"Lord Orochimaru, you're a missing-nin now. How can you still stay in the village so casually?"
With his Byakugan activated, Zou Hyuga could clearly see Orochimaru's expression. It was one of utter indifference.
Orochimaru rested his chin on one hand and gazed at Zou Hyuga, his voice soft and eerie. "For you, of course. I'm very interested in the two of you..."
Zou Hyuga frowned. "Is this about our transactions? I can give you a copy of the material on our original ninjutsu, but please keep it confidential. We don't want too many ties with a missing-nin."
"Such strong feelings..." Orochimaru seemed almost wistful. He shook his head. "But I didn't come looking for you because of your ninjutsu. I'm here because of what happened yesterday morning."
"Yesterday morning?" Zou Hyuga asked, looking puzzled.
"Don't try to hide it. As far as I know, only a handful of people could clean up a scene so perfectly. You're among them."
Zou Hyuga fell silent as he stared at Orochimaru.
He had never imagined that cleaning up the scene so perfectly would itself become a flaw. Perfection had actually been his undoing.
After a moment's thought, Zou Hyuga asked, "Since you know, what do you want, Lord Orochimaru? This is Konoha, and we're ANBU serving directly under the Fourth Hokage."
Orochimaru gazed at Zou Hyuga. "I need you to serve under me."
Zou Hyuga smiled, keeping his eyes fixed on Orochimaru. "Lord Orochimaru, aside from being ANBU, I'm also a member of the Hyuga Branch Family. How would that be any different from killing me outright...?"
"Becoming my subordinates doesn't necessarily mean leaving the village..."
Flicking out his long, slender tongue, Orochimaru gave an eerie smile. "To be precise, I'm very interested in your bodies. You're different from ordinary Hyuga and Uchiha."