Land of Rice Fields, Yamanashi Prefecture.
Like a victorious general returning in triumph, Tsunade strode proudly out of a casino by the street. Though inwardly furious after losing a large sum of money, the casino owner had no choice but to plaster a smile on his face as he saw off the Legendary Sucker who had once lost every bet she made.
The reason the casino owner was so frightened was that the Takeda Casino's gruesome fate a few days earlier had terrified them all.
As the largest casino in Yamanashi Prefecture, with the Fuma Clan backing it, the Takeda Family had always been the object of their envy, jealousy, and resentment. But just three days earlier, not only had the casino been destroyed, the Takeda Family had also died violent deaths in their home, and their vast fortune had vanished without a trace.
Moreover, a warning letter had appeared in every casino owner's private quarters, warning them not to offend an important person, signed by the Fuma Clan. As for who this important person was? Quite a few people had witnessed what happened that day. A little asking around was all it took to learn that this important person was actually the sucker renowned throughout gambling circles...
Though they found it somewhat hard to believe, the casinos swallowed this bitter pill out of fear of the Fuma Clan's strength. They even resorted to cheating just to lose to Tsunade and keep their families safe.
When Tsunade learned of this, she sternly reprimanded the Fuma Clan for disregarding the Three Prohibitions of Shinobi and using their status as shinobi to bully ordinary people, yet her visits to the casinos only grew more frequent...
Recalling her impressive record of winning every bet at the table, Tsunade was indescribably happy. She even bought some sake on the way back to celebrate another day of sweeping victories.
Pushing open the inn's front door, Tsunade immediately met Shizune's interrogating gaze. With a somewhat helpless dry cough, Tsunade explained with a smile:
"I wasn't planning to gamble, but they were just so enthusiastic, so..."
Shizune was furious. Apart from Lady Tsunade, who could possibly stay enthusiastic while losing money? Tsunade's violation of the Three Prohibitions of Shinobi made Shizune ashamed to be associated with her.
Just as Shizune was about to argue with Tsunade, Naoki Senju smiled and took Shizune's small hand, coaxing her:
"All right, Sister Shizune, weren't you going to spar with me in taijutsu? Any later and we'll be held up."
Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief. She had little defense against this kindhearted yet somewhat stubborn disciple, and often ended up being admonished by her instead. She hurriedly changed the subject:
"Naoki's right. Besides, he's already learned the basics of medical ninjutsu, so he can start trying superhuman strength ninjutsu."
At those words, however, Shizune's expression dimmed. She had followed Lady Tsunade for nearly ten years and had done quite well learning medical ninjutsu, poisons, and medicine. Yet she had never managed to grasp the basics of the combat-oriented Strength of a Hundred Technique or superhuman strength ninjutsu. As Tsunade's personal disciple, she was actually unqualified.
Both Naoki and Tsunade noticed Shizune's silence and dejection. Before Tsunade could comfort her, Naoki tightened his grip on Shizune's hand.
"With my current taijutsu, I can't even last three moves against you, Sister Shizune. I hope you won't hold back on teaching me in the future."
Taijutsu was different from ninjutsu. A ninjutsu prodigy like Naoki Senju could perform ninjutsu with ease, but taijutsu required time to hone, as well as physical conditioning. Only a little over a month had passed since Naoki Senju began molding chakra, and he had barely learned the basics of taijutsu. Tsunade intended to teach him superhuman strength ninjutsu to make up for this weakness.
A faint blush crept over Shizune's pretty face. Even though shinobi paid little heed to distinctions between men and women, having Naoki Senju hold her small hand like this, and rather firmly at that, inevitably left her a little embarrassed. She pleaded:
"All right, I'll do as you say, Naoki. Let go first."
Tonton, nestled in Shizune's arms, seemed to sense her owner's displeasure and quite readily vented her young mistress's frustration for her:
"Oink, oink~"
Unfortunately, the big bad Naoki Senju did not understand pig language at all and ignored her outright. Tonton was so angry that she squirmed back and forth in Shizune's arms, but unfortunately, even Shizune, who doted on her the most, had no time to pay attention to her now.
Naoki Senju knew when to stop and released Shizune, who was well on her way to becoming a steam princess.
Watching the pair, Tsunade narrowed her almond-shaped eyes and grew a little jealous...
"All right, hurry up and let's go practice ninjutsu. Besides, my superhuman strength ninjutsu is extremely difficult to learn, about as difficult as my second grandfather's forbidden techniques. Shizune's situation is perfectly normal. Naoki, don't start crying if you can't learn it."
Radiating jealousy, Tsunade bounded across the rooftops toward the outskirts of town. Naoki and Shizune exchanged a smile before following her.
After leaving the town, the three kept running for over fifty kilometers, stopping only after almost an hour. Their destination was an uninhabited stretch of wilderness in the Gobi, with plenty of large yellow-earth boulders scattered across it, making it ideal for practicing taijutsu. Though practicing Water Release would be somewhat difficult, Wood Release was not restricted by the terrain.
Before they began sparring in taijutsu, Naoki Senju first proposed that they use no ninja tools, such as senbon or deadly poisons... Smiling, Shizune searched all over her body and produced a dozen or so senbon. As for the even shorter poisoned needles... there were too many to count, along with a pile of bottles and jars of poison.
Every item Shizune pulled out made Naoki Senju tremble inwardly. His gaze kept flicking toward Tsunade as he wondered where she might hide hers.
Tsunade rolled her eyes in annoyance. With her strength, when would she ever need such things?
Shizune also took the opportunity to propose that they use no ninjutsu, such as Wood Release. Naoki Senju hardly dared refuse; those poisoned needles did not have eyes, after all.
After all these twists and turns, the two finally began sparring in taijutsu. Calling it sparring was really just saving Naoki Senju some face. In truth, Shizune thoroughly thrashed Naoki in taijutsu. Though Shizune was not particularly skilled at taijutsu herself, she was more than capable of bullying Naoki, who had only trained for a little over a month.
Watching Naoki's miserable state as he was "bullied," even Tsunade found it a little hard to bear. But then she remembered this little lecher's true nature and gave a displeased huff. Unless Naoki apologizes and begs a little later, I won't heal his injuries, Tsunade thought rather tsunderely.
In Yamanashi Prefecture stood an ordinary residence. Though the sunshine was lovely at that moment, the house was shut tight, without even a crack left in its windows, giving off a deeply eerie, sinister air.
Before long, figures dressed in plain black and wearing monster masks appeared inside the house. Though they were all living people, they made not the slightest sound.
"Hyo, Terai, Shin."
The door to an inner room opened, and three men wearing short, coarse-cloth outfits emerged. Only after the two groups exchanged several hand signals did the murderous atmosphere ease slightly.
"Where is the target now?"
"Tsunade, who's with the target, is too alert for us to follow too closely. But the target has stayed here for three days. Right now, they should be training in the Gobi about fifty kilometers southeast of Yamanashi Prefecture."
The man in black at the head of the group nodded slightly, then ordered, "Change your clothes as well. On Lord Danzo's orders, we must kill the target, Naoki Senju. Tsunade and Shizune may also be killed as circumstances permit."
All the black-clad figures dropped to one knee and answered loudly:
"Yes!"