Siren's Pull Application
Character Information
General
Canon Source: Naruto
Canon Format: Anime & Manga
Character's Name: Orochimaru
Character's Age: 53 or so, but he won’t necessarily look it due to his abilities (Orochimaru can steal a person’s face and wear it as his own. He can also completely take over another person’s body as his own. In addition, there are several standard techniques for altering appearance that Orochimaru would be able to employ).
What form will your character's NV take?
Orochimaru’s NV will take the form of something he most favors: a white snake. This may be hidden in his clothes or crawl at his feet. The snake will speak to deliver messages, and he can speak to it to have them written or to post audio. Video will be taken from the eyes and delivered possibly by some kind of jutsu or telepathy. The eyes will also serve to beam out holographic images.
Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities: Uh-oh, Naruto character abilities. Here we go!
Instead of something so limiting, it may be fairer to ask, what can’t Orochimaru do?
Orochimaru is considered a genius, he makes up one third of the legendary ‘Sannin,’ has been a part of the Akatsuki (an organization composed of only the highest and most dangerous class of criminals), and his jutsu (techniques) are on par with that of highest ninja in all the great lands. He also has a wealth of combat experience because of his age. Due to this and his ultimate goal of learning all the jutsu in existence so he can become the ‘ultimate being’ who understands everything, it is impossible to define the limits of his abilities. It can be assumed that this desire has led him to learning a vast amount of jutsu, possibly more than any other character in the series. Due to his rarely being shown fighting, we have naturally only been able to see a limited portion of his techniques.
A list of techniques and powers he is seen using can be found here:
http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Orochimaru
His more remarkable abilities include the fact he seems impervious to injury (his arm is cut off, but he simply sheds his body like a snakeskin and emerges unscathed, and at another point he is cut in half but snakes come out of both halves of his body and reattach everything), is capable of transferring his soul into another person’s body (thus rendering him virtually immortal), and can resurrect the dead at the cost of a human sacrifice. Orochimaru can also summon snakes, summon giant snakes, lengthen any part of his body, summon Kusanagi swords (which can cut almost anything) out of snakes, steal another person’s face and wear it over his own, and summon demonic looking gates to defend himself. These are all in addition to the basic abilities all ninja possess.
Orochimaru is also extremely intelligent, charming, and a good tactician.
While in his true form, that of a giant white snake composed of many smaller, white snakes, Orochimaru has a few additional abilities. The snakes can all act of their own accord, and any blood spilled vaporizes and acts as a poison capable of hindering enemy movement. He still possesses extraordinary healing powers.
Naturally, with all strengths come weaknesses. He is an extraordinary ninja, but that does not mean he is untouchable.
Weapons:
http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Special:BrowseData/Tools (General list, but some are character specific)
Orochimaru mainly fights using jutsu, snakes, Kusanagi swords, kunai, and his own teeth, tongue, hands, and feet, etc.
His Kusanagi swords usually emerge by a snake coming out of his mouth and then opening its mouth to reveal the sword. This can come out hilt or blade first, as necessitated by the user, and extend to great lengths. If the blade is separated from Orochimaru, he can summon it to him with a gesture. It can also turn into a snake and slither back to him.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History:
Orochimaru is one of the primary antagonists in Naruto, especially so in the first half of the series. A good listing of his history can be found here ( http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Orochimaru ).
Point in Canon: Right after being sealed by Itachi’s Totsuka sword.
Itachi and Sasuke had been fighting an intense battle. Sasuke, depleted of chakra, used his final technique in an effort to kill Itachi and failed because Itachi activated his Susanoo ability (crazy god level offensive and defensive technique). Sasuke attempted to use the curse mark Orochimaru gave him to continue fighting. Because his chakra was so depleted, he was unable to continue repressing Orochimaru, who burst out of Sasuke’s back as a giant snake with eight heads and eight tails. Itachi defeated the snakes and stabbed Orochimaru through with Susanoo’s Totsuka sword when he appeared out of one of the snakes. This sealed all of his body except for one small snake that managed to get away. This snake was burned up by Itachi’s Amaterasu a little while later. It is widely assumed that the snake was Orochimaru escaping and that he was killed. (However, things become complicated when one considers the fact that Orochimaru’s remains which Kabuto implanted in his body are taking him over. But that is from beyond when I am taking Orochimaru.)
