It's me, don't you miss me?

A person stood there.

Skin pale as paper, golden vertical pupils gleaming coldly under the dim lights, eerie purple eyeshadow painted at the corners of his eyes, a black ponytail hanging down to his waist, and blue magatama earrings swaying gently with his movements.

"Clatter."

The three gambling chips in Tsunade's hand slipped from her palm and hit the floor; one rolled twice and stopped precisely in front of Lin Zi.

Lin Zi lowered his head to glance at the chip, then walked over to the gambling table, his golden vertical pupils scanning Tsunade up and down as his forked tongue flicked out to slowly lick his lips.

"Are you the Tsunade of this place?"

He tilted his head, his snake-like eyes reflecting Tsunade's dazed, drunken face.

"More than I imagined..." He reached out to pick up the chip from the floor, twirling it between his fingertips, his tone flat yet venomous, "...like a sore loser of a gambler."

"Thump."

A fat customer nearby finally couldn't take it; his legs went weak, and he slid straight off his stool under the table, causing the chips on the table to rattle loudly.

"Or—Orochimaru!"

"It's the S-rank missing-nin Orochimaru! Run!"

The gambling den erupted into chaos in an instant.

Those near the door scrambled out, knocking over chairs and losing their shoes without a second thought.

Soon, the shop was completely empty; those who couldn't make it out in time found places to crouch or huddled behind the counter, trembling and praying not to be discovered.

"Why, am I some public enemy of the ninja world?"

Lin Zi looked around the empty room, then at the trembling fat gambler by his feet, and helplessly raised a hand to his forehead.

He sighed, tossed the chip back onto the table, and turned to look at the still-stunned Tsunade and Jiraiya.

"Let's go, you two. In this situation, we can't exactly keep playing, can we?"

"Oh right, almost forgot. Miss Shizune, if you don't mind, you should come out too. It's too noisy in here."

He nodded, and without waiting for a response, turned and walked toward the main entrance, his black ponytail swinging behind him as he stepped into the night outside.

"Jiraiya..." Tsunade's voice sounded airy, as if she had just been pulled from deep water.

She instinctively shrank back, then slumped onto her chair, her drunkenness completely wiped away, a cold sweat breaking out on her back.

"Have I gone mad, or have you defected?"

She stared fixedly at the back retreating outside the door; in her memory, this man should absolutely not be appearing here.

Whether it was the glorious years when they were known as the Sannin, or the long time after he defected from Konoha to become an S-rank wanted criminal.

"I haven't defected." Jiraiya scratched his head, looking helpless. "But he... it's a long story."

He lowered his voice and leaned into Tsunade's ear.

"Some things are hard to believe even if I tell you, but in short, he isn't the snake we know. He fell in from another world. I'm the only one who knows for now, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to tell you—you'll have to deal with him sooner or later anyway."

"...Not the Orochimaru of this world?"

Tsunade's throat felt dry.

"That's about the gist of it."

Jiraiya sighed and reached out to pull the still-bewildered Tsunade up from her chair.

"Alright, let's head out first. Look at how scared everyone is."

Shizune held Tonton, her face pale, following behind the two with unsteady steps.

As she stepped out of the gambling den, the night wind blew, and she couldn't help but shiver.

Outside, Lin Zi stood with his hands behind his back, his black ponytail drifting slowly in the night breeze.

Hearing their footsteps, he turned his face slightly, his golden vertical pupils like two cold ambers under the dim light of the lanterns.

He licked his lips, his gaze sweeping over Tsunade and Jiraiya before finally landing on Shizune, his tone lazy yet carrying an unquestionable sense of oppression.

"Shall we find another place to have a fight... or, catch up on old times?"

"You bastard!"

Tsunade stared fixedly at that face; the shock lasted only a moment before anger and pain began to intertwine in her mind.

"Wearing Orochimaru's face..." she gritted her teeth, every word squeezed out from between them, "...playing these tricks here, what exactly are you trying to do!"

Clearly, she didn't believe for a second that this was Orochimaru.

"Don't believe me?" Lin Zi shrugged and turned to walk toward the outskirts of town. "Then let's go somewhere else so you can verify the goods. Follow me."

No one spoke along the way.

Tsunade clenched her fists so hard her nails nearly dug into her palms; Jiraiya was caught in the middle, wanting to speak several times, only to be stifled by Tsunade's murderous expression.

Shizune held Tonton, shrinking her neck as she trotted along, even her breathing becoming shallow.

It wasn't until they walked into a dim forest, where the moonlight was shattered by the canopy, that Lin Zi stopped and turned around.

"Right here will do." He tilted his head, his golden slit pupils gleaming coldly in the shadows. "Tsunade, how do you want me to prove it?"

Tsunade didn't answer him at all.

What answered him was a fist that tore through the air!

BOOM!

That punch was absurdly fast. Tsunade slammed into him like a cannonball, the wind from her fist whipping the fallen leaves on the ground into a vortex, landing squarely on Lin Zi's face! It was at least a dozen times heavier than the punch from Might Guy earlier!

"You treat the bonds we shared back then..." Tsunade's roar made the leaves rustle and fall, "...as what!"

BANG!

Lin Zi's head exploded like a smashed watermelon, flesh and blood flying everywhere.

But the next second, those scraps of flesh suddenly turned into a puddle of pale snakeskin, collapsing limply onto the ground.

The real Lin Zi emerged from the shadows of a nearby tree, twisting his neck, completely unharmed.

"Hiss..." He drew a sharp breath and reached up to touch his cheek. "Tsunade, your monstrous strength is still as terrifying as ever."

"Enough talk!" Tsunade whipped her head around. "Jiraiya, you come at him too!"

"Tsunade, stop fighting, he really is..."

"If you're not going to help, then shut up!" Tsunade glared at him. Jiraiya opened his mouth, then retreated to the side in frustration, falling completely silent.

Tsunade stomped her feet hard against the ground, chakra pouring madly into her soles.

"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"

RUMBLE!

The earth was struck as if by a giant hammer. With her landing point as the center, spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly. The entire ground was heaved upward, and gravel and dirt poured toward Lin Zi like a rainstorm!

Lin Zi was pushed back half a step by the shockwave and helplessly rubbed his forehead. "It seems if I don't beat you into submission, we won't be able to talk tonight."

He pressed his palms together, and the chakra around his body suddenly changed color. A cold, violent surge of natural energy erupted from within him.

Two horns suddenly protruded from his forehead, the purple eyeshadow at the corners of his eyes darkened, and a nictitating membrane covered his pupils.

"Sage Mode... Activate!"

Tsunade's pupils shrank to pinpricks. "Orochimaru's Sage Mode?"

"The Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave." Lin Zi grinned, his forked tongue licking his lips. "You've heard of it, haven't you?"

"Heard of it? Of course I've heard of it!"

The diamond-shaped mark on Tsunade's forehead suddenly lit up. She raised her hand and wiped it, releasing the seal.

"Yin Seal: Release!"

BOOM!!!

A massive amount of chakra surged from her body like a burst dam, and the ground beneath her feet was forcibly crushed down a layer.

Tsunade's hair danced wildly in the chakra storm, her entire being like a thoroughly enraged lioness.

"Come! Let me see exactly what kind of monster you are!"