Author's note: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The original characters belong to me.

Chapter 28: The Announcements

One year ago, in the Village Hidden in the Sound

Shinichi Yamauchi was on his way to meet with the leader of the Sound Village, as well as a close friend of his: Hide Kinuta. After freeing the former test subjects of Orochimaru and re-establishing the hidden village, Hide had emerged from a former slave, to a wise leader of his people. The people of the Sound deserved a leader like him, someone who was nothing like the malicious ex-Saanin. Shinichi himself adored Hide for his ability to lead a village that was originally created to serve Orochimaru's interests only.

Although the Sound Village was mostly built underground, its people had worked hard to change it from a labyrinth to a sanctuary welcomed to the oppressed and homeless. They had also managed to turn Orochimaru's labs into places for benefits.

Shinichi neared his leader's office, which had actually been transformed into the place where the village head resided. He didn't bother to knock on the door, as he knew very well that Hide didn't find him entering without knocking a nuisance. He entered and saw Hide sit on his chair.

Hide Kinuta wore grey clothes with camouflage like most Sound ninjas did. He also wore his black forehead-protector with the Sound Village's note on it. For some reason, Hide wore bandages on his head, while his mouth and black-dotted eyes could be seen. Once the two comrades saw one another, they embraced in a good hug of friendship.

"Good to see you again, Shinichi" Hide said with a smile after their embrace. "I was longing for some good company in my place" he said and laughed. Shinichi laughed with him.

"Excuse me!?" a female voice came out to the laughing friends. They turned around and saw a woman with her black hair reaching her shoulders. She wore a typical Sound jounin vest while wearing grey pants. This was Hide's own "secretary" as well as a close advisor: Utako Abumi. "Don't you even dare acting all smartass with me!" she told them sternly while crossing her arms.

Hide scoffed at her while Shinichi laughed again. "Relax Utako, I was only being sarcastic. Geez" the man with the bandages on his head said and returned to his seat.

Shinichi stood before him while Utako took her place by standing beside Hide's seat. The conversation between them went smoothly as always. Even though Shinichi usually preferred wandering, he didn't forget where his true loyalties lied, to his friends.

"Hey Shinichi, how goes your training with those brats?" he suddenly asked him, and the bearded man knew what he was talking about.

"They're doing great, Lord Hide. I'll admit that they can be a pain in my ass sometimes, but I am proud to be their sensei, even though I believe I'm not suitable to be one" he said with honesty in his voice.

Hide understood what he meant by that. "I don't blame you for having such thoughts. Hard as it may be, our hidden village is relatively young. As such, we don't have that much professional senseis like those of the Five Great Hidden Villages" the bandaged man explained to him.

"But it's different, Hide" Utako said lowly all of a sudden while feeling bitter. "This hidden village was founded by a disgusting pedophile who molested everyone as he pleased, including us and our brothers!" she said while reminding Hide about their early childhoods.

Hide was in deep thought at the moment, as he could remember what happened to them when they were younger, and Orochimaru still ruled the village. He also began to think about his late older brother, who died while doing a suicide mission for the ex-Saanin.

"Dosu….." Hide began speaking while recalling his older brother's cunning and ruthlessness. "I still think about him for only a small amount of time" he added to his thoughts.

"But it's not just your brother. What about my brother?" Utako asked while both men could see both the pain and the sadness on her face. "That rotten bastard Orochimaru manipulated Zaku into doing fucked up things, including being used as a sacrifice to resurrect some old Hokages or whatever the hell that was!" she began sobbing.

Hide immediately rose up from his seat to comfort her and she grudgingly accepted it. As he comforted her, Hide could think about whether he could succeed in removing the taint of this hidden village's founder. As soon as she was calmed down, Hide returned to his seat.

"You are a great leader, Hide. This I am saying with honesty" Shinichi said while commending his abilities.

Hide smiled in return. "I appreciate it, old friend" he said while fixing a serious expression on Utako. "Yes, we were treated as guinea pigs, but those days are over now. With both Orochimaru and Kabuto out of the picture, the Sound Village has been given the golden opportunity to free itself from the corruption that it was founded with. No longer are we slaves or test subjects! We are now free" the bandaged man said while facing her.

