Hey everyone, it's acw28 here with another update to A New Realm!

So now that my brief insanity has passed, I'm back to writing my main story, at least for the time being. Anyway, after the "nightmare" chapter in the last update, it's time for the Konoha group to get home, and get ready for the Chunin Exams. What new obstacles will the genin encounter? Read on to find out.

One quick note before we start, if you're a fan of Naruto (which why are you reading this if you aren't) and Tarantino, than I highly recommend you read The Nefarious Nine by my friend Tobi wants a cookie. It's one of my favorite stories that I had a blast reading, especially the part where…no, I can't say that…I wouldn't want to give away any spoilers now would I?

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Naruto or Mortal Kombat, I'm not making any money off of this story.

The day had finally arrived, after three months of hard work, by most, the day had come for the group from Konoha to return home. As the group was gathering outside the barracks, each of the Earthrealm warriors took the time to teach one final lesson to their pupils.

"Remember Lee," Liu Kang told the boy, "while many will look down on you, don't let them extinguish your fire."

"I will Liu Kang-sensei!" the boy loudly declared, Guy watching the pair with a smile, happy one day his apprentice could surpass him.

With one monk loudly motivated his student, the other calmly approached his. Tapping Neji on the shoulder, Kung Lao presented the boy with a sealing scroll. Before the Hyūga could ask, the monk said, "I had something made for you and asked one of your senseis to seal it for me, use it when the time feels right. Remember, all things in life have a balance."

"I will Lao-sensei," Neji said before bowing deeply to the man, "thank you for everything."

Kung Lao smiled before placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, "You just needed your eyes opened, just because you think you see where the path will take you doesn't mean you need to blindly follow it."

While the monks shared sage wisdom with their charges, Jade was held in a bone crushing hug by the last member of Team Guy. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Tenten repeatedly declared after she'd received her own transforming bo staff, the weapons specialist couldn't wait to test it out when she got home. Jade meanwhile kept a smile one her face while questioning if this is what her opponent's ribs felt like after they spared. Either way, she definitely needed to take it easier on Smoke, and make it up to him. 'But still, this strength is almost Tarkatan in nature. It could be a by product of training with her team, but it'd be best to keep an eye on her.'

While Team Guy were loud in their final lessons, Team Eight was much more subdued.

"Remember," Johnny began to lecture, "it doesn't matter how fast you move if you trip. Keep an eye on the playing field or the battle will turn on you in an instant."

"Of course, Johnny-sensei," Shino responded in his usual monotone.

As Johnny was about to share another useful tip with Shino, Nightwolf shared his thoughts with Kiba. "Despite how we did things, you've made a lot of progress."

"Really?" Kiba questioned as he gathered Natural Energy and formed a knife, "This was all I was able to form, and I can only hold it for ten minutes at the most."

"True," Nightwolf began, "but we are also in the middle of a city. From what I was told you live in an almost untouched world, it should be easier for you to gather Natural Energy once you are home. Either way, I see great things for you're future Kiba." Feeling left out of the conversation, Akamaru barked from his place atop the boy's head. "And I'm sure you'll be there to stop your partner from getting a big head." the shaman added, the dog barking in agreement.

While the boys of Team Eight were receiving last minute lessons, Kitana was asking Hinata a few questions, Kurenai discreetly watching a small distance away. "Hinata, you can trust me with anything, yes?" the Edenian princess asked.

"Of course sensei." Hinata answered as she made sure her war fans were hidden.

"Then could you tell me where you got your extra training?" Kitana questioned before adding, "Keep in mind that I know about you sneaking off at night."

Although panicking a little, Hinata was prepared as she said, "I had some help from one of my friends, I told them the basics of the day's lesson and they would watch me and point out where my form is wrong."

Although hidden by her mask, Kitana shared a smile with Kurenai as she said, "It's always nice to have friends you can count on, I don't know what I'd do half the time if I didn't have Jade." However, while she appeared to believe the girl's lie, Kitana thought to herself, 'That sounded rehearsed, not to mention her form slightly differed from mine. Not by much, but definitely more aggressive. Hinata, we supposedly know who your parents are, so how many people are being lied to?'

A few feet away, Team Ten was getting some last minute training in, literally. Kabal was having Choji, who had two hook swords strapped to his back, run laps around everyone, occasionally throwing one of his "buzz saws" to make sure the boy kept an eye open. Meanwhile both Ino and Shikamaru were currently doing pushups as Sonya and Jax offered words of "encouragement" for the pair to go faster.

For once, Team Seven seemed to be the calm spot within the group. As Sai and Cyrax were off to the side going over formula's for various explosives, Sindel was reminding Sakura of her limitations, "Remember, you should only use five banshee shrieks a day at most, and even then that's pushing it."

"Hai Sindel-sensei." the pinkette immediately responded, causing the woman to smile. From the information obtained from the Konoha group, and based on how the girl acted, the Queen of Edenia was confident in believing that the girl had no relation to Mileena. That just begged the question of who Mileena's daughter was.

