It's Okay, I Was Born the Best Actor (Please Support with Monthly Votes)

Orochimaru had never forgotten that day six years ago.

In the year 48 of the Ninja World calendar, the Third Shinobi World War ended.

Konoha, besieged on all sides, paid a terrible price before finally securing the ultimate victory in that war.

But...

What meaning did it have?

Orochimaru's thin lips moved soundlessly as he calmly lowered his gaze toward the front.

Lead-gray storm clouds had spread across the entire sky. The already chilling cemetery seemed even lonelier and more sorrowful. The crowd bowed their heads and sobbed like reeds bent by rain, while the dense black umbrellas resembled a flock of gathered crows.

He stood amid the sea of black, watching the old man at the front of the crowd.

That was his dear teacher, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Sarutobi Hiruzen brushed the rainwater from a gravestone. Perhaps moved by his gesture, sorrow began to spread through the crowd.

"..."

Orochimaru looked at the watermelon-headed child slightly ahead of him.

He knew the child. He had often seen him and his Genin father running handstands around Konoha. In his memories, the pair had always looked like foolishly optimistic hotbloods, completely indifferent to the annoyed and mocking looks around them.

But now...

This was the first time Orochimaru had seen the child cry. He cried in an especially foolish manner, with snot and tears mixed across his face like mud.

He had heard that the child had encountered the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist while on a mission. It was his Genin father, the one ridiculed as trash, who had arrived and covered his child's escape.

In the end, he had forcibly killed four of them by himself, while the remaining three fled in disgrace with grievous injuries.

And that Genin father had died as a result.

There was also that child...

Orochimaru's narrow eyes shifted aside, reflecting a young face that stood without an umbrella and allowed the rain to soak him.

His crying was faint and hoarse. He merely kept his head lowered, his shoulders trembling as he made a tearing hiss, like a sleeve being ripped open at intervals.

Yet tears streamed without pause, splitting into several rivulets and rushing from his eyes together with the rain.

Hyuga Yunchuan was timid and cowardly, frail enough to be blown over by the wind. While children his age had already begun learning the Gentle Fist, he had not even awakened his Byakugan. He was a notorious "good-for-nothing" within the Hyuga Clan.

The child's father had not actually died on the battlefield. Rather, because a Main Branch member under his protection had been seriously injured, he had risked his life to carry that member back to camp. With his chakra nearly exhausted, he had then been tortured to death by the Main Branch Elder using the Caged Bird Cursed Seal.

Come to think of it, that child's father had once earned merit under Orochimaru during the Second Shinobi World War.

How old were these two children?

Nine? Ten?

Heh heh.

They had been thrown onto the battlefield so young, and had lost their only family so young...

Orochimaru looked again at the old man at the front. Forked lightning flashed through the clouds, suddenly dyeing the world in two shades of gray and white.

The blinding white light cast the old man's hunched shadow long across the ground like an evil spirit, splitting Sarutobi Hiruzen's compassionate face into light and dark.

Having experienced two Shinobi World Wars, Orochimaru suddenly felt an incomparably profound disgust, so nauseating that he nearly wanted to vomit.

What meaning did the lives of those who died in war truly have?

Nothing had changed. Nothing had changed.

Once the crowd dispersed and everyone left, only the desolate gravestones remained.

Orochimaru stood before Unknown's grave. A black umbrella, dark as ink in the rain, sheltered him as he placed a white chrysanthemum before the stone. Looking at that familiar name engraved upon it, he felt unexpectedly unmoved.

Sorrow? Wrath? Pity?

None of it.

Yet he was not calm.

He merely watched rain drip from the umbrella's edge, vanish into the grooves carved by the inscription, and felt fear rise from the depths of his heart.

"Um, excuse me..."

A timid voice came from behind him, as though it had been squeezed from someone's throat.

Orochimaru came back to himself and instinctively turned toward the voice, only to meet a pair of Byakugan.

The lingering chill on his face seemed to startle the other person. The child's body trembled as he took a step back, but he eventually steadied himself.

"Um, excuse me, your complexion looks very bad, so..."

Under Orochimaru's gaze, his voice grew softer and softer.

Orochimaru looked down at the child named Hyuga Yunchuan. He knew he had stood before the grave for too long; the child was probably worried about his physical and mental state.

Kind, yet timid.

He truly was a good-for-nothing.

Orochimaru passed that judgment on the child in his heart. He had no intention of saying more, and stepped away with an indifferent expression...

"Lord Orochimaru."

A voice came from behind him. As if possessed, he stopped.

"Do you know what the meaning of life is?"

At that, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly and turned around. The child still looked timid, but he raised his head and asked in confusion, "My father often mentioned you when he was alive. He said you were a hero of Konoha. I thought... someone like you must know many things..."

"It has no meaning."

Before he could finish, Orochimaru softly interrupted, "Even if it does, it only exists while life is alive."

