided that she deserved it.

"I'll send Ayame out for some right away, Hokage-sama." Ichiraku tossed over his shoulder with a happy smile as he continued to stir a pot of ramen he'd already started. "He's getting ready to take the exam again, isn't he?"

"You mean Naruto?" Tsunade guessed accurately, supporting her head by resting her cheek on a fist. "I think you mean that he's getting ready to pass the Chuunin Selection Exam, don't you?" Tsunade motioned with a sly smile, her light-brown eyes casually aimed at the back of Teuchi's workman's shirt. "He's training so hard that it's exhausting Shizune more than anyone! This could be his year!" So far only Tsunade, Danzo, and the Daimyo knew of the automatic promotion clause that had been enacted - even the Advisory Council had been left out of the loop for fear of leaking information to spies.

Teuchi glanced over his shoulder and gave a ghostly smile, suddenly sending chills of warning along Tsunade's arms - he knew something he shouldn't. "I've been waiting for this day to come. Ayame and I have been planning to treat Naruto-kun to a very special celebratory ramen feast when he finally made chuunin; I just hope we get the chance to see him long enough to share his victory before…"

Ichiraku was cut off when a leather-gloved hand came down on one of his customers and murmured just loudly enough for everyone in the small shop to hear, "Your meal is on the Hokage today, but for now please leave." The jounin that had been enjoying a rather clear view down Tsunade's blouse stiffened when she turned to face the young ANBU, a girl who outranked her despite being half her age. Without saying a word, the kunoichi abandoned her perch and bowed her way out of the shop, leaving the dregs of her ramen pooled in the bottom of her bowl. One of Ichiraku's workers hastily grabbed the bowl to be cleaned even as Takanori Koyoko stuffed her ANBU mask into a pouch at her side and took a seat next to Tsunade. "My little sister made it home without any trouble. Danzo-sama is speaking with her now."

Tsunade sighed. At first she wanted to barrel into Danzo's office and deny him the use of the Takanori for the ROOT division; until she learned that he'd already long since befriended the Hassari and her family when they first relocated to Konohagakure. They'd had him over for dinner and referred to him by his first name, so he essentially had them in his pocket as it was; all the acquisition had done was make it official in the files. However, with a traitor like Kazuki within their ranks it would only be a matter of time before it fell apart on its own - that always gave Tsunade a grin. "Your brother will return in about two weeks."

"Un." Koyoko muttered as she accepted the steaming bowl of ramen with her hands rather than set it on the counter; she held it so that she could feel the warmth through her gloves. If she was going to be a cold-blooded killer, then she might as well remind herself of what she was missing out on. "What an unusual situation for an elder sister to be in," Koyoko mentioned in unison with claiming a pair of chopsticks, though oddly she didn't bother separating them, "In a matter of two years both of my younger siblings will be appointed as Hassari above me. Can you imagine how it's going to be to salute my little brother?"

Tsunade shrugged while cupping her bowl with one hand and separating her own chopsticks with the other, "No one ever said you had to uphold the Takanori traditions once you're married. I believe I heard that you plan to marry into one of our other ninja families?"

Koyoko paused as she stared in wonder at Tsunade, clueless as to how she could have known her private desire. Only then did she realize that as the Hokage she would have held several meetings with her mother, the current Hassari of the Konoha branch, who would have spilled the beans like the talkative teenaged boy she acted like. She granted a sly smile before holding the ramen noodles back with her chopsticks and drinking the broth from the soup in one go; it burned her throat… but she enjoyed the burn. Perhaps a little too much, but everyone has to have their little traits. Glancing to her left at the Hokage, Koyoko spoke while still inside her bowl, "I'll cope somehow. Kazu-kun has a lot of responsibility to undertake as the primary Hassari over our entire clan, though. He's going to make a great leader one day, but until then he's still my bratty little brother."

'If he doesn't get himself executed before that…' Tsunade thought with a grimace. As Hokage she'd already overturned the charges against Takeshi and the Takanori twins by placing all of the blame on Koda Satoshi, whom was now a Medical Genin - unable to advance for no fewer than three years. He bore the punishment well, because his students could continue growing, while his own rank did nothing for how well he could heal a wound. It was almost hysterical that he'd picked them up at the rank of jounin; dropped to chuunin for healing a wounded enemy who was then able to complete his mission and strike a heavy blow to the Land of Fire; and now sinking straight back to the bottom to turn all eyes away from the chuunin of his team.

All of this was going through the old woman's mind in the time it took Koyoko to set her bowl on the counter, abandoning the noodles altogether as she dropped her chopsticks and sat back; she hadn't even touched the saucer of sake that Ayame had set out for the two diners. Koyoko's face took on a serious air as she sat in deep thought, though the Takanori wasn't looking at anything in particular. "Sorry to change the subject so abruptly, Hokage-sama; but the anti-kitsune group is preparing to host their morbid festival tonight…"

"Yes, I know all about Dead Fox Day." Tsunade sneered bitterly, growling lightly before sucking in a mouthful of noodles. "Dead foxes will be hung all throughout Konohagakure by the thousands in remembrance of those who had died fighting…" The Hokage stopped and simply glared in Koyoko's direction, because even she knew that she couldn't mention Uchiha Madara's name in public. "One of the downsides of keeping everyone under house arrest is that more of them can contribute to the damage. Dead Fox Day is something I'd rather Naruto never learn about." She'd already been toying with the idea of just packing up and leaving. Much like she had after her brother had been killed… Only this time with the intention of giving Naruto - and perhaps Hinata as well - more of a normal life; and she'd round out his jutsu arsenal with medical training so that he could help protect his friends and loved ones better.

Koyoko slowly rose to her feet and replaced her ANBU mask. In a barely audible whisper Tsunade could have sworn she heard the most astonishing thing from Koyoko's mouth, "So don't bring him back. I've already shared my plan with Umino Ikaji… I just need authorization to take any necessary steps."

"…" Tsunade glared calculatingly back at the girl who had somehow become her friend; the one Takanori not under the sway of Danzo. The kunoichi seemed to communicate through their eyes alone; both seeming to understand exactly what Tsunade would say if she had the freedom - that the Sannin had already abandoned her mantle and couldn't technically give any orders. She'd pretty much made up her mind by now.

"Goodbye, Tsunade-san." Koyoko uttered as she left in a pop of smoke.

Tsunade sighed as she stared into her bowl of ramen. Finding that she was no longer in the mood to eat, the Sannin rose from her stool to pay her tab; she didn't even argue about paying for three bowls of ramen she didn't even eat. With Koyoko using her very specialized skills to keep an eye on the Daimyo, and having tapped the Hokage candidate Umino Ikaji serving to protect Konoha, Tsunade was left with a clear enough conscience that she could pack her things; as well as a few notable scrolls that weren't technically hers; and begin her journey to the Land of Whirlpools to meet with her team in Takigakure. In two weeks time it was very likely that they would become nukenin, but with two elite jounin and a pair of new chuunin, Tsunade had a feeling that they'd do just fine on the outside.

