The Sannin is running, out and away and he shouldn't be alive, but he is, because Sarutobi is a fool thrice over. Once for choosing the Namikaze brat as his successor. Twice for giving Orochimaru warning. Thrice for letting him live. Three fatal mistakes – what an appropriate number, he thinks, and puts the thought behind him. He has things to do – so much knowledge to collect, so many things to experiment with. The possibilities were boundless, constrained only by his creativity!
One of the exits to his labs comes swiftly into view, and for just a moment, Orochimaru thinks he is free.
The next moment, his presence activates the sealing array that is neatly scratched into the surface of four unobtrusively arranged stones. Orochimaru dies instantly, as people who have had the entirety of their life force ripped out of them tend to do.
Three minutes later, an auburn-haired woman turns the corner and stands in the cave mouth, leaning slightly on her cane. Her eyes show no emotion but calm as she stares over the dead would-be missing-nin, down into the tunnel as though she can see someone at the end of it.
"Sarutobi, you sentimental fool," she murmurs, and turns her gaze to the corpse. She doesn't need her eyes to tell her that he is dead. That her sealing array, keyed to his chakra, activated at all is proof of that. There is not a flicker of chakra where once there was a bright flame.
Student of the student of my brother, she muses. How her husband and her brother would rage, if they were here to see.
I suppose my wrath will have to suffice. It was a quick death, anyway. Likely not painless, but she does not and has never regarded herself as a saint.
"You killed and warped children. You broke their minds. You twisted their bodies. You used people as playthings," she says, sounding like a grandmother scolding a wayward child. "And you used Hashirama's body to do it. Unforgiveable," she snarls. "And now, instead of facing justice, you have brought early death upon yourself."
Sarutobi is kind – too kind for his own good. He would not have killed Orochimaru if he'd stayed to face his crimes. She knows this, knows it like she knows that the tides rise and fall.
She moves smoothly, picks up all four chakra-laden stones from the sealing array, and tucks them away in an inner pocket of her white kimono.
"My granddaughter will mourn you," she says quietly, her voice breaking as she turns to leave. "Ah, you perverse, poor child. No one lives forever. You can not unravel the secrets of the universe in one lifetime, no matter how long."
The irony in her words is not lost upon her as she leaves, the chakra in the stones warm against her body.
When she returns home – a small, unobtrusive cottage on the wrong side of the fence of the Forest of Death - she unseals an elaborate rock garden. She deliberately arranges the four new stones to fit in with the mass of others. Then she seals it away again – a necessary precaution, due to the sheer amount of chakra in the stones. This garden is finished, though; she can't add anymore. She should take it to the hospital, or perhaps to ANBU headquarters. Tomorrow, she decides, beginning to prepare a pot of chamomile tea.
The old kunoichi plans to eventually die in service to the village she and her husband built. In truth, she should have died when the Kyuubi was extracted from her and sealed into Kushina. She would have been content. Fate and her blood, it seemed, had different ideas. So. Until then, she will be happy with serving and bettering her village. She needs no recognition, no glory. She's had more than enough of her fill of that empty nonsense.
She pulls out a cup for herself and another for her granddaughter for when she comes to visit. Mito closes her eyes and listens to the sounds of the Forest of Death.
Somewhere, a prey animal screams.
"Mito-sama, Shishou apologizes for not coming to visit herself, but-"
"The two of you are departing tonight."
"…yes, Mito-sama."
"It's outstanding that she managed to stay for so long. If there is any guilt she has for my sake, tell her to rid herself of it entirely. I'd offer you some oolong, but it's gone cold. Still, take some leaves with you... Chamomile for my honored granddaughter, and for you...?"
"Anything is sufficient, Mito-sama, but I prefer green."
"…"
"…"
"Take care of my granddaughter, Shizune-kun. Write every now and then - you, not Tsunade-kun."
"Yes, Mito-sama."
"Shizune…"
"…"
"If she's ever ready, bring her home." Her voice does not break, doesn't waver in the slightest, and Mito is ashamed.