DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from the Naruto universe.

Thinking (+ flashbacks, "Mito speaking to Kurama in her mindscape," etc.)

Emphasis

Bijuu, etc. speaking

Bijuu, etc. thinking

Orochimaru's eyes were wide with excitement (and a degree of madness.) Three coffins arose before him. The first two opened revealing the Senju brothers, the first two Hokages. He was surprised to find that when the third coffin arose and opened much more slowly, his stomach lurched and he found himself slightly shivering. He nodded when his sensei's eyes opened and took a deep, shuddering breath. He activated the latest part of his jutsu - the one that wasn't quite working the way he intended, thus far. "Sensei."

"O- Orochimaru? What is this?"

"Hm. Edo Tensei," came a voice from behind him.

"What a terrible jutsu, Tobi," the elder Senju scolded his brother. It was just like Tobirama to come up with an insane technique, realize the devastation it could wreak, and then record it for posterity or to be stolen.

"Sensei?" Hiruzen asked in bewilderment. Sure enough, when he turned around, there stood his mentors. His primary sensei, Senju Tobirama, looked furious - and cracked, his normally sharp but twinkling red eyes' sclera was black. He took a deep breath, something that was odd considering that he remembered dying quite well now. "What is this Orochimaru?"

"Hiruzen? Is that you?" Hashirama asked.

"You got old," Tobirama commented dryly. He raised an eyebrow at his brother who let out a bark of laughter before turning his attention to his student again. "And it seems you died, too."

"You became Hokage," Hashirama cheered, putting his large hand on Tobirama's student - a man who, as a boy, he'd enjoyed teaching, too. "Congratulations! How is Konoha?"

This… was different from what Orochimaru had expected. As the icons of the shinobi world chatted about their lives and deaths, the Snake Sannin tried to get himself fully together. Not only did he find himself strangely emotional at seeing his sensei like this - and sick for defiling his grave, his mind whispered - but his previous experiments with this jutsu produced subjects that were little more than emotionless killing machines. He had slightly altered the jutsu so that those reanimated had more of their abilities than only the secrets lying in their graves. When Hiruzen-sensei began speaking of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, Orochimaru huffed, having had enough. "I'm giving you a mission."

"Oh?" Hashirama asked in what sounded like amusement.

"Who are you to give us, three Hokages who have DIED for the people and village of Konoha I remind you, a mission, Stripling? And how dare you use my jutsu. It is forbidden."

Orochimaru stepped behind him first, putting a control kunai in the back of his head as he grasped his shoulder. The Second Hokage was the man he respected most. He was also the angriest (and sharpest) of the three.

"Otouto?" Hashirama asked before he also went blank as the control kunai was placed in the base of his brain.

"What have you done, Orochimaru?" Hiruzen asked. "What are you planning?!"

Orochimaru walked up to his sensei, placed his hand on his shoulder, and smiled. "We're saving the shinobi world." Hiruzen gasped, making Orochimaru smirk. He quickly placed the kunai in his head just as his sensei scolded him. All three men were nearly as blank as any of his other subjects undergoing this jutsu now. If they didn't want to be used, it was foolish of them to not attack me, considering their reactions.

He couldn't be positive that the difference between these three subjects and the others was an effect of the improvements he'd made to the jutsu. Other possibilities included the amount of chakra each subject possessed in life, or simply their level of skill. –Those were things he'd have to investigate further, later. "The attack on Konoha has already begun: a new root in the dark. Let us make our way to Konoha."

In another universe, Orochimaru would've ensured that the three previous Hokages' actions were contained in one relatively small space. In this one, Orochimaru let the three first leaders of Konoha go wild.

.

Mito plotted more murder (doing so as often as she had lately made her think she was beginning to have a problem) as the big section of nobles she was forced to sit by argued with one another whether or not she'd be a suitable bride. Some thought that, as the Hokage's daughter and "Uzushio's princess," - assholes: Mom said that she was the princess nine times removed and only called "Princess" because she was the sole survivor of the genocide that killed our people - she'd make a fine wife while others countered that she was a well-known mass murderer. –Well, only one guy was stupid enough to say that (and when he realized that she was listening and staring at him, definitely lost control of his bladder) while the others discussed her supposed exploits throughout the Elemental Nations - some of which, Mito had never been a part of.

