No Time for Pleasantries, Princess Tsunade.

Tsunade ran through the night wind, tearing off her signature green gambling haori as she sprinted.

She pushed off the ground, launching herself forward to slam a fist directly into Lin Zi's face.

Lin Zi moved like a slippery snake, his head tilting lightly to the side as the wind of her punch grazed his nose.

But Tsunade was faster than he imagined; the moment her first strike missed, her Heavenly Foot of Pain came crashing down!

Boom!

Lin Zi leaped backward to dodge, and the ground where he had been standing was shattered into a deep crater several meters wide. While still in mid-air, he began weaving hand seals.

"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!"

Rumble!

The ground surged violently as sharp stone spikes and thick walls erupted, closing in from all sides like a giant beast trap, attempting to crush Tsunade within.

Tsunade didn't even glance at them; she kicked off a rising stone pillar to vault into the air.

She landed on one knee atop a rock, pushed off with a sudden burst of speed, and twisted her waist in mid-air, swinging her long leg down like a battle-axe toward Lin Zi's head!

"Tsunade! You can stop now!" Jiraiya shouted from behind, panting as he chased after them.

She won't stop at all, this woman... Lin Zi cursed inwardly, She's even more stubborn than I thought.

He took a deep breath, his cheeks puffing out.

"Sage Art: White Rage Technique!"

A crimson dragon of light roared from his mouth, clutching a black orb in its claws; it exploded in mid-air, releasing a blinding flash and a piercing, high-pitched screech.

Tsunade was stunned by the sudden sonic boom, her vision whiting out and her eardrums ringing incessantly.

"I don't want to hurt you, Tsunade." Lin Zi sighed as countless black snakes erupted from his sleeves. "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

A dense swarm of snakes surged forward like a black tide, binding her wrists, ankles, and waist, desperately trying to buy time.

Meanwhile, Lin Zi began weaving seals rapidly, his skin rippling as if countless living things were squirming beneath it.

Great Snake Manipulation Technique.

His entire body began to shed like a dead snake; the outer layer of "human skin" split open at the crown of his head and slid limply to the ground.

The true form beneath was a massive, grotesque serpent that had forced its way out from his throat, its body composed of thousands of tiny white snakes intertwined together.

As its forked tongue flickered, the surrounding air rippled with distortion, as if even light and chakra were being shredded and devoured by those countless tiny mouths.

But at that very instant, Tsunade broke free from the snakes' bindings.

Gritting her teeth and pushing through the lingering effects of the White Rage Technique, she threw a punch!

The pressure of the strike acted like an invisible blade, grazing the serpent's body.

Sshhh.

A gash tore open on his skin, and blood splattered out. Lin Zi frowned, glancing down at the wound, but dismissed it.

However, when he looked back up at Tsunade, he found the woman opposite him had suddenly frozen.

Tsunade stared at the few droplets of blood that had fallen onto the grass, her pupils dilating sharply as her breathing became ragged and chaotic.

The color drained from her face—which had been filled with killing intent only moments ago—at a visible rate. Her lips began to tremble, and her teeth chattered with a faint, rhythmic clicking sound.

Hemophobia.

"Go on... Jiraiya..." she raised her head, her voice thin as a thread, carrying a fragility and despair never seen before, "What are you... waiting for..."

The world began to spin before Tsunade's eyes. The droplets of Lin Zi's blood on the forest grass seemed to expand and grow redder in her vision.

In her trance, she saw Dan lying in a pool of blood, his body drenched, reaching out to her. Nawaki was beside him, a gaping hole in his chest, calling out "Sister" with his final breath.

"No... don't..."

Tsunade stood frozen in place, her pupils unfocused, unable to even straighten her back.

"Lady Tsunade!"

Shizune screamed as she rushed out. She was trembling with fear, tears welling in her eyes, yet she spread her arms wide, blocking the path in front of Tsunade, refusing to retreat even half a step.

"Orochimaru! Don't you come any closer!" she yelled at Lin Zi, her voice shaking.

Lin Zi had been maintaining the form of the Great Snake, his tongue flickering.

Seeing this, he clicked his tongue and pressed his palms together.

"Disperse."

With a rustle, the giant serpent instantly collapsed. Countless small white snakes peeled away from him like a receding tide, turning into white smoke as they retreated back into his body.

The terrifying pressure vanished in an instant, leaving only the sound of the night wind rustling through the leaves.

Lin Zi crouched down, his palm glowing with Ryūchi Cave Senjutsu chakra, and pressed it against the wound on his arm.

The flesh knit together as if pinched by an invisible hand; the bleeding stopped instantly, leaving not even a scar, and the scent of blood in the air was washed away by the natural energy.

He looked at Tsunade's hollow eyes and suddenly spoke.

"In my world, what you fear is getting an injection."

Tsunade didn't react; she was still trembling, tears streaming down silently.

Lin Zi leaned in closer, his golden slit pupils fixed directly on her. His voice was low, yet it pierced through with the precision of a blade.

"Your fears all seem to be the same, stemming from some kind of guilt. I don't know exactly what happened to you, so I can't comfort you for the time being."

These words ruthlessly shattered the hallucinations before Tsunade's eyes.

Her pupils constricted sharply, and tears gushed out like a broken dam, streaming down her cheeks and splashing onto the grass.

Yet, at the same time, her rapid breathing gradually steadied, and the fingers she had dug into the soil slowly relaxed.

Jiraiya stood to the side, opening his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He simply watched Lin Zi, who was crouching on the ground, with a complex look in his eyes.

Lin Zi stood up and brushed the dust off his knees.

"Tsunade, it's time to get up. There's no more time for the you of this world to reminisce with me."

Tsunade braced her knees and stood up, clenching one hand into a fist to wipe away the tear tracks on her face with a decisive motion.

Then, she slammed her fist into the ground with a thunderous boom. Soil flew, and turf was overturned, as if she were trying to bury all the weakness, fear, and embarrassment she had just felt into the cracked earth.

She raised her head, her voice still a bit hoarse, yet she stubbornly held onto that grit. "Hey... in your world, did I ever overcome that problem?"

Lin Zi stood with his back to her, not looking back. "Of course. Even though she looks like a little shrimp, she is tougher than you imagine."

Tsunade froze in place, looking down at her still-trembling palms, and suddenly forced a bitter smile. "...Then I'm quite envious of her."

Jiraiya walked over and reached out to support her, and Tsunade used his strength to stand straight.

Jiraiya lowered his voice, leaning into her ear. "Minato's secret letter mentioned... on the night of the Nine-Tails, someone similar to him saved Kushina, and saved Minato himself."

Tsunade's pupils shrank abruptly.

She snapped her head up to look at Lin Zi's back as he stood at the edge of the woods, as if seeing the true weight of that person for the first time.

He was not an enemy, not a rogue ninja, and not even the snake she thought she knew; he was something she couldn't yet comprehend, an existence standing on the side of Konoha.

Shizune held Tonton, shrinking to the side, and muttered softly, "Lady Tsunade... he really doesn't seem like a bad person."

The night wind blew past. Lin Zi seemed to hear it, his shoulders pausing imperceptibly. He simply lifted his feet to walk out of the woods, his voice drifting over faintly.

"Let's go. Didn't Jiraiya tell you? The legendary Big Fat Sheep, the people from Kumogakure have their eyes on you."