Chapter 140

What is a transaction?

It's the exchange of goods or information. If you expect to get information without offering anything in return, that's not a transaction; it's outright exploitation.

Therefore, hearing Leo's response, if Orochimaru were not so composed, he would have unleashed the Ten Thousand Snakes to devour the audacious person before him on the spot.

"If I were to inform the Third Hokage about the Konoha Invasion Plan, all your efforts would be in vain. If I had the intention to obstruct you, trust me, you wouldn't be able to place the Cursed Seal of Heaven on Sasuke or take him away to occupy his body."

"Orochimaru, understand that I'm already showing great sincerity by not asking you to obtain the forbidden scrolls of Konoha, but merely to provide information."

Facing Orochimaru's cold expression, Leo did not concede in the slightest.

Orochimaru, hearing Leo's words, flicked his tongue:

"You know about the Cursed Seal of Heaven and that I plan to use Sasuke's body. You seem quite well-informed about me."

"No, I don't know much about you specifically. I'm well-acquainted with many ninjas and their secrets. So, this is just a preliminary cooperation. If it goes well, we might have more in-depth collaboration in the future."

"I know you seek immortality and have secret bases everywhere. You need money. Trust me, you won't lose out by dealing with me, Lord Orochimaru."

Leo's expression was calm, making it hard to tell if he was lying.

Orochimaru remained silent for five seconds before suddenly laughing:

"Although what you say might not be entirely true, I'm quite tempted. However, I don't know where the forbidden scrolls are at the moment. It will take me a few days to gather the information."

"That's fine. I'll be waiting for your information at the Valley of the End at midnight, one week from now."

Leo waved his hand.

Every midnight, at twelve, Tenzou would leave to report to the Third Hokage, leaving about ten minutes of downtime during which Leo could use Apparition to retrieve the information.

"Since that's settled, shouldn't you return my sword?"

Orochimaru pointed to the pouch on Leo's waist, where he had seen Leo place his Kusanagi sword.

"Sword? What sword? I didn't see any sword. It seems like the Anbu are arriving. You should leave now."

Leo transformed his hand into a blade and violently struck down a towering tree, using it as a weapon to launch a furious assault on Orochimaru.

"Even acting needs to be done properly!"

A hundred meters away, Kakashi, Guy, Tenzou, and several Anbu ninjas, guided by Anko, quickly approached. When they saw Leo in his muscular form using a massive tree as a weapon to chase and attack Orochimaru, they were momentarily stunned.

"His Highness the Prince is so passionate; it's getting me fired up too! Eight Gates, Sixth Gate—The Door of View, Open! Morning Peacock!"

Guy was the first to react, shouting excitedly as he activated the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates and transformed into a streak of light charging towards Orochimaru, who was evading Leo's attacks. Mid-flight, Guy began to unleash rapid punches, creating a barrage of fireballs from the friction between his chakra and the air, launching them along with his fists.

"Looks like it's time to retreat!"

With the Kusanagi sword now irretrievably lost, Orochimaru slapped the ground with both hands:

"Summoning Jutsu—Triple Rashomon!"

Instantly, three gigantic demonic face gates—red, green, and blue—rose from the ground, blocking Orochimaru's path.

The Triple Rashomon, an ultimate defensive jutsu of Konoha, consists of three gates: the first withstands attacks, the second reduces their impact, and the third disperses them. Currently, apart from Orochimaru, only the First Hokage could use this jutsu.

Of course, the First Hokage was even more formidable, summoning the more powerful Five Gates Rashomon.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Under the assault from Leo and Guy, the three Rashomon gates shattered one by one, failing to block the ferocious attacks from their superhuman strength.

However, after the three Rashomon gates were breached, Orochimaru's figure had vanished.

Seeing Orochimaru escape, Kakashi and Tenzou, along with the Anbu, did not pursue. Instead, they moved towards Leo to check on his condition.

"Chuan, are you injured?"

It turned out that after Tenzou had hurried to the tower to report, the Third Hokage immediately sent Kakashi, Guy, and Tenzou, along with a select group of elite Anbu, to rescue Leo.

Yes, their main mission was to rescue Leo, not to capture Orochimaru.

Given the Third Hokage's understanding of Orochimaru, he knew that unless they abandoned the ongoing Chunin Exams and mobilized everyone to capture Orochimaru, it would be impossible to retain him. 

But that was a decision they absolutely could not make.

The Chunin Exams involved several neighboring allied countries and were crucial not only for demonstrating national strength but also for Konoha's task volume and resources in the future.

To terminate the Chunin Exams for the sake of capturing an S-rank rogue ninja would severely damage Konoha's prestige.

Thus, the Third Hokage instructed Kakashi's team to prioritize rescuing Leo and preventing any further schemes from Orochimaru. Especially rescuing Leo was crucial, as the death of this prince in Konoha would be difficult to explain to the Daimyo.

However, shortly after leaving the tower, they encountered Sakura and Sasuke, who were carrying Naruto and Anko.

After understanding the situation, Kakashi directed Sasuke and the others to continue with the exam and led by Anko to this location.

"It's nothing. My main job was to hold him off. His target wasn't me, so I didn't use my full strength."

Leo returned to his normal size, discarded his torn shirt, and put on a new one from the small pouch.

Kakashi nodded, internally impressed.

Even though Orochimaru didn't use his full strength, the fact that Leo was able to delay him for so long was quite impressive.

It seemed Leo's strength had significantly improved. Just now, he was much stronger than he was back in the Land of Waves.

"Your taijutsu is remarkable, Prince. When you have time, let's have an exciting youth duel!"

At that moment, Guy, who had deactivated the Eight Gates mode, came over.

But as soon as he spoke, Tenzou quickly pulled him away.

He knew the Third Hokage was deeply concerned about Leo being injured or coming to harm in Konoha, and Guy seeking a duel with him would be asking for trouble.

"Sure, it would be exciting to spar with you, Guy."

Leo smiled and agreed.

The first thing he intended to do with the forbidden scrolls was to learn the Eight Gates technique and exchange more information with Guy to potentially gain insights into its training.