Seals and Spies

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Tenjho Tenge

AUTHORS NOTE:

This chapter we get tosee Konoha turned upside down by the ANBU Sealing Team. Here is chapter 42. Enjoy!

[ ] signifies hand signs

Last time:

Hokage Tower

Tsunade welcomed her younger cousin to her office and he saw ANBU Dragon, Jiraiya, Hiruzen and Hanako were all there as well as ANBU Sloth. 'Why do I have a very bad feeling about this…?' thought Fox to himself.

After activating the silencing seals, the Fifth Hokage said, "ANBU Fox; the protective seals of the Village are in dire need of an upgrade and some date back as far as my Grandmother Mito-sama. I want you to put the skills of yourself and the ANBU Sealing Team to work upgrading our defenses in preparation for a possible conflict in the near future. We will help you in any way we can of course."

Naruto looked at the map of the village showing the various types of seals protecting them from invasion and was appalled. The seals themselves were good work but they were hopelessly outdated. Several rows were newer and Naruto's finger traced over them.

Jiraiya said, "Those were the work of Uzumaki Kushina; Fox."

Fox nodded and thought to himself, 'Kaa-chan…' "We'll start with the most important militarily strategic buildings and the outermost wall. After that we'll start the inner layer of fortifications and work our way outwards. The barrier Team will need to be involved as well. Time is of the essence." he said taking charge. "Jiraiya and I will be making the seals and the Sealing Team will be applying them." 'Good gods what a mess this is…'

Naruto had his work cut out for him…

…

Chapter 42

Fire Country, the Village of Konoha

ANBU Fox was in front of the Sealing Team along with Jiraiya. "We're working in concert with the Barrier Team and the Interception Team at all times." said Fox. "They need to know where we are so they will not whether or not to react to us bypassing the barrier."

Jiraiya explained, "The Barrier Team will also be looking for spies trying to run once they catch wind that we are upgrading the fuinjutsu defenses."

ANBU Sloth said, "You and Fox seem awfully sure of this Jiraiya-sama."

The Toad Sannin grinned and said, "Fox and I are counting on it. The numbers available to the Interception Team has been doubled temporarily while we upgrade the seals on the outer wall. As the Barrier Team detects runners, they will direct the Interception Team to capture the spies. Have no doubt many spies will escape our grasp but catching even some of them will be a victory for intelligence division."

Fox made a shadow clone for each member of the Sealing Team to work with. "You'll be working in concert with my shadow clones to guide you. I expect to have the outer wall done in 16 hours. Jiraiya-sama and I will be working in concert with you in the Barrier Team chamber and the Hokage Tower. Once every seal is fully active and synched with the Barrier Team's counterpart seal in their chamber then we will take a well-earned rest. This is going to be a marathon. Every four hours we will take staggered breaks so no more than two of us are eating or relaxing at one time. Any questions?"

"When do we start?" asked Mouse dreading the answer.

"We start applying seals at first light tomorrow morning so be on station at 4:30AM." said Jiraiya.

"Let's start handing out assignments." said ANBU Fox. "Today my shadow clones are going to show you the proper method for applying these particular seals. Tomorrow is the real deal."

The schedule was blistering and the Sealing Team knew they had to get everything perfect. '…Tomorrow is going to be brutal.' thought ANBU Sloth along with most of his teammates.

…

The next morning at dawn the Sealing Team went to work and most of the Konoha Villagers wondered just what the hell was going on. The members of Naruto's Team were moving quickly and a lot of street vendors and locals were being run over in the process. Around 8AM people put two and two together and realized that the Sealing Team was putting up new defenses and several spies started making their moves to escape…

…

Yakushi Kabuto's apartment

The glasses wearing medic nin was trying to make a decision. 'Should I attempt to flee or stay put? What few Oto spies remained here in Konoha have been caught along with several others. Making an escape would be a potentially fatal move. The only fortunate thing going on is none of the other Oto agents know who I am. I think I'd best stay and observe.'

