"I refuse to believe this!" Tsunade growled, face darkening as she once again bet on high. Shizune stood beside her, looking helpless.
Tsunade-sama had already bet on high more than ten times—and lost every single one. Not once had the dice come up high. Each time, it was low. And the guy across the table just kept smiling, winning an absurd number of chips.
"My lady, we're out of money," Shizune finally reminded her gently. At the beginning, she might've tried to talk Tsunade out of it, but after so much time traveling with her, she knew better.
Advice didn't work on Tsunade. Only hard limitations did. And being broke was the best reminder of all.
"I—I still don't believe it!" Tsunade fumed, slamming all their remaining chips on low. The dealer glanced at her, ready to mention it was against the rules to bet on both high and low—but after seeing the thundercloud on her face from losing so many rounds, he swallowed his words.
Kazuki blinked in surprise. Betting on both high and low? Then the smart play now would be—
Without hesitation, he pushed all his chips onto triple.
The dealer, sweating, quickly scooped away most of Kazuki's chips, citing a bet limit.
Before anyone else could jump in, the dealer shook the dice. According to house rules, once the dice were in motion, no more bets could be placed.
And the result—
Triple.
Kazuki won big. He swept the table, raking in a massive pile of chips.
Tsunade? Totally bankrupt. Her face turned slate-gray. When she looked at Kazuki, it almost looked like she was trying to hold back laughter.
"Cash me out, please," Kazuki beamed, skipping off to collect his winnings. As for convincing Tsunade to return to Konoha? Not part of his plan—yet.
Tsunade's hatred and fear of the village wouldn't be undone by sweet words alone...
"Talk no Jutsu?" Kazuki suddenly remembered a system upgrade he'd nearly forgotten.
Talk no Jutsu—a unique upgrade that only required ten successful uses to max out. Each success demanded persuading a shinobi stronger than himself.
But the conditions were brutal.
Convincing someone more powerful than you wasn't easy. Even Naruto, the series protagonist, had failed a few times. And Kazuki wasn't Naruto.
Still... watching Tsunade slink off to borrow money from loan sharks gave him pause.
This might actually be the perfect chance to level up that skill.
So far, Kazuki hadn't found a good opportunity to use it. But Tsunade... he knew her character, her trauma, her arc. He'd read the manga. He understood her deeply rooted issues.
Still, replicating Naruto's success would be almost impossible.
Naruto had reminded Tsunade of her brother Nawaki and her lover Dan. He'd said and done things that struck a nerve. He'd also been there during a crisis—Orochimaru's attack, the looming threat against Konoha. Naruto's reckless courage and near-death defiance had shaken her out of her fear and made her accept the mantle of Fifth Hokage.
Kazuki sorted the facts in his head.
Tsunade had left the village because of trauma. Her brother and lover—both dead in the war, both aspiring to be Hokage. Their dreams unfulfilled. Their deaths bloody and brutal. She'd developed hemophobia from the trauma. Worse still, their mantra—"I want to be Hokage"—echoed like a curse in her mind.
She'd come to associate that dream with death and futility.
Even Shizune had lost loved ones in the war. They'd both chosen to run from that reality instead of face it.
Unless a powerful emotional shock hit her again, Tsunade had no reason to go back.
Especially now.
Hiruzen was still alive. Minato was the active Hokage. Konoha had weathered the Nine-Tails attack far better than in the original timeline. The village was stable—stronger, even. Why would Tsunade return?
"Troublesome," Kazuki muttered, scratching his head.
Then—
"Hey there, handsome. Made a good haul, huh?" Tsunade sauntered over, all smiles, wrapping an arm casually around his shoulders like they were drinking buddies.
Kazuki froze for half a second.
He hadn't even started thinking about how to approach her—yet here she was, right in his lap.
"Yeah. Something on your mind?" he said coolly, wearing the innocent face of a proper gentleman. Though his eyes, somewhat less innocent, took a few measured glances at the sea-like curves pressing against him.
Tsunade's outfit and her... assets were, frankly, impossible to ignore. And Kazuki wasn't trying that hard.
"Heehee~ Handsome~ How about lending your big sis a little something, hmm?" Her voice dripped with fake sweetness.
Kazuki wasn't fooled.
If he gave her money now, she'd burn through it gambling. Over and over. Until he was broke.
Konoha's queen of gambling, drinking, and debt didn't earn her title for nothing.
But Kazuki had a new idea.
