Venom
1 week earlier
The life of a snake was equivalent to that of an assassin: silent, lethal, and most importantly, secretive. A snake was a master at staying hidden, of carefully avoiding dangers, and keeping its agendas unknown to those looking for it; and if, by chance, it was found by those searching for its elusive self, it transformed. The once shy snake became a killer, death by poison.
It was these traits that kept the snake, despite being pale as bone, unnoticed by its prey as it lay coiled beneath foliage, golden unblinking eyes locked on a small crimson toad that had suddenly appeared at the base of a tree, looking flustered. The toad looked about wildly, obviously paranoid, as if it were afraid of being followed. Finally, it pulled out a handkerchief and mopped its glistening brow, muttering to itself.
"I can't keep this up. I can't do this. It's only a matter of time before I'm caught! What will they do to me then?" the toad croaked miserably. Indeed, the creature looked beyond vexed, and terribly afraid.
The snake remained motionless, silently cursing the cold air that surged beneath the bush it lay hidden beneath as the wind gusted.
Suddenly there was a disturbance in the air, and the snake lifted its head curiously, its interest piqued. A masked figure appeared, walking towards the toad. From its cloak, the human produced a vial and a coiled piece of parchment wrapped around it with twine. The toad took it uneasily. The snake's forked tongue flicked out from its mouth to taste the air as it hummed with the deep bass of the masked human's voice.
Instructions, the snake realized. The masked figure was speaking to the toad rapidly, lowly, but snippets of words were caught by the unnoticed spy.
Drug…Have him drink…Lady Tsunade has theorized…instructions here…Suigetsu.
Ah, there was a winning word. A name, the snake reminded itself thoughtfully, as it coiled itself tighter. A most pleasing sense of victory coursed through the serpent. The toad thanked the masked figure and carefully placed the vial in an inner pocket after wrapping the glass tube in its sweaty handkerchief. By now, the ninja had disappeared…
And so had the snake.
3 months of tracking, collecting information, and careful observation had led to this moment. The toads were not easy creatures to catch by surprise. If frightened, all the small toad had to do was quickly vanish to safety. It had proven extremely difficult to catch this particular toad that had split its loyalties. Often, he vanished before there was much time to move, and yet again, he had to be tracked and observed. The timing had to be absolutely perfect. The toad could not be given a chance to escape alive and report its attack.
Today, however, was different. The toad's work was beginning to wear on him, and for a very brief moment, he hesitated. It was the moment the snake had been waiting for. The toad had only delayed himself by mere seconds, but it was enough.
The instant the little red toad realized he wasn't alone, he found himself too frightened to disappear. Large, unblinking golden eyes held him in a trance. The toad tried to utter a sound, but all that escaped was a whimper. Before him, the snake swayed as it raised itself, its forked tongue tasting the crimson skin on the toad's forehead as it flicked out of the serpentine mouth.
"I knew this job would kill me," the toad sobbed.
The snake struck.
...
Miles away, Kabuto swayed as he felt himself mentally return to his body. His eyes snapped open, revealing molten gold irises. He was standing by a large oak, his palm resting on the bark. A cold wind whispered past, ruffling the red cloak he wore.
"Well?" a voice prompted. Kabuto grinned.
"It is done," he whispered. Suddenly Madara was close, very close, and Kabuto tensed. The masked face was close enough to whisper in his ear, and the voice flitted through the mask in a hiss.
"You've been helpful, Kabuto, but remember, one misstep and you'll wish you had never sought me out." As he said it, Madara swept a finger along Kabuto's pale throat to emphasize his point.
Kabuto shuddered.
"It doesn't matter. We're in," he said in a voice so smooth, even he convinced himself of his false sense of security. Madara had been tense, on edge, the entire mission. It had to be perfect. There was no room for error. The last opportunity Kabuto had had at the toad…
Well.
His fingers subconsciously traced a thick scar that roped down the side of his neck, from the base of his ear to the hollow between his collar bones. He swallowed, trying to smother the intense rage that threatened to spill forth. No, not now. Later, he promised himself. Soon Madara will pay. The dangerous game he played would pay off in the end, and Madara would fall.
