Hearing Tsunade's words, Yuzuru Uchiha was a little surprised
"You're leaving the village?"
"That's right."
She nodded. Although wandering the ninja world back then had been an act of desperation, after all these years she'd grown unaccustomed to staying in the village for too long.
"You finished all your work?" Yuzuru asked.
"I've arranged everything," Tsunade replied seriously. "All the medical ninjutsu knowledge I've written down and the entire medical-ninja system framework I compiled will keep the village busy for a while."
Since Kumogakure paid her twenty million ryō a year, she certainly wasn't going to delay her work just to travel. She had already prepared everything for the coming months.
Seeing the anticipation on her face, Yuzuru nodded.
"I happen to be heading out. You can come with me."
Her eyes lit up. "Where are you going?"
"The Land of Silence."
——
——
The Land of Silence.
Deep within a chain of mountains lay a canyon dozens of meters wide. A couple drove a horse cart toward the interior, the wagon piled high with coal.
On the cart, Tsunade leaned reluctantly against Yuzuru's shoulder.
"Yuzuru, why do we have to pretend to be a married couple?"
Feeling her shift uncomfortably, Yuzuru tightened his arm around her.
"To enter the Land of Silence, we have to pass the inspection at Curtain Village."
"It's the dead of winter. Posing as a coal-selling couple makes it easier to slip through."
"When did you become this cautious?"
"A good ninja never suffers from being too careful."
Tsunade snorted but stopped struggling. Yuzuru said the Land of Silence housed the largest casino in the ninja world, with every kind of game imaginable.
To see it with her own eyes… she'd put up with this for now.
Seeing her fall silent, a satisfied curve formed at Yuzuru's lips.
Holding Tsunade in his arms in the freezing wind felt far too good.
Especially from his angle—he had a perfect view of that unfathomably deep ravine.
The cart continued forward and soon reached the canyon's end. The valley opened to reveal a modest-sized village ahead.
"Stop!" two scar-faced, brutal-looking ninjas appeared, blocking the cart. "What are you here for?"
"We're here to sell coal in the Land of Silence," Tsunade answered with a smile.
The moment they saw her face, both Curtain Village ninja brightened. They exchanged a glance and walked straight to her.
The taller one spoke first.
"Are you ninja or civilians?"
"Civilians."
"Civilians need a referral to enter the Land of Silence."
Tsunade froze for a moment. "We don't have anyone to recommend us. Isn't there another way?"
The shorter one said coldly, "Then pay a million ryō for a travel pass."
"What? Why don't you just rob us instead?"
Tsunade's expression darkened.
A million ryō? They really dared ask for that.
Seeing her fall silent, the taller ninja added,
"Of course, if you can satisfy one little request, we might let you through."
Tsunade frowned. "What request?"
Lewd grins spread across their faces as they reached for her chin.
"As long as you serve us well, we'll let you go."
"Otherwise… we'll have to arrest you as spies from the Five Great Nations and torture you."
But just as their hands were about to touch her, a flash of steel sliced through the air.
The next second, both ninjas' arms dropped to the ground.
Yuzuru stepped off the cart.
"Why waste words on them? They're just bullying you because you're a gorgeous woman."
He then calmly slit the throats of the two screaming men on the ground.
Tsunade stared blankly.
"Yuzuru… didn't you say we needed to infiltrate quietly without being noticed?"
Walking toward the remaining Curtain Village ninjas rushing in, he replied without looking back,
"If you kill everyone who discovers us, doesn't that effectively mean no one discovered us."
"Huh?!"
Tsunade was completely stunned. All her years as a ninja, she had never heard of infiltration being done like this.
Yet she couldn't quite argue with the logic.
Yuzuru formed seals.
"Magnet Release: Rushing Sandstorm Stream!"
A flood of sand erupted from the ground, engulfing every Curtain Village ninja ahead.
"Magnet Release: Sandstorm Grand Funeral!"
The sand condensed under crushing force, pulverizing them instantly.
Only bright blood seeped through the packed sand. They didn't even have time to scream.
"Done."
Yuzuru clapped his hands and turned to Tsunade.
"Let's go."
Curtain Village's ninja were mostly rogue shinobi who gathered after their daimyo was overthrown. Yuzuru felt no need to show mercy to such vicious trash.
Tsunade snapped out of it and stormed up beside him.
"If you planned all this, then why did we even pretend to be a married couple? Wasn't that pointless?"
He waved a hand.
"Pointless? Holding you in my arms was worth every second."
He walked ahead. "Come on. To the Land of Silence."
Tsunade stared at his back, completely unable to decipher what he meant.
But she understood one thing perfectly:
Yuzuru just wanted an excuse to take advantage of her!
How could such a young brat already be this crafty…
——
——
For the rest of the road, Tsunade kept a long distance from Yuzuru, terrified of giving him another chance.
He could only sigh.
They were buddies—what was wrong with giving a buddy a little benefit?
If it were him, he definitely wouldn't be stingy.
So petty.
After a few complaints in his heart, Yuzuru picked up the pace.
Soon, the two arrived at the Land of Silence's central city—Black Market.
"Finally."
Seeing the bustling town ahead, Tsunade's face lit up with curiosity.
The journey had been anything but easy.
She wanted to see for herself what made this so-called lawless zone so fascinating.