Arrival in Tanzaku Town, an Encounter with Tsunade

Tanzaku Town.

The most famous den of vice in the entire ninja world.

Both sides of the street were packed with neon-lit casinos and brothels.

The air was thick with the mixed scents of cheap perfume.

Chenshu Senju strolled ahead at an unhurried pace, one hand tucked into his pocket.

Jiraiya followed behind, his eyes like radar as they frantically swept over the provocatively dressed women soliciting customers by the roadside.

He had even tossed the threat of Akatsuki's interception to the back of his mind.

"Kid Chenshu, how about we find somewhere to rest first?"

Jiraiya wiped away his nosebleed and made the suggestion with a straight face.

Chenshu Senju shot him a glance.

This old pervert's eyes were practically glued to those women's thighs. Saying he wanted to rest, he probably meant he wanted to go into one of those shops and offer the ladies some "financial aid."

"Go to the casino."

"Why?"

"Because your big fat sheep is there."

The two made their way through the bustling streets and entered the largest casino.

The moment they stepped inside, deafening clamor crashed over them.

Chenshu Senju swept his gaze across the room, then abruptly stopped.

There she was.

At a gambling table in the very back sat a woman with waist-length blonde hair.

She wore a loose gray kimono with a large character for "gamble" printed on the back.

Don't ask how Chenshu Senju had spotted her at a glance despite that loose kimono. Some things were simply too substantial for clothes to conceal.

The fullness pressed against the table's edge looked as though it could burst through her collar at any moment.

A purely visual shock.

Chenshu Senju sighed inwardly. Tayuya's modest assets were like those of an undeveloped kindergarten child compared to this woman's.

The sheer power of a G-cup was truly terrifying.

At that moment.

The woman boldly shoved the last stack of chips before her forward.

"I'm betting it all!"

The dice cup was opened.

The dealer across from her gleefully collected the chips.

"Damn it, I lost again!"

The woman slammed her fist onto the table in rage.

Crack.

A fissure instantly split the thick solid-wood gambling table.

Her short-haired attendant beside her broke out in a cold sweat. She hurriedly grabbed the woman's sleeve and softly tried to dissuade her.

"Lady Tsunade, you can't borrow any more. We're already out of money." Shizune looked like she was about to cry.

"Shut up! I'll definitely win the next round!"

"That's Tsunade, right?"

Chenshu Senju crossed his arms and watched from afar.

For some reason, the first thought that came to mind was how to scrape a layer of fat from this big sheep.

That was a top-tier advanced cultivation method for Medical Wood Release.

If he could pull fewer guaranteed draws in the system, how much chakra would that save?

"Should we go say hello?"

Jiraiya stood beside him, his tone unusually complicated as he looked at a companion he had not seen in years.

"No."

"Hm?" Jiraiya froze.

"Aren't you here to ask her for medical scrolls?"

"If we just walk up and ask, will she give them to us?"

"No."

"Then there's your answer."

A teasing smile curled Chenshu Senju's lips.

This woman had a fiery temper and a severe case of hemophobia. Going up to her directly in her current state would definitely get him nowhere.

He needed to be clever.

He had to use the Senju bloodline to deliver a perfect round of moral coercion and emotional devastation.

Better yet, make her willingly cough up every last thing she had.

Chenshu Senju quietly planned out the script for what came next.

As long as he made good use of her feelings for the First Hokage, why would he have to worry about getting the highest-level Wood Release insights?

Seeing that expression on his face, Jiraiya could not help shivering.

"Kid Chenshu, you aren't cooking up something nasty again, are you?"

"Your master is warning you, Tsunade's fists are no joke."

"If you dare scheme against her, be careful she doesn't punch your head clean off."

Chenshu Senju rolled his eyes.

"It's called strategy, understand?"

"Old pervert, you go first later."

"Remember, you have to show off your sleaziest, most unreliable side and draw all her anger onto yourself."

Jiraiya was utterly stunned upon hearing that.

"You want me to be cannon fodder?"

"Who else? Do you expect me, the frail last descendant of the Senju Clan, to take the beating?" Chenshu Senju retorted righteously.

Jiraiya's mouth twitched wildly.

Frail last descendant, my ass.

A few days ago, he had pinned Orochimaru to the ground and beaten him senseless. Just now, he had blown apart Itachi's mental space. And that was frail?

What an absolute master of schemes.

He even had his own teacher completely figured out.

Jiraiya viciously flipped him off in his heart.

"Enough. Let's watch the show first."

Chenshu Senju retreated behind the crowd, both hands in his pockets as he stared at the gambling table with great interest.

Tsunade's speed at losing money far exceeded ordinary imagination.

In barely over ten minutes.

The two cases of borrowed chips had vanished completely.

She irritably raked a hand through her blonde hair, grabbed a bottle from the table, and guzzled it down.

Crystal-clear liquor splashed across her fair collarbones, flowing down into that deep valley.

A crowd of gamblers nearby stared until their eyes nearly popped out, but faced with her terrifying monstrous strength, no one dared approach and strike up a conversation.

Chenshu Senju rubbed his chin.

He felt that if he brought over a basin right now, caught a few drops of liquor flowing down her chest, and sold them, he could probably make quite a bit of money.

A walking lucky cat, truly.

Just as Chenshu Senju considered the best angle for making his entrance.

At the other end of Tanzaku Town.

Inside a dark, damp alley.

Orochimaru leaned against the wall, his face as pale as paper.

His hands hung limply at his sides, their flesh an eerie purplish-black.

The soul damage inflicted by the Third Hokage's Reaper Death Seal had begun violently devouring his body.

Combined with his already twisted temperament, he now looked even less human than before.

"Lord Orochimaru, are you all right?"

Kabuto Yakushi pushed up his reflective glasses, a flicker passing through his eyes.

Orochimaru took a heavy breath, his gaze sinister.

He had thought absorbing that chakra seed would at least somewhat suppress the injuries in his hands.

Yet for some reason, after returning, he had suffered diarrhea for three whole days.

It had nearly made the excruciating pain deep in his soul snap altogether.

That little bastard Chenshu Senju had definitely set him up.

"Kabuto."

Orochimaru's voice was hoarse and filled with extreme unwillingness.

"Yes."

"Have you found Tsunade?"

"It's been confirmed. She's in the casino ahead," Kabuto reported in a low voice.

He glanced at Orochimaru's hands, which were completely ruined.

In this world, the only person capable of healing such soul-level damage was that legendary medical master.

"Let's go."

Orochimaru took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the pain in his eyes.

No matter the price, he had to force Tsunade to heal his hands today.

Once his hands recovered, he could settle the score with Chenshu Senju.

Even swallowing that brat whole would not soothe the hatred in his heart.

"Yes."

The two left the dark alley one after the other and headed toward the casino.

Inside the casino.

Chenshu Senju suddenly raised a brow.

For some reason, his right eyelid had started twitching fiercely.

As though some unlucky bastard were cursing his name nonstop behind his back.

It seemed the fun ahead in Tanzaku Town would be far greater than he had imagined.