Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters belong to Shonen Jump.

"Lady Anko, are you all right?"

Anko Mitarashi heard the words, but they were lost to her. The newly christened jonin of the Hidden Leaf Village was simply transfixed by the chakra that hovered in the palm of her hand. To make one's chakra so dense as to be visible was a feat in of itself, but the darkened shade that it had shifted to was what truly left the kunoichi shaken.

"Lady Anko?"

The shinobi heard her name spoken once again, this time letting it release her from her single-minded gaze. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I'm fine."

The two kunoichi were currently alone in a building on the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf Village, one that had been constructed with the sole intention of allowing shinobi to research and experiment on the jutsu in their possession. It had been a year and a half since Anko had begun to train for her showdown with Orochimaru, but simply honing her present skills and learning new ones was not all she had hoped to achieve.

She had advanced in rank, having mastered one elemental style and dabbling in another, but she had also begun to perform tremendous research, putting Kabuto Yakushi's data, notes and documentation to good use. Sakura Haruno, having become the greatest medical ninja of her generation, had proven instrumental in that effort. The two of them had poured over every facet, every detail, that Kabuto had on record in regards to Orochimaru's genetic experimentation, from his offensive capabilities to his increased ability to regenerate.

Now the fruit of their exhaustive labor was in the palm of Anko's hand. The mass of chakra, a darkness beyond twilight, was a jutsu that she and Sakura had created together, a technique born from the younger kunoichi's medical expertise.

"Thank you, Sakura," Anko said. "This is exactly what I hoped for since that day in Kabuto's base. This jutsu will allow me to end things once and for all. Still, I do need to ask you for one more favor."

"Anything, Lady Anko."

"To put this to good use," the jonin began to ask, "I need to know one particular medical jutsu. A basic but necessary one. And I don't think there's any other shinobi better suited to teach it to me than you."

"I'll do my best," Sakura replied. "But, Lady Anko?"

"Yes?"

"Is this really what you want?"

The violet haired shinobi looked away for a moment, letting Sakura's question truly weigh on her mind. "Maybe once, but now... this jutsu will be a last resort. Nothing more."

In the depths of Yukijigoku, Anko Mitarashi remembered her words from what felt like a life time ago. Her mind weighed down with regret, she prepared herself to use that jutsu at long last. "Ninja Art..."

As Anko landed before Orochimaru, the Sannin caught off guard by the very same shadow clone technique he had bested Anko with years ago, the kunoichi took notice of her former teacher making hand seals with just his right hand. Not interested in giving the shinobi a chance to launch any kind of attack, Anko slashed the fingers of her right hand across Orochimaru's chest. Cloth and flesh tearing open thanks to the faint chakra emanating from the tips of Anko's fingers, the kunoichi using the most basic of medical scalpel techniques that Sakura had trained her in.

Anko knew the Sannin's wound would heal quickly, but she did not care. She only needed the opening in Orochimaru's defense to remain as it was for a few brief seconds. The time at hand, the kunoichi drove her right fist into the wound, plunging her hand into Orochimaru's body up to her wrist. Her fist slipped underneath the Sannin's rip cage, leaving Anko to feel completely disgusted with what she was subjecting both herself and Orochimaru to.

"What are you doing?" Orochimaru gasped, completely caught off guard by Anko's actions.

Anko answered the Sannin's question by finishing the incantation of her hidden technique, repeating it in full. "Ninja Art: Ouroboros Jutsu."

The Hidden Leaf Shinobi opened her hand inside of Orochimaru's chest cavity, releasing the dark mass of chakra that had formed between her fingers. The energy burst outwards, infusing itself with the Sannin's very being.

Then, and only then, did Anko pull her hand out from Orochimaru. She glanced down at the blood that now adorned it, the Sannin's own. Her fingers and wrist twitched for a moment in response to the feeling, Anko flinching in disgust. She had never been one to shy away from blood, much to many an aspiring chunin's regret, yet now she could not control herself.

"What... what have you done?"

Anko's thoughts were interrupted by Orochimaru's sudden exclamation of confusion and fear, something she was not used to hearing from her former master. The Sannin was glaring down at his chest, the wound Anko had inflicted with the chakra scalpel not healing. Instead blood was pouring from it, the torn open flesh spreading outward as if it had a life of its own. That was not what truly concerned the Sannin, however. Pain was beginning to wash over his entire body, threatening to consume him.

