Thanks for returning to my story. First off I'd like to say that I don't own Naruto.


Thanks for reviewing my last chapter: GravenImage, Fritter, tosakuai, Darkwaffle, InARealPickle, Ninjablade45, buzzbumble, weaponx178, kushina's Truth of Hell, theloverofanime, namikazestorm, airnaruto, NaruxSaku101.


Responces:

GravenImage: TBH, Naruto and Sakura's relationship has developed quite a bit so far. There really is only one or two more stages left for thier growth at this point. Now whether they attain that next level, that's the question.

Fritter: I think it's because the Third was able to be Hokage for so long. While the 4th and 5th were hokage for relatively short times so it's easier to go against thier Will.

Tosakuai: You sir are forgiven. Don't let it happen again though Lol. Thought out the plot is an understatment dude. I have a whole book detailing everything from the plot to the color of everyone's clothes in this story. Hell, I've written down 4 different ways to end this story. And Fluff, is a good thing. Lol.

Dark Waffle: I'm glad you liked Tsunade's reaction, the box and how she interacts with Naruto. TBH, I was alittle nervous as to how "the box" would be received by the readers. Glad it's working out.

Buzzbumble: Madara's reaction will be seen shortly. Hint: He won't be happy. :)

Weaponx178: Glad you liked the chapter. And I was really determined to get J-man a cameo in my tail. As I said last week, I'm trying to give little wink's to many of the possible relationships so to me it was important. As for the manga, right now the fight between 2 emotionless characters does not excite me. But W/E. But i do want to know whose face is on his shoulder. *Slams fist against the table*.......! But I have nothing to yell. :)

Bikiluf: TBH I'm not sure what to do about that. I mean it seems natural that Naruto's last name should change to Namikaze. I know lets put it to a vote!

Kushina's: Sorry your name is too long so I shortened it. PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!! Hope you're still in your seat luv. If not I'll wait...................Are you back? Great!! What's in the magical box you ask? Well, I did show part of what was in it. There also is a....bunny. He's white with a black spot on his back. I call him Mr Hoppers.

theloverofanime: Please re-read last chapter. I did show part of what was in the box. The Rest is a mystery....Oooooooooooo!

airnaruto45: Something tells me you're right. Mwhahahaha!

NaruxSaku101: Yes, I thought it made sense. Danzo and Akatsuki are like peanut butter and jelly. They go together and thier messy. Coincedentally I hate PB&J.


VOTE: Ok so I'm not sure whether or not I should keep Naruto's name as Uzumaki or change it to Namikaze. So I'll leave it up to you. For the next two week's I'll be taking suggestions. The results of which will be revealed in a future chapter. I don't have much by way of a prize. Perhaps I can send you some water in a bottle.....tap. Seriously though, voting will go on until Feb. 7th. Thanks in advance for taking part.


Anyway, I'd just like to take the time to thank you guys. Last weeks chapter got such an overwhelmingly possitive responce that it was humbling and surprising and I thank you all. Ok so before I start to tear up let's get on with this. Please remember to mail all spare reviews you may have my way. I know you don't need them all.


Naruto: The Chronicles of the Seventh

Book Two: New Dawn

Chapter Eleven: Mystery of the False Village

Otogakure – Hidden Location

Neji, Lee, Kiba and Akamaru were crouched in the shadows in a darkened hallway within the installation. The walls were made of solid concrete and there were many pipes winding to and fro overhead. Many of them were rusted over and were leaking rancid water down to small puddles. The air was stale and humid and had a metallic taste to it.

"Do you see anything," Lee asked as he stared at Neji who was busy staring down the darkened hallway. It had been nearly ten minutes since that had entered the installation and they had yet to find out any clues as to its purpose.

Behind him was Kiba and Akamaru who were busy ensuring they weren't followed. Akamaru whimpered lightly and Kiba reached back and rubbed his head. "It's ok boy," he said. Again Akamaru whimpered and seemed to shrink back and hesitate in going any further.

Seeing Akamaru's behavior, Lee turned and asked, "Hey Kiba what's wrong with Akamaru? I've never seen him act this way."

Kiba seemed concerned, "I'm not sure what it is. There's something here that's really spooking him. To be honest, I'm a little spooked too. Something's not right. There's a smell in the air that seems…all wrong. And a feeling that makes my hair stand on end."