Meanwhile, Hanzo was conversing with Naruto in hushed tones. "Remember," the man whispered, "you are free to visit us for more training."

"I think two of you expect me to visit every day." the teen quickly said.

"True," Hanzo said with a smirk before handing the boy a strip of yellow cloth with a stylized scorpion printed on it. "Remember, you maybe from Konoha but you're also part of the Shirai Ryu, make us proud in whatever you do."

"I will master." Naruto said as he accepted the memento, tying it to his right bicep.

While everyone was saying goodbye, Sasuke was brooding at the edge of the group. The boy was still upset that he'd been denied a teacher. He didn't care what the so called god said, he was an Uchiha, he deserved the best. As the boy glared at Naruto, a single thought crept into his mind, 'It doesn't matter if the dobe was taught by that man, Naruto is still the weakest one here.' Then a smirk appeared on the genin's face as he continued the taught, 'And I'll be able to learn whatever he was taught, I just need to challenge him to a spar and watch with my sharingan.'

As the plan came together in the Uchiha's head, the boy called out, "Are we leaving yet? I've got better things to do than stand around all day."

"Easy genin," Yamato said as he lead Anko, Iruka, and the academy students to the group, "we were just finalizing the agreement to allow the Earthrealmers to come watch the tournament. Now that we are all here we just need Raiden-sama to open the portal."

No sooner had the words been spoken than the thunder god appeared. "Good everyone is already here. I hope that the genin have learned a few valuable lessons, and that their training is a step forward in creating good relations between our realms."

"I can't speak for the Hokage," Kakashi began, "much less the rest of the Elemental Nations, but after seeing some of your enemies, I sure we can come to some kind of agreement."

"That is good, all I want is to contain Shao Kahn's tyranny. But for now," Raiden snapped his fingers, causing a large portal to open, "I believe it is time for you all to go home."

After a brief nod, Kakashi lead the group through the portal, arriving on the main road leading to the village. After a quick headcount to ensure no one got left behind, it was a quick walk to the gates, and then to the Hokage's office.

"Good to see everyone back, I trust your journey was enlightening?" Hiruzen asked as the large group somehow managed to fit inside the room. Seeing almost everyone nodding, and the Uchiha brooding, the old man had a slight smile as he said, "Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to order you to save your new techniques until the third portion of the Chunin Exam, unless you fear for your life in the second part."

Instantly the room was filled with a collective yell of "What!" from most of the genin while Sasuke smirked. After raising his hand for silence, Hiruzen explained, "The exams are more than a test, they are to show our military power and attract clients. It only makes sense for those participating to have an ace up their sleeve."

As the room once more became silent, Shikamaru mumbled, "Troublesome," before speaking louder and asking, "You're ordering us to take part in the Chunin Exams, aren't you Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen's smirk grew even more as he said, "That's right young Nara. Usually it's up to the jonin to decide if they think you're ready, however you've been given individual training for three months by people who could possible rival you sensei's power. That is why as your leader, I'm ordering any genin team who received special training to participate in the name of Konoha." As everyone nodded, and Sasuke went back to brooding, the man asked, "Now is there anymore questions?" When no one spoke up, Hiruzen declared, "Then you may all leave, you have a few days before the exams begin, I suggest you rest up."

As the group exited the Hokage Tower, the aged leader watched them splinter off from his window. "I don't know why, but I feel like I forgot something." the old man mussed to himself before shrugging his shoulders, "I'm sure it was nothing."

As the genin ran off on their own, the jonin went their separate ways as well. While Anko and Kurenai dragged Iruka off to "question" the man about Naruto, Kakashi went to the book store, Asuma went back to his clan compound while muttering something about making it look nice, and Guy started running laps around the village. Yamato observed all of this from the back of the group. True, it seemed odd, but he was content where he was. Spending his childhood in ROOT had made normal relationships odd for the man and he was happy whenever the others included him in the conversation, even if he spent most of it as an observer.

These thoughts circled Yamato's brain as he walked home and through his door. Quickly the man froze as he thought, 'Didn't I leave this locked?' A quick scan of his apartment revealed nothing out of place, yet he heard someone humming. Knowing he had the right address due to his unique bonsai tree, the man drew a kunai and rounded the corner, read to confront the intruder, only to freeze when he saw a face from a lifetime ago.

Shocked at the woman in front of him, Yamato dropped his weapon, the metal hitting the floor as Yukimi launched herself at the man. As the two fell to the floor, the woman looked at her long lost friend for a brief second before giving him a quick kiss on the check and saying, "I've missed you so much Yamato."

"Yukimi," the ANBU whispered, "I thought I'd never see you again, why are you here?"

The woman wore a smile the shinobi recognized from his childhood as she said, "I came for you silly. I spent sometime traveling, but decided I wanted to be back with my family."

Looking away, Yamato said, "I'm sorry, but I'm not your brother."

