Chapter 42

[A/N: This chapter goes back in time to the start of chapter 40, right when the trio leave Sound for Grass. I felt like throwing in Orochimaru in the last chapter so this should provide some back story as to how he got there and why, since to me it feels kind of forced and random with him just popping up out of the blue.

Oh, and it's also third person focusing on Orochimaru, so this should be a unique insight to his brand of crazy. Plus he's a hell of a lot of fun to write. Really messed up, but a lot of fun.]

"Alvarcus, Sasuke." Orochimaru's blandly says to his two pupils, they seemed to be too relaxed. It's for the best he brings them back to reality. "Remember, I expect a show. I want you to leave a lasting impression on the spectators, display the power of Sound."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." Sasuke and Alvarcus chant in unison. They share a quick look between the two of them. They're like adorable puppies, puppies that Orochimaru himself is training to go on a bloody rampage at his command.

"All in favor of never speaking at the same time again?" Alvarcus casually asks. "I."

"I." Sasuke responds. "That was just eerie."

"Glad we came to a consensus."

'What goes on in that wonderful head of his?' Orochimaru thinks to himself. 'He's been distant with me lately, ever since his return from Kusa. Was sending him there a mistake? He's more than combat ready, it's like they've both said before. No one there will be able to stand up to them. Except perhaps Gaara.'

Orochimaru's eyes dart over to Sasuke. 'Can't let that one get damaged. Thankfully my child will look after him for me, he is very protective of him. Even if he doesn't know it, he's suiting my needs very well. Maybe I will go after all, just in case. It will be marvelous to see Alvarcus in action against opponents closer to his level.'

"Not to add any pressure to the two of you," Orochimaru cuts off the rest of his pupil's conversation, "but I might be in the crowd. After all, I do like seeing the fruits of my labor. Do not disappoint me."

"Can we leave now?" Alvarcus whines. "This is going to suck. Tayuya, in her infinite wisdom, decided to wait until the day before the Tournament to leave. Now I have to carry her sorry ass or we won't make it in time!"

'How amusing, it would seem that Tayuya is taking to her mission well. And Alvarcus is blindly accepting her affections, exactly like how I planned.'

"Yes." Orochimaru generously allows. "I expect no distractions, focus on the task ahead."

The three of them walk outside into the blazing sun.

Orochimaru stands there for another moment, watching the rapidly shrinking form of his child with glee. "He's growing up so fast."

"Yes, he has made astonishing progress in the short time we've had him." Kabuto strolls out of his hiding place in the shadows. He's never far from his master. "He's almost progressing as quickly as I did."

"Nonsense!" Orochimaru animatedly says as he's looking off to the horizon in the direction that Alvarcus and company left. "He's advancing much faster than you ever did and will one day be stronger than you. One day soon."

Unknown to the great Snake Sannin, Kabuto clenches his fists in anger. He's wondering why Orochimaru doesn't see him as the prized pupil anymore, why after one meeting has his master abandoned him for this Alvarcus? Kabuto has always been by his side, always eager to please and to help further Orochimaru's goals.

But all of that changed that one fateful Chunin Exams. He's been replaced in his masters eyes, no longer is he first. Now he's second, maybe even third, and he does not like it. No, he hates it.

He may have told his master that he killed off Alvarcus's parents to further his goal of acquiring the brat, but deep down he knows that is only part of the reason. Even then, it's a small sliver of his true motives.

He wanted to cause Alvarcus pain for so carelessly and casually replacing him. He wanted him to suffer, to feel agony, to watch as his parents abandoned him. Just as how Orochimaru has abandoned Kabuto. Killing off his teammate was just a crime of passion, how could he resist such temptation? Besides, it isn't like she would have amounted to anything. A pink haired girl playing at being a kunoichi, how pathetic. He did the world a favor.

"If you say so, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto respectfully replies, forcing his hate down. He can't let his master know how much he loathes his child, that would be foolish to the extreme. Maybe even deadly.

