Sorry but the only way I will ever believe that Sasuke is supposed to he Orochimaru is if he kills one of the leaf genins. Naruto is more of an epic about how some kids become the next generation of great and powerful ninjas. Why do you think everyone has an adult version similar to them? What Kisimoto(sp?) is trying to do is show us the story of how Naruto eventually becomes a ninja on the level of Jiriaya. Everything in this show ties into each other and Gaara ties in perfectly with Orochimaru. They were both kids praised for their abilities but were eventually shunned. Anyone here can call me stupid if you want but once Sasuke turns good again and Gaara comes in as the big bad I'll rub it in your face. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if their is eventually a new series of Naruto after this one where they are all adults and Gaara is the main bad guy.

It actually does seem like that Shikamaru's dead is Shikamaru's older version and the same with Choji.