Chapter 43 – Gambling God Hatake Yusuke
"This is… Space-Time Ninjutsu," Tsunade murmured, her voice filled with astonishment.
"That's right," Yusuke said with a proud smile. "Let's head to Shōtensugai." Without waiting for a reply, he gently grabbed her hand and pulled her into the Dimensional Space.
As they stepped inside, Tsunade looked around, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. Aside from the color shifts rippling across the surroundings, everything else felt just like the real world.
"Let's go," Yusuke said as he opened another portal. Instantly, the scenery changed—they were now standing just outside the village of Konohagakure. Though the village itself was the size of a city, Yusuke simply held onto Tsunade's hand and opened portal after portal until, after a few quick jumps, they finally arrived at Shōtensugai.
"This technique…" Tsunade stood speechless. For a kunoichi of her caliber, this level of power was beyond valuable—ideal for combat, reconnaissance, and rapid movement.
"Impressive, right?" Yusuke asked, sounding just a little smug.
"It's… not bad," she replied with a haughty tone, trying not to show how impressed she actually was.
"It's useful, sure. But also a bit troublesome," she muttered again, as if trying to convince herself.
"Troublesome?" Yusuke didn't bother explaining. He simply opened another Air Door and guided her through it again. This time, they didn't end up in the Dimensional Space—but instead, inside Tsunade's actual house.
Again, Tsunade was left in awe. This method of teleportation—easily rivaling the Flying Thunder God Technique—was dangerously convenient.
"How's the chakra consumption?" she asked.
"Reasonable. Not too draining," Yusuke replied casually.
To Tsunade, this seemed even more practical than Minato's signature jutsu. Unlike the Flying Thunder God Technique, which required pre-marked locations and consumed massive chakra—especially when transporting others—his Door-Door Fruit ability needed chakra only to open a portal. There were no limits on weight, distance, or number of passengers. And the energy required was barely noticeable for Yusuke.
"Well? Pretty amazing, right?" he asked again.
"It really is… If used in war…" Tsunade trailed off, her voice filled with a mix of wonder and concern.
"Stop right there. This isn't something I want used in battle," Yusuke cut in firmly.
"This ability must remain secret," he added.
"Why? Don't worry, if Danzo tries to pull anything, I'll handle it," she said with a reassuring smile.
"You're underestimating me if you think I'm worried about Danzo. Honestly, even if the Third Hokage himself came at me, he'd have a hard time winning," Yusuke said, his voice calm but undeniably confident.
"Then what's the problem?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.
"I just don't want to be treated like free labor," he replied flatly.
"I see," Tsunade murmured.
She understood. After what happened with Sakumo, Yusuke no longer felt any emotional attachment to the village. Whether Konoha rose or fell meant little to him—as long as the people he cared about were safe. But she knew… if Kakashi or Tsunade herself were ever in danger, Yusuke would act.
"Yusuke… if one day Konoha were truly in crisis, would you help?" she asked quietly.
"Of course. As long as you're still here," he answered without hesitation.
Even if he had no loyalty to the village itself, there were still friends, family, and memories rooted there. Not everyone had turned their back on Sakumo. Some had helped him and Kakashi when they were just kids.
"I understand," Tsunade nodded softly. Her cheeks flushed ever so slightly. Part of her felt happy knowing she was one of the reasons he still cared about the village. She also appreciated that he trusted her enough to show this ability.
"Why'd you suddenly ask something like that?" Yusuke tilted his head.
"Ah, no reason. Come on, let's hit the casino in Shōtensugai!" she said, suddenly brimming with excitement.
"Alright," Yusuke nodded. As an apology for dragging her around, he was more than willing to go along. Since they'd already left a portal mark there earlier, they simply used the Door-Door Fruit to jump directly back.
"Let's go! I'm feeling lucky tonight!" Tsunade cheered, tugging Yusuke by the hand toward the casino.
