Underneath the Underneath

By: FlameXFullmetal

Disclaimer: is getting redundant. I still do not own Naruto.

A/N: I'm back! I thank everyone that stayed with me since the first version of this story came out and continued to read after the revisions were made and welcome all those that are joining us for the first time. Reviews to answer and then the story!

Mavs: Wow. As it was in the summary, why did you click on the story if you didn't like bashing? Besides how can someone fail before they have even tried?

AlphaMike369: It is true that the 'fight' may have been underwhelming. However, someone pointed out that as a ninja that is how they are supposed to fight as assassins. Plus while I did say that he was highly skilled as a genin, we all know that when a ninja becomes complacent they can let themselves slip (example: Kakashi). Plus fuinjutsu and genjutsu are not something that can be fought head-on in an enemy's chosen battleground. Sorry if I hyped it up so much.

Maddog285: Thanks for pointing that out. With all the flashy battles that are done, I forgot that they are supposed to be assassins and thus anti-climactic fights should be expected.

"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

**********Bandits, Friends and Returning Home**********

Making the clones and positioning them went smoothly and silently. The team was determined to finish the mission and head back home, whether to Konoha or Kumo. As soon as everyone was in position a quiet 'go' came over the headsets and the teams moved forward determined to end it quickly. The many groups of clones moved swiftly through the bandits that had strayed from the camp, quickly killing them and then moving the bodies to prevent anyone from finding them too soon. It slowly became more complicated once they got closer to the camp and the bandits began to grow in number and closer to one another. Slowly though they began to lure the bandits away and dispose of them.

Mingled in the clones, Hinata struggled not to retch as she ended another life. She had never been one for violence and the killing was difficult for her. Nearby, Samui moved quickly and effortlessly all the while keeping her eyes on the Hyuga. She had been asked by Naruto to keep an eye on her when he had found out that they would be in the same clone group. She had not understood why, as she was kunoichi as well until she had seen the girl blanch as she ended the life of the first bandit. Then it made sense. The bandit elimination mission had been to get the Konoha team their first kills. The poor girl was struggling to keep it together after every kill and Samui was worried that she was going to break down. She wanted to offer words of comfort but she knew that they were forbidden from talking for the time being. Catching her eye, Samui sent Hinata the most reassuring smile that she could.

Omoi was nervous as he fought alongside the red-haired pseudo-jinchuriki. He had no idea what he would do if she got hurt while he was with her and the Kyuubi's chakra went out of control. If it did then it was possible that everyone would get hurt and the Kyuubi would begin to rampage. Many people would get hurt, or die, and then Kumo would be blamed for the destruction because he wasn't watching carefully and a war would break out between...He was unable to continue his line of thoughts as Kimiko smacked him upside the head and gave a disapproving look towards him. Shaking his head he began to focus on the task at hand once more.

Karui was having no issue at all working with the blonde as he seemed to excel in stealth. He had even managed to surprise her once or twice. When that was taken into consideration with the skill he had in trap making and the chakra reserves he had, she hoped that she would never have to fight him seriously. A friendly battle or spar would be good but seriously fighting him would only result in her death. Despite that, she was finding comfort in the fact that she wasn't stuck with Omoi as his imagination tended to annoy her when it got out of control. As they lured another bandit away from the camp and disposed of him she cursed silently. It seemed as if the camp was starting to notice that they were shrinking in number.

Kakashi and Jay were blazing through their end of the camp without any issue. Having done numerous similar missions before they were able to keep focused and were actually enjoying the others company. Hiding the body of yet another bandit Kakashi felt his eye narrow as the camp started to come to life and the bandits started to move around in groups. They had finally noticed the shrinking group and had decided to investigate. This is where the true test would begin. It would be nearly impossible to keep this as a stealth mission for much longer. Glancing at Jay they nodded and picked up the pace moving cautiously as to not trigger the alarm but to also deal with the increasingly larger groups that they would be dealing with soon. Both jonin could only hope that the genin would be okay when shit hit the fan.

Samui narrowed her eyes as Hinata motioned for her to come closer. Using the predetermined hand signals she motioned that there was a source of chakra up ahead in the closest tent and that was also where the captives were. Cursing she nodded and the two of them fell back so that they could contact the others. They hoped that the clones would stay together and not make to much of a ruckus as they did so.

"Sensei? We found both the captives and the shinobi that the Kumo nins are looking for. Problem is they are in the exact same place." Hinata whispered once they were far enough away. Samui couldn't help but snicker as she heard a badly suppressed curse from Karui. Kakashi also cursed as he tried to come up with something. The whole point had been to cause a distraction in order to keep the bandits or the ninja from taking a hostage. Yet, the ninja was right where the hostages were!

"Kakashi-sensei, I have an idea," Naruto whispered catching the attention of the jonin.

The camp had been peaceful as they had never expected anyone to come looking for them. However, that didn't last for long. At first, they had figured that people were heading out to relieve themselves and passing out because of the alcohol that they had consumed. However, that notion was quickly dispelled when more and more of them left and never came back. Beginning to get nervous teams were organized to look for the missing men but they started to go missing as well. Just as the leader was about to call out to their friend a massive wave of blondes charged into the camp quickly dispatching of the men in their way. The blondes had several others mixed in but it was mostly a sea of blonde. It seemed as if they were being invaded by the world's largest group of identical twins, or something to that effect.

