Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "Such excellent experimental material? You're unusually generous this time!"
Obito Uchiha narrowed his eyes and studied Orochimaru for a moment. He couldn't tell whether the man was sincere, so he gave up trying. "You're unusually funny today. This is your new comrade. Take good care of him!"
With that, he pushed Deidara, whose face had gone blank, in front of Orochimaru. Deidara had been delighted the moment he heard Orochimaru's name, but forcing himself to hide it had been so difficult that his expression had frozen.
Orochimaru could see that Obito Uchiha still had his guard up. His expression turned noticeably colder. "What, does Pain doubt my abilities? Is that why he's sending some kid to get in my way?"
Deidara's temper flared. "I haven't even complained that you're useless, and you've already insulted my art!"
Orochimaru wasn't pleased with the way the brat spoke to him, but he couldn't help feeling relieved. If they treated each other like this, Obito Uchiha's suspicions would ease, at least a little.
Sure enough, Obito Uchiha relaxed considerably when he saw them bickering. He hadn't been all that suspicious of Deidara to begin with; he had recruited the boy himself, bit by bit. Now he put on the air of a peacemaker. "All right, you two should try to get along. That's what he wants. I'll be going!"
Obito Uchiha vanished on the spot. Deidara wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but remembering the man's abilities, he kept himself on edge and continued to act as though he despised Orochimaru.
Orochimaru found it amusing and chuckled. "Come with me!"
Then he led Deidara toward his laboratory. It was the boy's first time there, and Orochimaru needed somewhere completely private to explain everything to him.
Meanwhile, in Konoha, Samui