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Disclaimer: OBJECTION! I don't own Naruto! Check any Naruto manga. the listed author is Kishimoto. In addition, I also had great assistance from Stalker of Stories. She rocks!
Chapter 24: Chuunin Exams Prelude
(1 Week Before the Chuunin Exams, Flashback)
Namikaze stood alongside the other jounin, fully prepared to give testimony about the genin he trained and tested. Sarutobi kept his voice neutral as he spoke to the assembled genin squad captains, "As some of you have no doubt already determined, I have summoned you all here for that reason."
Kakashi looked a bit more sober than usual, "So soon? I thought we'd have a bit more time."
Asuma bit on his cigarette as he said, "I assume the other lands have been notified as well. Seems some of their genin have already arrived."
The Hokage nodded slowly. If anyone had been looking at him, Namikaze appeared more tense than usual. Kurenai spoke up next, "When do we begin?"
Sarutobi replied, "We will begin in one week."
Namikaze winced a bit. He had hoped that there would be more time, maybe to train them longer...or get team seven struck from the list of genin taking the exam.
The old man continued, "On the first of July, your genin will be put to the test, and only the best will be selected to be chuunin. It is now time we chose who will take part. To start, the jounin of the new genin squads, step forward, Kakashi-san, Asuma-san and Kurenai-san."
The three stepped forward, looking solemn but determined. Namikaze gave a small smirk. He never expected to be here, to see himself be selected for the chuunin exams. The only requirement to participate is 8 missions. Other than that, it was left completely up to the captains of the squads.
Iruka nodded as the requirements were explained. Namikaze narrowed his eyes at his former teacher. He wouldn't interfere, would he? Kakashi started them off, stepping forward, "I, who lead squad seven, nominate Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno."
Iruka's face betrayed shock as he realized his favorite student was about to be fed to the wolves of the chuunin exam. Namikaze's eyes narrowed further. The Jounin didn't want team seven in the exam any more than he did, but the old man had made it abundantly clear that team seven would be in no danger at all.
Kurenai spoke up, recommending all three as well, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga. Asuma followed in her steps, recommending Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka and Chouji Akamichi. Namikaze's grin turned into a clever smirk as the assembled ninja whispered amongst themselves. Such a thing, all three rookie teams, hadn't been done in many years.
Exactly as Namikaze sensed, Iruka spoke up, "Hold on! Hokage-sama, with all respect, all nine of those genin were my students. I know their skills and abilities. None of them are ready for this exam, but all show great promise. It's far too soon. They need more field experience, or else they won't make it past the second stage of the exams."
Kakashi looked at him and replied, "When I became a chuunin, I was six years younger than Naruto."
Iruka blew up at Kakashi, noting that Naruto was nothing like Kakashi. Namikaze stepped forward, "Hokage-sama, if I may, I would like to address the concerns of Iruka-san."
The old man nodded. Iruka looked surprised, "Who are you?"
"My name is Naruto Namikaze. I am a former ANBU captain and now tokubetsu jounin."
A new round of whispers spread throughout the room. This was the famed captain who had been demoted for failing an important mission. Rumors had already begun circulating as to what happened, but no one knew for sure. Namikaze didn't really pay any attention to them, but focused completely on Iruka. He shoved his hands in his pockets and continued while staring hard at the chuunin, "Over the past three weeks, I have been ordered by the Hokage to test the three teams, to determine if they truly are ready to take the chuunin exams. I did everything in my power to break them, just like what will take place in the exams... no not just that. I went beyond that. I preyed on their weaknesses and pushed them to the breaking point. Instead of breaking, they grew stronger. They are ready for this exam."
Iruka looked like he wanted to say more, but there was nothing that needed to be said. The scarred chuunin backed down and remained silent for the rest of the selection process. After it was over, Namikaze walked past Iruka and whispered, "Don't worry Iruka-sensei. I won't let anything happen to them, or you."
Iruka paused in his steps and looked back at the former ANBU captain, but Namikaze just kept walking, vowing the same thing over and over in his head. As he walked the hallway, down the stairs and out the door, another genin team bumped into them. A woman with a black fan on her back walked by. Namikaze turned to apologize, but then stopped when he recognized the kid with the gourd. His left eye started twitching as his mouth curled into a feral grin.
(End Flashback)
(Two Days Prior to the Chuunin Exams, present)
The sun was just starting to peak over the trees to their backs as Team Kohaku came ever closer to Konohagakure. Kohaku nodded to the trees and gave several hand signals which roughly translated, "Shape up, under the eyes." Miyusuki looked more on guard and Nori... well Nori acted as Nori always did, quiet unless needing to speak, which was rare. They understood the importance of this mission, the ramifications should they fail especially with the Tsuchikage.
