Underneath the Underneath
By: FlameXFullmetal
Disclaimer: I seriously wouldn't have to write this if I was getting money from this or even owned Naruto in the first place. So please withdraw and hold any complaints. Thank you so much!
A/N: I am so happy that I was able to pick up right where I left off in this story and that so many of you returned after the long break. I will be posting 1-2 updates a month depending on how much I can get done on the chapters. If you get a third chapter I have found a lot of extra time to work on the story and managed a decent chapter in a short amount of time. I also received a comment that shaped the rest of the chapters in regards to the amount of detail and how in depth I go with things. So I am grateful that someone pointed out that the last ten chapters were so much better than the rest due to those by now you should know the drill!
Ionut cosmin12: No you didn't lose anything in the fillers I think I may have just worded it weird. The Shodaime and Madara were rivals, but he also had an advantage that Tobirama didn't. Because of his wood release and the fact that it was presented as a bloodline, the Uchiha couldn't copy it. This means that while they could see the chakra being molded they couldn't predict what he was going to use adequately. Madara had a good idea because he fought him so much.
Tobirama didn't have that safety net and as long as I am not mistaken he is one of the few, if not the only, shinobi that was known for using some of the strongest jutsu with a mere fraction of the hand seals needed, if he used them at all. That made him a horrible opponent for the Uchiha clan leading him to be the more dangerous to the clan out of the two Senju brothers. The place I referred to in the chapter with the date was created by the Nidaime in terms of location and the seals protecting it. The plants were done the normal way, by planting seeds that he got from his brother. Does that make more sense?
Marquis shax: Mebuki Haruno's debut was in Naruto Shippuden Episode 271 in the anime which came out in English on 12/6/14. Her movie debut was in Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie which came out in English 8/29/14. This was the exact same time that her husband was introduced. Before then she was only known through her voice calling out to Sakura but never shown. This story was originally written 3/7/12, which is still four months and twenty-seven days before her Japanese debut of 7/28/12. Furthermore, since I didn't watch the Japanese releases I only had the English ones to go off of and since no one had a name for her at this point authors merely picked one. Furthermore, Mebuki was never even placed in the manga. As I have said before I have no interest in going back and re-writing parts of the story that occurred before information was revealed. This goes double in regards to the fact that Obito was the one under the mask and not Madara. It is so that the story can show the progression of how it has evolved over time and remain as close to the original idea as possible. I'm sorry if that bothers you.
I'm also sorry if I managed to confuse anyone with the relations of the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki clans. Let me try to clear that up. If Indra, Asura and their sister had literally been the ones that had started the clans then I would have called them sister clans. However, while they did start their own families and drift away from the Otsutsuki clan, it was their descendants that made them separate clans. By that point they would not have been siblings but cousins thus leading to the terminology cousin clans. Indra and Asura are credited with being the first in the Senju and Uchiha line but not the founders of the clan. I hope that makes a little more sense.
Guest: Ebisu wasn't scared more of overreacting and being melodramatic. Kakashi only put the team into the exam so that they cold get their promotion a little faster and so that they could confront Orochimaru as well as show other shinobi and the Sandaime that the older ways of training had in fact made the village weaker, he wanted to make a statement.
Guest: The Naruto data book places Orochimaru as skilled in fuinjutsu. Despite this he isn't as skilled in the subject as Jiraiya eventually came to be. Remember that Orochimaru was described as a once in a generation prodigy. Since he wanted immortality he would need to study all aspects of a shinobi's skill set and that includes fuinjutsu. You don't have to excel at something to be able to use it to a certain level. Furthermore, when compared to fuinjutsu users like Minato and the Uzumaki clan he did indeed suck.
"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 Storm's Strength...*******
It was still quite early in the morning when the team eleven finally climbed out of bed and began their preparations for the exam taking place later that day. A large breakfast followed by morning warm-ups and equipment checks were all carried out in silence. It was no secret to the team that they would be placed in the toughest fight of their lives in the coming days and they were focused on the task at hand. During the training that they had survived both Kimiko and Hinata had grown close to the late hokage and his wife and despite all of her denial Kimiko was actually looking forward to Minato's revival. Hinata on the other hand had managed to find a surrogate mother in Kushina and couldn't wait until she could once more join the land of the living.
