Order

Lin Qing stopped in his tracks and turned back to ask:

"What did you say?"

It was not that Lin Qing had failed to hear him clearly.

He was questioning Jiraiya.

"How do you have the face to say such things?"

Jiraiya took a deep breath: "Lin Qing, you cannot take a wounded person with you to chase Orochimaru, and you certainly cannot leave him with Xiaotao and Mayuri. With their strength, it is impossible for them to protect Sasuke."

The Uchiha—the value behind this surname is far too high.

A living Uchiha who has defected from Konoha and lacks the ability to protect himself is enough to drive countless bounty hunters and ninja villages into a frenzy.

"And—"

Jiraiya pointed to the Crown of Thorns on Sasuke's head.

"It is keeping Sasuke in a delicate state of equilibrium. The slightest fluctuation will shatter this balance. If you take him into battle, you will kill him. Lin Qing, I know you don't trust me, but..."

Jiraiya lowered his brow, his fists clenched tight.

"I want to do something."

Because he is Jiraiya.

It was because of this that he hesitated for a fleeting moment at the critical juncture of the battle, allowing Orochimaru to escape.

But it is also because he is Jiraiya.

He is not a pure, profit-driven ninja.

He still holds "righteousness" in his heart.

And so, even though Lin Qing was about to leave, Jiraiya took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility of protecting Sasuke, a thankless task to make amends for his own mistake.

Jiraiya waited in silence.

A few seconds later, Lin Qing gave his answer:

"Very well."

"But I must write an order to 'protect Sasuke' into your 'heart'."

"Until I revoke this command, the directive to protect Sasuke will supersede everything, even the Will of Fire you hold so dear."

"Are you willing?"

Lin Qing stared at Jiraiya.

This was a harsh condition.

Lin Qing had expected Jiraiya to refuse, but unexpectedly, Jiraiya did not hesitate for even half a second, nodding in agreement.

Lin Qing gazed deeply at the disheveled man before him, the coldness in his eyes gradually dissipating.

"Taking responsibility for the mistakes you've made... you're still a man."

"Whitesnake."

Whitesnake remained its usual arrogant self, tilting its head and lifting its chin, looking down at Jiraiya with its nostrils.

It swung one hand out, striking Jiraiya.

"Click—clack!"

With a sound like an old DVD disc ejecting, Jiraiya froze in place as two discs popped out from his face.

Lin Qing took the two discs.

One was Ninjutsu.

The other was Memory.

Just as Lin Qing had guessed, Whitesnake's disc extraction could not pull out the physical prowess Jiraiya had cultivated over the years.

In other words, "physical capabilities" were not within the scope of extraction.

For instance, the Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha, the formidable physique of the Raikage, or the current chaotic state of energy in Sasuke's body.

These could not be stripped away using the discs.

After confirming his hypothesis, Lin Qing looked at the two discs in his hand.

If he wanted to, he could peer into Jiraiya's memories right now, turn him into an obedient puppet, or simply kill him outright.

But since the man was willing to entrust his life and livelihood to Lin Qing for the sake of "righteousness," Lin Qing could not bring himself to do something so base.

Whitesnake left the command within the memory disc.

It was different from Heaven's Door, which could write complex instructions directly into the target's soul.

The commands for Whitesnake could only be simple and clear, so Lin Qing ultimately left behind four words:

"Protect Sasuke."

He then inserted the disc back into its slot.

Jiraiya shuddered, suddenly snapping back to his senses.

He touched the spot where the disc had previously ejected, feeling nothing out of the ordinary.

Yet, when Jiraiya looked at Sasuke, an urge welled up from the depths of his heart: I must protect this child at all costs.

Even though Jiraiya knew this impulse stemmed from Lin Qing's ability, he could not summon a single shred of resistance in his heart.

"So this is a 'command'? It's practically like..."

Jiraiya thought of the ninjutsu from Konoha legend known as Kotoamatsukami.

This power to manipulate the human heart was terrifying!

And even more terrifying than this ability was the man standing before him.

Jiraiya could clearly perceive that, aside from the command to protect Sasuke, Lin Qing had not taken the opportunity to write a second instruction.

Possessing peerless skills, yet capable of self-restraint.

Decisive in slaughter, yet harboring reverence for life.

