The Sudden Realization of a Dream

Orochimaru planned to consume the Dragon Yuan today.

However, he first needed to leave the area to avoid the bloody smell of the Kumogakure Anbu corpses attracting attention from others.

After all, Orochimaru didn't know what effects consuming the Dragon Yuan would bring.

What if something similar to Di Shitian happened during the process?

In such a situation, even an ordinary person without chakra could pose a fatal threat to him.

Regardless, with Di Shitian's unfortunate experience serving as a precedent, Orochimaru would definitely make thorough preparations.

Orochimaru quickly found a suitable location—a cave inhabited by a black bear, though the bear had already been digested by a snake.

The scent of a top predator lingered here, enough to deter other animals from intruding.

The surrounding area within a radius of ten miles had already been scouted by snakes sent out by Orochimaru; there were no traces of humans, ensuring temporary safety.

Orochimaru impatiently took out the Dragon Yuan and sat on the ground. Without much hesitation, he swallowed it in one gulp.

A powerful energy erupted within him. Before undergoing Living Corpse Reincarnation, Orochimaru's soul was already intact. After fusing with a soul from another world, his soul power had greatly increased, but the Dragon Yuan was still causing his soul to continuously transform. No, not just his soul!

Streams of powerful energy were also reshaping every cell in his body!

While the Dragon Yuan's energy continuously strengthened his soul and body, it also imbued them with an aura of immortality!

Yes, besides greatly increasing one's power, the Dragon Yuan could also grant eternal youth and immortality!

In the Feng Yun world, the reason Di Shitian wanted to hunt dragons for the Dragon Yuan was that the Phoenix Yuan within him could only grant him immortality, not eternal youth.

In fact, in the sequel to the Feng Yun world, Feng Yun still lived in the world after a thousand years.

The Dragon Yuan's energy outburst quickly subsided, and Orochimaru slowly got up from the ground, gasping for breath.

It was as if both his soul and body had been sublimated. At this moment, Orochimaru was immortal.

His dream... had been realized just like that?

A dream that you might pursue your entire life without achieving could, at times, be realized so suddenly, so unexpectedly.

The eternal life that the Orochimaru of the original timeline had obtained at a considerable cost was now his! And without the side effect of soul weakening, like with Living Corpse Reincarnation!

The expression on Orochimaru's face suddenly became somewhat manic.

"Hahahaha... I... Orochimaru! Finally—

Immortal!!!!"

"Hahahaha..."

The cave echoed with Orochimaru's lingering, pathological, and rampant laughter.

Three days later, in a pub in Konoha.

"I say, Orochimaru, how did you get so much stronger all of a sudden?"

Tsunade guzzled down a bottle of sake, with empty bottles littering the table beside her.

"Don't get cocky, Orochimaru. I'll catch up to you soon!"

Jiraiya placed a hand on Orochimaru's shoulder and pointed a thumb at himself.

He had been chasing Orochimaru since childhood; he was his companion and his rival.

They were only in their early twenties now, not yet the renowned Konoha Sannin who shook the ninja world, but merely three ordinary Jonin in Konoha village.

This was the period when the Sannin's relationship was at its best, a period that, in the original timeline, only began to change during their battle with Hanzo of the Salamander.

After being defeated by Hanzo and bestowed with the name Sannin, the three went their separate ways.

Jiraiya stayed in the Land of Rain to mentor the savior he believed in.

After the deaths of her grandmother and younger brother, Tsunade's lover also died. Having lost her ties to Konoha and witnessing the darkness beneath the village's prosperity, Tsunade left Konoha, not even returning during the Third Great Ninja War.

Orochimaru, after failing to become the Fourth Hokage, became engrossed in experiments and was eventually guided by Danzō, falling into darkness.

The dignified leader of the Sannin, Orochimaru, the cold strategist who had rendered countless meritorious services to Konoha, had become a rogue ninja.

It wasn't until Jiraiya later brought Naruto back to find Tsunade to succeed her as the Fifth Hokage that the Sannin were reunited, but by then, they were no longer inseparable teammates.

Orochimaru ignored Jiraiya's teasing and answered Tsunade's question, his explanation the same as his reply to the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi after returning to the village.

Orochimaru's personality had changed significantly after fusing with another soul, perhaps becoming less cold and indifferent to life.

"If you two had also gone through such an experience between life and death, you could reach this level. What you lack is the opportunity to break through your own limits under the pressure of life and death."

"But you don't look injured at all."

As a medical prodigy, Tsunade could easily tell that Orochimaru was in excellent condition.

In truth, this was the effect of the Dragon Yuan. Besides granting eternal youth and immortality and greatly increasing power, it also came with regenerative abilities, though the more severe the injury, the slower the recovery.

"Yeah, Orochimaru, you're not afraid I'll find out your secret to getting stronger and surpass you, are you!"

Jiraiya exclaimed.

"I came back after I had healed my injuries."

Orochimaru took a small sip of sake and said slowly.

He couldn't talk about the Dragon Yuan, he couldn't explain its origin.