Character Personality:
Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. These truths are well known, and Orochimaru is a case study in them. Above all else, Orochimaru desires a complete knowledge of all jutsu in the world. He did not start out in life feeling this way, but developed the desire over time. Losing his parents at a young age left him without that kind of love and guidance. This and his aptitude for learning jutsu, high ambition, lust for power, and his own sadness over the fact human life is so fragile and fleeting led him down an increasingly dark path until eventually he decided he wanted to be the immortal, ‘ultimate being.’
His goal is so extreme that it will take more than one human lifetime to accomplish. Orochimaru betrays Konoha by using its citizens for his own research for this reason. It is unknown when he started his experimentation on humans, but attempting to create a jutsu that would render him immortal through this method is what eventually gets him caught by the third Hokage, his former mentor.
Through his goal and the methods that uses to advance toward it, Orochimaru is shown to be an extremely selfish person. The desire to become the ‘ultimate being’ who knows everything is egotistic by its very nature, yet Orochimaru, who has been hailed as a genius and one of the legendary three, or ‘Sannin,’ does not think it is beyond his capabilities. Further proof of his selfishness is in the fact he does not care about passing on his knowledge. Orochimaru is satisfied with learning everything for himself, until he is finally persuaded to take on a pupil in Mitarashi Anko.
Orochimaru even goes so far as to use Anko as an experiment in the end--one that claimed the lives of the nine other people he used for this purpose. He had no evidence she would survive and did not care either way. Through this, Orochimaru again demonstrates his selfishness as well as his complete disregard for human life, which is a subset of that egotism.
Orochimaru is quite the manipulator. Through his innate (when he chooses to apply it) charm, he is easily able to gather followers. Orochimaru is well aware of the feelings of those who are orphaned or alone and is able to exploit individuals who find themselves in the same situation for this reason. He has a silver tongue, and knows just what to offer each individual to earn his or her loyalty.
There are many who idolize Orochimaru, including some who know of his ambition and still feel the same way. This shows just how adept Orochimaru is at inspiring loyalty in himself even after his selfish goal is revealed. Despite how his followers may feel about him, Orochimaru seldom, if ever, returns those feelings. He views them as experiments, sacrifices, pawns, or simply as a renewable resource like anything else.
Orochimaru does have his favorites. These individuals are usually candidates to be his next ‘vessel,’ so, again, it is actually a form of self-love. Orochimaru trains them to make them strong because he wants the best possible vessels for himself. He corrupts them because he is corrupted and wants to see them ‘painted in his own color.’ Everything is for his own benefit.
In general, Orochimaru prefers prodigies above all others. He looks down on those who do not have extensive, natural-born talent (such as Uzumaki Naruto) and does not consider them worthy of being his immediate underlings.
Orochimaru often casts off those who he has favored for newer, better finds. He demands loyalty, but shows none in return. He is also very perceptive. He knows how his discarded vessels feel and does not hesitate to use those feelings to further his own ambitions. Orochimaru will hold their dream of being one with him just out of reach. Surely if they do this one thing for him, he will reconsider.
This is never the case. Once Orochimaru has moved on, he holds very little interest in whomever or whatever he has discarded. Cast-off vessels merely serve as contingency plans in case something goes wrong with his current favorite.
Having lived through the harsh times of war, Orochimaru is bored by peace. This and the fact that he delights in causing others to fear him shows his sadistic side. Orochimaru demonstrates this during the Chuunin exams when he confronts Sasuke and Sakura and almost immediately terrifies them.
