Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 249 Orochimaru’s shameful release

"Meow"

Inside the soft cushion, Hei Tan curled up comfortably and closed his eyes happily.

Li Xia leaned back in his chair, sipping a cup of hot tea, ignoring the Japanese matcha on the table.

This is the VIP reception room, prepared exclusively for distinguished guests who place large commissions.

As for whether his request could reach Orochimaru...
Li Xia could only say that if Orochimaru were in the village, he would definitely know about this request.

Because of the ninja mission classification system, missions of difficulty B or higher are classified by the 'Kage'.

Even if Orochimaru is not around, the people he left in the village will still pass on this message to him.

So all we have to do now is wait patiently.

Sound Village Underground Research Institute
Orochimaru's pale face, illuminated by the screen's light, looked particularly eerie.

Those snake-like pupils, filled with chilling killing intent, were staring at Li Xia, who was reclining in a chair and drinking tea on the screen.

Another one.
Orochimaru turned his head and looked at the three still breathing human bodies on the dissection table not far away.

He uttered incoherent, mumbled words.

What's wrong with this world?
At this moment, besides anger, he was also filled with deep confusion.

Is it possible that everyone in Otogakure already knows me, Orochimaru?

One after another, they inexplicably came to my door, always talking about making a deal, always saying they could bring me everything I wanted.

There were also attack methods that were completely unbelievable and never seen before.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and let out a chilling, hoarse laugh.

Enraged, he laughed and stood up. Perfect timing... we're running out of experimental materials!
"Sir, great news! We happen to have information about 'Orochimaru'."

The receptionist, who had jogged over, didn't even have time to wipe the sweat from her brow. Smiling broadly, she bent down and whispered:
"However, since this concerns the 'Legendary Sannin,' please move to another place to talk."

Li Xia glanced at the time; about five minutes had passed.

Orochimaru is giving me this much face?

Li Xia got up with the black charcoal and followed the waiter to the third floor, passing through a long corridor.

Finally, we entered a room marked 'Confidential'.

"Please wait a moment, someone will be here shortly."

After the waiter served another cup of hot tea, he respectfully backed away.

His smile grew even brighter: Four million!

This month's bonus is sure to be substantial.

The door clicked shut, and the room became quiet.

Black Charcoal suddenly raised its head, sniffed with its little nose, and let out a soft meow in the team channel.

Li Xia nodded, indicating that she understood.

The kitten said it smelled a strange odor, which smelled a lot like a snake.

This is understandable, ever since Orochimaru found the white snake's molted skin in front of his parents' gravestone.

He thus formed an indissoluble bond with snakes, and most of his skills and moves are related to snakes.

Its favorite thing to do is bite people's necks.

“Patta, Patta”

The quiet room was suddenly filled with light footsteps, approaching from afar.

Black Charcoal's little ears twitched, and it looked at the bookshelf in front of it together with Li Xia.

The creaking sound of the machine turning echoed continuously.

The gears slowly moved the heavy bookshelf to the side, revealing a dark opening.

A pungent, fishy smell, characteristic of reptiles, wafted through the humid air.

In the darkness, a figure gradually appeared.

The instant their eyes met, Li Xia seemed to see the phantom of a giant snake about to devour someone, its cold, vertical pupils staring at him.

A thought suddenly popped into Li Xia's mind: Orochimaru was furious.

There was no time to think about why Orochimaru was so angry when they had just met and hadn't even exchanged a word.

Because the next second, venomous snakes with their mouths wide open suddenly burst out from under Orochimaru's feet.

It was as if a giant banyan tree had stretched out its fine aerial roots, which spread throughout the entire room in the blink of an eye.

In a flash, Li Xia grabbed the black charcoal, whose fur was standing on end and was emitting a low growl, and threw it forcefully toward the ceiling.

In just that short time, Orochimaru's neck had abruptly pierced through two or three meters of space, as if he had eaten the Rubber-Rubber Fruit.

This move was incredibly fast. Orochimaru had spent countless hours mastering this technique, and even when fighting Jiraiya and Obito, biting the neck was his trump card.

In the blink of an eye, Orochimaru opened his mouth and bit down directly at Li Xia's exposed neck.

"it's over!"

"Crack!"

The four sharp fangs first touched the suddenly appearing, fine dragon scales.

