Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any related copyrights, trademarks, properties, or characters. I am in no way profiting from this literary venture except from the comments and reviews that I receive, which will only help me improve my writing. I don't own anything to do with the Black Library or GamesWorkshop either.

Claimer: I own the Nikuton. So please, don't rip it off. Or I will find you. Unless you ask for my express permission first, then it might be okay. To reiterate, the concept belongs to me. I also own the original character Helveynia.

AN: Listening to Mumford and Sons always gives me good ideas. Metal only works for when I'm doing calculations or crunching Differential Equations.

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

"Non-human speech"

"Non-human thoughts"

Council Chambers, 20:00, Regular Time

When a Shinobi of a given village actually wanted to train a Jinchuuriki, for any length of time, they had to jump through myriad bureaucratic hoops. Shimura Danzo was currently engaged in jumping through those hoops to coach a certain Uzumaki Naruto in preparation for the final phase of the chuunin exam. Of course Danzo had a reputation for wanting to use Jinchuuriki as human weapons, above and beyond the standard for their kind. However, Danzo was approaching it differently.

"Of Uzumaki Naruto's four elemental affinities, wind is clearly his strongest. I possess the strongest wind affinity in Konoha, and therefore I wish to be allowed to train him in Futon techniques to reduce his reliance on Nikuton techniques." Danzo said in explanation of his sudden interest in the boy. He had given up on indoctrinating him and turning him into a shell of a person, a weapon to direct and unleash. No, Hiruzen had done a fine job of shaping him into a relentless killer and monster of a shinobi already. Now Danzo merely wished to train him for its own sake, or at least that's what he wanted those around him to believe.

"Troublesome." Nara Shikaku muttered, and then spoke up. Danzo inwardly flinched at this. Of course a Nara would know of his other reason. "Shimura-sama, I thought you and your great-nephew were estranged, if he is even aware of the relationship. According to my son, Naruto is under the impression that he has no living relatives within the village."

Hiruzen cleared his throat. "Though Danzo and Minato were never on the best terms, it was well known to those outside of the village that they were blood relatives. I ordered Danzo not to reveal himself to Naruto for fear of our enemies finding out. Iwa still bears a grudge, and not just against the Yondaime. If they were aware of his relationship with Danzo, they would have sent assassins to attempt to strike a blow against Konoha's Shinobi no Yami (Darkness of Shinobi)." The Hokage grudgingly gave this information to the council. "I ordered Danzo to stay away from Naruto until I deemed Naruto capable of defending himself against assassins."

"Admittedly, I wish primarily to make him stronger for the sake of the village. We can't afford for our Jinchuuriki to appear weak, and considering the repercussions of his primary arsenal of techniques, we can't afford for him to rely on him in front of the Daimyos and the other Kages." Danzo confessed, his face as impassive as was normal for him. "However, I would be lying if I said I wasn't tired of Naruto's lack of awareness of his living relatives."

Choza, the oft cheerful Akimichi clan head, scratched his head and frowned. "Hokage-sama, doesn't deliberately hiding this information from Naruto go against the spirit of Minato's will?" He asked, sounding a little confused. The good natured man was a little puzzled by this, having known Minato in bygone days. "If Shimura-sama is in fact Naruto's uncle, shouldn't he have been given custody of the child upon his parents' death?"

The mood of the room was darkening. The absence of the civilian council lent the meeting a measure of heat more than it normally would possess, and loosened the tongues of the clan heads present. It was a disaster, as far as Hiruzen was concerned. Of course Danzo would have some kind of contingency plan. "He must know we're on to him. That we plan on removing ROOT." The elderly Sarutobi thought.

"Wouldn't he have been the ideal guardian for Naruto in his capacity as the Black Ops director?" Shikaku inquired, digging for more information. As troublesome as the whole mess seemed, something didn't sit right with this situation in his mind, and he had been Jonin commander long enough to understand the value of the village's resources and the threat posed by other villages. In his mind, it made no sense barring Danzo's access to Naruto when he was younger; in fact it would likely have been the safest place for him.

Hiruzen massaged the bridge of his nose, and let free a heavy sigh. Right now there was no way to bar Danzo from training Naruto, and the clan heads were inching closer and closer to sensitive information that they were not cleared to have. "I had hoped to place Naruto in the care of Jiraiya or Tsunade, however as you are all aware Jiraiya is in charge of our intelligence organization, and is incapable of remaining in the village for large stretches of time," Hiruzen paused here and shook his head, "As for Tsunade, she demanded full custody of the child and the right to raise him outside of the village, which was unacceptable. Outraged, she stormed out of the village."

Hyuuga Hiashi shook his head, "Naruto was better off an orphan in the village than in the custody of that drunk on the road." He glanced toward the empty seat that the Senju clan head was meant to fill. "That woman has no sense of duty or honor to abandon her kin and her village."

This prompted many nods of agreement. In her time away from the village, Tsunade had done a lot to lose face in the eyes of the other prominent clans of Konoha. Even still, most of the present shinobi displayed there continuing lack of satisfaction with their body language.

"More and more troublesome." Shikaku muttered, shaking his head. He looked over to his commander and proceeded to steer the conversation back on course. "My apologies, Hokage-sama, but were we not discussing Shimura-sama? Perhaps it would be prudent to leave the issues of the past for another time and focus on the matter at hand?"

