A/N: Beta: Devoid Black.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and Naruto.


Chapter 4:Välkommen

välkommen.: (Swedish) (n. or adj.) greeting given upon someone's arrival.

"I write, erase, rewrite,

Erase again, and then

A poppy blooms"

-Hokushi (1603-1868)

Sarutobi Hiruzen steepled his fingers on his desk to look down at his crouching student.

"Rise ANBU-Snake." He said. "and remove your mask. You won't need it for this mission."

The boy-no man now- gently removed his mask to look at his sensei.

"Your orders, Hokage-Sama?"

"The council has decided Konoha should lay claim on Wave" a voice spoke up on his right. His student quirked his lips.

"Will I have a team?" he asked.

The Hokage nodded. "Jiraiya and Sakumo-kun will join you when you are done scouting the islands and have a strategy ready. There is only one ship we are aware of.. it is docked in the south..." He handed him a folder. "Your team is at the Kiri border, send Jiraiya a summon when you are done. I can spare them for this." Orochimaru's eyebrows went up high. Yes, he was aware it was overkill. But, they were close by, and sending three Jonins, no matter how recently earned, was better than sending a cart of Gennin's to get slaughtered. He took respite in the fact that they were skilled enough to be successful.

"If you are successful, this will turn the tide at the Kiri front, it is strategically sound" Orochimaru's eyes flickered to Danzo when he spoke up. Playing a three sided war was no easy business. "Though, sending the Hatake brat is unnecessary."

"Hmm.. he isn't a brat any longer, Danzo" Sarutobi looked amused. "He's made a name for himself already.. haven't you heard? He's called the Konoha's White Fang"

Danzo snorted rudely. "As long as it gets the work done" he sneered. Sarutobi shook his head.

"When do I leave?" Orochimaru asked, his eyes speeding through the information in the folder.

"As soon as you can"

"Hai, Sensei!" He casually addressed his Hokage and left.

"You give the boy too much leeway, Hiruzen" Danzo said casually, leaning back in his chair to look at his friend, with one eye peering out of his bandaged face. His hands played with the stick he used as his crutch and he slowly got up to hobble over to the window that looked over the city."You would trust him that much?"

Surely, Jiraya and Tsunade were more disrespectful that this?!, Hiruzen thought incredulously. But he pondered upon the question and it took a moment for him to answer. When Danzo looked back, the Hokage's face was scrunch up in an odd expression. Then it cleared.

"With my life" he said with certainty.


"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Tom smirked at the assailant. Sixteen years of easily surpassing his opponents and bullying his tormenters had unsurprisingly given Tom a superiority complex. He was more than willing to admit this; after all credit was given where credit was due and Tom was surrounded by people who were envious, jealous or in awe of his abilities. His raw power alone surpassed that of his year-mates in Hogwarts or even 80 percent of the Wizarding population in their prime. Wizards were considered adults at the age of 17 and there was good reason for this. A good two-thirds of a wizard's power was slowly built into their core while they learnt in a magical school; the magical practice they inculcated at that age was meant to stretch the core out and make it flexible, just in time for what was known as the Magical Growth spurt; a rush of power on their 17th birthday that finally christened them as adults. But this wasn't supposed to mean they were done studying. Records from the medieval ages that survived the burnings said that the sudden rush of magic caused a fluctuation in the core; that was the age wizards were apprenticed for three to four years to learn additional skills and to learn to regulate the sudden influx. Traditional Wizarding families still did this, so that their young could inherit their seats in the councils as functional adults. Since magic came easily to Tom, he had put in extra time and effort into practicing difficult and more power oriented spells to expand his reserves. Whether this would help increase his core when time came, or simply make it easier or less painful for the impending influx was yet to be seen.

All of this though, was moot point when the Kiri Shinobi blurred from vision and reappeared in front of him.

"Oh" Tom's eyes widened when the man grinned sadistically in his face, he wasn't even allowed to defend himself as a leg swung to hit him in the ribs and he was thrown in to a tree to his right.

