Underneath the Underneath

By: FlameXFullmetal

Disclaimer: Still waiting for enough money to try a futile effort to buy Naruto. So sadly I do not have any rights to any character in this story unless I make them up.

A/N: Well the next chapter. From the way that I am breaking these chapters up, it seems as if I may come close to doubling the length of the story. I am trying to keep the chapters between 10-15 pages long in Word. The last chapter was only 7 pages so it was a little short. I hope that the chapters are transitioning a little better than they were beforehand. I would very much appreciate it if at least one of you would tell me if the flow of the story is easier to follow and if it seems like the grammar has gotten better. Finally, as promised I am looking through and fixing obvious spelling and grammar errors that were pointed out in the previous incarnation of this story. If you intend to leave a review please keep the language appropriate and do not tell me to go kill myself. Thanks!

"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

************************Attempting Peace*********************

"Ugh….my head hurts." Naruto whimpered out loud scaring the sleeping fox. Kyuubi had used what little power she had taken with her when she left Naruto's body healing him so she had been exhausted. She had to admit though that the healing abilities of the ningens had been quite decent, even by her standards.

"You are awake. How are you?"

"I'm ok. Well as good as I am going to get with exploding tags going off in my head. How long have I been asleep?"

"Two days. I am even amazed that you are awake. I thought that it would take you longer. Oh, the wonders of the Uzumaki blood in you. Your mother even survived my removal from her seal. It was quite astonishing."

"Thanks for the encouragement. I guess that I lived because I had already absorbed most of your chakra?"

"Mostly. I think that you would have survived without it." The Kyuubi was staring at Naruto intently when Hiruzen opened the door and looked in.

"Spying on me with your crystal ball again old man?" Naruto taunted. Hiruzen nodded with a slight smile and led just the clan heads into the room.

"Am I in trouble or something?" Naruto whined.

"No. Kyuubi promised us something when it came out and since you are awake we thought that we would come and collect," Hiashi informed the boy. Naruto lifted his eyebrow. He was no fool. He knew that this man was mostly responsible for Hinata's shyness and lack of confidence. However, at the moment he looked old and exhausted. He wasn't sure what to think of the Hyuga clan head.

"What did you promise them Kyuubi and what gender do you feel like being today?" Naruto asked with a small smile. This confused the shinobi as Kyuubi stood to yawn and then began to shrink somewhat and shimmer. When the light was gone, every male in the room (all of them) blushed and had to stop their nosebleeds. Before them was a tall woman around 5'11, with floor length long red hair parted into nine braids. She had crimson eyes that had slit irises. The thing was she was completely naked.

"FOR INARI'S SAKE PUT SOME CLOTHES ON KYUUBI!" Naruto yelled burying his head muttering out apologies to the men before them. Giggling Kyuubi held out her hand and a crimson red kimono with a fox on it draped itself around her.

"You would think that none of you had seen a naked female before." Kyuubi teased.

"The nine-tailed is a girl?" Chouza sputtered.

"Vixen is the correct term and no. I can be whatever I want to be. Changing our forms and genders are one of the few more enjoyable abilities given to us by the Rikudo Sennin." Kyuubi responded sitting on Naruto's bed and pulling him back into a laying position with his head on her lap.

"You shouldn't be sitting up yet young man." She chastised. "I will change my form as I see fit. This is just the temporary form that I have taken in order to speak to you without everyone staring at my canines."

"I see. You offered to inform us of exactly what happened the night that you attacked." Hiruzen said.

"I did. However, I will not say a word until the perverted sannin comes in the room. I do not like being spied on." Kyuubi said loudly as Jiraiya came in blushing. She then removed one of Naruto's kunai and threw it into the head of an ANBU ROOT member. Everyone couldn't help but pale as the kunai had gone through the Root's mask, head and halfway into the wall.

