"Orochimaru-sama?" Sasuke and I ask at the same time in shock. "Are you... losing?"
We've never seen him being manhandled like this. He's supposed to be untouchable.
"You're both still here? Oh good your arm is back." Orochimaru says as he straightens up and dusts himself off. He's acting way to too casual and relaxed for someone who just came through a freaking tree. "I hate to admit it, but I may have overestimated myself. This group is exceedingly well coordinated. If I just had access to my ninjutsu this farce would have ended long ago. An Edo Tensi here, a forbidden jutsu there, and maybe even a snake or twenty. Look here they come."
Five shadows leap into the clearing. It's Tsunade, Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai and Asuma. They all look ragged and worn, but each of them looks leagues better than Orochimaru. It's obvious that he's been losing.
We're all arranged in an equilateral triangle. Orochimaru is all alone, the Konoha group are staring him down and Sasuke, Keji and I are standing with the rest of the defeated gennin at our feet.
The field is strangely quiet for how many people are gathered here. Orochimaru is waiting patiently for something to happen, he's idly smirking at the last arrivals. Finally, someone from Konoha tears their eyes away from the biggest threat here and spares us a glance.
"GET AWAY FROM MY GENNIN!" Kurenai shouts and springs into action. She's lunging at Sasuke and me and she's pissed off. There's nothing that can stop her from reaching us, not even Orochimaru because the second he move then everyone else will too. "I'LL KILL YOU BOTH – Sasuke?"
She halts all momentum halfway towards us, and everyone else freezes. Some are frozen in shock, others in gleefully sinister thoughts, while a select few are thinking 'oh shit.' It's Kakashi, Tsunade and me who are thinking that last one.
"Sasuke?" Asuma says in confusion and his eyes dart to the newly named gennin. "It is you! What are you doing here? Holy shit I cut your arm off."
"HOW YOUTHFUL!" Gai roars and slams a fist into his chest in a manly fashion while grinning wildly. "Sasuke knew that his fellow Konoha shinobi were in danger and he came to help out!"
"Yeah, that's not it at all." I sassily remark to Gai. How the hell did he draw that conclusion?
"Alvarcus?" Kakashi says with both eyes wide. He has his Sharingan activated, no doubt pulling out all the stops to combat Orochimaru. "Is that you?"
"Aw shit." I say as I smack my forehead. "I'm not changing my voice right now am I? Guess this mask is useless then. Keji why don't you go back? Things are about to get... interesting."
"No." Keji stands protectively over Sasuke and I, using his own body to shield us from who he thinks are our enemies. "I will not turn tail and run while my Summoner stands valiantly against his foes!"
"And I will not put my summon's lives in danger! Go back, I'm sorry Keji but now you'll just be in the way."
Keji turns to face me and stares into my covered eyes for a moment. "Fine. I shall honor your request. Not because I want to but because I can tell you want to protect me. I will trust your judgment."
"Thanks." I say to Keji before he vanishes into a cloud of smoke.
I remove my mask and pin it to my belt to the satisfying sounds of sharp intakes of breath. I still managed to surprise a few people after all.
"You mean all this time you were right there? Right in front of me?" Kakashi shakily says. His shoulders start to shake, his whole demeanor shrinks on himself. He looks like he's defeated. Say what you will about him, but he's a damn good actor. "Do you have any idea how I felt when you both left? Just – I can't – why did – what did I do wrong?!"
"Yeah, no." I rudely refuse to answer while I cross my arms. I can't believe I'm stuck in this situation. I don't think this can get any more fucked up. "That is not going to happen now or ever."
What am I supposed to do? It's clear that Orochimaru is losing and badly at that. He looks like he's been through hell while the Konoha group is barely bleeding. They've kept him on the ropes for this, they're winning.
No doubt Tsunade is the biggest threat, not only is she also a Sannin but she knows Orochimaru. They know each others style and can use that to predict what the other will do to a certain extent.
Then there's Gai who can probably rival Orochimaru in taijutsu and would just draw his nunchaku to combat the Kusanagi Sword.
Kakashi is no slouch either. He probably was supporting with his huge ninjutsu library from mid range, constantly herding Orochimaru around the battlefield to keep the terrain to Konoha's advantage.
Asuma was probably doing the same but with kunai to capitalize on his wind nature. I'm sure he also peppered in some fire jutsu as well to shake things up and keep Orochimaru guessing.
Kurenai was most likely placing genjutsu after genjutsu onto Orochimaru, I'm sure he's seen some very interesting things due to that.
There's no doubt in me that in one on one battles Orochimaru would defeat each person he's fighting, maybe even Tsunade too. He's that crafty, that resourceful, he's that good. But when he's taking them all on at once they're too much for him.
He could be defeated here. He could die here.
But will I let that happen? Will I let him be killed?
On one hand it would take care of a lot of my problems. He'd be gone, out of this world. Well that's assuming no one pulls him out of one of the Curse Seals of Heaven or Earth and I could just hunt down everyone who has one and either remove it or remove them. If he's dead then he'll never have the chance to take Sasuke's body so that would solve itself. Plus all of his experiments would stop, with him gone all of his future victims would never even be kidnapped let alone experimented on. Most importantly, I could go home. With him dead there's nothing keeping Sasuke and I away from Konoha. We could go back to our friends, to our home.
