Night Was for Catching People-and Even More for Interrogating Them

The moment Lin Zi finished speaking, Jiraiya's goofy grin vanished.

"Where?" Lin Zi paused, a strange glint flashing through his golden, slit-pupiled eyes.

"Uh... the men's changing room. Honestly, I find it weird. Why would female ninja be in the men's changing room to exchange information?"

Jiraiya rubbed his chin and spoke with a straight face, "Maybe they've got some unspeakable kink. You know how many musclebound hunks there are in Kumogakure."

As he spoke, he struck a few bodybuilding poses, flexing his muscles.

Lin Zi fell silent for two seconds, then gave up trying to communicate with him.

He pushed the window open and slithered along the outer wall without a sound, his body moving like a boneless snake. His pale afterimage flashed through the night and disappeared.

Jiraiya froze for half a second. He looked down at his own pose, still leaning out the window to peep over the fence around the women's bath, and his face turned green.

"Hey, Orochimaru, wait for me!"

Muttering curses, he swung himself up and chased after him, stepping on the window frame and nearly tripping over his wooden sandals.

Lin Zi had already reached the roof above the men's changing room. He closed his eyes and sensed the area for a moment, confirming that no one else was below besides the two sources of Lightning Release Chakra.

He knelt on one knee among the roof tiles, forming a hand seal with one hand. Chakra surged wildly in his mouth. Looking down, his golden eyes seemed to pierce through layer after layer of wooden beams and brick, locking directly onto the two figures talking in low voices below.

"Sage Art: White Rage Technique!"

Boom!

A Red Light Dragon roared out of his mouth, smashed through the roof tiles, and plunged straight into the men's changing room below!

A flash of light exploded, followed by a deafening blast.

The crude soundproofing barrier was torn to shreds like paper.

The two Cloud Village female spies had just shed their disguises and hadn't even had time to react when the sudden blinding red light and sharp sonic boom left them seeing white and their eardrums throbbing with pain. They slammed into the lockers behind them, their short blades slipping from their hands and clattering across the floor.

"What?!"

The taller spy had just tried to pick up her blade when another shout rang out from overhead.

"Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon!"

Jiraiya leapt down through the hole in the roof, his white hair stiffening into steel needles that rained down like a storm!

Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft—

Countless black needles pierced their sleeves, pant legs, and hems, pinning them firmly to the floor like two mounted specimens. They couldn't move.

Jiraiya landed steadily and crouched in front of them, a lecherous grin returning to his face. He even took the time to ruffle his spiked white hair.

"Don't move, ladies."

He pointed at the hair needles still quivering on the floor and smiled innocently.

"Move even a little, and these needles will really pierce your skin. It'll hurt~"

Lin Zi floated down through the hole, brushed the dust off his sleeves, and glanced at Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, I didn't expect you to be such a gentleman."

Jiraiya raised his brows smugly. "Of course. I am Lord Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, after all. What, want me to sign your book?"

Lin Zi looked away, his tone flat. "I take back everything I said. You seem more normal when you're being a pervert."

"Who's a pervert?!"

Lin Zi walked over to the two female ninja pinned to the floor, crouched, and flicked a finger. Several small snakes darted out from his sleeve and slid along the Cloud ninja's necks, slipping beneath their collars.

"Hey! Where are your snakes going?!" The taller female ninja's face flushed red as she shouted angrily.

"I'm searching you. Could you stop being so difficult?" Lin Zi replied lazily without even raising his eyes.

"Don't make a fuss. Do you think I'm the kind of animal that thinks with its lower half?"

Jiraiya immediately perked up and leaned toward Lin Zi. "Oh, Orochimaru, I didn't know you were into that."

Lin Zi waved him off like a fly. "Get lost, Jiraiya. I'm not like you. This is a proper search."

The snakes slithered around the two Cloud ninja's waists. Their cold scales brushed against their skin, sending shivers through them.

A moment later, a white snake raised its head, the tip of its tail curled around a crumpled map and a sealed letter. It handed them to Lin Zi.

Lin Zi glanced over the map, then tossed the letter to Jiraiya.

"It's probably the Cloud Village's code. I can't read it, so you take a look."

Jiraiya caught the letter and unfolded it. As he scanned the contents, his expression gradually turned grave.

"Three days from now, Killer B will lead a Cloud Village squad to ambush Tsunade in Tanzaku Town."

Jiraiya's voice lowered. "They plan to strike after Tsunade gets dead drunk and kidnap her to exchange for something from Konoha. They want to see if they can extort any benefits from Konoha."

"And then?" Lin Zi asked, folding his arms.

"If Konoha caves, they'll send in their forces." Jiraiya gripped the letter. "Their spies learned that the Fourth Hokage has already been seriously injured."

Lin Zi stood up. The snakes withdrew from the spies and vanished into the shadows like the receding tide.

The two female spies slumped to the floor, gasping for breath, their backs soaked with cold sweat. They didn't have an ounce of strength left.

"Konoha is weak? The Fourth Hokage is badly injured?" Lin Zi scoffed, licking his lips. "Their intelligence is pretty interesting. At least it's taught me something."

He walked out the door. The night wind swept in, tossing his black ponytail. Then, as if remembering something, he glanced back at Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya, what do we do with these two useless spies? We can't escort them back right now."

Jiraiya scratched his head. "There should be a squad nearby that's finished its mission and is heading back. I'll put a sealing technique on the two of them, then we can have the squad take them back."

Lin Zi nodded. "You handle it. You can send a message now and ask Minato if there are any people nearby, then figure out how to meet up."

Jiraiya nodded. "We'll be heading to Tanzaku Town to rescue Tsunade within three days."

He patted Lin Zi on the back, wiggling his eyebrows.

"So, feeling any pressure?"

"What the hell would I be worried about? The three of us are together. How could they possibly stop us? Even if we can't win, we can just run whenever we want."

Lin Zi rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Tanzaku Town.

The gambling den was thick with smoke, the clatter of dice mingling with the drunken shouts of gamblers.

Tsunade's face was flushed. With one foot on a chair, she shoved her last few chips forward. "Big! Give me big!"

The dealer lifted the dice cup and smiled as he swept away her chips.

"I lost again... What terrible luck!" Tsunade laughed loudly, grabbed a jug of wine, and tilted it back. "Shizune! Shizune!"

A girl holding a little pig shuffled over with a grim expression. "Lady Tsunade, please stop drinking. If you keep gambling, we'll lose even the money we need to get home..."

Tsunade slammed the jug onto the table and waved her hand blearily. "Absolutely not! I've been losing every day lately. Every single bet's been a total loss..."

She burped, then suddenly narrowed her eyes and gazed out at the dark night. An inscrutable smile tugged at her lips.

"But this feeling... I can't shake the sense that something huge and wonderful is about to happen. But before that..."

She threw an arm around Shizune's shoulders and slapped down another stack of IOUs.

"Let me have some fun first!"

Holding the little pig, Shizune looked at the mountain of IOUs piled on the table and could only sigh before dutifully sitting back down beside her.

"Something wonderful...? What could it be?"