Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
June 29, x788.
While Hiruzen was surprised to see the [Genjutsu] falling form the sky in the form of dove feathers, he was not overly so. After Wendy helped to apprehend Kabuto, Hiruzen was expecting an attack from Orochimaru in the near future. Admittedly, he was not expecting it to come during the Chunin Exam finals, though.
Still, Hiruzen reacted calmly. Turning towards the Kazekage to ask him and his village to leave the attack to the Leaf, as he was confident that his shinobi could handle anything the enemy could throw at them.
However, when he made eye contact with the Kazekage and saw that familiar glint in his eyes, Hiruzen was completely taken aback. Then, before he could react, the Kazekage dropped a smoke bomb that covered the entire viewing area, as well as the part of the arena's roof behind it in smoke.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the stands, Alfonzo, Elicia, and the others looked around at the falling feathers. Though, their gazes were much sharper.
"[Genjutsu]." Kakashi said as he watched the shinobi from the Sand stand up with murderous expressions. "Is the Sand really so confident they can defeat us."
"Maybe not alone." Elicia said as she pointed at another shinobi who stood up. "but what if they have help?"
Hearing that, everyone followed Elicia's pointing finger. When they did, they saw a shinobi with a different symbol on their headband.
"The Village Hidden in the Sound." Guy said solemnly. "But why would they attack us? They're a relatively new village and we've never had any conflict with them."
"Probably because of him." Alfonzo said as he pointed at the Kage's viewing platform.
This time, everyone followed the direction where Alfonzo pointed with their gazes. And what they saw surprised them all greatly.
Around the Kage's viewing platform, the smoke had almost completely dissipated. So, everyone could see two figures standing on the roof behind the platform. While they were expecting Hiruzen's figure, the fact that Orochimaru was standing opposite him was a shock.
"Orochimaru? But how?" Kakashi asked.
"*Sigh* Look at the robes on the ground next to him." Alfonzo said in an exasperated tone. "He was disguised as the Kazekage. He was even able to mask his magic power signature. So, I didn't even notice it was him."
'Yeah, I'm definitely gonna have to kill him for good.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'I don't know how he did it, but he would be able to sneak up on even me with a disguise skill like that. And I don't like that.'
["Good, let's go kill the creepy snake fucker."] Riot said.
["I agree."] Bedlam said. ["The world is better off without him."]
Alfonzo nodded his head to his [Armament Spirits'] words. However, just before he could start issuing orders to the wizards from Fairy Tail…
"Hahahaha! You're strong!" Gaara, who had seemingly lost the last shreds of his rationality, shouted excitedly while attacking Sasuke. "You were actually able to make me bleed. Killing you will prove my existence."
… Gaara's shouting drew their attention to the ring.
In the ring, Sasuke was avoiding [Sand Ninjutsu] while simultaneously fending off Gaara's physical attacks, which should have been an easy feat. However, Gaara had changed by quite a bit in the short time everyone's attention was drawn away from the ring.
Now, one of Gaara's arms had been transformed into that of a monsters by all the sand that had gathered around it. On top of that, his movement speed was much faster than anyone had expected. So fast, in fact, that Sasuke was having trouble dealing with it while avoiding all his sand projectiles.
"What happened to that kid" Cana asked.
"The thing inside of him is influencing his actions." Elicia said solemnly. "He's one of the Jinchuriki."
After saying that, Elicia turned to Laki.
"Laki, you learned how to use [Wood-Style Ninjutsu], right?" Elicia asked.
In response, Laki nodded her head while watching Gaara.
"Then, can you go help Sasuke?" Elicia asked. "You're best suited for stopping that kid. Just restrain him for now. Then, Fonzie can put a proper seal on his Tailed Beast. After that, he shouldn't lose control like this anymore."
Once again, Laki nodded her head. Then, in a burst of speed, she disappeared from the stands.
"I usually forget how good you are as a leader because of the way you usually act, Lici." Cana said while casually taking a swig from her bottle of liquor before putting it into her [Storage Card]. "But moments like this make me remember why you're one of the guild's strongest."
