Just a plot-bunny about what would happen if And Orochimaru decided to capitalize on a certain secret to throw the Chunin Exams into chaos…

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A Secret Resounding

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"…so, just line up to sign your lives away!" Anko finished, waving towards the open-fronted tent.

"This'll be fun." The gauntlet-wearing Oto-shinobi chuckled. "Hey, we claim dibs on fighting team 7!"

Several of the other Genin looked at him in confusion and Neji snorted.

"If you want a fight, I would be happy to demonstrate how a true shinobi of Konoha fights. The Last Uchiha is not as skilled as he believes."

"Wait, you mean that he's the so-called Last Uchiha?" The Oto-nin responded, earning several looks of confusion. "I'm not interested in him, it's the Yondaime's son I want to beat up."

Silence descended on the group faster than a flung kunai as everyone stared first at the gauntlet-wielder, then at Naruto who was looking round in confusion.

"Sakura, what's he talking about?" He asked, his whisper sounding almost like a shout in the quiet.

"He… He's saying that you're the son of Namikaze Minato…" Sakura finally managed.

Sasuke simply stared at Naruto, then his Sharingan briefly activated before he turned to stare at the fourth of the giant stone faces adorning the Hokage mountain. For a long moment, he remained motionless, then his head snapped round to stare at Naruto again.

"It's true…" He muttured in shock. "How didn't I see it before?"

"But… he can't be!" Ino protested. "He's an Uzumaki!"

"His mother was Uzumaki Kushina, the previous Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi." The female Oto genin provided. "He's the current one, the third that Konoha's had. The first was Uzumaki Mito… or Senju Mito as she's better known as."

Naruto looked down at his stomach in shock. "My mother was the last one with the Kyuubi? I inherited it from her?"

"Naruto's the Kyuubi?" Ino gasped and the entire gathering fell into confusion as the Sensei of the Oto team watched with a smirk.

"Okay, everyone!" Anko shouted, waving her hands. "Part two's delayed for one day! Get back here tomorrow at noon, no later or you're out! Team seven, with me! You…"

"Are not part of Konoha, so by tradition, aren't required to abide by the laws regarding keeping secrets." Orochimaru interjected smoothly. Anko glared at him and Orochimaru smirked at how his former student failed to recognize him.

"Fine!" Anko spat. "Team seven, Hokage tower! Now!"

Kakashi blurred into existence behind his genin, grabbed them and vanished.

"What just happened?" Kiba asked in confusion.

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Team 7 stood in silence in the otherwise empty Hokage's Office, Sakura staring at Naruto in disbelief while Sasuke watched him thoughtfully. Eventually, the silence grew too intense for Naruto to bear and he opened his mouth, only to be interrupted.

"Naruto." Hiruzen said as he entered the office, followed by three more equally-aged shinobi and one just slightly older than the trio of Genin. "My apologies for taking so long, but that announcement has caused… problems."

"Problems?" the woman snorted. "I don't count the detection of no less than five different unauthorised summons as mere problems!"

"Summons?" Naruto asked. "Like Kakashi-sensei's dogs?"

"Very good, Naruto." Kakashi said approvingly.

"I don't get it." Naruto shook his head. "Why would people calling dogs be a problem?"

"Just like his mother." the woman shook her head. "Incapable of making even simple deductions."

"But a true fuinjutsu expert." One of the two men countered. "Kakashi, have you started him on that yet?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No. Have you seen his handwriting? Until he improves, it would be worse than useless to teach him the art of seals."

"Not my fault." Naruto grumped. "It's hard enough reading."

The silence that descended on the office was almost dense enough to cause Sakura to stop breathing, then Hiruzen leaned forwards.

"Naruto… you were not taught how to read in the orphanage?"

Naruto's silence was the only answer, but it was enough to cause Hiruzen to sigh. "I see. It would explain why you left the sheet blank in the first stage."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock and she opened her mouth, only for Sasuke to seem to teleport across and clamp his hand over her mouth before she could utter a sound.

"Kakashi, I want a full report on what Naruto has learned under your tutelage." Hiruzen commanded.

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Kakashi bowed, then he paused. "Ah… Naruto, the scroll I gave you to study… did you actually read it?"

Naruto poked his toes at the floor and Kakashi sighed.

"Damn it, Naruto. Why didn't you tell me you were having troubles? Sasuke, Sakura, please tell me you helped him learn…"

Both the other genin stared at Kakashi and Hiruzen sighed again.

"None of you will be promoted this time, no matter what." He finally stated, causing Sasuke and Sakura to stare at him while Naruto found himself being silence by Kakashi before he could voice his own protest. "Konoha requires genin who know the value of teamwork. If you have not acted together outside your official missions and training, then that would be proof that at this time you do not have what it takes to achieve the rank of Chunin."

Naruto tried to squirm, his protests muffled, but Kakashi managed to restrain him. Hiruzen exchanged glances with the other three elderly shinobi, then nodded.

"Naruto, you are removed from Team 7 for your own safety. Sai will replace you."

Naruto's protests grew even more frantic.

"Naruto, you will be taken to a private training ground where you will be re-instructed in all the skills that you should have already learned by the Ino-Shika-Cho trio."

