Dark Side of Konoha

Yasui was admitted to the hospital, and he had to waste one whole week recuperating from the fight. Naruto even came to see him and yapped nonstop, much to his annoyance.

"I need to double down on my plans to get stronger!" Yasui hated it when he almost died to the kunoichi spy. He hated himself more for letting his guard down and being smug. He never wanted to go through that experience ever again. Dying once to his psychotic roommate is enough. Dying twice!? No way in hell!

After he was released from the hospital, Yasui immediately transformed into an adult persona. His hair color changed from black to white and his face turned from the cool Uchiha look to a look of a scholar. His clothing also supplemented his scholarly appearance.

He wandered around the darker side of the village–which is on the edge of the village. The location of this in the village is rarely shown in the anime, but it definitely existed.

This type of district had many activities to which the village turned a blind eye to. The business activities of this district ranged from brothels to gambling dens.

There are also smaller businesses that include non-ninja mercenaries, etc. His ultimate goal for this venture is to find these so-called civilian mercenaries so that he can gather information about a power that he desires.

Outside shinobi forces obviously couldn't exist inside of Konoha, but civilian forces could exist as long as they don't show any hint of bringing harm to Konoha. Moreover, many retired shinobis of the village residents are in the district to keep everything in check.

When Yasui arrived at the area, he saw many older Chunin and Jonin ninjas in the village flirting and interacting with the girls. They were obviously here for intimate reasons.

He walked passed them and continued deeper into the district. His nonchalant attitude and scholarly aura immediately caught the eyes of many of the women.

"Hey, cutie! Do you want to come with us for a little adventure? We can have a lot of fun!"

"Don't you want to come inside for a drink? There are also musical performances for you to enjoy! Dancing even!"

The two beauties that stood in the bright light of the streets pushed their breasts together, and they seductively approached Yasui. One of them is brunette and the other had light blue hair. Both of their faces had heavy makeup on from their eyebrows to their cheeks.

"A show you say? Sure, I'm in." Yasui smiled at the seductive girls.

He wanted to go with the girls so that he could get some information regarding the civilian mercenaries. After all. just running around wildly isn't going to get him information.

"Yay!"

"Great! Follow us into the building!"

Yasui walked into the building with the two beautiful women on either side. Contrary to his expectations of a red-light district building, the building's interior is rather beautifully decorated.

As promised, the two beauties led him to an open room that was filled with scantily-clad women, pulsing music, and many other customers. Each of the customers sat at their own location with women entertaining them.

On the stage, the current ladies finished their songs and left with a man that had bid a lot of money. This type of system is set up by the brothel. After showing their talents, the showgirls could give the customers an opportunity to spend a night with them through an auction. They would then keep a percentage of the money.

As the stage was prepared for the next show, Yasui found a location with the two women beside him and sat down. The two women were delighted and pressed their assets on his arms.

Meanwhile, a beautiful young woman carried a Koto onto the stage–an instrument that emulated the same sounds as the Guzheng.

The room immediately fell silent. Almost everyone in there knew who this young woman is. She is the most popular girl in this establishment. Even some old leaf Chunins could be seen gazing at her with their lust.

Yasui paid a waitress for some food and drinks, and he turned his attention to the young woman on the stage.

When Yasui took a closer look a the young woman on stage, Yasui was immediately awed by the beauty of the girl before him. She had long, flowing dark hair that cascaded down her back and framed her face with gentle curves. Her eyes were a deep, mysterious brown that sparkled with warmth and kindness that Yasui had never seen before.

He didn't understand why such a beauty is in such a place like this. The two women by his side were like rotten apples compared to this young woman.

The other customers had already stopped their chatter, and their gazes didn't move from the young woman on the stage. No matter what the price is after the performance, they must get their hands on this girl for the night!

The woman started her performance and gracefully moved her fingers across the strings of the Koto. Her music was captivating, filling the room with a melody that seemed to come from the depths of her soul.

