Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
May 27, x788.
In the Hidden Leaf Village's Forty-Fourth Training Ground, the Forest of Death, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were searching through the remains of the Rain Shinobi they just defeated for the scroll they needed to pass this exam.
"These guys must be pretty tough." Naruto said as he emptied out one of the Rain Genin's Ninja Backpacks. "Even after getting burned up so badly, they're still alive."
"Yeah, but just barely." Sakura replied as she checked the Rain Genin's conditions. "What do you think we should do with them? Should I stabilize their injuries?"
"No, leave them be." Sasuke replied coldly. "If it was us in this situation, they wouldn't try to help us and keep us alive, would they?"
"Probably not… But still.".." Sakura said, sounding as if she wanted to help the injured people in front of her.
"All though I don't like the idea of leaving them to die, either." Naruto said as he rummaged through all the scrolls the Rain Genin was carrying. "If we help them, they'll probably come back for revenge. Or at the very least to take their scroll back… and ours while they're at it."
Sakura knew that what Naruto said was right. however, because she had been learning [Medical Ninjutsu] from the overly kind-hearted Wendy, she had adopted some of her attitude towards saving lives. That said, she would not do anything to jeopardize her team's chances of passing to the next round of the Chunin Exam.
"This guy doesn't have it." Sasuke said while shaking his head as he turned to look at Naruto. "That means the one you're looking at should have it."
"He does!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly only a moment later. "It's this one. See, it says Earth on it. And it's just what we're---"
Before Naruto could finish his excited exclamation, a long, thin, pink ribbon like object shot down from above before wrapping around the scroll in Naruto's hand. Then, with a firm tug, it was pulled up into the sky.
At first, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were startled by what just happened. However, it only took a moment for them to go on high alert. Then, as they took their battle formation, they looked up to where the scroll was pulled to.
"Hey, she's a kunoichi from the Grass, right?" Sakura asked quietly. "I remember seeing her in the room where the first test was held."
"Yeah…" Sasuke replied without taking his activated Sharingan off the kunoichi standing on a tree branch above them.
"Hey, guys… We need to be careful with this one." Naruto whispered. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this.'
Thanks to the fact that he has been getting along with the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kurama, Naruto has gained the ability to sense the emotions of those around him. On top of that, he has been getting more proficient in sensing the difference between himself and his enemies' relative power levels.
Hearing the uneasy tone from Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke raised their guard even higher. Despite that, they were not experienced enough to feel the difference between themselves and Orochimaru. So, they were not planning to run away.
"don't worry, Naruto." Sasuke said in a determined tone. "there's only one of her and there are three of us. So, we should be able to take her no matter how good she is. Remember, she's only a Genin like us."
"Well… Well… Well… I've finally found you." Orochimaru said as he jumped down from the branch he had been observing Team 7 from. "Unfortunately, I don't need this scroll. But I'd rather not let anyone from the Leaf have it, either."
Despite the fact that he was speaking rather clearly, Orochimaru was still holding the scroll with his tongue, the ribbon-like object that snatched it from Naruto. Then, after finishing what he had to say, Orochimaru tilted his head back before pulling his tongue, with the scroll still grasped by it, into his mouth and swallowing the scroll.
"What the…?" Naruto exclaimed in confusion. "she just swallowed it."
"Now, if you want it back, you'll have to kill me and cut it out of my stomach. Cucucu."
'Now, let me see what you'll do, Sasuke.' Orochimaru thought to himself. 'This will be a good test to see your level of progress. I hope you don't disappoint me.'
"What are we gonna do?" Sakura asked. "We need that scroll. But we don't' have to have that one. We could look for someone else if we wanna get another Earth Scroll."
"Are you suggesting we run away?" Sasuke asked with his eyebrows furrowed.
"I don't' know." Sakura replied while shaking her head. "but the last time Naruto said he had a bad idea about something was when we fought Zabuza Momochi, remember? And it took all three of us helping Kakashi-Sensei to beat him back then."
That was enough to make Sasuke stop to think. Unfortunately, he did not get much time to do so.
"If you won't decide, I'll decide for you." Orochimaru said with a hideous grin on his face.
In the next instant, Orochimaru dashed forward. Though, since he wanted to test Sasuke, he did not use his full strength.
"Scatter!" Sasuke shouted as he noticed Orochimaru's approach. "It doesn't look like she's gonna give us a choice. We have to take her down."