Gently, Yukimi grasped Yamato's chin and moved his head so that she could look directly into his eyes. "I know." she confessed. "Even back then I knew, but to see so much of my clan taken and not seen again, pretending you were my brother gave me hope he might one day return. Every day I waited, hoping my brother would return. And then you came," a slow smile crept onto the woman's face as she said, "You helped me get out of my tree, to see the sun and the forest. You took me to a festival where I had the most fun in my entire life, and I started feeling something different about you." As the words left Yukimi's mouth, Yamato felt his cheeks blush. "But enough of the past," surprising Yamato once more, Yukimi pulled him into a heated kiss. Only once the need for air became too much did they separate, both with a smile. "I've been to a lot of places, and I've had a lot of fun," the woman continued, "but I saved a special kind of fun for you." As if Yamato couldn't take anymore surprises for the day, Yukimi's body turned into pink smoke and drifted into his bedroom, leaving her clothes behind. As the man's mind tried to make sense of everything, Yukimi leaned out of the doorway and asked, "Why are you still sitting there? Aren't you going to join me?"

The man quickly bolted into his bedroom, to the great irritation to his neighbors.

While the rest of the genin ran off to their families, or in Naruto's case to play Ninja with Konohamaru and his friends, Sai calmly walked down a dimly lit alleyway. Arriving to the back entrance of a butcher, the teen knocked on the doorway three times before a small hatch in the wall to open. After climbing through, the artist crawled along the small tunnel until he came to a chamber illuminated by a single lantern on a table, his master, Danzo, sitting on the other side. Once Sai bowed, the old man ordered, "Report."

Without hesitation Sai recounted the events that transpired in Earthrealm, although he omitted his involvement to duct taping Sasuke to the flag pole, as well as his rediscovery of several emotions. Danzo remained silent throughout the report, only speaking up once Sai had finished. "This Earthrealm could help tip the scales in Konoha's favor, although it is troubling that this Raiden didn't provide the Uchiha with any training."

"Sasuke acted brashly when he was first refused and made a bad impression, I'm sure with time he will be forgiven and allowed a second chance." Sai quickly said, hoping to keep his master's attention on the Uchiha.

"True," the war hawk agreed, "but we need the Sharingan to stay in the village, and to do that we need to keep Sasuke interested, whether that be with new techniques, training, or other means. However, all is not lost, Sasuke Uchiha must take part in the Chunin Exams."

"How will we achieve this Danzo-sama?" Sai questioned.

In response the war hawk handed the teen a vile with a clear liquid inside, "Give this substance to one of the genin participating in the exam, it does not matter which."

"What does this do?" Sai found himself asking, both in his head and aloud.

"You need not worry about that detail." Danzo said before standing up and walking into the shadows.

Sai easily translated the meaning of the statement, now the question was which of his friends would he betray.

After the enlightening conversation with Iruka, where the ladies only learned the man didn't have any prior knowledge about his student's parentage, Anko and Kurenai went their separate ways, with the latter saying something about moving out of her apartment. Having nothing to do, the special jonin was content to wonder the village. While there were still a few civilians that gave her dirty looks, she mostly ignored them, focusing too much on the memory she'd recovered of the dying Hyūga woman. 'I didn't think much of it then, but I know she chose me to visit for a reason, now if I could just figure why?' Releasing a sigh of frustration, the woman came to one conclusion, 'just something I'm going to have to as the Hokage about eventually.' With her mind made up, only now did the kunoichi look to see where her feet had taken her.

'The Dragon's Claw huh? I haven't been here since…' just as quickly as the thought came, another took it's place, 'I wonder if they still have it.'

As the woman waked into the shop, she was immediately greeted, "Hello and welcome to the…oh, hi Anko-sensei, what can I do for you?" Tenten asked from behind the counter.

Ignoring the weapons on display, the special jonin said, "I left something with your boss awhile back and was hoping to reclaim it, should be in a sealed box in the back."

"Sure, I'll go check for you." the girl said before walking to the back, leaving Anko alone with her memories.

She'd been so excited, after a year of hard work the girl had managed to make herself standout among her friends. That wasn't to say that Iruka or Kurenai were weak, but Anko's outgoing personality an willingness to be in the thick of a fight made it easy for many of her employers to remember her.

While she'd miss her team, this was simply too good a chance to pass up. Orochimaru, one of the legendary sennin, had agreed to train her, just some orphaned girl who always trained her hardest. As she raced down the village's main street towards the building they were supposed to meet, the genin easily found her new sensei due to his distinctive pale skin. Slowing down the last few feet as to not run into anyone, Anko greeted her new teacher with a bow, "Hello Orochimaru-sensei."

After taking a quick glance at his watch, the man smiled before saying, "You're early, a good habit to keep." His grin faded when he caught sight of what was strapped to his student's hip. "And just what is that?" he demanded.

"My weapon," Anko causally responded, "Kushina-sensei says…"

"She is not your sensei anymore." Orochimaru quickly cut her off. "From now on the only person you'll refer to as sensei is me, but I refuse to teach you until you dispose of that disgusting weapon."

