Chapter 580: The Chunin Exam Begins
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
May 26, x788.
After separating from the ladies, Alfonzo quickly arrived at the Hokage Tower and he was able to gain an audience with Hiruzen without issue.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Alfonzo?" Hiruzen asked as he put his pen down and looked away from the document he was reading.
"I've got some bad news, Hiruzen." Alfonzo said in a solemn tone.
Hearing that, Hiruzen could not help but raise an eyebrow. Still, he gestured for Alfonzo to continue.
"Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi, who I led a team of other wizards to capture almost three years ago, are in the village right now." Alfonzo said in a grave tone.
*Bang!*
*Woosh!* *Woosh!* *Woosh!* *Woosh!*
In response, Hiruzen slammed his hands on top of his desk, leaving two hand-shaped indents on its surface, as he stood up violently. On top of that, the four Anbu concealing themselves in the room appeared around Alfonzo at break-neck speed with their short swords drawn.
Alfonzo only glanced at the four Anbu with disinterest before turning his attention back to Hiruzen. Hiruzen on the other hand, quickly waved off the Anbu, making sure they did not do something not only they, but the entire village would end up regretting in the end. Alfonzo had taken down Danzo and all of his Root shinobi, single-handedly, after all.
"Are you sure it was Orochimaru? Hiruzen asked with a stern expression on his face.
"I am." Alfonzo replied with a solemn nod. "I don't' know if Guy told you after he came back to lead Team 9, but my guild mates and I use a particular skill that allows us to sense everything around us with magic power in it."
"He did." Hiruzen replied with a nod. "I almost did not believe him when I heard about it. To think there are so many sensors in your guild is unthinkable."
"Well, it's not exactly something we were born with like the shinobi of your village." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "Instead, it was a skill I came up with when I was nine… I think. It was on my first D-Class quest that I thought of it."
When Alfonzo first started speaking, Hiruzen sat back in his chair. However, when he heard that Alfonzo created this method to detect magic power, he shot up to his feet again with his eyes opened wide.
"Anyway, while I was on the way to the academy to wish good luck to the kids I helped train, I felt two magic power signatures appear in the village out of nowhere." Alfonzo continued, knowing exactly what Hiruzen was thinking. "And those two magic power signatures were exactly Orochimaru's and Kabuto's."
Suppressing his instinct to ask Alfonzo for the technique that made him and his guild mates into sensors, Hiruzen once again sat down. However, the greed in his eyes while he was looking at Alfonzo was clear as day.
'*Sigh* I know it's a really desirable skill.' Alfonzo thought to himself while looking Hiruzen in the eyes. 'But I really hope he doesn't do anything stupid because he wants to make his village stronger. Because I won't be teaching [Magic Power Detection] to anyone outside of the guild.'
"So, where is Orochimaru now?" Hiruzen asked in a solemn tone.
"Right now, he's moving around the village, I can't tell what he's doing, though." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "I can take care of him if you want, though. I kicked his ass once before, so I'm sure I could do it again."
That statement was enough to make Hiruzen sober up from his state of greed. Not even he was confident that he could defeat Orochimaru one-on-one two and a half years ago. But according to the report Guy gave when he came back from his time with Quatro Cerberus, Alfonzo had defeated both Orochimaru and Mayuri Kurotsuchi alone. And he had only weakened over the two and a half years since then due to age. Meanwhile, Alfonzo had more than likely only grown stronger since then.
"If I were to ask you to take care of him…" Hiruzen said hesitantly. "Would you be able to keep damage to the village down to a minimum? I heard from Guy about the damage you did to their underground hideout. And I'd rather not have a large part of the village destroyed in the ensuing conflict."
"Did you forget who you're talking to?" Alfonzo asked with a somewhat offended expression on his face. "Of all the Fairy Tail wizards, I'm probably the only one who has never caused any excessive property damage while on a quest."
Naturally, Hiruzen was aware of what Alfonzo just said. However, a fight between S-Class threats could cause untold amounts of damage with the slightest mistake. Still, he did not have much choice other than trusting Alfonzo on this. AT the same time, he decided that he would call back his other disciple, Jiraiya, as quickly as possible.