"What I had to do," Anko replied, her voice becoming distant. "Something I didn't want to do. But you backed me into a corner. Again."

Anko's eyes moved around for a moment, her head following along. She took in the sight of Yukijigoku once more, her anger building in response.

"I truly hate this place."

"I don't care what you hate!" Orochimaru hissed, rage beginning to slip through the cracks of his composure. "Just tell me what that jutsu of yours has done!"

"No matter how strong and skilled I became," Anko began, "I knew your regeneration would prove to be an almost insurmountable obstacle. But Kabuto's research data was quite thorough on how such a power functioned. So I poisoned you."

"Impossible!"

"Yes, under normal circumstances," Anko replied. "Sakura Haruno was kind enough to inform me of how she had attempted a similar assassination technique on Sasuke Uchiha. How she had then learned that you had made that student of yours immune to such things. It was obvious you would take similar precautions for yourself. So I had to adapt. If typical poison wouldn't work on you, then I simply had to get creative."

Anko suddenly pointed her right index finger directly at Orochimaru's chest.

"You wanted to take my body, but now there's a little bit of me inside you. Consider it a parting gift, sensei." Anko took notice of Orochimaru's puzzled expression, unwilling to gaze at the man's face any longer. She glanced away, then continued to speak. "I corrupted a portion of my own chakra, then let it disperse under your skin. The Ouroboros Jutsu has altered your regeneration, reversing it. The pain your suffering? That's your own body eating away at itself on a cellular level. Any wound you take will not heal, but magnify in scope until it proves fatal."

Silence began to fall upon Yukijigoku, both Orochimaru and Anko finding nothing to say. After a tense few moments, however, the Sannin pierced the quiet with a low chuckle, one that burst into full scale laughter. Pain was evident in his tone of voice, but still Orochimaru continued to laugh, his shoulders rising and falling with each one.

The sight and sound of it left Anko on edge. "What the hell's so funny?

Orochimaru began to clutch at a wound that had started out a mere few inches but had now spread from one end of his torso to the other. Then the Sannin stumbled, falling off the tree branch and out of sight.

Anko was unwilling to let her foe leave her line of sight for even a moment, the jonin leaping after him. Her ankle flared up with pain as she touched down on the ravaged floor of Yukijigoku, but she did not care. Anko had found Orochimaru, the Sannin sitting down on the floor, his back resting against a tree. Blood continued to pour out from the deep cut Anko had formed, staining the Sannin's tunic in the process.

"Well done, my student."

The world seemed to stop for Anko Mitarashi in that moment, the words of Orochimaru having been the last ones she ever expected to hear from him, at least in that tone. There was no faint echo of sarcasm or ill intent, not like before. If the jonin did not know any better, she would swear that Orochimaru had offered her true praise.

Still, Anko knew Orochimaru was a devil at heart; he had to be. Trust could not be so easily obtained. Time was growing short now and she wanted answers to a question that had haunted her ever since her first visit to Hozuki Castle. "What did you tell Kabuto about our fight in the Forest of Death?"

"Oh, he spoke of that, did he?" Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly, pain evident in them thanks to the effects of the Ouroboros Jutsu. "I suppose that he felt it would motivate you more to come to me. What a smart young man our dear Kabuto has become. To be able to understand people's hearts so well... Yes, perhaps he has truly surpassed me."

"What did you say to him?"

"Ah, you truly do want to know," Orochimaru gasped in pain. "So be it. After my fun in the Forest of Death I returned to my base outside of the Hidden Leaf. Kabuto then questioned the wisdom of the decision I had made there."

"About choosing Sasuke Uchiha as your successor?"

"Heaven's no," Orochimaru replied. "He knew better than that. No, our dear Kabuto asked why I let you live. A valid question I suppose."

"I thought it was obvious," Anko began to say. "You wanted me to inform the Third Hokage of your presence. You wanted me to put your true target on edge. Just like now, all you wanted to do was use me as a tool for your dirty work."

"That," Orochimaru hissed, "was not my intent. Whether you lived or died, whether the Hokage was informed or not, it would not have changed the outcome of my operation to destroy the Hidden Leaf. I could have let you end your life alone with the Twin Snakes Sacrifice Jutsu, but..."