- Land of Whirlpools -

After a long, uneventful walk, the Leaf ninja's trek finally came to an end when the young teens spotted the gates of Takigakure thrust wide open to welcome the visitors to their land. Resting on the top of a sheer cliff and framed by crashing falls, the only entrance into the village was a wide set of stone stairs cut through the earth; it was strikingly similar to the Hidden Sand, only with more water involved. Large blocks had been cut from along the wall to create places to display statues and plaques dedicated to notable shinobi of the past. In a word, Shizune would have to describe the Hidden Waterfall as "Tremendous".

Shizune giggled and hugged Tonton to her chest as Naruto and Kazuki read the names and deeds aloud as they climbed what she estimated as 250 stairs leading up into the village Hidden in the Waterfall. Hinata appeared to be more preoccupied with watching both of the boys with the very hint of a blush adorning her pale cheeks rather than the plaques. At long last they arrived at the second set of gates, also thrust open to reveal a pair of uniformed Waterfall chuunin seated inside a stone booth designed to greet visitors. The young women smiled warmly as the group approached, greeting the genin team without standing. "Welcome to Takigakure, honored guests! It's always a pleasure seeing the cute little genin from Konohagakure!" the first kunoichi, a teal-haired girl dressed in the Takigakure uniform, piped cheerfully.

"Please hand us your Konohagakure ID cards so that we can process you sweethearts as visitors." her somewhat older comrade instructed in a servant's dialect. This one had green hair cropped short with a silver barrette, but also wore the standard uniform of her village; as was expected of anyone placed on guard duty.

"Do they still have you working the gates, Melina-chan?" Kazuki laughed suddenly, drawing the older kunoichi's attention to him. No longer dressed in his uniform, Kazuki wore a sleeveless one-piece outfit with a purple gradient fading into navy-blue at the bottom; his mask was pulled down to reveal flowing, curved streaks of purple tattooed into his cheeks; and his forehead protector had become a sash worn diagonally across his chest. However, the girl seemed to recognize the kanji sewn into the tan sash worn on his left arm - it was the symbol for Hassari, the "false humans" of the Takanori clan.

The girl rose to her feet and performed a playful salute over her right breast bone, though the gesture meant little while leaning over the counter of the booth and grinning like a fox. "What an honor to play host to the primary Hassari! I didn't expect you to be back so soon. Can I get you anything, sir?"

"You know that I won't be primary Hassari until I'm 18; but a bottle of sake would be nice…" Kazuki returned with a grin, brushing off Naruto's obnoxiously obvious question of whether he knew the girl with a cross of his arms. 'Just shut up for a second and I'll fill you in later,' he hissed through the side of his mouth.

"Haha… No way," Agari giggled before instructing her newbie to return the ID cards and just write everyone's names down as guests of the Daimyo, "Please accept these maps; you are free to explore our village as much as you like! We would also like to wish you all good luck in the Chuunin Selection Exam!"

"Thank you very much!" Shizune returned with a bright smile, accepting the maps with both her freehand, ensuring that she didn't accidently drop the piglet in the process - she hadn't summoned her the entire time they were in Suna to prevent the pig's sensitive skin from getting burned in the desert sun, so she wanted to do anything she could to avoid another fiasco and get knocked over again. They waved as they went around the booth and finally entered the Hidden Waterfall village; the gorgeous scenery took all of their breath away, even Kazuki, who had been in the village once before. Sprawling and white, the entire village seemed more like an enormous palace garden with its many fountains and miniature waterfalls than a shinobi village. The citizens of the village walked around wearing shades of blue or turquoise and white; random uniformed Taki-nin could be seen wandering among the populace, serving as patrols during the chuunin exam.

Suddenly Kazuki went rigid before laughing for no reason, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "You guys didn't hear that? My stomach just growled pretty loudly!" the Takanori heir mentioned with a wry grin. "We only had those berries this morning, so I'm caving in over here! Let's get something to eat before we all pass out, alright?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry, too!" Naruto realized as he rubbed his empty belly and laughed obnoxiously. "I wonder if they have a ramen shop here; I've gone four months without eating any because they didn't serve it in Sunagakure!"

"It might be a good idea to eat so that we can keep our strength up, right?" Hinata agreed softly, offering a shy smile as she tapped her index fingers together. "If the exam is anything like it was in Konoha, then we have to be ready for it. Ramen will be good… That is, if Naruto-kun and Kazuki-kun want it!" the pale-eyed, midnight-haired kunoichi put in; a momentary rush ran through her body at how bold she was for speaking her mind for once.

Shizune chuckled warmly, hugging Tonton closer to her chest and smiling beautifully as she looked out over the gorgeous hidden village. However, one thing marred the idealistic garden-like scenery of then village's entrance; and that was the presence of a hidden observer watching their every step. Hinata noticed too, judging by the measured steps she was taking - how Naruto and Kazuki could remain oblivious was beyond her! Yet there was always the possibility that they knew and didn't perceive their new friend as a threat. Still, it worried the jounin…

"You know what, guys?" Kazuki mentioned suddenly as he glanced over his shoulder, both hands tucked deeply into his pockets - a sign Shizune had detected as a nervous habit; suggesting that he did know about the concealed ninja - "What do you all think about spending the rest of the day in the Daimyo's mansion? We can drop our stuff off and order room service. The exam isn't until later, anyway." Not to mention it offered the greatest amount of security - considering that he was on a B-rank mission to ensure the health and wellbeing of the two genin, it wouldn't be too much to ask or a little bit of hospitality. Right?

A blade came at his face! Reacting instinctively, Kazuki twitched a finger on his left hand as he jerked into a fighting stance, pulling on the chakra thread he'd attached to the blade the instant he noticed it on a crash course with his eye - the sword veered to the side in time to strike the air. Utilizing the same speed that every chuunin was capable of, he performed a single hand seal before actually turning his back to his attack - a maneuver that would have been suicide had he not just summoned a shadow clone. The shadowed Kazuki dashed forward and caught the swordsman's wrist as he threw himself into their body and fell heavily to the ground; though it wasn't until he landed with his hand on the person's sternum that Shadow Kazuki realized his attacker was a young woman.

Ignorant of this at the time, the original Kazuki's hand zipped to his kodachi even as he rushed forward in the chance that his teammates might be under attack as well; in fact he already spotted a jounin with his thick arms wrapped around Shizune to keep her out of the fight. It was time to mix it up! "Hold on," an annoyingly familiar female voice commanded as a hand came out to catch his arm, stopping him from drawing his short sword and keeping him in place at the same time. It was the voice of the Hokage; Tsunade had appeared! "Stand down, everyone." she commanded with all the authority vested in the position of the Hokage.

