"Orochimaru! Why are you out here so late at night when you can't sleep?"
Jiraiya walked over, hands in his pockets, squinting at the pale figure standing beneath the dim park lamp. Orochimaru's golden eyes shifted toward him, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
"Is the old man looking for you to reminisce about old times?" Orochimaru asked calmly.
Jiraiya snorted, jabbing a thumb at Orochimaru accusingly. "You're following us! Seriously, you already saw us—why didn't you come out so we could talk together?"
Orochimaru's smile widened just a little, but he said nothing.
Jiraiya moved closer, wearing that half-annoyed, half-amused smile of his. "What's wrong? Afraid he'll scold you? Don't worry. The old man won't scold you. Even though you killed him back then, he still forgives you in his heart."
Jiraiya sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "He even blames himself for not guiding you properly… says that if he'd educated you better, you wouldn't have strayed down the wrong path."
Then Jiraiya pressed the back of his hand to his forehead in fake sorrow. "I still can't believe it. Even now, he says he's proud of you and thinks you're his most talented student. I swear, the old man must be blind!"
The expression on his face clearly said: Come on, Orochimaru. Go talk to him. He won't chew you out. You two can finally untie that damn knot.
Orochimaru chuckled softly. "Hahaha… Jiraiya, I know exactly what you're trying to say. I'll talk to him eventually. You don't need to worry about that. As for tonight, I only came to find you."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Me? What do you want to talk about?"
"Walk with me," Orochimaru said. "We'll talk on the way."
Jiraiya groaned. "The old man says I'm like him, but honestly, you're the one most like him. Both of you love walking and talking at the same time!"
Orochimaru ignored the complaint and led Jiraiya toward the park path, their footsteps echoing softly across the quiet grounds.
As they walked, Orochimaru spoke first. "Jiraiya… I know that ever since I defected, you've taken part of the responsibility onto yourself—just like the old man did. You blame yourself for not stopping me."
He glanced sideways at Jiraiya. "Even when the old man died by my hands, you regretted not being in the village, didn't you?"
Jiraiya fell silent, and his silence was enough of an answer.
Orochimaru continued, voice low but steady. "I've always known that you considered me a close friend. And you've always wondered why we—three senior students who grew up together—ended up like this."
Jiraiya nodded slowly. "Yeah… Orochimaru, you always liked research, science, inventing new techniques. I understand that. Tobirama created countless jutsu too. But your obsession… your behavior… the way you treated the village—it made me uneasy. It made all of us uneasy."
Orochimaru gave a faint laugh. "I understand. You and Tsunade, and most of the village, think of the village as something precious—worth more than life. But I was different."
His eyes dimmed slightly.
"I understood the fragility of life. Especially when Tsunade's younger brother, Nawaki, died right in front of me. Life… it disappears in an instant."
He exhaled quietly. "I didn't want to live such a fleeting existence. I wanted to live long enough to discover every truth the world had to offer."
"So I began my research. And yes, I took detours—some dark, some cruel. I admit that openly."
Jiraiya listened calmly, letting Orochimaru continue.
"But then… I met Naruto." Orochimaru's lips curved upward with genuine amusement. "Naruto is extraordinary. Truly extraordinary. You've raised a remarkable student. He taught me something simple yet profound—there are too many truths in this world, and you can't chase them all."
"There are countless truths in nature. A single lifetime, even an extended one, is too short. And creating your own wind… that cost is too high. So why not ride the wind that already exists?"
Orochimaru smiled at Jiraiya. "To me, Naruto became that wind. So I chose to rise with him—let his wind carry me."
Jiraiya smirked. "And? How's the ride?"
"It's… wonderful," Orochimaru admitted softly.
Jiraiya burst out laughing. "Looks like Naruto coming back has changed quite a lot!"
Orochimaru nodded. "It has."
Jiraiya stretched his arms behind his head. "You, me, Tsunade—we're the old era now. The new generation's Sannin—Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura—those kids will be the pillars of Konoha's future."
Orochimaru considered this. "Sakura isn't nearly as physically strong as Tsunade. She has her monstrous strength, yes, but she lacks Tsunade's raw physical capability. After all, Tsunade is Hashirama's granddaughter."
Jiraiya nodded knowingly.
At Tsunade's age, she could have been a grandmother, yet her skin still looked smooth, soft, and flawless. Jiraiya discovered that quite directly when he and Tsunade officially became intimate for the first time.
Orochimaru continued with a mischievous tone, "Let me congratulate you in advance. As your friend, I'm glad you finally got what you wanted—you're marrying Tsunade."
Jiraiya puffed out his chest proudly. "Damn right. You're the one who has seen my entire struggle."
Orochimaru rolled his eyes. "I remember that one night. You asked me to pretend to be a bandit who ambushed Tsunade, hoping you'd swoop in, save her, and impress her."
He shook his head. "She nearly beat me to death."
Jiraiya let out a nostalgic laugh. "We were kids then… you always helped me with my stupid ideas."
Orochimaru continued, voice dry. "And every time you called me out, I thought you wanted to discuss something important. Instead, you dragged me to peek at girls bathing. And I actually believed you."
Jiraiya smirked. "Well, you still followed me, didn't you?"
"I left," Orochimaru insisted. "You were the only one who stayed there watching."
Jiraiya gave a dreamy sigh. "That era was something else. Peeking was so easy back then. Now, with our identities? Impossible. No opportunities at all!"
Orochimaru placed a hand on Jiraiya's shoulder. "After marrying Tsunade, stop thinking about things like that. Be a man and protect her."
They reached the center of the park, where an artificial lake reflected the glowing village lanterns.
"Life is unpredictable," Orochimaru murmured. "In the blink of an eye, you're marrying Tsunade. Honestly… it makes me feel a bit melancholic."
Jiraiya groaned. "Can you stop acting like me? You're getting more and more like me every day!"
Orochimaru looked at him closely.
Naruto once told him that in the previous timeline, Jiraiya died at the hands of Pain. And after the war… after all the revelations… Orochimaru realized he had slowly drifted away from his old self and closer to Jiraiya.
The more a person hates something, the more likely they are to become it.
He once hated Jiraiya's nagging, his perverted antics, his constant lecturing. He even wanted to kill Jiraiya at times—but something always interfered.
Yet now, with Naruto's rebirth, everything changed. Orochimaru found himself caring about the village, fighting to protect it, making choices that old Orochimaru never would.
He finally understood Jiraiya's words:
"We are shinobi. We fight to protect our village."
Those words had always been there. Only now did he grasp their meaning.
Jiraiya suddenly broke the quiet. "Orochimaru. Let's go drink."
Orochimaru blinked. "Drink?"
"I know you don't like drinking," Jiraiya said, grinning. "But I'm getting married tomorrow. Have a bachelor's night out with me."
Orochimaru exhaled in defeat. "Fine."
Jiraiya threw an arm around his shoulders. "Let's go!"
They headed to a small bar, ordered a few bottles of sake, and settled at a table. Jiraiya raised his glass.
"Orochimaru… we haven't drunk together in ages. Tonight, let's celebrate our friendship."
Orochimaru stared at him. Something warm flickered in his chest.
He lifted his glass. "Jiraiya… cheers."
Jiraiya laughed. "You really are becoming more and more like me."
Orochimaru didn't argue. He only raised his glass quietly.
He had never been a man of many words. His silence was his sincerity.
The two lifelong rivals—two broken, mended bonds—drank together deep into the night.
And for the first time in decades, their friendship felt whole again.
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