"Naruto!" Tsunade cried as she burst into the room, "what the hell do you think you're doing?"

The blond ninja had his face inches from Orochimaru's and his one good hand grasping the collar of the sannin's scrubs. Yamato, still floating in the tank, gave Tsunade an unamused look.

"Granny Tsunade!" Naruto spun around. "Did you know Orochimaru was here?"

"Of course I did, what do you think I am, an idiot? Let go of him."

"But . . . but why is he here? And why is Yamato-taichou in that . . . that fishtank thingy!"

"I told you. I'm treating his injuries," Orochimaru growled.

"Well you can't blame me for not believing that, you old nutjob!"

"Naruto, calm down. He's telling the truth. The captain has agreed to it."

"Is that true, Captain Yamato?" Naruto asked, dropping the sannin and approaching the tank. Tenzo let out a frustrated breath and nodded.

Damn it. He had been ready. If it wasn't for Naruto bursting in past the guards Orochimaru would be dead by now. But pragmatic or not he wasn't about to off himself in front of Naruto.

"See? Now get out, this is a sterile environment," Tsunade chided.

"But I've still got questions! Why does Orochimaru get to treat him? If Sasuke's locked up, surely Orochimaru should be! And if he's walking around freely, then shouldn't Sasuke also be let out of prison?"

"No, that's ridiculous!" Tsunade's voice cracked with frustration. "Orochimaru is here because he has an ability no one else has right now and it's the only way to help Captain Yamato. How did you even know he was here anyway?"

"I was meditating to see if I had healed enough to go into sage mode. I did, and I felt his chakra so I came down to see what was going on. Then when I got to the door, I felt a spike of Captain Yamato's chakra—"

"What?"

"I thought Orochimaru had broken in or something and Captain Yamato was fighting him off, but when I came in I saw the captain in that fishtank and Orochimaru sitting over there in that chair. He was doing something though, I'm sure of it."

"There was a spike in your chakra? Why?" Tsunade asked Tenzo, though she knew he couldn't really explain.

Tenzo gave the ANBU sign for "all clear" but Tsunade wasn't satisfied.

"What happened?" She asked Orochimaru.

"I don't know," he said nervously, slipping on a pair of gloves and putting glowing hands up to the tank. "It does feel like there was a spike; the chakra is moving a bit erratically in his network but there's no damage to the repairs . . ." he looked up at Tenzo. "Did you do it on purpose?"

Tenzo felt like there was a weight in his chest. If he said no, he would be subjected to tests to figure out what had happened. But if he said yes, he might lose his opportunity. He shook his head mechanically. Orochimaru looked troubled.

"He's got more chakra now so it could be he's having some trouble controlling it with the damaged network," he speculated, under his breath. Tsunade put her hands up to the tank as well.

"Hm. I think we should finish the repairs immediately. Yamato's got among the best chakra control of everyone I know, he shouldn't be having this problem. And you know as well as I do that the wood style gets out of hand without it."

Orochimaru nodded.

"It's not ideal. I would rather find out what caused that spike before I start introducing cells. Especially these cells. If another one happens while we're working on it, the cells could grow rapidly –and even if they don't, the swiftly-flowing chakra could displace the cells as I graft them. I might have to drain a little chakra to make sure it doesn't interfere with the repairs."

Tsunade frowned.

"Don't drain any chakra. Just give him a few minutes to suppress it and then take your time with the surgery."

"Surgery?" She had almost forgotten Naruto was there.

"Yes, it's a procedure he's been having every day for over a week. Everything's fine, now go back to your room. We'll talk about you going into sage mode without my permission later."

"But Granny Tsunade, is Yamato-taichou okay?" He looked worried.

"He's fine." She looked to the tank where Tenzo had closed his eyes and folded his hands in a meditative stance. With her hands still on the tank, she could already feel his chakra begin to cool and relax. "He's excellent, actually."

"Can I stay here for the surgery? I'll sit over there quietly," Naruto asked.

"No."