Upon arriving at the academy the three shared a brief glance and quickly made their way to the designated room ahead of schedule. They wanted to be there early so that they could assess the incoming genin and try to see if they couldn't locate the bigger threats early on in the exam. When they arrived they found that they weren't the only ones with the same idea. Sitting towards the front near one of the windows were Omoi, Karui, and Samui who seemed to look bored.
"Samui!" Hinata called out running towards her friend making all three glance up.
"Hinata! So your sensei was serious about you taking the exams, huh?"
"Yup. How have you been? I've been so busy with the worst training schedule imaginable that I just didn't have the energy to write."
"We've been good. After your sensei's declaration and your performance on the last joint mission our sensei kicked our training up quite a bit as well. It seems that he took Kakashi's declaration of having his team being the only ones that are remembered as a challenge." Samui said laughing a little as her teammates shuddered.
"Well I look forward to seeing how well you do in the exams. If possible I want to see how well you fight as well." Karui stated staring at the blonde that seemed to intrigue her. In all honesty she had wanted to test herself against them since they first met. She just never had the chance to and was hoping that she would be able to during the exams.
"I do as well." Naruto grinned at the red-head. Omoi was silent as he rubbed the back of his head. Somehow, Kimiko always seemed to know when he was thinking and going on a 'what-if' tangent and her favorite way of stopping it was to smack him in the head. The six genin continued to talk amongst themselves quietly catching up on each other's lives as time passed and slowly but surely more and more genin trickled into the room. Soon enough they were completely lost amongst the rest of the genin. It wasn't until a loud shout came from the back of the room that they decided to stop their quiet assessments and separate into their separate teams.
Sure enough Naruto groaned seeing that the cause of the commotion was in fact the other rookie genin. Holding his head he glanced at the two kunoichi and they all shook their heads they would not get involved. As the commotion continued and some of the genin (Sasuke, Kiba, Ino and Sakura) continued to make a spectacle of themselves Naruto spotted something that caught his attention. Making a single hand seal he activated a seal that he had developed for situations like these.
'Hinata. Kimiko. Can either of you hear me?' Watching as they blinked in surprised he nodded.
'Good the seal is working then. Don't speak out loud just think of what you want to say. I made this as an alternative to our link Kimiko because we do space out a little when we use it, and yes dad and mom can hear us.'
'When did you put it on us?' Kimiko asked a little irritated that he had answered her questions that quickly.
'Last week during training. Anyway do you see the genin with the silver hair approaching Sasuke?'
'Yes.' They chorused.
'Hinata, discreetly check his chakra levels, Kimiko try to catch his scent and emotions. If he truly wanted to stop the commotion he shouldn't have waited so long to approach them.'
'This is true. Good observation Naruto.' Minato praised.
'His chakra levels are around mid to high jonin level!' Hinata informed the team. 'Furthermore it looks like he is always converting his chakra into an iryo base.'
'He reeks of snake and is practically oozing deceit and malice.' Kimiko snarled.
'So that is Orochimaru's spy. Interesting. What of his teammates?'
'Around low to mid jonin reserves.'
'Same scent and feel.'
'So he has made his move then.' Focusing a little Naruto smirked.
'Kakashi-sensei, don't react outwardly. I'm using the seal I was working on but wouldn't explain to you. Think anything you want to say and I will hear it. We found three genin that are quite heavily reptile scented. They have already initiating contact with Uchiha and seem to have a great deal of information on not just the shinobi in the village but the visiting villages as well. Do you think we should dispose of him if we get a chance or no?'
'Good question. Disposing of them now will give Orochimaru a handicap but doing it before encountering him may cause a change in plans. Wait until the confrontation with the hebi-sannin and then deal with them if you get the chance.'
'Hai sensei.' Glancing at his teammates to ensure that they heard the conversation he felt his eyes narrowed as Sasuke said his, Hinata's and Kimiko's name. All three sharing the same thought.
'Like hell he is getting information on us!'
"Well let's see here, oh my. He's had a name change in the last few days and it seems that.." Before Kabuto could finish The card in his hand and the ones on the floor were struck with red hot senbon that caused the cards to ignite destroying them completely.
