"That's… Lady Tsunade…"
Inside the casino, Ren pocketed his winnings and returned to Yugao and Shisui.
But Yugao still looked like she hadn't recovered from what she'd just witnessed.
She'd heard plenty of rumors about Tsunade gambling hard, sure—
But that scene a moment ago?
That wasn't "the Legendary Sannin."
That was a full-blown gambling addict.
"What—idol shattered?" Ren chuckled, then glanced at Shisui.
"Thanks, Shisui-senpai. If you hadn't helped, I wouldn't even have been able to place that bet."
"It's nothing…" Shisui scratched his cheek, looking a little uncomfortable.
"Still… are we really okay doing that?"
Using genjutsu on a civilian just to help Ren bet—
Was that something ANBU should be doing?
"And how did you know Lady Tsunade would definitely lose?" Shisui asked.
Because Tsunade bets the opposite of fortune itself—reverse her and you'll buy a mansion by the sea.
Ren kept that thought to himself.
In his memory, Tsunade had only ever truly "won" once—
and the price of that win was Jiraiya's death.
No exaggeration: Tsunade was a walking superstition. Bet against her and you almost always won.
"Just a feeling," Ren shrugged with a grin.
"I've heard her luck is terrible."
"I just didn't expect it to be this bad."
"Maybe next time she gambles, we could—"
"No." Yugao cut him off instantly, no mercy at all.
"You are not learning from Lady Tsunade."
Ren blinked.
"…So you're already managing me that strictly, senpai?"
"Y-you—" Yugao choked, face reddening, words caught in her throat.
Shisui sighed and stepped in before Ren could push further.
"Let's go find Lady Tsunade. Don't forget our mission."
He didn't seem interested in dragging this trip out the way Ren was.
Ren could only shrug.
Still—finishing early wasn't bad.
If he played it right…
maybe he could squeeze out a better reward.
[New mission acquired]
[Find Tsunade]
Walking out of the casino with Shisui and Yugao, Ren glanced at the new task on his panel.
A plain mission.
A boring mission.
So naturally, his first thought was:
How do I make this bigger? Stronger? Flashier?
Because task completion quality affected rewards.
"Hmm?"
Ren's brow tightened.
Yugao and Shisui also sensed it at the same time.
They looked ahead—
and saw a group of civilian thugs sprawled on the ground, trembling.
Uninjured, but shaken to the core.
Standing among them were Tsunade… and—
"The Fourth Raikage?"
With what Shisui had mentioned earlier—Kumo, stolen scrolls, the hired "shinobi hunters"—
Ren put the pieces together instantly.
And the corner of his mouth curled into a slow, wicked smile.
Wasn't this exactly the kind of opportunity that let you "make the mission bigger"?
"We should go," Ren said calmly.
"Lady Tsunade's in trouble."
"Yeah." Shisui and Yugao nodded, and the three of them accelerated.
"Hmph." The Fourth Raikage noticed them approaching and let out a dismissive snort.
He didn't care about three kids.
In his eyes, only Tsunade was worth even acknowledging.
And even then, prideful as he was, he didn't truly fear her.
The only person who'd ever made him feel humiliated—
was Konoha's Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.
He hadn't forgotten being forced into a corner alongside Killer B, just because Minato was too fast.
He'd even admitted it himself:
Minato's speed had no equal.
But Minato was dead—killed by the Nine-Tails.
And that death, at least, convinced the Raikage that Konoha no longer had anyone who could keep up with him.
Yes, he'd heard Konoha had produced another Flying Thunder God user.
So what?
How many people in the world could compare to Namikaze Minato?
Tsunade raised an eyebrow as the three arrived at her side.
One of them stepped forward.
"Lady Tsunade," Ren said politely, "we're shinobi of Konoha. We're here under the Hokage's orders."
"Sensei?" Tsunade's expression shifted—surprised, but not truly shocked.
Back in the casino, she'd already known Ren was a shinobi, and that someone had helped him.
But without a clear marker, she hadn't known which village.
"So he sent you to bring me back?" Tsunade asked.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade." Shisui answered.
Tsunade sighed.
"You picked a bad time."
"Can't you see someone here… doesn't want me leaving?"
"I think we can revise the agreement," the Fourth Raikage said, smiling slightly.
His aura turned wilder, heavier.
"I'll let these three Konoha kids go."
"And you come treat my subordinate."
"How about it?"
"You really think you can do that?" Tsunade's voice sharpened.
This was exactly what she feared.
Even after leaving Konoha, the village still lived inside her.
She would not—could not—allow "her people" to die in front of her.
She'd seen too much of that already.
"If we don't try," the Raikage replied, "how will we know?"
His pressure climbed to a peak.
To save his man, he wasn't backing down.
His father had once held off Iwagakure alone, giving his subordinates time to escape—
fighting for three days until he died of exhaustion.
With a role model like that, the Fourth Raikage wouldn't shame his bloodline.
"This is a pain," Tsunade spat, then shot Ren, Shisui, and Yugao an irritated glare.
"You really showed up at the worst moment."
Then she barked at Shizune, "Get them out of here. Now. Run as far as you can."
"I'll hold him."
"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune instinctively wanted to refuse—
but Tsunade's resolve was absolute.
Shizune looked at Ren and the others, then nodded hard.
And in that instant—
the Fourth Raikage moved.
A flash like lightning—
his massive body was suddenly right in front of them.
"Did I say you could leave?"
He swung his arm, intending to smash them all down—
But his pupils contracted.
One moment they were there.
The next—
empty air.
"…What?" The Fourth Raikage's gaze snapped around.
From a distance, Ren's voice floated back, calm and cold.
"As if we ever said we were leaving."
They stood far away now.
At their feet, a kunai was embedded in the ground.
Ren's eyes narrowed.
His voice dropped another degree, turning sharp enough to cut.
"Fourth Raikage…"
"If we dragged you back to Konoha…"
"What do you think happens next?"
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