Found You, Tsunade Hime.

The tall female ninja suddenly grinned, her molars clamping down hard! Kakashi's Sharingan spun, but his hand was only halfway raised.

Snap!

A white snake erupted from the floorboards at her feet like a bolt of white lightning, instantly dislocating her jaw.

Venom mixed with blood trickled from the corners of her mouth; she hadn't died, but her entire face was twisted like a broken ragdoll, and a wheezing "ho-ho" sound rattled in her throat.

Lin Zi walked over, crouched down, and shoved two fingers into her mouth, fishing out a small black pill before tossing it casually at Kakashi's feet.

"If Minato tries to transfer you to the Anbu anytime soon, remember not to accept the appointment."

He remained expressionless, his voice light and airy.

"I recall you're from Team Minato, aren't you? Is this how he taught you?"

The shorter female ninja beside her saw her companion's jaw hanging loose like a dead fish and her psychological defenses shattered instantly; she began screaming before even being questioned.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! We were planning to move against Tsunade, just don't let Orochimaru near me, I'll tell you everything!"

"There is no need for you to talk; I have known what you intended to do since I read the letter."

Lin Zi watched coldly from the side, his snake-like pupils unblinking, the eerie pressure making the short female ninja too terrified to utter another word.

After being mocked, Kakashi simply knelt on one knee in silence, picked up the poison sac, and stared at Lin Zi with his dead-fish eyes, looking earnest.

"...Thank you. I will remember that."

Lin Zi couldn't be bothered to look back at him, speaking instead to Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya, throw the secret letter to them and let them take the spy back as well. It is time for us to depart."

Jiraiya shrugged at Kakashi and laughed as he chased after him: "Hey! Wait for me, Orochimaru!"

Might Guy gazed at Lin Zi's retreating back, muttering to himself: "...What on earth is going on here?"

Kakashi clutched the poison sac, looking down at the tiny holes pierced by the snake's fangs, and remained silent for a long time.

[Ding! Detected intense emotional fluctuations from world core supporting character Kakashi and world important supporting character Might Guy.]

[Roleplay progress for Orochimaru (Spirit Snake Sage) increased by 15%. Current compatibility: 33%.]

Lin Zi's footsteps faltered slightly; the lazy voice in his head was making his brain ache.

After walking for a while, Jiraiya sidled up and slapped a hand onto his shoulder.

"Hey, don't you think you were a bit too harsh on those two kids just now? When it comes down to it, Kakashi is only fourteen this year; he's still just a child."

Lin Zi swatted his hand away, his expression blank.

"Harsh? I think you are the one who is too lax, Jiraiya. At fourteen, one is on the battlefield; life and death happen in an instant. A half-second of hesitation is all it takes to become a corpse."

"Whoa." Jiraiya jumped back dramatically, eyes wide. "What is wrong with you? That tone of yours—how are you sounding more and more like that dead-faced Orochimaru from our world!"

Lin Zi couldn't be bothered to entertain him and quickened his pace.

By dusk, the two stopped to rest by a small stream.

Jiraiya took off his shoes and socks, standing barefoot in the water while clutching a sharpened wooden stick; after poking around for ages, he finally speared two scrawny crucian carp.

Lin Zi sat cross-legged on a rock, two white snakes slithering out from his sleeves; they darted into the water and, a moment later, tossed three plump grass carp onto the bank.

"Damn, that's cheating!" Jiraiya grumbled indignantly.

"This is called efficiency, Jiraiya."

Lin Zi slowly built a fire, skewered the fish on branches, and set them over the flames; grease dripped into the charcoal, sizzling loudly.

The two wolfed down their meal and continued their journey, accompanied only by the sound of footsteps and chirping insects in the night.

After trudging along in silence for some time, the colorful lights of a town finally appeared on the horizon the following evening.

They had reached Tanzaku Town.

Though called a town, it was more of a lawless zone.

Neon lanterns from gambling dens hung in dense clusters, black-market dealers squatted in alleyways peddling illicit ninja tools, and thugs from underground banks leaned against walls, their gazes sweeping over every passerby like vipers.

The moment Lin Zi and Jiraiya stepped onto the street, the air seemed to freeze.

The man selling takoyaki by the roadside shook his hand, spilling sauce all over the table; a clerk cleaning a window nearly fell off his ladder; and two black-market merchants in the middle of a transaction turned their heads in unison, eyes wide as saucers.

"Is that... Orochimaru?"

"Damn, the S-rank missing-nin bounty poster is still hanging at the town entrance, and he's just strolling in like that?"

