Tsunade: Don't think I won't hit you just because you're handsome!

After sorting things out with Kazahana Koyuki, Bai Ye used Kamui to send Kakashi and Shisui to the Land of Snow.

He returned first. Next, he needed to head out and bring Tsunade back.

Jiraiya had already confirmed that he would return for Hiruzen Sarutobi's funeral.

Asuma would come too. After their talks in the Land of Fire, Asuma had also decided to leave the village and stay in the Land of Fire.

But even though he no longer wanted to return to Konoha, he still had to attend Hiruzen Sarutobi's funeral.

Now, Tsunade was the only one still wandering outside. It wasn't just because of her status; if that were all that mattered, Bai Ye wouldn't have invited her back.

But Konoha needed talent now, so he definitely had to bring Tsunade back.

The day before leaving the Land of Fire, he handed everything over to Shikaku.

Looking utterly constipated, Shikaku finally asked Bai Ye the question that had been on his mind all along. "Um, Lord Hokage... are you deliberately acting busy every day because you want to dump everything on me...?"

Finish this, then do that. Finish that, then do this!

Shikaku had originally thought he was only helping Bai Ye through the transition.

Once Bai Ye learned how to be Hokage, he wouldn't need him anymore.

But this was nothing like what he'd imagined!

It really felt as though Bai Ye wanted to dump absolutely everything on him.

"We're all part of the village. Don't draw lines between your work and mine-that's far too formal. I'll leave these matters to you. With you handling them, I can rest easy. And you can rest assured that I'll bring Tsunade back!"

With that, Bai Ye ran off without giving Shikaku a chance to respond.

Good grief...

Shikaku really did have a sharp mind!

He had seen straight through Bai Ye's intentions.

Bai Ye really didn't want to spend every day processing paperwork in an office.

Rather than that, he might as well enjoy himself in Tanzaku Town first.

Tanzaku Town wasn't far from Konoha. He didn't even need to travel; with Kamui, he arrived shortly after leaving the village.

Tanzaku Town.

It was a town in the Land of Fire.

There were plenty of towns like it within the Land of Fire.

As a Ninja Village, Konoha was, strictly speaking, more of a military institution.

"Come to think of it, this really is a pain-finding Tsunade and talking her into returning to the village..."

Bai Ye hadn't thought much about it before leaving, but now that he actually had to bring Tsunade back...

It felt pretty troublesome.

The reasons he'd used back then were actually rather tenuous when applied to Tsunade.

Jiraiya worked in intelligence, so even outside the village, he could be considered to be on a long-term mission.

And Asuma was one of the Land of Fire Daimyo's guards.

Bringing those things up had only been a way to inflame the conflict. Naturally, the arguments were somewhat strained.

And when it came to Tsunade, could anyone really call her a Rogue Ninja?!

No!

She was still a village shinobi, and she had even remained within the Land of Fire all along.

Shinobi didn't need to report to the village before leaving.

Provided, of course, that they stayed within the Land of Fire.

Take the incident when Sasuke went to Tanzaku Town to find Naruto and got beaten up by Itachi.

Sasuke had also left the village without reporting it.

But why hadn't he gotten into trouble?!

Because he had stayed within the Land of Fire. As long as Konoha's shinobi remained in the country, leaving the village was easy. The same went for its civilians.

After all, Konoha wasn't the only developed place. Tanzaku Town was quite prosperous too, and there were plenty of other towns like it.

In essence, Rogue Ninja were wanted because they had committed crimes.

Simply leaving the village didn't make someone a Rogue Ninja. Sasuke had left with the Sound Ninja, clearly going off with another village, so naturally he had been branded one.

By then, it had already been established that the Sound Ninja belonged to Orochimaru's Ninja Village.

It was even commonplace for shinobi from various countries to visit other nations. They had missions to carry out, after all.

They simply couldn't enter other Ninja Villages.

After all, Ninja Villages were military strongholds. They certainly wouldn't allow people from other villages inside.

And Tsunade had clearly been staying in Tanzaku Town all along. Simply refusing to return to the village didn't make her a Rogue Ninja.

So the best way to bring Tsunade back now was to persuade her to return willingly.

Otherwise, he could only have Shisui use Kotoamatsukami.

But information about Kotoamatsukami had most likely already leaked.

That meant any shinobi who encountered Shisui now would almost certainly be on guard against his Kotoamatsukami.

Looking at it that way...

He could only resort to some special methods.

At that thought, Bai Ye began to form a few ideas.

Still, he wasn't in any hurry. Returning a few days later would only give Shikaku more time to handle paperwork for him.

There wasn't all that much going on in the village right now.

Mei Terumi had already returned to Kirigakure. Once Shisui and Kakashi finished their mission in the Land of Snow and came back, Bai Ye would take Shisui and Hyuga Hiashi there with him.

Bai Ye had already chosen his core team.