"Maybe this one should stand up before standing down!" Kazuki heard a laugh from behind, obviously coming from the swordsman - or rather *swordswoman* judging by the pitch of her voice - his clone had captured. Damn, he was glad that he'd talked Naruto into teaching him that trick… Offering a chuckle of his own, Kazuki released his grip and disengaged from the kunoichi, only to be grabbed by his very captive and pulled forward again; this time his eyes going wide as she planted a kiss squarely on his lips. "Mmmwa!" the Mist girl finished with a sly smirk when the shadow clone vanished in surprise.

Naruto blinked in surprise, his hand still digging into his kunai holster; a quick questioning glance to Hinata told him that not only had she activated her Byakugan, but she also had no idea what was going on, let alone why they had been attacked inside a completely different hidden village. "What's going on, Tsunade-obaa-san?" he murmured in confusion, his sludge-clogged mind working on double time in a feeble attempt to grind out a possible explanation to the situation.

"They've got pretty good reaction time, but they're a bit slow where it matters…" a young man commented after landing beside Hinata, having dropped in from the rooftops. He was the average ninja with black hair and arm warmers; his outfit consisting of layers of blue, aqua and white clothing. He looked to be in the area of 17 years old and possibly the leader of the small group.

Moments later a patch of flowers rose off of the ground, revealing a third Mist ninja hidden in the terrain. "Though it certainly figures that Shiratori-san would be the only one to get captured…" he snickered as he stepped out and letting the false flowerbed fall back into place. This one wore a brown cloak over his clothing and a matching headband cap, possibly to assist with his camouflage; it was anyone's guess what was underneath. Judging by his small stature, he was either 13 or just pathetically short for his age. He received a nasty glare and equally impolite hand gesture from the girl as she offered her hand to be helped to her feet.

After allowing the real Kazuki to help her up, the flirty kunoichi returned to her sensei's side, her eyes seeming to flash mischievously as she crossed her arms over chest. Shiratori - as her teammate had called her - looked to be 16 years old, with wavy black hair long enough to be pulled over her shoulder to be played with and amber eyes light enough to draw attention from a small scar on her lower jaw. Like the first genin, her clothing consisted of layers of blue, aqua, and white; but worn with a skirt and other feminine touches. "I think they did pretty good, personally."

Naruto could tell by the headbands they all wore on their foreheads that they belonged to the Hidden Mist - it was the Land of Waves all over again! Yet it was Kazuki who managed to speak first, grumbling, "Were we being tested the entire time?" in a somewhat annoyed tone as he crossed his own arms as well. "Did you doubt that Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan would be ready for the exam; because that reflects badly on me, you know?" This obviously caused Naruto to glare in response at the mere implication that he'd been underestimated; whereas Hinata merely lowered her head and sighed softly.

"Tsunade-sama…" Shizune moaned as she knelt to the ground to reclaim Tonton, who had made a mad dash for cover at the first sign of battle, "That's not what it was, was it? You were gambling again, weren't you?" the jounin accused as she returned to her feet; Tonton even gave a reproachful snort.

"What can I say? I've got a weakness for a healthy competition…" the blonde laughed as she turned to display the kanji drawn on the back of her green top. "Minagi-sensei and I simply had a small wager this time."

"How much did you bet, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune demanded sternly. Seriously, *someone* had to keep this woman in line lest they place all of Konoha in debt to satisfy her losses!

This time it was Minagi-sensei, the jounin who had wrapped his powerful arms around Shizune to play his part, who answered the query. "It was a small wager of \20,000. Which you now owe to me, Tsunade-san." he added with a nod towards the blonde woman.

"Woah, I don't see how. The wager was that my students would be able to defend themselves against an ambush - and they did that with exemplary skill!" Tsunade defended irately; she folded her arms under her breasts - mostly because they would not reach the long way around - as she gave an annoyed glare.

"The agreement was that they'd *detect* our ambush and act upon an expected encounter. Judging from their frantic movements and confusion I'm willing to say that they failed."

Shizune shook her head in denial; not because she was surprised by the wager - it was just something that Tsunade had ingrained into her entire being - but that, "I take responsibility for not sensing them sooner, but I was distracted by someone else's presence. Though I don't know who it-"

"It was Nanashi Fuu. She's the seven-tail's container." Kazuki announced with his hands stuffed into his pockets - a sign that he too felt responsible for not catching the Mist ambush despite already being a chuunin. "I meet her the last time I was in Takigakure. Fuu is really interested in foreigners because the locals treat her like shit, but she's only dangerous if you try to touch her."

Naruto's hand went immediately to his stomach, where he clawed at the seal he'd been cursed with as well. "I know how she feels…"

"Well, I guess I can't say that I haven't lost before." Tsunade sighed before slipping her hand down into her massive cleavage and withdrawing a stack of yen. This she tossed to the jounin; the stack already containing the correct amount. "Anyway, we're supposed to be meeting some of our comrades at the Tomarani Houkago Hotel. Good luck to your students in the chuunin exam, Minagi-sensei." Tsunade mentioned as she gathered her students and waved farewell to the team of Mist ninjas.

- Tomarani Houkago Hotel -

After stopping by a local ramen place - which was sub-par in comparison to Ichiraku's according to Naruto - Team Hokage arrived in the lobby of the grand hotel. Shizune parted with the group in order to drop of some of their bags before climbing into a hot bath to relax. Almost immediately Naruto heard the most obnoxious, yet strangely familiar voice, "So you guys have finally arrived! Damn, all this time and you don't look any stronger at all, Naruto!" Kiba sneered good-naturedly as he strode up to his friends. "Well, maybe you have gotten stronger; I've just managed to keep ahead of you anyway!"

"Hah! We'll see who's stronger when we're in the chuunin exam, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed boisterously as he pointed defiantly at Kiba and his white dog, Akamaru.

"Ah - Kiba-kun! You do look stronger…!" Hinata acknowledged with a little bounce and a girlish smile. "Dattebayo!" she added in emulation of her idol.

This time it was Shino's turn to walk up to the group with his hands tucked as deeply into his pockets as Kazuki's. "Hinata. You sound a lot more confident now after your training. Has Naruto-kun treated you well?"

Blushing, Hinata tapped her index fingers together as she risked a peek at Naruto, who was still growling with Kiba over who had become the stronger of the two. "He was really nice to me, but I was training with more people than just Naruto-kun. There was also Kazuki-kun and his friends, as well. They helped me get stronger… I feel like I've changed a little bit again, too."

"Good. We have a lot of competition this year, so we will need to rely on each other more than the last time."

