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Chapter Text

Orochimaru lets out a hiss as he wakes up on the stone floor. The taste of tea lingers on his tongue as he curses his Sensei. This outcome had been likely, yet he had hoped that Sarutobi sensei would have just talked to him. This could have all been cleared up by a conversation, and with Tsunade's help. 

There's even a high chance that his teammate hasn't been told anything, because they'd want to protect her from what must be the monster being a monster. 

Glancing around the cell, he sees the seals painted on the wall a good two meters from the closest cell wall and feels his chakra being pulled into them. This is Jiraiya's work from when they last played Prison Break. This cell was designed by his team to keep even the most challenging of prisoners from escaping. Cage walls instead of bars, so there's no chance of him slipping through them. 

It's truly thoughtful of Sensei to have turned on the heating he'd insisted on Jiraiya adding, so at least he hasn't lost that privilege yet. 

The door opens, and he doesn't move from his seated position. The Hokage sweeps into the room, followed by six Anbu. 

"Orochimaru."

He opens his mouth and lets the scents wash over his tongue. Sensei is a mix of emotions from anger to sorrow and perhaps a little guilt. 

"Hokage." 

Because this man is not his kind Sensei, but the strict village leader who has to make all the tough decisions. He smiles, and sometimes he wishes he could smile while showing his fangs the way some other summoners ' families can. 

"I take it you're not here to wish me a good birthday. No, by my guess, you're here because you let yourself into my laboratory and jumped to conclusions. You likely haven't had Tsunade go through it yet, as she hasn't come down here to yell at me.

And I wonder how many of those children you have killed by letting those who know nothing touch what they don't understand."

His smile grows at his Sensei's barely there flinch. 

"By my guess, three but perhaps four, 98 was in a fragile way when I left and could have gone either way if woken from containment early. She was the one I was planning on seeking Tsunade's help with. My medical skills might be painful, but they are on par with an average medic-nin. Though replacing a damaged heart with a newly grown one is a bit of a stretch by myself."

He rises from his spot and approaches the bars, dropping his casual look. This man had been one of the ones he'd trusted, and this is how he repays it. He gave this man the information, knowing that it would incriminate him, and yet a part of him hoped that his Sensei would trust him. 

"Really, Sensei, if you had talked to me or shown Tsunade the files, then you would know none of this was necessary. I had permission from their guardians to try to save them. Each one of those children had an organ that was too far gone for the medics to fix. I used my skills to create a new one and then transplant it. I will say that not every child survived, but 82% did when they had all been told they had less than a year to live. 

That's 71 kids who have lived thanks to taking a chance with me. If you don't believe me, go and have Tsunade look over the charts; she will tell you the same thing. I am a monster, but not without reason."

He lets out a hiss and turns his back to the hokage before his fangs come out. For some reason, this hurt in a way he hadn't predicted. He walks right beneath the heat seal, needing the warmth to keep him in his human skin.

"What were you doing to the three in the back room?"

He lets out a chuckle that is more of a furious hiss. 

"Were you too much of a coward to look at them yourself? I guess so, because if you had, you wouldn't have asked that. Leave me be, I need to shed this ridiculous human skin in the comforts of this charming new home."

His shirt hits the ground as the door closes behind his guests.

He'd forgotten how bad it was to shed without chakra to assist it. For years now, each shed had been done within a day. A little chakra under the old skin to stretch it away from new. Working his way down slowly to get every spot as it falls away. 

This time he's on day three of his shed, his skin itches, and the old skin still clings to him over about 63% of him. The air is too dry, and that's only going to get worse the longer the heat seal is on, and as dehydration starts to take effect. It doesn't help that his body shape isn't designed to shed skin, and the war scars he'd been planning to lose this shed, make it harder. If he gets the chance, he'll have to shed again soon after this. 

He breathes out and wills his hand to stay on the ground and not just pull shed from his face. His eyes fly open as the door hits the wall, and he lets out a breath at the familiar shout.

"Orochimaru, what the hell is with the mini me?"

He doesn't rise or even move to cover his naked form. 

"I thought you were meant to greet people before starting a conversation, don't tell me you have been lying to me for the past nineteen years."

