Underneath the Underneath

By: FlameXFullmetal

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and do not make any money from the writing of this story.

A/N: I'm back! I just want to say thank you to everyone that has stayed with the story since it was first posted and then revised. I know I say this a lot but it means a lot to me. Anyway, you should know the drill by now, reviews and then the story!

Fictionelement777: Thank you for the translation. It seems like a mouthful but I will definitely go back and change "Nainteirutsuisuta" to "Kyuubitatsumakinainteirutsuisuta".

Br3nus: I will try to make sure not to slip into a pre-concept point of view for the characters however, they will still deviate from the canon personalities that they had. Although, as for Minato wondering why Kakashi had not put many strategies into fighting genin it should have become obvious through the fight that the three were not fighting at a genin level and at the point should have changed his fighting style to accommodate.

Jin-of-ice: I will try to keep the power scale and story points a little less rushed in the future thank you for bringing that up. I hope that I can continue to make you laugh as well.

"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

***********Assassinations and Uzu***********

It was late at night when the four members of squad eleven slipped from the bridge builder's home and headed towards the manner that had been scouted earlier. If anyone on the team was nervous they weren't saying so or allowing it to be seen. As a result, they appeared to be moving with confidence through the trees towards the team's first assassination mission. Of the whole team, the one that could honestly say that they were nervous would be Hinata. She was improving, however, the thought of killing someone who had no chance to fight back was warring with her gentle personality. Yes, she had seen the way that Nami had declined over the years and yes she had seen the number of children that had been suffering as a result however the fact was that Gato himself had no hope of fighting against a shinobi himself. That was why he had hired all of the bandits and Zabuza. For protection and intimidation.

"Hinata, relax. Remember that while the bandits could have declined Gato's employment and moved on, a lot of the things that they have done here in Nami are on Gato's hands as well. He is the worst kind of person that a shinobi can deal with solely because people like him use their money to gain influence in order to become immune to the laws of the land. After which the run rampant making living nearly impossible for the people in the area." Kimiko whispered making the girl jump and then nod.

"Good."

"Alright, it seems that a lot of the bandits are drunk and passed out. That will make sneaking past them easier. Once Kimiko starts the distraction we will slip into the compound and make our way to Gato's room. Since we don't need anyone warning Gato that there are people inside as well, we will kill any bandits that we come across. Remember to keep collateral damage down as there may be innocents and children in the complex itself." Kakashi instructed making everyone nod and move into position.

As soon as she got the go-ahead Kimiko stepped from the tree line and headed towards the gate confidently. For the first time in twelve years, she was finally going to actually stretch her muscles. While she didn't thrive on creating death and destruction she had lived long enough to know just what people like the ones in front of her were like and the fact that most of them would never change. She did get enjoyment in ridding the world of scum like them. 'These tainted mortals are making a mockery of everything that he created and strived for. I won't allow it.' the vixen thought to herself as she reached the guards at the gate.

"Well hello, there beautiful." One of the guards whistled. Kimiko merely took another step forward raising her hand as she went. The two guards stepped closer and then without warning the vixen drew chakra enhanced claws forward slicing their throats opened. As the shock registered mere seconds before they died Kimiko pulled her fist back and in a display of strength that would have made the slug sannin proud slammed it forward into the flimsy barricade. The doors exploded inward as the sleeping bandits shot awake as alarms blared.

"Hi." Was all she said to the men blinking owlishly at her. At first glance, one wouldn't think that someone as pretty and almost delicate looking like the female before them could accomplish such a feat. That is until they noticed the blood dripping from her hands and the corpses behind her. Shifting her stance Kimiko took a deep breath and then exhaled a massive stream of fire. The bandits had no time to react as the searing flames impacted the men closest to the vixen practically incinerate them. As the realization set in the survivors stepped back as screams of agony began to slice through the air from the unlucky ones that didn't die from the attack. Within in seconds, the calm of the evening was broken as chaos descended on the compound.

With Kakashi...

As the screams filled the air Kakashi turned to look at the remaining members of the team and nodded. Stealthy they moved towards the mansion and slipped in through an open window. Moving through the mansion they met almost no resistance and what they did meet was dealt with quickly and silently. As they reached the top floor and approached the tyrant's room, where the man was still sleeping oblivious to the sounds outside, Kakashi stepped back and looked towards genin who nodded hesitantly.