Orochimaru doesn't reply, instead he turns on a heel and slinks back into his hidden base. He has research to work on after all, it's possible natural chakra is the key to fixing his arms. He's been trying to harness it for months, ever since he lost the use of his limbs. Tsunade was right when she said that the Death God, the Shinigami, broke them beyond normal means. Yet natural chakra is made of life, one could even argue that it's life itself in its simplest form since everything gives off natural chakra just by existing.

Is that why people age? Are they born with a set amount of natural chakra, and as that is expelled into the world the body grows feeble and frail?

These are the kinds of questions that keep Orochimaru up at night, these are the things that drive him to experiment, to find out answers by any means necessary!

Later That Day, Six Hours After Alvarcus Left

Two Hours After the Root Slaughter

"AHHH!" Orochimaru is standing over a pale skinned man who is strapped down to a cold hard table. His skin is peeled back off his chest, exposing his internal organs to the world. But something is off about a few of them, they no longer resemble soft tissue. They are hard and unforgiving, they've been turned to stone. "Please stop! I'll do anything! Just stop!"

"I wonder if Alvarcus has arrived yet?" Orochimaru distractedly says to himself as he lowers another seal onto his experiment's liver. Even if Orochimaru had full use of his arms he couldn't harness natural chakra himself. His twisting and perversion of his soul has barred him from ever using it. Instead he has to use a seal to channel natural chakra into a targeted source, in this case whatever it is placed on.

"I don't know! Let me go and I'll find out for you! I promise! Plea- AAAHHHHHH!" A piercing scream echoes in the laboratory.

"There's no way he's there yet. Factoring in the maximum speeds that both he and Sasuke can travel, even if Alvarcus is carrying Tayuya, they shouldn't arrive for another two hours at the least." Orochimaru gets lost in thought, wondering how his child is fairing without him.

The laboratory goes eerily quiet, the screams of his experiment have stopped abruptly.

"How unfortunate." Orochimaru gazes down at the now completely stone corpse. "I didn't take the seal off." He glances off to one of the corners of the room where four other statues are immortalized in varying degrees of agony. "Again."

"That makes five." Kabuto idly says as he furiously scribbles something down on a clipboard. Even if his master got distracted -again- he dutifully took notes for him. There's no point in being wasteful with test subjects after all. It's fascinating to see a complete transition from flesh to stone even if that wasn't the overall goal. "Perhaps we should take a break? Forgive me for saying so, Orochimaru-sama, but you've been distracted. Your mind is clearly elsewhere, and we're losing valuable test subjects."

Orochimaru lets a small sigh escape his lips. "You're correct Kabuto, I am distracted and it's affecting my work. It's just... I went to all that work to train Alvarcus up and I don't even get to see it. He could be doing something amazing, using a new move that I've never seen before or-" Orochimaru grins sadistically, "-finally accepting his fate."

"Accepting his fate?" Kabuto gently probes while still writing at breakneck speeds.

"Of course!" Orochimaru eagerly abandons the stone corpse on the table to face Kabuto. And why wouldn't he, this is his child he's talking about. "He is destined to be mine, to be by my side. To help me further my goals, and for me to nurture into one of the most deadly forces on this planet. I was not joking when I said he is Kage material, I plan to mold him into the perfect son and he will rule Sound in my place! I have much more important things to focus on than running a village. There's so many jutsu to learn, so many bloodlines to study!"

Orochimaru is excitedly pacing back and forth before Kabuto.

"I simply can't do it all in one lifetime! See that's why he's perfect! Both of us are capable of extending our lifespans, me through my Living Corpse Reincarnation and him through the Jiongu! Once he becomes strong enough no one will be able to stand against us both and we can do as we please! I can finally focus entirely on my life's work!"

Orochimaru gleefully clasps both his hands together.

"It will be soon. Very soon, I can feel it. Only a few years away at the most. Did you know that he's officially in the Bingo Books now?" Orochimaru brags to Kabuto.

"No I did not." Kabuto forces out an interested reply. "What is his rank?"

"In Konoha's it is B-rank."

