PinkiePieParty122894: Glad that you loved the chapter and I hope that you like this one.

Animaman: I'm glad you enjoyed the Dark Naruto and he will be a key part of Naruto gaining a fair amount of new powerful abilities. As for Kakashi, I suppose I just overlooked him but his character becomes larger later and he will get him opportunity with Naruto to either build a relationship like Tsunade is trying to begin, or just leave the boy alone. There will be clarification of the Rookies roles and what is going on with them starting in Yakumo's chapter in which I plan to start developing the major characters from the series/manga such as Sakura, Shizune, Kurenai, etc. Everyone knew Naruto was strong because in the chapter where Naruto returns home, he beats Menma with ease who was among the best in the class. I can't say whether Jiraiya will be alive to meet Naruto or whether Jiraiya will be back from searching for Narumi and Menma to meet him.

YuukiAsuna-Chan: I was excited about your first comment when it started out about Yakumo because I've tried to make her a significant character in this story. I did kind of groan when you said that you hoped it wasn't a parents suddenly realize their assholes fic because that's how it turned out. As for the sword, he can use it easily because it was made specifically for him, but your opinion is your opinion.

(Otogakure no Sato)

Orochimaru navigated through the very country that he created. His goal, to save a boy who had devoted himself completely to the Snake Sannin. As time had passed after his seal had been removed, he started to regain bits and pieces of memories of his time in Oto. Unfortunately, the memories were far from pleasant and he would live with the shame of the atrocities he committed in that village for the rest of his life. Shaking his head, Orochimaru cleared his thoughts and focused. Now was not the time to wallow in self-pity, it was time for him to right his wrongs in any way that he could.

As Orochimaru approached the Hidden Sound Village which was just an entrance to his underground lab, he noticed something that confused him greatly. Multiple groups of ninja were patrolling around the outside of the village. Jumping up into a tree and hiding his chakra signature, Orochimaru frowned as he watched a group of ninja that appeared to be wearing Sound nin headbands who were obviously looking for something or someone. When Orochimaru left Oto, it should have ceased to function, after all, that was how it was designed. The fact that what seemed to be an organized system of shinobi growing in an unknown and technically nonexistent village was a concern that he would have to bring up when he returned to Konoha.

It took just over ten minutes for the Sound nin to finish their search before they left. After the Sanin was completely sure that the group of ninja had left, he moved into a meditative pose on the tree branch that he sat on. Slowly but surely he began to channel the chakra in his body, feeling the world around him. Dark marks began to spread over his body but he remained calm and kept his eyes closed as he continued his meditation. Taking deep but slow breaths, Orochimaru entered a state that allowed him to sense the chakra of the life around him. With his eyes still closed, Orochimaru felt the life force of the trees around him, he felt the chakra of the bugs that crawled on the ground, he felt the chakra of the wild animals hunting their pray. Increasing his focus, Orochimaru felt around for human chakra signatures. He felt the chakra of the Sound group that he had seen earlier along with two other groups of five ninja per group that seemed to be patrolling as well. Pushing his chakra search even further, he finally found what he was looking for. The chakra signature of his devoted follower, Kimimaro Kaguya. Along with his signature was another weaker signature. Deciding to deal with it when he reached Kimimaro, Orochimaru opened his eyes and began to quickly tree jump towards the boy as fast as possible.

(Kimimaro)

Kimimaro Kaguya sat hungry and cold in a small cave that he found solace in. Along with him was the only person he had left, Tayuya of the Sound Four. Looking in front of him, he just stared at the dead bodies of his former teammates. Jirobo the bulky member, Kidomaru the six armed member, and Sakon and Ukon the double bodied member. The three bodies had been among the dead for two days and the smell of their rotting flesh was unbearable but neither he nor Tayuya would dare take the risk of leaving the cave yet. When it was decided among many of the members of Oto that Orochimaru was not returning to his village after several months of being gone, a man by the name of Zetsuna took control promising to turn Oto into a real ninja village. His first act was to get rid of anything that involved Orochimaru. All of the experiments, all of the test subjects, and most importantly, the Sound Four and Kimimaro were to be disposed of. The man had destroyed all of Orochimaru's work but the Sound Four had managed to get out of the immediate area of Oto and had taken Kimimaro with them. A fact that the white haired boy was immeasurably grateful for. The group had spent many months on the run only to be cut off from every exit out of Oto. The escape attempt finally ended only a few days ago.