On the other hand I would lose out on the personal tutelage of a Sannin. Sure I could probably rope Tsunade or if I get very creative Jiraya into teaching me but Orochimaru is willing to make me his priority. He'll do everything he can to help me advance, to make me S-rank while I'd be a sidebar for the other two. Plus if Orochimaru dies here and now then Kabuto would be able to escape. I can't have that, Kabuto is going to die. Not only to prevent his actions in the Fourth Shinobi War but because it was him who killed Sakura and for that he's going to burn. While I'm in Otogakure I have more freedom than I would at Konoha. I can take actions as an Oto shinobi that would be barred from me as a Konoha shinobi. Namely Danzo. I can't do anything to him if I'm wearing a leaf, but if I'm wearing a music note I can gut that fucker. Also I wouldn't really be able to act if something with the Akatsuki came up either. I can always run out on Orochimaru if I have to but I won't run out on Konoha. Plus Orochimaru could very well encourage me to mess with that group, I know that they're on very bad terms.
So is it worth it? Do I let him die or do I save him?
"Alright everyone," I call out to get their attention, "here's what is going to happen next."
I can't believe I'm going to do this.
"Orochimaru, Sasuke and I are all going to walk away. And you all are going to stand there and let us."
There's one very important thing that will happen if I let Orochimaru die here: I don't get to kill him.
So I'll get him through this. I'll work my magic and make it happen. It'll make him trust me even more. It'll make it that much easier when I kill him myself. It will make it that much more sweet when I see the light leave his eyes.
"Ha!" Tsunade snorts at me. "Squirt I'll be the first one here to admit that you're talented, you're leagues better than others your age, but do you really think you and Sasuke fighting alongside Orochimaru will change anything? Hate to burst your bubble but two gennin aren't going to change anything."
"I agree, two gennin won't change anything. Sasuke and I will hardly make an impact on a battle of this scale right now and I really doubt everyone is willing to wait a few years for us to get to everyone else's level."
"Then help us." Tsunade urges as she extends a hand to me. "Help us kill Orochimaru and all of your transgressions will be forgiven. You'll have a full pardon, a clean slate. All you have to do is help me kill him. No, not even that. All you have to do is stay out of our way. Just let us do it, you won't have to lift a finger."
"I'll follow you." Sasuke says three words that I never expected to hear. He's leaving it up to me to decide where we go. Whether it's to Konoha or to Oto he's willing to follow me. Just how much does he trust me? To be willing to do something that drastic? If he trusts me this much then maybe I can start to talk to him about the truth behind Itachi.
Orochimaru turns to stare at me in fear. He's scared. His eyes are wide a frightful and they're pleading with me to deny Tsunade's generous offer. Before he was relaxed, battle ready but relaxed none the less. But now he's tense and rigid. He's terrified that I'll accept, and if I do then he loses me forever.
The thought that Tsunade would try to use me against him never crossed his mind until right now.
"Alvarcus-" Orochimaru starts to say but I don't let him finish.
"You said that two gennin won't make a difference." My words cut Tsunade deeply, and why wouldn't they? I myself told her that the next time we have a chance to kill Orochimaru she better help me do it. That chance is now. It's already clear that I'm not taking it.
"I did. And they won't. If you stand by him then all you will do is make us kill you here and now." Tsunade promises, and the scary thing is I can't tell if she's being serious or if she's putting on an act.
"So how much of a difference does eight gennin make?"
My water monster rips itself out of my back. It doesn't take on the usual human shape, this time is stays as a mass of threads as it falls onto the eight Konoha gennin at my feet. It twists and turns, shifting this way and that way until it has a coil of threads around each gennin's neck. The rest of it hovers menacingly above the gennin, it's a clear threat that it can do more to them if I want it to. I could make it stab into their backs, split their fingers open, tear off their toes, anything I can think of.
The Konoha jonin freeze. Not one of them can comprehend my actions, my power play. Even Tsunade and Kakashi look truly surprised and absolutely livid.
"You wouldn't dare." Kurenai scathingly forces out between clenched teeth. She's the closet one to me, the one who is most likely to rush forward and try to save the gennin.
Except she's not. She's trembling with rage and staying exactly where she's at.
I've won. The Konoha jonin won't do a damn thing to provoke me.
Tsunade glares at me, then switches to glare at Orochimaru. "Orochimaru."
She glares at Sasuke next and he flinches under her gaze. "Sasuke."
Her glare gets even worse when it falls on me. "Alvarcus."
"You three are free to go."
Victory is such a bittersweet thing sometimes. This doesn't even feel like a win.
"Kukukuku!" Orochimaru's sinister laugh fills the air, then it gets louder. "HAHA! AHAHAHAHA! Yes! This is it! This is perfection! Tsunade I want you to forever remember this day! This is the day that a gennin defeated a Sannin! No, a Kage!"
"Oh believe me." Tsunade's icy eyes follow me with each step I take towards Orochimaru. "I will remember this."
"Alvarcus you are just wonderful!" Orochimaru showers me with praise. "Simply magnificent! You've come so far from that skittish child I met in a classroom. You're truly a force to be reckoned with! Not only are you beyond skilled for your age you've made a Kage stop and bend to your will! Name a reward and I shall see it done! Ask for whatever you want, if it is within my power I will grant it! You've more than earned it."
"For starters I'll need a new water heart." I point at the monster that is holding my friends captive. "That one is going to have to stay behind to make sure Tsunade keeps her word."
"You don't trust me?" Tsunade says with a sickeningly sweet voice. Then her tone flips to malicious. "Smart boy. I'd flatten you the second they're free."
