"Ding ding ding ding ding ding~" A pleasant electronic tune rang out.
"Double sevens!" the machine announced.
On the brick-sized screen, the glowing light finally stopped on a smaller 77 icon.
Two columns of numbers appeared in the two rectangular boxes: 2 and 0.
"Ah! I lost again!" Young Tsunade cried, covering her face.
Ever since the Battle of the Valley of the End, Senju Hashirama had been gravely wounded and was nearing death. Yet in the final stretch of his life, he had inexplicably become obsessed with rolling dice.
As if fate had arranged it, the moment Tsunade first touched the dice while following her grandfather, she had fallen in love with the devilish game.
But back then, it had mostly been a child's interest in something new.
After Hashirama died, the simple game became Tsunade's way of remembering her grandfather. From then on, she couldn't stop.
"Xian Yu... could I have another recharge card...? Please..." Tsunade tugged at Xian Yu's clothes, pressing her hands together as she pleaded pitifully.
At that moment, Xian Yu felt a deep sense of guilt. Had I really pushed Lady Tsunade straight into the abyss...?
Was this really the same violent girl who was domineering and unreasonable at the drop of a hat? She was practically a little lamb that had been tamed.
Feeling guilty, Xian Yu made a rare show of generosity and tossed her ten cards.
They were just ordinary little paper cards, but each one had a beautifully printed character illustration. A strip of scratch-off coating covered the back of each card.
Scratching off the coating revealed an eighteen-digit number. That was the recharge card's password.
Above the scratch-off strips, the ten cards were labeled '02,' '03,' '04,' and so on, all the way to '11.'
They were the first batch of recharge cards, made by several assistants at Hiruko's experimental base.
"Wow! One, two, three... ten. I love you so much, Xian Yu!" Little Tsunade carefully counted the cards on her fingers, then suddenly rose onto her tiptoes and kissed Xian Yu on the left cheek.
As Xian Yu felt the lingering dampness on her cheek and tried to find something to say, she realized that Little Tsunade's attention had already shifted to the recharge card numbered 2, which featured the Female Mage.
The Female Mage wore a luxurious dark-red mage robe with gold trim. She held aloft a staff that looked as if it had been woven from tree roots, while her left hand was held out before her chest, a blazing ball of fire floating in her palm.
Tsunade's face was bright with excitement and anticipation, her eyes sparkling as her little hands trembled slightly while she opened the recharge screen.
Fully focused, she carefully entered the eighteen digits shown on the card, pressing the number keys on the brick-sized device one at a time with her tiny fingers.
A minute later, when a small, pale finger pressed the confirm button, the recharge was complete.
Each of the ten recharge cards was worth 1,000 coins, for a total of 10,000 coins.
The two numbers in the rectangular boxes changed from 2 and 0 to 0 and 2, then from 0 and 2 to 0 and 1002, and then to 0 and 2002. Each successful recharge added 1,000 to the second number. In the end, it read 0 and 10002.
The first box showed the prize money after a win. Each time she won, she could choose to transfer the prize into the current balance on the right, or gamble on whether the next result would be higher or lower.
The second box showed her current balance.
"Ding ding ding ding ding ding~" The devilishly catchy electronic tune rang out again...
"Little Orange."
"Little Apple."
"..."
Xian Yu was speechless. She knew that Tsunade lost every time she gambled, so she had set her starting balance at 5,000 coins—fifty times the normal trial balance!
Even so, Tsunade had lost it all in no time. With no other choice, Xian Yu had given her the recharge card numbered 1 and taught her how to use it.
Then she had lost it all again, leading to the scene just witnessed.
"Ding ding ding ding ding ding~"
"Little Bell."
"Little Watermelon."
It was downright bizarre. Every time Tsunade bet everything, the lights always landed on a small fruit with a prize multiplier of just two.
And whenever there was an icon she hadn't bet on... that round almost always stopped on it.
Anyone else would have quit by now! What the hell kind of game was this?
But Tsunade was different. The more she lost, the more excited she got...
Even when she bet a total of 100 coins and won only a Little Orange, earning 20 coins and losing 80, she would still happily continue...
"Xian Yu, this is so much fun! I've never won prizes so many times before!" Tsunade said, keeping her eyes on the screen as she tugged Xian Yu over to a stone bench by the roadside.
Damn, when did I become Xian Yu-chan? Hmph, gamblers... Xian Yu felt like throwing up blood.
That line sounded just like something a certain fox would say: "Hmph, men..."
The expressions were practically identical.
"Ever since Grandpa Hashirama died, I haven't won again... But when I played dice with him, I always won..." As she spoke, Tsunade's mood sank.
That was because Hashirama was letting you win! Xian Yu silently grumbled.
"Xian Yu, go out with me." Tsunade suddenly seemed to make up her mind and reached out to tug at Xian Yu's clothes again.
Xian Yu stared at Little Tsunade's serious, nervous expression, then mercilessly slapped her hand away and asked suspiciously, "You're not trying to get me to give you recharge cards forever, are you? I'm telling you... don't even think about it..."
"No, no! Xian Yu... I really like you. I like you so much. Don't be so heartless..." Tsunade looked utterly pitiful, tears beginning to well in her eyes.
She looked heartbroken.
"Boo-boo-boo, boo-boo-boo." Suddenly, the machine emitted a sound unlike its usual tune.
The light on the screen landed on a red Four of a Kind icon. The lights began flashing wildly, and the entire brick-sized device shook violently.
"Boo-boo! Red Combo! The train is coming!" the machine continued to announce.
The shaking stopped, and the lights steadied. Three linked lights appeared, like three train cars, and began moving across the 24 icons.
"Wow! It's the train the rules mentioned!" Little Tsunade gripped the device tightly. There wasn't a trace of heartbreak left on her face; her eyes sparkled as she stared tensely at the screen.
The three train cars slowly came to a stop on a big apple, a blue Four of a Kind icon, and a Little Watermelon.
The machine sounded again: "Blue Combo! Starting the bonus lights."
Tsunade grew even more excited. Her gaze didn't budge, her little face full of nervous anticipation and joy.
Hmph, gamblers... Xian Yu recalled a joke from her past life: I almost believed you, and then you show me this...
This time, Tsunade had bet all ten coins. The train had triggered the bonus lights, so this round really was going to pay out big.
Then four lights came on across the screen, each landing on a big apple icon.
"Four of a Kind! Xian Yu, it's just like the rules said: the train came, it triggered the bonus lights, and now there's Four of a Kind! I'm so lucky!" Tsunade trembled with excitement. The sight was even a little alluring... yes, the kind of trembling you're thinking of.
The way a child's hands tremble with excitement as they accept a beloved toy.
Xian Yu stared blankly at Little Tsunade. Like this, Tsunade was far cuter than her usual violent self. That innocent smile and excited expression made her look just like a child who had gotten her favorite toy.
"Something's wrong!" Xian Yu's pupils contracted sharply as she suddenly thought of something. Her face filled with alarm.
Tsunade had only won a handful of times in her entire life... Xian Yu vaguely remembered that every time Tsunade won, something terrible happened...
The first time was the day Hashirama died. Tsunade won at the gambling house.
The second time was the day the Land of Fire's daimyo died. She won at the gambling house again.
The third time was the day Uzumaki Mito passed away...
The fourth time...
"Nothing bad is going to happen today, is it?" Xian Yu felt a little uneasy...
Before you continue