The sun had barely risen in Konohagakure no Sato, with most of the village's population only just awakening from their slumber. It was silent, but within that silence the Anbu carried out their duties, watching over everything from the rooftops and alleyways. Most were unsuspecting and those that questioned whether anyone was there lurking in the shadows were simply paranoid at heart.

Rotation was slick, the interchange of their posts was quick and fluid, something natural for the Anbu at this point in time. There were twenty-four of them in total, each assigned a designated area to watch over in the village with sixteen ground forces. It was rare that the Anbu were given specialized tasks within the village itself, with most things relating to the village being generalized. Yugao was simply one of those that had the privilege of being gifted such a task.

Hayate yawned into his hand as he sat on the roof top of what most civilians believed to be the central library of the hidden Leaf. In reality, that's what it was on the surface, a place for people to gather information and learn new things, but underneath the dirt and foundation lay layers and layers of underground space pertaining to Konoha's central intelligence core. It was the very division tasked with keeping Konoha safe from the inside, a firewall of sorts. It was they that controlled the barrier around the village.

Hayate let his eyes skim over the surrounding area and once he was certain no one was present, he relaxed a bit. Nothing precarious ever really occurred within the village itself and that tended to make things boring, but it also guaranteed the safety of all those in the village and those he deemed important to him. That was all that mattered.

He coughed into the palm of his hand when he felt the shift in the wind. He tensed up and sat up straight, his posture suddenly stiff and rigid. He scanned over the surrounding area once more and found nothing, but the nagging feeling in the back of his head would not go away.

Immediately he stood, hand over his katana should it be necessary. His eyes were narrowed, his breath more controlled as he vanished with the early morning wind.

The inside of the library was hollow this time of day, vacant of any and all people, yet all the operations that took place beneath the facility carried on deep into the night and throughout the early morning. A few shinobi were likely still carrying out their duties underground and it was currently his job to make sure they were all safe. Most of them were not fighters by nature.

He raced through the halls, eager to make sure everything was in place and under control. Hayate transverse nearly all the layers underneath the surface, with nothing seeming to be out of the ordinary. It was only when he reached one of the last layers of the edifice that he felt it. There was undoubtedly a chakra source somewhere in the building, one that didn't belong there in the first place.

Hayate narrowed his eyes, another cough escaping his lungs as he moved to intercept whoever, whatever, was in there with him. He raced across the halls, his feet tapping against the hard wooden floor. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins and his breathing was suddenly uneven.

He stopped just short of barging into the room with his newest occupant, remembering that he had to be cautious and observe protocol. He noted how he was standing in front of the room that contained all of Konoha's files on its military and defenses.

The chakra source was foreign to the environment yet it undoubtedly held something that reminded him of the hidden Leaf.

"Treason,"

He briefly considered the idea but kept it in the back of his mind for that moment. Drawing his sword, he pointed it to the door and aimed it at the spot he could feel the person concentrated in. Chakra poured out of it, sharpening the edge as he proceeded to slice through the door.

There was a blast, the damage causing everything to go up in smoke. Hayate wasted no time moving in and occupying the room. His eyes struggled to adjust to the dim conditions. When it cleared up, there was nothing, no person in sight. He nearly let his guard down when he heard the flicker of a human body onto the ceiling. He looked up and his eyes widened in shock.

"That's impossible...w-what are y-you doing here," there was a tremor in his voice and rightfully so. Staring back at him was Kakashi, his body covered by a dark hood, his sharingan looking down at him. The gleam was unmistakable, and for a moment,the Anbu guard was paralyzed. There was a sudden crackling of electricity and Hayate braised himself for the eminent impact.

There was flash, a silent cry and everything seemed to dim for Hayate. He bounced off the wall as he clutched his shoulder, the katana in his hand shaking as his grip faltered.

"Damn it,"

Hayate wasn't afforded the opportunity to deal with the injury, with the copy ninja closing the gap and engaging him in close combat. He was at a disadvantage, with Kakashi going full force. Hayate found himself against the wall as he used his katana to protect himself from the kunai in Kakashi's hand.

"Why are you...doing this?" He strained and struggled as he forced the words out. He hacked, blood coming out as his grip became slack. Kakashi pressed him back, offering only grunts and groans. The sharingan spun wildly and Hayate made the mistake of looking into the man's eye.

There was a sudden change in scenery, the sky darkening when it never should have been visible in the first place. There was a flash of fire, a spark that crackled like embolzened lightning and then the darkness encompassed him.

.

.