Tsume Inuzuka flared her nose and sniffed. The odors in the room had shifted: instead of the overbearing stink of anxiety that had pervaded the room before, now hints of relief were mixed in with the room's olfactory cocktail. "We can't simply dismiss the issue of purported negligence of our village's Jinchuuriki," Tsume began, hints of disgust coloring her voice, "But I agree with Shikaku-san. We should shelve the issue of past negligence for now, and focus on whether or not Shimura-sama will be allowed to train Naruto. I move that Shimura Danzo be allowed to oversee Uzumaki Naruto's training during the rest period between exams. Pack has the right to see to pack." The Inuzuka head finished with a slight growl.

Though some of the clan heads seemed less than happy to allow the Hokage to slide, the motion was quickly seconded. Since the Hokage was held accountable to the council, they could launch a formal inquiry in to what was revealed in this meeting, and perhaps even dig up what was actually going on. "The motion carries." The Hokage said with a sigh of exasperation. "Danzo will be allowed to train Naruto for the upcoming exam."

Danzo stood and bowed to assembled clan heads, and then he turned and bowed to the Hokage. "I thank this council, and y6u Hokage-sama, for this opportunity. I will not disappoint." There was a glint in Danzo's visible eye, and the barest tinge of smugness to his tone, as if he had won some kind of major victory in a protracted battle. He took his seat with the dignity expected of an individual of his advanced years, and turned his attention to the Hokage.

"Is there any other business to attend to?" The Hokage asked, hoping for a no so he would be able to get out of the council meeting and run damage control on the situation. Danzo was fully capable of swaying Naruto and changing his views, and that could very well derail decades of careful planning and manipulation. The lack of replies to his question lightened his mood a touch, and he stood up, and placed his hands behind his back. "Very well then. This meeting of Konoha's Shinobi Council is adjourned. You are all dismissed."

Beneath The Hokage's Tower, 03:00, Regular Time

Hidden deep beneath the Hokage tower, behind vault doors, genetically coded seals, ingenious architectural manipulation, and through many maze like tunnels, there lay a naturally occurring cavern carved out by an underground river, and expanded by the motion of the roots of the thousands upon thousands of trees that gave Konohagakure no Sato its name. The cavern ceiling housed a unique species of bat that fed on chakra, likely due to the heavy, malignant, almost bijuu-like chakra that pervaded the area. This led to the native bats developing a natural affinity for chakra, as well as the ability to speak and perform ninjutsu. These bats were, in fact, a summon clan, but they were not contracted to any one in Konoha, least of all the man who was carefully picking his way across the rocky, uneven floor of the cavern.

No these bats belonged to the man that resided in the cave, though the term could only be applied loosely. Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't even sure the entity he sought was still human. No, this intelligence he came in search of presided over Aotaiyo, and occasionally deigned to provide the aged Hokage and figurehead with orders and directives to distribute to the rest of his organization. This creature, this malignant intelligence he simply knew as The Mind, had been guiding him since he had assumed the post of Hokage, and he suspected even before that. This thing pushed and pulled him in arbitrary directions for arbitrary reasons and the sole thing that kept Hiruzen dancing to this nameless being's tune was fear.

The Kami no Shinobi was afraid. The thing that kept him in line with this things desires and plans was fear. Fear of the vivid and graphic images and sensory memories that this creature was capable of driving in to his mind when Hiruzen even thought of going against its will. Hiruzen could act of his own accord, within The Mind's goals, but if he went against its aims people died. Disasters befell the village, wars started. Hiruzen suspected that the Third Shinobi World War was this things responsibility, and he strongly suspected it had a hand in the death of his elder son, Konohamaru's father. Even still, he was powerless before it. The only way to avert the disasters it promised was to obey.

Insightful, thoughtful obedience, initiative and planning on his part, and progress prevented the visions that the creature forced upon Hiruzen. What kept him going was its ultimate promise of peace if its plan came to fruition. The aged shinobi knew not if it would all be worth it when all was said and done, and that disturbed him greatly. He knew that the ill tidings he brought to his master would not be without repercussions, and he feared for the safety of his precious people. Asuma, Konohamaru, and especially Naruto would all suffer for this, and Danzo seemed to know what was coming and appeared to be actively taking measures against it. If Danzo survived the coming month they'd be set back by years, and he had ample opportunity to poison his assassin's resolve over that thirty day period.

Hiruzen steeled himself as he approached the rocky outcropping where the entity resided, and knelt before the creature that had defined so much of his life. "There has been an unexpected development, Mind-sama." Hiruzen said, his head bowed in deference, the normally implacable man sounding terribly small at that moment. "It seems that Uzumaki-san, the Right Hand, has located his clan's lost summoning contract, and on top of this, Shimura Danzo has secured permission from the council to train the boy. I fear that this might cause his loyalty to Aotaiyo to waiver, and that it might unravel decades of careful planning and manipulation."

'You disappoint me, Hiruzen' the Mind's voice tore through the aged Sandaime's thoughts, causing the elderly shinobi to cringe in pain and feel his age. 'If we lose control of our greatest asset now it will spell the end of our organization, and the end of our era.' From the floor to Hiruzen's left came the sound of shifting earth and from above came the screech of bats. The walls of the natural cavern seemed to close in, and the elderly man seemed to shrink all the more.

"W-what," Hiruzen coughed, feeling his decades of smoking as bile rose in his throat from his overwhelming anxiety. "What must I do to preserve his loyalty?"