The ninja that had been hiding out in the group of bandits cursed when he saw the sea of clones and quickly grabbed one of the girls pulling her with him. A hostage may just buy him the time that he needed to get away. He had not expected the bandits to be overwhelmed so quickly. Then again he hadn't expected a Konoha nin to have that much chakra and wind up in the same area either. As the last of the clones dispelled, either from damage or because their task was completed, the nin found himself staring at a group of Kumo shinobi who had obviously tracked him down.

"I never knew that Kumo would sink so low as to work with Konoha." He taunted. The group merely stared impassively at the man.

"We wouldn't have had to work with Konoha if you hadn't decided to work with the same group of bandits that they were hunting," Jay replied making the nin growl. All of a sudden the girl in his arms smirked at him.

"Hehe...looks like the plan succeeded. I'll leave this to you guys!" 'She' said before vanishing in a poof of smoke. His eyes widened as he realized that the girls he had been near had been replaced with transformed shadow clones and he hadn't even noticed! His plan foiled he gulped at the team before him. He had no delusions of defeating a team that had been trained by B.

Nearby team eleven was checking in on the girls that had been rescued. Most seemed to be in relatively good shape and unharmed while others had clearly been with the bandits for some time and were obviously very traumatized. After determining that most of them could walk he nodded towards Naruto who made some clones for the ones that couldn't. It wasn't long before the Kumo team rejoined them. The girls that had been from Kumo and quite anxious about being with the Konoha nin sighed and relaxed at the sight of their own shinobi.

"Everything was taken care of on your end Jay?" Kakashi asked calmly. Nodding he eyed the girls that they would be taking back to Kumo with them.

"They are okay for the most part. Minor injuries mostly some scrapes and bruising. That one has a broken ankle though." Kakashi informed the other nin pointing towards a lavender-haired girl. Picking her up he nodded towards the Konoha team and smiled.

"Well, I do believe that will be the end of this mission. It was a pleasure to work with you and I hope that someday Kumo and Konoha can work together more efficiently with less tension in the future. Take care of those two." He said as Kakashi eye-smiled.

"I must say that it was a pleasure to work with you as well. I also look forward to the day when we can count on Kumo as close allies and friends. I have every intention of taking care of all of them."

"Hey, Karui, Omoi, and Samui let's make it a goal to at least meet up in the future as friends okay? If we get permission maybe we can even write to each other." Naruto called out making the genin nod before they left leading the females away. Looking at each other team eleven left in the opposite direction.

The trip back to the village was uneventful and the excitement that met them as the missing girls were returned home was palpable. The mayor insisted on making sure that the girls from other villages were returned safely and profusely thanked them for the return of his daughter. After making sure that everything was in order Kakashi nodded to the elder and the team departed headed for Konoha. They knew that they would have quite the tale to tell and knew that the Sandaime's face would be priceless at the news that they had worked closely with the Kumo nins without incident. They had all decided against informing the man that the Kumo shinobi had been informed of Naruto's status as a jinchuriki as they didn't want to hear the complaining. Besides, it was irrelevant in their mind.

"WHAT? THERE WERE TWO NUKENIN AND A TEAM OF KUMO SHINOBI THERE?" The Sandaime yelled as they finished their report. Kakashi nodded silently trying to hold in his laughter. The look on the old man's face was hilarious and he knew that the man would not take kindly to being laughed at. Behind him, however, Kimiko and Naruto were howling in the floor while Hinata was trying to look anywhere but at the wizened man.

"How you managed to strike a temporary alliance and not be betrayed is a miracle in and of itself. However, if this mission allows for Konoha and Kumo to draw closer to one another and eventually manage true peace without the fear of being betrayed I can't say that I am angry." He said quietly.

"Well, I think that it will. At the very least we will have someone that we can call friends in Kumo. The genin seemed to get along quite well with one another outside of initial hesitation considering the history of our villages. They also seemed to be genuinely interested in becoming friends. Speaking of which, would it be permissible for these three to write back and forth with their new found friends providing that nothing that could be used against Konoha is exchanged?" Kakashi asked the old man knowing that with the current affairs between the villages they would need consent for the genin to become pen pals.

"They may write so long as they keep any village related information out of their letters. Should I feel that information has somehow leaked I will require that all letters be read prior to being sent, however." The Sandaime consented. Nodding Kakashi smiled at the genin who seemed to be ecstatic over the possibility that they could write to their new friends. Well in Kimiko's case she was just thrilled she would be able to contact her siblings again and inform them of changes in the state of affairs. After being dismissed the team left the office and Hinata turned to look at the blonde she adored.

"I don't think that my clan would be very pleased to know that I am writing to anyone in Kumo.." She trailed off sadly. She truly wanted to try and get to know Samui better as the older kunoichi had looked after her as if they had been sisters on the battlefield despite Hinata's reluctance at getting close and working with her.

