Naoki Senju had gone to all this trouble not to win money at the casino, but for more important purposes.
The first was to curb Tsunade's urge to gamble, lest she suddenly win big one day. The mere thought left Naoki Senju trembling with fear.
The second was to find traces of Orochimaru. It was now Konoha Year 56, and Orochimaru had just defected from Akatsuki, while the Konoha Crush Plan took place in Konoha Year 60. There was no way Orochimaru could build the Sound Ninja Village from scratch in a mere four years.
More likely, while Orochimaru was still in Akatsuki, he had already begun using its resources to plan the establishment of the Sound Ninja Village.
The Land of Rice Fields was small to begin with. Given Orochimaru's desire for control, even a slightly larger disturbance would be enough to draw his attention.
Otherwise...
Naoki Senju glanced at Tsunade, whose face was full of excitement as she plotted to make a fortune from this opportunity. How would she have any thought to spare for finding Orochimaru...
The ronin cleared out the noisy casino. A dozen or so drew their katanas and surrounded Naoki's group of three in the center of the casino, but none of the three showed the slightest panic. Even Shizune paid these ronin no heed.
The casino owner also realized something was wrong. It seemed he had picked on someone tough this time. His shifty eyes darted about as he forced a smile.
"May I ask where you three friends come from? This was purely a misunderstanding. How about we consider today's games my treat?"
Naoki Senju smiled without a word. He made no visible movement, yet the overturned dice cup lifted, revealing three sixes that looked unbearably glaring at that moment.
"If you don't have the authority to decide, have the ninja behind you come out."
Ninja!
The previously vicious-looking ronin samurai were stunned. They stared blankly toward the third floor. Bullying ordinary people was their specialty, but if ninja were involved... sorry for the trouble.
For ninja, killing them was no different from slaughtering chickens. Things were better in the Five Great Nations, but in the many smaller countries, any single ninja could wreak havoc in an area with no one able to stop them.
The casino owner's face instantly went deathly pale. In the end, he retreated behind the scenes with great reluctance. He had already witnessed the power of ninja. Once ninja were involved, he had no right to interfere at all.
"Ninja from Konoha!"
A hollow voice echoed through the casino, with little doubt in its tone. The differences between ninja from the major ninja villages were actually quite pronounced. Because of Kumogakure's geographical location, its ninja had darker skin, while Kirigakure's ninja were all born killers because of the Blood Mist Policy.
Sunagakure was situated in the desert and dirt-poor, so its ninja looked like people who could endure hardship. Iwagakure ninja generally had a steady air about them. Only a wealthy, powerful village like Konoha could raise people as arrogantly dismissive of everyone as the three before them.
Naoki Senju did not answer directly. Instead, he seemed to lose patience, flipping a chip back and forth between his fingers. This little trick caught Tsunade's attention, however, and she picked up a chip to imitate him. Her extraordinarily nimble fingers let her master it immediately, and the chip flipped rapidly between them, even more skillfully than Naoki's.
"Where we're from doesn't matter. We're here to find someone. Come down and talk."
After a long silence, the hollow, hoarse voice rang out again:
"Who?"
"Orochimaru."
Even Tsunade, who had already expected this, could not help looking at Naoki. Sensing her gaze, he smiled back, calming her slightly unsettled heart.
The moment Orochimaru's name was mentioned, the atmosphere grew tense. But this only confirmed Naoki Senju's conjecture: Orochimaru had begun laying his plans in the Land of Rice Fields long ago.
"We don't know this Orochimaru you speak of. Please leave now."
"Heh."
Naoki Senju gave a contemptuous chuckle. He did not even need sensory abilities to know that the casino was now full of spiders-underground, in the walls, on the ceiling... With such an intense reaction and such serious measures, how could they possibly not know Orochimaru?
The ninja from the Fuma Clan seemed to know that dissuading the Konoha ninja was impossible. They steeled themselves at once. There was no use trying to persuade someone bent on dying.
"Ninja Art: Antlion Technique!"
The level floor instantly turned into a sinking hourglass. The fierce-looking ronin samurai were utterly helpless before ninjutsu. Quicksand swiftly swallowed their feet, and their bodies sank bit by bit. Even the casino building began to tilt and sink.
But a slow ninjutsu like this had little effect on ninja. Gathering chakra in their feet, they moved as though on level ground, easily leaving the sandpit and jumping to the second floor to avoid the ninjutsu.
"Tsunade, Shizune, leave this opponent to me. This will be just right for my first real battle."
Tsunade had great confidence in Naoki Senju's strength. All he lacked now was actual combat experience, but she still cautioned him:
"Don't underestimate the enemy or get careless. There are more than ten opponents. Although none of them have much chakra, battles between ninja can often be decided in a single instant."
Shizune held senbon between her fingertips and nodded to Naoki Senju. Every ninja began with their first real battle, and she was no exception, so she had no intention of dissuading him.
"Don't worry, Tsunade. If I can't take them down, all my ninjutsu training will have been for nothing."
Although Naoki Senju looked down on the enemy strategically, he took them extremely seriously in his tactical arrangements. This was his first real battle. If he slipped up, it would be far too embarrassing.
Seeing that the three possessed exquisite chakra control and were completely unaffected by the Antlion, the Fuma Clan ninja braced themselves against a formidable enemy. They summoned more spiders and covered the surroundings with dense webs.
"Ninja Art: Wind Spider!"
Naoki Senju raised an eyebrow. Wide-area ninjutsu? Sorry, wide-area ninjutsu happens to be my specialty.
His hands rapidly formed hand seals with great proficiency.
"Water Release: Waterfall Basin Technique!" It was a Water Release ninjutsu created by the Second Hokage, with a learning difficulty of C-rank.
Towering waves fell from the air and poured endlessly into the casino. The many spiders the Fuma ninja had placed earlier, the Antlion that altered the terrain to facilitate combat, and the webs were all washed away in an instant.
The Fuma Clan ninja hiding in one of the casino's rooms stared in horror. An opponent capable of using wide-area Water Release in an environment without water was far beyond their ability to handle. But the battle had already begun-how could it end so easily? They could only steel themselves and press on.
Several Fuma Clan ninja charged toward Naoki along the second-floor corridor, carrying strange large blades. If they had not all refined chakra, Naoki would hardly have believed they were ninja. They were at most a little stronger than the ronin samurai.
Still, there was nothing wrong with being a little cautious and playing it safe. Naoki formed hand seals again:
"Water Release: Water Whip!" It was a Water Release ninjutsu the Second Hokage had developed by improving Kirigakure's Water Whip Technique, with a learning difficulty of B-rank.
Some of the water created by the Waterfall Basin Technique condensed into a water whip. Its first lash knocked those ninja, who did not even qualify as genin, into what had once been the casino hall and was now a mud pit.
The second lash struck toward the second room on the third floor.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A not particularly sturdy Earth Style Wall barely blocked the lash. Just as Naoki Senju was about to switch to a stronger Water Release ninjutsu, the Fuma Clan members on the third floor lost their desire to fight.
"Esteemed ninja from Konoha, we of the Fuma Clan are willing to surrender! We know where Orochimaru is!"
Naoki Senju stopped, feeling somewhat unsatisfied. Their tenacious desire to survive left him too embarrassed to wipe them out.