Naruto: Reborn As Orochimaru

As an adult soul in a teenager's body, Orochimaru's actions and mannerisms naturally mirrored the cold, calculating figure he would one day become.

Hearing the thinly veiled threat in Orochimaru's voice, the village chief, Moriyama Yu, quickly raised his hand, signaling his subordinate to step back. The Grass ninja hesitated but followed orders. Despite not understanding why his leader was so deferential toward this young man, as a ninja, he knew better than to question orders. Though clearly displeased, he withdrew without further resistance.

"Mr. White Snake, surely we can negotiate the price a little more?" Moriyama Yu asked, trying to keep his tone diplomatic.

Orochimaru didn't even bother turning around. "Do you really think 500,000 ryo is too much to save a life?" His voice was low, filled with thinly veiled disdain, making it clear he had no intention of haggling. 

His meaning was obvious: Take it or leave it.

Moriyama Yu swallowed his frustration and pressed on. "But can you guarantee that every dose of the potion will be as effective as you claim?"

Orochimaru finally turned, his golden eyes locking onto the village chief. "Do you think I'd waste my time trying to cheat you out of a few million ryo? Do you take us for fools?" His voice, dripping with sarcasm, made Moriyama Yu flinch slightly.

The village chief knew he was in no position to argue. A year ago, this mysterious "White Snake" had appeared out of nowhere, claiming to belong to a powerful organization and offering them a miraculous healing potion for 500,000 ryo per vial. The potion, he promised, could pull a ninja back from the brink of death in less than three minutes. 

At first, no one believed him. Such rapid healing was unheard of, even in the most advanced medical circles. But before leaving, Orochimaru had left a single vial behind, free of charge, and instructed them to test it on a seriously wounded ninja. 

Skeptical but curious, they eventually tried it on a nearly dead ninja. The results had been nothing short of astonishing. Within minutes, the injured man had recovered to the point where he could stand on his own. Since then, they had been waiting for White Snake's return, knowing that this potion could be a game-changer for their struggling village.

Moriyama Yu weighed his options. He could try to negotiate further, but he knew deep down this would only delay what needed to be done. "Fine," he said at last, "I'll take one hundred vials to start. What's the process?"

Orochimaru smirked, an amused glint in his eyes. "One hundred?" he said, his voice mocking. "I think you overestimate your resources."

"What do you mean?"

"This medicine is extremely rare and difficult to produce. I can only offer you forty vials at the moment. That's all I have."

Moriyama Yu paused, then nodded reluctantly. "Forty, then. I'll take them."

"Good," Orochimaru said smoothly. "Follow me."

"Follow you?" Moriyama Yu raised an eyebrow. "You don't have it with you?"

"Of course not," Orochimaru replied with a sly smile. "This is your village, after all. If you decide to kill me and take the medicine, what then?"

Moriyama Yu chuckled. "Kill you and take the goods? With your strength, I doubt you'd be so easily robbed."

"Still," Orochimaru said, "better to be cautious."

The two men exchanged knowing smiles. While the conversation remained light, the unspoken tension hung between them. Moriyama had indeed considered killing Orochimaru and taking the medicine for himself. After all, this was a foreigner with no ties to the village. In theory, they could kill him, take what they wanted, and no one would ever be the wiser.

But there was always a risk. If Orochimaru truly was as powerful as he seemed and he'd already proven that much during his last visit attacking him would be a costly mistake. Worse still, if the organization he claimed to represent was real, any act of aggression could lead to dire consequences for the entire village. 

In the end, it wasn't worth the risk.

"Prepare the money," Orochimaru said as he turned to leave.

"Make sure everything is ready," Moriyama Yu instructed his subordinates, turning back to his men.

One of the Grass ninjas, the same one who had tried to stop Orochimaru earlier, leaned in closer and whispered, "Are we really going to pay him? Couldn't we just… handle this another way?"

Moriyama Yu glanced at him, understanding the implication immediately. "Twenty million ryo is a small price to pay," he said calmly. "It's not worth making an enemy out of someone like him."

"Someone like him?" The Grass ninja was confused. "How strong could he be? Surely some of our jounin could handle him, right?"

Moriyama chuckled at the naivety of his subordinate. "You weren't here a year ago, so you don't understand. That man he took down seven of our best ninjas by himself."

The Grass ninja's eyes widened in disbelief. "Seven? That's impressive, but not impossible. Some of our stronger jounin could handle that, couldn't they?"

"Perhaps," Moriyama said, placing a hand on his subordinate's shoulder. "But what if I told you one of those seven was your older brother?"

The Grass ninja fell silent, the weight of those words sinking in. His brother was one of the strongest fighters in the village. If this "White Snake" had taken him down along with six others, then this stranger was not someone to be trifled with.

Moriyama patted his shoulder once more and left the room, his thoughts already returning to the next steps in their delicate dealings with the mysterious White Snake.