"Ano… what do you mean by rely on each other? Am I going to be back with Shino-kun and Kiba-kun? Not that I mind, of course!" Hinata jumbled as she wrung her hands, her brow furrowed cutely. "I mean, it's alright because I've known you both for so long, but have only just met Kazuki-kun…" Speaking of Kazuki, Hinata wondered where he had gone; he wasn't with her talking to Shino nor was he with Naruto and Kiba. It didn't take the young woman too much longer to find her new friend standing off to the side with Tsunade and Kurenai-sensei with his hands in his pockets, talking to them as if he was an adult as well. It almost made Hinata sad to see that despite all the training they had just gone through, the truth was that they were still acting like such children - would her promotion to chuunin help her change enough that she could be an adult, too?

Kurenai nodded slowly at everything Kazuki had just told her about her returning student, because it helped to ease her worries about Hinata's preparedness for the exam; it had only been six months since their last try and they had barely even survived that one. "I'm surprised that you were able to help her improve the Byakugan so much. She seems to be a lot more confident this time, too!"

"I already knew a little bit about it from Neji. All I did was help her get caught up to him somewhat" Kazuki admitted, purposefully downplaying his abilities to prevent coming off as an ass. "I tried to improve her strength so that I wouldn't have to protect her as much before I learned that she wouldn't actually be with me and Naruto. It'll still help her anyway." the chuunin finished with a quick shrug. "Now my worry is the new kunoichi that's going in with us; I have no information on her whatsoever."

"It'll be Haruno Sakura. She was a part of team 7 before it was broken up; my cohort Jiraiya has been training her since the invasion five months ago." Tsunade released in a very low tone so that he voice would carry to the eager ears of the chatty genin closer to the center of the lobby. "However you don't need to worry about her ability to keep up, because her tests imply that she's easily as brilliant as Uchiha Sasuke was."

"She doesn't have a crush on Naruto, does she?" Kazuki queried in a tone just as quietly as the Hokage's, pausing in order to glance towards Hinata in time to catch her pale eyes on him. "To be honest it's slowed us down quite a bit when the little cupcake was swooning over her teammate when she should have been giving more intensity. Her heart condition wasn't even the issue, either."

"You're not going to have a problem there; the problem is that Naruto has been trying to catch Sakura's eye since before graduating." Kurenai explained, having long since looked into his file when she first learned of Hinata's idolization. She hadn't bothered correcting Kazuki about his misunderstanding with Hinata because it didn't matter very much at the moment. "Anyway, you've been a chuunin for a while already; you've been proven to have the tools to cope with any situation. I assume that you've killed before?"

"Of course I have…" Kazuki admitted casually, treating the matter as if they were discussing the weather. It was just to be expected of living weapons, wasn't it?

"Well, I don't know why, but Danzo seems to think that you're the only person capable of taking this mission." Tsunade hissed darkly, nearly cutting herself with her fingernails as she dragged them along her arm in annoyance. "I don't particularly care why, to tell the truth; all that matters is that you can complete the B-rank mission. Even if you have to take scrolls from other Konoha teams, it is imperative that Naruto makes it past the survival exam."

"Sure thing, boss." Kazuki replied with another shrug moments before another pair of Konoha shinobi came into the lobby. Judging by the mountainous man with the explosion of white hair and regal red clothing; striding in beside a younger girl with the pink hair and a more fashionable outfit, they could be none-other-than, "Ero-sennin! Sakura-chan!" Naruto's voice erupted to every corner of the room.

"I told you not to call me that in public, you short, little brat!" Jiraiya admonished with a disapproving frown, though it reversed seconds later as he rubbed his hand through Naruto's hair. "It looks like you've grown a bit, Naruto."

"Yeah, he did!" Sakura gasped as she stood across from her teammate and compared their height with her hand - they were now the same size! "I just hope that you've been keeping up with your training and not stuffing yourself full of ramen the entire time I was gone!" she teased in her usual boyish-grammar. She was just about to offer a quick spar before the start of the exam when she noticed a young man approaching them; her first impression was that this Takanori Kazuki was a little underwhelming in comparison to Uchiha Sasuke. Still, she had to do the polite thing by offering her hand to be shaken with a broad smile on her face.

Rather than accept her hand, Kazuki instead reached up and knocked on her head with the back of his knuckles, causing a confused look to come over her face. "That's a hell of a forehead you have there. It's kind of cute, actually."

"Thanks!" Sakura exclaimed as her face brightened from the compliment. Suddenly a look of determination exploded across her features as she threw a mighty punch aimed to knock him clear off of his feet, shouting, "…but that's not what I was going for!" However, Kazuki didn't dodge the attack; he didn't even move his head; yet Sakura's fist missed its target by inches, coming to a rest to the right of Kazuki's face. Sakura's dropped only long enough to be replaced by a more impressed expression. Maybe he wasn't as disappointing as he seemed at first.

"I hope that helps you realize how worthy I am of filling Uchiha Sasuke's position. My name is Takanori Kazuki: registered weapon of Konohagakure; and your best bet of getting through this chuunin exam alive and intact." he mentioned impressively, drawing himself up and puffing his out chest as he spoke. "I saw to Naruto-kun's training myself."

"Our best bet, you say?" Sakura challenged with a spark in her eye, a familiar fire rising in her chest as she too thrust her shoulders back and her chest out, "We could have gone with Konohamaru as long as *I'm* here. So I hope you don't mind becoming a background actor, because this is my show, now!"

"Haha! Sakura-chan, you haven't changed a bit!" Naruto laughed uproariously, oblivious to the saddened look Hinata made as she and the rest of her team was ushered from the lobby by Kurenai-sensei for a quick spar of their own. "Except that Kazuki is 100 times as cool as that idiot *Sasuke* ever was; stronger, too! He's already a…"

"Don't compare me to Uchiha, Naruto-kun." Kazuki cut in quickly as he stuffed his hands into his pockets as deep as they'd go. Suddenly the air in the lobby became stifling, and Sakura's face fell lower than Naruto had ever seen it go. It was at this point that Jiraiya felt it best to leave his student's side in favor of having a word with Tsunade; it was obviously Sakura's place to break it to Naruto about what had happened to Sasuke. So long as Kazuki didn't open his big mouth before she had a chance to soften the blow.

"Naruto… just after Orochimaru's invasion… Sasuke-kun… Well, he-"

"Uchiha Sasuke attacked Haruno-san during his abandonment of Konohagakure in order to defect to the international criminal Orochimaru and his village of Otogakure." Kazuki stated as bluntly as an iron club. "He was assassinated the same way as any criminal nukenin. That's why I don't wish to be compared with that traitor."

"Real smooth, Takanori…" Tsunade deadpanned as she strode up to the silenced group, having cut-off Jiraiya mid-sentence. "This is why I asked you not to be the one to tell Naruto about it."