Their mission was simple, assassinate the Yondaime's legacy, Naruto Uzumaki. Once they stepped foot within Konoha, however, their abilities would be strictly limited. For example, Kohaku was under orders to not use the Sharingan. Miyusuki could not use her kekkei-genkai. Out of all three of them, Nori was the least restricted, because much of his fighting style involved laying traps with his wires. He fought with them as if they were blades. His recent skill in lightning ninjutsu only increased the power of his cutting wires by tenfold. Kohaku's sharingan was obvious, as no one knew Iwagakure had a sharingan. Miyusuki, on the other hand, had an entry in the bingo book, but no one had a picture of her. She was known as Iwa's maiden of the bloody mist, who succeeded in assassinating one of the Seven Swordsman of Kirigakure.
They were allowed to kill whomever they pleased as long as it remained within the exams. As they approached the village, the air seemed to grow more tense, like a hostility choked at them. It was no surprise, as many Konoha ninja still bore a grudge with Iwa. He scanned ahead, to the front gate. The air around Konoha seemed to try to push him back, like a cushion being shoved against his face. It wasn't a torrent of wind, but rather like as he got closer, something weighed down on him, pushed back while he pushed onwards towards the village, a barrier. He muttered something incoherent under his breath, and the air stopped pushing him backwards. He smirked and passed through the gates.
He, his two teammates, and their now 'jounin instructor' all showed IDs and were waved past by the gate guards. As they passed through, several of the older villagers saw them and began glaring. It didn't even phase them, really. They got those looks all the time at home. He briefly wondered to himself what they would think if they knew their true purpose here was.
(Monument Training Ground)
Sakura Haruno rested against the monument to the fallen shinobi. She wondered if she deserved to be in the exam. Sure, Namikaze had passed them, but still the team would be facing some of the best shinobi from around the elemental nations at this thing. Would her genjutsus really be enough to defeat them, to protect her team? She didn't want to lose any of them. Even Naruto.
She shook her head and sighed. It was simple. After nearly getting Naruto's ninja career destroyed, it was the least she could do to make it up to him. She owed him. There was no way she or Sasuke would have passed if it wasn't for the actions of that annoying blond. She gave a small grin, thinking about the boy. In a way, that ever cheerful personality of his always lifted her own spirits. But after her betrayal, it just wasn't the same.
Sure, he still cheered her on and took part in celebrating with her after those triumphs. He even asked her out a couple times, but not as often. There was a look in the boy's eyes, one of pain and remembering just what she had done to him. It vanished just as quickly as it came, but that expression... it haunted her every time she looked at him.
(Hokage tower)
Kohaku walked across the road into the Hokage tower. The doors creaked as he entered cautiously. Several chuunin appeared from nowhere, some forming handsigns and others holding various sharp weapons menacingly. Team Kohaku tensed in preparation to defend themselves. Another ninja appeared in the center of the room holding his hand up to prevent his subordinates. He spoke with a firm tone, guarded, "Speak quickly ninja. What is your purpose for entering Hokage-sama's tower?"
The Iwa ninja moved slowly as they pulled out their genin papers. The chuunin leader frowned, but had the others stand down. The Iwa leader looked him over, noting he wore a black trenchcoat over a black ninja uniform. There were nasty scars covering his face, which made even the unshakable leader cringe a bit. He bowed and said, "Honorable ninja, our team needs housing for the duration of the exam. We are new to Konoha, and as such do not know our way around here. Would you be willing to direct us to the nearest hotel?"
Kohaku recognized the man, Ibiki Morino, the most famous, or more appropriately, infamous interrogator in Konoha. The scarred ninja looked at them with a piercing gaze. The man truly lived up to his reputation. Then he waved over another chuunin and gave him orders to get Kohaku's team out. The chuunin, Kotetsu from the conversation, led them out as he reluctantly took them to the hotels.
Ibiki watched as the three Iwa genin walked out. His eyes had seen many things, but those three...they had the look of seasoned pros, at least chuunin or jounin level. The hands of their leader... Kohaku Yori from the papers, were callused and cracked. He had been training with those blades for a long time to get hands like those.
Those three weren't the only ones. A Suna team had a similar expression...no it was more like an evil look to them. He also managed to get a glimpse at the Oto team. They were ready for this exam as well. The exams would get exciting. Meanwhile, Ibiki was on his way over to the Torture and Interrogation headquarters. It seemed that Jiraiya had made some progress on the memory seals, and Inoichi had gone further into the mind of the recent infiltrators.