"But." the girl began again, only to be once more interrupted.

"Get rid of it, or forget about me training you." The sennin said. Hesitantly, Anko nodded her head before racing off, tears threatening to fall.

As she ran around people, Anko kept hoping none of them noticed the emotional state she was in. She hadn't cried since her mother's death, and she certainly didn't want anyone seeing her like this now. When she felt she could no longer keep the tears at bay, Anko quickly ducked into a nearby shop that looked mostly empty. As she rushed in quickly, the girl didn't hear the shopkeeper's greeting as she ran to a corner, pulled her knees to her chest, and began to cry.

Seeing the girl in distress, the shopkeeper, a large bald man, tapped her shoulder. After getting over her shock, the man asked, "What is causing you so much pain?"

After a few hiccups escaped from her, Anko explained, "My new sensei won't train me until I get rid of my weapon, but it's something my first sensei gave me and I don't want to give it up."

Nodding his head, the man held out his hands and asked, "May I see it?" Hesitantly, Anko reached for her sheathed blade before drawing it and presenting it to the man. After turning the weapon over a few times and examining it's finer details, the man declared, "This is such a fine weapon, truly a forging master piece. Your sensei most have cared a lot about you." Anko nodded at the statement, everything the man said was true so far. "Tell you what, why don't I hang on to this while you train with your new sensei, you can get it back anytime you want it."

"Really?" Anko asked. When the man nodded yes, she quickly bowed and thanked him repeatedly. As she got up to leave the store, only now realizing it was a weapons shop, the shopkeeper called for her attention.

Placing her weapon and its sheath in a black wooden box before drawing a quick seal, he asked that she place a drop of blood in the center to complete it. The task done, Anko again thanked the man before rushing out of the story to begin her training under Orochimaru, pausing just long enough to look at the shop's name, "The Dragon's Claw, I'll be sure to remember that."

'Really that should have been the first warning that something was up with that snake.' Anko thought as she came out of the memory. As she began to wonder what was taking so long, Tenten appeared from the back room, carrying a familiar wooden box. Once the girl placed the container on the counter, Anko quickly bit her thumb and ran the bloody appendage over the lid's seal. Instantly the once air-tight seal disappeared and the special jonin was able to remove the lid and reclaim her weapon.

After over a decade since she'd last seen the weapon, Anko took a moment to just look at the finely made object. A large triangular blade was fitted to a half rectangular handle, the sides extending down to protect the forearm, between the guards appeared to be a small handle while mounted on one side was a plate to protect the user's hand, a snake etched into the metal.

As Anko gave a quick once over of her forgotten weapon, Tenten looked on with stars in her eyes. Finally finding her voice, the girl asked, "Is that a katar?"

After releasing a brief chuckle, Anko smirked as she said, "It sure is kid. Remember, make yourself unique," the woman paused to pull the hidden handle, causing the blade to split apart in a scissoring motion, "and people won't know how to deal with you." After reaching back into the box for the sheath, the special jonin strapped the belt to her hips and re-sheathed her blade. After giving one final smile and telling Tenten goodbye and to thank the boss for her, Anko headed off to the training fields, she was a little rusty with this thing.

As the sun began to set, he started moving. It was difficult only being in control for half the day, but somehow he managed to make it work. After quickly grabbing a few supplies, he left his apartment in search of his target. Just as he thought, he found her practicing in the training fields, thankfully too preoccupied to notice his presence, but now it was just a matter of waiting.

She didn't stop until an hour past sunset, when the moon was high in the sky, only then did she begin walking back into the village, her tail remaining hidden in the shadows. The man waited patiently as his target walked back to her apartment, than climbed into a nearby tree and waited for the lights to turn off. Even then he waited for what seemed like an eternity until he was sure his target was completely asleep.

It was child's play to pick the lock on the window, as was silently moving through the apartment. As expected, his target was in her bedroom, asleep to the world around her. After casting a quick jutsu to keep the woman asleep, he moved the sheets away from her before gently moving the neckline of the oversized sleeping shirt to examine his canvas.

The seal that had plagued the woman for so long was clearly seen just below her neck. For years the best seal masters had tried to think of ways to remove the curse mark, but all had failed. That's why he'd decided to find a new solution, if the curse mark couldn't be removed, it would just need to be modified.

Looking over the curse mark before he began, the man could only shake his head at how fragile the thing was, the only strong components of the seal were the anchor and "soul" storage, everything else, from the chakra distribution to the network connection was barley held together. As it stood, he'd probably be doing more work reinforcing the foundation than modifying the seal. With the plan made, the man dipped his brush in the ink and began the careful task of laying out the new seal.

As the night went on, the man continued to labor over his self-appointed task. Finally, an hour before dawn all the kanji had been written on the woman's skin. After a quick double check of his work didn't reveal any errors, then man place his hand above the curse seal and focused his chakra. Instantly the kanji on the woman's skin light up before being pulled into the seal. As the last character disappeared, a small purple flame hung in the air above the seal for a few moments before dying out.

