"You continue to surpass my expectations for you!" Orochimaru let's out a hearty laugh. "Kukukuku, a time-space seal already! You are just wonderful!"
"Uh... thanks?" I think it's okay now?
...
"But Alvarcus." Orochimaru pulls himself out of his happy chuckles. "Never mess with time-space seals on this scale again. They're one branch of sealing that even you can be defeated by. They may not kill you outright, but being permanently sealed into another dimension is as close as you can get. I will not lose you to something so idiotic as you biting off more than you're ready for."
"I will. Besides, in less than a week I'll be able to focus more on the Sword of Totsuka. Right now I'm stuck with just working on seals and everything else I already know."
"Indeed. Looking forward to getting a laboratory to yourself?" Orochimaru genuinely asks.
"I am. I can't wait to start working on the sword. I'm going to need every damn second I can get. Plus I have no idea what materials will work, how to fashion them together or even what the sealing process will be! It's going to suck yet be awesome at the same time!"
"Ah the eagerness of youth. I remember when I first took on an impossible task, I attacked it with as much ferocity as you are. Even now you're working on it by furthering yourself in fuinjutsu. Everything you do has a purpose, it serves an end goal, doesn't it?"
"It does." I smirk to myself. He has no idea.
This sword isn't necessary until years down the road of life. I'm making it for one purpose only, to seal away the Edo Tensi army that will oppose the Allied Shinobi Forces. There's no other reason for it, every other thing that could happen it's unnecessary for. Even if it's the most complicated piece of fuinjutsu I'll ever make, in the end that doesn't matter. I simply need a way to quickly and surely seal away multiple people.
I could just make a bunch of binding seals or something like the Suna Sealing Corps did in cannon, but they're too easy to remove. All it takes is one Edo Tensi to survive and pull off the seal. But if they're sealed away in my own weapon, my sword, then there is no chance that they'll get free.
Unless they kill me, take the sword, and somehow figure out how to release the seal. But I would have bigger problems than them being unsealed, namely I'd be dead again. Which I don't plan on doing.
"You won't have to wait for much longer." Orochimaru promises. "I just have to wrap up a few things here, eliminate a couple loose threads and maybe prep some of the more rowdy prisoners for transfer. Only five more days then we leave for the next base."
"I can't wait! I need to go start packing, so if you'll excuse me I'll just be on my way." I start to sneakily tip toe past Orochimaru for the door.
"Alvarcus, fix the field first."
"Dammit."
...
Later That Night
"Summoning Jutsu!" I slam my hand to the ground.
Nothing happens.
"That's weird. Where's the smoke? Better yet where's Shirokumo?"
"Uh... Al?" His voice calls out from above me. "You summoned me a while ago to check up on the tunnel's progress."
"So I did." Whoops, totally forgot he was here. I summoned him, he said they were done then asked to just chill here for a while. I think Arachne is still trying to douse him with peanut butter for some ungodly reason.
"You forgot I was here." He correctly accuses me.
"No! Maybe a little?" Eh whatever, not like it really matters. "So buddy an idea just occurred to me."
"Do go on. I'm simply captivated by you." Shirokumo sarcastically says as he slowly repels down from his web to hang level with my head. "You have the most wondrous ideas."
"I can't send Tsunade any information anymore. I can't use Kakashi as a middle man because she'll know it's me if Kakashi randomly finds a contact in Otogakure."
"Yes, we've been over all of this before. Please say something smart next."
"Cut the sass! Anyways, I just need to find someone that Tsunade will implicitly trust. Someone that she already knows is investigating the same groups as me. Someone that already has already told her that they're trying to find a leak of information. I think I know just the guy!"
"Really?" Shirokumo excitedly says. "You think that you've found a way to help Konoha beat Oto? You've found someone to supply Orochimaru's secrets to?"
"Well... not Orochimaru's secrets. I don't think this person is investing much resources in Orochimaru anymore, especially since until recently I've been doing that just fine. No, this man is devoting most of his time and skill to finding things about a group that's much more threatening than Orochimaru. He's after the Akatsuki."
"So you can't sell out Orochimaru to him but you can sell out the Akatsuki." Shirokumo clarifies. "Just who is this guy?"
...
"Bwahahaha!" A gallant man boisterously laughs as two very attractive ladies hang off each of his arms. A third lady is pouring a very expensive alcohol into his glass before handing it to him. "This is the life!"
"No, this is a waste of time." A man, no a child, scoffs at his sensei. This child is obviously in love with a specific color: orange. "I could be training right now. I could be sleeping right now. I could be doing literally anything else right now. But no, I'm here watching this happen."
"Aww, he's just so cute!" One of the ladies, the one who poured the drink, drapes herself over Naruto. "Say, if you're really that bored you and I could go do something more... eventful. Who knows, you might get a work out in today after all."
"Sorry lady but you're not my type." Naruto blandly rejects her with the ease of someone who has done this scores of times before.
"Why? Are you more into blondes like yourself? Am I not pretty enough?" She pouts while crossing her arms to accentuate her chest.
"You're trying to guilt me into buying you for the night. No thank you." Naruto says.
"Leave the brat alone, he's off limits." Jiraya cuts in. He's experiencing a moment of clarity. "Give him a few years then he'll be more than willing! Besides there's more than enough of me to go around!"
And like that the moment of clarity is gone, never to be seen again.
"Yeah there's so much of you to go around that we've stopped at every brothel on our way back to Konoha. Why are we going back there again? I thought I was supposed to be away for years. It's not even been one yet."
"Because I have to go do something incredibly dangerous for a fleeting chance at a ridiculously small reward." Jiraya says while staring blatantly at the swaying hips of another lady sashaying by the open door to the private room.
"Oh Jiraya-sama, you're such a brave man!" One of the ladies chants.
"Yeah because it's 'too dangerous for me.' One of these days you'll see I can take care of myself." Naruto mumbles. "Kami I wish something interesting would happen."
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." A scratchy voice says from the window sill. "Jiraya-sama, may I have a – "
"AAAAHH! SPIDER! GIANT SPIDER! GETAWAYGETAWAYGETAWAY!" All three of the ladies scream in fright as they climb over each other to get to the exit.
Two kunai wiz through the air, one thrown from each shinobi.
The large white spider drops back out of the window as both kunai embed themselves where he was moments ago.
"Not cool!" Shirokumo calls from outside. "I just want to talk! Why does everyone try to kill me the first time we meet? Why can't I find a person that offers me a cookie or something nice for a change!"
Both shinobi take this chance to fall into battle ready stances. Jiraya is facing the obvious threat, the window, while Naruto is holding the last sign for a jutsu to assault anyone who comes in through the door.
"Where's your Summoner?" Jiraya demands as his battle hardened eyes dart around the room again, checking over and over for something, anything, that could be a trap that he missed before. "Why are you here? How did you know where to find me?"
"You're not going to believe me." Shirokumo says from outside. "Can I come in or will I be filled with various pointy and sharp objects?"
"Tell me where your Summoner is then maybe." Jiraya demands with all the authority of his titles.
"Well... I did say you won't believe me but here goes nothing. Otogakure." Shirokumo clearly states, he's waiting for someone to call his words bullshit.
"Aren't Sasuke and Alvarcus there?" Naruto whispers, more to himself than Jiraya.
...
if you want to read ahead of the public release you can join my p atreon :
p atreon.com/CarriePoppins