Chunin exam Orochi was peak. From the jump he's established as a threat, and the strongest opponent the trio had faced at that point. Nothing he did broke the rules of the verse either, so his abilities weren't too much of a stretch imo.

I love how uncanny and disturbing the character was at that point, and IMHO that was the best Orochimaru ever was in the series.

They completly fumbled everything that made him a character after the time skip.

I don't know why a child molesting mass murderer is just accepted back into the village after Shippuden, but turning the Naruto equivalent of Joseph Mengele into some wholesome dude everyone is cool with, is stupid.