Orochimaru has a creepy way of speaking. He is mockingly polite and although he does not use feminine nouns, he does sprinkle in a few feminine particles and other forms of speech (notably ‘kashira,’ which is the feminine form of ‘I wonder‘). This further demonstrates his sadistic desire to instill fear into others.
Orochimaru is also fond of saying things to make others uncomfortable. This is shown in the encounter he has with Tsunade where he brings up the deaths of her brother and lover in the cruelest of fashions. In this same conversation, Orochimaru claims to hate lying, but this is, again, just another form of manipulation. He has no problem lying to Tsunade later. Thus, it can be determined he is brutally honest with Tsunade both in order to manipulate her into doing what he wants, and because he enjoys making her relive painful memories. This encounter and his behavior toward Mizuki (Orochimaru knowingly gives him a formula that is supposed to bring the user lasting power, but, in fact, is faulty and has devastating effects on the body) and in general reveal him for the troll he is.
Character Plans:
Orochimaru will continue striving for greatness. For this purpose, he will rejoin with SERO--again, not that he will be loyal to them. This will simply be a means to an end. His one burning desire is to learn all there is to know about the world. It used to be he only wanted to know all the jutsu in the Naruto world, but being transported to Siren’s Pull will make him realize there is much, much more to be studied. Orochimaru will throw himself into his work while striving to rebuild his power here. To that end, he will be looking out for children (or possibly older people if he thinks they are worthwhile enough) with unique powers or great potential to ‘turn his color.’ That is, he will be seeking to corrupt those he considers worthy of serving him or becoming his new ‘vessels,’ while instilling in those individuals a deep sense of loyalty to himself. When not out recruiting, he will be conducting experiments and/or attempting to expand his knowledge base through any means possible, unscrupulous or otherwise.
Contingent upon his readmission, I plan for Orochimaru to take up his old spot at SERO almost immediately. Conditional to Eric Northman’s acceptance, Reg and I have discussed the possible sale of vampire blood or ‘V’ with Orochimaru’s backing. Things like that.
Orochimaru’s ‘Living Corpse Reincarnation’ technique ( http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Living_Corpse_Reincarnation ) allows him to take over another person’s body. It can only be performed once every three years. As the end of that time approaches, Orochimaru’s current body will begin to reject him (it is unknown if this is always the case or if it was just the two occasions we are shown in canon). For the purposes of game play, I would like for him to be brought to Siren’s Port in his original body. I intend for him to be on the lookout for new bodies to inhabit, but I don’t want this issue to be an immediate concern (the point from which I am taking him is pretty much his death, so I do not believe it would be that strange for the Core to grant him his original, intact body back).
Appearance/PB:
His usual look:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J9lpdwFj3LU/R06yobUWmlI/AAAAAAAAAEE/h2dhRxY2-rs/s1600/orochimaru.jpg
His true form:
http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/File:Orochimaru%27s_True_Form.PNG
Orochimaru can steal a person’s face and use it as his own, so he can virtually look however he wants in addition to these forms.
Writing Samples
First Person Sample
[As the audio plays, a hissing sound can be heard in the background.]
It was surprised at first, but this is quite the remarkable place. Wouldn’t you agree? I have seen much here--so many exceptional individuals! It is a wonder I did not know about any of this before.
[There is a thump and then the sound of something sliding against the ground.]
I like it here already.
[An ominous sounding laugh can be heard. The audio cuts out before it finishes.]
Third Person Sample
Orochimaru sat up with a gasp. His eyes bulged in their sockets and his limbs shook. Fire. He was on fire. He had been so close. That Itachi… But no, there was no real pain. A headache and some sort of discomfort in his gut, yes, but these were nothing compared to the agony of being consumed by Amaterasu.
As awareness returned to him, Orochimaru’s eyes narrowed. He stood, eyeing his unfamiliar surroundings with distaste. Was he dead? No, the dead did not feel pain. This was something else entirely. He had traveled extensively, but none of this was familiar to him, and the amount of powerful chakras in the area was astounding. Orochimaru had never felt anything like it.