Kabuto went out for a stroll to see if he could identify the seals being used. Unfortunately for Kabuto his knowledge of fuinjutsu was rudimentary at best and the complexity of the seals being applied were beyond his comprehension. He knew better than to ask about the new seals as the ANBU Sealing Team would probably have him arrested for interrupting their work.

He soon was writing his report to Orochimaru regarding the current situation:

'Orochimaru-sama-

I have been observing the ANBU Sealing Team putting up new defensive seals around the entire outer wall of Konoha. Many spies including some of our own have been captured in the process of trying to escape. I have no doubts that Jiraiya-sama has arranged this trap as the escapees have been pounced upon the second they made their move. I have attempted to identify the seals so we can bypass them during the invasion but unfortunately, they are far beyond my knowledge of sealing. Once the dust settles, I will attempt a closer inspection of the seals on the village walls and try to identify them.

Your humble servant,

Yakushi Kabuto'

…

The right-hand man of Orochimaru looked out his window at one of the new seals and wondered what the future held…

…

Natsume residence

As the week passed; Yūgao, Hinata and Maya were hard at work at the training grounds by the Natsume residence. As Naruto was officially unavailable the girls were doing courier duties and building up their jutsu repertoire a bit. Maya in particular was trying to master earth and water jutsus as her first steps towards learning the mokuton. "Water encampment wall!" yelled the silver haired girl as she activated the justu.

It wasn't long before lunch time rolled around and the three kunoichi stopped and ate in the house. They'd seen Naruto's clones and the ANBU Sealing Team hard at work in the village and it wasn't hard for them to piece together that some serious fuinjutsu work was afoot. Team 11 had also been called in to help the Interception Team hunt down some suspicious characters. Seeing the questioning looks in her genin's eyes; Yūgao explained, "The Interception Team's duty is to catch suspected enemy agents and turn them over to Torture and Interrogation."

Hinata rubbed her chin. "Then the new seals around the village have spies panicking and running."

"That explains why the Interception Team has been so active as well." said Maya in agreement.

Yūgao nodded. "Very good ladies. As you learn more about the ninja ranks and teams, you'll see how they work in conjunction with one another."

…

Fire Country, the Village of Haiiro no ki

The rest of the ANBU Brats hadn't been idle either. Yuuhi Kurenai's Team 8 made up of Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Kurama Yakumo was tracking a pair of spies that managed to escape the grasp of the Interception Team. There had originally been three agents but Team 8 got the drop on the first one and eliminated him before the spy could react. That was two villages back and The ANBU Brats had been chasing the two remaining enemy agents relentlessly since then.

As Kurenai and her team entered the Haiiro no ki Village they started scanning about for potential targets. The town guards were unaware of anyone suspicious entering the village but gave the four Konoha ninja (and one dog) wide berth. It was obvious that Team 8 was on the hunt and meant business. The two remaining agents were very gifted at stealth but Kurenai's team was equally well versed at tracking. The tension was thick in the air and it was only a matter of time before something snapped.

Akamaru was running along the inner edge of the village walls following the scent of Team 8's prey. Kiba was right behind him as they plowed through the thick grass. They saw two 'villagers' were making their way through the grass ahead of them. Kurenai called out, "You two; hold it! We have some questions for y-" The two spies bolted immediately and red eyed Jonin cursed under her breath. 'I was hoping they'd try to fake us out and act like they were villagers.' "Alright Team 8; let's GO!" she said as her genins exploded into action.

"Fang over fang!" roared Kiba as he and Akamaru plowed into the spy bringing up the rear. Shino unleashed his insects in a swarm after the front agent which sent him screaming and running (he apparently had a fear of insects). Yakumo cast a genjutsu on the runner and said, "Hell viewing technique!" The man shrieked in terror and stumbled before passing out in fear…

Kurenai tagged the (former) runner with a restriction seal that her team got from Naruto. 'No wonder my team is so fond of these seals Uzumaki makes. They are incredibly effective.' Kiba and Shino were examining the spy that Kiba mowed down a few moments before. Kurenai looked back at the pair and said, "Report!"

