Out of the Unknown

by axellon2008

Naruto discovers a crashed starship outside his village and his life is forever changed. Under the unorthodox tutelage of a Sith Lord's spirit, he will learn the technology and history of a larger galaxy that he, and no one else from his planet, ever knew existed.

6. Chapter 6

AN: I don't own Naruto, or Star Wars

POLL RESULTS

I might keep the poll open for another chapter, despite Plasma having a large lead, as there were several late entries such as swift, dust, and magnetism sub-elements. Its unlikely that another element could beat plasma at this point but there is a chance.

Plasma (suggested by Hollow-Inuyasha) – 30 votes

Storm (suggested by FFwatchdog) – 17 votes

Ice (suggested by axellon2008) – 16 votes

Crystal/diamond (suggested by Ffwatchdog) – 13 Votes

No sub-element – 7 votes

Magnetism (suggested by DarknessKen) – 7 votes

Swift (suggested by Fury074) – 4 votes

Dust (suggested by Draco Kamikaze) – 3 votes

Thank you to all who voted.

40.5 BBY – Current Year

x-x

Chapter VI: What it takes to get the team you want

Half a year has passed since the previous chapter, Naruto is eight and a half years old

x-x

Dodging several thrown projectiles, Naruto attempted to charge but was once again forced to back off because of the cloth that kept trying to ensnare him. It was a rather annoying jutsu that the kunoichi he was fighting kept using.

The cloth followed Naruto's movement and he substituted himself with a log to evaded the fabric. He evaluated the situation from above in one of the many tall trees in the forest of death. The kunoichi soon found him though and with a flick of her wrist, the cloth sent the log that she had captured hurtling towards him. With a quick and easy swipe of his red ninjato, the log was cut neatly in two and both pieces missed him.

Naruto stared down at the Suna kunoichi while she stared up at him. She now knew that the sword he carried was far deadlier than it should have been. Naruto hadn't expected this much trouble since he had already managed to take a scroll from one genin team today. He only needed a single scroll to pass his Master's test but it had been easy so he continued in search of another. Both the kunoichi's teammates were already incapacitated but she was still fighting strong with her cloth techniques. She was perhaps a few years older than Naruto and with two red markings on her cheeks.

They both eyed each other as both waited for the other to make a move. Naruto really didn't want to kill the girl standing on the forest floor. He had yet to use any of his Force abilities as he didn't want anyone to know that he had them unless if was necessary. Taking information from opponents was one thing but he couldn't modify memory. Naruto wasn't even allowed to be in the forest of death because he still had six months to go at the academy before he could become a genin.

His illegal entry into the chunin exams was not something that he wanted anyone in the village to find out about so he couldn't get captured by the kunoichi. He was brought out of his thoughts when the girl acted first and threw two kunai with explosive tag at his perch on the tree. Naruto jumped out the way and had to maneuver himself in midair to dodge the length of fabric that came after him. It hit the a nearby branch and actually sliced into it which made Naruto's eyes widen. 'I didn't know she could sharpen and harden the fabric with chakra in addition to manipulating it to move after me.' he realized as he controlled his fall to the ground.

The moment Naruto touched the ground, he sprang forward at his opponent who unrolled more of her cloth from the roll that she kept with her. Naruto swung and cut the cloth several times which stopped it from snaring him and let him get in closer to fight better. However the kunoichi was smart and kept her distance from him.

Switching tactics, Naruto went through the available list of ninjutsu at his disposal. He did have a few lower ranking water jutsu that he had learned from the Nidaime's scroll. Since getting the scroll, he had mastered the water nature transformation exercises that he had taken from Rokusho Aoi and had time to learn several D-rank and C-rank water jutsu. He hadn't had a chance to start using the larger and more powerful techniques as he had taken time to experiment with the affinity to see what he could do with it. He also didn't have any area secluded enough that he could practice the larger jutsu without attracting attention to himself.

Naruto returned his sword to the sheath over his right shoulder and went through several hand seals. 'Water Release: Violent Water Wave,' he said in a whisper and shot an expanding wave of water out of his mouth at his opponent. Though the kunoichi was able to escape the attack, her cloth was drenched and she saw that her opponent was charging her.

Naruto moved in with his sword just after the jutsu had finished, to attack at close range. The drenched cloth was much slower and wouldn't be able to catch him. Naruto dodged the cloth but when he was nearly at his opponent, another roll of cloth shot out from a second roll that she revealed. Naruto was too close to dodge and not fast enough to do anything as the cloth wrapped around him.

The kunoichi acted quickly and placed a sealing tag on the bundle of cloth. She watched as the seal took affect but her eyes widened. The bundle of cloth deflated and water pooled out of her cloth. 'Water clone' were her thoughts just as she was hit from behind and knocked out.

