Underneath the Underneath

By: FlameXFullmetal

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Just the idea driving this work of fanfiction.

A/N: I'm back with another chapter! There seemed to be some who believed that all I did was fix minor errors. In order to fix a lot of the errors in the later chapters I had to rewrite or remove some sections of the earlier chapters and then any references to them in the later chapters. By doing that some events had to be changed in order for it to make sense. In order to do that, I had to reread each and every chapter looking for any minor references to the removed/changed event.

As you have seen through the fact that I had to edit this story twice now, I miss a lot in the initial revisions. So I took a few days per chapter to wipe my mind of what I had just written that way when I read it again I would notice the problems easier. That meant that for this story alone I needed 46 days at a minimum of two days per chapter to complete this story alone. I was revising three at once, each one having over twenty chapters. Some of the chapters took more than three days to do. So I apologize if the revisions took longer than you thought that they should. Trust me I tried to eliminate all of the problems at once so I wouldn't have to do that again. As I said in the author's note that I have since deleted, if you want a full in-depth list of what was changed tell me and I will send it to you. Anyway the reviews and then the story!

Centaurius: I apologize for that. You are right in that the White Fang is not a sword. It is a tanto despite the fact that the Japanese name literally translates to "White Light Chakra Sabre". I think this is what confuses people because a sabre is a heavy calvary sword with a curved blade and a single cutting edge. I will rectify that mistake, thank you for pointing that out.

Seasons of Wither: While I understand that the dojutsu is an overused bloodline that is given to make an instant power-up I promise that I will not be doing that. That is why despite obtaining the dojutsu in chapter four he still hasn't used it. He has yet to get the hang of even activating it. He will work for every ability I give the dojutsu. Trust me I am not a fan of, as I call them, bullshit power-ups. It is why I have stopped watching quite a few anime I used to enjoy. I will make a point of including the fact that he has a dojutsu in the summary so that people who don't like this trope will have fair warning. I do appreciate the fact you said you would stay with the story, however.

Wolfone10: Most of what he has done this far was focusing on the few things that he needed more than anything. Focus, chakra control, critical thinking, and strategy. As I said before, Kimiko and his parents were more concerned with him mastering the basics before he learned anything that could hurt himself or those around him. His bloodline and chakra chains were determined to be less important than the rest so they held off on focusing on them. As for his dojutsu he is struggling with it as it is new with no guides to work with in regards to their abilities or activation requirements. He has done little with his fuinjutsu knowledge as he has yet to be placed in a position where it would be beneficial. He has begun to delve into elemental ninjutsu but as before his parents require him to master one jutsu completely before moving to the next believing that ten mastered jutsu are better than one hundred learned jutsu. There will be a level jump in skill by the time that the chunin exams start, a big noticeable one but not ridiculously overpowered. Sorry it took so long to get to that point!

Guests: Naruto did not use the chains in his fight with Kyuubi, those chains came from the part of Kushina that she had left behind to help him. As for the date problem, they were trying to stop the date by separating/distracting them. There were no physical attacks so lethal force is not appropriate. Kimiko will in fact respond with lethal force when the crime requires it. Remember that she said that she would ignore things that fall in normal behavior. As for pranking Sasuke, kitsunes are pranksters by nature and she was getting quite frustrated with him. It was a way to vent without (hopefully) causing to much trouble for Naruto. They taught him to master an ability, technique or jutsu before moving to the next ones. They were definitely not teaching S-rank jutsu.

"hello" people (bijuu in human form) speaking

'hello' people (bijuu in human form) thinking/coded hand signals

"HELLO" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity yelling

"hello" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity talking

'hello' bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity thinking

hello jutsu

************The Storm's Approach********

The team had decided that Minato and Kushina were thoroughly evil. Far more than any nuke nin nin the world. Hiraishin tag was really just a survival drill with an enemy that couldn't be located for very long. If they didn't move fast enough they were "tagged" and would gain a new slash (minor but painful) before he teleported again. Anyone that was caught three times was considered "dead" and was removed from the "game". The goal was to avoid getting "tagged" for three minutes and avoid more than one for five. So far only Kakashi had made the three minute mark. After nearly four hours of this Minato had decided that they would have a break and move to "less lethal games".