"It really isn't polite to keep a fellow Shinobi waiting" The man said wryly, looking puzzled.
"…could've sworn you were a high Chunin with your chakra levels" He muttered.

Tom shakily got to his feet, more pissed off than he was willing to admit. Yes, Tom Marvolo Riddle had power in spades and was in the top echelon in the Wizarding world. But Voldemort? He was thrown in to the elemental nations ill-equipped and severely outclassed. He took a dueling stance and faced his opponent who was already making seals. Tom didn't let him finish before he created a protective barrier. "Protego Maximus" he snarled. What looked like rapid water bullets rained down on the protective dome that covered him and the children. Zabuza and Mei were looking at the shimmering blue surface with wide eyes and concern. "Stand behind me and don't get in the way"

"Hai" Zabuza said shakily, he clutched Mei by the wrist and pulled her behind him, just in time for the water barrage to stop.

"Is that all you've got-?" Zabuza frantically muffled Mei's challenge and Tom pursed his lips in consternation. He was tiring out rapidly, very unused to this kind of duel.

"Hm. Perhaps I should knock you out and take you to the captain" The man contemplated looking at Tom. Then he shrugged, "Or not"
The shinobi pulled a sharp, pointy arrow thing out of nowhere and dread pooled in Tom's stomach, he closed his eyes to center himself.

Clang*

The sharp sound of metal against metal sounded in the air and Tom opened his eyes startled.

A sheet of silky, black hair and thick purple rope was all he noticed before a lilting voice called from in front of him.

"You might want to pay a little attention, Shinobi-san"

A man! The raspy voice took him by 's attention was drawn to a long thin looking blade drawn in his right hand.

"Leaf-Shinobi" Their attacker growled, charging with intent and more spiky metallic objects in hand.

His savior, however, seemed barely frazzled. One moment he was there and the next he was behind the Kiri Shinobi with the sword against his throat.

There was a beat, the man looked up and caught Tom's eye and he sucked a breath in. Mr. Snake!, was his first thought as he looked into golden eyes with slit pupils and his savior slit the Kiri-Shinobi's throat.

He looked curiously at the older man that stood a couple of inches shorter than his proud 5 feet 10 inches. At first glance, one would say they were related but looking closer he noticed a lot of obvious differences. He was pale, Paler than me, Tom noticed dubiously.The man was paper white! He had dark, jet black hair; it was glossy and straight and ran all the way to his waist, where Tom's was curly and short. He had an oval shaped face with slanting Asian cheek bones as compared to Tom's more classically aristocratic, European features highlighting his higher cheekbones and a sharp jawline. More noticeably, there were purple markings around his eyes that softened his features, making him look more androgynous than he would otherwise. He wore pale gray lose robes, a Yukata, his brain reminded him, that was split on the sides for easy movement. It was tied with a purple rope or marking on the metal band on his forehead told him he was from the Hidden Leaf Village; Konoha. Tom's gaze fell to the sword in his hand.

His inspection lasted the amount of time it took the man to look at the dead body at his feet and proceed to use the hand signs to make a duplicate of himself. He then changed his appearance to the dead Shinobi. Without a polyjuice! An illusion? Tom looked on as the image raced away.

Zabuza sucked in a breath behind him.

"Is that the legendary Sword of Kusanagi?!" He exclaimed was staring at the blade reverently.

The man however, only had eyes for Tom.

"Your chakra pools are vast." He stated matter-of-factly. "Yet, you do not defend yourself?"

Tom began to speak when the man stated in derision,"Pathetic"

His brain came to a screeching halt.

WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

But before he could even think about standing up for himself his brain made another turn and promptly went into overdrive.

