Orochimaru was once a hero.
The malicious, selfish, evil creature he was now was once viewed as a hero.
He had provided Konoha with cutting-edge techniques, enhanced medical knowledge, and numerous other things. The village had viewed him as a hero, he had saved millions, defended the village until he was on death's door.
He was to be the Yondaime Hokage of the Hidden Leaf. The greatest ninja in all of Konoha.
Then it all changed.
It was gradual at first. But the village had noticed it right away. After all, they knew how Orochimaru acted. Kind, selfless, and wise beyond his years. He would spend time at the orphanage telling the kids stories of his youth. How he would get into trouble with his teammates after they pulled a prank on their sensei. How they all would stick together through thick and thin.
What Konoha didn't know, was everything he had given to the village. How he had to experiment on criminals, both awake and asleep, man and woman. They didn't know the sleepless nights he had wrought with nightmares of the war and the death of comrades. The torture he endured when he was captured by the enemy. Orochimaru put up a front of strength, as was needed in times of war.
All these things weighed upon his psyche. And it changed him. For the worse rather than the better.
It was the flashes of well-hidden emotions that ran across his face one moment and were gone the next. Despite that, the villagers still caught it. They saw how Orochimaru would lose control just for a moment. Those very moments caused them concern. Concern for their hero's well-being. The one who held up the village and became its pillar of strength.
The next thing they noticed was that he became more withdrawn. Visiting the orphanage and parks less and less. Hiding away from people and his teammates.
Then one night Orochimaru was found in a bar, drinking his problems away. Orochimaru, unfortunately for him, was a very loose-lipped drunk. When the bar's occupants had gone to see what was going on with him, Orochimaru let all his problems known. The nightmares, the torture, all that he had done for the benefit of the village. It all came out. He told them he didn't know if he could take it anymore.
The bar had looked upon him with sympathy and understanding, as most occupants were shinobi. When Orochimaru woke up the next morning he knew nothing of the night before. He didn't remember letting out all his troubles or seeing how understanding everyone else was.
By the time the knowledge had spread around the village, it was too late. He had been sent out on a mission that had killed Nawaki, Tsunade's younger brother and a nephew to him in all but blood. He had finally snapped. Over the next few months in a misguided attempt to obtain immortality for his loved ones he had gone too far in his experimentation. Going as far as to take children of various ages and experiment on them. Even the unborn.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, had regretfully driven him out of the village. He was labeled a nukenin, to be captured on sight if possible.
When the knowledge of this had spread, the village had been horrified. Who wouldn't be? The hero they had loved so much had been lost to them. And they all knew the reason for it.
Orochimaru was no longer a part of the Hidden Leaf. He had finally fallen into the abyss he'd been hovering over for years.
But the villagers still loved him. They still considered him their hero.
To this day, every single one of them held hope him their heart that their hero would return home. Where he could be happy and healthy. Living out his retirement in a cozy cabin by a lake.
Until that day came, the village would endure, for that is what it does. Endure until Orochimaru returned.