"Now, now that isn't very nice. As a leaf nin you should be more than willing to keep fellow leaf nin data a secret, not spill it to a room of potential hostile shinobi." Naruto chastised getting the attention of the room.
"When did you get here?!" Ino exclaimed.
"Why are you here?!" Sakura screeched at the same time.
"Obviously Haruno we are here for the exams, same as you. Ino, we have been here for nearly four hours." The other rookie blinked at the amount of time that they had been there.
"Why were you here so early?"
"Obviously to scope out the competition and see who may or may not be a threat depending on what the exams require us to do. Sadly, some of you aren't ready to be here, not if you intend to draw that much attention to yourselves." Kimiko chastised making Ino flush and look away. A massive plume of smoke cut off whatever Kabuto was about to say and Naruto turned his attention to the group that had just arrived.
"Welcome to the chunin selection exams, I am Morino Ibiki and I will be your proctor for the written test." He announced making some eyes widen.
"Morino Ibiki, head of Konoha's T&I division." Naruto stated making Ibiki to smirk. "As chunin and jonin I would have expected you to be here on time. The paperwork clearly stated that the exam would start at precisely noon. It is currently five past noon. You're late." Ibiki raised an eyebrow before chuckling in amusement.
"Know what kid I might just like you." Kimiko chuckled.
"That may be true but do try to remember what our team did to the last shinobi that was tardy." Ibiki merely laughed as he recalled the story surrounding Kakashi's hospitalization nine months prior.
"I haven't forgotten. Anyway, bring your application forms to the front of the room and turn them in. You will receive a number in exchange. Find your assigned seat and wait quietly for everyone to be seated." Ibiki barked.
Back in the lounge...
"Kakashi...did...your genin just chastise Ibiki?" Kurenai gaped in horror. Glancing up from the advanced chakra theory book he had brought with him Kakashi blinked at Kurenai's expression.
"Of course they did. They are of the mindset that a shinobi's actions, including arrival time, are indicative of their skill and ambition as well as motivation. Failure to arrive on time shows a blatant disregard for your comrade's time and skill to them. That's why I was hospitalized." Kakashi replied nonchalantly.
"Your genin put you in the hospital Hatake-san?"
"They did indeed, Jay." Kakashi said in an almost happy tone.
"Why and how did they do that?" The Kumo jonin said sitting next to the copy ninja getting them more than a few weird looks.
"I have never passed a team of genin before and my expectations were quite high. It turns out that testing their patience and trying to throw them off before their actual test was a very poor decision. After that it was a simple matter of severely underestimating them based on outdated information from the academy. Kimiko took the three hour wait I made them have as a personal insult decided to vocalize that, physically." Kakashi said shuddering in horror at the beating he had received.
"So even one like you gets over confident, ne?"
"I do indeed. I shouldn't have considering I knew nothing of Kimiko's abilities at the time since she only displayed what was necessary to pass the academy exam. Before that she was privately trained so that test was all the information I had on her at the time."
"Your team has improved dramatically since we last saw each other."
"I can tell yours has as well." Glancing back at the monitor that was allowing them to spectate the exam Kakashi smiled at his genin. He knew that they were already aware of Ibiki's mind games.
Back in the exam room...
"Now that everyone is seated we can explain the exam. Listen carefully as I will accept no questions. The test will take place over the span of one hour. The first nine questions are on the test sheet in front of you. The tenth question will be given forty-five minutes into the exam. Every one of you will start with a perfect score of ten points. Each wrong answer will make you lose a point. Anyone who receives a zero will fail. If you are caught cheating you will lose two points. If you are caught three times you will lose all of your points and automatically fail." Ibiki barked as some of the genin began to shift uncomfortably.
"Furthermore, this is a team based test, which means that the team's overall score is what will allow you to pass. If any member of your team gets a zero then the whole team will fail. No exceptions. The chunin around the room are watching and make no mistake they will know if you have cheated. Any questions?" Naruto snorted mentally. 'There shouldn't be, he made it clear that questions weren't allowed.' Contrary to Naruto's belief someone actually raised their hand.