(Uchiha District)
Within one of the many buildings on the Uchiha grounds, there was a small dojo. Sasuke often disappeared there to get in training and avoid his fangirls. Spread over the walls, there were dozens of works of calligraphy. When he was younger, Sasuke spent many hours looking at them. Some of the works were written by his brother. They were all smooth and flowing in the early years. As Itachi grew older, his works became more and more ridged, choppy. Now Sasuke didn't look at them at all, except as a reminder of his goals and a warning to avoid his brother's fate.
At the moment, he rested on both knees. His injuries had been healed over the last four days. Sakura's arm was no longer broken, though still tender at the moment. Naruto, for some strange reason, was up within a day. Kakashi had given them the forms the day after. Naruto looked positively jubilant at the chance to show how much he had grown. Sasuke looked forward to more missions outside Konoha. The more he traveled, the greater the chance he'd run into Itachi. Sakura was still in the hospital at the time, so he didn't know how she reacted to the news.
After thirty minutes of meditation, he stood up and walked over to the log in the center of the room. In his mind, he tried to recall that move... the move Naruto Namikaze did. His hands formed a single seal and it was like a tunnel opened, a tunnel in the wind, a vacuum that extended between the jounin and himself. In a fraction of a second, Namikaze covered the distance between himself and Sasuke.
In his mind's eye, Namikaze appeared in front of him. He copied the phantom Namikaze's handsign and began releasing chakra. It was strange, different using wind chakra. However with the sharingan, it was possible. Namikaze compressed the wind chakra and pushed it outward, like a spear. The spear wasn't powerful enough to cut through anything, but the spear was packed so tightly it seemed to glow white for the slightest instant. Then, with Namikaze's finely practiced chakra control, he forced the chakra outward. It forced anything in the way, including other air molecules, outward, creating the vacuum-like tunnel.
Sasuke didn't pay attention to anything else. His own body telling him that he couldn't do it, his chakra levels which were dangerously low after reproducing the technique only once. His mind pushed his body through the torment as the sharingan eye reproduced the second phase of Namikaze's Kaze Shunpo. Phantom Namikaze had been trained by Maito Gai, though Sasuke knew nothing of this. Where Namikaze used his physical training to reach the speed in a second, Sasuke sacrificed his stamina for a burst attack. Sasuke sped from one side of the Dojo to the other in under a second. When he reappeared, his mind screamed at him in pain and exhaustion.
He fell to both knees and grabbed at his ankles. The tendons were strained for sure, but would recover before the exam. His bones creaked in protest to the strain of force the boy had used in that one attack. He decided immediately that it would only be used as a last resort, in a kill or be killed moment.
Using that jutsu once tires me out. I might be able to do it twice before running out of chakra. Damn it,he thought to himself as his face began to scowl. But then, his mouth curled into a smirk and his musing continued.Then again. If this was a chuunin level skill, Namikaze would never use it.
(Outside the Hotel)
The wind ravaged Kohaku as he stepped out of his hotel. With a glare and a snap of his fingers, the wind died down instantly. His visible eye tracked the ANBU watching the hotel. Kotetsu had led them to the Iwa teams' hotel. This did not surprise him, as putting all the foreign teams together would guarantee a bloodbath before the first night. The Iwa/Konoha grudge wasn't the only one. Kumo had made enemies of many different nations, as they were known for kidnapping daughters of the major bloodlines before the current Raikage took power.
Iwa's hotel, in particular, was a rundown, trashy joint that should have been condemned after the Kyuubi crushed it and destroyed the bedrock foundation. The owner was cheapskate, who paid the lowest bid contractor to fix it up, which meant that it was indeed the lowest rated hotel in existence. In addition, it was the furthest from the testing center, about a good twenty minute trip. However, Kohaku didn't expect anything less, nor did he care. He was treated as a pariah at home anyway, at least until that mission.
He trudged through the village to find somewhere he could eat. The surrounding restaurants seemed to serve food that had expired weeks ago, and would make one sick by merely touching it. It was utterly repulsive. As he walked forward, he felt decidedly uncomfortable, like the woods were closing in on him, smothering the flickering flame that represented his life. Villagers went silent as he walked by. New darker murmurs echoed off brick walls. Iwa was an eternal enemy of Konoha. It was in the history.
Dozens of Konoha shinobi were slaughtered by the onslaught of Iwa ninja, while the fourth Hokage repaid the countless massacres with two of his own. The first was when Iwa stormed the gates of Konoha, which resulted in Onoki's retirement as the Tsuchikage. The new Tsuchikage favored drawing out his enemies and slaughtering them with superior numbers. His downfall proved to be when he drew out the Yellow Flash a second time, at the great planes battle. It marked the beginning of the end for Iwa in the 3rd Great Shinobi War. It was shortly after that Kohaku's story began.