"Shhh," Neji said as he ducked into the shadows. Lee, Kiba and Akamaru followed suit and as they did, three large men walked past in silence. They wore traditional field ninja attire with scratched out forehead guards indicating they were rouge ninja.

The three men continued walking until they reached a side door and entered, closing it shut behind. Once they were gone, Neji and the others silently made their way to the door and tried to open it. Unfortunately it wouldn't budge.

Byakugan, Neji thought as he activated his ability and began to peer through the door. "Hmmm," Neji said, "It looks like a large room with technical equipment. I can't tell what any of them do but there about eight hostiles inside." Neji then looked closely at the door handle and saw a small seal on it. "I see," Neji said. "It looks like these doors only open to those who have the corresponding seal on their hands. This may prove a problem."

Suddenly in the distance they heard voices and footsteps headed their way. "Shit," Kiba said as they quickly moved away and found a hiding spot in a dark nook.

Shortly afterwards, two more men walked by and both were speaking to each other. "Man I swear," one of the men said, "This guy is crazy as hell. I can't believe they put him in charge of this place."

"Yeah," the other guy said, "Did you see how he was talking to himself?! Why the hell would a nutcase like that be put in charge of this place? Especially considering how important this place is to the mission."

"Hey," Neji said as he waived to Lee and Kiba, "I have an idea. Follow me." Lee, Kiba and Akamaru then followed Neji as he followed the two men.

Slowly they crept behind the men as the walked down the darkened hallway. Eventually the men came to a large door and opened it. As the door began to swing closed Neji ran forward and caught it just before it closed and signaled for Lee and Kiba to stay put.

The room was well lit and contained more machinery. Neji closed the door behind him and used his Byakugan to confirm that the two men were the only one's inside the room. The first man walked over to a machine and opened a panel and began to make repairs while the other walked off around the corner and out of sight.

Neji quickly walked behind the first man and struck him in the back of the head, knocking him out instantly. It was then that the other man came back around and saw Neji. "Hey," he yelled as he pulled a kunai from his belt and charged at him.

The ninja lunged forward with the kunai and aimed it at Neji's chest. In one swift motion Neji sidestepped the attack and using two fingers, he jabbed the man in the forearm, instantly cutting off his chakra supply and causing the hand to go limp. With his hand disabled the Ninja dropped the Kunai and instantly attempted to punch Neji with his other hand.

Again Neji was able to easily evade the strike by sidestepping it and again he countered by striking the ninja in the chest which caused him to convulse and fall to the ground.

Lee and Kiba waited in the shadows, that for them seemed like an eternity. "Do you think he's ok in there," Kiba asked. And just as Lee was about to answer the door once again opened. In the doorway was Neji crouching. He signaled them to come in and they ran over and entered the room.

Once inside Lee and Kiba grabbed the two ninja and placed them on two wooden chairs. They then placed them back to back and used a nearby bit of rope to tie them together.

"Good work Neji," Kiba said excitedly. He then walked over to the machinery and began to inspect it. Much of it was rusted over, much like most of the installation itself. Many of the panels were open and it looked like repairs were being attempted.

"I don't get it," Lee said, "This place looks like a junk heap. Why would anyone choose this as a base and what kind of repairs are they doing here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Neji answered. "From what I can see, this place looks to be about a mile and a half in diameter and there appear to be close to a hundred ninja here. They all, for the most part seem to be engaged in some type of repair."

"Well," Kiba said as he lifted the head of one of the unconscious ninja, "hopefully one of these dumb asses can give us some answers."

"That's the plan," Neji said. "Kiba, you and Akamaru go stay by the door. Let us know if you hear, or sense anyone coming our way. Come here Lee. Help me wake these two up."

Seeing a nearby bucket that was catching water from a leaky pipe above Lee picked it up. The water within was grimy and slimy and he quickly threw it on the two men. Both men regained consciousness immediately and began to cough.

"Hey," one of the men said as he opened his eyes, "What the hell is going on!? Who the hell are you guys!?"

"Shut up you idiot," the other man responded, "It's pretty obvious from their forehead protectors that they're Leaf Ninja!"

Neji walked up to the man and grabbed him by the throat. "Yes that's right," he said, "And you should know why we're here. So now you are going to tell us who you rouge ninja work for and what you're doing here."

