"Damn it!" Tsunade raised her fist, clearly frustrated.
But seeing Shen Mo's innocent expression, she lowered her hand.
This was where his "just a worker" excuse paid off.
No matter the luck, it had nothing to do with him.
"You've got more, right? I mean these medicinal seriescans," Tsunade said, glaring at Shen Mo. She felt a knot in her chest that only opening more cans could untie.
"Of course," Shen Mo nodded.
Inside, he was grinning ear to ear.
He knew this feeling all too well.
The better the pull, the more you wanted to keep going.
"Shizune," Tsunade gulped down a big swig of sake and waved her hand. "Pay up!"
"Lady Tsunade," Shizune's voice came faintly, "we're out of money."
"What?" Tsunade blinked, dumbfounded.
"Have you forgotten how much you lost yesterday?" Shizune's face was full of quiet resentment.
"…"
Shen Mo was stunned too.
Excluding the two freebies, they'd only opened eight cans—a mere four hundred thousand.
In Trade Points, that was just about twenty-four thousand.
And they were already broke?
A legendary healer, one of Konoha's Sannin, a princess of the Senju clan—with only this much cash?
"Haha, hahaha!" Tsunade let out a few awkward laughs, then slammed her palm on the floor with a thud. Leaning toward Shen Mo, she growled, "Put it on my tab!"
"…" Shen Mo's face darkened instantly. "I'm sorry, small business, no credit."
What a joke. Tsunade might have decent gambling ethics, but her pile of gambling debts was astronomical.
Just look at those poor debt collectors in the original story.
They didn't even know she'd paid some back—that's how many years they'd been chasing her.
"Hey, don't be so stingy," Tsunade said, giving Shen Mo's shoulder a couple of hearty slaps, her strength startlingly strong. "Do you know who I am? Tsunade, one of Konoha's three Sannin! You think I'd stiff you?"
You wouldn't stiff me, but you'd make me wait years for payment.
Shen Mo kept that retort to himself, shaking his head firmly.
No deal!
He wasn't worried about Tsunade lashing out with a punch or two. Ever heard of the Diamond Protection Talisman from the cultivation world?
"Hmph." Tsunade pouted, clearly displeased.
She wouldn't stoop to robbing him, but being unable to keep opening cans was maddening.
"That said, you can trade other items," Shen Mo added. "Knowledge, objects… anything works, but I decide the value."
"Oh?" Tsunade's interest sparked again. "You decide? What if it's something you don't understand—how do you judge its worth?"
"I have my ways," Shen Mo said, a mysterious smile curling his lips. "I guarantee a fair valuation. If you disagree, you can always walk away."
This was another perk of the System.
Free appraisal.
For tradeable items, it not only provided a value but also a degree of content analysis.
"Shizune, show him the loot from last time," Tsunade said, arms crossed, emphasizing "loot" with a heavy bite.
Sure, this guy's goods were impressive.
But the man himself was an ordinary person—no chakra, flabby muscles. That much she was certain of.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade." Shizune stepped out briefly and returned with a handful of items.
Though Tsunade had left Konoha, challengers still came knocking.
These scrolls were spoils taken from those ninjas.
"Let's see what these are worth," Tsunade said, a playful smirk on her face.
These were ninja things.
Ninjutsu, weapons.
How could a non-ninja possibly assess their value?
But Shen Mo…
He raised two fingers to his brow and declared:
"We possess an ability called the All-Seeing Eye."
As he spoke, a golden pattern slowly materialized at the center of his forehead, shimmering with an indescribable aura.
Tsunade's playful expression froze.
What… was this?
She stared at the pattern on Shen Mo's forehead—an eye-like shape. Just looking at it sent a faint sting through her.
Shizune, overwhelmed by an inexplicable emotion, instinctively lowered her head.
Nobility.
Even without knowing what it was, they felt a noble presence.
Impossible to meet directly, impossible to disrespect.
Tsunade had never seen or heard of such an eye pattern. And what had he just said? The All-Seeing Eye?
Shen Mo took in their reactions with satisfaction.
If a modern person saw this, they might recognize the pattern.
The Eye of Agamotto.
The one Doctor Strange wore around his neck.
But Shen Mo had merely spent a whopping twenty-five thousand Trade Points through the System to craft a hollow thing that radiated a hint of noble, mystical aura—its sole function.
Pricey, but worth it.
This was another "excuse"—a justification for his ability to appraise items. In verbal sparring, it could even hint at powers like "future sight."
"Three ninjutsu scrolls," Shen Mo said, pretending to examine the things as he recited the System's appraisal. "C-rank Earth Release: Mud Wall, C-rank Earth Release: Fissure Palm, and B-rank Water Release: Explosive Water Shockwave. The B-rank scroll includes notes from an elite jonin. Among the weapons, only one is of elite quality. Total value… around three million six hundred thousand."
In the System, that was over two hundred thousand Trade Points.
More than Shen Mo had expected.
But it made sense.
B-rank ninjutsu were considered advanced in this world, typically mastered by jonin.
A-rank techniques, being closely guarded secrets, saw their prices skyrocket.
"You didn't even open them to look?" Tsunade gave Shen Mo a deep stare. After a moment's silence, she suddenly unclasped the necklace from her neck. "This necklace—what's it worth?"
"Lady Tsunade, that's…" Shizune couldn't help but gasp.
But Tsunade didn't reply or even look at her, her eyes locked on Shen Mo.
Her gaze carried a heavy sorrow.
The cursed necklace.
Shen Mo studied the rope-tied, stone-like necklace, his mind recalling its plot information.
A relic of the First Hokage.
A chakra crystal that reacted only to the First Hokage's chakra.
Tsunade had given it to her brother, Nawaki Senju, who died the next day—horribly.
Later, she gave it to her lover, Dan Kato, who also died, his kidneys blown apart.
Thus, Tsunade called it the "death necklace."
So, how to answer?
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