"We can talk about that later." Alfonzo said sternly. "We've got more important things to worry about. Saeko, Rika, go with Wendy and Shizuka to the hospital. Then, I want the two of you to protect the hospital while Wendy and Shizuka treat any injured people that show up there."
"Got it." Rika said a she [Requipped] her Mechashift bladed pistols into her hands.
"Understood." Saeko said as her katana appeared on her left hip.
After that, Rika grabbed Shizuka and Wendy held onto Rock Lee.
"See you later, Fonzie." Shizuka said with a smile while waving a hand. "Everyone, be careful, okay?"
With that, Wendy, Saeko, Shizuka, Rika, and Lee all disappeared in bursts of speed. Then, without delay, Alfonzo continued giving out orders.
"Lici, Cana, Lucy, you three can feel those big magic power signatures on the village's outskirts, right?" Alfonzo asked.
The three ladies nodded their heads in response.
"Deal with them." Alfonzo ordered.
Without even a nod, Elicia, Cana, and Lucy all vanished in bursts of speed, as well.
"Grayfia, Ikaruga, Miyuki, I want the three of you to help as many civilians as you can outside of the arena." Alfonzo said. "But you have to be careful. These are trained killers."
"Don't worry, Master Alfonzo." Grayfia said while bowing elegantly. "I've been through my fair share of battles."
"Did you forget, I'm a trained killer, too." Ikaruga Said with a smile.
The only one who seemed nervous was Miyuki. But that was natural. She was only sixteen, after all. On top of that, even though she was about as strong as any C-Class wizard, she had never actually used any of the skills she trained in live combat.
"I want the two of you to make sure to protect Miyuki, as well." Alfonzo said after glancing at the three maids. "She's not as experienced as the two of you."
Ikaruga and Grayfia bowed in acknowledgement. Then, they led the clearly nervous Miyuki out of the arena.
"Sakura, Tenten, I know I'm not a member of your village, but I have an important task for you two, as well." Alfonzo continued. Though, he did not simply order them to move.
Sakura and Tenten, who were already looking at Alfonzo, focused even harder when they heard his words.
"Go find the rest of the Leaf Genin, form teams, and help evacuate the civilians." Alfonzo said.
"But they're only Genin." Guy said.
"No, they're shinobi." Kakashi said, stopping Guy's protest. "Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. They can handle this."
"Kakashi-Sensei is right." Sakura said. "Plus, I can help treat anyone who got hurt during this attack, too."
"Yeah, we can handle this, Guy-Sensei." Tenten said with determination burning in her eyes.
Seeing the resolve in their students' eyes, Kakashi and Guy nodded. Then, the two young kunoichi left to find the other Genin.
"I'm sure I don't' need to tell you two what to do, right?" Alfonzo asked with a smile.
"Of course not." Kakashi replied in a bored tone.
"Indeed." Guy said while making a nice guy pose. "We'll let our youths explode."
"Right…" Alfonzo said dryly.
"What will you be doing?" Kakashi asked.
"I'll go help the old man." Alfonzo said with a smile. "Orochimaru needs to be dealt with once and for all. And I'm afraid the Hokage's sentimentality won't allow him to finish the job."
Kakashi sighed in response. Despite that, he knew Alfonzo was right. So, he only nodded his head in the end. After that, he also disappeared in a burst of speed before engaging an enemy Jōnin.
"Be careful, my friend." Guy said. "When all this is over, we can compete."
After that, Guy also dashed off to engage the enemy.
"Don't you have any instructions for me, Alfonzo?" Retsu, who had been standing by quietly, asked in a gentle tone.
"Like I could instruct someone of your stature, Master Unohana." Alfonzo replied. "I trust your experience and wisdom. I know you'll make the best decision in any given situation."
In response, Retsu covered her mouth with her right hand and kimono sleeve before she giggled.
"Very well, I suppose I'll help heal people at the hospital." Retsu said.
After that, Retsu used the [Flash Step] to disappear from the stands.
"Alright, now it's time to get to work." Alfonzo said while tilting his head from side to side, causing crisp popping sounds to echo around the area. "But first, I guess I should deal with these pests."
