Yo.

Sorry it's been a while. I was sick for a few days this week, and was on vacation the week before. Probably around... halfway through? Or a little less than that.

Either way, without further ado, here's chapter 5.


Chapter 5: Crossroads


Orochimaru sat by his lonesome on the side of a small, stone wall that overlooked the majority of the Leaf Village. It was rather late at night; the sun having set nearly four or five hours ago now, placing it sometime in the wee hours of the morning. The world around him was almost pitch black, illuminated by a single streetlight which sat a way's away, which was perhaps why Orochimaru would ever dare show such obvious emotion on his face in a place where, theoretically, anyone could've seen his weakness.

For once, despite his normal temperament towards emotions, he could no longer really deny that he felt them now. The words that Danzo had spoken to him earlier, the ultimatum he'd delivered…

"Hiruzen must die."

He shivered unconsciously, even as his brain continued doing what it had since he'd left the Root Complex around an hour ago and whirled at horrid speeds.

What do I do? It asked.

And he could see the point of such a question, because, as much as his stomach squirmed at the thought…

Wasn't this what he had worked towards for so long? To eliminate those in the way of his gaining immortality? Hiruzen may've been his former master, but if the man truly knew of what he was doing (which he still had reason to assume he might've, even if such feelings were muted these days), he needed to be removed.

So…

Why was nearly every fiber of his being resisting such a thought?

He twisted his fingers in and out of random configurations in front of him as he contemplated this and that, and such was his measure of distraction that he nearly missed the footsteps slowly approaching him. Even as a figure sat down beside him, and rested an elbow on their knee, he could only sigh, recognizing the man's massive shadow.

"It's rather late, you know."

"I could say the same to you." Jiraiya replied, elbowing him playfully. "But I haven't seen you in a few days, so I figured I'd maybe check in with you. Went to your apartment and you weren't there, went to your office, same things, decided to just say 'fuck it' and use my skills as a master infiltrator to find you."

"Ah, so that's what they're calling drunken perverts these days, master infiltrators?"

"Touché, dick-lips."

Despite the evenings events, he smiled.

"Seriously, though, I've never seen it more obvious that somethings bothering you." Jiraiya took up a more caring figure in but a moment. "You alright?"

"I am…" A part of him debated reaching out then. A part of him that seemed to have been growing stronger for the last few days, weeks, months. Even still, it was not yet strong enough to combat what had long since become habit, nay, instinct, in his life.

"Fine."

Jiraiya laughed through his teeth.

"Yeah, okay, and I'm celibate."

"That was far too much information."

"Don't change the subject." Jiraiya nodded his head. "Seriously, man, I know we've not always been like… super close or whatever, but recently… I don't know… you're cool. I want you to think I'm cool, too… if that makes sense?"

It did, despite the man's quite terrible way of wording things.

"So… you can talk to me. I'm here, and stuff.

"And stuff."

"Ah, shut up! Just… tell me if you want! You don't have to, I guess, but if you think it'd help, then go for it."

The two of them went silent for a good ten or so seconds after that, listening to the distant calls of insects that rang out through the night. Orochimaru himself couldn't help but try and pull away from the man beside him, both physically and emotionally, but…

That part of him from earlier grew just the smallest bit stronger.

"What would you do…" He began, licking his barren lips. "If you found yourself at the apex of everything you'd worked towards for your entire life? Your very dream awaiting you, your ambitions about to be realized… and then found it… lacking?"

"Huh. Okay. That's more serious than I was expecting." Jiraiya began, stroking his chin. "Hm… lacking, huh? In what way?"

"If you found it… or perhaps I could say 'what must be done'… unsavory?"

"Well, that's easy. I wouldn't do it."

"Seriously?" He eyed the man skeptically. "Just like that?"

"Just like that." Jiraiya smirked. "If it was between what I'd wanted to do my entire life that suddenly didn't feel so good… and something else that might please me… I'd go with what made me happy."

