"Ladies and gentlemen, this talking brain can not only display the face of its original owner, but it can also communicate with all of you, just like a living person."
"Come on, say hello to everyone," the auctioneer placed the microphone next to a small box.
A monotone voice, devoid of much emotion or variation, emerged from the box. "Where is this?"
The projected elderly face displayed subtle changes in expression. Due to the limited visual angle of the projection, the face kept trying to turn left and right but could not move too far, only glancing sideways at the auctioneer.
"I'm about to embark on a great interstellar journey!"
"Let me go!" it demanded, the projected face contorting in confusion.
This comical action amused most of the audience. Many had forgotten their initial fear upon seeing the human brain, now watching the projection like they were watching an entertaining clown show.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is no phonograph or radio trick. This is a real, living person!"
He swept his arm in a grand gesture. "Allow me to invite a member of the audience to come up and interact with this talking brain live, to prove my point."
"Any volunteers?"
"Alright, how about you, sir? Please come forward."
A man in a silver mask and white tailcoat stood up, and went towards the stage.
The auctioneer handed a microphone to the volunteer. "You may ask him any question, and he will answer."
"However, a word of caution—this brain's owner has gone through some extraordinary events, so his words might not always be rational."
The man nodded, then turned to face the projected face. "Tell me your name?"
"Abe Ishitaro."
The brain spoke its name without hesitation, causing Tsunade to frown slightly and sparking some murmurs among the guests.
"Abe Ishitaro? That name sounds familiar," someone whispered.
"Isn't he from the Abe family in the Land of Fire?" another voice added.
However, the man didn't seem too concerned about the brain's identity. "My name is Randolph Carter. Can you say my name?"
"Randolph Carter," the brain repeated.
"Say it again?"
"Randolph Carter," Ishitaro's tone didn't change, but his speed increased slightly.
"And again?" Randolph pressed.
The brain's projected face contorted in annoyance. "Why should I say your name so many times?"
Even though the name had been said twice, the brain, which rarely showed emotional changes after being separated from its body, exhibited a somewhat resistant response.
This was apparently exactly what Randolph wanted.
He nodded to the auctioneer, returned the microphone, and elegantly walked back to his seat.
Tsunade's gaze followed the man until he returned to his seat, then she turned back to the stage.
The auctioneer raised the microphone again and said, "I believe everyone now fully understands the uniqueness of this final auction item."
He raised his voice. "So, the starting bid is 100 gold coins. Feel free to place your bids!"
"100!"
"110!"
"115!"
People kept shouting out offers, and the price shot up from 100 gold coins to 150 in no time, with no sign of stopping. It's like watching sharks in a feeding frenzy, Shizune observed the bidders.
In black markets and underground auction houses, the bidders were wealthy individuals from around the world, so national currencies didn't work; only gold coins were accepted as the hard currency.
The wealthy attendees could exchange their native currency for standard gold coins and then spend them here.
Although 200 gold coins might not sound like much, it was equivalent to around 16 million ryō, enough to pay a ninja for completing over a dozen S-rank missions.
But as the price reached 200 gold coins, the rate of increase slowed. After all, this extraordinary item didn't have as clear a value as traditional auction items. Most of the bidders were driven by curiosity.
Paying 200 gold coins for a novelty item was already a steep price. As the auction progressed, fewer people participated, until only Randolph and one other bidder were left.
"237!" Randolph called out.
"240!" came the response from another corner of the room.
"245!"
The person competing with Randolph gave up.
"245 gold coins, first call!"
Sensing this, the auctioneer eagerly prepared to make the final call, as he had already made enough money from this strange item.
Meanwhile, Randolph smiled beneath his mask.
During his earlier conversation with the brain, he had intentionally asked the same question three times.
The first two times, the response had been almost identical, but on the third question, he received a different answer.
This seemingly insignificant exchange allowed him to draw a conclusion.
The talking brain before him wasn't just a trick designed to answer preset questions. There was real human thought inside.
Only a real human brain would react emotionally after being asked the same question three times in a row. But this was only the initial test; more should be done.
"245 gold coins, second call!" The auctioneer shouted.
"245 gold coins, third—"
"300 gold coins!"
The new voice sparked a second wave of excitement in the auction hall.
"300 gold coins from a VIP in the private room!" The auctioneer shouted. "Any more bids? Anyone else?"
Randolph, who had been competing earlier, gave up, and no one else offered a higher bid.
"Alright! Congratulations to the VIP in the second-floor private room for winning this extraordinary item!" The auctioneer slammed down his hammer, calling out the winner of the last item.
That was it - auction over.
Randolph looked up at the second-floor private room, then left.
"It's time. Get ready to move," Tsunade whispered.
They quietly made their way backstage, and watched as the auction staff delivered the item to the second-floor private room.
"Should we intercept them now?" Shizune whispered.
Tsunade shook her head slightly.
Once the staff left, Tsunade and Shizune immediately rushed to the private room door and kicked it open. Inside, a thin figure sat calmly on a sofa, with his back to the door.
"Orochimaru!"
The next second, three kunai shot out from behind the sofa, flying towards Tsunade's head.
Shizune immediately stepped forward, deflecting the three kunai with her own, then stood protectively in front of Tsunade.
A small figure came from beside the sofa. Shizune instantly fixed her gaze on this silhouette, wary, as it must have been the one who threw the kunai.
But just as the two sides entered a standoff, the person on the sofa slowly stood up and clapped twice.
Immediately, the lights in the private room came on.
As the room brightened, both parties could see each other's faces clearly.
The small figure that had come out from behind the sofa was a little girl with white hair and purple eyes.
She was the cute little girl Shizune had seen in the hallway before the auction began. Now, this little girl was holding a kunai, eyeing Shizune and Tsunade cautiously.