He hissed out a curse, already allowing himself to merge with the ground. Orochimaru halted his movements when he realized something was different from what it should have been. His limbs, his torso…all were familiar to him, but not in the way he had imagined. Orochimaru brought his hand up and studied it, turning it over and over. There was no doubt about it; this was his original body. His eyes widened for the second time as he stared. He did not know how this could have occurred. After a moment of heated contemplation, Orochimaru allowed himself to finish sinking down into the earth.
Whatever had happened, he could not afford to be noticed, not until he had figured out who had done this to him. Orochimaru was the master of many jutsu, far more than most shinobi could imagine, yet he had never even heard of a technique like this. His old body had been discarded years before. It was nothing to him now, no more than a withered husk reminding him of his triumph over time and age--this was one reason why he always kept the hand Itachi had chopped off around. Orochimaru liked being reminded of his victories and this particular failure. Such memories helped him focus on his bright future. So, who could have done this to him? He feared the answer.
Orochimaru allowed himself to be transported out of the abandoned field, assessing the city as he went. As he had thought, the place was unfamiliar to him.
After an initial sweep of the city, Orochimaru ventured out into the water, intending to use the surrounding countryside to determine his whereabouts. It soon became clear that this was not an option. Orochimaru felt compelled to return to the city, and with each movement away, the pain in his body increased. When he reached his limit, Orochimaru fell back, thinking it some sort of illusion technique. It occurred to him he could still be at the Uchiha training grounds under one of Itachi’s illusions. Or perhaps his escape had not been a reality. He could be trapped by the Totsuka at this very moment…
Orochimaru shivered and grit his teeth. He had long searched for that sword--to think it would be used on him instead of by him! He would claim it, but not now. No, a new, stronger vessel would be needed first. Someone better than Itachi and Sasuke combined. He would wait for the Sharingan, wait for a new fledgling to be born. Before all that, he would need to test himself. It had been a while since he had been in this body, after all.
General
Canon Source: Naruto
Canon Format: Anime & Manga
Character's Name: Orochimaru
Character's Age: 53 or so, but he won’t necessarily look it due to his abilities (Orochimaru can steal a person’s face and wear it as his own. He can also completely take over another person’s body as his own. In addition, there are several standard techniques for altering appearance that Orochimaru would be able to employ).
What form will your character's NV take?
Orochimaru’s NV will take the form of something he most favors: a white snake. This may be hidden in his clothes or crawl at his feet. The snake will speak to deliver messages, and he can speak to it to have them written or to post audio. Video will be taken from the eyes and delivered possibly by some kind of jutsu or telepathy. The eyes will also serve to beam out holographic images.
Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities: Uh-oh, Naruto character abilities. Here we go!
Instead of something so limiting, it may be fairer to ask, what can’t Orochimaru do?
Orochimaru is considered a genius, he makes up one third of the legendary ‘Sannin,’ has been a part of the Akatsuki (an organization composed of only the highest and most dangerous class of criminals), and his jutsu (techniques) are on par with that of highest ninja in all the great lands. He also has a wealth of combat experience because of his age. Due to this and his ultimate goal of learning all the jutsu in existence so he can become the ‘ultimate being’ who understands everything, it is impossible to define the limits of his abilities. It can be assumed that this desire has led him to learning a vast amount of jutsu, possibly more than any other character in the series. Due to his rarely being shown fighting, we have naturally only been able to see a limited portion of his techniques.
A list of techniques and powers he is seen using can be found here:
http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Orochimaru
His more remarkable abilities include the fact he seems impervious to injury (his arm is cut off, but he simply sheds his body like a snakeskin and emerges unscathed, and at another point he is cut in half but snakes come out of both halves of his body and reattach everything), is capable of transferring his soul into another person’s body (thus rendering him virtually immortal), and can resurrect the dead at the cost of a human sacrifice. Orochimaru can also summon snakes, summon giant snakes, lengthen any part of his body, summon Kusanagi swords (which can cut almost anything) out of snakes, steal another person’s face and wear it over his own, and summon demonic looking gates to defend himself. These are all in addition to the basic abilities all ninja possess.
