Yahiko's POV (?)
"Hmm…" Yahiko pondered out loud. "Any news of the snake Nagito."
Nagito's Rinnegan seemed to shine at the mention. " Kami. Not too much, unfortunately. I had Kakazu and Hidan hit a few Sound locations, but no luck. However, they did gain a curious piece of info. Do you remember the Uzumaki who made a move on me before? I believe he nearly harmed me before your arrival."
Yahiko smiled at this. "I can somewhat remember a somewhat powerful fighter, Ikam. I'm sure I showed that nonbeliever the light."
"You did indeed. He originally offered us Fuinjutsu service before attempting to take my life. You arrived after he had sprung a trap on me and trounced him. He barely escaped. From our sources, Sasori's spy in his group, the man is aiding the Snake. Both of which are earning the ire of the Leaf." Nagito explained.
Yahiko stalked forward into the rain. Nagito and Konan followed behind him, slightly behind. "The problem is that either Ikam or Orochimaru could be a threat to us. Together, I would hesitate to send any team except for "that" one. The Leaf being involved complicates things even further. Even a God such as I can't afford the attention of all the villages. We will sit tight for now. Earn money and keep lowkey. We could use the funds and experience. The Snake is likely to betray the Uzumaki at some point. And both aren't likely to escape the Leaf's ire forever. Surely, the three will wreak havoc upon each other. We need money and influence. Let us focus on that for now. The time for our true goal will come. Once it does, the fools will destroy or weaken each other. Making them non-factors against us." Nagito and Konan don't even think of questioning Yahiko. How could someone question someone like him?
Both flinched as they realized the rain had stopped. Over the entire Rain Village, famous for its seemingly endless rain before Yahiko's rise. Stopped experiencing a downpour with a casual flex of chakra from the man who called himself God. Yahiko held a single hand to do so. With a twirl of his finger, the now unmoving rain collects into a large orb. "After all, a God does not do his dirty work."As he said this, he flicked his finger. The large orb of water flew away so fast it left the village view within seconds. Causing a loud boom of air as it did so.
Doubtless, no one could stand before Yahiko as he was now. That thought spread through the heads of Nagito and Konan, the man's longtime best friend and lover, respectively. They would stand with him even now. After all, even a god needed his allies.
Ikam's POV (Resting Point of Trial of Nio - Land of Iron)
A man as experienced as Ikam had experienced much of the world and the experiences life offers. He had lived as a shinobi, a samurai, and now he lived as a Uzumaki. He had operated in the shadows for years. Lived under the name Ikam for years. Formed his group slowly and collectively, finding scattered Uzumaki and selling them on his goals. It had been an unfortunate discovery that the Uzumaki had held what he sought. He spent years tracking them down and slaughtering them. Eventually, he learned what he needed was at the Leaf and likely under the guard of the remaining loyal Uzumaki. Such he found himself where he was now. Attending the Chunin Exams had been Ashira's idea. A good one to scout out Uzumaki. But it had yielded little fruit. None of the ones he saw were anything more than future victims. Barely worth the deal they had given the samurai. He was helpful in one way or another due to his observation of potential future threats. As well as measuring the strength of the villages, he needed something else to make this worthwhile.
As such, he was on the move. Usually, he moved a bit more carefully, sending men out to do his task. But he wanted to be involved personally in this one. It was always more enjoyable to bask in despair personally, at least of the accursed clan. Besides, he would see her a little closer for a moment. He slowly shifted through the samurai dressed as one of them. The trained men could not detect one who moved as they did after all. Suddenly, his body flickered to the building above the observing Kage. He could feel their chakra react to his presence, but it mattered little. He had moved for years despite them and would continue to do so. He unreeled a scroll as several shinobi and samurai spotted him and moved in. He ignored this as he unsealed the contents of the scroll. Thousands of papers flew from it, quickly filling the clearing. It stunned the approaching shinobi and samurai, who were indeed expecting an attack. A burst from the roof of the structure they were in with a lightning-enhanced fist mere centimeters from Ikam's face.
"It is fortunate for me that I don't intend to fight today," Ikam said smugly, suddenly being covered in smoke as the scroll he emptied sucked him in. Allow him to evade the Raikage strike. He continued to fly upwards due to momentum before landing on the roof. The scroll fell towards the ground. They attempted to destroy the scroll with a swift punch without missing a beat. But the scroll poofed away before he could do so. Hiruzen and Mifune joined him on the roof, reaching out with their chakra to see if Ikam was still in the area. Jiraiya and Tsunade spread out to the edges of the clearing to establish a perimeter, and the samurai did the same.
"Damn coward. I was looking forward to smashing someone." A complained.
"I've seen him before. He has attacked my village several times." Hiruzen said with a frown.
"That is most troubling; he sought asylum here but mentioned nothing of being wanted. He offered some high-quality blades. I believe his name was Terun Maki?" Mifune mentioned in a concerned voice.
"We know him as Ikam Uzumaki." Hiruzen replied.
"A criminal then? An even further shame I couldn't kill him. I'll have bounty posters out for him within the week. Ikam Uzumaki or Terun Maki will find no peace in the Land of Clouds." A said as he went to climb back down before several gasps and the sound of hurried footsteps filled the clearing. Stopping him as the three leaders observed the Genin.