Shino looked up and said, "He's already dead sensei."

Kurnai sighed and said, "Well, at least we captured one of the agents alive. We'd best tie him up just in case…"

…

Fire Country, Northeastern Territory

Meanwhile, Team 10 under Mitarashi Anko was likewise on the hunt. Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Isuzu Emi were coming back from a routine border patrol mission when they were redirected to intercept two ninjas from Kumo that slipped by another patrol earlier that week. The two Kumo chunins were headed directly towards the Village of Haiiro no ki where they were to rendezvous with the three espionage agents were supposed to be waiting for them. What the Kumo nins didn't know was the spies they were to extract had been running from Kurenai and Team 8 and were all dead or captured at that point. They also didn't realize Team 10 was hot on their trail…

Emi was looking through a pair of binoculars and said, "There is no doubt about it. Those two from Kumo are making a beeline for Haiiro no ki Village. They aren't even trying to cover their tracks."

"How did these two clods get across the border without being caught to begin with?" asked Ino.

Shikamaru shrugged. "It's troublesome but whatever border patrol let these two through is going to get an earful from the Hokage. Still, I wonder if these two are really chunins."

"Never look a gift horse in the mouth." said Anko with a bloodthirsty grin. "This makes it that much easier for us."

The two Kumo ninjas were stopped about a kilometer from Haiiro no ki when a rain of senbon needles coated in a paralytic agent hit them from above courtesy of Emi's terrific accuracy. The infiltrators dropped like flies and a shadow surrounded them a second later. "Shadow imitation jutsu…Capture successful." said Shikamaru. "…even if it was totally unnecessary."

Ino frowned. "Rats. They didn't even put up a fight." She pulled a pair of restraining tags out and slapped them on the prisoners. "I just love these things! Naruto-kun is a genius."

The blonde was soon doing a mind walk on one of the prisoners. "They are here to extract three spies from Kumo that were hiding out in Konoha."

That was when they all sensed a chakra flare from the nearby village. Anko zoomed in with her own binoculars and said, "Well, well. Looks like Nai-chan and Team 8 are already in Haiiro no ki Village."

…

Twenty minutes later Team 8 and Team 10 met up at the village gates having made contact by radio. Kurenai smiled. "Our prisoner just revealed he had two contacts that were supposed to meet him here. Looks like you and your team already rounded them up though."

Anko nodded. "We just found out our targets were here to extract three Kumo agents but I only see one."

"The other two are dead Anko-sensei." reported Shino.

Shikamaru looked at the unconscious spy Team 8 had with them. "This poor bastard looks like hell. What did you guys do to him?"

"Hell viewing technique." explained Yakumo. "I might have overdone it a bit."

The Nara heir cringed at the idea of Yakumo overdoing a genjutsu. "Troublesome…"

Emi chuckled. "Well, we have three prisoners. Let's head back to Konoha together."

…

Fire Country, the Village of Konoha

Back in Konoha, Yakushi Kabuto was very concerned. He'd seen spies he knew of from various nations systematically rounded up like cattle over the past week and felt his own position was in danger. 'Almost everyone who made a run has been caught by the Interception Team or someone working in conjunction with them.' About that time he saw Teams 8 and 10 march into the village with their prisoners. 'I thought Kumo's little espionage cell had escaped but I guess not…here their top agent is being hauled in like a prize kill along with two Kumo ninjas. I guess the other two must be dead…' Kabuto thought glumly.

…

While Kabuto was bemoaning his situation; the Konoha intelligence division was practically giddy with the results of Jiraiya-sama and ANBU Fox's plan to catch as many enemy agents as possible. Yamanaka Inoichi was busy mind walking some of ANBU's 'special guests' and he saw his daughter along with some of the other ANBU Brats making their reports. He heard Anko's verbal report, "…Team 10 caught these two from Kumo that were sent to extract the three spies that Team 8 was pursuing. My Team has no injuries…"

After Team 10's verbal report was over Inoichi went over to talk briefly with Ino. She smiled brilliantly at Inoichi and said, "Daddy! It's been almost a week since I've seen you." The Father and daughter pair hugged and she motioned back to the Kumo ninjas they'd captured with her thumb. "Sorry to pile more wore on you here in Torture and Interrogation."