Kazuki grinned as he glanced sideways at the old woman with a coldly detached look in his eyes and whispered so that only she could hear him, "Maybe; but you're not my Hokage anymore." Tsunade's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but the chuunin spoke before she had a chance, "Don't be surprised by what my sister tells me, Tsunade-san. You don't think that she's wise enough to notice these things and share them with the future primary Hassari? If no one else, I think Koyoko is the greatest weapon the Takanori has to offer."

They were interrupted by Naruto's reaction. The young blonde had his hand clawing at the seal hidden under his jacket; his face was dark and his eyes practically dead to the world. However, the next second he scoffed and dropped his arm before fixing his hardened eyes on Kazuki, the one person he'd thus far been able to consider a true friend - the only person in the room he was able to draw strength from despite their short time together. "That just figures, doesn't it? I work my ass off so that I could fight him honestly, and then he goes and wastes his pathetic life on something so stupid." He was far too upset to even add his characteristic "dattebayo" at the end of his sentence.

"Don't be confused here, Naruto. I'm not saying that it was stupid that he left in the first place; hell, I've considered it from time to time." Kazuki admitted, completely careless to how treasonous he'd sounded, "What makes it retarded as hell is the reason he did it for. Uchiha was always talking about going out to kill his brother, wasn't he? Peh, going off to hurt someone is never as respectable as doing it to protect someone else." Kazuki then withdrew his hands from his pockets and strode up very close to Naruto as the stunned audience watched with wide eyes. "Don't be like Sasuke if you actually want to become Hokage; if you only live for your desires you really will be the Kyuubi. Why else do you think I play the part of being a normal human?"

"I thought you said it was to laugh at everyone?"

"I lied; I just don't want to walk around thinking that I'm nothing more than a secret weapon of war - I'd actually start to believe it after a while." Kazuki admitted softly. "Now, let's stop this emo-parade and get ready for the chuunin selection exam. You're both ready for it, I can tell; so let's keep our heads in the game!"

"Alright! With you in the lead there's no way we can lose! Dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed as he punched into the air, forcing Kazuki to dodge his fist with a small grin on his tattooed face. This kid was just too easy to direct…

"I think Sakura-san had it correct the first time, Naruto. I'll help you out if we get into a pinch, but I'm just a background actor in you guy's show. Which is why you, Naruto," Kazuki laughed as he caught Naruto roughly by the shoulder, "and you, Sakura," he continued as he took the kunoichi by the shoulder with the same roughness and shook her slightly, "have the distinct honor of fighting over who'll play captain. I'll go either way, so don't even worry about taking me into account!"

- Takigakure academy -

It happened before they even made it to the academy doors. Naruto had been given leadership of the team when Sakura disqualified herself for not trusting everyone equally; and that she had yet to forgive Kazuki for the harsh Sasuke-bashing back in the hotel lobby. So, as Naruto took point with Kazuki and Sakura following in an uncomfortable silence, someone walked out onto the path immediately in front of the group - their intention to stop the party had been easy to read.

"You guys are foreigners…" the green-haired stranger murmured hesitantly, their oddly pink eyes slowly passing over the leaf headbands. "…but you're different from the other genin."

"Who-?" Naruto began, but once again Kazuki asserted himself into the conversation; a habit Sakura was beginning to detest. "If it isn't Nanashi Fuu… You're not usually so bold, are you, dumpling?"

"Don't call me that, Kazu-onii-san." Fuu demanded in a rush, her bronzed cheeks somehow darkening with the hint of a blush. The little girl looked to be about 12 years old and had short, pale-green hair and unnatural pink eyes; her outfit consisted of a white tank top, matching skirt, and similar arm warmers, but offset by back mesh on her abdomen and thighs; her own Takigakure forehead protector was clearly seen wrapped around her right arm. "…and don't touch me…!" she added as an afterthought.

"Alright, alright; I don't want my hand broken again, anyway." Kazuki chuckled as he flexed the extremity in question and grinned. He didn't mind the way Sakura grinned as well, though obviously for a different reason.

"Wait - aren't you the container for the…?" Naruto realized with dawning comprehension. "Did you want to see me because I have the nine-tails inside me?"

Then Fuu did the most amazing thing; she walked right up into Naruto's personal space and reached up to touch his face, hesitantly drawing her middle finger along one of the whisker-marks on his cheeks. "We're both the same… Does everyone in your village treat you badly, too? Do they glare at you with eyes even colder than ice?"

"Yeah…" Naruto sighed softly, his face again going blank and drooping. "Everyone calls me *that boy* and the merchants charge me three-times more than anyone else. But!" he exclaimed suddenly as color and warmth returned to his face, his piercing blue eyes alight with excitement and glory, "There are some people who are starting to acknowledge me and don't treat me like crap - Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Kazuki-kun and even Hinata-chan! They have become my precious friends that I'll risk my life to protect! Dattebayo!" Naruto seemed pretty ready to risk his life, seeing as how he either boldly or stupidly lurched forward and grabbed Fuu by the shoulders - she flinched, but didn't move to break any part of Naruto's body. "If you try hard enough you can make people acknowledge you, too! You're already a ninja, so all you have to do is protect people and they'll start to like you! Believe it!"

"I'm… so jealous of you, Naruto…" Fuu whispered softly, gently reaching up and hesitantly wrapping her fingers around his extended forearms. "Sometimes I can't help but feel that if I only had one person that lived her who didn't hate me, then I wouldn't be so lonely anymore. Instead I can only get along with foreigners; foreigners who will eventually have to leave when they're done with their mission here."

"Well, I hate to rain on your emo-parade; but we also have a mission to finish here, dumpling." Kazuki cut in as rudely as ever, also risking his life by physically lifting Fuu into the air by her upper arms and turning her off to the side, "Why don't you run off and…" Kazuki was unable to finish when Fuu whipped around and lunged at him, knocking the both of them to the ground and viciously biting the most readily-available part of his body - she bit him in the head; hard. Before Naruto or Sakura could move to help him, Kazuki pried the girl off of his head and held her at bay with his arms from on the ground.

"I told you not to touch me, Kazuki no baka! You stupid onii-san!" Fuu cried as she struggled in his grip, hot tears flowing from her pink eyes as she yelled at him. Suddenly she noticed one of the Taki patrolmen walking towards the group and she hastily backed off, though she was still sniffling. "I hope you enjoy your *stupid* chuunin exam; because I'm never going to be allowed in!" Fuu shouted before dashing away, vanishing into an alleyway between two libraries.

Kazuki looked up when the jounin made it to the party, a somewhat disgusted look written all over his face as he stared after where Fuu had run off to. "Is everything alright over here, honored guests?" he queried, his voice rich to match his handsome face; which was strangely attractive even for Naruto and Kazuki, who were both heterosexual boys. "You might want to check in with a medic before proceeding into the exam, young master; if it was a bite from *that girl* it'll definitely become infected if you leave it alone. Maybe if you get treated, as well." he grumbled disgustedly even as he offered his hand to help Kazuki to his feet.