He's right though, isn't he? I thought I was the best out there… Tom began hyperventilating, the memory of being swatted like an insect dropping on him like a pile of bricks. How the mighty have fallen. Perhaps the Slytherins and the Muggles at the orphanage were right, after all. I'm a pathetic, little mudblood. Powerless... Useless... Couldn't even protect myself, let alone two other lives. Just like Mr. Snake…

Tom swallowed noisily. And they call me the Heir? The attacker wasn't even the most powerful being on this land. I'm going to be eaten alive here, why don't I just head back to where I belong. This place isn't for me, I should probably go back to the mugg-

A resounding slap across his cheek brought him back to the present. He didn't know when he got there or how much time had passed but he had made it back to the cave with the two children in tow, the blood was still pounding in his rib cage and he had broken out in cold sweat . The man from before looked at him in contempt.

"Aw.. Poor shinobi-san should learn to retreat when the adults are fighting, yes?" He mocked, chuckling lightly.

Tom snapped.

"Who the ever-loving-fuck are you? Is it customary to encroach on somebody else's duel? Nobody asked for your assistance!" Tom spat out, rapidly losing his patience.

"Of course, you were doing absolutely fine by yourself, winning even" He smiled condescendingly.

A vein ticked in Tom's temple. "I am not pathetic-!" He suddenly cut himself short and he took in a slow and deep breath. "I'm not going to ask again. Who are you?"

"I am Orochimaru" the man raised an eyebrow. "A Jonin of Konoha, who are you?"

Tom pursed his lips. "A Jonin from Konoha? Why are you here?"

Something switched in the man and he stretched out on the floor languidly. A small smile present on his face that looked more condescending that anything else. "It is war, shinobi-san. I come for reasons that are my own. But, you haven't divulged anything. You neither have a hitae-ate nor the skill but your reserves are more than that of a genin, and then... your speech is tainted, will you not introduce yourself?"

Tom contemplated his situation wearily as this man... Orochimaru dissected him with his gaze. He had thought he would investigate and look for some answers, explore the area. He needed to know how he got here and if he was capable of getting out. The choice of an answer was taken out his hands.

"I am Momochi Zabuza, this is Terumi Mei and this is Voldemo-san! And THAT is the sword of Kusanagi!" Zabuza said, pointing at the sword. Orochimaru chuckled.

"Yes, so it is. I might tell you more about it.. however…" Orochimaru turned to face Tom fully. "Voldemo-San and I are going to have a little chat"

Tom erased his face of all emotions while Orochimaru looked delighted with his effort. Amused even. Although that seemed to be his permanent state of being.

"What is it that you want from me, Orochimaru-san? Tom asked impassively, shooting a glance at the children warning them from speaking any further.

"Oh! please call me Orochimaru." He said. "I came here in order to take out that Kiri-chunin… You see he was deployed at such a vantage spot." He then looked at Tom from under his lashes. "Imagine my surprise, when I found someone else already engaged in a fight with my target! A foreign Shinobi who walks like a civilian and fights with a .. stick! Is that stick… special, Voldemo-san?"

Tom didn't change his expression and somehow, this caused Orochimaru to grin widely, showing his fangs. Mei squeaked behind him.

Another moment passed in an impasse, and Tom pursed his lips, trying not to give in to his anger. Should he try to get out of here? He could easily escape, yes. Apparating out was stupidly easy but this was a an opportunity to understand the political climate and his predicament. And something about his superior smirk makes me want to punch his face. Tom gritted his teeth. If he has to play nice with this infuriating idiot for a little while longer, so be it.

Orochimaru let out a breathy chuckle. "Alright, I see how it is. How about this, if you help me out with a little bit of reconnaissance, I might see it fit to ask our Hokage for your immunity."

"What?!" Zabuza's baffled exclamation was a copy of his own but he didn't let it show on his face.

"Why would I want your Hokage's immunity?" Tom asked, jadedly. The idiot was so trusting, I might have overestimated these people.

Orochimaru looked at him with faux pity causing Tom to bristle in indignation.