And don't get her started on their whispered questions to each other about her hair!

She ecstatically cheered for her brother who was now alone with Neji aside from Genma who was going over the rules for all of the contestants. Mito tapped her lips, her knees bouncing up and down: anxious and excited as Naruto made a big bunch of shadow clones. He substituted with one, hiding within the group, and she bounced even more. Now Neji should have little idea of where the real Naru was.

Sneering, Neji moved forward and began to rotate palm strikes right through the clones. When he stopped, Neji called her little brother a monkey, making Mito "boo" even though Naruto was a little monkey. Neji mouthed off, even more, when Naruto made more clones.

"Make all the clones you want, Uzumaki," Neji began but after a few silent, shocked seconds his byakugan deactivated and he looked away with slightly pink cheeks because of Naruto's jutsu.

"Harem no jutsu!"

Mito covered her grin and tried to look as if she completely disapproved but the jig was up when Naruto and a couple of his clones zipped forward and punched Neji, hard, in the face - getting a few more hits in, too. Yes, all those cloud-covered Hyuuga girls had really done a number on poor Neji. "Way to go, Naruto!"

"Disgraceful," the guy beside her cried. Mito rolled her eyes.

They were ninjas and it worked didn't it? Neji's nose and mouth were bleeding and her brother had been quick enough with a kunai to draw blood from Neji's bicep. It got Naruto in close. Plus Naruto's new sexy or harem jutsu didn't look like her or any woman's real body anymore, thank God, and the clouds covered a lot more than bikinis did.

"You are in the range of my divination!"

"Shit," Mito mumbled, praying that her brother was outside the ring of clones that were being owned. Neji was fast and good. Nimble and careful with his chakra.

From well behind his sea of clones, Naruto's smile turned zany as he yelled out his next jutsus. "Taje Kage Bunshin no jutsu! Futon: Gale Palm!" He blew his latest clones, kunais out, straight into Neji-baka.

Mito scratched her cheek, wondering what in the world he was doing. All the smoke from those clones being repeatedly made and popping was providing coverage for his jutsus (not to the byakugan, her mind whispered) but the futon jutsus just blew it away. And then it hit her: Naruto was simply burning through Neji's chakra and throwing his own around like mad. Just don't let him close your tenketsu, otouto, and you'll wear him out.

Naruto and Neji went through the same thing over and over again - sometimes breaking for Neji to monologue about the Hyuuga system or fate. Even after the whole thing with Hinata, the boy was still really upset and mouthy. Good for him: exposing the continued sins of one of the Leaf's "great clans" to the masses. If only he were allowed to be, Neji might make a decent, outspoken leader for them one day - if he gets over what's happened to him.

Or so she thought until he pissed her off:

"As the Hokage's son, some might believe you fated to win. But as the last son of a defunct clan from which you failed to inherit a bloodline, you are a true failure."

"OH!" Mito wanted to kick Neji's ass now! Again! "You… You little SHIT!" To make it worse, Naruto - the real Naruto - began getting smacked around, having gotten mad at the insult, and jumped forward to pound Neji. "Get outta there!" She briefly closed her eyes as Naruto's tenketsu were closed.

Then she felt Kurama's chakra; which shut Neji up. That shut almost everybody up!

"Geez. Your chakra feels so sinister."

"Thank you."

Mito rolled her eyes at her furry tag-along. "I didn't know you could reopen my tenketsu."

Kurama only shrugged. "I'm amazing. And you're not stupid enough to allow them to be closed like he is."

"Be nice!"

Then Naruto did a silent - YES! No calling it out! - earth jutsu and caught Neji with an uppercut to the jaw when he popped back out of the earth. "YAY! WHOO HOO!" She smiled up toward the kage box as she tried to refrain from jumping up and down but her grin fell when she saw the way that her father and Jiraiya looked so satisfied. Jiraiya even went as far as to shrug pridefully at her and Mito wanted to scream. Do you really think it was worth it: sending Naruto careening down a ravine so that he could steal chakra from Kurama?!

What if it hadn't worked?!
He would've died, you ignoramuses!
What the hell's wrong with you?

Neji conceded and after a long talk between the two boys, Naruto happily romped off to the contestant's box again. Neji was taken back to the medical bay. Shizune and Hyuuga Kaori were back there.

