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Orochimaru's lips curved into a dangerous arc, as though countless secrets were already laid bare before his eyes, waiting to be dissected one by one.
"Enough chatter. Hurry and finish this," Tsunade snapped impatiently. "This old woman still has to go gamble later."
In the short span of time they had been seated, she was already visibly drunk. She casually tossed aside an empty sake bottle, let out an unrestrained burp, and waved her hand dismissively.
"Tonight's my lucky night. I can feel it—I'm definitely winning big."
"Heh." Orochimaru glanced sideways at Li Rong, the corners of his mouth lifting. "Boss Li, can you at least leave them intact? They were my teammates once, after all. No matter how things turned out, there's still some… sentiment."
"Whether they end up intact or not has nothing to do with me," Li Rong replied with a light chuckle. "I never planned on taking their lives in the first place."
That single sentence caused both Orochimaru and Tsunade to pause.
For a brief moment, even Tsunade's drunken haze cleared.
Surprise flickered across their faces.
Was this man truly that magnanimous?
"I'm a merchant," Li Rong continued calmly, his gaze sweeping over the courtyard. "And what merchants value most are rules."
"If rules can be trampled on at will, then tell me—who would still dare to do business with my shop in the future?"
Rules.
Orochimaru instantly grasped Li Rong's underlying logic. His tone turned serious.
"Boss Li, then how do you plan to handle this matter? You can speak plainly."
"The missions already agreed upon with Konoha will proceed as scheduled," Li Rong said without hesitation.
"As for me, I'll be building a Mission Hall at the Uzumaki Tide Village camp. The shop will issue missions there, open to all ninja across the Ninja World."
"When the time comes, I'll publicly place bounties."
His smile vanished, replaced by a cold, merciless calm.
"The reason is simple—they violated the rules of the Ninja World. They attempted to murder a merchant and rob his property."
"Heh, you might as well kill them now," Tsunade scoffed, swaying slightly as the alcohol took hold again. "If you don't, Konoha will make sure they 'die with dignity' anyway."
"The old men there are best at that."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly. "So, Boss Li—who do you intend to put bounties on?"
Li Rong looked straight at him. "Who do you think should be on that list?"
A cold sneer crept across Orochimaru's face.
"In my opinion?" he said slowly. "The Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"And Hokage Advisor Danzo Shimura."
"And the two esteemed advisors, Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu."
He enunciated each name clearly, deliberately.
"As for the others—they're nothing more than pawns following orders. Not worth killing."
Tsunade sobered instantly, staring at Orochimaru in disbelief.
"You really don't care about your teacher's reputation—or his life?" Dugu Yan asked, blinking in curiosity.
"Heh." Orochimaru's voice was indifferent. "That idiot Jiraiya, just like the old man, values the Hokage's reputation more than his own life."
"But when has that diligent Hokage ever cared about the reputations of his disciples?"
His expression cooled further.
"If he truly cared, Tsunade and I wouldn't be the ones standing here today."
"Since he was the first to betray the Ninja Code—and drag us down with him—why should I cover for him?"
Orochimaru paused, then added quietly, "Besides… even if I don't say it, does Boss Li truly not know?"
Someone capable of instantly suppressing Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, and three elite Anbu squads would have no trouble prying open memories if he wished.
An entire night was more than enough.
Only those four old men hiding in the Hokage's office, clinging to their lives, believed their secrets could stay buried.
Li Rong calmly repeated the conversation from outside the Hokage building the previous night, word for word.
"Minato Namikaze, and the Anbu who were merely following orders—I can choose not to pursue them."
Then, he looked up sharply.
"Orochimaru, how do you think your companion should be handled?"
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "Strip him of his ninja status. Expel him from Konoha. He was following orders—brainwashed, at worst."
Li Rong chuckled softly.
"I've already made my hostility toward him clear, and you still insist on handling it this way?"
"Since Minato is innocent," Orochimaru replied evenly, "then Jiraiya isn't deserving of death either."
The two men's gazes collided midair.
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy, as though the air itself had frozen.
Bang!
Tsunade slammed her hand on the table, shattering the tension.
"What are you two old men doing, staring at each other?" she barked. "Isn't it disgusting? If someone's dying, then kill them. If not, hurry it up."
She waved her hand irritably.
"This old woman still needs to hit the casino and win back my money."
Li Rong tapped the table lightly.
"I can choose not to pursue him—but not because he was 'just following orders.'"
"Whether he harbored killing intent last night—you and I both know."
"It's simply that I have no concrete evidence, and he took no actual action."
"So this time, I'll let it go."
He paused, then said calmly, "After all, if everything were judged solely by intent, there wouldn't be any good people left in this world."
Orochimaru looked at him intently.
"Boss Li's magnanimity," he said slowly, "is something I genuinely admire."
Tsunade remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking.
"You're strong… stronger than most people I've met. I'm not as good as you."
Behind them, the twenty young cultivators fell into thoughtful silence.
Only Dugu Yan leaned forward eagerly, eyes sparkling.
"If everything were judged by intent, there'd be no good people left?" she asked brightly. "Then what about you? Have you ever had any unspeakable thoughts?"
Is this really the time for that?
Li Rong's carefully maintained profound image shattered instantly.
"Go, go, go," he said helplessly, pressing her face aside. "Stop causing trouble."
"No!" Dugu Yan broke free and clung to his arm. "Tell me! Hurry up!"
"…Fine." Li Rong sighed. "When I first arrived on the Douluo Continent, I did have some bad thoughts."
"I wanted to take all the outstanding female Spirit Masters under my command—pamper Heaven Dou on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and visit Star Luo on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays."
The girls behind them immediately blushed.
Dugu Yan's eyes lit up. "Then what about Sunday? Star Dou Great Forest?"
"Sunday is for rest," Li Rong said solemnly. "The body is the capital of revolution. Sustainable development is important."
Pfft—hahahaha!
Dugu Yan burst into laughter, leaning against his shoulder, shaking uncontrollably.
Ye Lengling covered her mouth, chuckling softly. "Then what happened? How did such a grand plan get shelved?"
"I've said it before," Li Rong spread his hands. "I put laziness first and lust second."
"Conquering all the female Spirit Masters wouldn't be hard," he shrugged. "But thinking about all the jealous quarrels afterward…"
"Forget it. Lying flat is more comfortable."
Snow Princess considered this seriously, then nodded.
"That does sound like you."
The murderous tension dissipated completely.
Orochimaru relaxed, eyes narrowing slightly as he realized Jiraiya's life had been spared.
As for the old man…
Orochimaru forcibly pushed that thought aside and added with a faint smile,
"Still, Boss Li… the magnanimity you've shown us seems a little inconsistent with what you just admitted."
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