Negotiations Break Down, Prepare for Assault

The pre-flop round of betting had already pushed the pot to over 8,000 yen, with a total of four players calling in. The situation was extremely unfavorable for Tsunade.

Once a large number of players enter the pot, any kind of freak hand can hit. Not to mention pocket deuces; even pocket aces, which have the highest win rate in heads-up play, are just waiting to die in a multi-way pot.

The three cards on the flop were the 10 of clubs, jack of diamonds, and queen of hearts—a broadway straight board.

The player before Tsunade raised another 12,000 yen, which already exceeded the current pot—a very heavy raise.

Seeing the raise, Tsunade pushed a stack of chips in without a second thought. A true gambling addict never looks at the community cards; they just go for it!

Uchiha Mai could only exclaim in awe. This momentum was truly bold; she was playing a pair of 2s with the intensity of a 10-J-Q-K-A straight.

"Big Sister, with a 10-J-Q straight on the board, what are you using to call someone's overbet?

The player before you raised 10 times the big blind pre-flop and then made an overbet post-flop. Their hole cards are likely AK, AA, KK, or a pair higher than 10s.

Conservatively estimating, they are currently holding a pair with a straight draw, or perhaps they've already formed the straight. With just a pair of 2s, what are you calling an overbet with?"

Uchiha Mai leaned into Tsunade's ear, whispering behind his hand. Because he was young and handsome, Tsunade, who was always carefree, didn't pay much mind to it.

"Haha, kid, I see you don't understand at all."

Tsunade slapped Uchiha Mai on the back of the head, beaming with delight: "I have a pocket pair, and there are still two cards to come. I still have a high probability of hitting three-of-a-kind."

Uchiha Mai: "..."

Anyone betting on three-of-a-kind on a straight board must have something wrong with their brain. Even if you hit the set, it wouldn't beat their straight.

Unless the last two cards dealt you a full house, there was no way to win against the opponent.

"Besides, this guy has been eyeing me all night and has won a lot of money from me. I feel like he hasn't hit anything at all and is purely bluffing.

I'm going to catch his bluff and vent my frustration!"

Tsunade pulled Uchiha Mai over and muttered a few more words.

Uchiha Mai: "..."

This woman was beyond saving. To catch a bluff, you need to have a hand yourself. Using a pair of 2s to catch a bluff—the odds are high that your hand won't even be bigger than their bluffing hand by the end. What are you even trying to catch?

The "fat sheep" had made up her mind, and Uchiha Mai no longer wanted to persuade her. After all, they had just met; overstepping boundaries is a major taboo.

On the subsequent turn and river, the 6 of hearts and 7 of spades were dealt, respectively, doing absolutely nothing to improve Tsunade's hand strength.

The opponent continued to raise 30,000 and 90,000 yen after the turn and river, with each raise being roughly equivalent to the total pot size at the time.

Right until the final stage, Tsunade never folded, calling all the way like a total fish, full of confidence that she was catching the opponent's bluff.

Then she lost to the opponent's AK straight, losing 140,000 yen in a single hand.

When the opponent saw Tsunade's 2-2 hole cards, he was stunned. Daring to call a heavy bet on a straight board with those cards—the "fat sheep" title was well-deserved.

In the following few hands, Tsunade played much more cautiously, likely because losing 140,000 at once stung a bit. Even so, due to her terrible play, she still lost another 70,000 or 80,000 yen.

"I'm done playing!"

Tsunade put on a sour face, tossed her last chip to the dealer, picked up her bottle of sake, and stood up to push through the crowd, grumbling: "My luck is bad today. I'll play again tomorrow."

Uchiha Mai: "..."

This isn't bad luck; you're losing money through sheer talent.

The onlookers all felt a sense of regret. They had arrived late today and hadn't managed to get a seat at the table with the "fat sheep," and now they couldn't even watch the beautiful woman anymore.

Seeing Tsunade stand up and leave the table, Namikaze Minato finally approached and greeted her: "Lady Tsunade."

"Hmm? It's little Minato."

Tsunade only then noticed Master Minato. She patted his chest and praised: "Tsk tsk, it's been a few years, and you've grown so big. Your chest muscles are quite solid.

What brings you to Tanzaku Town? Aren't you afraid that Kushina will find out you're at a casino and break your legs?"

With two thumping sounds, Minato nearly coughed up blood; those two slaps didn't have much less force than a bear's paw.

"Cough, cough..."

Clearing his throat, Master Minato replied: "Lady Tsunade, Kushina knows I am in Tanzaku Town.

The Hokage learned that you had appeared in Tanzaku Town and specifically ordered me to lead a squad to bring you back to Konoha."

The three-year deadline has arrived; Namikaze Minato, envoy of the Konoha Dragon King, pays his respects to the Dragon King! .jpg

"I don't want to return to Konoha right now."

Tsunade flatly refused, then sized Minato up again and teased: "Not bad, you've already become a captain.

Where are your squad members? Are they afraid I'll run away, so they've already surrounded this casino tight?

Are they just waiting for your command to rush out and form the Four Violet Flames Formation to take me down on the spot?"

"Lady Tsunade is joking again."

Master Minato pointed to Might Guy and Hatake Kakashi behind him, then pointed to Uchiha Mai, who was following Tsunade, and introduced them: "These are my three team members.

Might Guy, Hatake Kakashi, and Uchiha Mai."

Oh?

Tsunade scanned the three youngsters casually and roughly identified each of their names. The one with silver hair was definitely Hatake Kakashi, looking exactly like his father, Hatake Sakumo.

The thick-browed bowl cut definitely didn't belong to an Uchiha; as arrogant as that red-eyed clan was, their overall looks were always top-tier.

"The Uchiha clan really is cunning, learning how to deceive people at such a young age."

Tsunade leaned over, pressed her hand onto Uchiha Mai's head, and sneered, "Since you know who I am, you still dare to call me sister. You little brat, you'll definitely be a menace when you grow up."

Uchiha Mai spread his hands and said helplessly, "I didn't call you wrong. Just looking at your appearance, Lady Tsunade isn't much older than me. Even considering your real age, at most you're only a Master Minato older than me. With such a small age gap, I think calling you sister is perfectly reasonable."

This old hag is truly hard to please. In Shippuden, Naruto called you granny and you weren't happy, and now I call you sister and you're still not happy. Sooner or later, I'll make you cry and beg to call me brother!

"Fine, suit yourself."

Tsunade waved her hand, stood up, and walked out of the casino with a nonchalant air. Leaving behind a dashing silhouette, she said lazily, "In any case, forget about returning to Konoha. Tanzaku Town is much more interesting than Konoha. Everyone in the casino is talented and speaks so well; I absolutely love it here. You can go back and tell the old man that I haven't had enough fun yet. Or, beat me and drag me back."

Negotiation failed, preparing for an assault.jpg

Uchiha Mai was just about to rush forward and attack—planning to "accidentally" cut his arm during the fight to trigger Tsunade's Hemophobia and take the chance to knock her out and bring her back to Konoha—when Master Minato grabbed him by the collar.

"What are you doing?" Master Minato was shocked. Are kids these days really this brave, daring to make a move on one of the Sannin?

"I wanted to try persuading Lady Tsunade a bit more."

Uchiha Mai realized then that it really wasn't a good idea to make a move in front of everyone. There was no guarantee that spies from other ninja villages weren't lurking nearby; Tsunade's Hemophobia could not be exposed.