Chapter Text
Jiraiya was the first to wake, but he didn’t open his eyes. He felt a tingling just underneath his skin, not unlike when his chakra surrounds him in battle. The sun feels warm on his skin, rays shining through the leaves of the giant canopy of trees made from the Mokuton of Senju Hashirama. Here, right now, Jiraiya feels an unbelievable peace that he’s almost sure is real. But something kept him from being convinced though. It’s a feeling. Like something isn’t right, that he shouldn’t BE here. It alludes his memory, but he chases it.
He hears a stream nearby.
Water. Something about water. And… a message?
He bolts upright and gasps in air like he’s drowning. Because 5 minutes ago, he WAS drowning. In the sea that surrounds Ame, with metal rods piercing through his body as he closed his eyes to the shimmering blue water. He pats himself everywhere out of instinct. It’s only when he looks down that he notices it.
His hands are small and soft.
These were not the hands he had five minutes ago. Jiraiya gets up and rushes to the stream he heard. What he sees in the reflection does not only confuse the ever living shit out of him, but actually terrifies him.
…
Orochimaru was many things. A missing nin, a snake summoner, a scientist, a sannin, a monster. He was all these things and much more, but the one thing he absolutely, under no circumstance was, is a morning person. He hated waking up more than anything in the world. It was already hard enough to actually get some sleep in, being an insomniac and all, but the whole ordeal was made worse due to Jiraiya’s ungodly screaming.
Before he even opened his golden eyes, the snake sannin got up and was already reaching for where Kusanagi was strapped to his side only for his hand to grip empty air. Confused, but wide awake, he turned towards Jiraiya’s screams.
Wait. That can’t be right. Jiraiya was dead. He was killed by Tendo Pein. So why was he running around screaming about tiny hands?
“Jiraiya, would you please shut the hell up? You’re giving me a headache!”
Orochimaru froze. He knew that voice. But it sounded different, higher in pitch and younger. It was one he hadn’t heard since he was still a teenager. He turned with eyes wide, hand slowly reaching for where he used to keep his kunai when he was young. This had to be a trap. Or a genjutsu of some kind, perhaps the Infinite Tsukuyomi? No, because he wouldn’t have memories of that if it were the case. Well, he might as well just go with the age old question.
“Who are you and where am I?” He said, making sure to point his killing intent straight at the younger version of Tsunade. It would do well to be cautious. She was on the ground, propping herself up on her elbows in the grass, but if memory served, a teenage Tsunade was still a terrifying force of nature.
...
Man, she had a killer hangover. At least that’s what it felt like. She squinted in the sunlight, trying to figure out who was speaking to her. Was that Orochimaru she heard? It kind of sounded like him, but not?
“Orochimaru? Is that you?”
Then the killing intent hit her and she was up on her feet in a flash, fists raised and ready for a fight. As her vision cleared, she saw two things.
1) A fifteen year old Jiraiya was screaming bloody murder in the background.
2) A fifteen year old Orochimaru was holding a kunai to her.
Doing the first thing that popped into her head, she punched Orochimaru into the tree line. It was a low blow really, she knew he could never dodge her sucker punches, even when they became adults, but it was the only thing that popped into her head. Her second thought hit her like a boulder though as her brain caught up to what she saw.
“Jiraiya?” That seemed to get the toad sannin to stop cold in his tracks. He turned to her and his eyes grew wide.
“Tsunade? What’s goin-oof!” He was cut off as she barreled into him, crushing his bones in a great hug.
“I thought you were dead! Why aren’t you dead? And why are you a baby?” She cried out.
“Tsu... you’re crushing me. Can’t... breathe.” She released him and stared, waiting for an answer. Jiraiya wheezed a breath in and rubbed the back of his head in uncertainty.
“Uhhh, I have literally no idea to any of that.” God, she forgot how much of an idiot he was. Tsunade didn’t know what the fuck was going on, but right now, her best friend was here and that’s all that really mattered so she hugged him again. Jiraiya was all too happy to hug her back. They were soon interrupted however as someone cleared their throat.
“How touching. If you're both done making me want to gouge my eyes out, I believe I may have an inkling as to what is happening,” Orochimaru sneered from behind them. Tsunade turned to face her other best friend who was sporting a black eye. And Orochimaru was her best friend, no doubt about it. Throughout the years, she never stopped thinking of him as her friend. The bonds she shared with her team were not so weak as to break that easy. When she found out what he had done to Konoha’s children, she hated him. But a part of her always remembered that it was Oro’s shoulder she cried into at both Nawaki and Dan’s funerals. Hard to believe that the same hands that hugged her were the same ones that murdered innocent children.
