It's actually been so long since I've uploaded anything that all my saved documents have expired lol. Feel free to point out any grammatical errors in reviews or pm's.

I'm not sure how long it's been since I've actually left the personal lab room that Hiruzen-sensei provided for me – one of the many perks granted to me as one of the Hokage's treasured students. It had to have been two years, minimum.

I formed a one-handed seal, a skill that took me about six months to use proficiently, and relished in the familiar pull of chakra through my pathways. I let out a pant of slight exhaustion as the mass of chakra I pushed outward solidified into a Shadow Clone. The clone stared at me obediently, his reptilian eyes gleaming with the same intelligence as mine. Without saying a word, he picked up the brush and dipped it into the inkwell with his only arm.

He stared at me insistently, gesturing down at the metal table between us. I silently placed my uncovered arm on the unnaturally cool and smooth surface, trying my hardest to ignore the familiar smirk on my – his – face. I instead opted to watch as he stroked, with the skill that I imparted into him, intricate glyphs and symbols into my arm. My gaze roved up my arm, taking note of the compressed seals that I had other clones apply to my flesh with the same chakra-bound ink.

I grimaced when my clone jabbed into my skin a bit harder than usual and sent him a withering glare, which was met with a sheepish grin.

"Sorry," he muttered insincerely, not that I really cared anyway.

"It's fine," I grunted back, in the exact same tone and voice.

I shuddered at the similarity between us. Honestly, I'm still baffled by how little any of the ninja in the manga were phased when creating and meeting completely identical beings. My ponderings were broken with 3 crisp raps on the door.

"Finish up, quickly. I have to dispel you soon," I ordered.

"Yeah, yeah," my clone replied, quickly adding some finishing strokes to the seal on the middle of my forearm. He gently placed the brush onto the table before looking back up and nodding at me. I sent a quick pulse of chakra through my arm, watching with persisting awe as the symbols swirled and compressed into a stylized wisp of fire. I brought my hand back up, dispelling him, grimacing at the small influx of information that flooded my mind.

I opened the door to greet the gently grinning face of my former teacher. I smiled back at one of the few people who still visited me regularly.

"Hello, sensei," I said pleasantly.

"Orochimaru," he greeted with a smile and a nod.

"How are you? It's rare that you ever invite anyone into your lair," he continued jokingly.

"I'm doing quite well, all things considered," I replied waving around my stump of a left arm.

His eyes flashed with slight discomfort and guilt before he chuckled good-naturedly at me. I am still in awe of this aging legend's acting prowess.

"So, what did you need?"

"I'll tell you once the others arrive," I replied. "This is quite a momentous occasion, after all. This hermit is finally leaving his cave."

Sarutobi smiled – a genuine one, this time – back at me before taking the empty seat across from me.

"Would you like some tea, sensei?" I said as I pulled two small ceramic cups from one of the various shelves in front of me.

"An aging man like me is never in a position to decline a good cup of tea," he replied, ruffling through the fuinjutsu notes I left on the table.

I hummed in response as I placed a kettle filled with ionized water on a piece of paper with a complex array of symbols surrounding the kanji for "fire." With a small pulse of chakra, the paper came to life, quickly bringing the water to a gentle simmer. With practiced ease, I spooned several scoops of tealeaves into the water and watched with persisting wonder as the herbs danced in the clear liquid, dying it a gentle green. I placed each cup on the table as the leaves continued to steep.

Sarutobi inhaled contentedly as I filled each cup with the tea. We sat together in a comfortable silence for several minutes until I sensed several powerful chakra signatures descending the stairs to my underground lab. I sighed as the sound of boisterous arguing intensified. There goes my peace and quiet. Hiruzen chuckled before taking another long sip of tea.

"I'll go let them in."

I languidly got out of my seat before barely opening the door. Through the crack, I saw the unfortunately familiar site of Tsunade punching Jiraiya, who took his punishment with a slightly perverse smile. Mito stood behind them, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"If you guys don't settle down, I'm only letting Mito-shishou in."

My teammates scoffed at me.

"I'm not bluffing. I can, and will, remove your chakra from the extremely complex seal allowing people into my lab without combusting spontaneously. It's an extremely painful process."

Mito smiled approvingly at me as Jiraiya and Tsunade straightened themselves out. I smirked at the three before opening the door fully, stepping aside to allow them passage. Mito marched past the two younger ninjas, taking the seat, and tea, that had originally been mine. Damn hag, acting like she owns everything.

I channeled some chakra into the ground, causing another table and 3 more chairs to appear from the seals covertly decorating my floor. Once the three of us were seated, I snatched my notes from Hiruzen, who smiled good-humoredly at me.

"Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why I actually invited you all here for once," I announced in reply to the four questioning faces staring back at me. "Normally, I believe that only Sensei and Shishou are entitled to what I'm about to tell you."

