Kushina went shopping with her two little sisters, and Naoki, who had nothing to do, got together with Minato Namikaze. The two sat on the ground and whispered for a while, then ran off hand in hand.
Watching the two boys sneaking off like thieves, Shigeru could only hope that Naoki wouldn't take the little blond somewhere strange or buy any weird books.
Does Naoki even have money?
Oh, that's okay!
After all, the little blond is just as broke, and unlike Naoki, he can't spend pocket money on the "Emperor Uncle."
So, Shigeru decided to let them go as they pleased.
Not long after the group of mischievous kids dispersed, a special guest arrived at the house.
"Shigeru-kun, long time no see."
Glancing at Orochimaru with a smile on his face, Shigeru opened the door and invited him inside. "It's been so long; I thought you might have changed your mind."
"Do you think I could?"
Orochimaru became excited at the thought of taking a puppet apart and studying it. He wouldn't want to miss such interesting research.
He hadn't shown up for a while, but that was just because he was saving up money.
Now that his wallet was full, Orochimaru naturally wanted to pay Shigeru a visit.
Taking out a scroll and placing it on the table, Orochimaru's face turned serious. "Shigeru, ten million ryō. I need three puppets."
Only Orochimaru could be this generous.
Hearing that price, Shigeru felt like giving Orochimaru a thumbs up—what a big spender!
But he shook his head. "No, I can only give you two."
"Three." Orochimaru didn't want to lose out on this deal, especially since he'd already let Shigeru off a large debt before. Getting only two puppets for ten million ryō would be a big loss.
If it weren't for his fascination with Shigeru's puppets, Orochimaru wouldn't have wanted to spend the extra money.
"Two."
"Three!"
"Two!"
The two of them bargained, but Orochimaru still wouldn't give in. Shigeru finally agreed with a nod:
"Fine, three. But let's be clear: you can research them or play with them yourself, but if you break them, don't come back to me."
No returns or anything like that.
Shigeru Hyuga does not offer a refund service here.
"If they break, I'll buy more." Orochimaru was unfazed. He could see that Shigeru was simply after the money now.
Since money could solve the issue, why worry? He'd just buy replacements if needed.
Over the past six months, Orochimaru had made plenty of money, and he'd continue to earn dividends in the future. Plus, with rewards from various missions and new projects, he wouldn't be short on cash.
As one of the Sannin, he'd always be financially secure as long as he worked hard.
Outwardly, Jiraiya seemed to be the richest of them, thanks to the popularity of his books. He earned more from his writing and performed more missions than Tsunade and Orochimaru.
But this didn't mean Orochimaru and Tsunade were any less capable of making money.
If Orochimaru avoided expensive, bizarre experiments and focused on honest R&D work and missions, his income would certainly exceed Jiraiya's.
And as for Tsunade, just her name alone would attract a crowd willing to pay big money for her medical expertise, whether from Konoha, the Land of Fire, or beyond.
The earning potential of medical ninjas was huge—as long as their skills were strong and their fees high, they were guaranteed to make plenty.
"Then choose three yourself."
Shigeru handed over a scroll, allowing Orochimaru to pick his puppets.
There were three types of puppets Shigeru made: reconnaissance puppets, combat puppets, and main battle puppets.
The main battle puppets were the strongest and most abundant, as he used only the best materials for them. The reconnaissance and expendable puppets were fewer in number.
The expendable puppets were made from leftover materials and weren't as valuable.
Opening the scroll and looking over the options, a strange smile appeared on Orochimaru's face.
"Interesting. Shigeru-san, you're truly an interesting person."
As long as he was happy, Shigeru didn't mind. He made a "three" sign, signaling Orochimaru to stop wasting time.
A wolf, a small boar, and a crow. Other than the crow, the materials used for the wolf and boar seemed to have been from animals Orochimaru himself had hunted.
And now, they'd been turned into puppets and sold back to him at an inflated price.
The three puppets emerged from the scroll and immediately stood by Shigeru.
Orochimaru asked curiously, "Can I control them?"
"Sorry, no. I'm the only one who can control these puppets. But don't worry; they won't attack you and will even cooperate with your research. Even if you disassemble them, they won't resist."
As a seller, Shigeru was straightforward, informing Orochimaru that he was the only one with control over the puppets, so there wouldn't be any misunderstandings.
But if Orochimaru could figure out how to control one, Shigeru would be impressed.
Orochimaru smiled confidently, took his items, and left. He couldn't wait to begin his research.
He wasn't entirely convinced by Shigeru's claim that only he could control the puppets.
Orochimaru was sure he could crack the secret.
A puppet with life—such a fascinating prospect for research.
As Orochimaru hurried off, brimming with confidence, Shigeru could only hope he wouldn't end up frustrated.
A bit of frustration was fine, but it would be unfortunate if Orochimaru's curiosity led him down a dark path.
Fortunately, with Shimura Danzo still imprisoned in the Anbu prison, there was less risk of Orochimaru being drawn into the darkness.
Without Danzo's influence, conducting human experiments in the village wouldn't be easy.
"Senior."
Seeing Shigeru approach, the little blond immediately stood up to greet him.
Since their last dinner, Namikaze Minato and Naoki had grown much closer, often training and working hard together.
Shigeru couldn't tell if Naoki had become more cautious after his near-death experience or if he was simply getting along well with the little blond.
"You don't have to be so formal. Just come by and play often if you have time. Naoki's alright, but Kushina doesn't have many friends and often feels lonely."
"Yes."
Namikaze Minato scratched his head in embarrassment.
This habit of his was exactly like Jiraiya's, who also scratched his head or picked his feet when embarrassed.
He even did it when lying.
As Shigeru finished up in the bathroom and stepped out, he heard Naoki's voice calling from the yard.
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