Chapter 10

Sasuke Uchiha

It was at the crack of dawn when he opens his eyes as he got up from his bed, he begins to analyze the new situation at hand while at the same time reflecting on what had transpired yesterday.

With regards to Cirilla's bard friend, he doesn't know how to describe the man in all honesty.

Incompetent? No, he would not have inherited the… brothel if that is the case.

Idiotic? Maybe, then again, if he can somehow amass many fans and followers from being a bard then he is far from an idiot as he knew what he was doing.

Perhaps, eccentric would be the appropriate term to describe the man. Although, he has a strong feeling that the bard will only see that as a compliment rather than an actual criticism of his character.

He sighs as he drops the topic for now. He crosses his legs and begins to meditate, he slowly regulates his breathing as he gently releases his chakra into the city.

He could feel the thousands and thousands of people living in the metropolis, interestingly enough there seemed to be a significant conversion of a crowd at the end of the city, if his memory serves him right it was the location of the tower with a lit flame on top of it.

'Hmm…' he internally mused 'They seem to be bowing their head and… praying?'

He lightly shakes his head as he feels Cirilla opening her door and heading downstairs, his eye narrowing slightly as he felt another presence entering the building. He could only assume that the newly arrived individual is a friend to both Cirilla and Dandelion considering that he had not heard a commotion downstairs.

He sighs as he got up from his meditation and begins to prepare for the day after getting dressed he lightly opens his door and heads downstairs to greet the new individual there.

As he was walking down the staircase he could hear the voices of the three individuals below.

"I can't believe it! You're really back Ciri!"

"Good to see you as well!"

"It's perfect timing you got here, Ciri could finally introduce you to her beau,"

"Dandelion!"

He sighs as he slowly gets closer to the lower floor, he could already feel the stress about to come his way with the bard as its primary source.

"There he is!" Dandelion exclaims while gesturing towards him.

He looks around the room and notices a large amount of food placed on the table. Sitting right beside the table are Cirilla who seems to be hiding her face, Dandelion who was grinning from ear to ear, and lastly a barefooted halfling wearing a green tunic with a brown vest.

He merely nodded his head as he sat down next to the bard while looking at Cirilla with a raised eyebrow.

"Looks like you barely had any sleep last night," he said while looking at Cirilla's heavy-looking eyes.

"I know… stress has gotten the better of me," Cirilla replies as she looks at him before introducing the new person in the room, "But, enough about me. Sasuke I would like to introduce another friend of mine. Sasuke meet Dudu and Dudu meet Sasuke."

He glances at Dudu while nodding his head in acknowledgment.

"Nice to meet cha!" Dudu exclaims happily, "Tell me, is it true what Dandelion here said? Are you her beau?"

"Dudu!" Cirila yells at the man before glaring at him.

"I jest! I jest!" Dudu exclaims as he raises both of his hands up, "Dandelion told me to be here a few days back, something about fixing this place up. I didn't expect you to be here as well Ciri. How many years has it been since we've last seen each other? How are you?"

"I'm doing well for the most part…" Cirila trails off before continuing, "I was hoping to see Triss here but with the ongoing witch hunt and executions. Well, I would be lying to myself if I claimed that I wasn't worried."

"Ciri wait that reminds me, I have devised a plan to locate Triss!" Dandelion joyously exclaimed, "I have been thinking about this all night!"

"Really? You actually came up with a plan?" Cirilla replies in mock disbelief.

"Now, now. Have some faith in me Ciri," Dandelion replies with a smile, "I picked up a thing or two when I was traveling with Geralt."

"Alright, let's hear it then," Cirilla replies, "What's this plan of yours?"

"Well…" Dandelion starts explaining, "I have a few favors that I could use to the son of my… associate. You know, the one who gave me this building. He might know someone who can help you or quite possibly know where Triss might be hiding."

"Dandelion…" Dudu suddenly intervenes, eyes wide in shock, "It's pretty well known that the person who gave you this building is the late underground crime lord Alonso Wiley otherwise known as Whoreson Senior. Surely you're not suggesting his son Cyprian Wiley… right?"

