"Are you okay, Shino?" Minato asked, voice strained, at Konoha Hospital.
"Do I look okay?" Shino replied with a bitter smile.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, soaking his clothes.
He was in agony—itching, burning, unable to scratch.
They'd tried medicine.
It didn't work; it made things worse.
He was just a kid!
He still had to carry on the family line.
All he could do was endure until the venom wore off.
Problem was, two hours had passed.
By now, he should've recovered, but there wasn't a hint of relief.
Shino was terrified. Am I… useless now?
He deeply regretted pranking Ebara.
Now he'd lifted a rock only to crush his own… well, not just his foot.
"I've got a way to ease your pain," Ebara said casually.
"What way?" Shino asked eagerly.
"Cut it off, cure it forever!" Ebara said.
Shino: "…"
A man resembling Shino, wearing a high-collared coat and sunglasses, gave an awkward laugh. "Even if it's hurt, it's better than nothing."
It was Shino's father, Aburame Shiso, the current Aburame clan leader.
Shiso was sweating bullets.
Shino was his only son. Cut it off? That'd end their lineage!
"Teacher Ebara, I'm so sorry about today," Shiso said humbly. "I didn't expect Shino to be so bold. I apologize on his behalf."
"No big deal. I'm not one to hold grudges," Ebara said smoothly. "Actually, I've got a way to fix Shino up fast, no impact on his future happiness."
Shiso's eyes lit up. "What's the method?"
"A friend of mine's a medical expert," Ebara said. "Healing Shino's little injury? Piece of cake. Only problem is, his fee's steep."
"How much? I'll cover it," Shiso said, pounding his chest.
"My friend's ridiculous—3,000 ryo every time, no haggling," Ebara said, feigning reluctance.
That morning, his dad had scammed him for 3,000 ryo. Time to recoup.
"Here's 5,000," Shiso said, quickly handing over the cash. "Please get your friend to help."
Ebara was over the moon.
An extra 2,000? Jackpot.
He made a show of hesitating. "Oh, I couldn't…"
"No, I'm embarrassed," Shiso said. "Shino's reckless, but thanks to you, Teacher Ebara, it didn't turn into a disaster. This is a lesson for him."
"Well, if you insist," Ebara said, swiftly pocketing the money, as if scared Shiso would change his mind.
"Alright, Minato, back to class," Ebara said.
Bidding Shiso goodbye, they headed out.
Minato glanced at Ebara's bulging pocket. "Teacher Ebara, isn't this a bit much?"
"Too much? He'll be thanking me soon," Ebara said dismissively.
Right then, Shiso called out, voice full of gratitude, "Thanks, Teacher Ebara!"
"See?" Ebara said to Minato.
Minato: "o((⊙﹏⊙))o???"
…
After sending Minato back to the Ninja Academy, Ebara didn't leave the hospital.
He headed to the back, where it grew quieter and more desolate.
He didn't mind.
At a building, he pushed open the door.
Inside was pitch-black, no sunlight even in daytime.
A big rat, trailed by smaller ones, scurried past him boldly.
After winding through corridors, Ebara reached his destination.
He opened a door to a clean, tidy room bathed in sunlight.
A figure in a white lab coat was busy at work.
"Little Snake, long time no see," Ebara said, grinning.
The figure didn't turn, continuing their experiment.
A raspy voice replied, "I prefer you use my full name, Orochimaru."
It was Orochimaru, not yet fully unhinged.
"Sure thing, Little Snake," Ebara said. "Thanks."
"Why do you hate that nickname? Isn't it cute?"
Orochimaru turned, staring at Ebara. "Then I'll call you Skewer from now on."
Ebara's face grew serious. "Alright, Orochimaru."
Skewer? That's an insult!
He was gifted, okay?
Seeing Ebara's reaction, Orochimaru smirked.
"What brings you here? You never show up without a reason," Orochimaru said, eyeing him.
"You know me too well," Ebara said, smiling. "One of my students got stung by a wasp… down there. It was supposed to heal in half an hour, but it's been two, and he's still suffering."
Orochimaru's sharp gaze flicked downward. "Your student wouldn't be…"
"It's really my student, an Aburame kid," Ebara said. "Tried to prank me. But you know me—not so easy to fool. I turned it back on him, and, well, he got stung there."
Orochimaru nodded, believing him.
He knew Ebara's character—always the one making others suffer, never the other way around.
"Got the wasps?" Orochimaru asked.
"Of course," Ebara said, handing over a box with a few wasps.
They were the ones Shikaku caught with shadow binding, carefully boxed up in case they were needed.
Orochimaru took the wasps, dissecting them with a scalpel thin as a cicada's wing, extracting venom from their stingers.
He analyzed, tested, and processed.
Half an hour later, he handed Ebara a green, foul-smelling liquid.
"Apply this. It'll stop the swelling and itching in ten minutes."
"Thanks," Ebara said. "I came in a rush, didn't bring anything for you."
Orochimaru glanced at Ebara's bulging pocket. "Looks like you've got something in there."
Why do you perverts always stare there?
Gotta find a new place to stash cash.
"Haha, just scrap paper," Ebara said, brushing it off.
Think you can out-tease me?
Orochimaru smirked, not bothering to argue.
"Hey, Little Snake, one more thing," Ebara said.
"Go ahead, Skewer," Orochimaru replied.
"I've got a friend, mid-twenties, as dashing as me, charming thousands of girls… but he's got a problem. He's too big…" Ebara said, grinning smugly, hinting for Orochimaru to say it.
Orochimaru looked at him. "Your friend…"
Ebara's face lit up, waiting for: That's you, isn't it?
Instead, Orochimaru said slowly, "Sounds like he really exists. After all, everyone knows Skewer loves bragging about his size!"
Tease!
Another tease!
After a decade of Ebara's teasing, even a fool would learn to fire back.
Orochimaru wasn't Jiraiya.
Ebara was floored.
He hadn't expected Orochimaru to ditch the script.
"Little Snake…"
"Skewer…"
"I call you Little Snake to be friendly."
"I call you Skewer because you are a skewer."
"Pfft… can we drop this?"
"Sure, Skewer."
"I'm super tough, you know."
"Oh? Let me see!" Orochimaru said.
Ebara shivered. The vibe was getting weird.
Considering the strength gap between him and Orochimaru, he felt a chill.
He's not gonna force a check on my "development," right?
"I've got stuff to do. Gotta go," Ebara said, bolting.
"Take care, Skewer," Orochimaru called. "If your friend feels he's not strong enough, send him my way. I'm researching ways to get stronger…"
Another blatant tease.
Ebara fled in defeat.