Finishing the Job

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

October 12, x788.

"Damn... Am I finally done?" Alfonzo asked himself while looking around the last of the training grounds he was contracted to upgrade in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. "It feels kind of unreal."

"Well, from what I've heard, you've been working on this for almost two years now." Yamato said. "Actually, now that I think about it, you did all this in only two years. What kind of monster are you?"

"I ask myself that same question from time to time, too." Alfonzo replied while smiling bitterly.

As Alfonzo and Yamato were alluding to, In the almost two months since he and the others returned to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Alfonzo had finally finished his contracted work. However, he happened to underestimate his work speed after turning up his pace. Originally, he only wanted to finish by the time the candidates for this year's S-Class Promotion Exam were announced.

Yet, while working as quickly as he could without making any mistakes, he had finished in time for the Harvest Festival in Magnolia.

"Well, I guess I should let Tsunade know I'm done." Alfonzo muttered while shaking his head. "*Sigh* This is the longest job I've ever taken. I'm not taking any quests or jobs that will take me more than a week to complete for a long time."

Hearing that, Yamato could only smile wryly. He knew exactly what Alfonzo was feeling. AS a former member of the Leaf's Anbu, he had taken some long-term missions in the past, too. But unlike Alfonzo, he was not allowed to take weekends off to go visit his family. Not that he had a family to visit in the first place.

"Anyway, Miyuki, can you go back to the house and let everyone know that we'll be leaving tomorrow?" Alfonzo said as he turned back towards Miyuki, who had accompanied him every day he worked on this long project since the day she was hired.

"As you wish, Master Alfonzo." Miyuki said with a polite bow.

"Thanks." Alfonzo said with a smile. Then, he turned back to Yamato. "Alright, let's get going, Yamato."

Nodding in response, Yamato walked with Alfonzo and Miyuki as they left the training ground. After that, Miyuki split off from the two men while they made their way to the Hokage Tower. When they arrived at Tsunade's office, they found that Tsunade was not alone in her office.

Instead, Tsunade was sitting at her desk with a lifeless expression on her face while Shizune placed a document in front of her while smiling sweetly.

"Oh, Shizune." Alfonzo said after he and Yamato entered the office. "When did you get here? I thought you were on a quest with Mermaid Heel."

"Oh, good afternoon, Alfonzo." Shizune said while raising her head to greet the newcomers. "Yes, I just finished my quest a few days ago. And as soon as I got back, Master Unohana sent me here to assist Lady Tsunade."

"To keep her from getting into trouble, I guess." Alfonzo replied in a sympathetic tone. "So that she doesn't gamble away everything in the village's coffers, no doubt."

*Bang!*

As soon as Alfonzo's words fell, Tsunade slammed both her hands on her desk, causing all the papers atop it to fly into the air and Shizune's smile to disappear, as she would be the one who had to reorganize all the paperwork.

"What do you mean by that?" Tsunade asked in an irritated tone. "What would ever make you think that I would do something like that?"

"You mean... Other than the time you gambled away my payment a few years ago?" Alfonzo asked with an eyebrow raised. "Or maybe the reason why Mermaid Heel doesn't have any vehicles for guild use?"

And Alfonzo did not stop there, naming all the times where Mermaid Heel ended up in debt due to Tsunade's gambling habit. And with every point Alfonzo maid, Tsunade's face reddened in embarrassment just a little more.

Meanwhile, Yamato, who felt that he should not be present for this conversation, tried his best to blend in with the office's decorations, as he did not want Tsunade's wrath to fall onto him for knowing more than he should.

"Okay, that's enough." Tsunade said, interrupting Alfonzo's torrent of previous examples of her gambling habit getting out of hand. "Anyway, what did you come here for?"

"Oh, I just wanted to let you know that I finished the upgrades to the last training ground a little while ago." Alfonzo replied while smiling cheekily, which made Tsunade grind her teeth in irritation. "So, I just wanted to let you know that we'll be leaving tomorrow."

When Tsunade finally registered Alfonzo's words, she blinked her pretty hazel eyes in confusion several times in succession. However, Tsunade was not the only one who was taken aback by the news, as Shizune stopped organizing all the scattered paperwork to stare at Alfonza blankly, as well.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Tsunade asked while rubbing her temples. "I think I heard you incorrectly. I must be tired from doing all this damned paperwork. Teaching Wendy and Sakura is taking up a lot of my time, too. Even Hinata has been coming around to seek guidance from me in [Medical Ninjutsu] lately, something she said you suggested to her."

