Robbing the Rich to Help the Poor

After running for a while, Qinglong froze and stopped.

That woman had said it would only cost 100 ryo?

In Konoha, that was barely enough to buy a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen and a side dish!

Had the people of the Land of Rain really fallen into such dire straits?

During the Second Shinobi World War, the Land of Rain had become a battlefield for the Five Great Nations. The whole country was ravaged, countless people were killed or injured, and civilians were driven from their homes. The war had left behind countless refugees and orphans.

Even after the war ended, the Land of Rain had remained mired in conflict.

The countless wars had claimed the lives of many men in the Land of Rain. And with the country's scarce agricultural resources, many women had been left with no way to make a living, forcing them into prostitution just to get a meal.

Orphans like Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan had witnessed the cruelty of war firsthand. That was why they had resolved to search for a peaceful world.

But Yahiko had died without fulfilling that wish. Instead, he had left Nagato utterly disillusioned with the world, determined to create a peaceful world himself.

"Ah..."

Qinglong felt a pang of sadness. He let the rain pour over him, but the fine droplets couldn't wash away the sorrow in his heart. Perhaps he was too sentimental, but he couldn't help feeling that maybe he could do something for this world.

A gentleman, poor, cultivated himself; prosperous, helped all under heaven!

He wanted to go back and help that woman, but in the end, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Sigh!"

He turned back with a sigh and headed toward the casino. He no longer felt like wandering around.

By the time he returned, the casino entrance had become lively. Several groups of shinobi were mixed together, fighting one another.

Tsunade stood off to the side with her arms crossed, watching the show with Shizune.

"What's going on?"

Qinglong ran over and asked.

Tsunade smiled. "I owe the casino a debt, and the owner insisted I pay it off with the hovercar. Then a few clans tried to buy the car from me by force. They couldn't agree among themselves, so they started fighting."

Qinglong was speechless. What was all this supposed to mean?

"Don't you dare sell my hovercar!"

"How could I?" Tsunade said firmly. "It's my treasure."

"It's my treasure," Qinglong protested.

"Ah, fine, fine. Your treasure!"

Tsunade waved a hand and muttered under her breath,

"Your treasure's mine, anyway!"

The fight was still going, and no one had managed to come out on top.

Qinglong suddenly came up with an idea. He turned and whispered in Tsunade's ear.

"Teacher, how about we make a deal?"

"We'll go back into the casino. You place a bet, and I'll bet against you. You bet small, and I'll bet big. Then we split the winnings fifty-fifty!"

Tsunade was tempted, but after a moment, she shook her head and refused.

"No way. What kind of gambling is that? There'd be no thrill in it!"

Thrill my ass. You lose every single time. What's thrilling about that?

"Ah! Teacher, just help me out this once!"

"Do you really need money?"

Tsunade turned around with a broad grin, her smile dazzling and bewitching. Had the day finally come when her disciple needed her help?

"Yeah, I need money. So how about we rob the rich to help the poor?"

"Sure!"

Tsunade agreed. How could she refuse when her disciple was in need?

The two of them entered the casino together. The dealer running the table looked torn when he saw them.

Tsunade plopped herself down at the gambling table and boldly bet one ryo. The dealer was furious.

Could she really not afford to lose? What a fat sheep! With a chest like that, why was she too scared to place a bigger bet?

Qinglong immediately bet ten thousand ryo on the opposite outcome.

"Bets are closed! No more bets!"

The dealer called out. Once the gamblers had placed their bets, he lifted the lid.

Tsk! The dealer was devastated. As expected, the fat sheep had lost again—one ryo.

Qinglong, who'd bet the opposite way, won ten thousand ryo!

There were more than two possible outcomes, so Qinglong didn't win every round. Still, he won most of the time!

As Qinglong kept betting bigger and raking in more money, sweat streamed down the dice dealer's face. Finally, when Qinglong had won nearly half the casino's turnover, the dealer couldn't take it anymore!

"Hey, kid! I want to bet against you!"

"Who said I'd bet against you? It's better to share the fun than enjoy it alone. Gambling's more fun with more people!"

"Come on! Let's keep playing!"

The casino owner, who'd been outside fighting over the car, heard what was happening and couldn't take it anymore. He hurried inside.

"You're the brat who's been winning, right? I'll bet against you!"

Qinglong had just won another round. He waved the man away.

"Don't interrupt my gambling!"

"I..."

The furious casino owner snatched up the dice cup, shoved the dealer aside, shook it hard, and slammed it down between himself and Qinglong.

"I'm betting against you!"

Qinglong angrily grabbed the dice cup and smashed it over the casino owner's head. The owner cried out and fell over.

"Bet this, you son of a—!"

Qinglong hurled a string of curses at him, enough to leave the casino owner speechless. He'd realized that the two people in front of him were both shinobi. They were out of his league.

"I...!"

The casino owner couldn't get a word out for a long time. Finally, he roared in fury,

"This casino is closed! We're shutting down!"

As he began ushering out the customers and closing up, Qinglong could only shrug. It looked like he'd cleaned this place out.

Qinglong dragged Tsunade off to find another casino. They went straight to the tables run by the house, placed their bets, and ran off as soon as they'd won.

After winning at several casinos in a row, one of them couldn't accept the loss and tried to start a fight. They nearly got the place smashed up, and the rest of the casinos were so scared that they shut down early.