Chapter 25:
The First Ninja War, despite being called a "war," was more like two villages locked in a prolonged battle of attrition Konoha versus Kumogakure, and Kirigakure versus Iwagakure. Compared to the large-scale conflicts that would occur in the future, this war was relatively monotonous. Still, the fighting dragged on for years, and Orochimaru couldn't quite understand how these small forces, with only a few thousand on each side, could sustain such a lengthy conflict.
"Are they really that cautious, dragging things out for years?" Orochimaru mused to himself, though he quickly dismissed the thought. It wasn't his place to question the strategies of warlords or generals from centuries past.
He originally had plans of his own plans to exchange a weakened version of the basic gene enhancing fluid he had recently developed in exchange for Konoha's support in furthering his scientific research. He also had hopes of gaining access to the remains of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, whose cells were of great interest to him.
But with the sudden arrival of a mission, those plans had to be put on hold.
An hour later, fully armed, Orochimaru stood at the entrance of Konoha Village alongside Tsunade and Jiraiya. All three were dressed in standard ninja gear: forehead protectors, ninja uniforms, weapon pouches, scrolls, leg wraps, and ninja shoes. This wasn't their first mission, but until now, their tasks had been mundane D-rank missions like picking up garbage, weeding fields, catching cats, and delivering letters.
On rare occasions, they had gone on missions outside the village, but those were just to deal with local bandits hardly a challenge for any of them. In fact, they had never even encountered a true wandering ninja, much less an enemy of notable strength. The bandits they did fight were weak, the kind of scum that even Naruto's shadow clones could defeat in seconds later in the timeline.
But this mission was different.
When Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya arrived at the entrance of Konoha, they found Hiruzen already waiting for them. He, too, was fully armed, wearing black battle armor that gave him a commanding presence. Despite his serious appearance, there was a glint of pride in his eyes as he looked at his three students.
Hiruzen couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction especially when it came to Orochimaru. The boy's natural talent and dedication made him a prodigy, one that Hiruzen was proud to call his disciple.