"Yes, the very same," Dandelion replies with a nod, "Although, he prefers to be called Whoreson Junior now to honor his late father."

"..."

"..."

He sighs as he could already feel the migraine forming in his head, he starts to massage his temple and looks around the table, and notices Cirilla doing the same.

"Let me get this straight…" Cirilla trails off with a sigh as she looks at Dandelion's face, "You want to get help from a crime lord who calls himself Whoreson Junior. How sure are you exactly that we won't be double-crossed here?"

Dandelion opens his mouth, then promptly closes it again as he hums in thought.

"I haven't exactly ironed out the details yet…" Dandelion cheekily replies as he awkwardly laughs at the situation.

He sighs as he starts to massage the bridge of his nose.

"Dudu was it?" he asks the halfling who simply nodded his head, "How many crime lords are here exactly? And what do you know about this Whoreson Junior?"

"Well…" Dudu replies while scratching his head, "I'm not sure about the crime lords since most of them like to operate in the shadows, I think there are three? Maybe four lords in total? The only reason why Cyprian Wiley or rather Whoreson Junior is quite well known is because of his ruthless and violent exploits. Rumor has it that women escorts never came out of his mansion once they step inside, and no one knows where the bodies are."

Silence graced the room as the only sound that can be heard is Cirilla's heavy sigh.

"Is there really no other way?" Cirilla asks "I'm not keen on the idea, but if it's the only option we have then…"

He sighs as he gazes at the people in the room. An idea is starting to form in his head, the opportunity to explore the city while at the same time keeping his eyes open for Triss.

'Hmm…' he mused to himself 'I could try to look for this Triss Merigold. It's like hitting two birds with one stone, I could explore the city and gather more information that way, and at the same time search for her.'

"I have a suggestion" he replies gathering the attention of the other three occupants of the room, "But first I would like to ask. If you're a wanted practitioner of magic, what are your chances of escaping this city?"

"Difficult," Dandelion replies immediately.

"Yes, Dandelion is right," Dudu agrees, "While not impossible, it would be however extremely difficult. Firstly you can't trust anyone to help you, with the punishment of torture and the high bounty rewards for mages, people would more often than not bring you to the temple guards rather than help you. Secondly, if you are caught with what the Church considers as 'magical items' then you would be burned at the stake and no one wants that."

"So there is a chance that Triss might still be in the city," he replies before continuing, "Why don't you give me a day? I'll try and look for more information if I failed then we could try Dandelion's… idea. Just describe to me what Triss looks like and her place of residence I might find some clues there."

"She has red hair and green eyes in fact Dudu here can transfo-" Dandelion stops speaking as his eyes widen in shock, "Ah, what I meant to say was Dudu here can describe her to you fully."

He watches as the halfling Dudu shows multiple emotions on his face ranging from shock, disbelief, and fear.

"Dudu," Cirilla suddenly intervenes, "Calm down, I can vouch for him. He won't tell anyone I promise."

"You sure he won't…?" Dudu replies while looking at Cirilla who merely nods her head and smiles, "Okay I believe you Ciri." he stops as he took a deep breath before continuing "I am what is called a Doppler."

"I see," he replies with a narrowed eye, the book that he read only covers the common races in this world not other beings like that, "What is a Doppler exactly?"

"Wait…" Dandelion trails off, "You don't know what a Doppler is? Just where are you from? Beyond the sea?"

He maintains his neutral expression on the outside. Mentally, however, a plan is starting to form in his head, from what he read or rather lack thereof 'beyond the sea' is just that, a land farther than the southern part of the Continent.

On paper, the land itself should have been part of the Nilfgaardian Empire. However, the place is divided from the Continent by at least two great seas. Due to the separation from other human and nonhuman civilizations, the locals living there developed their own culture and language.

Creating an unspoken boundary between the Nilfgaardian Empire and the rest of the Continent.

