Chapter 47: The Depths We Go

I slowly walked through the destroyed clearing, taking in each mark that the Genin teams had left. Funnily enough, the Genin who had the most potential to destroy the clearing had been Tenten of all people.

That final weapon of hers was something else in terms of sheer destructive capability.

The air rippled as Tsunade appeared in the clearing, followed by Gai, Asuma and finally Kurenai.

"So, you finally decided to come out?" I hummed.

"Naruto," Gai began boisterously. "You've certainly grown since we last met… and you've managed to refine your body to the point where you were able to exceed Lee's speed. Tell me, what sort of training routine did you follow?"

"Um…" I began, glancing towards a smirking Tsunade before turning back towards Gai. "I just followed the same training routine that the Raikage and his brother did."

"Interesting. I would love to hear about this routine… especially since it's had such great results," Gai said. "Was there any specific diet that you had to follow or technique that you had to learn before you started training?"

"Not really. It was mostly just lifting ultra heavy weights," I explained. "My body naturally heals faster than most people, so I was able to advance much faster. Actually…"

"Ahem," Tsunade coughed into her hand, gaining our attention. "It would probably be best if we discussed why we are here… the two of you can trade training tips later."

Peering behind Gai, I caught sight of Asuma and Kurenai who both seemed to be growing impatient. Tsunade on the other hand seemed more amused by Gai's enthusiasm than anything else.

"My apologies, Hokage-sama," Gai apologized. "To make up for this, I'll climb the Hokage monument three… no, ten times using only one hand."

"…Right, the results of the test," I said. I briefly regarded the three Jonin, wondering where to start. "Out of the three teams I tested, two of them managed to pass… and while I wouldn't say those two teams are ready to fight on the same level as the Akatsuki, they should be able to participate in the upcoming Chunin exams without too much issue."

If the plan worked and the Akatsuki were lured out, their main focus would be on the Jinchuriki, specifically Team 7, Gaara and whichever Jinchuriki Ay decided to send. The rest of the Genin should at the very least be capable of surviving long enough to escape the fight.

"Honestly, Team 8 surprised me with how well they worked together. They helped each other out whenever one was caught, had a plan that they executed nearly perfectly and they were the fastest to pass the test," I continued. "And Gai… your team managed pretty well. At first it seemed they weren't going to pass as they were only fighting as individuals and Neji was easy to provoke, but they eventually managed to pull through and work together."

"Neji is normally reserved, but when his temper flares up, he does tend to make mistakes," Gai admitted, nodding. "I'm glad that he was able to work through it and focus on the objective."

"Team 10, however, failed," I said, turning my gaze to Asuma.

"About that," Asuma began, lighting a cigarette. "Don't you think this test was a little skewed against them? Ino was unable to make use of her Clan's techniques and the Kyuubi even made an appearance. If not for that, I believe they would have been able to pass."

Asuma did have a small point. It was unfair for Ino to not be able to use her main technique, but the Shinobi world was rarely fair.

"They won't always be able to rely on their clan techniques. Sooner or later, they'll come across a Shinobi whose ability will nullify their own," I explained, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Team 10 didn't take the fight seriously from the beginning and ended up paying for it."

They had arrived late and spent their time prior to the match starting coming up with a basic plan that was completely reliant on Shikamaru's shadow manipulation to work.

Shikamaru was incredibly intelligent, but he wasn't able to come up with plans on the go and adapt when one aspect of it goes wrong. He wasn't able to plan around unknown elements and if that didn't change, it would end up getting him into some serious trouble in the future.

"Then there was Shikamaru deciding to sit down in the middle of a fight in order to figure out what to do next," I continued. "Something I noticed was that Ino and Choji seemed to trust him to come up with all the plans… They didn't give any input and seem to just… blindly go along with what he says."

That kind of thinking would eventually lead to one of them dying… especially if they come across one of the stronger members of the Akatsuki.

"Shikamaru's plans have never failed before," Asuma shrugged, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "There has never been a reason for them to doubt him."

