Four and a Half Asumas

At the street corner, Tsunade slowed her pace.

"The Bounty Station in the Land of Gold." She spoke as casually as if commenting on the weather. "Ever heard of it?"

Sōji nodded. "I have. Underground bounty stations have bases in every country."

"On the surface, they deal in ores and precious metals. In secret, they take and sell anything—intelligence, weapons, human organs, even bounty heads."

"That's right."

Tsunade pulled an empty sake flask from her robes and shook it. Finding not a single drop left, she irritably stuffed it back.

"This kind of business is especially thriving in the Land of Gold. There are plenty of mines, cash flow is huge, and money laundering is easy. The Bounty Station proprietors are much richer than the owners of these lousy casinos."

She paused and glanced sideways at Sōji.

"I borrowed it from there. One hundred and fifty million ryō, no collateral, no guarantor. All on the strength of this face."

Sōji's brow rose slightly.

Shizune quietly added from beside them, "Lady Tsunade is the First Hokage's granddaughter, a descendant of the Senju Clan. By status, Lady Tsunade is also considered a princess of the Land of Fire."

"A status like that works better than any collateral in a place like the Bounty Station."

"A princess?" Sōji repeated, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"What? Don't I look like one?" Tsunade shot him a sidelong look.

"You do!" Sōji nodded seriously. "I just didn't expect a princess to borrow money from an underground Bounty Station."

Tsunade snorted. "Princesses can't gamble? Who made that rule? Besides..."

As she spoke, something complicated flickered in her golden eyes. "The title of Princess of the Land of Fire can make money not only while I'm alive. It can make money after I'm dead too."

"That unlucky bastard Asuma Sarutobi has a bounty of around thirty-five million at the underground Bounty Stations."

"A princess like me has to be worth more than him, right?"

At that, Sōji's steps paused slightly.

Thirty-five million.

Asuma Sarutobi.

He knew that number. He knew what it meant: the Third Hokage's son, an elite jonin of Konoha.

The man who would die at the hands of Hidan and Kakuzu in the future had been priced at thirty-five million ryō by the underground Bounty Stations.

And the one hundred and fifty million ryō Tsunade had lost earlier could buy quite a few Asumas.

He suddenly wanted to laugh, but did not dare laugh aloud.

"Lady Tsunade, does that mean you lost four and a half Asumas in one afternoon?"

Tsunade froze for a moment, then understood. Her mouth twitched. "Kid, you're pretty good at math."

"You flatter me!"

Sōji nodded earnestly. "I just think that's a very intuitive comparison."

Shizune was completely speechless beside them. Four and a half Asumas—she instinctively did the math, and immediately felt terrible.

Tsunade waved it off indifferently. "I borrowed it, I lost it. What's the point in thinking so much about it?"

"The Bounty Station isn't in a rush to collect. I'll repay it whenever I have money."

"And if you never have money?"

"Then I'll never repay it." Tsunade spoke with perfect confidence. "What can they do to me? Send ninja to kill me? I'll tear apart however many they send."

Sōji thought about it and decided she was right. With Tsunade's strength, no one would dare come collect a debt from her lightly.

And the Bounty Stations would never offend a Kage Level powerhouse over a mere one hundred and fifty million ryō—not when that Kage Level powerhouse might tear down an entire street after losing too much.

"Still..."

Tsunade suddenly stopped, turned around, and stared at him. Her golden eyes gleamed startlingly in the night.

"Kid, why are you asking so much? Worried I can't pay back the little money I owe you?"

"Not really."

Sōji shook his head. "I'm just curious about Lady Tsunade's source of income. We still have several months of travel ahead of us, and if we run into another casino..."

"If we run into one, we run into one."

Tsunade impatiently cut him off, a dangerous curve rising at the corner of her mouth. "What, afraid I'll lose your room and board money?"

"The room and board money is nothing."

Sōji replied calmly, "What I'm afraid of is Lady Tsunade borrowing an even bigger sum from another Bounty Station, then making me haul boxes through the streets again. It's embarrassing."

Shizune finally could not hold it in. She burst out laughing, then hurriedly covered her mouth.

