A/N: Thank you to those that reviewed!

Summary: What happens when a mysterious shinobi shows up with an interesting offer involving three different shinobi? Follow these three shinobi as they go through many different adventures filled with new strengths, discoveries, and a village thought to be destroyed. Follow these three as they go experience joy, sadness, anger and romance. These three aren't coming back to Konoha the same as when they left it.

"Normal speech"

'Thoughts'

"Demon/curse mark speech"

'Demon/curse mark thoughts/ inner Sakura'

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…yeah…that's all I'm saying.

The Three Failures

Chapter 7

Naruto was amazed, no astounded. A five day journey plus a nice little mountain climbing adventure filled with the magic of deadly traps, projectile weapons and a few creatures that would better belong at Training Grounds 44, otherwise known as the Forest of Death.

Needless to say, they were miserable. Oh yeah, and did he forget to mention that they did all of this with gravity seals that seemed to come straight from Hell? Yep, and after this stimulating little adventure they stood here face to face with the worst possible obstacle that they could face at this time. It was worse than the barrage upon barrage of poisoned senbon, the multiple Genjutsu, the gigantic hawk that appeared out of nowhere and carried him off, having mistaken him for a mouse, even worse than the gravity seals from Hell. It was… it was…

A dead end.

They looked at Akane as she walked up to the wall of stone that stood before them. She then looked at them and smiled, which kind of pissed him off, especially since she didn't have a scratch on her nor did she look even faintly exhausted, as opposed to him, Hinata and Ino who looked more like they had fallen off of the mountain then were used as one of Lee and Gai's training dummies.

"Well, here we are. What do you think?" Akane asked, turning to them with a smile on her face. They stared at her, then the dead end, then back at her again. Ino looked over to Hinata and him, confusion in her eyes.

"Is anyone else slightly worried?"

Akane just laughed at her response and turned back to the wall, making hand signs. They watched on carefully as she finished in the Tora seal before putting her hand on the stone.

"Kai!"

Their eyes widened as the stone shifted and moved to reveal the entrance to a tunnel. Akane nodded in satisfaction before turning to the three Genin, each of whom had expressions of shock written across their faces. She chuckled again before walking into the tunnel, gesturing for them to follow. Once all three were in, the entrance closed in on itself again, engulfing them in total darkness. Or it would if not for the strange blue glow that lit the tunnels, enabling them to see the different pathways and tunnels that led to who-knows-where. The three Genin looked at her.

"Care to explain what just happened, where we are and why the walls to these tunnels are glowing?" Ino asked, too annoyed and exhausted to care about formalities. Akane smiled as she continued walking, leading them through the tunnels.

"It's one of the village's many defenses. You see, in order to rebuild Uzushio we had to keep reconstruction a secret, lest one of our rivals decided to attack us before we were ready. In order to do this the Uzukage rebuilt the village in a location that was protected with natural defenses; the mountains, the tunnels, and the wild animals," Akane said, watching in amusement as Naruto winced at the mention of wild animals, the hawk obviously still fresh on his mind. She continued.

"Well, in addition to these natural defenses the Uzukage added a few more defenses using his clan's specialty, fuinjutsu. You see, the reason why we were able to get through was because there was a special seal put in place that only Uzushio shinobi know how to get past. On top of that, even if someone were able to get past it they would still have to find their way through these hundreds upon hundreds of different tunnels in order to get to the village. With the time that the intruder spends searching for the right tunnels the shinobi of the village will already be alerted and will be able to take down said intruder before they can even come close to the village," Akane explained, quite proud of the village's defense system. Our three Genin nodded for a moment, thinking.

"Wait, how does the village know when someone is in the tunnels? You said so yourself that there are hundreds upon hundreds of them in here," Ino asked, curious. Akane smiled.

"Well, why don't we ask our Hyuga friend? I'm sure she figured it out." Akane asked, looking at Hinata. Hinata looked startled for a bit before taking a good look at the tunnels.

"Chakra. These tunnels have chakra running through them," Hinata answered, looking at Akane. The Jonin nodded her head before facing back down the path.

