Roar, Old Man Meets Newcomer.

Lin Zi spoke suddenly, his voice drifting out from behind Kakashi, light and airy.

Kakashi's entire body stiffened, and he spun around abruptly, his hand already reaching for the kunai at his waist. But when he saw the pale, paper-white face of the person before him, his movements came to a screeching halt.

"What, looking to trade blows with me?"

He froze for two seconds, the muscles in his face twitching, before he quickly lowered his head, his expression turning respectful.

"Lord Orochimaru... what brings you here?"

"Taking a stroll."

Lin Zi crossed his arms, tilted his chin toward the tombstone, and swept his snake-like pupils across Kakashi's face.

"What about you? Not out on a mission in broad daylight, but running here to pay respects to someone?"

Kakashi's fingers tightened around the flower stems, his eyes downcast, his voice muffled.

"...For Obito and Rin."

"Oh."

Lin Zi replied, not pressing for more.

"Lord Orochimaru,"

Kakashi said, head still bowed.

"Thank you for saving Kushina-shishiniang this time."

Before he could finish, he had already bent at the waist, and the bouquet of wild chrysanthemums in his hand fell onto the bluestone slab with a clatter, petals scattering everywhere.

"What is with you people?"

Lin Zi took half a step back, raising a hand to his forehead, his golden vertical pupils filled with helplessness.

"Why does everyone love to bow without saying a word?"

Kakashi straightened up, remaining silent, only keeping his head low, his dead-fish eyes fixed on the scattered flowers on the ground.

Lin Zi crossed his arms, his snake-like eyes scanning Kakashi's face twice. The kid had been looking like he had something to say since a moment ago; those thoughts were as bright as a lightbulb to the senses of Ryūchi Cave.

"I see how it is."

Lin Zi sighed, his tone carrying a lazy, "I really can't do anything with you" quality.

"You actually wanted to say more than that, didn't you? What's the question? I'm in a good mood today, so I can begrudgingly provide you with an answer."

Kakashi looked up sharply, his one visible eye widening slightly.

"Really, Lord Orochimaru?"

"No deception for young or old."

Lin Zi tilted his head, his forked tongue flicking out to quiver in the air.

"Ask, before I change my mind."

Kakashi swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing once. He bent down to pick up the flowers, brushed the dust off the petals, his voice so soft it was as if he feared disturbing something.

"Then... in that world of yours, how are Obito and Rin... doing?"

Lin Zi clicked his tongue, his gaze passing over Kakashi's shoulder to land on the tombstone in the distance engraved with the name "Uchiha Obito."

He was silent for two seconds before speaking.

"They died too. And you... you were just as depressed."

"Is that so..."

Kakashi's fingers tightened around the stems again. He lowered his eyes, his entire frame appearing as if the spine had been pulled from it, shrinking back into that silent stone.

The graveyard suddenly fell quiet, with only the wind swirling fallen leaves around their feet.

Lin Zi stared at his pathetic state and spoke suddenly. His voice wasn't loud, but it pierced through like a needle.

"Hey, Kakashi, what if in another world, those friends of yours survived, but you were the one who died?"

Kakashi froze, looking up abruptly, a look of bewilderment appearing in his dead-fish eyes for the first time.

"Would they be like you are now?"

Lin Zi crossed his arms, his golden vertical pupils unblinking.

Kakashi opened his mouth, but for a long while, no sound came out. He looked down at the flowers in his hand, then at the familiar name on the tombstone, and finally shook his head.

"I don't know. But I think... they would at least have more backbone than I do."

"Backbone?"

Lin Zi scoffed, stepping forward half a pace. He patted Kakashi's shoulder with a pale palm; the force was neither heavy nor light, yet it made Kakashi's whole body shudder.

"Don't overthink it."

Lin Zi's voice softened suddenly, as if drifting from a great distance.

"Perhaps it won't be long before those good friends of yours... receive a commission and come looking for you, too?"

"Really?" Kakashi's pupils constricted sharply.

"I'm not sure." Lin Zi grinned, his snake-like pupils reflecting the bleak sunlight of the graveyard, "But I think it's very likely."

He withdrew his hand, shoved it back into his pocket, and turned to walk out of the graveyard, his black ponytail swaying in the wind.

"So don't be too sad. Pull yourself together and go help Minato. Young people are better off keeping busy, lest their heads get filled with too many useless thoughts."

Kakashi stood where he was, staring at that retreating figure for a long time.

In the end, he bent down, placed the wild chrysanthemums neatly in front of the tombstone, reached out to brush the dust off the stone, and turned to walk in the other direction.

The sound of footsteps gradually faded away.

The graveyard fell silent once more.

Lin Zi stood on the stone steps at the exit, not in a hurry to leave.

He raised a hand to stroke his chin, his golden slit pupils half-closed, as he pulled up the system interface that only he could see in his mind, the list of character cards scrolling slowly through the void.

"Uchiha Obito, is it..."

He murmured, his tongue licking his lips as the corners of his mouth slowly curled into a dangerous arc.

"This is getting interesting."

The wind swept up the withered leaves on the ground, brushing past his feet and drifting toward the eternal silence deep within the graveyard.

By evening, Lin Zi wandered out of the graveyard; the sun had already sunk behind the Hokage Rock, leaving only a streak of orange-red on the horizon.

He strolled along the streets under reconstruction, having watched the bustle all day. His stomach was a bit hungry, but the Senjutsu energy from Ryūchi Cave had burned away most of the emptiness, so he wasn't in a rush to find food.

Lanterns along the street lit up one by one, stretching his shadow out long, then flattening it, then stretching it again.

As if sensing something, he paused, the corners of his mouth tugging upward into a mocking smile.

He didn't return to the house next to Minato's, but instead took a turn and headed toward the outskirts of the village.

His pace was very slow, as if he were deliberately waiting for someone.

The further out he went, the sparser the lights became, and the heavier the dampness in the air grew, carrying the musty scent peculiar to the woods.

When the sky turned completely dark, he stopped in a patch of ruins on the edge of the Konoha barrier.

This area had been flattened during the Nine-Tails incident and hadn't been repaired yet; it was littered with broken bricks and tiles, and even the patrolling Anbu couldn't be bothered to come here.

"You've been following me all afternoon."

Lin Zi crossed his arms, his golden slit pupils fixed on the thick, impenetrable shadow ten paces away.

"Aren't you tired? Come out and get some air; if you keep holding it in, I'm afraid you'll grow mushrooms on your head."

The shadow stirred.

Something pushed up from beneath the ground—first a few strands of long hair emerged, followed by a forehead, eyes, and a nose.

Original World Orochimaru "slid" out of the shadows like a snake shedding its skin from the earth.

He stood up straight, his long black hair hanging to his waist, his golden slit pupils identical to Lin Zi's, yet radiating a dead, chilling coldness.

"So you're the one impersonating me?"

Orochimaru tilted his head to look at Lin Zi, his voice hoarse.

Lin Zi scoffed, remaining motionless with his arms crossed, his black ponytail swaying in the night wind.

"Impersonating you? That's hilarious. I don't recall having the bad habit of impersonating rogue ninjas or conducting human experiments."

Orochimaru's pupils shrank, then he laughed, his shoulders shaking as a low, hissing sound rolled from his throat.

"Interesting... Danzo said you had mastered the complete Senjutsu of Ryūchi Cave, and I didn't believe it. It seems now that you truly do know quite a lot about me."