Inoichi smiled. "If we're busy it means the trap we set for these agents is working. That's a good thing…On the other hand your Mother is less than thrilled I'm working overtime. More importantly, how are you princess?"

Ino shrugged. "I'm fine. Team 10's border patrol was routine. We had a little excitement catching those two but not much. They went down without a fight. Bummer."

The older blonde briefly looked over at Anko and groaned mentally. 'It seems that Mitarashi is rubbing off on my little girl.' "Well, the main thing is you and your teammates are safe." Inoichi heard Anko call out to Ino that it was time to go. He kissed his daughter's forehead and shooed her off. "It looks like your sensei is calling you."

Smiling; Ino said, "See you later Daddy."

…

Hokage Tower

Tsunade was having a discussion with her two advisors, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Hyūga Hanako. "In spite of the fact it's actually been a byproduct, Jiraiya and Fox's plan to catch a few spies has worked out beautifully." said Tsunade in a pleased tone. "More importantly, the seal upgrade to the village is ahead of schedule and they've got it half done in only ten days."

Hiruzen scratched his chin. "The inner and outer layers of our fuinjutsu defenses are stronger than ever. Fox and his team have done an outstanding job so far. I thought a month was optimistic but at this rate the upgrade will be done in twenty days."

"Best of all the plans have gone like clockwork." said Hanako brightly. "Fox gave us a tight schedule and he and his team have stuck to it. He is proving to be a better team leader and organizer than I thought possible."

The blonde Hokage nodded. "Jiraiya has said as much. He's had a hands-off approach to see exactly what Fox can do." She smiled at Hiruzen. "It seems all that pranking prepared him well for the leadership role."

Sarutobi sweat dropped and shook his head while Tsunade laughed. Hanako patted the retired Hokage on the shoulder and said, "There, there Hiruzen." with a smile gracing her lips…

…

Konoha outer wall three days later

Naruto and the ANBU Sealing Team were gathered at a point where there had been an attack on the outer wall. The Gate Guards Izumo and Kotetsu were there reporting to Fox. "…Anyway ANBU Fox-san; as near as we can tell the guy was some kind of terrorist that attacked the seal on the wall with and exploding tag." Izumo pointed towards the wall at the pristine seal engraved on the outer wall. "That's a pretty tough seal on the wall." His finger traced an arc through the air that led to a still smoking pair of shoes facing where the explosion had been. "That's where he threw it from."

ANBU Fox shook his head and said, "Idiot." as he looked at the smoking shoes. "I guess we'll have to call forensics to see if they can identify the feet by toe prints or something. On the positive side the seal's passive defenses work fine." 'Not that I really had any doubts…'

Kotetsu's eyes widened. "That's a passive defense?!" Seeing the whole ANBU Team nod he asked, "What's an active defense then?"

Mouse shook her head and said, "Let's hope you never have to find out."

"There sure as hell wouldn't be any shoes left." added Sloth.

"These were expensive designer shoes too." said Tortoise. His teammates all stared at him sweat dropping and he said lamely, "Ummm, forget I said anything…"

Gazeru wondered, 'Who would have thought that Tortoise was a shoe connoisseur…?'

…The next day Naruto learned it was a spy from Iwa in Earth Country who kept his identity hidden by posing as a travelling shoe salesman…

…

ANBU Headquarters

After working themselves to the bone for nearly three weeks straight ANBU Fox and the Sealing Team finished their work and Konoha Village was better protected than it had ever been. They were back in the classroom feeling half dead writing up their various reports to ANBU Commander Dragon and the Hokage. When Naruto took the reports down to ANBU Dragon he was rewarded with something very special…

Dragon said, "ANBU Fox; you've done an outstanding job over the last three weeks. By unanimous vote of the ANBU Sealing Team and by orders of the Hokage I'd like to induct you as a full member of ANBU. You will be like ANBU Cat in that you will serve the village in your normal capacity as a Konoha ninja but will also serve as an ANBU agent for special assignments. Do you accept?"