"I can send them for you. Kimi-chan gave me her contract for the fox summons so I can send all of the letters that way." Naruto offered. Nodding enthusiastically Hinata smiled at the blonde and then turned to head home bidding him a farewell.

"H-Hinata, um..since we have a few days off would you...I mean do you want to..." Naruto called out stumbling on his words. "Um, would you go on a picnic with me? As a d-d-date?" Hinata seemed at a loss for words as she turned the boy's words over in her head. 'Naruto-Kun wants to go on a date with me?! What do I say?' She squealed mentally. Speechless she managed to nod her head in a silent 'yes'. The acceptance made Naruto beam happily as he felt the nervousness fade.

"Um, tomorrow at noon?" He asked quietly. Again Hinata nodded silently and Naruto smiled bidding her a good day before almost vanishing from sight as he ran off that fast. Kimiko just shook her head and followed the boy but not until she made sure that Hinata would be okay heading home on her own. Hinata turned and headed home in a daze as she kept repeating the date and time of the date over in her head. She wanted to scream in happiness but her upbringing in the Hyuga clan prevented her from making a scene by doing so.

'Hey, dad? What do I do on a date?' Naruto asked as soon as he got home. He hadn't wanted to make a scene in public so he had run home as fast as he could. Internally Minato was laughing in amusement at the thoughts racing through Naruto's head at Hinata's acceptance of the date.

'Just get to know her better Naruto. The point of a date is to get to know the person better, get closer and make sure that you are compatible as a couple. So just be yourself and do what you have been doing for the last few weeks outside of training.' Kushina replied as she pushed her husband over making him laugh harder.

'Okay..what is a suitable meal for a picnic?'

'Anything that doesn't have to be cooked immediately before eating. Precooking is fine. Finger foods and foods that don't need too much in way of silverware and dishes. Nothing that will spoil quickly or melt in the heat. Make sure you bring a blanket as well.' Kushina said remembering some of the more disastrous dates that she and Minato had been on when they had started dating.

'Why do I need a blanket?'

'To sit on of course. It will help to keep the food off of the ground as well.'

'Okay.' He replied nervously. Entering his room he stopped in his tracks and stared in disbelief.

"Kimi-chan? You know how I couldn't find my katana before we left?" He called out as he heard the vixen enter the estate.

"Yeah."

"Well it is on my bed and I know for a fact that it has never given off a very faint black aura before." Kimiko was in the room before he could blink and was staring at the blade in shock. It took her a few moments before she could place the feeling she was getting from the blade.

"The Shinigami must have taken it for a few modifications. I was wondering how he would know if you were nearby when the immortals died and now I know. That blade is infused with his power. Most likely it will harvest the soul of anyone that dies near you while it is on your person. Furthermore, I think that it may have the power to break through the immortality that Hidan has as a Jashinist." She whispered. Naruto nodded uneasily and approached the blade picking it up. Flinching as it felt as if he had been bitten he drew the blade. While the sheath and hilt didn't feel any different to the touch the blade felt cold and uninviting. It was much colder to the touch then he remembered and he didn't want to leave it unsheathed longer than he had to. Sheathing the blade he sealed it away in the storage seal he had tattooed on his arm. He had no intention of allowing the blade to be touched by anyone else. It was safer that way.

Entering her clan's compound Hinata headed right for her father's study trying to decide whether or not to mention the Kumo nins. She knew that he wouldn't take the knowledge that they had been there very well and had no idea how he would react to her having worked with them. Knocking on the door she felt as if she had not yet left and everything that had happened was a dream. Entering when given permission she knelt in front of her father and took a deep breath.

"How was the mission?"

"It had a few problems but overall it was successful."

"What kind of problems?"

"The bandit camp was larger than expected and a nuke-nin had taken refuge in the camp itself that was being tracked by another village. We were also ambushed while tracking the bandits and had to deal with that ninja first." She whispered knowing what he was about to say.

"Which village?"

"Kumogakure." The tension flooding her father's body did not go unnoticed by Hinata and she felt herself becoming uneasy.

"I see. How did Kakashi handle the situation?"

"He made a temporary truce as both teams had similar objectives and it was unwise to have to fight that team as well as the bandits and the nuke-nin that they were tracking." Nodding curtly Hiashi said nothing and after a moment Hinata took that as her cue to leave. Stepping out of her father's office she breathed a sigh of relief. His office, since her uncle's death, had been oppressive and suffocating in an atmosphere and she often found herself hoping for reasons to leave quickly. Heading to her room she dropped off her mission gear and then headed for her shower. Thoughts of her date with Naruto filling her mind as she pushed the meeting with her father from her head. She was ecstatic and a little nervous. While they had been training together she was worried that he wouldn't like her as a person instead of just a comrade and training partner. Plus she had no idea what she should wear or if she had anything.

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

A/N: I'm back! Sorry, this took so long to type. It was sitting on my computer about four pages in and I blanked on what I should be writing. Anyway, I hope that you like the chapter and will continue to read it in the future. See you then! Ja ne!