Walking into the "Yukemuri no Sato" inn, a wave of warm, humid air rushed to greet him.
The front desk was staffed by a middle-aged woman wearing a kimono with a voluptuous figure. Seeing Sora wearing his mask, she was momentarily taken aback.
"My, what a tall and straight young man you are."
The landlady put down the abacus in her hand and came forward with a smile.
She appeared to be around thirty-five or thirty-six. The collar of her kimono was slightly open, revealing delicate collarbones. Though there were fine lines at the corners of her eyes, they added to her mature charm.
Even with his mask on, Sora's nearly 1.8-meter-tall, slender frame and steady demeanor made her eyes light up.
"Here so late, young man? Are you alone?"
The landlady moved closer, leaning forward slightly. The full curves beneath her kimono were faintly visible. "We have excellent hot springs here, perfect for relieving fatigue."
Sora retreated half a step without changing expression. This kind of place certainly lived up to its reputation.
However, even though his body was well-developed, he was a minor!
"A single ordinary room, please."
The landlady was not giving up. She reached out, trying to touch Sora's arm.
"Don't be so cold, young man. You look travel-weary. Would you like to try our special massage service? I guarantee you'll be comfortable and relaxed~"
Sora skillfully sidestepped, avoiding her touch. He took out some silver from his robe and placed it on the counter.
"That won't be necessary. I'm only staying one night."
Seeing Sora's continued coolness, a flicker of surprise passed through the landlady's eyes, quickly replaced by a professional smile.
"Alright, alright. Here is your room key."
She slowly took out a key. As she handed it over, her fingertips deliberately brushed against Sora's hand. "If you change your mind, you can come find me anytime~"
Sora: "..."
...
Sora took a standard single room. After paying, he followed a servant to his room.
After putting down his simple luggage, Sora decided to first go soak in the hot spring to wash away the dust of his journey.
The inn's hot spring area was divided into Men's Bath, Women's Bath, and... Mixed Bath.
Looking at the word "Mixed Bath" on the sign, Sora paused his steps.
'Mixed Bath...'
In his past life as an otaku, to say he had no curiosity about a scene only seen in anime would be absolutely false.
Imagine it: steam rising from the hot spring, misty vapors, perhaps a chance encounter...
Stop!
Sora immediately extinguished these romantic notions.
'What am I thinking! Reality isn't anime. A mixed bath most likely has pot-bellied uncles and chattering old ladies. What if there are a few unsightly ones too? Then forget enjoying the spring. Better to honestly go to the Men's Bath. Peace and quiet.'
Reason swiftly triumphed over negligible curiosity. Sora turned without hesitation and entered the Men's Bath area.
The Men's Bath wasn't crowded. Only a plump middle-aged man who looked like a merchant was dozing in a corner.
Sora removed his clothes, carefully washed his body, and then slowly stepped into the warm spring water.
The perfect water temperature enveloped his body, making him sigh comfortably despite himself.
He leaned against the smooth rock at the pool's edge, closed his eyes, and enjoyed this rare moment of relaxation.
'Ah, fought all my life, finally can enjoy a bit.'
...
However, this peace did not last long.
Faint, intermittent sounds, similar to suppressed panting and soft giggles, came from the adjacent Women's Bath area.
At first, Sora didn't pay attention, but the sounds grew clearer, even mixed with the ambiguous sounds of water splashing.
Sora: "..."
He opened his eyes abruptly, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
'In broad daylight... no, this late at night, in a public hot spring... this is too much...'
Even with the combined mental age of his two lives, he felt somewhat speechless at this moment.
'Truly, the world's morals decline, human hearts are no longer ancient! Can't even have peace while soaking in a hot spring!'
He fiercely criticized this shameless couple in his heart. His originally relaxed mood was disturbed, and the hot spring suddenly seemed utterly bland.
Quickly submerging himself in the water for a rinse, Sora decisively got up, dried himself, dressed, and left the hot spring area.