(Flashback)
Kohaku was born shortly after the end of the war. He was raised by a Samurai father from the land of Iron and ninja mother from Iwa. He ultimately ended up following his mother, but also being taught by his father in the bushido code. Quickly out of the Academy by eight, he grew strong and rapidly gained the skills of a jounin, though he never took the chuunin exam. Apparently, the Tsuchikage had trained him to be his personal assassin off the record books, but that was a story for another time.
As he mused, his left hand reached up and unconsciously scratched at his left eye underneath his hitai-ate. It was a habit he developed over the last couple years. Iwa was not known for their medics, and the person who put in his left eye hadn't done a good job of it. Oh, the eye worked, but he suffered irritating pains. His eye was lost in a tragic incident. On his first B-rank mission, his squad was captured by a team of Ame mission ninja. The team was separated and led to different cells where each person had their own personal interrogator (tormentor). His Ame tormentor was a raw genin. The boy had little more than academy experience.
He never stood a chance as Kohaku cut his own ropes with his wind chakra and sliced his throat during the first interrogation. Kohaku moved through the base, trying to find his team mates. Instead, he ran into the other three Ame ninja and a massive battle ensued. Kohaku, by all rights, should have died there, a genin vs. two chuunin and a jounin. However the boy had three things, the element of suprise, excellent reflexes and luck rivaling Naruto Uzumaki's.
The battle came to a head when the Iwa Jounin surprised Kohaku. He nearly succeeded in killing the Iwa nin with an explosive note. It was attached to a stone slab in the room, which he detonated, causing the resulting blast to shower him with high velocity rubble. Only his reflexes saved his life, his hand drawing and deflecting most of the rubble from his body with his blade. He didn't escape uninjured, as one sharp pebble slipped through his guard and pierced his left eye. Red washed over his vision and pure fury replaced his calm demeanor. He blacked out for several minutes.
When he awoke, Kohaku stood in a pool of blood and broken bodies. His blade dripped blood and his body was covered in it. In a daze, he searched the hideout, eventually coming across the remains of his teammates. All were brutally tortured, and then once the info was extracted, murdered.
Three days and nights, he trudged towards his home without food or water. He just walked forward in a daze, unfocused. A team of ANBU found him, still covered in blood and his dead eye unbandaged. The Shinobi world was cruel, as they had him out again within two days, assigned a new team, the team he now worked with.
(end flashback)
His musings came to an end as he stumbled upon a ramen shop. A girl, probably the daughter of the shop, greeted him warmly. The old man in the back chuckled. He turned to see his customer and said, "Welcome back, Na-"
The old man froze as he saw to whom he spoke. The Iwa nin took note of the surprised expression. Teuchi recovered quickly and said, "Sorry, thought you were someone else. What would you be having today?"
The genin looked up and replied, "One bowl of miso ramen."
The old man nodded and went to work. Teuchi cared not who ate at his humble abode. He was a simple business man. Often, he had customers from throughout the world eat at his humble shop. In fact, Kohaku's arrival meant that it was about time for the chuunin exams. Business would be picking up quickly. Kohaku eyed the father and daughter as they worked diligantly. The atmosphere around the shop was different from the rest of Konoha. It was warm, welcoming. While much of the village hated him for his mere existence, the two had given him a genuine smile, welcomed him with open arms. It was like he was with his old team again.
His mouth twitched into a small grin. Like all good moments in life, however, this one came to an end with one loud shriek, "Hoy, old man! One miso ramen with all the works on top!"
In bounded a positively jubilant, yellow-haired, orange clothed boy with a Konoha hitai-ate. Kohaku blinked as the living tornado took a seat and began chatting up a storm with the daughter. The two acted like brother and sister, though they shared absolutely no resemblance. A minute later, Teuchi set down two bowls in front of the two customers. Naruto broke his chopsticks and prepared to dive in when he noticed he wasn't eating alone. Their eyes met and both blinked simultaneously.
Naruto squinted at him and asked, "Ne, ne, what's with how you're wearing your headband? It's just like Kakashi-sensei! I bet you know of him and decided to copy him."
The copy ninja's true name, Kakashi Hatake, made him recall his mission. Kakashi was the teacher of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, blonde hair, similar expression to the Yondaime, there could be no doubt. The boy sitting in front of him was the target. Naruto continued his questions, "Hey, samurai-san, do you have a sharingan under that headband also?"
Perceptive little demon as well. He barely managed to avoid flinching away from the question. Kohaku was saved as Ayame scolded Naruto for bugging the other customers. The samurai ninja kept his eye on the boy as he ate the broth in front of him. His hand was put on his own bowl as he considered giving it to Naruto, but dismissed the idea. The kid would probably be immune to poisons. Most vessels were conditioned like ANBU to be tools for their nation after all.