'It is simple, Mouth-san. Make sure the only voice that he is loyal to is yours. Ensure that when the time comes and the call sounds, the voice he will heed and obey belongs to you.' The voice of The Mind began tearing through Hiruzen's head, ripping images from the recesses of his memories to form a picture. In his head, Hiruzen saw the death of all those that Naruto held precious and most prominently his own blood soaked hands. Beyond it, the leaf was burning and at the fore a giant rampaging corpse-fox and in the air, a dragon as white as snow. 'Even if it means the destruction of all you hold dear, he must be loyal to you. Not Konohagakure, not that silly little kiri-reject that you let him bring home and he holds so dear, or your pet torturer. Not the snake's reject. Not even your lazy dog. When it is time for the world to burn, he must answer to you or it will mean the end of everything you hold dear.'

With that image blazed into his memory, and his orders screaming in his head, The Mind sent a mental lance into Hiruzen's brain, causing the old man to black out where he knelt. The last thing he heard before everything went dark was the flap of wings and the sound of the earthen walls closing in to swallow him up.

Village Outskirts: Naruto's Property, 06:00, Regular Time

Naruto awoke well rested after his first night sleeping in his own bed after sleeping in a standard issue cot for the better part of a week. After the end of the prelims he had made his way home to rest, relaxing for the rest of the day and cleaning and performing maintenance on his equipment. He had turned in relatively early and allowed himself the luxury of sleeping in until six in the morning. Now he rolled himself out of bed and opened his blinds a crack to meet the burgeoning day ahead of him.

He felt confident about the month ahead of him. He knew he'd be able to stay sufficiently far ahead of the curve to not have to worry about most of his competition, and he knew that a good portion of finalists would pose little threat to him when it came down to it. The only ones he had to really worry about were his fellow jinchuuriki, and they, well, if all went as it should, he'd be able to handle the both of them. Despite what he'd heard about Yugito's prodigious control over the Nibi, and Gaara's own prowess with the abilities granted to him by Shuukaku, he knew he would trample them into the ground seeing as he was at least as skilled as they were and he had the advantage of the Kyuubi.

Shaking off his arrogant thought, he remembered that it was always possible for his opponents to surprise him, and if that happened, things could go terribly, disgustingly wrong. He needed to be prepared, and with that in mind, he prepared his breakfast, then took his repast, before donning his equipment and setting out in to the village to see Kakashi, then perhaps the Hokage about getting some additional training to cook up a surprise or two for the finals.

Naruto left his property and turned onto the road that would lead him into the more populous areas of Konoha. Taking in the cool, morning air, he set a brisk pace towards the village proper. A slight breeze blew through the trees above Naruto as he walked along the path. He heard the click of something solid and metallic striking rock and turned to his left. "Good morning Shimura-sama." Naruto said, inclining his head out of respect for the renowned Konoha shinobi. He slowed down a touch to accommodate Danzo even as his senses kicked into overdrive searching for Root operatives or any other kind of subterfuge. "Forgive my curiosity, but what brings you so far from your clan's property?"

The elderly man chuckled, as if privy to some secret joke. "Uzumaki-san, I, in fact, have come looking for you." Taking note of the subtle cues that indicated Naruto was searching for some kind of trap, Danzo chose not to beat around the bush. "You need not search for a trap, as there is none to find, rather I come only to speak with you." He drew alongside Naruto, and then looked towards the outskirts of the village. "Follow me. There is something you must see, and some things you must know."

Naruto had no intention of going with Danzo, at least not yet. "Once more, I must ask your forgiveness, Shimura-sama, but why should I follow you?" Naruto's guard was up, still searching for a trap. Something felt off to him. Something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out exactly what it was. He had been told not to trust Danzo under any circumstances. He knew what Root did, and what Danzo would have done to him had he the chance. "You expect me to blindly follow you? I know about what went on when you were the director of clandestine operations."

Danzo let free a sigh. He'd known this would happen. Hiruzen had likely told the boy that he was untrustworthy, a monster against the ideals of peace that Konoha stood behind and that he was a cancer festering within the village that would be best excised. Of course. "Uzumaki-san, I have no reason to deceive you. If I meant you harm, I could leave you as a red stain on the ground, or make you use one of your grotesque Nikuton techniques to dismember yourself. No, Naruto, I come not as the Director of Root, but as a Jonin of Konoha come to train the next generation." Danzo stated, looking down at the young shinobi. "I want what is best for the village and my comrades. It is not in my interest to do you injury, now follow me, and if you're not satisfied with what I show you, you may be off on your merry way."

"Very well." Naruto said, before he bit his thumb and ran through the hand seals for an exceedingly useful technique. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu." Naruto said as he slammed his palm against the ground. "I'm sure any information you have for me can be shared with my summons. If you would lead the way, Shimura-sama?" Naruto turned to Kagashi and gestured toward his friend and summon to follow him.

"Prudent." Danzo said with a touch of approval. "I commend your forward thinking. This way." He said as he tucked his can up under his arm and jumped up into the trees to head towards his destination. "I believe that this shall be quite the revelation, after all the Mask Temple is only a glimpse of everything Hiruzen has been hiding from you boy."

Uzumaki Mask Temple, 06:53, Regular Time

Danzo suddenly came to a halt and replaced his cane. Despite the jarring suddenness, Naruto managed to land right beside him just as Kagashi came surging out of the thick vegetation. It seemed that Danzo had led him to an overgrown clearing outside of a dilapidated temple. Taking in the rotten wood, water damage, and generally run down look of the place, Naruto concluded that this building had not seen use, or even sporadic maintenance, for a long time. He took note of a chipped and fading Uzumaki spiral on the half broken doors and gasped in surprise. "Gomen, Shimura-sama, but where exactly are we? I wasn't even aware this part of the village existed."

