Rustling of Leaves (Naruto Fanfic)

Orochimaru's plans are his worst nightmare, nor is he sure he can stop them - the question is, does he need to.

Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto. This was written for the second day prompt Bridal Carry for Whump of July 2021. This one took quite a few drafts before it came out even remotely the way I wanted.

Also, I've always been bothered by the shield used to prevent anyone from helping the third Hokage along with the tactics Orochimaru used to kill him as they seemed like Dues Machina on his part or something similar. As for Rasa - his death was believable until we learned what his powers were, but even the fifth member of the Sound Four being added into the plot didn't make it feel right given what Rasa's powers are and the fact he's more powerful than Gaara.

7/8 of AO3