Minutes later, Naruto rose and ran off, clearly finished with his meal. Kohaku finished his ramen and took off after the boy. His tailing of the boy came to an immediate end end when he remembered he was being tailed by ANBU to begin with. His well trained eye looked around, seeing them appear once again. He turned back towards his hotel. It was too bad, but couldn't be helped. Kohaku didn't plan on killing him now anyway. Questions would arise out in the open. Killing him during the chuunin exam would be much easier, and likewise hiding the remains.
He began wandering in the direction of his hotel, ANBU still following him. As he took a turn down one road, he paused and went back to the crossroads. Another person of interest was travelling another direction. He entered a nearby shop and ducked out of sight. He quickly vanished into the shadows, leaving the ANBU questioning where he went.
The red haired boy continued on, seemingly unaware of who was shadowing him. He turned into an alleyway, where he stopped and turned to the shadows. Gaara was giving his stoic expression as he asked, "Why are you following me?"
Kohaku stepped out of the shadows, his mouth curled into his cocky smirk, "Naturally, I'm curious why the Ichibi was in Konoha, attending the chuunin exams."
Gaara did not answer, so the sharingan samurai continued, "Whatever the reason, Suna just proved itself to be the most incompetent village of all. While fielding their greatest weapon on the battlefield is a tactically sound move, it is also one of the greatest risks. If someone were to kill that weapon..."
He trailed off as Gaara began glaring at him. Sand flew up around him, surrounding the Jinchuuriki. He muttered, "Are you here to validate my existence?"
The sand flew at Kohaku, forcing the boy to dash backwards. He removed his headband while initiating his genjutsu which hid it from sight. The sharingan tracked the sand, allowing the Iwa ninja some time to dash backwards. Soon, he found his back against the wall, which he dashed up. The sand blasted the wall, and then shot up it. Kohaku leapt over the sand and landed at the entrance to the alley. His hand drew his katana, already wrapped in wind chakra. The wind blew the sand backwards, and the Iwa nin sheathed his blade.
Kohaku raised his hand in a calming gesture and spoke in a reassuring tone, "Not yet. The time for our battle will come, but not yet. Perhaps in the second test or finals? Then, we will fight until only one remains."
He stepped back into the shadows, allowing them to swallow him up. A second later, his voice sounded, "One more thing. If you kill Naruto Uzumaki, I will make sure you die within the succeeding 24 hours. He is mine and mine alone."
(Next Day, Naruto's Apartment)
Knock Knock!
On the other side of the door, there was a loud yawn. The sound of metal turning sounded as the young boy unlocked the door. The hinges creaked as it opened slowly, revealing Naruto wearing a green night cap. He was rubbing his eyes and gazed up at the man who stood in the doorway. He muttered, "Iruka-sensei, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be teaching?"
Iruka put his hands on his wast and tilted his head to the side. His face scrunched up in annoyance, "It's the week end Naruto. Everyone needs a break from teaching now and then. You have time to talk?"
Naruto yawned for a good five seconds before nodding, "What's up?"
Iruka shifted a bit in his stance, betraying some discomfort, "Well, I thought you'd like to come with me for some training today. I thought we'd head to one of my favorite spots in the village."
Naruto's sleepy expression vanished and he looked a bit excited, "Sure thing, sensei!"
He slammed the door shut. On the other side, the sound of things crashing could be heard. Occasionally, there was a yelp of pain. After a few minutes, Naruto came out. His usual orange jacket was gone, only a black t-shirt remained in its place. The scarred chuunin blinked and asked where it was. Namikaze's name appeared again, apparently the result of his brutal training. Iruka's hand had clenched so tight that his knuckles had turned white. He would have to give the jounin a piece of his mind when he saw him again. Actually, the chuunin had yet to see the man since the nominations. Iruka inturrupted the boy's monologue about psychotic jounin trainers, saying, "What do you say we stop somewhere first?"
(Two hours later)
Naruto was panting as he and his academy teacher hiked through the small rocky trail towards the top of the Hokage mountain. It was an expensive buy, but well worth it. The boy loved the new coat. Actually, Naruto's orange pants were in need of replacement as well. The boy now wore black loose fitting cargo pants. Over it all, there was now an orange trenchcoat with black flames at the hems which were at just below his knees. On the back, there was the trademark circular spiral over the red circle, the symbol for Uzu no kuni, whirlpool country.