"Really?" Genuinely curious this time, Kabuto leans forward in anticipation. "B-rank? Isn't that a little high for someone so young?"

"You've seen him fight. You've seen how resourceful he is, how cunning. Even while training against me he's only truly brought out his full strength once." Orochimaru smiles fondly as he remembers that day, the day that Alvarcus truly proved worthy of being his child. Simply wonderful.

"You sound... pleased by that." Kabuto says from off to the side.

"Of course I am pleased! It isn't every day you get your first Bingo Book page, and he's already considered B-rank! It's marvelous! And that's based off of Konoha's knowledge of him before I started to train him. Imagine how far my son had advanced since then!"

Orochimaru freezes in place with wide eyes, like he just realized something important. Something life changing.

"Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asks in concern he's never seen his master lock up like this.

"My son." Orochimaru quietly says. "He's my son, yet I'm here. He's going through the Chunin Exams, a pivotal turning point for any shinobi career and his father isn't there to see it!"

Orochimaru explodes in pure speed, even Kabuto didn't see him move. One moment he was frozen in shock, the next he's over by the wall with the intercom system.

"Remaining Sound Four members, prepare for a four day trip then meet me at the front gates. You have five minutes. MOVE!" Orochimaru whirls around and practically sprints out of the laboratory, most likely to pack for himself.

Kabuto is left standing in the lab with his jaw on the floor. "I... guess I'll clean this up?"

Four Minutes Later, the Front Gates

"You're all early!" Orochimaru smiles happily at his useful bodyguards. "Good. We're going to Kusa."

Without further ado, Orochimaru sprints out of his base and takes off towards Kusa with the three Sound Four members right behind him.

"Hey, Orochimaru-sama? You sure this is a good idea?" Kidomaru gently says from directly behind his speeding Kage. "Isn't the Hokage supposed to be there? And you two aren't on good terms."

"That's irrelevant." Orochimaru hurriedly spits out. He has more important things to worry about than the feelings of his underlings.

"Gotcha." Kidomaru hesitantly says. "But..."

"Remain quiet and run." Orochimaru orders with fury laced in his tone. They should know better than to question him!

Three Hours Later

"Stop." Orochimaru calls out and the Sound Three eagerly obey.

They're standing in a clearing that's clearly the aftermath of a large scale battle. There's left over jutsu marks and a lot of blood everywhere. There's even the charred remains of around 9 bodies, a giant mound of earth that looks suspiciously like cooled lava, and a pile of reddish brown paste.

Someone was brutal, completely uncaring of his opponents suffering. In fact, if Orochimaru had to guess, he's say that the victor enjoyed this fight.

"How... interesting. I wonder who did this?" He spares the pile of corpses a glance. "And who they were. Maybe Alvarcus saw that fight? I'll have to ask him."

He turns to the indifferent Sound Three, they've already seen much worse than this. Hell, they've done much worse than this to their own targets, but never of this scale. That's the only thing that is remotely impressing them. Taking down at least 9 shinobi is no easy feat!

"We're moving." Orochimaru sprints off again.

"Does he seem off to anyone else?" Jirobo asks as they rocket after their Kage.

"Yes." Sakon replies. "Best not to mention it."

The Gates of Kusagakure, Three and a half Hours Later

"O-O-O-Orochimaru?" One of the two incredibly nervous gate guards asks.

The Sound Three bristle at the incompetence of the gate guard.

"-sama?" Said guard smartly tacks on. "W-we didn't know you were coming?"

"Yes." Orochimaru simply replies. He's getting a sick sense of satisfaction out of watching the guard squirm under pressure. "It was recently brought to my attention that all the best Kage watch their gennin compete, regardless of the location of the Exams. How could I pass up this opportunity to watch my promising shinobi in action? My mere presence here will push them to strive for new heights, it could be the deciding factor in their fight. No one wants to disappoint me." He pointedly says while sadistically staring down the quivering guard.

"O-of course!" The terrified guard says as he points to the second one. "Fumio here will take you to a hotel that's suitable for someone of your prestige!"

