The Gambler's Proper Way to Get Started

A week later, Uchiha Yuan was packing his clothes in his room. After leaving this time, he would not be coming back anytime soon unless something major happened.

"Acting Clan Head?"

"Hm?"

Uchiha Yuan looked up and found Uchiha Chiri. After reading the two ocular technique scrolls last time, he had released Kaminari without counting it as merit, and part of Chiri's military accomplishments had been offset as well. He wondered what she had come for now.

"Come in and have a seat."

"Yes."

He brought a stool over for Uchiha Chiri. He was not used to sitting on his knees at home.

Looking at this older sister before him, she seemed to be about Madara's age. Unfortunately, Madara had no interest in starting a family. Otherwise, they would have made quite a suitable pair.

"What did you come to see me about?"

"Um... I just came to thank you again."

"No need. As clan head, I was very clear about my decision. Kaminari being able to walk out of Izanami proved that he had indeed repented."

"Acting Clan Head... there's also the matter of me awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan..."

"I see. Then I'll arrange for you to become the head of the medical department."

"No, no, no, what I meant was..."

"Chiri, everyone has their own secrets. I don't want to know what your Mangekyō Sharingan ability is, as long as your heart remains with the Uchiha."

"...I understand."

After their conversation, Uchiha Chiri bowed to Uchiha Yuan again. This time, he accepted it calmly.

He had barely seen that one off when Madara came looking for him. What Madara saw, however, was packed luggage.

"Third Brother, you're...?"

"I plan to leave for a while. I've already arranged the clan's affairs. Big Brother only needs to make time to handle the important matters."

"...Take this."

"What is it?"

"Hashirama Senju's blood. Fresh."

Uchiha Yuan: ...

By the time he returned to the laboratory, it was already late March. This time, Uchiha Yuan not only had Hashirama Senju's blood, but had also gathered the genes of every clan in the Land of Fire. With so many corpses around, no one would care if an arm or leg was missing.

The moment he returned to the laboratory, he saw five people playing cards at a table. The largest casino in the Land of Fire had now been taken over by Uchiha Yuan's lackeys, so there were naturally many new games to play, with card games having the most variations.

A large pile of banknotes had already accumulated on the table. Uchiha Yuan walked over, set down his luggage, and looked around. He found only a pitiful few notes in front of Uzumaki Shibaki, while everyone else had at least a stack.

"Big Fool Shibaki, what's with you? You're this terrible even at cards?"

Uzumaki Shibaki scratched his head, looking at the lone three left in his hand and having no idea how to play it.

"I don't know why my luck has been so bad. It's happened several times already. I always lose more than I win."

"This won't do. The proper way to gamble is like this!"

As he spoke, Uchiha Yuan pulled Little Kuro from his arms and placed her on the floor. Then he took a deep breath, and a terrifying aura brewed around him. At once, all five pairs of eyes focused on him.

"Watch closely! This is how gambling should be done!"

With a tearing sound, his clothes burst apart. His muscular body possessed a certain aesthetic beauty, but... Uchiha Yuan's expression gradually became unhinged, his mouth stretching nearly to his ears.

"Domain Expansion! Idle Death Gamble!"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Oh! Ma-bi-bo~ Oh! Ma~ Bi-bo~

The explosive movements, the bizarre expression, and the blazing Chakra stunned everyone for a moment. They only felt as if their sanity were being rubbed raw.

Uzumaki Shibaki felt as though a block of ice had been stuffed into his head, and his body could not stop trembling.

I want to! I want to dance along with him so badly!

Uchiha Yuan stopped after one round. This thing really was embarrassing, but he no longer cared much about saving face.

Yet a full minute passed without anyone daring to speak. They had simply been too shocked.

"Well... keep playing. I'm going to do some experiments."

Only after the sound of the laboratory door closing did the five of them slowly withdraw their gazes.

"Lord Yuan... he..."

"He hasn't gone crazy, has he?"

"Probably not. Maybe it's some kind of intermittent illness?"

The moment Uzumaki Shibaki heard them, he refuted them:

"What do you know? This is the true essence of gambling! Lord Yuan was willing to show us the secret—this is an honor for people like us!"

"..."

"Keep going, keep going! No child cries every day, and no gambler loses forever!"

Inside the laboratory, Uchiha Yuan listened to the voices behind the door and curled his lips into a smile.

"What was that thing you were dancing? It was so hypnotic, meow~"

"You wouldn't understand. Also... why did you come in? Go out and play with them. Before long, you'll be training partners."

"What did you say? This kitty can't hear you!"

Uchiha Yuan casually tossed Little Kuro out through the crack in the door, then began his experiments. His body had adapted almost completely by now. It was time to fuse new genes.

"Sigh... if I had a cheat, who would want to become a genetic mutt?"

Bloodlines, bloodlines...

Naruto was a world that placed great importance on bloodlines. The closer one returned to their ancestors, the stronger they became. Only after obtaining the most primitive Ōtsutsuki bloodline could one consider other paths to becoming stronger.

Uchiha Yuan had no other choice. This had always been a sick world.

Senju Clan Grounds.

Tobirama sat in the courtyard, basking in the sun. Ever since waking up, he had always been alone. The doubts in his mind tormented him, and until he resolved them, he had no mood for anything else.

"Big Brother said Uchiha Yuan ambushed me? Then who took me away after I passed out?"

He had secretly gone to look at the previous battlefield. There was a deep crater where he had fought Uchiha Izuna, and that crater was clearly where he had been when he lost consciousness. Yet when he woke up, he had already been outside the battlefield.

"I can't figure it out. I can't make sense of it. They saved me but never showed themselves. What did that person want?"

Unlike Tobirama's troubles, ever since the Uchiha clan learned that their clan head had changed, there had been noticeably more troublemaking clansmen.

Madara found those clansmen who kept demanding Uchiha Yuan's return extremely irritating.

"What are you shouting about! Yuan has his own matters to attend to! Everything will continue as usual!"

Madara still carried considerable authority. After all, he was publicly acknowledged as their strongest fighter. Without him, no one could stand against Hashirama Senju.

"But... Clan Head, will our current way of developing lead us to repeat the same mistakes? And why did Lord Yuan suddenly leave?"

"Hmph! Isn't it because you're all too weak? If you were stronger, would he have to work so hard?"

Those words instantly left the clansmen too ashamed to show their faces. If they were called weak, they could fight all the shinobi clans in the entire Land of Fire with the power of just one clan. But if they were called strong, they had still suffered devastating casualties.

Watching the troublemaking clansmen disperse, Madara turned to the person beside him.

"Hikaku! All the clans are recuperating now, but our Uchiha must make a move before the end of the year. Senju, as the chief culprit, will be the first target!"

"Yes, Clan Head!"