Kagashi let out a grating, hissing, fluttery noise that was his species equivalent of a laugh. "Thissss one believesss it issss ssssomething that belongsss to the Uzzzzuumaki." He stated with a pointed look at the worn Uzumaki clan crest prominently displayed on the weathered wooden doors. "Perhapssss thisssss issss another thing the Ssssenju ssstole from ussss." Kagashi looked over to Naruto, hoping he might have some insight, but he merely shook his head.

"I wasn't aware of its existence." Naruto repeated himself. He turned towards Danzo, unable to completely hide his utter confusion from the veteran shinobi. "Shimura-sama, is this what you wanted to show me?"

Danzo grimaced, to a greater degree than normal, and turned towards the temple. "This, Naruto-san, is a property that was first under the care of Uzumaki Mito, Shodaime-sama's wife, before it passed into the care of Uzumaki Miki when Mito had grown too old to care for it." Danzo paused here, and schooled his features to an even greater degree of practiced neutrality than was normal for him. "Miki enlisted my assistance in the maintenance of this place, and when she passed on, I maintained it until Uzumaki Kushina took it upon herself to do so."

"This place belongs to my clan?" Naruto asked Danzo, his voice awash in curiosity. "Why wasn't I informed before now? I was given to understand the only legacy I was entitled to lay in the ruins of Uzushiogakure buried beyond the whirlpools and beneath the rubble. I don't know my parents, but the Drayks confirmed the legitimacy of my heritage despite my lack of certain clan traits." Naruto was growing increasingly suspicious of Danzo, but he had yet to eke out his intentions.

"Thisss one issss not familiar with thossse clanssssmen. They musssst be from after the Ssssenju sssealed ussss away." Kagashi mused. He flicked his tail back and forth before he stepped between Naruto and Danzo and brought his head up to look the aged man in his one visible eye. "Thissss one believesss you know more than you wisssh to ssshare with the ssssummoner." Kagashi flicked out his tongue to taste the air around Danzo and snorted. He shook his head and wrapped his serpentine body loosely around Naruto in a gesture of protection.

"More that my duties to this village prohibit me from disclosing this information. I am not at liberty to discuss S-class secrets, as I'm sure Naruto-san understands. The only reason I mentioned ROOT in his presence is because he has posed as an agent of the organization." Naruto hid his surprise fairly well at Danzo's knowledge of the deception he'd been party to. "No, this has nothing to do with that or what Hiruzen ordered you to attempt to do. This is about training you, and showing you some of what the Hokage has deliberately kept hidden from you, starting with this place: The Uzumaki Mask Temple."

Naruto, mildly shocked at this development, was at a loss for words. "But, but if this place is mine why wasn't I told about it?" Naruto asked, he turned a piercing stare to Danzo, "Why would he keep a simple family temple from me?"

Danzo motioned for Naruto and Kagashi to follow him inside, he picked his way carefully up the steps of the temple, watching for particularly rotten spots in the wood. "It isn't the temple itself that Hiruzen hid from you, Naruto-san, but the power that it might contain. The Uzumaki were renowned for their prowess with fuinjutsu, as well as their longevity and their great skills as shinobi." Danzo paused as he came to the large doors, and turned to face Naruto once more. "There are likely clan scrolls, scrolls that now belong to you, that detail Uzumaki sealing techniques, or other information that might be useful in the right hands."

"I sense the Shinigami, boy." The Kyuubi's voice came rumbling from the back of Naruto's mind. He could almost see the beasts massive vulpine face twisted into a grimace. "This is indeed a place of great power. Tread lightly, death is very close here."

Naruto followed the elderly shinobi up the steps of the temple, and drew to a stop next to him, looking right at his clan crest. Kagashi waited at the bottom of the stairs for an opportunity to come up. There wasn't enough space for him to join his summoner on the narrow landing in front of the doors. "Do you sense any ill intent from Danzo?" Naruto held his hand over his clan crest, awaiting an answer from his tenant.

"Not towards you, boy. He only has the aura of ill intent that always saturates the area around old shinobi. Be vigilant, he may not mean you harm this second, but he wouldn't have survived this long without having some skill at hiding his intentions." Naruto nodded, accepting the fox's assessment of the elderly man beside him. The young shinobi placed his hand on the swirling emblem, and felt an immediate and sudden surge or chakra into a complex seal array hidden beneath his clan emblem. It flashed red, and then glowed a soft blue before the light faded. Some kind of mechanism came loose and the doors fell off their rusted out hinges, leaving the entrance to the temple open.

"I apologize for the sorry state of this place, Naruto-san. When Kushina took over the temple, she placed a seal on the doors that only allowed Uzumaki clan members to enter the building. I would have seen to its maintenance, but I couldn't enter the building to do so." Danzo said, waiting for Naruto to pass through the door, and pulling out a small flashlight to shine in to the gloom of the small temple's entrance. "I suppose this place is yours to take care of now, as well as all of the secrets contained herein. If I recall correctly, there is a small altar in front of the mask wall where Miki-chan used to pay her respects to her ancestors from the Uzumaki clan. It would behoove you to do the same."

