Land of Fire — Tanzaku Town.
Tsunade, one of the Legendary Three Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, had arrived at this famed tourist destination.
Though it was called a "town," like how "Hidden Leaf Village" was still a massive settlement, Tanzaku Town was a bustling city built on the back of the shinobi world's scarce but popular entertainment culture.
Due to the backward nature of shinobi civilization, entertainment 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 ? 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 named Jiraiya. Always claiming he loved Tsunade the most, yet every time 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 medical 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 members were already out on the street advertising it. It was a "Game Hall" offering a new entertainment experience called "Genjutsu Games," promising ultra-realistic immersion in illusory worlds.
Once the renovation was complete, customers would pay to enter and try different games.
Alternatively, one could purchase a sealed scroll version of a Genjutsu Game and enjoy it from home. Scroll sales had already begun, even before the grand opening.
Unquestionably, this Game Hall was Uchiha Kei's creation—merging arcade and internet café concepts. It was directly operated by the Hidden Leaf Gaming Association and set to become one of its key profit centers.
Naturally, such a profitable model received full support from the association's member 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 commercial interests.
The Uchiha, unaccustomed to such support, were honestly a bit overwhelmed. They'd never received this much help, nor experienced such seamless operations before.
Some 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 something 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 moment, the branch manager—stationed outside—recognized her. He was a member of a branch family of the Nara Clan who had seen Tsunade before.
He immediately 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 Game, and the manager explained everything he knew. Then, sharp-eyed as he was, he brought out two copies of each of the two available games—one for Tsunade, and one for Shizune.
He also quietly informed her that the versions being sold outside the village were "nerfed." Their realism and immersion 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 game need different versions? That was something usually reserved for weapons or sensitive tools.
The manager didn't hold back. He explained the Genjutsu Game's value to shinobi, and the secret behind its development.
After all, Tsunade was a core figure in the village—there was no need to hide it from her.
Learning that the game 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 same prideful, rigid clan that usually looked down their noses at everyone? How could they suddenly become this tactful and shrewd?
Such commercial strategizing was more fitting for noble clans of the Land of Fire—not ninja! Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⚑𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⚑𝙣𝙚𝙩
Clearly, someone brilliant was advising the Uchiha.
Tsunade came 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 immediately opened the sealed scroll for the game "Return Home" to try it firsthand.
Shizune didn't join her. According to the manager, once a player entered a Genjutsu Game, their consciousness would be fully immersed—leaving them vulnerable. So she chose to stand guard.
Tsunade began her session. Inside the game, she became a strange man. It felt awkward but fresh.
Not the shy type, Tsunade quickly adapted. After some 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 mentally docked points.
Curiosity × Exploration × Research.jpg.
Yes, Tsunade claimed it was all in the spirit of scientific inquiry.
As for the creepy setting? Nothing new for a medical 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 mental impacts were light, almost negligible to someone of her caliber.
So Tsunade blitzed through the game, analyzing clues and hidden elements at lightning speed.
Soon, she passed through the three paths of the mysterious gatekeeper and entered the game's next phase. What began as curiosity and research transformed into immersive emotional involvement.
And as the story progressed, her smile faded.
This game... was a tragedy. The background music grew increasingly melancholic. The immersive narrative pulled her in completely.
She, who had never experienced this kind of entertainment, was now at the mercy of the game's emotional weight.