Opening the door and slipping in quietly they slipped in and crept towards the man's bed where he was sleeping arm wrapped around a girl who could be no older than fifteen. Narrowing her eyes Hinata steeled herself and stepped forward. Naruto nodded to her as he slowly woke the girl and maneuvered her out of the bed as Hinata administered a quick, but shaky, juken strike to the heart. As soon as the kill was confirmed Hinata practically ran from the room. Guiding the girl from the room Kakashi nodded to Naruto who put the finishing touches on the assassination. As soon as that was done he too left the room more quickly then he had intended.

"Are you alright Hinata?" Kakashi asked quietly.

"...no..." She whispered. Kakashi nodded in understanding and rubbed the girl's back as she tried to prevent herself from vomiting.

"It's done. As far as anyone who investigates is concerned Gato was assassinated by rogue nin that he attempted to double cross who was trying not to leave a trail." Naruto whispered to his teacher. Kakashi nodded and the group moved to their second objective which was to free any captives in the mansion. That task alone wasn't that hard with Naruto's clones racing throughout the mansion releasing women of all ages, gathering corpses of civilians and clearing out any and all vaults. Several items he found in Gato's safes made him fume as they bore the insignia of Uzu. Task complete Naruto and the team stepped out of the mansion and winced at the carnage Kimiko had caused on her own. What was left of the corpses hit by fire jutsu were still smoking and most of the others were torn apart. If Kakashi hadn't known who had done the damage he would have assumed that they had been killed wild animals.

"Let's go. Naruto's clones have escorted the captives to safety on a different route so they wouldn't have to see this. Gato is dead and our mission is complete." Kakashi ordered the genin nodding as Kimiko shook the last of the water on her, that she had used to wash off with, off. Following Kakashi, through the forest, the quiet genin blinked in confusion as he stopped without warning and motioned for Naruto and Hinata to come stand next to him. Pointing forward he waited for the two genins to look towards the scene. Before them the main districts of Nami was visible, her people asleep and unaware of the massacre that had just taken place.

"That is what you just protected by assassinating the scum back there Hinata, Naruto. Everyone in this village, the girls that we rescued and countless other that would have suffered had he been allowed to live. When you do an assassination like this it is always important to think about who you are protecting and not what you are about to do. Had he lived this village would have been even worse in the future. Perhaps even a ghost town because of him. All of these people would have either been sold as slaves or have died, whether by murder or starvation." He said making the two blink rapidly.

"While not all assassinations are like this, this is the majority of what you will be doing. Protecting a town or village from people like Gato. They may not seem like they are capable of horrendous acts, however, you have to remember that neither one of you look like you are capable of half of the things you have done in the last three months. Appearances are deceiving and one of the main reasons that ninja are so effective. We learn how to alter our mannerisms and appearance to look as harmless as we can so that we are overlooked." Nodding in understanding the genin smiled softly.

"With that said you should never come to enjoy killing. It should be nothing more than a task that you have to complete to save those around you. Even if the person is like Gato, you should not take pleasure in ending their life. It is only when you do that you truly become the monsters you were thinking that you were back in the mansion. Understood?"

"Hai sensei."

"Good now let's get back to our base and get some sleep. Once we are rested we will head to Uzu and fulfill the rest of our mission here." Nodding in agreement the four left with not another word said. Internally, however, Naruto was having a rather deep discussion with his parents about the events that transpired. While he understood what Kakashi had said he also needed some reassurances from his parents one thing he wasn't sure how to voice to the jonin. It was going to be a long night for the blonde.

The next afternoon...

Yawning as the sun forcefully awoke him, Naruto stretched and groaned as he instantly thought back to the aftermath of the chaos that he saw earlier that day. Kimiko had been ruthless. He knew that she had been itching to release her pent-up frustrations over the events of the last century but had no idea that she was that frustrated. He would have thought that some of it would have been vented the night that he was born. 'If it was then there was more than even she thought.' He thought to himself before climbing out of his sleeping bag and then his tent. Kakashi had made the decision to camp away from the client's house for safety reasons. Packing everything up he made his way to Tazuna's home and laughed as he heard a loud scream of disbelief from the Yamanaka heiress.

"There is no way that they managed that without alerting someone Asuma-sensei!"

"There are ways Ino. All it would take is a non-explosive distraction to make the guards leave their employer's side and then slip assassin's inside the building. By the time the assassination was done the bandits outside would have no idea what was happening inside or already be dealt with by whoever caused the distraction." Asuma replied feeling exhausted. Despite having some sleep the prior night he felt as if he had been the one that had done the assassination and stayed up all night. Across from him, Kakashi was snickering. He knew how Asuma felt right now and thought that it was hilarious.

