Linto stopped walking forward, turned his head, and asked:
"What did you say?"
It wasn't that Linto didn't hear clearly.
He was asking Jiraiya.
"How can you have the nerve to say something like that?"
Jiraiya took a deep breath: "Linto, you can't take an injured person to chase Orochimaru, and you really can't leave him to Momo-chan and Mayuri. They aren't strong enough to protect Sasuke."
Uchiha, the value behind that name is too high.
A living Uchiha who has left Konoha and can't protect himself is enough to drive countless bounty hunters and ninja villages crazy.
"And—"
Jiraiya pointed to the crown of thorns on Sasuke's head.
"It's maintaining Sasuke in a delicate balance. Any slight disturbance will break that balance. Taking him into battle will kill him.
Linto, I know you don't trust me, but..."
Jiraiya lowered his eyes and clenched his fists.
"I want to do something."
Because he was Jiraiya.
So, at the critical moment of the battle, he hesitated for a moment, letting Orochimaru escape.
But also because he was Jiraiya.
Not a purely profit-driven ninja.
He still had "morality" in his heart.
So, even though Linto was leaving, Jiraiya took the initiative to take on the responsibility of protecting Sasuke, going to great lengths to make up for his mistakes.
Jiraiya waited quietly.
After a few seconds, Linto gave his answer:
"Okay."
"But I need to write an "order" in your "heart" to "protect Sasuke."
"Before I withdraw this order, the instruction to protect Sasuke will be above all else, even the Will of Fire you believe in.
Are you willing?"
Linto stared at Jiraiya.
This was a harsh condition.
Linto thought Jiraiya would refuse, but unexpectedly, Jiraiya didn't hesitate for even half a second and nodded in agreement.
Linto gazed deeply at the unkempt man before him, the coldness in his eyes gradually fading.
"Taking responsibility for your own mistakes... that's what a real man does."
"White Snake"
White Snake still looked arrogant, tilting its head and raising its chin, looking down at Jiraiya through its nostrils.
It waved one hand, hitting Jiraiya.
"Ziga—Gada!"
It sounded like an old DVD being ejected, and Jiraiya froze in place as two discs popped out of his face.
Linto took out the two discs.
One was Ninjutsu.
One was memory.
As Linto had guessed, White Snake's disc extraction couldn't extract Jiraiya's years of physical training.
Which meant "physical abilities" weren't within the scope of extraction.
Things like the Uchiha's bloodline limit, the Raikage's powerful physique, or the current chaotic state of Sasuke's body's energy.
These couldn't be taken using the discs.
After confirming his guess, Linto looked at the two discs in his hand.
As long as he wanted to, he could now look into Jiraiya's memories, turn Jiraiya into an obedient puppet, or simply kill him directly.
But since the other party was willing to entrust his life to Linto because of a sense of "righteousness."
Linto couldn't possibly do such a mean thing.
White Snake left a command in the memory disc.
Unlike Heaven's Door, which could write complex instructions on the target's soul.
White Snake's commands could only add simple, clear instructions. Linto ended up leaving four words:
"Protect Sasuke"
Then, he put the disc back in.
Jiraiya shuddered and suddenly came back to his senses.
He touched the place where the disc had popped out, not feeling any different.
But when Jiraiya saw Sasuke, a surge of "I must protect this child" welled up from the depths of his heart.
Even though Jiraiya knew that this urge came from Linto's ability, he couldn't feel the slightest hint of resistance in his heart.
"Is this what an "order" is? It's just like..."
Jiraiya thought of the Ninjutsu called "Kotoamatsukami" in Konoha's legends.
This kind of ability to control people's minds was terrifying!
And even more terrifying than this ability was the man before him.
Jiraiya could clearly sense that, apart from the order to protect Sasuke, Linto hadn't taken the opportunity to write a second instruction.
Possessing amazing skills, yet able to restrain himself from using them.
Decisive and ruthless, yet showing reverence for life.
This world wasn't short of strong people.
