Naruto: I Became Orochimaru's Apprentice

That day was like any other, Teriyaki was simply recounting the events of naruto in his head.

'It's been 3 months, I still don't know what the timeline is in the verse.'

The heavy slam of the lair's entrance jolted Teriyaki awake. He barely had time to process the noise before the unmistakable sound of uneven footsteps echoed down the hall. Orochimaru had returned — but something was wrong.

When Teriyaki peeked around the corner, his stomach flipped. Orochimaru's posture was wrecked, his usual graceful slink replaced by a broken stagger. His robe hung heavy with blood, staining dark paths down his sides. His hands — those elegant, deadly hands — were useless now, fingers limp and discolored. He moved around like a corpse, all his chakra drained and all his limbs damaged.

'Ah. So the Hiruzen fight happened.' Teriyaki recounted the manga scene, where Orochimaru invaded the leaf village and defeated Hiruzen using Dead Hokages, but paid the price for it.

"Kabuto!" Orochimaru's voice came like a hiss forced through shattered glass. "Now."

Kabuto appeared instantly, his sharp gaze taking in the extent of the damage without a word. He moved fast, supporting Orochimaru's weight as though he'd expected this — maybe he had.

Teriyaki stood frozen as they passed, but Orochimaru's golden eyes caught his for a second. Even half-dead, those eyes still terrified him.

"The plan wasn't as succesful as I had hoped, Kabuto. A long period of healing will be nessecary."

One Week Later

Orochimaru emerged from the medical wing, bandaged and pale. His arms still dangled uselessly, but his eyes burned brighter than ever. Something about surviving had given him a dangerous sort of calm, like he had danced with death.

"Teriyaki," Orochimaru called softly. "Come."

Teriyaki followed, swallowed by the sense that something important was about to change. Orochimaru led him down a corridor Teriyaki had never been allowed into before — a lab lined with surgical tools, biological samples floating in glass jars, and diagrams of human anatomy twisted into something... more.

"I was too confident," Orochimaru said conversationally. "I thought my plan alone could outmaneuver a relic like Hiruzen. I underestimated him and his capabilities, because I assumed his age had caught up to him. But failure is the greatest teacher, Teriyaki-kun. And now, I have learned."

He stopped beside a metal table, perfectly clean and cold. On it lay several syringes — but none of them looked like ordinary medicine. Each vial held a swirling, cloudy liquid, shifting between clear and silver, like something alive was suspended inside.

"You have potential," Orochimaru said. "I see it — your bond with Onigiri, your adaptability to the chakra transfer training. But your body is still human. And humans… are weak."

Teriyaki opened his mouth to respond — but Orochimaru cut him off with a smile. Not cruel, but eager. Hungry.

"You need to change. And change starts inside the flesh."

"What if I don't want to, Master?" Teriyaki was shivering from head to toe, he wasn't sure of what was going to be done to him.

"Silence." Orochimaru made it clear he had no choice in this. "You are no more than a test subject who can be abandoned tomorrow."

Kabuto stepped forward with one syringe in hand, explaining with his usual calm detachment. "This is a tailored genetic enhancement compound. Not a curse seal, — just pure biological restructuring. Muscle fibers will loosen, ligaments will soften, your joints will become hyper-flexible, and your reflexes will bypass hesitation entirely. You'll move like a snake — not because of chakra, but because your body will physically become closer to one. I did similar procedures to myself, to increase my flexibility. But you will still be a far cry away from what I am."

Teriyaki swallowed hard, but didn't protest. This was Orochimaru's way. Perhaps with this, he could pass the reflex test.

"This isn't a technique you have to learn," Kabuto added clinically. "This is biology rewritten. Your body will learn to bend and recover in ways humans were never meant to. The cost? You'll feel it. Every muscle stretch will hurt at first, until your brain stops resisting and starts accepting the new limits — or lack of them. You'll become hyper flexible and have enhanced regeneration, this is only possible because your body is special and suited for this, as it should be."

Orochimaru gestured to the table. "Lie down, Teriyaki-kun. Power comes to those who yearn for it."

Laying himself down slowly, Teriyaki stared at the ceiling and tried to mask his horror.

Now the main part of being Orochimaru's apprentice was coming to play, the genetic edits.

The needle pierced Teriyaki's arm, but the liquid wasn't cold like before. It was warm — almost alive — crawling into his bloodstream like tiny serpents weaving into his muscles.

Immediately, Teriyaki felt his tendons tug and stretch under his skin, like they were uncoiling themselves from years of confinement. His elbows loosened to the point that his arms could twist further than they should. His neck tilted back effortlessly, he felt his vertebrae sliding like a snake's spine.

Sweat broke out across his skin, but it wasn't fear — it was heat from inside, his body rebuilding itself from the inside out.

"Sit up," Kabuto instructed after a moment, lifting his glasses as he did so. "I don't think many people's bodies could survive such a procedure. You've done well."

Teriyaki sat up — but his body moved faster than he intended, almost whipping upright, spine bending too easily. His arms swung out for balance, but they moved loosely, like wet rope instead of bone and muscle.

Orochimaru smiled. "Good. You're already adapting."

Reflex Training — Immediate Test

Kabuto held up a kunai. "Catch this."

He let go — and Teriyaki's hand snatched it before his brain fully processed the command.

"Huh?"

"Again." Kabuto dropped the blade higher this time — but Teriyaki's body snapped to attention, fingers closing around the handle like a striking snake.

It felt like part of his body had a mind of it's own, reacting without his intention. His instincts seemed to have super-levelled.

Orochimaru's smile widened. "You no longer rely on thought alone. Your muscles know the motion now. Instinct has taken root inside you. As I planned from the start. You were never meant to beat the trap room without some modifications, now you will soon be ready for the outside world."

Kabuto explained further, adjusting his glasses. "Your new flexibility combined with direct muscle reflex enhancement allows you to react before you consciously decide to move. Your brain gets the information at the same time your body does — no processing delay. This is natural flexibility. It could prove to be the difference between life and death out there. In this time where Orochimaru is weak, your strength will be needed Teriyaki."

Teriyaki flexed his fingers, startled by how far back they bent. His joints rotated past normal human limits, but there was no pain — just a new sense of openness, like his body had forgotten what restrictions felt like.

"You can fit into smaller spaces," Orochimaru added, walking in a slow circle around him. "Twist through narrow gaps. Strike from impossible angles. And if you combine this with chakra-enhanced movement, you'll become even faster and even more absurdly versatile."

"But," Kabuto warned, "it will take time for your mind to catch up. Right now, your reflexes will move ahead of your intent. You might overextend, or twist too far without meaning to. Your body is faster than your mind now — so you'll need training to close that gap. It took me many years to slowly adapt to my body, you'll have to adapt in juts a few months."

Teriyaki stood up, body feeling loose but strong, like a whip held together by threads. His fingers still tingled from the kunai catches, but the rush of moving that fast — that freely — was exhilarating.

"Don't waste this gift," Orochimaru said softly, his eyes darker than usual. "You should learn a few more combat jutsus before getting my permission to go outside."

Teriyaki bowed low, even though his stomach still churned with unease. This wasn't a technique. This was a permanent change. His body would never go back to the way it was. 

That night he went into the trap room and cleared it effortlessly.

Every shuriken that went his way missed, every kunai fell to the ground. If his body was in danger it rapidly shifted away. When he went to visit Onigiri that night, she noticed the change in his body.

He was faster, more flexible and more reactive.

In other words, he was almost ready.