Orochimaru is also extremely intelligent, charming, and a good tactician.
While in his true form, that of a giant white snake composed of many smaller, white snakes, Orochimaru has a few additional abilities. The snakes can all act of their own accord, and any blood spilled vaporizes and acts as a poison capable of hindering enemy movement. He still possesses extraordinary healing powers.
Naturally, with all strengths come weaknesses. He is an extraordinary ninja, but that does not mean he is untouchable.
Weapons:
http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Special:BrowseData/Tools (General list, but some are character specific)
Orochimaru mainly fights using jutsu, snakes, Kusanagi swords, kunai, and his own teeth, tongue, hands, and feet, etc.
His Kusanagi swords usually emerge by a snake coming out of his mouth and then opening its mouth to reveal the sword. This can come out hilt or blade first, as necessitated by the user, and extend to great lengths. If the blade is separated from Orochimaru, he can summon it to him with a gesture. It can also turn into a snake and slither back to him.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History:
Orochimaru is one of the primary antagonists in Naruto, especially so in the first half of the series. A good listing of his history can be found here ( http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Orochimaru ).
Point in Canon: Right after being sealed by Itachi’s Totsuka sword.
Itachi and Sasuke had been fighting an intense battle. Sasuke, depleted of chakra, used his final technique in an effort to kill Itachi and failed because Itachi activated his Susanoo ability (crazy god level offensive and defensive technique). Sasuke attempted to use the curse mark Orochimaru gave him to continue fighting. Because his chakra was so depleted, he was unable to continue repressing Orochimaru, who burst out of Sasuke’s back as a giant snake with eight heads and eight tails. Itachi defeated the snakes and stabbed Orochimaru through with Susanoo’s Totsuka sword when he appeared out of one of the snakes. This sealed all of his body except for one small snake that managed to get away. This snake was burned up by Itachi’s Amaterasu a little while later. It is widely assumed that the snake was Orochimaru escaping and that he was killed. (However, things become complicated when one considers the fact that Orochimaru’s remains which Kabuto implanted in his body are taking him over. But that is from beyond when I am taking Orochimaru.)
Character Personality:
Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. These truths are well known, and Orochimaru is a case study in them. Above all else, Orochimaru desires a complete knowledge of all jutsu in the world. He did not start out in life feeling this way, but developed the desire over time. Losing his parents at a young age left him without that kind of love and guidance. This and his aptitude for learning jutsu, high ambition, lust for power, and his own sadness over the fact human life is so fragile and fleeting led him down an increasingly dark path until eventually he decided he wanted to be the immortal, ‘ultimate being.’
His goal is so extreme that it will take more than one human lifetime to accomplish. Orochimaru betrays Konoha by using its citizens for his own research for this reason. It is unknown when he started his experimentation on humans, but attempting to create a jutsu that would render him immortal through this method is what eventually gets him caught by the third Hokage, his former mentor.
Through his goal and the methods that uses to advance toward it, Orochimaru is shown to be an extremely selfish person. The desire to become the ‘ultimate being’ who knows everything is egotistic by its very nature, yet Orochimaru, who has been hailed as a genius and one of the legendary three, or ‘Sannin,’ does not think it is beyond his capabilities. Further proof of his selfishness is in the fact he does not care about passing on his knowledge. Orochimaru is satisfied with learning everything for himself, until he is finally persuaded to take on a pupil in Mitarashi Anko.
Orochimaru even goes so far as to use Anko as an experiment in the end--one that claimed the lives of the nine other people he used for this purpose. He had no evidence she would survive and did not care either way. Through this, Orochimaru again demonstrates his selfishness as well as his complete disregard for human life, which is a subset of that egotism.
