Hidden Truth

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The teams that survived the dangers of the forest as well as the other teams stood waiting in the tower. Niamh looked at the teams that made it and was glad that she managed to save as many of the nins from dying out in the forest. She stared at the team from the Sand Village, the boy with dark circles under his eyes was when she got there was about to kill off an entire team. Before he could she pulled the team free and took them back to the outside of the forest and gave their scroll to the Sand team. That boy Garaa unnerved her as he's just like Naruto of how he could have ended up.

They were all in a large room which was obviously laid out for a tournament. Large open area with stairs at the far end leading up to walkways which lined the walls allowing a good view of any combat that would occur below. At the opposite end of the room to the stairs were a slightly raised platform and a huge hand sculpture performing a hand sign.

All the teams that passed the test were assembled facing towards the Hokage and the examiners who were stood on the raised section. Everyone waited for any teams to come in before the time limit was up. Once everyone was in place, the team leaders and examiners lined up in front of the examiners at either side.

"First off, for the second test congratulations on passing!" Anko told the assembled gennins. "Hokage-sama will now explain the third test. Listen carefully! Now Hokage-sama, please."

"Before I explain the third test there is something I would like you all to know. It concerns the true reason for this exam." The Hokage spoke his voice quiet but carried easily.

'True reason?' Niamh frowned at these words. 'Sound suspicious.'

"Why do we have all the alliance countries taking the exams together?" The Hokage paused to adjust his hat. "To promote friendship among the countries? To raise the level of shinobi? I don't want you to be confused about the true meaning of this exam." He removed his pipe before continuing, the smoke drifting lazily upwards. "This exam is a replacement for war among the allied countries."

Niamh's frown deepened as she noted the seriousness on the adults faces. 'War games using kids, but that always happens old men using those younger for their own ends.' (1)

"What does that mean?" a girl's voice asked.

"If you go back in time, the current allies were enemies who fought each other over who would rule. In order to prevent wasteful fighting and resources the countries choose to stage a tournament. That was the origin of what would become the chunnin selection exam," he explains.

"Why the hell do we have to do that crap?" Naruto shouted. "Isn't this for deciding who's a chunnin?"

"It is a fact that this exam decides which shinobi's have what it takes to be chunnin." The Hokage answered. "But also on the other hand, this exam has another side where each country's shinobi risk their own lives to protect their land's prestige."

"Prestige?" Sakura ask.

"Watching this exam will be leaders and influential individuals from many countries, who make up the clients of the shinobi. And the leaders of the countries will also be there to watch all of your battles. If the strength of a country is clear, then that country will receive more clients. And conversely, if seen as weak they will lose clients."

'So that how it works.' Niamh mentally growled clenching her teeth. 'They're using children to display their power to each other, in hopes of getting more business. They're treating this as a business.' She looked around at the assembled examinees. 'They've been raised like this? Trained as weapons since they could walk.' She felt ill but knew that her world was no better with children being used as killing machines for old men to gain power.

The Hokage continued, "This will signal to potential enemy countries that our village has this much power. So it will also send a political message to the outsiders."

"But why?" shouted Kiba. "Why do we have to risk our lives in battle?"

"The strength of the country is the strength of the village. The strength of the village is the strength of the shinobi. And a shinobi's true strength is born only though life-risking battles. This exam is a place to see each country's strength and to show off your own. It only has meaning because lives are at risk."

"Then why do you say stuff about it being for friendship?" the same girl who had asked a previous question asked.

"I said it in the beginning I don't want to confuse you about the purpose of this. By losing life and establishing balance. This is the shape of friendship in the world of the shinobi." The 3rd said.

"Before we begin the third test I will tell you one last thing. This is not just a test…this is a life-risking battle, with your dreams and countries prestige on the line." The Hokage said.

"I get it." Naruto stated to himself confidently.

"I don't care what it is…" Gara spoke up. "Just hurry up and tell us what life-risking battle entails."

"Yes, I'd now like to explain the third test."

"Actually" a weak voice said followed by a cough as a ninja appeared in front of them. "I apologies Hokage. From here on as the referee will you allow me, Gekkou Hayate."

"By all means." The Hokage gave his blessing.

"Hello everyone, I'm Hayate." The ninja said turning around revealing his pale face and sunken eyes. He had deep bags under his eyes and seemed to be constantly coughing. "Hmmm, before the third test there's something I'd like you to do."

'Is this guy ill?' Were the thoughts that went through most of the examinees minds at Hayate's appearance.