With a crisp cracking sound, the four hollow fangs shattered without a doubt before the dragon scales, which were as hard as alloy.

Li Xia turned his head slightly and looked at Orochimaru, who was biting his neck. Their eyes met.

The previously tense atmosphere suddenly vanished, replaced by an awkward atmosphere.

Li Xia:
Orochimaru:
Just as he was about to say something, a red light began to emanate from the ruby-like dragon scale that Orochimaru had bitten.

"hiss------"

Orochimaru retracted his head even faster than when he had extended it, and silently blew on it.

But how easily can the high temperatures generated when the Lava Armor counterattacks subside?
In just a moment, huge blisters appeared on Orochimaru's upper and lower lips, making them look like two sausages.

Even with Li Xia's composure, she couldn't help but smile.

Orochimaru's body trembled slightly, though it was hard to tell if it was just his imagination.

Li Xia felt that Orochimaru's already pale face had become even paler, to the point that there wasn't a trace of blood in it.

The two remained silent for a long time, and even the charcoal-covered figure clinging to the rooftop clearly sensed the awkwardness.

Orochimaru finally opened his sausage-like lips, still covered in large blisters, and said:
"This is the Su Se Mo Nen Technique?"

"Pfft-"

Under Orochimaru's almost murderous gaze, Li Xia closed his eyes and let his internal energy flow naturally before subtly shifting his gaze to the cave entrance behind Orochimaru.

"I can't teach you the Lava Mountain Armor even if you want to."

Taking the steps Orochimaru offered, Li Xia coughed lightly:
"Now we can have a proper talk? I mean no harm."

Actually, there are such monsters, but Orochimaru is notoriously difficult to kill. As his strength increases, he rarely encounters monsters that allow him to maximize his luck.

During this period of bad luck, he would complain in his mind all the time, saying things like he hadn't eaten for three days, he couldn't survive, and he was starving.

It hasn't forgotten the runaway 'snail rice noodles' to this day, and it keeps trying to cause trouble for 'snail rice noodles' whenever it has a chance.

Are the Old Gods so easy to find?

Orochimaru remained silent for a moment, then turned and walked towards the dark cave entrance.

"follow me."

Li Xia beckoned to the black charcoal cat, and the kitten landed lightly on Li Xia's shoulder, where he rubbed its head.

Without any fear, he stepped into the cave entrance.

The entire tunnel descends downwards, with only small, pale lights overhead providing meager illumination.

Orochimaru's figure flickered in and out of focus under the light, with most of his body and face hidden in shadow, making him appear exceptionally mysterious.

Neither of them spoke; only the pattering of their footsteps echoed in the cave.

After about five minutes, the space suddenly opened up before Li Xia, revealing a place resembling a large hall.

Orochimaru glanced at Li Xia, a malicious smile appearing on his face.

He pushed open a door and went in first.

Li Xia didn't understand why his mood had suddenly improved, but she followed him anyway. The moment they entered, his pupils constricted sharply.

On the dissection table in the room, three human bodies lay naked: two men and one woman.

The chest cavity had been opened, and the still-beating heart and constantly contracting lungs could be seen inside.

In Li Xia's view, the pale white characters above these people's heads were unusually conspicuous.

[The Imprisoned Apostle No. 287640]

[The Imprisoned Apostle No. 87489]

[The Imprisoned Apostle No. 47767]

Another apostle imprisoned by characters in the story!

Normally, an apostle will not have such a notification above his head; it will only appear when the apostle is imprisoned.

This was to make it easier for the other apostles to identify.

You can choose to save them or not. Saving them won't bring you any benefits, at most you'll get some merit points. Not saving them won't bring you any harm either.

In short, the Hall of Light offers a great deal of freedom.

Perhaps in the eyes of the Temple of Light, saving a fool who can be imprisoned by characters in the story would be a waste of resources.

The slight change in Li Xia's pupils was noticed by Orochimaru, who had been staring intently at Li Xia.

He said with a hoarse voice, "..."

You seem to know them.

A dangerous aura suddenly emanated from Orochimaru.

Li Xia's mind raced, and he suddenly understood why Orochimaru attacked him the moment they met.

It turns out there were these three people in front.

But these three apostles had clearly forgotten one thing.

That is, the prerequisite for profiting from plot foresight is having the corresponding strength.

