Cheating!

Tsunade lost, as was entirely expected.

She reached out to flip the dice over one by one, then picked up the dice cup to inspect the inner walls, set it back down, and finally held the dice up to the light of the oil lamp to examine them.

"These dice are fine, aren't they?" Tsunade's voice was low, not asking anyone in particular, but rather talking to herself.

"Lady Tsunade, these are the inn's dice; you've already checked them three times."

Shizune sat to the side, Tonton twitching its nose twice on her lap before burying its head into the crook of her arm.

Shizune reached out to tug on Tsunade's sleeve, pulling back with some effort.

"Lady Tsunade, shouldn't we call it a night and get some rest?"

"Now you understand what I mean, don't you?" Shizune turned to look at Sasuke, her voice carrying the despair of someone who had seen it all before.

"I've lost count of how many times I've seen this happen—no matter who Lady Tsunade gambles with, what she bets on, which casino she's in, or whose dice she uses, it's always the same."

Tsunade swatted Shizune's hand away from her sleeve: "Shizune, shut up!"

Then she glared at Sasuke, her golden pupils burning with something intense: "Again."

Sasuke didn't speak; he simply pushed the dice cup back to Tsunade.

He had been observing the whole time. Tsunade's technique was average, but her shaking motion was flawless, and there was nothing wrong with the cup.

He had touched the dice with his fingertips earlier; they were just ordinary ox-bone dice.

The problem didn't lie with the equipment.

The problem lay in the simple fact that "Tsunade was the one shaking them."

Sasuke caught that flicker of scorching anxiety deep in Tsunade's pupils again—this was the mindset of a normal person.

However, Tsunade's luck was beyond what could be described as merely "bad." Even for an unlucky person, losing twenty rounds in a row might just mean they were having a streak of bad luck, but losing no matter how she shook them was as statistically improbable as choking to death on a sip of water.

He didn't believe in fate, nor did he believe in omens, but he believed in one thing now.

Tsunade's luck wasn't a matter of probability; it was something he couldn't comprehend at all.

Is this the kind of person I have to help win before she'll help me in return...

Sasuke placed the dice cup onto the table and tapped his fingers twice against the side.

The shadow at his feet shifted slightly.

The only light source in the inn room was the oil lamp on the table. The floor beneath the low table was already dark, hidden by the tabletop, and no one would notice anything there.

A thread of shadow, thin as a hair, emerged from the darkness under the table, slithering silently along the underside of the surface before slipping into the gap at the base of the dice cup.

The moment the shadow thread touched the three dice he had just shaken, Sasuke could sense the orientation of each one.

Two, four, three. Nine points.

He wrapped the shadow thread around the die showing four and gently flipped it over.

Now it was two, one, three. Six points.

"Six points."

Tsunade snatched the dice cup, threw the three dice inside, and gave her wrist a flick.

She didn't even use much force this time, just gave it a casual shake before slamming the cup onto the table.

She lifted it.

The three dice showed four, one, and three.

Eight points.

The expression on Tsunade's face froze for a second, as if she hadn't even thrown a punch yet, but the wall had collided with her on its own.

Eight points was exactly two points higher than six.

"See that!" Tsunade slapped the table, causing the oil lamp to jump; Shizune hurriedly reached out to steady it.

"I see it." Sasuke pushed the dice cup back, his tone flat.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, staring at Sasuke's face for a moment.

She reached out to push the three dice aside, glanced at Sasuke's fingers, and then looked at the shadow beneath the low table.

She found nothing.

There were no traces of chakra fluctuations, no residual energy from any ninjutsu.

Yet, she felt a vague sense that something was wrong.

Tsunade's brows relaxed, and the curve of her mouth softened.

Cheating.

But she hadn't caught how it was done, which was quite interesting.

Tsunade leaned back, shifting her weight against the back of the chair.

She suddenly felt that this brat wasn't quite as eyesore as before.

If Sasuke were just a simpleton, honestly relying on luck, sincerely begging for her help, just like Dan and Nawaki...

She wouldn't want to help him at all.

She had seen too many people like that; missions were more important than life, comrades were more important than life, the village was more important than life, and in the end, they died on the battlefield, leaving the living to collect their corpses.

Sigh, the dead.

Tsunade picked up the die that had flipped over, spun it between her fingers twice, and then placed it back on the table.

"Fine." Tsunade pushed the dice cup aside, leaned her elbows on the table, and tilted her body forward. "The favor you wanted me to do, I agree."

Sakura sat beside Sasuke, exhaling in relief as her clenched fists slowly relaxed.

Shizune's eyebrows shot up, and Tonton poked its head out from the crook of her arm, its pig snout sniffing toward Tsunade.

"Lady Tsunade, you're willing to—"

"Bang."

The room door was shoved open from the outside, hitting the wall with a dull thud.

"Tsunade?!"

Jiraiya stood in the doorway. He hadn't yet removed the large scroll from his back, his eyes wide as saucers, his gaze locked firmly on Tsunade, who was sitting cross-legged across from the low table.

Tsunade turned her head, scanned Jiraiya up and down, then reached out to scoop up a die from the table and flicked it at his forehead.

The die struck the center of Jiraiya's forehead protector with a crisp sound, then bounced back onto the table, knocking over the lamp shade Shizune had just straightened.

"Jiraiya, did someone chop off your hands on the road so you can't knock?"

"I was in a hurry to find you!"

Jiraiya rubbed his forehead, leaned his scroll against the doorframe, strode inside, and plopped down next to Sasuke. Jiraiya's bulky frame squeezed Sasuke, forcing him to shift half an inch to the side.

Jiraiya looked at the dice and the tipped-over cup on the table, then at the smugness on Tsunade's face that hadn't quite faded yet, and a familiar grin appeared on his face.

"Are you gambling with the Sasuke kid?"

"That's right, and I won a round."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

As the person who understood Tsunade best in the world, he had long been accustomed to her losing every bet she made.

She won the last round?

"Don't tell me this kid let you win on purpose."

Tsunade didn't take the bait; she picked up the wine pot on the table, poured herself a cup, and took a sip.

"Why are you old pervert not out wandering and writing your novels, coming to a place like this instead?"

"Naturally, I'm here to find you. It's a mission from the Old Man, primarily to help the boy in front of you."

Jiraiya reached for the wine pot on the table, but Tsunade slapped the back of his hand, forcing him to pull it back.

"Sarutobi again... You found me so easily, is your luck that good?"

"I certainly don't have such good luck; it's the Sasuke kid whose luck is good."

"Since when have you been reduced to relying on a child?"

"This kid is no simple matter; he's too smart, a bit difficult to deal with."

"I've already seen the 'no simple matter' part." Tsunade set her wine cup down on the table.

"As for the 'difficult to deal with' part, you can take him away."

"That won't do; the real business hasn't been handled yet." Sasuke interrupted her.

"You want me to help you research medical ninjutsu, right?" Tsunade nodded, then stood up and let out a yawn.

"Tell me the specifics."