Utako only widened her eyes by hearing his statements. She was not the usual type to back down from someone lecturing her, but with Hide, it was a different case. She formed a smile on her face by seeing the one who she usually clashed with. It was apparent that Utako understood what he meant and that she needed move on.

"Hide….I…" the black-haired woman did not know what to say.

Out from nowhere, the door to Hide's office exploded and the three shinobis immediately turned around to see who was foolish enough to make such entrance. Once the dusty smoke disappeared, a white-hooded man in white appeared before the adult shinobis, who remained at their defensive stances. The man only smirked by what he saw.

"I am sorry. Am I intruding here?" he asked in a sarcastic manner before removing his hood, thus revealing his long, white hair and his blue eyes. In addition, he also had black marking around his neck.

Shinichi growled when hearing this. "You don't need to tell us! By entering Lord Hide's office like this, you have already given us the answer!" he said and readied his Iron Wolf Claws from his sleeves.

The stranger only chuckled to this while stroking his long, white hair. "Not the open-minded bunch, I see. Fair enough, me and my brothers didn't expect you to be tolerant of our entrance, considering that we easily disposed of your guards" he said with a smirk.

But two people dressed in white hoods appeared behind the man but they were carrying something, much to the Sound ninja's shock. It was the local guards, who had been knocked out cold by these two hooded strangers. As they dropped the shinobis on the floor, they removed their hoods as well. The tallest was a man with blue-eyes, spikey grey hair with beard and dressed in white. He seemed to be the oldest of the trio. The second one, who was a bit smaller than him, had blue-eyes, short black hair with goatee and was also dressed in white.

"You unforgivable bastards!" Utako cursed while seeing what they had done to them. "Just who the hell do you think you are!?" she asked them angrily.

The one with the black hair only smirked by seeing her like this. "You ask us who we are?" he asked her while scoffing at her afterwards. "Foolish human, know your place" he said in return.

Hide had begun standing beside Shinichi, and the two friends were about to prepare themselves against these strangers, but the white-haired man in the middle only raises his hand against them, as a sign for them to stop. This makes them confused.

"Now, now, nobody asked you to retaliate against us. We only came here to have a nice discussion with you, or perhaps more specifically with you, Hide Kinuta" the white-haired man said while briefly fixing his azure eyes on the bandaged man.

Hide snaps in return, before facing them with suspicion. "After what you just did to our brothers and sisters, what makes you think I will have a discussion with you monsters!?" he hit back at them while preparing something on his right sleeve.

Suddenly, the tallest of the blue-eyed men took a few steps forward, fixing his eyes specifically on Hide. He had been silent for a while, only showing a serious expression on his face. "Be careful what you wish for, low-life scum. If you insist on being killed, then I am more than happy to do that for you" he warned him without remorse.

The white-haired man stood before his grey-haired partner and faced him. "Let me do the negotiations here, brother! Father will be upset if you misbehave once again" he warned him and the grey-haired man only stared at him with the same expression on his face. Feeling like no need continuing this, the white-haired man returned his attention on the Sound ninjas. "It would be best if we introduce ourselves. I am Mikazuki. The one behind me is Susanowa and the one with the black hair is Koshin. We are all brothers and servants of a power greater than the moon itself" he told them.

Shinichi was still feeling the antagonistic atmosphere around these people and it made him feel the urge to rip off their heads. But the man with black beard suppressed his anger, as he knew that nothing good would come out of it.

"What kind of bias are you spewing against us?" Hide asked calmly. "I seriously doubt that your proposition is beneficial to our village" he added grimly.