"His plans work until they don't and someone ends up dead," I sighed, thinking of how Asuma himself would have ended up dying to Hidan if I hadn't taken care of that.

"What's this, are you regretting having saved his life?"Kurama chuckled.

'No,' I answered immediately. 'I'm just a little frustrated that he's so comfortable with how weak his team is. They're more than ready to be Chunin, but…'

"But they won't always be up against a Chunin,"Kurama hummed."All it would take is one mislabeled mission… like the Land of Waves.

That was the issue. These exams were proving to be potentially dangerous and while it was true that they wouldn't be the target, that didn't mean that they weren't in danger. Team 10 just wasn't ready to be anywhere near a fight like that.

"There's still some time before the team roster has to be submitted to Suna," Tsunade announced. "If Team 10 shows notable improvement by then, I will allow them to compete."

"Thank you, Hokage-sa…"

"However," She continued. "They will need to earn their spot. If they fail again, they'll be barred from participating in the upcoming exams," She finished, giving no more room for argument.

"I… yes, Hokage-sama," Asuma accepted her answer.

"Good, then I believe this matter is concluded," Tsunade hummed. "You may all return to your teams with the outcome of this test."

Nodding, the three Jonin disappeared in a blur of speed and leaves.

"Huh… he just accepted what you said without arguing," I said, glancing at a smug Tsunade.

"One of the few benefits of being a Hokage, I'm afraid. He chose to argue with you, because the two of you are the same rank," Tsunade explained. "I'm also not the one that hurt his pride and humiliated his team."

Right.

"It needed to be done," I shrugged. "Shikamaru needs a wakeup call, they all do. You're giving them another shot?"

"Something like that," Tsunade hummed. "Let's just say that, although I'm happy with the results, I don't think the Jonin realize just how strong the Akatsuki are."

That sounded a lot like she wanted me to fight the Jonin Sensei's. "But if that's the case, why didn't we just continue with the spars?"

"A fight between you and Gai would likely be felt throughout the entirety of Konoha," She deadpanned. "Besides, I've got something more important for us to do. Tell me, how far have you progressed with Fuinjutsu?"

A well lit hallway greeted us as we arrived in the hidden bunker under the Hokage monument. A few of Tsunade's clones walked through the hallways, studying clipboards, carrying scrolls and even a few test tubes.

"This place has really changed since I was last here," I said, whistling as I took in my new surroundings.

"I had some extra time ever since I managed to fix the damage done by my Creation Rebirth and decided to redecorate," Tsunade hummed. Releasing her Henge, she stretched her arms above her head before continuing. "This lab wasn't going to stay the same forever. Finishing one project allowed me to dedicate more resources to several more."

Before, her lab felt as if it was a little too cluttered with little to no free space. Now, however, it felt more open… relaxed even… though there were still quite a few of her clones working, more than she had in the lab last time, although it didn't appear that she was overexerting herself.

Deciding to access Sage mode for only a handful of seconds, I was able to see that it was actually quite the opposite. Tsunade's Chakra was potent… she was overflowing with life and vitality.

"So this is the toads version of Sage mode?" Tsunade asked, immediately catching onto my actions. "It certainly feels powerful… and you were able to access it almost instantly."

"Well… I am constantly practicing it," I explained. "So it's really not that hard to enter Sage mode on my own."

Tsunade raised a brow. "Shadow Clones… but there's more to it than that, isn't there?"

"There is," I smirked, letting the state fade. "It's actually really simple. Instead of dispersing a clone that has entered Sage mode, I simply have a clone that exists within my seal, constantly absorbing and balancing Natural Energy."

Tsunade's face lit up in understanding. "So when you need to access Sage mode, you simply switch your Chakra with your clones'," she realized. "You've created a nearly flawless work around to the main issue with Sage mode."

With my Clone constantly handling Sage mode, I always had access to it and I was constantly getting experience in balancing Natural Energy with my own Chakra.

There was still one minor flaw, but at this point it wasn't an issue at all. If I used the version 2 cloak, I could end up accidentally dispelling my clone, but, seeing as I had access to a far stronger form with no real drawbacks, I really didn't need to use that cloak ever again.

