Making Money with Tsunade

At dusk, Shin and the others left the barbecue restaurant. Nawaki rubbed his round, satisfied belly. He'd really enjoyed the meal.

"Nawaki, you sure can eat. Looks like I'll have to drag your sister along to make some more money."

Shin patted his wallet. It had been bulging before, but now it was much thinner.

"Can I come too? I want to make money as well."

Nawaki's eyes lit up, and he looked at Shin expectantly.

"You want to make money too? Forget it. What do you need money for? Your sister Tsunade will just take it all in the end."

Shin looked at Nawaki sympathetically. Having a big sister who loved gambling really was tough.

"Shin, Kushina, I'm heading home. See you tomorrow." Mikoto smiled gently at Shin and said goodbye.

The Senju Clan Grounds and the Uchiha Clan Grounds were in completely opposite directions. The two clans had such deep-seated hatred for each other that they naturally didn't live too close together, so it was time for them to part ways.

"See you tomorrow." Shin waved to Mikoto.

Seeing that, Kushina secretly pinched Shin, then waved goodbye to Mikoto with a smile.

Shin glared at Kushina, but she glared right back at him.

"What was that for?" Shin had been pinched out of nowhere. It hadn't hurt, but he was still pretty annoyed.

"Hmph. I've noticed that you and Mikoto seem to be getting closer and closer. A little too close, if you ask me." Kushina gave a soft snort, her words dripping with jealousy.

Shin looked at Kushina, who seemed to be jealous for no reason, and shook his head to himself before heading home with her.

As for Nawaki—sorry, but Shin and Kushina had already forgotten all about him.

When they returned to the Senju Clan Grounds, Nawaki went back to his own place, while Shin and Kushina headed to Tsunade's little courtyard.

"Oh, Tsunade, you're back from your mission." Shin's eyes lit up when he saw her.

Tsunade glanced at him. Seeing the gleam in his eyes, she knew he was up to no good.

"Go on, what do you need my help with? I'm in a pretty good mood right now, so if you tell me, I might agree."

"You'll definitely agree to this. I'm a little short on money, so I want you to come help me make a pile."

"Hmph, you want to use me to make money again? Do you have so little faith in my gambling skills?" Tsunade stood up angrily, walked over, grabbed Shin's cheeks, and kneaded them hard.

"Hey, hey, Tsunade, let go of Shin!"

Kushina was a jealous girl, and seeing Tsunade grab Shin's face and knead it as much as she pleased sent her jealousy flaring.

"Tsk, tsk."

Tsunade looked at Kushina, amused.

It was a long while before Tsunade finally let go. Shin's cheeks felt so nice that she really hadn't wanted to stop.

"I'll go with you to make money, but we split whatever we earn fifty-fifty." Tsunade told Shin.

"What? Fifty-fifty? That's a terrible deal for me." Shin rubbed his cheeks, grumbling.

If Tsunade hadn't promised to keep his strength a secret back then, and he hadn't agreed to her conditions, he never would have let her pinch his face.

"Terrible deal? You're making money because of me. Don't forget that." Tsunade glared at him.

"Fine."

Shin said he was losing out, but in truth, he wasn't losing anything. As long as he went to the casino with Tsunade and bet against her, he was guaranteed to make money.

That was right—this was how Shin made his money.

Luckily, Tsunade wasn't all that famous yet. She hadn't become the notorious "Sucker" everyone knew, or this trick wouldn't have made them a thing.

"Come on, let's go now."

Tsunade took Shin with her, chakra coating her legs as she bounded out of the courtyard. Kushina was left behind, stomping her feet in anger.

"Damn it, they left me behind again!"

Kushina wanted to follow them, but she didn't know where they were going, so all she could do was wait at home.

It wasn't until after ten that night that Tsunade and Shin returned. Shin was smiling, and Tsunade was just as pleased as she counted her money alongside him.

"Shin, when should we go out and make a fortune again?"

Tsunade counted her share. Even though she'd only gotten half, it still came to over ten million ryo. She'd have to complete more than ten S-rank missions to earn that much.

"Let's go again when we're out of money. I think this will last us a long time."

If they didn't waste it, more than ten million ryo would easily last them over a decade.

Of course, being a ninja was expensive, but it would still be more than enough to last until graduation.

"You're finally back! Shin, did this woman do anything to you?"

When she heard them, Kushina ran out of the house and pulled Shin close, warily watching Tsunade.

"Hey, brat. Do you think I'm some kind of pervert?" Tsunade looked at Kushina in irritation.

"Hmph. You think you're so good at hiding it, but I can see right through you. You're an old woman who likes them young."

Shin was speechless at Kushina's words. He glanced at Tsunade and Kushina, then went inside.

"You two can argue. I'm going to bed."

"Brat, if you weren't still so young and I didn't want to bully you, you'd be in the corner crying by now. You understand?"

Tsunade raised her fist and slammed it into the table beside her. The perfectly good wooden table shattered into pieces, meeting a rather pitiful end.

"Who's afraid of you? Give me a few more years, and I'll challenge you to a duel. Then we'll see who's stronger."

Kushina clenched her little fist and spoke to Tsunade. She was one line away from saying, "The east may sink while the west rises; never underestimate a young girl."

"Heh."

Tsunade didn't say much, just gave a couple of quiet laughs. They spoke volumes, and Kushina could clearly feel her deep disdain.

Kushina took a deep breath. She wasn't strong enough yet and couldn't beat this woman, so she'd endure it for now and make Tsunade pay later.

"I'm warning you: if you pinch Shin's face again, I won't let you get away with it."

After delivering her threat, Kushina went back to her room to train. It seemed that Tsunade had only made her more determined.

After Kushina left, Tsunade suddenly smiled.

Tsunade wasn't really angry when she bickered with Kushina. Ever since Shin and Kushina had moved in with her, the house had become much livelier.

Before, Tsunade had lived here all by herself, and it had naturally felt lonely.

As for Nawaki, he was terrified of Tsunade. He was afraid she'd set her sights on his allowance, so he usually went out of his way to avoid her.

In his room, Shin was sitting on the tatami, refining chakra.

Shin didn't know how much chakra he had now. He felt that even an ordinary Kage Level ninja had less chakra than he did.

Of course, that was only in quantity. In terms of quality, his chakra was definitely inferior to that of those Kage Level powerhouses. After all, most of them had spent over a decade refining theirs.

Having a large amount of chakra wasn't enough; its quality mattered too. For example, between a Tailed Beast's chakra and an ordinary ninja's chakra, it went without saying that the Tailed Beast's was stronger.

Although Shin had the Perfect Sage Body, the quality of the chakra he refined still had to improve gradually. There was no way to achieve perfection overnight—unless he became the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.