"Ah, Naruto you're awake!" Kakashi chirped making everyone jump.

"Thanks for letting me sleep in Kakashi-sensei."

"It's fine. When your clones raided the compound did they hit the kitchens and pantries as well?" Tazuna and Tsunami felt their jaws drop at the insinuation.

"Yeah. They even split everything evenly among the residents based on household size and taking in to account the orphans wandering around. Why do you want me to tell them to distribute it?"

"Please do. I do believe that the villagers have been dying for a decent meal for a while now." Saluting Naruto created a clone and then dispersed it so that the ones that were in the forest would know what to do. Pulling a scroll from his pocket he handed it to Tsunami and laughed.

"Just open it. It should be enough for a month at least. I also had the clones go through Gato's records and returned all the money that he has stolen from you. That is in each scroll as well. This scroll, Tazuna, contains all the money that he stole from the parents of the orphans wandering around. I trust that you will keep it safe for them until they are old enough to manage it?"

"Of course. I suppose that we should work on making room in the house for some of those orphans, ne?" Laughing Naruto stretched and then looked at the bridge builder seriously.

"Are there any boats that will take us to Uzu? I would love to see my mother's birthplace."

"Your mother's b..b...birthplace?!" Tazuna nearly shrieked.

"Yeah. She was born and raised in Uzu until she moved to Konoha to live. She was one of the few survivors."

"Never in my life did I think that I would live long enough to see an Uzumaki return to these shores," Tazuna whispered. He had truly thought that the line had died out when the country had been invaded. Yet right before him was an Uzumaki wanting to return home. "Do you know that shack near the outskirts of the village with the boat anchored to the dock?"

"Yeah?"

"Talk to him. He used to be a regular ferryman to and from Uzu. I'm sure he would love to make one last trip for an Uzumaki."

"Thanks, Tazuna!" Naruto chirped as he bounded off into the distance. Kakashi waved and then turned to leave.

"Take care of your team Asuma. I'll see you back in Konoha!"

"Kakashi...did.."

"Yeah, the Hokage approved of the trip. Didn't have much choice as it was clan business." He replied before the team of four vanished from sight. Shaking his head Asuma turned back to his team and sighed. Ino was going to give him a migraine.

With Kakashi's team...

"Hello? Is anyone home? Tazuna said you might be able to help us with something." Naruto called out. He had been knocking for some time now and was starting to worry.

"Do you think he's home?" Hinata asked her boyfriend.

"I hope so." After several more minutes, Naruto sighed and turned. "Looks like I'll need to find someone else to help me get to Uzu. Oh well. I never expected this to be easy."

"Did you say that you wanted to go to Uzu? What for and don't lie to me." A voice rang out from behind Naruto making him jump.

"You were home!" He accused with a hand over his chest.

"Answer the question boy."

"Yes and because it was my mother's homeland before it was destroyed." Naruto sighed in slight annoyance.

"Prove it."

"How am I supposed to do that?!" 'Naruto, repeat after me.' Kushina said before he could continue.

"When the tides part and the island returns so shall the spiral," Naruto said with a hint of confusion.

"By the sage...What's your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Come inside and let me get a few things before we take off. A living Uzumaki...who would have thought." He mused to himself.

"What does that phrase mean?"

"It was a passcode used by the royal family in case the clan ever had to abandon Uzu for any reason. It would be the only way that the ferryman would know that the line had legitimately returned."

"What if someone overheard it though?"

"Not possible. Ask your teammates they didn't hear a thing. Did you?" Naruto looked at his teammates who were blinking in confusion.

"Not only could they not hear you they couldn't read your lips either. I don't know the specifics but the Uzumaki protected the passphrase so that non-Uzumaki couldn't hear it. Well, most anyway. Non-Uzumaki that married into the clan would be able to learn and use the passphrase for as long as they were faithful." The captain replied gathering some charts and other things from the shelves.

"I had no idea. To be honest I don't know as much as I would like about my heritage but I am slowly learning. That is one reason that I want to go to Uzu." Naruto confessed.

"You seemed to be confused when you said the passphrase though why is that?"

"It just kind of popped in my head. I had never heard it before but it seemed like the right thing to say at the time." 'Sorry, mom.' 'No complaints. You do what you must.'

