A short while later.
Tsunade, Kaede, and Shizune reappeared on the street.
Both Kaede and Shizune had changed into different clothes and slightly altered their hairstyles. As for Tsunade, she went all out, transforming into the youthful appearance of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl with a pale-golden ponytail.
Smack!
Tsunade wordlessly placed a hand on Kaede's shoulder.
"What are you looking at?"
Her slender and delicate-looking hand seemed to just lightly rest there, but the pressure was enough to nearly make Kaede stumble. The ground beneath his feet cracked with sharp crack sounds, splintering slightly.
Kaede quickly averted his gaze from Tsunade's chest and shrugged innocently. "Well, anyone would stare after such a dramatic change… Besides, I'm still wearing full weights here, Tsunade-sensei, so… could you ease up a bit?"
Pfft.
Shizune couldn't hold back a laugh from the side.
Her reaction the first time she saw Tsunade's transformation had been pretty much the same. She had even asked how Tsunade had managed to go from completely flat-chested to that, and received a lecture for her troubles.
After wandering the streets for a while, the three of them stopped at a restaurant for a meal. But when it came time to pay, Tsunade realized something awkward, she had accidentally gambled away their lodging money too.
"Lady Tsunade!!"
Shizune's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait… does that mean we're sleeping on the streets tonight?!"
Tsunade cleared her throat and glanced over at Kaede.
Kaede sighed and said helplessly, "I've got enough for a couple nights, but how did you end up gambling away everything, even the money you set aside for food and lodging? Weren't you keeping that part separate?"
Tsunade scratched her head. "I got a really good hand, and the opponent kept raising… I just couldn't help myself. Anyway, let's not talk about that. I'll win it back next time, double!"
Kaede rolled his eyes.
Double? More like double the loss.
Thinking about it, those gamblers probably saw Tsunade as a fat sheep ripe for slaughter. They likely raised recklessly, squeezing her dry without a shred of mercy.
Kaede let out a sigh, stood up, and said, "Forget it. I'll win the money back for you."
Shizune blinked in surprise. "K-Kaede?! Are you saying…"
Noticing the look on her face, and Tsunade's too, Kaede chuckled. "You think I'm gonna beat people up and take it by force? Relax, I'm just going to win it back."
"Eh?!"
Shizune was clearly taken aback.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't even know how to gamble. And besides, you've only got a few thousand ryo on you, tops."
Kaede smiled. "It's not that I can't gamble, I just don't really enjoy it. But if I actually try, I'm pretty good. A few thousand is enough. Lady Tsunade, you lost what, close to five million, including loan interest?"
"About that."
Tsunade took a sip of tea and gave Kaede a once-over.
She had no idea what this student of hers was planning. In her mind, turning a few thousand into five million was basically impossible, unless he went and took out a loan first. But judging by Kaede's appearance, he probably couldn't borrow much even if he tried.
"Well, you probably don't realize what turning a few thousand into five million really means. We've got a name for people who can do that with ease… Gambling Monster."
"And wouldn't you know, it just so happens I'm one of those people. Don't worry."
With a relaxed grin, Kaede counted the money he had on him and headed toward the casino.
Though he didn't like gambling, his deep knowledge of psychology gave him a natural edge. And if he activated time acceleration, not a single twitch of his opponent's expression would escape him. As long as he wasn't cursed with Tsunade-level bad luck, he wouldn't even need to resort to something cheap like card-switching. He could win honestly, and still dominate.
"K-Kaede…"
Shizune hesitated, then snuck a glance at Tsunade. After a brief pause, she stood up and quickly followed Kaede.
Tsunade tilted her head and continued sipping tea. She had no interest in returning to the casino. Even though she now looked like a teenager, showing up at a casino so openly would be asking for trouble. If they realized it was just a Transformation Jutsu, she'd lose one of her tricks for dodging debt collectors.
Besides, Kaede and Shizune were both ninjas. There was no need to worry about their safety.
Worst case, if they racked up a mountain of debt too, they'd just flee town in the dead of night. Things wouldn't get that bad.
…
At the casino,
Kaede and Shizune's arrival didn't go unnoticed. Both of them looked very young, Kaede didn't look older than fourteen or fifteen, and several people eyed them with ill intent. Still, no one turned away money knocking on their door.
Even if the kid didn't have much cash, a mosquito's leg was still meat.
One hour later,
In a large hall on the casino's second floor, Kaede sat at a table, casually flipping over his hand of cards as he glanced at the mound of chips on the table, roughly five million ryo.
"Sorry, triple eggplants."
Bam!!
The middle-aged gambler across from him shot to his feet and slammed both hands on the table, glaring at Kaede's hand with wide eyes.
"I'm done. You guys go on without me."
Kaede stood up and stretched. "Shizune, collect the money."
The gamblers at the table all stared at Kaede and Shizune with bloodshot eyes. If it were anyone else, the sheer pressure might've been overwhelming. But despite her age, Shizune was a real ninja, and such intimidation didn't faze her in the least.
She quickly gathered the chips and packed them into a case. As she followed Kaede out, her eyes sparkled with admiration.
She didn't like gambling either…
But…
Kaede looked so cool while he was playing!
Especially that last hand, calm and confident as he took back all the money Tsunade had lost. Her heart had been pounding.
Her trembling hands while collecting the chips weren't from fear or excitement over the money, but simply because she was overwhelmed with awe.
"D-Dammit…"
"Who is that brat?!"
"Who cares who he is?!"
Several gamblers stared after Kaede and Shizune as they left. One of them gritted his teeth and followed, and soon a few others trailed behind as well.
By the time Kaede and Shizune reached the casino entrance, they could both feel the hostile glares gathering behind them.
That was enough to finally snap Shizune out of her daze.
Kaede glanced over his shoulder and gave a faint smile.
Boom!!
He stepped forward, and this time, he released the chakra, maintaining his weighted clothing.
As his foot landed, the ground exploded like an earthquake. The entire casino shook.
The floor beneath his feet cracked like a spiderweb, splintering in all directions.
Clink.
A cigarette dropped from someone's mouth.
Everyone who had followed them froze in place, bodies rigid with fear. No one dared move. The entire hall fell into dead silence.
The two guards at the entrance broke into a cold sweat. One gulped hard and simply watched as Kaede and Shizune strolled out, completely paralyzed, not even thinking about trying to stop them.
…
A few days later,
Kaede's image spread like wildfire across the casinos.
He was labeled as an "unknown ninja," suspected of using some kind of cheating technique to win five million ryo in just an hour.
Casinos usually had two kinds of lists, one for their favorite "fat sheep," and one for their most unwelcome "gambling monsters." In no time at all, Kaede's name shot to the very top of the unwelcome list.
Interestingly enough…
The number one on the fat sheep list was none other than Tsunade herself.
But that had nothing to do with Kaede anymore, he never stepped into a casino again.
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