Orochimaru, Even Worse Than Jiraiya

Land of Fire border.

As dusk approached, Team Seven and Jiraiya decided to stop for the night and camp in the wilderness to conserve their strength in case they encountered enemies.

Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha were responsible for setting up the outer perimeter, Sakura Haruno boiled water at the campsite, and Jiraiya took Naruto Uzumaki to the river to fish.

The middle-aged man held a crude homemade fishing rod and looked at the blond brat beside him, unable to resist a chuckle. "Survival in the wild is an important ninja skill. Once you're trapped in some deserted and dangerous place, you can only rely on your own abilities to find supplies..."

"Oh."

Naruto Uzumaki looked at the fishing rod in his hands and spread open his palm, intending to form a Rasengan Bullet.

"Don't use ninjutsu!"

Jiraiya reached out and stopped Naruto's hand as he tried to gather chakra. "Ninjutsu is too powerful. It could easily draw the attention of enemies in the distance..."

"Is that so?"

The Genin boy nodded and cast his hook into the river.

Watching his practiced movements, Jiraiya curiously stroked his chin. "Did Kakashi teach you? I remember Kakashi liked fishing by the river when he was little. He'd fry the fish himself for dinner. I heard he was pretty good at it..."

"No."

Naruto Uzumaki shook his head and spoke calmly. "I always wasted the living expenses the village gave me, so I had to find ways to fill my stomach."

Before becoming a ninja, Konoha gave him a standard monthly allowance, but no one taught him how to live.

No matter how a child counted their money, it was never enough.

Besides, most shopkeepers in the village avoided him like the plague. They refused to serve customers like him for fear of hurting their business.

Only Teuchi and Ayame at Ichiraku Ramen were kind enough to accept him, sometimes calling him over for a bowl of ramen.

But even as a child, he had his pride. He couldn't possibly run to Ichiraku Ramen every night.

From a young age, he had learned to go hungry.

As he gradually grew older, he learned to gather wild mushrooms and taught himself to fish, barely managing to hold on until the next month.

"Hmm, that sounds pretty similar!"

Jiraiya rested his chin on his hand and sighed thoughtfully. "When I was young, I often went fishing with Orochimaru too. I did it to fill my stomach, but that guy did it so he could save up his monthly pension and buy all sorts of strange Ninja Tools..."

"Orochimaru? Pervy Sage's friend?"

Naruto Uzumaki couldn't help touching his forehead, feeling the restless stirring in his mind. That name had a huge effect on him too.

The middle-aged man nodded, a trace of nostalgia flashing across his face. "That guy was the most famous genius among our peers. He was always first at the Ninja Academy, though he was still just a little worse than me..."

"Wait..."

Naruto Uzumaki's face darkened with black lines, and the corner of his mouth twitched. "If he was the top student at the academy, how could he possibly be worse than you?"

"Well..."

Jiraiya's expression immediately turned bitter, but moments later, he found something to argue with. "That little girl told me Sasuke was first at the Ninja Academy too... but don't you think Sasuke is still a little worse than you?"

That was really hard to refute.

Naruto Uzumaki thought about it, then nodded seriously. "...You're right. Even if Sasuke is the academy's top student, he's still a little worse than me."

The two utterly shameless people reached an agreement on this point.

Naruto Uzumaki felt his fishing rod shake. When the vibrations grew more and more violent, he suddenly yanked it up. "Looks like a big fish took the bait!"

"Brat, want me to help?"

"No!"

Naruto Uzumaki gripped the rod tightly and hauled upward with all his strength.

Just as he had pulled the big fish out of the water and saw its body thrashing violently as it tried to shake free of the hook, a figure slowly emerged from the woods.

The figure stopped behind Naruto Uzumaki and chuckled softly. "Heh heh heh... If you do that, the rod will break..."

The moment he finished speaking, the fishing rod snapped in two!

Naruto Uzumaki turned around and saw a man with long black hair hanging loose behind him. The playful grin stretching across his lips made Naruto's heart skip a beat.

His first impression... cold and sinister!

Jiraiya watched the big fish fall back into the river and remarked, "You're still young. You really do lack experience..."

"Heh heh heh... Jiraiya..."

The black-haired man turned to look at Jiraiya and raised a hand. "Is that why you're so forgiving? Because you made the same mistake when you were young? For us, that big fish would have been a magnificent feast!"

"As you would say... that was us in the past!"

Jiraiya's voice steadily rose. As his words fell, he flipped into the air and swung his fist at the long-haired man!

The man who had always remained cheerful before Team Seven had lost every trace of calm and joy from his face. All that remained was endless fury and confusion!

A long snake suddenly shot from the black-haired man's sleeve, its tongue flicking as it lunged at Jiraiya and forced back his attack!

The black-haired man withdrew the snake and smiled at Jiraiya's grim expression. "Weren't you just saying I was a little worse than you?"

"..."

Jiraiya's face instantly flushed red. He had been too busy bragging and accidentally let the real person hear him...

That was truly embarrassing.

Especially since this person had once been his close friend many years ago.

But now was not the time to reminisce.

Jiraiya stepped half a pace forward, shielding Naruto Uzumaki behind him as his face gradually turned cold. "Orochimaru, what are you doing here?"

"Heh heh heh..."

The black-haired man brushed aside his long hair and said softly, "Do you think I came to see you for a class reunion?"

"..."

Jiraiya gritted his teeth.

He couldn't understand why Orochimaru had appeared here, but ever since this man had defected from Konoha, there had been little news of him. For him to suddenly appear before Jiraiya now, he must be plotting something.

The problem was...

Orochimaru was insane.

Even Jiraiya, who had been his classmate for years, could never guess what was going through Orochimaru's mind, because he had always acted without restraint.

"How heartless..."

Orochimaru's arm suddenly shot forward as he shouted softly, "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

His arm transformed into dozens of venomous snakes that burst from his sleeve. Each snake bared its fangs as the swarm surged toward Jiraiya!

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

A wall of earth blocked the snakes' attack!

After blocking Orochimaru's ninjutsu, Jiraiya glanced at Naruto Uzumaki, who was rubbing his forehead. Their battlefield had no room for anyone else.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jiraiya immediately spotted the snakes winding around the earth wall. He grabbed Naruto Uzumaki and leaped back, whispering, "Naruto, get farther away!"

"Jiraiya, I think you'd better find yourself a helper."

Orochimaru's voice drifted into both their ears like a ghost's whisper. "Ever since you were three years old until now, you've never beaten me even once..."

Second update. Thanks to Qiuqiu1992 for the ten-thousand reward! I've been busy lately, so I'll put it on the tab for now.

Jiraiya: Orochimaru was first place, but he was still a little worse than me...

Tsunade: Are you serious?

Orochimaru: As long as he's happy...

Naruto: Sasuke was the top student, but he's still a little worse than me...

Sakura Haruno: Where's your shame?

Sasuke: As long as he's happy...