The room was still for a few moments, the man hardly believing his plan had gone off without a hitch, yet the evidence was directly in front of him. The woman still had the seal on her shoulder, but now it was snow white, purged of its evil contaminate. Satisfied that his work was done, the man prepared to leave, only to freeze when the woman released a sigh. Again the room was still, before the woman spoke in her sleep, "Iruka-kun, come back to bed" before softly snoring again.

Despite himself, the man gave a slight chuckle before whispering to himself, "Even after all these years, you still pine for him." A small smile graced the man's lips as he made his way to the window, pausing just briefly to say, "I hope you find happiness with him, Snake, it's something you deserve."

Just as silently as the man had appeared in the night, so too did he vanish.

As the sun rose in Konoha, Kurenai rolled in her bed, desperate to stay asleep for a few more moments. Eventually she lost the battle and stretched as she sat up and stretched, opening her eyes to find that her partner was in a similar position as Asuma asked, "So how was your first night here?"

Despite the restful sleep, certain activates resulted in neither actually sleeping until well into the night. Still, Kurenai said, "Best one I've had in a while, must be this bed."

"Or maybe the one you're sharing it with?" her boyfriend offered.

Smiling as she threw herself back onto the mattress, the genjutsu mistress playfully declared, "Nope, definitely the bed." Asuma just huffed before turning his back to her. As the man got ready to meet up with his team, he felt Kurenai trace a scar on his back, located directly above his kidney, as she asked, "How did you get that one?"

"I failed." Asuma answered simply, his tone making it clear he didn't want to go into detail. His mood suddenly shifted as he declared, "Come on then, we need to get the day started. I've got to make sure my genin aren't working themselves to death trying to keep up with Kakashi's group, and you need to go make sure Anko doesn't sleep in."

Reluctantly, Kurenai left the warmth of the bed.

Wanting to get as much training in as possible, Team Seven had agreed to meet early in the morning before getting a few extra hours in while waiting for Kakashi to show up. Currently, Naruto was telling Sakura about his encounter with a group of Sand genin while Sai was grabbing the three of them some tea.

"So the red head just told his teammate he'd kill him?" Sakura asked, Naruto nodding his head in confirmation. "So that's going to be our competition in the exams." She mused to herself, hoping not to encounter the blood thirst team too early.

As if sensing her thoughts, Naruto smiled before placing a hand on her shoulder and declaring, "Don't worry about it Sakura, we aren't the same kids we were in the academy. We've seen bloodshed and we've gotten training no one else has seen before, we'll be ready for whatever the Chunin Exams can throw at us."

"Thanks Naruto, you're right." Sakura said as she returned his smile. The girl then grew a little nervous. Recalling a few thoughts that had refused to stay out of her head, the girl began by saying, "Hey Naruto, say, would you like some…"

However, the pinkette never got to finish her question as Sai made his reappearance, carrying two bottles of tea while his own was tucked under his arm. After passing out the drinks, Naruto gave a short speech about the team sticking together kicking ass in the upcoming exams. While Sakura laughed at the blonde's antics, Sai kept a smile on his face as he thought to himself, 'I'm sorry my friends.'

The day ended up passing quickly and before anyone realized it, it was time for lunch. Having seen her team work hard during the morning practice, Kurenai allowed the teens to go eat lunch by themselves while she went to make sure Anko didn't oversleep too much.

The walk to her friend's apartment took Kurenai around 20 minutes, in that time the jonin imagined a number of scenarios as to why no one had seen the loyal snake summoner. When she did arrive at the apartment and knocked on the door, Anko immediately opened the door before pulling her friend inside. As she regained her bearings, Kurenai shook her head in disappointment to see that her friend was still in her sleeping shirt. Before she could scold her friend, Anko spoke up.

"I'm glad you showed up, something feels off but I'm not sure what. You check the kitchen and living room while I look through everything else."

Although use to her friends unusual behavior, this still struck Kurenai as being paranoid, until her friend turned around. Wide eyed, she asked, "Anko, since when has your you-know-what been white?"

"WHAT!" the special jonin yelled before running to the nearest mirror to find what her friend had said was indeed true, causing the woman to freeze in shock.

While Anko stood petrified, Kurenai took action. Tossing the woman's trademarked trench coat at her, the jonin ordered, "Snap out of it and get dressed, we need to talk to the Hokage right now."

After nodding and heading towards her room, Anko called out, "What about your brats?"

"They can take care of themselves," Kurenai answered, "they'll figure out something's going on and decide to take the day off or train by themselves."

"You know, Kurenai-sensei has been gone for a while." Kiba said as Team Eight wondered through the village, looking for their wayward teacher.

"Perhaps something has come up that requires her immediate attention." Shino suggested as the group passed by Ichiraku Ramen.