The man laughed as Neji squeezed his neck. "Please," he said, "you think a harsh stare and a little pain is enough to make either of us talk? We will tell you nothing."

Neji let go of the man's neck and bent down to be face to face to him. "Don't underestimate us friend," he said, "its obvious what you're doing here is a threat to Konoha. And we're going to find out what it is one way or another. Tell us and we'll go easy on you." The man grimaced and then spit in Neji's face.

Neji stood up straight and took a cloth from his pocket and wiped away the man's spit. The man smiled and said, "Telling you anything won't matter. None of you will leave this pace alive. You're all already dead."

Neji then looked at the man harshly. "You will tell us what we want to know," he said. He then looked to Lee and said, "But first I think you need to see how serious this is. Lee, if you don't mind."

Lee then walked up to the man and cracked his knuckles and without a word punched the man hard in the face. The man felt as if his jaw had been knocked off and was stunned by this ninja's strength. Before he could regain his composure another punch hit him squarely in the face that nearly threw him and his companion that was strapped behind him off the chair. Then another punch hit him, and another and another and another. While Neji leaned back on a machine and watched with cold uncaring eyes.

One Hour Later

"Damn," Lee said as he sat on nearby table and was breathing heavily. He placed his hands tenderly on his lap. Both were, red, raw and throbbing from over an hour of beating the two men. "These two bastards are tough," he said as he nursed his hands. "After all that and neither of them said a word."

Neji was now annoyed, though he didn't show it. To the two men, he remained stone-faced and unimpressed with their determination. "Yes," he said as he leapt to his feet and walked over to them. Both men were on the brink of unconsciousness. They were both heavily bruised and bloody and seemed on the brink of falling over.

Again Neji bent over and was face to face with both men "I don't think you will be spiting in my face this time," he said coldly. This caused one of the men, the one who spit at him last time, to smile. Neji then stood up straight and said, "Perhaps we should try a different tactic."

Neji then turned and walked off into the shadows. A minute later he returned with Kiba and Akamaru in tow. "Hey Lee," he said, "Can you go and watch the door?" Lee got to his feet and left. With that Kiba and Neji got to work untying the men so that they were no longer back to back but still tied to the chairs. They then placed them side to side and removed their shoes leaving their feet bare.

Standing in front of them Neji asked, "So before we begin phase two is there anything you'd like to share?" Again both men remained silent, defiant. "Alright then, Kiba please do as we talked about."

Kiba then walked up and snapped his fingers which caused Akamaru to walk up next him. Akamaru growled menacingly at the two men causing them to tense up. "This is my pet Akamaru," Kiba said with a smile. "As you can tell he's a big boy that loves to eat meat."

The two men began to try to desperately pull free as they realized, to their horror, what was about to happen. Smiling wickedly Kiba continued, "Unfortunately Kiba hasn't had anything to eat in a long while. And since you refuse to help give us any information you can at least help keep Akamaru's strength up."

Now the men were frantic and screamed and fought to get free as Akamaru slowly approached. "Nothing to say," Kiba asked as he pointed to the men's feet. "Alright then, Akamaru……..go have your snack."

One Hour Later

"No more," one of the men screamed. "Please I beg of you! Stop!" The two men remained seated next to each other and tied by rope. In front of them sat Akamaru who was licking their feet and quickly as he could.

Neji and Kiba stood in front of them as the two men screamed in laughter. Both of their faces were beat red and their voices horse from laughing so hard. They were sweating profusely and tears were running down their faces.

Neji nodded to Kiba who then tugged at Akamaru. "Ok boy," Kiba said, "hold up for a minute. Let's see if they're ready to talk."

Neji then walked up and grabbed one of the men by the back of the neck and asked, "Are you ready to talk?" "Tell us want we want to know! What is this place?! What are you doing here!? Talk damn you or I'll have Akamaru continue!!"

Breathing heavily the man looked up at Neji and spit in his face. "Go to hell," he said. "We're not going to tell you a damned thing. Nothing you do is worse than what would happen if we talk."

Neji wiped the spit from his eyes and stood up. He then looked over to the other man and asked, "I assume the same goes for you as well?"

The other man however didn't seem to have the same conviction as his comrade, something Neji took note of. He merely nodded weakly.