Naruto nodded as he looked into the gloomy temple, producing his own small flashlight as he took a step into dilapidated structure. The floor boards creaked and groaned beneath his weight as he moved into the building. He shone his light around the room, taking in the benches and the small alcoves that contained the tattered remains of scrolls and weathered stone tablets that, upon closer inspection, detailed the deeds and history of the Uzumaki clan. The small stone alcove was choked with smoke and ash, likely from burnt incense. Naruto ran his finger over the tablet and drew it away, taking note of the pronounced track he'd left in the covering of dust.

He turned away from the small devotional space and looked out over the rest of the ill maintained temple. "Shimura-sama, this place, I don't understand why such a rich piece of my clan's history would be hidden from me." As he walked deeper into the temple, he turned his light to the back wall. It was covered in lovingly detailed, grotesque, porcelain death masks. Each one bearing the Uzumaki crest, and each one looking like a vile Oni, or the face of the Shinigami. The mere sight of the masks gave Naruto chills, but even still he kept going. Moving his light down, he saw the small altar that Danzo had mentioned. The crumbling remnants of incense sticks, a dish for candles, and a bowl for offerings rested on top of the altar, evoking a deep sense of longing in Naruto. The young shinobi turned towards the man who had chosen to show him this place. "I don't understand." He said, a distant, glazed look clouding his eyes.

"Naruto-san, it is not our place to understand everything our superiors command us to do. I was ordered to stay away from you, and Kushina's seals prevented me from seeing to this place." Danzo stepped towards the young man, even as a sharp hiss came out in warning for him to watch what he did. "I came here as much to convey to you a piece of your clan's legacy as to pay my respects to Miki-chan. If you allow me this, I will leave you to your contemplation." He received a shaky nod in the affirmative from Naruto, who then turned towards the devotional altar and collapsed to his knees.

Danzo let out a heavy sigh as he turned to one of the least worn alcoves. The carved marble was the least weathered, and it bore no fine coating of ash from decades of burnt incense. He placed a hand on the stone tablet, and ran his finger over the name carved at the bottom of it. 'Uzumaki Miki, Miki-chan, it has been so long since the last time I was able to see you. I'm sorry I couldn't protect Kushina for you. I failed to see to this place, and in doing so I have failed you, but I will not fail this young man. I owe it to your memory." A single tear ran down his age worn face and fell to the weathered wooden floor. Crushing his sorrow, he collected himself and got to his feet, feeling his many years as a shinobi. "Uzumaki-san, if you want me to train you, you will find me atop the Hokage monument this evening at dusk. I anticipate your decision."

Naruto gave Danzo the barest nod to acknowledge that he heard the aged man, and then felt a slight breeze indicating the elderly ninja had taken his leave via Shunshin. With Danzo no longer there to see him, a dam broke within him and he collapsed, his forehead crashed into the wooden altar sending the incense dust into the air and knocking the offering bowl and candle dish to the ground with an earsplitting clamor. He looked to Kagashi, who had drawn up behind him when Danzo left. The green draconid lizard curled up next to his summoner and breathed. "I don't understand."

"Thisss one isss much too young, much too low to know of thisss place, but it ssstinksss of Morikibo-ssssama'sss power." Kagashi shook his head, his bright green eyes glowing in the dim light. He flicked his tongue out to taste the air and the chakra of the place, and nodded his head slightly. "Thisss one knowsss that thisss place belongsss to the Uzzuumaki. Thisss one can tassste them under the dussst and rot." He stood up and looked around the temple, smelling the various alcoves and examining the tablets. He recognized the smells, and knew the patterns. He knew it was related to the summoners, past and current, but he wasn't sure what it all was. It was too wrapped up in the smells of the Senju.

'This place. What should I do?' Naruto thought, as he picked up his head and slammed it against the altar a second time, opening a wide gash in his forehead, his blood flowing into a complex spiral pattern carved into the altar's surface. In mere seconds, the grooves were overflowing with blood; just before it spilled off the altar, there was a flash of red light and volcanic glass filled the sealing array carved into the altar. The glass glowed a faint crimson, then, at the command of some unseen mechanism, the floor beneath Naruto sloped down into an underground chamber, sending Naruto reeling down the stairs to come to a stop in a heap on the cold stone floor of the secret chamber beneath the altar.

Clutching his head, holding his palm over the gash on his forehead, Naruto climbed to his knees, feeling bruises rising on his arms and legs already. "What the fuck was that!?" Naruto exclaimed at the sudden drop into the secret chamber. He used the sleeve of his coat to wipe the blood out of his eyes, and pulled his hitai-ate down over his eyebrows to absorb the blood from his wound and staunch the bleeding. "What is this place?" He thought aloud as he took in the rough-hewn stone chamber. It appeared to be a library of some sort: the walls were lined with shelves and cabinets, each filled with all kinds of scrolls, all prominently displaying the Uzumaki clan emblem.

Taking a closer look, Naruto realized that some of the scrolls hidden away here must have been positively ancient, while others looked very well preserved and seemed as if they could have been placed here mere days ago. Seeing a smaller scroll, Naruto reached out to grab it. The unassuming roll of vellum seemed to unroll at his mere touch, as if eager to impart its secrets on the reader. "Kongo Fusa (Adamantine Sealing Chains)?" Naruto thought as he read the scroll. It seemed a little advanced, but the scroll made the technique seem fairly straightforward.

