---The Tower - Central Hall---
The central hall of the tower was a vast, echoing chamber of stone and silence. Haku walked the perimeter, his footsteps making no sound on the cold floor.
He wasn't tired. In fact, he felt restless. The "exam" in the forest had been less of a trial and more of a camping trip with a brief interlude of violence. His muscles were loose, his chakra full.
He stopped near a large statue of a tiger making the 'Seal of Confrontation,' staring at it absently.
"Boo."
Haku spun around, his hand instinctively flying to his pouch.
Alaric stood directly behind him, leaning casually against the statue Haku had just been inspecting. He was smoking a cigar, the smoke drifting lazily into the high rafters.
Haku let out a long, suffering sigh, his shoulders slumping. "Sensei... why can I still not sense you?"
"Hm?" Alaric took a drag, blowing a perfect smoke ring. "Well, you're getting better. You turned around before I poked you this time."
"That is not an answer," Haku muttered, straightening his vest. "I have the Ashura seal. My perception is enhanced tenfold. Yet, you appear as if from the ether."
"You still need more training," Alaric chuckled, patting Haku's shoulder. "Sensing me is the final exam. You're not there yet."
Haku nodded, accepting the logic. If Alaric said he needed training, he needed training.
He looked around the empty hall. "We are alone?"
"For now," Alaric nodded. "The Suna team is in the mess hall eating. You're the second arrival."
"I have questions," Haku said, his expression turning serious. "Regarding the forest."
"Shoot."
"The Uchiha," Haku began. "When I engaged him, he was covered in a vile, purple energy. Black markings spread across his skin. It felt... wrong. Like the chakra of that Grass Ninja I avoided, but wild and uncontrolled."
Alaric's eyes narrowed slightly behind the smoke. "Go on."
"And the Suna ninja, Gaara," Haku continued. "He controls sand. His defense is formidable, but what concerned me was the chakra inside him. It felt infinite. Malevolent. Like a monster trapped in a human skin. A Jinchuriki."
Haku looked up at his sensei. "If I had to fight him... is there anything I can do against a Jinchuriki? My ice mirrors might reflect his attacks, but his stamina would eventually outlast mine."
Alaric was silent for a moment, studying the ash on his cigar. He knew the answer, of course. He knew about Shukaku, about the seals, about the Akatsuki hunting them.
"You're right," Alaric nodded slowly. "Sasuke has received a 'gift'... a Curse Mark. It draws out power but corrodes the mind. It makes him stronger, but unstable."
He flicked the ash away. "As for Gaara... fighting a Jinchuriki is a different beast entirely. You are already strong, Haku. You can engage Chunin, even most Jonin, and come out on top. But against entities with that much raw power, normal tactics fail."
Alaric grinned, a predatory glint in his eye. "That's why, after the preliminaries, we're starting a new type of training. I'll teach you how to dismantle people with 'unique' powers. How to fight monsters."
Haku raised an eyebrow. He didn't know what that entailed... perhaps advanced Fuinjutsu, or something from Alaric's strange powers... but he didn't question it.
"I understand," Haku nodded. "I will be ready."
Alaric stared at him for a second, then let out a theatrical sigh, shaking his head with a look of profound disappointment.
"But still..." Alaric tsked. "Second place? I expected better from my star pupil."
Haku blinked, then a small, genuine chuckle escaped him. "I apologize, Sensei. I was... enjoying the amenities. I found a nice cave, cooked some chicken. I treated it as a vacation."
Alaric's disappointed mask shattered into a grin. He laughed, a loud, booming sound that echoed in the hall.
"Good! That's the spirit," Alaric said. "As long as you had fun, that's what matters. Being first is just for bragging rights anyway."
The Hokage's Office
Ten minutes later, the peaceful silence of the Hokage's office was shattered.
POOF.
Hiruzen Sarutobi jumped, his pen skidding across a document he had been signing. He looked up, his eyes weary, to see Alaric standing in front of his desk, looking entirely too cheerful.
"Alaric," Hiruzen sighed, rubbing his temples. "We really need to talk about boundaries."
"Sasuke Uchiha has a Curse Mark," Alaric stated bluntly, skipping the pleasantries.
Hiruzen's pen froze. The weariness vanished from his eyes, replaced by a sharp, dangerous gleam. He slowly set the pen down.
"A Curse Mark..." Hiruzen whispered, his face darkening. "Orochimaru."
"The one and only," Alaric nodded, taking a seat uninvited. "The snake bit him in the forest. It's the Heaven Seal. Gives power, erodes sanity, prepares the body as a vessel. You know the drill."
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. "That is... not good. Anko reported finding him, but she lost the trail. If he marked Sasuke..."
"He wants the Sharingan," Alaric finished.
"We need to seal it," Hiruzen muttered, mostly to himself. "But a seal of that caliber... it requires a master. Jiraiya is out of the village gathering intel. Kakashi is capable, but the Evil Sealing Method only suppresses it. It relies on the bearer's will."
He looked at Alaric, a sudden realization dawning on him. The man in front of him was a walking anomaly who casually used space-time ninjutsu and wood release.
"You brought this to me," Hiruzen said slowly. "Which means you have a solution."
"I do," Alaric smiled, the expression that of a merchant who just cornered the market. "I can modify the seal. I can't remove it... well, I could, but the Uchiha boy probably wants the power. What I can do is remove the side effects. I can scrub Orochimaru's consciousness from the chakra. Sasuke keeps the power boost, but the snake can't possess him or spy through it."
Hiruzen's eyes widened. To purify a Curse Mark without removing it? That was theoretical mastery bordering on the impossible.
"You can do that?"
"I can do a lot of things," Alaric shrugged. "For a price."
Hiruzen groaned. He should have known. With Alaric, it always came back to money.
"How much?" Hiruzen asked, bracing himself.
"For saving the Uchiha timeline and preventing your rogue student from gaining a new body?" Alaric mused. "Let's say... five hundred thousand Ryo."
"Absolutely not!" Hiruzen slammed his hand on the desk. "The village budget is already stretched thin with the exams! Two hundred thousand."
"Four hundred," Alaric countered instantly. "It's a specialized Fuinjutsu. Hazard pay included."
"Two hundred and fifty," Hiruzen gritted out. "And I'll authorize free meals at Ichiraku for a month."
"I'm rich, Hiruzen. I can buy Ichiraku," Alaric deadpanned. "Three hundred and fifty."
"Three hundred thousand!" Hiruzen shouted, looking like he aged ten years in ten seconds. "That is my last offer! You are draining my personal reserves, damn it!"
Alaric stared at the old Hokage, watching the vein throb in his forehead. Then, he laughed.
"Three hundred thousand it is," Alaric grinned, extending his hand. "Pleasure doing business with you, Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen shook the hand, looking defeated. "Just... fix the boy. Before the preliminaries."
"Consider it done," Alaric said, standing up. "I'll go pay the Uchiha a visit while he's sleeping."
As Alaric vanished in a flash of light, Hiruzen opened his drawer, staring at his shrinking pouch of savings.
"I need a vacation," the God of Shinobi whispered to the empty room.
.
Consider buying me a coffee!
patreon.com/kulark
I'm uploading dozens of chapters ahead there!