"Number fifteen you fail. Get your teammates and get out." Ibiki snapped as the three genin stared in shock before they left the room. Glancing at the clock Ibiki let the silence sit before barking out a quick command to begin. Turning is test Naruto raised his eyebrows at the questions.
'Naruto. Hinata. Some of these questions came from the ANBU exams.' Kimiko whispered to the other two.
'So the goal isn't the test itself but how well we can get the information without being caught, huh?' Naruto replied keeping the smirk he felt starting off of his face.
'Precisely.'
'That means that there are some people here who aren't genin like we thought that were give the answers ahead of time. Plants to copy from.' Naruto deducted discreetly looking around.
'I could use my byakugans to get the answers.' Hinata suggested.
'No. The byakugan's leave evidence of their activation unless you managed to negate that trait. It would be noticeable.'
'Not completely. I almost have it though.' Hinata replied sounding as if she was pouting.
'I have an idea.' Naruto said, the tone he used causing shivers to travel up the backs of his teammates. Stretching slightly and adapting a slightly nervous expressions giving the impression that he was worried about answering the questions Naruto began to rhythmically tap his foot making it seem like a subconscious nervous habit. As soon as he was sure that the proctors weren't paying that much attention to him, he let a small unnoticeable pulse of chakra that would have been invisible to all but dojutsu users and powerful sensors to his foot. The chakra activated a small storage seal he had placed there and soundlessly unsealed a smoke bomb without a single trace of chakra.
This particular smoke bomb was much smaller than normal but produced more smoke that covered a wider area. The trade off was that it faded much faster than normal ones. Waiting for the right moment he quickly and discreetly kicked the bomb away from him and under several rows of desks to a genin that had just removed one of his hands from his desk to scratch his ear. As soon as it reached the back of his chair it exploded covering the room in smoke and causing quite the commotion. A quick wind jutsu from the proctors cleared the smoke and Ibiki narrowed his eyes. The genin the Naruto had picked now had two test papers, his and the one of the person in front of him. The genin noticed as well and let out a quick shout of denial.
"Numbers seven, forty-nine and eighty you fail." he barked making the genin's team drag him out protesting. Just as quickly the proctors disqualified three other teams who had missing or stolen papers as well. Getting the room back under control he looked around feeling a small bit of confusion.
'That smoke bomb wasn't standard issue it was clearly custom made but by who? I know for a fact that kid couldn't have done it. Nor his teammates. Whoever it belonged to is good. That was flawless timing and execution.' Ibiki thought to himself as he felt his eyes fall back towards Naruto who had a history of pranking the village. Despite the mild confusion that the smoke bomb had caused he didn't look any different than the rest of the genin around him. Shrugging mentally Ibiki went back to watching the rest of the class.
'Okay Hinata, Kimiko ready for the answers?' Naruto chirped mentally making them both laugh. Internally, Kushina and Minato were chuckling at the stunt. Naruto had aced the first exam flawlessly.
With the jonin...
"What the hell? Did the kid really think he would be able to get away with that obvious stunt?!" One of the Ame jonin yelled indignantly. Kakashi merely chuckled drawing attention to himself as Jay laughed and shook his head in amusement.
"Yes he did think he could get away with it and in reality he did get away with it since the culprit is still in the room." Many of the jonin gaped in shock. Had Ibiki really expelled the wrong genin?
"I can't imagine Ibiki making such a mistake Kakashi." Ebisu muttered in confusion.
"So that was the project that Naruto mentioned to Karui in his last letter. A smoke bomb that makes more smoke over a much wider area but is much harder to see or find." Jay said as his laughter finally calmed down. "It seems it is more easily dispelled though."
"It is. But the smoke bomb last for it's intended purpose. A distraction and since it covers a much wider area the enemy will believe that there were multiple set off instead of one." Kakashi replied.
"Wait, are you saying that your genin designed that himself? Not only that, but managed to pull a fast one in front of Ibiki?" Kurenai nearly screamed in disbelief.
"Yup. Did I mention that it was as big as a marble?"
"What are you feeding that kid?"
"Me? Mostly dirt in our taijutsu lessons, why?"
With the genin...