His eyes widened somewhat, even as he shook his head and buried his face in his hands, sighing horribly.

"You are such an…"

"Hm?"

"Nothing." He groaned out, before drawing his hands across his face as he took a deep breath. "Your simple mind is, for once, appreciated."

"Oi!"

"That was a compliment."

"Didn't much feel like one!"

"Then perhaps you've some soul searching of your own to do?"

"Just because it was framed in a positive way, doesn't mean–"

/-/

It'd been a day, and despite having had a positive talk with Jiraiya on the matter, Orochimaru's mind was rather far from made up when it came to the decision he was going to have to make. Mostly because a part of him understood one rather crucial detail.

Hiruzen or Danzo.

The Light of the Leaf, or the Dark.

…No matter how he looked at it…

He sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose with his hand as he tried to focus in on the work in front of him, paperwork that only ever seemed to multiply when he tried to take a break from it. He could've sworn the stack had been smaller just a few days ago, and yet…

"Hey, sensei."

He looked up blearily at Anko, who had greeted him decidedly calmer than she had a week or so ago.

"Hello, Anko." He went back to his papers, stamping a few with his signature (a technique he'd picked up from his former master, who'd taught him that signing everything everyday was a quick path to wrist pain) as he addressed her further. "What brings you here?"

"Ah, uhm… nothing, I guess."

Now that was… odd. He peered up at Anko, seeing the way a general sense of sullenness hung about her frame.

She looked… not quite tired, but more worn out.

"Were you physically active recently?"

"Ah… no. I haven't really been feeling like training recently."

So, it wasn't a physical ailment then, or, well, not a recent one, and if he'd not seen these symptoms when they'd been together just a week ago, then it made sense it'd not suddenly spawned into being without some cause.

Which made this a mental issue.

Not exactly his forte. Still, he had some idea as to what might be causing this, and so he sat forward, trying his best to put on the look he'd seen Hiruzen address the masses with when he'd walked alongside him the previous day.

"Can I ask you what's bothering you, Anko?"

"It's… nothing, just…"

"Anko." He tried to push forward. If she'd somehow managed to push past the Genjutsu he'd placed upon her… well, he needed to know that sooner rather than later. "Tell me what's wrong. I'd like to help if I can."

Anko nodded, before, eventually, relenting.

"What… what did you feel when you killed someone for the first time?"

That… had not been what he'd expected. He could see why she might ask such a thing, of course, but even still…

It was funny that even after so long…

"Hm… Well, It's been a long time, but I still remember as clear as day."

His memories of that day came to him easily. The mission they'd been tasked with, the warning that they might not have been equipped for such a task, he and Jiraiya pushing for it regardless…

And then…

"The first person I killed was a bandit who ambushed my team. We were on a C-ranked mission to guard a shipment of cargo on its way to the Hidden Mist. This was Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hiruzen and I. Hiruzen and Tsunade were both distracted, and Jiraiya himself had been caught unawares. And so… I killed him to protect Jiraiya. My kunai cut into his back at a good angle, cutting into his lungs, and knocking the air out of him. He didn't have the energy to complete his strike on Jiraiya, and he died within a minute. It was a picture-perfect sneak attack, even then, I could recognize that."

"I… I see." Anko swallowed audibly, seemingly fighting back bile. "And… what did that make you feel like?"

Once again, he could remember.

"A sort of… white hot feeling in my stomach." The emotions came back clear as day. "I felt like I might vomit, and I didn't eat anything for a few days. I felt… horrible. Truly, actually horrible. I'd never once experienced something like that. It took the combined efforts of Hiruzen and Jiraiya to get me back on my feet."

Anko looked up at him in surprise.

"Wait… even you felt like that?"

"Hah, I was a boy, too, once." He found an honest smile on his lips as he addressed her. "But eventually, I learned to accept that the world of Shinobi is an unfair one. Kill or be killed. If I had not killed the man before me when I did, then Jiraiya would've been hurt, maybe killed, and that feeling would've been far worse than the one I was eventually saddled with…"

Now… here was the test. If he was right…

"…Just like I killed those Earth Anbu to rescue you."