"Now that we are alone and Jiraiya has placed the appropriate seals in the room I will tell you what I know. First, however, I think that you need a history lesson. Over a thousand years ago the Rikudo Sennin battled the Jubi. The ten tailed. Its species is unknown even to us Bijuu but we do know that the Jubi's body was sealed away and later became the moon. The Jubi itself was sealed into the Rikudo Sennin. The Rikudo Sennin had three children one of which was never known to the world as his. The eldest son inherited the 'eyes' of the Rikudo. However, the eyes that were inherited were NOT the rinnegan. It was the Sharingan. This child went on to be the ancestor of the Uchiha line. The middle child and youngest son inherited the 'chakra' of the Rikudo. This child became the ancestor of the Senju line. The third child was hidden from all. For this child had inherited the actual eyes, the rinnegan, of the Rikudo and the longevity, the body, of the sennin. She would become the ancestor of the Uzumaki line. She was hidden out of fear of those that would covet her power."

"He created the nine of us Bijuu from the Jubi's powers and gave us names and life. He taught us many things and was like a father to us. He did this to prevent the Jubi from returning. He knew that should the Jyubi return that the world would end. At first, his sons were close always in the other's company. However, after the eldest awoke his Sharingan he began to slowly change. He became more aggressive and drifted away from his brother. Eventually, the rift between them was too great and upon hearing that the younger was to be the heir of the Rikudo, the eldest became angry at being denied his birthright. The two began to fight and eventually, they killed each other. This was the start of the Uchiha-Senju feud."

"The Rikudo took his daughter's existence with him to the grave and his sons never knew of their sister. They (the Uzumaki) lived a long prosperous and isolated life on the island that became Uzushiogakure. However, the Uchiha and the Senju clans continued their fight for supremacy. They quickly forgot what they were fighting for and, eventually the path desired by their ancestor. We Bijuu led peaceful lives traveling and looking for a place that we could call home. Only showing our true forms when a place became corrupted and tarnished with hatred and evil. Our existence as such was that of balance. We eliminated sources of evil that would tip the fragile balance that our father struggled to achieve. Finally, we settled."

"It was around this time that the Senju and the Uchiha finally came to a compromise. The Bijuu had been dormant and had not destroyed anything in over two hundred years. That was a record for us. However, peace was not soon to last. They began bickering over how the village should be formed, governed, inhabited as well as many other political problems. So the Senju called on their cousin clan the Uzumaki, who had made a name for themselves using the art of fuinjutsu, and asked for them to be a mediator in the conflict. The Uzumaki agreed and thus Konoha was formed. However, not long after many of the Uzumaki left the tension returned."

"Many of the people thought that Hashirama Senju should be the Shodaime Hokage while Madara Uchiha insisted that he should be the Shodaime. They fought and Senju won yet again. This victory left Madara bitter. He felt that the Senju clan had stripped the Uchiha of its glory and strength and was seeking to destroy the clan. He tried many times to get the clan to help him with an uprising but it was in vain. The clan trusted the Shodaime and thought that Madara was just stirring the flames of war once again. Tobirama, however, did not trust Madara and decided that as a show of trust to the rest of the clan he would allow them the task of policing the village. He entrusted them with the safety of the village and that was enough for the clan. Madara was finally ousted from the clan and he swore revenge on the Shodaime for what he saw was the theft of the power the once noble Uchiha had. He began to seek me out hearing tales of how I was the strongest of the nine." Kyuubi paused to take a drink from the water on Naruto's bedside table.

"It was on a mountain that I called home that Madara found me. I was calm and had no inclination to get involved in the petty squabbles of an unbalanced individual. However, Madara insisted and when I threatened to kill him if he did not leave he turned his Sharingan on me. The next I remember I was sealed inside of Mito and had been for several years. She informed me that Madara had used me to attack Hashirama and I had been sealed in order to protect both me and the village from those that would use me. She said that Madara had been killed in the fight and that I need not fear being controlled again. However, as I told her, that was impossible. For Madara was still alive. Only a Mangekyou user can kill a Mangekyou user. The techniques that stage of the Sharingan grants to those that have it must be countered by those that also have them. We agreed that it would be best if I remained sealed just in case for a little while longer."