"Of course that goes without saying! We'll take care of it first thing when we get back." Orochimaru promises as he ignores Tsunade. "What else do you desire?"
"Can I kill Kabuto?" No harm in asking, plus if he says yes I'll feel a shit ton better about all this manipulation.
The moment the words leave my mouth five jaws drop open in shock. Each and every person of the Konoha group simply can't fathom that I'm nonchalantly asking to kill someone. That the sweet, albeit strange, little gennin they've all met changed into this monster that will talk of killing as if I'm discussing what is for dinner.
"We've been over this, he's useful still. I will let you know if he becomes a problem and let you kill him then. Anything else?"
"Hmm... Let's make it a rain check for now. I'll need some time to think on it that's better spent running since I did just royally piss of five very deadly people."
"Yes that is for the best." Orochimaru starts walking away. "Now then come along boys."
Sasuke and I fall in step behind him.
"Alvarcus." Tsunade calls after me and I turn to look at her over my shoulder. "Congratulations on becoming an A-rank missing nin. Now all the real bounty hunters will come after you. I look forward to the day I see you in a scroll on my desk."
I may have actually been barred from Konoha forever.
With the Konoha Shinobi, Moments After the Trio Left
"Was that really Alvarcus?" Asuma asks in shock still while starring down the hovering mass of black threads above two of his gennin. "I remember him, sure he was a bit rough around the edges but I'd never call him cruel. But what I saw just now..."
"It was him." Kurenai assures Asuma. "Without a doubt that was Alvarcus. Who else do you know that has eyes made of black threads? But how could he do that? They're his friends! His allies! How has he changed so much since leaving us?"
"Do you really need to ask that question?" Gai speaks. "I know first hand about impressionable youths, just look at Lee. Now who is Alvarcus spending most of his time with? Who is the strongest person he sees on a constant basis?"
"Orochimaru." Kakashi spits out. "You think he's taking after him."
"My friend I am sorry, but I don't 'think' he's taking after him. Look at his actions. Look at what he's done. He's holding our gennin hostage and he's not even here to call off the beast that's at their necks!"
"Alvarcus is many things. One of them is a man of his word " Tsunade says quietly. She's not even sure if that's true anymore. "Our gennin are safe, he won't hurt them unless we provoke the monster. I'm concerned because none of them are moving."
"They are probably okay?" Kakashi halfheartedly says. "I really doubt that Alvarcus and Sasuke would kill any of them. They're most likely roughed up a lot but don't have any permanent injuries. Except perhaps their views of their friends."
"That is what I'm most worried about." Tsunade says as she and Kakashi share a meaningful look. "How will this effect them? They could give up on being a shinobi if they think that they can't save their friends."
"We can ask them soon. The monster is dying." Asuma grunts out.
True to his words, the monster holding the gennin hostage has released them all and moved away. Then it's head implodes and a loud pop is heard through the quiet battlefield. The monster writhes in agony, black flakes start falling off of it as it thrashes. It's reduced to a pile of frenzied black snakes before eventually disintegrating into nothing. It killed itself to prevent a part of the Jiongu being harvested.
"Finally." Tsunade says as she and everyone else rush forward. "Right now they're all patients. Do exactly as I say when I say it. I'll wake them all up and heal what I can here. We'll have to go back to Konoha's hospital for the more serious injuries."
A quick fifteen minutes pass as Tsunade wakes up every gennin with the help of the other jonin. As each one is healed they have one of two reactions. The first is surprise. They didn't expect to see a friendly face. The second is determination. It's those who were only paralyzed that are in this second group, because they still heard everything that went on. They remember it all.
"Tsunade." Choji says with a fiery passion burning in his eyes. "We can get him to come back. We can get Alvarcus to come home."
"How?" Tsunade softly asks. "He was quite adamant about leaving, I even offered him a clean slate."
"Some of us could still hear. We heard it all." Neji says mirroring Choji's determination.
"Alvarcus made us a promise." Hinata's fire burns brilliantly in her white eyes. She knows Alvarcus still cares about them, he has to. Otherwise what was stopping him from taking her eyes from her? Sasuke clearly said that Orochimaru was interested in the Byakugan but she still has them both.
"He said if we beat him he'll come back." Ino finishes, but her eyes don't carry the same type of flame as the rest. Her's is weaker, more subdued. She doesn't know what to think about the enigma that is Alvarcus anymore. She thought she knew the full story but today she learned otherwise. There's something more behind his actions. Why does he want to push everyone to improve themselves? Why do they 'need something to push them to improve?' What does he know that she doesn't?
'That's it!' Ino thinks to herself. 'The next time I see that bastard I'm getting in his damn head and finding out for myself! I'm tired of all these secrets!'
"No shit?" Kiba grins ferrally. "Then what are we waiting for!"
"A clean bill of health." Tsunade is daring him to argue with her.
"Oh. Right." Kiba sheepishly smiles innocently. "I would never try to avoid going to the hospital."
Otogakure Base
We ran back in total silence. Not a word was shared between the three of us and all for different reasons.
Orochimaru was happy. Completely overjoyed that I came back with him even though Tsunade promised me so much. He was smiling to himself and shooting me prideful and approving glances the whole run back.
Sasuke is a different story. He's... confused. He must be trying to figure out my motivation for picking Orochimaru. No doubt he's wondering why I'd risk so much. He wants to know what my plan is. I hope that is what he's thinking.