With that, Naruto and Sakura leapt to either side. At the same time, Sasuke unsheathed a sword that was strapped across the small of his back. Then, he seemingly disappeared from where he stood, reappearing in front of Orochimaru an instant later as he slashed his katana downwards.
*Clang!*
"Oh~, you're faster than I expected." Orochimaru said as he used a kunai to guard against Sasuke's slash. "But if this is all you have, you'll never get the scroll back."
With that, Orochimaru drew a second kunai and began trading blows with Sasuke, the sound of metal meeting metal ringing out through the surroundings.
At the same time, Naruto had used the [Shadow Clone Jutsu] and created enough [Shadow Clones to completely surround Orochimaru and Sasuke. Then, he commanded four of them to attack Orochimaru from his front left, front right, back left, and back right simultaneously.
As a result of Naruto's attack, Orochimaru was forced to divert his attention from Sasuke, though it was not an issue for him, to deflect the two attacks from behind. An instant later, he swept his kunai at the throats of the two [Shadow Clones] who attack from the front.
Needless to say, Naruto's four clones were easily dispatched. However, just before the two attacking from the front were killed, they managed to push Sasuke away from Orochimaru.
*Boom!*
As soon as Sasuke was pushed away, Sakura fell from above, slamming her right leg down at the top of Orochimaru's head. As a result, a large dust cloud was kicked up, covering Naruto and Sasuke's view of the situation.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo, who had been watching the exchange, was impressed by the teamwork shown by Team 7. And the reason he had not acted so far was simple, like Orochimaru, he wanted to see their level of progress. However, as soon as Orochimaru started getting serious, he would act to make sure that Sasuke did not end up with a [Cursed Seal of Heaven] on his neck.
"Did we get him?" Naruto asked as he kept his eyes trained on the dust cloud.
'Not if you're gonna keep chanting revival spells like that.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'Then again, that was nowhere near enough to take out Orochimaru in the first place. Still, I guess I'll have to act soon. Sakura's not in the most favorable position right now.
As soon as that thought finished, Sakura came flying out of the dust cloud. However, it was clear she had no control of her flight. Luckily, before she could slam head first into a tree, Sasuke used his speed to catch her.
"Sakura, are you okay?" Sasuke asked as he lowered Sakura to the ground.
"Yeah, I'm not hurt." Sakura replied. "but I don't' think my full-powered kick hurt her at all."
"Cucucu. You've done better than I expected." Orochimaru said as he swung his arm, dispersing the cloud of dust with his movement. "but if you can't do better, you are all going to die here."
At that point, all of Naruto's [Shadow Clones] were dispelled, greatly surprising Orochimaru, Sakura, and Sasuke. However, when they looked over to see what happened to Naruto, they were even more surprised.
At the moment, Naruto was cloaked in billowing, ominous red magic power. On top of that, his eyes had turned red with slitted pupils, the whisker marks on his face had become more pronounced, and his canine teeth and fingernails had grown, making them look like fangs and claws.
"Is that… Naruto?" Sakura asked in a dumbfounded, frightened tone.
"Yeah, but I have no idea what that power is." Sasuke replied while narrowing his eyes.
"OH, because of your heightened emotions, it looks like some of its power has leaked through the [Seal]." Orochimaru said as he licked his lips. "Well, we can't have that. If too much leaks, it would be dangerous, even for me."
"No one gets away with threatening my friends!" Naruto shouted as he dropped down to all fours and started running towards Orochimaru like a feral beast.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned with Naruto's increase in strength. Despite that, he was cautious while engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Meanwhile, Sakura and Sasuke recovered from their shock while watching the high-intensity exchange. So, they prepared to help Naruto once they noticed an opening.
Unfortunately, the first opening they happened to see was one left open by Naruto. One that Orochimaru did not miss. With the tips of his fingers glowing with the light of his magic power, Orochimaru jammed the fingers of his right hand onto Naruto's abdomen, around the Nine-Tailed Fox's [Seal], cutting off the flow of the Tailed Beast's magic power.
"Ugh!" Naruto grunted in pain as his forward momentum was stopped completely and his body bent around Orochimaru's hand.
"Cucucu! Without the extra boost from the beast, you're nothing but trash." Orochimaru said as he prepared to throw Naruto's body to the side. "but I won't kill you now. I don't want that thing to come out---"
*Poof!*
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
Before Orochimaru could finish what he wanted to say, the Naruto in his hand poofed out of existence, alerting Orochimaru to the fact that it was a [Shadow Clone]. However, before he could react, another Naruto, this one also cloaked in the Nine-Tailed Fox's magic power, broke through the ground under Orochimaru. Then, with great momentum, he slammed an uppercut into Orochimaru's chin, sending him rocketing up into the air.
