Chapter Two: The Attack of Orochimaru

The following morning.

Orochimaru wandered leisurely through the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, where laughter and joy filled the air—truly worthy of being called the greatest shinobi village.

“But the price paid for this laughter was far too high.”

As he walked through the village, Orochimaru’s thoughts lingered on the countless lives sacrificed. In the end, those sacrifices had only managed to preserve a limited happiness within the village. Was their devotion all for nothing?

He thought especially of the First Hokage. Why had he chosen to divide the tailed beasts? Why had he listened to the demands of the feudal lords? Why not sweep aside all opposition and unite the world? Would that not have been better? Did the First Hokage doubt his own ability to rule the world? Or did he simply find the path to unification too arduous and thus abandoned it?

No one could say for certain, but it no longer mattered.

The First Hokage was dead.

“This peace will come to an end today.”

Orochimaru shook his head as he strolled through the village. The familiar sights stirred a rare, faint sentiment in his long-frozen heart—after all, this was where he had grown up.

But soon, it would all be gone.

“Danzo is only good at those underhanded tricks.”

Orochimaru sensed several Anbu operatives lurking in the shadows, keeping watch on him. These Anbu reported directly to the Hokage.

Danzo had revealed his identity and intentions to the Third Hokage.

Orochimaru paid them no mind. Such things were trivial to him. He hadn’t finished exploring the village yet.

At that moment, a young boy’s figure caught his attention—it was Sasuke. Orochimaru approached with keen interest.

…

Sasuke sat alone on a bench, hands behind his head, gazing expressionlessly at the sky.

Naruto was becoming stronger. The once hopeless underdog was now his equal.

Perhaps tomorrow, or the day after, Naruto would surpass him.

“Damn it!”

Frustrated, Sasuke clenched his fists. If things continued like this, how would he ever defeat that man?

Just then, he felt a chilling, sinister presence approach. His body tensed instinctively, hairs standing on end.

“Who’s there?”

He turned to see a ninja wearing a Grass Village headband approaching.

“Hmph.” Sasuke snorted coldly, uninterested in the Grass ninja. He stood up to leave.

But the stranger sidestepped, blocking his way.

“Move,” Sasuke said icily.

He didn’t believe anyone his age could defeat him.

Orochimaru’s tongue flicked out with a sinister chuckle. Sasuke was as aloof as ever.

“And if I refuse?” Orochimaru teased.

At those words, Sasuke’s eyes narrowed, ready to act—if the olive branch is refused, then comes the stick!

But before he could move, an overwhelming, icy killing intent swept over him, suffocating with the fear of impending death.

Sasuke’s eyes widened in terror; his body was paralyzed.

…

As Orochimaru confronted Sasuke, one of the Anbu quickly departed for the Hokage’s office.

Inside, the Third Hokage was meeting with Danzo. Upon hearing the news, Danzo spoke with a hint of pressure, “Hiruzen, how do you intend to deal with your pupil?”

Orochimaru’s rise was due in no small part to the Third Hokage. His betrayal, too, was a chance given by Hiruzen. Danzo had used this to press the Hokage many times before—and now Orochimaru was here in person.

“I will give you all an explanation,” Hiruzen replied, taking two deep puffs from his pipe, then tapping the ashes onto his desk three times.

…

“Move!” Sasuke was frantic, unable to make his body respond. His instincts screamed at him, but his limbs remained frozen with fear.

Orochimaru chuckled, “It’s useless to struggle.”

Sasuke wasn’t a fool—he was clever. He didn’t believe any peer could immobilize him with killing intent alone. How many lives would one have to take to achieve that?

There was only one explanation.

This was no ordinary Grass ninja.

“No need to guess. I am Orochimaru. You must have heard of me,” Orochimaru said, grinning, his long tongue sliding across Sasuke’s face.

Sasuke was terrified; Orochimaru could taste the sweet aroma of fear.

“What do you want? This is the Hidden Leaf! Aren’t you afraid the Hokage will find you?” Sasuke’s face was pale.

He had heard of Orochimaru, the S-rank missing-nin, but did not know the full extent of his terror. For now, all he could do was try to threaten Orochimaru with the might of the village.

“The Hidden Leaf? Soon it will cease to exist. But let’s not talk about the village… I want to talk about you.”

Orochimaru licked his lips. “Do you seek power?”

He wasn’t after Sasuke’s body—he’d long since lost interest in that. In his boredom, he simply sought some amusement. What intrigued him was Sasuke himself.

Much like his own younger self, he wanted to see just how far this windmill named Sasuke could spin.

For now, he was merely toying with the boy. Whether Sasuke seized this chance and clung to his coattails would depend on fate.

“I don’t! Let me go! If you let me go, I won’t tell the Hokage—otherwise, I’ll shout, and you’ll never leave the village!” Sasuke threatened.

It was the only escape he could think of.

Orochimaru shook his head, finding the naïve Sasuke’s bluster rather dull.

He withdrew the killing intent, and Sasuke collapsed to the ground.

Moments later, Sasuke managed to climb to his feet, backing away from Orochimaru as far as he could, face deathly pale.

Seeing Sasuke in this state, Orochimaru gave a playful smile. “If you truly desire power, you can come to me. And… I have news about your brother.”

At the mention of his brother, Sasuke lost all reason. He lunged toward Orochimaru, intending to seize him and demand answers.

But just then, a blond boy leapt in front of Sasuke, scooped him up, and jumped back.

“Sasuke, are you alright?” Naruto asked. Nearby stood Sakura and the others—the whole new generation had arrived.

The civilians had fled, replaced by fully-armed Leaf shinobi surrounding Orochimaru, shuriken ready.

The atmosphere was tense and lethal.

“Let go,” Sasuke said coldly to Naruto, regaining his composure and turning his gaze to the surrounded Orochimaru.

Orochimaru stood calmly at the center, still masked as a Grass ninja. Yet no one dared underestimate him.

One man, facing the entire Leaf Village, with an easy smile—there was an indescribable sense of dominance about him.

“Does he really know about my brother?” Sasuke’s expression shifted as he stared at Orochimaru.

…

Orochimaru was encircled. The shinobi parted to let an elderly man in a Hokage’s hat step forward.

Holding his pipe, hands clasped behind his back, his body stooped by age—yet everyone who looked at him did so with only respect.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, a man who had given so much to the Hidden Leaf.

Seeing him, Orochimaru smiled and greeted, “Sensei Sarutobi.”

The Third Hokage replied solemnly, “Orochimaru, you are a traitor to the Leaf. How dare you return—are you here to surrender?”

It was a masterful statement, still offering Orochimaru a chance to lessen his guilt. Orochimaru shook his head—such compassion was foolish.

He smiled, his face pleasant. “No, Sensei, I have not come to surrender. I have come to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village.”

At these words, a sharp glint flashed through the Third Hokage’s cloudy eyes, followed by a trace of sorrow.

All around, the shinobi braced themselves for battle.

Only Sasuke’s gaze was conflicted.

“He dares to say he’ll destroy the village in front of the Hokage? Either he’s a fool, or he’s certain he can do it. Could it be true?

No!

Not even that man could do it—how could he?”

Sasuke could not believe it.