Naruto stood behind the fallen kunoichi. He had used the jutsu as a distraction to hide while a water clone had moved in to get captured or defeat the kunoichi. Naruto stared at the down kunoichi and decided against invading her mind and taking her techniques. 'I would have no use for them.' he told himself and he had no plans on finishing her off. He would just look for a scroll and search the minds of her teammates for jutsu and other techniques.

Before Naruto could carry out his plans though, he felt three people approaching. He quickly analyzed the situation and noticed a puddle of water from his jutsu and water clone. Naruto smiled as he had an idea.

x-x

Three Ame genin landed on a branch nearby and surveyed the forest floor below. They spotted three downed ninja and the kunoichi of the group. All three of them were shinobi and were in the forest trying to gather a second scroll. They were on their own, with no supervision or monitoring of any kind.

They approached the unconscious kunoichi cautiously and checked for a pulse. They found one and debated what to do next. It wasn't very often that they came across a pretty girl in the forest. They couldn't decide exactly what to do though and started arguing in hushed voices.

About seven feet away, a small rippled formed on a large puddle of water. A hooded head emerged, followed slowly by a body. Naruto had yet to use this technique in a surprise attack but it looked like today was the day. The jutsu allowed for a ninja to hide in a body of water, escaping detection and notice. The water could be the ocean, a lake, river, stream, or even something like a very shallow puddle. The depth didn't matter, so long as the surface area was large enough for a person to stand on then the jutsu could be used.

It was similar to to an Iwa jutsu that allowed a person to hide amongst the rocks without being seen. As Naruto emerged, no water clung to him and he didn't make a sound. He was suppressing his chakra and once fully emerged, his hand moved to his sword. The three Ame ninja hadn't noticed him at all.

x-x

Naruto emerged from the forest of death and hopped the fence surrounding it with a Force jump. The chunin guard that area of the perimeter was about to say something when Naruto waved his hand and said, "You didn't see anything, continue monitoring the perimeter."

The chunin repeated in a daze, "I didn't see anything. I'll continue monitoring the perimeter." and Naruto sprinted away from the training ground and back to the village.

Naruto's thoughts were a jumble and concerned the information that he had taken from the ninja he had encountered in the forest of death. He also idly wondered if the Suna kunoichi would be able to complete the exam. He had left her team's scroll alone and left them the Ame ninja's scroll too. He had gotten a few jutsu off the Ame ninja and even learned some basic training techniques in earth nature transformation. He was content to leave things the way they were: with the Ame ninja beaten senseless, tied together, and left in an area of the Forest of Death that had much more death than forest.

Naruto already had the scroll that he had taken from the first team he encountered and that was enough to pass his master's test. 'That was an interesting performance.' said a very familiar voice in Naruto's head. It was at that point that Naruto remembered that his Master was sealed in the storage seal on his forearm and had seen the entire test.

'How so, Master?' Naruto asked with some hesitance and nervousness, while still making his way back to the village at top speed.

'You had an opportunity to gain three scrolls, yet you didn't. Instead you helped a group of ninja that you defeated. Was it out of pity that you did it? Or perhaps it was the girl?' inquired Plagueis.

'I saw no need to kill her. It wouldn't have helped me in anyway.' stated Naruto.

'True. but you also left her teammates perfectly fine, gave them the scrolls they needed to pass, and even protected her from another team. I was also surprised to see that you left those Ame ninja to a rather horrible death. That area you left dumped them in was the territory of those extremely large bears and you left them rather bloody.' said Plagueis to his student.

Naruto searched his thoughts and feelings about what he had done during the test and he really couldn't give a very good answer as to why he did it. He couldn't just leave the kunoichi alone in the woods, nor could he let the Ame team do what they had planned on doing. He also wasn't sure why he had helped them pass the exam. It wasn't something that a Sith would do and it would leave the Suna team with questions about who he was and why he helped after fighting them.

'Your feelings betray you my student. You let your emotions take control of you and influence your decisions. You must control your emotions and not let them rule you. The galaxy is not a forgiving or kind place. Despite your strange method of completing the rules of the test, you did procure one scroll which was what the test entailed. Your surprise attacks and strategy for all three fights were well planned and executed, though you never fought to your fullest and made it life or death.

I would normally say that your overall performance in the test was average but since you gained a few more jutsu, perhaps it was slightly above average.' stated Plagueis. He could feel the conflict in his student but not any fear or regret. Despite rigorous training, Naruto still possessed a set of morals that were not fitting for a Sith. Then again, Plagueis wasn't teaching Naruto in the same manner that he had taught Sidious, so this was the outcome of not completely removing those flaws and emotions from his acolyte.