Orochimaru is quite the manipulator. Through his innate (when he chooses to apply it) charm, he is easily able to gather followers. Orochimaru is well aware of the feelings of those who are orphaned or alone and is able to exploit individuals who find themselves in the same situation for this reason. He has a silver tongue, and knows just what to offer each individual to earn his or her loyalty.
There are many who idolize Orochimaru, including some who know of his ambition and still feel the same way. This shows just how adept Orochimaru is at inspiring loyalty in himself even after his selfish goal is revealed. Despite how his followers may feel about him, Orochimaru seldom, if ever, returns those feelings. He views them as experiments, sacrifices, pawns, or simply as a renewable resource like anything else.
Orochimaru does have his favorites. These individuals are usually candidates to be his next ‘vessel,’ so, again, it is actually a form of self-love. Orochimaru trains them to make them strong because he wants the best possible vessels for himself. He corrupts them because he is corrupted and wants to see them ‘painted in his own color.’ Everything is for his own benefit.
In general, Orochimaru prefers prodigies above all others. He looks down on those who do not have extensive, natural-born talent (such as Uzumaki Naruto) and does not consider them worthy of being his immediate underlings.
Orochimaru often casts off those who he has favored for newer, better finds. He demands loyalty, but shows none in return. He is also very perceptive. He knows how his discarded vessels feel and does not hesitate to use those feelings to further his own ambitions. Orochimaru will hold their dream of being one with him just out of reach. Surely if they do this one thing for him, he will reconsider.
This is never the case. Once Orochimaru has moved on, he holds very little interest in whomever or whatever he has discarded. Cast-off vessels merely serve as contingency plans in case something goes wrong with his current favorite.
Having lived through the harsh times of war, Orochimaru is bored by peace. This and the fact that he delights in causing others to fear him shows his sadistic side. Orochimaru demonstrates this during the Chuunin exams when he confronts Sasuke and Sakura and almost immediately terrifies them.
Orochimaru has a creepy way of speaking. He is mockingly polite and although he does not use feminine nouns, he does sprinkle in a few feminine particles and other forms of speech (notably ‘kashira,’ which is the feminine form of ‘I wonder‘). This further demonstrates his sadistic desire to instill fear into others.
Orochimaru is also fond of saying things to make others uncomfortable. This is shown in the encounter he has with Tsunade where he brings up the deaths of her brother and lover in the cruelest of fashions. In this same conversation, Orochimaru claims to hate lying, but this is, again, just another form of manipulation. He has no problem lying to Tsunade later. Thus, it can be determined he is brutally honest with Tsunade both in order to manipulate her into doing what he wants, and because he enjoys making her relive painful memories. This encounter and his behavior toward Mizuki (Orochimaru knowingly gives him a formula that is supposed to bring the user lasting power, but, in fact, is faulty and has devastating effects on the body) and in general reveal him for the troll he is.
Character Plans:
Orochimaru will continue striving for greatness. For this purpose, he will rejoin with SERO--again, not that he will be loyal to them. This will simply be a means to an end. His one burning desire is to learn all there is to know about the world. It used to be he only wanted to know all the jutsu in the Naruto world, but being transported to Siren’s Pull will make him realize there is much, much more to be studied. Orochimaru will throw himself into his work while striving to rebuild his power here. To that end, he will be looking out for children (or possibly older people if he thinks they are worthwhile enough) with unique powers or great potential to ‘turn his color.’ That is, he will be seeking to corrupt those he considers worthy of serving him or becoming his new ‘vessels,’ while instilling in those individuals a deep sense of loyalty to himself. When not out recruiting, he will be conducting experiments and/or attempting to expand his knowledge base through any means possible, unscrupulous or otherwise.
Contingent upon his readmission, I plan for Orochimaru to take up his old spot at SERO almost immediately. Conditional to Eric Northman’s acceptance, Reg and I have discussed the possible sale of vampire blood or ‘V’ with Orochimaru’s backing. Things like that.
