After all, it wasn't the original body of his soul, so the degree of fusion with the soul definitely wasn't perfect.
Soon, this body would rot and reek, becoming unusable. To solve this problem, Orochimaru had always been correcting and iteratively improving his experimental results. However, there had never been any particularly significant method of improvement;
he could only keep changing bodies one after another. But finding a body that perfectly fused with his soul was easier said than done. His original vessel had long since been discarded by him. He could now only allow himself to become a traveler whose soul changed bodies at any time.
This was also why Orochimaru wasn't directly recognized by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Regardless of appearance or body, he was no longer his former self... only the soul remained. As long as a soul-type ninjutsu wasn't directly used on Orochimaru, there was no way to discover that he, having changed his appearance and mimicked the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa!
Actually, in Orochimaru's research, there existed a type of body that could be perfect, or rather, nearly perfect... Even, taking a step back, a suitable body that could at least accommodate his soul for a longer period of time. Orochimaru's purpose in coming to Leaf Village this time was precisely to seek out such a body that matched his soul's requirements.
His initial target was fixed on a member of the Uchiha clan, the only ninja remaining after the great catastrophe, Uchiha Sasuke's body... To be honest, Orochimaru's interest in Uchiha Sasuke wasn't purely about this young ninja.
To put it bluntly, he had once seen Sasuke's older brother, Uchiha Itachi, who was responsible for the Uchiha clan massacre. Orochimaru's most ideal experimental body should have been Uchiha Itachi.
But there was an insurmountable, heaven-defying obstacle there: Orochimaru... couldn't defeat Itachi... No choice, then. Orochimaru could naturally only retreat and seek out a substitute if he couldn't get Uchiha Itachi's body. So he used Itachi's younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke, as a replacement; consider it a stand-in.
Uchiha Itachi himself was a genius of Leaf Village, a rare top-tier powerhouse within the Uchiha clan. Uchiha Sasuke, compared to his older brother, was slightly inferior in talent, yet he was still outstanding enough. From the intelligence Orochimaru gathered, Uchiha Sasuke was indeed very suitable as a replacement for his next body.
Until today, he saw another individual in Leaf Village, that outsider named Luffy, whom he had heard rumors about. He had originally infiltrated Leaf Village disguised as the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, for Sasuke's body. But unexpectedly, things went awry, and he encountered Luffy...
Orochimaru felt his plan should be slightly altered. Uchiha Sasuke was right here; no matter when he came, he should be able to get him easily. But that outsider, "Luffy," was a different story...
Who knew where he would appear next time? Since he had come to Leaf Village this time, he should naturally deal with the difficult first, then the easy. He had to get Luffy first, and then he could talk about Sasuke!
Luffy displayed... or rather, in Orochimaru's perception, that extremely special aura. It was simply too captivating for a scientific researcher like Orochimaru.
In fact, even without Orochimaru's personality, many in Leaf Village paid extra attention to Luffy's existence. For example, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. For example, the Anbu's Danzō Shimura. And for example, young ninja like Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke...
Orochimaru had already inquired about Luffy's identity and current residence. After all, it wasn't entirely unexpected for such an outsider to attract the attention of the "Fourth Kazekage." So, without much effort, Orochimaru learned about what happened after Luffy arrived in Leaf Village and some relevant intelligence about him now.
"That Danzō guy is truly useless... or rather..." Orochimaru's eyes rolled, and he muttered to himself. "Or rather, is this outsider Luffy actually too strong?"
Danzō Shimura, the patriarch of the Leaf Village Anbu, even had one of his arms acquired with Orochimaru's help. The power contained within that arm was something Orochimaru himself was unwilling to face again.
Yet, Danzō, who possessed such formidable strength, was actually defeated by Luffy in a head-on battle, and was even suppressed, having no power to fight back... This undoubtedly made Orochimaru pay even more attention to this outsider.
...
Late at night, Orochimaru reverted to his original appearance. He even quietly left the resting area specifically prepared for the "Fourth Kazekage" by Leaf Village, without attracting the attention of any Leaf Anbu ninja.
He arrived at the edge of the village, which was exactly where Luffy was resting! Since he had decided to act, it was definitely going to be a quick battle! Hesitation leads to trouble! Orochimaru himself had a decisive personality; otherwise, he wouldn't have assassinated the Fourth Kazekage, then taken over his identity, and come to Leaf Village to carry out his plans.
Through the window, Orochimaru could see the outsider, Luffy. This guy had no defensive mindset whatsoever; at this moment, he was sleeping soundly! This was actually a characteristic of the Monkey D. family.
All young people raised by Grandpa Garp possessed this skill; no matter what they were doing, they could fall asleep, even if they were already sleeping, they could still sleep...
Eating, drinking, fighting, playing it was all the same principle. "What a great opportunity... completely defenseless... Is something wrong with this guy's head?" Orochimaru even hesitated slightly for a few seconds before making his final move.
If a soul were to enter a body with such a problematic head, who knows what other strange things might come out... Although he had such a momentary concern in his heart, Orochimaru was ultimately still that decisive person. He silently transformed himself into a flat snake... That's right! A snake!
Orochimaru was also famous for his snake-based ninjutsu. Even now, in Leaf Village, the disciples Orochimaru had once tutored maintained the habit of using snake-based ninjutsu. However, because playing with this method eventually gave him a really bad reputation, even his disciples didn't frequently use this method.
This guy had once entered the Ryūchi Cave, where the Snake Sage resided. In a sense, Orochimaru also understood Sage Art... by transforming his body into a flat snake, Orochimaru could slip into Luffy's room through the door crack.
"Hiss..." Orochimaru reverted to his human-sized snake form, flicking his forked tongue. That was fundamentally a characteristic of snakes!
He opened his mouth wide. Orochimaru seemed to be planning to swallow Luffy whole, then take him away!
"Clang!"
Suddenly! Orochimaru himself hadn't even noticed any chakra fluctuations. His lower jaw was struck by a solid punch, and then his head, dazed and disoriented, was sent flying out the door, smashing through several layers of roof tiles, and then was brutally suppressed outside!
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