Returning to his room, he sat cross-legged and began cultivating "Super Strength," attempting to use training to purify his mind and ears, which had just been polluted.
…
Early the next morning, Sora left the inn and continued tracking Tsunade's trail.
He expanded his search range, moving between several towns in the Land of Hot Water known for gambling and entertainment.
The Land of Hot Water lived up to its reputation as a nation built on hot springs and tourism. Gambling halls and game houses, large and small, were everywhere in the towns. The air seemed permeated with the scent of money and desire.
Yet, after a full day, he still found nothing.
Tsunade seemed to have completely melted into this land of pleasure, leaving no obvious traces.
It wasn't until the afternoon of the third day, when Sora entered the largest and noisiest gambling hall, "Kinman-ya," located in the center of a bustling town, that he caught a key piece of information.
"Hey, look! That 'Cash Cow' is here again!"
"How much capital did she bring today? Looks like we can make a profit again!"
"Quiet, don't let her hear..."
Several men who looked like regulars at the gambling hall huddled together, whispering. Their gazes unanimously turned towards a dice table in the hall.
Cash Cow!
Sora's heart stirred. He immediately followed their gaze.
That gambling table was surrounded by a dense crowd. In the center of the crowd, a familiar figure was particularly eye-catching.
A golden ponytail, a tea-green robe, an impressive figure and powerful aura — who else could it be but Tsunade?
At this moment, Tsunade was completely focused on the dealer's dice cup, frowning deeply, seemingly muttering something under her breath.
The chips in front of her were almost gone, but she seemed completely unaware, or simply didn't care. Casually, she pushed her last few chips onto the "Big" position.
The surrounding gamblers hurriedly placed their bets on "Small."
Sora did not approach. He concealed himself in the shadows at the edge of the gambling hall.
'So she's already earned the nickname 'Cash Cow'... It seems her 'fame' here is not a matter of a day or two.'
He shook his head inwardly. Tsunade's constitution of "always losing when gambling" was truly unique in the ninja world.
Choosing not to approach and make contact immediately, Sora quietly exited the gambling hall. He found a relatively clean-looking restaurant across the street, ordered some food, and sat by the window. While eating, he subtly extended his sensory perception, locking onto Tsunade inside the gambling hall.
In his perception, Tsunade's chakra was still vast and pure, like a dormant volcano.
But deep within this powerful chakra, there was a tangled, stubborn aura of depression and dejection, completely different from her image of commanding the battlefield.
Moreover, she showed no intention of using chakra to sense the dice or anything similar. She was purely gambling on "luck."
'It seems the impact of hemophobia and the successive deaths of loved ones has affected her more deeply than imagined. Gambling and alcohol are probably her only anesthetics now.'
Sora ate silently, his feelings towards this future Fifth Hokage growing more complex.
After about an hour, Sora sensed a clear change in the chakra fluctuations from Tsunade's direction — carrying a strong sense of unwillingness and irritation.
Clearly, she had lost her money again.
Sure enough, not long after, he saw Tsunade walk out of the gambling hall with a look of misfortune, still muttering something. Shizune, following behind her, wore an expression of helplessness and worry. The small pig, Tonton, in her arms also hung its head dejectedly.
Tsunade did not linger on the street. She headed straight towards a rather ordinary, even somewhat shabby, inn at the edge of town.
Sora paid his bill and followed at a leisurely pace, always maintaining a safe distance.
He saw Tsunade and Shizune enter the inn named "Traveler's Lodge." It seemed they planned to stay there.
Standing not far from the inn, Sora stroked his chin.
'Just after losing money, approaching her now would be like walking into gunfire. With Tsunade's current temper, forget coming back to Konoha with me. It would be polite if she didn't punch me into the ground.'
Thinking this, Sora decisively gave up the idea of contacting Tsunade tonight.
He wandered around the area near the "Traveler's Lodge" and soon found an inn that looked fairly decent. He checked in.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━