Do You Want to Know the Meaning of Life?

The next day.

They arrived at their destination without any further incidents. The handover was simple, handled by Teacher Might Guy and Mr. Nakata.

The process went smoothly. Mr. Nakata was very enthusiastic, but he could not outdo Teacher Might Guy, so some of his ideas were promptly abandoned.

After completing the mission, Neji and the others finally set down their burden and had a chance to take in the sights of a foreign land.

But as a small country, the Land of Fields clearly could not compare to the Land of Fire in terms of development.

Neji merely wore a faint smile as he formed a hand seal. An image appeared in his mind.

It was the monitor eyeball he had ostensibly been researching, now keeping watch over that shipment.

He had hidden a little surprise inside. It would be best if Orochimaru saw it, but it did not matter if he did not.

It would not affect Neji's plan. It was only a matter of time.

Halfway through the return journey, the image in his mind, like a minimized floating window, finally changed.

A group of ninja wearing eighth-note symbols on their headbands entered the surveillance view, making the corner of Neji's mouth curl upward.

He had hit the jackpot!

They were the Sound Five. They were extremely arrogant and exchanged few words. After conducting an inspection and confirming the goods, they simply collected them and hauled them away.

Neji closed the floating view, remotely triggered the self-destruct mechanism, and waited to see whether Orochimaru or someone else would discover it first.

Could it be his senior, Kabuto?

They should be able to trace the shipment back to the people who escorted it, and eventually suspect him!

No! Perhaps they would dismiss the possibility.

With an amusing gambler's mentality, Neji returned to Konoha. Ninja naturally traveled much faster than merchant caravans.

Sometimes, being noticed might be better than being ignored!

Because it represented a difference in value and status. In a transaction, that was an extremely important bargaining chip.

Meanwhile, in Otogakure.

The Sound Five directed the basic materials into Orochimaru's Laboratory while Kabuto inspected the goods.

"Stop!"

Kabuto looked at the purchase list in his hand, adjusted his glasses, and a glint flashed through his eyes.

"What is it, Lord Kabuto?"

One of the Sound ninja pushing the goods could not help asking curiously.

"Move aside!"

"Yes!"

Seeing that Kabuto's expression was unusual, the Sound ninja hurriedly stepped back. Kabuto then approached the goods and inspected them carefully.

After examining them thoroughly, he stepped back slightly and ordered, "You, move that crate aside and expose the bottom."

The Sound ninja who had been ordered froze, immediately thinking of something unpleasant. Gritting his teeth, he shakily reached out his hand.

His entire body tensed as he carefully overturned the goods, then darted far away in an instant.

Nothing happened. Kabuto glanced at him, practically about to say, You sure are dramatic.

The man was immensely embarrassed, but Kabuto's attention was already fixed on the object at the bottom.

A palm-sized piece of paper was stuck there. Its twisted symbols bore the distinctive shape of a Sealing Jutsu.

Kabuto revealed an intrigued smile. He recognized this Sealing Jutsu. It was a simple Object Sealing Jutsu and posed no threat.

But...

What was inside? He pondered briefly. And who had made it?

He did not touch the item. Instead, he beckoned to the Sound Five and had them come over.

Pointing at the goods, he said, "Who did these goods come from? Go ask about their experience. It seems someone has noticed something."

"Yes!"

The Sound Five immediately departed. Kabuto looked at the item and instructed the others, "Leave this thing here. Handle the rest as usual!"

"Yes!"

The other Sound ninja began moving the goods, leaving only that item behind. Kabuto turned and entered the Laboratory to report to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru, who was in the middle of an experiment, was not particularly interested. But for someone to use such a minor trick to contact him, it seemed the other party knew something.

Before long, the Sound Five returned with their report, finally piquing Orochimaru's interest.

A trace of amusement appeared in his narrow eyes. A genin team led by that fellow Might Guy?

And with that lineup, it was rather interesting!

A Hyuga Clan member and two commoners. At their age, only that brat from the Hyuga Clan likely knew of him.

How ironic. One of the renowned Konoha Sannin, yet hardly any of the younger generation knew who he was anymore.

Looking over the information Kabuto had gathered, Orochimaru casually skipped past Rock Lee and Tenten before his gaze settled on Neji Hyuga's file.

At four, he dug out his own eyes. Outstanding sensory talent. Even without the Byakugan, he could wield the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist with its full power.

"I never expected the Hyuga Clan to produce someone like this after I left."

"Hizashi's son? That rigid fellow actually gave birth to such an interesting brat."

"My lord, are you saying Neji Hyuga may have placed that item?" Kabuto could not help asking.

"It is only a possibility," Orochimaru answered hoarsely. Kabuto stored the matter away in his heart. It seemed he would have to pay closer attention to this junior.

"Do not think of watching him. If it truly was him, you would expose yourself!"

Kabuto's heart tightened. Thinking it through, that was indeed the case, and he could not help wiping away a bit of sweat.

"Just gather information about him indirectly. Whether it was him or not, he has some value."

Orochimaru gave a sinister smile. A Branch Family member who had not been branded with the Caged Bird Seal—although he had no interest in the Byakugan, he was interested in Neji.

From this file alone, he could tell that after his father's death, the boy had dug out his own eyes.

Using his father's sacrifice, his father's contributions to the village and clan, and his own Byakugan to secure freedom from the Caged Bird Seal showed considerable character.

Even Itachi could not have matched such use of the greater situation to exert pressure at that age. Whether intentional or not, he had ultimately avoided being branded with the Caged Bird Seal.

At the mention of Itachi, greed surfaced in Orochimaru's eyes. He had to obtain those eyes.

Having made up his mind, he said to Kabuto, "Bring that item to me. I want to see what it is."

"Yes!"

Kabuto quickly brought over the palm-sized Sealing Scroll. Its exquisite craftsmanship made Orochimaru show a hint of surprise.

"Open it!"

Kabuto swiftly formed hand seals, slapped his palm onto it, and poured Chakra into it. With a bang, three objects appeared before them: a Mechanical Eye, a sheet of paper, and a conch shell.

At the same time, Neji, who had already returned to Konoha, suddenly felt something.

He turned toward the direction of Otogakure. His item had been triggered.

"It has been triggered. So who was it?"

Neji smiled and drank the clear tea before him.

Inside Otogakure.

In the Laboratory, Kabuto conducted a simple inspection and found no poison or anything else strange.

He then picked up the sheet of paper and slowly began to read.

"Do you want to know the meaning of life?"

A strange look appeared in Kabuto's eyes. He looked toward the smiling Orochimaru and continued reading.

"Press the Sound Shell, and you will learn the meaning of life. Activate the Mechanical Eye, and we will have an in-depth exchange."

Kabuto placed the paper back on the table. That was all it said. The rest was contained within the Mechanical Eye and the so-called Sound Shell.

The Sound Shell was a specialty of Sky Island in the One Piece World, equivalent to a voice recorder.