"Tell me, Tsunade, have you ever thought about becoming Hokage? With your accomplishments, it shouldn't be difficult for you to become Hokage, right?"
Although Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had all made names for themselves on the battlefield in the Land of Rain and been given the title of Konoha's Sannin by Hanzo, in terms of merit, Tsunade was undoubtedly the most accomplished of the three.
Without Tsunade, Konoha could never have won so easily on the battlefield in the Land of Wind.
Only Tsunade could cure Chiyo's poison.
And as a medical ninja, Tsunade had also treated countless wounded on the battlefield, earning herself considerable prestige.
As long as Tsunade wanted to become Hokage, she would have far more supporters than anyone else. Even Sakumo, whose reputation remained intact, probably couldn't compete with her.
Unfortunately, the deaths of her younger brother and lover had left Tsunade with severe psychological trauma and Hemophobia. Then the White Fang incident had finally broken her faith in Konoha, prompting her to leave the village.
In the original story, even the Third Hokage's death hadn't made Tsunade consider returning to Konoha. That showed just how disappointed she was in the village.
Ye Ning naturally knew the answer to his question.
He'd only asked to get Tsunade to open up about what was on her mind.
"Hokage? The Hokage is a piece of garbage. Only an idiot would want to be one."
Tsunade scoffed, though her thoughts had already drifted far away.
She still remembered a boy about Ye Ning's age, standing beneath the sunlight with a confident smile. He had solemnly promised her that one day he would become Hokage. But what had happened in the end?
Not even his whole body had been left behind.
At the thought of the pain Nawaki might have suffered before he died, Tsunade's heart ached.
Seeing her expression, Ye Ning knew she was thinking of Nawaki again. To distract her, he considered his words for a moment, then said:
"How about we make a bet?"
"A bet?"
At the word "bet," Tsunade perked up. She raised an eyebrow and gave Ye Ning a challenging look.
"Go on, what are we betting?"
"We'll bet on whether you become Hokage. I think you can do it."
"Fine, let's bet. You think I can't control myself? If I say I won't become Hokage, then I won't! So, what are we betting?"
Ye Ning wasn't the least bit afraid of a bet he was certain to win.
If he were betting with someone else, he might have held back out of concern for the butterfly effect. But betting with Tsunade...
Heh. How could he possibly lose?
Wait...
Ye Ning suddenly realized there was a problem.
Tsunade's luck at gambling was practically a weapon of causality!
If—if Tsunade really won, wouldn't he have to...?
Ye Ning's mouth twitched. Suddenly, he didn't want to bet with Tsunade anymore.
Tsunade might be betting money or something else, but he was betting his life!
Seeing Ye Ning's expression stiffen, Tsunade seemed like a gambler whose eyes had turned red at the sight of victory. She grew visibly excited.
"Come on, what are we betting?"
"Um... can I take the bet back?"
"No! Today, you're betting whether you like it or not!"
"..."
Ye Ning regretted it.
Why was his mouth so damn reckless?
Great. He'd dug himself a hole and buried himself in it.
"Fine, let's bet! I'm not afraid of you!"
Ye Ning gritted his teeth and made up his mind.
He refused to believe his luck could be that bad!
If he remembered correctly, Tsunade had only won twice in the original story.
Besides, Tsunade was going to become the Fifth Hokage anyway.
With a sure thing like this, how could he not bet?
"Then it's settled. Whoever loses has to grant the winner one request. Sounds fair, right?"
"Tch. What could a brat like you possibly ask me to do?"
When she heard that the stake was such a vague promise, Tsunade immediately lost interest, her face full of disdain.
"..."
Calling me a brat at every turn. That really was annoying!
"Just tell me whether you're betting or not."
"Of course I'm betting."
Tsunade straightened up. Though her face showed nothing but disdain, she readily agreed.
As far as she was concerned, whether she became Hokage was entirely up to her.
If she made up her mind not to become Hokage, it wasn't as if Ye Ning could drag her there against her will.
A half-grown brat like him could be knocked flat with one punch. And he thought he could tie her up and make her Hokage?
She couldn't imagine losing.
She thought that every time.
But this time, she was especially sure.
Gamblers always had that sort of blind confidence.
Both of them thought they had the upper hand and couldn't possibly lose.
"Huh? Wait, shouldn't we set a time limit for the bet? Otherwise, I could keep refusing to become Hokage, and you could keep saying I'll definitely be Hokage someday, then claim you won!"
Tsunade suddenly noticed the loophole. She sat up straight, looking wary.
As though she were afraid Ye Ning might try to weasel out of the bet.
"..."
Good grief!
Could you get the situation straight?
If anyone should be worried about the other person weaseling out, it should be him!
Your sense of honor when it came to gambling...
Never mind. Tsunade had nothing whatsoever to do with the phrase "honorable gambler."
Otherwise, she wouldn't have used the Transformation Technique to trick debt collectors.
You've dodged plenty of debts!
"Twenty-five years. The bet will last for twenty-five years. How does that sound?"
It was the thirty-eighth year of Konoha, and Tsunade wouldn't become the Fifth Hokage until twenty-two years later in the original story. Setting the term at twenty-two years would seem too deliberate. Twenty-five years was just right.
Even if he did nothing and let everything follow the original timeline, Tsunade was bound to become Hokage.
"Twenty-five years? Well, it sounds a bit long, but fine. Let's do that."
Tsunade didn't mind.
Besides, she couldn't care less who became Hokage.
She could wait twenty-five years.
"Just sitting around is so boring. Xiao Ning, have a drink with me!"
"Hey, Tsunade, you're encouraging a minor to drink. That's not right."
"Tch, what a boring brat. If you won't drink, I'll drink by myself!"
"..."
When Tsunade brought out a whole box of liquor from who knew where, Ye Ning felt a shiver of alarm.
Had this crazy woman bought all the liquor the villagers of Konoha had brewed this year?
There was enough here to kill someone!
Trying to get Tsunade to drink less was a thankless task, and he wasn't about to do it.
If he made her mad, she might punch him again. It just wasn't worth it.
At most, he'd show some mercy and drag the drunk Tsunade to bed.
That was all!
Before you continue