What is a transaction?
It's about exchanging items or exchanging information. If you want to get information without paying anything, that's not a transaction; that's blatant freeloading.
Therefore, upon hearing Li Chuan's answer, if Orochimaru hadn't been calm enough, he would have immediately summoned Manda to swallow that delusional fellow.
"If I tell the Third Hokage about the Hidden Leaf Village Destruction Plan, all your previous efforts will be in vain."
"Even if I intended to stop you, believe me, your desire to place the Heavenly Curse Mark on Sasuke, take him away, and possess his body will all be impossible to achieve."
"Orochimaru, you need to understand, I didn't ask you to help me get Konoha's Forbidden Jutsu Scroll; I just asked you to give me information, which is already very sincere."
Facing the cold-faced Orochimaru, Li Chuan showed no signs of backing down.
Orochimaru, after hearing Li Chuan's words, flicked his tongue out:
"You even know about the Heavenly Curse Mark, and that I want to use Sasuke's body. You know a lot about me?"
"No, I don't know a lot about you; I know a lot about many Ninja, and I also know many secrets."
"So, this is just an initial collaboration. If it goes well, we can have deeper collaborations later."
"I know you want eternal life, you have secret Bases everywhere, and you need money. Believe me, you won't lose out by transacting with me, My Lord Orochimaru."
Li Chuan's expression was calm, making it impossible to tell if he was lying.
Orochimaru was silent for five seconds, then suddenly laughed:
"Although what you said might not be true, I'm quite tempted. However, I don't know where the Forbidden Jutsu Scroll is currently located, so I'll need a few days to investigate the information."
"No problem. A week from now, at midnight, in the Valley of the End, I will be waiting there for your information."
Li Chuan waved his hand.
Every midnight, Tenzo would leave to report the situation to the Third Hokage, leaving a gap of about ten minutes, during which he could Apparition to get the information.
"Since that's the case, shouldn't you return my sword to me?"
Orochimaru pointed to the cloth bag at Li Chuan's waist. He had just seen Li Chuan put his kusanagi sword into that small cloth bag.
"Sword? What sword? I didn't see any sword? It seems like Anbu personnel are coming. You should leave."
Li Chuan turned his palm into a blade, fiercely chopped down a large tree several tens of meters tall, picked it up at the waist, and began to launch a furious, storm-like attack on Orochimaru.
"Even acting needs to be a full performance!"
A hundred meters away from them, Kakashi, Might Guy, Tenzo, and more than a dozen Anbu Ninja, guided by Anko, rapidly approached the scene.
When they saw Li Chuan, in his muscular form, wielding a tree tens of meters long as a weapon and chasing Orochimaru, they were stunned on the spot.
"Your Highness is truly passionate! I'm fired up too! Eight Gates, Sixth Gate – Gate of View, open! Morning Peacock!"
Might Guy was the first to react, shouting excitedly, and immediately activated the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates, the Gate of View. His body became a blur as he charged towards Orochimaru, who was dodging Li Chuan's attacks.
And even before he arrived, he began punching at high speed in mid-air, using the chakra overflowing from his body to rub against the air and generate a large number of Fireballs, attacking along with his fists.
"It seems I really have to retreat!"
Orochimaru's kusanagi sword was definitely not coming back now, so he slammed both hands on the ground:
"Summoning Jutsu: Triple Rashomon!"
Immediately, three giant, demonic-faced gates of red, green, and blue rose from the ground, blocking Orochimaru's path.
Triple Rashomon, Konoha's ultimate defensive Ninjutsu: the first gate absorbs the attack, the second reduces the attack, and the third disperses the attack. Currently, besides Orochimaru, only the First Hokage could use this Ninjutsu.
Of course, the First Hokage was even more powerful; he summoned the even stronger Five-Fold Rashomon.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Under the attacks of Li Chuan and Might Guy, the three Rashomon gates shattered one after another, unable to withstand the violent attacks unleashed by their super-strong physiques.
However, after the three Rashomon gates were breached, Orochimaru's figure also disappeared.
Seeing Orochimaru escape, Kakashi and Tenzo, along with the Anbu, did not pursue. Instead, they first came before Li Chuan to check his physical condition.
"Chuan, are you hurt?"
It turned out that after Tenzo rushed to the high tower and reported the situation at the fastest speed, the Third Hokage immediately sent Kakashi, Might Guy, and Tenzo, along with some of the most elite Anbu Ninja responsible for protecting the Hokage's safety, to rescue Li Chuan.
Yes, their primary mission was to rescue Li Chuan, not to capture Orochimaru.
Because based on the Third Hokage's understanding of Orochimaru, he knew that unless they abandoned the current Chunin Selection Exams and concentrated all their efforts on capturing Orochimaru, it would be impossible to keep him.
But that was a decision that absolutely could not be made.
The Chunin Selection Exams involved multiple neighboring allied nations. In addition to showcasing national strength, they played a very important role in various aspects, such as the volume of missions and resources Konoha Village received later on.
Stopping the Chunin Exams now just to capture an S-Rank rogue Ninja would severely impact Konoha's prestige.
So, the Third Hokage had Kakashi lead the team primarily to save Anko and Li Chuan, to prevent Orochimaru from carrying out any schemes, especially to save Li Chuan. If Li Chuan, the Prince, were to die in Konoha, it would be difficult to explain to the Daimyo.
However, not long after they left the high tower, they encountered Sakura and Sasuke, who were carrying Naruto and Anko.
After understanding the general situation, Kakashi told the three of them to continue the exams and, guided by Anko, rushed to this location.
"I'm fine. I was mainly just holding him back. His target wasn't me, so he didn't use his full strength either."
Li Chuan returned to his normal physique, threw away his torn shirt, and took another one from the small cloth bag to put on.
Kakashi nodded, and inwardly, he also let out a sigh of admiration.
That was Orochimaru, one of the Sannin. Even if he wasn't using his full strength, Li Chuan's ability to hold him off for so long was very impressive.
It seemed that Li Chuan's strength had improved greatly during this period. His state just now was significantly stronger than when he was in the Land of Waves.
"Your Highness, your Taijutsu is so strong! When you have time, let's have a passionate youthful showdown!"
At this moment, Might Guy, who had disengaged his Eight Gates mode, also came over.
But as soon as he finished speaking, Tenzo quickly pulled him away.
He knew that the Third Hokage was extremely worried about Li Chuan getting injured or having an accident in Konoha, and Might Guy still wanted to spar with Li Chuan—wasn't that just asking for trouble?
"Alright, being able to spar with Jonin Might Guy, that's truly something to look forward to."
Li Chuan smiled and readily agreed.
The first thing to do after obtaining the Forbidden Jutsu Scroll was to learn the Eight Gates from it. By having more contact and communication with Might Guy, he might be able to glean some information about the Eight Gates's training.
...
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