With Sidious, the student and master dynamics were of fear, hatred, and forced loyalty. With Naruto it was more about earned trust and loyalty. Plagueis had payed attention to the boy, told him things no one else would tell him, and had given him training and knowledge when no one else cared. In return, Naruto would help Plagueis in his endeavors, not because he was forced to but because he wanted to.

Despite knowing his acolyte for four years and even having access to his mind, Plagueis still found it difficult to tell what Naruto would do next. He would not have guessed or predicted that his student would leave the Ame ninja to die and help the Suna ninja to such a degree. On one hand, the boy could be rather ruthless and on the other, he could be kind and generous. These opposites could never exist for a Sith and should not exist as it was the masters job to remove those weaknesses. He found it most interesting that Naruto could be rather ruthless while protecting someone that he didn't know or had just met. The dark side of the Force was influencing Naruto but not as much as it should have been and as it did with other Sith.

A Sith with no control over their emotions could be a very dangerous to anyone, but Naruto did possess some control and still held onto his own morals while using the dark side of the force. Plagueis was interested to see what would become of his acolyte in the coming years and once they were back in the known galaxy. There had been a select few Sith in the past that had held onto their attachments while still being a Sith and using the dark side of the Force. It required great will power and strong attachments in order to stave off the effects of the dark side of the Force. Usually a Sith would cast off these connections and perhaps even kill those they were close with in order to turn completely to the dark side. Plagueis wasn't sure that Naruto would ever turn completely to the dark side of the Force as the boy kept many attachments and wouldn't let go of them. Naruto still had a diminished desire to become Hokage and even help the village, despite Plagueis' efforts to move him away from that dream.

'Then again, perhaps it was the human element in the test. Usually these tests would be done on remote locations and the Sith student would be pitted against creatures as well as assassin droids.' That was how Plagueis was tested and how he tested Sidious. Naruto would have no trouble destroying assassin droids but did have concerns taking the life of a living being.

Tests such as the one Naruto went through, didn't usually involve fighting living beings at the age Naruto was at. The more advanced tests that were given to a Sith student involved living beings, which was either fighting a strong opponent(s) or an assassination. They were administered sometime in the teen to young adult years, but Naruto was advancing in the practical aspects of a Sith much faster than anyone his age should have been. It was because of this and other reasons that Plagueis would be using one of those more advanced tests in a few months and was interested to see what would happen. He had a feeling through the Force, that the success of the test would help create the opportunities they had been waiting for.

x-x

Over five months later (a few days before the academy exam for graduation)

Naruto is now nine and the current year is 40 BBY

At the secret hideout

x-x

Naruto was kneeling in front of his master's holocron. Plagueis had been working on a plan for team placement for some time now and apparently he was now going to reveal it to Naruto.

"As you know, the academy graduation exam is in a weeks time. You have been doing slightly worse in your academy classes to put you out of the top spot in the class. When I looked into the chunin teacher's minds, I saw that the rookie of the year is usually placed with the lowest academy member and the smartest female ninja. I don't want you to be placed on a team like this as it would not help you. From meditating, I have felt through the Force that it would be better to place you on a different team, one that is not in the academy." said Plagueis as he began to reveal his plans.

A month ago, Plagueis had him break into the records room in the Hokage tower in order to look through the current genin teams of the village. 'This must be the reason for that information gathering mission. So Master intends for me to be placed on a current genin team? How will that work out, none of them had openings?' realized Naruto as he searched through his memories of the different genin teams his Master had him look through.

Plagueis could feel through their connection that Naruto was already piecing together his plan but the boy lacked one detail. "The current genin teams of the village do not have any openings. So you will have to create an opening." stated Plagueis with finality and Naruto's eyes widened as he put together what his master was referring to.

He would have to assassinate a genin of the village in order to create an opening for himself.

x-x

Naruto spent most of the next day following one of the two possible targets. Both were on the same genin team along with a third genin. The whole team ranged from six to ten years older than him and had been genin for around five to seven years. The two teammates that Naruto was shadowing were not very gifted ninja. Both were nineteen years old and had taken the chunin exam several times, failing each time. The final member of the group was four years younger at fifteen and had taken the genin exam fewer times while graduated the academy at an earlier age than his teammates. Plagueis didn't want Naruto to go after the smarter and more proficient genin as that would be more detrimental to the team. Instead he was going after the lesser members as it would be easier and allow Naruto to integrate onto the team faster.

While Plagueis had chosen the team and the two genin, Naruto had to make the decisions of which one he was going to kill and how he would go about doing it. From what he could tell from their files, each genin had a specific skill that was known to them which wasn't a nature jutsu. They didn't have any family in or outside the village. The only member that did have family was the member of the team that Plagueis had not chosen.