Naruto let out a breath he was unaware he was holding. The academy had never seemed bigger, the gates providing a different feeling. In a sense, it was the right feeling. Today felt different for the blonde, it was different for him.

Naruto took another step, fully accepting his fate. This time, he intended to get it right. There was no room for error, no second chances, not if he wanted to pursue his dreams and acquire the acknowledgement he so desperately craved for.

The blonde took in the sights, eyes memorizing every single detail he could tell apart. If all went well, this would be the final time he stepped into the academy as a student. It was already full by the time he made it there and the majority of the students took no notice of him. It was not the usual faked ignorance of his presence, but a general unawareness by the populace. The other children were so enraptured by the events taking place shortly, they hardly would have seen him.

Naruto did not mind much but soon enough, everyone would take notice of him and the name Naruto Uzumaki. He walked up to his seat and sat quietly, eagerly awaiting the instructors.

"Naruto,"

He looked up and saw Himika, her golden eyes looking at him without any real emotion swirling in them. Her expression was passive, her posture straight but relaxed in nature. Unworried, he decided. She stood by the front of his desk, hands lightly touching the wooden surface.

"Morning," he beamed up at her and the excitement in his voice was clear and she had no trouble telling it apart. That, and there was the flare of his chakra as he spoke, that general buzz he brought today.

She took up the seat next to him and tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear, the motion making her seem so mundane, so very normal when Naruto knew she was not. Said seat was vacant, with all the others helping each other go over some final details in preparation for the test at hand.

"Naruto...that final portion of the exam, the bunshin, have you gotten it?" she didn't look at him as she spoke, her eyes watching everyone as they went about their business.

"Not the normal way, but I got it done," He sounded proud of himself and Himika, though uncertain of how he had finally managed it, nodded. It wouldn't do to have Naruto fail, not when he and Sasuke both held her interest. Him being held back in the academy an extra year would likely hamper any activities of interest with the two.

Sasuke and Naruto.

Himika shook her head. Surely there could be no opposites greater than them. From appearance to skill, hardwork and inborn talent, down to the nature of their chakra as a whole. They were different, compatible and each highly volatile in nature. In truth, her fascination stemmed from what they had on the inside. Nothing else had really mattered to her in the beginning apart from their chakra.

They called to her and on many occasions she had answered, yet still she lacked the answers she searched for.

"In the end...time will tell what makes you different,"

She folded her arms and looked toward the door as Iruka and Mizuki stepped, a large stack of paper in hand. The written portion would come first and she held no concern for that part. Naruto had a different perspective of it all. To him, this was the hardest portion of the whole exam.

No one came to displace her from her new position, so Himika maintained her seat next to the blonde, ignoring his sudden nervousness. To be fair, she had expecred him to react this way to the written exam.

"Today is an important day, the day that'll decide the future of your shinobi careers. So of you will thrive in that respect, while some of you may choose to pursue careers in other field. In any case, just know that I'm proud of you no matter the choice, so do your best today," Iruka wiped a stray tear from his eye while Mizuki simply shook his head.

The students clapped their hands at his speech and Naruto smiled in silence. He felt better, Himika decided, but that little fact would hardly have an impact on the final result.

The instructors didn't waste any time, dishing out the answer sheets and the exam papers, the room suddenly falling into silence. It was deafening in the oddest of senses and it felt like a war room. And so, the test had begun.

Some of the questions were fairly simple and some seemed to require a bit of outside thinking. Then there was the occasional one that stopped everyone in their tracks. Naruto was honestly stumped. He saw no point in him knowing the trajectory and average speeds of a kunai or shuriken or the normal length of an attack based jutsu. He felt that those were things you had to learn in battle and by instinct. You couldn't teach something with so many variables. That did little to change the fact that the questions still had to be answered,whether he knew it or not.

Himika let her fingers slide over the paper, her movements smooth and slick. What she knew, she wrote, what she didn't, which wasn't much, she simply left blank. There no need to waste her efforts on trying to guess at things she had never encountered in her.

Her operation was timed, her pen coming to a halt as the exam came to an end. The timing was perfect.

It took no more than five minutes to clear up all the desks and collect the answer sheets. With that part of the exam done, the students filed outside, their next test being their accuracy with projectiles. This one would short, each student going one by one and there was no hiding your results in this one.

"When I call your name, please come forth..."

It was a slow process, each student taking their time to adjust the position and aim for the target, each with varying results. The girls went first and Mizuki had made it clear that any technique that could be used to improve their aim could be utilized. It came as no surprise that Hinata, with the byakugan, had the highest score, with Himika following closely behind her. Anyone below her, she had not bothered to remember.