Anko's eyes widened, before her eyebrows drew down sadly, and she faced away from him.

"Ah… figured me out, Sensei?"

He gave a silent nod. "I have become slightly more adept in social niceties of late."

Anko was quiet for a long time after that. She just… stood there, staring down at the floor. Taking some advice he'd gotten, he decided that the best words of comfort he could offer in that moment were to not say anything at all. To let the girl figure out her own feelings.

And eventually, it seemed she'd formulated them enough to talk.

"I can't stop… seeing it. Those people down there, the things that happened to them. Why would… why would the Earth do that?" Anko shook her head. "And then… then I can't help thinking like those Earth Ninja who were there deserved what you did to them, and then… and then that makes me feel even worse, and I… I just–"

"Anko." He interrupted the girl before she could spiral any further. "You're alright. It's over."

His stomach squirmed mercilessly hearing the girl describe the way what she'd seen down there made her feel. Because… because he'd done it. It'd been his fault.

He was responsible.

"I…" The girl looked up at him with teary eyes. "It doesn't feel over. Every time I close my eyes I see the things down there… it… I can barely sleep at night, and my parents don't know what to do, and…"

The girl sniffled, wiping her arm along her eyes as she hiccupped.

"I don't… I don't know what…"

He stood from his desk almost on reflex, moving around to the front and placing a hand on Anko's shoulder. The girl looked up at him, tears running down her face.

He really wished he were more equipped for this, but even so, he could make do with some of his limited knowledge.

"Anko, what you're feeling is perfectly normal. Like I said, even I felt something like what you did. You are not at all wrong to have these feelings."

"I just…" The girl shook her head. "I was so scared… I didn't want to die… so… so when I saw them all dead, there was a part of me that…" He watched the girl visibly swallow down on bile in her throat. "That felt relieved. Good even. I was… I was glad they were dead. I was glad for what you did to them."

"Anko, that's–"

"AND I'M DISGUSTING FOR IT!" Anko wailed. "I'm… I'm…"

He placed his hand along the side of the girl's face, forcing her to meet his gaze.

"Anko."

The girl shook her head again, crying quietly.

"Anko, please. Look at me."

Finally, after resisting for another fifteen or so seconds, his student acquiesced.

Sometimes, it was better to say nothing rather than try and open your mouth. He'd learned that one the easy way, being told. Now… he was going to go out on a limb, and try and learn something, potentially, the hard way.

He reached forward, and wrapped his arms around Anko's body, pulling her into a loose, awkward hug.

"It's okay." He spoke, feeling entirely unlike himself. "You're okay."

Far from be put off by his efforts, Anko seemed to relish in the closeness, squeezing him tightly as she practically flung herself at him. She buried her face in his neck and sobbed messily. He realized rather quickly that he'd likely need to replace his outfit later on in the day, as the mixture of snot and tears was not something that would simply dry off, but…

Well, that was a concern that could wait until later.

For right now, above all else, Anko needed him.

And that was all that mattered.

/-/

Sometime later, after Anko had left to go back home, and hopefully not recall the numerous sins he was almost certainly responsible for (and had concealed with the Genjutsu equivalent of a few strips of tape), Orochimaru found himself sitting alone with his thoughts, pondering his own past, as he'd told Anko about earlier.

Something he'd pointedly not told Anko about were the other feelings that had blossomed that day. In that moment when he'd struck that bandit in the back with a Kunai. Assuredly, his stomach had twisted, he'd grimaced, felt horrible, but…

There'd been curiosity there, too.

Intrigue.

More than that, it'd simply reinforced what he already knew. He himself could not end up like that man. Whatever hopes and dreams he'd had squandered as he laid dead upon the side of the road.

He would become immortal. He would become a being so far beyond human that not even death could conquer him. He'd accepted it, then. What he must be.

