Chapter One: The Serpent Takes Flight

Lord Orochimaru was running out of time.

Fortunately for him, he has a reset button ready and waiting. As Kabuto entered the room, he saw him sitting quite calmly in place at a lab, reading. Kabuto looked in a good mood, though it was often hard to tell with him. "Lord Orochimaru, things are proceeding just as we'd hoped. Kakazu and Hidan are dead, killed by Naruto Uzumaki."

"Then it appears our gamble has paid off," said Orochimaru. "Still, I will need to transfer bodies soon."

"Shall I have a subject brought to us, then?" asked Kabuto.

Orochimaru sighed. "No, don't bother.

"Kabuto, the time has finally come for Sasuke's body to become mine."

Kabuto halted. "I see, Lord Orochimaru.

"That may be difficult. He has grown powerful, and I doubt he'll just submit willingly."

"Of course he won't," said Orochimaru. "He's been plotting to kill me to get out of our bargain for years. It's what I would do.

"I'm a genius, Kabuto. I'm not so foolish as to simply tell him outright I intend to take his body. Of course, if it came to a confrontation, I think I could assimilate him. And he might willingly submit to me.

"But I see no reason to leave such a thing to chance."

"Then how shall we deal with this?" asked Kabuto, adjusting his glasses and smiling.

Orochimaru picked a vial off the table and offered it to him. "Simple enough.

"This is a toxin I developed on my own. It is specifically designed to bypass his toxin resistance."

Kabuto smiled. "I see.

"That's why you trained him to be immune to poisons. You were only giving him a false sense of security so he wouldn't see this coming."

"Of course," said Orochimaru. "You can't become immune to toxins, in reality, because 'toxins' is simply a blanket term for anything that harms you if you ingest it. There is such an immense variety that you could spend a lifetime becoming immune.

"And even if you did, different poisons would have been defeated.

"Fortunately for us, Sasuke has the attitude that anything he has defeated once will never be a threat to him. He thinks the entire universe revolves around him and his pathetic clan, that he is chosen by destiny.

"Obviously, he is mistaken. The only chosen in this world are those who choose themselves.

"Arrange for his meal to be laced with this. Once he is unconscious, I will take his body."

"Understood, Lord Orochimaru," said Kabuto.

Kabuto turned and made his way back into that kitchen, noting it was around lunchtime. No doubt Sasuke would be in his room, training or meditating or whatever. It was time to begin things. Quickly he considered what to make. "Well, this is all happening so much sooner than I'd expected. Let me see what should I make for his last meal. Perhaps some form of curry? I'd hate for things to end badly.

"Then again, I'd better stop murmuring to myself.

"Sasuke isn't stupid, just arrogant. And he's very, very, powerful."

He proceeded to cook one of the more elaborate meals he made. Even if he weren't eating any of it, it would be a shame not to do his best for a momentous event. Even so, Kabuto had to admit; he was surprised at how powerful Naruto had become. Apparently, the one he had dismissed as a nobody was far greater than anticipated.

Many of the proxy wars they'd tried to start had been nipped in the bud.

It was a regrettable miscalculation on Kabuto's part, to say the least. For now, he had to deal with Sasuke. Now there was a ninja he'd pegged perfectly as he brought the food to the door. He knocked. "Sasuke."

"What is it, Kabuto?" asked Sasuke.

Kabuto opened the door and entered. "Forgive me the intrusion; I'm here to bring you your meal."

"Is it that time already?" asked Sasuke.

Kabuto smiled as he moved forward and set down the food. "Yes, well, Lord Orochimaru has been analyzing your rate of advancement. And he has compared it to Itachi. He has concluded that you are more than a match for him now."

"What?" said Sasuke, surprised at the statement.

"It'll be a bit close, of course," said Kabuto. "But Lord Orochimaru has become interested in whether you'll be able to beat Itachi. He thought he'd offer you a chance to go it alone.

"Of course, we expect you to fulfill your end of the bargain after the fact. But if you want to kill Itachi with your own two hands, this seems a good chance."

Sasuke seemed to consider it, then dismissed it out of hand. "...Fine by me.

"Get out. I'm going to eat."

Kabuto obeyed and reflected that if he'd called the bluff, that door would likely be blown open a moment later. So, he closed the door and walked a little ways off, preparing to dart back to Orochimaru if necessary.

And then there was a sound of falling a few minutes later.