"Alright, pencils down. It is time for the last question. However, there are some additional rules that must be added before you can get the question."
"More rules?" Sakura cried out indignantly. Ibiki merely glared at her and continued.
"You can choose to take the question or not. If you refuse to take the question you will automatically lose all of your points and fail the exam."
"Of course we're all going to take it then." A Suna kunoichi snapped.
"However, if you take the questions and get it wrong you fail and forfeit any chance at a future chance to take the exam again. You will remain genin forever."
"Plenty of people have already taken the test before, that's bullshit."
"Well, they didn't have me as a proctor so deal with it. These are my rules. If you wish to forfeit then raise your hand." Naruto shook his head in pity as the teams quickly began leaving one by one from genin finally succumbing to Ibiki's mind games. Kimiko looked on in disgust. The human's constant desire to have everything handed to them was appalling.
"Anyone else?" When no one raised their hands Ibiki smirked.
"Then everyone here has passed the first round of the chunin selection exams." Cries of outrage were heard as many of the genin finally realized that they had been tricked.
"What about the tenth question?!" Sakura demanded and Naruto turned to look at her in boredom and disbelief.
"Last time I checked "Will you take the tenth question?" was a question. With the correct answer being yes." Blinking Ibiki laughed at Naruto's explanation.
"That is one way of explaining it. Chunin do not have the option of refusing a mission. They do not have the option of backing out if something becomes more difficult then they expected. Everyone that refused showed that they were incapable of handling that pressure. As it was, you could have gotten every question wrong except for the final question and still passed."
"So what about the first nine?!" The same sand kunoichi yelled in outrage. "Did we just waste our time?"
"No that was a test to. Technically this part of the exam was two tests." Kimiko replied inspecting her nails getting the room's attention. "Our information gathering skills were being tested first. Everyone who was caught are the shinobi that were killed. Thus they were failed. They didn't have the skills necessary. The tenth question tested our ability to make rational decisions while under pressure. Something team leaders have to do daily. Those that again buckled, weren't ready to continue."
"Precisely. Good to know that someone caught on to it. Since Konoha founded their form of the genin exam no one but the late Yondaime ever figured out the purpose behind the written exam." Ibiki said removing his head band which had been acting as a bandanna. "This is the result of false information. Dishonesty from clients and incorrect information leads to shinobi being captured and even killed. Chunin must be able to lead their team even when the situation is no longer what they expected. They must be able to adequately gain as much information as they can in order to lead their team to victory with minimal casualties. If they can't do this then they don't deserve the title of chunin." He lectured the genin. Before he could continue he watched as Naruto leaned back more in his chair just as a black ball smashed into the the window. Kunai flew from the object pinning the corners of what was now revealed to be a banner to the ceiling and the kunoichi inside was revealed.
"Alright everyone I'm the proctor for the next exam Mitarashi Anko!"
"Six of ten. To much possibility for injury, bad timing and average execution." Kimiko deadpanned making the kunoichi sweat drop.
"You're early again." Ibiki said as he stepped out from behind the banner.
"You let this many pass?"
"Good crop this year." Anko donned a sadistic smile and grinned at the genin.
"Well when I'm done with them their numbers will be cut in half. The next exam takes place on training ground forty-four. If your not there in fifteen minutes than you fail." She ordered jumping out the window making many genin scramble to go after her. Shaking his head Naruto stood and tapped Karui's shoulder.
"I'll lead you those idiots are going in the wrong direction anyway. She did that on purpose."
"Thanks." Nodding the odd group of six left the room much to the astonishment of the rest. After all, Kumo and Konoha didn't get along, right?
It didn't take long to reach the training ground and Naruto wasn't surprised to find that they had been the first to arrive. Anko merely raised an eyebrow at the group but stayed silent. By the end of the fifteen minutes, surprisingly, everyone that had passed the first round was standing in front of Anko some breathing heavily from their mad dash to make it on time.
"Right then. Before we begin the next round of the exams I need everyone to sign a consent form releasing Konoha from any responsibility if you die." She said holding up a stack of papers making everyone sweat drop.
"Why would we die?" Sakura asked fear evident in her voice.