Mikazuki only scoffed at his words. "Oh please, you sound so ignorant, human. What we are offering you, is only an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for your people and village to achieve the greatness you have desired for a long time" he spoke to them with an evil grin. "So listen closely now. This world reeks of corruption and filth. We and our family can see that, even among the smallest village. Don't you ever wish you could take on something more powerful? If you Sound ninjas want to be reigning supreme in this world, pledge your hidden village to the Brotherhood of the Blue Moon. With you and the other smaller hidden villages united under a single banner, we can make this pathetic excuse for a world ours to dominate! The Five Great Nations will cover before us" he finished his mad explanation of what they were offering.

Shinichi growled by what he was hearing from the white-haired man. "All I here is nothing but the words from a madman. It makes my shiver" he said as he was getting angry at their madness. "We of the Sound Village have endured much pain and suffering to achieve freedom and peace without our former tyrants. All the more reason for us to reject your offer" he explained to the white-dressed trio.

The one named Koshin chuckled at his protest. "Are you seriously comparing us to that misbegotten Saanin named Orochimaru?" he asked before bursting out in laughter. Surprisingly, his brothers joined in. "Don't be ridiculous, that old fool couldn't even achieve what he wanted, and neither could Madara Uchiha for that matter" he explained to them.

"The one we serve is a man whose strength and wisdom surpasses those spineless fools. He is the one who is worthy of ruling this corrupted world, as well as dominating mankind!" Susanowa suddenly told them with pride. "So I would suggest you watch your tone, filthy ape! The almighty Hirohito is not to be rejected" he suddenly warned Shinichi without remorse.

"So what will it be, Hide Kinuta? Will you accept our offer and rule this world of dirt along with us? Or will you stand against our wrath? Chose you words carefully, human. Because as we speak, the almighty Hirohito's eyes are upon us" he advised the bandaged man, who was stunned by what he had been told.

Both Shinichi and Utako looked at him with desperation, as they hoped for a response to this proposal. They could see that his face changed into that of defiance and he angrily slammed his fist on his table, almost destroying it. The three white-robed men were displeased by his behavior.

"I WILL NEVER…LET THIS VILLAGE SUFFER UNDER ANOTHER TYRANT!" Hide roared at them. "NOW THAT YOU HAVE HEARD MY ANSWER…..OR THE SOUND VILLAGE'S ANSWER, LEAVE US…..NOW!" he was filled with anger as he drew up his sleeve to show his gadget to the three men, who didn't necessarily seem intimidated by it.

Mikazuki however, only scoffed at his behavior with a deep chuckle. He and his brothers then turned around to leave, but not before exchanging some last words to the Sound ninjas. "Fight if you must, Sound ninjas. But it's no matter. The time for change in this world is beyond the horizon and when that time comes, all will be united under the white moon itself. I hope it will make you regret your mistake" he said while facing them over his shoulder. He and his brothers then left Hide's residence.

After the three strangers had left, Shinichi and Utako were helping their friend with treating the injured guards along with the village's medics. As much as they wanted to think about how to respond to this new threat, treating their injured brothers and sisters, were their top priority.

"Why did you reject their offer?" Hide and his comrades could hear a young boy's voice coming from behind and they saw that Noburu and his teammates were standing behind them, watching as they treated the injured. Hide only rolled his eyes in return before continuing with what he was doing. "Don't ignore me. I just asked why you rejected their offer" the four-eyed boy said with slight irritation in his voice.

Utako fixed an angry glare towards him. "What does it matter to you, Noburu? These people were seeking conflicts, something we should not concern ourselves with!" she answered him, although in a strict manner.

Noburu's eyes intensified with anger through his glasses. "You damned fools! Can't you see it! With this opportunity, we could've taken our place as rulers of all shinobi! We could even rule over the Leaf Village!" the young boy countered.

The black-haired woman was just about to physically attack the young boy, but she was stopped by a grip on her shoulder by Hide. She widened in surprise as she watched the bandaged man stand before her to face Noburu. The grey-haired boy glared at his superior with dissatisfaction, although Hide didn't seem to mind it, as he was open for criticism from young students.

"When are you gonna start acting like a real leader for once?" Noburu asked him lowly. "Those arrogant Leaf ninjas don't deserve any credit for the way they treat those who have dedicated their lives serving them, including my father" he added while thinking about Kabuto.

