The Bait

In the president's office at Karma Real Estate's headquarters, Oyakuro En, the company president, was warmly welcoming a guest.

Oyakuro En smiled. "Those kids are pretty good, aren't they?"

The man standing before him smiled and spoke in his unmistakably hoarse voice. "They really are some fine kids!"

Obviously, the guest Oyakuro En was welcoming was none other than Orochimaru.

From their conversation, it was easy to tell that Orochimaru was one of Oyakuro En's clients.

This was perfectly normal. Orochimaru's obsession with human experimentation was well known, and he had long since lost interest in ordinary people. He needed people with something special, such as a Kekkei Genkai.

Oyakuro En, who was also scouring the Shinobi World for children with Kekkei Genkai, was undoubtedly one of Orochimaru's best business partners.

Oyakuro En asked, "Orochimaru, I heard you once joined the Akatsuki Organization?"

"That's right."

Orochimaru nodded.

Oyakuro En clicked his tongue in amazement. "It couldn't have been easy to escape from an organization like that!"

Orochimaru didn't seem to want to discuss his past. After brushing off the question, he said, "I need you to do me a favor this time!"

Oyakuro En smiled. "What kind of favor?"

"You've heard about what Konoha is doing in the Land of Hot Water, haven't you?" He paused, then added with a playful look, "There's a child I've taken an interest in. I need you to give me a little help."

Oyakuro En smiled faintly. "Going after Konoha? That's not a good business proposition!"

"Don't worry. It's a trivial matter for you. You only need to arrange some bait for me. I'll take care of the rest."

"Bait, huh?"

Oyakuro En fell silent, considering it.

It wasn't that he was deliberately trying to play hard to get with Orochimaru. He had simply