"Voldemo-san, you are a foreigner who does not have any knowledge but you do have potential. If the Kiri idiot got suspicious that easily of your origin, imagine everybody else you come across, I imagine there are secrets you keep. Besides, I did not say your immunity came for free…"

Tom sighed was way out of his depth. Barely two days had passed with him on this land and his identity was already under suspicion. If his clueless-ness was that obvious, he would rather limit the number of people who knew about it. He really needed to acclimate to this place as soon as possible. Mediocrity was unacceptable.

"What do you want from me?" he asked.

"An exchange in knowledge" Came the immediate response.
"Your loyalty and war effort for our village in exchange for immunity, the development of your skill-set and…" Orochimaru paused. "Your lives."

Tom stilled, so unused to being realistically threatened, his blood pounded in his neck. He forced himself to calm down.

"That's not a choice at all, Orochimaru-San" he said, deliberately relaxing his shoulders.

"Hmm, it's Orochimaru and… no it's really not" Orochimaru agreed, smiling.

Tom really hated the position he was in. He scrutinized this person and somehow, he knew he hadn't witnessed even a fraction of his power. While ideally, he would have liked to explore on his own, the backing of a village to access knowledge he oh-so desperately needed would be welcome. Besides, he could always while away some time to get stronger before he made his own way. Orochimaru smirked as if he knew what he was thinking.

"I could add the immunity of your ducklings in the deal" Orochimaru gestured at the children, startling Tom. He snuck a look at their wide eyes and shrugged.

"What is this reconnaissance you speak of?" he asked, very surprised that this man was keeping him on his toes.

Orochimaru nodded, pleased. "I do want to see if you are truly capable before requesting any favors. We shall rest before scouting the lay out and position of the Kiri-Shinobi on wave, this island. I'll be leaving my bunshin- my clone-" Orochimaru explained, even though Tom's face hadn't so much as twitched. "-with you to check on your abilities." And you, was left unsaid.

"Your ducklings shall remain here" , causing the children to protest loudly, while Tom looked at him quizzically. Ducklings?!

"Hush" admonished Orochimaru. "It will be dull work. Not to mention dangerous if your aren't careful and get caught. Might as well see if you are any good at infiltration. I'll leave some ration bars with you, and we'll get some food back in the evening."

"…Orochimaru, don't you think you're taking too much for granted?" Tom asked drily, noticing how the children were being unusually silent. He might have agreed to this charade in his mind but it's not like his said it out loud yet.

"Not really" Orochimaru shrugged. "I hold a better hand to make you submit after all"

Tom clenched his jaw and tilted his head making Orochimaru smirk.

"And what exactly do you expect me to do" He said lowly through clenched teeth.

"Lay out, patrols, out-posts; you know… any information that would help launch an attack"

He took the ration bars from him and checked if they were laced with poison. He handed them out to the children and ate one quickly, then turning, he exited the cave to fulfill whatever requirement this man wanted him to complete. "Stay here" he told his, hopefully temporary, charges. He put up a small ward and followed Orochimaru out.

"Wait" Orochimaru made him halt, quickly making a sign with his hands to make a duplicate.
"I will take the east, you two will taking the west. We circle back and return at sundown"

Tom nodded and the original disappeared. He looked curiously at the duplicate who smirked, "Well…? Come on then!" Tom looked on curiously, despite his irritation. The duplicate had consciousness of his own.

"What is it?" Orochimaru asked as they went towards the trees.

"What are you? I mean.. do you have consciousness of your own?"

"Voldemo-san... Where are you from-?" He caught Tom's cagey expression and stopped himself. "Hmm.. it is surprising that you don't even know the basics… I'm a chakra construct, capable of relaying information when I disperse. The more powerful the Shinobi, the more chakra he can feed the construct, thus making it more realistic. A Genin or even a Chunin would probably disperse taking one hit."

"And you?" asked Tom. Orochimaru smiled, and Tom grunted at his secrecy.

"The hand signs… What are they?" He asked when no he saw no information coming his way.

"These are called seals. The exact amount of chakra necessary to perform a technique is manipulated through hand are different sequences of hand seals for every technique, requiring memorization.