Mito nearly vibrated out of her seat with excitement. The next two competitors approached Genma. "GO, SHINO!" She may have stuck out her tongue at a noble who began talking badly about her being loud but Mito would like to think she was subtle about it. Maybe if she was loud enough they'd all agree to never marry her!

BLeh!

"Uh. I forfeit," the puppet kid said. It was only because Mito knew Shino as well as she did that she could tell how disappointed he was. It was all in the way he held his shoulders. The crowd began to boo. "You can get the next one, Shino!"

Why would the Suna nin forfeit, though? If the other Suna kids forfeit, we've got a major problem. She looked up at the box again, and it looked like her father was questioning his ally, Rasa-sama, about it.

Still very excited, Mito sought out Kurenai's face in the crowd. She was sitting with Asuma - why am I stuck here with these boring old men and you guys get to be together?! - amid a bunch of Konoha Genins that regularly trained together. It's odd that Kiba's not there. Hinata, she understood. Maybe he's just getting a snack. Mito would've reached out her senses but knew that the feedback of so many chakra signatures would overwhelm her - and she had jobs here that were assigned to her.

She'd had to reign her senses in ever since the crowd got so damn big. It was something she needed to work on BADLY. I've avoided doing it for way too long.

Sai and Sora approached each other, nodded, and Mito couldn't stop the squeals that broke out of her mouth. This was going to be such a good match!

"Hajime!"

Sora dropped to one knee, covered his heart with his fist, and looked up into the kage box. He spoke with an authoritative voice for a chibi. "Hokage-sama, I will not fight my comrade and teammate. I protect my comrades! That is my ninja way."

*SPLAT* —Sai had just inked him.

"That is highly unyouthful!"

"Gah! Gai! You scared me!" Gai sat down behind her. He said that he'd been checking on Neji who was with his family now.

Mito had closed her eyes in combined frustration and amusement but thought that rather than using a jutsu, Sai might have just THROWN a big blob of ink on Sora. –That was pretty unyouthful. Funny, though.

"Uhhh," Genma vocalized to the kid who hadn't moved despite being covered with a bunch of sticky ink. "You forfeit?"

"Oh," Sora said and glared at Sai for a second when he flung more ink at him with his fingers - he really is just tossing it: he's not using chakra or anything. "Sure! I forfeit!"

Mito slapped herself in the face and when she looked up in the box again, shaking her head amidst the sea of people really getting riled up and angry, saw Jiraiya with his hand on his forehead, too.

"Honestly, that kid," she murmured to herself about Sora.

Mito felt relief at seeing Temari-hime elegantly flow down to the ground on her fan - very nice: flashy, flashy! - but her mouth dropped open when she saw the Nara kid trying to forfeit his match, too. "You gotta be shitting me." Naruto slapped the boy on the back of the head and down Nara Shikamaru plummeted to the ground. –And then he just lay there? "For real?"

The crowd started banging their feet in unison (and anger) but the kid didn't move until Temari-hime smacked him with a wind jutsu. Then the Nara started complaining about fighting a girl? "SERIOUSLY?! YOU SEXIST… maggot." Mito cleared her throat and sat back down with pink cheeks when Gai pretty much made her: pushing down her shoulders. She almost bit him. Mito grabbed her equally outraged, flying hair and put it back in a simple ponytail, and held on to the bottom of it. She could've sworn it was hissing.

Mito glared over at Asuma since Shikamaru was his student but her glares of doom didn't seem to reach him.

The kids actually had a good match after that point, although Shikamaru wound up forfeiting. Three forfeits in a row; who'd believe it? He's saving his chakra: it hit Mito like a brick. Of course, the kid would forfeit rather than take another hit or have to use his shadows again. Nara Shikamaru's father was the Jonin Commander. She'd bet money that his son had at least overheard worries about a potential attack. Either that or he's even lazier than I thought.

She eyed Naruto. Naruto was the HOKAGE'S son. He sure hadn't seemed to notice that anything was up as far as she could tell. And he'd been blowing through chakra like it was never-ending. Oh, Naruto. I guess maybe you're not quite ready to be a Chunin. The whole Rasengan fiasco had sort of proved that, though, hadn't it?