At the end of the day, Naruto sat down in the hideout to meditate on the possibilities of which person he would kill. It was a difficult prospect as he had never directly killed anyone before and was conflicted about it. He would wait until a few days before the exam so that the Hokage was faced with making the team decisions at the academy as well as filling in someone to take the place of the genin he would kill. Having both on his mind at the same time would likely cause Hokage to think about filling in the incomplete genin squad with a fresh genin. Naruto would be a likely candidate as he had moved up through the academy and was gifted beyond the other students. They were using Naruto's trouble with creating the clone technique as a cover for the slight drop in his grades. The Sandaime was a man of tradition and would no doubt keep the same team formation for the rookie of the year. That would leave Naruto as the odd person out because he was still very gifted and the class had one more student than it should have because Naruto skipped ahead so many grades.

There was the chance that the Sandaime wouldn't put Naruto on the more experienced team but that was unavoidable unless they tried to persuade the Sandaime which was out of the question. The man may have been old but they weren't going to try and trick him. Mind tricks only worked on the weak minded and weak willed so it was likely they wouldn't work on the veteran Hokage.

The plan was risky, as Naruto would have to kill a genin and make sure to not leave any evidence or get caught in the act. There was no one to partially pin the blame on this time as neither genin had any close ties with the village, family, or really any enemies. Plagueis also wouldn't let Naruto do what he had done the last time and erase the person's memory, Naruto had to kill this time.

Naruto was having trouble dealing with the fact that he would have to kill someone without the assurance that the death would help his team placement. The other times his actions had lead to the deaths of others were for a very good reason and it wasn't actually him personally doing the killing. This situation was very different. It was a test from his master and he didn't want to fail.

The two genin he was to choose from were rather different and it was difficult to decide one over the other. Naruto was far more interested in the special technique of one of the genin more than the other. However if he was let on that team, he couldn't let them know that he knew the technique of their deceased teammate. That would lead to questions he didn't have answers to. This lead Naruto to choosing based on which person was less beneficial for the team. When he thought about it that way, one of the genin stood out as the person that was the weaker link.

x-x

The following night, Naruto once again walked the shadowy streets of Konoha in his black all-weather cloak from the starship. He hadn't worn it since he had stolen the Raijin and the scroll. It was currently pouring in the village and most people were either indoors or in some kind of shelter. Few ninja were outside during lightning storms as they carried so much metal with them and often jumped across the tops of buildings to travel through the village. Naruto moved soundlessly through the alleyways of the village. He had memorized them years ago and knew the best route to get to the apartment that he was going to.

It wasn't long before Naruto spotted the apartment complex he was after. Pulling down his goggles, he searched for the floor that he was after and found the target's apartment. The light was on which wasn't that strange as it wasn't that late. He wasn't sure whether it was better to sneak in after the genin was asleep or just the direct approach and go in now. He thought to ask his Master whose holocron was sealed on his arm but this was supposed to be his test and he wasn't going to fail or ask for help.

Naruto didn't really like to wait, despite his master telling him that he needed more patience so he decided to go now. He would rather get what he had come there to do over with and not wait. He could feel his target in the apartment on the fourth floor and he made his way into the building. He could tell when the lighting would strike so he hid in the shadows during those strikes. The alleys were dark enough for him to walk without being seen but the lightning illuminated everything. He also suppressed his chakra so no one would detect him. It took a couple of minutes to move through the shadowy areas to the building that he wanted while making sure that he was hidden from the flash of the lightning and he couldn't be spotted by anyone.

Naruto wasn't about to try and get access to the apartment from the outside, though he had thought about it. There were too many variables and he would have to get in through the window which was too difficult. He did have another option and it was an interesting discovery with one of his water jutsu.

Naruto made his way to the side entrance of the apartment building. It was locked but he didn't need a key. With a wave of his hand, the door unlocked and opened for him. He walked through and it shut soundlessly behind him and locked itself. He looked at his cloak and noticed the amount of water that he had on it.

With a few handseals, the water that was on his clothes fell the the floor and collected in a small puddle. Naruto pulled out a half full bottle of water from his cloak. He bend down and using his chakra, gathered the water into a perfect sphere in his hand. Naruto then used his chakra to siphon the water into the bottle, leaving it almost full. He had gotten rather good with his water manipulation.

Naruto put the bottle back in his cloak as he would need it later and then made his way through the building. He couldn't feel anyone but tried to keep his chakra suppressed regardless. He came out of a service entrance or janitorial area and into the main entrance area for the building. Passing by a group of mailboxes, he found the staircase. No one was in the staircase or about to use it, so he silently walked to the fourth floor.