"Yes," he lied while maintaining a neutral expression while directly looking into Dandelion's eyes.

"That's amazing…" Dandelion replies with wide eyes as he looks at Cirilla, "I didn't know you bought a foreigner here Ciri!"

Cirilla slowly nods her head as Dandelion continues the conversation.

"Tell me," Dandelion continues, "What's the name of the place you're from? Oh! This is exciting! I only read a few books about the culture and civilization beyond the sea! Did you know? I wish to travel there someday, perhaps with your stories and experiences I might be able to create a new ballad never before heard in this city!"

He considered his options first before answering the bard's question.

Choosing not to answer will only ignite the bard's insistency to know more about his place. On the other hand, should he answer the question he can freely control the information he wants to reveal since most of the books from beyond the sea are either mistranslated or unrecorded due to the language barrier.

"I came from the land called Konohagakure no Sato," he replies getting everyone's attention, "It resides deep within a forest at the base of a mountain."

"You have to tell me more! The culture! The people living there!" Dandelion replies with a glint in his eyes.

"Perhaps some other time," he replies as his expression became serious, "Once this is all over. Now, what can a Doppler do exactly?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot about that…" Dandelion softly mumbles to himself.

Dudu hearing the topic back decides to speak up.

"I can shapeshift into any person or beast," Dudu replies "With every transformation I do, I could also mimic their skills, mannerisms, and even speak their language."

"Impressive," he replies before narrowing his lone eye slightly, "Does it also extends to their abilities and powers as well?"

"That depends…" Dudu trails off before continuing, "If a sorcerer or sorceress uses magical conduit like a staff or a gem then I can't mimic that. Same with abilities that have ties with a bloodline, if a person has a specific power that only he or she can access then I can't mimic that as well. Most of the spells I can mimic are those that are being used by witchers since they don't need any conduit when casting their spells."

He nods his head as he digests what Dudu reveals to him.

'So he can't copy my Sharingan and Cirilla's Elder Blood abilities' he thought to himself, 'Same goes for my Jutsus as well, considering I'm the only one with chakra here.'

"Okay, how about her home? I might be able to look for clues on where she might have gone."

"That is going to be a problem," Dandelion replies while sighing, "When His Excellency decides to prosecute all of the magic users here, a mob flooded the streets as they charge her home. Also, according to the temple guards, any magical items they have gathered would be confiscated and destroyed to 'prevent any form of corruption to the masses.'"

He sighs before asking another question.

"Alright, how about a tavern then?" he replies getting an odd look across the table, "Not just any tavern. I'm looking for a tavern with… questionable business dealings."

He watches as multiple eyes widen as they start to piece together his idea.

"Well, I know of a rather shady tavern near the docks," Dandelion replies "It doesn't have a name, but you can find it by the drunken sailors who are sleeping outside of the place."

He nods his head before replying.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up," he said while looking at Cirilla, "As I said, I will try and look for her. If she manages to hide her tracks well then there is nothing I can do, we will have to follow Dandelion's initial plan. In the meantime we should eat, it's not healthy to skip breakfast."

He finishes his statement while grabbing a piece of chicken and putting it on his plate.

This seems to snap the rest of the people on the table as they too begin to pile food on their plates.


It was already morning when he finishes eating his meal for breakfast. He was already outside of the building as he looks at the people in the city who are minding their own business.

According to Dandelion, the Novigrad Docks are located on the western side of the city. All he has to do was walk westward from the Rosemary and Thyme and follow the sound of the harbor bell and he should find the Docks.

He lowers his hood more as he passes by the beggars, guards, merchants, and some prostitutes who are trying to attract male customers to avail their services.

"Help… I'm dying from poverty."

"I have the best wears and armors in Novigrad!"

"Wanna dip your dingle~"

He ignores most of the people trying to get his attention as he focuses on getting to the Docks faster. A familiar voice enters his ear making him pause for a moment.

"You again! You scoundrel!"

'You have got to be kidding me,' he thought to himself as he glances at the knight who 'fought' him a few days back, 'I don't have time for this.'

