Dust to Dust, Earth to Earth

The next day, Orochimaru woke up early in the morning.

He had spent last night planning for the future and thinking until his mind practically exploded before finally drifting off in a daze. He did not feel sleepy this morning, mostly because he had slept a little too much these past two days.

He checked the energy stored in his body and found that not much had been depleted, which made Orochimaru breathe a sigh of relief.

If he had to use three Explosive Tags a day, he would not be able to sustain it over the long term. Besides, the demand would likely only grow larger in the future.

After washing up, Orochimaru headed out for his morning training.

This was a habit he had developed in his previous life. Even though he had changed bodies, his soul had not changed.

"Perfect. I can get more familiar with this body, and adapt to the physical strength that suddenly surged yesterday."

With that in mind, Orochimaru ran toward Konoha's outskirts. He planned to circle Konoha a few times while taking a proper look at the Konoha Village he had only seen in anime and flashbacks.

As he jogged along, he studied this world's distinctive wooden architecture. It was somewhat similar to the Forbidden City from his memories of his previous life, though the craftsmanship was still lacking.

If these houses caught fire, that would be a real headache. One blaze could burn down a whole swath of them!

But when he considered that the ninjas of this world could casually use Water Release, Orochimaru felt relieved.

Konoha's ninjas could fight enemies outside the village, catch cats and rats inside it, and moonlight as firefighters.

Orochimaru had some understanding of this national system built upon ninjas, both in this life and his previous one.

Do not let the major ninja villages' small size fool you. These villages were the main places specifically responsible for training ninjas. In his previous life, they would have been special forces training bases, while the successive Kage of each village were the heads of those special forces.

The Sannin and White Fang were the kings of special forces, their standing earned through genuine achievements and battle records.

These thoughts flashed through Orochimaru's mind as the surrounding houses and buildings swept past him.

At some point, perhaps because of the jolting, Little White Snake poked its head out from behind his hair and looked ahead.

"Hmm? Shiro, are you hungry? I'll take you out to find something to eat."

Shiro was the name Orochimaru had given it. The little fellow seemed to like Yasuo's form of address as well, flicking its tongue out from time to time to lick his cheek.

By then, Orochimaru had reached Konoha Village's outskirts. He placed Shiro in the grass by the roadside, planning to come back for it later.

There were no villagers around this early in the morning, so he did not need to worry about anyone getting hurt.

When he passed the cemetery at the edge of Konoha, he looked over and found it as silent and desolate as ever. It was probably too early for the funeral procession; those were usually held around eight o'clock.

Like that, Orochimaru ran seven or eight laps around Konoha Village before stopping.

Konoha Village's perimeter was only five or six kilometers at present, at most covering half the area of the Forbidden City. After all, a war broke out every decade or so. With all the able-bodied men conscripted, where would so much population come from?

"Phew... This body's strength still isn't enough. I'm already a little out of breath after just over thirty kilometers."

Compared to ordinary people from his previous life, his physical condition was already inhuman. Breaking records and taking world championships would be no problem at all, but in this world, it was truly nothing impressive.

Taijutsu and stamina had always been Orochimaru's weak points. Compared to his ninjutsu and genjutsu, they lagged far behind. Even his ability scores in the Databook were only seven.

Just as Orochimaru's body began to feel fatigued, the energy stored within his cells replenished him in time. In an instant, Orochimaru was back at full strength, as if nothing had happened.

No one would believe him if he told them he could run dozens of kilometers in a short time without even getting out of breath.

"Not bad. This energy is truly good stuff. Not only did it replenish the previous expenditure, I can also feel that my body is stronger than before."

This was not an illusion. The only explanation for that feeling was that his cells could now hold a little more energy, and their vitality had also increased.

"Looks like I need to make more time to train in the future. I'll strive to become a man of steel as soon as possible!"

Thinking that, Orochimaru was in a fairly good mood. He called out to Shiro and headed directly toward the cemetery.

By then, pedestrians had begun appearing on the roads more frequently. It was spring, the rainy season, and before long, a light drizzle began to fall.

"Rain again. What unpleasant weather!"

He had just been drenched by a heavy rain two days ago. The image of Tsunade weeping bitterly in the rainy night was still vivid in his mind. Such gloomy scenes were truly irritating.

When he reached the depths of the cemetery, quite a few ninjas had already gathered together. They had most likely come to attend Dan Katō's funeral.

With a single glance, Orochimaru spotted many familiar faces from his memories.

As an Elite Jonin of Konoha, Dan Katō had been kind and made many friends. He had also died protecting the village, and he was Tsunade's lover, so the major clans were giving him plenty of respect.

Many people had brought their younger generations with them. Orochimaru saw Fugaku Uchiha, Hizashi Hyuga, Shibi Aburame, the Ino–Shika–Chō trio, and others who would later become either clan heads or well-known ninjas.

At this point, they were all only in their teens, some barely over ten, each following behind their elders.

These people also saw Orochimaru slowly approaching through the rain. Those who knew him politely nodded to him, while even those who had never met him had heard more or less of the Sannin's reputation.

As for the younger generation they had brought, they all began asking in low voices. When they learned that he was Orochimaru of the currently famed Sannin, their eyes filled with either reverence or longing.

After all, they were still half-grown children. Everyone wanted to become famous throughout the world overnight.

Orochimaru had no interest in the gazes of others and walked straight to the front of the crowd.

Dan Katō's relatives had evidently already arrived. A woman held a baby girl only a few months old in her arms. The infant was crying and fussing as well, as though she too were grieving the loss of a loved one.

The little girl should have been Shizune. She had been born near the end of last year and was Dan Katō's niece.

He slowly walked over to them. Looking at Tsunade, who was already crying so hard her face was streaked with tears, Orochimaru did not know how to comfort her and could only stand silently beside her.

She had not been grieving her younger brother's death for long, and now she had lost her lover as well. No one could accept such a devastating blow. No matter how comforting the words, they would be pale and powerless.

Before long, the crowd parted once more. A middle-aged man in his forties approached, slowly removed his straw hat, and revealed himself to be the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The Hokage's presence at a funeral was the greatest respect that could be shown to a ninja who had died for the village.

"Dust to dust, earth to earth, souls return to the Pure Land. Wherever leaves dance, the fire burns without end!"

After a eulogy, everyone observed a moment of silence.

This was also the first time Orochimaru had attended such an event since coming to this world. Though he had not inherited the original Orochimaru's emotions and did not have much friendship with Dan Katō,

as one of the Sannin, Orochimaru naturally had to stand by Tsunade's side. The proper courtesies had to be observed.