"It's a preliminary to decide who gets to participate in the third test."

"Preliminary? What do you mean?" shouted Shikamaru in a rare display of anger.

"Umm, because the first and second test may have been too easy this year we have a few too many people remaining. Accordingly by the chunnin exam rules we must have a preliminary and reduce the number of participants for the third test. As Hokage-sama indicated earlier, there will be many guests at the third test so the fights could take too long." Hayate explained all the while coughing. "We are limited by time."

Hayate looked over the assembled gennins. "Hmm, so anyway those who are not feeling well, those who feel like quitting after these explanations please come forward now, since we will be beginning the preliminary right now."

"What! Right now?" was cried out.

"Umm…" Kabuto held his hand up smiling. "I'm going to quit."

Naruto's head whipped round in surprise at hearing Kabuto's statement. "Huh? Kabuto?"

"Umm, you're Yakushi Kabuto-kun from the leaf right?" Hayate asked as Kabuto nodded. "You may leave now. Does anyone else want to retire? Oh… umm… I forgot to mention that you will be individually battling from now on. You may raise your hand by your own judgement."

"Kabuto! Why are you quitting?" Naruto shouted his question drawing much attention to the blond boy, even Gara was watching.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but my body is all beat up I just got too careless in the forest," Kabuto trailed off.

"He took on three nins on his own," Niamh said. "I had to step in from him killing them off."

"Really?" Naruto ask.

"Yes it's true," Kabuto said.

"I have been doing that kind of thing ever since this exam started," Niamh said. "Stopping teams from killing off the other team and bringing those too injured out of the forest."

"Thank you for the help," the Hokage said.

"I had too since I saw no one else doing anything for those kids," Niamh said. The teams from the other villages all made a note of the fact that Niamh was worried about them dying during the exam.

"I'll see you guys later," Kabuto said leaving the room.

"Alright now that's out of the way we can start with the matches," Hayate said as he explains the rules for the fights.

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Elsewhere in the village –

"You think you should be up?" Tsuande said to Jiraiya as they came to their old meeting place when they use to be a team at the very training ground the 3rd had trained them in. "The damage the rocket cause did a number on you."

"What about you being slammed into the wall?" he asks.

"A pain in the back," Tsuande said. "I can see why Niamh's been training both Naruto and Hinata in that fighting style. I have never seen two people fight so well together. With that show they put on the people fighting Niamh will be fighting harder now, many villages will want to know the secret of that fighting style."

"Yes they will," Jiraiya said then smiled. "Have you heard about what Niamh said that will happen between Naruto and Hinata?"

"Who hasn't," Tsuande said. "Because they'll know each other so well that once they're old enough they'll get married."

"Hiashi wasn't happy about hearing that," Jiraiya said. "But he knows that if he pulls Hinata out, Niamh might just throw the first fight with another village. And that besides Naruto, Hinata is the only one who is skilled in using that gun fighting style. You know the one that Hunter and Niamh showed off."

"Yes I remember," Tsuande said. "Makes me wonder of the land they came from is like. I have been to Snow and saw how advance they are but with what Niamh and Hunter managed to save from that shipwreck is more advanced then anything that I have ever seen before."

"I wouldn't mind learning how to ride one of their bikes," Jiraiya said as he's been working on his latest book about a wonder riding through the counties on a bike and picking up babes on the way.

"It sure would help in getting around," Tsuande said as many of the tech nins have been trying to build a bike, but since neither Niamh or Hunter would let any of the tech nins take their bikes apart to see how they work they had to make do with seeing the bikes working and the explanations of how they work.

"By the way you know of how even with us being on the same team we still can't fight like how Niamh and Hunter could then maybe we should ask for…" Jiraiya was cut off.

"In the Two Soul style that you'll only want is the sex part," Tsuande said glaring at him. "Forget it!"

"Some things will never change," a familiar voice that neither of them had heard since the last war.

"Butcher," Tsuande growled as she stares at the man as he walks out from behind a tree.

"What are you doing here?" Jiraiya ask keeping himself in control in the presents of the man who killed so many of his friends.

"Why do you think I'm here for?" Butcher said to them.

"You want Naimh," Tsuande said.

"Correct," Butcher said. "She did say that anyone could fight her."

"Showing yourself out in the open with so many nins from other villages isn't something that I would expect from you," Tsuande said.

