[May update 1/3]
AN: Hey, reader—the newly rewritten Reincarnated-Bladesmith chapters went live! I recommend you reread the first half of Bladesmith 1. I got lots of good feedback that I just had to use.
(In case you can't tell, I'm still getting used to the characterization! Bear with me haha!)
Orochimaru needs that book of the dead if he wants to perfect Edo Tensei…and build an undead army…so that no life has to be risked in order to create a better future.
Past
The Bold and Blonde
1 Year After the First Shinobi World War
Orochimaru is going to get that book of the dead even if it kills him.
He sprung upright in his futon mattress ready to search the house top and bottom, pretending he was just playing a "game", when his plan already fails.
He'd woken up a few minutes before the sun reached its apex. There are the soft closing noises and sounds of running water just beyond the bedroom door. Someone, somewhere, is shuffling about.
Bewildered, he heads downstairs, pausing to smell aromas that has his stomach growling. In the kitchen, Hazuo meets his eyes and waves. "Good almost-afternoon, Orochimaru. Did you sleep well?"
He did, but that's not the point. He's not sure what to do anymore.
"Ah, yes. If you were wondering where Tokonoma is, she left at dawn. It will be a two-days travel for her, so do not fret. By lunch, she will return with a guest."
Guest? Oh. Oh!
"I have a daughter. I'm an expert at these things. She's probably older than you."
"I apologize, my flower. When I dropped her off, I got carried away with talking. It is always a delight meeting my in-laws…"
If the Senju Clan has dissipated and Tokonoma is Hashirama's daughter, then…
Tokonoma may have journeyed to the Land of Whirlpools to pick-up Tsunade.
Tsunade.
If he goes down the path of becoming a ninja, something he has to whether or not he wants to, he will meet her in the Academy. That wasn't supposed to be until a few months from now. How is she going to react to him in her home in the same room as her parents? Their fated meeting is supposed to be in the Academy!
What is Tokonoma and Hazuo's goal of making him stay here, anyway? The Leaf Orphanage is still incomplete, but he had a home to live in! Why would they insist he remain here? Now, he no longer has any say-so in meeting Tsunade on his own terms! How could he manage to be on a team with her in this state?
"Orochimaru? Why do you frown so?"
Hazuo crouches down to his height, a palm over his head. His body shivers and tenses with the first tap, prepared for more strength, but only receives gentle pressure. By the third tap, his body is awkwardly half-tensed, half-relaxed.
"Are you worried about meeting someone new? Tokonoma and I were concerned you would be too flustered. If our little princess scares you, it is fine for you to hide around one of us. I am sure this must be a shock for you, especially with how much you have had to endure…"
Hazuo smiles, though the gaze of his brown eyes shifts to the floor.
"I really do think you are very strong. If I were your age, I could not bear the pain of…" The man pauses, thinking. "You know…I wanted to make a lunch with desserts! Tokonoma is no fan of sweet food. How impossible!"
Hazuo eventually places him on the counter so he can watch the cooking and baking. He gazes, barely concentrating, mulling over his own uselessness before sitting upright.
He has to get that book. He has to take control of something.
He hops off the counter, grabbing paper and a brush.
Hazuo takes the message. "You want to read Tales of the Pure Land? Now, where did you hear that at, Orochimaru? Unfortunately, I think that book is far too complicated. However! I have more books for you to enjoy!"
No.
He lets Hazuo do whatever to entertain himself, marking where the man goes and does. If he couldn't read it asking normally, he'd just have to resort to other means.
That night, Hazuo is in a deep sleep. He doesn't bother sneaking through the home in near silence. All that matters is that he makes it to the small library. That he does without problem.
Inside the room for once, reality hits him. He is tiny next to the shelves that seemingly reach the heavens. The moonlight warps and subdues the beautiful, colorful books into something nondescript. If he doesn't do something, it will take ages to find what he needs.
He can't take too long; Hazuo may be deaf to his nightly rummaging, but Tokonoma's ninja sense would shut him down immediately. She'd be returning tomorrow with Tsunade in tow, as well.
He looks for a light switch. There is none. That's the price of a traditional house: no central heating, no consistent electrical work throughout. He has to scrounge the kitchen for a candle and matches, and resumes his journey with a torch.
He moves through the bottom two shelves, front and back. Eight times. Then, the next shelf he stands on the tips of his toes. For the higher shelves, he uses a chair and other stackable items. His progress slows to a crawl.
The moon creeps across the sky and hides behind the Hokage Rock. His vision doubles and blurs; in a moment, his head snaps up having lost tension. As time continues its unimpeding march, the number of yawns, the weight of candle, grows more and more.
A twittering bird jolts him.
He looks around on the chair, head throbbing. The candle went out when? From the window, the dark canvas shifts into a lighter counterpart.
He does not have much longer.