The only real reason why I hadn't chosen to perpetually stay in Sage mode was due to how fragile the world became. I would constantly be running the risk of accidentally killing someone by punching them too hard. A friendly slap to the back could potentially end up breaking ribs.

It must be a real struggle for Tsunade to constantly reign in her strength now that she was permanently stuck in that form.

"I wouldn't say created. I already knew something similar was possible. When Jiraiya access Sage mode, he has Ma and Pa attach themselves to his shoulders in order to permanently stay in the state," I explained. "All I did was figure out a way that worked for me."

"It's still an ingenious method of working around the need to sit still," Tsunade hummed, before sighing. "While I would like to spend a little more time examining how your version of Sage mode differs from my own, I believe that we should get a move on. There are a few things I want to show you today."

Leading me to the end of the hallway, we briefly came to a stop, before entering the next room which, while containing lab equipment, was filled with various notes and scrolls, appearing to be a study.

"Tsunade… is that what I think it is?" I asked, pointing to a glass jar filled with an unknown fluid and one single red eye floating inside resting on a desk at the end of the room. The fact that it was a Sharingan wasn't what caught my attention… the familiar design however… "Shisui's Mangekyou Sharingan… I thought you destroyed it."

"Oh, that… I did," Tsunade replied while clearing the desk. "But I kept the remains and ended up fixing it in order to study how it works… Along with everything else I managed to scavenge from Danzo's body. I'm keeping it here as a type of side project."

I let out an incredulous laugh at that. She was keeping a Mangekyou Sharingan… one with the most subtle Genjutsu in the world… on her desk as a side project.

"I know that very few people know about this lab of yours, but isn't this a little… dangerous?" I asked.

Part of me was tempted to ask if I could use it, but I decided against it. Shisui's eye was powerful, but it was more tailored for subterfuge while I took a more direct path. The only use I would have for it would be to gain access to the Susanoo and I would need both eyes for that. I couldn't see Itachi willingly parting with Shisui's other eye.

Then there was also the fact that I would lose a lot of trust with Kumo if it was discovered that I had an eye that could subtly influence a persons' thoughts. Just the ability alone would be enough to give pause for concern.

No, while a Mangekyou Sharingan was a handy thing to have, it would cause more problems than it was worth. If I was going to gain any form of Dojutsu in the future, it was going to be the Rinnegan.

"This lab is filled with dozens of my clones each of which are capable of collapsing this entire structure," Tsunade explained, before smirking. "However, I know that they're not foolproof. The truth is, I'm using Shisui's Mangekyou to see if anyone has managed to infiltrate my lab. There's a lot of sensitive research in this building that I would rather keep hidden."

There were really only two people in the world that might be capable of breaking in here, Zetsu and Obito, both of which would realize the worth of Shisui's eye… especially for an organization that likes to work in the shadows.

"You're… waiting to see if anyone steals Shisui's Mangekyou?" I asked. "What did you do to it?"

"I'll leave that as a surprise," Tsunade answered. "Let's just say… the best case scenario is that Obito dies. The worst, he has a really bad day and Shisui's Mangekyou is destroyed."

That only ended up making me more curious. There didn't appear to be any seals hidden on it, but she could have always implanted one inside of the eye. Tsunade knew that half of Obito's body consisted of Hashirama's cells, so she likely also knew that poison wouldn't really work on him.

"You didn't place a small explosive seal in the eye… did you?" I asked.

"Nothing so easily detectable," Tsunade replied. "I just put something in it that, on its own, shouldn't cause issues, but when it comes into contact with something from Obito's body, it will activate."

That didn't really give me any answers, but it seemed that it was all Tsunade was willing to say on the matter… at least for now.

"Before we came here, you asked how far I've progressed with my Fuinjutsu," I said, changing the subject. "It wasn't related to Shisui's eye, was it?"