Yes, Tsunade was a hopeless gambler. But later, after becoming Hokage, she did repay her debts. Maybe not with interest—but she paid.
Kazuki figured she'd at least return the principal.
And for someone as strong as Tsunade, if she really wanted to dodge her debts, no one could stop her. The fact that she repaid at all meant she still had some sense of honor.
In that case...
"My lady..." Shizune sighed, clearly used to this. "He's not a loan shark. Why would he lend you money?"
"I will. How much?" Kazuki said with a grin.
Shizune blinked, surprised. She glanced at him again. Was he a friend of Tsunade? He didn't seem like a civilian—but she wasn't sure if he was from Konoha.
After all, plenty of small villages trained shinobi. And rogue ninja wandered all over.
"Five hundred thousand ryō!" Tsunade said instantly, raising her hand.
Kazuki looked at his winnings—eight hundred thousand.
He smiled and agreed.
He handed her five hundred thousand. Then followed her to the tables. He'd ride her luck, win more, and snowball that debt until she owed him a mountain. Then, someday, he'd walk into her office, slap the IOU down, and say—
"If you can't repay me, there are... other methods, Tsunade-sama~"
Kazuki figured it was worth testing. If nothing else, it gave him leverage for future negotiations.
True to form, the moment she got the money, Tsunade beelined straight for—
"…A slot machine?" Kazuki twitched.
He'd forgotten casinos had more than dice tables. Of course there were slots. And Tsunade just had to go there.
Problem was, slot machines didn't allow for the kind of betting manipulation he'd planned.
In the manga, Tsunade had only ever won once. And that time, it foreshadowed a major death.
So much for getting his money back.
On the plus side, Tsunade's sudden change of pace caused several people who had been observing Kazuki to leave.
He chuckled darkly.
He'd sensed them earlier—probably planning a scene where the main character dominates the casino, followed by goons confronting him as villains.
Too bad Tsunade scared them off.
No matter. He had his eye on this casino. Someday soon, he'd come back in a mask, clean it out, and send the staff straight to hell. A little vigilante justice.
"Don't worry, handsome! I'll win it back!"
"Eh?! I lost again!"
"C'mon!"
"AAAAAH! Last ten thousand! Let's go!"
Kazuki felt like he could write a whole Gambling Apocalypse manga based on her right now. If Tsunade lived in his previous world, she'd be legendary in every pachinko forum.
"Handsome~ Got any more cash?" she purred, eyes sparkling.
Kazuki sighed. Shame he couldn't record this—it would've made for fantastic blackmail material.
"I've got three hundred thousand left."
He handed it over.
Shizune twitched but said nothing. After all, it was his money.
This time, Tsunade dumped the entire sum into pachinko. Steel ball hell.
Of course, she lost it all.
Kazuki, however, gained one hand-written IOU, signed directly by Tsunade herself.
"Eight hundred thousand," he murmured, eyeing the paper. That kind of money? Hard to get back. The Senju clan had long dissolved into Konoha's general population. Tsunade wasn't exactly wealthy.
She probably made money now by treating patients or doing simple mercenary jobs.
"Don't worry, handsome. I always repay my debts!" Tsunade said proudly, slapping him on the shoulder like a man of honor.
Kazuki's smile twitched.
Sure, she'd repay it. But when, exactly?
"Well then, Tsunade-sama, I'll be waiting for you in Konoha," he said with a grin.
Tsunade's expression froze.
She stared at him, eyes narrowing. Then her gaze dropped to the IOU in his hand.
"You're a Konoha shinobi?"
Her tone turned cold. Tsunade still felt bitter toward the village. Even with a new Hokage, she believed the system itself was flawed. She wanted nothing to do with it.
Kazuki nodded and carefully pocketed the note.
Tsunade clenched her jaw. Clearly regretting her earlier recklessness.
Had she known he was from Konoha, she would've borrowed from loan sharks instead—no matter how predatory.
"Relax, Tsunade-sama. I have no intention of convincing you to return," Kazuki smiled, adopting a posture of calm surrender.
A tactical retreat.
If he pressured her now, she'd only resist harder. Better to lull her into a false sense of safety. Like fishing—let the line go slack before you yank it tight.
"Oh? Playing the long game, huh? Someone tried that one already," Tsunade smirked, arms folded.
Kazuki twitched.
Wait—what? The ANBU already used that tactic?
How the hell was he supposed to top that?
Maybe... time to try psychological warfare?
---