A snake, not a human.

But such thoughts were forbidden. A viewpoint at best looked down upon, at worst worth being imprisoned or executed over. To try and claim dominion over life would require research that no one wanted to partake of.

Or so he'd though.

Until he'd met Danzo, and learned that there were, in fact, worse people than him in the world.

And so, with the man's help, he'd set to work.

He'd experimented, first, with some odds and ends. People who'd been submitted to him by Danzo, mostly people who'd been taken or 'killed' as part of Root operations. He went through Danzo's supply in short order, and eventually, well…

He'd sought other means of acquiring subjects.

He'd established bases all over the world, found a clan of people with a festering sort of curse that could amplify their bodies, and sought to enhance his own with a perfect version of it. Attempt after attempt at the curse mark, not worrying about the corpses he left in the way…

Now… what did that make him?

And he'd been fine with that. Fine with what he'd done…

Up until he'd gone and become Hokage. Up until he and Jiraiya had spoken, and he'd been told that he didn't care.

It shouldn't have bothered him. It was the truth, after all. He truly hadn't.

But…

He wanted to.

And so he was trying to do better. Trying to make amends, trying to…

Can I?

That question… it'd been eating away at him ever since he and Anko had left the Lighthouse base. Even now, it writhed in the back of his head like an injured serpent, flailing every which way to stop the pain.

And that feeling in his chest… the gnawing, squirming feeling… he still couldn't be rid of that.

He…

Needed a second opinion.

And so it was that, as he cracked his neck, and stood from his desk in the Hokage's office, he began to pen a note.

/-/

"Okay, something's gotta' be going on." Jiraiya's right eyebrow was a good inch or so higher than his left, such was his doubt. "Tsunade was right, you really were killed and replaced by an imposter, weren't you?"

"Hah, that's terribly rude, Jiraiya," Hiruzen chuckled into his sake as he took a dignified sip. "Orochimaru has invited us all out here, and even offered to pay off the tab, the least we could do to thank him is not claim him substituted with some spy."

"Oh, c'mon!" Jiraiya seemed to feel what he was saying was rather fair, and Orochimaru couldn't really contest that. "He invited the three of us to dinner, and he even offered to pay!? I mean, I've never been one to turn down free drinks,"

Tsunade snorted. "Yeah, you can say that again."

"But even you've gotta' admit it's weird!"

He shot Jiraiya a side-eye as he took a small drink of his water, swallowing down on the barbecued steak in front of him that, in his opinion, left a little bit to be desired.

Perhaps he'd simply had his standards raised since he'd dined with the Uzuki's some few weeks ago.

"Glad to know you think so little of me, my oh-so-very-best-friend."

"Ok, now you're fucking with me."

He smiled over the rim of his glass. "I resent the implication."

Jiraiya shook his head as he leaned against the booth behind him, sliding down an inch or two as the general chatter of the dinner-rush-filled restaurant around them threatened to overwhelm their own more subdued conversation.

The barbecue restaurant he'd ended up taking the four of them out to had been chosen on a whim. It'd been decently close to his own office, so he hadn't had to walk far, and he knew they served both alcohol, for Jiraiya, and had reasonably good food, also for Jiraiya. He figured Hiruzen and Tsunade would come along regardless of his choice of locale.

And so it was that they'd ended up in the middle of a densely packed populace, whose waiters and waitresses looked like they were fit to collapse upon the ground at any moment.

"It seems I've chosen a poor time to invite you all." Orochimaru confessed. "I'd no idea this place saw this kind of traffic."

"It's probably just the dinner rush." Tsunade spoke. "Most places get around this busy this time of day."

He… hadn't known that, actually. He'd been dragged along to a few locations in his day, mostly by Jiraiya whenever the man had wanted to celebrate some sort of occasion, but he supposed he'd not ever really planned to, and then gone to, a restaurant in…

Ever.

He said as much and received a few amused looks back.