"No," Tsunade shook her head. Grabbing a scroll, she placed it on the now empty desk and unfurled it, revealing a whole lot of Fuinjutsu script. "This is what I wanted your opinion on. I would normally ask Jiraiya, but… I want to keep this as quiet as possible."

Looking through the scroll, I could see why Tsunade would want to keep this quiet. "This… it looks like a formula for a curse mark," I said before I looked up. "What is this?"

"A method for merging dna… among other things," Tsunade explained. "Although it's not the method I used to fix the damage done to my body from the Creation Rebirth. This is based off of Orochimaru's curse mark, but perfected. I designed this with you in mind, the thing that has me worried is how it will interact with your seal."

"You used a different method?" I asked.

"It's… not something that could work for you due to your body housing Kurama," Tsunade said, wincing slightly. "It's also not a very pleasant method, it involves manually breaking your body down before rebuilding it."

"Ah… that sounds kind of painful," I muttered.

"It was more uncomfortable than anything else," Tsunade explained. "And it took a full three days of waiting… Lying on a metal table while my clones handled running Konoha. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever gone through, but it was pretty close. If you had to go through the same process, we would run the risk of accidentally dissolving a portion of your seal."

That could end up accidentally releasing Kurama, something that would likely be incredibly painful and could end up killing me if he wasn't resealed immediately.

Turning my attention to the scroll, I hummed in thought. "The first time I was here, I accidentally ended up growing a spare arm when forcing my cells to merge with Hashirama's."

"The only reason why that worked was due to you being a transmigrant of Ashura, Your Chakra resonates with his own," She explained. "If, however, you wanted to increase the potency of your Chakra by adding, say… Sasuke's, this would come in incredibly handy… certainly more handy than grafting a piece of him onto you and sitting in a cave for nearly a hundred years."

I see. She wanted to combine my Chakra with Sasuke's… Indra and Ashura. "Six Paths Chakra," I said. "I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't considered gaining it."

"I know," Tsunade smirked. "So, do you think this seal will cause any problems with the one holding Kurama?" She asked, tapping the scroll lightly.

Going back to the scroll, I scrutinized the various symbols, looking for anything that could potentially cause issues.

"This part over here," I said, pointing to a group of symbols. "I don't think that they'll interfere with my seal, but I don't recognize what they do," I explained.

Leaning forward, Tsunade glanced over the section of the script I pointed to and began to explain what its purpose was. It was actually kind of nice working with her, going at our own pace instead of blazing through it or assigning clones to finish the work as fast as possible.

Compared to the now empty Uchiha district, the Hyuga complex was small, however, it was still the size of a miniature fortress, housing the entirety of the Hyuga clan within its walls.

If I had to say one thing about the complex, it was extremely well kept. The garden was in perfect condition and the buildings were incredibly clean, likely due to the numerous servants.

"We're here, sir," the maid that had been guiding me through the complex said. Opening the door, she bowed and stepped back.

"Thank you," I nodded.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Hiashi began. "Please take a seat."

Glancing at the other occupant in the room… Neji, who seemed remarkably less grumpy. I sat down across from Hiashi. "So, this is about what I told Neji the other day?"

"It is," Hiashi confirmed. "I was surprised when Neji came to me, demanding answers and grew concerned when I found out that Kumo is aware of my brother and I switching places."

Hiashi was right to be concerned. Although they had started the issue, Kumo was still well within their right to request for Konoha to hand Hiashi over… although that wasn't going to happen. There was too much at stake for pettiness, both Kumo and Konoha understood that.

"The Raikage realized it the moment they received Hizashi's body," I explained. "The Caged Bird seal might disappear after death, but its effects on the body are pretty obvious to the average medical Shinobi… especially if the seal was activated a few times prior."

As much as the Hyuga clan might like to deny it, the Caged Bird seal was nothing but a leash that the main clan used to subjugate the branch clan. Activating it damages the body, leaving a lasting mark that was hidden inside of the body.

"Wouldn't Kumo have demanded that Konoha hands over the actual perpetrator then?" Neji asked quietly.