And me, the one who got us all back here. Why I was quiet is a very simple reason. I've been asking myself a question, bouncing idea after idea, scenario after scenario, over and over and over again in my head.
Did I make the right choice? Should I have let Tsunade and company kill him? Was it right of me to spare Orochimaru just so that I can do it myself later? Do the pros outweigh the cons? It's a simple question but an impossible one to answer.
What's done is done, now I have to live with my choice whether it is good or bad. This is all on me now, I have no one else to blame.
"Alvarcus." Orochimaru breaks the quiet once we've entered the base. "Come child, let's get you that heart. Sasuke you may return to your room or accompany us."
"I will go to my room." Sasuke glances at me briefly then leaves us alone.
"Alright then. To the prison complex." I say as Orochimaru leads me there again.
"You know Alvarcus, until today I never truly thought that you would stay with me." Orochimaru says happily. "You're always so distant and reclusive. You barely opened up to anyone here, myself included. But now I see I was worrying for nothing. You recognize that Konoha will limit you, that they will hinder your improvement. I promise you here and now, I will not."
"Look, Orochimaru-sama, I get that today is a fantastic day for you. Really I do. But for me it's been hard. It's been trying, testing my resolve and patience. For me today was terrible. It's just..."
Orochimaru is raptly listening. He's hanging on my every word.
"Everyone is so damn fragile. People break so easily, I feel like I have to treat everyone as if they're made of glass." I sigh and my body slumps in defeat. "Sasuke lost an arm today. The only reason it's back on is because we got lucky. I'm no medic nin, it was all the Jiongu that saved him. I was powerless to do anything. To me losing an arm is nothing, I'll get it back in seconds. Hell even with a blown up hand I still got one back quickly!" I wave my black left hand dramatically. "But almost no one can do that. What if next time Sasuke doesn't lose an arm? What if it's his head? I can't put that back on."
"What are you suggesting I do? Keep him here under lock and key?"
"No. He needs to get better. Make him fast enough to dodge next time. Make his awareness so acute that no one can sneak up on him. Make him as good as me."
"Alvarcus there's just-"
"Consider it my reward. I want you to take his training seriously. Or would you rather train up your 'next body' yourself?" I cut in and Orochimaru's eyes widen a fraction. "Yeah, you definitely said that and I explicitly remember it."
"You're... not freaking out?" Orochimaru questions me warily. He's ready to defend himself if I snap. "Didn't you say that the only reason you were here was for him?"
I pin Orochimaru in a glare. "We're both here to get stronger. Don't forget that. I admit that when I first came here I was deluded by my need to protect him. But now? After seeing what others are capable of? After witnessing so much I've changed my most important goal. I was not kidding when I said strength and power rule the world, so I will become someone no one wants to fuck with."
"Even if it means sacrificing Sasuke?" Orochimaru asks with a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes.
"Depends on how big of a boost it'll get me." I coolly say. "But you need to make him strong too. Not only for yourself, but to make sure he doesn't die before you can make the switch. You need to start taking his training seriously."
"I will." Orochimaru promises me and I know he'll uphold it. I spun it so he'd benefit from it too.
And now I don't have to worry about Sasuke's training being neglected. The things I do for him. He has no idea how good of a friend I am for him, I basically coerced a Sannin to spend more time training him. Well... I did kinda allude to Orochimaru that I'm okay with him taking Sasuke's body so maybe I'm not the greatest friend out there.
"Ah here we are!" Orochimaru and I enter the prison complex. "Now then, any characteristics you want?"
"Can I just go in there and pick one? The Jiongu can sense affinities, I'd be able to pick the best one out of them all way quicker than you looking through that damn list again."
"Go on inside!" Orochimaru insists.
I casually stroll past the two guards as they both intently observe me. I can't blame them for their close scrutiny of me, it isn't everyday that you see someone talking with Orochimaru casually and it's even rarer to see one of his two prized pupils. Even in his secret base he's kept Sasuke and I hidden away from the masses, only the elite have seen us more than a handful of times.
"Now, I wonder what it'll be like this time." I mutter to myself as I stand in the center of the large circular room.
~Hmm... choices choices! There's a nice falsetto to our left, but a beautiful tenor behind us. Oh perhaps the quiet alto singing to our right? I just can't pick!~
Why are you using musical terms to describe them? Where did you even learn those? Wait, don't answer that last one. You got it from my memories.
~Correct! Plus it just feels right. Each and every one of them is like a musical masterpiece! No two are the same, each has their own melody. Host we simply must come here more often!~
Just pick one already. I have more important things to do.
~You have no respect for my talents. If you could hear the songs you'd want to stay too. The tenor will complement us nicely.~
"Finally." I turn on my heel and promptly walk over to the 'tenor.'
The tenor is a man shivering in the corner. He's ragged and obviously has had better years but there's a glimmer of life still in his eyes. Even after all the time he's been here he still has a sliver of hope.
"So. Buddy." I say on the other side of the bars of his cell. "Any last words?"
The tenor looks at me in confusion. "I'm... sorry?"
"Apology accepted." I extend my left arm through the bars and the Jiongu surges to life.
The man tries to crawl away from the slowly advancing threads while screaming until his throat bleeds, he's scooting across the floor as fast as his feeble limbs will carry him. Then his back hits the far wall, he's gone as far as possible.
It's not far enough.
Like a viper the Jiongu lashes out at the man, spearing deep into his chest. Then it withdraws carrying a red pulsating lump, his heart. Within moments the Jiongu gently places into my back, bringing me up to five hearts again.
