Chapter Text
There’s absolutely nothing special about Oto.
It is a small country, barely noticeable by the bigger nations that surround it and hardly a threat to anyone. A decaying economy with criminality and poverty spreading like a disease, they are not capable of defending themselves and are forced to request help from foreign Hidden Villages but very few habitants have enough money to make those requests.
Oto is drowning on their own issues, one of the many victims of the last shinobi war, caught between the feuds of their neighbors and forced to fight a war that had nothing to do with them. Their Hidden Village was never the strongest and the consecutive wars did little to allow them time to heal, let alone to grow so by the time the Third Shinobi War had started it was painfully easy to wipe them out and scatter the few survivors.
Overall they are a ridiculous simple target. And a very lucrative one at that which is the most important part for Orochimaru’s plans.
Just because there are no more trained shinobi it doesn’t mean the potential is not there. Chakra is a funny little thing who has an incredible capacity to run in a family even when a mixture occurs and not enough generations have passed for all potential for Ninjutsu to be lost in Oto, they don’t have any notable bloodlines of their own but it is still better than nothing. The last war left many orphans with a lot of potential after the civilians of Oto started to kill those who could use Ninjutsu, too scared to be caught in a situation where their lands would be used as a battlefield - No nation wants to be another Ame - and those are always the easiest targets.
Orochimaru is not good with people, never was even as a child, he is better with killing and experimenting than with diplomacy, words are flick little things and as a lover of the hard science, of the cold facts that can be proven, he never saw much point in entertaining such frivolousness in playing nice to people who can’t hold a candle to his power.
However he was raised as a shinobi and in that line of work lying is an essential skill. A shinobi needs to lie to survive, lie to the Daimyo and pretend that his army is a threat - How ridiculous to think sheer number is enough to stop a Hidden Village of taking control of the country if they wish to, don’t those people know that some shinobis are able to erase entire armies and change the land? - lie to the client when it's needed, lie to enemies, lie to their allies, lie to themselves because sometimes that is the only choice. Orochimaru is not good with people, he doesn’t know how to properly interact with them, but he knows how to lie , how to manipulate them to get exactly what he wants.
It was easy, even more than he originally expected, to gain the Daimyo’s permission to build a Hidden Village in his lands, the man was eager to accept the chance of more power and independence, to accept a pact with a devil if that means his country will have the slightest chance of being allowed to grown. Not that Orochimaru would accept a no as answer in the first place, but having the clear permission of the man means that he doesn’t have to bother with much secrecy and that no other country can actively attack him there without risking giving the idea of wanting another war and therefore makes everything more easy to deal with.
He has enough on his plate with Akatsuki to have to think about Hidden Villages deciding to try their luck with what they see as an easy target.
Leaving Akatsuki was a bold move, Orochimaru knows it was, not a bad one mind you, just something that can backfire very harshly in the future if he is not careful in his actions and planning, he can’t flaunter his location around now that Konoha is not the only organization wanting his head. But the Akatsuki is a time bomb anyway, they are starting to risk too much and Orochimaru is not going to throw away his life for things so ridiculous, for a plan he does not care about. He was interested in having Pain’s Rinnegan but it’s not worth the risks, not now when the jutsu is only an idea and the man is in full power, untouchable.
Maybe later when he discovers a weakness to be explored he can think about it again.
If the Akatsuki wants to hunt down the nine jinchuurikis and risk the rage of the Hidden Villages they can do as they please but he isn’t going to do the same without an army and at least two backup plans. He was always called paranoid in Konoha but in the life of a shinobi, especially a nukenin, paranoia can be the difference between life and death.
Orochimaru looks at his new hideout with a critical look, not his best one but soon enough it will be, this time he has the permission of the country leader to build it after all and that is a privilege he is going to use at its fullest - The man don’t need to know who he truly is or what his plans are, ignorance is a blessing for those who are stupid enough to not understand his motivations.
“Is everything alright Orochimaru-sama?” Kabuto asks, pausing his organization of some books “You were quiet for quite a long time.”
“There is nothing wrong” The pale man dismisses the boy with a vague gesture “Just thinking about what resources we will need to gather before starting with the plan.”
“We have everything we need at the moment. We have just arrived here and starting a village, even if a fake one is going to take a while.” The young medic murmurs
The older man just makes a sound of agreement taking time to really look at the boy, not much time has passed since he took him away from Danzo and Konoha and they are still trying to work around, and with, each other. It does not help that Kabuto is a quiet and shy boy who talks like someone walking on eggshells, something that amuses the Sannin given the fact that he is also a ROOT trained spy, probably capable of rivalizing ANBU members.
(Anko was the same, Orochimaru remembers with something that is not quite sadness but isn’t anything else either. In those first weeks as his student she was a completely different person than she was by the time he left. Just a scared little girl hiding behind a strong mask, trying to hurt and shut out the world before it had a chance to do it to her. But she got over it fast too, going from hiding from him to sassing him during the first month.)
But there is time for them to work around the boy's behavior, Orochimaru is a patient man and his plans are all long term, besides Kabuto does not need to trust or even like him, he just needs to do what is asked from him.
His main focus right now is setting down the foundation of everything that will come later, Konoha is a strong village that only a fool would underestimate and before he can think about launching his attack he needs an army and backups.
Now the true game begins, it's time to set the board and wait for the right moment to strike.
It’s really quite a shame then that the universe doesn’t give a fuck about Orochimaru’s carefully crafted plans.
(Maybe in another world nothing happened.
Maybe in another world Orochimaru built Otogakure with Kabuto and nothing happened to modify or delay his plan. Maybe he started his experiments again, harsher than before because for once he did not have the need to be cautelous, maybe he would plot to destroy Konoha in earnest, corrupting many children and destroying even more in the process.
Maybe in another world Orochimaru fell and utterly destroyed whatever traits made him human, whatever kept him connected to a world he never truly belonged to. Maybe nothing was there to catch his fall, no one held and dragged him kicking and screaming to something resembling dignity and humanity, nothing and no one forced him to care . Maybe he ended up utterly corrupted, a monster of the void who could only consume, who could only take, something twisted hiding in stolen bodies ever hungry for power and knowledge, destroying everything and everyone in his path.
Maybe in another world nothing happened.
But not on this one.)
It happens seven months after their arrival in Oto.
It’s a slow day like many still are in this new country, they are still building their facilities and collecting material from different hideouts, and on this particular late afternoon Kabuto is training some new ninjutsu while Orochimaru reads some old scrolls stolen from Iwa about dead bloodlines.
Then there is an alert coming from one of the many protection seals Orochimaru used to secure their location.
His first thought is Akatsuki of course, but he dismisses this idea equally fast, they may be a brash bunch but Pain is actually a capable leader and with the exception of one or two stupid members none of them would be as foolish as to activate one of the seals.
“Orochimaru-sama…” Kabuto starts a frown taking place on his face
“Stay here.” The Snake Sannin cuts him already getting up “I will go deal with whoever is stupid enough to think this is a good idea.”
The pale haired boy nods just once, body tense and uneasy but Orochimaru doesn't pause or make any sort of reassurance, he never saw the point of them. The invader isn’t even trying to hide their presence, in fact for the way they seem to be triggering every single non-lethal seal in their wake it’s quite the contrary, someone is making a deliberate entrance. With a strange mix of annoyance and curiosity the former Konoha shinobi makes his way to the front of the hideout, Kusanagi in his hand and at least five jutsus running through his mind.
What he finds is nearly enough to break his mask of coldness, it takes a lifetime of training to keep himself from reacting in a visible way.
Jiraiya is standing in his, previously locked now visibly damaged, door, a shameless smile in his face and not even a drop of killing intent to be felt. For an instant Orochimaru is certain that he is there to kill him and eliminate a threat to Konoha, lack of killing intent be damned, and drops to a defensive instance, but since Jiraiya’s favorite thing to do is completely shatter his teammate’s expectations, the man just gives a lazy salute.
“Yo Orochi. Mind giving us a place to stay? Just enough to get the hunter nins out of our backs.”
Orochimaru blinks. Once, twice and when the vision doesn’t change he considers the possibility of being trapped in a truly strange genjutsu.
“Oi sensei! We are in a hurry you know? Kakashi is still bleeding, the reckless moron that he is. A response sometime today would be nice.”
“Anko?”
“I am perfectly fine, it’s not like I’m going to fall over right now.”
“Of course it’s me, or did you forget my face after forgetting me in Konoha?” The girl replies with an expression that is a mix of sadness and anger, before turning to scoff at the other teenager in clear disbelief “Right, keep telling yourself that.”
For the first time in a very long time (Almost a life ago, when Dan appeared in his house with the most ridiculous smile to ask about Tsunade next time off, showing him a beautiful ring that the blonde woman never knew about) Orochimaru finds himself with no idea of what to do.
He resorts to what is familiar and sets his mind to truly analyze what is happening in front of him.
It’s just then that Orochimaru really realizes what is in his door. Jiraiya is in the front, a shameless smile in his face but now the Snake Sannin can see that there is a child in his arms, a blonde little boy sleeping with no care in the world, and behind him almost being shielded by his large frame there are three teenagers.
Anko is the closest almost besides Jiraiya, standing with her arms crossed in a protective way and a fierce glare in dark eyes, a little behind her Hatake Kakashi’s only visible eye is trained on him in a calculating way and while he is still wearing a ANBU uniform his posture is the closest to relaxed and non-threatening the boy is probably capable of. The third is another boy, younger, maybe close to Anko’s age, and he looks terrified, almost completely hidden behind the Sannin.
“What happened?” He asks because if he understands the context maybe this whole thing will make more sense
“Oh that’s a funny story” Jiraiya smiles in that particular way that means absolutely no good and hides with near perfection his true emotions “You see I may have kidnaped the Kyuubi jinchuuriki and fled Konoha with their genius, one of Danzo’s ROOT members and dear Anko with me. So… Can we crash with you for a while?”
It could be a trap.
Should be one.
But Jiraiya would never bring kids- Even one like Hatake who has been a shinobi for so long - for one of his fights, especially one between the two of them who have the potential to be truly destructive to everything remotely close. An ambush is equally as unlikely, Jiraiya may be a splendid spy but it’s out of necessity and extensive training, the Toad Sage was never fond of treachery or foul play, he is a straightforward person, a soldier rather than a killer.
Even if Jiraiya is being completely honest in his request Orochimaru should refuse, it’s the logical thing to do.
It could be easier to fight Jiraiya in this state, he would try to shield the kid and pay less attention to the actual fighting because of it, targeting one of the others would also work, forcing him to split his attention. A simple distraction is everything Orochimaru would need to finish the fight quickly and then he would have some very interesting research objects in his possession. If the child is truly the jinchuuriki he is a gold mine of information - Maybe he could even ask something from Akatsuki when he finishes with the boy -, the Hatake has one fine example of Sharingan to be studied and for what he remembers of ROOT the younger boy should bring something interesting too.
(He carefully doesn’t think about Anko and her fate. It’s better than admitting to being uncertain.)
It would be easy and he wants it. Wants to hurt Konoha and Jiraiya and even Tsunade just like they hurt him.
Konoha was never home after his parent’s death, never a place where he was accepted by his peers, they all seemed to hate him even when he was just a boy with too much curiosity and not enough empathy to fit in, as if they knew in an unconsciously way that he was damned to follow a dark path. Sarutobi-sensei always told him to not mind this type of behavior, to simple ignore the stares and the whispers and even the flinches as he passed and for many decades that was what the pale man did, it was easy to believe in the Sandaime's reasoning and logic was always important to him, he has craved to have a reason for things to be like they are since birth, a world where things just happen without reason is not one Orochimaru is interested in.
People fear those who are stronger than they are, especially if they are also different in any way.
And Orochimaru was stronger, only Tsunade and Jiraiya posed a match against him, always a good killer even more than the other shinobi, capable of alone wiping out enemies that others would need squads to handle, he knew how to kill and he did it well. Apparently too well. It was a ridiculous reason for their treatment of him, it was Konoha who made a killer out of him, who put a blade on his hand and coached the power out his soul and weaponized it, how dare they judge him for being what they made him into?
Konoha never felt like home, but Orochimaru was raised from birth to be loyal , to be a proud shinobi of Konoha who would bleed, kill and die for it's glory and for a long time that explanation was enough, Sarutobi-sensei, Tsunade and Jiraiya were enough.
But then everything started to fall apart.
Jiraiya left first, turned his back to them in the middle of the war to raise some brats in Ame and for three years Orochimaru never received a message, not even a sign that his friend was alive and remembered him. Jiraiya seemed to have forgotten about them, about his duty, and left them to fight in the war alone.
Then it was Tsunade’s turn, the loss of Dan too much for the medic to handle and she left without even a goodbye, Orochimaru was on a mission in Kiri and when he returned it was to the notice that his teammate had left, probably to never return.
And that hurt . Maybe it’s selfish of him to wish things could have stayed like they were, but Orochimaru was always aware of his flaws and that is one of them, he is a selfish man and he wishes his teammates had stayed or at least bothered to give him an explanation or even a goodbye, something to help him process and understand their sudden loss.
(It would have hurt less if they had just died.)
Even when Jiraiya finally returned things were already cracked beyond repair, without Tsunade to keep him grounded the Snake Sannin was losing himself in dark ideas, techniques that would give others nightmares, letting himself follow a path that previously he was never really allowed to glance at without his teammates, his friends, giving him the usual talk about humanity and empathy. And the Toad Sage was too busy for him anyway, too focused on his new genin team to look after a broken friend who never grasped morality like a normal person. They drifted away while being on the same piece of land.
But the final straw was probably Namikaze Minato.
A genius and a prodigy with no match in his generation. Jiraiya’s pride and joy. An enemy so powerful that he had a "flee on sight" warning between their enemies, a trained killer capable of wiping out a whole army by himself, a nightmare to those who had to face him. And what was Konoha's reaction to that man? They worshiped him . While Orochimaru was a pariah Minato was loved enough to be accepted as Hokage.
How different were they? Minato was as much of a killer as Orochimaru but because he could put on a smile and didn't act like a freak they were eager to embrace him.
He hates Konoha because of the double standards.
Hates because he was the only one to fall when the experiments with the Shodai’s cells were discovered. Orochimaru is no fool neither is he blind to the consequences of his actions or the horrifying methods used in his research, if anything he is even more aware than anyone else and he can understand why his experiments would be upsetting for others, it's not their disgust and anger that drove him to flee with plans of revenge.
It’s the fact that the Hogake and the Council turned a blind eye to Danzo’s involvement.
The man not only knew what was happening but was actively involved in it, giving him access to the necessary materials and even handing him children who he believed would successfully accept the cells. It wasn’t only Orochimaru's crime but he was the only one to pay for it and that is not something he can forgive.
Danzo was protected from the consequences of a crime he too committed. There is as much blood on his hands as in Orochimaru's.
He can’t forgive Konoha and he doesn’t think he can forgive Jiraiya either, both betrayals hurting a very intimate part of himself he never wanted others to know existed. So he should attack the man, aim at the sleeping child to distract and then try to disable the Toad Sage while he is busy defending the younger ones. It’s the only logical choice.
“So can we stay?” Jiraiya asks again, apparently annoyed with his silence. “It’s only for a while then we will be out of your hair.”
Orochimaru looks at the mismatched group and even if every logical part of him screams against it he moves away from the door and lets them in.