Naruto glared horribly at the man with his teeth gnashed and his fists clenched. Oh, he'd heard that same line far too many times back in Konoha to tolerate them being said about someone else like him. He took an angry step forward, but found himself being pulled back by Sakura-chan, whose face was softer than his - and incidentally far cuter than the man's. "Let it go for now, Naruto-kun. Even someone like you should only fight only one battle at a time, ok?" she urged with a warm smile; her large green eyes penetrating through his rage and calming him on the spot. Sakura-chan had always had that effect on him; Naruto supposed that was part of the reason why he liked her so much that he already planned that she would be his future-wife.

At the same time, Kazuki was brushing his clothing off and chuckling sheepishly with the jounin. It irritated Sakura that Kazuki could just stand there and laugh as an innocent little girl was being heartlessly abused; if anyone was a monster it was these two! Done with his chuckle, Kazuki crossed his arms as he asked the Waterfall jounin a rather surprising question, one that made Sakura question even her own quick judgment. "Why isn't my cute little dumpling, Fuu-chan, allowed to enter the chuunin exam? I mean, Takigakure is the only village not affiliated with one of the major nations that actually has a demon host. I would have believed that you'd want to remind the Land of Fire and Lightning why underestimating your country would be a horrible mistake."

The jounin scoffed, and for a brief second it looked like he wanted to relieve all three of them of their heads; but instead he gave a diplomatic smile and gestured towards a towering mansion visible in the horizon, "The Daimyo has tried to enter *her* into the exam, however none of the sensei were willing to leave their students alone with the seven-tailed horned beetle; so without a full team, she cannot be permitted to compete."

"Oh, well that's too bad," Kazuki mentioned with a cold shrug of his shoulders. "Anyway, we're expected at the academy in ten minutes; unless you're willing to escort us so that we don't get ambushed a third time today…"

"Oho; it'd be my pleasure to escort you, young master! I've got all the respect in the world for the honored Takanori clan!" the jounin brown-nosed. It only made Naruto and Sakura hate him all the more.

- Finally at the academy entrance -

The two genin and their chuunin weapon stood before the carved mahogany door of the school; they were still in the middle of their determined stare when Naruto broke it off early by taking a deep breath and glancing towards the door. Though he didn't recognize the shinobi that had been carved into the wood, he knew that even considering that he'd been training since his last try; the chuunin exam would still be very tough. "This time we're going to make it for sure, Sakura-chan. You're not going to be higher than us for very long, Kazuki-kun…"

"I look forward to seeing you get promoted - the both of you. There are a lot of responsibilities you'll have to fulfill, but it's not a huge hassle if you have as thick skin as you two seem to have. Now come on and let's raise some hell!"

"…and this time I won't just be staring at your back, Naruto-kun!" Sakura interjected powerfully, her now calloused hands tightened into fists as she squared her shoulders in preparation for accepting the weight of the world. "I want you to depend on me as well, ok? We're all in this together, right?"

And without further ado, the three young teens pushed open the door and strode in. Their next stop was the third floor, and there wasn't any kind of genjutsu that would slow them down this time!

- Tomarani Houkago Hotel -

Now that they were safely in the dignitary suite, Tsunade and Jiraiya could get down to real business while Shizune was out taking Tonton for a walk. The former-Hokage sat back in her chair with the Hokage hat lying overturned in the center of the elegantly polished table in the room, "How much of the Akatsuki organization were you able to uncover in the Hidden Rain?"

"I found out that my first set of students learned a lot more from me than I thought at first." Jiraiya implied as he rubbed his hand against the show-white stubble on his chin, "Those three somehow managed to kill Hanzo and end his reign of terror by taking tyrannical control over the village of forcing an alliance with Konoha by proxy."

"Well, I guess a tyrannical takeover isn't so bad if it serves the interests of the people… but why is the alliance through proxy?"

"Nagato and his friends actually signed it with just me, but if I'm going to be sitting in old-man Sarutobi's seat of power, then it'll affect all of Konoha as well, wouldn't it?" Jiraiya explained, nodding slowly with his eyes shut in contemplation. "That Konan, though; I expected her to still be feisty, but I didn't expect her to-"

"Alright, that's enough of that subject, you rickety-old pervert." Tsunade grumbled with a soft glare. "I don't see what all of this has to do with the Akatsuki; or our pair of S-class nukenin who have purportedly joined their ranks."

This time Jiraiya leaned back in the chair, apparently using chakra to avoid tipping over despite his sharp angle and heavy hair. "Well, it turns out that my three students actually started the Akatsuki organization for their hostile takeover of the Hidden Rain; but when they were done with it they signed it over to their second-in-command. I was able to take care of both of your orders at the same time after that, Tsunade."

A cold shiver ran through the old woman's body as she allowed the chair to drop back onto all four legs. "You can't seriously be implying that *he* is in command of the Akatsuki!" Jiraiya fixed her with a serious glare; and though he didn't whisper a syllable, he knew that she'd already realized who he meant. "Orochimaru has control over an international criminal organization that has already attempted to capture the nine-tails once." she growled darkly, biting the side of her thumbnail in irritation. "What's worse is that he now has control of the Sharingan through Uchiha Itachi."

"That's more to it than that, Tsunade. Every member of the Akatsuki organization is an S-class felon; but what really worries me is the number of members who seem to have advanced bloodline abilities. However, when I spoke to Orochimaru, he seemed too cautious to underestimate me for always being weaker than him to reveal any of his more sensitive information."

"You actually spoke to Orochimaru? Why didn't you kill him if you were that close!?"

"I believe I just mentioned that I've always been somewhat weaker than our old party-animal." Jiraiya admitted with an annoyed grunt; he wasn't very proud of his statement, but it was still the truth. "The only reason I was able to escape was because Sakura was with me and he insisted that he wasn't so evil as to steal a mentor from the girl."

"You took Sakura with you!?" Tsunade gagged in fury at her dumbass teammate's unmitigated audacity. She slammed her hands onto the table, but without any added chakra the entire thing didn't collapse.

Jiraiya shook his head in defeat and sighed heavily, "No, Tsunade; I've done some pretty stupid things in my life - peeping at you being one of them," he added with a perverted wink, "but I would never have taken Sakura into that lair if we weren't both captured and dragged in without an option."

Tsunade sighed heavily as she leaned back once again, growling yet again as she crossed her arms under her breasts. "I'll just have to accept that for now. However, did I hear that you actually accepted my offer, Jiraiya? Are you honestly going to take over as Hokage in my place when I leave?"