"WHAT?" Fumio whirls on the first gate guard. "You do it! He's used to you!"

"Come Fumia." Orochimaru boldly strolls into the village, completely disregarding the bickering guards. "Show me to my... hotel."

"It's... Fumio."

"Yes, Fumia. Now take me there. I wish to rest after my long journey."

"It's... it doesn't matter. Just... follow me?"

The Next Day, One Hour Before the Final Tournament

"You go get him!"

"Oh hell no! I did it last time! It's your turn!"

"He likes you! He gave you a nickname!"

"Fumia is not a nickname! He just didn't bother to learn my real name!"

Slowly the door that the two shinobi are bickering in front of creaks open.

"Fumia, you will suffice." Orochimaru orders as he confidently walks out of the room.

"O-of course!" Fumio quickly scampers forwards. "We're here to take you to the stands where the Tournament is being held. If you'll please follow me?"

A Few Minutes Later, At the Kage's Gazebo

Orochimaru is idly sitting by himself in a ridiculously plush chair. They certainly didn't spare any expense with it, even on such short notice. Even the beverages and food are of a ridiculously high quality.

Although the staff leaves much to be desired. If Orochimaru ever did something like this, he would have trained professionals who know not to look at him in fear constantly. Sure, it's amusing for the first ten minutes, but anything longer than that gets tedious and no one wants to approach him to fill his damn glass!

"Orochimaru." Tsunade's voice quiets all others. "You must be insane to think coming here was a good idea. Well, more insane."

"Tsunade darling!" Orochimaru sarcastically greets her with happiness. "It hasn't been long enough."

"No it hasn't." She stomps right up to her fellow Sannin. "Now tell me, what's stopping me from beating you to a bloody pulp?" She smacks a fist into her hand. "You better have a damn good reason because I'm feeling twitchy. I might accidentally lash out, and well, with my strength imagine what could happen."

"There will be no fighting while you both are in Kusagakure." The Kusakage himself intervenes. "Or do both of you wish to turn my country against your own for the next generation?"

"No, I suppose not." Orochimaru idly says as he sips on his nearly empty drink. "Us minor villages should ally against the Big Five, don't you think Tsunade dearest?"

"I think you should be careful with how you talk to me. I can easily wait until you're out of Kusagakure's borders to attack you."

"How-" Orochimaru starts to speak but abruptly stops. He's staring across the field towards the contestant gazebo, his child just arrived. "-unfortunate. I always liked you better than Jiraya."

Orochimaru tunes out the now talking Tsunade and Kusakage in favor of observing Alvarcus.

He's already gathering people around himself. A shinobi from Iwa and then Taki have joined him. Just like a true Kage, capable of rallying others to your cause.

Soon the rest of the contestants arrive, and a Kusa jonin goes over to them. If the information the Kages were provided about the Exams is still accurate, his name is Eito. He's most likely there to explain the roster and how the tournament will work.

Then he gathers up the gennin and brings them out to the center of the field.

"Kusagakure, I give you the twelve finalists!" Eito shouts to the filled stands. It looks like most of the village came out to see this. "We will now determine our first match of the day!" With a grand flourish he unseals a small decorative purple box. Without further ado, he reaches in and pulls out a name.

"Lee Rock of Konohagakure!" He calls to the crowd as Lee steps forwards. There's clapping and a few cheers, he must have made an impression in the previous part of the exams if the people here remember him.

"His opponent will be..." He reaches in again and pulls out another name. "Green of Otogakure!"

"One of yours?" Tsunade asks from off to the side.

"Yes, he's mine." Orochimaru distractedly replies as he eagerly watches as his child steps forward in resignation. He's... unmotivated. He doesn't want to fight this opponent. Orochimaru will have to change that.

"Remember Green, I expect a show." Orochimaru loudly calls out.

Alvarcus whirls at his voice and goes ramrod straight. He didn't expect Orochimaru to actually be here, you can tell from the subtle twitches of his head as it bounces between his current Kage and his previous Kage.