Orochimaru’s ‘Living Corpse Reincarnation’ technique ( http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Living_Corpse_Reincarnation ) allows him to take over another person’s body. It can only be performed once every three years. As the end of that time approaches, Orochimaru’s current body will begin to reject him (it is unknown if this is always the case or if it was just the two occasions we are shown in canon). For the purposes of game play, I would like for him to be brought to Siren’s Port in his original body. I intend for him to be on the lookout for new bodies to inhabit, but I don’t want this issue to be an immediate concern (the point from which I am taking him is pretty much his death, so I do not believe it would be that strange for the Core to grant him his original, intact body back).
Appearance/PB:
His usual look:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J9lpdwFj3LU/R06yobUWmlI/AAAAAAAAAEE/h2dhRxY2-rs/s1600/orochimaru.jpg
His true form:
http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/File:Orochimaru%27s_True_Form.PNG
Orochimaru can steal a person’s face and use it as his own, so he can virtually look however he wants in addition to these forms.
Writing Samples
First Person Sample
[As the audio plays, a hissing sound can be heard in the background.]
It was surprised at first, but this is quite the remarkable place. Wouldn’t you agree? I have seen much here--so many exceptional individuals! It is a wonder I did not know about any of this before.
[There is a thump and then the sound of something sliding against the ground.]
I like it here already.
[An ominous sounding laugh can be heard. The audio cuts out before it finishes.]
Third Person Sample
Orochimaru sat up with a gasp. His eyes bulged in their sockets and his limbs shook. Fire. He was on fire. He had been so close. That Itachi… But no, there was no real pain. A headache and some sort of discomfort in his gut, yes, but these were nothing compared to the agony of being consumed by Amaterasu.
As awareness returned to him, Orochimaru’s eyes narrowed. He stood, eyeing his unfamiliar surroundings with distaste. Was he dead? No, the dead did not feel pain. This was something else entirely. He had traveled extensively, but none of this was familiar to him, and the amount of powerful chakras in the area was astounding. Orochimaru had never felt anything like it.
He hissed out a curse, already allowing himself to merge with the ground. Orochimaru halted his movements when he realized something was different from what it should have been. His limbs, his torso…all were familiar to him, but not in the way he had imagined. Orochimaru brought his hand up and studied it, turning it over and over. There was no doubt about it; this was his original body. His eyes widened for the second time as he stared. He did not know how this could have occurred. After a moment of heated contemplation, Orochimaru allowed himself to finish sinking down into the earth.
Whatever had happened, he could not afford to be noticed, not until he had figured out who had done this to him. Orochimaru was the master of many jutsu, far more than most shinobi could imagine, yet he had never even heard of a technique like this. His old body had been discarded years before. It was nothing to him now, no more than a withered husk reminding him of his triumph over time and age--this was one reason why he always kept the hand Itachi had chopped off around. Orochimaru liked being reminded of his victories and this particular failure. Such memories helped him focus on his bright future. So, who could have done this to him? He feared the answer.
Orochimaru allowed himself to be transported out of the abandoned field, assessing the city as he went. As he had thought, the place was unfamiliar to him.
After an initial sweep of the city, Orochimaru ventured out into the water, intending to use the surrounding countryside to determine his whereabouts. It soon became clear that this was not an option. Orochimaru felt compelled to return to the city, and with each movement away, the pain in his body increased. When he reached his limit, Orochimaru fell back, thinking it some sort of illusion technique. It occurred to him he could still be at the Uchiha training grounds under one of Itachi’s illusions. Or perhaps his escape had not been a reality. He could be trapped by the Totsuka at this very moment…
Orochimaru shivered and grit his teeth. He had long searched for that sword--to think it would be used on him instead of by him! He would claim it, but not now. No, a new, stronger vessel would be needed first. Someone better than Itachi and Sasuke combined. He would wait for the Sharingan, wait for a new fledgling to be born. Before all that, he would need to test himself. It had been a while since he had been in this body, after all.