Faced with Manda's hesitation, greed, and the threat of betrayal, along with Orochimaru's words that mixed persuasion with intimidation and struck right at the heart of the matter, Jiraiya opened his mouth.
"Uh... Orochimaru, we absolutely can't agree to Man..."
Before he could finish, however, Orochimaru cut him off without ceremony.
"Shut up, Jiraiya."
Orochimaru did not even glance at Jiraiya. His Golden Snake Eyes remained locked on Manda, and the chill and resolve in his voice made Jiraiya swallow the rest of his words.
Orochimaru understood Manda's true nature all too well.
He was greedy, cunning, cruel, a bully who feared the strong, and a firm believer in the law of the jungle.
The gentler, more accommodating, and more reasonable you were with Manda, the more he would see you as a pushover, pushing his luck and making endless demands.
Conversely, the tougher you were, the more ruthless, merciless, and reckless you proved yourself to be, the more he would hesitate, retreat, or even submit.
Having dealt with Manda for years, Orochimaru knew this well.
When Manda wanted to eat people on the battlefield, he could devour enemy Ninja, and Orochimaru would turn a blind eye.
Manda had never dared make such demands when Orochimaru was at his peak. Only after Orochimaru began using Living Corpse Reincarnation and grew steadily weaker had Manda dared ask for them.
Previously, fearing Manda might turn on him, Orochimaru had fed him people who needed eliminating, failed experimental subjects, bandits, or ordinary civilians.
But the Orochimaru of today no longer feared Manda turning on him.
Now, although Orochimaru's words had shaken Manda and left him struggling with his decision, he did not immediately submit or compromise.
He was weighing his options and waiting to see what happened. That alone was a warning sign.