The deaths of who were the closest thing he had to friends occurred without any warning. As the Sound Four and Kimimaro were in the process of escaping, a Sound shinobi was able to injure Tayuya by using a jutsu that slammed the girl into a tree breaking her leg. Jirobo, Kidomaru, Sakon, and Ukon stayed behind to buy Kimimaro and Tayuya time to find some sort of safe place. The red headed girl and Kimimaro were able to find a small cave and waited for their teammates, praying that they survived their battle. When the four members arrived, they were covered in blood and in their cursed seal forms. In order to defeat what was determined to be a group of Oto's elite ninja, the members of the Sound Four had to tap into their full power. An hour after the small group of shinobi had arrived at the cave, each of them started to grasp at their heads and began screaming and crying in pain. Five minutes after pure agony on the suffering party's end and confusion and worry on Kimimaro and Tayuya's end, the screams of pain stopped. Jirobo, Kidomaru, Sakon, and Ukon died in pain from a cause that was unknown to either of them.

Next to Kimimaro, Tayuya was taking deep breaths despite the horrid smell of her former teammates' carcasses. Her vision was blurry and her head was throbbing. Her stomach begged for food but she had none to give. Looking next to her, she saw the last remaining ally to her. She knew that he was in more pain than she was, not to mention he was dealing with an unknown illness. Looking at her leg, she stared at the wooden splint that Kimimaro had risked his safety to go out and get the materials for. That was before the Sound nin had started to head in their immediate direction. Looking at the ground, she couldn't help but wonder. 'Is this how my life ends?'. Shaking her head, she stopped thinking about death. Though she couldn't be there for Kimimaro in terms of physical support, she wouldn't leave him alone. So until the white haired boy sitting next to her kicked the bucket, she refused to die. Turning her head to look at her companion, she noticed that he had a small smile on his face. Knowing that her days were numbered, she threw away her impulse to gag at a sentimental act and simply smiled back. Silently, she gave a small wish that Kami would provide some sort of miracle and save Kimimaro. Placing her hand on his, she smiled and began to close her eyes only for them to snap open quickly as she felt a chakra presence that she had not felt in a long time approaching.

(Orochimaru)

The black haired Sannin had followed Kimimaro's signature along with the other unknown but familiar signature to what seemed to be a small cave. Pulling out a kunai in case the unknown chakra signature was hostile, he prepared to rescue Kimimaro. As the man approached the cave, he was met with a stench that sickened even the most seasoned ninja. It was the strong stench of death. Knowing that the dead body or bodies were not Kimimaro's, Orochimaru became suspicious and sped to the entrance of the cave. The sight he came across was one that truly hurt his heart. There was Kimimaro shaking in fear with an injured girl holding his hand while holding a kunai in her other hand. Both looked malnourished and sick. Raising his arms in surrender, he knelt down to their level. Looking at the white haired boy that had dedicated his body to him, he asked "Kimimaro, are you alright?" Orochimaru moved his head as he dodged a weak kunai throw from the red headed girl. "What the fuck do you care you fucking shithead?" the girl asked trying to sound angry but not having the strength to do so. "Master, is that really you?" Kimimaro asked with a desperate tone.

Orochimaru nodded his head and looked at the girl's leg that was put in a wooden splint. It was swelled up and purple. Reaching into a pouch on his waist, the Snake Sanin pulled out four pills and held two for the girl and two for Kimimaro. "These are food pills and blood pills. They should help" he said. Kimimaro took the pills quickly but Tayuya eyed the man suspiciously. "What's the catch shithead? You gonna put another curse mark on us or something?" she asked gritting her teeth. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. He had been shown the curse mark and its effects by his former apprentice, Anko Mitarashi, after a few months of persistence at trying to gain her trust back. He still didn't have it but he was dedicated to righting his wrongs. "I don't know who you are but I can only assume that I placed a curse mark on you. I apologize from the deepest part of my soul. I was not in control of my thoughts or actions when I created the Curse Mark" he said before turning to Kimimaro. "Now, we need to get you to safety Kimimaro" the Sanin said but was surprised when the boy shook his head in refusal. "Not without Tayuya" the boy declared. Raising an eyebrow and looking at the red head, he expected her to gripe about not to leave her behind. Instead, he received a surprise from the crass girl.

