Naruto Shippuden -H-: Chapter 029: The Progression of the White Snake
Orochimaru continued to remember the events that transpired between him and his brother all of those years ago.
"One month has passed since father's death and you have taken in well, using that pain in your heart for motivation." said Hirudeguarn to his little brother as he was picking him up from the academy.
"I know, let's not talk about it, mother is still taking it hard." said Orochimaru with a saddened tone.
"Goddammit, I know, but I don't care you hear, the only thing that matters to me is to help you become the best you can be, Orochimaru, I want you to one day be able to put the fear of God into someone just by glancing at them!" said Hirudeguarn with an excited tone as he and his brother were walking towards one of the many training grounds that Tobirama had built around the village during his rule.
"Huh, but, that is not true, I am just not sure what I want to do anymore, I don't want to be like you!" yelled Orochimaru to his brother with a confused mind.
"You will never be like me, you will be you, and that is to quit fucking around and master our clan's special techniques by the time you become a Genin, so more approximately, you have three years to do so, and I believe you can." said Hirudeguarn with a slight look of confidence for his brother.
"Huh, you think I can...do it?" asked Orochimaru as his mood subtly, yet slightly changed.
"Yes, and I will not stop until you have achieved that level of prowess for yourself." said Hirudeguarn with a stern tone.
Three years have passed as the now eight-year old Hirudeguarn had graduated from the academy, along with his friend Jiraiya. Hirudeguarn had shown up shortly after the announcement to speak with his brother the first time in six months, as he was busy being on the ANBU Tree Corps, the early version of ANBU.
"You have done well this past three years, my brother, keep up this determination of yours, and you shall surely become Hokage one day, or even greater if you desire, hehehe." said Hirudeguarn as he pat his little brother on the head, while also giving him an intense glare.
"I will be the best Genin in this village, just you wait and see brother." said Orochimaru with a tone of joy.
"No, just be the best killer you can be, and start with Iwagakure." said Hirudeguarn as Hiruzen approached the two brothers, accompanied by Jiraiya and Tsunade.
"Congratulations on becoming part of the Third Hokage's team, you can just call me Hiruzen, my likes, uhhh...Pipes, the ones that you smoke, hehehe, my dislikes, well, cowardice, and my dream is to see the next generation of leaf shinobi surpass us." said the younger Hiruzen with a look of joy.
"Heh, still acting joyful to these ignoramus children even after becoming Hokage, just remember that my brother will be counting on you to guide him to the next outpost of his destiny, Lord Third." said Hirudeguarn as he turned around and started to walk away.
"Brother, I will see you soon, don't forget to teach me something new next time we meet." said Orochimaru with a tone of anticipation.
"Sorry about that, but your new teacher is Hiruzen. I will just coach you on when you truly become a warrior." said Hirudeguarn as he ran off towards the gates of the village.
"Don't worry about him, Orochimaru, your brother is just over-working himself as of late, anyway why don't you three introduce yourselves." said Hiruzen to his three new genin.
"My name is Jiraiya, and you can hand me over my love letter later." said Jiraiya as he looked over towards Tsunade.
"My name is Tsunade, and I would never accept a love letter from a spinless fool." said Tsunde as she scowled towards Jiraiya.
"My name is Orochimaru, and I want to be a shinobi that can see through the haziest fog, and look towards the truth of reason." said Orochimaru as Hiruzen clapped towards his answer.
"That was a brilliant response Orochimaru, Tsunade and Jiraiya would do well to pay attention instead of getting into another fight." said Hiruzen to his prized pupil.
Two more years passed on as Orochimaru began to recount the events surrounding the passing of his mother.
"Heh, she died as the result of a spy coming into the village from a foreign country, she along with thirty-one others were the casualties that were the result of a poor job from the barrier team to protect the citizens of our village." said Hirudeguarn to the ten-year old Orochimaru as he was crouched over, sobbing at his mother's grave.
"First Rivoulzione, and now Iris, both father and mother are dead, why did this have to happen so soon?" asked Orochimaru with a tone of despair.
"That is the way of the rotten shinobi system, brother, and even if one is retired from being a shinobi, they are to still die at the hands of a ripe. new one." said Hirudeguarn as he thought back to killing the spy that killed his mother.