"Not much later it was discovered that Madara's body was not in his grave. My words had been true and again I watched as the tension between Senju and Uchiha began to grow once more. Over the years I noticed changes in Mito's body, however not being mortal I was unaware of what those changes meant. I was only made aware that the woman was dying when she informed me that I was to be transferred to another vessel. This vessel's mind was even warmer than Mito's ever was. Everything progressed smoothly with barely any cause for concern until Kushina went into labor. The Namikaze boy was supposed to be stabilizing my seal however, he kept getting distracted. Surprisingly he was able to keep it intact until the child was born." Kyuubi chuckled a little to herself at the memory of Minato's inability to focus.

"It was after the cord was cut that everything went south. A man that had learned of the location of the birth broke in and killed the attending midwives as well as the ANBU guards. Taking Naruto hostage he demanded that Kushina is turned over to him. Minato wasn't about to abandon his wife until he was forced to choose between her and Naruto. Saving Naruto's life he was forced to teleport away to protect everyone from exploding tags that had been placed on Naruto's blanket. That was when Kushina was taken and the seal broken. I don't remember much except for seeing Sharingan. The only set that I knew that could control me was Madara's eyes."

"The next thing I remember is being in the village and being attacked by shinobi. Confused as to my whereabouts I defended myself. Then the blasted toad landed on my back and I was to be sealed once more. However, I had no desire to be sealed in anyone either than Kushina as we had a passable relationship. I most definitely didn't want to be sealed in a defenseless baby so I tried to remedy the situation. Unfortunately, they decided that they were human shields and protected Naruto. Not that I mind now, but I did back then. Since then I have been sealed inside of Naruto attempting to deal with the fact that I had killed one of the few that did not consider me a weapon. Naruto was not aware that I was sealed inside of him until he fell and cracked his head open a few years back. Not long after he made a deal with the death god to restore Minato and Kushina to life in exchange for the souls of the four people who have escaped death. Hidan the jashin worshipper, Kakazu of the five hearts, Orochimaru of the sannin and Madara Uchiha." Kyuubi continued taking some sadistic pleasure in the expressions that she was getting from the shinobi in front of her.

"In accordance with the deal, Minato and Kushina will be revived upon the death of the first of four and permanently returned when all four have been received. If however, Naruto fails to retrieve all of them Kushina, Minato and Naruto forfeit their souls to the death god in exchange. Yes, they are in Naruto's head and yes they are aware of everything that has happened since their deaths. No, they are not happy and they really want to have a word with you Hiruzen." Kyuubi finished.

The Sandaime had been forced to make difficult decisions many times before, but in all honesty, this was the hardest decision that he would ever have to make. He had no doubt that any attempt on Naruto's life may result in a pile of bodies, in addition, he was aware that many would try and kill the demon when they found out she was free. However, he knew that there was no way that the demon would be leaving Naruto's side for any reason. She seemed to generally care for the boy in what way he did not know. He also felt that there was something more than the fox wanted but hadn't said yet.

"Tell me Kyuubi, how can we trust that you will only attack in defense of yourself and Naruto? While you may see something as an attack the rest of the village ourselves included may not see that way? What is preventing you from claiming an attack?" Hiashi asked evenly. Kyuubi raised an eye and smiled serenely.

"Technically you can't. You see you humans have a bad habit of ignoring certain things as an attack. You brush it off as 'normal childish behavior', 'boys being boys', or even 'an accident'. We demons see things differently. Normal childish behavior does not result in broken bones or bruises. It is not just 'boys being boys' when insults are thrown just to destroy another's confidence. Or striking out and hitting people with sticks. Stealing personal effects of others and destroying them. Accidents also do not happen repeatedly."