This world was not lacking in strong individuals.

But it had been many years since Jiraiya had seen someone as unique as Lin Qing.

"What are you thinking about?"

Lin Qing's call brought Jiraiya back to reality.

He took Sasuke from Lin Qing's hands and performed a summoning jutsu, calling forth a large toad.

"I will head to Mount Myoboku and ask the Great Toad Sage to intervene. Although there is a 'command' in place, I must still say this: Lin Qing, I owe you today. If Sasuke is injured again..."

"I will bring you my head."

Lin Qing nodded.

Poof—

Jiraiya, Sasuke, and the toad vanished together, heading toward Mount Myoboku.

The village grew quiet.

Lin Qing surveyed the corpses and vipers, sighing softly:

"Human life really is worthless."

He reached out and picked up the Dragon Snake Treasure Orb from the pool of snake blood flowing from Tagorihime.

Rich natural energy flowed into him continuously.

During the previous battle, Lin Qing had unleashed his strongest strike, tearing through the barrier, slaying Kimimaro and Jugo, and heavily wounding Orochimaru.

He recalled the details of that moment:

Countless natural forces surged into his body, and his physique—already pushed to the limit by Ripple training—instantly broke through the constraints of human genetics.

To describe it...

It was like an ascension.

If in the past, Lin Qing's breathing technique was the ripple produced by cellular vibration, then in this state of ascension, it was resonance at the genetic level. If he could master the principles and laws of this resonance:

"Perhaps, I could transcend the limits of humanity."

Lin Qing put away the Dragon Snake Treasure Orb.

He still needed time to explore genetic resonance.

Do not be fooled by Lin Qing's previous display of ease; it had been exceptionally dangerous. A moment of carelessness would have resulted in genetic collapse, leaving him a puddle of flesh.

"Genetic resonance is enough to force the power of the Cursed Seal out of the body; there is no need to go looking for Orochimaru at all."

"It is just a pity that Sasuke cannot master this ability, or rather, anyone capable of generating chakra cannot master it."

Once natural energy surged in, chakra would cling tightly to it, interfering with the delicate control of the Ripple.

Lin Qing shook his head, ceasing to ponder useless hypotheses. He shouldered the Blade of Ruin and walked in the direction Orochimaru had fled.

Three days later.

The underground base of the Akatsuki organization.

Figures appeared one by one upon the fingers of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Sasori.

Kakuzu.

Konan.

Itachi Uchiha.

Kisame Hoshigaki.

Deidara.

Zetsu.

And the leader—

Pain.

Eight figures, some in the flesh and others as projections, stood upon the fingers of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

In the dim, pitch-black environment, Pain's pair of Rinnegan swept across the group.

A cold, terrifying pressure of absolute control radiated from him.

"Is there a new job? Who are we killing?"

Deidara had his hands in his pockets, his blonde hair tied into a ponytail, his tone arrogant and high-spirited.

He and Kisame were the newest recruits to the Akatsuki.

Kisame Hoshigaki's personality was relatively steady, but Deidara was different; having escaped his dull village with no one to restrain him, the current Deidara only wanted his art to bloom everywhere.

"It is not a job; it is dealing with a traitor," Konan said.

At the mention of the word "traitor," one name appeared in everyone's mind:

Orochimaru.

After Orochimaru failed to ambush Itachi Uchiha and defected, the members of the Akatsuki had been tracking his movements ever since.

However, while Orochimaru lacked other skills, his ability to flee and hide was far too formidable, and to this day, they had been unable to catch his tail.

"Have you found Orochimaru's trail?" Kisame Hoshigaki asked.

He was Itachi Uchiha's new partner and was quite interested in this "predecessor."

"We have."

Konan said, "He is currently being hunted by Lin Qing, and has fled to the Land of Fields."

Lin Qing?!

The expressions of the Akatsuki members shifted in various ways.

Deidara's eyes lit up.

Itachi Uchiha frowned slightly.

Even Sasori, who always wore a dead-fish gaze, revealed a hint of interest.

Pain's cold voice emerged: "Bring back Orochimaru and Lin Qing. Which of you intends to make the trip?"

"I will go."

Itachi Uchiha said, "My genjutsu is enough to suppress all of his abilities."