"I know you killed the one that got mom, but that still does not bring her back!" yelled Orochimaru to Hirudeguarn with a sad and angry tone in his voice as it began to rain on the memorial of the village.
"But, it was a good sense of satisfaction to kill him, because once I start killing, I kill 'till the bitter end." said Hirudeguarn as he left his brother alone in the memorial as he walked off towards the Hokage's mansion.
"Brother, where are you going this time, you always leave me alone, and now there is no one for me to go home to!" yelled Orochimaru with tears as his brother stopped in his tracks.
"Listen you fucker, try to stop me from doing my next mission, and I will cut your little head off where you stand, and then you can see mom and dad in hell!" said Hirudeguarn with a look of insanity in his eyes as he turned around and continued walking towards the Hokage's mansion.
"Forget it, I cannot deal with you anymore, I must go continue my training to become a Chunin, and to avenge father and mother's deaths in a true way." said Orochimaru to himself as he also left the memorial.
Five more years passed, as Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraya were all Chunin and standing in front of their sensei, Hiruzen, all with looks of pride and joy.
"Congratulations on your one year-anniversary of becoming a Chunin, and now strive to become Jonin-level and become a shinobi like no other." said Hiruzen to his three pupils with pride.
"Don't worry about that, for I am the great Jiraiya of Mount Myoboku, the man who steals the heart of the ladies, and the demon of the great toads!" yelled Jiraiya with a gallant display.
"Geez, what a stupid display of maturity, you dumbass." said Tsunade as she scowled at Jiraiya again.
"I will not give up until I meet with my parents again, just like the time you showed me the White Snake's shedded skin, sensei." said Orochimaru to his sensei.
"Yes, I remember, it was three years ago, and I still mean it to this day, even though your brother has gone missing, I still believe you will find him as well." said Hiruzen to Orochimaru with a tone of assurance.
"No, I don't care about that anymore." said Orochimaru as he walked away and headed towards his abandoned home to be alone.
Orochimaru then had a moment from ten years later strike his mind, during the time of the Second Shinobi World War, where he was now twenty-five years old.
"Hanzo has declared us the Sannin, in exchange for letting us go." said Jiraiya with a feeling of discomfort.
"Well, it does not matter anyway, I would have killed him eventually, but I was more concerned with the welfair of you two first." said Orochimaru with a tone of anger.
"Hey, that is no way to act Orochimaru, we all three made it through this hellish battle together, and we shall always fight together." said Tsunade to her dark minded team-mate.
"It does not matter anyway, Tsunade you return home to Konoha, Jiraiya has decided to help out those worthless war orphans, I have my own things to attend to." said Orochimaru as he left Tsunade and Jiraiya and quickly ran out of the outskirts of Amegakure towards a large forest, with the ground flooded with water.
"Hehehe, if I can control the tides of war this time around, I can become the village leader and order a new law, requiring the war to go on, after all peace is no fun, a windmill must constantly be in motion, for the principles of life have made the monotony of a common-dwellers life almost like torture for me to bear." said Orochimaru as he was standing in the shin-deep water of the flooded forest a few miles south of Amegakure.
"The perfect cure for this abstinence called reason is eradication." said a mysterious figure, surrounded by mist, as it approached Orochimaru.
"Hirudeguarn, it is nice to hear from you again, although I am still not in control of the tides of the Second Shinobi World War yet." said Orochimaru to the man that stood obscured by the mist.
"Remember, don't let those worthless friends of yours slow you down, your goal is to become like the Hermit of the Six Paths, and to discover the true, final secrets of Ninjutsu, that is what you told me after all." said Hirudeguarn as he remained hidden by the great abundance of mist surrounding the inner part of the flooded forest.
"Yes, and one day, me and you shall judge this world together." said Orochimaru as he was pleased to be acknowledged by his brother at last.
"No, just God, you are a mere heathen." said Hirudeguarn as he left in a swift manner, leaving Orochimaru alone again.
"Heh, time to murder several Amegakure shinobi, and use their bodies to test out a new jutsu I presume, and as for you brother, I will acquire the Rinnegan and Sharingan one day, that will put me above you." said Orochimaru with a tone of ambition as the current Orochimaru directed his thoughts back to the present as the sixth day since he and Taka left for Lazarus had arrived.