"Seriously?" Yusuke raised an eyebrow. He'd heard her say that before. Many times. And every single time… she lost. She still hadn't paid back her debt, either.
"It's all just luck!" Tsunade insisted.
"Whatever. Let me handle things this time. I'll show you what a real gambling god looks like," Yusuke said, his tone light and confident.
"You can gamble? Why didn't you ever tell me?" Tsunade huffed.
"I'm not good at everything, but I know my way around dice. Big or Small is simple," he shrugged.
"Hmph," she scoffed, clearly unconvinced.
The moment they entered the casino, the entire room buzzed with energy. People were shouting, laughing, placing bets.
"Exchange one million ryō into chips," Yusuke ordered.
"Yes, sir. Please wait just a moment," the casino attendant replied respectfully. Though Yusuke was still young, his confident demeanor and generous tipping made it clear he wasn't someone to underestimate.
Soon, a female staff member arrived and carefully set down a stack of chips in front of him.
"This is for you," Yusuke said, slipping her a tip.
"Thank you very much, sir!"
"Let's go! Start already!" Tsunade nudged him impatiently. There was a slight edge to her voice—jealousy, perhaps? Not that either of them noticed. Yusuke, oblivious as ever, simply focused on the game.
"Kid, still wet behind the ears and already gambling?"
"Yeah, little punk thinks he can win at this?"
A few gamblers sneered, mocking him. Yusuke didn't even flinch.
"Bets are closed!"
"Big! Big! Big!"
"Small! Go small!"
"I'm betting on big," Yusuke declared, pushing all his chips forward in one move.
"What a dumb kid. All that money and no brains."
The dealer rolled the dice.
Five. Five. Six. Total: sixteen.
Big.
— — —
Yusuke hit the mark every time. His predictions were flawless. Before long, other gamblers started copying his bets. At one point, he even wagered on triples. No one dared follow… but when triple dice actually came out, regret filled the room.
By the end of the night, he'd turned his one million into fifty million ryō.
The casino manager, who had been watching nervously, finally approached. With a forced smile, he politely asked Yusuke to take a break. He clearly recognized Tsunade. As one of their most infamous regulars, she was well-known not for her luck—but for her catastrophic losing streak. Plenty of men had tried to flirt with her over the years, and every one of them had met disaster. After all, Tsunade was one of the Legendary Sannin. Not someone to mess with.
Eventually, after a bit of persuasion, Yusuke agreed to leave the table. As expected, Tsunade had already lost a good chunk of the winnings by the time they left—but Yusuke didn't make a fuss. After a few more rounds, they decided to head home.
With a flick of the Door-Door Fruit, they returned straight to Tsunade's house.
"Hand it over," Tsunade said, reaching out.
"What?" Yusuke blinked.
"The money. You won big, so you're splitting it with me," she stated boldly.
"You're unbelievable. You just burned through twenty million of it—and that was mine!"
"If I hadn't been there whispering advice, you wouldn't have won anything. Total rookie," she argued.
"Nope. Not happening. And don't forget, you've still got unpaid debt from years ago," Yusuke shot back.
"Hmph! Fine. Be like that," she pouted, puffing her cheeks just a bit.
"…Did you just act cute?" Yusuke muttered in disbelief.
"You jerk! Get out!" Realizing what she'd done, Tsunade flushed and hurled a punch at him.
Seeing it coming, Yusuke opened an Air Door and vanished before her fist could land.
Left alone in the room, Tsunade stared at the space where he'd just stood.
"It's been a long time… since I felt this happy," she whispered.
Ever since her younger brother passed away, this was the first time Tsunade had smiled like that—from the heart.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Join my Patreon here:
🔗 patreon.com/FaaanzKun
✅ Enjoy 40+ chapters ahead of WebNovel
✅ Get 1-2 new chapters every day exclusively on Patreon
Join my Ko-Fi here:
🔗 ko-fi.com/faaanzkun
Join now and dive deeper into the story—weeks ahead of public release!
Thank you for your amazing support 💖
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —