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As a man whose sole purpose in life was to attain immortality, a higher plane of existence, he wanted to have the method used to achieve it documented.
But the thing was, Orochimaru had accidentally made himself immortal of all things. One day he had simply woken up and felt as though he’d never die again.
He was right. Oh so painfully right.
The first time he had truly expected to died in a long while was when Kara had sent agents to his bases.
One moment he was hiding his work and the next…nothing.
And then the most unexpected thing had happened. His head, previously splattered across a wall, had regenerated itself.
Looking at what should’ve been his brain smeared across a wall was certainly a surreal experience. The first time that is.
Kara was eventually stopped, as was many of the other Otsutsuki and suddenly there was no impending threat anymore.
That had not stopped his experiments (albeit they were more legal now) and anyone else’s way of life.
So the world had moved on.
Tsunade had died at the old age of 90. That death had made him pause in his tracks and look back.
All of his teammates were dead now. His Sensei was long gone and he was all that remained. That was the consequence of life, he supposes.
Orochimaru picked himself up and moved on. Every other death had not stopped him. Why would this one?
An intolerable child had visited him for the first time in two hundred years. Mitsuki and Log had long lost contact with him. Orochimaru wonders if they were even alive.
Hopping from one foot to another the blond haired child, the snake Sannin could immediately pin her as Uzumaki’s descendant, beamed towards him.
“You must be old man Orochimaru!” She declared while moving towards him. “I need your help Dattebata!”
Ah, that verbal tick…he wonders how genetics play on it.
“What is it you require child?” He sneered down towards her. “This one may not look like it but I am a busy man.”
“With what, boring science experiments?” Her eyebrows raise in incredulity. “What I’m doing is way better, I’m going to make a really cool group and I want you to join!”
Orochimaru did not laugh, but the image in front of him reminded him all too much of Tobi’s little pitch for him to keep a straight face.
“And what exactly is your name, child?”
The girl squawked in disbelief. “I haven’t introduced myself? Oh no!” She pointed a thumb towards herself. “I’m Uzumaki Suia, and my dream is to make humans and aliens get along.”
A chuckle escaped him. No matter the time it seemed as though there was always one major issue an Uzumaki must face.
“What’s so funny about that?!” Suia waved a fist towards him in a threatening motion. “I’ll definitely do it Datebata!”
“Of course you will.” His eyes narrow. “Once an Uzumaki declares what they want, well, we must all make way, for you will do it no matter what.”
“So will you join?”
Out of all the things he could’ve done today joining a group dedicated to an alliance that was never thought possible wasn’t one he predicted.
He grinned. “But of course Suia-Chan.”
“Orochimaru?” A woman who could only be a Uchiha questioned. “You brought mother fucking body stealing Orochimaru into this group?”
The Snake Sanin was speechless upon meeting a Uchiha who swore more than Hidan. Actually no, a Uchiha swearing in general is a strange experience in of itself.
Suia beamed as she moved to hug the woman. She was stopped as the woman pushed her away.
“Majun!” She explained in mock hurt. “Do you not trust me? I wouldn’t let him in here if I thought he was dangerous.”
The Uchiha sighed. “Suia, everyone in this group is dangerous, that’s the whole damn point.”
Orochimaru watched as the Uchiha glared towards him. “If you so much as look at Suia wrong I’ll fuck you up so bad not even your so called immortality can save you.”
“That’s fair.” He agrees easily. “But your threat would’ve been more intimidating if you could actually do it.”
Majun flipped him off before storming away.
“Does it ever get lonely?” Suia had once asked, clutching the body of a fallen comrade Orochimaru hadn’t really met. “Watching everyone you love die?”
Maybe it did once, a couple hundred years ago.
“Not anymore.” He had stated honestly. “There are always other people in the galaxy.”
Suia brushed her comrades hair out of his face. “But one never like the one you lost.”
Similar, yes, but never the same.
Orochimaru closed his eyes. “Emotional hurt is the worst type of hurt. One that in all my years I’ve never found a cure for.”
The Uzumaki smiled weakly. “If you do find the curse sign me up for the first round of treatment.”