I continued talking before my two teammates could interject.

"However, out of respect and some sense of camaraderie, I would rather my two closest friends find out directly from me."

I got up and turned around, looking through the notes, most of which consisting of maps, that I had taken back from my old team leader.

"As sensei probably already knows," I gave a sideways glance at my teacher, who simply smirked back at me. "I believe I have found the location of the Ryūchi Cave that houses the Snake Summon Clan. That being said, I would like to request an extended leave to find this location, preferably alone."

"Now wait just a moment!" Jiraiya interjected, jumping out of his chair. "4 years of limited contact and you suddenly want to leave for who knows how long?"

"Please, settle down Jiraiya," Sarutobi suggested, though it was more of a command. "I'm sure Orochimaru has reasons for not wanting to bring along his precious teammates."

Damn old man, always a step ahead of me.

"Sensei is right," I continued. "With you two being the head summoners of the Slug and Toad Clans, I have my doubts that the Snakes would be receptive to your intrusion on their territory. I'm afraid I'm going to have to exclude you to avoid any possible animal warfare."

"A agree with your judgment, to a degree," Sarutobi began. "However, I cannot allow you to venture away from the village for so long alone. It's not that I doubt your abilities at all, but this is more my tendency to care a bit too much for my dear students."

I simply nodded in acquiescence.

"Meet me at my office at 0800 tomorrow. You will meet your partner for this mission then and will depart at your convenience. I expect regular reports from you," he ordered, tapping on a seal sewn into his inner sleeve. It was a seal of my design, allowing for the instant relay of small notes through complex special distortions. He glanced over at Mito, who still hadn't said a word. "Come Jiraiya, Tsunade, there's still other work that needs to be done."

The two got up and followed at him. Jiraiya gave me a silent thumb-up, while Tsunade sent me a silent look that could only be interpreted as "we will talk later," before leaving. I turned my back to the door with a sigh as I sent another pulse of chakra through the ground, making the extra table and chairs disappear in a puff of smoke. I sat across from Mito, studying her facial expression.

Mito had, as she did in the manga, aged with the grace expected from those of the Uzumaki clan. At the age of 54, she looked to be only in her late 20's, with the only noticeable difference in her appearance being the slight darkening of her hair. Her eyes still retained the radiant youth of other shinobi and kunoichi of my own generation, though this was evidently fading, especially after Hashirama's death. Her blank expression faded into a gentle smile as I took the seat opposite to her.

"That's some damn fine seal-work you've got running this place," she finally said, eliciting a small smile from me.

"Well, I had a damn fine teacher," I replied curtly.

"My, my. Aren't I a bit old for you, Orochi-kun? What is an aging widow to do at the tenacious proclivities of her young student?" she teased.

I scowled in response.

"Reel it in, shishou. I'm not even a third your age yet," I snapped back.

She simply reached over and ruffled my hair, much to my annoyance.

"There's that charming reaction I was looking for."

Her gaze softened before she continued.

"You know I see you as my son, despite our large age gap."

I snorted. Back in my world, such a gap was generally closer to the norm.

"I mean it. Please stay safe out there. I do love you, y'know?"

I gave her a miniscule smile that I knew only she would be able to notice.

"My, my. Should I be worrying for my chastity now? I am but an unknowing Hikaru Genji* in the wiles of a clever old fox."

She simply smiled back at me before bopping me gently on the head.

"Clever little brat," she said as she got up. "Come back in one piece, won't you? I'd hate to resurrect you just to kill you again."

With that said, she glided out of the room, closing the door behind her. I sighed and channeled more chakra into the ground, replacing the table and chairs with a small bed. I think I got enough done for today to actually get a full night's worth of sleep.

At exactly 0757, I stood before my sensei and leader. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I awkwardly shuffled my feet and shifted the pack hanging over my over my right shoulder. The Sandaime looked up from his paperwork and chortled.

"Relax, Orochimaru," Hiruzen finally said. "You're meeting a new person. It's your own fault you've become so socially inept."

I glared at the aging man and readied a retort that was cut off by the three crisp taps on the door.

"Finally, someone who actually uses the door like a civilized person," the Hokage grumbled to himself, mentioning disrespectful students and Uzumaki's.

I turned to see a young adult, about the age of my teammates, who, similar to Jiraiya, had an unruly mess of grey, pulled into a messy ponytail. He looked back at me with half-lidded eyes. While he exuded a presence of nonchalance, his chakra betrayed his true nature. It felt extremely sharp, like a well-treated blade, and if I wasn't just imagining things, it actually felt white, if that made sense. There was no doubt in my mind; this man was no one other than –

"–Hatake Sakumo, your partner for this misson."

The teen gave me an easygoing smile accompanied with a playful salute. Tentatively, I smiled back at him.

"Ready to go when you are, Orochimaru-san."

