"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."
...
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