"They could have… but the Raikage chose to keep everything quiet," I replied. "The Raikage values strength, that much is true… but he also has a brother that he loves. He saw through Hizashi's actions and respected him for it… choosing to honor his sacrifice."

"Father," Neji muttered softly while Hiashi sat stoically.

"He's not," Kurama noted. "While he may be good at hiding it, he's currently feeling grief."

'I know.'

At the end of the day, Hiashi still loved his brother… regardless of some of the terrible things he did to him. I decided to give the two grieving Hyuga a few moments before continuing.

"There's a bit more to the story than that," I added. "With this alliance, we've… managed to discover a few more things that neither side was aware of until recently."

"What?" Hiashi asked after taking a slow breath.

"There's a member of the Akatsuki by the name of Zetsu… he's able to perfectly disguise himself and even mimic a person's Chakra signature to the point that even a Hyuga wouldn't be able to distinguish real from fake," I explained. "We've… recently discovered that he has been fairly active in the past few years. He's been using his clones and infiltrating hidden villages in order to start conflicts."

"Are you saying that Kumo isn't to blame for the Hyuga incident?" Hiashi asked.

"No, they definitely hold the majority of the blame for that," I replied. Ay had decided to go ahead with the kidnapping after all. "But they weren't the only ones involved. Zetsu has been subtly manipulating the villages for a long while now."

"To what end?" Hiashi pressed.

"To start another war," I sighed. "The Akatsuki work best when attention is drawn away from them. A war between two major villages would give them a lot of room to move around. They tried to start a war with the Hyuga incident and they tried it again in the Land of Iron. They would have succeeded the first time if not for Hizashi's actions."

"Then… Suna's invasion during the Chunin exams?" Neji asked.

"I'm not completely sure about that," I replied. "They might have made Suna desperate by influencing their Daimyo to cut their funding, but I can't say for sure if the Akatsuki was involved."

It would make sense. Black Zetsu had been instigating wars for centuries at this point. He might have had his hand in the conflict between Suna and Konoha.

"This is all very troubling," Hiashi muttered softly.

"It is," I agreed. "And it also needs to be kept quiet… at least Zetsu's ability to mimic people. If that is spread, paranoia will spike and we'll become wary of one another. The main advantage that we have right now is that we're united under a common cause of getting rid of the Akatsuki. That all falls apart if we stop trusting each other."

"Yes, I believe that would be the best course of action right now," Hiashi replied. "I will, however, need to discuss this further with the Hokage."

That shouldn't be an issue. Hiashi had contacted me through Tsunade after I failed to show up at my apartment. She already knew that I was here discussing the Akatsuki with Hiashi.

"Is there anything else that you would be able to tell me about the Akatsuki?" Hiashi asked.

"Only the members that I've come into contact with," I answered. "But I'm pretty sure that information was added to the Bingo Book."

"It has," Hiashi nodded.

With the meeting coming to an end, I stood and stretched lightly while Hiashi made his way out of the room.

"Neji…" I began. "Everything that you heard here today… please keep it to yourself. I know that you don't like me, you might even hate me… but this is about more than just us."

"I… understand," Neji replied.

"Good," I nodded. Heading out, I stopped by the door. "A long time ago, someone once told me that a person becomes truly strong when they have someone precious to them… I always understood that, but now I'm starting to realize the true depths we go in order to protect the ones we love. Your father was a great man… Much like my own."

And that's chapter 47.

Team 10 fails and gets another chance. Tsunade lays a trap and starts working with Naruto on a new project. Hiashi finally has the talk with Neji... The less awkward one involving plots to prevent wars and self sacrifice.

Anyways, I'm up to chapter 54 on the spooky P word website.

P
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I go by the name of ThatKircguy. Just copy the name and paste it in the Patty Rio On search bar. It'd help me out immensely, but don't worry if that's not your style. I will be uploading weekly, so it's not going to be stuck there permanently.

Also, I post my original stuff there as well. It's nothing much, just two short stories for now, but I'll post more as I write them.

The next chapter will be posted on the 22nd of November.
See you all then dudes and dudettes.