Chapter 78 Special Guest

"Excuse me, how much does a phone cost?"

A plain-looking customer asked at the front desk.

"100,000 ryo each. How many would you like?"

Dosu replied without looking up.

After familiarizing himself with the shop's operations, he had quickly gotten the hang of it, adapting faster than his two companions.

By now... he had lost count of how many customers he had served.

"Is that so? Then I'll take two."

With that, the customer handed over the money.

Dosu took the money and glanced up at the customer. When he saw the vertical pupils, his heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

"Here you go. Remember to bind your fingerprint."

"Thank you."

The customer took the phone and smiled at Dosu.

---

Nearby, Zaku noticed Dosu's strange expression.

"You don't look well, what's wrong?"

Although Dosu didn't understand how Zaku could see his expression through the bandages on his face, he replied with lingering fear, "That customer just now... gave me the feeling of a venomous snake. But the feeling disappeared in an instant. I don't know if it's because I've been under too much pressure lately..."

Zaku scratched his head, "Huh? A venomous snake? Do you think that person might have been Orochimaru-sama?"

Hearing Zaku's thoughtless remark, Dosu was startled.

Zaku's voice wasn't quiet, and most of the shop's customers were Ninja, so it can be imagined how well they could capture information.

Noticing the probing glances from the surrounding customers, and with his keen hearing, Dosu also noticed that the conversations around them had grown quieter, with some even stopping mid-sentence.

Realizing something was wrong, Dosu raised his voice slightly, "How could that be? Zaku, I think you're the one under more stress. Didn't Orochimaru die a long time ago?"

"Oh, you're right..."

Dosu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was well aware of one thing...

Both Zaku and Kin were different from him in one key aspect.

That difference was their loyalty to Orochimaru.

Ever since the Forest of Death, he had realized that Orochimaru was simply using the three of them as pawns, willing to sacrifice them!

Unfortunately, even after explaining this to Zaku many times, Zaku still held some affection for Orochimaru.

---

Orochimaru hadn't left. Instead, he casually found a seat and sat down.

[Please register your fingerprint]

'Fingerprint?' Orochimaru found it strange but followed the instructions.

Kabuto also followed the phone's prompts.

However, Orochimaru encountered a minor issue.

[Fingerprint registration failed. Please use your own fingerprint]

Orochimaru found it even stranger, 'So many people hadn't seen through my disguise... how could this little device?'

But it didn't matter. Orochimaru shed a layer of skin and registered his own fingerprint.

Then, he started the story mode...

Twenty minutes later, Orochimaru and Kabuto almost simultaneously completed the story mode...

They glanced at each other, now understanding why they had failed.

Orochimaru smiled and said, "I wonder who created this thing? If I get the chance, I'd really like to meet them."

A middle-aged Ninja nearby overheard Orochimaru's words and responded, "Huh? Are you talking about Manager? He's usually on the third floor and doesn't show himself much."

Orochimaru politely replied, "Is that so? Thank you."

"You're welcome... Oh, by the way, are you new? If you're new, let me show you how to play this game."

Orochimaru watched as this enthusiastic Ninja explained how to get started with the game.

In Orochimaru's eyes, the man even made several mistakes.

But…

"Look at this. This is the Points Mall for the ranking competition. You can earn points by completing ranked missions and exchange them for items here. These items can actually enhance your real-life abilities..."

At this point, the Ninja paused, about to move on to explain something else, when Orochimaru noticed an item called Chakra Proficiency Book and asked: "Wait, you're saying... this can affect reality?"

Hearing the skepticism in Orochimaru's tone, the middle-aged Ninja enthusiastically explained, "Of course! At first, I didn't believe it either, but I heard someone actually exchanged for something and their power skyrocketed!"

"Oh? Who was that person? What happened to them?"

At this, the middle-aged Ninja's gaze shifted uncomfortably, "Uh... I only heard about it."

"Oh, look! You know about that traitor Orochimaru's Konoha Crush Plan from a while ago, right?"

Orochimaru thought for a moment and nodded, "I've heard a little about it."

"Huh? Only a little? Aren't you from Konoha?"

"No, it's just that Sandaime-sama acted so wisely to stop the plan that I didn't even see it happen before it was over."

When Orochimaru mentioned 'wisely,' his tone was full of sarcasm.

In truth, he wasn't one to lie often, but he found a certain pleasure in speaking ironically.

Moreover, he didn't shy away from his failure, acting as if it had never happened.

Now, he was essentially investigating the reason for his defeat.

The middle-aged Ninja thought Orochimaru's explanation made sense and laughed heartily, "Although Sandaime-sama played a big role, you should know... this game actually revealed Orochimaru's plan to attack Konoha a week in advance!"

Orochimaru didn't expect it wasn't just a leak, but practically a public announcement.

"I see... So this Manager must be a very powerful Ninja, right?"

The middle-aged Ninja glanced around and said in a low voice, "What Ninja could do something like this? This is simply divine power! I heard... Manager is actually the Sage of Six Paths in disguise. Don't tell anyone, though. It's just a rumor."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, "The Sage of Six Paths? Isn't that just a children's story?"

"Well, I don't know about that. All I know is, no matter how powerful a Ninja is, they can't just grant power to others, let alone predict the future..."

Orochimaru fell silent.

Granting power to others? He could do that too. He had even tried to give Sasuke power, but Sasuke had refused.

As for predicting the future? Orochimaru couldn't quite figure that out, but his curiosity about this 'Manager', rumored to be the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths, grew even stronger.

"Uh, anyway, that's pretty much all there is to the game. I've only been playing for a few days, so that's all I can tell you. I'm going to go play some ranked matches now. See you around."

---

Orochimaru didn't find the middle-aged Ninja's enthusiasm suspicious.

It just fit his stereotype of some Konoha Ninjas.

Then, Orochimaru turned to Kabuto. "By the way, Kabuto, if this Manager really has the ability to predict the future, then he should have known about our arrival, right? How do you think he plans to welcome us?"

Kabuto wasn't sure who Orochimaru was talking to, but he had no choice but to play along.