When it came to the boys, Sasuke was a clear cut above the rest. His scores were perfect, somethung that many expected of him but it did not fail to peev Naruto. How could someone be that perfect at everything he did.

Naruto himself gave an average performance, one that had him stuck in the middle of the class. It was still good enough for him to pass, but he wasn't satisfied with it or himself.

Finally, the taijutsu round had begun and this time the boys came first, with each fight receiving a varied number of screams from the opposite gender. Certain fights had everyone groaning, such as Shikamaru giving up with his victory nearly inevitable, Kiba and his dog getting in each other's way and some were simply disappointing.

"Naruto and Sasuke!"

For a while it was silent and Himika let her eyes flutter open, watching each boy as they walked to the center of the ring. It had been so long since they last clashed like this, over two years and she felt something was different this time. As she watched them meet in the center, something flashed in her eyes and she shook her head.

"Unison sign," the instructors called out but neither one of the boys was forthcoming with their hands. There was a tension in the air, almost suffocating and Himika thought that for a moment, they would just start going at each other.

Eventually, they brought their hands together, but neither one smiled, their lips twitching downward. They stepped back and Mizuki raised his hand, a slight smirk on his facial features.

"Hajime!"

All eyes fell upon the duo as they collided, arms locking them in place as the dust rose underneath them. Naruto broke off, using his foot to raise himself off the ground and aim for Sasuke's head with his free foot. The Uchiha side stepped, ducking his head to accompany the slight movement as he leat away from the blonde. His feet were swift, dodging the majority of the attacks being thrown his way. Naruto was becoming frustrated and he reared his fist back.

Sasuke slipped into his guard in that same motion. His speed was quick and the blonde found himself unable to compete. Sasuke launched his elbow into the jinchuriki, with Naruto staggering back. Sasuke went for another hit, but the blonde was more equipped this time, his feet switching just before contact as he used the other boys momentum to throw him onto the ground.

Sasuke pushed himself off the ground and bend backwards just in time to avoid the kick Naruto sent his way. The blonde felt himself losing his balance as he struggled to keep upright. Sasuke shot back up and grabbed the blonde by the elbow and pulled on him. Naruto was unable to stop Sasuke from slamming his knee into his gut, knocking the wind put of his sails.

Naruto stumbled back and Sasuke pursued his advantage. Naruto, hunched over in an awkward position, used his head to get the better of the Uchiha. Sasuke was caught off guard and could do nothing to prevent it. Both boys felt the impact and Naruto grinned as he looked at Sasuke.

"Not so pretty now are ya," there was smugness to it and rightfully so. Sasuke wiped his bottom lip and fell into stance. He was a bit surprised but he was happy to have something worth the while. He pushed off his hind foot and barreled into his counterpart, the blonde skidding back at the blunt force. He stabilized himself, but Sasuke was faster, his movements more fluid. Naruto stuck in there, taking hit after hit before he finally grabbed hold of Sasuke, locking him in place.

"Sasuke!" He slammed his fist into the other boy and he was sire he heard a tooth crack. Sasuke felt the force of the attack, but as he noticed Naruto's grip slacken, he wrapped his legs around the arm and used the momentum to propel them forward, forcing Naruto onto his back.

He landed above the blonde and pinned him down. "You were saying?"

It was silent. There was no cheer, no screams from Sasuke's fangirls, only a lengthy silence. Then came the slow clapping from everyone as they applauded what they had just seen. Iruka was at the forefront of it all. Naruto had lost but the victory wouldn't matter in the end.

Points were simply awarded on the basis of performance, though winning certainly helped.

The boys got up and after shaking hands, they went their separate way. Naruto was surprised. Had they been clapping for both of them. For him. He allowed himself a smile.

Himika pursed her lips as she went over what she had seen. It had, for the better part, been more equal than it had ever been before. She could see the amount of effort Naruto had put into it. It was clear that Sasuke had more skill, more finesse and fluidity, but Naruto had the endurance and power, that adaptability.

She nodded to herself as the girls started their rounds. Only when her name came up did she look back at everything.

"Himika and Hyuga Hinata,"

Having no last name didn't bother her, it was natural for orphans and people hardly asked due to the excuse, but people would still talk, something she could ignore quite easily.

With the unison sign out of the way, the girls fell into stance, Hinata in her clans formal stance, Himika in something less common.

"Hajime,"

Iruka watched from the sidelines, observing his start female pupils when it came to the practical aspect of being shinobi.