"Because the next part of the exam is a survival exercise." Anko stated seriously. "If you refuse to sign the form then I can't let you take the exam and to be honest there is no point in explaining the test if you aren't going to take it."
"At the same time, having even minor information will help us make the correct decision based on our individual and team skill sets." Naruto countered.
"I like you. Fine. The second part of the exam takes place in the forest behind me. Each team will be given a heaven or an earth scroll before entering the fores upon receipt of the waiver. Before you ask yes, it is the whole team or you can't take the exam. Your goal is to make it to the tower in the center carrying both a heaven and earth scroll. Your team must be intact when you enter. If anyone dies in the forest from your team then you have failed the exam. Your time limit for this exam is 120 hours, or five days. Regardless of how, you will spend all five days in the forest. No exceptions and no quitting. If you want to quit this is your only chance to do so."
"Does that mean that we will be allowed to kill?"
"Yes. You are to take the opposite scroll of yours from an opposing team and while we prefer that death be minimal, it happens and is allowed. Which is why you need to sign the waivers." Anko explained.
"What about food?" Choji exclaimed in horror.
"The forest is full of edible plants and wildlife you'll be fine. However, some of the flora and fauna will also try to eat you." The sadistic smile had returned and several genin considered running away.
"I'm scared of a stupid forest." Kiba bragged. Naruto raised an eyebrow as Anko's kunai flew past his cheek and left a small cut. Before he could react she was behind him.
"You should be. People like you are the first to die in there you know." She said licking the small trail of blood then spitting it out.
"That is perhaps the worst of the blood that I have tasted over the years." Anko growled making Kiba flush with rage and embarrassment. "I would advise you not to stand behind me if you don't want to get killed."
"I just wanted to return your kunai." The kunoichi said and Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly as the girls tongue practically stretched.
'Orochimaru has been located.' Naruto whispered in Hinata, Kimiko and Kakashi's minds making them tense slightly.
'Where?'
'Disguised as a Kusa kunoichi. Meaning the team is most likely already dead. I thought that there were ANBU teams following all of the foreign shinobi.'
'There are.'
'Then how did he manage this without raising an alarm?' Naruto asked making Kakashi pale.
'Traitors. He has inside help. This has become complicated. I may have to report to the Hokage.'
'If you must. Just wait until the test starts so that he can not pull Sasuke or the team out. This may be my only chance in a few years.'
'Naruto, you have to think of your team and Aimi's safety first. I know that you want Minato and Kushina back, trust me I want them back to, but it should not come at the cost of your comrade's lives.'
'I know sensei.' Naruto replied signing his form and collecting Hinata and Kimiko's. Heading over to the booth that had been arranged he quickly grabbed their scroll and to the astonishment of the chunin, sealed it into a storage seal that had been tattooed on his arm. Winking he walked out making many teams groan that they had been unable to see their scroll. Hoping that as rookies they would slip up. Much like most of the other teams. Arriving at their assigned gate Naruto closed his eyes and began to calm himself as he waited for the signal to sound.
"Strategy?" Kimiko asked.
"Go in, find a good shelter that will be hard to spot. Flood the forest with shadow clones so we can find the scroll we need and an extra pair for insurance purposes. Then our main objective." Naruto whispered the last part making Kimiko and Hinata nod. Just as the bell sounded they vanished from the gates in a burst of speed that baffled the chunin. Nothing by leaves and a slip of paper floating to the ground.
"What is this?" The chunin asked curiously. Eyes widening he rushed to Anko's side and presented the note to her.
"What's this?"
"Uzumaki left it behind when his team sped off into the forest. Why didn't he say something before?"
"I don't know. Find the bodies I am going to report to the Hokage." Anko snapped cursing. The note in her hand containing only one line of text.
Anko, you're getting rusty if you can't recognize your own sensei's technique.
***************T.B.C.**************
A/N: The next chapter is done and I hope that it turned out okay. In any event let me know what you think and as always if you find something grammatically or spelling wise that bothers you let me know!I was hoping that I could fit in both the written and the forest but this chapter is already close to twenty pages and that would be to long. So I will have to add another chapter to the ones that I have already planned to make it work. I doubt that any of you are going to complain though. Until next time! Ja ne!