Senjutsu chakra.
Orochimaru's nostrils flared. His serpentine intuition told him this was natural energy.
"What have you been doing? Why would you create something so dangerous?" Orochimaru looked down at Dosuke, who was still busy treating the wounded.
In the shadow of his drooping bangs, Orochimaru's entire face grew paler. The increasingly bright eyes within those shadows stared intently at Dosuke's figure.
Tsunade, your disciple never ceases to surprise me.
After a while, Dosuke dispersed the light-blue water-film around his body. He raised his head and was startled to see the pink, slitted eyes staring down at him from within a circle of onlookers.
"Which one of you is in charge here?" Dosuke called out to the surrounding elder ninja.
The elders didn't answer, but the young man standing directly in front of him spoke. "I am Uchiha Fugaku, head of the Uchiha clan. You may speak to me."
Hearing this, Dosuke looked Uchiha Fugaku up and down with open curiosity a dozen times.
So this is the man who will father half the protagonist? he thought privately. He looks... pretty average. Not as handsome as me.
Uchiha Fugaku studied the boy in the white medical uniform. That strange look in his eyes… He was sure they'd never met. So why was this kid staring at him so oddly?
"Here's the situation," Dosuke began. "I've stabilized the injuries they just sustained. From now on, just make sure they drink plenty of water. That's all."
"I'll come by regularly to check on them. Don't worry," Dosuke added, noting the unfriendly glares from the surrounding Uchiha clansmen.
The three wounded Uchiha lay on the ground, each with a kunai still embedded in their arm. No one had pulled them out.
To call this 'okay'… "Are you sure this is really alright?" Uchiha Fugaku asked hesitantly.
"It's fine. As long as you listen to me, have them drink lots of water the next few days and leave the kunai in place, I'll come back in two days to treat the wounds properly." Having said that, Dosuke tried to slip away.
Before the Uchiha could react, he was already edging toward the crowd.
"Dosuke-kun."
Dosuke, caught in the act of sneaking off, stiffened. He turned slowly to face Orochimaru. "O-Orochimaru-sama," he stammered.
Uchiha Fugaku also bowed slightly. "Orochimaru-sama."
The other Uchiha followed suit.
Orochimaru looked at Fugaku standing to the side and patted his shoulder. "Thank you, Fugaku." Then he turned to Dosuke, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Dosuke, you should know that Fugaku here led the team to chase Ye Cang, the one who attacked your medical department. So, would you mind telling me why, in the blink of an eye, you've gone and blown up Fugaku's tent?"
Dosuke forced an awkward chuckle.
"So the young patriarch went to help me get revenge? That Ye Cang from Sunagakure is truly a detestable woman…"
"It was my duty to the village," Uchiha Fugaku interjected.
"Ah, right. Well, about your tent…" Dosuke put on his most apologetic expression.
"Oh, the tent? It's of no great importance," Uchiha Fugaku said. Through his Sharingan, he could see the green liquid staining the tent had already turned transparent, its volatile chakra completely dissipated.
This was also because the Uchiha present on this battlefield were all from the pro-Konoha faction. Had they been from the more resentful parts of the clan, Dosuke's act of causing injury to allies even accidentally would have been reported straight to the village council.
"Young Patriarch, thank you for your understanding!" Dosuke gave a small, formal bow.
"There's no need. Just call me Fugaku," Uchiha Fugaku replied, returning the bow.
"Then thank you, Fugaku-nii!" With that, Dosuke stepped aside, his eyes shifting nervously to Orochimaru.
He'd only taken two steps when Orochimaru stopped him again.
Seeing Dosuke and Fugaku had reached an understanding, Orochimaru walked over to Dosuke, placed a hand on his head, and ruffled his hair gently.
"Now come. Let's see what you've been up to."
"Fugaku, have your men clean up here. The wounded should follow Dosuke's instructions. When it comes to treating injuries, as the Deputy Director of the Medical Department, his experience is considerable."
Finished, Orochimaru's gaze settled on Dosuke.
Uchiha Fugaku watched their backs. "Understood, Orochimaru-sama."
His eyes lingered for a moment on Dosuke's slightly short figure. Orochimaru's earlier words, while framed around the tent, had clearly been meant to stand up for Dosuke. If Dosuke had truly slipped away without a word, even if the clan didn't protest publicly, resentment would have festered privately. Now that it was all settled openly, that worry was gone. And through this incident, he'd made a connection with this boy. He didn't fully understand why, but Orochimaru had deliberately paved the way.
This kid is worth befriending, Fugaku mused. If nothing else, as Tsunade's disciple and now praised by Orochimaru himself…
---
On the other side, Dosuke tried to smooth his hair, messed up by Orochimaru, as the two walked toward his own tent.
Approaching it, Orochimaru could see the densely packed array inside through the torn fabric of the ruined tent.
"Dosuke, what exactly have you been doing?" Orochimaru asked, his eyes lowered.
Dosuke didn't answer directly. Instead, he walked to the side of the tent where Yamamatsu Taiga stood guard. "Uncle Yamamatsu, thank you for your hard work. Could you help me prepare a larger tent?"
Earlier, when the explosion occurred, Dosuke had immediately asked Yamamatsu Taiga and Ayase Asami who rushed over at the first sign of trouble to secure the area and calm the startled medical staff and Konoha patrols. He himself had raced to the Uchiha sector to treat those contaminated by the green liquid.
"Orochimaru-sama!" Yamamatsu Taiga first bowed to the Sannin, then nodded to Dosuke in acknowledgment before heading off.
Once Yamamatsu left, Dosuke stepped directly through the hole in his tent. Orochimaru followed closely.
Inside, Orochimaru realized the view from outside had been only partial. The small space was lined with shelves holding numerous bottles and test tubes, each marked with different labels. Besides sealing formulas, the ground was covered in a messy web of drawn lines.
Orochimaru's gaze shifted to the epicenter of the earlier explosion, then back to Dosuke.
"Dosuke-kun," Orochimaru's voice was a low hiss, his pale cheek patterns seeming to writhe like living serpents. "What. Have. You. Been. Doing?"