The Command

Lin Qing stopped walking and turned back to ask:

"What did you say?"

It wasn't that Lin Qing hadn't heard him.

He was asking Jiraiya.

"How dare you say something like that?"

Jiraiya took a deep breath. "Lin Qing, you can't take an injured person with you to chase Orochimaru. And you can't leave him with Xiaotao and Mayuri, either. They aren't strong enough to protect Sasuke."

The Uchiha name carried far too much weight.

A living Uchiha who had left Konoha and couldn't protect himself was enough to draw countless bounty hunters and shinobi villages after him.

"And besides—"

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

"It's keeping Sasuke in a delicate balance. Even the slightest disturbance could break it. If you take him into battle, you'll get him killed.

"Lin Qing, 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 a crucial moment in the battle, he had hesitated for an instant and let Orochimaru escape.

But he was Jiraiya, too.

He wasn't a shinobi concerned only with his own interests.

He still had a sense of honor.

So even though Lin Qing was leaving, Jiraiya had volunteered to take responsibility for protecting Sasuke, going out of his way to make amends for his mistake.

Jiraiya waited in silence.

A few seconds later, Lin Qing gave his answer:

"All right."

"But I'll write a command into your 'heart': 'Protect Sasuke.'

"Until I revoke it, the order to protect Sasuke will take precedence over everything else—even the Will of Fire you hold dear.

"Are you willing?"

Lin Qing stared at Jiraiya.

It was a harsh condition.

Lin Qing had thought Jiraiya would refuse, but to his surprise, Jiraiya agreed without a moment's hesitation.

Lin Qing studied the unkempt man before him, the coldness in his eyes gradually fading.

"Taking responsibility for your own mistakes... At least you've got some guts."

"Whitesnake."

Whitesnake still looked cocky. It tilted its head, raised its chin, and looked down at Jiraiya through its nostrils.

It swung one hand and struck Jiraiya.

"Zzzt—ka-chunk!"

A sound like an old DVD drive ejecting a disc rang out. Jiraiya froze in place as two discs popped out of his face.

Lin Qing took the two discs.

One contained ninjutsu.

The other held memories.

Just as Lin Qing had suspected, Whitesnake couldn't extract Jiraiya's well-honed physique along with the rest.

In other words, physical abilities weren't within the scope of what it could extract.

For example, a Kekkei Genkai like the Uchiha's, the Raikage's powerful physique, or the chaotic energy in Sasuke's body right now.

Those couldn't be taken away using discs.

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

If he wanted, he could peer into Jiraiya's memories right now, turn him into a puppet who obeyed his every command, or simply kill him.

But Jiraiya had entrusted his life to Lin Qing for the sake of honor.

Lin Qing couldn't stoop to something so despicable.

Whitesnake had left a command on the Memory Disc.

Unlike Heaven's Door, which could inscribe complex instructions on a target's soul, Whitesnake could only add simple, direct commands. In the end, Lin Qing left four words:

"Protect Sasuke."

Then he inserted the disc again.

Jiraiya shuddered and abruptly came to his senses.

He touched the spot where the disc had popped out but didn't feel anything unusual.

But when Jiraiya looked at Sasuke, an urge welled up deep inside him: I have to protect this boy.

Even though Jiraiya knew the urge came from Lin Qing's ability, he couldn't bring himself to resist it.

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

Jiraiya thought of the jutsu from Konoha's legends known as Kotoamatsukami.

The ability to control people's minds was terrifying!

But even more terrifying than that ability was the man standing before him.

Jiraiya could clearly sense that, aside from the command to protect Sasuke, Lin Qing hadn't taken the opportunity to add a second one.

He had incredible abilities, yet he could restrain himself from abusing them.

He could be ruthless, yet still held life in reverence.

There was no shortage of powerful people in this world.

But it had been many years since Jiraiya had met anyone as extraordinary as Lin Qing.

"What are you thinking about?"

Lin Qing's call brought Jiraiya back to himself.

He took Sasuke from Lin Qing and performed the Summoning Technique, calling forth a giant toad.

"I'll go to Mount Myoboku and ask the Great Toad Sage to help.

"Even with the 'command' in place, I still have to say this: Lin Qing, I owe you for what happened today. If anything happens to Sasuke again..."

"I'll come to you on my knees."

Lin Qing nodded.

Poof—

Jiraiya, Sasuke, and the toad vanished together, bound for Mount Myoboku.

The village fell quiet.

Lin Qing surveyed the bodies and poisonous snakes, then sighed softly:

"Human life really doesn't count for much."

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

Dense Natural Energy flowed into him without end.

During the earlier battle, Lin Qing had swung his strongest slash, shattering the barrier, killing Kimimaro and Jugo, and severely wounding Orochimaru.

He recalled the details:

Countless streams of natural power had poured into his body. His physique, already pushed to its limits by Ripple training, had instantly surpassed the constraints of human genes.

To put it into words...

It was like ascension.

If Lin Qing's breathing technique had once produced Ripples through the oscillation of his cells, then in this ascended state, it was a resonance on the genetic level. If he could grasp the principles and patterns behind that resonance...

"Maybe I can surpass the limits of humanity."

Lin Qing put away the Dragon Snake Treasure Orb.

He would need time to explore genetic resonance.

Although Lin Qing had seemed relaxed and in control earlier, the battle had been extremely dangerous. The slightest mistake could have caused his genes to collapse, leaving him a puddle of flesh.

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

"It's just a shame that Sasuke can't master this ability. Or rather, anyone who can generate chakra is incapable of mastering it."

Once Natural Energy poured in, chakra would cling stubbornly to it, interfering with the delicate control of Ripple.

Lin Qing shook his head, stopped dwelling on pointless hypotheticals, slung the Blade of Ruin over his back, and headed in the direction Orochimaru had fled.

Three days later.

In the Akatsuki's underground base.

Figures appeared on the fingers of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Sasori.

Kakuzu.

Konan.

Itachi Uchiha.

Kisame Hoshigaki.

Deidara.

Zetsu.

And their leader—

Pain.

Eight figures, some in person and others projections, stood on the statue's fingers.

In the dim, pitch-black surroundings, Pain's Rinnegan swept over them.

An oppressive aura of coldness, terror, and absolute control filled the space.

"Is there new work for us? Who are we killing?"

Deidara had his hands in his pockets, his blond hair tied in a ponytail. His tone was arrogant, his spirits high.

He and Kisame were the Akatsuki's newest members.

Kisame was relatively composed. Deidara was different. Now that he'd left that boring village and no one was keeping tabs on him, all he wanted was to make his art bloom everywhere.

"This isn't a job. We're dealing with a traitor," Konan said.

At the word "traitor," one name came to everyone's mind:

Orochimaru.

After Orochimaru had failed to attack Itachi Uchiha and defected, the Akatsuki members had been tracking him.

But escaping and keeping out of sight were the only things Orochimaru was good at, and he was exceptionally skilled at both. They still hadn't managed to catch a glimpse of him.

"Have you found Orochimaru?" Kisame asked.

He was Itachi Uchiha's new partner and was very curious about his "predecessor."

"We have."

Konan said, "Lin Qing is chasing him. He's made it to the Land of Fields."

Lin Qing?!

The Akatsuki members reacted in different ways.

Deidara's eyes lit up.

Itachi Uchiha frowned slightly.

Even Sasori, who always wore a dead-fish stare, showed a flicker of interest.

Pain's cold voice rang out. "Bring Orochimaru and Lin Qing back. Who's willing to make the trip?"

"I'll go."

Itachi Uchiha said, "My genjutsu can counter all his abilities."