Tsunade stared at Sōji for several seconds, then suddenly threw back her head and laughed. She laughed so hard that she bent over, drawing glances from the scattered pedestrians on the street.

"Kid!"

Still laughing, she suddenly smacked Sōji on the shoulder hard enough to make his bones creak.

"I'm training you. Chakra Enhanced Strength isn't just about explosive power. What matters even more is maintaining it constantly."

Sōji calmly bore the crushing weight on his shoulder and nodded faintly. "Is that so? Then thank you for your guidance, Lady Tsunade."

The night breeze blew past, lanterns swayed, and the three of their shadows stretched long across the stone-paved road.

In the distance, Kanazawa Castle was still brightly lit, while the clamor of the casinos drifted faintly through the air.

Holding Tonton, Shizune looked at Tsunade, then at Sōji. Suddenly, she felt that this journey, though they were always losing money, always going broke, always worrying about sleeping on the streets...

Was not quite so bad after all.

Tonton let out a little snort in her arms, whether in agreement or protest, no one knew.

The night deepened further.

And the deeper the night became in Kanazawa Castle, the livelier it grew.

The clamor of the casinos gradually faded, while the lights of taverns lit up one after another.

The three had not walked far down the main street before Tsunade stopped in front of a modest tavern.

Its sign read Iwamiya. A dark blue coarse-cloth noren hung at the entrance, swaying gently in the night wind.

"This is the place!" Tsunade lifted the noren and strode inside.

Sōji and Shizune followed. The tavern was small, with five or six wooden tables, an L-shaped bar, and several faded ukiyo-e prints hanging on the walls.

Several men dressed like miners sat in the corner, speaking quietly. When they saw someone enter, they merely glanced up before lowering their heads and continuing to drink.

The three chose a table by the window.

Tsunade slapped the table. "Two flasks of sake first, one hot and one cold. Bring out a few drinking snacks too."

The owner was a middle-aged man in his fifties, his face carrying the ruddy glow of someone long exposed to stove heat. He answered and went to prepare the order.

Shizune set Tonton on the empty chair beside her. The little creature looked around curiously, her nose twitching as she sniffed the scent of alcohol in the air.

Tsunade pulled out her empty flask, tossed it aside in disgust, and waited for the fresh sake to arrive.

Sōji sat quietly, black cloth covering his eyes and his bamboo staff resting against the table.

His hands were folded on his knees, his fingertips tapping lightly without thought. It was a habitual motion whenever he was thinking or observing.

The sake arrived quickly.

Two flasks of sake, a dish of salted boiled edamame, a dish of grilled dried fish, and a small bowl of pickled vegetables.

Tsunade grabbed the cold flask, poured herself a cup, tipped it back, and drained it in one gulp. Then she let out a long breath.

"Now that hits the spot! The frustration from losing money has finally eased a little."

Shizune poured herself a cup of hot sake and sipped it in small mouthfuls. Her cheeks quickly flushed red.

She had never been much of a drinker, but tonight she seemed to let loose a little. Probably because someone was covering their expenses, so she no longer had to worry about sleeping on the streets.

"Sōji, aren't you drinking?" she asked.

Sōji shook his head. "I'm training."

"Training?"

Tsunade raised a brow and looked at him. "Here? In a tavern?"

Sōji nodded without explaining.

Beneath the table, he formed a simple hand seal. Chakra within his body began circulating along the route Tsunade had taught him over the past few days.

It was not any ninjutsu, merely a simple chakra cycle that let energy flow repeatedly through his chakra pathways, strengthening the fusion between his chakra and body.

At the same time, Six Eyes activated its lowest-power monitoring mode, ensuring that his training would not affect his awareness of the surrounding environment.

The voices in the tavern, the clinking of cups, and the footsteps on the distant street all entered his senses.

Tsunade watched him, a smile curving her lips that could have been mockery or approval. "You're quite diligent. Fine, you train while I drink."

As she spoke, she poured herself another cup. This time, she drank slowly, her gaze falling on the lantern-lit street beyond the window as she wondered about something unknown.