"Now!" Sasuke shouted as he sheathed his katana and placed the sheath on his left hip. "[Flying Heaven's Sword-Style: Sōryūsen]."
In the next instant, Sasuke disappeared from where he stood in a burst of speed. Then, when he reappeared, he had already unsheathed his katana, slashing it at Orochimaru. And despite the speed of his slash, Orochimaru was able to tilt his body back to avoid the majority of the blow.
*Bang!*
However, he was still slashed across the face. On top of that, Orochimaru was not expecting the follow up strike Sasuke delivered to his torso with the sheath. As a result, his balance in mid-air was disrupted. Another thing to take note of was the fact that there was no blood leaking from the wound on Orochimaru's face. Though no one other than Alfonzo noticed it at the time.
Realizing that his slash was only a glancing blow, Sasuke clicked his tongue internally. Then, he dropped his sheath before he raised his katana over his head with both hands wrapped around the hilt.
"[Flying Heaven's Sword-Style: Ryūtsui-Shōsen]." Sasuke chanted as he swung his katana downwards.
In the next instant, Sasuke swung his katana with great force. Unfortunately, Orochimaru, despite his unstable posture, was able to react quickly, blocking the slash with his kunai.
Even so, despite his successful defense, Orochimaru was launched down towards the ground, with gravity causing Sasuke to follow him closely. However, because he was not injured by Sasuke's slash, he landed on his feet stably. Then, he hopped backwards to distance himself from Sasuke's landing point.
"[Rasengan]!"
Unfortunately, right before Orochimaru landed again, Naruto appeared behind him with a [Rasengan] rotating in his palm before slamming it into Orochimaru's back. As a result, Orochimaru was sent back towards where he first landed.
As soon as Orochimaru was back where he started, Sasuke landed on the ground and finished his combo attack, slashing his sword upwards, cutting into Orochimaru's torso and launching him back into the air.
This time, unlike when Sasuke cut his face, there was a splash of blood from Orochimaru's torso, though the cut was not too deep. On top of that, before Orochimaru could regain his balance, Sakura fell from the sky, once again slamming her right leg down with the [magic Power Strengthening Technique].
*Boom~~~!*
Once again, a dust cloud was kicked up by Sakura's monstrous strength. Unlike last time, however, when Sakura came flying out of the cloud, she seemed to be doing so on her own volition. A moment later, Naruto, still wrapped in the Nine-Tail Fox's magic power and Sasuke gathered with Sakura.
"Well, those kids really have gotten pretty good." Alfonzo said with a smile. "Unfortunately, that's still not enough to deal with that Pedo-Snake."
And just as Alfonzo said, the dust cloud was once again swept away by a swing of Orochimaru's arm. And when he was once again visible, the three Genin could see that he we was covered in blood, his clothes were torn, and there was a slash on his face. Though, there was no blood leaking from that gash.
"What the…?" Naruto exclaimed once again in confusion. "How is his face not bleeding with that big cut on it."
"Cucucu! Magnificent." Orochimaru said in a jubilant tone as he reached up to grab his face. "You might be even better than Itachi at this age. You'll make the perfect vessel, Sasuke."
*Rip!*
Gritting his teeth at the mention of his older brother, all the rage that was building up vanished immediately when he saw Orochimaru rip off the female Grass Genin's face, revealing a completely different face of a man with feminine, snake-like features. Not only Sasuke, but Naruto and Sakura were also completely dumbfounded.
Adding to the three Genin's confusion, Orochimaru tilted his head back. Then, he opened his mouth much further than should be possible for a human, his mouth looking like the unhinged jaws of a snake.
A moment later, a pair of pale-skinned hands popped out from Orochimaru's mouth before pulling out a completely uninjured Orochimaru and letting the old one fall to the ground like the shed skin of a snake.
However, before anyone from Team 7 could ask any questions, or in Naruto's case, empty the contents of his stomach in disgust, a suffocating magic power pressure mixed with a potent killing intent was unleashed, causing Sakura and Sasuke to freeze. And while Naruto did not freeze, mostly thanks to the Kurama's influence, he was hit by a powerful [Genjutsu] that made him stand still for a few moments while Kurama tried to help him dispel it.
