AN: No clue who's reading this, but I'm in Hong Kong and I've been loving the cooler weather.
" We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done." – Alan Turning
Kimimaro was the first one I saw, he was approaching directly towards me, likely concerned he'd not sensed any sign of a fight. I could sense the other members of the sound five a few kilometers past him, waiting to take up the positions of the Kazekage bodyguards. As I approached them, they stared at me wearingly. Clearly I was not the same Orochimaru they had seen just this morning.
"Orochimaru-Sama may I inquire if your plans have changed?" Kimimaro stated, his body subtly shifting into a combat position I'd taught him that disguised his stance.
Kimimaro, what a shame I'd not been able to save him the first time around. He'd been an A-rank fighter at 15 while terminally ill, and I was sure with time, recovery and mentoring he'd be a powerful S-rank threat. Of the collection of ninjas my old-self had assembled, I knew him to be one of the few worthy of keeping. Alas he was also perceptive enough to know how unlikely it was I had swapped bodies in the course of just a few hours.
"Yes Kimimaro, I'd just had an epiphany and perfected a technique I'd been working on for a long time. With this new development, I will no longer have need of new host bodies and no longer need the Uchiha boy"
His green eyes slowly traced the changes to my body, the female dress I'd donned, the obvious breasts that could be seen under my robes and the clearly distinct voice I'd begun using in my new form. At the same time, I had stopped suppressing my chakra and I knew Kimimaro could sense the authenticity of my Chakra. Though even that would be suspicious, it's not everyday someone seems to drastically increase in chakra potency in half a day.
He stood rigid still for a moment, robes billowing slightly in the wind and his face somewhat red from the heat of the Suna desert. Would he attack? Inquire about my changes? Or accept it and simply wonder for a time period?
His contemplation was interrupted when his whole body wracked with coughs, his knees buckling and bloody coughs being spurted into his hands. He shook as he tried to regain his composure, and I decided to rush forward, my hands green with healing chakra.
He nearly sliced me as I came up to him, his suspicion combining with instincts to start growing a bone blade, but a combination of the strain and self-restraint stopped the technique before it penetrated his skin. I began a diagnosis jutsu on him, and confirmed what I'd verified in the future: his disease was microscopic polyangiitis. It was an immune disease that could only be treated with immune system suppressants, the treatment had been pioneered by Konoha Hospital about 11 years in the future by Tsunade and her student Sakura.
"Kimimaro, I need you go back to the rest of your team and ask them to escort you back to the Oto. I've recently come across a lead that I must follow up. I will return shortly. Instruct them to also diffuse the plans for an invasion."
Kimimaro continued shaking with coughs, no gas expelling but his body struggling to resist the temptation. I healed some of the physical damage to lungs with the mystical palm technique, and as he recovered he looked up at me in surprise. At the time, I'd not been adept at healing others.
"Also do not mention the changes to my appearance to anyone yet. This is a command Kimimaro-san"
He slowly nodded, and after I healed some of the lesions in his organs, he struggled back to his feet.
"Thank you Orochimaru-Sama for healing me. You didn't have to waste your Chakra on someone like me"
Wow. I'd almost forgotten how pathetic my old self had liked to keep her underlings, all of them like dogs, expected to be dedicated to a fault with no expectations of anything in return.
"Do not presume to tell me if I'm wasting my chakra. You are one of my most powerful shinobi and keeping you alive is a priority. Now go back to Oto and enforce my command to stand down."
"Hai Orochimaru-Sama", and Kimimaro started off towards the sound four.
It was tiring dealing with underlings who needed coddling and controlling. My old self had preferred to alternate between honey and vinegar, cultivating a sense of worship where staying in my favor had been the premiere goal, just as disappointing me was dangerous. It had its uses, but I'd honestly prefer if I could simply the shinobi in my loyalty alone for years and presume they'd be productive without directions. Only a few of my shinobi were worth attention. I'd kept a legion of C, B and A-rank shinobi under my command with the goal of having a military force for invasion, but now without any intention of invading a region, they were pointless. I'd lost a large chunk of my chuunin-level shinobi during the invasion, and I didn't really have plans on what they'd do rather than die. Make money I suppose? Train in case I ever saw a use for them?
What I really needed was a proxy, a competent shinobi who could be trusted to actually lead a village to relative prosperity. Someone I could simply place in charge of Oto and trust to pursue things like developing an academy system. A combination of loyalty, competency and strength.
I didn't have anyone.
The most powerful shinobi I knew I could influence were Kimimaro, Kabuto and Guren, and none of them were suitable to becoming a proxy leader. Kimimaro and Kabuto were competent and loyal, but they were not currently strong enough to simply leave in charge of a village. Guren on the other hand was unstable.
I shook off my thoughts, it was something I had a few days to think about. For now though, I knew exactly where I was heading.
They say ignorance is bliss, and I could only smile at the thought of the shopkeepers unknowingly helping dress Orochimaru the Sanin, dangerous S-rank shinobi famous for not just murdering people, but kidnapping them, forcing them to bear children, and then performing gruesome and torturous experiments on their children. But the women weren't frightful at all, my chakra tightly compressed, and instead they dithered around me comparing fabrics to my skin and asking me if I was interested in wearing foundation.
To them, I was simply Aiko, a wealthy but presumably non-dangerous shinobi lady looking for stylish new battle robes.
