In the dimly lit basement.
Hashirama endured the stinging pain on his face and stared at the strangely dressed Mizuna (in his "Dark Dungeon Master" disguise) in front of him.
"Who are you? Where is Mizuna? Why did you tie me up?" Hashirama stared at Mizuna and demanded.
"Hmph hmph~ Naturally, I'm here to help you quit gambling! I was entrusted by someone to help you walk out of the shadow of gambling~" Mizuna said with a smile.
That smile made Hashirama's skin crawl. He felt his sphincter tighten involuntarily.
Hashirama recalled that right before he passed out, he seemed to see Mizuna. So he asked:
"Was it Mizuna? Did Mizuna send you?"
"No comment~" Mizuna kept smiling.
Hashirama tried to use Wood Style to break free, but he realized his Chakra was completely sealed. Even his physical strength was gone.
"What's going on? Why do I have no strength?" Hashirama was extremely confused.
"Save your energy~ I've already sealed all your power! If you don't successfully quit gambling, you won't get your power back!" Mizuna mocked.
"Damn it... Looks like I have no choice..." Hashirama whispered.
Mizuna broke into a cold sweat, thinking Hashirama had some hidden trump card.
Suddenly, Hashirama looked up.
"Okay! I've quit gambling!" Hashirama said seriously.
......
The silence was deafening. The awkwardness was palpable.
Mizuna froze.
"You really are a massive airhead..." Mizuna muttered rudely.
He thought Hashirama was about to unleash some secret technique, so he braced himself for a beating. And that was it?
"Eh? Why didn't it work? Are you lying to me?" Hashirama asked Mizuna.
Mizuna was dumbfounded.
"You're asking me?" Mizuna pointed at himself.
"Yes, I'm asking you," Hashirama confirmed.
Mizuna had black lines dropping down his face. He was speechless.
"Probably because you weren't sincere..." Mizuna replied.
"Really? Then I swear I've quit gambling completely! If you don't believe me, let's make a bet..."
Mizuna lost his patience. He pulled out the electric baton, set it to 250V, and jabbed it into Hashirama.
Originally, 250V wouldn't tickle Hashirama. But now that his Chakra and Sage Body were sealed, he felt the pain like a normal human.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
Hashirama howled, his muscles tensing up.
"Speak! Will you gamble in the future?" Mizuna demanded.
Hashirama caught his breath. Seeing the baton in Mizuna's hand, he suddenly realized something.
"I knew that thing looked familiar! Mizuna was holding it right before I passed out! Did you..."
Mizuna started sweating bullets again.
Seeing Mizuna's reaction, Hashirama confirmed his theory.
"Did you use the Transformation Jutsu to turn into Mizuna! Then you approached me and sneak-attacked me! Am I right?!"
Mizuna was stunned. What kind of logic is that?
"Uh? Ah! Yes! That's right! That's exactly what I did! I didn't expect you to be so smart, Senju Hashirama!"
Hashirama grinned triumphantly.
"Of course! After all, I am the Hokage!"
Mizuna suddenly changed his tone and zapped Hashirama again.
"I didn't ask for your life story! I asked if you're going to gamble! Answer me! Look into my eyes!"
Zap! Zap!
"AAAAAHHH! I won't gamble! I won't gamble!"
Hashirama screamed his answer.
Mizuna checked the System. No notification. He knew Hashirama was lying. He cranked the voltage up to 520V and continued shocking.
Seeing that negotiation was off the table, Hashirama stopped pretending.
"I'll gamble! I'm gonna gamble! Why wouldn't I gamble?! What kind of man doesn't gamble?! I, Hashirama, am a man who can turn 20,000 Ryo into 2,000,000 Ryo!" Hashirama roared!
Mizuna got annoyed. He cranked it to 1145V and shoved it hard.
"You have the nerve to say that?! You've lost over 200 million Ryo! You haven't won back a single cent! You lost everything, you bastard! And you still want to gamble?!" Mizuna roasted him back.
"Have you ever seen a child cry every day? Have you ever seen a gambler lose every play? I won't lose forever!" Hashirama stubbornly argued.
"But you are losing forever!"
Zap!
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
After two hours of continuous electrocution...
Hashirama sat in the chair, head hanging low.
"Speak! Will you gamble or not?" Mizuna shouted.
Hashirama lifted his head, trembling.