"Kimimaro, this is your chance to live on. Don't waste it on me" she said. Kimimaro shook his head and looked at Orochimaru. "Master, I beg of you to bring Tayuya with us" Kimimaro said with a desperate tone. Orochimaru examined the boy that he had originally come for and then examined the girl next to him. The red head's eyes showed that she was resigned to her fate but there was a glimmer of hope that shined in her eyes. Sighing, the Sanin nodded and performed the Shadow Clone Jutsu. The clone moved to Tayuya and carefully picked her up while Orochimaru himself picked up Kimimaro. Kimimaro looked at Orochimaru and smiled. "Thank you for saving us master. I promise not to fail you again" the boy said respectfully. Orochimaru shook his head. "No Kimimaro, I failed you. I have committed unforgivable acts, many of which I have yet to remember, but it is not only my duty, but my desire to redeem myself for my actions. My first step is getting you and Tayuya here to Konoha" Orochimaru said as he and his clone took off through the trees. Tayuya snorted in response. "That's a load of bullshit. I don't buy your bullshit story one bit shithead" the red head said. "Tayuya, speak properly in the presence of our master" Kimimaro said sternly but Orochimaru shook his head. "No Kimimaro, no more of these titles. I am not your master, you are your own person so I-" Orochimaru came to an immediate halt as did his clone.

Looking around, Orochimaru used the Shadow Clone Jutsu once again without any seals. The newly created shadow clone took Kimimaro quickly and carefully from Orochimaru's arms. "Lord Orochimaru?" asked Kimimaro in confusion. Even Tayuya was interested in why Orochimaru had stopped. Looking at his shadow clones and nodding, Orochimaru and his clones dropped to the ground. Once the small group had landed safely, Orochimaru pulled out a kunai. "We are not alone" the Sannin said. As soon as the words left his mouth, a multitude of Sound ninja stepped out from behind the surrounding trees. A total of twenty one ninja had stepped out in what seemed to be an ambush. All but one of the ninja wore standard ANBU gear with masks covering their faces. The ninja that was not dressed in such an attire wore a black and purple coat, a standard ninja flak jacket, and black pants. He had long brown hair that went past his shoulders. Overall, he could just be seen as any ordinary ninja, but the confident smile and power that radiated from the man said otherwise.

"Well well. It has been quite troublesome searching for the last of Orochimaru's experiments, but today I am given both the experiments and their creator. Kami truly is good" the man said as his fellow Sound nin chuckled. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at the man and noticed that Kimimaro and Tayuya were paler than their already unhealthy skin tone. Both were shaking and muttering one word. "Zetsuna". Frowning, Orochimaru examined the man that had stricken fear into his pupil and his pupil's friend. "Who are you and what do you want?" asked the Sanin which caused the man's smile to grow wider. "I am Zetsuna, the leader of Otogakure. As for what I want? I simply want Oto to ascend to the greatness that I know it is capable of. Unfortunately, you and your work stood in the way of such goals, but after I have eradicated you, Oto will be one large step closer to achieving greatness" the man said getting nods from his fellow ninja.

Orochimaru shook his head. "I do not remember much about the formation of Oto, but I do remember that it was not made to be an actual ninja village. As for you "eradicating" me, I am the Snake Sannin of Konoha. Now because I am in a hurry, I will grant you the opportunity to run back home if you leave immediately" the Sannin said blasting his killer intent. The Sound nin shuffled in nervousness and discomfort from Orochimaru's killer intent. Zetsuna merely laughed and produced killer intent twice the intensity of Orochimaru's. "Oh Orochimaru, I know of you reputation and your many accomplishments. Despite that, you will die by my hand today for both the good of Oto and because I truly want to kill you in battle, but I will let my elites get a taste of you first" Zetsuna said. As soon as the new leader of Oto finished speaking, all twenty of the Sound nin rushed the Sannin at once. Turning to his clones, Orochimaru yelled "Stay back" as he raised his kunai. The first ninja to make it to him threw a kunai at the Sannin and sped forward with a second kunai in hand hoping to land a quick followup strike. Orochimaru simply plucked the kunai from the air and slid sideways so that the Sound ninja missed his strike. Before the ninja could react, Orochimaru quickly stabbed the two kunai into both sides of the ninja's neck and pulled them out just as fast.

