Land of Fire — Tanzaku Town.
Tsunade, one of the Legendary Three Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, had arrived at this fad tourist destination.
Though it was called a "town," like how "Hidden Leaf Village" was still a massive settlent, Tanzaku Town was a bustling city built on the back of the shinobi world's scarce but popular entertainnt culture.
Due to the backward nature of shinobi civilization, entertainnt was limited—leading to gambling and brothels becoming the primary attractions.
Tanzaku Town was essentially the shinobi world's Las Vegas.
And it was Tsunade's personal favorite.
After all, she was the "Gamble" in Hidden Leaf's infamous "gambling, lechery, and drugs" trio!
"After a mission, you're supposed to enjoy a full day of gambling, right, Shizune?"
Hands on hips, Tsunade declared this boldly—proving that instead of returning to the village to report, she had gone off the grid to enjoy herself.
Beside her, the 13-year-old Shizune, Tsunade's student, gave a wry, helpless smile. "Tsunade-sama, are we really okay just running off to Tanzaku Town like this? Shouldn't we report back to the Hokage first?"
Tsunade waved her off. "That old man's used to my style. He won't complain. Let's just have fun for a few days!"
Shizune could only keep quiet. As a disciple of one of Lord Third's own students, she had no say. More importantly, she believed making Tsunade happy was more important than paperwork.
This was where we call out a certain loser nad Jiraiya. Always claiming he loved Tsunade the most, yet every ti she needed him, he was off chasing prophecies or training the Child of Prophecy. Serves him right for missing his chance.
Her uncle, Dan Katō, on the other hand—his core principle was companionship. He put his girlfriend above all else, even his dream of becoming Hokage. They shared a deep bond through dical ninjutsu, and that's why he managed to win her heart. If only he hadn't died so early... their child would've graduated the Academy by now.
So, Tsunade and Shizune entered Tanzaku Town, kicking off their two-person journey of indulgence—eating, drinking, and searching for gambling halls.
Before they knew it, the morning had flown by. And after losing once again like a perfect sucker, Tsunade was led to lunch by a helplessly smiling Shizune.
After eating, they noticed a new shop still under renovation.
Ordinarily, it wouldn't have caught their interest—but this one bore the symbol of the Hidden Leaf. Despite being incomplete, staff mbers were already out on the street advertising it. It was a "Ga Hall" offering a new entertainnt experience called "Genjutsu Gas," promising ultra-realistic imrsion in illusory worlds.
Once the renovation was complete, custors would pay to enter and try different gas.
Alternatively, one could purchase a sealed scroll version of a Genjutsu Ga and enjoy it from ho. Scroll sales had already begun, even before the grand opening.
Unquestionably, this Ga Hall was Uchiha Kei's creation—rging arcade and internet café concepts. It was directly operated by the Hidden Leaf Gaming Association and set to beco one of its key profit centers.
Naturally, such a profitable model received full support from the association's mber clans. This store, for instance, had been purchased and renovated by the Nara Clan, with staff supplied by multiple shinobi families—showcasing the strength of united comrcial interests.
The Uchiha, unaccustod to such support, were honestly a bit overwheld. They'd never received this much help, nor experienced such seamless operations before.
So Uchiha were so emotionally moved that their Sharingan upgraded—though only minor internal upgrades; no one awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. It only underscored how rare that evolution truly was.
Of course, none of this had anything to do with Tsunade. She knew nothing of it. She was just curious—how did sothing this new pop up so quickly? And why was it already in Tanzaku Town?
After a bit of thought, Tsunade shrugged and dragged Shizune forward to investigate.
At that mont, the branch manager—stationed outside—recognized her. He was a mber of a branch family of the Nara Clan who had seen Tsunade before.
He imdiately bowed respectfully. "Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, but wasn't surprised. As one of the Hidden Leaf's Sannin, she was well-known. Getting recognized was no big deal.
With her usual brashness, she asked about the Genjutsu Ga, and the manager explained everything he knew. Then, sharp-eyed as he was, he brought out two copies of each of the two available gas—one for Tsunade, and one for Shizune.
He also quietly inford her that the versions being sold outside the village were "nerfed." Their realism and imrsion were limited. Only in the main Hidden Leaf store could one buy the full versions.
This piqued Tsunade and Shizune's curiosity. Why did a ga need different versions? That was sothing usually reserved for weapons or sensitive tools.
The manager didn't hold back. He explained the Genjutsu Ga's value to shinobi, and the secret behind its developnt.
After all, Tsunade was a core figure in the village—there was no need to hide it from her.
Learning that the ga was built upon the Uchiha's Sharingan-based genjutsu—and that the Uchiha Clan had used it to form a business alliance with most of the village's major clans—left Tsunade and Shizune in disbelief.
It felt like they'd crossed into a parallel world.
This was the Uchiha Clan—the sa prideful, rigid clan that usually looked down their noses at everyone? How could they suddenly beco this tactful and shrewd?
Such comrcial strategizing was more fitting for noble clans of the Land of Fire—not ninja!
Clearly, soone brilliant was advising the Uchiha.
Tsunade ca to this conclusion instantly.
Then she shrugged. That kind of trouble? Let Lord Third deal with it. She had no reason to worry.
Later, Tsunade and Shizune returned to the inn. Tsunade imdiately opened the sealed scroll for the ga "Return Ho" to try it firsthand.
Shizune didn't join her. According to the manager, once a player entered a Genjutsu Ga, their consciousness would be fully imrsed—leaving them vulnerable. So she chose to stand guard.
Tsunade began her session. Inside the ga, she beca a strange man. It felt awkward but fresh.
Not the shy type, Tsunade quickly adapted. After so hands-on testing, she began moving forward.
She was a little annoyed, though—despite being a man, she couldn't strip, nor did her hands detect anything when she tried to grope herself. It felt insufficiently real. She ntally docked points.
Curiosity × Exploration × Research.jpg.
Yes, Tsunade claid it was all in the spirit of scientific inquiry.
As for the creepy setting? Nothing new for a dical ninja like her. She'd seen worse. Even when a female ghost attacked and took over her body, she only blinked, then calmly began observing.
Frankly, she handled it way better than Minato Namikaze or Fugaku Uchiha had.
That said, this was only the nerfed version—about 30% of the full sensory experience. The ntal impacts were light, almost negligible to soone of her caliber.
So Tsunade blitzed through the ga, analyzing clues and hidden elents at lightning speed.
Soon, she passed through the three paths of the mysterious gatekeeper and entered the ga's next phase. What began as curiosity and research transford into imrsive emotional involvent.
And as the story progressed, her smile faded.
This ga... was a tragedy. The background music grew increasingly lancholic. The imrsive narrative pulled her in completely.
She, who had never experienced this kind of entertainnt, was now at the rcy of the ga's emotional weight.
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