Naruto was totally blindsided by this and his eyes watered up behind his Fox mask. "I-I'd be honored Commander Dragon."

"Excellent!" exclaimed Dragon. "Let's go back to your classroom and get that ANBU tattoo applied in front of your team."

Naruto and Commander Dragon walked back to the classroom where Naruto found the Sealing Team waiting for him along with an ANBU that applied his tattoo to Naruto's left shoulder. His Team burst into cheers once it was done and congratulated Fox who was now a full ANBU. Jiraiya showed up and joined in the festivities to congratulate ANBU Fox. The white haired Sannin said, "Congratulations! You've earned it Fox. The work you did for the village in the last three weeks was above and beyond the call of duty." Then he grinned and added, "That tattoo looks good on you."

Naruto was still a bit glass eyed and smiled. "Thank you, Jiraiya-sama."

…

PREQUEL: The Contenders

…

Fire Country, the Village of Konoha

The signup sheet for the Chunin Exams was posted outside of the Konoha Mission Hall for all to see. Any Konoha genin team in good standing was invited to participate and the teams came in droves. The ANBU Brats had an impromptu meeting about the subject. Teams 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 all gathered out at the Natsume property and discussed the ramifications of the upcoming Chunin Exams and the oncoming war that they were preparing for. Neji said seriously, "In spite of the fact we'd all rather be out doing regular ninja combat duties we have a duty to participate in the Chunin Exams. We have to face the enemy from within the village walls."

Pumping his fist, Lee said, "Neji-kun is right. Let us make our Flames of Youth explode over the Chunin Exams!"

Naruto gave a lopsided grin. "All the ANBU Brats should enter. We have to prove our worth. Besides, Yūgao-sensei will kick our asses if we don't."

"It would be nice to get promoted too." said Emi.

Ino and Sakura cheered, "Here, here!"

"Being promoted would be far too troublesome." grumbled Shikamaru. "Think of the extra responsibility. No thanks."

Choji laughed. "Everything is too troublesome for you Shika." Everyone chuckled at that.

Hinata smiled happily seeing all of her friends and classmates together enjoying themselves. "We should all participate even if we don't get promoted."

"That's the spirit Hinata-chan!" cheered Maya. "Team 11 is all in! Let's give them hell!"

...After a declaration like that, it didn't take long before all of the ANBU Brats were all in.

…

Flower Country,* ① Village of Nadeshiko

Shizuka of the Nadeshiko Village decided to enter one genin Team under her loyal retainer, Tokiwa who was a full jonin. It was the first time the kunoichi of the Nadeshiko Village participated in the Chunin Exams ever. The reason for this decision? Shizuka would be invited as a guest to Konoha and could see about getting her wayward cousin Natsuko back from her job as ambassador. 'I'll size up this man Natsuko has chosen to be her husband. If he's worthy of her I'll try to make arrangements with the Hokage. If Natsuko hadn't always been so…impulsive; we wouldn't be in this mess. Still; whoever this Uzumaki Naruto is has kept Natsuko's interest for months which is virtually unheard of. Normally after two weeks she gets bored with a man and moves on. (Sigh) Why does she have to be so flighty?! It's exasperating!'

Tokiwa heard her mistress sigh deeply and asked, "A ryo for your thoughts my Lady? Are you having second thoughts about going to Konoha?"

The Nadeshiko Village Leader straightened her posture and said, "It isn't that I'm having second thoughts Tokiwa. It's just Natsuko. She is a superb kunoichi but her personal life is…"

"Natsuko was always a wild one, even as a child." said Tokiwa. "That's why her Ladyship never considered Natsuko as a successor. That's why you were chosen to lead us Shizuka-sama."