There was a wide berth around Naruto Uzumaki. At his side stood only Ino, Gaara, and Samui. The others seeking distance, or in the case of the Leaf Genin, were frozen by shock. "What's their problem? Is it something to do with this paper he spread everywhere?" A asked ignorantly as he observed the happening. Mifune's face held a shocked expression as he read the note that had been spread. Hiruzen's expression was one of a man on the edge of rage. A reached down to the roof and grabbed one of the sheets of paper. He laughed as he read it. "I knew there was no way you lost the nine tails." He said with a smug smirk.
Samui read the note with shock on her face. Ino stood to the left of Naruto with her guard up, seemingly intending to shield him. Gaara shockingly did the same to his right. Neji, after a moment of shock, joined them. Lee was quickly next, as were Shikamaru and Choji. Shortly after, Kiba, Yuno, Shino, Sakura, and Tenten (who dragged Sai) all shielded the shocked blonde from the gazes of distrust and shock of the other participants.
"Naruto…" Samui started with an angry grimace. "This is so uncool…"
Naruto flinched at this. He had been happy to quickly make a new friend of the strange woman. It would hurt for her to hate him now…
"How could someone expose you like this?" Samui finished as she stood up, seemingly joining the group around the blonde fully. Naruto was shocked and could not contain the smile that crossed his face.
"You're such a drag, Naruto," Shikamaru complained as he tapped his friend's shoulder. "That's one mystery solved. I promise I'll find out the rest. Even if it is a drag." Naruto looked around, overjoyed to see his friends by his side. From his teammates Ino and Neji to his guy friends Shikamaru, Choji, and Lee. Even his new friends stood with him.
"I knew you were interesting," Yuno said simply.
Two others joined the large group as well. Karui and Omoi.
"A jinchuriki, huh?" Karui asked, annoyed. Dragging her more reluctant partner. "Our master is one too. No worries, we don't discriminate, unlike some of these bastards."
"Oh god, this will start such a brawl. Which will lead to a battle that will lead to a war, maybe even The Fourth Great Ninja Wa-'' He didn't finish because Karui floored him. Behind the theatrics of the two, Temari and Kankuro joined the group, backing their brother in particular.
Naruto contained his emotions as he realized he didn't stand alone. Perhaps they all did it for different reasons, but they stood with him. He felt the eyes of those who were less accepting. But in truth, it mattered little. Most people looked down on him anyway, so having this much support made things easy.
Sasuke merely smirked, not moving over with the blonde and shaking his head as Hinata ran over, eager to "help Neji. "So the loser is something special, aye? Maybe he will be fun to crush, " he commented as he observed the situation on the side.
Hiruzen, A, and Mifune observed from below as the drama happened.
"Well, look at that shinobi uniting behind one," Mifune said with a small smile. "Never thought I'd see the day."
"Hmm, his friends make sense, but my shinobi and the Sand?" he asked, looking genuinely confused.
"Perhaps the burden of jinchuriki simply bypasses such simple matters as different nations. People can always unite if they try to understand one another." Hiruzen said, smiling widely.
"Damn, tree huggers are always talking about peace, friendship, or understanding. Pisses me off! DARUI! SETTLE THEM DOWN! I WANNA GET STARTED ALREADY!" A roared angrily.
Letting things go like they are would be dull. We got an Exam to do after all." Darui remarked as he walked to the front of the separated Genin. He slowly weaved through hand signs. "Luckily, my technique is anything but dull. Storm Style: Laser Circus!" As he said this, a ring of light surrounded his hands. It grew in intensity before several white beams fired off towards the crowd. The beams moved so fast that most couldn't even react as they raced around them and slammed into a hill in the distance. The lasers smashed into the mountain before they exploded. The flashing explosion ended soon, showing the hill was gone entirely. Mere rubble and ash remain. The flashing lights and powerful blasts cut through the tension building only moments ago. "I get it's interesting that so and so is such and such, but let's be mature, aye? You still wanna become Chunin, right?" Darui questioned now that he held the attention. The group all seemed to relax. "It's fine anyway. We intend to split up and reform into teams of four. Don't worry about being paired with a "scary jinchuriki"; they aren't allowed to harm teammates." Darui explained using air quotes with the "scary jinchuriki" line. "Let's see, there seem to be thirty-two of you remaining. So there will be eight teams. Once again, randomly selected." Darui explained as a samurai handed him a note. "So the teams will be."
Team 1
Ino Yamanaka of the Leaf, Omoi of the Cloud, Shino Aburame of the Leaf, and Temari of the Sand
Team 2
Gaara of the Sand, Naruto Uzumaki of the Leaf, Fuu of the Waterfall, and Samui of the Cloud
Team 3
Kabuto Yakushi of the Leaf, Chojuro of the Mist, Benotti Itilo of the Waterfall, and Raan of the Cloud
Team 4
Raiga Kurosuki of the Mist, Mubi of the River, Karui of the Cloud, and Yuno Uchiha of the Leaf
Team 5
Shikamaru Nara of the Leaf, Sasuke Uchiha of the Leaf, Suigetsu Hozuki of the Mist, and Rock Lee of the Leaf
Team 6
Sen of the Sand, Kiba Inuzuka of the Leaf, Choji Akimichi of the Leaf, Ayuma Rotal of the Waterfall
Team 7
Sakura Haruno of the Leaf, Mangetsu Hozuki of the Mist, Kankuro of the Sand, and Hinata Hyuga of the Leaf
Team 8
Neji Hyuga of the Leaf, Tenten of the Leaf, Sai of the Leaf, and Kurotsuchi of the Stone