Yakushi Nonō

Everyone present fell silent at those words.

Looking at Akiyama Shun's young, innocent face, they were at a loss for words. For a moment, no one knew what expression to make.

"You're betting against him, so what am I supposed to do?"

Tsunade looked at Akiyama Shun in confusion.

"Give me a wip—cough, cough. Lady Tsunade, why don't you go back and get some rest? You've had too much to drink."

Shizune shot Akiyama Shun a grateful look. Before Tsunade could reply, she hurriedly pulled her toward the exit.

After Shizune dragged Tsunade out of the casino, everyone's gaze fell on Akiyama Shun.

"How old are you, kid?"

"We're gambling either way. What does my age matter?"

Seeing the confidence on Akiyama Shun's face, everyone present burst out laughing.

The absurd spectacle attracted even more of the casino's patrons. Some stopped gambling and gathered around to watch.

"Hahahaha! Fine! You're up! But let me warn you, don't you go crying if you lose too much. Even if you call your parents, it won't do you any good."

After a bald man finished speaking, arrogant laughter filled the casino.

Akiyama Shun said nothing. He simply calmly arranged the gambling table.

Was he lucky?

Not a chance!

He was the kind of unlucky bastard who always hit the pity system when pulling cards, and who could crack a double-yolked black egg just by adding an egg to his instant noodles.

But gambling wasn't about luck.

After all, he'd once been a champion at Dou Dizhu, and he'd practiced rolling dice, too. As long as neither side cheated and it came down to skill, he was confident he could beat anyone in the Ninja World!

If they dared to cheat, then he'd have no choice but to show them just how terrifying a ninja could be.

Tsunade had been devastated after her younger brother, Nawaki, and her lover, Kato Dan, died. She'd completely given up on life, using the thrill of gambling and the pain of losing money to numb her emotional wounds.

Otherwise, even an ordinary Genin could spot the little tricks at this casino, let alone someone with Tsunade's insight. She just couldn't be bothered to call them out.

He'd never relied on gambling to make money and get by before because he'd been maintaining an image. Now that he'd established himself as a talented civilian, there was no need to keep pretending.

Outside the casino.

Tsunade and Shizune were still struggling against each other.

"Let me go in! Leaving a child in there by himself is ridiculous!"

Shizune and Tonton clung tightly to Tsunade's legs, stopping her from going inside.

"Just come back with me first!"

As the two of them struggled, the casino doors opened.

The instant they swung open, a crowd of gamblers came rushing out, wailing as if there were something terrifying inside.

At the very back of the crowd, Akiyama Shun walked up to them with a large sack slung over his shoulder. He casually dropped it on the ground.

"Lady Tsunade, you can go back now. I won it all back for you."

The sack opened to reveal a heap of money.

"???"

What was going on?

Tsunade and Shizune stopped struggling at the same time, staring blankly at Akiyama Shun.

What was this?

Had Akiyama Shun really won all the money back in the short time they'd spent struggling with each other?

"Wait, I didn't even bring this much money with me!"

Tsunade rummaged through the sack, then looked at Akiyama Shun in confusion.

She'd brought only a million, but there was roughly five million in the sack!

He'd multiplied it by five!

"Oh, I won a little extra while I was at it. By the way, Lady Tsunade, don't gamble anymore. Everyone at that table was in on it. They were deliberately fleecing you."

Even though he knew Tsunade had already figured it out, Akiyama Shun still reminded her.

Shizune stared at all that money and listened to Akiyama Shun, utterly stunned.

After being with Tsunade for so long, all she'd ever associated with gambling was losing money.

So how had he won a little extra on the side?

Was winning at gambling really that easy?

Tsunade walked up to Akiyama Shun and pulled him into her arms.

A direct hit from her chest!

"Kid, your name's Akiyama Shun, right? Shizune's told me about you. She said you did really well in school. I didn't know you were talented at gambling, too!"

"How about this? Come with me from now on. Whenever I've lost all my money and don't have anything left to gamble with, you can go win me some more!"

"Then I won't have to keep scamming people to get money! And I won't need that Jiraiya guy to pay off my debts anymore!"

Shizune was stunned. What was this supposed to mean?

Why go about it the long way?

Why not just have Akiyama Shun gamble and win money for her?

Wait!

Why did she have to gamble at all?

And how could Tsunade say she scammed people without the slightest hint of embarrassment—or even bother to lower her voice?

Watching Tsunade hug Akiyama Shun, Shizune felt mortified.

What kind of person asked an upstanding young boy to gamble and win money just so she could lose it?

Akiyama Shun couldn't help laughing at what Tsunade said.

When Tsunade heard him laugh, she laughed even louder. Then, in the middle of laughing, her head suddenly lolled to one side.

She'd fallen asleep.

"Um... sorry for the trouble. I'll take Lady Tsunade home."

Shizune's face was bright red. Too embarrassed to look at Akiyama Shun, she felt like her toes were building a three-bedroom apartment.

"It's fine, I'll help you. It's not like I have anything else to do."

Akiyama Shun chuckled, then helped Shizune carry Tsunade home.

Tonton took care of the sack of money.

Don't let the Thunder Pig's small size fool you. She was still a summoning beast, and she was pretty strong.

By the time they carried Tsunade home, it was already night.

"I'll head back and get some rest."

After Shizune thanked him, Akiyama Shun used the Body Flicker Technique to return home in a flash.

Today, he'd triggered a side quest and raised Tsunade's affection, too. Looked like luck was on his side.

Time for a pull!

It had been two months since his last one.

Akiyama Shun now had [3560] coins!

That was right, enough for a full twenty-pull!

Let's go!

When the card-drawing animation ended, the rewards appeared before Akiyama Shun.

[Divine Weapon]

[Kusanagi Sword Fragment x1 (1/100)]

[Summoning]

[Enma Fragment x1 (1/100)]

[S-Rank Ninja]

[Tsunade Fragment x8 (8/100)]

[B-Rank Ninja]

[Kakashi Hatake (Young) Fragment x20 (20/40)]

[Haku Fragment x18 (18/40)]

[Kimimaro Fragment x8 (8/40)]

[C-Rank Ninja]

[Nonō Yakushi]

[...]

His luck really was pretty good!

He'd finally gotten fragments for a legendary weapon and a summoning beast!

He'd only gotten one of each, but getting them at all was a good start!

He'd gotten a good haul of ninja fragments, too: eight fragments for the S-rank Tsunade!

Kakashi and Haku's B-rank fragments had continued to accumulate steadily, and now he'd gotten some Kimimaro fragments, too.

Kimimaro was just as powerful. Like Haku, he had the Kekkei Genkai called Shikotsumyaku.

And there were a number of C-rank ninja fragments.

Still, the biggest prize this time was the complete C-rank ninja card!

Yakushi Nonō!

She wasn't much of a fighter, but she was a medical ninja!

She knew the Chakra Scalpel and the A-rank healing jutsu, Mystical Palm Technique. Akiyama Shun might not have had enough chakra for other A-rank jutsu, but Mystical Palm Technique was different.

The most special thing about the jutsu was that it adjusted the amount of chakra used according to the severity of the illness. If too much chakra was applied, it could even damage the patient's normal circulatory system, making it perfect for Akiyama Shun!

Tsunade was a medical ninja, too. With this card, raising his affection with Tsunade would be much easier from now on!