“Of course, yours will be the first dose after mine.” He assured the girl before reopening his eyes.
There is work to be done.
It had taken five years for Suia to achieve her goal for a true alliance between humans and otherworldly beings. Orochimaru had been by her side as the heads of the major planets signed the treaty.
Suia had kept her composure for precisely two minutes before sobbing her eyes out when she was alone. The Snake Sanin was decidedly a little nicer to the girl for the next hour.
More time had passed. Suia had visited him almost every month until she hadn’t.
She had died at 156. That was a long time even by Uzumaki standards. Still, having someone to talk to for such a long time was nice while it lasted.
A bouquet of flowers had sat itself besides Uzumaki Suia’s grave. No one had seen the one to leave them.
Kabuto was apparently still alive. He wasn’t immortal but had a rather long life span that was approaching its end.
Past grudges aside the two had begun exchanging letters with one another until the end of Kabuto’s life.
This death hadn’t stung. In fact, Orochimaru felt a sense of relief wash over him. He wouldn’t wish Kabuto to be truly immortal, that was just too cruel.
On one of his many excursions Orochimaru had met the Ichibi.
“Snake.” The tailed beast rumbles. “Of course you still live.”
“Can we really call what I do living?” He counters. “You may be able to live forever but there are ways for you to truly go.”
The Kyuubi had proved that much.
The Ichibi let out a cruel laugh. “Do wish to die Snake?! Is that what you are saying?!” As soon at it had started the laughter died down. “Is this not what you had wanted? Immortality that is.”
“You appear to be mistaking something.” Orochimaru drawls. “I have no intention to die.”
He wanted to live even if what he does isn’t really living. The thought of arriving into whatever after life there was and seeing everyone he had ever known there was far worse than anything living could do to him.
The bartender wiped down the glass in her hand as she looked over to Orochimaru.
“Anything I can get ya customer?” Her gruff voice filled his ears.
“Just a bottle of sake and one cup.” He answered as she nodded. “Which reminds me, what is the most famous story you’ve heard in this bar?”
Tilting head to the side the bartender paused. “Hm, probably the tale of Uzumaki Naruto. Though his descendants do come in close seconds.”
Hah, of course it was.
“Tell me about his story.” The Sanin demanded while placing down money onto the counter. “Humour me and explain it like I’ve never heard it before.”
“Well, where to start?” She hummed while placing down the sake. “On October tenth a child was born…”
Orochimaru grabbed his stomach, nearly toppling over from how much he was laughing.
“A-and this Orochimaru person--“ his voice broke off as another round of laughter passed through his mouth. “You say he had good intentions towards Uchiha Sasuke and had never truly planned to take over his body?”
The woman shot him a glance before shrugging. “Well that’s one version of the story. Other versions depict him as a horrid beast of a man that will come take naughty child who don’t go to bed on time.”
His laughter abruptly stopped. That story was probably the more accurate one.
“How long has it been since Uzumaki Naruto had died?” He asks the Nibi who hissed towards him.
“A good two thousand years now Snake.” She snarled before swiping her paw down to end him.
Orochimaru didn’t bother dodging as his body began to repair itself which was seemingly regenerating faster upon each death.
Mitsuki and Log were long dead, probably. All the stories he had followed up on led into their eventual demise due to old age.
Still, he’s glad they died normally. His boys didn’t deserve the horrid fate he himself holds.
Chakra is beginning to die out after fifty thousand years. He isn’t surprised, this event was a long time coming.
But that does bring along one issue. If he himself only lives due to nature chakra then--
What will he do when it’s gone?
Orochimaru had fled his home planet in the end. The planet that had cared for him all his life was now forever out of his reach.
He had met with some other humans who had left Earth a thousand years ago.
And you wouldn’t believe this but, there was an Uzumaki and Uchiha among the residents. They were creating a group, one that would transverse the stars and explore all there is in the galaxy.
An impossible feat, even after all these years of space travel. But still, when they asked him to join there wasn’t a second thought on his mind.
“Of course.” He grinned wildly. “Show me all there is in this universe.”