Having talked about it more when he was laid up, Naruto had REALLY wanted to show the Rasengan off - which is probably why his clone, supposedly, had gone and used it when he wasn't allowed to.

Genma talked to the other two members of the Hokage Guard Platoon, Raido and Iwashi, for a while before coming back to Torune, who had been waiting for his opponent. "Dosu of the Sound has failed to arrive to compete in the Finals. Torune of Konoha will continue in the next heat." Torune bowed to Genma - so polite! - and went back to the box full of kids.

And now little Gaara was waiting for Sasuke.

Where are you, Sasuke? Kakashi? There were a loooooooot of bets on the line for this match, just as many as there were for (or maybe more than) Naruto's.

.

Two Days Earlier -

Yashamura stepped into the hotel suite his niece and nephews had been staying in for the last couple of days while acclimating back to Konoha. His heart went out to them, especially when it was so evident that Gaara still wasn't sleeping at all. Kankuro and Temari didn't look very well, either; he knew they were all grieving. "I've received a message from your father," he said with a heavy sigh. "His orders stand."

Silence followed his words for almost a minute.

"It MAKES NO SENSE," Temari cried. "There are only the four of us here - and Baki-sensei is…" Here she gulped and shuddered, feeling her eyes tear up. Baki-sensei is dead! He'd been her sensei for years! "It makes no sense," she repeated in pain. She didn't even know how her sensei had died. His body had just shown up in front of the village gates.

"I seriously don't get it," Kankuro said, staring ahead at the kunai he was sharpening.

"Father has said that shinobis are but tools for their village," Gaara said in an exhausted monotone. "We have no choice but to follow orders." What Gaara wanted to say was that he agreed with his siblings: the plan made no sense. Unfortunately, Shukaku was screeching in his head and he didn't hear what else his dear uncle said, although he thought it was about more forces arriving from Suna to back them up.

"...you are the tip of the spear," Yashamaru was saying. Gaara just couldn't concentrate on that. He was so tired.

"Father hasn't been himself lately," Gaara commented in a whisper. He lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. How much did it really matter? he asked himself. Orochimaru had threatened to kill his siblings if he didn't follow their plans.

"Exactly," Temari exclaimed. "Yashamura-oji-sama, you are next in command and if Father isn't able to make effective command decisions," she began but held up her hands, willing to backtrack since what she was saying could be construed as treason. "I mean maybe he's being coerced or…"

"That is not for us to decide."

"Is the council even aware of this?" Kankuro asked. He hated the council and prayed he'd never be forced to join it. "Konoha's our greatest ally!"

What was his father thinking?

He looked up to his uncle. "Please say you have a plan?"

.

Having earlier signaled Jiraiya, Minato waited for whatever was going to happen. Since Orochimaru had marked Sasuke, he'd asked Kakashi to bring his student to his match late - but this late was beginning to be a problem. He looked over at Rasa, the Kazekage, wondering who he really was.

When Rasa arrived, barely making it in time to attend, Minato hadn't been sure. "Rasa" had laryngitis which he immediately found suspicious. The way his ally was occasionally coughing so badly, however, made him believe it for a while. However…

He and Rasa had become friends, more than allies over the years. Although polite, the men maintained a facade of a frosty relationship in public. In private it was a different story. The two men teased each other on occasion, shared family pictures and milestones: they had a lot in common. Rasa was powerful; Minato hoped that his instincts were wrong but the man who'd arrived in Konoha only hours before did not "feel" like his friend.

Genma wandered into his box and rolled his senbon to the other side of his mouth. "So we have another forfeit?" He knew that Kakashi was told to bring the boy late but they'd been waiting for almost 15 minutes. The crowd was beyond restless.

"Let's give him another five minutes," Minato said, pulling his shirt away from his throat. "Kazekage?"

"Agreed," Rasa coughed.

.

Mito was getting a headache as she listened to the bakas in her fucked up, shared mindscape while Gaara of Suna held his head as he waited for Sasuke. "That poor child. I thought Tou-san put a good seal on him."

"KILL KILL KILL! BRING BLOOD TO MOTHER! WE MUST HAVE BLOOD!"

"Shukaku, would you shut the fuck up!"

"KU -KURAMA! You… You - You asshole. I will crush you and your host!" In Mito's head, Kurama rolled his eyes, looking as otherwise bored as ever. "Mind your own business."