"I see. Your Uzumaki parent must have sealed some vital information before they died."

"Sort of..I guess." Turning the old captain looked at the blonde and shook his head in amusement.

"A blonde Uzumaki...they certainly like to prank people don't they?"

"You betcha!" Naruto laughed. The group followed the captain to the ship and as they set sail Naruto smiled to himself. Soon he would truly be able to say that he knew his clan's history. Kushina could only teach him what she knew and that was pretty limited. He could only hope that the clan library would still be in one piece.

It took several hours to reach Uzu's borders and then another to reach the shore. Navigating the whirlpools had been somewhat terrifying for the group as a few times it looked as if they were to close and about to be caught in them. However, they reached the island's shores safely. Hoping back on land Naruto nodded at the captain who opted to stay on the ship and wait and then turned towards the path leading further to the island. Nodding to himself he started down it. The group followed closely behind the silence nearly deafening. Despite their excitement to be in Uzu, they were also aware of what they might find.

After dismantling several unsprung traps and weaving around overgrown flora Naruto sharply inhaled as the first of the island's buildings came into sight along with the massive stretch of weapons and remains. Behind him, Hinata covered her mouth in horror. Having lived a sheltered life, well as sheltered as being the heiress to a ninja clan can be, she had never thought about what the aftermath of the war would look like. Skeletons and debris stretched out before them. Adults, the elderly and even children were shown no mercy as the invaders swept through the small port like locust destroying everything in their path. Reigning in his anger Naruto kneeled next to the skeleton of a child. Without warning, he pulled a scroll from behind him and released a massive one from inside. Quickly he wrote out a storage array and began sealing the remains away.

"Naruto.."

"I'll figure out how to give them a proper Uzu burial later but they don't deserve to remain like this any longer." Naruto snapped cutting off Kakashi who sighed.

"I was just going to say let us help." Nodding silently the team got to work collecting any remains that bore an Uzu headband or didn't have one and sealing them away. The invading shinobi's remains were sealed as well just not with as much care as the natives. It took almost the rest of the day and part of the next day to accomplish but they managed it nonetheless. Sighing as he leaned back Naruto looked at the now empty streets and felt a pang of loneliness. He had known that it was going to be hard to see the destruction but he never knew that he would feel even more alone than before. Inside Minato held Kushina as she wept over the loss of people she had known growing up. Something that she had not been able to do when she had heard the news.

"I'm going to look for clan records and the library, Kimiko if you think that he is ready to know be my guest..if not I will see you soon." The vixen nodded and watched as her former jinchuriki walked away. She had even underestimated the impact that such a scene would have on her. Turning she looked Kakashi in the eyes and sighed.

"You have been wondering who I am for awhile and I'll imagine that not getting any answers is frustrating you. Hinata this applies to you as well, but the thing is that my true identity must be kept a secret no matter what. I am placing a lot of trust on both of you to keep this secret and before you ask the council and the Hokage are already aware of this. Can I do that? Can I trust you to keep this secret?"

"Yes," Hinata replied automatically. She had come to not only look up to the other female but also trust her as well. It helped that she wasn't interested in Naruto romantically.

"Hokage-sama told me that you would tell me when you are ready. Furthermore, as a ninja, I have many secrets that I must keep and I would never do anything to harm a member of my team or village."

"I wonder about that." Kimiko mused out loud. "The truth is that I am in no way a jinchuriki nor do I have any of the Kyuubi's chakra sealed inside of me. However, I have lived in Konoha for some time with Naruto. I wasn't lying about that. I am the nine-tailed fox. When the exams were postponed it was because Mizuki turned traitor and managed to damage the seal to the point of collapsing. Luckily a solution was found that would keep Naruto from dying and keep me on a "leash" as you humans say."

"You're the Kyuubi?" Hinata asked in shock.

"Yes."

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

A/N: ….AND that's the end of the twentieth chapter. Holy crap I had no idea that I would get this far with people still reading the story. Thank you, all of you. I didn't mean to take so long but apparently, my time management is still messed up so I will make more of an effort to get back on schedule. Anyway, I hope that the Gato thing wasn't too disappointing but it really wasn't the main focus of the story itself. I originally wasn't even going to have Naruto go to Nami for the mission but then I realized that a lot more could be done that way and a lot of character development did happen in Nami. So I made the assassination out to be just a side mission to expose more of the shinobi world to Hinata and Naruto. Anyway until next time! Ja ne!