The Hyuga had always been praised in terms of taijutsu but what he was seeing was surprising. Hinata was always soft-spoken but she was easily better than most of the other girls, yet seeing her being pushed onto the backfoot was surprising. Himika, for a lack of a better word, could hit quite hard. It was rare, but every hit that got through was near lethal, forcing Hinata out of stance and into discomfort. The girl spun on her heel and brought her heel down upon Hinata, who was forced to catch it. Himika didn't let up and the force caused the other girl to slip up.

"It's chakra enforced," Iruka realized as he watched the girls continue to spar.

"The amount of control it takes to reinforce muscles with pure chakra is not something easy and the effects can be disastrous. It's like being on drugs. Should I stop the fight?"

Mizuki, seeing his doubt, shook his head, silently projecting to his fellow chunin to let it go.

The fight didn't last much longer, with Himika taking a swing at her opponent, forcing her stance to widen as each hit weakened Hinata. The last thing the girl saw was the fist rapidly approaching her.

.

.

The final portion of the exam came down to the bunshin jutsu and Naruto held in his nervousness. He sighed as his name was called in, with Sasuke leaving the room, headband wrapped around his head.

Naruto walked in, his nerves skyrocketing. Iruka and Mizuki offered a smile, yet the silver haired man's smile was more uncomfortable for him than anything.

"Naruto, please perform the transformation jutsu,"

For a moment, he considered transforming into the buxom blonde he had recently perfected, but he had pulled that stance one too many times.

"Henge," with those words, in his place stood the Sandaime hokage, his regal robes descending onto the floor. He was smoking, as he was known to.

Iruka nodded with a smile as he took down the marks. Naruto switched back with a healthy grin on his face.

"Next, substitution,"

He had no qualms with this jutsu and he performed the jutsu easily enough too, switching with the stack of papers in Iruka's hands. The blonde laughed as the teacher yelped in surprise, dropping him in fear.

"F-Finally...the clones,"

Iruka became dead serious as he looked at Naruto, who gulped. Naruto took a deep breath as he searched the depths of his mind for something. As usual, it was cold but that was what he needed, what he had spent the last few years practicing for.

He performed one hand seal, different from the usual one pertaining to the jutsu. His clone materialized, taking perfect form. Iruka dropped the papers in hand as he gaped in shock. Mizuki was hardly pleased by the outcome of events and had to make sure what he was seeing was absolutely correct.

"Naruto...you pass,"

There was a tenderness to the way Iruka said it, to how happy he looked to be giving the blonde his headband.

"Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of Konoha. Believe it!"

.

.

Oni no Kuni

The night sky was dark and overcast, the moon concealed by the numerous clouds taking up the infinite space. Everything seemed peaceful, with citizens merrily go on their way. Few however, were aware of what was taking place within the priestess' temple.

"Are you...Shion?"

The girl in question, Shion,looked up at the call of her name. Dead bodies littered the floor around her, all warriors that had fallen in their futile attempts to protect her. In her hands she craddled the now late priestess of demon country. Her tears were unending and her hatred for the person before her was unmatched. The young girl glared carefully and her attacker took that as a yes.

Kimiko walked up to the girl.

"You're special. Do you know that?" the older woman smiled as she took the girl's chin in her hand and gently raised her eyes to meet hers.

"You're a monster," Shion held nothing back, her voice bitter and filled to the brim with ripe emotion. There was no word to describe her utter loathing of the Mizukage.

"Some call me a messiah," she shrugged off the comment. "Either way, monster or messiah, I'm still your conquerer, and you a simple stepping stone in the grander scheme of things. I must admit though, you are rather important, many things hinge upon your cooperation. One with the ability to foresee the destiny of others. You are a bit of a necessity," Kimiko smiled a bit as she let the girl absorb all that information.

"Tell me, what do you see?"

"You won't get away with this, I don't need a prophecy to tell you that. You won't win,"

"You aren't the first to say that. In case, I apologise for her," Kimiko looked down at the woman in Shion's arms. "...but there can be no conflict without sacrifices on both ends. It always leads to a loss in life," the woman dug her nail lightly into the girl's cheek and a bit of blood trickled out. Shion's eyes widened, her pupils dilating.

"Much like her...I thank you for your sacrifice,"

So once the bell test is out of the way and the teams are set, the plot can unfold a but quicker, though I'll be taking my time with those chapters. Note that the story will be AU from that point on to allow the story to develop in the direction I want it to.

Read and Review.