8 The plan is to drink until collapse

With another free day ahead, Yujin decided to focus on exploring the village. Now with money, he first wanted to understand the financial system of the place—how much everything was worth and how much he was be rewarded for "saving" Tsunade. He also wanted to buy new clothes since he was currently wearing only the ones he had on when he was transported to this world.

He walked through the village, had a meal along the way, bought some new clothes, talked to people he met, helped someone find a lost item, and had another meal as it got late.

Throughout the day, there was someone observing him from afar. He was aware of this person, but it didn't bother him. Considering that the Hokage is like a feudal lord with a ninja army, it's normal to be cautious when an unknown person suddenly appears, especially if that person "saved" Tsunade in the midst of a battle. He wasn't bothered, as long as they maintained an appropriate distance, which they did—just observing from afar.

After wandering around the village all day, Yujin returned to his room.

He had honestly never seen such a large and lively village. Even among the cities he saw in China, few could compare to the Leaf Village. People lived happily here, having practically everything they needed.

There were all kinds of different shops. He was used to having one or two restaurants and a general store in a village, but the Leaf Village was different. It was normal to have multiple shops selling the same things, a concept that seemed strange to him.

At one point, he found himself on a street filled with restaurants and didn't know which one to choose.

Yujin had never experienced anything like this before. He learned more in one day walking through the village than he would in years in the world he came from. It was magical.

Yujin returned carrying a gourd of alcohol. Yesterday, Tsunade provided all the alcohol, and today he wanted to contribute a bit.

In his room, he cleaned up a bit after what happened yesterday and silently awaited Tsunade's arrival.

She didn't make him wait long.

Entering the room, she saw him with a gourd of alcohol looking at her, and it genuinely made her happy. If she didn't have things to do, she would have spent the entire day drinking—that was her inclination.

"Bought alcohol for us this time?"

Yujin smiled and opened the gourd, pouring it into two cups for them to drink.

"Yes. Yesterday, you brought the alcohol, today it's my turn, although I'm not sure if it will be enough."

He then looked at her and chuckled. Yesterday, the two of them drank three gourds of alcohol together, but most of it was consumed by Tsunade. Yujin didn't enjoy drinking much, and he only did it because of her.

"Don't worry, I bought more today."

Tsunade smiled and sat with him, and they immediately began to drink.

"How was your day today?"

She asked after a while, feeling the warmth of the alcohol coursing down her throat and reaching her stomach.

"I roamed randomly through the village. It was impressive. This place is amazing."

Yujin was truly impressed with the Leaf Village.

"I also found out that I received a generous amount for 'saving' you. Even though I bought several things, the money is far from running out. I needed that money."

"I don't doubt it. You have nothing, just your body and the clothes you came with. By the way, what was that outfit? It looked quite simple."

"It's the outfit I wear when I sleep. Didn't I tell you? I went to sleep and woke up in that forest."

As if remembering, Tsunade nodded; he did mention something like that.

"Now you look much better. The outfit you chose suits you well."

Yujin smiled at the compliment but didn't accept it.

"I didn't choose it. Initially, I wanted to choose, but when I saw the strange look from the shop owner, I asked for her opinion, and she picked out some clothes for me."

Tsunade laughed at this, imagining what kind of clothes Yujin would have chosen. Perhaps he had no sense of style.

"She did a good job. But even though you received a good amount, money is not infinite. Any plans?"

"I've been thinking about it, but the only thing I'm good at is fighting. But that doesn't mean I want to kill. Where I come from, the money I had mainly came from escort missions. I would go to a merchant and offer my services to ensure that the products reached their destination safely. I'm good at it; I've never failed before."

She nodded, thinking that perhaps the Hokage had some escort missions that Yujin could do. Unfortunately, as an outsider, gaining the trust of the Hokage would be difficult. Not anyone can take on missions for the village. Although hiring mercenaries is sometimes common in the village, there is still the issue of trust, where mercenaries need enough strength and reputation.

"I can help you with that. The village has some escort missions."

"Tsunade, can you explain how the village works? You call it a village, but it seems like a city to me, and they have considerable power."

She had already mentioned a bit about it before, but not in detail.

For the rest of the night, Tsunade shared more about the world they were in. It felt like she was back at the academy, teaching aspiring genin about the ninja world, but she didn't mind. Yujin's reactions were as fresh or even more so than the children, making the conversation enjoyable.

Talking so much, unlike the other night, Tsunade drank less than Yujin. If he knew her reputation, he would find the situation bizarre. 'Tsunade drinking less? How is that even possible?'

After drinking a lot, even Yujin got drunk, and the conversation became even more enjoyable. This time, Tsunade was the "responsible" one, as she was less intoxicated and could witness a playful and fun Yujin.

In the middle of the conversation, he began to share more about his previous world, the people he met, his master, his parents, and how he isolated himself in the mountains after getting tired of so much death during the war.

The last part touched Tsunade's heart, as she felt the same way. She, too, was tired of so much death and fighting. Yujin's description of the war he witnessed was even more brutal than the war she experienced.

While ninja wars were more about elite soldiers fighting each other, the wars in Yujin's world were about quantity. So many people died that it was impossible to count them properly.

When he described the hellish scene he saw of a death-filled field with hundreds of people lying in pools of blood, she felt the urge to vomit and interrupted the conversation on that topic.

Even though he was drunk, Yujin was sensitive enough to drop the subject, and the two returned to talking about happier things.

The night was long and fun, something neither of them had felt in a long time.

The next morning, Tsunade woke up again in bed, with Yujin sleeping peacefully on the floor. Settling in a bit, she continued lying down, once again contemplating the future.

Yesterday, she had already decided, but the conversation with Yujin increased her determination.

She is going to leave the village.

After much thought, she felt that she couldn't stay in the village anymore. They were at war now, and if she stayed, she knew she wouldn't be able to refuse if the Hokage asked her deployment.

She also no longer had confidence in fighting after what happened with Hanzo.

Now, she just wanted to leave the village and relax. Drink and gamble. Drink until she collapsed, and gamble until she became rich.

On this journey, she was thinking of taking Shizune along.

The poor child has no one else. If she doesn't volunteer, Shizune will end up in an orphanage, something she doesn't want to see happen.

It would be just the two of them against the world.

Or that was the plan until...