"Hmm." Naruto grunted as he rolled up the scroll and tucked it in to one of the pockets on his coat. "Sounds quite useful. Now how do I close this place back up?" He climbed up the ramp back into the temple only for it to close when he'd arrived at the top. 'Convenient.' He thought as he looked around the temple once more.

He looked at the dishes that he'd knocked on the ground, and decided to pick them up out of respect for the temple. Glancing around, he realized that he ought to close the place back up to keep out those who might attempt to deface it. He had no idea if there were traps in place to keep out those who weren't meant to be there, so he decided that caution was the wisest course of action. "Kagashi, help me get this place closed back up, and then you can go home." The Drayk hissed his understanding, and the pair set to work remounting the temple's doors.

Konoha: T&I Building, 10:15, Regular Time

Ibiki was privy to a great deal as head of torture and interrogation. Given his skill with handling information, decrypting codes, and deciphering puzzles, many problems were brought to him by the council and the Hokage. Most recently, he'd heard about Shimura Danzo finally acting on his blood ties to Uzumaki Naruto. To say that this left Ibiki unsettled would be an understatement. Ibiki had worked closely with the man in the past and knew Danzo to be patriotic and principled, willing to go to any lengths for the good of the village. The scarred interrogator held Danzo in high esteem, but he didn't like the idea of entrusting Naruto to a person like Danzo.

While evaluating Danzo for clearance to train the village's Jinchuuriki, Ibiki hadn't noticed anything suspect about Danzo. His motives, at least in this case, seemed straightforward, but Ibiki sensed a hidden agenda, even if it was just the faintest of rumblings. He shook his head, he'd have to conduct a personal investigation in to this. It was sensitive, and needed to be kept quiet and out of the public eye.

Resolved to find out what, exactly, was going on, Ibiki began to catalogue what he knew of the situation, and what goal the elderly shinobi might have in mind. He was searching for a thread that he'd then be able to follow to whatever it was that Danzo was planning.

Shaking his head, Ibiki set out to find something less foreboding to occupy his time. It was never healthy to meddle with S-class shinobi, and he had just decided to delve in to the affairs of one of the most dangerous shinobi in Konoha.

Konoha: The Academy, 13:00, Regular Time

The academy students were released early today. The classes were rowdy, mostly because it was the last day of classes for this week. Haku let out a heavy sigh as she adjusted her vest. Dealing with the trainees was a taxing and stressful affair, despite her love of children sometimes these little brats were incredibly difficult to handle. "Any business to take care of before we can leave?" She asked Iruka.

Sitting at his desk, Iruka shook his head in the negative. "I've got it covered, Haku-san. You go on home." He said with a smile, dismissing his assistant for the day. Haku smiled and bowed, leaving the classroom and then the building to get outside. Her smile widened as the sun hit her face, and stepped out into the thoroughfare. The past week had been very busy, and she was glad to finally have a little bit of time to rest. Between their normal duties to the village and the extra duties they'd been assigned to make pulling off the Chuunin Exams manageable, many of the village's current chuunin had been run ragged. Now it was time to relax for a few days; she, and a great deal of the other chuunin of the village, had been granted a few days break to rest and recuperate.

Doing her best to start her string of days off on the right foot, Haku pointed herself in the direction of the hot springs. She picked her way through the village heading towards the resort, greeting those who greeted her and doing her best to be pleasant. Despite her close association with Naruto, as long as she wasn't with him, people seemed to be fairly friendly to her. She grabbed some dango from a tea shop along the way, and merely did her best to enjoy the pleasant weather. She had to walk a fair distance to get to the hot springs from the academy, but she knew that when she got there all the week's stress would just melt away like so much ice in a hot mug of coffee. Normally she wouldn't consider that a good thing, but she really needed to relax, and soaking in the hot springs seemed like the best possible way of achieving that.

She arrived at the spa only to see a white haired man crouching in front of the outside wall of the women's bath. 'Just my luck. The day I choose to come to the hot springs would be the day that the perverts to pick to come out and peek.' She shook her head and made use of her prodigious stealth skills to sneak up behind the pervert before she flew through three one-handed seals and whispered: "Yuki Hiden Taijutsu Ougi: Sennen Gorhyoshi (Yuki Ultimate Secret Taijutsu: One Thousand Years of Icy Death)" before shoving her frigid fingers where the sun doesn't shine and then using a burst of chakra to launch the old man over the wall and into the women's bath to warm up his frozen berries, and get the living shit kicked out of him.

Haku smiled and applauded herself for her well executed prank, and then walked over to the entrance, only to look up when she heard a crash, a bang, and saw that the aged pervert had been violently expelled from the women's bath in the most expedient way possible. She let out a small giggle, before presenting her shinobi ID to the spa's proprietor for free admission to the baths. She entered the baths fully ready to take a long, relaxing, peeking pervert free dip.

Konoha: The Hokage's Office, 13:40, Regular Time

Jiraiya didn't so much climb through the window in the hokage's office insomuch as he stumbled and fell through, landing in a heap behind Hiruzen's desk. He reached up and grabbed his sensei's desk for leverage to get to his feet, the aged Hokage laughing the entire time. He'd been following Jiraiya's escapades using his crystal ball since his student had entered the village. He'd commend Haku for what she did later; it was always good to humble Jiraiya every once in a while, otherwise he got a little too full of himself.

