Second Chances

By: FlameXFullmetal

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I wish I did.

A/N: I'm back! Thank you to everyone who reviewed. There are two things that I need to address before we can get to the chapter. For those of you that follow Underneath the Underneath you already know, but I moved in February and a good majority of the time between then and now has been spent trying to get my internet working and unpacking. I'm back however, and baring any more problems with my provider there shouldn't be any more breaks related to the move. Second, I had one reviewer comment that they didn't understand why authors say that they can't update a story when their computer dies, suggesting that we use pen and paper instead. While that is a good way to get the ideas for the chapters down so you don't forget them, it doesn't help with posting the update itself if we have no computer to type it out. Furthermore, if the chapter is almost or completely done and just hasn't been posted yet, then there is no point to writing it down. Also, re-writing the chapter will result in a sub-par achievement as most of what had already been written is either gone or no longer seem interesting. Trust me, I have had to re-write chapters before because of a critical error that caused my computer to shut down and my word processor not saving a temporary file. It is nearly impossible to get back what you have already written. In any event, to the story!

"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 New Hokage**********

The room was quiet as the occupants stared at the former nuke nin following his outburst. Even Kisame looked shocked at the yell that the Itachi had produced, having never thought that he could raise his voice like that. Naruto was smirking and Sasuke was trying and failing miserably to hide his smirk. All the while Itachi was looking like he would rather be anywhere but where he was. He quickly glanced to Tobirama hoping that the Senju would tell him it was all a practical joke but was met with that infuriating smirk that he was starting to hate.
"It's not that bad." Naruto snickered making Itachi glare at the blonde. For some reason that only made him lose control and start laughing once more. Looking over at Sasuke, Itachi felt his twitch worsen as he saw that his brother was desperately, and failing, not to laugh at his expression.

"Well Itachi you always did want to prevent anymore wars. I suppose this would be the best way." Kisame said hiding his own amusement.

"Seriously, why me?" He said in defeat.

"Proactive vs. reactive." Naruto replied vaguely.

"Explain."

"So far, in this time, Konoha has seen three wars and five in ours. Until now, Konoha would always use violence as a last resort even after it has been made clear that a diplomatic solution will not work. We needed a Hokage that understood that violence wasn't always the answer, yet that will use it before things get out of hand." At seeing Itachi's face, Naruto sighed. "Think of the Hyuga incident. Instead of calling Kumo out on their obvious scheme, the Sandaime instead sacrificed a shinobi needlessly. This in turn caused Neji to take the oath of hatred and vengeance that would have been avoided had he not caved to Kumo's demands. In this case he took a reactive approach to a 'what-if' scenario instead of a proactive approach. Neither Kumo or Konoha were capable of returning to war. So if the Sandaime had held firm the Raikage would have had no choice but to back down."

"I see." Itachi tilted his head and closed his eyes.

"In this case, you tried a peaceful solution to prevent the number of casualties but you also saw that diplomacy was getting you no where. So instead of continuously bartering with a steel wall you became proactive to prevent what would have started another war needlessly. That is what we need in a Hokage right now. I'll admit that I was even guilty of being to reactive at times. Perhaps, if I had been proactive Konoha wouldn't have fallen under my reign." Naruto whispered the last part but Itachi still heard it.

"Furthermore, consider it your punishment for trying to shoulder everything by yourself and dying on me, twice." Sasuke added getting snickers from everyone else in the room while he twitched in annoyance. After a few minutes he sighed and drooped.

"...Fine..." Nodding to themselves Hashirama beamed happily.

"You forgot the best part." Tobirama added getting Itachi to raise an eyebrow. "This is the ultimate 'fuck you' to your clan for being too impatient to let nature take it's course." Itachi felt his eyes widen before finding himself snickering in amusement.

"I guess so. When is the coronation and how much work do I have to do before hand?"

"The coronation won't be for a few days and as for the work, you really only need to catch up on the status of the village and familiarize yourself with the forces once more. The last thing we need to take care of is your health. We have been informed that you are ill and Tsunade will begin working on the treatment as soon as you have a physical and the necessary blood work is done. After which will we need Shishui's other eye for an ocular transplant." That got Itachi's attention.