Neji, now visibly upset, turned to Kiba. For a quick second he stared at Kiba who nodded as though he knew what Neji wanted him to do, despite no words being said. Neji then walked back to the table across from them as Kiba pulled a kunai from his belt and walked up to the first ninja. "Are you sure you don't want to talk," Kiba asked. Again the man refused to talk.

Without another word Kiba swung the kunai down slashing the man's chest. The man screamed as he lurched back in the chair. Before he could recover Kiba swung the kunai again and slashed the man in the chest once more. Again the man lurched back and screamed. And again Kiba swung the kunai and slashed him.

Finally after the third time the ninja leaned forward, gasping for breath and was covered in sweat. The three wounds from his chest were bleeding heavily and a small pool of blood was forming beneath his chair.

Again Neji walked up and pulled him by his chin and looked at him directly. "What are you doing here," he asked. "What is this place? Who do you work for?"

The man smiled and Neji could see the blood on his teeth. "Go to hell," he said. 'I won't tell you a damned thing. You're all dead men anyway. You and your whole damned village!"

Neji let go and stepped back. He then looked to the other ninja who looked on in horror. "Fine," Neji said. "If you won't talk then perhaps he will." Neji then signaled for Kiba to come over and he whispered something into his ear. Kiba then nodded and walked over to the second ninja and grabbed him by the face and held him steady. He then took the kunai and placed it less than an inch from the man's left eye.

"I think you understand what's at stake for you," Neji then said. "Trust me my friend; I only plan to ask you twice. What are you doing here? What is this place? Who do you work for?"

The man began to shake in fear and broke out into a cold sweat. He tried to look to his comrade who was looking on through pained eyes.

"Don't look at him," Neji screamed. "Look at me! He can't help you now! No one can! But you can save yourself if you tell us what I want to know!"

Still the man didn't speak and Neji sighed heavily. "Fine," he said and nodded to Kiba who slowly brought the kunai closer to its target.

"No," the man screamed, "Stop! I'll talk! I'll tell you what you want, just don't hurt me!!" Kiba instantly let go of the man's face and he began to breathe heavily and fought to compose himself.

"Suzaku," the other man screamed. "Don't you dare tell these bastards anything! You know what will happen!"

"Shut up Mao," Suzaku yelled. "I didn't join this group for some sort of stupid thing like honor or revenge! I joined for money and I'm not getting paid enough to lose my eyes!"

Kiba moved back and put his kunai away as Neji walked up. "That was a good decision," Neji said. "Now start talking. Who do you work for?"

"I was a ninja of Iwagakure," Suzaku said, "I joined Orochimaru before he died. Now, like everyone here, I work for Akatsuki."

"Akatsuki," Neji said, "I knew it. Alright, now tell me; just what the hell is this place? What are you doing here?"

Suzaku took a deep breath and said, "We don't know what this place is. Like every one else here we were brought here almost four years ago to repair this place."

"You expect me to believe that you've been working here for nearly four years and you don't know what this place is," Neji said.

"It's true," said Suzaku. "There are about one hundred workers here and we are split into groups and shown what to repair. There is a law that we are not allowed to speak to the other groups regarding what they're working on."

"I see," Kiba said looking to Neji, "If they're unable to speak to each other then with their limited knowledge they can't possibly know the whole plan."

Suzaku nodded. "Yes, exactly," he said, "In fact anyone caught talking about our projects is killed on the spot, no questions asked. After the first few were killed we got the picture."

"Alright then," Neji said, "Then if you don't know what this place is then what exactly are you working on?"

"This area is one of the engine rooms," Suzaku said and he looked over to where there were several tools lying around and open panel. "We've been trying to get the thing up and running."

Neji looked over to the panel and walked over slowly. "Engine rooms," he wondered. What kind of engine could they possibly be working on? Using his Byakugan, Neji scanned the area. Damn, he thought, this isn't some small little engine, its huge! What could an engine this big be used for?

Turning back to Suzaku, Neji asked, "Ok, so it's obvious none of you here know the whole plan. But someone here has to and I'm guessing it's the guy in charge. The guy you said talks to himself. Where can we find him?"

"Trust me," Sazaku said, "You don't want to find him. He's inhumanly strong and insane. He's killed several of us just for looking at him wrong. He's a full fledged Akatsuki, he wears the robes and everything!"

Damn, Neji thought, I wasn't prepared to have to face a member of Akatsuki. But if this guy has the information we need we may have no choice. Looking back to Suzaku, Neji said, "What's his name and where can we find him?"