He tosses the candle and moves through the books even faster. There is no rhyme or reason to the shelves; perhaps Hazuo has his own internal system or he's too lazy to fix it. Dawn brings color back to the room, so he abandons searching book by book and runs to find that ancient, tan cover.
He's sure he heard a bump or creaking floorboards upstairs.
Not here.
Next row.
Not there.
Something shimmering catches his eye: the gold-painted text of the book spine. Tales of the Pure Land.
He tugs the chair over and stretches his small frame enough to reach the highest shelf. His fingertips graze the bottom of the spine, hooks, and pulls it out, a hair's length at a time. Finally, he can see it teetering over the edge and—
It escapes his grasp.
The book hits the back of the chair and collides into a ground with a heart-stopping thud. He's certain Hazuo's heard it. He hops off, throws the book and the candle on the chair, and pulls them both out the book room, sliding the door closed.
"Orochimaru? Where are you?" The stairs are creaking.
He won't make it to the kitchen. He tugs the items further into the house, into that strange room with the two shrines. Behind the divider does his secrets go as he takes his place before the exposed table. Sweaty, panting.
"Orochima—oh! Pardon me, are you busy?"
He lets out a silent exhale, purely to calm his shaking body. Hazuo's hair is still so very messy. His glasses are nowhere to be seen. The man takes a seat next to him, procuring a match from a hidden section under the table and lighting the candle.
The lit, foodless shrine makes his stomach go cold.
"I have to replace the food during breakfast, huh…"
He wants to leave.
Hazuo takes his wrists. "Let's join our palms and pray."
He can't escape this time.
Hazuo makes the best flavorful food and desserts, as opposed to Tokonoma's subdued and meat-heavy dishes. The man prizes his soup dishes and Orochimaru prefers these most of all. The warmth it gives him as it goes down is divine.
Outside of cooking, Hazuo will grab a book, stare out the windows with glazed over eyes, clean the dishes, or take a nap. More a cat than cats themselves. He's eternally grateful for him taking a place under the sunlight and falling asleep.
He dashes towards his mess. Hazuo didn't notice anything unusual.
But now, now, he has the book of the dead! Now, he could begin to find some way of decoding the Second Hokage's technique! One step closer to his undead army! One step closer to minimizing human lives lost—provided he get rid of the sacrifice rule.
Then again, Zetsu clones did work just as well.
He opens Tales of the Pure Land, heart drumming in his chest. But it only takes one page for his joy to dampen somewhat.
The ideograms used to write the book are too complicated to read.
He can make out bits and pieces, however the majority of the page is full of archaic or complex terms. This was not written with the intention of having normal readers understand. This was for readers who wanted as unbiased as a translation as possible.
It is like reading Shakespearean plays all over again.
His options boil down to powering through, asking for help (and getting in trouble), or learning how to read this on his own terms.
He closes the book with a snap. The option is simple: he will learn how to read this book. Firstly…he needs a good hiding spot.
"We're home!"
It's not the door being kicked open that alarms him, but a weary woman's voice piercing the quiet of the house.
Orochimaru's legs go weak and cold. He remains seated on the ground, a children's book forgotten in his lap, while Hazuo springs to his feet and clasps his hands together. "Is it so?"
Light steps dart across the floor, louder and louder. He clutches the book harder.
"Daddyyyy!"
A blonde in a teal kimono top rounds the corner and leaps into Hazuo's open arms. Laughing, they spin and spin until she must be placed to the ground before her father collapses.
Orochimaru opens the book more, to shield himself from the girl.
She looks identical…
She turns to face him. The resemblance is enough to make him bite his cheek, holding back a gasp. There is no way this young girl could be mistaken for anyone but Tsunade. It's not her fair skin, nor brown eyes, but around her neck is the First Hokage's necklace. The blue crystal glitters when the smallest amount of light hits it. Otherworldly.
With the necklace being too long for her, the gem sways as she walks—she's headed straight for him.
Hands on her hips, Tsunade looks him up and down. "You're…Orochimaru?"
What mess has he gotten himself into…?
Her mouth twists. "You really don't talk? D'you always just write what you wanna say? What's wrong with your voice? Does it sound bad? If it does, it'll get better. Dunno if you know this, but guy's voices change a lot when they get older." She pats her chest with a self-satisfied smile. "I'm gonna be a medical ninja one day, so I know my stuff."
Her journey begins this soon? No, it must—Tsunade is the remnant of a dying clan. The founder clan, the clan of two Hokage. She has to be exceptional. No doubt, she picked her poison when young and must pursuit it to its end.
He can understand that dilemma. If he is to stay in this world, he needs to do the same.
"Be careful not to overwhelm him with questions, princess." Hazuo crouches to her eye level, beaming. "He is the opposite of you."
Tsunade watches him through squinted eyes. "How am I supposed to get along with him? Are you sure this isn't stupid?"
"Think of this as training."