"This will certainly be a memorable fight now." Orochimaru says to himself.

A quiet groan of wood under extreme pressure makes him take his gaze off his prized pupil.

"Alright there Tsunade darling?" He eyes the armrests of her chair. "Perhaps you should have brought a sturdier chair."

She grits her teeth in anger from being called out. "My gennin will win. He's one of the best I have." Interestingly enough, if she made a bet right now she'd be guaranteed to win. After all, they're both her gennin. It's just that most of the world doesn't know that.

"We shall see." Orochimaru turns back to the two gennin facing off. "I am confident mine will be victorious."

"Begin!" Eito calls out as he shunshins away from the two fighters.

Instantly Lee rockets forward and punches Alvarcus.

Tsunade snorts in amusement. "Did yours just hit himself in the face?"

Orochimaru doesn't reply, the only reaction he had was the slight twitching of his eyebrow.

Lee rears back for another blow as Alvarcus forms a defensive X with his arms.

"He's going to try to block again?" The Kusagakure comments. "That's a bad choice."

THUD

"My gennin knows what he's capable of." Orochimaru calmly assures the other two Kage. "He has yet to truly show even a fraction of his talents and strength."

Tsunade glances at Orochimaru out of the corner of her eyes. "You've taken quite an interest in this one, haven't you?"

"Yes. I am very interested in this one." Orochimaru grins. "He shows such promise."

THUD

This time it's Lee who is forced back by Alvarcus's powerful blow.

"Well, you're not wrong there." Tsunade quips. "He can hit, that's for sure. It's not easy to move Lee at all."

CRASH CRASH

Lee blurs and slams a kick into Alvarcus's head and forces him to the ground.

"Mine is faster." Tsunade brags as Alvarcus gets back up.

"Is he now?" Orochimaru retorts as Lee and Alvarcus exchange a flurry of blows that have the crowd roaring in approval. "Because mine is keeping up rather nicely. He has this terrible habit of constantly holding back, his sensei is trying to break him out of it."

"Just wait." Tsunade eagerly says while riveted to the fight.

"Gate of Opening: Release!" Lee shouts out.

"Oh that's right!" Orochimaru gleefully says. "This is the one who uses the Eight Gates."

Tsunade turn to Orochimaru. "Scared for your gennin yet? Lee only gets stronger with each Gate, and last I checked he can open five."

A kick from Lee launches Alvarcus into the air, Lee is soon to follow after him and completes a Front Lotus.

CRASH

"Is he okay?" One of the spectators say.

Lee struggles to rise and pulls himself out of the new hole in the ground.

"Where's the other one?"

"That was crazy! How do you even learn how to do that?"

"Did... did he kill him?"

"Is your gennin alright?" A tinge of concern bleeds through Tsunade's tone.

"Ow." Alvarcus's voice cuts through the whispers coming from the stands.

"Of course." Orochimaru gleefully quips out. "He's taken much worse than that."

Suddenly, for some absurd reason, Lee looks skyward. Then Alvarcus explodes out of the crater and it's his turn to launch Lee into the air, performing a technique that's eerily similar to the one he was just subjected to.

"Look at his brilliance!" Orochimaru brags to the other Kages. "He has only seen that move once, yet he's already mimicking it, and dare I say it, improve it! This way he himself doesn't have to hit the ground too!"

"Yeah well he still has to come back down." Tsunade dully replies. "What kind of an idiot does that?"

"Gate of Healing: Release!" Lee flies out of his crater and stands beneath the rapidly approaching Alvarcus.

"See, the technique might have been more effective in one sense, but how he has to deal with an awaiting opponent with no way to dodge." Tsunade points out. "How irresponsible."

'He has a way to dodge, he even has a way to control his descent to an extent. His chakra strings, he can use them to maneuver himself while in the air. Except not here, not now. This should be interesting!' Orochimaru thinks to himself.

Lee's legs coil and he jumps straight up into the air.

