Is the one Orochimaru listening to... later Danzo? or is someone like Danzo?

Anyway this was still fun to read while it lasted Though I AM readin it 15 years after its written I know now fully that it can never go any further, like many fics. It was really good to read tho

Tsunade isn;t someone weak that needs protection but... Jiraya's display with that whole blood promise thing was SO him,

Since this fic is so old, i guess it wouldn't have been revealed that literally all of tsunade's family except for Nawaki had long died, except Mito Uzumaki, who was the only one of them to live till old age. SO she;d be the only lady at the Senju complex, save for servants. So, i am going to pretend that iwts the random servants that don;t like Orochimaru hehehe and not her parent. Because they;d have been dead

I guess... For the sake of this I shall swallow Sakumo being his younger brother.
I just looked at the date this fic was published in 2005... that's like.. that's like 15 years ago

OKay since you asked.

Jiraya commented on Tsunade's mother. At this point in time, Tsunade's parents had died. They had both died when Nawaki was probably a few years old. Her grad father and grand uncles died when she was around 5-6. Sarutobi was named Hokage and they all graduated and became a TEAM when they were like 6-7 because that is when Orochimaru became a CHUNIN so i am goin to assume that Tsunade did as well. At 14, the three of them are Jonin at best.

Secondly, I don't understand Orochimaru's withdrawal. Is it because he thinks he was being weak? by having to need them in a state of war?

Thirdly, there is NO WAY an enemy could have attacked Konoha point blank. Tht is the stupidest thing an enemy could have done because literally ninjas are present in the village and the neemy would be at a disadvantage... that is why wars are fought in random terrains in the area or vicinity.

You are such a good writer if you had been smart about some of the details, this would have been even better!

Wow okay. Firstly, yes, I do also believe Orochimaru wasn't always evil and he didn't just wake up and decided that he wanted to kidnap children and experiment and torment them and just be really vicious. I believe part of why his betrayal later on hurt so much was because he had been a kind boy that his sensei had loved, adored and raised. A genius. An apple of a pupil. That he had been a patient friend, always interested in whatever knowledge tsunade had to impart and always siding with her against Jiraya's nonsense and having a shared interest in wisdom life has to offer in general, which is why she had regarded him with such respect. He HAD been head strong and devoted and talented, which is why Jiraya could latch onto him and they could use each other as foils and be each others' competition and also participated in little pranks.

And also because in the anime there is a flashback when Dan dies, and Orochimaru watches Tsunade wailing and crying and screaming and shouting like the world around her has fallen- it's raiining but he sees her, and he CRIES. HE FREAKING CRIES.

(it is such a contrast to the scene where Nawaki dies, i almost can't believe it and dn't believe it that he would have delivered the news to tsunade so cruelly but maybe he had to. For his own sanity.

I believe truly it was the war that wrought his genius minds into being so obsessed with learning the ways of immortality

THTA ASIDE. woah. YOUR WRITING? AMAZING, TALENTED JUST BEYOND WORDS. Your characterization? I'd say on point. Orochimaru is pretty difficult to write down and there are so many different versions of him I have read but whenever a version is written really nice, it sticks with me. This one did. Especially the scene of him laughing and crying hysterically as tsunade tries to collect whatever pieces of him are left.

They're so young. they're only 14. it is so sad.

Please update this story soon

Great story please continue writing it soon

Wow. This story is beautiful. It started off slow, but the characters and the relationships re so well-written that I was sucked in. The changes Oorichimaru is going through are so subtle and so intriguing. He is complex and fascinating. His relationships with Tsunade and Jiraya are so different but so complete. This is well worth the read. Thank you.

This will likely never be updated again, and so, though I'd like to keep reading, I can already tell if I do so, I'll get angry at you for not continuing.
This is an amazing story, and already I can tell you'll be delving into so many layers of each of the Sannin's personalities that... yeah.
I think I've strangely fallen in love with Orochimaru at this point.
...
Dang.

-Rayne

I feel silly for putting this story on the follow, since I see it hasn't and probably won't be updated in the near future (if at all), but I don't feel any hesitation whatsoever for putting it in my favourites, because that is doubtlessly its rightful place.