Jumping backwards after dealing with the first ninja, Orochimaru saw five more ninja trying to attack him head on. Raising his arms, Orochimaru said "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands", launching a large amount of snakes that quickly entangled each of the five ninja, trapping them in their spot. Following up his snakes, Orochimaru pulled out a shuriken and threw it before shouting, "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu" multiplying the one shuriken into one hundred. The ninja that weren't tangled in snakes avoided the shurikens easily enough, but the five that were unfortunate enough to be trapped in their reptilian prison were each struck with enough shurikens to end their lives quickly.

With six of their fellow ninja down, the remaining fourteen decided to attack the Sanin all at once. This decision proved to be a costly mistake for the Oto shinobi. First, Orochimaru placed his hands together and shouted "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough" blowing the fourteen ninja backwards and onto the ground. Not wasting his chance, Orochimaru unhinged his jaw much like a snake, and hundreds of snakes flowed from the man's mouth. Before the Sound nin could even recover from Orochimaru's wind technique, they were covered by venomous snakes and died quickly. Feeling a little tired, Orochimaru turned when he heard the sound of clapping. Zetsuna stood with a smile, clapping at what the Sannin had just done.

"Not bad, Orochimaru. I'm a little disappointed that it took you so long though. Perhaps your skills are a bit rusty?" Zetsuna mocked. Orochimaru clenched his fists at the jab. "I will give you one last chance to leave. If you choose to leave, I will not pursue you and you will live to see another day. If you choose to face me, I swear that not only will I destroy you, but I will destroy the entire corrupt imitation of a village that I built" the Sannin said as he prepared for another battle. Zetsuna rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles. "No Orochimaru, I told you what would happen today. My goal is to help Oto reach it's fullest potential and that cannot happen so long as you and any remnants of you remain" Zetsuna said. Behind Orochimaru, Kimimaro and Tayuya were shivering from fright. "Lord Orochimaru, leave me and run! He's not like normal ninja!" Kimimaro said in an attempt to save his master the best way he knew how. Tayuya remained silent. She was no longer thinking about the pain in her leg as she was too focused on her probable death.

Orochimaru turned his head slightly but his eyes never left Zetsuna. "How about a little faith in me Kimimaro? I said that I would get you safely to Konoha and I meant it, so let me take care of this" the Snake Sanin said with a smirk. Turning back to his opponent, his smirk disappeared. "You truly are a fool to challenge me, the Snake Sannin. I tell you now that your death will not be a merciful one" Orochimaru said as he commanded the hundreds of snakes that were still covering the ninja that they had all but devoured to attack Zetsuna. Zetsuna chuckled at the attack. "A futile effort, I assure you" said Zetsuna as black smoke began to exit the man's mouth. Just as the snakes approached the leader of Oto, Zetsuna blew out a large black fireball with a dark orange center that completely eradicated any existence of life. Orochimaru had to jump away as the fireball kept going. Despite hearing the sounds of trees collapsing, Orochimaru never turned his head.

Outstretching his arms, Zetsuna smiled as a dark flame started to surround his body. "Inferno Style: Fire Fence" shouted Zetsuna causing a massive flame to form a giant circle that surrounded him, Orochimaru, Kimimaro, and Tayuya. The giant circular fire fence seemed to be at least a mile wide but the heat from the flames were still easily felt by Orochimaru and his small group. "There is no escape, and there is no help coming" Zetsuna said before performing another series of handsigns. Orochimaru seeing his opportunity bit his thumb and quickly performed the handsigns as he shouted "Summoning Jutsu". When the words were spoken, a large plume of smoke appeared from the ground. Out of the smoke rose a massive snake. Quickly observing its surroundings, the snake looked down at its summoner. "Orochimaru, why have you summoned me?" the snake asked, hissing every word. Orochimaru pointed at Kimimaro and Tayuya. "Manda, I need you to take these two to Konoha" Orochimaru asked causing Kimimaro and Tayuya's eyes to widen and Manda's eyes to narrow. "You have called me for the purpose of delivering children? I should kill you right now" the snake hissed but Orochimaru was not intimidated at the moment.