"*Sigh* Very well." Hiruzen said in a tired tone.
"The only issue is that if the other villages find out that you needed an outsider to fight your enemies, it might cause you some trouble, right?"
Hearing that, Hiruzen frowned deeply. He knew what Alfonzo said was true. However, keeping his villagers safe was his top priority. So, he was less concerned with the drop in his village's reputation than that.
"It doesn't matter." Hiruzen replied after thinking about it for a few seconds. "The villagers' safety comes first. If you could take care of him without alerting the shinobi from the other villages, that would naturally be for the best. But if it comes down to protecting the village or the fact that we needed your help to deal with Orochimaru, I'll choose the former every time."
Nodding in response, Alfonzo respected Hiruzen's decision. Had Danzo become Hokage like he wanted, he would have never given such consideration to the villagers. He would have more than likely sacrificed quite a few of them if it meant taking Orochimaru down.
"Well, as it just so happens, I can do it without letting anyone know." Alfonzo said with a smile and a nod. "I'll just wait until he's not close enough to anything to alert the shinobi form the other villages. But if you hadn't cared about the safety of your citizens, I would have more than likely not cared enough to handle him for you. In fact, I would have gotten back to working on the training grounds and finished them as quickly as possible, regardless of if any of the other shinobi saw me working or not."
Hearing that, Hiruzen gasped in shock while the four Anbu in the room clutched their weapons tightly. A moment later, however, Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief while waving at the Anbu to stand down. Then, he looked Alfonzo in the eyes with a solemn expression on his face.
"So, you were testing me, huh?" Hiruzen asked as he narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah." Alfonzo replied with a nod of his own. "I would really not wanna help some bastard who did not care about the safety of his people. But you just showed me that you're not that kind of bastard."
As he spoke the last part of his sentence, Alfonzo smiled, causing Hiruzen's expression to ease up. He had heard about Fairy Tail's reputation of not allowing any innocent bystanders to come to harm while they were out on quests, so he could understand why Alfonzo tested him like that.
"Then, I'll leave the issue with Orochimaru to you." Hiruzen said in a relieved tone. "But I'll still have some of my Anbu on the lookout for him. It would be great if we had that technique you mentioned earlier, though."
"No can do." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head. "That's one of the core secrets of our guild. So, I can't teach it to you. If you wanna learn it, you'll have to talk to my guild master, Ur Milkovich. But the price will probably be steep. If you think I'm an unscrupulous businessman, until you deal with Ur,you ain't seen shit. Hehehe."
Hearing the chuckle at the end of Alfonzo's words, Hiruzen could not help but shudder and groan audibly. He knew exactly what it meant to ask for a guild's secrets. And even if Ur did not reject him outright, he knew she would ask for a price that he was definitely not willing to pay.
"Forget it." Hiruzen said while waving his hand dismissively. "Like I said, I'll leave the issue with Orochimaru and Kabuto to you and the members of your guild. I just hope that no one from outside the village will find out about it if possible."
"No problem." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "Just wait for our news."
"I have one more request, Alfonzo." Hiruzen said in an uncertain tone. He then continued after receiving a nod from Alfonzo. "If possible, could you bring Orochimaru in alive? He's my disciple. And although he has committed some rather horrible crimes, I couldn't stand to see him die if at all possible."
Having expected Hiruzen's request, Alfonzo could only say that he would try. Then, after Hiruzen nodded in acknowledgement, he took his leave from the Hokage Tower. Then, he made his way back to the residence where he and the others from Magnolia were staying. As soon as he arrived, he found Laki, Saeko, and Miyuki gathered in the living room, awaiting his return.
"What did the Hokage say?" Saeko asked as soon as Alfonzo entered the living room.
"He said he would leave it to us." Alfonzo replied. "The caveat is that we can't cause damage to the village or let any of the shinobi from the other villages find out."
Hearing that, the three ladies furrowed their brows.
"That could be an issue." Laki said calmly. "Those two we sensed have split up and are moving separately."
"I know." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "So, it looks like I won't be moving alone on this."
That caused an excited expression to appear on Laki and Saeko's faces. They were members of Fairy Tail, after all. And like most members of Fairy Tail, they liked a good fight. So, they were looking forward to fighting one, or both, of the rogue shinobi.
