The moment the word 'money' left his mouth, the wind seemed to have its howl cut off.
Even the vortexes carrying snowflakes froze mid-air, as if pinned in place by an invisible hand.
Orochimaru's smile solidified instantly. The curve of his lips, not yet smoothed away, was locked tight by a layer of frost.
His golden, vertical pupils first flashed with astonishment, then were flooded with an impenetrable gloom, 'I hadn't even opened my mouth to ask the Uchiha for research funds, and this brat beat me to it?'
'Was this kid here deliberately to make a fool of me?'
'Did I, Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Three Sannin, did have so little reputation?'
Thinking of this, Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils contracted sharply into thin slits, like a venomous snake locking onto its prey.
An intense killing intent surged towards Makoto like a tangible tide, carrying a cold, suffocating pressure that made one's chest feel tight, each breath tasting of rust.
Makoto did his utmost to keep the smile on his face unchanged, but it was extremely difficult. He felt a suffocating sensation as if being constricted by a python, the pressure was overwhelming...
Seeing this, Itachi and Shisui both froze in place simultaneously, their eyes filled with astonishment, even a bit of disbelief.
Their previously agreed plan was to help Orochimaru become the Godaime Hokage, and borrowing money hadn't been mentioned at all...
A huge question mark surfaced in Shisui's mind.
They were almost done negotiating, how did it suddenly fall apart... the situation changed too fast for him to comprehend.
The instant the killing intent surged again, Itachi's reaction was faster than a rattlesnake in the snow.
He flashed in front of Makoto in a Body Flicker, his right hand resting on his tool pouch, three tomoe swirling into existence in his black eyes.
Seeing Itachi's movement, Shisui immediately stepped in front of Itachi, his left hand gripping the hilt of the sword on his back. The three tomoe in his eyes slowly rotated, flames of vigilance burning in his pupils.
Though Shisui was not skilled with words, he was somewhat confident in his combat abilities. Even facing one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, he felt no fear.
The previously harmonious scene completely shattered because of one sentence.
Snowflakes drifted down between them, rustling. The moment they touched the killing intent emanating from Orochimaru, they froze with a 'click' into tiny ice crystals, shattering with a crisp sound as they hit the ground.
'It's the same everywhere indeed… borrowing money is a century-old problem. Talking about money hurts feelings, talking about feelings hurts money. The ancients did not deceive me.'
Just mentioning the matter of money, and Orochimaru's face turned faster than flipping a book, simply an insult to the name of the prestigious Sannin.
If not for him not being able to slip out of Konoha right now, Makoto would have long gone to win money from the Legendary Sucker… Tsunade.
Seeing this, Orochimaru licked his lower lip: "Are you two going to play with me?"
"Wait a moment!"
Makoto suddenly spoke up, his tone carrying not a trace of fear from start to finish.
Hearing this, Orochimaru actually stopped his movement, looking at Makoto with great interest, 'This brat really wasn't afraid of me at all.'
The Uchiha Clan behind him, though fiercely protective of their own, wouldn't be able to intervene quickly enough here. Without a reasonable explanation today, Orochimaru would absolutely not let this go.
But the killing intent in his golden vertical pupils, though undiminished, gained a hint of amusement, as if watching a cornered beast struggle.
With Orochimaru's command to stop, the multitude of small snakes that had turned into a torrent also paused mid-air. Countless snake heads faced the three, forked tongues flickering, a fishy stench mixed with the smell of snow assaulting their senses.
'As expected, when you're out in the world, it all depends on backing. Without backing, you're just a small-time punk.'
If Makoto didn't have the Uchiha Clan behind him, Orochimaru would probably beat him half to death first, leaving just enough breath to talk.
Thinking of this, Makoto let out a light breath and instead took half a step forward: "Orochimaru, are you trying to get something for nothing?"
Makoto seized the initiative, turning the tables, standing on the moral high ground and loudly questioning Orochimaru.
Hearing this, Orochimaru's tongue flicked over his lower lip again, a trace of an angry smile actually appearing on his pale face.
"The three of us are still young, our potential not fully unearthed, so we need some funds."
Makoto spoke rapidly, but his eyes were shining brightly. "In the future, we might even awaken eyes like Uchiha Madara's."
"Once we leap to become top-tier experts, we can serve you better. This is all to help you more quickly."
"I'm doing this all for your sake!"
As his words fell, Makoto spread his hands, his tone righteous as he retorted.
"If you're even reluctant to provide a little startup capital now, how can we believe in your sincerity? Just by empty words?"
Orochimaru's eyes slowly darkened, the killing intent in his golden vertical pupils fading considerably, because he thought of the legendary strength of Uchiha Madara... adding a layer of contemplation.
Seeing this, Makoto directly pulled out his small trump card: "You also know that the Uchiha Clan values promises most, and we never deceive people."
This wasn't wrong. Although the Uchiha Clan had a less-than-stellar 'reputation' in Konoha, their credit was extremely good.
Orochimaru's fingertips tapped lightly on his arm, as if quickly weighing the pros and cons in his mind, and he directly countered.
"Geniuses like you from the Uchiha Clan, would you still lack money?"
'We lack, of course we lack, Fugaku is such a miser...' This sentence Makoto did not say out loud. Instead, he said calmly.
"Whether we lack money or not is one thing. Whether you have sincerity is another."
"Let us see your sincerity first. In the future, we'll return it to you tenfold, a hundredfold. How about that?"
Anyway, Orochimaru was about to defect soon. He could just write blank checks, and there was no way he could cash them.
Orochimaru fell silent for a moment. He first scanned the three tomoe spinning in Itachi's eyes, radiating a steadiness belying his age.
Then he glanced at Shisui's hand on his sword hilt, knuckles white, clearly ready to draw at any moment. Finally, his gaze returned to Makoto's calm, unrippled black eyes.
'Interesting.'
'I was indeed very short on money right now. The funds for my research were being tightly controlled by that old fool, Shimura Danzo.'
'And what this brat said wasn't wrong. The sooner these three grew stronger, the more advantageous it would be for me.'
Once they reached their peak, the authority of the Uchiha could be used for his purposes. Then he would definitely not lack research funds anymore, as the Uchiha Clan's resources were the most substantial in Konoha.
Most importantly, he believed this brat wouldn't dare deceive him. After all, if they truly offended him deeply, with himself and Danzo applying pressure simultaneously, even Hiruzen wouldn't say much.
He might even be glad to see it happen.
Thinking of this, the quite self-confident Orochimaru suddenly raised his hand. A scroll flew from his sleeve, landing in the snow at Makoto's feet.
"Take it."
Orochimaru's voice still carried ice shards, but lacked the bone-chilling killing intent from before, his drawn-out trailing tone lingering. "Don't disappoint me."