Naruto cocked his head, looking confused and Kakashi bent down.

"The fathers of Team 10."

Naruto nodded in understanding, then a shinobi in a mask materialized out of thin air, grabbed him from Kakashi's hands and vanished.

"Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, knowing that you will not be promoted, do you still wish to continue?"

"Will it count towards future promotional possibilities?" Sasuke asked and Hiruzen nodded. "Then yes, I do."

"I… I'll do it too." Sakura half-whispered, still staring at the empty space where her other team-mate had been.

"Good. Kakashi, take them and get them acquainted with each other, run them through a couple of exercises to get them ready for tomorrow. Right now, I need to contact Jiraiya and warn him that both of the secrets we've been protecting are now public knowledge."

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"Who the heck taught you to fight, Naruto?" Yamanaka Inoishi asked as he looked at the prone form of the exhausted (and quite bruised) boy.

"No-one." Nara Shikaku deduced from where he was sat, watching them. "He has no fixed style, it's all brawling. He doesn't even seem to know how to land a proper punch to disable someone."

"Much as I hate to say it, it does makes sense." Akamichi Chouza rumbled. "So, what's the plan?"

"We've got a month to get him up to scratch, then he'll be doing a demonstration match… if we agree he's improved enough." Shikaku mused, ignoring the glare that Naruto sent his way. "Inoichi, you learned another fighting style to blindside anyone who assumed you relied on your clan's style. Run Naruto through the Katas. In the meantime, I'll be teaching him to read properly while Chouza gets the easiest task, building Naruto's fitness levels."

Both men gave him a confused look while Naruto clambered to his feet behind them.

"How does that work?" Inoichi finally asked. "I mean, you have him in how many place… SWEET KAMIS!"

"Naruto knows Kage Bunshin." Shikaku said almost unnecessarily. "Original Naruto, to Chouza for a meal and training in isometrics. Ten Narutos, with me. The rest, Inoichi'll run you through the first Kata. Original, don't dispel the clones too fast afterwards or you might end up knocking yourself out."

All the Narutos blinked in confusion.

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"Hello, Sasuke."

Team 7 paused at the sight of the white-skinned adult shinobi leaning against a tree ahead of them, then Sai spoke.

"Lord Orochimaru, Lord Danzo tasked me with ensuring the continued loyalty of the Last Uchiha."

"Ah, so you're ready to kill him if you think he's intending to leave the village or in danger of being kidnapped, right?" Orochimaru almost purred and Sai nodded.

"I have already placed an explosive seal on him."

Sasuke froze and Orochimaru laughed.

"Very good. Was that your idea, little minion, or did that old warhawk suggest it?"

"I follow Lord Danzo's orders." Sai replied in a near monotone as Sasuke pulled off his shirt and started frantically checking himself.

"Well then, since I cannot simply take him away to make him stronger, let me instead say something different. The Uchiha Massacre? It was Danzo's idea as he knew that they were planning to stage a coup."

Sasuke froze, then slowly turned to look at the Snake Sannin.

"…what."

"Danzo insisted that the threat the Uchiha clan represented needed to be purged." Orochimaru smirked, almost lazily throwing a pair of shuriken which dispersed three ink snakes that were trying to creep up on him. "Itachi agreed to perform the task and take the blame in exchange for your continued survival, Sasuke. Your big brother saved you from joining your parents."

Sasuke stared at Orochimaru, his Sharingan active and Orochimaru chuckled.

"Well, that's an interesting truth delivered and now I shall leave. If you want my help to become stronger, Sasuke, know that I will be watching you and after the third stage, I will speak to you again."

Orochimaru turned into a humanoid figure of mud which collapsed.

"What just happened?" Sakura asked blankly as Sasuke pulled his clothes back on before glaring at Sai. "And what's that?"

"It would seem to be the scroll that we require in order to complete this stage." Sai noted as another ink-snake slithered over to it and pulled it out of the mud-puddle. "Orochimaru wishes for us to make it to the third stage."

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"I need to head to the central tower to greet those who have made it, so make it brief." Hiruzen commanded and Shikaku nodded.

"Using Naruto's mastery of Kage Bunshin, I have already repaired the most obvious issues with his reading and mathematics. Inoichi has trained him in first two Katas of the Swirling Fist style while under Chouza's direction, he's learned several exercises to build up stamina, speed and strength. I've also had some of his clones working on chakra-control exercises with moderate success."

Hiruzen nodded in understanding.

"I've managed to get him to learn Kawarimi properly and he's taken to it like an Akamichi to a new dish. When he's allowed to use it, it's almost impossible to hit him as he's constantly switching with logs, rocks and occasionally the person he's fighting. It's… rather disconcerting."

"And in one month's time?" Hiruzen prompted.

"Well, we'll need to cut back a bit to train our own children, assuming they've made it through, but but using Naruto as a training partner in hand-to-hand, we think we can get him to solid mid-chunin by the start of the third stage. Given he was barely above Academy-student level when we started…"

"Excellent work." Hiruzen said. "Tell the others that I'm paying them for a B-rank mission for their efforts."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage." Shikaku bowed.