"I understand that Naruto is aiming to be a shinobi and I understand that there is no real safe way to spar. However, what some of his classmates do in the spars against him are overboard. There should be no need for a full powered attack during a friendly spar. Those are not normal mannerisms in children. That is called being a bully. Bullying is something we demons do not tolerate. Humans have a bad habit of ignoring it. So you do not know if I will act on a 'perceived' attack that you do not recognize as one. I have been in the human world for many centuries and I know acceptable human behavior. I will lash out at any unacceptable behavior. I will keep the force equivalent to the crime, however. If for any reason though I am placed anywhere near the Uchiha boy, however, all bets are off. I will finish the job that Itachi set out to do on in order to protect that snobbish brat. Even if he had orders to do so. Have I made myself clear?"

"What do you mean that Itachi was acting on orders?" Hiashi hissed out.

"Oh please. Do you really think that someone who abhorred violence would actually willingly slaughter his whole clan?" Kyuubi retorted. Hiashi's eyes widened.

"He would if it meant that his beloved little brother was safe. Or if it would stop more people from dying. The Uchiha clan was plotting a coup?" Hiruzen sighed somehow he had been afraid of this.

"Yes, they were. I was still in discussions with them over the issue when Itachi slaughtered them. I had hoped to only go that way as a last resort. However, Itachi moved on his own. He was the one that brought the coup to my attention in the first place. I had asked him to spy on the clan after that so that we would be forewarned if they were going to attack. In exchange for keeping Sasuke safe and keeping the coup a secret from the village, Itachi agreed to be a spy for Konoha infiltrating organizations that would be impossible for any shinobi in good standing." Hiruzen explained. The clan heads were visibly shaken. One of the strongest clans in the village had been plotting to betray them and on top of that, it had been a founding clan. Furthermore one of Konoha's strongest nukenin was actually Konoha's most loyal shinobi.

"I see. How were you aware of this Kyuubi?"

"Do you really think that I wouldn't notice behavior similar to Madara's in an entire clan? However, I do think that there was something more behind their coup. Something that Itachi had not discovered when he killed them. The timing seemed off. I am also certain that had Mikoto and Fugaku fought back Itachi would not have succeeded in getting out of the village. For some reason they let themselves be killed." Kyuubi said looking out the window. No one said anything for several moments.

"What is it that you truly want?" Hiruzen finally questioned the fox.

"Just as I said. Though picking the kit's team and jonin would be a bonus. Heaven forbids anyone in the village is unbiased. Especially since I already know exactly how the teams are going to be arranged. That is assuming that the elders haven't already decided that the Uchiha should have his headband before the test. Don't make that face. They have gone behind your back and made every law, every rule, and every arrest useless since you returned to be Hokage and you have done nothing about it. You are nothing more than a figurehead in a village you have no control over. As Hokage, you have all the power yet you never use it. Instead, you let people who have no say in certain matters have a say and act as if this is a democracy when in reality it is a form of dictatorship." The vixen lectured. No one had ever had the gall to talk to him like that and to be honest Hiruzen felt like he was five again being chastised for doing something wrong.

"Since you seem to know the team formations so well, why don't you enlighten the rest of us?" Shikaku stated.

"Teams one through six will be made with no structure or purpose behind them and as a result, none of them will make it past the secondary exam. Team seven will undoubtedly wind up as the classic rookie of the year, highest scoring kunoichi academically speaking and the lowest scoring student, who through tampering will undoubtedly wind up as Naruto. Which means that it would be Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto under the last surviving member of the former team seven, Hatake Kakashi. Furthermore, Kakashi will be given orders by the elders not to train Naruto in anything and instead focus all of his attention on the Uchiha and to teach him everything that he knows. Which in order to remind you would include the Raikiri and the Rasengan."

