Chapter 58
"I bet big! 50,000 ryo!"
"Small! 100,000 ryo!"
"Big! 30,000 ryo!"
"..."
As expected, ninjas were a wealthy crowd. Most of the civilian gamblers wouldn't go over a few thousand ryo, but the shinobi tossed around tens of thousands like pocket change.
Because Tsunade had guessed correctly twice in a row, the crowd had stopped blindly trusting in the legendary "Big Fat Sheep." Now, they followed their own gut feelings.
Tsunade wasn't one to hesitate either. This time, she confidently picked small, throwing out half her remaining cash.
"I'll bet small! 700,000 ryo!"
The gamblers around her were visibly shaken. Those who hadn't placed their bets yet quickly rushed to bet big, hoping to clean out Tsunade's money. The unlucky ones who had already bet small could only pray she didn't drag them down with her this time.
Only Asakawa Naoki, who had discreetly used his chakra to manipulate the dice, sighed to himself. Her luck really is cursed.
She'd guessed wrong three times in a row. The first time, the casino waiter had cheated. The second, Naoki had used his sword control technique to adjust the dice. And now, the third time—on her own, she still guessed wrong.
It was no wonder people called her the "legendary big fat sheep." She practically came to casinos just to donate money.
Amidst the tense anticipation of the room, the waiter slowly lifted the dice cup.
"One, three, five — total of nine points! Congratulations to those who bet small!"
"I won again!" Tsunade cheered, disbelief creeping into her voice. She'd won three in a row? Was this real?
"Seriously? Lady Tsunade again?"
"I'm following her bet next round!"
The mood in the casino shifted. The infamous loser was suddenly looking like a wolf in sheep's clothing. The gamblers exchanged glances. Half an hour ago, Tsunade only walked in with 400,000 ryo. Now, after three games, she had over 2 million ryo in hand.
This was the danger of gambling. The speed at which money changed hands was intoxicating, heightening both triumph and desperation. The ones who won were fired up to win more. The ones who lost were desperate to win it back.
Some broke shinobi, having lost their cash, quietly slipped away to the mission desk to pick up new bounties so they could gamble again later.
This was exactly why frontline posts tolerated gambling dens. It eased tension, relieved stress, and kept soldiers sharp for battle… or too broke to drink themselves stupid.
"Next round! I'm betting with Lady Tsunade!"
"Move it, move it!"
The next game began. Tsunade hesitated this time, weighing her options. Big or small?
Not that it mattered.
With Asakawa Naoki here, she could bet blindfolded and still win.
After a moment, she made her decision.
"This time… I'll bet small! One million ryo!"
"I'm with Lady Tsunade!"
"Same here!"
The crowd had turned. Three straight wins were too much for superstition to ignore.
Only Asakawa Naoki shook his head. She guessed wrong again. Four in a row. If I wasn't here, she'd be flat broke.
But with him around, Tsunade was practically the Konoha Gambling God.
The waiter opened the cup.
"Two, two, four — total of eight points! Congratulations to those who bet small!"
The casino raked its house cut and pushed a massive pile of money toward Tsunade.
"Tsunade-sama, your winnings."
"Hahaha! I finally turned my luck around today!" Tsunade laughed loudly, throwing an arm around Asakawa Naoki's shoulders in a crushing hug.
"Careful, Tsunade-sama!" Naoki grunted, feeling his spine creak under the woman's vice-like grip.
It figured. In the future, she'd arm-wrestle the Fourth Raikage and win. No way a genin like him could handle this.
Tsunade seemed to realize it too and let him go with an apologetic smile.
"Ah, sorry, I got too excited."
"It's fine, just… a little warning next time." Naoki coughed.
The waiter approached again. "Tsunade-sama, would you like to continue?"
"Of course! Another round!"
**
Half an hour later, Tsunade strolled out of the casino beaming, Asakawa Naoki right behind her. A crowd of defeated, broken gamblers trickled out after them.
After tonight, Tsunade's infamous nickname might need updating.
The "Legendary Big Fat Sheep" was no more. A new Konoha Gambling God had risen.
…Though only as long as Asakawa Naoki was around. Without him, she'd be broke within minutes.
"Tsunade-sama? You're done already?" Uzumaki Kushina called out in surprise.
It had barely been thirty minutes. That was the time it usually took for Tsunade to either hit rock bottom or get into a fistfight.
But Tsunade's grin wasn't the face of a loser.
Still… as the saying went, gamblers only left early if they'd lost everything. If they were winning, they stayed until they were physically dragged out.
So which was it?
The others gathered around, curiosity in their eyes. Nawaki's jaw dropped.
"Sister… you actually won?!"
"Come on," Tsunade gestured. "Let's head back to my tent."
As the frontlines' medical pillar, Tsunade's personal tent was massive. Large enough for nine people to comfortably gather inside.
Once inside, Tsunade didn't waste time. She pulled out a storage scroll, unrolled it, and summoned twenty thick stacks of ryo notes.
"This," she declared proudly, "is the 20 million ryo I won off 400,000."
The tent went dead silent.
"T-Tsunade-sama, this is too much!" someone stammered.
"We only lent you 400,000. You just needed to cover the principal…"
They stared at the twenty towering stacks of silver notes. Each note was worth 10,000 ryo. Each stack was a million. Half an hour ago, they'd scraped together 400,000 between them. Now there was 50 times that sitting in front of them.
"Relax," Tsunade waved a hand. "I keep my word. Everything I win is yours."
It wasn't about money for her. Born a Senju princess and Hashirama's granddaughter, Tsunade had never lacked for wealth. What she craved was the rush—the thrill of gambling.
"Asakawa, you handle dividing this up. I've got to find Orochimaru." She gave him a nod.
In her eyes, the credit belonged to Asakawa Naoki. She thought his presence was her good luck charm.
Little did she know… it wasn't luck.
Naoki never believed in luck. Only in strength.
"Got it, Tsunade-sensei," Naoki agreed, grinning. Money wasn't everything to her, but to him? He needed every ryo he could get.
"Don't go flashing this money around outside," Tsunade warned as a parting shot, then strode out of the tent.
Only silence remained as everyone stared at the mountain of ryo, half believing they were still dreaming.
*******
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