She storms across the room and drops down to sit by the bars. He turns his head to meet her glare. 

"Oro," she growls out. 

He lets out a breath.

"Do you remember that day when my wind jutsu chopped off most of Jiraiya's hair?"

Her lip twitched up despite her temper.

"He was so livid."

His lip twitched up, and it was a little easier to ignore his body. 

"Yes. Well, that night I drugged him using your Night Night Shinobi drug. I slipped into his house, shaved a part of his hair, and drew the soul swap seal. I then grew it back, and he was none the wiser.

If Jiraiya dies while he is on one of his foolhardy quests, his soul will be sent into the body of his clone. It still has some growing, but it will be there if he needs it. "

Light brown eyes, narrow, and her hand goes up to her hair, and he nods. 

"That night, you earned a fortune in the shinobi bar during the drinking contest. I brought you water to help sober you up."

"You should ask permission before tattooing someone. And someone under the influence can't give valid consent."

"You say that like you would have agreed."

Tsunade scoffs and then leans back on her hands.

"Why did you do it then? Why did you do all of it and keep it a secret?"

"With the war going both you and Sensei were busy while I wasn't allowed to go on missions during our downtime. Instead, I worked on a personal project, and while doing so, I needed something from the hospital."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, and he widened his eyes in an innocent expression that made her smile.

"I heard a father getting turned away from seeing you. His four-year-old had failing lungs, and she was given six months. I'd already perfected cloning, so why not try just a part of a person? I waited till he left before approaching him. I told him there was no guarantee that I could help, but I could try. 

I took samples and grew her lungs. The operation was a success, and she had no rejection from them. I was planning that after the war ended, I would go through the results with you and see if we could speed up the growth process."

"Why were there children other than us in the tanks?"

"Orphans. The orphanages are full and throwing out the children who will take too much care. I organised with them to wait till I am back in the village before they kick them out. I have all the paperwork in filing cabinet nine. I either find them alternative care, or if they are too ill, I treat them, but when I am away from the village, it is safer to put them to sleep, it slows down their bodies and lets the tanks try to keep them alive till my return."

It had kept him, Kasumi, and Madoka busy. He wouldn't have been able to do it without his summons. He had taken them with him on the last missions just in case this had happened. He would not put them in danger even if it cost him valuable data. 

Orochimaru looked up at the roof and heard Tsunade lie down on the other side of the bars. It was quiet in a thoughtful way. What would Tsunade say when she found out about what all that data had been used for? There would be no hiding it if he got out of here.

"I'll talk to Sensei and get you out of here. I see no reason for you to be in here as long as all the paperwork checks out. It can't feel good to be stuck shedding while in here."

He lets out a breath. 

"It's bearable."

It's nine days into his imprisonment, and apart from Sarutobi's charming chat and Tsunade's delightful conversation, all he's had is some scared mouse pretending to be a jonin dropping off his meals. 

He's drunk the water, ignored the food, even knowing that Tsunade will likely kill him for it later. If she came and killed him now, he wouldn't be complaining, anything to get out of this hell. His skin felt like sandpaper, the air much too dry for any of it to come loose anymore. 

He'd thought he'd be in here three days, perhaps a week at most. He hadn't accounted for whatever the fuck was taking his teammate so long. 

"Orochimaru?"

He blinks out of his half-sleep, as close to a hibernation as he can get in the warm room. 

"Orochimaru."

The voice was closer and had a note of urgency. Why someone would display such emotion for him, he didn't know. 

Blinking, once he turned his head and looked through the cage at a familiar silver hair. 

"So this is how they treat the shinobi that single-handedly stopped the war."

"They have to show they can cage the monster. I'm sure the other villages are feeling threatened, and a cornered animal fights the hardest. If their spies report that I have been contained, even if they don't know the reason, it would put them at ease slightly."

Sakumo looked thoughtful, and then he grinned in a way that no one, not even Jiraiya, had looked at him before."

"You do look like a caged beauty who requires some care. Right now, you put my wolves to shame with your shed."

He grimaced at the reminder, closing his eyes and willing his thoughts away from his skin. He must look like a mess, so much more like the monster that the village pictures. Though he's probably missing the blood coating him. 

