Lin Zi sighed. He couldn't be bothered to listen to the nobodies around him prattle on.
His golden, vertical pupils swept over them, as if he were looking at several corpses that happened to be breathing.
"Honestly, if people don't care whether they live or die, they're invincible."
Ten Thousand Snake Array: Modified
Before the words had left his mouth, more than a dozen little white snakes shot out from his sleeves, his pant legs, and even the shadow beneath his feet!
They moved absurdly fast. The bounty hunters hadn't even had time to cry out before they were bound up like human-shaped dumplings. The iron chains and capture nets in their hands clattered to the ground.
Lin Zi clapped his hands and turned toward the general store next door.
"Boss, I'd like a coil of rope."
After paying with Jiraiya's money, he spotted some unwanted scraps of burlap in a pile of trash at the corner. He summoned two more snakes, had them carry the cloth by their tail tips, and slowly made his way to the crooked old locust tree.
Jiraiya stood nearby, staring in dumbfounded silence. But when he saw what Lin Zi did next, he couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
Lin Zi tied the bounty hunters securely by their ankles, hung them upside down from the tree, and stuffed their mouths with foul-smelling scraps of burlap.
The burly leader's eyes bulged as his face turned bright red. All he could manage was a muffled "mmph, mmph," like a drake being strangled.
The townsfolk, who had been fleeing in every direction, now peeked out through cracks in windows and doors. They were all dumbstruck at the sight.
A little girl with her hair in pigtails pointed at the tree and cried in a clear voice, "Mommy! Those grown-ups are swinging!"
Jiraiya covered his face and walked over, his shoulders shaking with laughter. "I mean... when did you get so twisted?"
Lin Zi took two steps back to admire his handiwork and shrugged. "I gave them a chance. They chose not to run. Who can they blame? Blaming themselves too much gives you wrinkles."
He then broke off a branch, crouched down, and awkwardly scrawled on the ground:
Living decorations. Do not touch. —A gift from the Spirit Snake Sage
When he finished, he even blew the dust off the writing and nodded with satisfaction.
Jiraiya looked at the ugly scrawl and laughed in exasperation. "You son of a bitch, you're a genius."
"Let's go," Lin Zi said, tossing aside the branch and heading out of town. "We need to get moving."
Jiraiya watched him go, then looked up at the dumplings swaying from the tree and sighed before hurrying after him. "Hey! At least let those guys down!"
"Let them hang there a while. It'll wake them up," Lin Zi replied without looking back. "Besides, it's dark out. They'll make perfect streetlamps."
As they walked, they soon reached a hot spring inn by the roadside. A lantern bearing the character for "hot spring" cast a warm, yellow glow into the dusk.
The innkeeper was a chubby man with a round face and a cheerful smile. He looked quite amiable.
"Welcome! A room for two?"
Jiraiya nodded and readily paid.
The innkeeper promptly handed them two keys, then pointed toward the far end of the corridor. "The hot springs are at the back of the first floor. Please be sure to follow the rules and use the men's bath."
He addressed both of them, but his gaze remained firmly fixed on Jiraiya.
Jiraiya scratched his head and smiled with a saintly air. "Of course. We're both law-abiding people, right?" As he spoke, he slapped Lin Zi on the shoulder.
Lin Zi couldn't be bothered to reply. He merely nodded perfunctorily.
A little white snake poked its head out of his sleeve, flicked its tongue at Jiraiya, then slithered back inside.
The chubby innkeeper's smile froze for a moment before returning to normal, though the hand holding out the keys trembled slightly.
Once they entered their room, Jiraiya pulled a crumpled notebook from his pocket and flopped onto the tatami. He took out a pen and began scribbling away.
As he wrote, he called out, "Orochimaru, I'm going to the women's bath to find inspiration. Keep watch for me, would you?"
Lin Zi was putting on clean clothes. Without looking up, he replied, "Go by yourself. Don't drag me into it."
"Tch, so cold." Jiraiya scrambled to his feet and had just pushed the window open when he turned back with a lecherous grin. "By the way, can't you send little snakes out to scout? Lend me a couple and help me find the best view."
Lin Zi shot him a speechless look. "That's not what my ninjutsu is for, is it?"
Despite what he said, he gave his sleeve a shake. Two little white snakes shot out and slipped through the window into the night, as fast as streaks of silver.
"I'm not doing it for you," Lin Zi said flatly as he shut the window. "I just don't want you getting beaten to death for being a pervert and forcing me to find somewhere else to sleep in the middle of the night."
The two white snakes obeyed their orders and began slithering through the ventilation ducts.
The ducts leading to the hot spring were scorching from the heat. The snakes' scales slid along them with a faint, almost inaudible rustle.
Below, mist swirled through the women's bath, where the faint sounds of splashing and laughter could be heard. But the white snakes' pupils pierced the steam and lingered on the men's changing room next door, picking up chakra unlike anything usually found in the Land of Fire.
To Lin Zi's senses, it was chakra wrapped in lightning.
The sensation stirred an odd feeling in him. The distinctive, savage heat of Lightning Release Chakra prickled at the white snakes' sensory nerves, mingling with the hot spring's sulfurous scent and setting them on edge.
Lin Zi gave the order, and the two white snakes quietly slithered toward the sound, coiling in the shadows of a crossbeam above the changing room.
Strangely, there were two women inside the men's changing room. Both had brown hair and tall, slender figures, with short swords at their waists. Their voices were hard and clipped, and there was an unmistakable air of conspiracy about them.
Their soundproofing barrier was very crudely made. Lin Zi controlled the white snakes and heard every word they said.
"One of the Sannin, Tsunade, has been confirmed gambling in Tanzaku Town. She's already lost five million ryo."
"Strike while she's drunk. Konoha is weak right now, and the Fourth Hokage is badly injured."
"Lord Killer B will arrive to provide support in three days. Whether we can take a bite out of Konoha while they're down depends on this mission."
The white snakes' tongues quivered, converting the words into chakra signals and transmitting them through their contract straight into Lin Zi's mind.
Though he'd heard some remarkable intel, Lin Zi was still puzzled that Tsunade had lost another five million ryo.
"Is everyone in the Shinobi World rich enough to be a tycoon? Can they just turn things into gold?"
All those scenes played through Lin Zi's mind. Quite a few details left him baffled.
His eyelid twitched, and his golden, vertical pupils snapped open in the dim room.
"Jiraiya." Lin Zi suddenly sat up, lowering his voice. "Forget about that lousy women's bath. We've got something important."
Jiraiya was peering over the windowsill. He turned at the words, looking puzzled, then pulled a disgusted face. "What's going on? Is the women's bath full of old ladies? Because I'm not looking if it is. I'd rather not hurt my eyes."
"That's not it." Lin Zi got out of bed and stepped barefoot onto the floor without making a sound. "Two nobodies have snuck into this inn. Cloud Village spies."
He paused, a cold glint passing through his snake-like eyes.
"And I found out where Tsunade is."
Before you continue