"That's going to hurt." Tsunade dully says as the two gennin slam together, launching Alvarcus ridiculously high into the sky. He's much higher than before. "Can he live through that fall?"

CRASH

"He'll be fine." Orochimaru waves off Tsunade's concern.

"You sure?" Tsunade looks at the grinning Orochimaru. "I could take a look at him if you want. Make sure he's fine."

"Green-san?" Lee pokes his head over the lip of the crater. "Are you alright?"

"No I'm not bloody alright!" Alvarcus rages at the imbecile who thought launching him high in the sky is a good idea.

"See, I told you he'd be fine." Orochimaru dismisses Tsuande's suggestion.

"Doesn't sound fine." The Kusakage interjects. He's feeling a little left out of the conversation, but these are two Sannin. It's something he will just have to allow.

Soon enough, the gennin are back at it. Then they stop for a moment and have a quick discussion about something. Lee's eyes go wide as Alvarcus flies through hand seals at an astonishing rate.

"Earth Release: Ten Thousand Fists!" Alvarcus roars as the earth itself attacks.

"You mean he's not a taijutsu type?" Tsunade says in disbelief. Well, forced disbelief. She knows what he's truly capable of. Or she did, back before he left.

"No. No he is not." Orochimaru is grinning like a lunatic, or in this case himself. "He loves his ninjutsu. I'm surprised it took him this long to use it."

"Gate of Life: Release! Gate of Pain: Release! Gate of Limit: Release!" A green glow shines brightly around Lee, his skin has turned to a deep red and his eyes have lost all their color, they're completely white.

"And that's all the Gates open." Tsunade notes. "You know, you could order your gennin to surrender. It would save him a lot of pain. Maybe even his life. Lee doesn't know his own strength when he opens this many Gates, he doesn't get to practice using them often. Or at all really, it's the Gates."

"I believe in my gennin." Orochimaru watches with unsurpassed joy as Lee soundly turns Alvarcus into his personal punching bag. "He knows his limits."

Two sharp cracks echo throughout the air. There's gasps from the audience and the proctor is instantly next to the two fighting gennin.

"Alright, that does it!" Tsunade whirls on Orochimaru. "Your gennin is done."

"Be patient. He's not finished yet."

"The match is over." Eito turns to the crowd. "Green can no longer contin-"

"Like hell!" Alvarcus roars. "They're just broken arms. Give me a moment."

Two gut-wrenchingly loud snaps cut through all other noise as his arms seemingly straighten themselves out.

"Holy shit." Whispers from the crowd start up as Alvarcus experimentally moves around his 'healed' arms.

"People can do that?"

"I've never seen a medical technique work so quickly, and to do it to ones self is even more difficult."

"What the hell is Otogakure teaching their gennin? Talk about impressive! If you ignore how gross that was."

Orochimaru brims with pride. Even the civilians are recognizing his child's talent!

"You sure you're good to continue?" Eito hesitantly asks. "Because you just had both arms broken. You could surren-"

"Proctor, my gennin know their limits. He has not reached his yet, continue the fight." Orochimaru calls out. He will not be deprived of this chance! Of this show! He must see his child do more! It's magnificent!

Alvarcus turns to Orochimaru and gives him a deep, sweeping bow. "Thank you for your confidence in me, Orochimaru-sama. I will not let you down."

Pride and joy surge to new levels in Orochimaru. Never before has he ever felt this elated about anything! His child wants to make him proud!

"You sure that's a good idea?" Tsunade asks. "Even if his arms are healed they'll be weaker than normal and prone to breaking again."

"He will be fine." Orochimaru assures her. "He's endured worse."

"My nindo? Never really thought about it before." Alvarcus lunges at Lee, intent on giving him a good punch of his own. Lee simply speeds his way out of Alvarcus's reach. "I guess it would be... to survive. My nindo is to survive."

'How accurate. Short, simple and very, very true. He is a survivor, I myself have put him through so much and he always comes out alive!' Orochimaru gleefully thinks to himself. 'I wonder what I should try next?'