This meant that Hinata and Kimiko would be working on their flexibility by dodging chakra chains aimed at vital points while remaining in place. It was to prepare them for Orochimaru's flexibility, she insisted. Naruto would be working on actually manifesting a usable chain the way that his body seemed to know best, trial by fire. The only way that he was going to be to survive the hail of chakra chains flying at him in with jutsu tags attached at the ends would be to manifest them and use what Kushina called the easiest technique they had, the chakra barrier. She had told him that each time he managed the tags would be replaced with stronger ones to strengthen and train his body and chakra to instinctually use them. Naruto had only managed to poorly dodge block D-rank jutsu so far, however they both called it progress as he was manifesting them long enough to erect a barrier. Even if it did crumble under pressure.

Kakashi on the other hand felt as if he was being severely punished for letting his training go as Minato seemed hellbent on killing him in a no hold's barred kind of spar. Despite the fact that Minato had explained the reasons behind it, he still felt like it was a punishment. Truthfully, Kakashi was grateful for the distraction. Minato had theorized that once knowledge spread of Naruto's dojutsu there was no way that Orochimaru would leave him alone. Something that was bound to happen sooner rather than later. Due to that, Minato wanted Kakashi to be able to defeat Orochimaru without help and without sustaining any crippling or fatal injuries. That meant that Kakashi had no choice but to try and surpass Minato in less than four months. Even if he didn't succeed, the closer that he got the more likely that he would survive in the event that he had to fight the sannin alone. The plan, according to Minato, was to ensure that team eleven would be able to fight Orochimaru and beat him if they worked together. He didn't believe that any of them, with the exception of Kimiko, would be able to do so alone without any debilitating injuries in the short amount of time that they had. So he wanted the team to be able to do so together which, he believed, was a more attainable goal.

As Kushina called a stop to the session four exhausted bodies hit the ground as the owners contemplated whether or not they would be able to feel anything the next day. Smirking at their state, Kushina headed inside as one of her many shadow clones dispelled. Coming back out she placed the tray that she had been carrying in front of them and watched as it was eyed wearily. Twitching in annoyance the red haired kunoichi felt her hair begin to rise behind her. Kakashi was the first to notice and paled.

"Ah, no need to get angry Kushina-san! We were just...unsure if we would be able to sit up and eat right away!" Kakashi blurted out quickly to try and placate the woman. After a few seconds Kushina nodded in acceptance and sat down next to Minato who was trying to suppress a laugh. He couldn't wait until the whole team could sit down to a dinner and not worry about the limits of the new clone jutsu that Naruto had developed. As the team managed to sit up (barely) and begin eating Minato felt that it was a good time to go over their routine for the next few months.

"After you can stand, head to the clan's hot springs and relax for a little bit. Once moving is no longer difficult we will continue your training. Kakashi will be returning to his fuinjutsu studies. Orochimaru is not a slouch in the subject and as a result we may need someone else on the team that will be able to handle the high level seals. We still don't know how a chakra suppressant will work on Kimiko and Naruto so we need to have a contingency in place in case he does in fact use one. As it is he most likely knows that you are the current jinchuriki, hopefully he won't know the change in how the "seal" works." Minato started making Kakashi nod. In all honesty, he had never really been interested in fuinjutsu before so he had never bothered to pick up more than the basics needed in the ANBU. Now though he needed it more than ever and he wasn't going to complain. After all, Kushina and Minato had practically raised him after his father's suicide. That made Naruto his brother in all but blood and name. He refused to let anything else happen to him.

"Hinata will work on trying to evolve her Byakugans. While it may place a target on her if someone finds out it may just be the thing that allows the team to survive the trials in the future."

"Naruto will also be working on his dojutsu in order to try and get them activated so that we can begin training with them and hopefully find out what they can do. Again it may just be the difference between life and death."

"Kimiko, you have the hardest task yet. Right now despite being in a human form and your chakra being mostly human in nature, I believe that it is still toxic to other people. You yourself said that healing was one of your strongest abilities. So I want you to work on converting your chakra to be safe for other humans to use and in order to return it to the potency that it has in it's purest form. This way you will have the strength of the bijuu chakra when needed and the ability to heal the team if they are incapacitated. Furthermore, if you can convert the chakra in way that allows you to share the same potent bijuu chakra with Kakashi and Hinata that you do with Naruto in a time of need you will be a crucial member of the fight between any of the immortals and the team. Your chakra would increase the potency of their attacks to allow them to better keep pace with you." Minato began. Taking a breath he looked right into Kimiko's eyes.

"I know that I am asking a lot of you and that the last thing you probably want to do is share your chakra with more humans, unfortunately you have the highest chakra out of everyone here and that reserve will save the team's life in the future."