Shizuka replied, "I know; I just worry she'll pick the wrong man…She can be so irresponsible at times."

Tokiwa gave a reassuring smile. "We will get this matter sorted out my Lady."

…

Wind Country, the Village of Suna

Temari was practicing her latest wind jutsu, the Sickle Weasel technique. She had honed it to perfection with the help of her brothers Kankuro and Gaara. Temari was looking forward to the Chunin Exams and getting promoted to chunin rank. The Suna Princess also was looking forward to seeing Naruto again to show him just how strong she'd become. Kankuro clapped as she finished performing her new jutsu and he said, "You got it perfect that time nee-chan!"

Gaara came over and said, "Kankuro is right. That was excellent. You should be able to use it to its full effect at the Chunin Exams."

The sandy blonde smiled at her younger brothers. "We'll have to work hard to take out the competition, but this should help blow them away."

Kankuro laughed and said, "Make sure you start by blowing away Uzumaki Naruto. He's a powerful wind user too you know."

Temari was sporting a feral smile. "Oh, I intend to blow Naruto away all right…"

Baki heard his three charges talking as he came up and thought, 'Ah, to be young again…' "Good practice today you three. Let's head back to the village and have some dinner. Kazekage-sama will be joining us."

The three siblings had mended a lot of their differences with their Father Rasa in the last few months. Temari was proud to have a family again. The Suna Princess thought to herself, 'Kaa-chan, are you watching over us…?'

…

Rice Country, the Village of Oto

Orochimaru surveyed his plans. He had number of genin teams entering the Chunin Exams but most were there to eliminate Konoha teams or were fodder. The only visible team he expected to make it to the finals was a team he would be supervising himself while disguised as their Jonin sensei: Kinuta Dosu, Tsuchi Kin and Abumi Zaku.

The other Team of importance involved in Orochimaru's plans was Team Kabuto: Yakushi Kabuto, Tsurugi Misumi and Akadō Yoroi. They were Oto spies working undercover as Konoha genins. Kabuto's recent reports had been less than encouraging but the Snake Sanin had been planning this for literal years and he'd be damned before he gave them up!

'All of the pieces have finally fallen into place.' thought the White Snake. 'Tsunade being Hokage is of little consequence in the grand scheme of things. I will have to examine the new seals that Jiraiya invented to protect Konoha though. With a little study I can bypass them easily enough…'

The Snake Sanin had no idea…

…

Fire Country, the Village of Konoha

Tsunade finished going over the list of entrants to the Chunin Exams. There were dozens of teams from both major and minor villages in the Elemental Nations. Twenty four teams from Konoha alone were entering which included the five teams of ANBU Brats just as the Hokage had planned. The only major player not participating was Iwa but Tsunade expected as much. The cold war between Earth Country and Fire Country went far back before her own time. The Tsuchikage Onoki was as stubborn as they came and frankly; Tsunade didn't want to deal with the old goat anyway. Stamping her approval on the entrance papers, Tsunade check marked the teams from Oto (among others) that would be kept under observation one way or the other.

Konoha might appear to have their doors wide open (and it would have been the case six months ago) but they were more than prepared for Orochimaru and whatever anyone else could throw at them now…

…

POSTSCRIPT:

*①: Flower Country: The Nadeshiko Village is listed as being 'near Water Country' as opposed to a specific country it is in. 'Flower Country' is from my imagination. (Nadeshiko means 'Pink Flower'). I figure it's a small country that is an autonomous island like Wave Country.

Next chapter we are beginning the Chunin Exam Arc at long last which will hopefully be interesting for everybody. Canon will pretty much be thrown out the window but the ANBU Brats will face strong opponents as well so it won't be a cakewalk for them. The major question that I'm grappling with is whether or not to use the written test. I want to keep the Forest of Death but the written test seems a little predictable at this point. See you next time. Blue out. 7/27/23