Despite her young age, the girl was a ninja like Shizune.
The other one was a man wearing diamond-shaped sunglasses. He had a red ribbon tied around his forehead and wore a loose linen-colored shirt, giving him a somewhat laid-back appearance.
Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise at first, then relaxed in disappointment. Not Orochimaru.
"Why is it you?" Tsunade asked with irritation.
"Why can't it be me, Princess Tsunade? Did you miss me that much?"
The man smiled as he walked towards her, extending his hand for a handshake, but Tsunade ignored him, walking past him into the room.
Despite the awkward situation, the man whose gesture was rebuffed didn't seem to mind. He scratched the back of his head, then placed his hand on the little girl's arm that was holding the kunai, lowering it.
"It's alright, Chino. They're not enemies. Not exactly."
The girl hesitated for a moment. "But—"
He patted her head gently. "Sometimes, Chino, the line between friend and foe is blurrier than a sandstorm in Suna."
Seeing the little girl obediently lower her hand, Shizune also dropped her guard and walked to Tsunade, who had already seated herself on the sofa, and asked, "Tsunade-sama, do you know this man?"
"Mm, I suppose I do." Tsunade's voice was flat, betraying little emotion.
"Oyashiro, a man who belongs to no faction. A shady weapons seller who'll do business with anyone if the price is right. And he's also known as the Merchant of Death."
"Moreover, like me, he's also a medical ninja with exceptional skills."
Tsunade introduced Oyashiro nonchalantly, while the man in question sat down on the sofa opposite her with a grin, saying, "Haha, it's quite an honor for a mere merchant like myself to be known so well by Princess Tsunade."
"However, my medical skills are nothing compared to Princess Tsunade's. I hardly deserve the word 'exceptional'."
His face was full of smiles, making it impossible for Shizune to guess his true thoughts. Although his words were full of compliments for Tsunade, she could see that this man had enough confidence to face Tsunade.
Tsunade didn't waste any more words with Oyashiro and asked directly, "You must have contact with Orochimaru, right?"
Her question wasn't baseless.
Since Orochimaru had become a wanted man, he could only purchase weapons and supplies through hidden underground channels.
And since Oyashiro was a merchant who didn't care about who he traded with, and was also a medical ninja, it was highly likely that he had contact with Orochimaru.
Oyashiro pondered for a few seconds, then nodded with a smile, admitting it.
"Yes."
"Not only that, but this auction item was also something Orochimaru asked me to purchase for him."
Oyashiro pointed at the complete set of equipment on the coffee table, which was the star lot from the auction earlier—the talking brain.
Seeing Oyashiro frankly admit his connection to Orochimaru, and even reveal that he was instructed by Orochimaru to buy this auction item, Tsunade's brow furrowed slightly.
"But don't misunderstand, I'm not one of Orochimaru's people." Oyashiro leaned back, his posture relaxed despite the weight of his words.
"It's just that Orochimaru is in a bit of an inconvenient position to meet people right now, so I'm relaying some information on his behalf to those who want to find him for business."
"Of course, my personal goal is just to make some profit on the side."
"You know, being a merchant and all, ha ha."
Oyashiro spoke without reservation. Although each sentence was delivered with a smile, it put considerable pressure on Tsunade's mind.
Does Orochimaru already know I'm coming to find him for business?
Damn it, how did he find out? Although Tsunade had many questions in her mind, she said, "Go on."
Oyashiro nodded and continued with a smile, "If you want to find him for business, you'll need to do something for him as well."
"Recently, Jiraiya has obtained something, something that Orochimaru is very interested in."
"It might be a scroll or something like that, but he didn't tell me exactly what it was. However, he said that given your position, you would surely be able to figure out what it is, and easily obtain it."
"Once you get that item, everything else can be discussed further."
Item? What item? She hadn't been in contact with Jiraiya for a long time. What could Jiraiya have recently obtained that even Orochimaru was interested in?
While she was still pondering, Oyashiro had already stood up. The sudden movement broke her train of thought.
"Princess Tsunade, although it's a rare honor to have you visit, I have other matters to attend to today."
As he spoke, Oyashiro placed his hand on the shoulder of Chino.
"This child is making her debut in the arena today, and I don't want to miss it."
"So I won't be able to entertain you any further."
"If you obtain the item Orochimaru wants, just contact me using the method for contacting this place, and I'll relay the message to him."
"Don't worry, as the intermediary between you two, I'll certainly fulfill my responsibilities."
"Well then..."
He smiled as he politely asked her to leave. Tsunade didn't take offense and directly picked up the brain in a jar and the three accompanying devices from the table.
"Ah, this..." Oyashiro wanted to reach out to stop her, but she gave a more decisive answer.
"Sorry, this is not for sale. I'll return the auction money to you."
With that, Tsunade left with Shizune. As Shizune was leaving, she observed Chino one last time.
Oyashiro shook his head helplessly. Although Tsunade said she would return the auction money, the auction house's handling fee certainly wouldn't be refunded, so he ended up losing some money in the process.
But there was nothing he could do. He could only lower his head and say to Chino, "You go to the arena and prepare first. I'll be there on time to watch your match."
"Yes."
Chino left the private room, leaving Oyashiro alone.
At this moment, a crack slowly opened in the wall of the private room, and a low, hoarse voice came from within.
"Still as domineering as ever, Tsunade."
Oyashiro didn't turn to look, but smiled bitterly and waved his hand, "Ah, Orochimaru, I've lost money helping you this time."
"I'll pay you back."
Oyashiro smiled and shook his head, not really caring about his promise. Instead, he asked, "Why did you choose the name Randolph Carter? It's so hard to pronounce."
"No reason..."
"Just paying tribute to a great predecessor."