It's such a rare occurrence to find a magnificent story, with such a brilliant style as yours, balanced out with both intricate plot and psychological character development, and to top-it-all-off about my loved Sannin trio. From Orochimaru, who had become my favourite character overnight after I wrote him in my own story, over Jiraiya's strange firmness, to Tsunade's awe-some portrayal, everybody is well-analyzed and given more layers than have ever been depicted in the original story, which I'm grateful for- you've really used the potential in their character to its max. I'm impressed. Can't tell you in what a trance reading this story has put me in.

Overall, I just wanted you to know that something that you wrote a gazillion years ago is still read with much enjoyment to today (which stands to evidence to its quality) Maybe one day, you'll give us at least a glimpse of part 2? If nothing, in form of left-over half-finished, scribbled drabbles and cutscenes. That would make me very, very happy. ;)
Hope you're doing well in life,
LovelyWeather

So I think it's pretty obvious that you're not going to continue this story and that is A DAMN SHAME BECAUSE IT IS PHENOMENAL ON SO MANY LEVELS. I recently became interested in Orochimaru because of my interest in Sasori, and we don't get anything in canon on their time spent as partners in Akatsuki. So I wanted to find something revealing about their past together (or separately leading up to Akatsuki and why they joined) and I stumbled upon this amazing piece... God there is just nothing bad I can say about it (because minor typos here and there are never a make it or break it deal when the fic is fantastic). So I'm just going to gush about what I loved.

First, I just love the voice you use for Orochimaru. I 100% agree with your assessment that he is not simply a two-dimensional villain (what villain or hero ever is?). But the beauty in this fic is that we are shown why he wasn't born a villain. There's clearly a reason for his behavior and it seems to tie back to the brutal murder of his parents. He used to be hopeful about his teammates and want to protect them, but after his family's murder he changed on a fundamental level.

I love how Jiraiya is so stubborn with him. A couple of times I found myself wondering, "Is Jiraiya really too blind to see that Orochimaru is changing for the worst?" But then I have to remember that this was before the experiments, before the betrayal, before everything. Jiraiya and Tsunade would not believe that their precious teammate is slowly becoming someone else, and they certainly would not believe that he would ever turn on them. Reminds me of Naruto and Sakura's insistence on bringing Sasuke back to Konoha. It really fits, and that's a hard thing to portray.

I think my favorite part about your characterization of Orochimaru is that he doesn't understand what's happening to himself. He doesn't know why he mutilated that Cloud nin's face (that part was so epic, btw). He seems to know this isn't how a normal person would behave, but he can neither fully comprehend it nor stop himself. Sometimes we see the part of him that still clings to his teammates, like when he offered Tsunade his chakra to heal Jiraiya or when he promised Jiraiya he would protect Tsunade. Sometimes he even feels a little guilty about his callous behavior. I really love those subtle struggles because it makes you sympathize with and understand his character on a fundamentally human level.

The part where he and Tsunade kiss is totally disturbing and filled with blood imagery. It gave me chills!

Anyway, I could go on and on about how much I love this but I won't bore you with my raving. I'm a little sad that this story seems to have been abandoned, but I'm glad I got the chance to read what was posted. So thanks for writing! You picked a hard character to write and you executed it beautifully. Definitely adding this to my faves.

Sorry this is continued on from my other review (from Chapter 6)! Just wanted to add that I like the whole almost romance (?) between Tsunade and Orochimaru. It's an interesting idea, and you've portrayed it well. Also ignore my last comment, because the review was actually rather short, but it looked long when I was writing it 0_o

What an insanely beautifully twisted story (I mean that in the best possible way). I've always believed that there was more to Orochimaru, and this story... just wow.

The writing style is amazing, every character is just perfectly personified, and I haven't caught any errors :)

Parts of this story made me want to cry, mainly the end of the 1st chapter. I don't think you were trying to get that reaction, I'm just a bit special like that XD

Again, what an amazing story! Sorry for the super long review, it's probably the longest one I've ever written. Can't wait fr more!

This was really interesting! You did a really good job! I must admit, it sparked some hope within me for romance between Orochimaru and Tsunade; maybe I will search for a story on the pairing~ too bad Orochi is evil; I think he would be quite cute if he wasn't. Thanks for the great fanfic, and your time! :]