"Report." Hiruzen said as soon as Jiraiya had made it to his feet. The man's clothes were incredibly disheveled: his kimono shirt was torn, one of his armguards was broken, and the bottoms of both pant legs had been torn off. One of his geta sandals was also broken, and it appeared as if Jiraiya was keeping it on his foot using chakra. "You look like you've been through a lot today, Jiraiya-kun. Has anything interesting happened?" Be couldn't suppress a laugh as he finished his sentence. Jiraiya's misadventures with women were always hilarious, though did seem to produce an excellent series of novels in the Icha Icha books.

"Oh, I only had my jewels frozen off before I was hurled into the women's bath to be ripped to shreds. That Yuki girl you allowed to join the village is… dangerous. And those ice techniques hurt." Jiraiya said with a visible shudder. He looked over his shoulder with a thousand yard stare and couldn't shake the feeling that he was being stalked by the icy shadow of death. "As far as my intelligence report, well my contact has told me the Akatsuki are stockpiling funds and consolidating their members, but they don't seem to have anything planned. It seems they, as an organization, believe attempting to make off with one or more of the jinchuuriki that will be here for the Chuunin Exam finals won't be worth it." Jiraiya shook his head. He knew that Akatsuki was a big deal, but he was fairly certain they wouldn't be attacked.

"They believe the combined power of the Ichibi, Nibi, Hachibi, and Kyuubi is too great to risk attempting to make off with one of them from the exams then?" Hiruzen asked, though in reality he felt it was quite obvious.

"Of that, we can't be sure. If their leader allows them to disperse before the end of the exams, one of the pairs that they operate in might choose to come after their assigned bijuu; if that were to occur, the death toll would be massive, worse than if we were invaded by another one of the great villages." Jiraiya paused letting that bit of information sink in. "If Akasuna no Sasori were to attack the damage would be unthinkable." Jiraiya gingerly sat down in one of the chairs across from his elderly sensei, feeling ever bruise inflicted on him by the angry kunoichi.

"Then, if they are free to act on their own, we are beholden to their whimsy!?" Hiruzen asked in a hushed but obviously furious voice. "We have no inclination of when, where, or even if the Akatsuki will attack. If we consolidate our forces and place them in strategic locations as if we are anticipating an attack, the other great villages will see us as weak, but if we do nothing and they do attack, we will only be able to offer token resistance. With ANBU moving to wipe out ROOT while Orochimaru launches his feint against the village, we'll be spread thin as it is."

Jiraiya sighed, exasperated by the insane level of cloak and dagger bullshit that he was forced to deal with. "It is my firm belief, Hokage-sama, that we currently have very little to worry about from the Akatsuki. I believe that the biggest threat, the one we should be worried about, are the bands of Iwa nuke-nin that might use the finals as a chance to launch a terrorist strike at the village."

"Sometimes I hate this job and the conflicts of interests that it forces me to deal with." Hiruzen muttered as he lit his pipe. Taking a puff and holding the smoke in his lungs, he blew out a smoke ring in a weighty sigh. "Very well. I will inform the Jounin of the village to be alert for shinobi from Iwa. I am also going to inform them to be on alert for any signs of Orochimaru launching some sort of large scale assault on the village, but to keep it to themselves. These developments change little, we will proceed as planned."

Jiraiya stood, and gave his commander a pained bow. "By your leave then, sensei?" He asked, wanting to retreat to his hotel room to get some rest.

"One last thing Jiraiya, then you may be on your way." Hiruzen said, with a firm, commanding tinge to his voice. Jiraiya gave him an inquisitive nod, demonstrating his readiness to receive his orders. "Danzo will be overseeing Naruto's training for the next month, which poses certain, but altogether anticipated, problems. I want you to discreetly observe them over the course of the next month. If Uzumaki Naruto is compromised, we need to know as soon as humanly possible.

"Very well, Hokage-sama." Jiraiya said with a hint of sadness before he limped over to the open window and shunshined out of the Hokage's office.

Konoha: Village Center, 18:37 (22 minutes until dusk), Regular Time

After what he'd learned from Danzo and consulting with his summons, the choice had seemed almost elementary. Even if only because of the opportunity to learn more about his clan, he had to take the opportunity to train under Danzo for the coming month. One did not just turn down an offer of training from an S-class shinobi, especially when they came to you. And thus, Naruto found himself parting company with Haku, breaking the warm congratulatory embrace she'd wrapped him in, with a few softly spoken words. "Haku-chan, I'll see you later on tonight or perhaps tomorrow. There is some urgent business that I must attend to."

"What's going on?" She inquired worriedly. They'd only sat down for dinner an hour ago, and now he was leaving.

"I won't be long. If you'd like, I'll come find you at the tea shop across from Ichiraku's around, say eight?" He quickly recovered. "I know you want to celebrate me making it to the finals, so we can finish then, yeah?" He finished with a smile.

"Very well, Uzumaki Naruto, I will hold you to that!" Haku playfully needled as she poked him in the chest. "Don't leave me waiting." She turned away, unable to hide her smile as she wandered off to find something to occupy her time.

"I would never disappoint a lady." Naruto called out behind her, receiving a wave for his trouble. He couldn't help but blush just a little at Haku's behavior. Neither of them acknowledged that there was something there even though they'd seen each other naked more than once, which, though he'd never let on that it was the case, embarrassed Naruto to no end. Shaking his head and steeling himself for what was to come, Naruto made his way to the base of the Hokage monument.