"LEE NO! YOU"LL KILL HIM!" Gai's booming voice commands his gennin to stop, but it's too late.

CRUNCH

Thud

Orochimaru leaps to his feet. 'Alvarcus! No! Get up! Get up!'

Both him and Tsunade rush onto the field, both to make sure that Alvarcus is okay.

"Green-san?" Lee timidly asks as Eito stands behind him with a ballistically pissed off Gai right next to him.

"Does he need medical attention?" Tsunade asks in concern. "I offer my services."

"I... don't actually know." Orochimaru replies. 'I've never seen him break his neck before. He told me that he's been decapitated, surely this is less damaging than that? Then why isn't he getting up!'

"That fucking hurt!" Alvarcus shouts into the dirt. There's something different about his voice, it's a higher pitch and it's fairer. "Ow ow ow what the fuck man?"

"Green-san!" Lee exclaims in happiness. "You're okay!"

Alvarcus awkwardly pushes himself up. "No I'm not okay you asshole! Do you have any idea how weird it is to try and move like this?!" He turns his face the crowd.

Or is it her face now?

'As amusing as this is, I don't think I like the change. There's something special about a father and son bond, something unique.' Orochimaru contemplates. 'He doesn't even look remotely like me anymore.'

"YOU!" Alvarcus angrily points at Lee, or attempts to. "Damn it I can't even reprimand you right! Come here you jerk! I swear when I get my hands on you -" A horrendous amount of insults rolls right off his tongue.

"Ignore that. When she get's emotional her verbal filter disappears." Orochimaru says as he's checking over Alvarcus, making sure that he is truly alright. "I find it rather amusing to be honest."

"That can't be healthy. How is she even alive?" Tsunade quietly asks herself. Even she hasn't seen Alvarcus take this much damage, and well, it's really strange to see someone cursing up a storm with their head on backwards.

"Excellent question, and one you'll never know the answer too." Orochimaru calmly says. His child is fine, arguably a bit turned around, but still fine.

"- with a Kami damned rake!" Alvarcus's tirade of insults aimed at Lee peters out. Lee took all of it without flinching once, he just stared at Alvarcus with big wide eyes.

"That's not what you're supposed to use a rake for?" Lee shakily replies.

'Is he taken with the fair... hmm this female form should have it's own name. Perhaps... Midori?' Orochimaru thinks to himself. 'How amusing! If nothing else, this will be excellent blackmail material.'

"Oh why the fuck am I even bothering! Hold on." Alvarcus reaches up and grabs his head.

"Wait don't do that!" Tsunade calls out.

'He can't possibly be about to-'

CRUNCH

"Owowow! That really fucking hurts!" Alvarcus yells as he grasps his head again.

"What is wrong with you!" Tsunade reprimands me. "Here let me-"

CRUNCH

"FUCKING HELL!" Now he's on backwards again.

"Stop that! Let me help you!" Tsunade urges.

"She'll be fine. She's had worse." Orochimaru idly strolls back to the Kage gazebo. "I should know, I've done a fair number on her myself."

CRUNCH

"FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!" Alvarcus takes a few breaths to steady himself. "Okay. Okay. I'm back."

Orochimaru finally makes it back to the gazebo and elegantly sits back down in his chair. He's out of hearing range, but it looks like Alvarcus and Lee are arguing about something. Or rather Alvarcus is viciously shouting at the Leaf gennin.

Then Alvarcus throws his hands up in the air in accepted resignation and storms back over to Sasuke. He sits down in a huff.

"Are all of your gennin like that?" The Kusakage asks in shock.

"Oh heavens no!" Orochimaru exclaims. "She's one of a kind."

The Kusakage visibly relaxes, there is hope for his gennin to advance after all.

Then a very peculiar sound fills up the still strangely quiet air, the sound of hysterical laughter. Who ever is laughing right now will never laugh this heartily again.

Orochimaru's gaze turns onto the source of the ridiculously happy sound.

It is Sasuke who is laughing.

"Well that's unexpected."