Shizune: "Lady Tsunade, are you sure there's no other reason for investigating the opponent?"
Bai Ye pondered.
The two debt-collecting ninjas fled without hesitation.
However—
As someone who once single-handedly overturned the World Government and ended the pirate era—
If he were to let someone of this level escape right before his eyes, it would be nothing short of disgraceful.
No need for any grand gestures.
Just a mere hint of Reiatsu.
The next moment—
Boom!
The two fleeing ninjas, who had barely managed to run tens of meters and were just about to blend into the bustling streets, suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure descend upon them.
Plop!
Plop!
Both collapsed mid-air, hitting the ground heavily, sending up a cloud of dust.
They instinctively tried to struggle and get up, but in the face of such immense Reiatsu—
They couldn't even make a sound before their internal organs were crushed.
Dead.
Tsunade, who still retained her youthful appearance, stared wide-eyed at the scene before her.
For a brief moment, she even forgot to react.
Because she had just realized something shocking—
She couldn't sense any chakra fluctuations from the black-haired, black-eyed young man in front of her.
None at all.
If her opponent had been a ninja with monstrous physical prowess—
Someone who could kill with just a flick of their finger—she could understand that.
But this—
The ability to kill from a distance, without even making physical contact—
This was definitely not taijutsu.
Was it ninjutsu?
Tsunade immediately dismissed the thought.
As the Fifth Hokage and a direct descendant of the Senju clan, she possessed an immense chakra reserve.
She was confident that no matter what kind of jutsu was used in front of her, she would notice it instantly.
Or could it be—
Some kind of Kekkei Genkai?
But even then, a bloodline ability should still have chakra fluctuations.
And yet—
Nothing.
Tsunade's gaze shifted toward Bai Ye, the enigmatic black-haired young man.
His ability to suppress chakra fluctuations to such an extreme degree, to the point of complete invisibility—
And more importantly, his ability to kill with just his presence—
How powerful was this man?
Tsunade shook her head, pushing away her thoughts.
But one thing was certain—
This man was an unfathomable force.
And yet—
Such a powerful individual—
When did he appear in the ninja world?
Tsunade searched her memory, scanning through all known records of ninja nations, villages, and organizations.
But she found nothing.
No one matched the description of this man.
That alone was unsettling.
As Hokage, she had failed to gather intelligence on a being of this level appearing in the Land of Fire.
This was a serious oversight.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Tsunade abandoned all thoughts of gambling and instead asked:
"Where are you from? I've never seen you in this region before. Are you from another ninja nation? Or from outside the Five Great Shinobi Villages?"
Bai Ye turned to look at the blonde woman with a high ponytail.
To be honest—
He had already figured out which world he had arrived in from the debt collectors' words:
The Naruto world.
One of the most dangerous worlds that countless fans in his past life had fantasized about experiencing firsthand.
At the same time—
As a traveler from another world—
He had no doubt about the identity of the woman before him.
Tsunade.
The Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure.
Bai Ye didn't immediately respond to Tsunade's questioning.
First, he needed to confirm one crucial thing—
The timeline.
So—
Before Tsunade could react, Bai Ye simply extended his hand.
A faint surge of Reiatsu.
And in the next moment—
He extracted her memories.
Given his fully unlocked "Yamamoto Genryūsai" template, doing this without Tsunade noticing was effortless.
Moments later—
"Casino... losses... more losses... and—"
"The upcoming Five Kage Summit?"
Bai Ye finally found useful information in her recent memories.
The Five Kage Summit—
If he remembered correctly, this event marked the beginning of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
That meant—
He had arrived on the eve of the Fourth Ninja World War.
Ending the memory extraction, Bai Ye calmly returned to normal.
Tsunade only felt a slight moment of dizziness, but she didn't detect anything unusual.
Still, as she studied the man before her, she felt an increasing sense of unease.
A man of unknown origins—already suspicious enough.
But someone this powerful—
That was downright alarming.
Trying to compose herself, she pressed again:
"A place far, far away?"
Bai Ye replied calmly, "Exactly. A place very far from here."
Tsunade frowned slightly.
The man spoke with such certainty—it didn't feel like a lie.
But how far was "far"?
The Land of Water?
Or...
As she suspected, was he from beyond the sea, a force unrelated to the Five Great Nations?
If so—
What was his purpose in the Land of Fire?
Just as she was about to continue her questioning—
A voice called out from the distance.
"Lady Tsunade?! Where are you?!"
It was Shizune.
Tsunade glanced up at the darkening sky and sighed.
"This is bad."
She quickly committed Bai Ye's appearance to memory.
Then, finding an excuse, she left.
Moments later, a short, black-haired woman holding a small pet pig rushed up.
"Lady Tsunade, did you gamble away all the money again?"
Tsunade scratched the back of her head.
"Ah... well, it's just money. I can always borrow more."
Shizune facepalmed.
"Borrow?! Lady Tsunade, your reputation as a debtor is infamous around here. No one in their right mind will lend you another coin!"
Tsunade fell silent.
But then—
She recalled her earlier encounter.
"Actually, forget the gambling. There's something far more important right now."
Shizune eyed her suspiciously.
"Are you just changing the subject to escape and go gamble somewhere else? Don't forget, the Five Kage Summit is happening soon. You need to be there as Hokage!"
Tsunade, for once, was serious.
"No, I mean it. I need you to investigate someone."
"Investigate?"
"Yes. I met someone—an extremely powerful individual. My intuition could be wrong, but... having someone like that lurking in the Land of Fire is dangerous."
Shizune's expression hardened.
For Tsunade-sama to personally describe someone as "powerful"—
That wasn't something to take lightly.
"Just how strong is he?"
"Strong enough that I couldn't stop him from killing three people—right in front of me."
Shizune was stunned.
"Wait... Three people? And you, Lady Tsunade, couldn't stop him?"
That level of power—
Even among the Five Kage, few could achieve such a feat.
Shizune's heart sank.
Tsunade instructed her to sketch Bai Ye's appearance and mark him as a high-priority target for investigation.
However—
When Shizune saw the finished drawing, she froze.
Then—
She lifted the portrait to her face, stared at it for a long moment, and asked in a teasing tone:
"Lady Tsunade, are you sure this is about an 'unknown threat'? Or... do you just have a thing for handsome guys?"
Tsunade: "..."
Seeing Shizune's nosebleed, several veins popped on Tsunade's forehead.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them—
Bai Ye had been watching everything unfold through his Reiatsu.
And he smirked.