CH_146

The moment the question left his mouth, Tenchi realized it didn't add up.

"No, that can't be right—you would've announced yourself right away… Was it the Third or the Fourth who sent you?!" Tenchi showed no intent to attack, but he was clearly on guard against Tōji.

Tōji narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking, 『This guy… He calls Orochimaru "Lord," calls Danzo "Lord," but doesn't give the two Hokage that title. Is he not afraid I'll kill him on the spot…』

"Nobody sent me. I'm just an ordinary spy shinobi Konoha planted in the Land of Seas." Tōji understood Tenchi's stance—and knew exactly what face to put on. "But I can help you. Or rather, help Lord Orochimaru."

"Then how did you find this place?! How could you possibly help me and Lord Orochimaru?!" Tenchi was rattled, but not panicking.

"Aren't you going to invite me in first? Sit down, talk properly?" Tōji might have been a boy, but he showed no fear. Tenchi was just an adult with zero combat ability.

"…" Tenchi said nothing. But his expression made it clear he was rapidly analyzing, calculating, guessing… He fumbled along the "wall" beside Tōji, and the door rumbled open.

"Please, come in." Only then did Tenchi speak—using polite words, but without the corresponding courtesy in his tone.

Tōji couldn't be bothered with the details. He hadn't forgotten he was here to make a deal.

And this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Ever since he'd learned he was being sent to the Land of Seas, he'd already envisioned this scenario.

"I don't know exactly what experiments you're running… This is classified at the highest level in Konoha—there's no way I should know about it… But this lab has clearly been abandoned. Whatever project you're working on, I'm guessing it was deemed a failure and shut down!" Tōji needed to shake Tenchi up first.

But he still pretended not to know too much—after all, Orochimaru would be involved later.

"But as a Konoha spy in the Land of Seas, if I really wanted to investigate, someone hiding like you wouldn't escape my notice!" Tōji was clearly bullying an amateur like Tenchi.

"You don't even know what we're researching, and you're playing mind games? How are you supposed to help us!" Tenchi wasn't an idiot.

"I don't need you to believe me right now. But I'm guessing Lord Orochimaru will come looking for you here…" Tōji spoke while quietly watching Tenchi's expression for changes.

"As an excellent spy, is it really that strange that I know a few things you'd be interested in?" Tōji didn't expect that kind of bluff to fool Orochimaru—but scaring Tenchi was more than enough.

"Fine. What do you know… and what do you want!" Tenchi had actually calmed down now. He'd realized Tōji wasn't here to make trouble for him.

"I have a secret. But I might not get the chance to tell Lord Orochimaru directly—because I'm about to be sent on a more dangerous mission." Tōji pulled a small bamboo tube sealed in a plastic bag from his clothes… The tube had already been sealed with a low-level sealing technique. He needed to make sure Tenchi couldn't mess with it.

"If in the future I come to you first, you trade this for that secret. If Lord Orochimaru comes here first, you give this to him. With his intelligence, he'll know what to do." Tōji casually placed the bamboo tube on a table.

"You want me to hold onto this for you?" Tenchi understood half of it—and his eyes started shifting…

Worried that Tenchi might try to swipe the so-called secret for himself, Tōji immediately added a threat. "If you don't do as I say, Dr. Tenchi… with my abilities, you won't just end up with nothing—you'll also find yourself on the wrong end of Lord Orochimaru's…"

Tōji drew a finger across his throat.