"Why? Wait other eye? You got the one that Danzo stole back?"

"Yes. The reason is you are going blind and we know it. It would be a little hard for you to do your paperwork if you can't see now wouldn't it? Sasuke would do the transplant with you but he carried his original back with him and even he isn't sure whether or not it would work. So Shishui is our best bet considering what we have been told about your relationship with your father." Tobirama confirmed. Nodding to the reasoning behind it, Itachi looked out the window at the monument and tried to envision his face along with the others and groaned. This was going to take some getting used to.

"What's the village's status right now?"

"Can't even tell that there was an attempt at an invasion. However, we still need to come to a decision regarding Suna's involvement. Furthermore, there is still the issue of Orochimaru's bases and what is left of his men. The prisons and experiments that Orochimaru has kept and the admittedly over abundance of missions that are still sitting in the mission office. The low quality of the current forces and the fact that a group of genin were able to pass most jonin in the span of ten months. Granted they went through the training trip from hell to do so, but that should have been impossible to manage. Let's not forget that a genin, without the mokuton, sharingan or chakra chains, fought and disabled an unstable jinchuriki on her own." Sasuke replied getting a dumbfounded expression.

"Where are the files on the chunin exam?" He quickly asked making Tobirama blink in confusion. Hashirama merely giggled and handed them over. For nearly twenty minutes Itachi read and re-read the files in his hands still in disbelief over what they were saying. Sitting back he groaned.

"You certainly don't do anything halfway do you Naruto?"

"Why should I? Besides we don't know how future events are going to turn out and that means that we need them ready to fight the Juubi and Madara in a mere three years. Better to be prepared then caught unaware as we were the first time."

"You have a point there. Very well." He sighed.

One very long month later...

"...and so we are pleased to announce that the Godaime Hokage will be none other than Uchiha Itachi himself." Hashirama announced trying to hide the smirk threatening to spread across his face. The reaction was what Naruto had predicted. Stunned silence. Itachi fidgeted uncomfortably as he looked out over the crowd and sighed at the reaction. Somehow, he knew this was going to happen. The sound of clapping growing louder however, took him by surprise.

"I told you they would just be shocked that it wasn't Tsunade." Tobirama snickered. Itachi gave a faint nod before he was nudges forward and closer to the edge. Waiting until he applause died down he took a calming breath.

"I like all of you was also surprised at the appointment to Hokage as I had never anticipated being recalled into the open by the Hidden Leaf. Yet, I have been. I can't promise that things will be easy going forward nor can I promise that there won't be conflicts moving forward. However, it is my hope that we can set any personal problems aside with one another to allow Konoha to finally shed the shackles of the past and move forward together as a unified village, shinobi and civilian alike. The village has not changed once in the hundred years since its founding and that alone has caused s to stagnate as a village and as people. I hope to change this. To lead Konoha into an era where old age is the most common reason for anyone to mourn."

"To an era where parents do not have to bury children. Where the average life span for a shinobi is no longer in the twenties and civilians no longer need to worry about another invasion. Where the term 'shinobi' is synonymous with protectors and not assassins. An era of peace and prosperity that will continue for centuries and not just until the next hokage takes the mantle. I, as Godaime Hokage, vow as I have always intended to protect the hidden leaf until my last breath as an inheritor of the Hi no Ishi." As Itachi stepped back the sound of thunderous applause reached his ears and as soon as he was able he retreated to the hokage's, no his office.

"Well spoken, Itachi." Hashirama approved as he pulled the robes off and dropped into his chair and sighed.

"I hate being the center of attention."

"Be that as it may, you have done an amazing job of motivating the village and taken the first steps to eliminate the division that has been created that separates the civilians from the shinobi." Tobirama added.

"Hai." Picking up a list in front of him he frowned and nodded his head hoping that he was making the right choice. "Bring genin teams seven through ten as well as the Kumo genin in. I think it is time to end the chunin exams." Itachi commanded, a hidden ANBU vanishing quickly. It was barely five minutes later that all of the summoned shinobi and A stood in front of Itachi.

