Boredom, it seemed to dominate Orochimaru's life since the day Naruto and Sasuke broke the Infinite Tsukiyomi. The legendary shinobi had no idea what happened after getting freed from the cocoon, but he sensed that something in the air had shifted and knew it was best to get away quickly. The manipulative man had convinced Sasuke's former team that they would be held accountable for their role in Kaguya's resurrection, and they followed him away with Kabuto, providing a marvelous decoy in case somebody spotted him. It did not matter though, the alliance had lost much that day and was too weary to pursue them. The ragtag group got away without any resistance, but the snake summoner had been considering if he would've been better off not getting revived by Sasuke at all.
Thoughts of his former apprentice caused Orochimaru to clench his fists and draw blood. It was that damnable clan's fault that he was surrounded by such squalor. The serpentine man looked around at the rotting wood of the abandoned mansion that made up his temporary residence. The peasants surrounding the dilapidated structure had stripped everything of value. The only thing they left behind was the ugly wallpaper now peeling off the yellowed walls, and leftover pieces of porcelain from shattered vases. Lighter patches on the walls hinted at a vast collection of paintings that hung through the house during its days of grandeur, but those days were long ago, much like his.
Orochimaru fell back onto the stained mattress he had been lying on for the past two weeks and looked up at the black mold covering the rotten ceiling before silently cursing the Uchiha brothers once more. If only he had not underestimated the two of them. The legendary shinobi made a dire mistake by acknowledging Itachi's age before their fight, and to make matters worse the usually cunning man allowed his own arrogance to lead him into making the same mistake once more. He should have transferred into Sasuke after encountering the Konoha ninja in Kusa, but his failure to sense the younger brother's scheme fostered a false sense of security. Orochimaru believed he was the one pulling the angry avenger's strings, but it had been the other way around since day one. He was the one blinded by his goal, not Sasuke, and now he was simply a husk of his old self.
The traitorous member of the Sannin was glad the mirrors in the mansion were broken or stolen, because seeing what he had become only caused him pain. The serpentine man growled at the pathetic thought and pushed himself up from the bed, which caused his seldom-used joints to pop and crack, before awkwardly staggering to the bathroom. The legendary shinobi slowly bent down picked up the largest piece of shattered glass from the floor before forcing himself to confront what he had become, he could hide from it no longer.
The years since Kaguya's defeat had weakened the man and reduced him to a shell of his former self. Orochimaru's porcelain skin no longer shone with power, instead it appeared pale and sickly. His carefully honed muscles had disappeared and given way to sagging and wrinkled skin that hung loosely from his emaciated frame, giving him the appearance of a walking corpse. The man's formerly lustrous and finely groomed black hair was now matted with grease and was beginning to knot itself from lack of care. It also created an unbearable odor that attracted insects, but he could not bring himself to care. The traitorous member of the Sannin dropped the glass and let it shatter on the cold tile before looking at the weak and unfamiliar hands attached to his body—once capable of performing the most complicated jutsu with ease—and sighed.
Truthfully, the only one to blame was himself. His own arrogance led him down this path, starting with his decision to set up research facilities inside the Leaf Village. Orochimaru knew he would have been able to take advantage of his status and travel freely like his teammates, but the man believed he was capable of hiding himself in the middle of a village filled with alert shinobi. Even his current situation was a result of his own arrogance. Despite being freshly revived, which meant somebody had just bested him, and not understanding the entire situation, he foolishly attempted to take over Kabuto's body.
His former right hand spared him because of everything he did for him as a child, but it inspired the group to break up, and Orochimaru quickly discovered it was impossible to execute a scheme by himself now. The new alliance between the hidden villages made it challenging for him to maneuver freely through the territories and hatch elaborate plots. The former rivals now willingly shared information and theories, which made it challenging to find a good hiding spot, let alone amass power. As soon as a trace of him turned up, hunter-nin from all the nearby villages converged to investigate while other shinobi quickly put a stop to the plan.
It was even impossible for Orochimaru to use the black markets. In the old days each nation had dozens of independently run markets that competed with each other and kept things relatively fair. Now it was so hard to conduct such business because of the cooperation between villages. Many countries no longer had a black market, and those that did exist usually had the blessing of the shinobi villages, who would quietly supply the market with goods and fetch five to ten times their value on a slow day. This allowed them to profit off of smaller criminals, capture the dangerous ones, and regulate the market to a degree. Any merchants dealing in the less savory businesses were quickly busted, along with their clientele.
The snake summoner believed that overcoming these obstacles would have been possible working in conjunction with Kabuto, but that was impossible now, and his move inspired Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo to leave as well. Now the former legend was forced to live his life on the run, stealing just enough to stay unnoticed and switching bodies every few years when it was required. Orochimaru's lip curled with disgust as he looked at the stale bread and half-rotted piece of smoked meat sitting on a plate that was only half broken.
It was the last of a haul he managed to steal from a wagon last month, which meant he would be forced to commit another crime. The legendary shinobi estimated he could get away with pinching some cargo from another caravan or two before the locals called for shinobi, but he preferred to be safe. It was better to leave early than leave it to chance, the last time the hunters picked up his trail it was nearly a year before they lost it. The man sighed loudly while looking at the caravan schedule he had stolen from a nearby trading post last week and began planning his next move.
The former member of the Sannin promised himself that it would never come to this while fleeing the village, but here he was. The arrogant shinobi had backed himself into a corner and was forced to cling to a wretched existence. Still, he was not dead, and Uzumaki Naruto was not the only shinobi with the ability to persevere. Orochimaru would wait. He would return one day, and be more dangerous for it. The snake had been transformed into a vermin, but his experience had humbled him and taught him patience. The alliance would undoubtedly hold through Naruto's lifetime, and possibly even his children and grandchildren, but like all things it would fray. Until then Orochimaru would bide his time and take advantage of opportunities as they presented themselves. It may take a few centuries, but he would return stronger than ever, and woe to the world when he did.