"Team eight would be Shino, Hinata, and Kiba. This team while it would become functional due to Shino's drive and Hinata's cooperation would only be just that. Shino and Hinata can't stand Kiba and to be quite honest Kiba is a shameless pervert who makes Jiraiya look like a saint. They would be placed under Yuuhi Kurenai because she has had prior interaction with Hinata. However, she is the least qualified to lead any team let alone a tracking team."

"Team ten would be the classic Ino-Shika-Cho formation that has been used so many times it is predictable. That team would operate under Sarutobi Asuma. Not a bad jonin but too lazy and too reliant on past success." Kyuubi finished. The way that the vixen broke down the team placements actually startled the veteran shinobi. She had also analyzed the jonin as well.

"I see then how would you do it?" Hiruzen queried generally curious.

"Not telling until the exam is over. Besides, it wouldn't be fair for Naruto to have the inside scoop on team formations. Saying the way that it would naturally play out is no issue because I can guarantee that Sakura was told by her mother how she needed to score in the academy to make it on Sasuke's team and Shikamaru and Shino already have a good idea."

"I see. I have no issue placing Naruto in your care so long as we still have a functioning population at the end of the week. Furthermore, I ask that you at least give the kids a chance to change. Many of them are merely following in their parent's example and many are doing only as they are told." Hiruzen relented. Nodding the Kyuubi accepted the terms.

"You claim that Naruto needs to kill Hidan, Kakuzu, Madara, and Orochimaru but how is he supposed to do something that no one has been able to accomplish and not even the Shodai was able?" Chouza asked.

"For the most part, Naruto only need be nearby when they die. However, as part of the agreement I made with him, he does indeed need to kill Madara. As for killing him, there are ways to do so. Minato, Kushina and I have been training him with that goal in mind. I have no doubt that the death god may have something else in mind if it appears that merely being nearby won't be possible. Although that would require that Naruto actively hunt them down." Kyuubi mused.

"Now as it is obvious that I can't immediately become a jonin and take Naruto's training into my hands I warn you now that I will be taking the exam as well. I don't care what excuse you make but I will be receiving a team with Naruto. It would be easier anyway than me merely following him from the village." Kyuubi declared. Hiruzen groaned. The paperwork and headaches that the council would give him were going to be astronomical. Though in a way that would be the best bet in the long run.

"Furthermore either me, Naruto or a clone of one us will be sitting in on the council from now on to represent the Namikaze and Uzumaki clans. I will not have the civilians running Konoha anymore and doing Inari knows what with those votes. I can guarantee you that every absentee vote has been misused by the council and I intend to put a stop to it." Kyuubi growled.

"Academy students and genin can't…." Hiruzen was cut off.

"Actually Kushina was given her council seat as soon as she arrived in the village and was allowed to sit in immediately as a civilian so the rules should be no different for Naruto." Kyuubi barked. Nodding in agreement Hiruzen knew that he would be needing an aspirin.

"Final matter of business. My name. Unless you want to call me Kyuubi on all of my paperwork and literally tell all of the elemental nations that I am walking free we will need a new one for me. That is Naruto's honor though. Whatever he chooses will be my name and gender from now on."

"Well, how about Kimiko?" Naruto whispered.

"I like. 'Noble child' huh?" Kyuubi grinned. It seemed as if everything had been decided and as such the barriers were taken down. As Hiruzen opened the door, a group of nosey civilians and elders spilled into the room in an obvious attempt at eavesdropping.

"Now what do we have here?" Kimiko sneered. The elders looked up and attempted to save face however it was harder done than said. Especially with the sharp vixen in the room.

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

A/N: Hello there! Another chapter is done and hopefully better than the last. I hope that I made the explanation shorter this time around. Do tell me if the explanation of the Uzumaki clan's origins seems clearer now. Furthermore, I don't care if people whine and cry about Naruto potentially having the Rinnegan. I haven't decided on that yet. Also, I don't think that it is fair that only the females in the Uzumaki clan get the chakra chains so he WILL be getting those.