While techniques may require a number of hand seals to work, a skilled ninja can use less or even one to perform the same technique. For instance, the Water Release: Dragon Bullet Technique, which requires a total of 44 hand seals to activate. Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage, however only needed to use one hand seal to complete the technique, a testament to his skill."

Tom glanced at him oddly from the corner of his eyes, noting his easy switch to a lecturer. "Are you a Professor, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru huffed. "No, that would be my sensei. I like to read though… how do you manipulate your chakra then?"

How much information should I give him?

Tom looked at him nonchalantly. "I use this stick as conduit." He said showing his wand and Orochimaru's eyes gleamed. "It has a core from a phoenix, the wood of yew. It is specific to a user."

Best to get that out of the way, Tom thought, recognizing the want in Orochimaru's eyes that dulled upon learning that piece of information.

"A phoenix? Like a white snake?" Orochimaru muttered.

"What's that?" Tom asked and Orochimaru shook his head making Tom look at him curiously.

"I can also channel the… chakra without it" Tom said slowly.

"You best learn how to do that" He responded, considering. Looking at Tom's bewildered expression he explained, "Voldemo-san, you are slow. Very slow, in fact. Us Shinobi channel chakra to different muscle groups to increase endurance and speed, that is after already being physically trained for years. By this time I would have reached the main town and back. Your lack of speed is a huge weakness you will have to compensate for in the future. And that stick well? By your own admission you're not completely functional without it, are you? We are ninja, not samurai. We do not follow those ethics, if an opponent can throw your weapon out of your hand to win, he will. It is the matter of survival."

Ruthless, was Tom's first thought. But then again,logical as well. I will need to work on this.

Tom panted as they slowly made the uphill climb finally spotting rooftops in the distance.

"I am going to disguise myself to look like a civilian. Walk around , ask some questions, be observant and stick to the west." Orochimaru said disguising himself and vanishing.

Tom let out a long suffering sigh, remembering the good old days he used to be the one giving orders. He swallowed in his pride for now, and roamed around observing the browbeaten state of the little village.

There seemed to be Kiri Shinobi about.. Four… eight… that he could count. The rest were civilians.

The Shinobi wore blue uniform and the familiar hitae-ate. Swords seem to a constant presence, sometimes even for the civilians. Orochimaru's clone of the dead Shinobi wasn't around. He probably took up sentinel at the cliffs. Hmm… that probably meant there are Shinobi around the perimeter of the island.

Tom snuck into an alley and cast a disillusionment charm on himself. He then roamed the perimeter on the west, it was guarded by 5 outposts, each with at least 2 Shinobi until he reached the north, where there were 3 more. The west also showed the main continent in the horizon. He went over to a rock and sat down, dipping his feet in the water. What exactly was he doing here? He peered at the fuzzy land mass in the distance. When he went in search for more knowledge, he didn't expect to be punted in to a world so far from his own, that he couldn't even recognize it. What would happen if tried to apparate to the street with the meat shop? Tom shuddered, he had a suspicion that was a terrible idea. Until he had more information, he would play along with this charade. If nothing else he could learn to grown stronger, keep some new tricks up his sleeve. That loss from the unknown Shinobi stung. And then he actually got saved like some damsel in distress. He fumed, his hands twitched in irritation. He was aware he was acting unlike himself, but his composure was shot. Dumbledore accused him of murder? No problem. Thrown into medieval Japanese world that seemed more like a hallucination than not? Swell. But being mocked for being thrown around by a filthy plebian, who isn't even close to the strongest being here? Tom fisted his hands and dug them into the soft earth. His hands shook. No, he better play along and gather some knowledge so he can punt that irritating pale man in his face. He took a few deep breaths and tried to meditate. Think about this rationally. This was what he wanted. Who else could say they discovered a hidden magical civilization. Not a lot of people, that's for sure. He came here to learn. He came here for power. He nodded and got up to get back to his surveillance. While it wasn't a very large island, it still took Tom a major chunk of the afternoon to walk around it and he made it back into town feeling famished. He decided to risk the bar. Tom changed his appearance to a civilian he saw a while ago and modulated his voice and diction so he wouldn't stand out He then strode in confidently.

"A bottle of Sake and whatever meal you have on the menu, please" He said, sitting down at the bar counter next to a young Shinobi.

The Shinobi next to gulped down the sake from his masu in one go looked at him sideways. "Isn't it a little late for a meal?"

He wore a green haori, and had gray-blue hair and blue eyes. Tom looked at his hair in consternation wondering what kind genetic pool circulated this land before he answered.

"Aa.. got a little late at work, Shinobi-san. It's no big deal, I'll have it now" he gave a small smile.

"Hmm.. what is your name?" It was asked casually, but something about it set off his senses. Tom wracked his memory to remember the name of the civilian he was impersonating, he was sure he had heard it in passing.

"Masuko… Remari Masuko" he said, without his letting his expression betray his discomfort. "And yours?"

"Ao" the man said genially. "Jonin… the outpost to the north is quite boring"

"Is it?" Tom asked casually. "I would have thought there would be more activity if it was this close to the mainland." Tom started eating his food like a starving man. "Pack two more meals, please" He called out to the owner, Orochimaru had shoved some Ryo in his hands before he'd left and Tom hadn't complained.

"Hmm.. that's true.. but things seem to settling down. At least, in the south. It's Ame that's still on a war path."

Tom wrapped up with his meal. "Well… it was nice to meet you Ao-san" He said getting up, but Ao got up as well.

"I'll walk out with you"

Tom's jaw tightened. "alright" he said slowly. He got the packed meals and warily ambled out.

He knew he should have been more cautious.

A gust of wind and blurry vision later Ao stood crowding him in an alley with Tom's hands in his in a tight grip.

"Alright then Shinobi-san-"

"How-?" Tom's eyes widened.

"I can feel your chakra levels. What kind of idiot doesn't even suppress their Chakra?!" Ao huffed exasperatedly.

Tom on the other hand was having just enough with all the insults that were being thrown at him in one day.

"Well, excuse you!" He spat out. "I'm new to all of this, how in the world was I supposed to remember you all could actually sense me."

Tom winced inwardly, feeling like a massive idiot for his oversight.

"New to this? You look around my age. How could you possibly be new to this?" Ao looked at him perplexed.

"What? I'm reaching my 20s. Not all nations throw four year olds in to war" Tom spat out in derision.

"That is out of necessity." Ao bit out, his eyes narrowed. "We needed the man power"

"More like canon-fodder"

"Well… it's not something I had a say in" Ao growled "Even if I didn't like it, there wasn't much I could do about it! Frankly, I would hide the children if I could, or better yet help change the age of war-deployment to 11 at least!"

"Eleven?!" Tom said aghast, deliberately provoking him.

"Oh what is it now? Is that still not old enough for you? Quit being a bab-"

"What. Is going on here?" Came a voice from the opening of the alley. Ao jerked to see the newcomer, but that was all the distraction Tom needed and Ao was propelled into the opposite wall, knocked unconscious.

Tom turned to see Orochimaru's Bunshin casually lean on the bricked alley way. He dusted off his robes.

"What in Kami's name were doing? This is not the time for a rendezvous!"

Tom gaped at him. "This isn't a… a…-" Tom spluttered. He couldn't even bring himself to say rendezvous.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes. "Come on, it's time to head back. I see you bought some food. Did you at least learn something?"

"Of course. What do you take me for?" Tom bit out.

"What are you doing?" asked Orochimaru as Tom kneeled besides Ao.

"A confounding charm" he said testily, not in the mood to respond as his skills had been questioned.

"To make him think he passed out in the alley drunk"

"Oh?" Orochimaru said interested but Tom didn't say much else. I am allowed to keep my secrets, thank you very much.