"No worries." Jiraiya shrugged spiritedly. "Honestly, the fact that you invited us out at all is…"

"It's enough." Tsunade smirked herself. "Trust us. We appreciate the effort you're putting in."

Hiruzen just smiled as Orochimaru himself nodded a bit awkwardly.

"I must say, I was glad to receive your invitation, my student. I think this was a wonderous idea."

He frowned somewhat. "Well, you were the one who suggested it."

His former master just shook his head amusedly. "Hah, you could've simply taken the credit for that, you know?"

"Oh… I suppose I could've."

Jiraiya and Tsunade chuckled at his expense.

"I am not particularly knowledgeable when it comes to social niceties. I can mimic what I've seen, and I've been gaining knowledge in their usage as of late, but… well, I've not seen much relating to inviting ones friends to dine with them."

"I suppose that makes sense." Tsunade said as she leaned back, downing some of the drink in front of her and letting out a rather undignified belch. "So, seriously, what's up? Cause, no offense, but even 'cool' Orochimaru wouldn't do this without a reason."

"I must confess, I feel similarly." Hiruzen smiled his way. "Might you tell us what has you feeling so uneasy?"

He nodded his head, even as Jiraiya laughed to himself, seeming awful proud, and said under his breath "Heh, he talked to me about it".

"I…" he debated within himself just how much he could tell the three around them. In the end, once more, he came to the conclusion that perhaps not being entirely truthful might be the correct decision. "Have recently come across some rather disturbing information. Information that was fed to me directly and is appropriate only for me to truly know of."

That would be good enough, at least, in being able to avoid most questioning.

"Wait, like… top-secret intel?" Jiraiya asked.

"…Essentially."

"And it's something that has even you spooked." Tsunade frowned. "Sheesh, that's gotta' be bad."

"I have been informed of no such things." Hiruzen called him out, which he'd really been hoping the man wouldn't do. "Is this the sort of thing that must stay above the heads of even the advisors of the Leaf?"

Ah, well, at least his master had given him an out, so that was appreciated. "Indeed. It is… let us simply say that it is a situation that I alone can deal with."

Hiruzen hummed, seemingly rather dissatisfied with his explanation, but he let him continue.

"And yet… I find myself unable to think of how I wish to handle the situation that's been thrust upon me." He admitted. "I am… I believe myself capable of coming up with a solution, I am just not positive it would be a truly correct one."

"Huh, awfully introspective of you." Jiraiya sat forward, interlocking his fingers together, seemingly out of worry. "And you definitely can't tell us? Like… not even a little?"

The man's insistence at least had him smiling somewhat. "Not even a little."

"Damn."

"If that's the case… then what do you want from us?" Tsunade asked. "I like to think of myself as rather good at giving advice… but even I can't work without information."

In that moment, he felt a small prickle running up the back of his spine. He didn't outwardly react to it, but instead, he filed that feeling away to think about later.

Even so, given he had a generally decent idea as to just what that was, he decided it might be best to make this quick.

"It is… a situation that could result in trouble for those at the upper echelons of the Leaf Village."

From the other side of the table, Hiruzen suddenly perked up. "Oh?"

"Indeed. A…" He swallowed, feeling genuinely nervous. "A truth could surface about a certain person that would lead to… well… I cannot say. But it would not be good."

His former master leaned forward, now seemingly entirely enthralled by this line of conversation.

"And yet, you think that this should happen regardless? Because it is the right thing to do?"

"I…" He took a deep breath, before… "Yes."

Hiruzen seemed almost proud as he nodded his head towards him, smiling up at him in an almost grandfatherly way.

"Then you should do what you feel is right, Orochimaru. In the end… that's what matters."

"I… And if what I think is right leads to problems for the Leaf Village? For people who it relies upon?"

"Perhaps that is a risk worth taking."

"I…"

He was…

"Perhaps you're right, Master."

"Hah. I'm glad you think so, Orochimaru." Hiruzen said as he reached for his glass and took another sip. "I'll wait to see what it is you choose to do."