Yasui was entranced by her koto skill, his eyes never leaving her as she played. He marveled at her skill and grace, and the way she was able to draw emotion from the music made his heart beat even more. He felt as if he was being pulled into her world, and her emotions and feelings washed over him.

When she finished playing, the crowd went wild, eager to show their appreciation. They were filled with admiration for the beautiful woman and the music that she had created.

Whistle~!!

"Wow! Shouldn't we start the auction now!? I can't wait to get Katsumi tonight!"

"No one is going to beat me in getting Katsumi! I'll spend all my life savings if I have to!"

Many men in the room could be seen with saliva coming down from their mouths as they waited for the announcement of Katsumi who is on stage.

"Good evening, everyone. I am Katsumi Musume. Tonight, there will not be any monetary auctions…" As Katsumi apologized to the crowd, sorrow appeared on her face. She wasn't here by choice. Her mother and father had sold her to the merchants to make enough money so that they can live a better life.

After being sold to merchants, she was once again sold to a brothel. The only good thing is that this brothel is under the jurisdiction of the Hidden Leaf Village. Thanks to the policies of the village, she wasn't treated badly in the brothel.

Plus, she could leave this brothel anytime she wants… However, the owners of the brothels were elusive in their approach to the village's law.

She can leave, but she had to pay a huge amount of debt. This debt came from the money that they gave to her parents. And after she leaves, how can she live and repay her debt at the same time? Other than knowing how to play music, she didn't know any other skills that can make her money. In Konoha, she wouldn't be able to make money by just playing music.

Leave the village? No, she couldn't do that. She'll be fine as long as she's in the village, but once she is outside of the village, she will be hunted down by mercenaries sent by the brothel. This complicated situation left her at an impasse. In the end, she surrendered herself to the only safe way to get out of this predicament–to keep selling her body so that she could get released from this nightmare.

But for tonight… for just one night…

"I don't wish for money. Is there any person in the crowd that can play a piece of music that can move my heart? I will… spend the night with the person who does." She steeled her heart.

For just one night, she wanted to feel that she isn't only a person who sells her body. She wanted to experience a night where she gave herself to a person that she admires.

"Ahem…"

"Why can't we just do things the same old way?"

The room's atmosphere became awkward. Many of the men in the room were either Shinobis or normal civilians. They did not have the musical knowledge and skill to play the Koto.

Katsumi's hope died down. She couldn't even have this one night…

Suddenly, a scholarly person stood up amongst the crowd and walked onto the stage. Everyone was bewildered as they look at this white hair youth who looks and dresses like a scholar.

Yasui–in his transformation state–sauntered up to the girl with a twinkling smile: "Can I give it a try?"

Katsumi snapped out of her daze and said, "Yes, you can." But she couldn't help but wonder if the scholarly man asked to play the Koto because he is good at it, or if he's just up here to try because of her looks.

"Alright then, scooch over." Yasui made a moving gesture and sat down in front of the Koto.

There were two reasons why he came up here. The first one is because he wanted to have some alone time with the goddess. The second is because he wanted to show everybody his skill on the Koto.

He learned many instruments when he was still alive in the modern world. He wasn't an elitist, but he already had many Anime songs mastered on the instruments that he knew how to play. One of the instruments that he learned just happens to be the Guzheng–which is in the same instrumental family as the Koto.

"This lad got balls!"

"We'll see how he makes a fool of himself! Gakhaha!"

Some of the men in the crowd heckled and snickered at the scholarly man. Their jeers and laughter went towards the scholarly man for trying to hoodwink the beauty of the establishment.

"Ahem, shut up, everyone!" Yasui yelled out and cracked his knuckles.

… What the heck? Did the scholarly man just tell everyone to shut up? That's simply outrageous! They wanted to speak up, but the lad already started his opening speech…

"This song that I'm about to play is for all of you here who had hardships in life. It's a song that tells the tales of your struggles. It's a song that helps you reflect on your sadness… and your sorrow. This song… is called: Sadness and Sorrow." Yasui chose this piece of music that occurred numerous times throughout the Naruto anime.

…

…