Underneath the Underneath
By: FlameXFullmetal
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form.
A/N: I am back! I am really happy to know that a lot of the people that had been following this story before I rewrote it are still reading. I was worried that perhaps the restructuring of the story would put them off but it didn't. Thank you. Not that much housekeeping to do so a quick thanks to a reader and on to the new chapter!
AlphaMike369: Thanks for the idea! Somehow I never even thought of bringing Kakashi into Naruto's mind until you mentioned it. I may just integrate that in.
"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 Test********
As the team met up at the gate the mood was somewhat tense but other than that nothing else was different. Kakashi took it all in and then stepped towards his students.
"Alright. Equipment check. Let's see what you have." Normally he would have trusted any team that he was with but he was commanding a new genin squad and nerves can sometimes make it difficult for them to remember everything. So he wanted to make sure that nothing was missing before they left. It was a quick way to make note of what everyone had and to take an inside peek into their mindset for the mission. If a shinobi packed mostly defensively and brought more medical supplies than they were expecting to act as a medic and may not be ready to be placed in the fight. Alternatively, it would be bad practice to make someone who has all weapons be the medic.
Hinata's pack was well balanced but leaning more towards a supportive and medical role. While she seemed to focus on medical supplies she made sure not to neglect to bring offensive supplies as well. Well over what he had expected and he honestly had no idea that the Hyuga had so many medical kits lying around. A spare tent, sleeping bag, changes of clothes for her teammates and non-perishable food supplies rounded off an impressive arsenal of kunai, shuriken, and senbon. Nodding in approval he moved onto the next member of the team.
Kimiko had packed the required sleeping bag, tent and several changes of clothes in addition to an average amount to kunai and shuriken, for a jonin level mission. He could already tell that she either intended to stick to taijutsu or use ninjutsu for the mission. Several spare sets of clothes for her teammates and basic food supplies rounded off her equipment. Nodding in acceptance he moved on.
Naruto's supplies surprised him. Near three hundred feet of shinobi wire, a thousand caltrops, kunai, shuriken, and senbon sealed away neatly in scrolls started off the arsenal. The blonde had also packed several Fuma shuriken, fifty exploding tags, several medical stasis and prisoner scrolls, a few changes of clothes and paint. There were also blank sealing tags, ink, brushes and pre-drawn seals that consisted of paralysis seals, barrier seals and basic seals meant to seal jutsu of certain elements. A storage seal containing water and another with a very wide variety of food and several changes of clothes for his teammates. Rounding off his (impressive) arsenal was a massive scythe that seemed as if it would be too heavy for the genin and twenty smoke bombs, some stink bombs (Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that) and a few flash bombs.
"Preparing for the apocalypse?" He joked with his student who shrugged.
"For a shinobi, there is no such thing as over-prepared." Kakashi hummed his agreement and with that, the team moved out. Silently jumping through the canopy their minds were preoccupied with the task that loomed ahead of them. Only the forest made a sound for the shinobi and as a result, it was if they were not even there if not for the blurs that may be seen every now and again in the trees.
As the night fell the jonin called for the team to stop and set up camp. The task was almost done instantly and the team sat around the fire to make their dinner and rest for the night. Hinata's mind was especially burdened as she fretted about their destination. 'Kumo...even if we aren't going there it will still be close...' she thought to herself. Kakashi was the first to pick up on her discomfort.
"Hinata, you know I wouldn't let anything happen to my team right?" Kakashi called out to the heiress startling her out of her thoughts.
"Gomen Kakashi-sensei, I...just..." She stammered trying to make a coherent sentence. The jonin just smiled and shook his head.
"Don't worry I know. Considering what happened last time that you were anywhere near a shinobi of Kumo I can understand your unease. I won't let it happen again and more importantly, you are a lot stronger now as opposed to then. You won't let it happen." He informed the young kunoichi who nodded feeling a little more at ease. Naruto raised an eyebrow and then puffed out his chest.
"I won't let anything happen to you either. You're my friend and teammate and if anyone wants to hurt you they have to go through me first and that won't be an easy task." The blonde chirped making everyone laugh. Somehow that had eased the atmosphere and they were able to calm their nerves some. Dinner was still a quiet affair despite that more relaxed atmosphere excluding the words of praise directed towards Hinata's cooking. After which Kakashi stretched and looked at his team.