"Thank you for coming. First and foremost, I'm honored that you have decided to stay and work on a treaty A. Furthermore, Konoha owes Kumo a debt of gratitude for your assistance with OTO and Orochimaru. Now then, I'm sure that despite recent events you have been curious about the results of the chunin exam. I believe that it is time to reveal the promotions. We'll start with Kumo. Samui, you were unable to showcase any of your skill during the exam due to the swiftness that Naruto ended the match. Normally, this would prevent any consideration for promotion." Itachi started making the blonde kunoichi nod in understanding.

"However, I have decided to take eye witness accounts from shinobi and civilians alike praising your skill and swiftness in defeating the enemy into consideration as a true battlefield can tell more about a shinobi then a simple public match. As a result A and I have decided to promote you to chunin." He finished as A held out the vest making Samui's eyes widen.

"Thank you Raikage-sama. Hokage-sama."

"Now then, Ino Yamanaka." Itachi said as Samui returned to her place. Ino stepped forward nervously as she noticed Hashirama beaming.

"I am going to be quite honest. Comparing your academy files with your current ones leaves a lot of skepticism in whether or not you have improved as much as the records state. At the same time the results speak for themselves and while I would have preferred that all of the genin in this room not see war, you have and have come out even stronger. Your ability to recreate the mokuton in as little as a month and manage to create a weaker version of one of Hashirama-sama's best techniques while doing so is a very impressive feat. Not even I can boast having done something so awe-inspiring as that."

"Furthermore, the level of control you demonstrated with a new weapon and your expertise in poison is something that can not be ignored. Add in your performance during the invasion and obvious hard work in removing your flaws, both in personality and skill, has caught the attention of many of the shinobi in our ranks. Congratulations on making chunin."

"Thank you, Godai-sama."

"Shikamaru Nara. First and foremost I am very pleased to see that you have learned that there is a time and a place for relaxation and that the battlefield is no place to slack off. Unfortunately, many Nara men do not learn this lesson until they lose or come close to losing someone close to them. Your decision alone to take the initiative has many insisting that you be promoted. However, it was your skill and the dedication to take the Nara clan's jutsu to a whole new field, one that helped eliminate the weakness of your clan's style as well as strategic mind has earned you the rank of chunin."

"Troublesome."

"Shino, like Shikamaru you took the initiative to do something innovative that helped with an Aburame's primary weakness while taking the time to shore up your own weakness in taijutsu. The dedication you showed and the willingness to try and find a work around to a glaring weakness has earned you the rank of chunin."

"Thank you."

"Rock Lee. Out of all the shinobi here you alone have caused the biggest ripple among the shinobi ranks. Rarely if ever does an individual ever become a ninja without the ability to use chakra externally. Even rarer is the shinobi moving past genin. Your jonin Gai is the first. However, you have done something that no shinobi ever thought to do and have opened a new field of study in regards to the flexibility of chakra and ailments affecting the chakra system. Despite your dedication to prove that you a shinobi doesn't need to use chakra to excel, you stepped out of your comfort zone and looked into something new. That something has taken your skill further than I believe even you hoped."

"This dedication and skill in taijutsu and bojutsu as well as your immense speed and strength as well foresight to know when to retreat has earned you your promotion. Congratulations on being the second shinobi to move past genin with your specific circumstances."

"Thank you Hokage-sama! I promise that I will do you and Konoha proud!"

"I know that you will."

"Fu Uzumaki. While you have no been a Konoha shinobi for long, your dedication to the village and to better yourself has left a lasting impression. You stepped far away from your comfort zone and as a result have become all the better. Your skill with fuinjutsu and ability to manipulate your skills and knowledge to the degree necessary to create and use the Tengoku no horei Fuin as well as the Futon no Yoroi has earned you the promotion to chunin congratulations." Fu merely nodded and beamed in happiness as she took the vest.

"TenTen, first and foremost I want to say that I am impressed that in a mere month's time you were able to create the strategy you used against Gaara. Never before has a shinobi without fuinjutsu mastery or one of three bloodlines ever been able to suppress a jinchuriki the way you have. You have much to be proud of. On the other hand that was extremely risky and should only be done as a last resort or when you have a team to cover you as you set up the seal." Itachi deadpanned. TenTen blushed and looked away. "Congratulations on your promotion to chunin."