If you lack the strength, being a prophet of the plot will only accelerate your demise!

Fair transactions are always based on equal strength, not anything else.

The question Orochimaru was asking was clearly the final hurdle before a deal could be reached.

Neither admitting nor denying is the best option.

So the remaining path is...
Li Xia turned his gaze away from the three bodies that looked no different from the dead ones.

Instead of answering directly, he said in a relaxed tone:
"Orochimaru, I'm here to make a deal with you, not to watch the autopsy."

Even in my hometown, there's no custom of bringing guests to the slaughterhouse.

The meaning of this sentence was quite clear, and Orochimaru understood it as well.

That's something a normal person would be surprised to see. Don't use this to test yourself; it's pointless.

Orochimaru didn't give up immediately. Instead, he sat down and looked at Li Xia with a sinister expression, saying:

"These people, just like you, came directly to my door, wanting to talk about a deal."

What puzzled me was that no matter how I asked, they couldn't explain why they knew I was there.

so."

In the darkness, several figures slowly emerged and stood behind Orochimaru.

Those were his most capable subordinates at the moment: the Sound Four and Kaguya Kimimaro!
Hei Tan also brought out a gilded high-backed chair covered in velvet from his personal space.

He pushed it behind Li Xia. Hmm? Why does this chair look so familiar?

Isn't this the fancy chair that Gug made during the Ascension Battle?

Is Blackie so thrifty? He even dragged over a chair?
Li Xia also slowly sat down, crossed his legs, and rested his right arm on the armrest. A long, jet-black spear, crackling with wisps of electricity, slowly appeared in his hand.

"choke!"

Amidst the clear, resonant sound, the silence of night pierced the ground beside the chair, sinking deep into the rock.

The spear trembled, emitting a series of unsettling buzzing sounds.

"Why? Want to fight?"

Orochimaru's gaze swept over the weapon that exuded astonishing spirituality, a barely perceptible glint of greed flashing in his eyes.

"If you can't give me a reasonable explanation."

Li Xia pondered for a moment, and just as Orochimaru was about to lose control of his killing intent, he suddenly heard Li Xia's calm voice:

Orochimaru, have you ever heard of prophecy?

prophecy?

Orochimaru was stunned. After pondering for a long time, he actually nodded and slowly said:

"I see."

He raised a hand, and the figures standing behind him silently retreated.

"Tell me, what kind of deal do you want with me, and what will I get in return?"

Huh? You actually believed that?

Li Xiaqiang suppressed his doubts, wondering what Orochimaru had just imagined.

But having achieved his goal, he no longer had any doubts. Instead, he rallied his spirits and entered trading mode.

"Knowledge."

"Knowledge?!"

Orochimaru seemed to have heard an extremely funny joke and couldn't help but let out a hoarse laugh.

Throughout the entire Naruto series, some believe in bonds, some believe in love, and some believe in pain.

Some people even believe in evil gods.

But Orochimaru was the only one who believed in science!

As the strongest scientific research talent in the ninja world, Orochimaru absolutely does not believe that anyone can provide him with satisfactory knowledge.

Li Xia flipped his hand and pulled out a bottle of vitality potion and a recovery potion, tossing them over.

"Try it—"

Relying on his overpowered ability to infinitely change bodies, Orochimaru unhesitatingly poured both bottles of potion into his mouth.

He savored it for a while, feeling the changes in his body.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow and nodded:

"It's somewhat interesting, but only somewhat interesting—that's far from enough."

Li Xia smiled. This is the benefit of communicating with experts, because they can accurately determine whether what you provide is valuable.

He sat up straight, looked at Orochimaru, and asked softly:

So what is it that you desire?

What is it that you yearn for?
Orochimaru stared at Li Xia, but a hint of confusion quietly surfaced in his snake-like pupils.

At first, he was terrified of death, so he became obsessed with immortality.

But now he has achieved immortality in a certain sense, yet he has lost his direction.

Orochimaru was at a crossroads and feeling lost during this period.

But Orochimaru is Orochimaru after all. After a period of confusion, he suddenly realized what he really wanted.

That is.
"I want to understand the truth of this world, trace the origin of the ninja world, and unravel the mysteries of ninjutsu."

He looked at Li Xia with disdain and snorted coldly:
"Can you give me these?"

"Well, yes."

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(End of this chapter)