When he got to the fourth floor, Naruto opened the door and walked into the hallway. There were many apartments on this level and Naruto knew the one he wanted and the best way to get into it. He reached back into his cloak and pulled out the water bottle. He bent down and gentlly poured it to the floor so it made a good sized puddle that was just right for what he needed to do with it.

Naruto stood up, pocketed the bottle and gently stepped onto the puddle. With a few handseals, he sank into the puddle. It was a simple jutsu that he had used before but while using it he had discovered something.

Naruto used the Force and the puddle began to move down the hallway. It was the simultaneous use of the Force and Chakra for the jutsu that created an interesting affect. Normally the jutsu was just used to hide in any body of water and move through it but the smaller the body of water, the less you could move around. So with just a puddle, Naruto was stationary while in the puddle. With the Force, however, he could now move the puddle. The water jutsu allowed for someone to hide not only themselves but their Chakra as well. Only a Chakra sensor could even detect his presence while he was using that jutsu.

The puddle moved down the hallway and approached the door of his target. Naruto was able to use the puddle to bypass the door entirely as he could slip in the small space between the bottom of the door and the floor. Before he went into the apartment, Naruto stopped the puddle and used the Force to sense the genin. Apparently he was in the kitchen and eating dinner or a snack. Naruto quickly moved the puddle into the apartment and hid in the kitchen. The apartment was rather nice and better than Naruto's. He knew that some ninja apartments in the village were just a single room but this one wasn't.

The genin wasn't paying attention so Naruto moved the puddle underneath the table. He knew the genin hadn't spotted him at all so he slowly moved around behind the genin's chair. The puddle was positioned directly behind the genin sitting in the char.

Ninja could be very sensitive to the presence of others besides just Chakra. The more experienced the ninja, the more they could feel objects coming or someone approaching them. It was really a combination of several senses that gave this extra feeling. The last time he had entered an apartment and attacked a ninja, he had been rather lucky that no one had heard the scuffle and that he managed to stop the ninja from shouting or attacking him. This time he would be more careful and learn from his previous mistakes. The puddle didn't even leave a wetness or trail behind as it passed over the surfaces in the hallway and apartment.

Naruto moved out of the puddle at a slow pace so as not to alert the genin in front of him. The light was situated above the table so he would not cast a shadow. His head, then neck, and finally the rest of his body emerged out of the puddle. Before the gennin even knew that something was wrong. Naruto's hand reached forward and grabbed his head. The glasses wearing gennin froze, everything started going black, and he felt pain but was unable to scream. Naruto had gotten better with the Drain Knowledge technique and quickly searched for any information that might be interesting.

It was as he first thought, the genin really didn't have jutsu that would be useful to him, especially the one that he was known for which was called the soft physique modification technique. Through a medical procedure, it allowed him to dislocate all his joints and fit into tight spaces while using Chakra to stretch, twist, and contort any part of his body. It was interesting but of no use to Naruto. While looking through information about the genin's teammates, he found something much more interesting than he thought he would. It appeared that the genin, along with his two teammates, were all spies for Orochimaru of the Sannin.

Naruto and even Plagueis hadn't expected this turn of events. Plagueis had just selected a genin team that weren't very good but also had taken the chunin exams before. Because the team was only average, there was more of a chance that a fresh genin would be put on their team and since they had already taken the chunin exams, there was a good chance that they would take it again in a short amount of time.

Neither suspected that the team would all be spies for a missing-nin, save for the jonin sensei. It appeared that the jonin wasn't a spy or knew about his genin team being spies. Tsurugi Misumi, the genin Naruto had chosen, was the weaker genin in the group but the other genin he could have chosen wasn't that much stronger. It turned out that the final group member was at least jonin level and also worked far more closely with Orochimaru than the other two.

Naruto asked his Master for instructions as he was no longer sure what to do. Plagueis thought about the predicament and the possible outcomes that could arise. It might be more dangerous for Naruto to be on a team like this but it could also lead to more opportunities and since the other two members were spies and one of them hiding his true skills, it might be easier for Naruto to hide his true skills as well. Naruto also had information about them so it could be used to his advantage if the other members discovered anything about him. Finding out more about Orochimaru might be worth it as well.

They knew little about the Sannin and only what was told in class. According to Misumi's mind, Orochimaru planned to gather and learn all the jutsu in the world. The snake sennin was also creating his own hidden village in a country bordering Fire Country. They also learned of a small base that he had in Sea Country where a scientist was working on creating the ultimate underwater warrior. Misumi only knew so much of the snake sennin's plans and power-base, however the other teammate, Yakushi Kabuto, knew much more. The more they found out about Orochimaru through the mind of the genin, the more Plagueis thought that the man was the Chakra equivalent of a Sith. Orochimaru possessed many of the same aspirations of a Sith and he quickly became a person of interest to Plagueis.