And just like that, the heavy atmosphere that'd been hanging about them ebbed away, instead replaced once more by that of evening reverie. Jiraiya and Hiruzen drank rather heartedly from their glasses for the rest of the night, and by the time darkness had fallen about the Leaf Village, it'd been up to him and Tsunade to carry the two back out of the restaurant.

"Ah… I'm fine, I'm fine…" Hiruzen complained as he slung him over his shoulder, supporting the older man as they walked back to his home. "I swear… I'm perfectly capable of walking myself."

"As you say, master." He patted the man on the shoulder without letting him go. "But just for a bit longer, let's go together."

Hiruzen groaned but nodded into his side as they made their way through the streets of the Leaf, illuminated by street-lights that blazed overhead.

After four or so minutes of silent strolling, Hiruzen suddenly hiccupped, before opening his mouth and speaking something unexpected.

"I'm proud of you, Orochimaru." '

His own eyes widened into dinnerplates. "…And what's brought this on?"

"Because you're…" He hiccupped again. "Finally going to do it. Going to…" Another. "Tell the truth about…"

Before he could get another sentence out, and just as they could start to see Hiruzen's house on the horizon, he heard a small, almost absent breath pour out from his master.

Just before he snored horrendously loudly.

This time, it was his turn to groan, even as he tried to not think too hard about the man's words and slowly but surely guided him home.

/-/

For a few days after that, life passed as normal within the Leaf Village.

Orochimaru found himself peering out the large windows behind his desk every so often when he had a break between signing papers, observing the hustle and bustle of the masses below him.

He watched as young children walked to either the academy, to be trained into ninjas, or to the regular schools, which would teach them not to be warriors, but to be businessmen, or accountants, or any of the other essential lines of work that the Leaf Village required.

Adults lined the streets, shopping around for various things. Some acquired fine linens to sew into clothing or furniture, others sat down and ordered food from numerous stalls. Some more still headed into work, preparing to put the effort in for yet another day to support those who relied on them.

Worthless. He may've called them such thing once upon a time. Now…

Now he was responsible for them.

Now he was just like them.

And in a way, he couldn't deny the way that frightened him.

He remembered the young children coming up to him to ask for advice on throwing shuriken, or how to properly aim their kunai, or what the proper amount of chakra to pour into a clone jutsu was.

He remembered how nerve wracking it had been to actually have to think about such things for the first time in nearly three decades.

He had been so young when all of those things had become unconscious; instinct that he had long since honed. To actually think about the movement of his arm, or the allocation of chakra, or the way he flicked his wrist to get the spin he needed to arc a shuriken around a corner…

Such a thing was foreign.

And yet…

The day before that one, one of the children he'd directed had managed to pick him out of the crowd. She'd run up to him excitedly, panting as if having run all the way over to him, and exclaimed that she'd managed to place first in her class in shuriken throwing.

That his 'technique' had been right.

It shouldn't have meant a thing. Not at all. It was nothing, realistically.

And yet, he'd been unable to contain the smile on his face as he'd reached down and patted the young girl on the head. As he'd told her he was proud of her.

Perhaps that hadn't been true. He didn't know the girl, after all, but the lie felt so much… better than the ones he usually told. The way her face lit up, and she giddily skipped back towards her parents, laughing all the while…

A wooden beam above him creaked ever so slightly, and he had half a mind to simply throw a kunai at the intruder, before sighing, and waving his hand.

The Root member who'd been 'stalking' him fell to the floor, kneeling before him.

"Lord Danzo requests your presence."

He did not even dignify the man's words with a response. Instead, he merely nodded, before shooing the man away with a flick of his wrist as he went back to paperwork. The Root agents presence faded soon after, and he allowed himself to sink back into his work as he tried to get his mind off of what might soon come to pass.

Meeting with Danzo.

The man would, likely, want to move forward on the plan he'd put forward just a few nights prior.

And that made Orochimaru's stomach turn.