"Maybe," Kiba agreed, "but what could be so urgent? What do you think Hinata?"

"Hmm, sorry Kiba, I was distracted," the girl admitted. Both boys shared a short laugh before catching the girl up on the conversation, "well, I don't know. Maybe…" before the heiress could finish her thought she ran into someone, both stumbling backwards. "Sorry about that I was…" Hinata began, only to freeze once she caught sight on who she ran into.

In front of her was a boy with black eyes and dark skin and spiky white hair wearing a grey hooded jacket and black pants, and a sword strapped across his back. While he also had a lollipop in his mouth, what caught Hinata's attention the most was the Hitai-ate strapped to the teen's forehead, proudly displaying the symbol of the Village Hidden in the Clouds, Kumoagkure.

While Hinata sat frozen, the boy didn't seem to notice as he started mumbling to himself, "I feel with my candy, I could have choked on it. Then Karui and Samui wouldn't be able to be in the exams and would have to go back to the village in sham. Then the village would loose respect and no one would hire us and go bankrupt."

As the teen continued to mumble to himself, two teenage girls walked up behind him. The first was a blond with a pixie haircut and blue eyes and white skin. The plain grey V-neck shirt she wore clearly showed her developing cleavage, already at the point to rival a certain heiress, while the rest of her outfit was a black shirt and red wrist guards, a tanto strapped across her back. The other girl had mocha colored skin and amber eyes while her long spiky hair was a deep shade of red. Continuing the theme of her teammates, this girl wore a grey sleeve-less shirt and loose fitting black pants, a sword similar to the boy's was strapped to her back, while she wore her Hitai-ate as a bandana.

Having enough of her teammate's mumbling, the red head delivered a hard punch to the back of his head while saying, "Stop talking to yourself you idiot, none of that happened so you don't need to worry about it!"

The agreement would have gone on further, had Kiba not interrupted. With both him and Shino standing in front of Hinata, the teen said, "Hey Kumo, back away from our teammate."

The red head forgot about her teammate as she narrowed her eyes. "What did you say?"

"I believe my teammate requested you remove yourself from our presence," Shino spoke up in his usual monotone, although the buzzing of insects could just barely be heard, "a reasonable suggestion considering the history between your village and her clan."

Confused by what the taller boy meant, it was only then that the trio from Kumo noticed Hinata's eyes. While the blond and the guy seemed to be ready to move along, the red head wouldn't have it. "What, you mean the thing where her clan killed our ambassador?"

"In retaliation to the attempted kidnapping of their heiress." was Shino's quick rebuttal.

"And it's not like that's the first time you tried that," Kiba began "or have you forgotten about Kushina Uzumaki?"

"That was under a different Raikage." the blond said.

"And the Hyūga attacked us unprovoked." the red head said, "So unless you want to start something, I suggest you turn your tail around and go home dog boy."

"You're just asking for trouble, aren't you?" Kiba asked as he reached for his kunai pouch, Akamaru growling on top of his head.

"Try me." the red head replied as she reached for her sword.

Just as the situation was about to explode, a new voice was heard. "Karui, calm down. What would your mother say?"

Team Eight turned to the new voice, each member wondering how such a large man was able to sneak up on them. The dark skin man had a blond goatee and his hair slicked back, his eyes hidden by a pair of sunglasses. Instead of a shirt, the man wore Kumo's distinctive one strap white flak jacket along with a white Hitai-ate, white fingerless gloves, and black pants. Also of note were his two tattoos, both in blue ink. The first was two parallel bars under his left eye while the kanji for Iron was present on his right shoulder.

While the Konoha genin stared in awe of the new comer, the red head, Karui, spoke up, "She'd say that I shouldn't let my anger get the best of me."

"Good," started before saying, "now I think it's time you get back to the hotel room." This caused the three genin to groan, with the blond muttering something about the situation being "un-cool". The man just laughed as the group turned around, then turned his attention back to Team Eight. Despite what the group was expecting, the man smiled as he said, "Sorry about them, just a little hard headed and eager to prove themselves. You three know any good kenjutsu masters?" Only now did the genin notice the odd square-shaped harness on the man's back, which contained seven short swords. When the three teens shook their heads no, the man sighed before saying, "Shame, oh well better make sure my squad doesn't cause any trouble. Later you three."

As the teens watched the man disappear into the crowd, Shino was the first to speak, "Well that was…enlightening."

"And freaky." Kiba added before asking, "Why did all three of them have swords, does Kumo really place such a priority on swordsmanship? What do you think Hinata?"

"I don't know." The girl confessed, "I just hope we're the only ones having a unique experience."

"All right my cure little genin," Kakashi told the assembled teens as they finished the day's training, "that's it for today, remember that the exam is tomorrow. Are you three excited?"

"You bet Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled as he assumed a nice guy pose with a thumbs up, a trait he'd adopted from Gai and Lee.

"I'll say," Sakura agreed while stretching out her sore arms, "still wish I got more training in at the academy."

