Flying Dragon Riding on the Face

"Tell me, Tsunade, have you ever considered becoming Hokage? With your achievements, it shouldn't be difficult for you to attain that position, right?"

Although Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru all rose to fame on the battlefield of the Land of Rain and were bestowed the title of Konoha's Sannin by Hanzo, in terms of actual merit, Tsunade was undoubtedly at the forefront of the three.

It could be said that without Tsunade, Konoha would never have won so easily on the battlefield of the Land of Wind.

Only Tsunade could neutralize the poisons of Chiyo.

Not to mention that as a medical ninja, Tsunade had saved countless wounded soldiers on the front lines, long since accumulating immense prestige.

It is fair to say that if Tsunade wanted to become Hokage, her supporters would far exceed anyone else's; even Sakumo, whose reputation remained untarnished, would likely be unable to compete with her.

Unfortunately, due to the successive deaths of her younger brother and her lover, Tsunade suffered severe psychological trauma and developed hemophobia, and was later so disillusioned by the White Fang incident that she chose to leave Konoha.

In the original story, not even the death of the Third Hokage could make Tsunade consider returning to Konoha, which shows just how disappointed she was in the village.

Therefore, Ye Ning naturally knew the answer to this question.

He asked it only to guide Tsunade into speaking her mind.

"Hokage? The Hokage is trash; only an idiot would want to do that."

Tsunade dismissed the idea with disdain, though her thoughts had already drifted far away.

She still remembered a brat, just about the same age as Ye Ning, basking in the sunlight with a confident smile, swearing to her that one day he would surely become Hokage. But what was the result?

He didn't even leave behind a complete corpse.

At the mere thought of the pain Nawaki might have suffered before his death, Tsunade's heart ached faintly.

Seeing the expression on Tsunade's face, Ye Ning knew she must be thinking of Nawaki again. To shift her focus, he pondered for a moment and said:

"How about we make a bet?"

"A bet?"

Upon hearing the word "bet," Tsunade became interested. She raised an eyebrow and signaled Ye Ning with a highly provocative look:

"Speak up, what are we betting on?"

"Let's bet on whether you can become Hokage. I think you can."

"You're on. Do you think I can't control myself? If I say I won't be Hokage, I won't! Tell me, what's the stake?"

For a bet he was certain to win, Ye Ning was naturally fearless.

If it were anyone else, Ye Ning might have held back out of concern for the butterfly effect, but betting against Tsunade...

Heh, how could I possibly lose this!

Hiss...

Ye Ning suddenly realized a problem.

Tsunade's luck at gambling was a law-of-causality weapon of mass destruction!

What if—what if Tsunade actually won? Wouldn't he have to...?

Ye Ning's mouth twitched; he suddenly 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 gradually freeze, Tsunade looked like a red-eyed gambler who had just caught sight of a winning dawn, and she became entirely excited:

"Speak, what's the bet!"

"Um... can I not bet anymore?"

"No way! Today, you're betting whether you like it or not!"

"..."

Ye Ning regretted it.

Why did his mouth have to be so cheap?

Now he had dug a hole and buried himself in it.

"Fine, let's bet! Who's afraid of you!"

Ye Ning gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

He didn't believe his luck could be that rotten!

If he remembered correctly, Tsunade only won twice in the original story.

Moreover, Tsunade was destined to become the Fifth Hokage anyway.

With such a winning hand, how could he not bet?

"It's a deal then. Whoever loses has to grant the other person one request, how about that? Fair, right?"

"Tch, you brat, what kind of request could you possibly have for me?"

Hearing that the stake was such a vague and ethereal promise, Tsunade instantly lost interest, her face filled with disdain.

"..."

Calling him a brat over and over again was truly infuriating!

"Just tell me, are you betting or not?"

"Bet, of course I'm betting."

Tsunade straightened her back. Although her face was full of disdain, her words were honest enough as she agreed.

In her view, whether or not she became Hokage was entirely her own business.

As long as she made up her mind not to become Hokage, could Ye Ning really tie her up and drag her there?

A brat who hadn't even fully developed yet—she could knock him flat with a single punch, and he wanted to tie her up to be Hokage?

She didn't think for a second that she would lose.

Even though she thought that every single time.

But this time, she was particularly firm.

Gamblers, after all, always have this kind of blind confidence.

Both of them felt that this bet was a guaranteed win, and that losing was simply impossible.

"Huh? Wait a minute! This bet of ours should have a time limit, right? You can't just keep saying I'll definitely be Hokage in the future and welch on the bet if I never take the position!"

Tsunade suddenly realized the loophole, sat up straight, and looked wary.

It was as if she were terrified that Ye Ning would try to welch on the bet.

"..."

Big sister!

Get your head straight, will you!

If anyone should be worried about welching... it should be him!

Your sportsmanship...

Forget it, Tsunade had absolutely nothing to do with the word sportsmanship.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have used the Transformation Technique to trick debt collectors.

Running from debts was something she did all the time!

"Twenty-five years. The validity of this bet is twenty-five years, how about that?"

It was currently Konoha 38. There were twenty-two years until Tsunade succeeded as the Fifth Hokage in the original story. If he set the time to twenty-two years, it would seem too deliberate. Twenty-five years was just right.

Even if he did nothing now and let everything follow the original timeline, Tsunade succeeding as Hokage was a nailed-down certainty.

"Twenty-five years? Well, although it sounds a bit long, let's settle on that."

Tsunade didn't really care.

Anyway, whoever wanted to be Hokage could be.

Twenty-five years was a wait she could afford.

"Just sitting here is boring. Ye Ning, keep me company and have a drink!"

"Hey, hey, hey, Tsunade, you're inciting a minor to drink. That's immoral behavior."

"Tch, boring brat. If you won't drink, I'll drink by myself!"

"..."

Seeing Tsunade pull another huge crate of alcohol out from who knows where, Ye Ning felt his heart skip a beat.

Had this crazy woman bought up all the wine brewed by the villagers of Konoha this year?

This amount would actually kill someone!

He wasn't about to do the thankless task of telling Tsunade to drink less.

If he provoked her and she gave him a wallop, it wouldn't be worth the trouble at all.

At most, he would show mercy and drag the drunken Tsunade to bed.

Nothing more!