"Is there anything I can do to help with it? I've only dealt with wolves shedding, I assume yours is a bit more complicated than just brushing it out."

If only it were that easy, then again it is normal that easy. 

"Unless you feel like breaking me out of here, then there's nothing to be done. The air is too dry and without chakra to help it along, I'll just have to wait for my release."

Though his death may come first, and it isn't that amusing. The cell that holds him is the one he designed while messing around with Jiraiya all those years ago. So in a roundabout way, he would be the cause of his death.

"Will you eat at the very least?"

His stomach protested at the heart thought, he'd only kept drinking the water in the vain hope it would help him shed. Reaching out blindly, he finds the bowl first and pushes back towards the grate. The sooner it's gone, the sooner the smell will leave. His fingers brush the cup, and he rises enough to sip at it before placing it to the side. 

"I take that as a no."

"I don't like to eat while shedding."

The man has been nice enough that he will humour him with an answer. Though he wished he'd go away, he was awfully tired. 

"On your way out, turn off the heat seal."

Closing his eyes, he let exhaustion take him under.

Sakumo 

Sakumo looked at the naked, dangerous man in the cage. Much too thin, covered in dead skin, and lying passed out in a cage like a forgotten pet. This man, who stopped a war and became even more of a monster. 

He still didn't get that, how can his fellow shinobi fear the one who saved many of them from death? The fear was nothing to the rumours flying around. The out-of-control monster had killed the army without order. He'd let snakes eat the enemy and their loyal shinobi. That monster was nothing more than a cold-hearted reptile in human form. 

And it only got worse from there, though it had been a passing jonin complaining about feeding the monster who'd let him take his place. He thought the man had been overplaying it with the death God look. Sadly, that wasn't the case, and now it was up to him to find out why one of the legendary sannin was being treated like nothing more than a savage beast. 

Finding another third of the legendary Sannin wasn't hard. Lady Tsunade spent most of her day at the hospital, and even this close to full night, she was still in its clutches. Medic-nin and hospital staff swarmed her like flies on a corpse, asking questions and thrusting clipboards at her when it was their turn. 

The lady at the entrance was only too happy to give him a spare clipboard and let him write a note if it got Lady Tsunade to leave the place and get some rest. He still smiled at her as he joined the organised chaos. He hoped he was right about this, hoped that a team that earned a title together is more of a pack.

"Do you think you're funny, Sakumo Hatake?" Lady Tsunade asked while looking over a clipboard full of text. 

She turned as she spoke in terms only known to the medic who owned the clipboard before raising an eyebrow at him. 

"I've come seeking advice on a patient."

He holds out his clipboard, and he's put as much information as he can on Orochimaru's condition.

Her eyes narrow as she starts reading, chakra starting to flicker. One of the medic-nin beside him goes white and then shouts, "Code wind."

He feels them all bolt for the closest exit, be it door or window, dodging people with the ease of assassins. In less than two breaths, it's just him, Tsunade, and a bunch of confused visitors. 

She spins on her heels, "Sakumo," She snaps out, and he's beside her in an instant.

"Yes."

"Go to the hot springs and get a private pool available, if that's not possible, clear the male side of people anyway possible. I'll be there with our patients at fifteen."

She's gone as soon as her feet leave the hospital in what must have been a shushin. He takes to the roofs; he has a task to complete.

Tsunade POV 

Tsunade is going to kill her Sensei, no, that would be too kind. She's going to break all his bones, heal him, and then break them all again while naming them. 

She pays no attention to the shinobi jumping out of her way and takes great satisfaction in ripping the door from its hinges and throwing it back down the hall. She's going to take even greater pleasure in opening a path to the Hokage's office once it's all done.

Gold eyes open slowly as she sends chakra through the seal, deactivating the suppressors and whatever other seals that kept her teammate locked away. 

"Orochimaru, wake up."

The door to his cage goes flying with a kick to dent the other side, and she crouches down beside him, hands lit with chakra. It's not as bad as she thought, but not good either. He's malnourished, dehydrated, and some of the dead skin has constricted around his fingers and toes. Other bits have pulled fresh skin away, leaving open wounds with infection setting in. 

"Shit, Oro. Those bastards." 

"Hello, Tsunade. How's the weather?"