/-/

This time, the trip towards the Root compound passed by far quicker than Orochimaru would've liked, despite it being at least a twenty-minute journey. It had felt like…

Well, by the time he was paying attention again, he was stepping onto the four-way bridge that led to the central pagoda, where Danzo resided.

"Orochimaru." The one-eyed man (or, at least, he feigned to be) spoke to him. "I have heard some interesting things of late about you that I wished to confirm face to face."

Ah, good. Things would be starting like this, then.

"Speak of them, then. I am not one for riddles."

Danzo paused for a moment, seemingly deciding on how exactly he'd word his next sentence, but eventually he came out and said his thoughts.

"A few nights ago, you went out to dinner with your former teammates."

Ah, so that explained why he felt like he was being watched during said dinner, Danzo had sent an agent to spy on him.

No use pretending, then. "I did."

Danzo shot for the heart of the matter without hesitation. "With Hiruzen."

The man clearly intended for him to either back off or play some sort of avoidance game with him. He would do neither. "Indeed."

Danzo's face crinkled somewhat, in what seemed to be abject distaste. "You walk a rather thin tightrope these days, Orochimaru."

"Oh?" He didn't even hide his surprise at the man's words, for he saw no need. "Is that a threat?"

"No. Merely an observation." The man turned away from him, looking upwards, towards where bridges snaked across the pit like a massive spiderweb. "We will move forward with our plan soon. I must remind you that you and I have done great things together. We can still continue to do so."

Well, that was about as unsubtle as he'd ever heard the man be before.

Either get in line with the plan, or…

"I've not abandoned your plan." He was neither lying, nor entirely telling the truth. "But for now, I must depart."

"I suppose you must." Danzo's dissatisfaction was evident in his tone. "Remember who made you."

Orochimaru clenched his teeth as he stepped back towards the exit of the Root compound, his footsteps echoing heavily into the seemingly endless void below.

"Oh, don't worry…"

"I've never once forgotten."

/-/

He had days.

He'd realized that whilst talking with Danzo.

In mere days (if Danzo did not move sooner, frankly he might have even less than that), Danzo would call upon him and ask him, in no uncertain terms, where he stood. And yet, even now, he didn't know.

Orochimaru found himself conflicted. This… flip-flapping between what he wished to do, this indecision… it was entirely unlike him. And yet, here he was, burning the midnight oil (rather literally, the lamp beside him was nearly half empty at this point), and he still found himself at an impasse.

What he wanted to do… Shouldn't it have been obvious by now? Nothing had ever caused him to hesitate quite like this had. Clearly the decision shouldn't have been nearly as hard as he was making it seem, waffling about uselessly.

And yet, continue to waffle uselessly he did.

His thoughts drifted rather aimlessly, or perhaps they thought they had some point behind themselves, but whatever it might've been, it was rather lost on Orochimaru himself.

He thought of Jiraiya, and Hiruzen, and Tsunade, the three of them at dinner earlier in the week. Those three laughing and trading barbs, and though he wasn't much for the former, he'd joined rather amicably into the latter.

He thought, then, of the way he'd once looked down upon the helpless and begging upon his operating table, how he'd injected the curse mark into a young boy no older than thirteen, had watched him die in agony…

He looked down at his hands, and silently wondered…

How had they been capable of both?

His sin… it would not disappear. Not from the myriad wrongs he'd done. Some for himself, and some for others. One day, no matter how much he tried to run, tried to escape destiny or fate, or perhaps simply karma, or whatever else one wanted to call it, he could not get away.

He had no true way out.

And then, suddenly, like a proverbially lightbulb had flickered to life in his head, an idea came to him. One that would solve all of his problems, everything that had bothered him for weeks and weeks now.

It would all go away.

Yes… yes… the more he thought about this, the better it seemed. Almost too good to be true, and yet, as he ran the mental calculations of the fallout, every single time, the worst he could see it going for him wasn't even particularly that bad.

He could do this.

It just needed to be perfect.

