In the eyes of the many gamblers, once Tsunade called for a fixed triple bet, it was obvious—the fat sheep had given up struggling.
Why not a last desperate gamble?
Because there was none of the usual gambler's frenzy on Tsunade's face. To her, gambling seed nothing more than a pasti, a way to pass the ti—she didn't care about winning or losing.
Makoto placed the sa bet as her. Tsunade only glanced at him and didn't pay it any mind.
However, when the dice cup was opened, the result was unexpected—three threes. A clean sweep.
Tsunade's pupils shrank slightly, her brows knitting together as an inexplicable irritation stirred in her chest.
Refusing to believe it, she pressed the sa bet again—three threes, still a fixed triple.
The surrounding gamblers didn't believe it either. The dealer didn't believe it. Makoto, trusting the veteran of Konoha, chose to follow along. Only Shizune remained imrsed in the bliss of frantically counting money.
Second round—again, three threes.
At this point, it could only be described as uncanny.
Yet Tsunade, instead of growing tense, actually relaxed. A faint, knowing smile appeared on her lips as she looked at Makoto. After a brief observation, she had already figured out who was behind it.
No matter what, she was an experienced kunoichi. She simply hadn't paid attention at first.
Makoto, on the other hand, didn't care in the slightest—he just kept collecting money.
But the gamblers and the dealer were on the verge of collapse. The casino's hired ninja carefully inspected the scene and repeated the process—only to roll three threes again, without discovering anything wrong. In the end, they could only find an excuse to break up the table and politely escort the two bad ons out.
Tsunade hadn't bet heavily. After two clean sweeps, she rely recovered her previous losses and made a small profit.
Makoto, however, had no such restraint—he fleeced the dealer for a large sum.
He hadn't asked Genma to carry a money box to deliver money—it was there to hold what they would take.
If ninja missions didn't bring in extra inco, how could one live the kind of life where you spent money whenever you pleased?
...
On a secluded street outside the casino, Tsunade glared at Makoto.
"Kid, you're still a minor, aren't you? Yet you've got the guts to co gambling."
Makoto replied, "With this disguise, I'm temporarily an adult."
"Heh. You think I'd believe that nonsense?"
"That's not important."
"You won quite a bit, didn't you? But… you wouldn't want your mother to find out about this, right? My silence doesn't co cheap."
Hearing this, Genma imdiately sensed trouble and hugged the money box tighter.
Makoto said calmly, "Don't worry, Tsunade-sama. Once I turn the money in, everything will be fine. I believe my mother will understand—it's just an adaptive asure during a mission."
Only then did Shizune, who had been lost in her pile of cash, co to her senses. So these people… were all Konoha ninja.
She had left the village early and wandered the ninja world with Tsunade, so she wasn't familiar with Makoto—only having heard of him.
But there was soone she recognized.
After taking a closer look, she suddenly exclaid, "Genma—it's you!"
Shizune had attended the Ninja Academy before; she had been classmates with Kakashi, Asuma, Genma, and the others.
"Yes, it's ." Genma admitted, then gave a slight bow. "Tsunade-sama."
"Tsunade-sama." ×2
Namiashi Raidō and Tatami Iwashi also bowed. After all, Tsunade held a very high status in the hearts of Konoha's ninja.
Tsunade looked at the four of them and asked, "A mission? Don't tell the old man sent you to bring back. Let make this clear—I'm not going with you."
Makoto replied, "No. We ca to find Tsunade-sama simply to ask for so information."
Tsunade let out a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't about going back.
"What is it?"
"Tsunade-sama, have you recently been to Kusagakure?"
"Why should I tell you? Unless…" Her gaze shifted again to the money box in Genma's arms. "You should know—certain information from ninja doesn't co cheap."
Makoto said, "How about we gamble for it? If I win, the money is yours and I get the information. If I lose, you just tell the information."
"Hmph, brat." Tsunade wasn't about to fall for that. "How about this instead—I'll give you the information, and you teach the thod you used to win just now. Don't tell it wasn't your doing."
"Deal."
"Then start by explaining—why are you asking if I went to Kusagakure?"
