Orochimaru: The Boyhood Arc

A mission for me? So it had finally come. I was about to go to the battlefield...

"What mission?"

As I waited for their answer, I kept praying with my left hand resting on the purple heart-shaped pendant Rin had given me.

"You will work with Minato's Team as their temporary Jonin instructor."

"Huh?"

Wait, wait. What did they mean, making me the Jonin instructor of my classmates?

"Minato's Team has accepted a commission outside the village, but their original Jonin instructor, Minato, has temporarily left due to the war. You are one of the more available Jonin in the village right now. This is the Third Hokage's decision."

"What exactly is the mission?"

A commission outside the village... By my calculations, they had been out of the academy for nearly a year, and Kakashi was already a Chunin.

"Escort supplies to the front line at Bellflower Mountain on the border of the Land of Fire. The mission is urgent, so report to the Hokage Building immediately and coordinate with the Third Hokage."

"Understood."

Since it was a mission from the front line, there was no time to waste. After learning the news, I immediately headed to the meeting point and brought the three who had been waiting for some time to the Hokage Building.

"With Minato-sensei gone, I can't believe you're the one becoming our Jonin instructor..."

Kakashi looked thoroughly displeased, which was understandable. Not long ago, we had still been teammates on missions, and before that, we had even been classmates in the same classroom.

If Kakashi was merely displeased, then Obito practically exploded on the spot.

Although Obito had never considered me a rival and had always instinctively ignored me in favor of watching Kakashi, he still cared deeply about it.

As for Rin... she was smiling, and it was a very happy smile.

Come to think of it, this was also my first mission with Rin. I had originally hoped we could be assigned to the same team, but a few things had gone wrong.

"Ahem. With Jonin Minato absent, I, Jonin Qingyue, will temporarily lead Team 7 on this commission outside the village. You all know the details, right?"

Since I was filling in, I had to act professional.

"Seriously, bro..."

"Who's your bro, Obito? Call me Qingyue-sensei!"

"You..."

Oh no, I might fall in love with this feeling. Seeing people my own age having to work under me and call me sensei.

"Ahem. Silver hedgehog, you're the Chunin of this team, so you can be considered the team leader. While we're on the road, explain our mission."

Hearing the authority in my tone, Kakashi was naturally annoyed from head to toe.

Ah, that annoyance was exactly what I wanted. It felt fantastic.

In the end, Kakashi gritted his teeth and introduced today's mission.

"We are escorting a convoy transporting supplies to the front line on the border of the Land of Fire. Our destination is Bellflower Mountain, at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers. It is rated B-rank, and combat against enemy shinobi is highly likely. Once the supplies reach the front line, we are to hand them directly over to Lord Orochimaru, one of the Three Sannin."

"That about covers it. Front-line supplies are especially crucial, so there can be no mistakes. Rin, stay at the very center of the escort formation. Kakashi and Obito, take the left and right forward positions. I'll cover the rear. Understood?"

Although neither of them was particularly convinced by me as their Jonin instructor, they still obeyed my orders.

No matter what, I was their teacher now. You could also say I was their leader, their superior.

We might have been the same age, but my record of completing eleven S-rank missions was real.

We maintained the fastest pace possible along the way. The three carts were loaded with vital supplies; losing even one could lead to greater casualties among the soldiers at the front.

Normally, escorting supplies should have been carried out by at least two teams, but manpower was stretched thin during wartime, and every area urgently needed people.

Still, this mission was not particularly dangerous. Transport routes through the Land of Fire were difficult to ambush, since they were broad roads with nowhere to hide.

Besides, enemies would not waste Jonin on supplies escorted by a team of Genin. It was a completely unprofitable deal.

At most, one or two Chunin would come to try their luck. If they could deplete even a little of the supplies, that would be enough.

Sure enough, shinobi from Sand Village soon came to test their luck.

They were probably only a few Genin serving as cannon fodder. I could resolve them quickly if I acted, but this was Rin and the others' mission. I only needed to watch.

After I sensed their presence, Kakashi reacted quickly as well.

"Slow down. There are enemies nearby."