And so Orochimaru thought, and he schemed, until the lantern beside him sputtered out, and he was left in his office.

Alone in the dark.

/-/

He moved through the halls of the Root compound with a sort of… freed energy now that he'd made up his mind on exactly what he wanted. The Root agents he passed on his way towards Danzo's center chamber gave way to him, moving aside so that his steps were uninhibited.

It felt good, but he didn't much focus on that.

There was something he had to do before he arrived.

In another fifteen or so minutes, he'd made his way into the absolute center of the Root compound and stood in front of the central pagoda. He cracked his neck absentmindedly as he waited for Danzo to emerge.

He did some thirty seconds later, staring at him oddly.

"Orochimaru. I do not believe I summoned you."

"You didn't." He answered easily enough, smiling at the man. "Worry not. I've made my decision."

Danzo nodded as he let out a breath, before taking a step forward, seemingly relaxing.

"Good. Then we'll move on Hiruzen in the coming days. If you come inside, we can discuss–"

"You misunderstand."

Danzo's almost peaceful atmosphere shattered immediately, and he looked up at him with his single exposed eye with some small degree of panic.

"What?"

"I said I'd made my decision," His smile took on an almost insidious quality as he brought his right hand up and made the shape of the 'Tiger' seal. "But I don't recall saying that decision was siding with you."

A moment later, as he forced chakra into his hand, a set of twelve explosions rocked the Root compound.

The platform they stood upon shook, and Danzo was nearly forced to his knees, even as some of his guardians immediately shot out from the pagoda behind him and shielded him from being harmed by him.

It would not matter. He'd made up his mind.

"Orochimaru…" Danzo looked up at him, livid, his normally unflappable composure cracking. "What are you doing!?"

"My condolences, Danzo," he said as he stepped backwards, towards the edge of the platform, towards the endless black beneath. "But I've come up with a way for me to protect that which I value, and to, at the same time, gain freedom from the sins I've committed."

"What are you–"

"And that means I need a scapegoat." Orochimaru smirked devilishly. "However, seeing as how I don't think you'll be very willing to take responsibility for all of my crimes, well…"

He expertly formed a set of seals, before holding off the final one for just a few seconds.

"You can't exactly be around to tell your side of the story."

Danzo, to his credit, did not quake in fear.

Even though he should've.

He simply stood to his full height, dusted off his outfit, and reached up towards the covered Sharingan that rested in his right eye-socket, unleashing it upon him.

"You fool…"

And then, in the next second, he jumped backwards. In that same instant, he slammed his hands down upon the open air, and shouted "Summoning Jutsu!"

White smoke exploded out beneath him, even as the massive body he'd just brought forth sought purchase in the open air, wrapping it's long body around the bridge he'd just leapt from.

As the smoke cleared, and he too stood tall, an echoing voice addressed him almost annoyedly.

"Really?" Manda complained. "Two years since you last summoned me, and when you finally do, it's above a bottomless pit, and I have to fight?"

"Yes, well, circumstances arose." He smiled down at his old… acquaintance? Friend? Manda was not exactly the most amicable of snakes. "I suppose I owe you some sacrifices for this?"

Manda forced air out of his nostrils, blowing Orochimaru's hair out of his face.

"You owe me sacrifices from two years ago as well!"

"Yes, well, luckily, I think we can solve both of those problems here tonight." He spoke as he looked out upon the tens of hundreds of Root members who had gathered around their master, taking defensive stances with weapons drawn. "Do you see the man with the glowing red eye?"

"The old bastard? I see him."

"Yes, good. I need his body for my own aims…" He spoke, cracking his knuckles as his eyes narrowed into slits. "As for those guarding him…"

"You may gorge until you're fit to burst."

End Chapter 5


So yeah, Orochimaru makes his decision.

Is it the correct one? What will the fallout be? What will everyone think of it? Probably find out next chapter.

Anyways, see you all in like... threeish weeks?

Yeah that sounds about right.