"And a life that has died has no meaning whatsoever."

Death was the most impartial equality in this world, for everyone.

No matter what one had done in life, no matter what one possessed in life, when death arrived, one would be left with nothing.

Thinking of that, Orochimaru again felt a chill that seeped into his bones. Even the cold wind slipping beneath his collar felt sharper, causing the fingers gripping his umbrella to tighten until they turned pale.

Yes, once dead, it was like water vanishing into water.

Death meant losing [everything]. He did not want to lose [everything]. He wanted to possess [everything].

Therefore, he did not want to die, and he could not die!

"Lord Orochimaru." Hyuga Yunchuan suddenly raised his head. "Do you believe there are 'gods' in this world?"

Orochimaru came back to his senses and looked at the timid child before him, suddenly finding it somewhat amusing.

It was just as he had always looked down on Jiraiya, who constantly spoke of the Child of Prophecy that would change the Ninja World.

In Orochimaru's eyes, both the so-called Child of Prophecy and so-called gods were laughable fictional characters imagined by incompetent people to deceive themselves.

An omniscient and omnipotent god had never existed. Even if one did, it would merely be a more powerful being.

"What if... what if It possessed eternal life?"

Seeing the mockery in Orochimaru's eyes, Hyuga Yunchuan hurriedly said, "Before he died, my father gave me a scroll and a corpse... a body. He said the scroll recorded a secret of the Hyuga Clan, but I have never been able to open it. And that body is an ancestor of the Hyuga Clan. He has not died and will not die; only his soul has left his body..."

Although Hyuga Yunchuan's voice became softer and softer, as though even he did not quite believe his own words, Orochimaru's narrow pupils trembled.

Throughout the entire Ninja World, no one understood so-called "souls" better than Orochimaru.

To most people, souls were intangible and illusory. It was even more impossible for anyone to make a soul exist independently outside the body.

But in Orochimaru's eyes, as someone obsessed with studying the essence of human life, it was entirely possible. And the Hyuga Clan was undoubtedly one of the most ancient ninja clans...

"..."

As he examined the child before him, whose forehead was already beginning to bead with cold sweat, Orochimaru inexplicably found himself placing some trust in his words.

Perhaps there was no harm in taking a look?

Then Hyuga Yunchuan, who had already lowered his head, suddenly felt a shadow cover him, and the cold rain no longer fell upon him.

"Can you tell me why you're telling me this?"

Hyuga Yunchuan raised his head blankly and happened to meet a pair of narrow eyes.

Orochimaru stood before him beneath the umbrella, one hand resting on his knee as he lowered himself slightly, meeting Hyuga Yunchuan's gaze at eye level.

"This should be a secret of the Hyuga Clan, shouldn't it? Why not tell the clan elders?" A smile appeared on that pale face, lending him an unusual charm.

"M-My father told me that if he died, I could use that scroll and that body to exchange for better treatment from the clan."

Perhaps because Orochimaru's tone had become gentler, a hint of color appeared on Hyuga Yunchuan's young face. Lowering his head, he said, "But I don't trust them. My father was forced to death by them."

A trace of resentment could still be heard in his trembling voice. Orochimaru glanced at his gradually clenched fists, surprised that the child still possessed some spirit.

"You want me to help you take revenge?" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Aren't you afraid I'll tell the Hyuga Clan about this?"

"I think someone like you wouldn't do that. And even if you really did..." Hyuga Yunchuan slowly shook his head, raised his head to look at Orochimaru, and softly said, "I wouldn't lose much more."

"Only myself."

"..." Facing those resolute white eyes, Orochimaru fell into brief silence.

After a moment, he suddenly smiled and placed his hand on Hyuga Yunchuan's head.

Indeed, being alive did not necessarily have meaning, but only by living could one find interesting people and things.

Later, Hyuga Yunchuan handed that scroll and body over to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru broke part of the Sealing Technique on the scroll, and thus saw the contents recorded on its first few pages. He learned of the Otsutsuki Clan's existence at the beginning of the Ninja World.

They were "Celestial Beings" from another planet. Every member was born powerful. They did not need to cultivate like the humans of the Ninja World, and could reincarnate and revive through something called a "Kusabi." They were beings who transcended death.

They explored the universe in groups of two, but they had only one goal: to plant something called the God Tree and devour all life on a planet.

Among them, members of the Main House would return to the Home Planet, leaving Branch Family members behind to watch over the planet and ensure that the God Tree's "fruit" ripened smoothly.

And according to the scroll, that body which had lost its "soul" belonged to a Branch Family member of the Otsutsuki Clan.

He had passed chakra down in the Ninja World and left descendants behind—the present-day Hyuga Clan.

Because Orochimaru had yet to break the seal on the scroll's later contents, he did not know why that Otsutsuki clansman had abandoned his body. But even this was enough to make Orochimaru tremble with excitement and delight.