It surprised a snort of laughter from her. Orochimaru had always sucked at small talk, and for a time, as children, Jiraiya and her had tried to teach him. He'd gone along with their plan until it came to questions like that, which made no sense to him. Why would they talk about the weather when they have both been in the same weather together?

"I wouldn't know. I've been stuck at the hospital finishing with the last of the war patients and looking after your orphans."

"How are experiments 87 and 92 doing?"

She lets out a breath. Only he would be asking something so insignificant when he's in this state.

"I'll tell you about them later. Right now, you have a hot spring date with me."

She takes it as a win when his lip lifts into a smile. If he can spare enough energy to make human expressions, he'll be fine in no time. 

"Jiraiya will be so jealous when he hears about it."

"I know. He'll be whining for weeks that I got to take you to the hot spring first."

She looks into gold eyes and sees the resolve. She doesn't ask him if he's ready, just moves and sends chakra to her limbs, lifts him, princes style. The way Jiraiya would complain about it is because he's not a damn princess. 

He's lost more weight than she thought, and he never truly had much to lose to begin with. It's her fault; she should have made sure that Sensei followed through with what he'd said. Should have checked on how her friend was doing. But should ofs, won't change the past. 

"Do you want something covering you, or will that make it worse?"

Orochimaru raises an eyebrow.

"I suppose it would make others uncomfortable if you carried me out of here naked?"

"I don't give a fuck about others."

His low chuckle was almost a hiss, something he only does around people he trusts not to overreact. To most, it sounds dangerous until you learn the difference between each hiss.

"I'm comfortable already."

To prove his point, he closes his eyes and puts his head on her shoulder. Well, it wasn't like people could think Team 7 was any weirder. They had Jiraiya on their team after all. 

Sakumo POV

It had been perfect timing to remove people from the bath house, as it had mainly been shinobi returning late from missions and training. One dire shout about Tsunade on a war path heading here, and the baths were clear in under three minutes. That included the retired shinobi who ran the hot springs; the man had only stopped him briefly to thank him for the warning before high-tailing it. 

He has to blink as Tsunade lands. He'd expected Orochimaru to get here under his strength and be clothed; neither of those assumptions is correct. Instead of her landing, she levels him a glare when he goes to open his mouth. She then looks from him to Orochimaru's face. The man's eyes are closed, and he appears to be resting. 

He nods and mouths 'all empty.'

He gets another nod as she marches past him. He follows as she heads for one of the more expensive private rooms; this one comes with a lush garden, and large flat stones ring the pool. Perfect for lounging on.

"Oro, time to wake up."

A low hiss has the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. He had heard that the snake sannin often heard hissing at his comrades and that most refused to go on a mission with him again or hope that the snake sannin would never be sent as reinforcement. He kind of gets why they would say that, but he looks at Lady Tsunade's fond smile, and it has him thinking that maybe the hisses sound more scary than they seem.

"None of that. I'm not one of those cowardly jonin to be scared off."

Gold eyes open, and then in a motion that looks more liquid than human, he flows to the ground to lie at her feet, and another hiss escapes the man; it doesn't sound pained but more pleased. 

"It will be even better in the water, so slither off and I'll join you once I deal with our assistant in your jail break."

There is a second of hesitation, and then Orochimaru slips from the stone and slides into the water without a single splash. When he doesn't resurface, Sakumo wonders if he'll have to fish him out.

"He'll be fine. The bastard can hold his breath for ten minutes with ease, even in his condition."

He looks away from the water and sees Lady Tsunade watching him with a pleased smile, as if something is going her way. 

"That's a relief to hear."

"Yes, I have one last task for you. Go find our dear Hokage and tell him I will be seeking answers for how this came to be once Orochimaru is safe at home. He told me Orochimaru was going to be released six days ago, so he better tell me how this happened."

Her posture changes, and it makes him want to cower even though he's a legend in his own rights. How someone five years younger than him can make him feel like he's a wet behind the ears genin, he's got no idea and he's not about to find out. 

"Yes, lady Tsunade."

She turns, and her hands lift the hem of her shirt; he gets the flash of skin as he turns away before he can piss Tsunade off. 