Coming back to the situation at hand. It was risky but worth it to continue and try to become part of the genin squad. Naruto had just about finished going through all of the memories on jutsu, the genin squad, spying on the village, and Orochimaru. There was nothing more that could be gained from the genin sitting at the table.

'Continue with the test my student.' said Plagueis over the connection and Naruto nodded though was still unsure about committing the act.

Naruto used Force Grip to keep Misumi in the chair and from talking. It wasn't necessarily needed as the genin was still going in and out of consciousness from the Drain Knowledge used on his mind. Reaching up over his right shoulder, Naruto grasped the handle of his ninjato and pulled it from its sheath. He steadied himself and tried to keep his hand from shaking while gripping his sword. A slight buzz or hum came from the sword as Naruto put some chakra into the handle to activate the vibration technology. He hesitated for only a moment, then with a single horizontal swing it was over.

Naruto sheathed his sword and stared at the body in front of him. With the Force grip, the body had been sitting perfectly still in the chair. The sword gave no resistance and the head actually stayed on the neck. The only indication that the person in front of him was dead was a few thin lines of blood from the neck and the lack of life signs that he could sense through the Force. Everything in the room was quiet and Naruto wasn't sure why the body hadn't fallen, why the head hadn't come off, or why the wound wasn't bleeding profusely. It was rather eery and the scene as well as his actions made him feel very sick

'I think your use of Force Grip when killing him caused his body to seize up and stay that way. You should leave the area immediately. There is nothing else that can be gained here.' stated Plageuis and Naruto came back to reality. He went through handseals and sunk back into the puddle and then moved back the way he came.

Naruto siphoned the water from the puddle back into the bottle and went down the stairs. He checked to make sure that no one was there and left through the same door he entered. Moving through the alleyways, Naruto made his way back to his house and took a long path to do it. He was already using a technique to hide his scent but he had just killed a genin of the village so he had to be sure. 'The rain would wash everything away.' Naruto thought.

His eyes widened slightly at that thought and Naruto went through the same set of handseals as he did in the apartment building. He slipped into one of the many puddles that had formed from the rainstorm then used the Force to move away from the crime scene and back to his apartment through the puddles of Konoha.

x-x

The next day, Apartment building of Tsurugi Misumi

x-x

The Sandaime entered a fourth floor apartment that was now the scene of a murder. Without the Uchiha Military Police, the village had to use ANBU in order to take care of any problems inside the village involving ninja. From what little details the Sandaime had, a genin had been murdered in his apartment and apparently the death was rather strange.

This was actually the first murder in the village since the Uchiha clan had been wiped out. Unless the suspicious death of Uchiha Shisui was counted, it had been years since a murder took place in Konoha. The Sandaime was asked by Morino Ibiki to come down and take a look.

The Sandaime looked around at the apartment out of habit from years of being a ninja. He examined the room before walking to Ibiki at the table. The apartment was small but had everything that one person needs, a kitchen/dining area, bathroom, and bedroom.

Nothing seemed out of place in the room and the only thing that the Sandaime noted that was strange was the body that Ibiki was standing next to. The body was sitting in the chair and staring straight forward as if the person wasn't really dead. The Sandaime noted some blood and bruising around the neck but no real marks were present.

"Report." requested the Sandaime.

"The genin is Tsurugi Misumi, age nineteen. We found no signs of forced entry and the body is exactly how it was found by a member of his genin squad. We're checking their alibi's now. From what we can tell, the time of death was late last night from a single attack to the neck. No fingerprints, no tracks, no scent, no witnesses, no noises, and nothing has been touched or taken as far as we can tell."

The Sandaime sighed as he inspected the genin. It was rather sad to see any of his ninja die but the state of the ninja before him seemed to make the situation much more depressing. This genin wasn't noteworthy but he cared about all his ninja, the skillful or the ones never made it past genin. "You said a single wound to the neck?" asked the Sandaime as he could see some blood and bruising but not really enough to warrant death, he supposed the attack must have broken the neck or severed the spine.

Ibiki nodded and put his hand on the bodies head. Grabbing the hair, he lifted up and the head just came right off the neck with ease. The Sandaime stared at the wound as it was more extensive than he originally thought. 'Such a clean cut and the head didn't come off the neck.' he thought as his mind went through techniques which he knew or heard of that could have done something like this. Ibiki set the head back down on the neck.

"Was he restrained in some way or was the body held in place until rigor set in?" asked the Sandaime and Ibiki answered, "Not that we can find."

"What do you think could do something like this?" asked the Sandaime curiously as he wanted Ibiki's opinion.