Mito's internal world tilted as Shukaku finally disappeared. She could still hear his dumb tanuki ass, though. "What is wrong with that guy?!" Really, Kurama was never so insane and bloodthirsty. Never! Oh, sure, he used to say he wanted to devour her and destroy humanity daily but he had pretty damn good reasons for feeling that way and wasn't so "deranged" about it.

"I can't stand Shukaku. It's been like this for eons. With a seal or should I say lack thereof, Mitwo, he will come for you. I don't know that he knows of your brother."

"From what I understand, Naruto and Gaara are friends of sorts. I don't know if they've openly spoken about their shared status but one way or the other, shouldn't Shukaku know of part of you being within Naru?"

Mito deadpanned at the fox who only shrugged. "They've definitely hung out together in Suna and maybe once here," Mito explained, tapping her lips. She'd been watching her brother, too, and Naruto didn't seem to be hearing all of Shukaku's insane monologuing or the "conversation" Kurama had with his brother. Occasionally chatting animatedly with Sai, it looked like Naruto was serious about what was going on but he was (LOUDLY) more concerned about Sasuke being disqualified. He's such a nice boy.

"Oh, by the way, I'm not fighting a kid."

Kurama nearly rolled his eyes again. "Depending on how strong the host's will is, you may not have a choice. You will survive," he demanded seriously.

"Thank you, Kurama."

And I will kick Shukaku's ass again. Kurama couldn't wait.

Kakashi and Sasuke appeared in a swirl of leaves just as Genma was announcing that the Genin was disqualified. "Hehe," Kakashi chuckled, scratching the back of his thick hair. "Are we late?" The crowd began going wild that they'd finally get some action.

"What a drag," Mito said to herself. "Who knew Kakashi was such a drama queen?" Gai sunshinned to his side when Kakashi jumped up and into the contestant's box. I still wonder if Kakashi's Gai's boyfriend. She had earlier thought that Gai might still be together with Ayame - he'd said he had a "longtime, everlasting love of neverending youth and wildflowers" - but every time she saw Kakashi and Gai together she couldn't help but wonder.

"YOU MISSED MY MATCH, YOU DAMN HENTAI-LOVING PERVERT," Naruto was yelling at his sensei. Mito laughed to herself quietly. Kakashi looked properly scolded and nearly cowering as Naruto went back and forth between yelling at him or yelling FOR Sasuke. It was cute when Naru also cheered a little less loudly for Gaara. "See. They're friends."

"I don't care. I want some action!"

Mito knew that. Kurama had been riled up and super attentive all day even though he'd complained that if Mito didn't stop worrying about an attack and her sensing issues he was going to eat her. "Sorry, Kurama. You know what I've been told to do here." Barriers, barriers, barriers. "I'm in place to defend these rich jerks and hold the stadium."

"You'll make clones to fight, or do what's needed to be done, yourself."

"If necessary? You bet your furry ass, I will." Kurama huffed in amusement, making her softly grin. They really were getting along so much better lately.

Occasionally. Yeek.

The match featuring Sasuke and the Suna jinchuuriki began. Mito found Gaara's fighting style to be extremely… unique. He just STOOD THERE with his arms crossed over his chest and his sand worked for him. She was pretty sure he was manipulating his sand with chakra which meant that he had utterly amazing control.

Sasuke was also damn fast now. He was still using his clan's Interceptor Fist taijutsu for the first part of the match but then he'd ripped off Gai - but unfortunately, he only had a sand clone in his wraps. "Pretty good, either way." It was definitely exciting.

"BLOOD! BRING MOTHER HIS BLOOD!"

Oh, for fuck's sake. "SHUKAKU, SHUT THE HELL UP," Mito yelled in her head.

Gaara's eyes were wide when he swirled around to look at her. That completely internal distraction - Mito hadn't meant to get the kid's attention at all - was REALLY bad because Sasuke had just plunged a fucking Chidori into the kid: right through his sand. Thank God his sand blocked a good deal of it, deflecting the technique, or Gaara would be dead! That's an assassination technique!

What the fuck, Kakashi?!