Tokonoma strolls into the main room, stretching her arms behind her head. He has half a mind to hide behind her.
"Training?"
"You're gonna be in the Academy, graduate, and land on a random team with people you have to get along with. You know, so you won't get killed."
Laughing, Tsunade puffs out her chest. "That's why I have to be strong, Mom! I'll be the one saving the day! Just like Gramps!"
Tokonoma only shakes her head. "You can't save the world alone."
"Nuh-uh! Gramps killed Madara, right? Isn't the Leaf okay because of him and Uncle? They weren't on any teams."
"Okay, well, they're an exception. Not everyone's going to be like them."
"But I am! I'm Tsunade Senju!" She turns to Hazuo, grinning, eager for attention. "There's no way I'm going to be weak!"
Orochimaru rips his eyes away from her. His stomach roils despite it being empty. His heart drums with slow, heavy beats making hime acutely aware that he is alive.
Tsunade…isn't wrong. She'd have to go through two brutal losses—that's not even considering what could happen to her parents. Once more with her teammate. Perhaps even his corruption hurt her. In the end, she became a strong, fearless woman.
Even if they still die, it would be okay, right? She'll still be strong…
She won't even be like him. She'll leave the village and deafen herself to her emotions and memories with drinking and gambling. She'll be fine eventually.
He wants to believe that, but…
He doesn't want her to suffer that kind of pain all over again.
"Orochimaruuuu!"
Tsunade has snatched his book away and is yelling, "Aren't you going to go to the Academy? Can you not hear, too?!"
"Princess, that's a little harsh…"
"Don't bother him with that nonsense, Tsunade." Tokonoma hadn't raised her voice. It is enough to draw everyone's focus. "He's dealt with enough loss. Let him be."
Tsunade wrinkles her nose. "Fine."
The Academy will begin a few months. Maybe some other ninja deserved to be on her team, raised to fame under the Third Hokage's instruction. Not he—
A small hand grabs his shoulder, leaning him to the side.
"Just saying—if you lost people, shouldn't you be a ninja to protect others?"
Tsunade hurriedly whispers in his ear.
Before he can think, she pulls away and declares, "Lemme show you my room! Daddy and Mom won't let me sleep there, so maybe you can tell them to give me space."
Hazuo giggles while Tokonoma scowls. "You're five. What space do you even need?"
Tsunade completely ignores her as her small hand latches onto Orochimaru's wrist and carries him away. Up the stairs, passed the place he sleeps, into a room with a large window. The walls are much the same as every else, as are the greenish tatami mats. Here, a study desk decorated in books, scrolls, ink, and brushes is next to the window. A shuriken target practice poster, a box filled to the brim with ninja-like toys to the lacy frill of dresses. In a corner, stuffed animals sit, taller than them both. A bookshelf, a pink lamp, a cactus plant…
"If you join the Academy, we can study here together!" Tsunade opens her closet. Clothes of soft colors, dresses, mesh shirts. Below, a futon mattress is packed tightly. "We can even have a sleepover! Mom doesn't like me having sleepovers, you know! Every other girl can do it, so why not me? I'm not a baby."
Tsunade shuts the door and races to her plant, plucking it and hurrying over to show him. It's light. Dust coats the pot. "That's my plant! Sometimes, a flower grows on the tippy-top. Daddy got me it because we can't have pets. Daddy was all, 'Mom is allergic right now.' What the heck? Allergies can't just come and go! They totally think I'm gullible! That's a word I read in my medical book. Do you wanna learn Medical Techniques? I don't see why not. It's literally how you save lives, after all. Duh."
Without waiting for any input, she drags him to her study desk chair, plopping on the edge of one side and inviting him to sit. He does so. In the proximity, their knees and elbows press together.
She opens a massive, scary-looking textbook, saying, "It's super hard at first and, ah, it doesn't get easier, but it's worth it if we can protect lives, I think."
He finds that he listens to her every word.
(1) Updated chapter formatting to minimize redundancy and maximize clarity.
(2) Series is 90 chapters spread over 16 years of content that ends when Naruto is alive and kicking. Timeskips.
(3a) Let me know if things become too confusing so I can clarify. The main plot line is everything Orochi does to take down the trifecta of evil, but he must somehow enter the Mist without dying, as well as get enough power to take the evil out. Outside of this plot line, there is a mystery. While I don't want to pull a Pretty Little Liars on you and say "Focus on everything; it's all one giant clue" because I am NOT that talented, things/events/dialogue not immediately clarified are by design and will always be addressed in time. (uh, or I'm not writing this without an overall plan)
(3b) Oh! Orochimaru has yet to dominate as he does in canon because I thought it would be too boring to have him be perfect. Whatever sacrifice it takes, Orochimaru will become one of the most powerful characters by the end.
(4) If you're not a fan of canon-divergence, Chapters 16 & 17 begins events that permanently alter canon.