The Joy of Waiting for the Wind

This newly arrived guest was Orochimaru from the world of "Naruto".

One of Konoha's Legendary Sannin.

Possessing near-immortal abilities!

He was a guest randomly invited by the tavern daily, not belonging to the "pervert" group. Although he and Jiraiya came from the same world, what puzzled Ron was that they did not come from the same timeline. This situation had never occurred before.

At this moment, Orochimaru immediately understood everything after hearing Jiraiya speak.

This was... Jiraiya from many years ago, before he sneaked into the Hidden Rain Village!

Right after, Orochimaru slowly approached and reached out to pinch Jiraiya's cheek.

"Ouch... What are you doing?!" Jiraiya cried out in slight pain.

"I just wanted to confirm if you were dead, or if my eyes were playing tricks on me," Orochimaru said with a laugh.

"Then why didn't you pinch your own face?"

"Because it hurts."

"You..."

Jiraiya was about to lose his temper, but then lowered his head and quietly drank his sake. There was something very off about this Orochimaru. Not only did his appearance seem more feminine, but his actions... were also somewhat strangely indescribable. He had become playful, much like Jiraiya himself.

"Smile a bit. Aren't you happy to see me? You weren't like this before," Orochimaru nudged Jiraiya gently.

But Jiraiya ignored him and continued drinking, seemingly lost in thought.

"Can you pay some attention to me? Otherwise... I'll turn into a snake, bind you, crawl in through your mouth, and take over your body!"

Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue, his neck suddenly extending half a meter as he made a grimace.

Seeing this, not only Jiraiya but also the people around didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This person looked refined and handsome, but turned out to be quite a prankster...

"Alright, alright. You'll scare the kids doing that," Jiraiya sighed with a bitter smile.

"That's more like it~" Orochimaru smiled, sat down, and put his arm around Jiraiya's shoulder.

At this moment, the tavern door was suddenly pushed open. Rayleigh walked in, chest puffed out despite his pale face. It was obvious he had won by sheer volume last night. Men are like that sometimes; if duration isn't enough, they have to make up for it with frequency.

Walking over to sit at the bar, Rayleigh saw Orochimaru's new face and asked with a laugh:
"Jiraiya, is this your wife? She looks quite pretty~~ Could some plots in Make-Out Paradise be inspired by her? Tsk tsk tsk... As expected, stories often stem from real life."

Jiraiya was startled and was about to explain, but Orochimaru beat him to it.

Orochimaru pinched his throat, letting out a soft, characteristically feminine voice:
"Sir, you have a sharp eye. We've been married for many years~"

Jiraiya was stunned for a moment, then spat a mouthful of sake directly into Orochimaru's face.

"Pfft!"

Orochimaru wiped the sake off his face with his sleeve and said with a smile:
"You weren't like this before."

Jiraiya frowned slightly and said calmly:
"Who on earth are you? The Orochimaru I know isn't like this!"

The Orochimaru in his memory was an absolutely rational, cold-hearted person. He would absolutely never make such jokes!

Seeing Jiraiya's tone was off, Orochimaru let go of him and began to ponder how to answer. Telling him he was the Orochimaru from years after Jiraiya's death was obviously inappropriate. Saying he was the Orochimaru from Jiraiya's current timeline didn't align either.

After a moment of contemplation, Orochimaru slowly said, "Whether I am myself or not, you should know best in your heart. Originally, I wanted to be the wind that turns the windmill. But now... I want to enjoy the pleasure of waiting for another wind to blow. I am still me, the Orochimaru you know, it's just that time changes a person."

Hearing this, Jiraiya looked at his long-time friend in disbelief. These words didn't sound like something he would say at all!

...

Suddenly, Jiraiya recalled Ron's previous hint that he would die in the future. And just now, when Orochimaru entered, he also asked, "Are you still alive?"

If that was the case... was the Orochimaru before him from the future?

Though this was a bold guess, it was the only way to explain everything logically.

Thinking of this, Jiraiya dropped his serious expression and asked with a smile:
"You're from the future, aren't you?"

Orochimaru hearing this, his heart sank, and he immediately fell silent. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer, but he was afraid that after answering, Jiraiya would ask about his own fate...

"Haha. I know what you're afraid of. No need to worry. I won't ask what shouldn't be asked," Jiraiya said calmly, taking a sip of sake.

"What do you want to know?" Orochimaru asked softly.

"Why did you change so much?"

Orochimaru pondered for a moment and then slowly said:
"Years after you... that is, after I was resurrected, I understood a truth. That is the power of believing in others! An individual's strength ultimately has limits. Even with the help of science, even if I achieved immortality, I couldn't surpass the limits of a single person. So I began to believe in Sasuke, doing everything I could to help him, wanting to see how far we could go together."

Even someone as strong as Madara, who wanted to change the world alone, was ultimately defeated by the world. Someone as smart as Itachi, who wanted to shoulder the darkness alone, only caused Sasuke to fall into deeper darkness. When I was resurrected and understood the whole truth, I also understood the true meaning of the Will of Fire, which is to believe in the strength of others!

"So that's how it is. Then what about Naruto? Did he become Hokage in the future?" Jiraiya asked curiously, taking a sip of sake.

"Yeah... Though, after everything settled down, before becoming Hokage, he still had to take the Chunin Exams," Orochimaru said, pinching the bridge of his nose with a helpless expression.

"Hahaha, that's just like that kid," Jiraiya laughed heartily, patting Orochimaru's shoulder as a tear quietly rolled down from the corner of his eye.

He finally saw his friend return to Konoha, even if it was many years later. He also knew his disciple would become Hokage, even if he couldn't witness it with his own eyes.

But... at least it made up for some of the regrets in his heart.

Orochimaru understood the regret in Jiraiya's heart and said softly:
"We cannot change the future or the past. Just like the three of us in the past, out of ten things, eight or nine would go wrong. It can't be perfect forever; there will always be deviations somewhere. That is the meaning of life. Just like you going out and seeing a flower, while I, Naruto, and Tsunade met you."