"The only things I can think of are wind or lightning jutsu. It would have to have been a very sharp technique that did this, far sharper than any blade. It was such a clean cut that barely any blood escaped the wound. All of the bleeding was internal around the neck area. It must have been fast, a single swing or single technique. I don't know many lightning techniques that could do this except very advanced vibration of a special blade and I don't know of anyone that knows that kind of technique in the village. As for wind jutsu, they are far more likely for something like this. It could have been a jutsu but there was no damaged to the apartment which suggests a blade. The blade must have been chakra metal as I don't know as a kunai infused with wind chakra could do this. I don't know many people who can use wind chakra like that. Also there is no blood spatter anywhere. Only a few people in the village are skilled enough to do something like this with wind chakra." stated Ibiki and the Sandaime knew the list as well. His son Asuma was on it. As well as his old teammate Danzo. However he couldn't believe that either of those men would want to kill this genin.

"Can you put together a list of suspects?" the Sandaime asked and Ibiki nodded. The Sandaime left the room with a heavy sigh. He really didn't like where this case was headed. He knew Asuma was innocent and wouldn't do something like this but Danzo was another story. He knew Danzo would be capable of something like this but he doubted the man would actually do it himself. That left a short list of suspects that could use wind nature chakra or could use lightning nature chakra.

The problem was that the Sandaime didn't think that anyone on that list would have committed this crime.

x-x

Two days later, Academy Graduation

x-x

Naruto sat in his seat with his forehead protector tied around his arm. He still had his goggles on his forehead and he wasn't about to replace his invention with a piece of engraved metal. Naruto would have to wait until the following day in order to learn what team he had been placed on and couldn't help but wonder if there was anything he could do to convince the Sandaime to put him with the team he had created an empty spot on. Everything he did a few days ago would have been pointless if the Sandaime didn't put him on that team. Naruto hadn't been the rookie of the year and had come in second place which was exactly what he was supposed to do.

He had spent the previous day going over with his master everything that they had learned from Tsurugi about Orochimaru. It was a good amount of information. Unfortunately none of it helped them at this point in time. Plagueis wasn't about to work with another 'Sith' or help him. The laboratory in Sea Country was interesting but not really useful. However the scientist there might be skilled enough to help their plans if he was knowledgeable about chemistry. They still needed to make fuel or find an alternative source and it would depend on how skilled the man was. Kabuto was interesting as well. He was far stronger than anyone in the village would guess and possessed incredibly knowledge of biology and medicine but was also completely loyal to Orochimaru.

Naruto couldn't stop thinking about what had happened earlier in the week, The death of genin at his hands was still in his memories. Plagueis thought it may have been unwise to use the sword on the genin but what was done was done. Naruto had heard several people talk about the sword that he had created in a weapons store but it was mostly academy students that talked about it. Unfortunately he couldn't do much about the store owner and his daughter. The Sith didn't really possess any memory modification techniques, as least not that Naruto knew. What had happened to Rokusho Aoi was a side-effect of delving too deeply into someones mind, which was the erasing of memories. It happened with those who had not mastered the technique or tried to go too far. Naruto had purposely done it to Aoi and he had no control over which memories were erased or how much was erased. He also couldn't use any mind tricks because they are really only good for a quick usage and not for several hours of use. Even if he had done something to modify their memories, they would have wondered what happened to the whole afternoon.

Naruto was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the sounds of everyone packing up to leave. The class was over. It was difficult to concentrate in the room because everyone was celebrating and he kept partially reading the minds of the people near him. It wasn't really mind reading as he just gleaned brief bits of information, feelings, or emotions from the people around him. It could be rather disorienting if he didn't block them out. He was still learning to control it and had difficulty when so many people were around him and experiencing strong emotions and thoughts.

Naruto left the class last and walked down the hall to leave. He passed several people and heard bits and pieces of what they were currently thinking about. It wasn't until one white haired chunin passed Naruto that he heard a thought that caught his full attention. 'Ororchimaru.' It was just a single word but it caused Naruto to forget everything else around him.

Naruto turned to look at the man whose mind he had heard the thought from. He was a chunin with straight white hair but Naruto didn't know his name and he had never seen the man at the academy before. He could feel some anger and frustration coming from the man along with a sense of reverence for the name he was thinking about. Naruto knew most of the teachers as he had been in many classes in his years at the academy but he never had this chunin for a teacher. He couldn't help by wonder why the chunin would be thinking about Orochimaru.

'Follow him.' ordered Plagueis and Naruto complied. He turned around and pushed his way through the rest of the student traffic while not losing the man's signature. He finally got through the crowd and followed the chunin to the teachers lounge.

