A Brand New Orochimaru

Waking up, the stones beneath him made Lin Zi's back ache with every movement.

He grimaced as he rolled over, staring blankly at the canopy of trees overhead.

Two days ago, he was still sleeping on something that could actually be called a bed, but today, he had the sky for a blanket and the earth for a mattress—a direct promotion to a life of hardship.

"Make do with it, I suppose it's good enough." He raised a hand to block the blinding sunlight, shouting internally, "System, prepare to summon a new character."

[Ding! Host, please specify the target for the draw.]

Lin Zi sat up cross-legged and brushed the dust off his backside.

"How about Uchiha Sasuke? No matter which timeline, the Second Pillar's combat power is never bad, right?"

He muttered while rubbing his chin, then suddenly shuddered.

"No, wait. What if I pull that rose-wielding, womanizing version of the Second Pillar? With his pick-up artist skills, it'd be a miracle if he could bring Tsunade back."

[Detection: Unlikely to bring her back, but the probability of pulling that specific route is extremely low.]

"Low probability isn't good enough, I'm not gambling." Lin Zi shook his head frantically.

"Let me think... is there anyone who can harvest a screen full of shock value wherever they go, and actually manage to trick Tsunade or even Jiraiya into coming back?"

A man's figure slowly emerged in his mind.

Pale skin, golden slit pupils, a slow and deliberate way of speaking—just looking at him was enough to make one's skin crawl.

Orochimaru.

And specifically, an Orochimaru from a different timeline.

"System, specify Orochimaru, start the draw."

[Ding! Host confirmation received, beginning the draw—]

[Congratulations to the host for pulling "Spirit Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave · Orochimaru"!]

Lin Zi froze for a second: "What the hell is a Spirit Snake Sage? So I pulled an Orochimaru who swapped personalities with Jiraiya?"

[Host's comprehension is MAX.]

"Cut the sarcasm." Lin Zi rolled his eyes. "Enough talk, possess."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a sudden transformation occurred.

His hair grew wildly, binding itself into a black ponytail that reached his waist, while his skin faded of all color as if bleached, turning paper-white.

Eerie purple eyeshadow bloomed around his eye sockets, his pupils contracted into two thin, golden vertical lines, and his earlobes grew heavy with the addition of cyan-blue magatama-shaped earrings.

The most bizarre change was his tongue; it became thin and long, and the forked tip couldn't help but flick across his lips, leaving behind a sensation of icy coldness.

"Hiss... this body..."

Immediately after, a tidal wave of memories flooded his brain.

Countless snake-style ninjutsu, Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode, secret arts of cellular activation, and a near-greedy way of perceiving natural energy—it felt like being shoved into a tumble dryer and spun around.

Lin Zi clutched his head and groaned, veins bulging on his forehead as cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

A few minutes later, he snapped his head up, a demonic glint flashing in his golden slit pupils as he gasped for air.

"Hoo..." He rubbed his temples, his voice now deep and raspy.

"Even if the personality is like Jiraiya's, the knowledge inside Orochimaru's brain is just too much... my head is splitting."

Lin Zi stood up and stretched his stiff neck, his joints emitting a faint clicking sound.

He looked down at his palm, where a small white snake slithered out from his sleeve and circled his wrist twice.

"Alright, time to pack up and go find Tsunade."

He began walking toward the town on the border of the Land of Fire.

The morning mist had yet to dissipate, and Lin Zi had only taken a few steps when his golden slit pupils narrowed slightly; the sensory perception granted by the Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode allowed him to detect three distinct chakra signatures rapidly approaching from the southeast.

They were likely trackers from Konoha.

But the cold, viscous nature of that chakra felt exactly like something crawling up from the depths of the earth.

A dangerous arc tugged at the corner of Lin Zi's mouth, his forked tongue flicking over his lips.

"Tsk, someone delivering themselves to my doorstep right after I change skins? I hope they aren't too fragile; I still need to practice my skills while I play the part."

The shadows of the trees ahead swayed as three dark figures emerged from the morning mist.

Leading them was Yamanaka Fu, followed by two Root operatives.

The three of them froze the moment they saw Lin Zi's paper-white face and those signature golden slit pupils of Orochimaru, before quickly spreading out into a triangular formation.

"Missing-nin Orochimaru." Yamanaka Fu's voice was devoid of emotion. "Why have you appeared at the border of the Land of Fire?"

Lin Zi tilted his head, his forked tongue darting out to lick his lips. "Missing-nin? Since when did I become a missing-nin?"

He spread his hands, that laid-back, Jiraiya-esque tone of voice emerging from Orochimaru's sinister throat, creating a jarring sense of dissonance.

"And you little thieves from Root, why are you blocking my path? Let's talk this out like reasonable people. If you can't explain yourselves, I'll have to go pay the Third Hokage a visit and complain that his subordinates don't know the rules."

"...What?"

Yamanaka Fu and his two teammates' brains simply crashed.

This was Orochimaru? Orochimaru would call the Third Hokage "Old Man"? And even file a complaint?

"What kind of trick are you playing!" Yamanaka Fu gripped his sword hilt tightly.

Lin Zi sighed, a hint of helplessness showing in his snake-like pupils, "I don't understand what you're talking about. So, can you move aside? I really have urgent business."

Yamanaka Fu stopped wasting words. The first rule of Root's code of conduct: when a target exhibits incomprehensible behavior, prioritize subduing them with force.

The three of them moved simultaneously, kunai and short blades lunging at Lin Zi from three different angles.

"Sigh, why must you resort to violence at every turn?" Lin Zi took half a step back and pressed his palms together, "Fine, I'll just knock you out."

Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode: Activate!

Two horns suddenly protruded from the top of Lin Zi's head, the purple eyeshadow at the corners of his eyes deepened to a dark hue, and a layer of translucent nictitating membranes covered his pupils—the specialized corneas snakes use to block genjutsu.

He pressed one hand against the ground.

"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation."

The gravel, sand, and broken bricks buried in the soil beneath his feet seemed to have a switch flipped, instantly coming to life.

They grew wildly, twisting and coalescing into two stone snakes that shot out, striking the temples of the two Root members with pinpoint accuracy.

Bang! Bang!

The two didn't even manage a groan before collapsing limply.

Yamanaka Fu's pupils constricted. From the start of the attack to his teammates falling, not even a second had passed.

"Listen well."

Lin Zi straightened up, brushed the dust off his hands, and swept his gaze over with golden slit pupils.

"I have no interest in whatever 'missing-nin' or 'defection' nonsense you're spouting. I was entrusted by someone to find a person. Take your two little mice and go back; don't make things difficult for me."

Yamanaka Fu glanced at his unconscious teammates on the ground, then at the pair of horns on Lin Zi's head and those inhuman eyes.

He didn't say a word, grabbed the collars of his two teammates, flickered, and vanished into the depths of the dense forest.

Root's retreat efficiency was always high; if they couldn't win, they ran, never dragging things out.

Ding! Detected emotional fluctuations from Yamanaka Fu and the Root small-fry.

Roleplay progress for Orochimaru (Spirit Snake Sage) increased by 3%. Current compatibility: 3%.

"So little." Lin Zi curled his lip and deactivated Sage Mode, the horns on his head retracting, "Should I say as expected of small-fry?"

He patted his clothes and continued walking toward the town.

"Hey, that person up ahead is—"