Ling's figure slipped like melting ink, silently weaving through the ruins and woodland on the outskirts of Konoha. The night was deep, and moonlight occasionally pierced the thin clouds to illuminate the crumbling walls, lending them an even bleaker, more ominous air.
Tobirama's final instructions echoed in his mind: Remember, bargain. Don't beg. Show your value and demand something in return. Be wary of every word he says. Orochimaru's language is more poisonous than his techniques.
Their meeting place was the edge of an abandoned training ground outside the village. It had suffered relatively little damage in the attack, but remained desolate and secluded.
Ling stopped a hundred meters from the meeting place and extended his senses to their fullest. Aside from the chirping insects and rustling wind, there was only one cold, familiar source of chakra, waiting quietly like a venomous snake coiled in the darkness.
There was no sign of an ambush.
He approached slowly and finally spotted the figure beneath a half-charred dead tree.
Orochimaru stood with his back to him, wearing a loose kimono, his arms hanging limply at his sides. Yet his bearing still held a dangerous elegance. He slowly turned, his golden snake eyes gleaming in the night, his lips curling into his signature amused smile.
"Hehehe... So you came after all, Ling Hatake. Braver than I imagined... or perhaps more confident."
"When Lord Orochimaru invites me, I wouldn't dare refuse." Ling answered calmly, keeping a safe distance as his gaze swept over the dangling arms. "It seems the Third's gift was quite a heavy one."
Orochimaru's smile remained unchanged, but a shadow flickered through his eyes. "The Reaper Death Seal... is indeed a troublesome technique. Still, no forbidden technique in this world is impossible to unravel. It merely requires... the right key and