Iruka led the way to the top, where they finally came out to a plateau, the rocky training ground or training ground 15. Only chuunin or those accompanied by chuunin were allowed here. They were above the safe house, where the residents of Konoha could be evacuated in case of invasion. It was located on top of the Hokage mountain. There, they could, and did, look over the entirety of Konoha. Naruto saw everything from up there, even all the way to the walls over 100 kilometers away. He had never been up here except to clean (and prank) the monuments, so the view made him stare in awe.
Iruka chuckled to himself and said, "Like it, Naruto? Imagine what it would look like when the sun rises. Too bad it looks like it might rain later today with the cloudy sky. One day as Hokage, you'll be head over everything you see,Hokage-sama."
He chuckled to himself at the joke, but Naruto didn't reply. He was still grinning. Iruka saw this smile and it filled him with peace, the kind that made him believe everything would be alright in the end, no matter the situation. However, he considered where the smile came from, the tormented demon container. Without really thinking, he asked, "Naruto, why do you want to be Hokage?"
Naruto didn't look away from the village, "The Hokage is the strongest in the village. Once I become the strongest, people will have to acknowledge my existence. The entire village will see me as the strongest of all Hokages."
"But why? The village has many who have nothing but contempt for you? I don't really understand, Naruto-kun."
Naruto's eyes glazed over for a minute as he recalled Namikaze's last talk with him.
(Flashback, two weeks ago)
Namikaze and Naruto walked down the street towards Ichiraku Ramen. On the way, Naruto noticed several things. As they walked along, several citizens moved out of their way, many of them glaring at the two of them. Their eyes remained cold. He hated that... worse than the people who showed outright contempt for him. Naruto vowed to show them all and cursed under his breath.
There was a smack to the back of his head as he said, "Don't start speaking that way. You know better than that! Hold your head up high, as you have nothing to be ashamed of."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head where it stung, "Namikaze-sensei, I know why they do that to me, but why do they do it to you? The Kyuubi took so much away from everyone, so it's only natural that they hate me. But why do they act the same to you."
Namikaze didn't reply for the longest time. But eventually, shortly before they arrived, he said, "Some of it no doubt has to do with my partners, Anko and Jiro. One's a former missing ninja and the other trained under the second worst traitor Konoha ever knew. They hate me and my team because of who we are and were."
The jounin paused again, but stopped in the middle of the street and looked at... his younger self. The lesson spoken was one Naruto would never forget, one he would take to heart and accept as his own.
(end flashback)
Naruto turned as his memory ended. As he spoke, the sun broke through a hole in the clouds and began to spread out from Naruto. His words echoed those of Namikaze, "They are afraid. People fear what they do not understand, so I'll show them, they have nothing to fear. You were afraid once too, Iruka-sensei, but... but not anymore."
He looked back to the rest of Konoha. The sunlight had continued to expand further and further through the village as he continued, "Perhaps others would expect me to return that fearful hatred with more hatred, but it only goes in a circle. It never ends, and I will break that cycle of hatred."
Iruka looked shocked, but shortly after walked next to the boy and placed his hand on his shoulder, "I think you'll be a great Hokage, Naruto. I believe in you."
The two turned back to the training ground. Iruka thought about the exam, and then spoke again, "You know, I think I may have one more thing to teach you. Consider this an advanced chuunin present."
(Hokage tower)
The Hokage felt sick to his stomach, however he maintained his poker face for the sake of his ANBU... and the root operative watching from who knows where. Before him on the desk were the initial reports of three burnt corpses found at the Amurabe Ravine. The headbands were of clear konoha origin, the metals and cloth remains that were unburnt. The clothes were Anko's... unique outfit, Jiro's black trench coat and Namikaze's red vest.
Coupled with the massacre at Fukuoka town and lack of viable culprits meant a big headache. Actually, he knew whoever did it belonged to Iwa, but if he revealed his source, the Tsuchikage would kill them... or worse break off relations with Konoha.
His aged fingers again held the reports and flipped through them. The medical ninja were performing the autopsies right now. It was obvious that whoever got Namikaze's team were not ANBU. They wouldn't leave behind a body. It was a standard psychological tactic to eliminate the remains of the target. Not knowing what happened to their ninja was worse than knowing after all. Whoever did it wanted him to know about it.
A moment after he set the report down again, one of his ANBU captains appeared in a burst of smoke. Sarutobi's smile appeared on his face, "Ah, Rat. What news do you bring?"
The captain stayed at attention the whole time, "Our hunt for the Akatsuki goes on. Hidan has yet to join them, but we have some eyes on him. The moment he is approached, our team will know and we'll know soon after."