"And that white-haired guy next to him... why does he look like one of the Sannin, Jiraiya? Did Jiraiya defect too?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down! When those two get together, what else could they be doing besides looking for Lady Tsunade?"

The crowd lowered their heads in unison, returning to their business, though their peripheral vision remained glued to the pair.

Jiraiya, however, was at ease, wandering with his hands behind his back and even winking at a young girl handing out flyers by the road.

"Orochimaru, where are we going to find Tsunade?"

Lin Zi rubbed his temples, his golden vertical pupils scanning the neon-lit streets.

"Didn't the secret letter say so? Your Tsunade has been gambling like a madwoman in this dump, losing every single hand. If we search the gambling dens one by one, we're bound to find her."

"Oh, right, right," Jiraiya slapped his forehead, then puffed out his chest. "Ahem, I was just testing your basic intelligence-gathering skills, you understand?"

Lin Zi rolled his eyes, too lazy to call his bluff.

The two made their way through the bustling streets. They hadn't even checked many gambling dens before a laugh, familiar to the point of being iconic, erupted from the largest establishment ahead.

"Hahahaha! Lost again! Shizune! Bring more money! I refuse to believe my luck is this rotten!"

The voice was loud, wild, and carried an air of reckless, devil-may-care defiance.

Lin Zi and Jiraiya stopped in their tracks simultaneously and exchanged a look.

"Found her."

Jiraiya's face was covered in black lines.

"...Tsunade really is still the same as ever."

With a tacit understanding, the two pushed open the doors from either side and walked straight in.

The room was thick with smoke, the clatter of dice, the howls of drunks, and the rustle of chips blending into a chaotic mess.

Tsunade had one foot planted on a bench, her body leaning forward. The mountain of chips that had been in front of her was gone, leaving only three lonely ones clutched tightly in her palm.

"Big! It's gotta be big! Roll big!"

The dealer lifted the dice cup to reveal three ones facing up.

"...Lost again."

Tsunade froze for half a second before bursting into a loud laugh, grabbing a sake flask and chugging it, the liquid spilling down her chin and onto her collar.

Shizune, clutching Tonton, huddled to the side, just about to try and persuade her otherwise.

Suddenly, with a creak, the gambling den's doors were pushed open.

"Yo~"

Jiraiya's signature voice cut through the noise of the room. He walked in swaggering with his hands behind his back, waving vigorously in Tsunade's direction.

"Long time no see, Tsunade!"

Everyone in the room turned to look, but upon seeing the newcomer, they relaxed—just a lecherous white-haired old man, as long as he didn't bother them, it was fine.

Tsunade squinted her drunken eyes for two seconds before slamming her flask onto the table and laughing heartily.

"Who did I think it was! Jiraiya! What are you doing here? Did you come all this way just to see me? Do you have any money? Lend me some first!"

"I came specifically to find you." Jiraiya walked up to the table and looked at the empty space in front of her, his mouth twitching. "You've lost pretty miserably, haven't you?"

"Cut the crap!"

Tsunade threw an arm around Jiraiya's shoulder, the scent of alcohol mixed with her perfume spraying into his face.

"You came at the right time! Play a few rounds with me! My luck has been terrible lately; you can help me turn it around!"

Jiraiya waved his hands with a bitter smile. "I don't have time to lose money with you; things have been very busy back in Konoha lately."

"Tch, boring!"

Tsunade pushed him away in disgust.

"You left Konoha ages ago too, why are you still worrying about it?"

She grabbed those last three chips and was just about to slam them onto the table when Jiraiya suddenly pressed his hand down on hers, his voice dropping.

"Tsunade, something major has happened in Konoha. I want you to come back with us."

"Not going, not going!"

Tsunade shook off his hand, her drunken, hazy eyes flashing with irritation.

"Jiraiya, I'm warning you, don't pull that stuff with me."

"This time it's really different..."

"I said no—"

Tsunade's words cut off abruptly.

It was as if she had suddenly sensed something; the hair on her body stood on end, and her drunkenness vanished in an instant. She slowly raised her head, looking past Jiraiya's shoulder toward the doorway.

The temperature in the gambling den seemed to drop several degrees in that instant.

The room, which had been noisy just a moment ago, suddenly went so quiet that the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.

Shizune, clutching Tonton, was trembling so hard her teeth chattered.

"Ts-Tsunade-sama... th-that is..."

Tsunade stared at the entrance, her voice strained.

"Jiraiya... what is that behind you?"