"I doubt that we will have any trouble but we will sleep in shifts. I'll take the first shift, Kimiko can have the second. Naruto will take the third and Hinata can have the last. Tomorrow we will shift the watches so that everyone has experience on every shift. Now try to get some sleep." Nodding his team headed off into their tents for some rest. Turning and sitting on a nearby rock Kakashi looked up at the sky and sighed. 'I wish that you were still alive so that I could ask advice sensei. Just know that I am trying my hardest to make him the ninja that I know he can be.'
With no incidents through the night, the team quickly packed up after a quick breakfast, compliments of Hinata and her cooking skills. As they headed off again Naruto couldn't help but feel in awe of their surroundings. As he had never been outside of the village before the changes in flora and fauna were impressive for the young ninja and as a result, he was often finding himself distracted. Not overtly so but still distracted. Internally Minato and Kushina were watching in amusement as it seemed that every sound and movement caught the boy's attention. It was amusing to them and at the same time, it made them both happy that they could be present for this moment.
"Hey Kakashi-sensei, why is it that Kumo can't just own up to their mistakes and act like the adults that they are?" Naruto suddenly called out. The question was so blunt and unexpected that the rest of the team almost fell out of the trees. Internally, Minato and Kushina did fall over.
"What do you mean Naruto?" Kakashi managed to say after regathering his wits.
"Well they made a big mess nine years ago when they tried to kidnap Hina-hime, so why can't they just admit that they did it and take responsibility for their actions like a village of grown-ups should instead of pushing off the blame on someone else like Sasuke and Kiba?" Naruto furthered prompted. Silence reigned for a few minutes before Kimiko lost control and fell against the trunk of the tree she was in laughing. Even Kakashi had to admit that the blonde had made an immensely hilarious and ironically when it came to team seven's teamwork, accurate comparison.
"They wanted the byakugan and they saw denying responsibility and blaming Konoha instead as a means to get it. They never expected things to play out the way that they did. As it was it was their word against ours and the fact it occurred after promising the safety of the diplomat for treaty purposes, he still died in the Hidden Leaf to a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. As a result in the eyes of the other villages, it would appear as if the Hidden Leaf was at fault for the incident as Kumo would most assuredly cover up the incident on their end. As a result, the other villages would only have the facts to base their conclusions off of. The only facts being that they had just signed a treaty to make peace between the villages and almost immediately afterward Kumo's diplomat died at the hands of the Hyuga clan patriarch. After that, it comes down to he-said-she-said and no one would know the truth." Kakashi explained. After a few minutes of thinking it over Naruto nodded sagely to himself.
"So they just didn't want to admit defeat? They could have avoided any fault merely by saying that the diplomat had acted without orders on a poorly interpreted belief. That would have been more believable and at the same time would have forced the hidden leaf to explain why death was the first method that had been tried to stop the kidnapping. Meaning they would have damaged the village's reputation a little, maintained theirs and had another chance down the line by showing that they were willing to accept responsibility in some form for the actions of their ninja." Naruto said after a few minutes. Minato even blinked in confusion at how well Naruto had thought of a way to prevent a political shit storm. How he had done that was beyond him because he wouldn't have even thought of that.
"As it is, in the end, all they did was prove that there were ulterior motives by demanding the head of the clan patriarch and acting so defensive about the incident with no sign that they were willing to discuss the events first. So all they did was strain the ties between the villages more and damage their own reputation." Naruto summarized. Kakashi blinked and then smirked.
"This is true Naruto, however, I don't think they thought of that until much later. Maybe they still haven't thought of it. Granted they have yet to try again so I think they got the message that we wouldn't put up with it either." He said and then motioned for them to continue. Tilting his head Naruto smiled to himself.
"Does anyone know why they targeted the byakugan instead of any of the other kekkai genkai? Konoha has a lot of them and they targeted the one that would let the clan see them kidnap the child through their own walls." Kakashi laughed a little and Hinata found herself cracking a smile at the absurdity of the situation. When she thought about it she realized that Naruto was right. It was almost as if they wanted to be captured.
"Did they just want bragging rights down the road that they snuck something past the clan with the all-seeing eyes or something? To me, it sounds like they were being childish even before they were caught." The laughter grew in volume slightly as the team continued onwards. Any lingering tension had been broken by an innocent question.
Several days later...
As the team headed into the village that had made the request they were staring in awe at the colors and lights that had been strung around. It was almost as if there was going to be a festival. Despite that, the mood felt as if they were attending a funeral. As they continued forward Kakashi noticed some of the citizens giving looks of apprehension towards the team. Making note of it they continued their trek to the mayor's office. It didn't take long before they were let in. However, as soon as they were there was no question as to why there was apprehension. Inside the office was a team of Kumo shinobi.