"But I can go into sage mode and look for any unusual chakra spikes—"

"That won't be necessary. I can look for spikes myself, and you shouldn't be going into sage mode. Go back and rest. I'll have Sakura give you an update on his condition later."

Naruto stole a last glance at the captain, who opened his eyes and gave the "okay" signal with one hand before returning to the meditative position and focusing on calming his chakra again.

"Don't you try anything," Naruto growled to Orochimaru, poking his chest. Tenzo's lips curled into a bitter smile behind his oxygen mask. Naruto had no idea about the seal, but the gesture was coincidentally well-timed. If Orochimaru had known what had almost happened, it might have even put some fear into that canting expression of his.

After Naruto left, Tsunade and Orochimaru spent a few minutes monitoring his chakra and then prepared for the final round of treatment.

The procedure was standard by now, but still tiring for everyone involved. Tsunade's jaw was clenched as she focused intently on his chakra to detect even the slightest change. Orochimaru sweated as he grafted cell after cell, maintaining the same position and the same careful attention for over three hours. Tenzo wasn't sure if it was just him or if the burning sensation was more intense this time. Maybe it was because Orochimaru was working faster. In any case, infusing chakra for his uninitiated jutsu and the subsequent effort of controlling his chakra had exhausted him. As Orochimaru finally removed the syringe and pulled off his gloves, Tenzo could feel his eyes slowly closing in spite of himself. He was vaguely aware of a nurse coming in as Tsunade left.

"Keep an eye on him," the chief medical nin commanded.

/

When Tenzo woke, he felt like a river was flowing through him. His body felt steady and strong as if instead of floating inside the strange liquid his feet were planted on solid ground. These familiar sensations of water and earth that felt so foreign—were they the same as ever and unfamiliar with disuse? Had they always felt this powerful?

There were no windows in the room with the tank, and he had had no concept of time over the past ten days. But now he felt like he could feel the sun, the wind; the morningness. He arched his back, stretching the muscles. The tank suddenly felt smaller, not so much looming as confining, annoying. It was like he suddenly realized he had outgrown it, like when he had realized at three that he was bigger than he was at two, and suddenly the tank didn't seem like such a normal world to live in. That bastard was in his chair with a cup of coffee, that same damn book in his hand, almost finished. A strand of his black hair hung over his face, having come loose from his ponytail. When the hell did he sleep? Did he not need to sleep, having been reanimated who knows how many times? Bubbles popped on the surface of the tank as Tenzo let out a heavy breath. Breathing was so much easier now; exhales felt like battle cries and inhales were intoxicating.

Orochimaru looked up.

"How are you feeling?" His voice carried more curiosity than concern. Tenzo didn't answer but stared back into his eyes. There was something about that expression. Orochimaru stood up tentatively. I-7 had always looked weird, his eyes wide and rimmed in black; as an adult he could look downright frightening when lit from below. He had been stoic throughout the treatment; now he looked almost like he was smiling, but without giving any indication of smiling. It was something about his eyes, something Orochimaru couldn't put his finger on. He lifted his hands to the tank. The chakra was incredible. Vibrant, but slow-moving. No breakages or weak points in the system. Orochimaru let out a single, breathy laugh.

"It looks like the treatment has worked perfectly," he marveled, impressed with his own work. Now Tenzo really did smile, the corners of his mouth extending almost to the edges of his mask. Orochimaru's own smile dropped. In the same split-second spikes of wood shot from Tenzo's hands and first pierced, then shattered the glass. The wooden stakes didn't stop with the glass but came straight at Orochimaru so fast that shards of glass were bound to him as the wood wrapped around him like a lasso. Within moments Tenzo's feet touched the bottom of the tank, the fluid still pooling around his ankles. Orochimaru opened his mouth wide, his jaw unhinging.