He had selected Shisui and Hiashi as his Hokage guards, while Shikaku helped him handle the Hokage's administrative duties.

For something as important as leaving the village, even if he thought he was strong enough, the villagers probably wouldn't let him go if either of those two was absent.

After all, if he died out there, Konoha would face a war.

Especially since he was going to Kirigakure.

Trade with Konan had also begun, with both sides exchanging supplies unique to their respective regions.

What her side bought most was food and other daily necessities.

Bai Ye had no reason to refuse their purchase requests.

He also needed to increase his food production and supply the Land of Rain in bulk, eventually extending that to every country in the shinobi world.

Controlling food meant controlling half a country. If he could control its economy as well while maintaining a powerful military, he would already be halfway to taking control of it.

So Bai Ye wasn't in any hurry. He could wait.

During his three days in Tanzaku Town...

Aside from eating and drinking, Bai Ye mostly spent his days asking around to find out exactly which casino Tsunade was in.

The largest casino in Tanzaku Town.

The Big Fat Sheep's name was known far and wide.

Many people even came to gamble in Tanzaku Town specifically because of Tsunade.

After all, she was the legendary Big Fat Sheep.

Gamble with Tsunade once, and the winnings would let you live it up for a long time.

That was an opportunity no one could turn down.

Over the past few days, Bai Ye had also settled on his approach. If he wanted to bring Tsunade back, he certainly couldn't do it the way Naruto had.

He could only start with her interests.

Inside the casino, Tsunade was sitting in front of a slot machine, her brows tightly knitted.

"Boss, is this machine rigged or something?! Why do I keep losing?!"

Tsunade roared in anger. She had come here today intending to play the slots for a while and test her luck.

Even though she hardly ever won.

Still, her gambling always followed a pattern: she won some and lost some, but ultimately always lost.

It wasn't usually like today, when she kept losing without a break. She had lost so much that she was numb.

Not winning even once had left her thoroughly irritated.

"Don't blame the machine for your own shortcomings."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?! Don't think I won't hit you just because you're handsome!"

Tsunade snapped, looking at the pretty boy before her. He is pretty handsome.

But...

What was that supposed to mean?!

Don't blame the machine for my own shortcomings?!

Is he in cahoots with the owner?!

Don't think being handsome means I won't hit you!

If she was in a bad mood, she'd punch him anyway. Even being too nice to her could earn him a punch!

"No wonder you're losing, getting that worked up. You need to play with a smile, like me. Understand?"

With that, Bai Ye put in a few tokens, casually picked an option, and pressed start.

When the winning display appeared before Tsunade, she scoffed. "Everyone has their moment. Don't mistake one lucky break for lasting success!"

He'd only won once!

He was acting like no one else had ever won.

With that, she stopped looking at Bai Ye. He probably had nothing to do with the casino's owner.

Besides, she wasn't interested in watching someone else play. He was just a kid with perhaps a little luck.

Tsunade returned her attention to her own slot machine.

But as she kept playing, she grew irritated again. She really hadn't won once today.

Then the sound of a jackpot rang out beside her, and her gaze instantly shifted from her own screen to Bai Ye.

The pile of tokens beside him had practically exploded!

"No! I must be seeing things!"

Tsunade rubbed her eyes. This isn't right!

How had this guy won so much?!

When he had first sat down, Bai Ye had only had a small basket of tokens.

Why were there several buckets beside him now?!

How much time had even passed...?

And he'd already won that much?!

And now that Bai Ye had hit the jackpot, there was another pile of money!

Even the owner came over to cash out some of Bai Ye's tokens.

There was hardly any room left for them.

When Tsunade saw two briefcases full of money placed before Bai Ye, her eyes went wide.

This was the life she wanted!

"Hey, kid! Let's switch seats!"

Tsunade decided it wasn't her luck that was bad. It was the machine!

If she sat in Bai Ye's seat, she would definitely win too.

"Why should I switch with you?"

Bai Ye rolled his eyes, his tone just irritating enough to make someone want to punch him.

That nearly drove Tsunade mad.

She clenched her fist, but eventually relaxed it.

Patience!!!

I have to hold back!

I can't just hit people!

Tsunade took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed her impulses. I can't get angry. I absolutely can't get angry!

But he really is asking for a beating!

"How about this? Switch seats with me, and I'll give you a chance to treat me to dinner!"

"Do I look crazy? I'd give you the seat that's making money and buy you dinner too?"

After saying that, Bai Ye realized that Tsunade apparently didn't recognize him.

That made sense...

His picture had never appeared in the newspaper. Unless Tsunade had specifically paid attention to the matter...

She probably wouldn't know what he looked like.

After all, since leaving the village, Tsunade hadn't kept up much with what was happening in Konoha.

Still, this woman really wanted to have it all.

Treat her to dinner?!

Of course he knew plenty of people might read something else into that, but Tsunade wouldn't give them a chance.

She would probably just fleece them mercilessly.