“Orochimaru? What the hell is going on? And really, you know better than to hold a kunai to me,” she said with a smug smile. He had his arms crossed and was glaring daggers at her.
“I was being cautious, Tsunade. I didn’t know it was really you, but after that punch I no longer have any doubts. And before I even try to explain anything, I need the both of you to tell me exactly what the last thing you remember is.”
“I was drowning in the waters of Ame, killed by Tendo pein.” Jiraiya said first without hesitation. Even now, in the face of uncertainty, Jiraiya would always take Oro’s lead when crazy shit happened. Tsunade closed her eyes and went next.
“You should know, Orochimaru, you were right next to me. You had Kusanagi drawn and we were about to attack Madara when his Rinnegan activated and I saw this bright white light. Next thing I knew, this idiot was waking me up with his screams.”
“Hey!”
“Shut up, Jiraiya!” Orochimaru hissed. He looked deep in thought, a sour look on his face like he didn’t like what he was hearing.
“Why, what’s the last thing you remember?” Tsunade asked him. The snake sannin gave a sigh and looked her in the eyes with something resembling sorrow.
“I was next to you, Tsunade,” He said quietly. “But I wasn’t fast enough and you were caught in his jutsu. I saw you ripped to shreds in front of me. I charged in and saw the same light. And then I also woke up here.” Orochimaru turned away, not looking at either of them, but his haunted eyes betrayed the blank expression on his face.
“Oro,” she said in a low voice, “Jiraiya was already dead and if we...fell... during that fight, then... does that mean what I think it does?” Rationally, she hoped it wasn’t true, but some part of her thought it wouldn’t be so bad if it was. The world was already destroyed when they left it and everyone they knew was either dead or dying. That last battle was it, the last futile stand of weary shinobi. All their hope was lost when Naruto died and everyone just wanted it to be over, she supposed. At least in paradise they could see lost loved ones again.
“I sincerely hope not,” spat Orochimaru. “If this is the afterlife, I’d say I made the right decision to pursue immortality.”
“Only you could complain about paradise,” Jiraiya muttered.
“Shut up, the both of you. If we really are dead, then why are we 15 again? I personally don’t want to spend eternity like this.” Tsunade gestured to herself, clearly not happy with her previous body image.
“Ha ha, Tsunade has a flat chest again!” Jiraiya laughed. She punched him into the ground on principle.
It was then that they heard a rustling near them. Kunai and shuriken were drawn in an instant, all three ready for a battle. It seemed their adult senses were still intact despite the sudden de-aging.
A voice rang out and the sannin were once again stunned into silence.
“You know, I'd thought that, being ninja and all, you’d know how to stay quiet on missions.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, stepped into the clearing glaring at his three young students. He was young as well, no wrinkles to be seen, nor the weariness that always seemed to follow him in his later years.
“What the fuck?” Leave it to Jiraiya to ask the important questions.
...
“That’s language unbecoming of a shinobi, Jiraiya. And what’s with the sudden hostility?” Sarutobi looked at each of his students, noting their tense postures. It was like they were ready for a fight. “The mission’s over remember? And at the rate we’re going, we’ll be home by mid afternoon.”
Sarutobi would be lying if he said he wasn’t confused or slightly concerned, but he decided not to press them. The past few days had been hard on them, what with the Suna nin tailing them from Kiri the whole time. Still, the mission to retrieve a hidden scroll was a success and he was proud of his students. Sarutobi decided to leave them be for just a bit longer, it was still early and they were making good time.
“Listen, those Suna nin were tough bastards to deal with, but we have the scroll now, so no need to be so on edge. Why don’t you all pack up, eh? We’ll leave in 30 minutes.” With that he leapt up and disappeared into the trees. He told himself that it was probably just their nerves. They were still just kids after all, and he’d like to keep it that way for as long as he possibly could. Still, something in the back of his mind whispered that something that wasn’t quite right.
…
“What the fuck just happened?” Jiraiya asked again. Orochimaru blinked once before speaking.
“We’re not dead.”
Tsunade looked at him. “Why do you say that? Last I remember, you killed Sarutobi Sensei, so why’s it a stretch that he’s here too?”
“Don’t you two ever pay attention?” Orochimaru snarled.