The Snake Sanin looked at his summon in a way that Manda had not seen since Orochimaru had just become their summoner. "Please Manda, I need to know that they are safe before I can go all out on this boy" Orochimaru asked but hissed the part about his opponent. Manda was silent for a short moment before it gave a short nod. The Orochimaru clones both jumped on Manda's back with Kimimaro and Tayuya in their arms. Just as Manda began to leave, the voice of Zetsuna yelled out "You won't be going anywhere!" Zetsuna had jumped incredibly high and was speeding towards Manda with flames covering his body. In a matter of seconds, Zetsuna reached Manda's head before the summon could react and swung his fist into the giant snake's eye before falling and landing gracefully on the ground.

A second after Zetsuna's punch had landed, a flame scorched Manda's eye and continued to burn. Not long after, the snake's eye was completely gone, burned to nothing by a single attack from the leader of Oto. Manda screamed in an uncharacteristic and unnatural sound for a snake as it lost it's eye. When the process was over, the snake turned and faced the man that had dared to injure him. "I will kill you painfully for that you maggot" growled Manda in a frightening tone. Zetsuna just smirked. "You're welcome to try."

Manda launched it's head in a quick strike at Zetsuna who sped away with flames once again covering his body. As the Oto leader dodged the giant summon, Orochimaru took his chance by throwing a shuriken at Zetsuna and yelling "Shadow Shuriken Jutsu" sending a storm of shurikens at the man. Never letting his smirk fall, he shook his head and put his hands together as shurikens neared him and Manda prepared to strike again. "Inferno Style: Flaming Suicide" shouted Zetsuna. Orochimaru had known thanks to his many years of experience that when Zetsuna had put his hands together, the amount of chakra he exerted was not a good sign. Just as Zetsuna started to yell out the technique, Orochimaru and his clones used the "Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique" letting him and his charges go into the ground to avoid whatever happened next. Manda unfortunately was too consumed with rage at his lost eye to notice something was up until it happened. When Zetsuna announced his jutsu, a colossal explosion of fire burst forth from the man's body, burning Manda's body completely and turning all the trees and any living creatures in the nearby vicinity into nothing but ash. Manda lied on the ground breathing shallow breaths before disappearing into smoke out of the battlefield.

"Come out come out Orochimaru. I know that you're underground" Zetsuna said, smiling as Orochimaru and his clones rose from the ground. Orochimaru looked at Kimimaro who was incredibly frightened. Taking a kunai from his side pouch, the Sannin sliced his hand. "Kimimaro, give me your hand" the Snake Sannin said to which Kimimaro obeyed. Orochimaru wiped his hand on Kimimaro's and looked him in the eye. "I've taught you the handsigns for summoning, correct?" asked Orochimaru getting a nod in response. "If things start to look bad, use the summoning technique with all that you have. You won't be able to summon anything big, but any snake can reverse summon you. Simply tell them that you are with me and that you know who hurt Manda. Got it?" he asked getting a quick nod from Tayuya and a reluctant nod from Kimimaro. Orochimaru turned to face Zetsuna and just as he started to walk towards the man, an unlikely voice gave him a little encouragement. "Shithead, if you lose then I'll kick your ass" said Tayuya causing a small smile to form on the Sannin's face.

Orochimaru stopped about twelve feet away from his opponent. "You have proven to have quite the fire affinity. You are a fierce and powerful ninja" commented Orochimaru causing Zetsuna to smile. "But that does not make you strong" finished the Sannin turning Zetsuna's smile into a frown. "I will give everything to protect the children behind me. If I die then so be it, but I will take you down with me as well. Putting his hands together, Orochimaru pulled his chakra and dark marks began to form along his body. His skin became paler and scalier and the dark marks started to become patterns along his skin. His hair turned light grey and when he opened his eyes, they were in the form of a snake's eyes. He had achieved his sage mode. Not finished, Orochimaru quickly performed a series of handsigns while Zetsuna simply stood by watching in boredom and doing nothing to interrupt his opponent. When Orochimaru finished his handsigns, he shouted "Eight Headed Serpent Jutsu" and started to transform. His body was quickly turned into that of a giant, white, snake like creature and when the transformation was completed, seven other identical snake like serpents branched out of the original's body. Zetsuna raised an eyebrow, Tayuya looked in fear, but Kimimaro smiled happily. This was his master's strongest technique.