Tom cast a disillusionment on Orochimaru and himself.

"Huh, useful that." Orochimaru mused. "Almost felt like an egg being cracked on my head."

Tom's lips twitched.

"Do you think the original is back yet?" Tom asked.

"Possibly" Orochimaru's voice came from besides him. "He is undoubtedly faster than us, and unless something came up he probably made it back to the cave hours ago."

"Wait, how do you know where I am?"

Orochimaru sighed. "Your footsteps can be likened to rampaging elephants, Voldemo-san"

Tom couldn't help it as his cheeks colored red in embarrassment and he thanked his lucky stars that he was invisible.

"Don't worry about it, we'll beat it out of you" He could picture Orochimaru's ridiculous smirk on his stupid face and he had to call upon every god he knew to control himself from blasting the bastard into the air. A parabola. Tom mused. Imagine him flying in a trajectory with his arse on fire. Happy thoughts. Tom calmed down.

"Ah. We're here" Tom wandlessly dropped the spell and they walked into the cave. The children immediately erupted into never ending chatter and from besides him Orochimaru loudly called out "And that's my cue!" He then proceeded to... poof out of existence. Tom stared at the swirling, purple smoke, feeling a little betrayed.The original isn't back yet… Wonder what happened.

"Well here you go" He cut out Zabuza's monologue, giving them the meals he got them. "Food!" Mei cried, excitedly devouring the contents and they were blessedly silent for all of 10 minutes.

"So, what did you do? What did you see?" Mei babbled.

"Were there Shinobis? I can't believe Orochimaru-san dispelled himself before I could ask him about his sword!" Zabuza continued.

"Children. Breathe" Tom cut in again, exasperatedly. Keeping four year olds restricted to a cave wasn't the greatest idea, in hindsight. "What's so great about swords anyway when you have chakra pools to actually form elements?"

Zabuza gawked at Tom disbelievingly.

"You didn't just say swords aren't the greatest thing ever. Mei-chan! Please tell me he didn't just say that!"

"Why I mean it's just a sword-!" Mei was frantically shaking her head behind Zabuza.

"JUST A SWORD?! "

"Oh! Now you've done it, Voldemo-san!" Mei despaired.

"Voldemo-San, please tell me the world you come from has heard of the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist?"

...

At Tom's blank expression, Zabuza shrieked in horror and that was how Tom got his first impromptu lesson about the Seven Swordsman of the Bloody Mist. He learnt that the Mizukage handpicked seven swordsman to create an organization for the bloody mist and they were loyal to him. It consisted of the greatest blade-wielding Shinobi Kirigakure could produce, they were considered mystical, the best of the best, capable of toppling entire armies and it was the highest honor for their nation, other than being the Hokage himself. There could only be seven members at a time, and hence the name, although apprenticeships were allowed.

"But…" Tom said thoughtfully. "Why are there only seven, if they can be trained to be that powerful?"

Seven was considered a holy number he knew. Along with 3 and 12, especially while working his runes.

"Well.. it's the swords themselves.." Mei said, as if it were obvious.

When Tom did not give any sign of recognition, Zabuza raced to correct his lack his knowledge.

"They aren't normal swords, Voldemo-san! They're quite special! Let's see, there's the Hiramekarei, the Kabutowari (the helmet splitter), Kiba(Fangs), the Kubikiribocho (Decapitating Carving Knife), The Nuibari(The Sewing Needle), Samehada(Shark Skin) and Shibuki(splash)"

"The Hiramekarei is the twin sword! It is a bandaged double- handled sword that is capable of storing and emitting the user's chakra which can then take on various forms.

The Kabutowari is more of a single sided axe and a hammer joined by a chain, said to crush any and all defences, it is a blunt sword.

The Kiba are twin swords that are imbued with lightening, and that helps it cut easily. They're supposed to be the sharpest swords ever forger and are also called the Thunder-swords."

