Do You Dare Bet?

"Your people and your Medical Ninjutsu. If you win, they're mine. Tsunade Senju —do you dare to bet?"

Naruto leaned back in his chair, hands in his pockets, the playful smile on his lips deepening. His voice wasn't loud, but it was more like a sharp blade than any Ninjutsu, cleaving through the stagnant air in the casino.

The entire hall fell silent.

The ninja pig in Shizune's arms trembled with fear, its entire face turning red. The gamblers around them, their legs trembling and kneeling on the ground, didn't even dare to breathe. They couldn't understand Chakra, but they could understand what was in the blond boy's eyes—the extreme aggression that only a predator has when looking at prey that has fallen into a trap.

Tsunade's fists clenched so tightly they cracked, her nails digging deep into her palms, drawing a trickle of blood.

Her hundred years of life experience had allowed her to see countless arrogant ninjas, but this was the first one who dared to declare "you belong to me" to her face in such a condescending tone.

"You ignorant brat..."

Tsunade suddenly stood up, unleashing her Kage Level aura without reservation.

"Bang!"

The solid wood gambling table shattered into pieces instantly under her Monster Strength, with wood chips and chips flying in all directions. Her golden eyes burned with rage, and her immense Chakra materialized into a tangible aura, blasting away the surrounding gamblers.

Shizune's face turned deathly pale, and she instinctively took a half-step back. "Lady Tsunade!"

"Don't stop me, Shizune." Tsunade's voice was as cold as a knife. She took a step forward, causing the ground to tremble. "I'd like to see what makes you, a brat, dare to talk such big!"

Before she could finish speaking, Tsunade's figure had already become a blur. She didn't Hand Seals or use any Ninjutsu; she simply swung her right fist. The Kage Level Monster Strength tore through the air, producing a piercing explosion, and headed straight for Naruto's face.

This punch is enough to reduce a building to rubble.

Jiraiya's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively wanted to intercept, but the next second, his movements froze.

Because Naruto moved.

He didn't even take his hand out of his pocket.

Just as the fist, carrying destructive Monster Strength, was less than half an inch from his face, Naruto slightly tilted his head, raised his right hand with incredible speed, and gently pinched it between two fingers.

"Smack."

A crisp, muffled thud.

Tsunade's full-force attack, capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, was firmly caught by Naruto's index and middle fingers.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

The only sound inside the casino was the torrential rain pounding against the windows.

Tsunade's pupils contracted sharply. She felt as if her fist had struck an unshakeable mountain of divine iron. The terrifying power emanating from those two fingers not only perfectly neutralized her Monster Strength, but also unleashed a vast pressure originating from the level of life itself, rushing up her arm straight towards her heart.

"This is impossible..." Tsunade, trying to pull her fist back, but found that her hand was as if it were welded shut and wouldn't budge.

"Your strength is perfect for smashing tables, but too slow for hitting people."

Naruto lifted his eyelids, his azure eyes devoid of warmth. He flicked his finger sharply.

"Boom!"

An overwhelming Monster Strength surged forth, Tsunade flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into a load-bearing pillar behind the casino. The pillar instantly cracked, sending rubble tumbling down.

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune exclaimed, about to rush over, but Tsunade.

Tsunade leaned against the wall, barely managing to stand upright. Her right arm trembled uncontrollably, and the lingering Yang Release energy in her meridians disrupted her Chakra circuits.

She stared intently at the boy who remained standing there with his hands in his pockets, her anger gradually replaced by a chilling coldness.

This feeling... this pure suppression of life force... she had only ever experienced it with one person.

Her grandfather, Hashirama Senju.

"Who exactly are you?" Tsunade's voice was a little hoarse.

"I've already told you, I'm here to take you back to Hidden Leaf." Naruto strode forward, stepping over the splinters of wood, toward Tsunade. "Not only will I take you back to Hidden Leaf, but I'll also put you on the Uzumaki Clan register."

Tsunade: "You think you can make me submit by winning one punch? I, Tsunade Senju, am never threatened!"

"Threaten?"

Naruto stopped three steps in front of Tsunade, looking down at her.

"What do you think you're running away from? I see it very clearly."

Naruto's voice suddenly deepened, carrying a penetrating power that seemed to see through the very soul. His eyes narrowed slightly, and the six types of Chakra gathered once more at his fingertips, transforming into a point of extremely pure light that pointed directly at Tsunade's brow.

"The Nawaki is dead. You're afraid of losing someone important to you again, so you always lose at gambling, using losing money to escape misfortune; you faint at the sight of blood, because blood reminds you of how they died."

Tsunade's body stiffened abruptly, and her face instantly turned deathly pale.

"You dare not treat your injuries, for fear you cannot save them; you dare not return to the village, for fear of facing those names carved in stone. You have trapped yourself in the past fifty years, like a walking corpse."

Every word Naruto uttered was like a heavy hammer blow, striking Tsunade's most vulnerable and festering wounds.

"Shut up!" Tsunade roared in a fit of rage, her eyes turning red, Chakra surging violently once again.

"I will not only speak, but I will also shatter your hypocritical shell."

Naruto took a sudden step forward, and the pure Sage Body aura poured down like a tsunami, instantly suppressing Tsunade's volatile Chakra back into her body.

"Your Medical Ninjutsu, your Monster Strength, even your Senju Clan bloodline—they're all just resources waiting to be recycled in my eyes. What I want is a woman who can stand by my side, heal everyone, and stop me from trembling in the shadows!"

Naruto extended his right hand, palm up, and presented it to Tsunade.

"Now, the choice is yours. Do you stay here as a gambling addict and wait for Orochimaru to come knocking on your door for your life; or come with me and give me your life?"

Tsunade stared intently at the hand extended in front of her. The hand was long and powerful, with golden Yang Release light flowing through its palm—pure life force capable of dispelling all gloom.

In the boy's eyes, she saw neither greed nor scheming. What she saw was absolute confidence, a domineering attitude that viewed the entire Shinobi World as a chessboard. It was as if, if she were to place her hand on his, the nightmares of the past fifty years would be torn apart by his brute force.

In my mind, the smiling faces of Duan and Nawaki flashed by.

Tsunade, and when she opened them again, the struggle in her eyes had been replaced by a resolute look.

"If... I go back with you," Tsunade's voice was low, yet carried a hint of resignation, "Can you heal my wounds that can't be healed?"