On a side note, had Kurama's [Seal] been lifted, he would have been able to dispel Orochimaru's [Genjutsu] in an instant.
"Cucucu! I'll definitely make you mine, Sasuke." Orochimaru said as his neck elongated at high speed.
On top of his neck elongating, Orochimaru opened his mouth wide, revealing a pair of long, sharp fangs that were aimed at the side of Sasuke's neck.
"Alright, I think that's enough, little Pedo-Snake."
*Boom!*
Less than a foot away from Sasuke, a violet flash intercepted Orochimaru before slamming his head into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust for a third time. And that was enough to snap Sakura and Sasuke out of their fear-induced frozen states. At the same time, Kurama succeeded in dispelling the [Genjutsu] placed on Naruto. So, the three jumped back away from the dust cloud.
"Hey, didn't the voice of the person that just saved us sound like Big Bro Alfonzo?" Naruto asked while not letting his guard down.
"You three don't' need to guess." Alfonzo replied from the dust cloud. "it really is me. I found out that the little Pedo-Snake had entered the village and your Hokage asked me to deal with him. You know, since I kicked his ass once before."
With that, Alfonzo swept his arm like Orochimaru had done, dispersing the dust cloud. And when he did, the Genin of Team 7 could see Alfonzo, with his right foot arching with violent electricity, trampling Orochimaru's head.
"Now, you three should just leave this guy to me." Alfonzo said with a smile. "I'll even get that scroll he swallowed back for you.'
Thanks for reading, I hope you're enjoying the story so far.
Comments, Reviews, and Power Stones are always appreciated.
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Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
May 27, x788.
With his head pressed into the ground by a foot clad in purple electricity, Orochimaru was thoroughly confused by how he ended up that way. However, when he heard the voice of the person who captured him three and a half years ago, combined with that irritating nickname, Orochimaru almost had an aneurysm.
"How…? How are you here?" Orochimaru managed to rasp out "Since when are outsiders allowed to medal in the Chunin Exam?"
"If that isn't the fucking pot calling the kettle black." Alfonzo said in a disdainful tone. "In case you forgot, you're a rogue shinobi. Meaning, you're no longer a member of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Other words, an outsider."
Alfonzo's disdainful tone made Orochimaru even angrier. Despite that, no matter how hard he struggled, he was unable to free himself. Luckily, just as Alfonzo thought, he was not here with his real body. Instead, he was using a cloning technique. Though, it was not the Second Tsuchikage's [Splitting Technique]. Instead, it was something he derived from it called a [Blood Clone].
"Anyway, I figured you'd want to get an Uchiha as your next vessel, Pedo-Snake." Alfonzo said without giving Orochimaru a chance to retort. "I mean, having a Sharingan would be nice, right? But without the Uchiha bloodline, it wastes too much magic power. So, why not get an Uchiha as your next vessel, right?"
At that moment, Orochimaru's struggles ceased for a moment. He had no idea how Alfonzo could possibly know his plans, but the fact that he did was terrifying. And for the first time ever, he regretted the fact that if this [Blood Clone] was killed, its memories would not be passed on to his main body.
In fact, when Orochimaru created this cloning technique, the fact that the clone would not pass on its memories like the [Shadow Clone Jutsu] does was made that way by design. Because the [Blood Clone] was supposed to last much longer than any other cloning technique, being inundated by all its memories upon its death could be dangerous.
Unfortunately, that means that Orochimaru's main body would have no idea that Alfonzo is in the village. So, there will probably be no change to the plans he made with the Village Hidden in the Sand to destroy the Leaf during the final round of the Chunin Exam.
"So, when I felt you and Kabuto being [Reverse Summoned] into the village yesterday, I knew you would come after Sasuke to mark him with that disgusting [Cursed Seal of Heaven]." Alfonzo said as he put a little more force in to the foot he was using to press Orochimaru's head into the ground.
Orochimaru's shock deepened even further after hearing Alfonzo mention the [cursed Seal of Heaven]. No one outside of him should know its true name. Though most people know he has the ability to place a [Cursed seal] on people, giving them enormous power, he has never told anyone what the [Seal] is actually called, not even kabuto.
"How do you know that name?" Orochimaru asked in a shaky tone.