Sarutobi nodded. The idea arose to just eliminate all known members of the Akatsuki, both present and future, however the old man saw the wisdom in keeping those targets marked instead of dead. A known target is better than an unknown one. Namikaze's knowledge of the future would be able to be put to better use if things continued to happen in a manner similar to his own world.
The old man pulled out the bingo book. The third Hokage had placed several tabs in the book over the years for various reasons. Recently, though, he had added about four new tabs to go along with the rest: Kisame, Hidan, Kakuzu and Sasori. All were known criminals of the highest caliber. However, there were a few entries for missing ninja that didn't exist: Pein and Tobi. No known ninja in the world bore the rinnegan, the legendary dojutsu of the Sage of Six Paths.
Tobi, on the other hand, was a complete mystery. Namikaze only battled him once. None of his attacks did any good for some reason. The jounin suspected he used space-time ninjutsu, a supremely rare skill that once manifested itself in the Yondaime Hokage.
Four other ninja were also left unmarked, because his information was sketchy on them due to the fact that Namikaze didn't face them directly. The first was the Orogami mistress who accompanied Pein. Supposedly, she escaped with her life after battling Shikamaru. The second was the summoner. Orochimaru, the Fourth Hokage in Namikaze's world, personally killed that man. Third, there was a genjutsu genius who concealed herself with several invisibility jutsus. Kakashi saw through her techniques and captured her. However, Pein attacked Konoha and killed her before Namikaze's Ibiki broke her will. Finally, the magnetic ninjutsu user. Namikaze reported that Sasuke personally offed him.
(Sealed cave, unknown time of day, present)
Nine pairs of eyes appeared in the darkness. Each one looked at the rest with suspicion. One pair of eyes, three ringed with a purple hue, was the main focus of the rest. Pein's voice sounded, "There has been a new development with the hunt for the nine in Konoha."
Deidara's single eye spoke in a condescending tone, "So, did something happen to the Kyuubi, hmm?"
"No. Another container has appeared."
Kisame's white shark teeth appeared, "So, the Sanbi has finally been sealed in someone, interesting. And in Konoha as well, you're hometown Itachi."
Itachi didn't react to his partner. Pein's head shook, "A new beast has appeared all together."
"Impossible," one of them cried out, "The nine demons are all accounted for. What is the meaning of this?"
"A second host of the Kyuubi has appeared. I have received this information from my most reliable agent. The host is not to be underestimated. Hosenka (1), Kinzoku (2), you are tasked with capturing this one as you both have recently captured your other targets."
Hosenka nodded, but Kinzoku grumbled his discontent as they vanished. Pein's eyes turned to Itachi and Kisame, "You two are tasked with the Yondaime's legacy. Take your time, as the Kyuubi needs to be the last one sealed."
With that, the meeting came to an end, with all the eyes vanishing into the darkness.
(Hotel, Day of the Exam)
Kohaku strapped on his three blades, one of them replaced with Namikaze's. Both sleeves were weighed down with several kunai and shuriken where he could quickly extract for a blitz attack if needed. Two scrolls were tied to his backside, where he could pull them off and release their contents quickly. He hadn't faced the chuunin exam in a long time, since the last time it was held in Iwa.
Miyusuki, unlike Kohaku, wore as little weaponry for this exam as possible. She probably had nothing to fear from bladed weapons anyway, as her unique talents served as an excellent healing technique in case of serious injury. Besides, these were genin. They wouldn't prove to be a big problem for people of their skills. She did carry one storage scroll on her back though, just in case. Meanwhile, Nori was already packed and ready to go the night before. He had stolen Jiro's wires and black knives, which worked as a replacement for the equipment destroyed at Amarube Bridge.
The three proceeded from their hotel to where the first portion of the exam would take place. They were told to report to the third floor, room 301. Their sensei would greet them all outside just in the entrance way and give them some last minute advice on the upcoming mission.
(Hospital Coroner's Office)
The ANBU, Tenzou, walked down the hallway. He wasn't currently wearing his ANBU gear because his duty was being messenger between the Coroner and the Hokage. The captain was relieved to be out of the heavy armor for a day, but he felt kind of naked without it... his mask at least. Members of ANBU, however, had their identities hidden at the highest classification. If their identities were compromised, death would be the least of their worries. The Shinobi could be taken in, tortured into giving away information on their village, and, if merciful, killed off. The alternative is brainwashing. He shivered at the thought and continued towards the office.
As he got closer, he heard the Coroner shouting out orders, "Take the results again! We want to make sure that there were no errors!"
His voice contained excitement... and almost some strand of happiness. Tenzo thought it was odd given the circumstances. The subordinates complained, "Doctor, we've taken the same three times already. There can be no mistake. The results will be the same."