"And that's that." I turn on my heel and start walking out of the prison towards Orochimaru.
"I knew he'd be back." One of the prisoners yells to the others as I'm walking past. "This is what happens when we act up! This is what happens when we don't behave! Orochimaru sends in this monster and he kills one of us! This is what you've all brought upon us! You've brought the black eyed demon's wrath down on us!"
"Oh shut up you crazy loon. He killed a defenseless old man, there's no way that pathetic kid could – URK!" The speaker cut off because there's a long whip of earth coiled around his neck.
"Alright you fuck ups, listen." I call out to everyone. "I've had a bad day, a really bad day. So it's in all of your best interests to not piss me off further when I come down to this cesspool of filth and garbage. Because when I do, one of you is going to die. Whenever you see me someone will die. And frankly I don't really care who it is at the time because to Orochimaru you're all disposable, so shut the fuck up!"
CRACK
"Looks like two died this time. How unfortunate." I sneer at the corpse of the person who had the gall to call me pathetic. "Does anyone want to make it three?"
No one speaks up.
"That's what I thought." I start to storm my way over to the exit.
~Host are you okay? You're not usually this violent without provocation.~
Yeah I'm just fucking peachy! Or did you forget every damn thing that has happened so far today? I defeated every single one of my friends and spat on their hopes to bring me home. I manipulated them to become stronger by playing the bad guy. Then once all of that was over Tsunade, Kakashi and the others showed up only to watch me take them hostage and leave with public enemy number one! Oh and the best part is I'm pretty sure Orochimaru is going to make me go see Kabuto to get my skin back on my hand, so I have that to look forward to and I still can't kill him!
~You need to get laid.~
"WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM I'M THIRTEEN YOU ASSHAT!"
~Eh, whatever. It's an excellent stress reliever. We could have brought the mindwalker back with us. I'm sure she'd be willing.~
"That's just – but why would you – Sasuke kill – Ino would never – thirteen – what the fuck?!"
"Alvarcus?" Orochimaru says with a great deal of concern. "Are you okay?"
"No I'm not okay! The Jiongu just told me to get – you know what never mind. All you need to know is that the Jiongu said something stupid. I'm going to go now. So... yeah."
I sprint out of the prison complex as fast as I can.
"That was strange. I wonder what the Jiongu said to make him so flustered?" Orochimaru swiftly turns to leave as well.
The two guards share a look between themselves.
"So." The one on the left says. "That was one of Orochimaru-sama's prodigies."
"Yeah. He's not what I expected to be honest." The other replies.
"I know right? At first he was all buddy buddy with the boss but the he went full on cold blooded killer. Sure we get some people here with loose morals but to actually stop and give a speech? He's got to be a different kind of killer. One who really enjoys it."
"Talk about scary! One of the prisoners called him a black eyed demon. It's not that far off, did you see his eyes? They're solid black."
"They're creepy as hell! But then that bit at the end..."
"...Yeah. Totally ruined his whole image."
"When we tell the others about this we should leave that part out."
"No shit! I'm not going to be caught saying that one of Orochimaru-sama's prized students is insane!"
Alvarcus's Room
I slam the door shut the second I'm back in my room.
"Never again Jiongu. Please. Never do that again. You should never mention sex to me at all. Like ever. EVER."
~No deal. That was too much fun. Plus it distracted you very nicely, didn't it?~
"And this is why people think you're crazy."
My head snaps towards the unexpected voice.
"Sasuke?" He's sitting at my desk with the chair spun around to face the room. He's completely out of his mission clothes, now he's just wearing casual black shorts and a dark blue t-shirt. "What are you doing here?"
"We need to talk." He points at my bed. "Sit down."
"Ooookay?" What the hell is this about? Is he going to ask my why I picked Orochimaru?
"Alvarcus, why did you lie to everyone? When we went against the Konoha gennin you put on this fake face. You said things that I know you would never mean. You went out of your way to hurt them. Why?"
Oh. That's not what I expected.
"You spun a tale about your parent's death. I know that the only people you blame for that are Orochimaru, Kabuto and yourself. When we left you tried to get me to stay by throwing their names at me. I know you, you would never hurt them like that. But you did, I saw it happen right before me. So tell me why."
"It's my way of helping them."
"Bullshit! That wouldn't help anyone!" Sasuke shouts at me.
"Sasuke, they're weak. Look at how easily we took them apart. It was eight on two and we bested them. We didn't even do anything that impressive! Only my Dance of the Dragons was what stands out about the techniques we used, all you used was kenjutsu and genjutsu. I only used mid tier ninjutsu that they've already seen before and Keji who can't actually fight. They didn't just lose, they were destroyed. It wasn't even close. If they are going to have any hope of surviving in this world they need to improve and quickly. So I gave them a reason to. I showed them just how big the gap between us is and I dared them to close it. I gave them a promise that I'll go back if they beat me. It was all a ruse, a facade, to make them push themselves to become better."
"You did all of that for everyone else?" Sasuke says in bewilderment. "You turned that entire cluster fuck of a situation into something positive?"
"Yes." I say with a tinge of pride. It may have been extremely underhanded but it was still magnificent to pull it off. "Now they'll push their sensei's to train them more. They'll be more motivated than ever before. I've never stopped caring about them."
"I knew it." Sasuke smirks. "You manipulative bastard I knew it! Do you have any idea how worried I was that Orochimaru corrupted you?"