Gaara screamed which was understandable: blood was flying everywhere, and he wrapped himself into a sand cocoon - which Sasuke's hand was trapped in. Genma approached him to potentially end the match and then Gaara broke out, disappearing over the back of the arena. "What in the world?" Should I go after him? Gaara needed healing badly. Mito moved out of her seat but sighed in relief when SHIZUNE, who was apparently watching from the med corridor, ran up and over the back wall to chase him down.

Gaara wasn't the first person she'd seen that, when heavily wounded or in pain, had freaked out and run. Fight or flight. Fight and/or flight, I guess.

"Gaara has… left the arena," Genma said awkwardly after a minute, looking up to the Hokage although he wasn't reacting, from what he could see. "Therefore the winner of this match is Sasuke of Konoha." The Genin received applause that built over several seconds - most people looking too shocked at what just happened to immediately go nuts. "We will now begin the second heat. Hokage-sama? Kazekage-sama?" Both kages sunshinned down to the arena floor, the Kazekage following the Hokage.

Minato sighed glumly. He did not miss the fact that the supposed Kazekage did not use his famed gold sand - or even plain sand - to sunshin. He also noted that Rasa seemed to have little concern that Gaara had taken off, heavily wounded, into the Konoha forest. Although a private and reserved man, Rasa loved his kids.

Konoha's leader looked up, wishing to see his friend, but the Kazekage imposter wearing some type of disguise, he guessed, was only verifying that the names of all continuing contestants were on small sticks which he began to place in a bag Genma was holding. He gave Genma a look before observing the imposter again. Genma had subtly nodded: Minato was sure that he noticed the way "Rasa" sunshinned down, too. That was simply foolish.

Temari also noticed the way "her father" moved.

"I think it only fair that the two shinobis who've yet to compete face one another so that the others can rest, hm?" The Kazekage didn't answer nor seem to care that Minato handed two of the contestants' names back to Genma. Shoot. If Mito isn't angry with me now, she certainly will be!

The real Rasa would have also said something about the shinobi world not being fair and that the other contestants needed to deal with it.

So be it. Minato amplified his voice. "The second stage of the Chunin Qualifications Exam Finals will begin with Torune and Shino of Konoha. Please take the floor."

Mito groaned. Even Shino wasn't immune to Torune's rikachu! Shino, remember what you have to do to make Chunin. If she was the only Jonin-sensei not to have one of her Genins promoted, she'd hang her head in shame! Just before her father sunshinned to his box again, he nodded at her - tightly smiling - but Mito got the message. Something was about to happen.

.

Kiba woke up and wasn't sure where he was but the smell of blood was thick in the air. He tried to move and stopped. Lightning felt like it was coursing through his veins and core - and there was a body on top of him. "Hina- KO? Yo, Ko! Wake up, man!"

Fighting how much pain he was in, Kiba carefully pushed Hinata's bodyguard off him, remembering his lessons from the hospital well. He checked for a pulse and found it, breathing a huge sigh of relief. Akamaru began sadly whining - he heard relief that he was alright from the pup - but to Kiba, Akamaru also sounded like he was in a lot of pain. "Aka- maru?" He remembered what happened even though someone must have really walloped him on the back of the head. "Dammit, Ko: wake up!"

There was very little light but Kiba pulled out his medkit, determined to help since he didn't see a way out to seek more assistance. "YO, KO; c'mon man! –Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck," he murmured to himself. He was going to have to try to heal him and Akamaru, wasn't he? "I can do this. I can do this!"

He'd learned from Hana! He'd learned from his sensei! He could definitely do this. So we can at least get outta here!

Right or wrong, he quickly did what he could for Akamaru first - nervous about treating a human being on his own. Going through hand seals, he grunted as his hands lit up in a flickering green hue of medical ninjutsu. He was pretty sure Akamaru had a broken rib - although someone had knocked him with a kunai, too. He had a little gash. "I can't do much for ya boy." He wrapped his partner up and then turned to Ko, running his hands over his abdomen where the smell of blood was worse. "Shit."

He had to turn him over but Ko groaned - at least it was some kind of response - so Kiba began yelling and scolding him. "YO, KO! WAKE YOUR HEAVY ASS UP! I THINK SOMEONE TOOK HINATA!" Kiba pulled out his antiseptic and poured it over the wound that was… Shit, I think it's his kidney. The wound is at least near his kidney. Ko shivered and cursed - which almost made Kiba let out a huff of nervous laughter.