"You were standing still for over twelve hours, I guess falling asleep, while standing up only adds to your creepy facade." said Suigetsu who expected not less from Orochimaru.
"Unlike you, I think of what is to come, and let me tell you this, I will kill my brother, and will enjoy seeing that Lazarus burn to the ground, after all, I am sure Naruto and Sasuke will arrive there soon as well." said Orochimaru as he suddenly had thoughts of acquiring the powers of the Uzumaki and Uchiha to combat his brother.
"Of course, compared to those two, I am but an ant, however my mind and ambition is far above theirs, as they desire peace yet again, while, rather than conflict, I desire to see God." said Orochimaru to himself quietly as Karin, Jugo, and Suigetsu followed him.
The surrounding area resembled a beach, with a vast ocean, as Orochimaru and Taka had arrived on the upper-north coast of the Land of Earth.
"We are vastly approaching Lazarus now, but we must still be patient, for Naruto and those other fools from Konoha are also on their was there as well." said Orochimaru to the members of Taka.
"Then why not let them take care of it, I mean, if these Knights of Dawn are troublesome opponents, then surely it would be wise to let Naruto deal with them, while we wait to meet up with this guy that you want to see so badly." said Karin who did not feel like getting dragged into a large conflict again.
"No, I will not be denied the joy of meeting Hirudeguarn Naga this time, I will take great joy in the fact that my own life is now coming full circle, and the worthless dredges that I surrounded myself with years ago, are now all void." laughed the man as he looked over towards the ocean, and saw the feint image if a large, skinless golem-like creature shortly materialize, before vanishing again.
"Huh, what was that, brother, are you already aware of my arrival, could it be?" asked Orochimaru to himself.
"The hell is he going on about, this is crazy." said Suigetsu who was more creeped out by Orochimaru than usual.
"It does not take much to unsettle you Suigetsu, why not just be patient and leave everyone else alone." said Jugo as he was more of a fan of a quiet environment where Suigetsu kept his mouth shut.
Naruto and his team arrived at the opposite end of the Land of Earth's north-western border as evening came in during their sixth day on the journey.
"This is it, everything we have been preparing for up to this moment is now coming to fruition, be on guard and bring your A-game." said Shikamaru as he and the others were walking a large plateau of stone, with one last mountain range in front of them, this one surrounded by what appeared to be tombstones.
"Is that a grave site of some kind, what could it be doing all the way out here, there are no other villages around, could it be in relation to this Lazarus place?" asked Sai with a confused tone.
"That could be a possibility, but the only things that matters now is finding this Apathetic Judge and seeing what he desperately wants." said Naruto with a determination to end his journey quickly.
"I will be sure to send world to Kakashi once we discover the location of the leader of Lazarus, so that way he can notify the other four Kage as well." said Sakura.
"That is a good idea, though someone else may have already taken care of that." said Sai.
"I have a feeling that the Shinobi Alliance will need all of the help it can get, because something big is coming, it is more than just this meeting with Naruto, I believe, in fact I dread to see what this Apathetic Judge is even about to be honest with you, just thinking about what he or it could be brings nothing but sadness to my psyche." said Shikamaru to the rest of his team-mates.
"Me too, that could be the reason I felt off here lately, something is up with this Lazarus city, and in a few hours, we will finally see what it is!" yelled Naruto as he was getting more excited by the second.
Orochimaru and his team had arrived at a cave located slightly off the main path of the beach that they were traveling on.
"We will rest one final night, and then tomorrow morning, we arrive in Lazarus, it is as simple as that." said Orochimaru with a stern tone.
"Finally, this fucking journey took forever if you ask me." said Suigetsu as his legs were sore from the whole fiasco.
"There you go complaining like a big ass baby again, knock it out!" yelled Karin angrily at Suigetsu.
"I can sense something serene and intoxicating in the area around fifty miles away from us." said Jugo to Orochimaru.
"I know, I sense it too, that is my brother, and he is my keeper, until now that is, I will be sure to put my own misery to an end after waiting for decades to bring this dream to fruition, why I even dreamed about it back when Kaguya sealed everyone within the Shinju, but now it shall be a reality." said Orochimaru as he closed his eyes and sat in the corner of the cave, with a slightly worried expression of the events to come.
-To be Continued next time with Chapter 030...-
