Roshi was heading south.
Although he was unfamiliar with the Land of Rain, his initial motivation was to meet Sosuke, and it was impossible for him not to investigate the location of the Ninja Sect.
However, due to his encounter in Shirakawa Village, Roshi slowed his pace.
He didn't use the super-fast marching speed of a ninja to rush to Six Paths City located in the southern part of the Land of Rain, but rather, he took Six Paths City as the final destination, proceeding slowly like a traveler on a leisurely tour.
For Roshi, this was a novel experience.
In the past, he was either cultivating or on missions, with no time for travel.
Most importantly, people here didn't look at Roshi with strange eyes. By helping the village chase away wandering ninjas, he received sincere gratitude, and in the towns, he could casually eat at restaurants without anyone caring.
This kind of life might be routine for ordinary people, but for Roshi, it was a goal he had yet to achieve even when he left the Hidden Rock Village.
Roshi truly felt that his current life could be called happiness.
Even if he had to sleep outdoors to avoid affecting the villagers and townsfolk, even if he couldn't reveal his true identity due to his evasion of the Hidden Rock's pursuit.
"Identity is a good thing." After finishing lunch, Roshi put down his chopsticks and sighed inwardly.
He was someone capable of thinking, and after careful reflection, he realized the reason.
In the eyes of the people of the Land of Rain, he was just an unknown ninja without any special identity, so he could normally be appreciated and enjoy the life of ordinary people.
But in the Land of Earth's Hidden Rock Village, he was a Jinchuriki, with the Tailed Beast symbolizing evil and destruction residing within his body.
If the people of Shirakawa Village knew he was a Jinchuriki, would they still sincerely thank him and invite him to their homes?
Roshi was unsure, he didn't dare to be certain.
"Don't think too much, just live happily now." The Four-tails voiced with a hearty laugh.
"Becoming a Jinchuriki wasn't your choice, blame those who treat us Tailed Beasts as weapons."
At this point, even the Four-tails couldn't help but feel a bit depressed.
They, the Tailed Beasts, didn't fight for anything, merely living quietly in the remote corners of the Ninja World, never having proactively provoked the ninjas, yet inexplicably captured by ninjas and sealed into Jinchuriki.
Not to mention the Jinchuriki not being voluntary, neither were they, the Tailed Beasts.
Roshi nodded, got up to pay the bill.
He was just feeling a bit sentimental; regardless, life now was much better than in the Hidden Rock.
The freedom alone was far ahead of what he had in Hidden Rock.
After leaving the restaurant, Roshi casually scanned the street, noticed some ninjas dressed as Hidden Rock but didn't mind and continued heading south with composure.
The ordinary Hidden Rock ninjas couldn't see through his Transformation Jutsu, and as for perception ninjas, they were few; he just needed his luck not to be too bad to avoid encountering them.
Onoki could guess Roshi wouldn't voluntarily expose his identity as Jinchuriki, and Roshi knew Onoki dared not mobilize Hidden Rock ninjas for a large-scale search.
After all, during wartime, suddenly seeing Hidden Rock taking big actions would surely prompt investigation from other Great Ninja Villages, and discovering a Jinchuriki on the run was not a consequence Onoki wanted.
Three Hidden Rock ninjas slowly walked along the street, scrutinizing every pedestrian.
Some felt uneasy but, seeing the forehead protectors of the Hidden Rock ninjas, ultimately decided against it.
Ordinary people couldn't provoke ninjas, especially ones from the Five Great Ninja Villages, even more untouchable.
They also noticed the Roshi using Transformation Jutsu, but Roshi behaved no different from ordinary passersby, so they didn't pay any mind.
Only when spotting some who appeared suspicious did they find excuses to question them.
Roshi discovered something odd—the more south he went, the more Hidden Rock encounters he had, which seemed strange to him.
"Could they have used some Secret Technique to track my whereabouts?" Roshi wondered.
In the Ninja World, there are far too many peculiar Secret Techniques and Ninjutsu, Roshi couldn't be sure if the Hidden Rock Village had such techniques.
In the afternoon, as it was meal time, Roshi, not having any dry food, paid to join a villager for a meal at their home.
When he prepared to continue his journey, he suddenly saw not far away a group of Hidden Rock ninjas confronting two red-haired youths, with one of the youths wearing a forehead protector of the Land of Rain.
Faced with wandering ninjas robbing villagers, Roshi would unhesitatingly intervene.
However, if it was internal conflict between ninjas, generally speaking, Roshi had no interest in getting involved.
Ninjas who could ruthlessly harm innocent people and steal their possessions were beyond redemption in Roshi's eyes, any attack or killing wouldn't be wrong.
The causes for conflict between ninjas are too many and complex—possibly village stances, task clashes, or personal grievances.
In such cases, good intentions could easily lead to bad outcomes.
Furthermore, ninjas are equivalent entities, and Roshi wasn't truly a righteous figure needing to mediate everything he encountered.
Roshi intended to change routes to avoid the conflict but at that moment, he recalled his experiences in the Land of Rain over the past days.
Due to his decisive actions and lack of demand for rewards, he had helped two villages, both times mistakenly identified as a Ninja Sect ninja.
This piqued Roshi's interest in the Ninja Sect; he saw the red-haired ninja's attire was unlike that of Rain Village ninjas, so it was possible they belonged to the Ninja Sect.