"I take it that you are the team that was sent from Konoha?" The mayor asked tirelessly. Kakashi nodded and provided the mission scroll as proof of his claim. Nodding the mayor sat back and sighed tirelessly.
"I was just going to contact the village and let them know that there had been a change in the request but since you are here we can discuss things and you can decide what to do about the problem."
"What problem?" Kakashi asked pointedly ignoring the presence of the other shinobi. The Kumo nins were watching the team with interest. It seemed as if they were a new genin squad and yet the genin looked as if they were stronger than any genin should be.
"Two nights ago the bandits raided the village and kidnapped my daughter the night before her wedding. Apparently, they had been hired by someone to start collecting girls for a human trafficking ring or something. This morning this team of Kumo nins showed up asking about the bandits. Apparently, they have kidnapped several girls from Kumo's side of the border and were working with a nuke-nin that was in possession of some artifacts of the village that they want back." He explained. The bandits had been wearing him down but when they had taken his daughter the way that they had it seemed to age him a few years. After a few minutes, Kakashi nodded to himself.
"I can see why that would be a problem. However, recovery of any kidnapped villagers is a part of the mission that the village received. I can also see Kumo wanting to get it's citizens back. As for the ninja...That will be Kumo's job. We will leave that to them provided that the nuke-nin isn't from Konoha or known to be in possession of secrets or artifacts of the hidden leaf. If so then they will have to work with us and discuss custody of the remains with the Hokage. Should the nin not be of either village, so long as we are allowed to retrieve the items that belong to the hidden leaf or destroy any knowledge that they may possess of the village I could care less." Kakashi said looking at the team who was staring back in surprise. They had honestly not expected to be asked to work with the Konoha team.
"I see no issue with that myself so long as you understand that the reverse holds true. Furthermore, in regards to the ninja, we will be in command of that aspect of the mission. We will relinquish control of the bandit elimination portion to you as it was your mission originally." The leader of the Kumo team replied. Nodding in agreement Kakashi motioned for his team to step forward.
"These are my genin. Hinata, Naruto, and Kimiko. I am sure you are well aware of who I am."
"We are in indeed. My name is Jay and this is the team that I have been given command of in the absence of their jonin. Samui, Karui and Omoi." He said introducing the team to the Konoha shinobi. Kakashi nodded and then turned back to the mayor.
"I will need to know if the bandits have any patterns or discernible traits that will help us track them down. Furthermore when they raided last was anything of theirs left behind? Any scraps of clothes, weapons was anyone killed or injured?" He asked. The mayor blinked at the unusual request.
"I...they always attack from the north. Several of the bandits were wounded when they attacked but none of them died. I don't think that they left anything behind." He said slowly making sure that he had not only answered the question but hadn't missed anything.
"Alright then. Hmm...May I have something of your daughter's?" The mayor narrowed his eyes at the jonin.
"Why?"
"To track her with of course. We can't get her back if we can't find her. Up north is a back area to track and I want to try and get her back before anything happens to her." He said as he cut his finger open and summoned his ninken. "These are my ninken. Their sense of smell will help us narrow the area down drastically." Kakashi finished. The mayor nodded and headed out of the room.
"Okay. We are tracking a pack of bandits that have hostages. We will have the scent of one of the hostages soon. Once you find her or the bandits come back and let me know. Be careful there may be a shinobi with them and I don't want anything to happen to any of you." Kakashi said explaining the situation to the ninken. As the nodded the mayor came back in carrying a scarf.
"It was her favorite. Will this help?" Nodding Kakashi held it out to the ninken and they dispersed tracking the scent. Turning to the Kumo nin he eye smiled.
"Shall we discuss a plan of attack and formations as well as expectations from each team on this mission?" Nodding the two teams left the room leaving the mayor to pray that they find his daughter quickly and are able to bring her back safely.
As the ninken raced through the forest looking for the source of the scent that they were tracking they were also on the lookout for enemy ninja. It was rare for Kakashi to summon them for such a mundane task but at the same time considering that there had been Kumo nin in the room with him they could understand why he wouldn't want to be unguarded by tracking the scent himself. They slowly began to branch away from one another as the group that her scent had been mixed with seemed to take different paths. Slowly but surely they were gaining on the bandits. However, as they were focused on the ground and the scent that they were following they failed to see the silent shadow moving downwind of them.