Mei continued. "And then there's the Kubikiribocho, also called the Executioner's Blade. It's a giant sword that looks like butcher's knife, there's a gap in the sword down the middle; in the shape of a semi circle. It is sharp and can be used to decapitate a person, hence the name. The sword has the ability to regenerate using the iron absorbed from the blood it cuts down.

The Nuibari looks like a needle with a long thin, threadlike wire attached to it. It is the long sword, it can be used to pierce humans and sew them together into human bundles.

The Samehada is the most terrifying. I don't think most can use it, it is a large sword and it covered with what looks like shark scales. It is sentient, I think, as it actually can eat the chakra of the person in contact with it, and not just the opponent but the user as well has to be careful, so that means user must be incredibly powerful and have large chakra reserves.

The Shibuki has a scroll full of explosive tags lined up behind the blade, it's called the blast-sword."

"…fascinating" Tom said, processing that diarrhoea of information and stuffing it into a small corner in the back of his mind. While it seemed odd that children would posses all this information, it seemed this is was they heard growing up; their equivalent of fairy tails, vicious and bloody. But, it was incredible that the swords were adapted to further functions than just brutality, these were artifacts of this land. His eyes gleamed for a moment. Tom however kept in mind that this was after all Kiri territory, and any and all knowledge was useful on the off chance that he actually had to face such an opponent.

"Yes, it is!" Zabuza said happily, ecstatic that Tom appreciated the magnitude of his hero-worship.

"We Shinobi are taught to wield swords at a young age, in hopes that we are good enough to join this organization when we are older!"

"The seven swordsmen are known for their silent killing technique. Kiri obviously are talented in the water jutsus. They create mist so they can block the opponents vision… you don't even see them coming" Mei grinned viciously.

Tom nodded thoughtfully, rapidly thinking about possible counter measures. "And your interest in the Kusanagi?" he asked.

"That!" Mei exclaimed."Is a monster of a sword that can cut through anything!"

"I'd really like to know the story of how Orochimaru-san came across it" Zabuza grumbled.

"That really is a story for another time, ducklings." A voice called from the mouth of the cave.

And all three heads snapped to look at the newcomer.

"Orochimaru." Tom called, catching sight of him. "…And guest? What happened?"he asked, eyeing a child behind him warily.

It's my second day here, why am I even hosting from a cave! Tom felt bone weary and ready to sleep.

A boy who looked around 8 years old peeked from behind Orochimaru's legs and Orochimaru's grin was feral and familiar. Tom's interest was immediately piqued.

"Voldemo-san, I've sent word of your presence to the Hokage. The village will send for backup, they will arrive by tomorrow afternoon. And this… this is Kaguya Kimimaro"

The boy had pale skin, vivid green eyes and angular facial features. He had two scarlet dots conspicuous on his forehead, and long white hair tied in a loose pony-tail near the middle of his wore his hair divided down the middle on his head (distinguished by an atypical 'zigzag' hair parting) with two separate partings on either side of his face.

"Kaguya!" Mei exclaimed.

"Hmm.. yes that's right, Mei-chan" Orochimaru said. "He is the sole survivor of his clan and possessor of their Kekke-Genkai"

"Sole survivor?" asked Zabuza. "I thought they were causing havoc in the village only a week ago?"

"Circumstances change" Orochimaru shrugged non-committedly, the child behind him did not look too upset by that but still had a despondent air about him.

"What kind of Kekke-Genkai?" Tom asked. Orochimaru looked too smug for his liking.

"Shikotsumyaku" the child whispered. And all three residents looked at him curious.

"The dead bone pulse?" Mei asked.

"Show them a little" Orochimaru urged, when Kimimaro nodded.

Apparently, the clan could manipulate their bones and Tom watched absolutely intrigued as Kimimaro pointed his index finger at the far wall and shot a little bone out at the speed of a bullet. He watched the bone in the finger re-grow in amazement.

"What." Tom said flatly, utterly in disbelief.

Orochimaru chuckled in delight.