Was Orochimaru's plan better than it seemed?

[Praydara]

So, by the end of the manga, we know two things: one, that Orochimaru's final goal was to get the Rinnegan, and two, that the Rinnegan can only be obtained by combining the chakras of the descendants of Asura and Indra.

Now, looking back at it, if Orochimaru were to theoretically get Itachi's body and combine that with Senju DNA... he wouldn't have gotten the Rinnegan at all. The combination of Uchiha and Senju doesn't produce the same results as Indra and Asura's chakra combined. Of course, it wasn't by choice that he didn't initially get Itachi's body. If he had his way, he'd be a Mokuton-using Mangekyo Sharingan user... but he wouldn't have the Rinnegan, the final purpose of his plan.

It would be a little foolish if Orochimaru's plan was flawed from the start. He's supposed to be smart and competent, and he looks a little stupid if his plan was never going to work out by design. So, here's what I think.

We know that Kabuto and Orochimaru knew who Tobi was. Kabuto was able to revive the real Madara via edo tensei and such, so... I think Orochimaru figured something out about Indra and Asura. I don't really know how he would have gotten the information, but it would make a lot of sense if he did. He targets Sasuke, the reincarnation of Indra, instead of going after Itachi again. This could easily be argued as Orochimaru knowing that he'd lose, but Orochimaru is persistent. I don't think he would give up after one try without a reason.

On to the second point. Orochimaru and Kabuto knew about Madara. Perhaps they had figured out that Madara is also the reincarnation of Indra, and sought after a way of getting his chakra? It would make it easier to explain Kabuto knowing about Madara being dead and gone, that's for sure.

So, maybe Orochimaru knew more than he ever let on... or maybe I'm just going crazy. Thoughts?

 

[kuchiyosenojutsuironmaidn]

All shinobis were stumbling in the dark throughout the manga. Claims were made, attempts were made to explain things that none of them could've possibly known for sure.... so on. Oro's deal was that he craved the sharingan for its ability to perceive jutsu, which makes his discovery of all things in nature much, much easier. A rinnegan would be so much more useful than that, so I believe it was a few shots in the dark. I'll go after the sharingan and, if I get lucky, I may even come out of this wit. The rinnegan." Oro's smart, but not clairvoyant.