"And while we're on the topic of improving oneself, I convinced Orochimaru to start taking your training seriously. So expect to go through hell because he's going to put you through it." It's my turn to smirk at Sasuke. "Have fun with that. I know I sure as hell didn't."
"Dude." Sasuke is staring at me. "Really?"
"Yep."
"Alvarcus you've got to do something for yourself every once in a while." Sasuke sternly says. "All you ever do is look out for everyone else. Do something for you."
"What? Are you not grateful that I got Orochimaru to start taking you seriously?" I should probably tell him what I had to do to convince Orochimaru. "Oh by the way I may have hinted that I'm okay with him taking your body. Just a heads up so you don't freak out if you find that out later. Consider it as a bargaining chip to make him do it."
"You did what? You know what, it doesn't matter. I know you plan on killing him before then. But seriously you need to stop devoting your entire being to others. Be greedy and do something for you."
"Fine, fine I'll do that. Don't really know how to do that though."
"That is so sad. Just figure it out." Sasuke rises up and heads out the door.
"I will. See ya tomorrow."
"Bye." He shuts the door behind him.
"Well I can't really do something for me right now. I have to do some damage control to see if I really did get kicked out of Konoha for good. Which would suck. Talk about the understatement of the century." I push myself up from my bed and make my way to the desk. "Well, here goes nothing. No clue at all how to word this."
A solid ten minutes pass with only the sound of pencil on paper. I scrapped two copies and started over before settling on the third. I still don't feel that good about it.
"Summoning Jutsu!" I touch the ground and a puff of smoke appears before me.
"Alvarcus what the hell have you been up to?" Shirokumo asks the second he's here. He didn't even wait for the smoke to clear. "Keji is kinda strange but he isn't a liar, but I don't know if I can believe the things he said."
"Oh. You mean the part where he helped me take down all of the Konoha gennin then saw me, Sasuke and Orochimaru confront Tsunade, Kakashi, Gai, Asuma and Kurenai?"
"Yes! That!" He's scuttling back and forth across the floor.
"Totally true. He didn't see the part where I kinda maybe sorta... took the gennin hostage to force Tsunade and company to let us escape." I offer up a half shrug. "It was no big deal."
"Alvarcus you moron! Orochimaru could have died then! It could have been over! All you had to do was let her kill him!" Never thought I'd get a dressing down from a big white spider.
"Orochimaru is not her's to kill." I growl out.
Shirokumo stops his frantic pacing. "Kami dammit Al, you have got to be the most stubborn person I've ever met. That's why you let him live? Because he wasn't in your web when he died?"
"I'd be more likely to use a kunai, but yes." In the end that's all it boiled down to. I wanted to kill him myself.
But he saved me. He had a choice between saving the precious Sharingan, something he's wanted for his entire life, or me. He picked me. Maybe, just maybe, he's starting down the road of redemption earlier than in cannon?
No! Stop that right now Alvarcus! It doesn't change all the horrors he's put me through. That man is evil and deserves to die! I don't care if he turns out okay in the end of the story. I don't care that he can be redeemed. He will die and it'll be my hand that swings the blade.
"I'm sure that went over really well with everyone else." Shirokumo says sarcastically as he crawls up the wall to his webs.
"Yeah so about that." I gently shake the letter I've written. "Up for delivering a letter?"
"Fine." He grumbles as descends down a web to reach the piece of paper. "I'm blaming you if I get squished."
"I can accept that. Tsunade is reasonable. Okay maybe not this time. I may have crossed a line so be ready to dodge. A lot. You know what just be ready to throw the letter at her then poof away. That's the safest plan."
"Why is nothing ever simple with you?"
POOF
"I ask myself that question all the time. Shit always goes wrong around me." I reach into my coat and pull out a storage scroll. "Now, where to put that couch at? And Sasuke says I never do anything for myself. Shows what he knows."
The Hokage's Office
POOF
"DON'T HIT ME!" Shirokumo shouts the moment he's in the office. He's greeted with silence. "Oh. She's out. This has never happened before."
The white spider scuttles over to the desk and climbs up the side to place the letter on it.
"I'll just leave this here and-"
The door to the office bursts open and Tsunade storms inside in rage.
"I don't care if he's only thirteen! I said make him A-rank so do it! And make sure it says triple if brought back alive! No one is to disturb me unless we're being invaded! Even then be ready to go flying!" She slams the door shut and whirls towards her desk.
Eight beady black eyes meet two brown eyes.
A tense moment passes.
"Hey drinking buddy?" Shirokumo weakly tries to greet her. "How's things?"
Tsunade doesn't respond with words. She leaps forward and has a fist raised with every intention of flattening the spider.
"Oh shit!" Shirokumo throws himself off the desk. Not even a full second later it's crushed into scrap wood. "Lady just calm down for a-"
He leaps away again as Tsunade tries to stomp him, her strength shakes the whole room from the one hit.
"Oi! Not cool! I didn't even do anything!" He shouts as he scampers underneath the couch.
It's lifted up off the ground with ease. Tsunade has it hoisted above her ready to slam it down on the pesky arachnid.
"Don't do it." Shirokumo says, his playful tone is gone.
Tsunade hurls the couch down at him, but he's not there. She didn't even see him twitch a single leg, one moment he was there and the next he's in the center of her rapidly breaking office.
"Tsunade. Enough." Shirokumo orders the Hokage.
She doesn't listen. She charges at him and rears back for another punch.
