Shinji's appearance immediately made the Research Institute's two Six Paths level combatants uneasy.
Owl in particular had only just chosen to defect from the Research Institute, killing quite a few pursuers sent after him along the way. Now that the leader of the Akatsuki Organization, which stood above the Research Institute, had blocked his path, the consequences went without saying.
"Damn it, I was only one step away!"
Orochimaru, who had been pursuing Owl, was secretly furious.
Owl's defection this time had been secretly orchestrated by him. Many of Owl's so-called confidants were secretly Orochimaru's people, who had been instructed to incite Owl to defect.
Orochimaru had pursued him all the way here, quietly eliminating every spy he had planted beside Owl without leaving a trace.
Next came the moment for him to reap the rewards. If he had only been given a little more time, he could have used capturing Owl as an excuse to attack him. Once the two sides began fighting, he could secretly activate the divine technique Absorption and absorb Owl's divine technique Transformation. After that, he would eliminate all witnesses.
By then, even the Research Institute would have had no grounds to criticize him.
But all those calculations had vanished with Shinji's appearance. Orochimaru did not dare reveal his emotions and could only choke them back.
After freezing for a moment, Owl reacted and said awkwardly, "'A,' you finally decided to show yourself! I have no hostility toward those people from the Research Institute. I just don't want to stay with them. How about this? We part on good terms. If you ever need my help in the future, I'll do everything I can. How does that sound?"
As Shinji studied Owl before him with interest, he recalled the information Amado had given him about