Orochimaru of the Darkest Hour

"Have I been reborn?" Orochimaru stood on a yellow earthen road, his cold expression betraying no joy or anger.

"Time reversal—what a formidable jutsu."

A long tongue slithered out, circling his lips, only to collect a mouthful of yellow grit. Orochimaru seemed unbothered; instead, his mouth slowly stretched into a crooked smile.

"So then, what time is it now?" Orochimaru turned his gaze to the side, where a bespectacled young man was standing respectfully.

"Lord Orochimaru, the Kazekage has already been captured alive," the young man reported the instant Orochimaru looked his way.

Orochimaru nodded, his eyes shifting forward. A forest of white bones exuded a chilling air; Kimimaro had already impaled the Kazekage on a bone spike, leaving him barely clinging to life.

"Let’s go see," Orochimaru said, striding into the bone forest. Wherever he walked, the white bones parted to let him through. Kabuto followed, the glint on his glasses flickering.

"Lord Orochimaru, the mission… cough… is complete," Kimimaro announced, dragging the mortally wounded Kazekage along behind him, breath faint, life nearly spent.

"So, I’ve returned to this point in time," a faint light flashed in Orochimaru’s pale golden, slit-pupiled eyes as calculations stirred within his mind.

This was the prelude to the "Leaf Collapse Operation." He, Kabuto, and Kimimaro had just assassinated the Kazekage.

"Konoha, is it? There’s truly no need for it to exist anymore,