"Hah; so you're certain that you're hitting the road again, are you?" Jiraiya laughed, amusingly reminded of the first time she'd bailed at the end of the war. He was already well aware that he'd dodged her question, but that only served to make his next action that much easier to do. Reaching into his robe, the toad-tamer withdrew several large stacks of cash and a number of scrolls; these he dropped inside the Hokage hat before leaning back in his chair and grinning like a child. "This is only a little bit of what I've earned from my adult books; however, I think that you and Naruto will make better use of it than I ever could."

"How generous of you," Tsunade mentioned with a growing grin of her own, "However, I somehow get the feeling that there's something you want from me in return." Jiraiya's grin broadened at his peer's wink and following nod towards the large bed at the other end of the room. Because while Jiraiya may be a big, old pervert; it didn't mean that Tsunade wasn't a lesser, middle-aged one. She was still a woman, after all.

- Takigakure academy -

Naruto led the way into the classroom filled to the brim with foreign genin; perhaps another chuunin or two as well. "Haha! I'm still not scared of any of you bastards! I'll take ya all on! Dattebayo!"

"I was hoping you wouldn't do that again. How annoying…" a highly familiar drawl filled their ears as a young teen slouched up to the group. It was Shikamaru!? "We're over in this corner; come on and we'll explain everything over there." the chuunin grumped as he turned and began winding his way back through the glaring crowd - some of which were repeats from Naruto's last attempt. Never-the-less, Naruto and Sakura strode through the wall of genin with their shoulders back and their heads held high - this was *their* year for sure! Shikamaru stopped at the end of a long table right by a window looking out into the picturesque flowerbed that was Takigakure; every survivor of the Konoha Twelve was there to greet them.

"See? That wasn't so bad, you slouch. I think I'm going to make you do more stuff from now on until we work the lazy right out of your bones!" Ino giggled as Shikamaru grunted when he fell back against the wall he'd previously occupied. "Anyway; it's good to see you again, Naruto!" the blonde explained, much to the annoyance of the sterner genin from their harsher villages. "It just wouldn't be the same without you guys, you know!"

"We even talked Shikamaru into coming along as well." Chouji added with a deep-set smile. While still somewhat on the husky side, Naruto could see that his shirt was now lined with muscles and he exuded a strange sense of dependability. "Even if it was troublesome, we agreed that it just wouldn't feel right unless we were all here. Well, all except for… but I hear that a really strong guy is here in his place!"

"Speaking of the devil-" Tenten laughed with spunk as she reached out and patted Naruto on the shoulder, giving a quick wink before looking for something she apparently couldn't see. "-where is that guy that's supposed to be filling in for Sasuke-kun? He was in my graduation class, you know? I'm thinking of asking him to go out with me after all of this is done." Tenten finished with a wistful gleam in her eyes.

Neji almost chuckled as he nodded towards another table with his head, "The eyes of the Hyuuga don't miss anything; that girl from the Hidden Mist waved him over to her table over there." As a single unit, the Konoha 11 all glanced in the direction Neji had indicated; only to see Kazuki standing in the middle of a cluster of Mist genin, speaking to a familiar young woman and her friends. Naruto recognized her as being part of the team that had ambushed them right in the entrance to the village. "You might want to hurry up and ask him before he gets too familiar with those girls, Tenten."

"There's no way Tenten will ever lose to those girls; because Tenten has guts!" Lee proclaimed wildly as he breathed heavily from his latest blast of adrenaline, though it was hard to tell if his eyes were wide from excitement or if they were just always that way. You could never tell when it came to Rock Lee.

"Shouldn't we be discussing how we're going to stay alive?" Sakura interjected in an irritated tone; pulling on the bottom of her glove as she made a fist to add emphasis to the severity of their environment. "I don't know if you guys were paying attention, but Naruto just challenged everyone in this room. I think we might need to keep our guard up."

"The exam is about to begin, you guys." Shino mentioned through the raised collar of his trench coat.

True to his word, a door opened at the side of the room to let in a line of Waterfall jounin all dressed in full uniform with their headbands polished to gleam in the noonday sun. The man in the very center - the apparent host of the first exam - took a step forward and raised both of his arms, holding his hands palms-up on the level of his chest. "Welcome to all of our honored guests and proud hopefuls to the Takigakure Chuunin Selection Exam in the glorious Land of Whirlpools! You will all risk your lives in this test of skill and survival; but more importantly you are each placing the honor and livelihood of your individual villages and nations on your own shoulders and backs." the jounin announced in a powerfully resonant voice, his words easily reaching to every corner of the large classroom. "However, I am required to inform you all that we do have a total of 11 chuunin participating alongside you all in accordance with the appended rules of this exam. Any genin able to keep up with these individuals, or even surpass them, shall have a better chance of being marked for promotion themselves.

"So, without further delay - on behalf of myself and the village Hidden in the Waterfall; I will now explain the first exam to all of our honored guests." the jounin continued as he clenched his fists and raised them higher until they were on the level of his shoulders. When he did this, the long line of instructors thrust their hands forward in perfect sync; each and every one of them was holding a heaven scroll. "As you can clearly see, there are only twenty scrolls here. I will be putting all of you through a winding maze full of traps designed to slow you down and prevent you from reaching the end; slowing and hindering your opponents is permitted, but killing is strictly forbidden and will result in immediate expulsion. Only the first twenty teams to reach the finish will be granted a scroll - all other parties will be disqualified and escorted back to the beginning to be processed out of the exam." This way only 60 of several hundred genin will be able to proceed to the second test.

Neji smirked as he shared a knowing look with his teammates; Byakugan would serve them exceptionally well here. Shino hardly moved a muscle; he already knew that his team had the greatest advantage of them all - with the Byakugan, scouting bugs, and a dog-user who was even now memorizing the scents of the examiners, they'd most likely be the first to reach the end. Naruto and Sakura had both been trained by two of the legendary three ninjas - and Kazuki was already a chuunin; there was no reason for them to have too much difficulty. However, team Ino-Shika-Chou looked to be at the greatest disadvantage with their lack of notable navigation skills; Shikamaru's razor-sharp mind would probably be the only thing getting them through this portion of the exam.

- Land of Fire -

As before, the corrupt Daimyo was flanked by the lithe lady-killer Marukia and the monstrous man-of-1000-words Kogei; his two best and only *trusted* samurai. This time, however, they were not jerked around as before; before them stood not a pair of men in black masks, but the pale snake in all his horrid glory. Dressed in a black robe bearing crimson clouds, the Sannin smelled of death and exuded a petrifying aura. "Orochimaru-sama, I came as soon as…"

"Please lower your voice, Daimyo-san. I'll kill you if you go and get our secret meeting place discovered again." the snake-tamer chuckled terrifyingly as a demonic smirk came to his lips. The Daimyo gulped, but took the hint quickly to heart, sealing his lips to let his contact speak. "I'm very pleased in your hard work, you know? So far there isn't anyone that's discovered our little plan… well, no one influential enough to stop it, anyway."