Chapter Text

Sakumo POV 

It's amazing to see the way Orochimaru moves through the forest, the way he twists and leaps seemingly unaware or simply uncaring that a man his size should fit or bend through some of those gaps. It makes him damn fast and near impossible to see, and if they both hadn't been following Yuki, his best tracker, then he would have been left behind when they'd first started.

As the trees become more sparse, Orochimaru falls into step beside him.

"You have a child of about fourteen months."

Of all the questions he was expecting, that hadn't been one of them. Was this his way of trying to make small talk? It was a strange topic for a person who had little to do with kids.

"Yes, Kakashi. He's going to be an amazing shinobi when he's older; he's already miles ahead of the other kids his age."

It did make it difficult to socialise him with the other toddlers. Most were still getting the hang of walking, where KaKashi was running with a grace his cute, chubby legs shouldn't allow.

"How do you socialise with him while keeping up with your training and mission?"

Was Orochimaru asking if he'd been slacking off, or did he think he wouldn't keep up because he was out of shape? It didn't seem like he was asking it that way. It was more like he was satisfying his curiosity.

"There is a training group every morning and afternoon. We rotate through supervising the kids while the others train. It allows them to observe if they wish or just play."

Kakashi had always sat and watched whoever was training. Eyes trying to follow, and a little head whipping back and forth. The other parents had noticed and started talking to him about what was happening when he couldn't keep up.

He knows something changed when Orochimaru's chakra flickers out in a storm of violence. The sense of death clouded him for a heartbeat before he adjusted.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm going on ahead, catch up when you can, but don't tire yourself out."

The purple chakra glows around him for a moment and sinks into his skin once more. His presence vanishes, and then he's gone in a blur of movement. Only his years of being a parent stop him from cursing up a storm. How is he meant to compete with that? What even was that jutsu he used?

Tsunade POV

Tsunade was tired and a little annoyed she couldn't be out hitting the cause of it. A mission that went to shit had resulted in two captured teams, with only one escaping and arriving back critically injured. By the time she'd healed him, Orochimaru, with Sakumo in tow, had gone to retrieve them.

She was also pissed that Orochimaru was sent; it had been only a month since she busted him out, and he'd asked their Sensei for no missions that took him more than half a day's travel from the village. It had been strange to hear a stipulation like that from Orochimaru, but he'd earned the break after what those ass wipes of a jonin had done to him.

It turned out that Sarutobi had ordered Orochimaru's release only for the jonin carrying out the order to be too much of an opinionated moron, and for that jonin, who was no longer a jonin, thank fuck, to choose not to carry out the task. If she ever found out which jonin it is, she's going to break all their bones and make them wish she killed them.

This mission was likely to be a full day of travel, and then he'd still have to carry out the mission way over his asked for half day. Though at least he wasn't alone. She trusted Sakumo not to just high-tail it when Orochimaru became too much for most. The man was known for his teamwork skills and friendly nature.

"Tsunade," someone hissed.

She turned and was surprised to see Orochimaru's black serpent summon. The snake was rarely from Orochimaru's side or away from the man's house. She knew that, unlike most summons, Madoka chose to mostly stay in the human world.

"Madoka."

The serpent rose till it was eye level with her, and if she hadn't grown up with them, she'd likely be intimidated. If she ever had been, just one morning with Madoka and Kasumi caring for Orochimaru like mothers might, would have put a stop to it. She'd never seen more attentive parents. Those two had been able to pick up on what Orochimaru and after a while, their whole team, just by body language.

"Your assistance is required at the nest."

"Intruders?"

"No, I'll meet you there."

Madoka slips away like a shadow, and she takes to the roofs, knowing that, for all that her way is shorter, the serpents will still arrive first.

Indeed, Madoka was waiting, tongue flicking, showing her slight agitation.

"Orochimaru said to retrieve you if his shadow disappeared."

As if that answered all her questions, the serpents retreated into Orochimaru's home, and she followed, raising an eyebrow as they went down a set of stairs that normally weren't there. Has Orochimaru always had a basement?

"What's going...oh." The room she entered was warm with thick rugs and a fireplace crackling away. In the middle of the rug, Kasumi rested, curled up with an infant using her as its bed. She can now see why Orochimaru hadn't wanted to be away from the village for too long. The infant looked about three months old with a shadow of dark hair and Orochimaru's pale skin.

