Become...
Someone like me? This lord?
His eyes widened bit by bit, obvious shock slowly appearing on Dosu's face as though it would freeze there. Even his body stiffened slightly.
W-What kind of joke was that?
How could my lord be like me? Become someone like me? Humble, struggling just to survive, without even freedom? No! No, no, no! Impossible! My lord was just comforting me! Then, less than a tenth of a second later, he swiftly dismissed the thought and found himself a reasonable explanation.
The lord who had given him nearly everything he possessed now from the shadows was merely trying to comfort him.
Trying to keep him from looking down on himself.
So that during the mission this lord believed would kill him—the battle against Second Pillar—he could steady his mindset and avoid losing confidence because of his inferiority complex.
After all, this lord? Like him? That was practically a joke. How could this godlike lord possibly become someone like him? Even if this lord had gone through the same experiences, he would surely still have become the person he was now—powerful and charismatic, completely different from Orochimaru.
Still, if this lord had been like him back then, perhaps he could have met this lord before meeting Orochimaru. His circumstances would certainly have been better than they were now.
At the very least, working under this lord was always safer and more secure than working under Orochimaru.
Rather than simply becoming a pawn that could be discarded at any time.
Having grown up in the dark world and experienced so much malice, Dosu could still tell who was trustworthy and who was not.
The lord before him seemed godlike, as though devoid of emotion, but deep down, Dosu could sense a warmth in this lord's heart that