"Sir," the Daimyo whispered more quietly as he extended his hand to accept a scroll from Kogei, the massive, black-skinned samurai to his right, "this is the list of Konoha genin currently participating in the chuunin exam; and the jounin commanders assigned as their mentor." The Daimyo bowed as he passed over the scroll, mildly surprised to see that Orochimaru returned the bow - even if he wore a darkly sinister grin as he did.

Orochimaru seemed to hiss with glee as he unrolled the scroll and read the contents in the gloomy darkness of the forest - a specialized jutsu perhaps? "I must say that I'm very pleased with you right now, Tomi-kun; everything is in place for my plan to come to action. My loving, old sensei is no more; fear chokes the village hidden in the leaves as her denizens sit cramped and festering in isolation; and you, my own good friend is sitting on top of it all with such a wonderful smile." The Daimyo nodded slowly, terrified but none-the-less fascinated by the Sannin's speech. While it was true that he was supposed to be an enemy, the two old men had been friends for the longest time; that they could help each other achieve their fondest desires only served to bring them closer.

"Sir, that scroll was…" Marukia mentioned as he shifted in the darkness - unlike his master he wasn't feeling very excited by being in the presence of the legendary shinobi regarded as a boogie man by the great nation of Fire. "I mean; it's fine that Genin Uzumaki Naruto and Chuunin Takanori Kazuki are out of the village - they're part of your plan later, right? - but all the jounin who were sent to Takigakue with their genin; all of those jounin could still prove troublesome even for us…" Kogei placed his massive hand on his cohort's shoulder and shook his head to both calm him and shut his big mouth before they were all butchered before they could draw. As top-level samurai they had each killed their own jounin adversaries; but the man before them wasn't jounin - hell, he was barely still human!

"That is very correct, Marukia-kun." Orochimaru practically giggled as he brought the back of his hand up to his own smirking lips, causing a cold chill to run down the samurai's spine. They were twenty paces away, but they could both clear that distance in an instant. "There are two beautiful young women who might stand in the way of our ambition. However, we have yet to reach the *too late* mark; we have lots of time for a game of snake and mouse." the horrible man tickled with amusement, his serpentine eyes seeming to glow with darkness deeper than the enshrouding night pressing in on the small group of traitors. "Well, it seems that the Konoha shinobi aren't as blind as I would have believed; they managed to locate my hideout in Shigatta Village, after all."

The Daimyo nodded shortly, his face a mask of his swirling emotions and terror. "Thankfully as general of Konoha, I have special weapons set aside for just an occasion… The Hassari and her daughter - I'll send them as soon as I return to the village. I look forward to serving as your equal, Hokage-dono."

- Elsewhere -

A large hunchback strolled along the forest floor humming child's lullaby in his head, though his mouth had long since lost the ability to smile. Not that it was possible to tell through the black cloth tied across his face, or the black robe he wore loosely over his unnatural shape. Smile or not, the sinister man held a secret close to his heart that would reveal to all the world just how beautiful art was when it was eternal. The fact that he needed help from a snake and his pet medic didn't sour the fact that he carried a vial of the most potent toxin yet to be discovered by shinobi-kind; though they would definitely learn of it before the night was out.

Sasori of the Red Sand allowed a guttural chuckle to escape his wooden lips as a breeze caused the strips of cloth on his conical hat to dance - too briefly to be considered art. Konohagakure was soon to become a graveyard of eternal suffering and regret; it was just over the next hill, after all. His next step nearly knocked him off-balance, if not for his lower center of gravity his might have been thrown on his face. He detected the gathering of shinobi just before turning to see the over-large shuriken sticking out of his back, having failed to chop him in half thanks to his durable shell. "Well, isn't this interesting?" Sasori growled as he slowly rotated to face his attackers.

Standing fully upright on a low tree branch was nineteen-year-old powerhouse, Jounin Umino Ikaji; behind him arrayed on random branches were seven more bodies, each man or woman holding their own unique sword. "You're getting a little too close to my home to be comfortable, nukenin." Ikaji mentioned coldly before jabbing his thumb towards his allies, "I'm just glad that we were able to receive help from the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist if we're up against the Akatsuki." He had already seen Orochimaru with his own eyes; heard every sickening word uttered by the snake; every intolerable little gesture made by the evil Daimyo and his samurai boyfriends recorded into his mind. Koyoko had been absolutely right about the hidden plot; very cunning to include him; very resourceful for begging her aunt in the Hidden Mist to send more help than he would have ever dreamed.

'What a piece of shit.' Sasori thought to himself as he opened a hidden panel with a string of chakra. 'Even I'll be hard-pressed fighting against such an alliance. Unless I bring Sandaime Kazekage out right off, that is.' Out loud, the runaway laughed darkly as he reached over his shoulder and dislodged the giant shuriken and tossed it to the side; the thing had been oddly reminiscent of the celebrated Umino hero from the third war. Never-the-less, it bought him enough time to unravel the summoning scroll he had placed the Iron-sand-user inside.

As expected, Ikaji let fly his second super-shuriken, but he fell backwards as soon as he released the weapon. Sasori reacted quicker than the blink of an eye, using his scorpion tail to deflect the large weapon before it could interrupt his bloodless summoning. You couldn't advance beyond jounin without having learned something special after all. However, his effort was wasted when the upstart landed with his hands still formed in the last of his seals; it hardly mattered, whatever he threw, the puppet master would just angle his tail to intercept it anyway.

"Water release: Water Bullet Storm!" Ikaji grunted before spraying a stream of water from his mouth; the stream became spheres that struck in a large cone in front of him, each "bullet" striking with enough force to crack rocks and rip bark from the trees. Yet the entire reason he'd used the jutsu was for the same reason why you couldn't eat soup broth with chopsticks; the water flowed around the razor-sharp tail, easily negating its defense.

Sasori growled in rage as he leapt away from the attack, landing several feet away after having dropped the scroll on the ground. The Sandaime scroll had been ripped to shreds by the beads of water, making it completely useless - that puppet could never be summoned again. It was a horrible waste, because he had never even used that Iron-Sand puppet yet; his eternal beauty would never be realized as the true art that it had become. However, as he watched the jounin wave his foreign allies to the ground to begin their assault, Sasori found that he was actually rather glad that it had happened. Umino… this young man might already be more powerful than that haggard old has-been ever was - he had just yet to realize just how beautiful he was about to become when graced with the eternal embrace of immortality. So Sasori watched the young man as he stood up off of the ground, and in his mind he could tell that Ikaji was doing little more than waiting to be carved up and be reborn as the finest piece of art the world had ever seen!