She crouches down as Kasumi looks at her with liquid gold eyes only a few shades off Orochimaru's bright gold.

"What help do you need?"

She would focus on that and beat answers out of her teammate later. He would tell her everything, and then also why she had been missing out on time with her nephew. This little one was in no doubt Orochimaru, and as Orochimaru was family, so was this little one.

"Mitsuki will need a bottle soon. It is difficult for us," Kasumi whispers in an almost hiss.

"Mindful of the fangs, he dispersed the shadow with them," Madoka helpfully added in.

Wasn't that a charming thought? This little one probably packed the same payload as Orochimaru's, and although she was immune to the venom, a bite would still mess with her chakra a little. What a cute but dangerous little one her nephew was.

Sakumo POV 

It takes him hours to catch up, and the scent of blood is strong in the air. What had once likely been an entrance to a secret base was now blown open for all to find. Body parts lay scattered, and streams of blood ran down the hillside.

His eyes lock on a figure carrying an unconscious shinobi from the hill in his direction. He's surprised when a second Orochimaru follows the first. Clones of some kind.

"I'm still going through the base," the first one says, depositing the man in their arms before disappearing in a puff of smoke. "I'm likely to be another ten minutes at most." The second one says before he, too, sets down his burden and vanishes.

That's two down and only leaves another five to go. Looking around again, he is very glad that his man is on their side because in another few years, he's not sure if he would have any chance of winning. As it is now, he'd give them 50-50 odds.

Orochimaru POV 

He'd left clones to deal with village matters, rather than waste time. Entering the house, he headed downstairs and paused at the sight. Tsunade sat on the ground rolling a ball from side to side while Mitsuki watched. His son yawns and then whips his head to the side, their eyes lock, and Orochimaru lets out a please hiss and gets a return one.

"I see how it is. Dad returns home, and I'm left in the dust."

He pays his teammate no mind as he crouches and offers his hands. Mitsuki blinks and lets out a hiss in a way that has come to mean agreement. Scooping him up, he holds him at eye level.

"Were you good for Tsunade? I hope you kept those fangs to yourself."

Mitsuki opens his mouth, showing off his tiny fangs.

"Yes, those. Next time you try them out, wait till I'm home. It will be good once you start crawling, then we can look into juvenile rabbits for you to practice on."

"Orochimaru."

He turns, sensing that Tsunade's patience must be wearing thin. Orochimaru slips the boy onto his hip with the ease he hadn't had a month ago.

"I appreciate your assistance with Mitsuki."

If anything, her temper grew as she narrowed her eyes. That was never a good sign, and one that Jiraiya had never heeded before it was too late.

"When were you going to tell me about my nephew? How did his existence come to be? Who is his other parent?"

They were all questions he had known to expect."

"I was waiting till he got a little more control of his fangs. You and I may be fine, but if he bites another, it will leave a poor impression. I created him in the laboratory using the data from the organ growth and our clones. His genetic makeup is sixty percent mine and forty percent someone who is no longer with us. He was taken out of containment the day after my release, eight days overdue."

Her glare doesn't lessen; if anything, her eyes seem to glow with contained rage.

"Who?"

This was the tricky bit. If he answered wrong or Tsunade didn't agree, things could get messy.

"I will tell you as long as it stays between the two of us."

She pauses and then nods.

"Danzo had some interesting DNA samples from quite a few stronger shinobi from the past. I took a few with me after I searched his laboratory after his timely death. The one I chose to use was Tobirama."

There's silence as she works through all the things not said. All the things he would tell her if she asks, though he knows she won't.

"So he's truly family."

He narrows his eyes. "Between you and me, I won't let any others have a tight hold over him, not even your family. We will let others think what they will, I'm sure some of their guesses will be amusing."

He lets out a hiss as pain shoots down his arm. Mitsuki smiles up at him as two red dots show where fangs have just entered the skin.

"We must not bite, Mitsuki. Ask if you need my attention."

He heard Tsunade scoff in amusement and knew all was forgiven. They would have more to talk about later, but for now, he had a son to see to.