"Do you really think you have any secrets that I can't find?" Alfonzo asked with a sneer forming on his lips. "Or did you forget, I already knew about Kurotsuchi's Zanpakuto project before I ever squeezed his research notes out of him. Trust me, little Pedo-Snake, if I want to find out about something, there's nothing in this world that can stop me."
Naturally, that was a lie. Although Alfonzo had a fairly decent information network thanks to all the business under Sixth Sense Holdings, it was not so comprehensive that he could get secret intel about people like Orochimaru or Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Instead, all the information he just mentioned was once again thanks to his meta-knowledge.
In fact, for the first fifteen years of his life, other than his apprenticeship under Nell Goldstein, Alfonzo hadn't even met anyone from outside the Fairy Tail storyline, making him think that information would not be useful. But after meeting Marin a month after he and Elicia turned fifteen, they started popping up everywhere.
Orochimaru really had nothing to say. Seeing that, Alfonzo shook his head. Then, he turned his attention towards Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke with a smile on his face.
"You three have grown a lot." Alfonzo said as he tapped the heel of his foot on Orochimaru's head. "And your team work was really impressive."
Hearing Alfonzo's praise, Naruto smiled bashfully while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, Sakura smiled happily because she had been recognized for something more than just her book smarts, and Sasuke raised his head proudly while wearing an expression that shouted: "Did you expect anything less?"
"Anyway, I'm really proud of you." Alfonzo continued with a smile. "So, I really hope that the three of you will all be Chunin by the time this exam is over. Oh yeah, I almost forgot…"
With that, Alfonzo took his foot off of Orochimaru's head. Despite that, the rogue shinobi did not move at all. And the reason for that was because of the last time Alfonzo tapped his foot on Orochimaru's head. At that moment, Alfonzo raised the output of the electricity wrapped around his foot, knocking Orochimaru unconscious.
Unfortunately, Orochimaru would not have the opportunity to stay unconscious for long. Because after Alfonzo stepped away from his head, the stretched neck snapped back like a rubber band, which woke up Orochimaru immediately. However, before he could even try to flee, Alfonzo appeared next to him and grabbed him by his shoulder.
At the same time, as soon as Alfonzo's hand came into contact with Orochimaru, metallic restraints wrapped around Orochimaru's torso and limbs, leaving him unable to move. On top of that, the restraints were etched with anti-magic sigils, making it impossible for Orochimaru to use any of the strange techniques he was known for.
"Now, I just gotta get that scroll back…" Alfonzo muttered to himself as his hand was covered with a black, metallic liquid.
Hearing that Alfonzo still had the intention to get back the scroll he swallowed earlier, Orochimaru's pupils dilated to their limits. He wanted to say that he would cough it up himself. However, before he could, Alfonzo's hand plunged into his torso.
"Gya~~~~~~~!" A heart-rending scream tore from Orochimaru's throat as Alfonzo's entire hand penetrated his abdomen.
A little more than a second later, Alfonzo pulled his hand out of Orochimaru's abdomen while holding a black scroll with the word "Earth" written on it. Then, he casually tossed it towards Team 7. However, neither of the three caught it, taking a step back and letting it fall to the ground between them.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru continued to scream bloody murder. The pain he was in was worse than anything he had ever felt, which meant it must be quite considerable. Especially since he had survived two wars in the past.
One thing to take note of was the fact that the black, liquid-metal substance that was coating Alfonzo's hand, the Techno Organic Metal, was no longer on his hand when he pulled it out of Orochimaru's stomach.
"Damn you!" Orochimaru cursed through gritted teeth between screams. "What did you do to me? And why does this hurt so much worse than having a hole in my stomach usually does?"
"It actually doesn't surprise me that you've been in this state before, Pedo-Snake." Alfonzo said as he reached into Orochimaru's Ninja Backpack and pulled out all the scrolls. Then, when he found another Earth Scroll, he continued while tossing it towards Team 7. "But it only hurts so much because I'm healing your wound. Though, I'll admit that having a wound healed this way is the most painful thing I've ever experienced, too."
"What exactly are you doing to me?" Orochimaru asked while sweat constantly streamed down his face.
"I'm using a little bit of a metal I found about six years ago… I think." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "I called it the Techno Organic Metal, a living metal that actively seeks out the wounded and parasitizes them while healing their wounds. Of course, there are some side effects, but I won't get into that for now. Anyway, I promise you'll be good as new when I take the metal out, so don't worry. You'll just have to endure a little pain, mkay?"
Seeing the flames of anger in Orochimaru's eyes, Alfonzo's smile widened. Then, he turned to Team 7 and spoke once again.
