Slug Sage

Tsunade came out of the small casino with a dark face. Night had already fallen.

"Damn it, the goddess of luck didn't favor me again."

She had only lost a few million over most of the day. Just a drizzle, nothing worth mentioning.

Rubbing her still-empty stomach, Tsunade finally remembered that she had skipped dinner.

Luckily, she had only brought a few million. If she had brought more, she would not even have dinner money left.

Reeking of smoke and sweat, she thought of her grandmother's disgust for gambling. Going home meant getting scolded, so she could only head for the Hatake Clan.

As she walked, she kept thinking back. Why had she hesitated several times? If she had bet big on those rounds, she would have won.

Her mind was still full of the sound of dice when she arrived at the Hatake Clan's gate.

The sharp-eyed butler appeared before Tsunade in no time.

"Tsunade-sama, the Second Young Master is having dinner. This humble servant will take you there."

"Much appreciated."

That finally pulled Tsunade back to her senses, and she answered politely.

Then she followed the butler toward the dining room.

"Second Young Master, Tsunade-sama has arrived."

Before the butler even entered the dining room, his voice had already reached Kawafune's ears.

At the moment, he was drinking Sauce Fragrance baijiu with Sakumo, comforting his depressed older brother, who had spent the entire day without learning the Flying Thunder God.

He drained his cup and immediately stood.

After straightening the cushion beside him, Tsunade entered his field of vision.

"Tsunade, come sit."

His mind was clear and his movements gentlemanly, proving that the drinking had not gone on for long.

"Alright."

Tsunade walked past the butler in front of her and sat down.

A new set of tableware was brought before her.

"Nawaki went back?"

Not seeing her younger brother, Tsunade asked.

"He left before dinner."

"Where have you been?"

Kawafune caught a faint strange smell—the scent of smoke on Tsunade.

"I played a few rounds."

As she spoke, Tsunade had already poured herself a drink.

Kawafune did not even need to look at her expression to know the result. Could a legendary fat sheep possibly win and still earn that title?

Without bringing up the painful subject, Kawafune first served Tsunade some food. Drinking on an empty stomach hurt the stomach.

Sakumo raised his cup toward Tsunade without saying anything.

The two seemed to have developed a hint of mutual understanding during their last drinking session.

After eating a little, Tsunade raised her cup and clinked it against Sakumo's from afar before draining it in one gulp.

Kawafune was dumbfounded. What kind of move was that?

"Eat something first. Don't rush."

He gave Tsunade a large chopstickful of Spiced Beef. One look at her told him she had not eaten dinner.

"I lost three million."

"When will the goddess of luck finally favor me?"

Tsunade exposed her own embarrassment and drank another full cup alone.

Sakumo's eye twitched. Even if the Hatake Clan was wealthy, who could withstand losses like that?

"Ah, it's only a little money. Just treat it as entertainment."

"Besides, once the hospital opens, are you afraid we'll lack money?"

Kawafune could no longer remain indifferent and began comforting her.

"Right, the hospital."

"I'll find a Construction Team tomorrow. I want the best one."

Tsunade seemed to have found a goal. Only by increasing her income could she support her grand gambling ambitions.

Scratching the back of his head, Kawafune saw through her thoughts perfectly. He only hoped this spendthrift woman would not gamble away the hospital itself.

"There's no rush. The hospital won't be that easy to build."

"Hmph."

"Whoever dares to stand in my way, I'll kill them. If they come in pairs, I'll kill them both."

A frighteningly sharp light erupted in Tsunade's eyes. Anyone who blocks my path to wealth dies.

"Well said! Who could ever bully the Hatake Clan?"

"Tsunade, let's have a drink."

Sakumo's blood boiled at those words. This was how his Sister-in-law should be.

Little did he know that the two were not even thinking on the same wavelength.

Only Nayuki and Kawafune, who knew the truth, exchanged helpless glances and took a small sip.

"When do you plan to start construction?"

Kawafune waited until Tsunade swallowed her beef before asking.

Sakumo looked over as well.

"Tomorrow."

Tsunade was already impatient.

"Then we need to make some preparations too."

Kawafune spoke seriously, only to find three pairs of eyes fixed on him.

Who could understand the troubles of being the brains of the group?

"If I'm not mistaken, once construction starts, we'll definitely face obstruction."

"Arrange only a small number of workers first. Don't begin construction on a large scale."

"Respond to all changes by remaining unchanged. We'll deal with any problems as they arise."

After finishing, Kawafune casually drank a cup of wine, enjoying the feeling of being the center of attention.

"That's it?"

Sakumo spoke first, practically about to add, That's all?

Tsunade had also thought Kawafune had some brilliant strategy.

After listening for so long, she had not heard any real point. Suspicion flickered across her face as she looked at Kawafune.

With a guy like this, his children won't be too dumb, right?

Nayuki watched the bewildered pair and could not bear it any longer.

"Right now, the enemy is hidden while we are exposed. Using a small Construction Team will reverse that situation."

"With the strength of you three, do you really need all sorts of flashy schemes?"

"As expected of Big Sister-in-law."

Kawafune and Nayuki exchanged another smile and drank the wine they had just poured.

The Hatake Clan still has intelligent people, after all.

"Ahem, what I meant was that this is already very good."

Sakumo refused to admit that his intelligence was lacking and tried to salvage the situation, but Kawafune and Nayuki did not even look at him.

"That's what I meant too."

Tsunade chimed in. With no other choice, the two drinking companions drained another cup.

Once the serious matters were settled, their moods began to rise under the stimulation of alcohol.

Sakumo was the first to start acting strange.

"Tsunade, I'm telling you, your family's Flying Thunder God is fucking hard to learn."

"I practiced for an entire day and couldn't even teleport as far as it takes to piss."

"Tell me about it. You think I haven't tried?"

"Even with my Grandfather helping me, I couldn't do it."

"So I simply stopped practicing it."

Kawafune had originally wondered how Tsunade could fail to learn Tobirama's technique. It turned out her aptitude was incompatible with it.

Taking advantage of the alcohol, he began asking questions he had never been able to learn from the original story in his previous life.

"Where did your Grandfather learn Sage Art?"

"Shikkotsu Forest."

Tsunade looked perfectly calm. Where else would it have been?

"Then why didn't you learn it?"

Perhaps already drunk, Tsunade bit her finger and slapped it onto the wine table.

"Summoning Jutsu."

After a puff of smoke, a slug the size of a wine jar appeared on the table.

"Slug Sage, please tell him why I don't cultivate Sage Art."

Fortunately, Tsunade still knew her limits and had only summoned such a tiny portion of the Slug Sage's true body.

Otherwise, given the size of the Hatake Clan estate and the Slug Sage's enormous body, there might not have been enough room.

"Alright, little Tsunade."

The Slug Sage was highly adaptable. The moment it appeared, it realized this was merely a simple family dinner rather than a battlefield.

"Other than Hashirama, no one who cultivated the Sage Art of my Shikkotsu Forest has survived."

"Little Tsunade's sensitivity to natural energy is insufficient to support her conversion of Sage Chakra."

The Slug Sage explained in great detail. Put simply, if Tsunade forced herself to practice, she would die.

"I see. Thank you for your guidance, Slug Sage."

Kawafune could only sigh. Asura's reincarnation truly was the darling of the Naruto World.

Hashirama practiced Sage Art as easily as drinking water, while others ended up dead and dismembered trying.