"No Keiko-San, I'm rather fond of my skin tone." I purred out at them, as they continued measuring fabric against my naked skin.
"Well usually cool colors like blue and green work wonders with pale skin, you usually want to avoid pinks as they might simply make your face looked washed out" they rambled about color schemes for a moment, before I directed them to focus on purple and green.
I've no idea if they were simply trying to make me happy, but they seemed to think purple and green color schemes were delightful, and they started showing me color pairings like purple and gold or green with silver or black.
"And what do you think about floral patterns Aiko-San?", one of the ladies whose name I didn't know raised up a bright purple sheet, a bright purple color with yellow flowers faintly visible in the fabric.
Laughing, I enjoyed the chance to finally relax, as the women continued moving around me, taking measurement and complimenting how pretty I was.
The hot springs were a soothing and relaxing experience, my body resting in warm water. Although my eyes and face were slightly strange to the other women, they weren't too bothered. In the edge of the springs, a group of young girls seemed to be playing with each other, splashing water across themselves and discussing things like bodies and boys in the sacrosanct privacy of the spring. Near the doors, a middle aged women was helping a very young girl who was in a bathing suit into the water, a precious picture of a mother teaching a daughter to swim.
My eyes glazed over them, and I lost myself in thoughts, my mind wandering to the topics of Log and Mitsuki. My sons. I remembered when I taught Mitsuki to swim, already self conscious of his body and refusing to remove his shirt. He'd also been terrified of swimming, a boy of only 4. I'd never appreciated young children until I took the time to raise them, the love they felt for their parents an amazing thing. This was before Mitsuki really understood who I was, before he learned I was transgender, before he even understood what such a thing was or had the ability to be disgusted by it. Back then, I'd simply been "Okaa-saa", an adorable feat of talking I'd been immeasurably proud at.
I'm pretty sure Mitsuki was the only person who knew me first as a women, and his innocent proclamation that I was his Okaa-Saa was one of the happiest moments of my life. He knew me as his mother, as a women, and hadn't come to doubt that until much later in his life, when he stopped being the cute boy who only saw his mother as amazing and capable of anything.
I had tried to impress him by forming a pool myself, shifting the earth to form a basin which I then filled with water. He'd laughed with joy as I formed snakes shaped out of water and had them dance across the basin, before they slithered into the growing pool. It'd worked, the boy had tried chasing the water snakes all the way into the pool, his fear of water forgotten by the joy of chakra.
It was a shame I'd been forced to leave my children behind. A shame that Konoha couldn't keep themselves safe from the Otsutuski clan, that the shinobi world failed to keep Mitsuki safe. I'd trusted Konoha with my sons livelihood and they'd let him die.
This time things would be different.
As I continued relaxing into the heat and pondering how I might move forward, I heard a faint snickering from the edges of the spring, my enhanced hearing picking up what the other women didn't notice.
No.
What were the fucking odds?
I quickly let sage chakra slip into myself, and focused on the surrounding area, and sure enough I could feel a toad-like presence right outside the walls the of the spring. I turned in the direction of the presence, and saw a tiny hole in the wood of the springs.
The thought of Jiriaya spying on me was as disgusting as it was intriguing. The ability of the pervert to be attracted to my naked form was validating in a way, just as the idea of Jiriaya was… a solid nope.
I'd also not intended to run into my old teammate. While I was confident he couldn't defeat me, especially with my extra twenty years of experience, he was far too perceptive and I didn't want to kill him. He ended up training Naruto, and as much as Naruto had failed me in the future, the boy ended up stronger than myself.
I moved into the changing rooms where I donned a feminine purple robe with golden trim, a more traditional styled Kuinochi robe. Slightly impractical for fighting in, so I secured it around my hourglass waist with a band of purple rope.
My hair was still wet, but I wouldn't want to risk drying it with chakra and drawing the attention of Jiriaya, so I simply put it into a band behind me.
I slipped out into the street and began heading in a direction out of town, when I was stopped by Jiriaya standing before me, face agape as he stared directly at me.
"Hello Jiriaya-chan"
I nearly smirked as Jiriaya's mouth fell open even more and his eyes begun staring directly at my chest. His face steeled, a hard look falling over his eyes. He probably thought I'd stolen this body.
Well. I suppose I'd stolen the body, but the human rights of a white zetsu clone were pretty debatable.
"Young lady, you look far too much like a man I used to know. You should come with me so I can ask you some questions, no fear, for I'm the Gallant Jiriaya!" At this point, he pushed his first foot forward, spreading his legs and taking on a pose that half-ready to jump into combat and half-looking like a buffoon mating dance and he flashed a toothy grin at me.
The smile did not reach his eyes.
"Jiriaya-chan, you're being awfully forward to your old teammate. I'm a third-date kind of gal.."
At this point, I let a bit of my chakra suppression go and I took on a sinister grin. If avoiding him was impossible then I might as well enjoy the chance to fight.
He stared at me quietly for a few moments, grin slowly fading into a deep frown.
He made the first move, dashing forward in a powerful kick, and I Cheshire grinned as I brought my hand up to block. It'd been nearly 40 years since I got to spar Jiriaya, and I was going to give him a whoppin.
AN: Leave a review if you liked the chapter! Thanks for reading 😊