The Beginnings of Change: Hengesai Naruto

Summary: In a world were Mizuki wasn't evil, and he and Iruka had been training Naruto in secret during his time at the academy, Naruto will realize his true potential, and become the true Henge Master! (Note: I am not that good at summaries.)

Warnings: Sasuke bashing, Sakura bashing, slight Kakashi bashing(increases when in Naruto's POV), possible Harem for Naruto, good Orochimaru (not pedophile!), possible non-Yondaime father. Possible Soul Caliber Crossover, Bleach, Yuyu Hakusho, Rurouni Kenshin, Nintendo and Square Enix as well.

Pairings: tentative (Subject to change w/o warning)

Kakaski/Iruka

Mizuki/Wife

Naruto/Harem?

Asuma/Kurenai

Sasuke/Naruto(onesided)

Lee/Sakura(onesided:If Sakura is redeemed, she will return his feelings)

Shikamaru/Temari

Gaara/Matsuri

Sasori/Deidara

Chapter Four: Breaking the Illusion (Part Two)

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(Yuki Nin POV{Various})()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Kakuyoku Fubuki winced as the wound in her hip was rubbed with antiseptic by the medic of Squad Zero. It was not usual that they interacted, but it did happen more often than they interacted with other jounin squads of Yukigakure. After all, Squad 9 fought the groups of ninja that crossed into the territory of Yuki no Kuni without authorization from the Daimyo. And that meant getting hurt sooner or latter.

Squad 0 was to inform the other Squads if an invading group made it past the interception Squad, in other words her and her teammates.

It was so embarrassing when they couldn't handle the groups that came in between themselves.

Especially since they lost all 15 of their chunin backup squad.

Once the medic was finished with her wound, she, Mizore, and Rouga would be meeting up with Daimyo-sama to report what they had found out from the Konoha-nin and the movie crew of that boat.

In the meantime...

"Taicho. The grey-haired ninja was Hatake Kakashi. He's high A rank in the bingo book for his reputation of never failing a mission…"

She could listen to the report Rouga was giving to the Taicho, in order to distract herself from what Vexen-sama was doing to her hip to restore her mobility. After all, what Rouga was telling Taicho was the same as what he was going to report to Daimyo-sama.

"…it is rumored that he is called the Konoha no Midori Yajuu…"

Rouga really needed to stop reading other nations bingo books so much, it really got annoying when he'd throw bits of miscellaneous trivia about enemies into the reports he'd make.

Although, it did make her wonder sometimes where he got some of his information, as some of the stuff was just plain ridiculous. Like…

"….Sarutobi Asuma is pursuing a relationship with Yuuhi Kurenai, who is a genjutsu user who is considered a prodigy…"

The chakra sealed over the healed muscle and bone with new skin. She pulled the hem of her uniform top down and stood up. Saluting, she turned to face her squadmates, and head back in to Yuki in order to report on the invaders to the other Squads.

There was no way she was going to let some stupid little actress take the throne when they had a perfectly decent and effective ruler in Dotou-sama.

Touya watched from beside Hitsugaya-taicho as Squad 9 shunshin-ed away towards the boat that would take them back to Yuki no Kuni so they could report to Daimyo-sama and continue their part of the mission. After all, this wasn't the only squad that was on mission against the rebels and their leader. It would be squad eight's turn while nine was reporting.

And in the meantime, they'd be keeping oversight duty in case there were anymore problems. They couldn't afford to allow Dotou-sama to loose his position when things were finally starting to take a turn for the better for their land and village.

"Touya. Vexen."

"Hmm?"

"Let's go."

And the three vanished from the fractured iceberg, following after the boat carrying the foreign ninjas and the possible usurper.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()((In A Bar Somewhere))()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"I tell ya man, those guys were fuckin' nuts." The bartender turned to the guy who he was relieving.

"What do you mean? Were they shinobi or something?"

"You should have seen them! They were all wearing the same outfit and hat, and then there was this fog…"

"Dude, this is the rainy season, of course there's fog."

"But the fog was light blue!"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()((Kakashi's POV))()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

My little shinobi sits against the wall watching the actress while scanning the rest of the area regularly. I'm so proud that I managed to get one that actually thinks like a ninja even when the threat is not in plain sight. Sasuke is finally starting to pay attention now that it has been made clear that there are hostile forces in the area. Sakura is starting to get the hint that this might be a dangerous occupation.

"It's obvious we'll need to do some scouting to get more information about what's ahead."

I just wish that Kurenai didn't feel the need to state it. If it is obvious, there's no need to go pointing it out.

"Team 7 will scout towards the capitol." Don't want to send the rookie's team towards the stronghold of the enemy, after all. Plus, he wanted to see what else had changed since the information about Yuki no Kuni was gathered.