He opts to ignore the man as he continues to walk toward the Docks passing by the knight whose name he forgot again.

That only seems to anger the knight as the man ran past him blocking his way.

"I am talking to you vermin!" the Knight exclaims "Ronvid of the Small Marsh challenges you once again!"

He looks at the knight who was blocking his path.

He took note of the man's upgraded armor before he was wearing leather armor and gear. Now he was wearing steel plate armor complete with steel plated gauntlets and boots, straps to his neck was a… neck brace?

No, a steel-plated neck brace.

'What sort of idiot am I dealing with here?' he thought to himself with a sigh as he starts to massage the bridge of his nose.

"Listen," he replies "I have no quarrels with you, just let me pass and we can forget about all of this."

"You!" Ronvid exclaimed his angry expression was now a livid one, "Must you mock me again and again! You have not only slandered Maid Bilberry's name but my honor as a knight as well!"

He looks around the area, and it appears that the knight's rambling attracted the crowd who are encircling the two of them, forming a small arena in the process.

"So what say you vermin!" Ronvid exclaimed "Will you accept my challenge! Or run away like the coward you are!"

The crowd seems to be just as invested in what is happening.

"Fight im' Ser Knight!"

"2 Crowns on the hooded one!"

"5 on the Knight!"

He sighs as he begins to massage his head, a migraine is starting to form already.

'So much for keeping a low profile.' he thought while looking at the crowd.

"Fine, I accept your challenge," he replies lamely.


Ronvid of the Small Marsh

'This is it!' he mentally exclaims as his opponent accepted his challenge.

How long has he waited for this moment?

The humiliation he felt in their last fight has taken a toll on him, the man somehow manages to defeat him with a single hit on the neck.

A single hit!

Ever since that day he has been thinking of ways to prevent that from happening. He finally found it in a form of a neck brace, a steel-plated neck brace that is. Admittedly it was a hindrance when it comes to head movement, but that should not matter as much considering his speed and footwork have improved significantly.

And now he was finally looking at the man who humiliated him so thoroughly.

"Hmph! Prepare yourself then scoundrel!" He yells as he prepares his stance.

He held his sword in a two-handed grip before raising it on top of his right shoulder in order to perform a right-sided slash on his opponent. He yells loudly as he charges forward hoping that with his speed alone he can finish this fight in one fell swoop.

He picks up speed as he continues to run straight to his opponent, he could already taste his victory as the man remains standing in the same spot. Then something unexpected happened right in front of him.

He didn't understand how the man did it, one moment he could see the man in front of him the next he suddenly disappear from his sight. He tries to turn his head but with the steel-plated neck brace, he could not move his head fast enough.

Suddenly he felt as though he kicked something under his feet, he was suddenly falling face first into the mud, and after that darkness has overtaken him.


Sasuke Uchiha

'What… is he doing?' he thought to himself as he watches the knight.

He held back a sigh as he gazes at the knight's sloppy and abysmal form.

He waited as the knight charged straight toward him, as the knight continues to get closer he dodge to his right by merely stepping sidewards. He subtly extends his left leg to the side, tripping the knight, falling face first into the mud and pavement knocking the knight out instantly.

Silence greeted him as the crowd looks on in shock at what had occurred.

A single laugh broke through the silence, then another, and then another as a wave of laughter erupted from the spectators.

"Tis' a Jester Knight!"

"Aha! I knew it! Placing my Crowns on the hooded one is the right choice!"

"Tsk! The knight should have enough Crowns in his pocket at least…"

He silently fades into the background while the crowd seems to be busy either laughing or robbing the knockout knight.

He continues to move forward as he could already hear the bell from the docks grow closer and closer.

He stops as he reads the signage placed on the side of the road.

Harborside District

Novigrad Docks

He analyzes his new surroundings as his lone eye took note of the different ships filled with crates and other exported and imported goods. He gazes at the different stalls and warehouses that store those goods and other materials.