"You know, in the past, I was always fighting against death, even though I witnessed death and created death. But when the moment of death arrives, you will feel unprecedented pressure, and your potential will erupt at this moment!"

Since bragging didn't require a draft, Orochimaru just made something up.

"And then? You met the Sage of Six Paths who taught you ninjutsu? And your strength increased dramatically?"

"Under the threat of death, my will was sublimated! I realized that death is not terrifying. Perhaps I shouldn't fear death; what I truly fear is never having truly lived." Orochimaru continued to deceive them.

"That's it? What about the details? Is that all?"

"After understanding this principle, my mental energy underwent a transformation, causing a significant increase in my chakra levels." This was the most reasonable explanation Orochimaru could come up with.

Isn't it normal to break through under a life-or-death crisis?

This increase is a bit too much. Your chakra level is even higher than mine, a Senju. Tsunade thought to herself.

But this reason, while seemingly absurd, was still somewhat plausible.

Chakra was formed by mixing mental and physical energy in a one-to-one ratio. The transformation of mental energy under a life-or-death crisis led to a significant increase in chakra, and there were precedents for this in the ninja world, just not as much of an increase as Orochimaru had experienced.

Orochimaru's increase was ridiculously high.

Orochimaru raised the sake in his hand and said:

"I am no longer as afraid of death as I was. What I fear is leaving this world like the wind without having contributed anything." After merging with the soul from another world, Orochimaru noticed a change in his personality and needed a reasonable explanation.

A drastic change in temperament under the threat of death was also quite normal and a good explanation.

In the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi smoked his pipe and looked at his disciples displayed on the crystal ball, stroking his beard with satisfaction.

In his heart, Orochimaru was the best successor to the Hokage, but his understanding of his disciples made him hesitant. When the village faced danger, could he place the village above his own life, like the Second Hokage or himself?

His disciples valued their own lives above all else.

But now he had some confidence. It seemed that even if he died, his disciples would raise the banner of the Will of Fire and protect Konoha.

At this moment, after consuming the Dragon Yuan, Orochimaru had already opened up a small gap between himself and Tsunade and Jiraiya.

Previously, all three of them were close to Kage-level but not quite there.

But after consuming the Dragon Yuan, Orochimaru's chakra levels surged, placing him among the top-tier Kage-level ninja. However, his current combat methods were not as diverse or powerful as they would be decades later.

He currently lacked strong offensive capabilities.

But at least with his greatly increased chakra levels, Orochimaru had reached Kage-level. However, he would struggle against stronger Kage-level opponents.

Overall, he was in the lower-middle tier of Kage-level, but he could contend with strong Kage-level ninja. This level of strength was barely enough to succeed Hiruzen Sarutobi.

At this point, their conversation had shifted to the battlefield in the Land of Rain.

Previously, the Land of Rain was in chaos, with Konoha, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and the Hidden Rain Village engaged in a free-for-all.

But Orochimaru was unaware that Kumogakure had basically withdrawn from the Land of Rain battlefield, which was also related to him.

After he killed the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Ōnoki of Iwagakure believed that Kumogakure had suffered significant losses and decided to take advantage of the situation. Now, Iwagakure and Kumogakure were locked in fierce combat.

"The battlefield in the Land of Rain hasn't been going too smoothly lately. There's a person named Hanzo of the Salamander, who calls himself the 'Demigod.' I fought him before." Tsunade continued to guzzle sake.

"How did it go?" Jiraiya asked.

"No result." Tsunade replied.

"So, it was a draw."

"He's indeed quite powerful, to be able to fight the old man to a draw." Orochimaru said, resting his chin on his hand.

"He is quite powerful. Elder Danzō's frontline troops have suffered heavy losses recently, all caused by Hanzo. Soon, our teacher will also return to the Land of Rain battlefield, and I imagine we'll have to follow." Tsunade deduced.

"War... when will it ever end?" Jiraiya sighed, crossing his arms.

"If the three of us could defeat Hanzo, do you think the war would end soon?" Jiraiya asked his two companions.

Jiraiya's words seemed a bit naive.

"That would only throw the Land of Rain into more chaos and lead to a larger-scale war."

Orochimaru deduced.

Without waiting for the others to respond, he continued his analysis:

"Assuming Hanzo of the Salamander perished at Konoha's hands, it's certain that the leaderless Hidden Rain would be no threat.

Furthermore, the ability to kill such a powerful ninja would undoubtedly incite fear in other forces. After all, Hanzo was a Kage-level expert. Being able to kill him meant that the same method could be used to kill other Kage.

Therefore, Sunagakure and Kumogakure would surely unite to oppose Konoha. In that scenario, the village would face immense pressure."

Orochimaru was unaware of the conflict between Kumogakure and Iwagakure; his judgment was based on the previous situation.

"How can we solve that?" Tsunade asked curiously. Besides training, her usual activities were drinking and gambling.

Regarding the war situation, she hadn't cared about the Land of Rain since her brother's death. It was a place that brought her sorrow.

"We can win over Hanzo and have him assist us in fighting one of the ninja villages. Then, we can concentrate our superior forces to defeat one, and the rest will be easy to handle."