"Team 8 will head towards Fuyu-cho."

"Team 9 will stay with the ship to guard the civilians."

"Team 10 will go with Team 8."

-Any particular reason- Asuma's hands flashed with a questioning inflection.

-Rookie jounin with just the Aburame as useful backup- Kakashi flashed back flatly.

The brief flash of light across Asuma's eyes was enough answer for him, although the faintly mutinous look to Kurenai was not what he'd call professional. She should be glad that he wasn't making her stay on the ship with Gai, instead of sending her out with Team 10.

Not to mention that she hadn't even caught the talk he'd had with her boyfriend over this.

"Yosh! Such youthful enthusiasm!" Kakashi wasn't sure, but he thought Gai might be a little too perceptive when it came to him, sometimes. There was a glint in his eyes that made Kakashi feel very uncomfortable.

"Well, let's go, Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto." They nodded, and followed him back above deck.

"Ikuzo." And the four of them leapt from the ship to the shore, heading toward the capital of Yuki no Kuni, Hyorin no Sato.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()((Maito Gai's POV onboard the tiny lifeboat))()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Gai knew that sometimes Kakashi said or did things that frustrated the hell out of his fellow ninja, but he also knew that everything Hatake Kakashi did had more than one reason behind it. 'Underneath the underneath', but taking into account each new level you unearthed, or you'd never come close to full comprehension of his motives.

Gai was sure he'd left his team with the boat because they were the most experienced team on the mission, and thus in a better place to do something like stand guard over a group of civilians in hostile territory.

Coincidentally, he was also sure that only his team had the water-walking exercise down as a whole.

Kurenai-san, as much as she wouldn't want to admit it, didn't have a team prepared to even assist another with such a task. In fact, the safest thing for the mission would be to send her team information gathering in a low risk location, or a medium risk location provided she and her team had back up, or were back up on such an assignment.

Somehow, he didn't think she was quite so in the dark as to not realize that her team was Asuma's back up, instead of the other way around. It would explain the stormy cast of her expression when the eight ninja had headed in the direction of Fuyu-cho as pointed out by the client, Sandayuu-san.

Not to mention the fact that he had probably, maybe overheard Kurenai grumbling to Asuma about the way Kakashi had just assigned them to do things without even asking their opinions.

The movie makers were on the deck of their ship, working on getting things ready for their next filming opportunity, as the producer seemed to call it. Gai would have called it a bloody and arduous battle, but perhaps things were different for filmmakers. Though sometimes civilians seemed to enjoy watching the 'spectacle' that was ninja combat. And Gai did enjoy watching youthful ninja spar with one another in the pursuit of training and improving their skills. However, some civilians seemed to enjoy watching ninja fight to the death instead of the more useful to the point of unconsciousness from youthful striking of the opponent.

However, he was the professional ninja, and they were professional filmmakers. What did he know of what the civilian public wished to see on the screen to allow them some tiny glimpse into the world of youthful battle.

This is why he and his students stood in a tiny boat, Tenten preparing her weapons for the enemy that would soon come in search of their clients, Neji keeping watch in the radius of approach toward the ship, and Lee youthfully warming up for the coming battles.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()((Squad 8 POV))()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

From the cloud of ice crystals, it was easy to keep discrete watch over the intruders vessel. Based on the chakra scans Ami was looking at, all the ninjas had left the ship. Everyone on the boat had civilian level chakra sources.

And two of them were below deck. Those were likely the traitorous samurai Sandayuu, and his pretender to the throne, Fujikaze Yukie, whom it was rumored was the lost princess Kazehana Koyuki.

And it was from her they would need to retrieve the Hexagonal Crystal.

"All is clear, Usagi-taicho."

Usagi smiled at her nakama, and pressed her hand down upon the cloud platform holding them above and to the right of the target's ship, sending a spiral of sparkling ice chakra down into the water surrounding the ship. The ship was frozen in place by the formation of ice platforms.

Now, she, Rei, and Ami just needed to wait for their Youma back up to do their part in securing the civilian invaders.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()((Youma Back Up aka Squad 8 Chuunin Force))()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Takeshi, leader of the chuunin reinforcements of Yukigakure's Jounin Squad Number 8, was bored.

Here they were, following this ship from the floor of the ocean, and keeping watch to see if it was time to launch the strike yet, and what do their jounin comrades do?

They wait. Didn't those kunoichi realize that they could only perform the air recycling exercise for so long at this depth while compensating for the pressure? Sure, it was excellent training, but their only chuunin, not nominated potential jounin candidates.

He himself had at least three more levels of training to go thru before his Squad leaders could nominate him for the Jounin trials.

Now, some of the people who took the trials, nevermind passed them, had been ridiculously young, but they were also overwhelmingly skilled and powerful. The kind of shinobi that could rise above the rest and become the scourge of the battlefields.