Hide surprisingly closed his eyes in return and breathed deeply in disapproval. "Your father was indeed a man who had faced many hardships throughout his life. However, he easily succumbed to Orochimaru's taint, just as my older brother and the former slaves living here did" he told him in return.

Noburu gritted his teeth in anger by hearing this. "Orochimaru took him under his wing because he understood that my father was betrayed and abandoned! I could care less who he was, he at least understood what my father fought for!" the young boy spoke up.

"That is only because the Saanin viewed him as tool and puppet, young boy. Your father was just being exploited by another selfish schemer, as he had been so back in his days as a Leaf ninja" Hide pointed out to him.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" the four-eyed boy shouted and suddenly charged against his superior with a kunai in his hand.

But before he could even reach Hide, Noburu was knocked out cold by Shinichi, although the young boy did not suffer any injured due to his actions. The black-bearded man only faced his unconscious student with eyes of sympathy, as if he felt sorry for his student. But Hide put a hand on his shoulder to encourage him.

"He may be lost in the tunnel, but he will eventually reach its end with your guidance" the bandaged man told Shinichi, who nodded in return with a smile.

Utako only crossed her arms and ignored what was said. "When will you learn, Hide? This kid was meant to be a problem from the day he was born" she expressed her open disdain about Noburu.

Shinichi looked over his shoulder to look at her with his stern, but gentle eyes. "That's enough, Utako. I will take care of things now" he said as he began picking up Noburu's unconscious body.

"Where are you taking him, Shinichi-sensei?" Yuudai asked him.

"I'm bringing him back to his room and keep him company while he recovers" he said while walking, but suddenly stopped and turned around. "But if you two wanna tag along, then you are more than welcome in doing so" he said to them and they happily obliged.

"Sounds like a good idea. We ain't got shit to do, anyway" Rei said, as she and Yuudai followed their sensei carrying their teammate in his arms.

As they left, Utako directly faced her superior with concerned eyes. "What happens now?" she asked him.

The bandaged man put his arm on her cheek as a sign of taking it easy, while smiling at her. This made the black-haired woman blush her cheeks. "We will get to the bottom of this, Utako. Just you and me" he assured her and suddenly pressed his lips against hers.

The two childhood friends then shared this moment together, in light of what had transpired.

Present time, in the ruins of Shimbala, the Train Mountains

Shunsuke was sitting all by himself in the middle of a ruined stairway. The young boy couldn't help but to think about the words that he had exchanged with his twin brother and it bothered him deeply. To this end, he couldn't sleep and was now awake sitting on the stairway in silence. But even so, his brother's words continued to plague him.

"Just what is he trying to imply? I don't understand!" the young raven-haired boy wondered in his head loudly.

But his thoughts were interrupted as he could hear someone going down the steps. He quickly turned around to see who it was, but he was not frightened. In fact, he fixed a smile when seeing who it was.

Standing a few steps above him was Takeda, with Arata still hanging around his collar. The brown-haired boy with bright eyes returned the smile he was receiving from Shunsuke. "So there you are, sitting all by yourself in the night?" he stated normally.

"Oh….but I just felt that I needed to be alone for a bit. For some reason, I can't sleep" Shunsuke said while trying to come up with a justification.

Takeda took his place beside his comrade and rested his arms behind his neck. He began gazing up towards the dark-blue skies. "I don't blame ya. Sometimes, it's good to just have some space from all that blabbering and yapping you hear from Minami and Nashiko….geez" he explained while wincing at the end of his sentence, making Shunsuke chuckle in amusement. "Things have gotten pretty harsh in the last days, haven't they?" he suddenly asked him.

Shunsuke sighed deeply after hearing this. "I don't know what will happen with Inojin, but for some reason, I am beginning to feel that we don't have a good tone to one another as we used to" his expressed his thoughts and feelings. "It has happened ever since we entered the second phase of the Chuunin Exams" he added with a hint of frustration in his voice.

