How to Fall Asleep Quickly

The idea was beautiful, but putting it into practice was rather difficult.

Kusagakure might be weak, but it was not a place a Genin could simply barge into.

Natsume's top priority was still to improve his strength.

He studied Water Style during the day and practiced Wood Style at night. In terms of progress, he was already doing quite well.

After all, he was only seven. The human body had its limits.

Natsume took off his coat and entered dreamland.

The next day was Sunday.

Tsunade excitedly dragged him to Tanzaku Street.

This time, she used the Transformation Jutsu and turned into an utterly ordinary girl.

The kind of ordinary that Natsume would never be interested in.

No way. I can't afford her.

Tsunade once again went on a rampage with Natsume and won another million in gambling money.

However, on their way back to Konoha, the two of them were intercepted in a small forest.

The casino owners had known who Tsunade was, so they had not dared to resort to dirty tricks.

Now that she had become an unknown girl, their anger surged, and their wickedness overcame their fear.

"Which casino are you from?"

Surrounded by eight burly men, Natsume was not flustered in the slightest.

Because he had someone backing him.

"Enough nonsense. Hand over all the money you won today!"

"We can't come to an agreement, can we?"

Natsume tilted his head. It seemed he would have to learn from Naruto Uzumaki and beat them into submission before trying to talk them around.

Tsunade watched him with interest.

She was very curious about what he was planning to do.

She had already discovered that this brother she had picked up for free was mature, intelligent, and full of ideas.

Natsume's little face was solemn.

This was his first real battle.

It was his first time, after all, so he was inevitably a little nervous.

Even if the word "nervous" were removed, that would still make sense.

Ahem.

Fortunately, Tsunade was there, so his life would not be in danger.

Wood Style: Wood Clone Jutsu!

Almost instantly, one Natsume became three.

"Be careful! He's a ninja."

The casino enforcers' expressions suddenly turned grave.

They were all ordinary people. They had some skills, but they were far inferior to properly trained ninjas.

The three Natsumes simultaneously threw shuriken.

Each one threw six with both hands.

Eighteen in total, covering all eight men.

The casino enforcers hurriedly scattered in every direction.

Natsume remained where he was while the other two clones charged forward.

The moment they closed in, he used Wood Clone again, turning the fight into an evenly matched brawl.

A moment later, all of them had been captured.

"Can we talk now?"

Natsume asked again.

"Our boss won't let you off!"

"You're pretty tough."

Natsume turned his head and said, "Sis, show them your fist."

Tsunade revealed a gentle smile and took several steps back. Then she raised her right leg high and brought it down.

Heavenly Foot of Pain!

The ground within a radius of three or four meters around her split apart with a thunderous crash, sending countless chunks of stone flying.

The eight casino enforcers stood there dumbfounded.

The scene before them had already surpassed the limits of human strength.

"Which casino are you from?"

Natsume covered his nose and mouth with his hand as he asked.

Although Tsunade had controlled her strength and kept the attack from affecting him, there was no controlling the dust it kicked up.

"Gunma Casino!" the enforcer answered at top speed.

"What's the owner's name? What's his background?"

"The owner is Morikawa. He was originally a thug, but later joined Gunma Company and opened this casino."

"I see."

Natsume waved his hand and said, "You can leave."

Tsunade was somewhat stunned and asked, "You're just letting them go?"

"They're only ordinary enforcers. They're of no use."

Natsume explained, "I'm more interested in Gunma Company. Since they made the first move against us, we don't need to play nice either. I have an idea: bring the company under our control."

Although he had used Wood Clone, under normal circumstances, ninjas would only assume it was an ordinary Clone Technique, let alone these enforcers.

Wood Style would not be exposed.

Tsunade stared blankly at him.

If not for his seven-year-old appearance, she really would have thought Natsume was an adult.

"You want to open a casino?" Tsunade asked.

"No."

Natsume shook his head and said, "I want to protect a casino."

"...?"

Tsunade realized she could not keep up with his train of thought.

"A single casino is too limited in scope. I want to consolidate all the casinos and pursue greater profits."

Natsume wanted to become the underground emperor of Tanzaku Street.

This had already gone beyond a ninja's way of thinking.

It took Tsunade quite a while to digest his words before she finally reacted.

She did not know how to evaluate the idea.

As ninjas, they would never engage in production or business.

Their only way to make money was through missions.

It could only be said that they had not read enough books.

If it were Natsume, he could think of a thousand ways to make more money than through missions.

And none of them required risking his life or working himself to the bone.

Natsume had always felt that the world of Naruto was far too twisted.

Ninjas with the power to destroy heaven and earth actually submitted to daimyos and nobles.

They were even treated like dogs and ordered around for the sake of missions.

That included the Akatsuki Organization.

It was simply absurd.

What was even more absurd was that ninjas actually took pride in this.

Natsume could not understand it, but he was deeply shocked.

"How do you plan to do it?"

Tsunade did not think for long.

When it came to choosing between Gunma Company and Natsume, she had no need to hesitate.

As for whether his methods resembled those of a ninja, what did it matter?

"Set unified standards, add more games, improve the service, and collect franchise and revenue-sharing fees."

From Natsume's perspective, the casinos on Tanzaku Street were like shady internet cafés. Their environments were filthy and chaotic, and they only offered a few games.

After taking control of Gunma Company, he planned to establish modern casinos and seize the market through high-quality service.

The remaining casinos would either be forced to follow suit and copy him or unite to eliminate him.

But he was also willing to offer them a third path: franchising.

Tsunade was left speechless with astonishment.

This method was truly unheard of.

But on closer thought, it made quite a bit of sense and seemed feasible.

"I can't do this alone. I need your help, Sis."

Natsume raised his head, his face filled with expectation.

Although he had only come up with the idea on a whim, it was indeed very profitable.

After all, Gunma Company had provoked him first.

It's only reasonable for me to retaliate, right?

Besides, once he had money, there were many things he could do.

For example, he could hire ninjas to rescue Karin and her mother.

Tsunade was actually feeling rather conflicted.

Natsume had shown only a little of his ability today, yet it had still left her shaken.

Not even seasoned merchants who had spent years in business could have thought of such a method.

But fortunately, Natsume was hers now.

Tsunade bent down and picked him up, saying, "No problem. Whatever you need, Sis will give you."

Oh.

That sentence had quite the rich-lady flavor to it.

Natsume turned his head slightly, allowing him to see the First Hokage's Necklace.

So white.

He did not hold back either and leaned closer.

The fight just now had indeed left him somewhat tired.

His face brushed against bare skin, the sensation like the finest silk.

Before long, Natsume began to feel sleepy.

After all, he had a child's body.

And using Chakra was the same as expending physical energy.

After walking for a while, Tsunade felt rhythmic breathing continuously brushing against the necklace and the surrounding skin.

She lowered her head and saw that Natsume had already fallen asleep.