As for Hikaru, he headed home, wiping his mouth from time to time, still feeling that foul smell lingering around his lips.
"Uchiha Hikaru, you're not allowed to leave!!!"
Tsunade chased after him and blocked his path, just like before, refusing to let Hikaru go home.
Hikaru paused in surprise. "Shouldn't you be going to the Casino? Why are you blocking me?"
"Anyway, anyway, you're not allowed to leave!!!"
Tsunade felt a little guilty and couldn't find a suitable excuse, so she simply started acting shamelessly.
"Pfft~~~~"
Seeing Tsunade's guilty yet stubborn expression, Hikaru laughed outright. Pointing at himself, he asked, "You're afraid I'll tell on you?"
Tsunade naturally nodded.
"..."
Hikaru raised his hand, wanting nothing more than to slap Tsunade onto a wall so hard she couldn't even be peeled off.
Scratching his slightly long hair, which was nearly reaching his shoulders, he had never imagined that one day, a five-year-old little girl would drive him mad enough to make him want to hit someone.
Taking a deep breath, Hikaru tried hard to calm down. Looking at the guilty Tsunade, he said, "Don't worry, okay? I'm not Jiraiya. Where your money comes from is none of my business. And I'm not some blabbermouth either. Whether you use it for gambling or something else has nothing to do with me, okay?"
"Don't keep thinking I'm going to report you. Tsunade and I have no grudge against each other, so why would I report you?"
Tsunade nodded blankly, suddenly understanding. Right, we don't have any grudge against each other. We're even friends. Why would he report me?
X money was a small matter. The Senju Clan was wealthy and powerful, so they did not care about that little bit of money.
Besides, this was not Tsunade's first time doing something like this. The clan elders had long grown used to it. Even if they found out, they would just give her a light scolding. Punishment was out of the question.
Tsunade was just short of being spoiled rotten.
The uneasy Tsunade sighed in relief after hearing Hikaru's explanation. No longer anxious, she held up her money bag and looked at him curiously. "Weren't you training? Why are you going home so early today?"
Whenever Hikaru had school, he went to the Training Ground after class. Whenever he had a day off, he spent the entire day there. This was no longer a secret. His teacher had even specifically praised him at school, hoping the other students would follow his example.
Unfortunately, the results were miserable. At this age, there were hardly any children who seriously studied and trained.
If Hikaru went home late, Tsunade would have found it perfectly normal. But seeing him return so early made her curious.
Many times, habits could be frightening things too.
"My Ninja Tools broke, so I went home. I'm planning to study some ninjutsu."
Hikaru shrugged indifferently, though a trace of wariness flashed through his eyes. He did not want Tsunade to cover his face with her grimy little hands again.
"Ninja Tools?!"
Tsunade froze. Weren't those things something you could grab by the handful? They were completely insignificant, weren't they?
Tsunade quickly realized she had been foolish. She raised a small hand, intending to pat her forehead, but remembering what had happened to Hikaru earlier, she hurriedly lowered it.
She suddenly remembered that Hikaru was an orphan, currently living off village and clan subsidies. Ninja Tools were fairly expensive, and without clan support, he naturally could not compare to her.
When Tsunade trained, she threw kunai and Shuriken around by the handful. Even Explosive Tags were used in stacks.
"Oh, it's just Ninja Tools."
Thinking of this, Tsunade gave an awkward laugh. To Hikaru's stunned expression, she grabbed a handful of money and stuffed it into his hand. Then she mischievously winked at him. "Hehe, everyone who sees it gets a share. Train properly now."
That expression, that look, seemed to say, Big sis has plenty of money!!!
Without giving Hikaru any chance to refuse, she stuffed the money into his hands, then happily carried her bag away in the direction of the Casino.
"Does this count as being kept?"
Looking at the pile of money in his arms, Hikaru was a little dumbfounded. Being kept by a five-year-old little girl?
"Damn!!! That girl set me up!!!"
By the time Hikaru came back to his senses, Tsunade was already nowhere to be seen. Looking at the money in his arms, he did not know whether to laugh or cry. He hurriedly put it away, planning to return it to Tsunade when he had the chance.
No matter where this money had come from, he absolutely could not spend a single bit of it. Otherwise, once mud fell into his pants, even if it was not shit, it would become shit. The Senju Clan definitely would not sit still then, and they would certainly come looking for trouble.
Patting his forehead, Hikaru felt that he had brought trouble upon himself. If he had known, he would not have stopped Tsunade. She could do whatever she wanted—after all, she was not spending his money. But now...
Hikaru was certain someone was watching in secret. Whether they were from the Senju Clan or the Uchiha, the news would spread before long. The Senju Clan would be fine, but if it was the Uchiha... certain things would definitely be spread far and wide.
Before you continue