Jiraiya and Tsunade looked at each other before glaring back at him.
“I’m serious!” He cried. “Don’t you two remember this day?” Tsunade tilted her head.
“What day?”
“The Hidden Scroll mission. The one where Sarutobi took the mission with us and those Suna nin tailed us for three days when we were teenagers?” Realization dawned on Tsunade’s face.
“Oh my god, he’s right. Sensei was on lookout while we were sleeping. And after that we were ambushed on the way to Konoha.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Jiraiya said, waving his hands for their attention. “What are you two implying?” Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.
“Time travel, Jiraiya. I don’t know how, but we time traveled back to our younger selves.”
The toad sannin was silent for just a moment before bursting out into laughter. He laughed so hard he almost started crying. It wasn’t until Tsunade hit him that he stopped and saw their serious expressions.
“Oh my god, you’re serious. Orochimaru, that’s not possible, time travel isn’t real!”
“Then how do you explain all this?” Orochimaru hissed. “What other explanation could there be that we have memories of another life? That Sarutobi is alive and young? Not to mention, I don’t possess Kusanagi. I tried summoning it earlier, but I didn’t find it until I was 25.”
Tsunade bit her lip thinking. “Well, it could be that we simply fell into a version of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. It seems like a stretch, but it’s possible.”
“I thought so at first too, but it wouldn’t make sense if all three of us were having the same dream. Not to mention, I know for a fact that this is not what I would be seeing if it were the case.”
“What’s an Infinite Tsukuyomi?”
Orochimaru and Tsunade looked at their old/current teammate.
“Oh my god,” Tsunade exclaimed. “You don’t know about Madara or the war.”
“Madara? As in Uchiha Madara? What’s he got to do with any of this? Hasn’t he been dead for decades?” Jiraiaya looked between Orochimaru and Tsunade, but neither were answering him. Orchimaru flat out ignored him and continued with his theory.
“It has to be time travel. There is simply no other explanation. The most pressing issue that comes to mind is how and why? What brought us here and why are we simply not dead?”
Tsunade snorted.
“That sounds like a you problem, Orochimaru.” Her eyes suddenly became saucers. “Wait, I'm 15 again. If we’re this far back, then that means… We have to get back to Konoha right now!”
“What? Wait, go back to the Madara thing. What’s this about a war? Tsu, what happened after I died, did you defeat Pein? Is Naruto alright?”
“Jiraiya I swear I will explain everything later, but we really gotta get back. The Scroll mission was a month before Nawaki’s 12th birthday, if we’re back in time, he’s still alive!”
“Then, does this mean we can do it over?” Jiraiya furrowed his brows in thought and then smiled brightly at Tsunade. “This is a second chance. We can fix things!”
“Hold it!” Orochimaru cried. “We still don’t know what’s going on for certain. For all we know, we could be in a trap, or this could somehow ruin the space time continuum, there’s been no real research on this, nothing but myths, what if we throw reality into chaos? We just don-” He was cut off as Jiraiya punched him in the arm. The missing nin’s glare was enough to scare seasoned ANBU members. Jiraiya just rolled his eyes.
“Will you shut up, it doesn’t always have to be that complicated you know. Maybe this really is a second chance for us. Reincarnation and all that.”
Tsunade nodded in agreement. She put a hand on Orochimaru’s shoulder.
“Didn’t you say to me once that people change or they die before they can? What if we get a do over? Don't you want to take that chance, Oro? To make better choices and do things differently?” It didn’t slip past him how she used his childhood nickname. He closed his eyes. She was right of course, he had changed. Not by much mind you, but it was there. He no longer yearned to unravel the secrets of the universe, not when the universe was constantly punishing him for it. And really, what was the point of immortality, if there was no world to live in? Maybe they were right. If he could do it all over again, would he do things differently though? Would he want to, knowing how things played out the first time around? Thinking on it, he realized he had far too many regrets to mess this up a second time. What was the harm in trying anyway? He’d already ‘died’ a handful of times and he was not eager to do it again. Besides, if this was some form of reincarnation, who was he to question the universe?
“Fine. But first things first, we can’t let anyone know we come from the future. There would be too much scrutiny and with war going on, we don’t need any distractions. We play our part and change what we can, but nothing more, lest we create something we have no control over. We have the power of knowledge now and nothing can stop us unless we let it. Tsunade? I believe we owe Jiraiya an explanation.”
“Right.”