"Correct. You see, there are special seals put in place all over these tunnels that emit a steady flow of chakra throughout them. Whenever someone is in here there is a slight disturbance in the chakra flow caused by that person's chakra. Our sensors are able to pick up on this and can tell if it is a familiar chakra signature or a foreign one. They are also able to tell where the disturbance is and how much of a threat they seem to be," Akane said, continuing through the tunnels.

"Impressive. And all this using fuinjutsu?" Naruto asked, astounded that sealing could go such a long way.

"You'd be surprised at what fuinjutsu can accomplish, but then again, wasn't the Yondaime Hokage a seal master?" Akane asked, amused. Naruto nodded absentmindedly, thinking.

"So you have a clan that specializes in fuinjutsu?" Ino asked, a bit surprised.

"Is there a problem with that?"

"It's not that, it's just… fuinjutsu isn't really that…popular of a ninja art," Ino answered. Akane smiled.

"And you believe that the reason for that is because it's not that useful in an actual battle; am I right?" Akane asked, amused as Ino started blushing in embarrassment. She laughed.

"Well that's partially true. Most ninja don't understand how useful sealing can be in a fight, so they opt not to learn it. However, the main reason it's not popular actually lies more in the fact that most ninja don't understand it. It's a complex art that a single person has yet to realize the extent to which it can be taken. The way that one drop of ink, one misplaced line can cause catastrophic results, it's a difficult art to master. In fact, they say that the only way one can master it is if they have the talent for it. That's why most ninja opt not to use it outside of sealing weapons and carrying messages," Akane explained, her Genin, yes her Genin, looking down in thought.

"So… this clan… they all specialize in fuinjutsu?" Naruto asked, wanting to know a bit more about his new found family.

"Well, most of them. They all have a knack for it but some choose to specialize elsewhere," Akane answered.

"You said that most ninja don't understand it's usefulness in combat, but how can it be used in combat, besides sealing weapons?" Ino asked, still curious.

"Well, it can be used in many different ways. A common misconception about fuinjutsu is that its usefulness lies in storing material items, much like a common backpack. However, if one is experienced enough in the art then one can do things from sealing off someone's chakra to creating a barrier that is borderline impossible to get through. One could summon great beasts using fuinjutsu, or seal them away. And don't forget that explosive notes are made from seals as well," Akane said, thinking.

"You can't forget about the gravity seals as well. Although they are mostly used for training you can also use a makeshift one to stun your opponent as well as slow them down," Akane said.

"A makeshift one?" Naruto asked, curious. Akane nodded.

"Obviously you can't sit your enemy down and cover them in seals during combat, but you can imprint the main part of it onto your enemy like other seals. It won't be nearly as effective, but it will buy some time in combat," Akane explained.

"But wait, if you can make a makeshift one that quickly in combat, then why is the complete one so extensive? I mean, I understand that it would be a bit more complex, but you put seals up and down our arms, legs, chest, and back. Why is that?" Ino asked, slightly confused.

"Good question. You see, the one used in combat won't be nearly as heavy, plus it will wear off after about an hour. Plus it will only increase the weight on wherever you put it, so if you put it on someone's torso their arms will still be free. On top of that, it doesn't have any of the security measures that are normally used for the training ones," Akane said.

"Security measures?" Hinata asked, also curious.

"Yes. You see, when the seal is put in place it uses your chakra system against you, making it denser and heavier. This alone can actually cause problems because it can mess with your chakra control and actually has the potential to cause massive damage to your chakra coils. In fact, this seal actually originated to keep prisoners in place," Akane said, watching as three pairs of eyes widened. She chuckled.

"Don't worry, that's why we have several security measures in place. One of them is a counter seal that counteracts that certain aspect. It allows your chakra to flow regularly and also allows the seal to adjust to the person so, although it will still feel heavy, it will allow the person to get used to the extra weight," She explained, watching as her Genin calmed down a bit.

