Mist clung to the ground like a shroud.
The faint red glow of scattered embers illuminated the path of the Konoha forces returning to the ruined base.
The Battle of Kirino Valley had cost Konoha at least fifty shinobi—
all of them chūnin or above.
Special Jōnin and even full Jōnin had fallen.
As for the wounded retreating toward the Fire Country forward camp…
none of them had much hope of survival.
Hanzō's poison had no antidote.
The emergency antitoxin merely delayed the spread.
Only a complex toxin-extraction surgery, requiring three or four skilled medical-nin working in unison, could save them.
And how many such medical-nin existed at the border front?
So even with Hanzō forced to retreat,
the survivors of Konoha could only bow their heads in silence for their fallen comrades.
Above the Rain Country border,
black clouds churned like a ravenous devourer, swallowing what little sunlight existed.
Drizzle and humidity seeped into the soil—
as if spring would never come to the Land of Rain.
This… was war.
Months ago, Orochimaru and another Sarutobi Jōnin had led barely two hundred Konoha shinobi and, at the cost of forty to fifty lives, defeated roughly three hundred Rain-nin, even slaying their battlefield commander.
Then, one month ago—another forward base, Uganji Camp—
the veteran commander Sarutobi Nichihiko, uncle to the Third Hokage,
and one of Konoha's pillars…
fell in battle.
The entire Uganji defensive line was crushed by Hanzō's advance.
The retreating survivors had been absorbed into the Kirino Valley camp—
only three or four squads strong.
Now Hanzō had returned again, leading only twenty or so elite Rain-nin.
But with Hanzō himself acting,
he single-handedly annihilated a Konoha foothold that had endured for two straight years.
The News Reaches the Hokage
The intelligence scroll arrived in Hiruzen Sarutobi's office hours later.
The Hokage's hands trembled slightly as he read it.
So many elite shinobi dead…
The Rain Country front collapsed…
Nichihiko's death…
The Uzushio crisis only just resolved…
Konoha's chūnin reserves could no longer keep up.
The war demanded fresh fighters immediately.
There was no longer time to nurture steady, gradual promotions.
Even genin—normally barred from frontline missions—
would soon need to be mobilized in mixed squads.
Still, the rule remained:
Genin could not take B-rank battlefield missions,
no matter who led them.
Battlefields turned inexperienced shinobi into corpses.
Then Hiruzen reached the final line of the scroll:
"Hanzō's catastrophic water release—on par with a forbidden technique—was stopped by Uchiha Kizuna using his Bloodline Limit: the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"...Mangekyō Sharingan."
"Uchiha… so it has emerged again."
Hiruzen looked long at the scroll, then exhaled deeply.
After a long silence, he made his decision:
Uchiha Kizuna would be promoted
from a secondary battlefield commander
to primary battlefield commander, equal in status to Orochimaru.
And why "equal to Orochimaru before"?
Because this intelligence scroll had been delivered by Orochimaru when he personally returned from the front.
Orochimaru's Return
"Lord Orochimaru! Long time no see!"
At the Senju compound, Orochimaru had come first to visit Nawaki—
to soothe the boy who carried so much hope and innocence.
After all, Orochimaru had been the highest-ranking officer at Kirino Valley.
"How's the battlefield? I heard—!"
Nawaki's vibrant tone contrasted sharply with the grim reality he had no access to.
Frontline intelligence was off-limits to genin.
Seeing Nawaki's bright smile, Orochimaru gently rubbed his head.
"It's fine. You should know your teacher's strength by now."
He brushed the topic aside with ease.
Then his gaze shifted toward Nawaki's summon scroll.
"You still summon only that green snake?"
"Eh—" Nawaki awkwardly scratched his head.
"It's weird. The other snakes hate me. Only Qingqing answers."
"I see…" Orochimaru sighed inwardly.
The test to earn the recognition of Ryūchi Cave's serpents was far harsher than that of Mount Myōboku or Shikkotsu Forest.
Even passing the trial didn't necessarily mean the serpents liked you—
Manda was the perfect example.
Nawaki excitedly recounted recent events—especially the conflict in Uzushio, where he managed to redeem his earlier humiliation at the hands of Kirigakure.
Orochimaru silently compared what Nawaki said to the intel he'd gathered.
So it was true:
Mito Uzumaki, the First Hokage's wife and the Kyūbi's jinchūriki, had gone to the battlefield herself…
and killed the Third Mizukage.
"Still… for Lord Third to allow someone her age to join a war…"
Orochimaru murmured.
"That's unlike him."
He listened to Nawaki chatter,
but his thoughts drifted.
Will of Fire… or the value of life… which matters more?
Though Orochimaru had done all he could,
rumors spread—
rumors that he abandoned comrades.
Even though a shinobi's mission came before all else,
even though those he left behind were destined to die regardless,
people saw only cruelty.
Thus the infamy he'd been whispered about for years—
the title "Cold Lord Orochimaru"—
was now solidified.
He never cared for the name,
but others believed it wholeheartedly.
That night, after hearing Might Duy wanted a medical examination,
Orochimaru treated his genin squad to a rare dinner together.
The last time had been back when he first became their instructor.
Afterward, he brought Duy home for examination—
and naturally, Kaito and Nawaki followed in curiosity.
Orochimaru's Home
Despite being a famed genius and future Sannin,
Orochimaru lived alone in an old single-story house with a rooftop terrace.
Most of his money went into advanced medical devices and experimental equipment.
Standing atop the rooftop,
Kaito and Nawaki leaned against the white parapet, the village lights reflecting off the distant Fire Hokage Tower.
