章 584: Hiruzen's Good Mood

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

May 27, x788.

Shortly after leaving the Forest of Death, while bending the light around himself and Orochimaru, Alfonzo was floating outside of Hiruzen's office and looking in through an open window.

However, he refrained from entering for the time being. And the reason was simple, there were several shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Grass in Hiruzen's office at the moment. Anko, the head proctor for the second part of the Chunin Exam, was inside, as well. Alfonzo guessed that she was called in because one of the Genin who should have been in the Forest of Death for the second part of the Chunin Exam had just been found murdered.

"We demand an explanation for this!" The Jōnin Instructor of the team with the murdered kunoichi shouted angrily. "If not, the Village Hidden in the Grass will take this as a declaration of war from the Leaf!"

"Please calm down." Hiruzen said calmly. "We've already put a team on this case. And I promise you, we will find the culprit."

"Hmph!" The Grass Jōnin snorted before turning around and leaving the office without another word.

The other two Jōnin instructors followed the first out of Hiruzen's office shortly afterwards. Not before shooting him and Anko dirty looks, though.

"Hmph! They're nothing but talk." Anko said angrily once all the Grass shinobi left the office. "We all know there will be no war just because of a single Genin's death."

"Indeed." Hiruzen replied as he took his pipe out of one of the drawers in his desk. "Even so, this could hurt the Leaf's reputation. Regardless of whether it leads to war, or not, the fact remains that we were unable to protect a foreign guest, leading to their death outside of the Chunin Exam."

In response, Anko could only grit her teeth. Because no matter how much she did not like it, it was true that a Genin from another village was killed while in the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"Looks like you guys aren't having the best day."

When a disembodied voice floated into the room, not only Anko and Hiruzen, but all the Anbu in the room went on high alert. However, when Alfonzo appeared in the middle of the room with a smile on his face, they all deflated immediately.

Yet, when they saw that there was a second person, restrained and gagged, on the floor next to Alfonzo, Hiruzen and the Anbu's eyes lit up. Meanwhile, Anko, although she felt that the person on the floor was familiar, she was confused by Alfonzo's sudden appearance.

"Alfonzo, what are you doing here?" Anko asked in a curious manner.

"Oh, nothing special." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "Just completing a little work your Hokage asked me to do."

Anko only looked even more confused at the response her question received. So, she turned towards Hiruzen for a more comprehensive explanation. However, when she saw the disbelieving expression on Hiruzen's face, she had no idea what she should be thinking right now.

"Is that really him?" Hiruzen asked in a dumbfounded tone.

"Of course it is." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "Did you think catching him for a second time would be harder than the first?"

With that said, Alfonzo crouched down. Then, he grabbed the restrained person by his long, black hair and lifted his head, revealing his face to everyone in the room.

"Orochimaru!" Anko spat through gritted teeth. "Why the hell is he here? And why isn't he dead yet"

"Well, to answer your first question, he was here to find a new vessel to house his soul." Alfonzo replied as he let go of Orochimaru's hair. "And the one he chose just happened to be Sasuke Uchiha. In fact, when I caught him, he was trying to mark him with the same nasty [Curse Seal] he put on you all those years ago."

Hearing that, Anko's hand immediately flew up to the side of her neck, covering the [Cursed Seal] that was already hidden under her clothes. At the same time, the intensity behind the glare she was shooting at Orochimaru rose by a few levels.

"And to answer your second question, you'll have to ask your Hokage." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "It was his request that I brought this nasty mother fucker in alive. But if it were up to me, I would have killed him and been done with it. I mean, it's not like it will kill him for good, anyway."

At first, Anko turned towards Hiruzen with an obvious question in her eyes. However, when Alfonzo said something about Orochimaru not dying for good even if he were killed, she, like everyone else in the room, looked at Alfonzo with confusion written all over her face.

"What does that mean, Alfonzo?" Hiruzen asked hurriedly in a concerned tone.

"Well, I'm not sure what kind of technique he used exactly." Alfonzo replied nonchalantly. "But this here..."

Reaching that point, Alfonzo kicked Orochimaru in the ribs, causing him to grunt in pain. However, when his foot came in contact with Orochimaru's body, Alfonzo remembered something rather important.

"Oh, almost forgot." Alfonzo said as he crouched down and flipped Orochimaru over on to his back. Then, he continued as he placed his right palm on Orochimaru's abdomen. "Don't wanna kill you by accident while I wasn't thinking about it."

Then, Alfonzo slowly pulled his hand away from Orochimaru's abdomen. When he did, there was a black, viscous, metallic substance stretching from Orochimaru's abdomen to Alfonzo's hand. Then, after a short while, the metallic substance was separated from Orochimaru, who was now sweating heavily thanks to the pain of having the Techno Organic Metal extracted.

"That probably would have hurt a whole lot less if I had just dispelled the metal while it was still inside of you." Alfonzo said as he stood up and stared down at Orochimaru with the blob of Techno Organic Metal in his hand. "But I don't like you very much. And since I can't kill you, inflicting pain is the next best option, right?"

In response, Orochimaru did not speak. Or rather, he could not speak, as he was still gagged. But he did glare at Alfonzo with the promise of death in the future. A slow, painful death.

"I really don't like the way you're looking at me." Alfonzo said coldly. Then, he extended the hand holding the Techno Organic Metal to hover over Orochimaru's chest as he continued. "Maybe I should put it back. I'm sure if I paid attention and concentrated hard enough, I could make it continuously injure you from the inside while its natural healing properties continue to heal you back."

"What is that?" Hiruzen asked after Alfonzo and Orochimaru held eye contact from a few seconds.

"This?" Alfonzo asked as he shifted his gaze from Orochimaru to the Techno Organic Metal in his hand. "It's a metal I found a few years ago that has miraculous healing properties. I even used it to reattach the arm I lost to a Leviathan a few years ago."

Hearing that Alfonzo had once lost an arm surprised both Anko and Hiruzen. However, Alfonzo continued to speak before they could ask any questions about it.

"But it hurts like a bitch while it does its thing." Alfonzo continued apathetically. "On top of that, it gives all the living tissue it comes in contact with metallic properties. Meaning, it turns them hard and inflexible. Until it is removed from the body, anyway."

"Does that include internal organs?" Hiruzen asked in a solemn tone.

"Yeah, if it spreads that far." Alfonzo replied with a nod. Then, he kicked Orochimaru in the ribs once again as he continued. "But you don't need to worry about that with this guy. Because I created this metal with my magic, I can control it to keep it from doing too much damage. But if I were to just leave it alone, it would act like the metal usually does."

Hiruzen could not help but draw in a breath of cold air after hearing about this living metal. Despite its miraculous healing abilities, it sounded like quite the terrifying double-edged sword.

Shaking off those thoughts, Hiruzen turned his focus on his wayward disciple.

"Orochimaru, why are you here?" Hiruzen asked in a solemn tone. "After everything you've done, you should know that you are no longer welcomed in the village."

In response, Orochimaru only snorted. But that's not because he did not have anything to say. Rather, it was because he could not speak. He was still gagged by the sound-absorbing metal Alfonzo created, after all.

"Oh, forgot about that, too." Alfonzo said with a shrug. "Well, I'll just get rid of this. But after that, I'm outta here. I have no interest in interrogating someone like him. So, I'll see you later. Oh, and don't worry about Kabuto, we'll keep an eye on him and keep him from doing anything too extreme."

"Alright, from here, we'll deal with Orochimaru." Hiruzen replied with a nod. "And allow me to thank you for your help in this matter."

Waving dismissively, Alfonzo dispelled the metal gagging Orochimaru. Then, he controlled the visible light to render himself invisible before flying out of the window and returning to his temporary residence.

After Alfonzo left, the office fell into silence for a while. However, that silence was eventually broken by Orochimaru, who could not even stand up from the floor on his own.

"Cucucu… To think, the most reputable and strongest of the five great hidden villages would need to ask an outsider for help to capture its greatest traitor." Orochimaru said with a mirthful smile on his face. "Oh how the village has fallen under your lead, Sensei."

In response, Hiruzen knitted his brows in frustration. However, he was not the first to reply to Orochimaru's taunt. Instead, that honor was taken by the Senin's former pupil, Anko.

"I really need to thank Alfonzo." Anko said with a blood thirsty, sadistic smile on her face. "To think you'd one day fall into my hands. Now, I'm gonna have a lot of fun making you pay for all the suffering I've had to go through because of you, Orochimaru."

Upon hearing his old disciple's voice, Orochimaru slowly turned his head in Anko's direction while wearing a disdainful smile.

"Do you really think you have the ability to make me speak about my plans?" Orochimaru asked condescendingly. "Or did you forget? I taught you everything you know about information extraction."