"Neji Hyuga. Your shinobi file indicates that up until eleven months ago now you were somewhat conceited and barely agreed to work with your teammates in any way that would display that you saw them as just that, your teammates." Itachi started making him flinch. "However, you have overcome this and have even begun to mend the rift between branch and main houses. You have finally come to terms with your father's death and moved forward instead of looking back. You have the most notable positive change ever witnessed in a shinobi with so little experience and want to say that I am proud of your personal growth. As you should be."

"With that said, personal improvement isn't the only field that you have grown which has caught attention. A Hyuga that used to be a firm believer in the clan's taijutsu only crap, stepping away and admitting that it was the wrong path has also garnered much attention especially among the daimyo. Congratulations, on your promotion to chunin. Honestly there were many that wanted you field promoted to tokubetsu jonin however, I do not feel that you are completely ready, yet. Your promotion also marks the first time that an entire genin team has passed on their first try. You have done Konoha well."

"Thank you Hokage-sama but the praise belongs to Hinata-sama and Naruto-san. If it weren't for them I wouldn't have changed."

"Perhaps not on your own, however, they could hold their hand out to help you until they turned to dust and it wouldn't have done anything unless you chose to take it. The credit is given where it is due."

"Hai."

"Team seven. I honestly have no idea what I am going to do with you. The daimyo has already asked that you be sent to the capital to serve as a part of his ninja guardians."

"EH?!" Itachi snickered.

"I have politely declined his request reasoning that the three of you were the driving force behind the massive noticeable changes among the genin as well as the rest of the forces. As such you were more valuable to fire country as a while in Konoha. However, I have also received various requests from the ANBU requesting that you be drafted as well. As tempting as it is, knowing that your skills are far above your peers due to a suicidal training regime, none of you are ready for the ANBU. However, you are far to skilled to be placed as chunin while remaining genin would waste your talent."

"After a lot of contemplation and many discussions with my undead predecessors, as well as ANBU commanders it has been decided that for the first time in history an entire rookie team of genin would be promoted to tokubetsu jonin immediately out of the chunin exams in combination with your performance during the invasion. Furthermore, you will be receiving random evaluations over the course of the next year until the jonin exams to evaluate your readiness. Should you prove to be ready prior to the exams you will be field promoted to jonin. If you aren't I will be recommending that you take them. Congratulations."

"I..uhh...thank you..Itachi..." Naruto stammered in shock. Of all the things that he had been expecting that was not it. Hinata was mirroring his shock as well. Sasuke was staring through Itachi almost as if he was unable to process what was happening.

"Now for the rest of you. Eye witness accounts of your fights during the invasion and your performance in the exams has earned some of you a field promotion and others special considerations for the next exam." At this A looked towards Karui and Omoi.

"Omoi, you have earned a field promotion for your quick thinking that led to the safety of a mother and her children as well as intercepting a squad of shinobi attempting to infiltrate the Hokage tower on the way to defend the hospital. Karui, while I can not promote you yet due to your temper you have received a note in your file for consideration in the next chunin exam."

"Hai Raikage-sama."

"Choji Akimichi and Haku Yuki you both displayed excellent teamwork and coordination with fellow shinobi and many have commended you for taking charge when your assigned team leader was severely wounded in combat. Based on the recommendations of the shinobi you were with and other eye witness reports you have received a field promotion to chunin as well. Congratulations." Itachi stated making their eyes widen in shock.

"Stand tall Konoha nins. For the first time the entire group of rookies from a graduating class, regardless of whether you started here or not, has passed. You have much to be proud of and I know that you will continue to be the leaders that will drive future generations down the right path. All the while inspiring the current academy students to work hard. You have earned your vests."

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

A/N: A bit of a shorter chapter compared to my most recent ones but I really didn't want to make you wait any longer. The rest of the chapters I intend to plan out before writing them like some of you have suggested so that I don't get stuck like this again. I hope that you like it! Til next time! Ja ne!

Tengoku no horei – heaven's decree

Futon no Yoroi – Wind release armor