But Jiraiya hadn't seen someone as special as Linto for many years.
"What are you thinking about?"
Linto's call brought Jiraiya back to his senses.
He took Sasuke from Linto and performed the Summoning Technique, summoning a large toad.
"I'm going to Mount Myōboku to ask the Great Toad Sage for help.
Even though I have the "order," I still have to say, Linto, I owe you one today. If Sasuke gets hurt again..."
"I'll offer my head to you."
Linto nodded.
Poof—
Jiraiya, Sasuke, and the toad disappeared together, heading for Mount Myōboku.
The village became quiet.
Linto looked around at the bodies and snakes, sighing softly:
"Human lives are so cheap."
He reached out and picked up the Dragon Snake Jewel from the pool of snake blood flowing from Tagorihime.
A rich natural power flowed continuously.
During the previous battle, Linto delivered his strongest strike, tearing apart the barrier, killing Kimimaro and Jugo, and seriously injuring Orochimaru.
He recalled the details of that moment:
Countless natural forces flooded into his body, and his body, already pushed to the limit by Ripple training, instantly broke through the limitations of human genes.
To put it simply...
It was like sublimation.
If in the past, Linto's breathing technique created Ripple through cell vibrations.
In the state of sublimation, it was resonance at the genetic level, and if he could master the principle and rules of this resonance.
"Perhaps I could surpass human limits."
Linto put away the Dragon Snake Jewel.
He still needed time to explore genetic resonance.
Don't think Linto looked relaxed and carefree earlier, it was extremely dangerous, and a slight mistake could lead to genetic collapse, turning him into a pile of flesh.
"Genetic resonance is enough to force the power of the Cursed Seal out of the body, there's no need to look for Orochimaru at all."
"It's just a pity that Sasuke can't master this ability, or rather, anyone who can generate Chakra can't master it."
Once natural energy flowed in, Chakra would stick to it tightly, affecting the fine control of Ripple.
Linto shook his head, stopped thinking about pointless possibilities, slung the Rupture Blade on his back, and walked in the direction Orochimaru had fled.
...
Three days later.
The Akatsuki organization's underground base.
Figures appeared on the fingers of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Sasori.
Kakuzu.
Konan.
Uchiha Itachi.
Hoshigaki Kisame.
Deidara.
Zetsu.
And the leader—
Pain.
Eight people, either in person or as projections, stood on the fingers of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
In the dim and dark environment, Pain's pair of Rinnegan scanned everyone.
A cold, terrifying, and absolutely controlling sense of pressure was conveyed.
"Is there a new job? Who are we killing?"
Deidara put his hands in his pockets, his blond hair tied into a ponytail, his tone arrogant and high-spirited.
He and Kisame had just joined Akatsuki.
While Hoshigaki Kisame was relatively calm, Deidara was different. Having left his boring village, with no one to control him, Deidara now wanted to spread his art everywhere.
"It's not a job, it's dealing with a traitor," Konan said.
The word "traitor" brought one name to everyone's mind:
Orochimaru.
After Orochimaru failed to attack Uchiha Itachi and defected, the Akatsuki organization members had been tracking him down.
But Orochimaru might not be good at other things, but he was too good at escaping and hiding, and they hadn't been able to catch his tail yet.
"Have you found a trace of Orochimaru?" Hoshigaki Kisame asked.
He was Uchiha Itachi's new teammate and was very interested in this "former" one.
"We found him."
Konan said, "He's being chased by Linto and has currently escaped to the Land of Rice Fields."
Linto?!
The Akatsuki organization members had different expressions.
Deidara's eyes lit up.
Uchiha Itachi frowned slightly.
Even Sasori, who always had dead fish eyes, showed a hint of interest.
Pain's cold voice sounded, "Bring back Orochimaru and Linto. Who wants to go?"
"I'll go."
Uchiha Itachi said, "My genjutsu is enough to restrain all of his abilities."
---
You can read 50 Chapters ahead on my
pat reon.com/GMadman