The world would fall…
And Orochimaru, the teacher that Kabuto had both despised and coveted, would be returned to him. If only for the roles to be reversed. It gave the medic nin a sick satisfaction to imagine the sannin, roughly pulled away from a spiritual hell to a mortal one. At first, Kabuto had only planned to steal Orochimaru's technique in order to use on himself to defeat death, to achieve the goal of his life's work. He would leave Orochimaru to rot in whatever hell he'd put himself in.
And Kabuto had thought he would be satisfied.
But then, like a virus eating at his brain, he found he was sick of allowing the sannin his punishment, and wanted him back. Life wasn't as sweet without the sannin hissing in his ear. And so the Plan had begun, shortly after Kabuto had discovered Madara's intentions, and come across a most interesting discovery. One that would shake the world if he had shared it.
But for now, he kept it. And he waited for the right moment.
The side effects of Orochimaru's technique were making themselves known on Kabuto's body: the blend of snake-like characteristics along with his human features, the permanent change in his eye color, the patch of pearly scales on his cheek that he couldn't rid himself of…not that he minded the eyes. He guessed Madara, upon seeing this all, had believed he had figured Kabuto out. A wannabe Orochimaru who had waded in too deep, but even the ancient Uchiha could be fooled. Not only was Kabuto using Orochimaru's rebirth technique to make himself stronger…
A part of Orochimaru literally lived inside him, very much like a small part of Orochimaru still lived within Sasuke. This piece of Orochimaru gave Kabuto the power he so desperately needed in order to keep the jutsu going. Dark jutsus bordering on taboos had been cast, dangerous deals made, and blood spilled, all to covet a small piece of Orochimaru's essence and soul that Itachi had pulled from Sasuke's body with the curse mark the day the brothers' infamous battle had taken place.
Kabuto hadn't been too far behind, carefully hidden, aware of the Akatsuki's presence and interest in the battle. He had waited for an opening before stealing Itachi away.
Unknown to Sasuke, who had believed his brother to have died suddenly while closing on him, Itachi had been hanging to life by a thread, although there was no way to preserve the life slowly leaking from him. The eldest Uchiha brother had been brought down by a deadly degenerative disease, most likely hereditary. Kabuto performed his "miracles" and tapped into Itachi's brain while the Uchiha still lived.
Using the information he gained from his probing, and ending Itachi's life in the process, Kabuto was able to extract a small portion of his former teacher from the hell Itachi had imprisoned him in, just enough of Orochimaru in order to give Kabuto the power he needed.
It was also just enough of the sannin in order to bring him back…somewhat. It was why Kabuto needed Sasuke. The youngest Uchiha held the final piece inside of him; something the taking away of the curse mark hadn't destroyed. A little bit of Orochimaru still lived within Sasuke. Just a little.
Resurrecting the dead completely was impossible. No jutsu or any sort of magic could make a dead heart beat again. However, Orochimaru had never physically died. He had been preserved and had hopped unwillingly from body to body, beginning with Sasuke's absorption of the sannin.
Now a part of Orochimaru resided within Kabuto, and the thought made the medic nin shudder in pleasure and victory. A twisted part of him, a part so blackened by his younger years of abuse and obsessive longing, couldn't wait to play with his former master as if he were mere clay to be molded in his own hands.
Madara's voice brought him back down to earth.
"-Give it time," Madara was saying. "Don't do it immediately, we wouldn't want to be figured out. Let's wait a few days. A week, even. Gather information. It needs to be perfect." Kabuto nodded at his order, seemingly obedient and silent.
"You've done well," Madara surprised him by saying. His voice had softened. Kabuto allowed himself a smirk.
"You pushed me to do well, my Lord," Kabuto answered, purely to please the troubled masked figure beside him. Madara faced him, red eye boring into his golden ones. A gloved hand reached out slowly, tracing the horrid scar.
"Yes. Yes I did," Madara whispered. Kabuto repressed another shudder, disgusted by the contact, but he remained expressionless, eyes locked on the mountainous landscape spread before him. He imagined it engulfed in flame.
A/N: Can't believe how long I had some of these chapters go in one read! Hopefully breaking them up like this makes them easier (and quicker!) to read!