"If it is just this team that I am boosting I don't mind. I seem to have grown fond of them and to be honest, anyone who gains the respect of the dragons and tigers is someone that I would rather have by my side as an ally for as long as possible. Naruto and Hinata have managed to do that with their respective contracts. However, I refuse to allow anyone else access to my chakra in the village. They created this mess with Orochimaru and Madara and they can suffer the consequences for all I care. If someone else gains my respect then so be it." She responded surprising the late Hokage.

"Thank you, Kimiko." Kushina said trying to prevent tears of happiness from escaping. The one thing that she feared in regards to Naruto's deal with the death god was that the people he cared for, particularly Hinata, would become casualties. Knowing that Kimiko was willing to allow them to use her chakra to fight and better their odds of surviving was a blessing to her.

"I take it that the two of you won't just be sitting around helping Kakashi navigate around fuinjutsu then?" Kimiko asked innocently as Kakashi growled in irritation.

"No. During Naruto's training with the dragons we were able to locate the physical representation of the new "seal" linking you and Naruto together in his mind. Minato and I have been slowly dissecting it to see if there was anyway for you to gain access to more of your chakra and prevent both of you from losing control in the event that one of you does. We don't need Naruto losing control of your chakra while training with it and you follow suit. Or your new body to be consumed by the flood of chakra you may call on in battle and trigger Naruto to become overwhelmed. We'll need at least one of you to retain control at all times. So we are hoping that if we can dissect the seal fully we will understand how it works and how to safely modify it so that one of you will always be in control." Kushina explained making Kimiko's eyes widen. She hadn't even thought of an actual seal forming as a result of the link she formed with Naruto.

"Tomorrow we will be reviewing more in depth field based medical and it's applications as well as how fuinjutsu can speed up the practice in the morning. All morning. Outside of Hinata none of you really know how to do a field dressing effectively for complicated injuries and Kimiko only know how to heal with her, at the moment, toxic chakra which would only make the situation worse. In the afternoon we will be going over every jutsu that you know and ensuring that you have mastered them. If you haven't you will spend the day mastering them to the point where you do not need the entire string of hand seals to do them. Nearly or completely seal-less jutsu will drastically speed up the rate at which you can respond to an enemy's jutsu or ambush and has an additional bonus." Minato declared firmly.

"The sharingan breaks down and analyzes the jutsu the enemy is casting by memorizing the hand-seals and the way that the chakra is molded while using them. By reducing them or removing them completely you will have an advantage over any sharingan user you fight. However, bear in mind that this ability is not without faults. Most likely Madara will still be able to predict most jutsu just from the chakra flow. He wasn't considered one of the strongest ninja for no reason. However, this is one of the reasons that the Nidaime was one of the Uchiha clan's most difficult opponents. He could use all of of his jutsu with reduced hand-seals and some without."

"Wow. The next four months is gonna be hell if this is just the first two days." Naruto said with a little sweat running down his neck. Kakashi couldn't help but agree.

"Once you have mastered every jutsu you know, and yes Kakashi I mean every jutsu, we will begin to teach you new ones and even modifying the ones that you already have. This way they are new and harder for older opponents to predict based on minor details. These jutsu will also be mastered to the same level before a new one is created or learned. It is up to you on whether or not you share your new jutsu with each other. If you wanted you could very well tweak them so that they require a component that only runs in your bloodline to work properly. Like the Byakugan's evolved form or even the chakra chains. That is your decision."

"The day after will be focused solely on taijutsu and incorporating chakra and elemental aspects to your current taijutsu. The next day will focus completely on getting in touch with your chakra and trying to change the way that it flows, naturally, to gradually become immune to genjutsu. As you know in order to effectively cast genjutsu the caster's chakra must enter your system and disrupt it. From there stopping the flow of your chakra is the fastest way to dispel it. However, that only works when you become aware of the genjutsu. Since we don't know what will happen when Naruto's dojutsu reawakens and Hinata's evolves we will need another alternative than relying on the Byakugan. Furthermore, you will be able to stop the genjutsu before it begins. If you master this quickly, then we will change this day of training to learning genjutsu. These three days will then repeat with the last day of the week being reserved for recuperation." Minato finished.

"Questions?" Kushina chirped.

"If I do manage to convert my chakra to a safe form, when will we train with that?" Kimiko asked quietly.