Takeda looked at his teammate with a raised eyebrow. "How can you be sure of that? I admit that I know little about your relationship between you and Inojin, but I think such answers are wrong to come up with" he stated his opinion and Arata barked in agreement.

Shunsuke couldn't help but to smile at his lazy, but good-hearted teammate. Before they became teammates, Shunsuke never quite understood Takeda's persona as a whole. But after getting better acquainted with him as teammates, he could now see what a valuable friend Takeda could be.

"Speaking about answers, have you ever noticed how bright the moon is shining?" Takeda suddenly asked while facing up towards the black skies and the shining moon hanging with it. "Sometimes, I wonder how it was even created" the long-haired boy admitted to Shunsuke.

"I don't know. But I must say that the moonlight is beautiful to look at" the raven-haired boy answered in return and faced the moon along with the black skies. "I could stare at the moon in all eternity" he suddenly said, causing Takeda to laugh in return.

"Slow down there, buddy. Doesn't it sound kind of torturous to you?" Takeda asked and continued laughing.

As Shunsuke watched his teammate laugh his butt of by his random choice of words, he could hear someone walking down the steps behind them. Takeda could also hear the same thing. As the two friends turned around, they were stunned to see Kotone standing there with a sweet smile on her face. The four-eyed girl adjusted her glasses before speaking.

"I couldn't help but to overhear you guys talking about the moon, so I decided to see how you were doing" the red-haired girl said sweetly

While Takeda and Arata remained skeptical towards the young Mist kunoichi, Shunsuke expressed his openness towards her with a smile, and even treated her like if she was a good friend of his.

"You are more than welcome to sit with us. If you want, that is" Shunsuke said, much to Takeda and Arata's outrage. Kotone giggled and took her place in the middle of the two boys, eventually lifting her gaze towards the black skies.

"I heard from Kaito-sensei that your team and Team Kazue were hanging on a thin thread with regards to the second phase" she suddenly said, making both boys look at her with surprised eyes. "But still, me and my teammates believes that you should still be able to continue in the Chuunin Exams, considering that you managed to acquire a key before being apprehended by the watchers" she expressed her opinion on the matter.

Shunsuke was lifted by hearing her saying that, and Takeda began easing his doubts about her. "Your team will definitely pass the second phase, right?" the raven-haired boy asked her.

Kotone's smile changed into that of a frown. "I am not sure. Despite our best efforts, we failed to acquire a key before being apprehended" she said, and her mouth suddenly changed into a scowl. "Damn those Sound ninjas! They completely ruined everything in the second phase with their scheming" she expressed her dispassion about the Sound trio.

"I hear ya. The last time I saw Konohamaru-sensei, he seemed incredibly pissed off" Takeda said while agreeing with the Mist kunoichi's words. "But only the Hokage and Nashiko's dad are the ones who can come up with a solution to this mess" he added.

Shunsuke gazed up towards the black skies, wondering what would happen next. Deep down inside him, he hoped that nothing would happen to Inojin, or the Sound ninjas for the matter, even if what they committed was atrocious.

At the same time, on a ruined bridge

Menma Unimo was taking a walk, feeling like he needed a break after what he had been through. True, once he and the other jounins had arrived at Shimbala, they were shocked once they learned what had happened on the island, both the stealing and the laying of deadly traps around the jungle.

Having heard this, Menma had hoped that none of his students had been killed, and he had been distressed for the last couple of days. But after finally seeing his students again, he had cried with relief. The young man could never imagine what would've happened if Naruto, Kiba or Sasuke came and told him that their child was dead. That would've indeed been a living hell for him.

But now that Naruto and his associates were starting to get things back to fix things, Menma could finally sit back and relax. But earlier today, he had gone visiting his students often, trying to make sure that they were doing okay. So far, they were in good shape, and Menma had told them to let him knew if anything was wrong. He was their teacher after all.

As he crossed a ruined bridge, Menma lowly muttered at the second phase's scandalous results. "I can't believe this bunch of crap!" he said with slight anger in his voice. "And here I was hoping for my students to get a perfect experience" he added lowly while continuing walking.