Four of the serpent heads attacked the ground while the other four kept an eye above the ground in case Zetsuna tried to jump up to avoid his inevitable demise. Meanwhile, Zetsuna was shaking his head as the serpent heads neared him. "A pitiful effort" was all the Oto leader said before engulfing himself in flames. "Inferno Style: Fire Wheel" Zetsuna shouted before starting a fast cartwheel that turned him into a literal wheel of flames. He sped past the heads that tried to attack him and made contact with the serpent's belly which caused a fair amount of pain if the screech from the creature that Orochimaru had become was any sign. Still rolling, Zetsuna used his chakra to stay attached to the surface of the serpent and quickly spin along the body of this new Orochimaru. When Zetsuna reached the back of the serpent, he jumped up and yelled out "Inferno Cauterizer" as he launched eight quick spear like flames that made impact with each of the serpents' heads. Orochimaru flew out of the mouth of the original head and landed on the ground just in time to see the heads of his most powerful move being burned off of their body.

"Trying to get away is a pointless effort, don't you see?" said the voice of Zetsuna from behind Orochimaru. The Snake Sannin's eyes widened and he immediately jumped away quickly before facing his opponent who now had his arms crossed with an impatient look on his face. "Kimimaro, summon the snake and get out of here" Orochimaru said knowing that it would be nearly impossible to beat someone who had handled him so easily. "No, we won't leave you!" shouted Kimimaro in response. Orochimaru cursed the fact that the boy was so devoted to him. "Kimimaro, I told you to go so go. NOW!" the Sannin finished with a shout. "Shut up shithead and beat this horse fucker, then we'll leave" said Tayuya in defiance. Clenching his fists, Orochimaru tried to think of any type of scenario that he had studied that related to the one he was in now. Unfortunately, Zetsuna was done waiting. Putting his hands together, he shouted "Inferno Fireball" launching a large black and red flaming ball of fire at the group. Immediately stopping with the analytics of the situation he was in, Orochimaru acted on impulse to save Kimimaro and Tayuya. Putting his hands together, he shouted "Summoning Jutsu: Rashomon" and a massive wall rose from the ground to protect Kimimaro, Tayuya, and Orochimaru from the incoming attack.

Zetsuna chuckled at Orochimaru's last attempt to not lose. He watched as his inferno ball flew into the wall and kept going. Nothing was a match for his fire. As he walked forwards, he could still feel the chakra signatures of Tayuya, Kimimaro, Orochimaru, and one of his clones hiding behind a small remaining piece of the wall. Just as he prepared to approach the small and weak group, something rose out of the ground behind him and before he could react, bit down on his neck. Once he turned around, he saw Orochimaru smirking at him with his hands in a particular hand sign. "You are powerful, but like I said earlier, that doesn't make you strong." Before Zetsuna could reply, a sharp, unbearable pain surged from his neck and through his body. He fell to the ground, unable to stay standing and grabbed at his head. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!" yelled Zetsuna in pain. Orochimaru walked to Zetsuna and kneeled to his level. "When I first created Otogakure no Sato, I would have called it a gift that I was giving you. Now, it is simply a mark of the curse I have given you. I told you that I would kill you, and someday I will return to get rid of Oto as well" said the Snake Sannin before getting up and taking off with his clones in tow leaving Zetsuna to scream in agony until he finally received the mercy of death.

(Konoha Gates)

The two gate guards, Kotetsu and Izumo, stood at their post completely bored. It was a slow day today, and they doubted that anything was going to change that. So imagine their surprise when a poof of smoke went off in front of them and faded to reveal an exhausted Orochimaru with two clones holding a white haired boy and a red headed girl. "Hey cocksucker, get us some help damn it!" shouted the red head at the guards. Orochimaru lifted his head as he panted trying to catch his breath. "Medics, now" the Sannin said before collapsing on the ground.

