Hearing Coulson's words, Killer Bee initially assumed he wanted reinforcements.
Considering the rest of his team was tracking Ward and others, he shook his head and said, "I already tried to reach them, but for some reason, I haven't gotten a response. I heard the Cloud Village outpost has suspended operations."
As he spoke, Killer Bee pulled out his phone and tried dialing a number, "The call can't go through. Out of service area. Maybe they returned to the Ninja World."
Coulson glanced at Killer Bee but said nothing. He suspected that Cloud Village might be raiding S.H.I.E.L.D. bases alongside Konoha, since they had been collecting 084 objects too.
Still, he explained, "I was hoping Cloud ninja could come and retrieve some of the 084 items here in exchange for resources."
"But seeing how things are now, we're out of time. I'll have to call Kabuto Yakushi instead."
Killer Bee silently thought, 'It's too late to ask now; Cloud Village really won't make it.'
However, dealing with Sound Village and Kabuto wasn't a loss, since everything would still ultimately fall into Lord Charles's hands.
Besides, Cloud ninja had already secured a cold storage facility beneath the Ice Prison. That gain would suffice for now.
"That's a real shame," Killer Bee commented, "Looks like you'll have to go with that."
Coulson noted the unchanged tone and didn't press further. He took out his phone and dialed Kabuto's number.
Within three seconds, Kabuto answered.
"Kabuto, it's Coulson."
Kabuto, seeing an unknown number on his phone, chuckled, "Hearing from you today is quite a surprise. I almost thought you'd gone and gotten yourself heroically killed again."
Coulson smirked slightly, "Looks like you're already aware of Hydra."
Kabuto, watching a news report on S.H.I.E.L.D., remarked, "The TV's full of stories about S.H.I.E.L.D. Do you want me to turn it up for you?"
"No need," Coulson responded quickly.
"Since you know the situation, I want to propose a deal."
"I'm at the S.H.I.E.L.D. central base. The underground warehouse here holds a significant amount of 084 objects. Some may not be what you need, but I'm sure there are plenty that would be valuable to you."
"But I can't give an exact inventory or quantity."
"I'm evacuating soon, and I'm willing to share the location and coordinates with you in exchange for a supply of physical enhancement serums and the Curse Mark of Fire."
Kabuto's interest was piqued, "Give me more details. Why not take the items yourself and trade directly? It would be easier to calculate their value that way."
Coulson explained, "I'll be straightforward. In less than an hour, Colonel Talbot and his peacekeeping forces will arrive. He claims they just want to ask some questions and leave."
"But I don't trust him. He might seize control of the facility."
"I'll convince a group of agents to stay behind and buy time for your Sound ninja to get here and collect the 084 objects."
"In return, I want some resources: enhancement serums and Curse Marks of Fire. If you have something better, I'm open to negotiating for that too."
"As for how much to give me, you can decide based on the value of the items."
"I trust you won't shortchange me."
"Oh, and if any of the agents staying behind catch your eye, feel free to recruit them. I can vouch for their skills."
Kabuto chuckled. Recruiting S.H.I.E.L.D. agents wasn't necessary—he already had plenty of Hydra operatives working under him.
Adding loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to the mix would only complicate things. And using them for experiments was also unnecessary.
However, the 084 items at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s central base definitely intrigued him.
"I'll pass on recruiting your agents. They're too loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D. You'll find them more useful in the future."
"But I'm very interested in this central base you mentioned. As for the U.S. government, we Sound ninja aren't concerned about them."
"Send me the coordinates. I'll assess the value of the items and get back to you, though I'm sure you know the prices will be… adjusted accordingly."
Hearing Kabuto agree, Coulson's face lit up with relief. Even with discounted prices, the gain would still provide enough resources to recruit more operatives.
"Deal. I'll send the coordinates right away."