"Hyuugas don't curse." All he could really do was apply a tourniquet and get Ko-san help. He was sure, laying in the dirt as they were, that Ko needed something to clean out that wound before healing it at all. "Fuck, Ko. Hina's gone, I think!"

"Kiba?" Ko whispered, waking up again. He groaned and tried to move. "We require assistance."

"Yeah, no shit!" Kiba got up very unsteadily and began to feel along the walls. "I think we're in a mud dome or… something."

"Byakugan," Ko whispered, shivering as he used his chakra. "Yes. Break through… We're in… an unfinished basement in the compound. Don't… trust anyone you don't know… well. Stay… out of sight." He'd ultimately been hit by a Konoha nin, he was positive of it. "Hokage."

"Got it," Kiba said, wanting Ko to save his strength. "I'll get us out of here and be right back!" Woozy, Kiba felt for his chakra and found he must've been here for a while because it was fairly replenished. Once again, Akamaru couldn't help him, so he was going to have to use that technique again. "Kage Bunshin no - no."

He was too concussed to properly use jutsus. He reached for his weapons pouch but of course, it was gone. He groaned but almost cried at the realization that he had something else under his arm. He'd gotten it the day after Mito-sensei had accepted them as her team. If I'd thought to use this earlier we might not be in this situation! "C'mon, sensei!" He pressed his chakra into the underside of his bicep and out it popped.

Pouring his chakra into the seal as she'd gone over with them all those months ago, he threw Mito-sensei's special kunai into the earth dome he was stuck in.

.

Shino and Torune made the Seal of Unison which Mito thought was adorable and fitting before moving away from each other. They both seemed calm and collected, waiting for the other to move. Putting brothers who love each other against one another: what the fuck, Tou-san? Shino moved first, surprising his cousin with his speed, it seemed - as they engaged one another in taijutsu.

Shino's definitely faster and he's landing a lot of hits. No bugs had come out to play yet. Both boys were very good although it was easy to see that they trained together.

"Doton: Mud Wall," Shino muttered as his hands flew through the correct seals and he pressed them to the ground. A pretty good-sized mud wall came up but Torune didn't react to it at first. Shino went flying up and over the wall he'd made, his hands moving through seals again. Torune was working seals, too. Torune's putting up a genjutsu. Shino was nearly unaffected although he did pause for a second. And then Shino called out his jutsu loudly. "KATON: FIRE BULLET!"

"I forfeit!" Torune shouted. Shino stopped, panting (while his mouth was smoking,) and looked so defeated it broke Mito's heart. She bet he was just sick about being the one to end his brother's forward momentum in the exam. The crowd, though, was enthusiastic at seeing a Genin almost use two affinities like that. The boys made the Seal of Reconciliation and stood there, holding each other's fingers and speaking quietly to one another for a good while.

The applause was great and Mito was definitely cheering for her student. He'd shown very good, heavy-hitting taijutsu, excellent speed, and although he didn't use his allies, everyone here knew he had them. He'd also shown restraint and the chakra control mastery his clan was known for.

Torune hadn't done too badly, either, although Mito wished that he'd used ninjutsu or a heavier genjutsu. She'd made sure he had alternative methods to fight but she'd bet her savings that Torune planned to forfeit to his cousin-turned-brother from the very beginning. He wanted to let Shino shine. "WAY TO GO, SHINO! GOOD JOB, TORUNE!"

Both boys jumped up into the contestant's box.

"Will Sai of Konoha and Temari of Suna take the floor, please," Genma ordered more than asked.

Oh, shit, oh shit, oh shit. "GO SAI! DO YOUR VERY BEST! –GO SAI! " Mito thought it was good that she had an Uzumaki lung/loud capacity so that Sai could hear her over the crowd. He nodded up at her and fisted his hand. He looks determined!

Ah! Sai had already begun to fight before the match even began! Mito saw his little ink buggies in the shadows or holes in the ground here and there, all around the stadium. Temari didn't seem to notice. Heehee! Sneaky kid!