"True," Butcher said. "But you both remember how many nins I killed during the war and how only my old rival was the only one who could fight me on an even level. With him dead there are only three people in this village that can kill me now."

"Only three?" Jiraiya ask. "Both of us are more skilled then we were before."

"True but you two are still weak from your fight with Niamh and Hunter. Besides it took all three of you to fight me and with one of you gone from the village you two don't stand a chance against me," Butcher said. "Or did you two forget of the scars I gave all three of you the last time we fought."

Tsuande and Jiraiya each still carried the scar on their backs that Butcher craved into their flesh. Both of them know that with only two of them they couldn't win as even when their old teammate was still with the village they had only managed to hold him off till the 4th came to save them.

"Wait you said three," Tsuande said.

"Counting both Niamh and Hunter…" Jiraiya said. "Naruto."

"You guess right," Butcher said smiling under his mask. "Besides those two soldiers, Naruto is the only one who has a chance of killing me. And it's not because of the nine tail fox inside of him."

"How did you know that?" Jiraiya ask.

"Come on now," Butcher said waving his finger. "How did you think my old rival managed to get a seal scroll powerful enough to seal the demon fox in the nick of time."

"You gave him the scroll?" Tsuande said not believing what she was hearing.

"Yes he might be the one I was trying to kill but for him to died at anyone else's hands besides my own wasn't something that I was going to allow," Butcher said. "It's just too bad that with his weaken body thanks to our last battle made him too weak to survive the sealing. When I heard about what the woman soldier was offering I decided to come out into the world again as the Butcher once more. I had no real attention of getting her services I was just in this for the till of fighting someone from another land. But then when I learned of who her student was I changed my plans as with both of you none of us are getting any younger," Butcher explained.

"What do you want with Naruto?" Tsuande ask.

"I finally found the one who will become my… heir," Butcher said.

"What?" both Tsuande and Jiraiya said together.

"He would never join you," Tsuande said.

"He wants to be the Hokage of the Leaf," Juraiya said.

"Yes but only because he wants people to see him as a person. Being hated all of his life for something he had no control of… why would he want to stay?" Butcher said. "Besides do you know of the real effects of the seal? You see as long as the container is happy the demon sealed inside of them won't be able to break free or using negative emotions to grow stronger. The amount of hate that Naruto is holding inside of him has been feeding the demon fox for years now making him stronger then he was before. I have been watching Naruto for awhile now popping in to see how he's been doing every now and then ever since he was born, and seeing the signs of the seal around him, the demon fox could have if it had wanted to could have broken free when Naruto was five. That's how much negative emotions he has in him at that age."

"If the fox could have broken free why didn't it?" Tsuande ask.

"Because it didn't want to as like I said the more negative emotions Naruto has the stronger it becomes. I would guess that the demon is now five times stronger then it was before and is still getting stronger," Butcher said smiling as the two nins in front of him faces drained of blood.

"He's stronger now?" Jiraiya ask.

"Yes that's how I made the seal to work the more happy emotions the container has the weaker the demon becomes and more unhappy the container is the stronger it gets," Butcher said. "With a demon as strong as the fox is I knew that only by a lifetime of weakening it by the seal that once Naruto dies the fox would be weak enough to kill, even I wouldn't be able to kill the fox as I told my old rival when I gave him the scroll. That's why he wanted Naruto to be seen as a hero so that the demon wouldn't be able to get stronger. But he died before he could tell your teacher of the full effects of the sealing." (2)

"You knew and never told?" Tsuande ask.

"Not my problem," Butcher said.

"And if Naruto dies?" Jiraiya ask.

"He decides if he'll let the demon die with him or let it go free," Butcher said. "And if it was me I would let the demon free."

"Oh my god…" Tsuande said as she takes in what this means for the Leaf village.

"Yes once Naruto dies the demon will be free and finish what it started all of those years ago. But before that he'll have the chance of becoming my heir if he wishes it," Butcher said causing both of the Leaf nins to look up at him. "I'm going to do the one thing that his old man never gave to him, a choice in what he wants with his life."

"You mean Naruto is his son?" Jiraiya said as both his and Tsuande's eyes widen.

"You two didn't know?" Butcher asked before he started to laugh. "That's makes it more fun now." With that he used a teleport jutsu and was gone before the two Leaf nins could blink.

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Author's Notes –

1 – Old men in charge like Bush and his friends use young people to fight for their cause.

2 – Anyone who wants to is free to use my explanation of the demon seal if you want to use it. Just let me know so that I can read the fic.

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