Menma stood in the middle and decided to have a good look at the sight he could see from the bridge. He had to admit that Shimbala was intriguing, with all its buildings, towers and bridges.

"Well, it least the night looks fine. Can't argue against that" he tried to cheer himself up and gazed up to the moon.

But while he gazed up to the moon, he could hear someone landing right behind him. It caught him completely by surprise and he immediately thought that someone was trying to sneak up on him. Menma immediately reached for a kunai and was ready to stand in self-defense. But he paused when he noticed that it was only a trio of masked Leaf ninjas on his age standing there. They were dressed in black robes.

"What's the big idea, sneaking up on me like that in the middle of the night!?" Menma demanded from them as he put his kunai back into his pocket. "Can't you see that I'm trying to get some relief from all the shit that has been going on here!?" he questioned them with anger.

Suddenly, one of the jounins removed his mask and revealed his face, thus surprising Menma. It was a young man at his age with slick dark-brown hair. He wore standard jounin attire, but also a couple of shady sunglasses covering his eyes. The young man smirked by seeing Menma's reaction.

"You gotta be kidding me…..Tadeshi?" the man with the light-brown hair asked in with little enthusiasm.

The young man named Tadeshi stretched his arms out in directions. "Menma! Wassup, fuckface, long time no see!" he said with both foul language and charisma while trying to hug him, but Menma only nudged him away. "Aw, why the long face? Aren't you happy to see your good, ol' teammate: Tadeshi Yamashiro?" he pouted in a mockingly manner, causing the man with the ponytail to sigh in irritation.

"Hell to the no" Menma said irritated in return.

But Tadeshi didn't seem to care. "I'll take that as a hell to the yes, instead" he said with a grin running across his mouth.

"What on earth are you doing here anyway? And why are you and your partners dressed like some dirty vagabonds?" he asked him while noticing the two other people dressed in black robes.

Tadeshi was surprised by his questions. "Woah, you mean to tell me that you don't recognize them?" he asked, but he could see Menma fix an irritated gaze on him. "Well, I guess these disguises do make us look strangers" he said and suddenly motioned for his teammates to remove their robes and masks.

They did as they were told and it even made the man with the ponytail more freaked out and surprised at the same time. He could see a young woman who had light-brown eyes and long hair which color was a tint of black and blue. She wore a forehead-protector around her forehead and was dressed in a light-pink jacket. The other one was a young man who was a little bit taller and muscular than his comrades. He had a shaved hairstyle, in which flat, brown hair could be spotted on his head. His face was showing seriousness, but he was a giant with a heart of gold on the inside. Unlike his comrades, this man wore clothes primarily used by members of the Interrogation Squad.

"Hold on…..Bunko Mitarashi…and Isamu Morino?" he asked as he began remembering his former classmates from his generation.

Yes, like Tadeshi, these two also used to be classmates of Menma, Ayumu, Kazue and Hideki. Bunko was the daughter of Anko, while Isamu was the son of Ibiki. When Menma had become a jounin, he had completely forgotten about their whereabouts. But he knew Tadeshi very well, as they were both students under Naruto's tutelage.

Bunko winked at him in return. "Not what you expected, eh? Well believe it or not: we're back!" she exclaimed with confidence in her voice. Truth is, Bunko was much girlish in terms of personality than that of her mother.

Menma was dumbfounded by this. "I just…where the hell have all of you been?" he asked all of them, as he really wanted to know it.

Tadeshi reached his arm around Menma's neck and pulled him closer, much to the man with the ponytail's irritation. "Relax, partner. We've only been doing some infiltration throughout the shinobi world. And yes, both Lady Tsunade and Naruto-sensei knows of it" he explained in a laid-back manner. "And we've also been having some fun in the Chuunin Exams" he suddenly added, thus snapping Mamuro.

"Are you also participating this year's Exams!?" he asked them in anger, as he loosened himself from Tadeshi's grip.