As Tenzou walked towards the doorway, the Coroner appeared in the doorway at a breakneck speed. In fact, the two collided, leading to both hitting the ground. The Coroner rubbed his back, then noted that the person present was the one who acted as the Hokage's go-between. He gave an overjoyed smile, "Ah, Tenzou-san. Perfect timing. I have the results!"
(Chuunin Exam)
Miyusuki took the lead this time, as they approached the Academy Entrance, the location of the first part of the chuunin exam. Several other teams had already gone through, and there were a few teams still dribbling in one after the other. Their jounin sensei was standing outside the doorway, her arms crossed and her face bearing an icy expression. Her brown hair draped over both arms, she pulled herself off the wall and flung both clumps of hair back behind her. The team approached her, and she met them halfway.
The red-haired jounin muttered, "Can't believe you talked me into doing this..."
Miyusuki gave a pleasant smile and reached for her kunai. Kohaku moved his hand up from his waist to her shoulder, telling the Bloody Mist Maiden to calm down. He said back in a low tone, "Stop your complaining. All you have to do is stand around along with the rest of the jounin. We, on the other hand, have to be careful. We are risking our lives out there."
The jounin turned away. Kohaku sighed and asked, "Is it complete?"
The brown-haired ice monarch muttered, "Yeah. It was delivered as you requested. He knows."
Kohaku smirked. The three nodded and continued on in. All the conditions were now cleared. He could now begin his mission in Konoha.
(Hokage Tower)
Sarutobi rose from his seat, glad to be done with the paperwork for the day. Well, actually the real Sarutobi was out and about, speaking to the citizens and spending time among them. It was actually his shadow clone that was doing the work. The clone copied itself and then dispelled, sending the memories to the real old man. Now, the clone could just sit there and wait for any new reports. It was still early in the morning, so the reports should be coming in right about-
The door to the tower was thrown open as Tenzo, his most trusted ANBU, appeared in a kneeling position in front of the Hokage. He had sent him to the Coroner's office early this morning to finalize the report on Namikaze's death. The old man said in a grandfatherly tone, "Tenzo-san. Please, rise. What have you to report."
Tenzo hesitated as he commented, "Hokage-sama, there was something off about-"
The Hokage narrowed his eyes and gestured that he remain silent. The two exited the office and climbed onto the Hokage Tower. There, Tenzo was allowed to continued, "Hokage-sama, the Coroner did every test he known to medical ninjutsu. The dental records show that it was Naruto Namikaze and Anko Mitarashi. As we haven't taken the time, Jiro Kazahana's dental records weren't recorded at the time, and we have no way of identifying whether or not it was him who truly died. He couldn't take fingerprints, skin or hair samples, or anything like that because some fire had damaged the remains so much."
The Hokage looked disheartened at that. he said, "That's rather unfortunate. Now, what was strange that you needed to tell me?"
The ANBU blinked, and said with confusion in his voice, "As a test, the Corinor took another sample, a new one that he had recently been using for the last month. He calls it the chakra comparison test. What we found..."
Sarutobi looked at his Jounin with an annoyed expression, "Move it along, captain. What are you saying."
Tenzo shook his head and said it directly, "Hokage-sama, they are not the bodies of our team."
The old man looked slightly surprised at this, "...What do you mean?"
The ANBU replied, "The bodies... they do not belong to team Namikaze. Someone went through a lot of trouble to make it look like the remains belonged to Konoha ninja. We looked closer at the dental remains, and discovered that someone had altered them."
"Then that means..." the old man trailed off.
Tenzo nodded, "Yes, there is a chance that they are still out there."
(Please review) My most excellent readers, as I promised, I have returned one day after August! Sorry, but I've been busy working in the mountains, where I didn't have ready access to a computer. Furthermore, I will be working on a couple new stories in addition to this one and Dueling Hokages. I enjoyed reading the reviews for my last chapter. Some of you were outraged that I would kill my main character, Anko, and Jiro Kazahana (my OC). Don't be too concerned, as that's exactly what I was planning on and hoping that many of you would do. Like I said previously, I have been planning this chuunin exam since the very beginning of my writing this story. It is the key to everything. I promised many of you that you'd see Namikaze's chakra seal break, others I promised there would be romance between Anko and Namikaze. A few even know where I'm taking this story beyond the three year timeskip. I plan on fulfilling all those promises and making it beyond that point. So relax my wonderful readers, because Naruto Namikaze is certainly not dead. As for developments, Akatsuki now knows about Namikaze. I wonder how this will affect the story. Who are Housenka and Kinzoku? I'd love to hear your guesses. They are OCs, I must admit because we do not know the Akatsuki's original members. However, I'd still like to hear your thoughts. I value them a lot. Let the fun...begin.