"F... Y..." Hashirama was still stubborn.
"Fine! I'll fix that stubborn mouth!"
Mizuna delivered another shock.
This time, Hashirama didn't scream. He was too exhausted. He just looked up, eyes rolled back, mouth twitching open, every muscle in his body tensed to the limit. It was a chaotic, grotesque scene.
As soon as the baton left his body, Hashirama slumped again, silent.
Seeing how tough Hashirama's mouth was, Mizuna put down the baton and picked up the jar of Wasabi.
"Hehe~ Boy~ Still acting tough? Let me teach you the price of stubbornness!" (Note: Reference to Kratos / Van Darkholme meme).
Mizuna slathered his hands in wasabi and slowly approached Hashirama.
Hashirama stared wide-eyed as Mizuna got closer.
Mizuna made weird noises to disturb Hashirama's mental state.
"Jie~ Jie~ Jie~ Man! What can I say! Mamba Out!"
A barrage of bizarre memes pushed Hashirama's sanity to the brink of collapse.
"MADARA! SAVE ME!!!"
Far away in the Uchiha compound, Madara paused mid-step and looked back toward the Senju district.
"Hashirama?" Madara murmured in confusion.
Hearing no further sound, Madara turned back.
"Must have been the wind..."
Madara sighed and walked home.
---
After several more hours of torture, the sky outside turned dark. But inside the basement, Hashirama had lost all concept of time.
Hashirama hung his head. His wounds were smeared with wasabi, and there were even clothespins clipped to his nipples.
Mizuna was panting from exhaustion. He didn't understand why Hashirama was so obsessed.
Just then, Hashirama spoke weakly without lifting his head.
"What... is... your name?"
Mizuna froze. He hadn't thought of a name for this persona.
Looking at his muscular, dark-skinned disguise, Mizuna thought briefly and shouted:
"Senju Hashirama, remember this well! My name is I. Kobe!" (Note: Pun on "Ai Kou Bi" / I Copy / Kobe).
"I... Kobe..." Hashirama whispered.
"Sounds like someone from the Cloud Village..." Hashirama muttered to himself.
"If I escape... I will pay you back double..."
That was Hashirama's last sentence before he passed out.
Mizuna checked the time. It was getting late. He released the transformation and dragged Hashirama out of the basement.
As soon as he exited, he saw his Sister and the White-Haired Mid sitting at the dining table, chatting.
They froze when they saw Mizuna dragging a lump of something that barely resembled a human being.
The three of them stared at each other in silence.
(Note: Earlier, after Tobirama came home, Mito had explained the plan to him. Tobirama agreed his brother needed to fix his gambling habit, so he didn't intervene. But neither expected Hashirama to end up this bad.)
After a long explanation, they understood what happened in the basement. At the same time, they felt a strange admiration for Hashirama's dedication to gambling.
Haji-rama... even after being reduced to this, you still persist... You really are something... (Note: Hashi-pig/dog nickname).
They cleaned Hashirama up a bit, but the Immortal-Binding Rope couldn't be removed, so he stayed tied up.
Mizuna said it would untie itself by noon tomorrow, so they didn't worry. However, Mito absolutely refused to let Hashirama into the bedroom. She said she didn't want to sleep next to a "tied-up, wasabi-flavored, burnt ham." So they threw Hashirama into the guest room.
The three coordinated their alibis and went to their rooms.
Back in his room, the System sighed.
[Haji-rama is a real one! He's a tough guy! No! He's tougher than tough... he's a Werewolf!]
Mizuna was speechless.
---
Inside the guest room, Hashirama was dreaming.
In his dream, the dark-skinned man (Mizuna) was humiliating him endlessly.
Then, the dark-skinned man, completely naked and hands covered in wasabi, slowly walked toward him.
Hashirama kept backing away, but no matter how much he retreated, the distance between them never increased.
Hashirama despaired.
Watching the man get closer and closer...
Hashirama finally broke.
In his dream and in reality, he simultaneously screamed out the legendary line:
"WRYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!" (Note: Dio/JoJo).
Royal Translation: (DON'T COME NEAR MEEEEE!!!!)
At that exact moment, Madara, who had just fallen asleep, shot up in bed!
"Hashirama?" Madara whispered.
But the only response was the rustling of leaves outside the window.
Madara: "Am I just too tired lately...?"
......
---