"Well let's go," the Suna princess said defiantly - if not a little quietly. Temari jumped when she saw a mass of bugs attack as soon as the proctor told them to begin - the pale kid hadn't done anything so he must be cheating or… She recycled her chakra to ensure she wasn't in a genjutsu and turned around, whipping her fan around in a complete circle when she felt more of the big ants crawling into and up her sandals. She also took out two ink lions. "Gross!"

Ink, huh? –That made the bugs a little less gross. Thank goodness I didn't have to fight a real Aburame!

Everyone had their secret fears and Temari's was bugs that wanted to devour her.

Sai pumped chakra into his legs so that he could remain standing while madly drawing an ink golem. Her wind attacks are STRONG! He rushed forward, following her jutsu, and as the fan girl's - "fangirl," he snorted to himself - weapon pulled back, his ink golem pounded her and he was on top of her, using taijutsu to further beat her into the ground before pulling out his tanto.

Furious that she'd been hit so hard and was now covered with ink on the ground, Temari smacked the idiot with the back of her fan, hitting him right in the jaw.

Sai reeled back and nearly dropped his tanto. Ouch. Then he was blown into the back wall by another wind attack. "OOF… Doton: Uh," he had to clear his head to even think of the right seals that he'd been using every single day while training with his sensei: "Dochū Senkō." He sank underground while the remainder of his bugs began disappearing where his opponent was waiting, probably waiting for him to reappear. Reaching up from what felt like an underground river, he grabbed Temari's foot and yanked her down.

And got smacked in the head by that fan again.

"He's done for, proctor. Don't make me kill him." Temari raised an eyebrow at the lackadaisical Tokubetsu Jonin with a senbon in his mouth who moseyed on over to pull her opponent out of the ground after staring at them for a bit.

Shiranui Genma aka Senbon Freak
Poison specialist, Silent assassin, Member of Yondaime Hokage's Guard Platoon
A-ranked

THIS, she questioned, is an A-ranked assassin?! Her stomach rolled with anxiety and Temari suppressed a shiver as she searched the stands for her uncle.

"Sai of Konoha is unable to continue. Temari of Suna will advance."

Mito applauded along with everyone else and finally felt that pull at her chakra: one of her kunais had been thrown.

* Kiba?! *
She'd been expecting Karin-chan's call, not Kiba's!

Mito made a shadow clone who flashed away, glaring at the Kazekage who'd rather obviously signaled - right at that moment - for something to happen. "Genjutsu!"

Feathers flew. Mito jumped out of her seat. "Taje Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Dozens of clones appeared and began setting up barrier after barrier while the vast majority of the attendees fell asleep, into the wide-ranging genjutsu that had been cast. "Let's go! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

.

Minato's eyes narrowed as Mito's bright red and blonde hair first caught his attention when she moved. The original Mito had jumped up - one of her clones flashing away - as a sea of his daughters came into existence and the Kazekage signaled.

To Minato, his daughter seemed to have appeared everywhere. Oh, to have that much chakra.

"You were foolish to do this. Who are you really?" He moved when the Kazekage pulled a bone out of his chest?! "Kaguya!" Minato grabbed the fake Kazekage's robe and flashed him into the forest where fewer people would be hurt, a Rasengan blazing in his hand even as a bone - a freaking bone - was plunged into his side.

Neither of them saw Sasuke jump over the back wall, following Temari who had grabbed Kankuro and fled first.

Minato took out the shinobi posing as the Kazekage as quickly as possible - although he'd give it to the kid: he had managed to land a couple of nasty strikes on him and Minato had nearly lost his foot. It's been a long time. If the situation were less serious, he might've laughed: there were bones coming up from the ground everywhere! What a mess.

Outside of the boneyard, he put his fingers to the ground as Ibiki reported to him about a platoon of foreign shinobi who were in the village or incoming. Minato nodded in acknowledgment but frowned before giving him orders. "Something bigger than that is coming."

He took a few moments to heal himself somewhat; there was no sense in bleeding out before he finished what he had to.

He flashed off to meet the incoming shinobis head-on.

.

Mito's clone flashed to Kiba with a kunai in one hand and a Rasengan that lit up the dark in the other. She was ready to rumble. "Where… Kiba! And Ko-san?"

"Hinata's been kidnapped!"

Her heart began to pound. Mito kneeled down to begin examining her kid, his pup, and Hinata-chan's bodyguard. "Report."