"So, we'll do it like this." Alfonzo said in a solemn tone. "I'll take care of Orochimaru while the two of you deal with Kabuto. And before you look at me with discontent, that kabuto guy isn't that easy to deal with. According to Guy, he has an insane regenerative healing factor. So, you can't look down on him because he's only an A-Class threat."
Learning that bit of information was enough for Laki and Saeko to wipe away their discontentment and took their task much more seriously. After that, the three wizards from Fairy Tail took some time to discuss their plan of action. And since they were both aware of exactly where Orochimaru and kabuto were, as long as they stayed in the village, they were ready to move about half an hour later.
Around the same time, the first part of the Chunin Exam came to an end and the Genin who passed it, a total of twenty-six three-man teams, were dismissed and ordered to report outside of the Forty-Fourth Training Ground, also known as the Forest of Death, tomorrow at eight o'clock in the morning.
So, following their orders, all the Leaf Shinobi returned to their houses to get a good night's rest while the Genin from the other villages returned to their lodgings to do the same. Unfortunately, there was an accident that night. And no one, other than Alfonzo and the others would know about it until the next day.
As for Alfonzo and the others, they were only monitoring Orochimaru and Kabuto's movements for the whole night. Even though they saw the previously mentioned accident, Alfonzo was disinclined to do anything about it. Because something like this happened in the source material, as well. And if things followed the canon, he knew where he would be able to find Orochimaru during the second part of the Chunin Exam. And the chances of any ordinary people getting hurt would be greatly reduced.
May 27, x788.
The next morning, a total of seventy-eight Genin were gathered outside of the Forest of Death. In front of the group of Genin, a purple-haired woman with a fanned out ponytail and wearing a tan overcoat stood in front of them with a tent behind her. And the sadistic smile on her face was causing some of the gathered Genin's confidence to wane.
"Good morning, everyone." The purple-haired woman, Anko, said with a smile. "I hope you're ready for the next part of this Chunin Exam. Because by the time it's done, at least half of you will be disqualified."
That statement was enough to make most of those whose confidence had already taken a hit to go into an uproar. However, a well-placed kunai that streaked across a Genin's cheek, leaving a shallow scratch, caused it all to die down rather quickly.
"Here, I believe this is yours." A tall young woman wearing a forehead protector that signified she was from the Village Hidden in the Grass, one of the minor shinobi villages on the continent, said as she approached Anko with the kunai she threw held by her abnormally long tongue.
Seeing this young woman gave Anko an uneasy feeling. Especially the amused glint she could see in her eyes. Still, she took her kunai back, pushing down the unease she was feeling, as she nodded to the Grass Genin.
"Now, before we get this test started, I'll need each of you to sign one of these waivers." Anko said after putting her kunai into her weapon bag and pulling out a document. "It states that any deaths that occur while you're in the forest behind me are not the fault of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. If you sign it, we can proceed with the explanation of the tests rules. If not, you can get the hell outta here. So, make your choice."
Although many of the Genin present were shaken by the possibility of death Anko spoke of, none of them retreated and they all signed the waiver. Then, after receiving all the signed waivers, Anko once again reached into her weapon bag and took out a sealed scroll.
"Good." Anko said with a nod as she held up the scroll. "No shinobi who is so afraid of death that they refuse to act is worthy of becoming a Chunin. Now, this is how the second part of the Exam will go. Each team will get a scroll. And there are two kinds of scrolls, Heaven and Earth. Your objective, once the test starts is to get whichever scroll you don't have, completing the set, and making it to the tower in the center of the forest within five days. Anyone who fails to get a second scroll before the deadline will fail. If you managed to get both scrolls but can't make it to the tower before the deadline, you will fail. And if you happen to die while in the forest, I'm sure you can guess it…you fail. Any questions?"
Though many of the Genin were shaken by the explanation, especially the extra emphasis Anko put on the word "die,' they shook their heads. Then, Anko gestured for each team to enter the tent behind her to receive their scrolls in secret. After that, she dispersed them, with each team under the guidance of a Leaf Chunin, to wait for the test to start at different entrances to the Forest of Death.
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