"Oh no you don't." Tenzo's voice was harsh with anger and disuse as he expanded the wood to completely surround Orochimaru. Inside the pitch-black cocoon, Orochimaru tried to burst the wood with hundreds of snakes pushing against it full force at the same time, but the cocoon was strong and thick. He would have to try a more concentrated approach. He opened his mouth to produce a kunai from his throat and began scratching at a small point in the cocoon in order to weaken it for a second attempt. Tenzo had disconnected most of the larger tubes from his body while still inside the tank, but when he heard the scratching, he moved forward without regard for the rest. Hundreds of tiny needles over his chakra points tore across his chest, back, arms, and legs, leaving small, barely-bleeding scrapes. When he spoke, his voice sounded mad with rage.

"Stop that scratching!" He commanded, pushing the cocoon against the wall so hard that it left a small dent. Orochimaru jolted, the kunai slipping back towards him so that the blade cut his hand. He tried the snakes again, with more chakra this time, but there was even less space inside than before and it was hard to generate enough force. The cocoon was air-tight and he found himself struggling for breath. For the first time since Sasuke had actually managed to kill him, he felt panicked. How had he not evaded this? How had his patient gotten so fast? Orochimaru's shoulders drew up and his head tilted under the pressure of the shrinking cocoon. He began to change his skin and bones, making them elastic and flexible. But even he couldn't survive like this forever—even the most flexible snake still had a spine after all, and even an octopus could be crushed.

Tenzo wasn't wasting any time. A mob of nurses and Tsunade were doubtless on their way as soon as they heard the glass break. In spite of previous fantasies about making Orochimaru feel all the pain he had caused him, righteously lecturing him about his misdeeds, he didn't relish it now. He just wanted to get it over with. He expended more and more chakra until Orochimaru's cries faded out into silence. Then he looked at the floor and waited.

And then his eyes lit upon something that had fallen when he had slammed Orochimaru against the wall; the book he had been reading all this time. Tenzo's face fell when he read the words.

Suddenly, the cocoon began to loosen. The wooden limbs that had formed it recoiled and gave way to flesh. And I-7 stood there staring at the floor, his eyes empty and his body bleeding from a hundred tiny points.

Orochimaru gasped for breath. He resolidified his body and cracked his neck.

"Wh—why did you let me go?" He choked.

The door swung open and four or five nurses ran in.

"What happened?"

"Is everything okay?" They all spoke over each other. One ran to Tenzo and another to Orochimaru.

"What happened?" A nurse asked again, dabbing Tenzo's small cuts with a sterile cloth.

"H-his chakra spiked again," Orochimaru lied. "He accidentally broke the glass and I was pinned to the wall by an uncontrollable jutsu."

The nurses began to shift nervously.

"Oh." One said flatly. "How are you feeling now?"

"I'm fine," Tenzo said flatly, his eyes still glued to the book.

"I think he's in shock," the nurse who had been tending to him said, placing a sheet over his shoulders. "After I finish cleaning his wounds I think we should let him rest."

"No, no I'm fine," Tenzo insisted, clearing his head. His chakra wasn't drained even after the effort, but the nurse did have a point about him being shocked. He had been so close. He had almost killed Orochimaru once and for all and still survived himself.

The nurse tending to the sannin was sighing as he completed his quick exam.

"No broken bones, surprisingly. There's a lot of bruising, though, and he could use some oxygen." Another nurse started to leave the room.

"Give him the oxygen I was using," Tenzo suggested.

"But what about you?" His own nurse asked.

"I'm breathing fine." Seeming somewhat reluctant, the nurse retrieved the mask from where Tenzo had tossed it on the floor and checked that the oxygen was still flowing before placing it on Orochimaru's face. He took a few grateful, automated breaths as Tenzo watched.

"I'm sorry," Tenzo began, suddenly aware of the damage to the room as well as to his physician. "I'll . . . I'll pay for the tank."

"It's not your fault," his nurse insisted.

"Fault or no fault, we may have to restrain you," another nurse chimed in, quietly. "It's not that we don't trust you, it's just that if you're having trouble controlling your chakra. . ."

"That won't be necessary," Tenzo insisted. "It's not my chakra. I tried to kill him. It won't happen again so please don't waste any more time on me."

A/N: Thank you guys for sticking with me after last chapter-sorry if it was too much! As always thank you for your lovely comments and let me know what you thought of this chapter!