"You've brought this on yourself child." Shirokumo says in a truly sad voice.
What happens next she can't believe. It's something that hasn't happened since she was a kid, it's something that no one in their right mind would ever do. Shirokumo blocked her punch. He's only using one leg.
"What?" Tsunade says as she's baffled by the turn of events.
"I really hate this. I've placed limiters on myself to specifically avoid revealing what I truly am. You've brought this on yourself child. That is what you are to me, a mere swaddled babe. You can't comprehend the centuries that I've seen. Your feeble mind can't process the sheer vastness that is my life. To me you've barely learned to walk and are throwing a tantrum because things didn't go your way."
Shirokumo pushes Tsunade's fist away. Then slowly starts getting bigger. Bigger and bigger until his eyes are level with Tsunade's face. He can tower over her now, he's massive. There's only one other spider that can come close to being the same size as him: Arachne. Even she is smaller.
"I suppose it is time for proper introductions. I am the one who has seen castles rise and fall. I am the one who has witnessed entire kingdoms prosper then burn. I am the one who has seen whole eras come and go in the blink of an eye. I am the one who has seen the shape of the planet change due to the ravages of time. I am Shirokumo the Ancient One. Congratulations Tsunade Senju, you've just pissed off one of the most powerful Sages to exist."
"I don't give a shit who you are! It's what your stupid Summoner did that's pissed me off!" She shouts into his face.
"You will not insult Alvarcus to me! You can't begin to understand what he's sacrificed to help this insignificant village!" Shirokumo roars back at her, the sheer volume of his voice shakes the windows in their frames. The magnitude of the sound stresses the hidden sound dampening seals to their limits.
"Oh yeah? Tell me then! What has he done besides threaten the lives of eight of my gennin? What has he done except for blackmailing me so Orochimaru can live longer? Go on great and powerful Sage! Tell me! I know what he's done: he killed one of us already then had the balls to tell me about it!"
One of Shirokumo's white legs darts out and slams into Tsunade's stomach. The force behind the blow causes her to double over, then another leg flies towards her and lands a vicious uppercut. She's thrown to the ceiling and hits it so hard the room shakes again. But before gravity can take hold and bring her down to the floor again white webs fly up after her to pin her up there.
It all happened in a quarter of a second.
"Do the reports he sends you mean so little? He's outlined the top 40% of Orochimaru's forces. He's practically given you a blueprint to the only base he's seen. He went to Otogakure to make sure that Sasuke Uchiha didn't descend into madness and turn on Konoha! He's given up his home just so it has a better chance of surviving!"
"And that makes him a shinning beacon of Konoha?" Tsunade brings out her full strength to break out of her bonds. She strains, using every iota of force she can muster up. It's not enough, Shirokumo's webs are simply too strong for her. What a crazy concept. "He should have stayed here! Now he's become twisted by that vile teammate of mine! He's no longer the Alvarcus I know. That Alvarcus would never let Orochimaru walk away. He'd never use his friends as a bargaining chip!"
"It's as much your fault as it is his! You forced his hand. You didn't do what he asked, all you had to do was leave him alone and none of this would have ever happened. Do you trust him so little? You dismiss his advice because it suits you to?"
"Don't you dare make this about me!" She shouts from her bindings. "All he's done is use Orochimaru to train him! He went there to achieve his ridiculous dream of S-rank! He's no longer welcome in Konohagakure! He's not my shinobi any longer! Orochimaru can have him for all I care! He crossed a line that should never be crossed and this isn't even the first time!"
"Tell me Tsunade." Shirokumo says in a quiet tone. It's a sharp contrast to the shouting match they've been having and it makes it that much more serious. "Have you heard of the Akatsuki?"
"What the fuck do they have to do with anything? All I've heard are rumors. No one knows anything about them. Their numbers. Their bases. Their goals. Their leader. Nothing. Even Jiraya hasn't gotten anything concrete on them."
"Alvarcus has pages upon pages of data on each member." Shirokumo reveals. "I've seen them. He knows who they are. He knows what they're capable of. He knows what they want. He knows where each of them are or will be at any given point in time, we've got spiders following half of their members. He knows who they are going to attack next and when. He's just been waiting till the right moment to send them to you. He's been waiting for you to ask for his help."
Tsunade's eyes widen in surprise. "He shouldn't even know about them. How can he possibly have information that Jiraya can't get?"
"My summoner is resourceful, he can get at any piece of information given enough time. Some of it I fetch for him personally. And you know what the best part about all of this is?" Shirokumo clacks his mandibles. They make a sharp unnerving noise.
It's at this moment that Tsunade realizes the full scope of the situation she's in. She's trapped by webbing that she can't break. Beneath her is a spider much larger than she is. For all she knows he could be hungry. She might be the fly caught in the spider's web.
"What?" She doesn't let her sudden fear show. She keeps the same hostile voice she's been using the entire time.
"You'll never see a single page of it." Shirokumo raises up a leg and points to the ruined desk. "In that mess somewhere is a letter from Alvarcus. Find it and read it. It's the last time you're getting a letter from me. Years down the road of life Alvarcus might find it in his hearts to forgive you. I never will. Tsunade Senju, you've personally lost one of the greatest assets Konoha could ever hope for."
Shirokumo plucks a single strand of the web holding Tsunade and it starts to unravel. He doesn't wait for it to finish, instead he vanishes from the office for the last time in a massive cloud of smoke.
