Tsunade and Sōji
Tanzaku Town was hidden among the plains and hills of the central Land of Fire. The dirt road branching off from the main route wound along for more than half an hour before leading the two horses to this town, famous for its casinos and izakayas.
A main street ran from one end to the other. It had only just passed noon, and there were few pedestrians about. Several gamblers still hungover from the night before were dozing against walls at alley entrances, empty liquor bottles clenched in their hands.
The air carried the charred fragrance of grilled skewers, the pungent smell of cheap liquor, and various powders and perfumes drifting out from the casinos. The mountain wind blew them into the air in waves, now thick, now faint.
Kakashi tied his horse to the hitching post at the town entrance, pulled out Icha Icha Paradise, flipped to the page marked by a bookmark, and jerked his chin toward the town.
"Go take care of your business!"
"I'll look around nearby. I heard a bookstore in Tanzaku Town got a new volume of Icha Icha Paradise. I'll try my luck."
When he mentioned the new volume, his tone grew noticeably livelier than usual. Clearly, that was his true reason for tagging along.
Sōji dismounted, draped the reins over the hitching post, and said nothing more.
The Six Eyes had already picked up that familiar chakra deep within the town—vast and pure, carrying the warmth unique to Yang Release.
He was far too familiar with Tsunade's chakra.
He followed the main street inward, crossed two intersections, and stopped outside a casino bearing a Sparrow Hall sign.
The casino's facade was small, and the red lacquer on its doorframe had already flaked away. One corner of the red paper