Makoto briefly summarized, "As you know, many small ninja villages have been restless lately—especially Kusagakure. They're aggressively expanding their sphere of influence."
"They've not only fallen out with Agakure, but have also set their sights on Takigakure. The two sides are already clashing at the border."
Tsunade thought for a mont. "They're both Konoha's allies, so it's inconvenient to interfere, right? Then don't. Let them fight—it benefits Konoha either way."
From her words, it was clear—when Tsunade beca Hokage in the original tiline, it wasn't because there were no better candidates.
Small villages couldn't break free from Konoha's control. If they fought each other to exhaustion, they would only end up relying on Konoha even more.
Makoto continued, "That was the original thinking. But recently, Takigakure reported that Kusagakure seems to have obtained help from a powerful dical ninja."
"So of their key figures recover quickly from injuries and return to the battlefield. So Takigakure wants to know—whether Konoha is secretly supporting Kusa."
"That's why we ca to you. After all, among Konoha's dical experts, you're the only one with the ti to intervene."
Tsunade imdiately denied it. "Not . You're overthinking it. Why would I help those fence-sitters?"
"Is that so? The village thinks it's unlikely to be you as well."
Tsunade wouldn't lie about sothing like this—and she had no reason to help Kusagakure. Besides, she still suffered from hemophobia.
Makoto naturally knew the real reason—it had to be that Kusagakure had obtained a living "healing battery," Karin's mother.
But he couldn't say that outright. He had to at least put on a show of investigating.
"If you already knew it wasn't , why bother asking? Stop wasting ti—teach your trick."
"It's simple. Just use chakra to quietly control the dice as they roll."
Tsunade clenched her fists, on the verge of exploding. "Kid, are you ssing with ? Do you think the casino doesn't have counterasures? Even if it didn't, do you think I wouldn't notice?"
Makoto shrugged. "But that's exactly what I did."
"I don't believe you." As she spoke, Tsunade reached into the mysterious valley between her chest and pulled out three dice—in front of the younger generation. "Co on, let's demonstrate it right here."
Genma and the others imdiately felt their already vigorous blood pressure spike even higher.
Out of curiosity, she had swiped the dice from the table before leaving the casino.
As one of the Sannin, a Kage-level powerhouse, doing sothing like that was effortless.
She tossed the dice onto the ground. The three small cubes rolled and tumbled, then ca to a stop—three threes facing up. A fixed triple.
Tsunade's large-scale perception relied on Katsuyu's divided bodies, but as a mber of the Senju clan, she still had so sensory ability. Even without it, they were practically face to face—any ninja should be able to detect chakra activity.
Yet she felt nothing.
Refusing to believe it, she threw them again. "This ti, I want three sixes."
The result was obvious.
Even when she had Shizune throw them the third ti, it was the sa.
Makoto said, "See? I'm cheating right in front of you, and you still can't detect it."
Of course she couldn't.
Makoto's thod was to use the chakra within his body to communicate with a trace of white natural energy from the outside world, attaching it to the dice and controlling them at will.
How could ordinary ninja detect natural energy? Even Senju Hashirama might struggle—let alone Tsunade, who didn't have Sage Mode.
Tsunade muttered, "What the hell…"
Ever since eting Makoto, she had felt that he was absurdly talented—far beyond what a normal human should possess. His ninjutsu talent even surpassed that of her forr genius teammate, Orochimaru.
He had even picked up her Monster Strength just by watching and fighting.
Reluctant as she was to admit it, Makoto could be considered her disciple—she had intended to teach him Monster Strength back then.
Now it seed that even his chakra was different from others.
Tsunade was a straightforward woman—when she wanted to do sothing, she did it.
She stepped forward and grabbed Makoto's hand, trying to probe the peculiarities of his chakra.
Then she felt it—
A vast sea of chakra.
And abundant life force.
The sensation was… incredibly familiar.
For a brief mont, she felt as if the one standing before her was her grandfather.
The man known as the God of Shinobi.
---
I will post so extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon/TitoVillar
---
User Comments
0 comments from readers