"Who could be this stupid…"
Tsunade, already in a foul mood, muttered halfway through her sentence before realizing she might have said something inappropriate. She turned her head to look at the young man beside her and asked with a puzzled expression, "Kid, are you sure you want to bet on 'Big'?"
With a perfectly developed Sage Body, Kai Mitarashi's physical growth far surpassed that of his peers. Although they hadn't seen each other in years, Tsunade didn't recognize him right away, though there was something faintly familiar about his features.
"Of course," Kai replied with a smile.
As he spoke, he casually pulled out a banknote worth a million ryo from his pocket and tossed it onto the table marked with the character "Big."
"You're quite the rich kid, huh? Aren't you afraid of losing it all?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, her tone tinged with surprise. For some reason, she felt an inexplicable sense of fondness toward this young man.
"My luck has always been pretty good," Kai shrugged nonchalantly.
Tsunade said no more and quickly turned her attention back to the dealer. "Hurry up, open it!" she urged excitedly.
Byakugan!
A fleeting white glow flashed in Kai's left eye. The dice inside the cup became crystal-clear to him.
One. One. And another one.
All three dice in the cup showed a perfect set of ones.
Kai's expression turned slightly odd. No wonder she's the legendary "Big Loser." With luck like this, it's practically a curse.
A subtle smirk crept onto his lips as Kai discreetly formed a hand seal.
Inside the wooden dice cup, three tiny green sprouts emerged beneath the dice, pushing them upward. The dice flipped over, changing from ones to sixes—the highest numbers. The sprouts withered and vanished without a trace.
"Hmm!" Tsunade furrowed her brows as she stared at the dice cup, sensing a strong vitality emanating from it. It felt eerily similar to Wood Release.
She blinked a few times and scrutinized the dice cup again, finding nothing unusual. With a bitter smile, she muttered, "The only one who could use Wood Release nowadays is that brat Kai. There's no way he'd show up here."
As the dealer slowly lifted the lid of the dice cup, Tsunade instinctively prepared herself for disappointment. "Sigh, another loss," she murmured, her face already falling.
"Lady Tsunade, you won!" Shizune, standing beside her, tugged at her sleeve and exclaimed excitedly.
"What? I won?" Tsunade froze in disbelief. She looked at the dice cup, and her eyes lit up with joy upon seeing the three sixes. "Quick, give me my money! Look, I won! Hahaha!"
The entire casino fell silent, with everyone staring in stunned disbelief.
"How could the legendary Big Loser actually win?"
"That was my last drink money…"
"Someone wake me up. I must be dreaming. There's no way the Big Loser could win."
Hearing the murmurs around her, a vein bulged on Tsunade's forehead. She slammed her fist onto the table and roared, "No one's skipping out on paying! Hand over the money, now!"
Terrified by Tsunade's outburst, the surrounding gamblers quickly handed over their money.
Grabbing a handful of cash, Tsunade stuffed it into Kai's hands. She patted him on the shoulder with a grin. "Hahaha, not bad, kid. You've got a good eye."
With that, she turned her attention back to the gambling table.
With Kai's assistance, Tsunade seemed to be possessed by the spirit of a gambling god. She didn't lose a single round all afternoon.
As they stepped out of the casino, Kai followed behind Tsunade in silence. She didn't say a word, walking straight ahead, while Shizune occasionally glanced curiously at the young man.
Suddenly, Tsunade veered into a secluded alley. Without hesitation, Kai followed her in.
The moment he turned the corner, a fist came crashing down on his head. The blow was so heavy that tears welled up in Kai's eyes as he crouched down, clutching his head.
"Hmph! Kai, you little brat! It's been five years, and you're only now coming to find me?" Tsunade's face was a mix of smugness and joy, though her eyes couldn't hide her genuine happiness.
If it had been just one instance of sensing Wood Release, Tsunade might have dismissed it as her imagination. But after repeatedly feeling the same energy and taking a closer look at the young man's familiar features, she had no doubt about Kai's identity.
"Big Sis Tsunade, I've been on the battlefield for the past five years!" Kai said with an innocent expression. "As soon as the Third Shinobi War ended, I came straight to find you…" He looked up at her with pitiful eyes.
A smile tugged at the corners of Tsunade's lips. "At least you have some sense, kid. The title 'Reaper of Konoha' has become quite infamous, you know."
At that moment, an arrogant voice interrupted them.
"Hey, brat! Don't you know that every casino on this street is run by the Kiumoku Clan? You've got some nerve causing trouble here. Hand over the money you just won, and let me, Kiumoku Hachikaze, teach you a lesson. Then maybe I'll let you off."
The young ninja, Hachikaze, glared at Kai and then glanced at Tsunade with disdain. "And you, Big Loser Granny, hand over your winnings too."
"Granny…?"
The smile on Tsunade's face froze. Her expression darkened as she glared at Hachikaze. "Who are you calling Granny?"
"Obviously you, Granny," Hachikaze replied matter-of-factly, even emphasizing, "Hurry up and hand over the money, Granny."
Kai couldn't bear to look directly at Hachikaze anymore. To call Tsunade "Granny" three times in her presence… the consequences were obvious.
"AAAAHHHH!"
With a single punch, Tsunade sent Hachikaze flying into the sky.
Kai's eyes were glued to the majestic sway of Tsunade's chest as she moved, and he couldn't help but swallow hard.
In the now-silent alley, the sound of Kai's gulp was amplified unnaturally. Tsunade turned to look at him, puzzled. Following his gaze, she realized where he was staring. Her cheeks flushed red.
Moments later, another fist came crashing down on Kai's head. "You little pervert! What are you staring at? You're way too young to be this lecherous. Is this something you picked up from that old pervert Jiraiya?"
Kai quickly snapped out of it and nodded frantically. "Yes, yes! On the battlefield in the Land of Lightning, Jiraiya kept making me read his 'Make-Out Paradise' books."
Heaven help him—this was long before the first volume of Make-Out Paradise had even been published.
Far away in the Land of Fire, Jiraiya suddenly shivered and sneezed, unaware that he had just been thoroughly thrown under the bus by Kai.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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