Sai only nodded his head. Although his teammates were used to his silence, something still seemed off. "Are you okay Sai, you look paler than normal, and you're sweating a bit much."

The teen only smiled before saying, "I'm fine." Right as he finished speaking, the painter collapsed.

While Naruto and Sakura were shocked at the sudden turn of events, Kakashi acted quickly. Placing a hand on the unconscious teen's shoulder, the man commanded, "Hospital, ten minutes." before shunshining away.

The training grounds were silent for a moment before Sakura asked "Naruto, what just happened?"

"I don't know Sakura," Naruto admitted, "but if we want any answers we need to get to the hospital."

By the time the two arrived at the hospital, Kakashi was already in the lobby waiting for them. Before they even had a chance to speak, the man said, "He's stable, unconscious but stable. Somehow he was poisoned with something that literally ate away at his chakra, he'll need almost daily transfusions to stay alive until an antidote is made."

"So how long will that take?" Naruto questioned.

"It's not that simple Naruto." the jonin began, "The poison is odorless and tasteless but no one can confirm what exactly it is, the only person skilled enough to do that isn't in the village. We could guess what it is, but if we're wrong we could end up doing more harm than good. Not to mention this isn't our only issue," removing a sheet of paper from his pocket, Kakashi showed it to his students, "somehow the council got word of this and deemed it necessary to have a temporary replacement."

Upon seeing the name written down, Naruto yelled, "You cannot be serious!"

"Lower your voice Naruto," Sakura scolded, "this is a hospital." She then turned to her sensei and asked, "Do we really have to do this?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Kakashi said before adding, "The entirety of the civilian council and the council of elders voted for this, and it's already filed away so the Hokage can't do anything about it until the monthly review, which is after the exams. Look," Kakashi said, seeing his student's dissatisfied faces, "I'm not asking you to like this, just suck it up until we can get everything back to normal, could you please do that for me?"

After a moment of silence, Naruto said, "Fine, I'll deal with this until after the exams, but then we're done with him." Sakura stood by her teammate and nodded at his words.

"That's all I ask." Kakashi stated, happy he wasn't the Hokage and wouldn't have to deal with these headaches everyday.

Some days being the Hokage is easy, Hiruzen reflected, and other days it was a non-stop pain where a single task occupied your entire schedule. Save for a brief moment where one of his chunin aids came to inform he aged leader of a decision the council made in his absence, he'd really need to talk about these surprise meetings that only happened when he was unavailable, Hiruzen had spent most of his day examining Anko's mutated curse seal. Although it only appeared that he had been standing in a single place for the last few hours, in reality the man was using a special magnifying glass that allowed him to see the individual kanji that made up the seal. After deciphering layer after layer of writing and formulas, the old man sighed before walking back to his desk and looking the nervous woman in the eye.

"So tell me," he began, "when did you notice the change?"

"This morning," Anko replied, "I woke up and something felt different. I didn't know it was the seal until Kurenai pointed it out a little afternoon."

Nodding as he tried to use the new evidence to solve the mystery, Hiruzen asked, "And how exactly does it feel different?"

"I don't know, lighter I guess. Like I'm not carrying a burden, that there's nothing weighing me down."

"I suppose that would make sense," Hiruzen noted before drawing up a quick diagram, "the storage component or your seal, which we never figured out the function of, is overwritten and repurposed to provide a better distribution pattern."

"That's great and all, but let's get down to business." Anko declared, "How long until we get this thing sealed up again?"

"We don't," the Hokage answered, continuing before Anko had a chance to protest, "whoever modified that mark knew what they were doing. Not only have they boosted the power level, but they've also reinforced the connection to your chakra system. If we seal it, you run the risk of never being a shinobi again."

After Anko took a moment to analyze her leader's words, she asked, "So then what do we do?"

"First off, we don't let anyone else know about this if we can help it. Other than that, nothing." As Anko's jaw dropped in shocked, Hiruzen continued, "The power doesn't seem to be corrupting you and it hasn't manifested on its own, I see no reason to pull you off the roster. You may leave." When the woman remained in his office, the aged leader asked, "Is there anything else you wish to discuss?"

"That woman you had me visit back in the academy, the one eyed Hyūga, there was a reason you selected me, wasn't there?" It was clear it wasn't a question.

Sighing once more, Hiruzen stood up before walking to the window. "I've had the honor of being Hokage for the longest of the four. In that time I've seen many of the clans grow and change with the times, however," he turned back and looked Anko directly in the eye as he stated, "the Hyūga never have."

"So what's that got to do with me?" Anko questioned.

"That woman did something taboo among the clan, she had an affair with a civilian born shinobi." Now Anko's eyes were wide open in shock since the Hyūga were always known for looking down upon non-clan shinobi. "Now let me ask you something Anko, what do you think the Clan Elders would do if that affair resulted in a child."

"Probably something a lot worse than the Caged Bird Seal." Anko admitted, her few interactions with Main Branch Hyūga more than enough to solidify that view.