Obito, who was always at odds with Kakashi, immediately followed the order and slowed his pace. The convoy gradually slowed down as a whole.

That way, even if the enemy launched a surprise attack, we could respond immediately instead of being caught off guard.

"Rin, keep watch over the supplies. Obito and I will handle the enemy."

"Got it."

Just as they finished making their arrangements, the three Genin hiding in the shadows suddenly rushed the convoy together.

There was not even a single Chunin among them. Charging straight ahead without command or coordination was the stupidest thing they could do.

Faced with the sudden attack, Kakashi did not hesitate to draw the short sword he had inherited from Sakumo Hatake. After swiftly deflecting two kunai, he cleanly stabbed through his opponent's dominant hand, then used the momentum to pin him to the ground and knock him unconscious.

Obito, on the other hand, had no trouble either. His Fireball Jutsu blocked several shuriken, and the aftermath knocked his opponent to the ground.

He stepped forward, pinned the man down with his knee, and drove the cold gleam of a kunai into his throat, taking his life.

The remaining man charged toward Rin. Kunai clashed against kunai, and the weaker Rin was firmly suppressed by him.

Just as I was about to intervene, Kakashi and Obito arrived one after another. They kicked him away, then stabbed a kunai into his throat.

Of the three Genin, two had died. The remaining one was tied up by Kakashi and prepared for transport to the front line, where they could find a genjutsu shinobi to extract information from him.

"Phew, my first real fight against shinobi from another village, and they were nothing before the future Hokage, hahaha!"

Listening to Obito brag, not only us, but even the captured Sand Village Genin could not hold back a laugh.

We occasionally sensed Sand Village shinobi along the rest of the road, but none of them rushed out to attack. Eager to deliver the supplies to the front line, we had no time to seek them out for battle.

In the end, we delivered the supplies safely to the front line. After coming to this world, I finally met the legendary Orochimaru for the first time.

"Greetings, Lord Orochimaru. I am Qingyue, the temporary Jonin instructor of Minato's Team. Here is the supply transfer scroll. Please inspect it."

He was one of the Three Sannin and the commander of the Sand Village front line. His position was far above mine.

Pale skin, snake-like pupils, a hoarse yet magnetic voice, and the chilling killing intent that seemed to seep from his entire body...

Obito and Kakashi beside me were both trembling, while Rin unconsciously hid behind my back.

But honestly, I did not particularly want to face Orochimaru either. This man was too dangerous. I absolutely could not provoke him.

You could not kill him, and he was always coming up with bizarre things out of nowhere.

He was terrifyingly sinister.

Still, if I got on good terms with Orochimaru, I might be able to get a Kusanagi Sword for free. Should I negotiate with him using intelligence?

"You've worked hard, Jonin Qingyue. You're quite a new face."

"I was only promoted to Jonin recently. It was thanks to Senior Sakumo Hatake's support."

"Sakumo-senpai's disciple? No wonder you constantly avoid exposing any openings in your every movement."

"You flatter me, Lord Orochimaru. I have long heard of the Three Sannin's reputation, and my father often spoke of your great achievements."

"Is that so?"

As expected of the most refined of the Three Sannin, Orochimaru. Aside from the snake-like chill he gave off, both his speech and the distance he maintained during conversation were remarkably comfortable.

"You became a Jonin at such a young age. Where are you from?"

"The same place as you."

"Is that so? Then you truly are exceptional."

By this point, Orochimaru had probably already begun human experimentation. Ten years earlier, Tsunade's younger brother Nawaki, who had also been his student, had been killed by explosive tags during a mission.

Combined with losing his parents in childhood, the devastation of years of war, and living at the center of Konoha's political struggles...

Orochimaru's state of mind had already gone beyond the bounds of humanity. As a modern person, I could not accept the human experiments he conducted.

Yet I also had to admit that without Orochimaru, the Shinobi World would not know how far behind it would have fallen in development.

After all, Orochimaru had independently developed an inferior version of even the Karma that the Otsutsuki clan took such pride in.

"I look forward to your guidance in the future, Senior Orochimaru. After I return to the village and complete the mission handover, I should be heading to the battlefield as well."

"Is that so? Take care."