Anko took a sharp breath, the jonin understanding exactly what the Sannin was getting at. "You..."

"Yes. I could have stood back and watched you throw your life away against a cheap copy of myself, but I revealed the mud clone's true nature before that could happen. Yet another time I was subject to a whim, a flight of fancy."

Anko did not know what to make of Orochimaru's words, the Sannin being far too forthright with his statements. It was so unlike him, yet she still found herself hanging on his every word. However, the jonin could not allow herself to fall prey to such feelings, not yet. "So you spared me for another day, knowing that I could be of use to you at some point, is that it? And then you eventually settled on stealing my body to get close enough to those you wish to kill."

Orochimaru was beginning to sweat now, the pain the Sannin was feeling thanks to Anko's jutsu leaving him unable to stand back up. Yet still he continued to speak, a slight bit of mirth evident in his voice. "Not a bad actor, eh?"

"What?"

"I may have ridiculed both Sasuke and Kabuto for falling prey to the ideals one such as Naruto Uzumaki preaches, but..." Orochimaru's slight laughter faded then, his eyes narrowing. "I suppose spending so much time working on a counter to the Twin Snakes Sacrifice Jutsu was in vain."

Anko's thoughts raced for a moment, remembering the hand signs that her former master had been making when she had lunged at him one final time. "That was..."

"For so many years I thought I knew how everything would play out," Orochimaru continued. "All I simply need do was create a skill that would allow the attacker to survive that forbidden jutsu. I and I alone would die. But you're full of surprises."

If what he's saying is true, then... Anko did not know what to say, the Sannin's words playing with her heart as they were. The jonin took a breath, trying to compose herself. "Then Kabuto, he..."

"He knew the truth, yes," Orochimaru answered. "Why else would a man seeking redemption help one such as I? Now then... I have a question for you."

Anko had never expected such a request from Orochimaru, but with nervous expectation the jonin offered her reply. "Go ahead."

"What did you experience within the Infinite Tsukuyomi?"

Anko was taken aback by that question, but it did little to the jonin's inability to fully trust the Sannin dying before her. "I haven't spoken with anyone about that. Not Team Seven, not even the Sixth Hokage. Why would I start with you?"

"You truly hate me, don't you?" Orochimaru said in a reserved fashion. "I have spoken many lies this evening, but you truly have been breaking my heart. However... I cannot fault you for that."

Once again a moment of silence hung in the air between the two shinobi, Orochimaru finding it necessary for him to shatter it.

"Allow me, then, to share. I thought I knew what would be waiting for me in Madara Uchiha's infinite genjutsu. A fantasy of absolute power and knowledge, all my goals realized. Imagine my surprise then, when instead I was subjected to a world depicting the life I had abandoned."

Anko said nothing, unsure of what she could even expect to say at such a time.

"Lord Sarutobi alive and well... and I, a shinobi delighted to watch as his student became the master of her own team of genin."

Anko could not help herself, bringing a hand up over her mouth to cover a gasp. Her eyes went wide. remembering exactly what she had experienced within the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

"Ah, so then," Orochimaru began to say as he took notice of the jonin's startled reaction, "my hypothesis was correct. The world's populace was bound together by that jutsu and the roots of the Shinju Tree. Some dream worlds were no doubt going to overlap..."

"You're lying," was all Anko could say, the jonin unwilling to accept anything her former master would say. "You have to be. You're lying!"

"But that was all the Infinite Tsukuyomi was, an unobtainable fantasy," Orochimaru continued to say, all the while his body succumbing to the Ouroboros Jutsu. "At least for me. There was nothing I could do to make that dream a reality, not anymore."

The Sannin suddenly laughed once more, a bitter tone projecting from his mouth.

"At last I had obtained a body worthy of me, true immortality at last in my grasp, the opportunity to learn anything and everything finally at hand. But the world is simply a cruel place, revealing the truth I had buried within my decaying heart. I had thrown away everything to obtain nothing of true value."

Anko Mitarashi began to feel herself overwhelmed. She had come here to defeat a monster, one she had had built up in her mind for years. Yet now she found herself standing over nothing more than a pitiful human being, one who had at least realized the sacrifices he had foolishly made.