Bunko slapped his face to make him come back to his senses, something he did after feeling the pain on his left cheek. The young woman sighed in annoyance. "You're still the same clueless idiot like you've always been, Menma" she expressed her opinion on him, who only scoffed in return.

Isamu, who had so far not spoken a word, decided to speak up, feeling that his teammates were not taking this seriously enough. "The truth of matter is: we were ordered by Lady Tsunade and Naruto-sensei to enter the Chuunin Exams as their eyes and ears. We were tasked to keep an eye for anything suspicious happening between the students, yet we failed to notice these atrocities" he explained grimly while crossing his arms. "But once we discovered what had happened here, we were in charge of guiding Lord Sai and his men to apprehend those young children, including yours" he concluded with a revelation.

"But my students had nothing to do with the stealing of the Orb of Asura!" Menma suddenly said defiantly. "It was those damn Sound ninjas!" he pointed out to the trio.

Isamu fixed a disapproving look on his face while seeing this. "That may be correct. However, your students did testify in front of us that they had been cooperating with another team, something which was prohibited in this phase" he then corrected Menma's words.

Menma faced the ruined floor with a defeated look on his face before facing him again. "They may have broken a law, but compared to the Sound ninjas, they are innocent" he explained.

Tadeshi stood right before his old comrade, who was completely confused by this. "Look Menma. I understand how you feel but going around whining about it won't make anything better, for you or your students" he tried to assure him of this.

Bunko nodded her head in agreement. "We will just have to wait and see what Lady Tsunade and Naruto-sensei will say" she pointed out, agreeing with Tadeshi's words.

Menma fixed a troubled look on his face. As much as he hated to realize it, his former classmates spoke the truth. He would have to wait and see, as he was neither the Hokage nor the one organizing the Chuunin Exams.

The next day, in a ruined hall, Shimbala

There was a large gathering of shinobis inside this hall. Tsunade, Shizune, Shikamaru, Konohamaru and Naruto stood in the middle of a hall, with all the young participants of the Chuunin Exams standing before them. Everyone was curious about what was about to happen, now that the Hokage herself was present.

"Listen very carefully, rookies. After a serious discussion and interrogations yesterday, we have a few important announcements to declare now that everyone's here" Naruto said as everyone listened closely. "Now, I will leave the rest to the Hokage to tell you about our plans for now" the blonde-haired man concluded and gave the scene to Tsunade.

"With everything that has transpired recently, both on the mainland and on the Train Mountains, it is to out sorrow that we must declare the second phase of this year's Chuunin Exams disastrous" she said loud for everyone to hear. "Former aspiring ninjas were breaking the rules for the second phase and have made us convinced that those are not even worthy of becoming Chuunins. But even so….the Chuunin Exams….will not be cancelled!" she made a decleration and everyone gasped by what she said.

Before all the genins knew it, they could actually see their teachers standing in row behind the Hokage and her group and this surprised many. They could also see Tsunade change her serious look into that of a smug smile.

"All these jounins have fought both tooth and nail for you young ones to be able to participate in the Exams…..to be able to bond like true ninjas! That is something me and Naruto cannot take our eyes off" she expressed her admiration for the jounin's commitment to their students. "This is a sign that all your teams, are still with us to the third phase!" she then declared and the majority of the crowd began cheering in return.

Nashiko could only see both Mamuro and her father standing proudly facing them. She wondred whether her sensei had somewhat convinced her father and the Hokage to not cancel the Chuunin Exams. But even so, she and her teammates could see that they were still in. The other teams form the Leaf Village were also happy and satisfied to see Ayumu, Kazue, Hideki and others standing behind the Hokage.

Naruto suddenly stepped forward to take the scene and he smiled by seeing the crowd cheering for him. "Now as we stand here, all of you are curious to know why we woke up you so early in the morning. Well, the truth of the matter is: we will be leaving the Train Mountains soon and return to the Leaf Village as soon as possible. It has been decided that the third phase or the semifinals will begin tomorrow early. And five days later, the finals will commence!" he declared and everyone cheered once again, much to Naruto's amusement. "All of us responsible for organizing the phases want to show everyone that the Leaf Village is still capable of hosting the Chuunin Exams despite these tragedies!" he further declared.