"And you would be correct." Hiruzen said. "To protect her unborn child, she came to me requesting an Ω ranked mission with the price that the Hyūga would never know of her daughter or their family."

"She was my grandmother." Anko said aloud as the realization sunk in. When Hiruzen nodded in confirmation, the special jonin asked, "What was her name?"

"I can't tell you." Hiruzen said with a hollow voice full of regret. Before Anko could demand the answer, the man explained, "In order to fulfill her price, her name was struck from every record and Yamanaka clan members were ordered to alter memories, including mine. The only official record of your grandmother's existence is her ANBU mask and her grave plot." The man then grabbed a spare piece of paper and quickly wrote something down. "If you wish to pay your respects, you can find it here."

With unshed tears, Anko accepted the paper before quickly saying, "Thank you, Hokage-sama." And leaving the room. Hiruzen watched her leave before sighing and rubbing his temples. He was too old to deal with situations like this, he retired once and should have stayed as such. Similar thoughts crept into the man's head as his office was suddenly bathed in a white light.

When Hiruzen was able to see once more, he found himself in the middle of some ruins on a mountain top. In an instant, the aged man was able to recognized Raiden, and see that he was not alone. Standing some distance away was a bare chested man wearing a helmet modeled after a skull. Surrounding the group was six giant, translucent torsos. Although he had a good idea about what was going on, Hiruzen didn't get a chance to question the situation before the bare chested man yelled out, "See, this old man's existence is proof of Earthrealm making a secret alliance with an unknown realm, something forbidden in the treaty."

Sensing the mood of the group, Hiruzen quickly spoke, "Excuse me if I may, Shao Kahn, correct?" When the warlord nodded, the Hokage continued, "but there is no alliance as of yet."

"But the training…"the evil tyrant began.

"Was a sign of good will after the initial contact." Hiruzen finished before adding, "And I doubt giving less than 1% of my armed forces training is a concrete basis for an alliance. Furthermore, you assume I speak for the entirety of the Elemental Nations, when in reality I only lead but one of many villages." Shao Kahn's eyes flashed in anger at being made a fool of, but once more Hiruzen was quick with his words. With a bow, he said, "I deeply apologize for any confusion, please accept my humblest apologizes, and the opportunity for you and a small number of your generals to observe the third portion of the Chunin Exams, an exhibition of combat skills."

Although still angered about the man's earlier words, the thought of bloodshed calmed the tyrant down. The old man had also stated he wasn't an ally of Earthrealm yet, so perhaps he could be one for Outworld. "This exam," Shao Kahn began, "when is it?"

"I'm afraid we have no set date," Hiruzen began, "however, we will alert you at the same time as Earthrealm. Of course, as we can only contact Earthrealm, that would mean it would need to be transferred from there."

Shao Kahn held up his hand and stated, "I know where this is going," he then turned to Raiden and stated, "there will be a cease fire until after these Chunin Exams." Turning back to Hiruzen, the warlord asked, "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Yes, I understand several of your subjects have…unique characteristics and clothing choices. If they are to visit my village they must at least appear human, and not give cause to be arrested for indecent exposure."

"Very well," Shao Kahn said as he nodded his head, "I shall have Shang Tsung find a spell or conjure a potion that will meet your conditions. Until then." With that the man opened a portal to his throne room before disappearing. Seeing as they were no longer needed, the Elder Gods vanished into thin air, happy with the outcome of the complaint.

Now alone with the Hokage, Raiden walked towards him as he said, "That was truly amazing, I had not seen Shao Kahn that easily swayed since the beginning or Mortal Kombat."

"Trust me my friend, I have won just as many battles with my words as I have with my fists." Hiruzen told the thunder god before thinking to himself, 'now if I could only find a way to defeat my paperwork.'

"It is still an achievement." Raiden stated before asking, "Do you require assistance to return to your realm?"

"Please transport me back to my office," the old leader asked. "The Chunin Exams will begin tomorrow, and I can tell I don't want to miss a minute of this one."

And that's a wrap on chapter 10 of A New Realm. So a little under 17 pages, not my longest chapter but certainly my average. Unfortunately not a whole lot of fighter, but a lot of building up for the bigger fights to come.

Before I say anything else, thank you to all the people who've reviewed this story so far and given me over 100 reviews. A little late I know, but I was preoccupied with a couple other projects. Unfortunately this may also be my last update for a while on any of my stories since the Fall Semester starts on Monday. I'll try to find some time to write, but school comes first.

So with the close of this chapter several questions were answered, but many more remain. These questions include…

Who modified Anko's curse mark?

Who is Sai's temporary replacement?

What will happen once Earthrealm defenders and Outworld generals meet in Konoha?

To find out the answers to these questions, and many more, stay tuned for the next update of A New Realm!

Until then, here's acw28 saying, "until next update."

What are you all still doing here? Why are you reading these words? Are you looking for an Omake? Sorry those are gone (at least for now).

You're still here….it's over….go home.