"Emulating me was a mistake as Kabuto so clearly demonstrated. So instead I found myself emulating Sasuke Uchiha. Or, more accurately, his brother." A momentary chuckle escaped from between Orochimaru's lips. "For so long I wished to become Itachi... in a sense. I suppose some things will never change."

"What are you saying?"

"That man and I were quite similar," Orochimaru began to say, "but I expect that Itachi would have been disgusted by such a claim. However, he and I both believed in strength through adversity, that much is clear. He allowed himself to be the villain, to be the obstacle his brother would have to prevail over. Despite his power and intellect, Itachi did make one mistake. He underestimated the depths of hatred that Sasuke could descend to. I, however, knew that was not something I would have to worry about with you, you who refused power born from sacrifice."

Anko was left speechless by her former master's words, unable to fully process the changed Orochimaru. Slowly but surely the jonin managed to force herself to speak. "You... you don't have to..." Anko's thoughts began to move at a fast pace, the jonin trying to come up with something, anything, to change the outcome that Orochimaru had set in motion. "I can't take the Ouroboros Jutsu back, but the Celestial Prison could save you. If I stopped your body's ability to regenerate, then..."

"You said the Ouroboros Jutsu was your parting gift to me," Orochimaru interrupted, his voice reduced to nothing more than a whisper. "Allow me, then, to give you one as well."

The dying Sannin began to work through a series of hand signs. His movements slowed down by his reversed regeneration, it took the man longer than he had wished. Still he pressed on, unwilling to die before his goal was complete.

Anko watched on, almost cursing herself for being on edge at the sight of the rogue shinobi's actions. No matter what he said or how he said it, the jonin's heart would not allow her to completely accept it.

"Summoning Jutsu," Orochimaru gasped, blood escaping from his mouth, "Reanimation."

Anko Mitarashi felt the flooring around her shake slightly. The jonin turned to look over her shoulder and watched as twin coffins tore appeared as if from the ground. Anko felt her heart skip a beat as she took notice of the text that had been inscribed on the front of them both.

"Kinako Mitarashi... Shoyu Mitarashi..."

"Ours will not be the only fateful reunion this day," Orochimaru said with a sly grin.

"Mom, Dad..." Anko could no longer hold herself in check. Her lower lip trembled, her eyes watering as she stared at the wooden caskets before her. Her bloodied right hand slowly reached toward them both, stopping at the last second. She suddenly turned towards Orochimaru, her voice raising in protest. "Just like the Curse Mark... Who do I have to thank for this gift? Who the hell did you sacrifice?"

"Do not fret yourself over it," Orochimaru replied. "As I told you, I have spoken many lies, but I do indeed possess the remains of the Zetsu army. Even in death, the power of those artificial creatures makes them fine subjects for this jutsu."

Her anger quickly dissipated, Anko once more becoming overwhelmed with sorrow. "Then..."

"Speak with them," Orochimaru said. "Reach the closure you have been denied for so long. They will then ascend back to the pure world, but you all will have obtained a measure of peace. Just as I... just as I attempted when I returned here."

A slight laugh suddenly came over Orochimaru.

"I wonder, would the Second Hokage be proud that his forbidden jutsu is at last being put to good use?" The Sannin pushed past his amusement, reaching out with his right hand. His fingers twitched for a moment, as if guiding an unseen force. "Still, my dear Anko, you have one last task to attend to before you speak with your parents."

Anko watched as the true Kusanagi Blade floated down from above, the katana slowly moving towards her. It stopped only when its handle made contact with the palm of the jonin's hand.

"Grant me an infinitely preferable end," Orochimaru whispered. "A fast death, my wayward protege."

Anko heard the command, but she found herself unable to carry it out. Orochimaru shifted his fingers once more, guiding the Kusanagi Blade so that its handle pressed harder into the jonin's palm.

"It didn't have to be this way..."

Focusing her resolve, Anko gripped the Kusanagi Sword tightly. She leapt forward at Orochimaru, knowing what he wanted, what he had asked for. A moment later the sword pierced the Sannin's heart, drawing blood. The Ouroboros Jutsu came into true effect then, the wound magnifying in scope, healing an impossibility.