His lone eye narrows as he quietly follows a sailor who was obviously drunk and struggling to stand on his feet. He took note of where the man came out of, an alleyway leading to the back of one of the warehouses, towards the end of the alley is a wooden door.

As he gets closer he could hear the noises coming from inside the door. He narrows his eye as he gently opens the door before stepping inside the room.

He could see all the eyes staring at him as he enters the tavern, he gently pushes his cloak aside revealing his sword as the occupants in the tavern averted their gaze and the atmosphere returns to normal.

He went straight to the counter and he sat down on one of the stools there.

"Give me something strong," he said to the man who was cleaning a mug.

The man simply nodded his head before placing a mug in front of him and pouring a dark-colored drink into the mug.

"Enjoy,"

He nods his head in thanks as he contemplates his next move.

"Quite the show you did out there with the Knight," A voice right beside him said.

He glances at the person sitting right next to him.

The man had an unassuming face with a bald head, he was wearing a yellow tunic with brown fingerless gloves, and he also has a coin pouch strap on his neck.

He narrows his lone eye as he tries to remember if the man was in the crowd during his 'fight' with the knight.

"That wasn't a show," he replies while sipping from his mug, "The knight was clumsy. He tripped and fell, knocking himself out."

"So you say…" the man replies, "So, what brings you here stranger?"

"Why should I tell you that?" he replies with a narrowed eye, while he couldn't feel any negative intent from the man it's still safe to keep his guard up at all times.

"Hmm, I suppose you have the right not to tell me anything," the man replies with a small smile, "Then again, you are here for a reason yes? Most of the patrons here are looking for something. Either to get drunk without repercussions or to simply get a quick fix from drugs like Fisstech."

"I could say the same for you," he replies "You don't look like a type of person who enjoys himself getting drunk and doing drugs."

"Me? I'm only here for the scenery if I'm being honest."

He silently looks at the different tables surrounding him. Some are already too drunk to stand while others are inhaling what appears to be a white powder substance.

"Quite the scenery," he dryly replies.

"Indeed," the man lightly smiles before continuing, "Oh my, where are my manners? I almost forgot to introduce myself. Gaunter O'Dimm a vagrant at your service. What's yours?

Seeing that the man now named Gaunter O'Dimm has no ill intent, he decides to reveal his name.

"Sasuke, a traveler."

"Ah, the adventurous types," Gaunter replies while nodding his head, "I was a lot like you once. I traveled to where my feet can take me. I even sell a few trinkets and other assortments of items along the way, my most popular item back then was mirrors. Hence, why most folks often referred to me as Master Mirror."

"I see," he replies as he drinks from his mug.

"Now that we know about each other a little better, why don't you tell me what you're doing here? Who knows? I might be able to help you,"

His lone eye narrows at the man still sensing no signs of danger or ill intent which was already frustrating him to no end. Seeing as this was the closest he could get to the information he desires, he decides to alter his reason for being in this place just to be on the safer side should things go south.

"I'm looking for a place to hide, a place untouched by the Temples Guards or the Witch Hunters in this city."

"Ah, a little bit of freedom in this guard-infested city."

"Mhm…" he replies while nodding his head.

"Well… I may have heard of whispers about such a place located in the city itself, free from guards and strict religious laws. A place called Putrid Grove where anyone is welcome, for the right price that is."

"And where can I find such a place?"

"Alas, that is where I cannot help you. As I said it was only hearsay, I cannot say with certainty that the place itself existed. You will just have to find it yourself."

"Thanks," he replies as he nods his head.

"Mhm. We men of the road must stick together," Gaunter replies as he stood up from his chair, "Perhaps one day I'll be in trouble and you'll be nearby to help."

He watches as the man left the tavern.

He sighs as he finishes the contents of his mug in a single drink.

Finally, some progress has been made…


AN: Thank you guys for the support guys!

The story is progressing really well as Sasuke begins his search for Triss.

Also if you guys want you can visit my Pat-reon at Pat reon Supbro06

With that out of the way have a nice day and enjoy reading!