As people continued cheering, Konohamaru was allowed to take the scene with enough encouragement from Naruto, who began patting his back. The brown-haired man sighed deeply before speaking up, when the cheering ceased to make noises in the hall.

"I have made a terrible mistake by choosing an island like this. And I am pleased to say that those hidden villages who lost their beloved ninjas will receive compensation for the choice I took" Konohamaru said lowly, and people could hear that he was filled with sadness. "But I also want to humbly apologize to those who lost their friends to this nightmare. I hope you can all forgive me" he said and bowed his head in shame. Surprisingly, the majority of the gathering began clapping their hands for him, something the brown-haired man did not see coming.

But the young participants were even more surprised to discover who was taking the stage and facing the crowd. It was the jounin of the Sound trio: Shinichi Yamauchi. The black-bearded man dressed in furred clothes cleared his throat before speaking up. He could see that there were some of the young ninjas who glared at him with anger. But he felt he deserved such glares.

"I grieve for what Konohamaru Sarutobi just told you all. He is placing all the blame on his shoulders, something I think he should not be doing. It was the reckless actions of my students that caused some of these lives to disappear and as their sensei, my heart was shattered" Shinichi told everyone with his deep and touching voice. "I know that this isn't enough to repay your trusts, but the Village Hidden in the Sound would also like to offer compensation to those lives lost in the second phase" he suddenly declared and the majority of the young ninjas widened their eyes by hearing him. "My students committed atrocities during the second phase, and that is punishable by death. However, things have changed in the ways of shinobi, and no longer are we driven by hatred and revenge. So on behalf on my team, I thank Master Naruto and Lady Tsunade for sparing the lives of my students" he said and bowed his head towards Naruto and Tsunade, who smiled when seeing him show his manners.

Shinichi could notice that those who had previously fixed angry glares on him had their faces changed into that of wonder and amazement. Apparently, they had not expected him to be good at accepting his responsibilities, even though his students were not present.

"However, I as a teacher must place punishment upon our team myself, which is why we won't be joining you back to the Leaf Village" he said and everyone was confused by what he meant. "I will pull my team out of the Exams and we will return to our hidden village with a ship. Even though the Hokage offered us to ride with them to the mainland, I kindly passed her offer. Being expelled from the Exams and finding our way home will be our punishment" Shinichi finally concluded and he was met with applause from the students. The black-bearded man was utterly stunned by seeing them approving of what he just told them. He rewarded it with a formal bow towards the students before leaving the scene.

Nashiko was standing near Shunsuke and Takeda and they all bumped fists into one another. To be here was a great moment, as they knew that they were still in the game.

"Let's do this, boys!" Nashiko said with confidence in her voice.

"You got that right, Nashiko" Takeda said, surprisingly agreeing with her determination for once.

Shunsuke nodded his head at her, knowing that his pink-haired teammate spoke the truth. He briefly turned his head to see his twin brother and his team celebrating the announcements as well.

"Alrighty, Team Hideki is back in business!" Guy exclaimed towards his teammates.

Kimiko smiled in return. "Of course we are, dummy! Why else would we not be?" she asked him.

Hisoka sighed in annoyance by Guy's behavior. "We were already in the game even before any of this, you numbskull!" the black-skinned boy insulted Guy, who didn't necessarily seem to care what he said.

To be continued…

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We got to know a bit more about the Sound Village and these mysterious people. We also got to know the results of the chaos. Next chapter will focus on Nashiko and the others returning to the village and head straight for the third phase. There will be fighting. These are some of the voice actors the Sound ninjas and the Leaf jounins we got to meet in this chapter would've had. And just so you know, I have no clue about Japanese voice actors.

Hide Kinuta – Trevor Devall

Utako Abumi – Tabitha St. Germain

Tadeshi Yamashiro – Brian Drummond

Bunko Mitarashi – Jamie Marchi

Isamu Morino – David Kaye