It had already been five days since Tsunade sent out the messenger pigeon, yet no reply had come. Without any word, they didn't dare move forward recklessly. All they could do now was wait.
That night, Tsunade once again brought Ranmo to a seaside town gambling den in the Land of Iron—one that lay along the only route to the port.
Thanks to Ranmo's help over the past few days, Tsunade had not only paid off her debts but had even won herself a small fortune.
"Ranmo, do your best tonight, and tomorrow we'll treat ourselves to a hot spring, alright?" Tsunade grinned brightly, her eyes sparkling with excitement. But deep down, she was still worried about what awaited them at the port—she just didn't show it.
"I'm fine with the hot springs, but I'm not going into the women's bath again!" Ranmo huffed. Probably because he was only five years old, the last time Tsunade and Shizune went to a hot spring, they had dragged him into the women's section—and he ended up being laughed at by a whole group of women. Even worse, Tsunade told them he was blind and got their permission to bring him in.
Did they really not realize? If he wanted to look, he didn't even need to open his eyes.
Those women had zero sense of caution!
"Alright, alright, you can go to the men's side, happy now? Hahaha! Let's go. This is a new place—we need you to hold strong tonight!" Tsunade grabbed his finger and lifted the curtain to enter the gambling den.
"Thirty thousand tonight, no more. I'm not doing this if it goes over," Ranmo warned again.
"Okay, okay—just thirty thousand. Let's go…"
Tsunade cheerfully headed into the back room. As she entered, three men glanced over, and upon seeing her, burst into amused laughter. One of them muttered, "That's the gambling-addicted woman, right?"
"Yeah, that's her. Don't say too much."
They kept their voices low, but their eyes gleamed with scheming intent.
The moment Ranmo stepped inside, he felt something was off. This place wasn't like the usual gambling dens.
There was killing intent here.
"Big Sis, haven't seen you in half a year. You brought your kid with you this time?" One man reached out as if to touch Ranmo, but the boy deftly dodged to the side, forcing the hand to retreat awkwardly.
"Nonsense. This is my little brother," Tsunade said, pulling Ranmo close with a bright smile.
"Ohh, your brother, huh? Funny, never heard you had one the last time we met. Hahaha, come on, have a seat!"
The man chuckled, but his eyes were cold and predatory as they fixed on the two.
"I've got a pretty good memory, and I don't think we've ever met before," Tsunade replied, her smile just as cold.
The three men froze momentarily, then let out awkward chuckles.
"Is that so? I could've sworn we had. Hahaha. Well, never mind all that. Let's get started!"
This time, it was a different game compared to the usual one. Ranmo, with his sharp mind and the support of the Mirror System, easily gained the upper hand in just a few rounds.
The three men exchanged looks. One scratched his ear. Another rubbed his nose. These were clearly signals.
Even after the secret signs, they still kept losing. Finally, one of them slammed the table and shouted,
"What the hell? Why are we always losing?! This can't be right! You're cheating! Someone call the guards—these two are cheating!"
With that shout, more than a dozen men from the outer hall surged into the gambling room.
"Hey! Don't be ridiculous!" Tsunade snapped. "We didn't cheat at all! My little brother is just that smart—he can count cards. You lost, deal with it! Don't try to worm your way out of it!"
As she said that, she pinched Ranmo's arm and rose slightly—quietly warning him to assess the situation and prepare to protect himself.
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