In response, Anko only tilted her head in confusion.

"When did I say anything about finding out about your plans or anything like that?" Anko asked in a feigned tone of confusion. "In fact, I don't care about that at all. The only thing I wanna do is inflict as much pain as humanly possible on you. Even if you are just some kind of clone, there will be something therapeutic about it, don't you think?"

Hearing Anko say that, Orochimaru was not all that surprised. However, the fact that she said it in front of Hiruzen, the Hokage, surprised him quite a bit. And what surprised him even more was the fact that when he glanced at Hiruzen to see his reaction, Hiruzen only shrugged, as if it could not be helped.

"Because of this [Cursed Seal] you put on me, I spend more time in pain than anything else." Anko said with her expression distorting in rage. "And because of your betrayal, the whole village has treated me like a spy you left planted for years! All because I was your fucking disciple once upon a time! I've even been stuck at Special Jōnin for years because of your influence!"

By the end of her little tirade, Anko was roaring at the top of her lungs. And because of that, the pity that could be seen in the eyes of both Hiruzen and the group of Anbu in the room was quite deep. However, Orochimaru looked completely unbothered.

"That's quite a fitting price for not following me when I left, no?" Orochimaru asked with a smile. "In fact, I think it's quite light. Even if I never gave you the chance because I expelled you from my tutelage years before. In fact, you should have found a way to follow me on your own to show respect to your master, Little Anko."

Hearing that, Anko had to fight her urge to kill Orochimaru right here and now, with every fiber of her being. Luckily, before her urges could overcome her reason, Hiruzen interjected.

"Calm down, Anko." Hiruzen said in a grandfatherly tone. "I promise, you'll get the chance to vent your anger of many years. But first, we need to send him to the T&I Department to extract as much information as we can from him. And I'll be putting Inoichi on this. Although I know you're excellent when it comes to physical torture, I know that won't work on Orochimaru. But when we're able to get the information we need from him, you can do whatever you want to him."

And that really was enough to make Anko calm down. However, she still shot a glare that promised immense pain and eventual death at Orochimaru.

"Fine." Anko said sharply. "I hope you keep that promise."

With that said, Anko walked past Orochimaru, who was still lying on the floor, kicking him in the ribs as she walked by, and left the office. However, just before she closed the door behind her, she looked back to say one last thing.

"I'll be at Alfonzo's place." Anko said while looking back over her shoulder. "There's probably a good chance he will be able to remove this disgusting mark on my shoulder if I let him try."

Then, without waiting for a reply, Anko closed the door behind her and headed to the visitor's from Magnolia's temporary residence. Meanwhile, Orochimaru sneered at Anko's departing back. However, before he could say anything, Hiruzen spoke once again.

"I know what you're thinking, Orochimaru." Hiruzen said after taking a long pull from his pipe. "That an outsider could never see through your [Cursed Seal], right? Especially since someone like Jiraiya, a grand master in the [Art of Sealing], couldn't do anything about it."

In response, Orochimaru once again looked into Hiruzen's eyes.

"But what you don't know…" Hiruzen said, trailing off to take another pull from his pipe. "…Is that because of Danzo, who met an untimely end thanks to the mistake of trying to kidnap both Alfonzo and his wife, Alfonzo gained access to everything our village has to offer. And that includes all the information on [Sealing] we have thanks to Lady Mito and Kushina. And he's mastered it all."

That information left Orochimaru completely dumbfound. And for the first time since Hiruzen met him, he did not have a snappy comeback or a witty response. And more than anything else, just seeing that look on his former disciple's face, brought Hiruzen an immense sense of satisfaction.

"Now, I want someone to take this unfilial disciple to the T&I Department." Hiruzen said in a tone that would make people think he had grown younger by a decade. "Let Inoichi try his hand at information extraction. Then, regardless of the outcome, hand him over to Anko."

"Understood." One of the Anbu hidden in the room replied after appearing next to Orochimaru.

"Oh, and make sure everyone knows that those restraints are not to come off under any circumstances." Hiruzen added just as the Anbu picked up Orochimaru from the floor.

A moment later, after nodding his head, the Anbu vanished from the office with Orochimaru. At the same time, Hiruzen brought his pipe to his lips in the best mood he had been in for quite some time. However, when he looked down at his desk and saw all the paperwork he had yet to finish for the day, his mood plummeted rather quickly.