Wandering Monk

"Going to Tanzaku Town first?"

Uchiha Sōgetsu looked Tsunade up and down, his face full of suspicion. "You didn't win a bet and decide to go there for a few more rounds, did you?"

"Cough, cough, of course not!" Tsunade put her hands on her hips, her beautiful eyes glaring fiercely at him. "Do you really think I'm the kind of person who can't tell what's important?"

Whether you are or not, you know best yourself. Uchiha Sōgetsu tugged at the corner of his mouth, his face written all over with doubt.

It wasn't that he didn't trust her. This woman's gambling addiction was simply too severe.

One of Konoha's Legendary Sannin, the founder of the Medical Ninja system, and the director of Konoha Hospital—yet in a single night, she had nearly gambled Konoha Hospital away. If the Hokage's personal Anbu guards had not stepped in, she might have even gambled herself away. That was enough to show just how bad her addiction was.

The boy's suspicious gaze made Tsunade's pretty face flush. She wanted to argue, but lacked the confidence to do so. "There just happens to be a seal south of Tanzaku Town. Isn't it on the way?"

"Forest of the Dead is clearly south of Konoha, while Tanzaku Town is southwest." Uchiha Sōgetsu pointed expressionlessly at the nearest location on the Scroll. "There are over 170 kilometers between the two places. Lady Tsunade, are you sure that counts as being on the way?"

"Aren't they both to the south?"

After being questioned like that, Tsunade looked like a little girl, twisting her two slender white fingers together and pouting aggrievedly. "I was just thinking, we have too many places to visit along the way. Dressed like that, you'll easily draw attention, so we should go to Tanzaku Town first and buy you some clothes for a disguise."

That was a reason, at least.

The Scroll recorded at least a dozen sealed locations, scattered throughout the Land of Fire.

Not to mention the Anbu mask he was wearing, Tsunade alone was conspicuous enough. The two of them made a rather eye-catching pair.

So Tsunade's concern was not unreasonable.

However, Uchiha Sōgetsu was not falling for it. He had long since seen through this woman's little scheme and exposed it directly. "Then why didn't you mention it this morning in Konoha?"

"I forgot."

Tsunade spread her hands, putting on an innocent expression.

Faced with such an unreasonable female rascal, even Uchiha Sōgetsu felt helpless. He could only agree to her plan. "Fine, we'll do as you say and go to Tanzaku Town first. But we agreed—at most one day."

"Yay!"

A sly glint flashed through Tsunade's eyes, and she revealed a triumphant smile.

Now that they had decided on the route, Uchiha Sōgetsu stopped dwelling on it. He planned to reach Tanzaku Town as quickly as possible, rest for a day, then turn toward Forest of the Dead.

They traveled in silence.

As sunset neared, they finally caught sight of Tanzaku Town's neon lights.

He had barely rested since last night and had sprinted almost nonstop for an entire day. Uchiha Sōgetsu was exhausted.

"Huff... huff..." He braced his hands on his knees and panted heavily.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Kid, your stamina's pretty poor. Why are you so weak?" Tsunade, on the other hand, still looked completely at ease, her face unflushed and her breathing steady. Narrowing her beautiful eyes, she teased, "How about calling me big sister? If I'm in a good mood, I might teach you a few moves."

"No need, Lady Tsunade." Uchiha Sōgetsu shook his head and refused. After taking a deep breath, he straightened up. "Don't forget what you promised me."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Tsunade's gaze turned slightly cold. She curled her lips, gave a huff, and turned her head away. "If you don't want to say it, forget it. It's not like I want to teach you."

Having said that, Tsunade seemed genuinely angered. Ignoring him entirely, she strode straight into Tanzaku Town.

"Women are such a hassle."

Uchiha Sōgetsu sighed helplessly and followed her inside.

Come to think of it, although he had carried out many missions, he had never once visited Tanzaku Town. This was a good chance to take a proper look around.

Tanzaku Town was a famous pleasure district in the Land of Fire, packed with casinos, amusement parks, and hotels. Calling it paradise would not be an exaggeration.