Naruto couldn't stand outside the teachers lounge because it would look suspicious so he ducked into a nearby classroom. The classroom was empty and Naruto sat down on one the benches while opening a random scroll from his bag. If anyone came in, they would just think he was reading. Using Force Listen, he was able to hear exactly what was being said in the room.

x-x

"So you're teaching at the academy now, Mizuki?" asked Iruka as he was happy to see his long time friend. Both Iruka and Mizuki had become chunin together but Iruka had stopped doing missions in favor of teaching full-time several years ago while Mizuki still wanted to strive for jonin rank.

Mizuki put on a fake smile to cover his distaste for his 'friend' and said, "It looks like it. Maybe we'll be teaching the same class as I'm only an assistant right now."

The only reason he had come back to academy was due to suspicious circumstances on his last mission. Mizuki wasn't satisfied with being an academy teacher and wanted to increase his rank. He was willing to do anything to rise in the village and become more powerful.

In his last mission, one of his comrades had gotten injured and Mizuki had killed him so as not to slow the team down and complete the mission. The body was eventually recovered and the death was ruled as suspicious so Mizuki had been suspended from missions and was under investigation. It wasn't the first time something like that had happened on a mission and it was enough to get people, including the Hokage, suspicious of his actions and mission record.

The whole situation pissed him off as he felt that he had done the right thing. He wasn't going to tell anyone that. The only thing he could do until the suspension was lifted was to teach at the academy or do missions inside the village. While he hated the academy, the students, and Iruka, he would rather work there than be stuck on meaningless task around the village.

In Mizuki's mind, he wasn't going to be bound by morals and teamwork like the other idiots of Konoha and was willing to do anything and sacrifice anything to achieve his goals. That was the reason that he was noticed by Orochimaru on his last mission. The snake sennin had apparently been in the area and seen Mizuki kill his teammate. Orochimaru was impressed with Mizuki and had given him the key to power. Mizuki had yet to figure out what the 'key' was exactly as it was just a few piece of paper with a formula and symbol on it. It would take time to figure out what it was but he had plenty of time with his suspension.

Believing that Orochimaru was the only person who could understand him and would give him the power that he sought. Mizuki had started to plan on what to do with the power he could gain but no matter what it was, he knew it probably wouldn't be enough for him. That meant that he would have to think about getting more power. The only person Mizuki could see giving it to him was of course Orochimaru.

Unfortunately, Mizuki knew that the snake sennin wouldn't just give him more power. He would need to give Orochimaru something in return. It didn't take Mizuki long to figure out what might interest a man like Orochimaru as he knew the only thing in the entire village that would interest the snake sennin was the forbidden Scroll of Seals.

Mizuki had no idea how he would get the scroll and be able to leave the village but he had plenty of time to think about it.

x-x

Naruto listened to the conversation between the two teachers for almost half an hour. They conversed about various topics, none of which interested him. Mizuki didn't say anything further about Orochimaru but did talk about how he was suspended from active duty due to suspicious circumstances on his last mission. Naruto could pick up on several emotions that Mizuki was feeling during the conservation. The first and foremost was that Mizuki hated Iruka and was only talking to him because he would be working at the academy for the foreseeable future.

If Naruto was in the room, he may have been able to pick up on more of the man's thoughts. That was out of the question though as he couldn't go into the teachers lounge and couldn't pick up on those thoughts through a wall. Naruto was starting to think that perhaps it had just been a stray thought that he had sensed, but then why had the teacher thought about the name with such reverence? The anger and frustration could be explained as not being directed at Orochimaru but at the situation with the academy and investigation.

The more Naruto thought back to what he had felt at the time, the more he thought that Mizuki held the snake sennin in higher regards than anyone in the village. It seemed very strange as nearly the entire village felt the exact opposite for Orochimaru. The only people that Naruto encountered that felt similar as Mizuki were the genin team of spies that were working for Orochimaru.

That brought up the thought that perhaps Mizuki was a spy as well. Perhaps the investigation was due to the Hokage believing that Mizuki had ties to Orochimaru. That thought didn't fit with what he knew from the genin team though. From the memories of Musumi, Naruto didn't find any evidence of another spy in the village or any information on Mizuki. It was possible that Musumi was just not informed about such things as the genin was rather low on the spying and information totem pole when it came to Orochimaru. Yakushi Kabuto was much higher than anyone else so it was possible that the lower spies working for Orochimaru didn't know about Mizuki.

'What should we do, Master?' asked Naruto through their connection.

'I don't believe that this Mizuki is a spy. It is possible that Orochimaru still has followers in the village that aren't actually aligned with him or have contact with him. However, the teacher may have more knowledge about Orochimaru than the genin spy so it would be beneficial to search his mind. It wouldn't be wise to leave another dead body and we should wait for a while before acting. You will be paying Mizuki a visit soon and will be searching his mind then destroying his memories like Rokusho Aoi. The information obtained could be valuable.' concluded Plagueis.

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