Kabuto entered again and saw Sasuke slumped unconscious. Using a medical jutsu to scan him, he confirmed he was unconscious. Well, that was easy.

"Ever the entitled, Sasuke," mused Kabuto. "I can't believe that actually worked. Even Naruto Uzumaki would have been more difficult to fool.

"Then again, Naruto saw Orochimaru's invitation for what it was.

"Still, I suppose Lord Orochimaru did not pick him for his intellect."

Picking up Sasuke, Kabuto carried him back to Orochimaru's room. There he set the unconscious body down. Orochimaru looked up. "Is it done, Kabuto?"

"Yes, I have him here," said Kabuto. "He was quite easily defeated. I must wonder why he didn't expect any kind of betrayal."

"Perhaps he was waiting for me to tell him I intended to assimilate him. All while I was on my sickbed," noted Orochimaru, who was nowhere near collapse at the moment.

"...That seems a little too stupid to actually happen, Lord Orochimaru," said Kabuto. "You would have been both naive and very stupid to give the order when you were not capable of fighting him."

"Never underestimate the blinding effects of pride, Kabuto," said Orochimaru. "It's one of the reasons I don't have any. Now, leave me; I must perform the ritual."

Kabuto obeyed and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

A moment later, Sasuke walked out, and no one was behind him. No, not Sasuke; his posture was... different. Kabuto stared at him. "Lord Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru smiled widely in a way Sasuke never would. "...I have assimilated Sasuke Uchiha.

"Nothing at all remains."

"Oh," said Kabuto. "So, um... our plan worked?"

"Yes," said Orochimaru. "Why wouldn't it?"

"Wasn't there any kind of divine intervention or serious resistance?" asked Kabuto.

"Why would there be?" asked Orochimaru, curious. "Sasuke has been doing missions for me for years. Assassination, capturing specimens for my experiments, inspiring terror. His hands are just as dirty as ours. And at least the village betrayed me first.

"I see no reason the Gods should take his side."

"Well, yes, but he is an Uchiha," noted Kabuto.

"And that means the entire universe revolves around him?" asked Orochimaru.

"...Nevermind," said Kabuto. "Tell me, any regrets?"

Orochimaru laughed. "Regrets? Why would I have regrets? I have my vessel. The inconvenient placeholder that was occupying it has been safely removed.

"Why would I have regrets? Especially since I no longer have to play up pretending the like the little bastard."

"Fair enough," said Kabuto. "So, what are our plans now?"

"Now?" Orochimaru paused. "Well, it occurs to me that Sasuke and I do have some common ground. I very much want Itachi dead, and I think this is the perfect opportunity to do it.

"Also, I did agree to kill Itachi after I took his body, and people ought to fulfill their contracts.

"Still, as of this point, the Sound Village has lost all purpose anyway. Most of our highest tier fighters are gone thanks to Naruto."

"What then?" asked Kabuto.

Orochimaru looked upward. "Hmm, it appears Sasuke had plans to put together some of my best ninjas to take out Itachi. I think I'll use his plans for my own. This is going to be fun."

"And what shall I do?" asked Kabuto.

"I don't think I should take you with me, Kabuto," mused Orochimaru. "Your presence will cause Itachi to become suspicious. I don't want him learning about what I am until the most devastating of moments. I have another plan.

"You've been working on improving the Edo Tensei?"

"You knew about that?" asked Kabuto.

"Of course I knew about that," said Orochimaru. "I'd like you to put your full focus on those experiments. And, another thing, I want you to capture Anko for me. Though, it's not a time-sensitive mission."

"Anko?" asked Kabuto, remembering the very beautiful student Orochimaru threw away. "I was given to understand she was your failsafe."

"Oh, she was, but there was another element," said Orochimaru. "Although my fusion into this body is far more perfect, I will need new Uchiha bodies to take control of. Restoring the Uchiha Clan is one of our priorities."

"Why Anko?" asked Kabuto, who suspected Orochimaru had some affection for her.

"Anko is a powerful shinobi in her own right, after all," said Orochimaru. "More importantly, she has no bloodlines to speak of. Kekkei genki often don't mix very well. The results of merging bloodlines can be unpredictable and dangerous. Also, I admit I have a certain fondness for her.

"I'd rather keep her around after I destroy everything she loves.