After hearing Bai Ye's response, Tsunade truly had no ideas left.

"Kid, just tell me what it'll take for you to switch seats with me. I want your spot. Name your price!"

As far as Tsunade was concerned, getting away from this damned unlucky seat was the only sensible move.

No wonder I kept losing.

So it was just a bad seat today.

Hearing Tsunade's offer, Bai Ye's eyes flickered. He could name his terms now, but he couldn't push too far.

If he demanded that Tsunade return to Konoha with him, she would definitely walk away.

Still, since she had told him to name his price, Bai Ye became interested.

After a moment's thought, Bai Ye had an idea and said, "One million!"

"Are you crazy?! One million?!"

Tsunade glanced at her money. She still had about five million left that she had not exchanged.

She had been saving all of that to spend elsewhere later.

And now Bai Ye wanted to take a fifth of it just like that?!

"Weren't you the one who told me to name a price?!"

"You fucking..."

Tsunade took a deep breath. His reply had nearly made her explode with anger.

She had indeed told Bai Ye to name a price.

But I never told you to demand something outrageous!

He had managed to put that kind of price tag on a mere seat.

"No! It's just a lousy seat. I'll see just how much you can win!"

Tsunade simply stopped gambling.

She sat off to the side and watched. Today, she was determined to see exactly how much Bai Ye could make.

She just had to find out whether it really was luck.

Bai Ye had no particular objection and let Tsunade sit beside him and watch.

As Bai Ye's tokens piled higher and higher, the owner came over to exchange them for cash several times, and ring after ring of spectators gathered around him, Tsunade was stunned.

How?!

He hadn't lost at all?!

Not even once!!!

How was that possible?!

He had already won more than a million. If I had traded seats with him earlier, wouldn't I have made money too?!

No matter how lucky someone was, they couldn't keep winning forever, could they?!

At that thought, Tsunade was immediately tempted. She cleared her throat, shifted her chair closer, and said, "Well... I'll buy your seat. One million!"

"No!"

"Why?!"

Seriously?!

We just agreed on one million!

Why wasn't that good enough now?!

"This seat has won me so much money, and I reckon it'll keep winning for me today. It's my dearly beloved, my closest friend, my brother in arms..."

"So?"

"You'll have to pay extra!!!"

What a joke!

You turned your nose up at one million earlier. Now I'm out of your league!

Quite a few people nearby were already itching to make a move.

After all, Bai Ye had not lost once since sitting there.

Even Bai Ye himself was a little surprised. His luck really was good.

He had not used any tricks at all.

Whatever he wanted, the machine gave him.

The owner beside him probably wanted to inspect the machine.

By now, he truly felt like crying.

With Bai Ye winning nonstop, there really might have been something wrong with the machine!

But the owner did not dare say anything!

He had been about to speak earlier, but a single indifferent glance from Bai Ye had made him feel as though he had plunged into an ice cellar.

Someone like that was far beyond anyone I could afford to offend...

If I upset him, wouldn't I end up dead?!

Now, hearing that Big Fat Sheep wanted to switch machines, the owner practically wanted to leap for joy. He was even tempted to pay the money for Tsunade so she could trade places with Bai Ye.

As far as the owner was concerned, once Tsunade took that seat, with Big Fat Sheep's luck, she would never win even if the machine really did let people win nonstop!

Except...

The owner instinctively glanced at Tsunade and saw that her face had turned livid. Her fists were clenched, and she looked ready to punch someone.

That left him afraid to speak, so he could only swallow silently on the sidelines.

At that moment, Tsunade genuinely felt the urge to beat Bai Ye up.

Pay extra?!

Fuck!!!

Wasn't this blatant price gouging?!

But she had already missed one chance. Somehow, missing this one too felt like a bad idea.

With that thought, Tsunade gave Bai Ye a smile that did not reach her eyes and asked through inwardly gritted teeth, "How much extra?!"

"Another million. Give me two million, and the seat is yours!"

Hold it in!!!

Keep it together!!!

Tsunade took a deep breath, telling herself to hold back. She had to hold back. She absolutely could not lose her temper!

Once I made some money...!

I'd let this guy sit there regretting it!

"Here!!! Take your money and move!!!"

With that, Tsunade slapped the money down in front of Bai Ye.

Then she made Bai Ye get up. It was time for her to sweep the board!

"Boss, you'd better get those tokens ready. If I don't clean you out today, I won't have done my two million justice!!!"

Tsunade spoke with absolute confidence.

To the onlookers, that supremely confident display suddenly seemed strangely absurd.

Could it be... today was the day?!

Even Big Fat Sheep thought she could win money. And from the look of things, Bai Ye had maintained an undefeated record on this very machine.

That made quite a few people think that perhaps... there really was a chance!

Even the owner himself began to seriously wonder whether he would have to pack up and leave after tonight!

Watching Tsunade's confident expression, Bai Ye said nothing. He simply sat down in her former seat and kept playing.