(Konoha Hospital 22 Hours Later)

Orochimaru slowly opened his eyes and immediately felt the soreness and repercussions of his earlier battle. Silently, he thanked Kami that he had just enough chakra after his fight with Zetsuna to reverse summon him, Kimimaro, and Tayuya back to Konoha. As the images of Kimimaro and Tayuya came into his mind, Orochimaru immediately sat up and was about to get out of bed when a familiar voice stopped him. "I know that you aren't trying to leave the hospital without a doctor's permission, right Orochimaru?" said the voice in a tone that turned the Snake Sannin's skin whiter that normal. Looking up, he was met with the sight of his teammate Tsunade walking into the room to check on him. "No, of course not. I just had to go to the restroom, that's all" Orochimaru said quickly making Tsunade raise an eyebrow. "Well I hope we can keep these bathroom breaks to a minimum. I would hate to have to put a catheter in you" she said with an evil smile that sent a chill down Orochimaru's spine.

Shaking his head and realizing he was getting off point, he asked about Kimimaro and Tayuya. Tsunade frowned at the question and took a deep breath. "I'll start with the girl. She had a severe broken leg that we had to perform surgery on. We had to do surgery on the cartilage that had been unhealed and the cartilage that was healed properly. Her leg surgery ended just about a half hour ago and we were able to fix most of the damage. We'll try to put her leg in a cast tomorrow and then it will be up to her body to heal the rest. Overall, her leg should be fine. Now for her next health problem, I had to bring Minato and Anko in for their expertise since you were out. That curse seal that you infected her and the boy with is fatal if it is relied upon too heavily or too often. Both the girl and the boy told me that they had a few friends that each died from what seemed to be head pain. I can only assume that they died from overuse of their curse seal" Tsunade said causing Orochimaru to look down in shame. "However, thanks to the abilities of our Hokage and the first hand experience of your former apprentice, we were able to successfully remove her curse seal. All that's left now is getting her body properly nourished and back into regular shape again" she said.

Orochimaru looked up at Tsunade with a smile which quickly turned into a concerned frown. "And Kimimaro?" the Sannin asked. Tsunade sighed. "We gave him the same treatment for nourishing his body which is still going on. He'll be in the hospital for at least a week. There is one thing that I found that I expect you to get on your knees and thank me for. He told me that he was to be your vessel but couldn't be anymore because of an unknown illness that he had contracted. After getting him to describe the symptoms, I, the world's greatest medic, was able to find a medical case similar to this one and come up with a treatment that will one day get rid of what he has" she said proudly. Orochimaru's eyes almost popped out of his skull at the announcement. "H-How? Kabuto and I searched everywhere for a cure to his illness and couldn't find anything" he said, praying that this wasn't a dream. "Well Orochimaru, apparently grandpa Hashirama dealt with a similar case helping out a family member of grandma Mito. Long story short, he recorded the case in his personal journal which I took a quick peek in, so the kid should be fine once we get his body healthy again" she said.

Tsunade waited for any type of thank you to leave her teammate's mouth, but the man just sat silent. Right as she was about to turn and leave, Orochimaru got out of his bed pulling his IV and any other cords attached out and bowed to the woman. "Thank you Tsunade. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you" the Sannin repeated in between sobs of joy. Tsunade examined her teammate in shock. She had actually been joking with Orochimaru but did expect a respectful thank you. She didn't expect him to bow to her and cry. Orochimaru never begged, and he sure as hell never cried. Doing the only thing she could think of, she patted his head and smiled. Perhaps her teammate really had changed.

Author's Note: Hey everyone hope that you liked the chapter. I decided to put Orochimaru's chapter ahead of Naruto, Yakumo, and Sasuke's to bring in Kimimaro and Tayuya in and hopefully transition them smoothly into the story. In Yakumo and Sasuke's chapters (more so Yakumo) I will start to bring in the other Konoha teams like Teams 8. 9. and 10 along with Sakura and Shizune. Anyway, hope that you liked the chapter and that you are liking the story. Make sure to REVIEW! See you soon.