"Anyway, another security measure is the control seal put in place. You see, if you actually carried as much weight as the seals seem to be carrying, then you guys would weigh much more than you actually do, though that is just common sense. But I want to show you guys something. Naruto pick up Hinata," Akane ordered, momentarily pausing in their walking. At this Hinata instantly turned red and looked down as Naruto hesitated for a second.

"N-Nani?" He asked, a bit surprised at the sudden command.

"You heard me. Pick up Hinata," Akane said again, looking at them expectantly. They looked at her for a moment before putting down their bags.

"O...kay," Naruto said, looking over to Hinata, who was still beet red, but still walked over to him. He looked at her for a second before picking her up bridal style. He was a bit shocked by how light she was, despite the seals. He looked over to Akane, who had a smile on her face.

"Well?" She asked, still smiling.

"She's light. I can't even tell that there's a gravity seal on her," He answered truthfully, as she weighed about as much as he presumed she would be, though without the seals. Akane nodded.

"Exactly. This control seal allows the sudden increase in weight to remain internal, so you can feel it, but it keeps your body at your normal weight. This is in place for several reasons. First, it will keep people from knowing you have these seals so if you are to fight with someone you have an ace up your sleeve. Second, it will keep you from falling through whatever you're standing on. Third, and probably the most important, is that in the case of an emergency, like you're injured and there are no medics around, this will allow your comrades to take you to a hospital or to any form of help without worrying about the seals," Akane explained as the others nodded.

"Now let's get a move on. We are almost to the end and I'd like to get out of here," Akane said as she continued to walk.

"Also, I know that you two are probably enjoying this, but Naruto you should probably put Hinata down. You can hold your girlfriend later, right now we just need to get out of here," She teased, smiling as they started blushing in embarrassment.

"W-we're not… S-She's not-," Naruto started stuttering as he quickly put Hinata down. Akane laughed.

"Could have fooled me, with you guys sneaking away at night I thought there was something going on between you two," She said, continuing to tease them. They both turned even redder at that, if that was possible. Ino looked confused.

"Wait, you two were sneaking out at night? Why am I just finding out about this now?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"W-we were just-… w-we didn't do anything!" Naruto tried to explain as Hinata looked like she was about to pass out.

"Sure sure, we believe you," Akane said as they started to calm down a bit. She then smirked.

"Just use protection." Hinata fainted right then and there. Akane laughed as Naruto started freaking out.

"Akane!"

"Gomen, gomen, I couldn't help myself," She apologized, still chuckling.

True to her word it only took them five more minutes to get to the end of the tunnels. Well, five minutes after they woke up Hinata from her recent fainting spell. The sight that greeted them upon exiting was astounding. After their eyes got used to the sunlight they saw what looked to be a huge basin of water with several whirlpools as well as an island out in the middle. But that wasn't the thing that astounded them the most, what astounded them the most were the several waterfalls and the view of the mountains surrounding them. The way that the water glistened and complimented the already beautiful mountains was truly a sight to behold.* Akane smiled.

"You ready for a crash course in whirlpool walking?" She asked, chuckling a bit at how their expressions went from awe to horror.

"Whirlpool walking?" Ino asked, slightly scared. Akane nodded.

"Of course, this is another one of the defenses of the village. These whirlpools are actually made by the Uzukage and kept going by seals that are constantly renewed, just like in the tunnels. I assume you all have learned the water walking exercise, correct?" She asked, watching as they all nodded.

"Good, because it will be hard enough to just learn this," Akane said as she stepped out onto the water. She watched as they hesitated a bit.

"Come on, it's either this or swim all the way to the island. And just so you know, it's harder to get through whirlpools when you're underwater, plus you've got to worry about the marine life to worry about, which isn't all that different from the other animals that live in these mountains," She said, watching as they paled a bit, especially Naruto. After a few more seconds of hesitation they walked out onto the water, following Akane.

"Don't worry. You guys won't be fully learning this exercise yet, just enough to get you across. Anyway, since you won't really be learning the exercise you guys will probably just try to walk across the whirlpools, fail, then I'm fishing you guys out of the water every time we come across a whirlpool," Akane said in a reassuring tone, though somehow they didn't feel all that reassured.