Takeshi shuddered briefly as he climbed up the anchor chain to check if it was time to strike. Some of those ninja were not people he wanted to hang out with. The level of danger they represented was difficult to ignore once you'd passed a specific level of training in Yukigakure.

The sudden drop in temperature at the surface of the water snapped him out of his musings. It was time for the operation to commence.

Using the chakra binding them to the ocean floor, and reversing the pull so they were repelled, Takeshi and his fellow Youma ascended to the surface of the waters with great speed. Shooting up out of the water, Takeshi and the others took a moment to breath in some non-recycled air as they rested briefly on Tsukino-taicho's ice platform.

Pulling out their kusari-gama that they had been assigned for the duration of the mission, they leapt up onto the deck of the ship.

Tossing their chains out with practiced skill, they proceeded to capture the startled, gawking civilians. Except for the one with the camera, cause he and the shouting one were just too strange. How the heck were they dodging without even seeming to? Was it some secret skill of the filmmaker?

Yes, that had to be it. Once this mission was over, he would have to do some research on the subject in the Archives.

Wait a moment, what was that over there?

Escapees? Oh well, that will just bring the ninjas back faster for the negotiations to commence. Konoha ninja were never above negotiating to save their clients.

Ah, Tsukino-taicho, Mizuno-san, and Hino-san were coming down to retrieve the two below deck, now. This was good.

After all, he wasn't sure that any of the chuunin would be a match for the former samurai below deck.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()((Squad 8 Jounin POV on deck))()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Usagi smiled in satisfaction as she dropped down to the deck of the captured ship that had brought the intruders so far into the territory of Yuki no Kuni.

Glancing around, she was proud to confirm that her chuunin squad had managed to swiftly take control of the civilians on the deck of the ship, without doing excessive damage to them. This would be useful for negotiation with their Konoha-nin bodyguard/escorts.

Sort of like saying, really loud and clear, 'See, we haven't hurt them, yet.'

The 'yet' implying that not only can that situation change, but it is in your best interest to cooperate to make sure it doesn't. However, seeing as these were ninja from a major nation, they might not fully grasp those subtleties.

After all, they don't need to pay attention to the minor nations and their ninja anymore, they've gotten into the big leagues.

Ok, so maybe she was a little bitter about the way some of the ninja from the major villages treated the ninja of her village when they came here on legitimate business with the Daimyo.

Of course, they wouldn't be dealing with those arrogant ninja if it weren't for the debts run up by the little actress below decks rumored father.

The treasonous shogun below deck had been known to pull worse in pursuit of keeping the former daimyo on the throne before Dotou-sama had successfully taken over leadership of the nation.

Though, she considered that this might be an excellent opportunity to get rid of the thorn in Dotou-sama's side that Sandayuu was rapidly attempting to become. Leading her fellow jounin below deck toward the remaining two chakra signals, she left Takeshi in charge of the watch to see if any of the ninja squads of Konoha were returning.

"Hmm… it seems they managed to lock the door." Usagi mused out loud as she examined the metal door that led below. She glanced toward her blue haired friend.

"Ami, open it for us please?" She nodded and moved forward to run her fingers along the hinges and locking mechanisms of the door.

The three moved out of the way of the door, as the hinges and lock broke from the pressure applied by the expanding chakra bubbles Ami created inside them. The crash it made as it fell to the deck was actually rather impressive.

Usagi stepped over the fallen door, leading the way below deck to find the missing two members of the passenger manifest.

The steps were illuminated by the light from the open doorway at the top, and they began to head towards the location of the two chakra signals as designated by Ami's scouting visor.

Usagi and Rei kept a look out in case the bastard had managed to close to minimum range sooner than they'd expected. It wasn't like they'd found the schematics or layout of the ship or something equally serendipitous.

Then, she felt a twinge…

And she and Rei stepped back out of the way of the slash of the katana in the hands of the bastard himself. Then, Ami raised her hands, a bubble formed in between them that caught the blade.

And then the bubble exploded and made the blade go back towards its wielder.

The three jounin took up combat stances as the samurai skipped backwards slightly in an attempt to regain his balance. Once he'd regained control of his momentum and stabilized his stance, she knew for sure who it was.

"Well, long time no see, former Shogun Sandayuu-san."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()((AUTHOR"S NOTE))()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Well… it has been a while hasn't it?

Sorry about this, but there was college and the finals and the trips and the upcoming fight scenes that are fighting really hard not to be written but will be anyway…

If you are interested in the reasons behind this delay between chapters, I would put it down to Real Life being a demand when I had the motivation to right, and the ideas disappearing on me when I had the time to write.

Next chapter should be out within a week or so, and will have a major fight scene or two to help make up for the delay.