Orochimaru gently rubbed each of the Tontatta Tribe members on his body, watching them look up at him with anticipation, and even obediently lined up.
Orochimaru smiled slightly, slowly sat down on the cushion the Tontatta Tribe had specially prepared for him, stretched out his hand, and gently stroked each of these little fellows.
Looking at the adorable Tontatta Tribe in front of him, Orochimaru, who was immersed in caressing them, inadvertently revealed a hint of sadness in his expression.
At this moment, a female Tontatta Tribe member keenly noticed the anomaly. She gently rubbed against Orochimaru's face and asked with concern, "Orochimaru-sama, why do you look so sad?"
Orochimaru paused slightly, forced out a somewhat troubled expression, and softly said, "It's nothing, I didn't lie to you."
However, a Tontatta Tribe member, who considered himself clever, frowned, put his hands on his hips, stared directly at Orochimaru, and said impolitely,
"Orochimaru-sama is lying, he is clearly very sad... We all agreed before that Orochimaru-sama wouldn't lie to us!"
Orochimaru sighed helplessly, his eyes full of reluctance, slowly scanned the group of Tontatta Tribe members in front of him, and said in a slightly hoarse voice,
"That... I'm leaving... Maybe... we won't see each other again."
Upon hearing this, the Tontatta Tribe's faces instantly filled with shock, and then they all rushed onto Orochimaru, asking in a clamor with crying voices,
"We won't see each other again? Why? Will we never see each other again? We want to go with you too."
Orochimaru's face was solemn, with a hint of worry in his eyes. He sighed deeply, his gaze slowly sweeping over the Tontatta Tribe members clustered around him, his voice hoarse and helpless.
"Yes, I'm leaving Dressrosa. The Marine is menacing, trying to find Doffy's weakness. King Riku's subordinates have also formed an anti-Dressrosa coalition army with your compatriots.
You know, they hate me and Doffy to the core and won't tolerate us staying in Dressrosa for another moment."
He paused slightly, his eyes full of struggle, and his tone became even heavier.
"We must leave. I know King Riku is the best king in your hearts.
Doffy has done some excessive things to you in the past, and I don't want to make things difficult for you... But now, due to the situation, there's no other way."
Orochimaru slowly squatted down, his bony hand gently picked up a Tontatta Tribe member, and he gazed at him.
"The place we are going to next is the hometown of this body of mine.
That place has been occupied by Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, and there will definitely be a battle with a somewhat disparate outcome.
You should be living carefree under this sun. You shouldn't be involved in unrelated battles."
A brave Tontatta Tribe member looked up, his eyes shining with firm light, and he said loudly,
"Orochimaru-sama, you lent a helping hand in our most difficult time. We will never forget this kindness. We are not afraid of danger and are willing to follow you closely!"
Orochimaru seemed to be suppressing his emotions with all his might:
"You don't understand, this journey, what we face is death, every step could be the last.
If I selfishly drag you along, how can I be worthy of your trust?"
More Tontatta Tribe members swarmed around like a tide, clenching their small fists, and shouted in unison: "We are not afraid, we want to go with you! We will share life and death with you!"
Orochimaru feigned emotion, turned his head away, and only turned back after a long time, his eyes full of "gratification," and he let out a long sigh.
He scanned the faces of the Tontatta Tribe members in front of him one by one.
"But have you prepared to be separated from your clansmen? Those are your family."
His voice was low, as if carrying a heavy sigh, "Once we part, we may never meet again. You have familiar land here in Dressrosa, and family members who accompany you day and night.
But following me, the road ahead is vast, and life and death are uncertain. Do you really bear to give up all of this?"
The 500 Tontatta Tribe members first looked at each other when they heard Orochimaru's words.
In an instant, the entire space seemed to freeze, with only their slightly flustered gazes meeting.
Memories of time spent with their families flashed through their minds: Leo, Princess Manshelly... the chief... However, after a moment of silence, one Tontatta Tribe member was the first to look up, a brilliant smile blooming on his face, a smile like sunlight piercing through the clouds.
He said loudly, "Orochimaru-sama, our family taught us to be grateful. You once showed us kindness, and we cannot abandon you.
Moreover, we believe our family will understand that this is our own choice."
Immediately after, another Tontatta Tribe member also smiled and nodded vigorously.
"That's right, although we will miss our family, we want to follow you even more, to see a wider world, and to do meaningful things."
More and more Tontatta Tribe members began to smile, their smiles filled with determination and resolve.
Orochimaru wore a faint smile, placing his hands on the heads of the remaining Tontatta Tribe members in turn, his movements gentle and intimate.
He slightly narrowed his eyes and softly asked, "Even if you know I'm not a good person?"
The faces of the group of Tontatta Tribe members, which had been beaming with smiles, instantly froze, their eyes wide and round, their faces filled with shock, all looking at Orochimaru, their expressions as if they had seen something incredible: "⊙(・◇・)?"
A group of Tontatta Tribe members exclaimed in unison: "Eh!!! Is Orochimaru-sama a bad person?!"
Orochimaru's expression was calm, and he slowly nodded, his tone unruffled: "Yes, he is."
The Tontatta Tribe members' faces immediately filled with conflict, their hearts seemingly in a fierce struggle. Finally, another Tontatta Tribe member timidly spoke up.
"Then did Orochimaru-sama deceive us?"
Orochimaru gently shook his head, his voice as gentle as a spring stream: "No, he didn't."
Upon hearing this, the Tontatta Tribe members seemed to have eaten a calming pill, all patting their chests with relief, their faces once again blooming with innocent smiles, and they said in unison,
"Then it's fine."
It was as if, in their hearts, as long as they hadn't been deceived, whether Orochimaru was good or bad didn't seem that important.
Orochimaru wore a meaningful smile, his gaze gently fixed on this group of Tontatta Tribe members.
"Then do you want to leave a letter for your families? But you can't write my name, otherwise it will cause a lot of trouble."
The Tontatta Tribe members nodded obediently, without the slightest hesitation, and then busied themselves with writing letters.
Among them, one Tontatta Tribe member, after receiving Orochimaru's approval, left Manshelly's location in the letter to Leo.
Orochimaru then turned around, his gaze slowly surveying this natural Sea Stone underground factory.
Originally, he had planned to use a sealing jutsu to seal this place.
However, as he was thinking, a flash of inspiration struck him, and a bold idea emerged—could he put the entire factory, and even this piece of land, into the summoning space together!
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