Time Flies

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, twelve years had passed since the Chunin Exams. Orochimaru now bore a few traces of age on his face and had entered middle age. Yet his ambition had not diminished with time; instead, it had grown ever more inflated.

Over those twelve years, Orochimaru had secretly plotted an earth-shattering scheme—the Konoha Crush Plan. To carry it out, he formed an alliance with the Fourth Wind Shadow, Rasa. Together, they decided to attack the Hidden Leaf Village and deal this former enemy a fatal blow.

To ensure the plan proceeded smoothly, Orochimaru sent his capable subordinate Kabuto Yakushi to infiltrate the Hidden Leaf Village disguised as an ordinary Chunin Exam contestant. Orochimaru himself transformed into a female Chunin Exam contestant from Kusagakure and skillfully mixed into the Hidden Leaf Village.

In the Forest of Death, Orochimaru encountered Uchiha Sasuke by chance. At a glance, he recognized Sasuke's immense potential and determination for revenge. He knew Sasuke would make an ideal vessel for Living Corpse Reincarnation. Thus, Orochimaru did not hesitate to give Sasuke the Heaven Cursed Seal, predicting that Sasuke would eventually seek him out for power in order to avenge the destruction of the Uchiha Clan.

Afterward, Orochimaru took advantage of Rasa's unguarded moment to assassinate the Fourth Wind Shadow, then disguised himself as the Wind Shadow. This allowed him to completely control the Sand Ninja's actions and turn them into tools for carrying out the Konoha Crush Plan.

At last, the day of the third stage of the official Chunin Exams arrived. Orochimaru, disguised as the Fourth Wind Shadow, received a special invitation from the Third Hokage and came to the Chunin selection arena in the Hidden Leaf Village to watch the elimination matches alongside him.

During this time,