As he spoke his last sentence, about a dozen shinobi from the Sand and the Sound appeared around Alfonzo. However, before they could even move, Alfonzo's image flickered. Then, all twelve shinobi fell to the ground with small holes in their throats oozing blood.
"I guess I should go take care of those shinobi surrounding Master Tsunade, too." Alfonzo said as he looked towards another part of the arena. "If I don't, she might end up collapsing part of the arena in annoyance."
Just as his words fell, a Sound shinobi came flying from the direction where Alfonzo sensed Tsunade's magic power signature. Not before he smashed through a wall, though. On top of that, when he slammed into the seats on the other side of the arena, he burst into flying body parts on impact.
"Yeah, she's definitely capable of bringing down the whole arena if she gets pissed off." Alfonzo said as he started moving in that direction.
A few moments later, Alfonzo arrived in the seating area where Tsunade and Jiraiya had been seated originally. However, Jiraiya was nowhere in sight. Instead, all Alfonzo could see was a few dozen shinobi from the Sand and the Sound surrounding Tsunade.
The weird thing about what Alfonzo was seeing was the fact that all the enemy shinobi appeared to be scared. Scared of stepping forward to attack. And the reason for that was easy to see. Lying at Tsunade's feet were the bodies of several of those enemy shinobi's comrades. And none of them were complete corpses. On top of that, at least one part of their body was thoroughly crushed.
"Well, I guess you don't need my help." Alfonzo said from behind the group of enemy shinobi.
Alfonzo's voice caused everyone to shift their attention to him quickly. And when Tsunade saw him, her clearly annoyed frown eased a little.
"Stop playing around, Kid." Tsunade said. "Just hurry up and take care of these pests. They only know how to run away. And their quite fast, too."
"Hey! Who is this guy?" One of the Sound shinobi asked anxiously.
"It doesn't matter." A Sand shinobi replied. "Just hurry up and kill him. We don't need another distraction while we deal with the Slug Princess."
Immediately upon hearing that, a vein on Tsunade's forehead bulged. Then, she clenched her fists and rotated her magic power around them. In fact, she rotated so much magic power that the air around her fists looked as if it were distorted.
'Oh shit!' Alfonzo exclaimed internally after feeling all the magic power gathering around Tsunade's fists. 'She really might collapse this entire side of the arena if I don't do something.'
In the next instant, Alfonzo flickered. Then he reappeared next to Tsunade, his body arching with violet electricity. He then discharged bolts of electricity in all directions. Despite that, Tsunade, who was standing right next to him, was not even touched.
"[Electromagnetism Magic: Spider Lightning]." Alfonzo chanted.
In the next instant, the sound of thunder echoed around the arena while a bright flash temporarily blinded everyone in the vicinity. Then, all those enemy shinobi fell to the floor while smoke rose from their corpses and parts of their body were badly charred.
"Hmph!" Alfonzo snorted disdainfully. "To think he would have the nerve to call Master Tsunade a Slug Princess. He and his friends got what they deserved."
'I just need to calm her down.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'As long as she's calm enough, I won't have to worry about the people lying unconscious thanks to the [Genjutsu] becoming part of the collateral damage when she loses her shit.'
"Master Tsunade, we should go and--- Pfft!" Alfonzo started to say before he had to forcefully stop himself from laughing out loud.
Currently, although she was unharmed, Tsunade was still affected by Alfonzo's electricity. Standing next to Alfonzo with a deep frown on her face, Tsunade's straight, shiny, blonde hair had puffed up as though she had been electrocuted.
As a matter of fact, the electrical charge in the air was the reason for this. And Alfonzo knew it. So, he was rather wary of the princess of the Hidden Leaf at the moment.
"*Cough* Uh... I mean... I'm gonna get going." Alfonzo said hurriedly while trying to hold in his laughter. "The Hokage is facing off against Orochimaru alone. Plus, it looks like four of Orochimaru's flunkies have set up a barrier around them. So, I don't have any time to waste."
As soon as he finished speaking, Alfonzo flashed in violet lightning before disappearing from the spot. Even so, Tsunade's angry roar echoed over the area only a moment later.
"Don't think this is over, you damn brat!" Tsunade roared after Alfonzo could no longer be seen.