Following the train of thoughts because apparently it's a trip now.
Fact is, both Naruto and Sasuke have the most eyes on them at all times, so getting glued to team 7 is the best survival strategy if you don't want to get Rooted out. Especially if there's some sort of attachment with Naruto, the guy doesn't let go once he bites.
(also Orochimaru does like the both of them in their weird weird way. Both sentimentally and as actual people who were fun to interact with. Also you know, all the spoilers)
On one hand I do not want to yeet Sakura out of team 7, just so my blorbo can take her place. I do like Sakura, she's my go to when I want to read a long long time travel fix it fic.
Anyhow yeah, I do not want to pick the easy way.
So I can like slap together a random Jonin from the background pic and equally random two on the Konoha genin who pop on the exam arc.
Then I can go and put team 7 and team wallpaper on a few missions together, because Kakashi needs his team to have something else than just the Wave trainwreck and catching a cat in their CVs.
We can say the wallpaper Jonin is pretty much slapping genin together from those who didn't manage to pass with the rest of their teams into something workable so they can try again, so it's all about Kakashi's favorite thing - teamwork.
The Wallpaper Jonin could be planning to keep Orochimaru as a career genin, since he's competent but until now too zonked out to be let out of the village for anything serious.
And it could be the moment when Orochimaru's windows update finally is done and finished and he starts interact and be themselves buuut-
That leaves me with little to no time to build relationships between the characters and makes interactions actually more difficult.
So I'm back at the yeeting Sakura out again.
Let's say we start half a year before the first chapter. Naruto joins new class after failing his second attempt at genin exam and gets talked at by Iruka. Orochimaru also is shoved into the same class and also gets talked at by Iruka - because for ducks sake, at least do show up for the exam.
Instant reason for them to interact, since Naruto is not a dick to people who aren't dick to him we also have a beautiful blossoming Naruto dragging some weird kid around situation happening. One that the adults wouldn't actually want to stop, because the zonked out kid with potential is actually doing something other than standing there and blinking.
The potential genin teams get reshuffled and Iruka might take an offense to it, so he'll go and try to resurrect Tsunade's one med-genin per team thing. Still not team 7 so I'm salty at myself, but at least something to do for her. Also medical seals are also seals, so she might be up to something fun, while Orochimaru is stuck with forever late Kakashi.
Tbc because vague posting is close enough to writing I'm might just crawl out of my stupor this time
(Orochimaru is my spirit animal, take it as you will)