Over this period, everyone's dissatisfaction with Li had gradually turned into trust. Even Feiri Hyuga had begun to admire Li somewhat, while Baitong Hyuga treated Li with even more respect than he showed his own grandfather.
His grandfather would probably be furious to death if he saw this scene.
Meanwhile, just as Li had expected, Amegakure and Kusagakure were still nothing more than the weakest of the weak even if they joined forces. The civilians around all of Amegakure would probably suffer again now. Minato then dispatched another support unit to this area to assist Li in suppressing Kusagakure's movements.
In truth, the situation was no longer as simple as Li had imagined. At the very least, Pain had already appeared, which meant Danzo had secretly joined forces with Hanzo of the Salamander to destroy Akatsuki—and it had likely happened some time ago.
That idiot probably had no idea what a formidable enemy he had brought upon Konoha.
Once the situation became clear, a ninja arrived from Amegakure. He went straight to Li and said he had something extremely important. Li immediately understood—Orochimaru could no longer hold himself back.
"Lord Li, this is what Lord Orochimaru asked me to deliver to you." The ninja handed a sword directly to Li.
"We seized this sword from the Three Realms Monument." The ninja seemed somewhat afraid of Li. He looked middle-aged, with a beard and no sharp glint in his eyes. He seemed thoroughly accustomed to an ordinary life, yet someone like this was actually one of Orochimaru's subordinates.
Li nearly laughed out loud. It seemed that not only was Orochimaru a monster, but even his subordinates were extraordinary. Li took the sword. Two words were inscribed upon its blade: Midnight.
The sword was decent, though it was merely an ordinary weapon.