And so Tsunade explained what happened after Jiraiya never came back from Ame. Naruto defeated Pein and managed to deal a blow to the Akatsuki, then Madara was revealed to be the one in control of the Akatsuki, the Kage summit happened, the whole Uchiha Sasuke ordeal, the beginning of the war, the ten tails, how far Naruto had come and how awful it was when he died. Eventually they finished with the apparent death of her and Orochimaru on the final battlefield where all hope was lost. Orochimaru supplied more info when he could give it, but as they cleared up their small camp, Jiraiya was all caught up.
“Damn, all that actually happened? Kind of glad I went out when I did.” He shrugged on his pack and walked with Tsunade to the edge of the clearing to wait for their Sensei.
“Yeah, me too,” she said. “Oh but you would have been so proud of Naruto. I know I am.” Tsunade gave a sad smile. She couldn’t wait to see him again in the (Future? Past??).
Jiraiya heaved a great sigh. “I’m glad my death wasn’t too hard on him. He’s one hell of a shinobi. Or he will be anyway. But first we have to destroy the gedo statue and kill Madara right? That way, none of this ever has the chance to start.” The two joined Orochimaru who was already at the edge of the clearing.
“That does sound like something we should do before anything else,” he said. “But we’d need a timeframe where we’re not otherwise preoccupied to do it. In this time, we’re at war, and if I remember things right, we’re due to be deployed to the front lines in a few months.”
“Oh right, I forgot about that.” Jiraiya shrugged. “Well, I guess we’re just gonna have to play it out, yeah? At least for now anyway.” Tsunade tensed as she sensed their former/current teacher’s chakra nearby.
“Quiet, Sensei’s coming back!” she hissed. They quickly stopped talking and waited for him to drop down to them. A few moments he dropped in from a low branch.
“All set?” The Sandaime asked. They nodded their answers and then they were off, rushing through the trees towards Konoha. It wasn’t long until they came across the ambush. With more than 40 years of experience, the teenage sannin made quick work of the Suna nin as they settled into the familiar rhythm of teamwork. It was like the last 30 odd years melted away and they really were 15 again. Tsunade was glad for it because she missed her boys and this was just another reason to change the future. They were a team and she would not let them be broken up again. Not when she knew how much it hurt to be apart from them.
It was a bit tricky, trying not to use their preferred attacks, but doing so would only tip off Sarutobi-Sensei that something wasn’t right with their skill level. Orochimaru sighed as he used his kunai to slice open a Suna nin’s throat. He really missed Kusanagi. Idly, he realized that he also didn’t have his summoning tattoos anymore. That was something he wasn’t looking forward to. Summoning tattoos were complex contracts and didn’t just mark the skin, it marked the soul itself. Needless to say, it’s a very painful process. He remembers his 18th Birthday when he got them and in all honesty, there was no way he could have done it without Tsunade holding his hand the entire time.
Orochimaru dodged a fireball and hurled a few shuriken at the ninja that was about to take Jiraiya’s head off.
“Thanks!” Jiraiya called out, but Orochimaru was too busy blocking flames with a wind jutsu to reply. The fireball that was headed towards him switched direction and engulfed the Suna nin. Tsunade grabbed the back of Orochimaru’s flack jacket and pulled him from a hail of shuriken that were about to rip him to shreds.
“Three o’ clock,” she said, as she put her back to his. He immediately threw a kunai at his three and the shinobi fell to the ground with a scream followed by a loud thump. And just like that it was over. Sarutobi retracted his fuma shuriken and looked at the carnage around them.
“Well done, you three. Though I have to say, Orochimaru, you’re usually more aware of your surroundings.” Sarutobi looked to the snake sannin who only narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.
“I would have been, if Jiraiya ever bothered to look behind him once in a while.”
“Hey,” Jiraiya butt in. “I knew he was there, I was finishing off that other guy in front of me!” Orochimaru rolled his eyes.
“Then next time get on with it, so I don’t have to think about you instead of me.”
“Aw, you think about me?” the white haired boy teased. Orochimaru growled and was about to launch himself at Jiraiya when Tsunade hit both of them over the head.
“Will you two stop it already! We’re almost to Konoha and you both know how much I want to be home right now.” The look she gave them was enough to drain the color from their faces. The two quickly got up and gathered their packs.
“We’re ready, Sensei!” Jiraiya yelled a bit too desperately. Sarutobi was honestly too tired to deal with any of his students’ bullshit so he just nodded and headed into the trees. Ugh teenagers.