I stared back at him for several more minutes before responding.

"Do you think you can meet me at Training ground 3? I'd like to get to know my companion for my trip, and I heard a spar is the best way to do so."

Sakumo paused before nodding emphatically. He disappeared from the office in a flash of white chakra. I smiled to myself at the opportunity to gauge the ability of someone who was said to have been on par with the Manga Sannin in his prime.

"Sensei, can you do me a favor and tell Mito-shishou?" I said as I climbed the windowsill. "Oh, and Jiraiya and Tsunade too."

This'd be a good opportunity for them to see the practical application of my training.

Both my opponent and audience were already present by the time I arrived.

"Were you all really that anxious to see what I've accomplished these last couple years?" I asked, rhetorically, of course. I exhaled before continuing. "We fight until first blood."

I positioned myself directly opposite to Sakumo, whose hand was twitching by the handle of his tantō. I gave him a bow, which he returned. Then, he disappeared.

I pressed my middle finger to my palm, triggering a familiar storage seal. I smiled as the familiar weight of Kusanagi appeared in my hand with little to no chakra bursts. I brought the double-edged sword behind me, blocking Sakumo's sneak attack, much to his surprise.

"I am still a sensor, Hatake-san," I drawled out, dispelling the sword with a listless wave of my arm. Before he had a chance to escape, I slapped my palm on his chest, making him fall to the ground thanks to the weighted seal that spread from my strike. Before the seal ran out of chakra, I made some distance between us and held my hand out.

"There's no doubt that you already know this, but I am rather proficient in seals."

Ink quickly coagulated in front of me into the form of a complex array of seals.

"That of course, means that I have access to a good amount of shortcuts for more temporally taxing techniques."

Several snakes made of fire lanced from the array, bombarding Sakumo's still prone form. I frowned when I felt two identical chakra signatures rushing at me. I stepped back as two clones of the future White Fang burst from the thick forest, arms crackling with white surges of electricity.

"Raiton: Raikyōgeki!" the clones shouted in unison. I slammed my palm into the ground, making the earth beneath the clone to my right shoot up in a pointed pillar, impaling the clone. I shielded my eyes when it burst in a flash of white lightning. While my eyes were still closed, I ducked and sent an uppercut towards the direction of the other clone. I sunk into the ground with a quick application of Moguragakure no Jutsu to the dirt beneath me.

While underground, I sent out pulses of chakra to try to find the real Sakumo as I sifted through the dirt. To my surprise, the earth above me split open with a vicious crackle as Sakumo burnt a path to me using a focused Gian. With a groan, I held my hand up again, this time in a fist. The seal on my second knuckle lit up as it absorbed the beam of lightning. Sending chakra to my feet, I burst from the remaining dirt and sent a vicious punch to Sakumo's surprised face.

He twisted mid air a kicked me roughly in the midsection, sending me higher into the air. I grunted in pain as I sent light bursts of wind to position myself directly above him. I channeled more chakra into the weight seals on my legs. I plummeted into him, deactivating the seals and pushing off moments before we made contact with the ground.

I landed on my feet and barely leaned back in time to dodge the white chakra infused shuriken careening in my direction. I sprung back up and doubled over in pain when the two projectiles I had just dodged somehow turned around mid-flight and lodged themselves firmly in my lower left trapezius.

I rolled my shoulders using chakra to force the physics-defying stars out of my shoulders. I glanced around, noticing the slight glint of light off of the nearly invisible stands of metal coming from the trees. Ninja wires. How interesting. I glanced over at Sakumo, who was smiling amiably back at me. Maybe I was a little cocky.

"Well played, Hatake-san."

Tsunade immediately rushed at me, her hands already glowing bright green. She grimaced slightly at the blood, but healed me regardless. I thought to the Tsunade introduced with crippling hemophilia and added preventing that to my list of tasks for this life. I glanced over at Sakumo, who was overall unblemished, save for some minor singed clothing.

"I'll see you at the village gate tomorrow, Hatake-san."

"I look forward to this trip, Orochimaru-san, and please, call me Sakumo."

"Sure, sure."

We shook hands and began to part ways before an audible growl rang from my stomach. Might as well have one last team dinner before I leave…

I smiled sheepishly at Sakumo.

"Would you like to get dinner with my team and me?"

Behind me, I heard Jiraiya whisper something about growing up so fast.

Cheeky bastard.

*Main character of "The Tale of Genji," in which the titular character slowly falls in love with the woman who raised him. A bunch of other stuff happened too.

As much as I hate to do this, a lot of Jutsu names a rather silly in English, so I opted to use the Japanese names. Here's a list of translations, in case anyone is curious.

Raiton: Raikyōgeki – Lightning Release: Lightning Pincer Attack

Moguragakura – Hiding Like a Mole Technique

Gian: False Darkness