Tsunade falls onto her feet and remains in a crouch for a moment. Then she rises up and walks over to the crushed desk. There's a white envelope that has been crumpled. She picks it up and flattens it out, then opens it.
Tsunade I am so sorry.
She burns the rest of the letter without reading it.
"You're not sorry. Not yet. No one threatens my shinobi and gets away with it. Not even you."
The Nest
Shirokumo lands with an earth shaking thud, drawing the attention of the only other spider present. No one else would dare to be in his own personal webs.
"And the Great Spider Sage returns." Arachne sarcastically comments.
"I've given up that title long ago." Shirokumo scoffs as he brings his two front legs together, as if he's clasping hands together. "You of all spiders should know that The Great Sages are meant to be gentle, peaceful and caring. They're guardians. My type of Sage Mode isn't me taking in the soothing nature of the world, it's the wild reckless destruction of it. I take in Nature's Fury when I use natural chakra. The hurricanes. The earthquakes. The tornadoes. The fires. The storms."
Shirokumo starts to rapidly shrink down. He's quickly returning to his smaller size, the one that is unassuming and nonthreatening.
"Yes yes I know." Arachne's eyes gleam in happy memories. "And it's the same style that you teach to our own Sages. The things that they would get into, the sheer destruction they could cause. It was as if the planet itself was trying to kill their enemies. That's why you've made the trials. Things that a potential Sage has to do before you'll train them to harness natural chakra. You want to make sure they can handle becoming an avatar of Nature's Fury."
"Correct, but most importantly I want to make sure they'll never use it against us. The list of things in this world that can stop a rampaging Sage is very short." Shirokumo gives himself a full bodied shake. "That is the worst feeling ever. I hate shrinking. It feels like I'm being squished."
"You don't want a repeat of our third Sage. The one who went mad when he drew on too much nature chakra." Arachne softly says. "That is when you created the trials. You could start teaching Alvarcus how to harness the chakra of the world right now but you won't. You want to make sure he can take it, that he's ready."
"Yes. I don't want to have to kill another one. The Sage Mode of the Spiders is volatile. I don't want to lose Alvarcus to it. He's grown on me, I've never been the primary summon to one of our Summoners before. It's a lot of fun. Tedious and trying as all hell, but fun. Plus he just came one step closer to passing the trials."
"Really?" Arachne asks in surprise. "Which one did he fulfill?"
"His only alliances are now to his family – or in his case who he sees as his family – and the Spiders. Konoha has turned her back on him, orders of the Hokage herself. She's bumped up his Bingo Book rating and had the nerve to get into a physical brawl with me. Now he can only rely on the Spiders and Sasuke coming to his aid and he'll do everything to make sure that he never turns us against him or vice versa."
"You didn't hurt her did you?" Arachne stares down at the now normal sized white spider in anger. "You'll push Alvarcus away from you if you did. Even if Konoha turned her back on Alvarcus that does not mean Alvarcus turned his back on Konoha."
"What? No! The only lasting damage might be to her pride!" Shirokumo quickly defends himself while waving four of his legs in a worried frenzy.
"Shirokumo."
"Alright fine! So I might have been a little too eager to escalate things with her. The sooner Al gets through the trials the better. He's good now and in a few years he's going to be amazing. But the Jiongu will only get him so far. Even if he has access to all the elements, even if he can reattach limbs and his head it won't be enough. Not for what he plans to be taking on. He needs something to elevate him to the pinnacle of S-rank and the only things that could do that are a bloodline which he doesn't have, becoming the worlds best seal master which he doesn't have enough time to learn, or becoming a Sage."
"What's he planning on doing? Stopping a war by himself?" Arachne sarcastically snorts out in a very undignified manner.
"He hasn't said it but I'm pretty sure that's exactly what he plans on doing."
"Well then." Arachne says in shock. "I suppose I should start getting back in fighting shape."
"Yeah." Shirokumo smirks. "I didn't want to say anything but you're getting fat."
"You have a five second head start. Run."
Deep Underground, Konohagakure
In one of the many long and dark tunnels beneath Konoha there are three men walking. Two of them are constantly on high alert even though they're well withing a safe zone. Each is clad is combat attire, a tanto is strapped to their backs, they have a kunai pouch on their waist, one on their shoulder and another on their leg. They have numerous scrolls, each and every one of them serves a different purpose. Each of these men look ready to throw themselves into the bloodiest battle of the worst war.
Yet the two obviously imposing me are not holding the third member captive. Nor are they hostile to him at all. Rather they seem to defer to him, like they're guarding the aged man who is wrapped in bandages.
After a few more minutes pass, they come upon a door.
"Leave me." The old man, Danzo Shimura, orders his Root trained bodyguards.
The bodyguards post themselves on either side of the door. No one will get past them.
Danzo hobbles into the room to reveal an office. He makes his way over to the desk and sits down in his plush chair.
Then he chuckles to himself.
He's let slip a brief moment of joy, of satisfaction. He let his iron mask crack just for a moment.
He sighs in contentment while pouring himself a cup of tea. "Of all the things I've used this eye to accomplish, this one is one of my favorite. Keep pushing him away Tsunade. Drive a wedge between the two of you. Make him resent you. Because each time you push him away, he's that much closer to accepting my offer. Alvarcus will realize that the only way for him to return to Konoha will be if he's my underling."
A true smile forms on his weary face for the first time in years.
"And when he accepts my generous offer and brings me the traitor's eyes, he dies."