Meanwhile, while Suzaku was speaking, Mao used a fingernail he had sharpened to cut his wrist open. He stuck his fingers into the exposed flesh and removed a small blade and quickly cut the ropes that binded him. In a sudden move he leapt to his feet and rushed at Neji and Suzaku screaming. Neji was caught off guard and barely dodged the blade as it narrowly missed his face.

It was then; Neji realized that he wasn't Mao's target. Mao had buried the blade deep into Suzaku's heart. "Traitor," he screamed. "I'll see you in hell!" Neji and Kiba quickly rushed at Mao but Mao quickly removed the blade from Suzaku's dead body and swept it in front of him, forcing Neji and Kiba back.

Hearing the commotion, Lee had returned and was prepared to attack when Mao yelled, "For Akatsuki!" And Mao plunged the blade into his own neck. Blood spurted out of the wound as he fell to the ground.

Neji, Lee and Kiba rushed towards him and Neji quickly removed the blade, grabbed a cloth and attempted to stop the bleeding. "Damn it we have to keep him alive," he yelled as the three desperately tried to keep Mao alive. But within seconds, Mao's eyes rolled up and he gave a slight shiver and they knew he was gone.

"Damn," Kiba said as he and Lee got to his feet. "Now what do we do?" Neji remained by Mao and slowly closed his eyes. Covered in sweat and Mao's blood he got to his feet and again began to survey the area using his Byakugan.

There has to be more than that, Neji thought. There has to be some clue here as to what this place is. That's when he saw something on the wall. He quickly walked over to the wall and began to remove the dust and grime that covered it. Once it was removed he stared at the symbol engraved in the metal and yelled, "Holy shit, guys get over here. Come look at this."

Kiba and Lee walked over and saw the symbol of a slanted hook with two small protrusions at the inner base and another at the top of the hooks' arc. "Oh no," Kiba said as he saw it and he instantly knew what Neji was thinking.

"I don't get it," Lee said as he stared at the symbol. "What is this symbol? I don't think I've ever seen this before."

Kiba looked at Lee and was visibly annoyed. "Lee, you really should have paid closer attention in history class back at the academy."

"Never mind that," Neji said as he began to leave, "We have to get back above ground and send word to Konoha. If I'm right then we're all in real danger." Lee, Kiba and Akamaru followed Neji to the door. Neji opened it and made sure no one was nearby. Once he confirmed that he and the others made their way back to the entrance and went up the ladder. Again, Neji lifted the wooden door slightly and peaked out and confirmed no one was there.

Then they all climbed out and back into the empty building and made their way outside. Neji and the others began to run across the clearing, making their way to the bushes, when Neji quickly stopped and leapt back, grabbing Lee and Kiba in mid air and pulling them back, just before a kunai with an explosive tag blew up in front of them.

Jumping to their feet Neji, Lee, Kiba and Akamaru were quickly surrounded by dozens of ninja, each armed with explosive kunai. "Damn it," Lee yelled as he prepared to fight.

Suddenly from in front of them they heard clapping and the ninja in front stepped to the side. As they did a man in a black cloak with red clouds stood standing. He was still clapping and smiling. Finally after a few moments, he stopped and looked off to his left, not seeming to look at anything in particular and said, "Yes. They do seem strong. And they have the same sign as him. Yes. Yes, killing them might prove fun. You are so right."

"Neji, Lee look," Kiba said, "This guy is wearing Akatsuki robes and is talking to himself. He has to be the one in charge."

It was then the man looked back at them, his eyes shown black. "So," he said, "It seems you know more than we thought. We guess those two you captured talked? Tell us, did you enjoy torturing them? Could you share with us that ecstasy?"

Neji and the others looked harshly at him. "You're sick," Neji said. "You shouldn't gain enjoyment from something like that."

Then Neji and the others looked on in amazement as the man created a large scythe made of air and he slammed the base of it hard onto the ground forcing the ground around it to shatter.

"So you didn't enjoy it," the man asked, "What a shame. Such a lost opportunity. No matter, we guess we can find our pleasure in slowly gutting each and every one of you. By the way allow us to introduce ourselves. Our name is Muramasa Shinsuo. Tonight, we shall be your executioner."

End of Chapter Eleven

Next Time: The Newest Jinchuricki