The neon lights everywhere, the lively atmosphere, the crowds flowing through the streets, and the bustling commercial avenues gave Uchiha Sōgetsu the illusion of having returned to his previous life.

He had long since taken off his Anbu mask. Following Tsunade to a hot spring hotel, they checked in separately.

Perhaps affected by Tanzaku Town's prosperity, Tsunade's mood improved again. Before she could even rest, she tossed out a sentence and hurried off.

There was no need to think about it. This woman had definitely gone to a casino.

"It's still early. I'll go take a look around."

Nighttime was when Tanzaku Town truly came alive. Since he had rarely come here, Uchiha Sōgetsu did not plan to rest so early.

On both sides of the street, charming and alluring women solicited passing visitors with all manner of flirtatious poses.

"As expected, it may be called a pleasure district, but it's not that simple in reality." Uchiha Sōgetsu wandered aimlessly, like a transparent man detached from the bustle, silently observing the pedestrians and tourists passing through the streets. He happened to discover something interesting.

A small portion of the people here were actually ninja!

Rogue ninja? Or spies from other Hidden Villages?

Or perhaps both?

Uchiha Sōgetsu pondered this. No wonder Jiraiya liked coming here to gather intelligence. Places of pleasure had always been natural hubs of information.

Bang!

Lost in thought, Uchiha Sōgetsu failed to notice someone in front of him and collided with him head-on.

The other person was large and powerfully built, knocking Uchiha Sōgetsu back two steps.

"Namaste Amitabha."

The man seemed rather surprised, but quickly recovered. Pressing his palms together, he bowed deeply. "My sincerest apologies, benefactor. I was thinking about something just now and failed to notice someone ahead of me. I accidentally bumped into you. Please forgive my offense."

"Mm, it's fine."

Uchiha Sōgetsu rubbed the back of his head and revealed an honest smile. "It was my fault for not noticing you, Master."

The monk looked young, only around twenty years old. He wore a white monk's robe, with his hair gathered atop his head and a long braid hanging behind him. Yet something about him was strange: beneath his left eye was a Roman numeral "V," and there was a small black mark on his chin.

"Since you are unharmed, this little monk shall take his leave."

The monk pressed his palms together in another salute and prepared to leave.

"Please wait, Master."

Uchiha Sōgetsu suddenly called out to stop the monk.

The monk paused in slight surprise, then stopped and turned around to look at him in confusion. "Is there something you need, benefactor?"

"Since we met, it must be fate."

Uchiha Sōgetsu smiled. "My name is Uchiha Obito. And yours?"

"So you are from the renowned Uchiha Clan." The monk was stunned for half a second, not expecting the youth to be so direct. However, he soon smiled. "This little monk is Jigen, a wandering monk."

"Jigen. A fine name."

Uchiha Sōgetsu said meaningfully, "It was a pleasure meeting you. If the opportunity arises, I hope we meet again."

"This little monk takes his leave."

Jigen smiled and pressed his palms together in salute before hurrying away.

"Jigen..."

Watching the monk's departing figure, Uchiha Sōgetsu's eyes gradually turned cold.

Just now, he had been in a state of Psychological Invisibility, so none of the passing pedestrians or ninja around him had noticed him.

Yet not only had "Jigen" noticed him, he had even bumped into him.

Not intentional?

Heh. That kind of clumsy excuse might fool a child, but fool him?

"Even Jigen has appeared..."

Uchiha Sōgetsu felt a heavy weight settle in his heart. He raised his head to look at the moon in the sky. "This ninja world is really becoming more and more interesting."

Meanwhile, the departing Jigen stopped and, as if sensing something, turned around.

"Was it just an illusion?" Looking toward the road he had come from, he frowned deeply and muttered to himself, "There was something off about the way that kid looked at me."

I saw some readers asking about this, so let me explain.

There is no Boruto! No Boruto! No Boruto! The reason characters from Boruto appeared is purely for the Ōtsutsuki Clan setting and to lay the groundwork for the protagonist traveling to the starry sky later on, so there's no need to worry. Boruto and the like will not appear. From the moment the protagonist appeared, the original timeline was no longer going to happen.