"Well then that settles everything I suppose." Kakashi said rather happy with the arrangements. Jay nodded in agreement. The arrangements had been made with the current situation between the villages in mind to prevent any "accidents" or miscommunication, something did happen that could be blown out of proportion. He had been initially surprised when he had seen that the village had sent an unmarked Hyuga so close to the border however upon seeing her jonin he could see why they were so confident. Hatake Kakashi was one of the strongest shinobi that Konoha had at its disposal. Provided the rumors about his skills slipping weren't true. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that the genin were different and perhaps unprepared for the mission in front of them.
"Kakashi, if I may, how long have they been genin?"
"Oh, I'd say about a month give or take a few days." He said nonchalantly making the shinobi fall over in shock. They had been a ninja for a month and they were already doing bandit elimination missions?!
"Are you sure that they are ready?"
"That's why they are here. It is a test to see if they are ready to skip D-ranks and start on C-ranks or if they need more work first." He said standing and stretching. His ninken should have reported by now. He had yet to hear a sound from them and none of them had returned yet. Narrowing his eyes he turned to look at the uncomfortable looking group of genin.
"Naruto. Check to see where the ninken are." He ordered making all six of the ninja jump. Naruto nodded and closed his eyes in concentration. He had been introduced to the summons before in training to get him used to their chakra. That way he could track them if anything happened. After a few minutes, his brows furrowed and he turned to his jonin.
"I can't sense Shiba, Bisuke, Akino or Guruko anywhere. Bull, Pakkun, and Urushi are fine. I just lost Uhei." He said suddenly making the team tense.
"Well, I would say that your nuke-nin is nearby picking off my ninken. I don't appreciate that one bit." Kakashi growled as the team bolted from the village.
"How are your ninken missing him?!" Karui yelled in frustration. Kakashi and Jay glared at the genin.
"Keep your voice down. He must be moving downwind. The wind would be blowing his scent away from them." Jay snapped.
"I can't sense Urushi anymore," Naruto called out softly. Gritting his teeth Kakashi summoned the remaining two back to him.
"Did you find anything?" The two looked rather confused.
"They split into several groups. We split to track them. The girl's scent stayed with the center group I believe." Pakkun said looking around. "Where are the others?"
"Someone has been hunting you. Head back and check on the others. We'll take over from here." Kakashi said making Pakkun and Bull nod in agreement. Kimiko sped up until she was next to the jonin.
"Let me take over tracking them." She had never liked seeing animals being targeted for any reason. Especially canines, mostly foxes.
"Kimiko.." The glare that the vixen sent both jonin made them swallow their protest as they nodded in agreement.
'Are you sure? You may give away your identity. You'll have to raise your chakra and remove the filter so that you can use your negative emotion sensing.' Naruto asked mentally.
'It's worth it right now. We can't afford to let the ninja pick us off and since they know how to avoid detection from ninken and your sensory abilities we don't have a choice. You haven't mastered the negative emotion sensing to an appropriate level yet.' Kimiko replied and reached towards her collarbone. Sighing Naruto dropped the subject with the fox.
'Dad, is there any way that I can use my chakra to act as a filter around her without muting her senses? I don't want her in danger.'
'There is. Do exactly as I say.' Nodding to himself Naruto listened carefully to the Yondaime's words and followed the instructions to a 'T'. He refused to let his friend get hurt or targeted by any other village. No sooner than the seal was off Kimiko's eyes widened in shock.
"JUMP!" She yelled. Doing as they were told the two teams jumped out of the way of a massive earth dragon heading right for them. Landing some distance away the jonin glared at the figure who appeared on a nearby branch.
"To think that there is someone who can sense me with this technique active. I am impressed. I do hope that your doggies are okay..." The cloaked figure said in a condescending tone. Kakashi narrowed his eyes and glared at the figure.
"This could be fun. Let's see if the two nations even stand a chance against me."
***********T.B.C*************
A/N: I would have kept going but the chapter was starting to run a bit long. I was actually worried that I would be able to get the whole mission typed in one chapter and I am glad that isn't the case. There aren't that many named Kumo shinobi so I am just using the names of the ones that I can find online and the ones that I know. If I need more than I will make them up. Don't expect me to make Omoi talk much as I still haven't gotten the hang of his pessimistic-collapsing-chain-of-events tangents that he tends to go off on. Anyway, here we go with their first mission. It seems that Naruto's team has an issue with unexpected problems, ne? Till next time! Ja ne!