Tsunade's face was frozen in horror, her lips moving in a frantic mumble, breath shallow and ragged. Her hands trembled violently, her whole body shuddering at the sight of blood splattered across the table, blood dripping steadily from Orochimaru's palm.
He only chuckled at the sight, shaking his head. Ignoring the searing pain in his hand, he rose and stepped toward her. She looked fragile now, vulnerable. Without a word, he bent down, slid an arm beneath her, and lifted her with surprising gentleness, like a groom carrying his bride. She didn't resist. Her eyes shut tightly, her trembling body surrendering to his hold.
Orochimaru carried her into the adjoining room, placing her carefully upon the bed. She kept her eyes closed, turning her face away as if refusing his gaze, her voice breaking in a choked murmur.
"What… what are you doing, Orochimaru?"
She couldn't make sense of it. He knew of her hemophobia, her crippling fear of blood. If he had wished to hurt her, he had every chance, yet he hadn't.
He gave her no answer. Instead, he slid onto the bed beside her, his golden eyes fixed on her back. His bloodstained hand reached forward, crossing the curve of her waist, pulling her gently into his hold.
"You…" Tsunade whispered, confusion and unease thick in her tone. This wasn't the Orochimaru she knew, at least not the one she thought she knew.
"In the past, I was jealous of you," Orochimaru began, his voice low as he stepped closer, his breath brushing against her neck. "You had everything. A clan. Resources. A bloodline with limitless potential. People who cared about you. While I… I was just an orphan. My family died protecting the village. No inheritance. No bloodline. Nothing."
Tsunade's eyes widened at the confession, but the reaction lasted only a moment before her expression softened. She knew too well what he meant. Every civilian-born shinobi had looked at the clan heirs with the same quiet resentment. It was natural.
"I worked harder than anyone else just to stay on top," Orochimaru continued, his words edged with something raw. "I don't even know why, not fully. Maybe it was revenge for my parents. Maybe it was to protect the village. My reasons were never clear, but I pushed forward anyway. Then Sensei took us in, all three of us. For the first time, I let myself open up, just a little. I thought… maybe I wasn't alone anymore."
His voice dipped, turning almost bitter. "But as time passed, I realised I was the weakest of us. Jiraiya was chosen by the toads, gifted a new path, a new power. You had the Senju and Uzumaki blood in you, stronger chakra, greater vitality, endless techniques to inherit. And me? I was the one who had nothing but Sensei's guidance."
Tsunade stayed silent. Deep down, she knew it was true. She had been born into strength. Jiraiya had been handed opportunity. Orochimaru had clawed for every inch.
"I searched for years just to find a summoning contract of my own," he said quietly. "And I succeeded. Without it, who knows if I'd have survived the Second Shinobi War? But even then… I could see it. I was the one Sensei invested in the least. Because your potential was obvious. Jiraiya's was obvious. And me?" His lips twisted into something caught between a smirk and a sneer. "I had to bleed for every scrap of recognition I ever got."
He paused, then let out a dry chuckle. "Tell me, Tsunade. Do you remember how Hanzō didn't kill us, but instead named us the Sannin? Back then, I felt proud, even though I knew we'd lost to him. Just surviving seemed like an honour. But as the years passed, I matured. I realised it wasn't that he couldn't kill us, it was that he dared not. We were the top geniuses of Konoha. Students of the Hokage. You, the granddaughter of the First Hokage, the Senju princess. If we had died there, the Land of Rain would have been reduced to ashes. Hanzō knew it. So instead, he gave us a title. A title that was really a mark of our defeat. One we should have carried as shame… yet somehow, twisted by the village, it became recognition."
Tsunade gave a slow nod. Yes, with time, she too had come to understand things differently.
Orochimaru's voice suddenly dropped lower, his arms tightening around her.
"You know… I liked you, Tsunade. How could I not? You're the only woman I ever felt truly connected to. But I could never bring myself to confess. I always thought I wasn't worthy of you, that you deserved someone better. Even Jiraiya… at least he was brave enough to wear his heart openly."
Tsunade parted her lips, but no words came. What could she possibly say, hearing her lifelong comrade, her partner in countless battles, admit he had loved her all this time?
"In fact," Orochimaru continued quietly, "when Nawaki became my student, I thought maybe this was my chance. If I guided him, if I stood by your side through him, maybe I could draw closer to you. But as time passed, he became more than just a means, he was truly my student. And when he died…" Orochimaru's voice trembled. "When he died, the last strand binding me to you snapped. I failed him, Tsunade. I couldn't protect him. And for that… I'm sorry."
Tsunade stiffened when she felt something warm and wet trail down her neck, sliding slowly to her chest. Only then did she realise Orochimaru was crying.
It was strange. In all the years she had known him, she had never once seen him shed a single tear.
"I am going to take revenge for him," Orochimaru said, his tone turning cold. "I'll make them pay, every single one of them. I'll make them tear each other apart like dogs and destroy the very village they wanted to control."
A chill ran down Tsunade's spine at the sound of his voice. She realised he wasn't just angry, he was serious. Deadly serious. He was going to turn against Sensei.
She instinctively tried to turn away, but Orochimaru's hand clamped firmly holding her in place.
"This isn't to please you," he hissed. "You may have forgotten your brother, but I haven't. They killed my student, my first student."
"********
Harem suggestions (Naruto verse)