"Damn it!"
As expected, Obito had been knocked out by Tsunade again. He couldn't believe he'd lost at drinking to her! How could he know that Tsunade was barely holding on herself? If she hadn't had such incredible willpower, she would've been the first to pass out.
Heh, first they'd go from strangers to drinking buddies, then he'd play a few rounds of gambling with her. Their relationship would take off in no time!
He got dressed but didn't go downstairs. It was just too awkward. He'd been here twice and gotten knocked out both times, so he climbed out the window and went straight home.
Once home, he arranged for Cheping to deliver the books to all the bookstores. Now all that was left was to wait and see how they did!
Jiraiya finished his three years of teaching, said goodbye to Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, and returned to Konoha.
"Everything's so lively!" Jiraiya strolled down the street, gazing at the bustling crowds and sighing with emotion. You couldn't see a scene like this in the Land of Rain.
"First, I'll go to the bookstore and see how my book's selling. Then I'll go soak in the hot springs~ Heh heh!" Jiraiya secretly wondered whether he should visit Daidaiko or Sayuri tonight. One was passionate, the other as gentle as water. They were both confidantes who could brighten a man's day.
"Hey! Lord Jiraiya, you're back in the village!" the bookstore owner greeted him.
"Yeah, it's been so long. It really brings back memories!" Jiraiya said wistfully. His gaze swept over the store—and then he spotted a novel on the shelf right in the middle, just past the entrance. He walked over and picked it up.
One look at the cover told him it was an interesting novel! Hmph, bookstores these days had no taste. Lord Jiraiya's novels should be displayed in this spot!
"Hm? Suku-i! This is just like something I've imagined..." Jiraiya's face flushed as he read, but his eyes glowed like a pair of lightbulbs!
After a long while, Jiraiya closed the book and shut his eyes, imagining the scenes in his head. What a kindred spirit!
"Boss, who's this Konoha Laughing Scholar?" Jiraiya asked.
"Oh, that? I don't know either. A kid brought it in and said his friend wrote it. It's the bestselling novel right now. I heard it's even being sold overseas!"
"A kid? There's no way a kid could've written this," Jiraiya thought.
"How much is one copy?" Jiraiya asked.
"999 ryo. No discounts," the owner replied.
"That expensive! My novels only cost 99 ryo each... One of these sells for as much as ten of mine! I'm raising my prices too!" No matter what he was thinking, he still pulled out a thousand-ryo bill, set it on the counter, and walked out of the bookstore with the book in hand. He checked several other stores, and without even having to go inside, he could see that the same book was displayed right in the middle by the entrance.
Had I really become a flop author in three years? Jiraiya suddenly lost all interest in going to the hot springs. He'd go have a few drinks with Tsunade instead. He hadn't seen her in three years, and he really missed her...
"Tsunade~ I'm back~" Jiraiya called as he reached her house.
Creak—the front gate opened. Seeing Jiraiya, little Shizune hurriedly bowed. "Lord Jiraiya, you're back!"
"Yeah, little Shizune. Where's Tsunade? I'm here to have a drink with her!"
"Um... Lady Tsunade isn't home. She went out," little Shizune said hesitantly.
"She went out? I see. Then tell her I'm back when she returns, and ask her to come find me!" Jiraiya said, scratching his head.
"All right, Lord Jiraiya." Shizune breathed a sigh of relief. Sigh, this is so hard!
"I guess I'll go soak in the hot springs after all," Jiraiya muttered. As he turned to leave, his retreating figure looked so lonely.
Shizune closed the gate and hurried inside. Two kids were gambling like crazy in the house... But why did the little blond girl look so strange? She had the body of a seven- or eight-year-old, yet curves far beyond an adult's! There was a blue-purple diamond-shaped mark on her forehead. Who else could she be but Tsunade?
Tsunade, with her childlike appearance, shook the dice cup in her tiny hands. The dice rattled nonstop inside. Her expression was solemn, almost sacred... The sight made Obito's head spin.
"Slap!"
She slammed the dice cup onto the table. Then she lifted her hand and asked in a deep voice, "High or low?"
"50,000 ryo on high." Obito took 50,000 ryo from the mountain of money in front of him and placed it on the tray on the table.
Tsunade's face was ashen, because there was nothing left in front of her... She'd lost it all.
"Shizune, open it!" Tsunade said solemnly.
"Right..." Shizune felt exhausted. She knew Lady Tsunade had definitely lost, yet she still had to act like she had no idea. They'd already lost next month's living expenses. At least...
"Six, six, six..." As Shizune lifted the cup, three sixes lay on the table like a smiling face. Silent mockery was the most devastating kind.
Tsunade felt the blood vessels in her forehead throbbing! She'd lost again!
Obito picked up his pen and wrote in his little notebook: Tsunade owed 50,000 ryo in gambling debts. The notebook already had a whole list of debts. As he wrote, he even read them aloud...
After he finished writing, he took back the 50,000 ryo and pulled a thousand out of the pile to give Shizune as her cut. Little Shizune accepted it and slipped it into her little waist pouch, patting it with her hand. It felt so reassuring to have money in there...
"Again! You roll this time!"
"Lady Tsunade, it's getting late. Let's go eat. My treat!" Lu Ming said.
"No! You're not leaving until I win back my money today!" Tsunade refused.
"Looks like the three of us will be living together from now on," Obito whispered.
"Damn it! One last round! Bet all your money! We'll settle this in one go. You dare, kid?" Tsunade taunted him.
"You're asking for a beating, Princess Tsunade," Obito thought. He pushed the pile of money in front of him toward the center, put three dice into the cup, and shook it with a rattling sound.
"High or low?" he asked.
"High! Wait! Low! I bet on low."
Little Shizune looked at the pile of money in front of them. There had to be several million ryo there, right? If Lady Tsunade won, she could pay off last month's gambling debts. But if she lost, Shizune would get more than a hundred thousand ryo in commission! Then she could buy that pretty little dress and eat dumplings. In that case, Lady Tsunade, please keep losing!
As Shizune babbled away in her head, she opened the dice cup. Three, three, four! Ten, which was high!
"Damn it!"
"Crack!" Tsunade smashed the table to pieces with one slap.
"Oh boy, it'll take forever to count all this money. Shizune, help me count it," Obito said, pulling the money toward himself.
"Okay." Little Shizune thought of the fortune she was about to make, and a happy smile spread across her face.
Tsunade felt all her strength drain away with that one punch. She slumped backward, listening to the two of them count the money. It was enough to drive her crazy.
"That's a total of 3,463,000 ryo. I'll forget about the extra 3,000. Lady Tsunade owes 3,460,000 ryo in gambling debts." Obito recited the amount as he wrote it in his little notebook. Then he moved over beside Tsunade and handed her the notebook and pen.
"Lady Tsunade, sign here."
Tsunade looked at the long string of numbers, and her eyes twitched. I'm done for! How did it get to be so much? But she was an honorable gambler and had no intention of welching. She grabbed the pen, quickly signed her name, tossed it to Lu Ming, and turned away so she wouldn't have to look at him.
"Here, Shizune. This is yours." He took out 500,000 ryo and handed it to Shizune.
"Hm? Five hundred thousand! That's so much!" Little Shizune hesitated, looking at Obito without taking it.
"We won more than six million ryo from Lady Tsunade in total. This is your cut. That's right."
"Okay, then thank you, Obito!" Hearing that it was her pay, little Shizune happily took the money and tucked it into her pouch. Starting today, I'm a millionaire too!
"Little traitor..." Tsunade muttered as she listened to them split the money.
"All right, let's go eat! My treat!"
Before you continue