Under Hayato Ren's skeptical gaze, Tsunade suddenly revealed a smile that was completely out of character.
This smile was exceptionally innocent and radiant, utterly unlike what one would expect from someone with her uncle-like personality who loved drinking and gambling.
Yet even so, Tsunade's smile remained breathtakingly captivating—if only one could overlook her terrible character.
"Hehe~ There's another reason, actually. The old fossils in the clan discovered what I was doing and locked everything up."
Hayato Ren nodded. This was the real reason Tsunade was short on money.
Believing Tsunade would save money for Nawaki's wedding was about as plausible as believing he was Qin Shi Huang himself.
"But I don't have much money either. Right now, I'm living off Kushina and Mikoto's support. As much as I'd like to help you, Nana and my wallet just won't allow it."
Hayato Ren spread his hands, showing a helpless expression.
Though years of writing and investments had accumulated considerable wealth for him, he was still reluctant to fund Tsunade's gambling.
However, this answer clearly didn't satisfy Tsunade.
Tsunade slowly leaned in until she was right in front of Hayato Ren, their faces nearly touching.
They were so close they could feel each other's breath.
"Darkness of the Ninja World-sensei, how could you possibly be short on money?"
Tsunade said with a sly grin.
Hearing this, Hayato Ren immediately feigned confusion.
"What Darkness of the Ninja World? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Stop pretending. You're the author of the Liu Bei novel 'Darkness of the Ninja World' that's been sweeping the Shinobi World these past few years. I even found your manuscript."
Tsunade pulled out a thick stack of manuscript papers from her clothes, looking triumphant as she addressed Hayato Ren.
Seeing that Hayato Ren remained silent, Tsunade continued:
"My dear Ren, you wouldn't want everyone to know you're a Liu Bei novelist, would you?"
Faced with Tsunade's classic Japanese-style ultimatum, Hayato Ren snorted coldly.
"Hah, are you threatening me?"
"How could I threaten you? Given our relationship, your money is my money, isn't it?"
"The thing I love doing most is saying NO to people who think they're all that! Go ahead and tell everyone. I've got no money to give, but I'll stand my ground."
Finding Hayato Ren immune to both soft and hard approaches, Tsunade could only cling to his arm and whine:
"Ren~ Please help me. Just this once. I'll pay you back double when I win it all back. You're the only one I can rely on now...Tsunade's coquetry clearly couldn't shake Hayato Ren's "heart of steel," but a bold idea suddenly occurred to him.
"Helping you this once isn't impossible, but I have one condition."
Hearing this, Tsunade's eyes immediately lit up.
"What condition?"
Hayato Ren leaned close to Tsunade's ear and began whispering softly.
Instantly, Tsunade's face turned as red as a monkey's bottom.
"Truly worthy of being called the Darkness of the Ninja World. Only you could come up with such filthy ideas. That place is so dirty, it's disgusting."
Tsunade immediately showed a look of disgust as she chastised Hayato Ren.
In response, Hayato Ren slowly raised a single finger.
"Hmph, a mere million won't make me do something like that," Tsunade said with a disdainful expression, carrying an air of "not bending for five pecks of rice" dignity.
"Who told you it was a million? I said ten million!" Hayato Ren declared with full authority.
Upon hearing this, Tsunade's eyes instantly transformed into the shape of money symbols.
She threw herself onto the tatami mat, hugging Hayato Ren's legs excitedly as she cried out:
"Lord Ren is so generous! I'll go wash up right now..."
Even with Tsunade's extravagant spending habits, ten million would last her quite a while.
For Hayato Ren, however, it was merely pocket change that didn't affect him at all.
Moreover, the atmosphere in the Shinobi World had been growing increasingly tense lately.
The Third Ninja World War might break out soon, and when that happened, Tsunade wouldn't have much leisure time to do as she pleased.
Taking a step back, all the gambling houses in the Leaf had already been acquired by Hayato Ren.
No matter how much money Tsunade lost, it would all eventually find its way back to Hayato Ren's pockets.
It was just a matter of moving money from one hand to the other.
Furthermore, something Tsunade didn't know was that the majority of her gambling debts were actually owed to Hayato Ren as the behind-the-scenes owner.
Controlling Tsunade was child's play.
A sly smile appeared on Hayato Ren's face as he began looking forward to his upcoming activities.
Today he would experience for himself just how elegant and refined the preferences of the famous Eastern Jin scholar Tao Yuanming truly were.
....
A full day and night passed in what seemed like an instant, and Hayato Ren finally understood the differences between the two paths.
One could only say each had its own unique charm.
Hayato Ren gained a satisfying sense of conquest, while Tsunade obtained a large sum of gambling money to squander.
One could say everyone had a bright future ahead.
After taking a bath, Hayato Ren finally remembered that he still had three students surviving in the Forest of Death.
So, after leaving a kiss on the sleeping Tsunade, Hayato Ren headed toward the Forest of Death.
...
"Yo, Minato, you're here early," Hayato Ren greeted Namikaze Minato, who had been sitting there for who knows how long.
Hearing this, Minato smiled and replied, "I haven't been here long. I'm just a bit worried about Obito and the others."
Hayato Ren patted Minato's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. No matter how unreliable Uchiha Obito might be, there's still Kakashi to cover for him. It won't be a problem. By the way, have any teams reached the finish line?"
"Your team arrived here three hours ago and left already. I was actually going to ask what you're doing here," Minato couldn't help showing a curious expression.
In his view, Hayato Ren's team was far more perfect than his own.
They got along harmoniously, with everyone fulfilling their roles perfectly - it was simply wonderful.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Obito and Kakashi would duel almost every other day.
This gave their teacher, Namikaze Minato, an endless headache.
"I see. I just came to check on you. Since you're fine, I'll take my leave now."
Hayato Ren casually lied, then activated the Flying Thunder God to flash toward Konan's location.
Watching the figure vanish without a trace before his eyes, Minato couldn't help but shake his head in resignation...