Reaching that point, Tsunade looked up at Alfonzo fiercely.

"Now that I think about it, a lot of my work load has something to do with you, Kid." Tsunade said in a stern tone.

Shrugging in response, Alfonzo repeated his earlier declaration of his job completion without entertaining the topic Tsunade brought up, causing her to grit her teeth at the fact that she was being ignored.

"Anyway, since we'll be leaving tomorrow, I'll be cooking a feast for the kids." Alfonzo said with a smile. "It's just too bad Guy and his team aren't in the village. Oh, I was going to ask you to come over, too. But it seems that you're overworked. So, I doubt you'll---"

*Bang!*

Tsunade slammed her hands on her desk once again, this time standing up explosively as she did so. Unfortunately, that meant that the paperwork Shizune just finished organizing was sent flying once again, as well. As a result, Shizune could only stare at Tsunade with an aggrieved expression.

"Nonsense!" Tsunade shouted while staring Alfonzo in the eyes. "How could you call this being overworked? Everything I do is for the betterment of the village. So, I would naturally not feel it was a burden. As for your offer, although I'm quite busy, I do believe it would be the right thing to do to take some time out of my schedule to properly attend. You've done so much for the village, after all."

Alfonzo, Shizune, and Yamato simultaneously deadpanned at Tsunade's ability to spew such bullshit with a straight face. What made that whole declaration even more amazing was the fact that she did not blush even once. Yet, when Alfonzo mentioned her gambling only a few minutes ago, she was almost as red as a perfectly ripe apple.

"*Sigh* I don't even know how to reply to your enthusiasm." Alfonzo muttered while shaking his head. "But your skin's thickness changes on a case by case basis, doesn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" Tsunade asked while tilting her head, looking much cuter than a woman her age had any right to.

Seeing Tsunade's level of shamelessness, Alfonzo, Shizune, and Yamato decided to just let it go. After that, Alfonzo informed Tsunade of the time she should arrive at the residence. Then, he and Yamato left. After that, they headed to the village's market to buy some ingredients before heading back to the residence.

"You know, you're invited to tonight's little shindig, too." Alfonzo said as he and Yamato walked onto the residence's property.

"I thought so." Yamato replied with a smile and a chuckle. "But I'm glad you actually said something. If I had just showed up on an assumption, that would have been really awkward if I wasn't actually invited."

*Cling!* *Cling!* Clang!*

Hearing what Yamato had to say, Alfonzo started laughing uproariously. However, that laughter did not last very long, as the sound of colliding metal overshadowed his laughter rather quickly.

"Looks like they're at it again." Alfonzo said after he stopped laughing. "Sasuke really can't stand losing, can he?"

"Well, you know what his goal is, right?" Yamato said. "He can't slow down for a second if he wants to achieve it."

"Yeah, I know." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "But Saeko is a certified genius when it comes to the sword. I mean, she's probably even more talented then Erza."

"That's pretty high praise." Yamato said with a slightly surprised expression on his face.

"Well, it is what it is." Alfonzo replied with a shrug.

'Actually, now that I think about it, I never heard about Itachi and Kisame coming for Naruto after the Chunin Exams.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'I wonder if that even happened in this world. I'm sure Tsunade would have told me about it if it did. And if she didn't, Naruto definitely would have said something.'

In actuality, the two Alfonzo was thinking about, Itachi Uchiha and his partner, Kisame Hoshigaki, members of a group of rogue shinobi from various hidden villages, never even came to the Village in the Leaves to abduct Naruto. And the reason for that was simple, there were just too many powerful people in the village when compared to canon.

For example, Hiruzen did not die like he did in the canon. On top of that, both Jiraiya and Tsunade were in the village, as well. To add even more deterrence, the organization Itachi and Kisame belonged to, the Akatsuki, had received reports of Alfonzo spending a lot of time in the village. And they had no idea when he would be in the village or not.

On top of that, because of the Akatsuki's connections, they had heard of Alfonzo defeating God Serena shortly after it happened. So, they were under no illusion that they were a match for him without their leader taking action.