Such exquisite meridians, such a perfect body—it was an entirely different species from the humans of the Ninja World!

Eternal life truly existed. All material things would die one day, but a "soul" could exist forever!

He only needed to explore the mysteries of the Otsutsuki Clan. One day, he too would understand every truth in this world!

Six full years had passed since Orochimaru obtained that scroll and body.

Over those six years, Orochimaru believed he had completely controlled Hyuga Yunchuan. The youth's eyes held nothing but admiration for him.

No matter what experiment it was, he cooperated obediently.

Even when Orochimaru told him to approach the Third Hokage, or even enter Root to pass information to Shimura Danzō, he never refused despite his fear.

Moreover, Orochimaru discovered that although the child had no talent as a ninja, he seemed to possess a special curiosity and intuition for research. He often unintentionally brought Orochimaru inspiration from seemingly insignificant details.

That was truly too rare.

Even Tsunade, known as the "Medical Saint," merely regarded medicine and Ninjutsu as means to heal the wounded and save lives. She had no interest whatsoever in exploring the secrets and essence of life.

Because of this, Orochimaru had even developed a slight sense of kinship with him and had become somewhat reluctant to kill the youth's soul.

But in the end, his Greed for truth and immortality overwhelmed that last trace of recognition.

Until now.

Looking at the youth who had suddenly struck, and at the headless corpse, Orochimaru even found the situation absurd.

It was as though everything he had experienced over the past six years had been an unreal dream.

"You..."

The violent shock of his emotions made the normally composed Orochimaru ask a foolish question.

"What are you doing?"

Fortunately, Hyuga Yunchuan seemed to know what he truly wanted to ask. He merely smiled and said, "Thank you, Lord Orochimaru."

"Just as you told me, true ignorance is not a lack of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire knowledge."

"I also want to tell you that weakness and ignorance are not obstacles to survival."

"Pride is."

Yes. Because of Pride, Orochimaru had never regarded a "good-for-nothing," a child barely ten years old, as worthy of notice.

Because of Pride, he had kept his attention fixed on that Otsutsuki "remains," overlooking every anomaly that had happened before his eyes.

After all, what could a timid child barely ten years old do?

What could a good-for-nothing who could not even awaken his Byakugan do?

Hyuga Yunchuan was like an isolated island closed to the outside world. Orochimaru had only seen the forest on its surface, which showed no abnormalities, yet failed to see the bottomless, tranquil swamp upon the island.

Only when events slipped beyond his control did Orochimaru awaken as though from a dream.

From beginning to end, it had not been Orochimaru who chose Hyuga Yunchuan. Hyuga Yunchuan had chosen him.

He had actually been played by a brat?

Realizing this, Orochimaru nearly laughed in rage. A savage smile spread across his pale face.

"You think you can escape from me?"

The instant the words left his mouth, Orochimaru vanished from before him.

A chilling, terrifying killing intent erupted at that very moment!

It was like the ice covering a river suddenly shattering, unleashing the torrent that had accumulated beneath it day after day with a roar powerful enough to shake the heart, pouring toward Hyuga Yunchuan!

Bzzz!!

A shrill hum rang out—the sonic boom of air being torn apart.

Too fast.

The kunai lost its form due to its extreme speed, moving too quickly for its full outline to be seen.

Sure enough, even with his chakra nearly depleted, Orochimaru was still not an opponent Hyuga Yunchuan could handle at his current level.

The Otsutsuki body manifested from several thousand Reality Points was ultimately an incomplete Otsutsuki body. It could only grant him extraordinary talent, not strength.

Thinking this, Hyuga Yunchuan's blue-white eyes reflected the cold gleam of the kunai, yet not the slightest ripple appeared within them.

Then, beneath Orochimaru's astonished gaze, not only did he not evade, he instead took the initiative to meet the kunai's edge.

Squelch!

Thick crimson blood instantly erupted, splashing and flowing across the ground with a wet sound.

That strike sliced through half of Hyuga Yunchuan's neck, from his vocal cords and throat cavity to his cervical bone. Within dozens of seconds, blood would flood into his lungs with every breath. An ordinary person would almost certainly die.

"Just as I thought."

The smile on Hyuga Yunchuan's face remained unchanged. Watching Orochimaru's lips move, he silently said, Even now, you still can't bear to stab my heart?

In that case, I won.

Bang!

A deafening roar reached his ears, and Orochimaru instinctively looked behind him, capturing an aged face filled with wrath.

"Orochimaru! What are you doing?!"

An angry roar rang out, and Hyuga Yunchuan slowly closed his eyes, collapsing onto the operating table as his final thought surfaced in his mind.

Heh, a trash burdened with the Caged Bird.

Destiny really did hand me the worst possible "script."

However, it does not matter.

I was born to be the best "actor."