"That reminds me, I'm going to have to collect a variety of specimens for recreating the Uchiha. Look over that data that Sai gave us, will you? Find any women that could be of use for that purpose. And make sure Tsunade is on the list. I mean her to share in my immortality, whether she likes it or not."

Was he keeping the old flame alive? Interesting. "And what about Naruto Uzumaki?

"He's a problem."

"Don't worry about Naruto," said Orochimaru, walking past. "He will seek out Sasuke, and I will deal with him when the time comes. More importantly, the Akatsuki will also seek me out.

"Kabuto, the Sound Village is yours.

"I have no further need of it, and so all the resources and power behind it are available for your use. Though, of course, you are still under my command."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru," said Kabuto, pleased at being promoted. "What shall I tell everyone about what happened here? Perhaps we could say that Sasuke assimilated you?"

"No, keep it vague," said Orochimaru. "Make a few offhand comments that lead people to think Sasuke did it. The rumor will be enough to confirm the bias toward the Uchiha. Then, when I kill Itachi and reveal myself, it will make me that much more impressive.

"Of course, Tobi will probably want to stand by and recruit Sasuke to his own cause. Itachi was his primary adversary. And Pain has always been the real leader of the Akatsuki."

"I thought you said Tobi was the secret mastermind?" noted Kabuto.

"I'm sure he thinks he is," mused Orochimaru. "But Pain founded the Akatsuki and then later made an alliance with Tobi. All of the Akatsuki members were recruited by Pain, and to think he is the leader. Not to mention Pain is the one who makes all the day-to-day decisions. And I sincerely doubt Pain has any plans to fulfill Tobi's agenda. The man regards himself as a god. And gods do not take orders from anyone.

"In essence, if people think Pain is the leader. If Pain performs all the duties of a leader, and if Pain regards himself as the leader, who is to say he is not the leader?

"The way things are going, Tobi is going to have to get some real support. Otherwise, by the time he tries to initiate his plan, Pain will say no, and that will be the end of it."

"And what is his plan?" asked Kabuto. Orochimaru loved keeping people in suspect.

"I have no idea," said Orochimaru with a laugh. "Nor do I care. I got everything I wanted out of the Akatsuki a long time ago. But, I do have something I want from you. A group of people I want to be resurrected.

"Not the Edo Tensei variety. I want to test our true resurrection efforts on these." Orochimaru handed him a list.

Kabuto read it and frowned. "...The Sound Four and Kimmimaro, I understand, but what these three?"

"Why not?" asked Orochimaru. "They were more memorable than most and above average in their own right. Not remarkable, but we need someone to test the ritual on who isn't irreplaceable.

"Also, two of them died in an Edo Tensei, and we're bringing them back. Think of it as necromantic poetry.

"Carry out your duties. And do remember to have fun, Kabuto."

Kabuto laughed. "I always do, Lord Orochimaru."

But he followed Orochimaru as he went into an area with a single tank of water. Orochimaru entered into it, and the water formed into a person. "Sasuke, you're here.

"I guess that means Lord Orochimaru is dead, huh?"

"Guess again," said Orochimaru in Sasuke's voice.

"You..." Suigetsu shuddered. "Oh.

"Oh shit!"

"Hello, Suigetsu," said Orochimaru.

"Now, hold on, don't kill me!" said Suigetsu. "I don't even know how you'd do it, but uh... I can be of help, honest!"

"Please, Suigetsu, if I intended to kill you, I'd have done it a long time," said Orochimaru. "No, you and I have a great deal of work to do.

"You're going to help me kill Itachi Uchiha and destroy the Akatsuki."

"What if um... what if I say um..." Suigetsu was shuddering within the water.

"Do you really want to know?" asked Orochimaru.

"No," said Suigetsu.

"Good," said Orochimaru. "Then don't ask. Now, I think we'd better go get Karin."

"Wait, do you really think you'll be able to recruit her? I mean, you just killed Sasuke," said Suigetsu.

"Well, I'm superficially him. So she won't notice any difference," said Orochimaru, smashing the tank.

"Yeah," said Suigetsu. "You're probably right."

Well, now, Kabuto had a lot of work to do.

There once was a serpent who looked with envy upon the birds of the sky. Desiring to fly itself, it stole the eggs of a hawk and raised a bird on its own, that it could gain a pair of wings.

The plan worked perfectly.

Thus the serpent was reborn and became a dragon of terrible power and looming menace.