"Anyway, let's head inside, I gotta get these groceries into the fridge before it's time to start cooking." Alfonzo said.

With that, Alfonzo and Yamato headed into the house and time passed quickly before the time for the farewell feast came. And during the feast, everyone was surprised to hear that Alfonzo had finally finished his job. At the same time, they were excited to know that they would be able to train more efficiently.

"Naruto, why do you look constipated?" Alfonzo Asked while everyone was sitting around the table after the meal.

"It's because my surprise doesn't sound that special anymore." Naruto said with a pout.

"Oh, I guess it doesn't, huh?" Tsunade said in a tone as if she just remembered something.

"Yeah, I was supposed to be going on a trip with the Pervy Sage." Naruto said while continuing to pout. "We were gonna join a guild so that I could see how life was outside of the village for three years."

"I guess you're talking about Jiraiya when you say Pervy Sage, right?" Rika asked. "The old man who undressed us with his eyes outside of the Chunin Exam arena, right?"

"Yeah, that's him." Naruto said with a nod. "He said it would be good for my growth. And he even let me pick the guild we would join."

Reaching that point, Naruto smiled widely.

"And can you guess what guild I picked?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Fairy Tail." Everyone in the room replied in unison.

Naruto's eyes and mouth opened wide in astonishment at everyone's synchronized response.

"How... How did you all know?" Naruto asked in a dumbfounded tone.

"We would have to be as dumb as you to not be able to figure it out." Sasuke replied in a condescending tone. "*Sigh* But that means, even after I leave, I won't be able to get away from you, huh?"

"Did you just call me dumb?" Naruto asked as he stood up from his seat. "I dare you to--- Wait! What do you mean when you leave? What do you mean can't get away from me?"

"I'll be leaving with Alfonzo and Saeko when they leave to continue my training." Sasuke replied nonchalantly while shrugging his shoulders. " should be gone for about three years, or so."

Hearing that, Naruto looked at Alfonzo with a betrayed expression. Meanwhile, Sakura, who had not given up on her crush on Sasuke, looked at Sasuke as if she had been abandoned.

"Don't look at me like that, Naruto." Alfonzo said while smiling wryly. "If you wanna blame someone for this, blame your Hokage. She's the one who asked us to do this."

Immediately, both Naruto's and Sakura's heads snapped in Tsunade's direction. Meanwhile, Tsunade glared at Alfonzo for throwing her under the bus like that. Alfonzo, on the other hand, winked back playfully.

"I wanna join Fairy Tail, too." Sakura muttered.

Immediately, Tsunade's head snapped in Sakura's direction. And she was now sporting a betrayed expression like Sakura had just been wearing.

"You're my disciple, right?" Tsunade asked in a dumbfounded tone. "Then why would you want to go to Fairy Tail and not Mermaid Heel?"

By now, Sakura had realized that she had spoken her thoughts aloud. And when she heard Tsunade's question, she did not know how to answer it. However, the way that she continuously stole glances at Sasuke was enough of an answer for everyone present.

"By the way, Kakashi, why don't you seem surprised by any of this?" Yamato asked curiously.

"Oh, because I already knew." Kakashi replied. "Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya ran it past me beforehand. I am Naruto's and Sasuke's teacher and squad leader, after all."

"And you just agreed like that?" Yamato asked.

"Of course." Kakashi replied with a nod. "With Lady Tsunade handling Sakura's training, Lord Jiraiya handling Naruto's, and now Alfonzo and Saeko handling Sasuke's, I'll have a lot more time to read my favorite book."

Hearing Kakashi's response, Yamato deadpanned... hard. At the same time, he really did not expect anything less from his old friend and captain from the Anbu.

"If you think you'll just be able to slack off now that you're no longer the leader of a three man cell, you've got another thing coming, Kakashi." Tsunade said after overhearing Kakashi and Yamato's conversation. "You'll still be leading Team 7. And since Sakura is still a member, you'll be taking missions together."

This time, it was Kakashi's turn to look betrayed. However, he got over it much faster than everyone else.

"Well, I'll still have more time to read my book than I did before." Kakashi replied with a shrug. "So, that's still a win for me."

Like that, the rest of the night went on peacefully, with the group continuing to chat until it was too late. Meanwhile, Miyuki spent the evening packing everyone's belongings so they would be ready to leave in the morning.