Two Weeks Until the Final Tournament, One of Otogakure's Training Fields
"Alvarcus." Orochimaru kindly says as I walk onto the field. "How are you today?"
"Orochimaru-sama." I briskly reply. "I have had better days."
He raises an eyebrow at me and pockets a scroll that he was holding. Obviously he's sensing that I'm in a foul mood again. I've been very standoffish ever since Shirokumo and I found out about Sakura. "We're going to do something different today."
Fan-fucking-tastic. Last time we did something different I... yeah. I did that.
"I'm going to let you chose what you wish to work on." Orochimaru finishes.
"Say that again?" I ask in confusion.
"You may pick what we work on." He says again.
That's new. He's always already had a plan ready for each day, unfortunately most of them cause me getting a ridiculous amount of pain. Well, I'm not one to dwell on something that's going my way. "I can chose anything?"
"Within reason." Orochimaru generously allows.
"Teach me about the Edo Tensi." I instantly demand. "Teach me how to use it, how to summon the dead. Teach me how to control them. Teach me how to dispel them, whether they're under my command or someone else's." The Edo Tensi can be a major pain in the ass, especially if the Fourth Shinobi War happens like it does in cannon.
Orochimaru's eyes widen in surprise. "You want to know how to cancel the Edo Tensi? Even if you aren't the summoner?"
"Yep." I'm not going to elaborate.
"No. I will not teach you that. Or did you forget that you yourself are a unique form of that technique?" Orochimaru asks with a great amount of concern on his face. "Alvarcus, you don't want to dispel yourself, do you?"
"Oh. I never thought that might happen." I honestly reply. "Could that happen?"
"I don't know and I will not find out." Orochimaru promises. "Pick something else."
Hmm... I could finally start on seals. Nah, I don't have the motivation for that. I don't really know any other elemental jutsu I want to learn. Genjutsu... not my thing so that's out. Taijutsu is out too, last time he 'helped' with that it didn't end well. "I don't really have anything else that I really want to learn. Can I just have a day off or something?" Pfft who am I kidding? That's never going to happen.
"I will see you tomorrow." Orochimaru casually walks out of the training field leaving me standing alone.
"Did that just fucking happen or am I dreaming? I never get out of training!"
...
A Few Hours Later, Alvarcus's Room
I stare at my paper covered wall. I have all the information about each of the Chunin Exams finalists displayed on various pages and organized from most dangerous to least dangerous.
"Alright, let's talk about the elephant in the room." I pull down Gaara's dossier. "Or rather the sand beast in the room."
"How the hell am I supposed to beat him without using the Jiongu or my chakra strings?" I mutter to myself as I flip through the various pages. "I used earth jutsu, so everyone should know I have access to that element. His sand should be vulnerable to water, at the very least it will slow it down. It isn't unlikely for someone to wield both earth and water, but for a gennin that'll certainly turn some heads. Maybe if I use mainly water and try to play earth off as my second element? That would let me use higher level jutsu against him. Plausible."
I snag Lee's dossier off the wall. "But not being able to use earth to set up walls to block Lee's taijutsu blows will definitely hinder me. Sure I can take a beating, but that's because of the Jiongu. A normal gennin level shinobi would go down after one hit. I suppose I could summon a bunch of spiders again, then using my 'secondary element' earth I could make pillars throughout the battlefield and have them string up webs all around. Kinda like what I did in the second exam." I tap my chin in thought. "Yeah that's not going to work. Maybe if I-"
SLAM
The door to my room flies open and smacks into the wall with unnecessary force.
"Hey Alvarcus!" It's Kidomaru. What's this guy want? "Here." He throws me a case of something.
"Uh thanks?" I say as I catch the impromptu projectile.
"Go on and open it." He urges with a gleam in his eyes.
I pop open the latches and peer inside. It's a case of kunai. I reach in and pull one out. I stand corrected, it's a case of chakra conductive kunai. "Wow. Thanks Kidomaru. I never expected this."
"You're welcome!" He cheerfully says as he goes to leave.
SLAM
"Kami damn it you don't have to slam the door!" I shout after his fleeting laughter. "What a dick. And here I thought he was trying to redeem himself." I close the case and place it next to my desk.
"Anyways, back to what I was doing before." I pick Lee's dossier back up. "Trapping him in webs is out, he'll just open some of the Gates and brute force his way out. There's no way in hell I'll be able to intimidate him to surrender like I did with Kankuro way back then. I could use a lightning jutsu to lock his muscles up. Crap, then I won't be able to use water against Gaara. Using lightning against them both is out, a gennin shouldn't know strong enough lightning jutsu to actually affect Gaara's sand."
I angrily throw the dossier onto my desk and grab two handfuls of my hair. "ARG! Why is this so difficult!? If I could just use my normal stuff I'd be perfectly fine!"
Knock knock
Someone is at my door. Crap, did I shout that last bit? "Come in."
Sakon pokes his head in. "Hello Alvarcus, I was hoping for a moment of your time?"
"Sure, come on in." I wave him inwards. "Did you need something?"
"No, actually. This is for you." He reaches into his robes and withdraws a scroll. "In here is some more advanced strategies that Ukon and I use when we separate. I know that you and Sasuke like to work as a two man team, perhaps you can tailor what I've made to suit your needs."
That's two people going out of their way to give me things. Strange. "Thank you. I'm not sure how applicable it will be to our style of fighting, but I promise to read it all."
"I'll leave you to it." With a gracious nod he exits my room.
"Okay. I'm just going to ignore whatever the hell got into Sakon and Kidomaru." I turn back to Lee's dossier again.
"Okay, so best ideas for him are lightning jutsu or simply letting him use the gates and then letting him beat me to a bloody pulp. I could maybe swing that last one since I'm from Sound so the idea that Orochimaru experimented on me to enhance my physical attributes isn't that crazy. Hell he kind of did already with the Jiongu. That's enough on him for now."
I put his dossier back up on the wall and pull down the next one.
"Hinata, she could be either the easiest person to beat or one of the hardest. The biggest question is: Can she use the Gentle Fist against me? She and Neji both unwittingly told me that I don't actually have a chakra network, my chakra is free flowing. If that's true then she shouldn't be able to disrupt my chakra. I'd have to test that though, let her get in one good hit and see what happens. Hell knowing my luck it'll freeze my entire chakra supply!"
Wouldn't that be amusing? It would be a one hit KO.
"Now, regardless of whether she can use the Gentle Fist against me or not, how am I going to beat her? I'll just bombard her with jutsu of whatever elements I decide to use, that should work.
Even if she already has her form of Kaiten I'll just keep blasting away. I have more chakra than her, might as well abuse it. Or I could just catch a open palm hit and sock her in the temple. That depends on the Gentle Fist working. Enough on her, I should be fine against her."
...
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