Gambling with you? Why would I need to cheat?

"Brat, what's with that look in your eyes? Believe it or not, I'll beat you to death!"

Tsunade clenched her fist, her eyes unfriendly.

"Ahem, Lady Tsunade, your eyes don't look like those of someone who wants to learn how to guard against cheating."

Shizune stepped in kindly to defuse the situation.

She had said things like this many times and didn't care in the slightest if Tsunade got angry.

Tsunade glanced at her, then looked at Kyoichi again. Noticing that their gazes were nearly identical, she lowered her fist and snorted. "Gambling is a sacred undertaking. Cheating is an insult to my character."

"I believe that."

Kyoichi returned the cards to Shizune and agreed without batting an eye.

Tsunade's expression improved.

She smiled and said, "Still, although I don't cheat, I can observe other people. If some blind fool cheats in front of me, couldn't I catch him and make him pay me enough to help repay my debts?"

"..."

Shizune stared at Tsunade in astonishment. She thought for several seconds but couldn't find a flaw in that logic.

However.

The next moment, Kyoichi said disdainfully, "Aren't you overthinking it? With your luck, anyone who knows your name wouldn't dare cheat in front of you."

"Brat, are you looking for a fight?"

Boom!

Part of the mountain wall beside the road cracked beneath one punch.

Tsunade's expression turned hostile.

What did he mean by that...

That she didn't need to cheat?

That she could earn all her money with her eyes closed?

This brat had provoked her gambling skills time and again. He clearly didn't take her title of Sannin seriously at all.

"If you don't believe me, we can make a bet. Something simple—guessing the total on cards."

Kyoichi reached out and took the deck back.

"Hmph, brat. I'll let you know that Princess Tsunade's money isn't so easy to win."

Right there beside the road.

The two began dealing, leaving Shizune dumbfounded.

What kind of development was this?

She stared at the game and saw that Kyoichi hadn't even looked at his cards. Instead, he placed the two facedown on the ground.

After looking at his cards, Tsunade smiled.

"You're not going to look?"

"It's a guaranteed win. There's no need to look. I can just turn them over later."

"..."

Damn it!

Tsunade's mouth twitched. She wanted nothing more than to punch this brat to death.

He was infuriating.

She then gestured for Kyoichi to turn them over.

Kyoichi flipped over the two cards. Tsunade glanced at her hand...

Then she silently covered the cards and returned them to the pile.

"Again!"

"..."

"Again!"

"..."

"Damn it, are you cheating?"

Three rounds.

Kyoichi hadn't looked at his cards at all, yet he always ended up with a higher total than Tsunade. This made her burn with embarrassment and rage.

This brat was cheating.

It definitely wasn't her problem!

"Heh, do I need to? Besides, you're a Sannin. If I were cheating, wouldn't you be able to tell?"

Kyoichi laughed.

That was how gambling went for someone cursed with bad luck. She always suspected that other people were cheating, when in reality she was simply unlucky.

"Impossible!"

Tsunade's expression shifted unpredictably.

Kyoichi stood up and said, "This is boring. Shizune, play a few rounds with Lady Tsunade."

"Me? I don't know how..."

Shizune looked blank.

"What does that matter? You're playing with Lady Tsunade. You don't need to know how."

"???"

Tsunade tilted her head, her beautiful face filled with murderous intent.

Shizune broke into a cold sweat.

She really started playing.

A moment later...

"I'm done. This is boring!"

Tsunade threw the cards aside.

She had lost all five rounds.

The key point was...

Her opponent didn't even know how to play. After drawing cards, she had to show them to Tsunade every time so Tsunade could determine who had the higher total. Yet she still lost every round. It was unbelievably infuriating!

"See? Wasn't I right, Lady Tsunade? In my opinion, you can catch people cheating if you want, but you just shouldn't gamble yourself. Otherwise, who would need to cheat when betting against you?"

"..."

That made sense!

After losing money, couldn't she just watch from the side and catch people cheating?

Not only could she extort a sum from them, the casino would even have to thank her!

Of course.

It would be even better if the casino was secretly cheating. Then she could extort the casino directly.

Tsunade was devout about gambling and disdained doing anything underhanded, but these things weren't gambling. They were methods of making money to repay her debts.

Brilliant!

She was delighted, completely forgetting what Kyoichi's words implied.

Bad luck?

Wasn't that common knowledge?

Tsunade herself knew that her luck at gambling was bizarre. If she really won, she would instead have to worry.

When gambling outside, besides satisfying her own preferences, another reason was to use gambling to find out whether the people she cared about were safe.

So far.

She hadn't won a single time since leaving the village.

"By the way, are there any other ways to make money and avoid debt collectors?"

Tsunade's eyes lit up.

This brat seemed uninterested in such unorthodox methods, but he actually knew quite a lot.

Kyoichi fell silent for a moment before saying, "Have you ever considered... raising a pet?"

"A pet? Why would we raise one? We can't even feed ourselves."

Shizune spoke pitifully.

They truly couldn't eat their fill.

They would finally manage to earn some money, but it wouldn't last more than a few days before Tsunade gambled it away. The money for their daily needs now was all earned by Shizune through Medical Ninjutsu.

"Idiot! A pet is also property. If someone comes to demand money, I can give them the pet to settle the debt. Then I can have it come running back. That's right, it's perfect! Although the pet would need to be trained first. Ideally, it should know chakra..."

Tsunade's mind was nimble, and she quickly came up with an entire plan.

The Sannin were all clever people.

Kyoichi nodded, while also feeling that something was strange.

This development...

Hadn't he been trying to persuade her not to gamble?

Forget it.

He couldn't persuade her.

After all, Tsunade didn't gamble simply for the sake of gambling.

He sighed.

Just then, the system notification sounded.

Kyoichi froze for a moment.

He summoned the system.

There was still one unread entry in the quest records.

This was the reward from the mission after Shisui and the others completed their practical training.

[Completed 'Practical Combat' and 'Will of Fire' instruction]

[Rating: Excellent]

[Reward: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique]

However.

The next entry left him speechless for a moment.

[Completed 'Cheating' and 'Debt Repayment' instruction]

[Rating: Good]

[Reward: Body Disturbance Charge]

That worked too?

This technique was quite practical.

All right. Although the subject he had taught was a little strange...

He glanced at Tsunade and sighed inwardly.

Tsunade stood by the railing, gazing into the distance. Suddenly, she sighed and said, "Brat, if life in the village becomes difficult for you in the future, feel free to come find me... Just don't die!"

"Don't worry. I understand."

Kyoichi waved his hand.

He naturally understood what Tsunade meant.

Konoha seemed harmonious on the surface, and the Senju Clan had made great contributions to Konoha, but that wasn't the whole truth. Leaving aside Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo seemed to be suppressing and keeping watch over the Senju Clan in secret.

Tsunade understood all of this. She simply didn't say it.

Now that Kyoichi had awakened the Senju physique and become a Jonin, if he earned military merits and increased his prestige in a future war, he might not be without a chance to contend for the position of Fourth Hokage.

But.

Would Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo agree?

Tsunade felt...

It was unlikely.

That old man didn't truly regard Kyoichi as one of his own. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to arrange for her to meet Kyoichi.

She patted Kyoichi on the shoulder and said, "You count as my little brother too. With me protecting you, as long as you don't defect, no one will dare say a word if you leave the village."

"If that day comes... I will."