'You are aware that after what we've learned today, there are very few people left who you can trust, riiiiight Na-ru-to-kun?' Helveynia's suggestive purr reverberated through Naruto's skull. He could clearly see her smirking, blood spattered face in his mind. 'Why, I'd go as far as saying you can only trust the big red softie, your summons, and me.'

Naruto grimaced at the thought of this, but it wasn't long before the Kyuubi made his opinion known. 'I wouldn't say you can't trust anyone, but I certainly wouldn't trust the Hokage or Danzo. I'd say that by now at least some of those close to you would put you before some intangible plot that they aren't even in on.' As was sometimes the case, the Kyuubi showed himself to be very reasonable and to think incredibly far ahead. 'It is currently in our best interests to behave as if you don't know you've been deceived; otherwise you might be deemed more trouble than your worth to keep alive.'

'Thanks you guys.' Naruto thought at the pair that liked to clutter up his hed and make it difficult for him to think at inopportune times. 'It's not as if all of that hadn't already occurred to me. Ibiki-niisan didn't raise me to be stupid; he made sure I was analytical and aware of what was going on around me.'

'Naruto-kun, you know I don't think you are stupid. I just want you to kill them all so we can live our own life. Things would be so much easier for you without all your silly attachments, then you could just kill and kill and kill until all the problems in the world went away and everyone left alive acknowledged you as their immortal overlord ready to arbitrarily end their pitiful existence at the slightest provocation.' Now Naruto's image of Helveynia had changed to that of a raving, blood soaked psychopath hell bent on death and conflict for its own sake. 'Oops. I think I went a little overboard there.' Both Naruto and his other tenant had quickly grown to hate how the Hammer's intelligence tried to act cute when it wanted to cover up her crazy.

'Absolutely not! That is unacceptable! If I put in the effort to control my more violent urges for the sake of self-preservation, you'd best believe you have the same duty!' Naruto cringed at the fox's roar. This was about par for the course: whenever the two of them got to talking at the same time it always degenerated into a psychopathic shouting match.

With the anger on his face all too clearly present in his thougts, Naruto blew up at the two voices in his head. 'Would you two just shut the fuck up!? I need to be calm and collected for my meeting with Danzo and I can have you two CHILDREN screaming at each other in my head!' With a deep breath, Naruto centered himself and blocked out their voices before they had the chance to scream their indignity at him. His ears were ringing as it was.

He arrived at the top of the Hokage monument just in time to watch the sunset over the village. He marveled at the beauty of this wonderful sight even as he remembered all the awful things he'd suffered in this very village around this time of day. He grimaced as the sun descended beneath the horizon, and turned to leave only to come face to face with Danzo.

Naruto hid his shock incredibly well, not that he hadn't half-expected this sort of dramatic appearance on behalf of the highly experience, powerful old shinobi. He bowed slightly, before restoring his normal vertical posture. "Uzumaki Naruto reporting to receive the training you offered… Shimura-sensei."

Danzo favored the young man with the ghost of a smile. "Just the amount of deference I'd expect from someone who no longer know who to trust." Danzo gestured for Naruto to follow him as he walked away from the edge of the mountain. "We have much to discuss, you and I, your training begins tomorrow let us hope that you are still capable of functioning afterwards, yes?" The sense of foreboding was palpable in Danzo's voice, as Naruto followed him.

"I anticipate your lessons Shimura-sensei. I know that one such as yourself would only deign to approach a genin like me for very good reasons." Naruto said. He bowed once more, by way of thanks for the opportunity, only to look up and see that Danzo had vanished.

Naruto shook his head and shunshined down in to the village to meet Haku as they'd arranged. Unbeknownst to either party, a small toad had hidden amongst the rocks atop the monument, there to witness the entire exchange.

End Chapter 12

AN: Hey guys! Not as quick as I'd have liked this one to have rolled out, but way better than a year, am I right? As always I have to give credit where it's due, and that would be to kitsuneswiftpaw and holya for assistance with this chapter. Just ask them, this story is in fact a team effort. I'm patiently waiting for the flames to roll in over what I did there with Danzo. I expect them since, to my knowledge, not many people like him as a character. Big credit to KSP for his stroke of genius for the finals. All I can say is it's something neither he nor I have ever seen done before, and it just fits with the way things are moving in my story. Next chapter will probably see training, and maybe even what Naruto's other hand summons. As far as Hiruzen goes, I can't stress enough that he isn't the real bad guy! He's a reluctant villain at best, as you guys will all come to see. I apologize for the lack of action this chapter, but I was just feeling really… dramatic.

Uzumaki Miki's an OC from Danzo's past, in case that wasn't clear. She'll be getting some more flesh later on as well as Danzo's involvement with the Uzumaki. Hmm I guess that's all I've really got to say then, aside from thanks to LordTicky for the chatter, so please review and I'm going to try to put out this next chapter as soon as possible. Catch you guys later!

Thank you for reading,

E E Merica

P.S. This chapter puts me at or over 100,000 words. At the time that I'm writing this Author's Note Inside Out, Upside Down has 123 reviews, 61,327 views, 363 favorites, 412 follows, and 11 communities. This post makes 12 chapters as well as almost three years since I first started this story. Damned if I haven't been negligent but I feel it coming now. Things are picking up and going places, and I truly would like to thank all of my regular readers from the bottom of my heart as well as holya and kitsuneswiftpaw for their continuing support and contributions. Its not easy to write these, and they're just understanding and pushy enough to keep me going, so I guess, once more, thank you all.