"When, not if, Kimiko. Have some faith in yourself. When that happens we will use the last half of the genjutsu day for that." Nodding her acknowledgement, Kimiko felt her cheeks heat up at the faith that they were placing in her.

"No more?" Kushina asked and then laughed as heads were shook. "Good now work on getting up and getting some feeling back in your limbs so Minato and I can torture you some more!" All four members felt like they wanted to cry. Kushina hadn't even tried to cover up her mistake and admitted that they were being tortured!

Several Months later...

As Kakashi walked towards the Sandaime's office he felt the eyes were once more glued to him. He couldn't blame them, after all he had waited an absurd amount of time to take his genin on a mission, started them off on a C-rank that got escalated, did nothing but C-ranks, managed to peacefully do a co-op mission with Kumo of all people with a Byakugan user right there, managed to get to Uzu, and then removed his team from active duty for intensive training. As it was, he was only ever seen in the village on his day off and he was usually limping and exhausted at that point. He wouldn't be surprised if they thought that his team had been recruited for the ANBU at the rate that they had been moving. 'Not yet anyway.' He thought to himself. Shaking his head clear Kakashi entered the room and snickered at the looks of the other jonin.

"Yo!" He said walking into the room and leaning against the wall.

"Where have you been Kakashi?" Asuma asked curiously.

"Training with my genin, why?"

"The whole time?"

"Yup. I was also working on a training regime that sensei designed for me." Hiruzen felt himself unintentionally stiffen at those words but quickly regained his composure.

"Ah." Asuma replied skeptically but let it drop. Kakashi turned and looked at Ebisu who seemed to have aged a few years.

"Team seven running you ragged?"

"You have no idea. Sasuke and Kiba fight all of the time and Aimi wants nothing to do with either of them. Apparently, some of the Daimyo have heard that the Uchiha survivor had graduated and expect to see him in the exams despite the fact that he isn't ready. I don't feel that he should have any place in the exams because he isn't ready but I don't think that I have a choice in the matter." He sighed. Teaching had always been a passion for Ebisu and yet at the moment he wanted nothing more than to apply for the ANBU or ask for a position at the academy to get away from his first genin squad.

"I see. If he isn't ready it will show and then the Daimyo will be the ones looking like fools when it is apparent that he is barely capable of mentally functioning at the level required for genin if you are forced to enter them." Ebisu drooped and groaned. He had been afraid that was what the copy nin was going to say. "Just make sure that he knows the only reason he is being entered is because the Daimyo want to gawk at him like he is in a petting zoo just because he was left alive and that it has nothing to do with his skills. Well, except for comparing him to Itachi. That should get the message across that the only reason he is getting a chance is because of Itachi's reputation."

"Do you want me to die?! That is one of his triggers! Being compared to Itachi is the worse thing that I can tell him the nobles are doing!"

"That will just go to prove that he isn't ready especially when he loses his temper. How can he ever best Itachi if it causes violent outburst just by being compare to him?" Kakashi countered. "Use it as a teaching experience. Itachi was always being compared to Madara in terms of strength and the speed at which he learned and yet he never had temper tantrums. He just let it slip over his head as he went about trying to get stronger to make his own name and not being in Madara's shadow." Ebisu blinked and nodded at the advice. It was a solid plan and hopefully it would temper the boy a little.

"Now that everyone is present we can begin this meeting. By now you should all know why you are here. I will now be taking nominations for the chunin exam. Please note that the team must have completed eight missions to be eligible."

"Hokage-sama, if I may ask, why there isn't a level requirement for those missions? I think I can quite adequately say that almost all genin squads have completed eight missions in the first two months of being formed. Yet, I'm certain that everyone will agree with me on this, none of them were ready then so why are they ready now? Why just that requirement?" Kakashi asked the old kage who blinked at the question.

"That is just what was agreed on when the exams were set up. I am sure that every village has their own individual requirements as well as the ones that were agreed upon."

"Then why don't we?"

"That is not what we are here for Kakashi."

"Actually it is. This has to do with the chunin exams and can affect the genin eligible if a valid enough point is made." The jonin blinked in shock at the argument that the cyclops was using against the kage.

"We will discuss further requirements after this exam ends if it bothers you this much." Hiruzen relented. Placing Kakashi and Kimiko together seemed to have a negative effect on Kakashi's personality of late.

"Hai."

"I'll allow the instructors for the rookie teams to go first."

