After leaving Saitama's house, Shisui felt a sense of relaxation he hadn't experienced in a long time.
Returning home quickly, Shisui found that dinner was already prepared and his father had come back—they were all waiting for him.
Smiling, he sat down immediately.
Now in a good mood, Shisui thought it was also time to get back to work. He'd fallen behind on Anbu matters, and it was about time the transfer of captaincy responsibilities was put on the agenda.
...
Sunagakure, after the incident of someone infiltrating the village and abducting the Jinchuriki, had raised its security to an unprecedented level.
According to the three-village agreement, Sunagakure's plan targeting Saitama and his organization was proceeding methodically.
Iwagakure—an elite team of ninja had left the village and started heading toward the Land of Fire.
The two villages that had lost their Tailed Beasts hadn't lost control; they had remained calm—an impressive feat under the circumstances.
...
Tanoko Street, one of the most prosperous places in the Land of Fire.
Here, numerous industries thrived, especially the restaurant and gambling businesses, which were among the main reasons this place was famous throughout the Shinobi World.
Recently, a pair that appeared to be master and apprentice had arrived at the biggest casino on Tanoko Street—the so-called "delicious big fish."
They were called big fish because they looked like walking money magnets, constantly tossing cash around the casino. Simply bet opposite to them, and nine times out of ten you'd win hand-over-fist; the tenth time, the house would clean up completely.
Butterfly Casino—this was the name of the biggest gambling establishment on Tanoko Street.
Inside the main hall stood a huge table, surrounded by crowds of people whose faces had turned red with excitement.
However, on one side of the table, two individuals' expressions sharply contrasted with the surrounding enthusiasm.
One was a woman with golden blonde hair tied loosely into a ponytail, wearing a green-dominant long robe and possessing a rather generous bustline.
The other had loose black shoulder-length hair and wore a black robe.
These two were Tsunade and Shizune—the so-called "big fish" in the eyes of countless gamblers.
Seeing the pile of chips in front of them slowly vanish into others' hands, Shizune's eyes began reddening, her determined face betraying a stubborn unwillingness to accept defeat.
"Shizune, this is our last chance—we're taking back everything we lost!"
Shizune was deep in thought about her next move when she heard Tsunade's voice from beside her.
Turning her head slightly, Shizune saw Tsunade's face—flushed even more than her own, bloodshot eyes included.
"Tsunade-sama, whatever you bet, I'm following suit!"
The game they played was very simple—high-low betting, a commonly seen, highly popular format without complex rules: no more bets! Dealer's rolling the dice—let's see if it's high or low.
"Fine!" Tsunade glanced around, noticing those crude gamblers staring with bloodshot eyes, anxiously awaiting their move.
Her eyes darted between the 'Big' and 'Small' sections on the table. She gritted her teeth, then pushed every last chip remaining in front of her onto the 'Small' section.
Shizune nodded as she saw Tsunade's move, also noticing the onlookers' growing excitement. Following her mentor's lead, she pushed all her chips toward the "Small" betting area.
Today, master and disciple aimed for a decisive win—recouping every cent of principal and interest they had ever lost.
When the crowd saw both "fat lambs" had placed their bets, they wasted no time tossing their chips onto "Big."
Combined, Shizune and Tsunade's stakes added up to several hundred thousand—it was money they'd borrowed from loan sharks not long ago in the Capital City.
"All bets placed! No more touching the chips!"
After shaking the dice, the dealer swept his gaze across the table and used a stick to signal everyone to remove their hands.
Shizune and Tsunade held their breaths, staring at the dice cup, eyes burning with tension.
If they lost again this time, they would have to borrow more just to survive.
But this wasn't what they truly wanted—because borrowing meant having to skip town again and find another place to lie low. However, Tanoko Street was a great spot; nowhere else offered such complete entertainment facilities.
"Big! Big! Big!"
As the dealer slowly lifted the cup, the gamblers shouted in unison.
"What the hell!"
"What's going on!"
"These dice must've been rigged!"
When the dealer finally revealed the dice inside, a stunned gasp rose from the gambling crowd—the total shown was clearly a Small!
"Ahh… Haha!" Shizune reacted first, bursting into laughter. She stood abruptly, leaned forward, and scooped up all the chips scattered across the table.
"Tsunade-sama, we won! Haha!"
As she gathered the chips, Shizune noticed that Tsunade, sitting beside her, hadn't moved—not even slightly—and found it strange. She paused and turned to look.
Tsunade's face looked extremely grim as she stared at the dice on the table, her gaze unusually sharp.
"Is something wrong… Tsunade-sama?"
Confused, Shizune looked at her mentor. Wasn't this their biggest win in a long time? Why did Tsunade-sama act like this?
"Shizune, pack everything up—we're leaving immediately!"
Without hesitation, Tsunade shot to her feet, her expression serious. Ignoring the noisy gamblers around her, she forcefully pushed through the crowd and headed straight outside.
Winning at gambling should've been great news—but somehow, it felt like a curse this time!
With furrowed brows, Tsunade walked out, deep in thought, wondering if something had gone terribly wrong.
Yet by the time she reached the exit, she still couldn't recall anything dangerous looming ahead—these days, there were very few things left that truly concerned her.
The surrounding gamblers watched the two "fat lambs" leave, reluctant but unwilling to stop them—because everyone knew these two so-called "lambs" were actually powerful ninja.
The last one who tried to attack them was still hanging from a tree outside Tanoko Street, no one daring to cut him down.
Although unsure what had happened, Shizune dutifully exchanged their chips for cash and rushed out clutching the wad of bills.
"Tsunade-sama, has something happened?"
After stepping outside, Shizune spotted Tsunade's retreating figure in the distance heading toward the inn and quickly hurried to catch up.
Her hair trailing behind her, Tsunade clutched a small box filled with money to her chest.
Hearing Shizune's question, Tsunade suddenly stopped. The wooden soles of her shoes scraped against the stone floor with a sharp "click."
Startled by Tsunade's abrupt stop, Shizune came to a halt too. Tightening her grip on the small money box, she stared wide-eyed at Tsunade.
"Shizune, how long has it been since we last won any money?"
Tsunade fixed her gaze on Shizune, her expression slightly off—clearly troubled by her own feelings.
"Mm… Well… Actually… We've never won this much before… But so what? Isn't this a good thing?"
Shizune tilted her head thoughtfully. After all these years of continuous losing during their attempts to improve their luck, shouldn't winning money now be celebrated?
"This..." Tsunade pressed her lips together firmly. "...is very bad."
"Just come back first!" Seeing the confusion in Shizune's eyes, Tsunade turned and resumed walking toward the inn.
"Okay..."
Lowering her head, Shizune reached forward with both hands and fidgeted slightly with the money box in front of her. Her expression turned reluctant.
From Tsunade's words, she realized what it meant—"It's better if we keep losing money."
Silently, Shizune followed behind Tsunade's retreating form.
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