Nawaki broke the silence:
"Kaito… do you think—"
"Stop. I don't know," Kaito immediately cut him off.
(He could already guess Nawaki was about to ask something dumb. Again.)
But Nawaki persisted after a moment:
"Do you… think sensei did something wrong?"
Ah.
So it was that.
Kaito sighed inwardly and looked at the children running through the streets, the newcomers from the Uzushio clans among them.
"Orochimaru-sensei did nothing wrong."
"A shinobi shoulders many things—
distrust, misunderstanding… and necessary cruelty."
"People won't always understand you.
But that doesn't make you wrong."
Compared to Hatake Sakumo's tragedy in the original timeline,
Orochimaru's actions here were standard shinobi logic.
Only the villagers' lack of knowledge made them uneasy.
"I want to go to the battlefield, too," Nawaki said suddenly.
"I want to fight alongside Sensei. I want to protect the village Grandpa built."
Kaito: "..."
(Bro, if you want to die, don't drag me with you.)
Might Duy's Examination
Inside the simple interior of Orochimaru's home,
Duy sat on the examination bed while Orochimaru reviewed the diagnostic papers.
"From now on,"
Orochimaru said without turning,
"you must not use the Eight Gates recklessly."
Duy froze.
"L–Lord Orochimaru… may I ask why?"
"Your body is riddled with irreversible internal injuries," Orochimaru replied.
"Your excessive training and developing that forbidden technique did this."
"To put it bluntly…"
He folded the report.
"You've burned away your own future."
"Use the Eight Gates again, and your body might collapse entirely."
Duy trembled.
Orochimaru continued:
"My advice: retire from shinobi life."
"Donate the Eight Gates as a jutsu to the village.
You'll be compensated generously."
Silence fell.
Orochimaru watched patiently.
Finally, Duy looked down at his calloused, scarred hands.
"Sensei…"
Orochimaru raised a brow.
"Yes?"
Duy bowed deeply.
"Thank you for everything you've done for me."
"Even if you didn't teach me much—
I'm grateful for the care you've shown."
Orochimaru blinked.
This sincerity—this purity—
was so rare it felt alien.
Then Duy straightened.
"And I've decided!"
Orochimaru: "…?"
"It means my training wasn't enough! My youth hasn't been acknowledged yet!"
Orochimaru stared.
(…This man is already married. How is he this pure?)
Duy clasped his fists.
"I will donate the Eight Gates to the village—
and I don't want a single coin!"
Orochimaru: "..."
(This idiot is truly infected with the Will of Fire…)
"But!" Duy declared,
"that doesn't mean I will quit being a shinobi!"
"I'll prove—to Sensei and to Kaito—that even with only taijutsu, I am a true shinobi!"
Orochimaru rubbed his temple.
"You're serious?
A technique you spent over a decade creating—you don't want any compensation?"
"Yes!"
Silence again.
At last, Orochimaru sighed.
"In that case…"
"Starting tomorrow, I will personally help you perfect the Eight Gates."
Duy almost cried.
"R–Really?! You'll teach me?!"
"Yes." Orochimaru nodded.
"Prepare yourself."
He stepped out to the rooftop to inform Kaito and Nawaki of Duy's condition and to announce that, starting tomorrow, he would train all three—
preparing them for battlefield missions.
Kaito calmly asked:
"What rank of missions will we be taking?"
"B-rank or C-rank," Orochimaru replied.
"Also—this stays between us:
the Rain front has collapsed.
The Fire Country border may erupt into bloodshed at any time."
Kaito's expression tightened.
Orochimaru reassured him:
"Don't worry."
"A B-rank war assignment for genin is mostly border patrol, escorting supplies, or moving wounded soldiers.
Not front-line combat."
Kaito: "..."
(Easy for you to say—you can escape anything.)
But aloud, he said:
"Understood, Orochimaru-sensei."
As they left, Orochimaru called after them:
"Oh, and Kaito—"
"If your ninjutsu is still atrocious tomorrow…"
A thin smile crept across his lips.
"Be ready for hellish training."
"Eh…?"
"Yes, Sensei!"
A Shift in Fate
Back home, Kaito mulled over Orochimaru's words and compared them to the "original timeline."
The Rain front collapsing—
yes, that happened.
Otherwise, why would Orochimaru have had time to return to the village and later lead Nawaki to war?
Nawaki's personality remained painfully pure.
And if not for the arrival of the Uzushio clans,
Nawaki becoming a chūnin this year would have been almost guaranteed.
After all…
"frontline defeat"
meant countless chūnin and jōnin deaths.
Lots of vacant positions.
In canon, Obito became a chūnin during the second Chūnin Exams held in the Third War.
Nawaki would have passed this year—
and then, sometime after August 9th,
the boy would rush forward into battle…
and step on an expertly hidden Rain Country explosive tag.
His story would end right there.
"Haah…"
"In this world, ninja… barely make a living."
Kaito washed his hair and sighed.
He'd once dreamed of running a peaceful shop in Konoha.
But during wartime, businesses tanked, supplies inflated, and rent suffocated you.
And if a person with strong chakra trained openly instead of being a shinobi?
Root would shadow them within a day.
August Arrives
One month of training passed.
Nawaki and Duy had made obvious improvements.
Kaito felt he had improved too—but most of his training was restricted by having Orochimaru watching.
When he used "ROOM: Regression,"
an entire month of gains shaved off less than 10%—
proof his progress had been substantial.
Training while under surveillance was simply difficult to hide.
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