"I, Nara Maen, do hereby nominate team one consisting of Enji, Emi and Haru for the chunin selection exams." Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the Nara's declaration. Had he really got the team that far in just under nine months?

"I, Yuhi Kurenai, do nominate team six consisting of Jiro, Kaito and Haruno Sakura for the chunin selection exams." Kakashi forced himself to hold his opinion on that nomination. He knew for a fact that team six was nowhere near ready for the exams. She was greatly overestimating her genin, especially Sakura.

"I, Ebisu, do hereby nominate team seven consisting of Inuzuka Kiba, Uchiha Sasuke and Aimi for the chunin selection exams." Kakashi snickered as he heard Ebisu mutter "under protest" under his breath.

"I, Hyuga Tokuma, do hereby nominate team eight consisting of Katsu, Aburame Shino and Sai for the chunin selection exams. They have made me proud to be their jonin." The Hyuga declared proudly. Kakashi though was wondering just how many teams had actually passed their secondary exam as he had been in the hospital for that meeting.

"I, Sarutobi Asuma, do hereby nominate team ten consisting of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji for the chunin selection exams."

"I, Hatake Kakashi, do hereby nominate team eleven consisting of Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Hinata and Kimiko for the chunin exams. On a further note Hokage-sama, Naruto has decided to start using his full name and has decided to adopt Kimiko into his father's clan. The paperwork will be finalized by the time the exams begin. Yes, he has consent to use it. He talked to them about it first. He said that 'he' had made you aware that this would most likely happen." Kakashi added making the surrounding jonin confused.

"Is that so?" Hiruzen sighed. This was really going to cause more headaches than it was going to be worth. "Are you certain this is a good time? Iwagakure has decided that they will in fact send a team this year. With the Tsuchikage's granddaughter no less."

"Naruto has made friends and a possible bridge to gap the relations with Kumo already. If anyone can end the problems with Iwa and manage to get a friend out of it, it would be him. However, yes we had already discussed this possibility when he made the decision."

"I see."

"Hokage-sama, if I may. While I do feel that the genin have improved a lot I don't feel that this year's genin are ready for the challenge yet. Especially with most of the kunoichi finally returning to and maintaining a healthy weight." Iruka protested. He was worried but at the same time he had seen what Naruto was capable of and for Kakashi to be run as ragged as he had been since taking the team, he would have had to improve a lot. However, he wasn't to sure about the rest of the genin.

"It's fine Iruka. If anything the incident in the classroom before their graduation seems to have worked miracles for the kunoichi. They all seem to be taking their training seriously and those that aren't confident with their combat abilities have already entered the medical corp." Kakashi countered getting the chunin's attention.

"Really?"

"Yup." Iruka gave a weak smile towards the jonin and returned to his spot but still looked a little unsure.

"Hatake is right, Umino. The genin have improved by leaps and bounds since graduation and while I can't speak for any of the other teams, I can honestly say that my team has definitely earned a chance for their promotion." Tokuma stated getting everyone's attention. Next to him, Maen nodded in agreement. With the protest taken care of the Sandaime continued to take nominations for the exams as Kakashi leaned back against the wall. He would have to make sure that Naruto kept a clone near team seven at all times if only to make sure that Aimi didn't get killed because of her teammates. The exams were going to be fun this year he could tell.

'Don't worry Orochimaru. I haven't forgotten about you either.' He mentally whispered as he thought back to all of the training that they had done in preparation of the sannin.

"Well then that settles that. In one week's time, on July 1st the chunin selection exams officially begin." The Sandaime declared and Kakashi felt his entire body stiffen slightly with anticipation. Willing it to relax, he left the office and headed towards the Uzumaki estate. The meeting had gone as expected. The last week of watching the jonin and their teams to anticipate what would happen in the meeting seemed to have paid off. Naruto was right about one thing. Orochimaru was not going to miss this chance at the only Sharingan that he could actually get his hands on. Stepping past the gate Kakashi glanced at the sky as only one thought passed through his mind.

'The game has begun Orochimaru. What piece will you move first?'

****************T.B.C**************

A/N: Well that makes another chapter done. With any luck I was able to catch any spelling and grammar that occurred before posting this. However, if I didn't I apologize. I was concerned that the power was going to go out due to the wind in my town. So I didn't do as thorough of a check as I would have liked. Point out any mistakes that you see that bother you and I will correct them as soon as I see the review. If you have any questions feel free to ask me either with the reviews or through pm and I will answer them to the best of my ability. Until next time! Ja ne!