Anko held the katana with both hands, staring into Orochimaru's eyes with her own as she did so. She could see the light fading the serpent-like orbs, but all the while the smile never left Orochimaru's face. Then Anko gasped, feeling the Sannin's right hand gently touch the side of her face. Her eyes began to shake in response, her breath slow and steady.

"You just slayed Orochimaru himself. So tell me, how does it feel?"

Anko heard the words the shinobi spoke, her mind recalling the distant past.

"Well, uh... awesome I guess?"

The kunoichi remembered those words, knowing she had been such a young fool. Now she could say nothing, unable to give voice to the mixed emotions that dwelled within her heart and soul.

"Oh," Orochimaru wheezed, his weakening gaze settling on the necklace Anko wore. "From Lord Sarutobi to me, from me to you... Yes, this... this is true... immortality..."

Orochimaru's eyes slowly closed then, his head falling forward slightly. His forehead made contact with Anko's own, the kunoichi having been so very close. She shivered in response, unable to fully accept what she had just witnessed.

Orochimaru is... is...

Anko restrained herself as best she could. She pulled the Kusanagi Blade free from the Sannin's body, standing tall once more. She turned away, slicing the sword through the empty air, whipping the shinobi's blood off of it.

"Farewell, Lord Orochimaru."

"Lord Hokage, do you think she's all right?"

Kakashi Hatake could only sigh in response to Sakura Haruno's question. The man knew he simply would never get used to such formal speech when others were around him. Well, she and Naruto never could stop calling me sensei, even when we were equals...

"She's been down there way too long," Naruto said, backing up his teammate's concern. "I know some fights can go on way, way too long, but-"

Kakashi hated what he was about to say, but as the Sixth Hokage he had concerns that transcended one ninja's pride. "She has five more minutes. Then we move in."

Team Seven and their former squad leader stood waiting, their eyes trained on the entrance to Yukijigoku. A minute passed, then two, then three, and finally four. The trio of ninja began to brace themselves for the battle ahead, only to restrain themselves when they at last heard footsteps echoing across the inside of the stone cavern.

Soon, at long last, Anko Mitarashi appeared. She was badly wounded, walking with a limp and dried blood staining her face, a hand and one of the shoulders of her coat as well. Strapped to her back was a katana, the Kusanagi Blade. In her arms she carried Orochimaru, the Sannin's body unmoving.

"So," Kakashi Hatake said quietly, "it's finished."

Anko made it out of the entrance, her body finally collapsing. She fell to her knees and placed Orochimaru's corpse in the snow before her. The jonin stared down at his remains with still eyes, her face unwilling to betray any of her feelings.

"Lady Anko!" Sakura ran over to the wounded shinobi, placing both her hands on the woman's shoulder. The medical ninja's fingers came alive with green chakra, the energy beginning to mend and repair the damage that had been done. "Is everything...?"

"It's over," Anko said, her voice low. "It's really over."

Sakura shifted her gaze from Anko's unmoving face to Orochimaru's remains, then back again. "You had to use the technique we devised, didn't you? Lady Anko, I'm so sorr-"

"Don't be, please," the jonin interrupted. "It was for the best."

As Sakura moved her hands up towards Anko's face, intent on repairing the cut now that the woman's shoulder was repaired, Naruto Uzumaki stepped in from the side and placed the jonin's cloak around Anko's shoulders. The young man then knelt down beside her, staring at Orochimaru's body. All the while Sakura moved on to healing Anko's leg.

"Maybe I've been wrong about it all," Naruto said, his voice becoming withdrawn.

"No," Anko replied, the jonin looking up into the sky and staring at the rising sun. "Orochimaru and I... we're better off because of people like you."

Anko could feel the pain in her left leg quickly fading, Sakura's medical work at last finished. The jonin looked at the pink haired kunoichi and gave her a smile. "Thank you."

"Think nothing of it," Sakura replied, returning the grin.

Anko stood up once more, lifting Orochimaru's deceased form in the process. She took a slow, deep breath, then began to walk. "Let's go home."

The others began to follow behind her, the Sixth Hokage speaking once more. "Lady Anko, one of us can carry Orochimaru. You needn't do it yourself."

"It's appreciated," Anko Mitarashi replied, "but this is my burden to bear."