"Anyway, I'm gonna take this guy to see the Hokage." Alfonzo said. "And if I find out that you three have somehow failed this part of the exam five days later… Hehehe… Let's just say you won't like the consequences."
Utterly terrified by the implications of Alfonzo's threat, all three Genin, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, nodded their heads in fear. Then, they picked up the Earth Scroll Alfonzo fished out of Orochimaru's Ninja Backpack and dashed off towards the center of the forest.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo only watched the three kids leave with a grin on his face while listening to Orochimaru's pained grunts and screams. Then, to make sure he wouldn't be found out, he gagged Orochimaru with a piece of metal that had the ability to absorb soundwaves. After that, he put away all the scrolls he dumped out of Orochimaru's Ninja Backpack, bent the light around himself and Orochimaru, and flew out of the Forest of Death to drop off his package.
At the same time, back in the village proper, Laki and Saeko were out shopping. Though, that was only a façade. Rather, they were keeping an eye on Kabuto, who was moving around while in disguise. Unfortunately, there were no opportunities to take him down without making a ruckus that would alert the shinobi from other nations. So, they could only continue to monitor him for now.
"*Sigh* This is even harder than doing quests without causing property damage." Laki said in a frustrated tone. "I don't know how Lici does it. Finishing a quest without anyone seeing her, I mean."
"Well, the fact that she can make herself invisible probably helps quite a bit." Saeko replied as she looked at a beautiful kimono on display in a store. Then, with a nod, she held it up to her front and turned to Laki. "What do you think, would this look good on me?"
"I think you should just buy it and ask Alfonzo." Laki said with a smile. "That's whose opinion really matters to you, right?"
In response, Saeko blushed, looking like quite the shy maiden, a rather drastic contrast form her usual valiant, yet sadistic, warrior persona . However, there was also a bit of awkwardness in her expression, too. And Laki could see right through the reason for it.
"You don't' have to worry about me." Laki said in a very tranquil way. "I know I don't have a chance with Alfonzo. Especially because I'm not willing to share him. That said, I would accept him right away if he left all the others for me, even though I know that's impossible."
"But what about Kakashi?" Saeko asked as she started walking towards the checkout counter with Laki following behind her. "It looks like you really like him, too."
"I'll admit I do enjoy his company." Laki replied. "and I'm really curious to see what is underneath his mask. I would even go so far as to say that I'd like to date him with the chance to get married in the future. But if Alfonzo broke up with you and the others and told me he wanted to be with me, I'd break up with Kakashi or any other man I was seeing in a heartbeat."
"Is that really a healthy mindset to have?" Saeko asked as she placed the kimono on the counter. Then, she looked at the shopkeeper for a moment to say, "I'll take this one."
While the shopkeeper wrapped the kimono Saeko selected and accepted the payment, Laki answered Saeko's question.
"If it were possible that Alfonzo would ever do that, it wouldn't be." Laki said while shaking her head gently. "But then again, if he were the type to do something like that, I probably wouldn't have such deep feelings for him."
Reaching that point, Laki looked out of the shop's front window, and she just so happened to see a certain white-haired Leaf Jōnin walking down the street while reading a little orange book.
"Hey, Saeko, I'll see you later." Laki said as she walked away from Saeko. "Don't worry, I'll keep tracking that guy. But there's something I need to do in the meantime."
As she reached the end of her sentence, Laki walked out of the shop. Then, she started running down the street to catch up with Kakashi, who, after noticing that Laki was coming, sighed audibly. Yet, he did not try to run away from her. In fact, if one could see into his visible eye, they would see a bit of fondness shining in it.
Meanwhile, Saeko, after seeing Laki's actions, was at first taken aback. Then, she smiled as she finished the transaction with the shop keeper. After that, she left the shop with a new kimono. However, after a few steps, she felt a familiar magic power signature flying overhead and heading towards the Hokage Tower.
"I guess Alfonzo is done." Saeko said with a smile. "Well, as long as Kabuto doesn't leave the village, I can track him from home. So, I'll go back to wait for him. I wanna know how Alfonzo's capture went as soon as possible."
With that, Saeko, with a little extra pep in her step, returned to the temporary residence. And when she arrived, she put on her new kimono to get Alfonzo's opinion about how it looked on her.
Thanks for reading. I hope you're enjoying the story so far.
Comments, Reviews, and Power Stones are always appreciated.
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