I Am Orochimaru

Now was a time of war. Children in the Ninja Villages entered school at the age of five and were eligible to take the graduation exam as early as age six!

Looking at the young boy in front of him, Orochimaru realized that Might Dai, the boy who would one day become the father of Might Guy, was probably no older than himself.

In other words... he was just five years old and had only recently started school.

"Do you know him?" Tsunade asked, noticing Orochimaru's focused expression and feeling a bit curious.

"No, it's my first time seeing him," Orochimaru replied, telling a half-truth.

This was, after all, the first time he had physically seen Might Dai in this world. But of course, Orochimaru's knowledge of the future told him exactly who this boy was Might Dai, the "Eternal Genin," the man who would spend twenty years honing the most powerful taijutsu technique, the Eight Gates Release Formation.

Orochimaru would never forget a man like that.

But there was no need to share all this with Tsunade. For now, Might Dai was just a five-year-old boy who had barely started his journey in the ninja world. He wasn't on Orochimaru's radar yet, and Orochimaru had no interest in exchanging taijutsu experience with a child who had yet to prove himself.

Shrugging off the matter, Orochimaru made his way to the shooting range and started practicing throwing shurikens, following the technique imprinted in his memory.

Even though it was his first time physically throwing shurikens in this body, it felt as natural as breathing like an instinct he was born with.

Thud, thud, thud!

All three shurikens hit their mark none missed.

Thud!

One even struck the bullseye dead center!

Orochimaru smirked, pleased with himself.

He was already far ahead of most of his peers!

This was good. Orochimaru retrieved the shurikens and kunai from the target and began practicing again, honing his skills with repetition.

Training could be monotonous, but Orochimaru found himself enjoying it. This was his first real experience getting to grips with ninja tools, after all.

"As expected from the top student in our class," Tsunade muttered, sitting on the grass nearby, her voice tinged with a hint of frustration. "By the way, since you're already at the training ground, why don't you come spar with me for some real practice?"

"Real combat? A taijutsu contest? I'm no match for you in taijutsu," Orochimaru replied 'honestly,' all while continuing to throw kunai.

In terms of raw physical strength and taijutsu, even in the future, Tsunade would be one of the greatest.

She would eventually be strong enough to shatter Uchiha Madara's Susanoo with a single punch!

How many people in the entire ninja world could do that?

Even at the age of six, her talent in taijutsu far surpassed Orochimaru's, and he had no interest in engaging her in close combat just yet.

Tsunade, hearing his refusal, looked even more depressed. "You won't fight me just because you think you'll lose? I remember you weren't like this before!"

"People change," Orochimaru replied, his focus still on perfecting his kunai throws.

Tsunade was speechless for a moment. "Well, fine! Since you're really not interested, I won't bother you anymore. But after the graduation exam in a week, we'll be assigned to teams. Then we'll have plenty of chances to fight!"

"Assigned to the same team? You sound so sure of that," Orochimaru remarked, his tone a little skeptical.

"Of course! The Second Hokage is my great-uncle!" Tsunade declared, puffing her chest out proudly.

The current Hokage was indeed her great-uncle, Senju Tobirama. With such connections, it would be easy for her to pull some strings.

If Orochimaru had been a lesser ninja, it might have been more difficult to justify putting them on the same team. But as a genius, he was a perfect candidate for Tsunade's ambitions.

"I'm telling you, it's a done deal," Tsunade said confidently. "Anyway, you keep practicing. I won't disturb you anymore. Bye!" She gave him a playful smile, waved, and turned to leave, muttering to herself as she walked off.

"He's definitely the kind of man Tsunade likes… A genius who works even harder than everyone else!"

She didn't try to keep her voice down, as if she wanted Orochimaru to hear her on purpose. Upon hearing her muttering, Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly.

Teasing men at the age of six?

"Kids in this world really are unnaturally precocious," Orochimaru murmured to himself with a sigh.

In truth, Orochimaru wasn't surprised at all by Tsunade's straightforward attitude.

According to the memories he had inherited, Tsunade had expressed her admiration for him more than once in the past.

Of course, her admiration was purely for his talent. It wasn't romantic not at their age. They were just children, after all, and they didn't really understand such feelings. Their interactions were limited and superficial.

But Orochimaru's soul was that of an adult, so he didn't care about these childish games.

For him, the most important thing now was familiarizing himself with his abilities and improving his strength.

Now that fate had granted him a second chance at life, he was determined not to waste it. He was Orochimaru now, and living the same, pitiful life as in his previous incarnation was simply not an option.

If he wanted to rise above, he would need to surpass even the Orochimaru of the original timeline.

His goal was simple: master his abilities as quickly as possible, graduate, and then secure the resources he needed to continue his research on the primary gene enhancement fluid.

Once he made progress with that, further research would become much easier.

And with his growing strength and scientific knowledge, he would climb the ranks, advancing relentlessly.

Eventually, he would become so powerful that he could trample anyone who dared stand in his way.

With that thought in mind, Orochimaru grabbed a kunai and continued his training with renewed vigor.

He performed the hand seals quickly, his hands a blur of motion.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

A gust of wind shot forward, but it wasn't strong enough. The distance and cutting power were lacking, and too much chakra was wasted.

"Again."

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

This time, it was better, but still not perfect.

"Again!"

Orochimaru, completely absorbed in his training, didn't notice that Tsunade hadn't gone far after all.

She had hidden herself behind a pillar in the distance, watching Orochimaru silently, lost in thought.