"Let's go, unless you want to waste all of your chakra just standing here," Akane said as she started walking. The three sighed and quickly started walking after her, making sure to stick close.

The sun was setting, the skies were turning different shade of orange and pink, and Naruto was royally pissed. It took hours to get to the village, not because it was that far from the tunnels, in truth it was only a half hour walk. No, it took hours because half the time they were getting sucked to the middle of a raging vortex with Akane having to come in and fish them out. At this point he was sure that she was just trying to torture them. She was a sadist who enjoyed making them suffer for the next three years. And because they were cousins he knew that she would come up with some pretty creative stuff in order to make them suffer.

He looked over to Hinata and Ino. Both were drenched and exhausted, much like he was. Thinking over their little whirlpool adventure though made him a bit nervous though. Like Akane said before they haven't even started the actual training yet, if this was just casual walking then what would the training be like. He paled a bit at that, it wasn't until now that he fully believed her when she said that this would make Gai's training look like child's play. If this kept up he knew that he would be lucky just to survive this training.

"We're here, the Uzukage tower." Akane said as they walked into a huge building similar to the Hokage tower back at Konoha.

As they climbed the steps leading to the Uzukage's office they couldn't help but wonder what he would be like. Would he be serious? Would he like them? Naruto normally didn't think about these things, but this was his grandfather, his family. He wanted to make a good impression. Once they got to the top of the steps they walked down a hall filled with different pictures. Some seemed to be of the village, others were filled with shinobi. They stopped at a red door with the kanji for 'whirlpool' on it and knocked.

"Enter!"

With one last look at each other they walked into the office, carefully shutting the door behind them. Sitting at the desk in front of them was a man with red hair tied back in a ponytail, grey eyes and a serious expression. Although he seemed to be about as old as the late Sandaime Hokage, he had only a few wrinkles and radiated an aura of power that was pretty intimidating.

"Hey Ojii-san, I'm back," Akane greeted, shocking Ino and Hinata. The man smiled, the intimidating aura replaced by a cheerful and welcoming disposition.

"Akane, okaerinasai. I take it these are the Genin?" The man asked, looking at Ino, then Hinata. His eyes widened when he looked at Naruto though, a look of shock crossing his features.

"Hai. This is Yamanaka Ino, Hyuga Hinata and… Uzumaki Naruto," She said, gesturing to each of them and watching the man carefully when she introduced Naruto. The man looked at her in shock.

"Impossible, he should be dead!"

A/N: (I got the lines back!) Wow, I am incredibly sorry for the one to almost two month wait. I have just been traveling a lot. Been to four different states not including my own. But I am back now and the updates will be getting more frequent and more on schedule. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter! And sorry for all of the explanations in this chapter as well as my lame attempt at humor. But next chapter you will get more of Uzushio, this I swear. Anyway please review! Like it? Hate it? Give me your opinions! Constructive criticism is welcome and advice is appreciated! Also I figured that since this is a training fic than maybe I should keep track of their progress. So here I go.

Naruto: Ninjutsu-3, Taijutsu- 2, Genjutsu- 1, Mind- 1.5, Strength- 3, Speed- 3, Stamina- 4, Hand signs- 1.

Hinata: Ninjutsu- 1.5, Taijutsu- 3, Genjutsu- 1, Mind- 3, Strength- 1, Speed- 2, Stamina- 1.5, Hand signs- 2.

Ino: Ninjutsu- 3, Taijutsu- 1.5, Genjutsu- 1.5, Mind- 2.5, Strength- 1.5, Speed- 2.5, Stamina- 2, Hand signs- 2.5.

This was all according to the data books, not my own assessment. Anyway I was thinking of showing their improvement after each year they completed. What I'm asking is should I? If you don't think I should than I won't, but if you do I will. Please tell me.

*Please don't tell me how this isn't possible. If it helps the location is mostly man-made in order to fit and protect the village.

JAPANESE!

Nani- what

Gomen- sorry

Ojii-san- grandfather

Okaerinasai- Welcome back (or welcome home, not sure which)

Hai- yes (formal)