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March 20.

It was early morning and the Chunin Kirai was home getting ready for his work shift at the Leaf Correctional Facility. 'Today is graduation day. This is it…'

As he put on his Chunin vest, Kirai thought about the plan he and Mizuki came up with and went over everything one more time in his head. 'I made sure there would be minimal guards today. Only 3 others besides me will be stationed and they're all new Chunin recruits. So there won't be much resistance. Once the graduation exam is over Mizuki is going to come over in disguise and I'll have to play the role of the hostage. Force them to release Zefrek.'

Kirai frowned at the thought of releasing that man from prison. 'He's a dangerous criminal with near Jonin level skills… Will he hurt anyone else?... No. Mizuki gave me his word that he will control Zefrek. I trust him… Zefrek will kill that damn monster fox and at that time I'll take him down…'

The prison guard stood still and took in a deep breath of air. 'I'm doing the right thing… aren't I?'

He turned to look at the photo of his deceased wife and child and his hands clenched. His mind replayed the stunt Naruto pulled yesterday on the Hokage Monument and it made him angry. The small shred of hesitation he had in his heart was gone.

"Yes. This is right." He said as if to reassure himself. He took the photo of his family and held it close. "After tonight the village will be safe. I'll make sure of it."

He made his choice and soon Kirai was on his way to the Leaf prison. The guard smiled at his colleagues and went about his day as if everything was normal and waited for Mizuki.

'It will all be over soon.'

—-

In another part of the Leaf village an academy instructor was packing everything valuable he had into a storage scroll. Mizuki had been preparing for this day for quite some time. He had been training his body to be ready for what it was going to endure later today.

The Chunin instructor thought about what he was going to do and the conversation he had with his fiance a few days ago.

Flashback.

"Mizuki. Please stop. This isn't right." A young woman with dark eyes and long black spoke.

"Tsubaki. You don't understand. That brat is a danger to everyone and the Hokage letting that fox brat do whatever he wants. It won't be long before another disaster strikes. Come with me. With Orochimaru we'll be safe and we'll become a lot more powerful." Mizuki said, trying to convince her.

"No Mizuki. I won't come and you shouldn't go either. Orochimaru is not a good man. He only cares about himself. And if the village finds out that you've made contact with him-"

"They won't find out. Unless you tell them… Will you?" Mizuki's tone took a darker edge that scared Tsubaki. She had tears falling down her cheeks and remained silent.

Mizuki looked at the crying woman and his face slightly softened. "Please Tsubaki. We'll have a great future. But it won't be in the Leaf village. Will you come with me?" He asked in a softer tone. He held his hand out for her to take hold but Tsubaki shook her head.

"I love you Mizuki… but I'm not coming with you. I can't leave the village… It's my home. Please don't go. Whatever it is you've planned… Don't do it… We can be happy here…"

He dropped his hand and Mizuki's face turned cold as he looked at his fiance. "I won't be happy. Not as long as that monster is still alive. It seems… This is where we part ways…"

"Mizuki… Don't…" She was about to step forward but Mizuki stopped her.

"Do me this favor Tsubaki. Don't tell anyone about our conversation. Keep it a secret or you'll be in trouble too…"

With those words he vanished from her house.

Flashback End.

"Tch!" Mizuki scoffed to himself as he thought about his fiance. 'She's too weak. If this is her mentality then it's best I leave her here. She'll only hold me back.'

After packing every essentials and valuables, he went into another room. He kneeled and pried opened a few floor boards. It was a secret storage space he created to stash the items he recently acquired. There were several pouches and a few vials. He took another small scroll and quickly stored everything inside it.

'The easiest way to obtain them would have been to raid the Nara Research lab in the mountains but it would have alerted everyone to me. It would have been a risky move. Yes. It was a better choice for me to get these through the black market. It took some time and cost me a lot but this was the safer way. Lord Orochimaru's contact really came through for me.'

Mizuki held the scroll and looked at it with greed. 'This will give me great power. With this I'll be able to overcome anything.'

After making sure everything was ready he left his home and made his way to the academy. He had a polite kind appearance but there was a deep sinister evil lurking underneath that mask.

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'Just you wait Naruto. You have no idea what's in store for you today.'

—-

Hokage's Office.

The Third Hokage was behind his desk going through several documents his Anbu had sent. His attention was on one in particular. It was the rough blueprint of a building.

'So this was what Deer got from his contact huh. It was an excellent strategy to shift his investigations from Kabuto to Orochimaru's movements last year. Now he has a spy inside Orochimaru's organization. This is certainly valuable information.'

At that moment there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

At the Hokage's orders the door opened and two ninjas walked in. They bowed and stood straight in front of their leader.

One ninja had spiky short black hair and had his eyes obscured by dark glasses. He was wearing a high collared outfit and was carrying a gourd on his back. He stood still as he looked at the leader of the Leaf village.

The other ninja had long brown hair over which he wore a bandanna styled forehead protector. The most noticeable feature was his pure white eyes.

"You called for us, Lord Hokage?"

"Yes. Iroha Hyuga. Takamo Aburame. I have a mission for you two." Hiruzen said and he gave the two the blueprints of a building. "That is the rough sketch of a building I need you two to locate. It's situated somewhere in the South East part of Fire country."

Iroha looked through the documents and spoke. "Lord Hokage. This is a 5 story building. But if I'm understanding these blueprints right, then this whole building is underground."

Hiruzen nodded. "Yes. The entire structure is subterranean. And there would also be defensive measures put in place. So it won't be easy to find."

"Lord Hokage, who's building is this?" At Takamo's question Hiruzen became silent for a couple seconds and then answered.

"Orochimaru."

The eyes of the two shinobi widened as they heard that name. Hiruzen continued. "I have reason to believe that this is one of Orochimaru's bases of operations. I managed to cultivate a spy in his organization and this is what I got. I understand that this is limited information but you two are quite capable in tracking operations. I need you to find this base."

"If Orochimaru is involved, shouldn't we bring more manpower? If we're going to fight him -"

"No." Hiruzen shook his head to Takamo's request. "This should be a stealth mission. You need to make sure to keep your presence to the absolute minimum. He cannot know that he's being tracked. I have a much larger operation in mind to take him down but for that to be successful I need every information I can get on his current resources."

"Yes sir."

Hiruzen gave the two ninjas a few more documents containing information on his former student. "Memorize the layout and structure of the building. Your mission is to locate it and if possible determine the number of guards and defensive measures that are in place. Based on the intel I received, it's built in the South East region of this country."

"Understood sir. We'll send a report through the secure channel once we have something." Iroha nodded and spoke.

Takamo looked at the papers and slightly narrowed his eyes. "He sure is bold to create a base in Fire country. Especially after everything he did and knowing we're looking for him."

Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and nodded. "The best way to go undetected from your enemies is to hide in plain sight near them. I have no doubt that my traitorous student has taken this philosophy to heart."

The kage looked at the two ninjas. "If for any reason you're discovered by or come across my wayward student, retreat."

"Yes sir. We'll be careful." Iroha and Takamo nodded. They knew how powerful and dangerous Orochimaru was and they knew if a battle broke out, the chances of their survival was slim at best.

"Dismissed." At the Hokage's orders the two vanished from the room. He sighed and stood from his chair. He walked to the nearby window and looked at the faces on the mountain.

'It's almost time for the exams to start. The current graduation class is one of the most important ones this village has had in a while. All the future heirs to the major clans are participating… I hope these exams go smoothly.'

The old kage sat back down and took out his crystal ball. Within a few moments the image of Iruka and Mizuki appeared. The images soon shifted to Naruto.

'He's come a long way. Now with his training I'm sure he'll pass the exams. But will he and the other two pass Tenzo's test? I'll have to wait and see for that… Good luck my boy.'

—-

Ninja Academy.

Everyone taking the graduation exam came early and was already seated in class.

"I'm surprised you showed up on time, Naruto." Shikamaru said, looking at the blonde sitting on the other bench.

"Of course I did. I've been waiting for this moment for so long. There's no way I was going to miss it." Naruto said with a big grin.

"I thought you'd want to make some dramatic entrance at the last moment." Kiba said, chuckling.

Naruto sheepishly chuckled hearing that. "I thought about it but Iruka sensei took me to ramen last night so I figured I should give him a break today."

"Um… G-good luck on your exams. N-Naruto." Hinata said in a small voice as she looked at her crush.

"Oh thanks Hinata. I've been training real hard. I'm gonna show who's the best." The blonde boy turned his attention to the person sitting on the opposite side of his bench near the window of the class. "You hear that Sasuke. You're going down. I'll be taking your spot and become number one."

Sasuke looked at Naruto and scoffed. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the calm environment outside.

Naruto had a tick mark as he was ignored. "Why that bastard…" Before he could go near his rival and cause a commotion, Sakura grabbed his collar and shoved him in his seat.

"Sit down Naruto and don't disturb Sasuke." She said as she gave Naruto's head a few Karate chops.

"Aww but Sakura…"

"No buts. Now sit down and be quiet."

"I have to agree with Naruto on one thing. I can't wait to become a ninja too. I'll be able to team up with Daichi on missions. We'll get close. Go on some romantic adventures…" Ino sat in her seat and daydreamed about her future.

"I heard (munch) he's part of some special 2 person squad (munch). You think it would be like that for us?" Choji asked his best friend.

Shikamaru shook his head. "No. He's a special case. I haven't heard of any other teams like that. All the new Genin teams are usually three Genins and one Jonin. That's the format."

Everyone nearby was paying attention to Shikamaru. He continued. "Daichi is leagues ahead of us. The Hokage and teachers know that. It would have only slowed him down or made the team inefficient if he was put with Genins with ordinary talent. I think that's why the Hokage made an exception for him. At least that's what I think."

"Hmm… I wonder if I can convince the old man to make me part of a two person team?" Naruto thought aloud to himself.

"Haven't you been listening, Naruto? Daichi's is one of the best to come out of this academy in a long time. He's a Genius. You on the other hand failed the graduation exam twice. You really think they're going to give you an apprenticeship?" Kiba spoke up

"Hey!" The blonde boy stood up and looked at the Inuzuka indignantly.

"I'm sorry Naruto but it's the fact. It's gonna be the same for all of us. I'm sure even Sasuke will be part of a standard four man Genin team."

Before anyone could say anything else Iruka and Mizuki entered the room. As soon as they got in all the students quieted down. Looking at all the students, Iruka stepped forward and spoke.

"Alright class. This is what all of you have been preparing for since you entered the academy. Do your best. Your graduation exams start now."