Heaven Did Not Give Birth to Me, Orochimaru

As an early-stage villain, Orochimaru's sinister, cold aura and ruthless, decisive nature once made people think he was the final boss.

All the trouble he caused in the early days certainly left a deep impression, and his record was undeniably impressive.

But the further the story went, the more he fell off. Either Itachi killed him with a single glance, or Pain taught him a harsh lesson.

He might have had quite a few highlights, but compared to those gifted, cheat-powered juniors, Orochimaru's failures were hardly isolated incidents. Even Uchiha Sasuke, whom he had personally taught, could beat him black and blue.

One of his few standout abilities was his capacity to learn. He could master an A-rank ninjutsu at a glance, and his talent was even slightly greater than Tsunade's and Jiraiya's.

His ability to control all five Chakra natures also allowed him to learn most ninjutsu. With the Third Hokage, known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, teaching him, it could be said that Orochimaru knew everything the Third Hokage knew—and even the Forbidden Jutsu the Third Hokage did not.

But it was precisely because of this that Orochimaru realized he would find it difficult to master so many ninjutsu even in an entire lifetime. Combined with witnessing life and death so often on the battlefield and realizing how fragile life was, he embarked on the path of seeking immortality.

Decades of relentless research really did yield results. He improved the Impure World Reincarnation, created the Living Corpse Reincarnation suited to himself, developed the Curse Mark based on senjutsu research, and so on.

Then, after witnessing the power of the Uchiha Sharingan later on, he became obsessed with the Sharingan, causing him to stray down the wrong path in his research.

Though it could not exactly be called straying. No one could match Orochimaru's research into the human body. Kara's "Karma" technology in the later Boruto era was practically something Orochimaru had already grown tired of playing with.

Orochimaru had devoted his entire life to science, and that was why his strength could no longer keep up with those cheat-powered brats in the later stages. Even Kakashi, who could likewise use thousands of ninjutsu, could still shine in the final battle with the Sharingan, while Orochimaru could only play a supporting role.

By the time Naruto became Hokage, however, he strongly supported Orochimaru's scientific research, allowing Konoha's technology to leap forward by a huge margin.

That was why fans joked that if Orochimaru had become the Fourth Hokage, Konoha's technology would probably have reached the moon by the Boruto era, facing the stars and the sea.

"Alas, had heaven given birth to me, Orochimaru, scientific research in the Ninja World would not have remained an eternal night."

He sighed toward the sky once more. As he digested the many events of Orochimaru's past within his mind, scene after scene of memories surfaced before his eyes, as though he had experienced them personally.

From following his parents to Konoha as a child, to studying at the Ninja Academy, to the Third Hokage's instruction, to all those years spent fighting on the battlefield—until not long ago, when he had risen to fame after battling Hanzō of the Salamander in Amegakure alongside Tsunade and Jiraiya.

The familiar yet unfamiliar memories felt as though they were his own experiences. For a transmigrator who had taken over Orochimaru's body and soul, there was not the slightest sense of awkwardness.

Judging from these memories, Orochimaru really had enjoyed smooth sailing before becoming famous. From childhood, he had displayed extraordinary talent for learning, and his grades at the Ninja Academy had always ranked among the best.

Even Princess Tsunade, showered with affection and resources, fell slightly short of him—let alone Jiraiya, the Dead Last.

He had been even more unstoppable on the battlefield over the years: more than five hundred B-rank missions, over four hundred A-rank missions, and even more than a hundred S-rank missions.

He had completed all of those missions smoothly. Such achievements already surpassed those of most Elite Jonin.

Had things continued along that path, competing for the Hokage position would not have been impossible. Among his peers, only Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Konoha's war god, Hatake Sakumo, could have competed with him.

But no matter how capable one was, one could not defy fate. The man whom even the Child of Destiny called "Dad" appeared, and Minato Namikaze—whose reputation and strength were no less than Orochimaru's—successfully snatched away Orochimaru's Hokage position.

From that point on, Orochimaru suffered one crushing defeat after another. Pain, Itachi, the Third Hokage, and Uchiha Sasuke took turns teaching him lessons.

Only after enduring so many blows did he finally come to his senses. Later, he joined Sasuke's side, wanting to see just how far the person in whom he had placed such high hopes could go.

Wasn't that just like us in life? At first, young and fearless, unafraid of tigers. Only after being struck down again and again, after smashing ourselves bloody against the wall, did we remember that an ordinary life was the real thing, that we should let nature take its course.

Then we supported the next generation, placing our hopes in those we believed in. How similar it was!

But Orochimaru did not want to see those regrets and frustrations again. At the very least, what happened to him could not be as stifling and humiliating as it had been in the Original Work.

With that thought, Orochimaru leaned against the headboard and sat up. Following his memories, he skillfully formed a hand seal.

The next moment, a puff of white smoke rose, and Orochimaru's appearance changed into that of a middle-aged man in his thirties.

"So it really wasn't an illusion!"

As he examined this appearance, a sense of novelty and delight welled up within Orochimaru, gradually washing away the depression brought by his chaotic thoughts.

He then continued transforming into the appearances of familiar friends from the memories of his previous life, allowing him to gain an initial understanding of this world's ninjutsu.

Just as Orochimaru was having the time of his life, a Little White Snake suddenly poked its head out from behind his neck.

At the sight of it, Orochimaru was nearly scared out of his wits. In his previous life, he had been bitten to death by a venomous snake. Once bitten by a snake, he had feared even a rope for ten years.

One could imagine how deep his trauma ran. At that moment, he did not even dare move.

Yet to his surprise, this body instinctively reached out and grabbed the Little White Snake, as though the action were a habit carved into his bones.

Only after bringing the Little White Snake before his eyes did he come back to his senses. But seeing that it showed no aggression, Orochimaru suppressed the urge to throw the little thing away and allowed it to coil around his palm as it pleased.

The Little White Snake seemed to sense its master's emotional fluctuations. It slithered through the gaps between his fingers, rubbing its tiny head against his palm with surprising intelligence.

Its obedient appearance made Orochimaru unable to bring himself to do anything to it. Once he lowered his guard, his hands began tentatively stroking the Little White Snake.

The Little White Snake showed no resistance whatsoever. Seeing its master playing with it, it continued darting back and forth between his hands, seemingly expressing its excitement.

"I died because of snakes in my previous life, and I live because of snakes in this one. Looks like I can't escape being tangled up with snakes in either life!"

In his previous life, he had been a biological researcher, spending all year in the laboratory. Yet a rare outing to collect materials had cost him his life to a snake's fangs.

This body in this life had an especially deep connection with snakes since childhood. Not only did it have two snake-like markings at the corners of its eyes, but its tongue was much longer than an ordinary person's.

Many of its ninjutsu were related to snakes, and even its name suited it perfectly.

While visiting his parents' graves one time, he had accidentally discovered a white snakeskin beside the tombs.

The Third Hokage had told Orochimaru that white snakes once symbolized luck and rebirth, and finding one here was extremely fortunate.

"I hope coming to this world is a fortunate thing!"