Chapter 26: Tsunade's Private Tutoring
"Nonō, you go ahead and take care of your work. I'll watch Hoshikawa for you," Tsunade said casually after they finished eating, waving her hand.
"You can't take him to the casino," Nonō Yakushi said, looking at her with suspicion.
"I won't," Tsunade said, crossing her arms over her chest.
She wouldn't take him, but if Hoshikawa suggested it himself, that was another matter.
"Then I'll leave him to you, Tsunade-sama," Nonō Yakushi thought for a moment, finally agreeing.
She wasn't as free as Tsunade; she had many matters at Konoha Hospital that required her personal attention.
"Hoshikawa," Nonō Yakushi said, holding three empty bento boxes, "Remember to be obedient and don't talk back to Tsunade-sama."
"Mhm," Hoshikawa nodded dutifully.
"One more thing," Nonō Yakushi suddenly remembered something. "Don't leave the village recently."
"Why?" Hoshikawa paused, asking curiously.
"There have been multiple cases of missing children around Konoha Village, many of them newborns," Nonō Yakushi didn't hide anything, stating directly.
Missing infants?
Hoshikawa immediately connected it to the surgery Tsunade performed that morning and Inoichi Yamanaka's attitude.
Coupled with the current timeframe, could it be the Wood Release experiments?
In the original story, to replicate Hashirama Senju's invincible Wood Release, Konoha Village once conducted Wood Release experiments. They used Hashirama Senju's cells for human experimentation, which was eventually halted by Hiruzen Sarutobi due to countless casualties.
However, Danzō Shimura and Orochimaru secretly continued, successfully producing a Wood Release ninja named Yamato.
"In short, just don't leave the village," Nonō Yakushi said softly. "Konoha Village has many ninja; no one would dare to make a move inside the village."
"Okay," Hoshikawa suppressed the urge to retort and replied.
Nonō Yakushi turned and left the office.
"Tsunade-sama, may I begin?" Hoshikawa asked, extending his hands above the carp.
"Mhm," Tsunade glanced at him. "If something's wrong, I'll point it out."
Hoshikawa took a deep breath, and chakra surged from his hands.
The chakra emitted a warm, faint glow.
Tsunade's fingers gently tapped her thigh.
She was thinking about where to borrow money.
Though she owed a lot, with the title of one of the Legendary Sannin and the Medical Saint, she could always borrow money.
In the war-torn ninja world, anyone could get injured, and at such times, a good medical ninja was essential.
"I'm going out for a bit," Tsunade quickly found her target.
Hoshikawa nodded slightly.
But to his surprise, Tsunade returned in less than ten minutes.
A smile was on her face; she seemed to be in a good mood.
He didn't need to think twice to know she had found some money.
"Your posture is wrong."
Tsunade walked in front of him, extended a hand, and raised his arm slightly higher.
Hoshikawa instinctively looked up, his vision immediately blocked by a mountain-like shadow, completely obscuring her face.
"Focus," Tsunade reminded him.
Hoshikawa turned off his "auto-aim" and continued to practice.
With Tsunade's help, his progress bar increased significantly.
Two hours later, it had reached 15%.
Tsunade's private tutoring was indeed impressive.
"Are you still good?" Tsunade scrutinized him for a moment and asked.
"My chakra is almost depleted," Hoshikawa put away the scroll. "Let's go to the casino."
Tsunade's spirits lifted, her beautiful face filled with eagerness.
Under her lead, Hoshikawa arrived at the ninja world's casino.
Having lived two lives, this was his first time in a physical casino.
Online casinos, stumbled upon by accidentally clicking links, didn't count.
"Tsunade-sama," the young man at the casino entrance stopped them. "According to regulations, children are not allowed inside."
"Oh really?" Tsunade raised her hand and clenched it fiercely.
The vibrating air startled the young man, making him step back, his face paling.
"Please... please come in..." the young man quickly put on a fawning smile.
He couldn't withstand that thirty years' worth of power in one punch.
As soon as Tsunade entered the casino, she immediately drew everyone's attention, their eyes seemingly displaying money symbols.
The reason was simple.
She was the legendary "Big Spender" (lit. big fat sheep). Anyone who frequented casinos knew that title belonged to Tsunade.
As for Hoshikawa, he was automatically ignored.
People came to the casino to win money; everything else was irrelevant.
Hoshikawa looked around.
The ninja world's casino was a bit like an early arcade.
To the left were various plug-in gambling machines, and to the right were gambling tables where groups of people gathered to place bets. It was a shame there were no sexy dealers.
"Make some room for Tsunade-sama!" the young dealer said with a smile.
The money cow has arrived.
For a moment, an argument broke out around the gambling table.
Everyone wanted to be at Tsunade's table.
Oh no!
Hoshikawa discovered a big problem.
Due to his height, he couldn't see the gambling table at all.
Just as he was about to find a stool, he felt his body lift slightly, and he was picked up.
A faint fragrance permeated the air.
Hoshikawa blinked.
It was only when he was sitting on Tsunade's lap that he realized what had happened.
"Alright, let's start," Tsunade said, holding Hoshikawa with one hand, leaning forward, looking serious.
Why the sudden collision?
Hoshikawa felt the soft pressure on his head.
He collected himself, and after getting a clear view of the gambling table, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
This wasn't a simple high-low game but a roulette wheel with thirty-seven slots.
Single-number bets, red or black bets, odd or even, high or low, etc., were all allowed.
The payout ratios varied from high to low.
Betting on a single number yielded the most.
It depends on luck.
Hoshikawa felt his luck shouldn't be bad; after all, he'd even experienced something like reincarnation.
And no matter how bad it was, it couldn't be worse than Tsunade's.
As long as he had normal luck, he wouldn't lose everything.
"Bet on black," Hoshikawa quickly said, seeing Tsunade bet on red.
"Alright then," Tsunade thought for a moment, then moved her chips to the black square.
"No more bets," the young dealer spun the wheel and said.
A few seconds later, the result was out: it was indeed a black square.
"It actually hit?!" Tsunade was stunned for a moment, then excitedly hugged Hoshikawa.
"I... I can't... can't breathe..." Caught off guard, Hoshikawa suddenly felt two great mountains pressing down on him.
"Again!" Tsunade released him, saying confidently, "I'm definitely winning it all back today!"
No, the goddess of fortune is clearly smiling at me.
Hoshikawa perked up.
While enjoying his human seat, he helped Tsunade strategize.
Though he couldn't say it was guaranteed to hit every time, at least by eliminating one wrong answer, the chances of winning increased significantly.
Three hours later, the two had won a small amount of 300,000 ryo.
It wasn't a huge sum of money, less than a third of an S-rank mission's reward.
But for Tsunade, it was a groundbreaking first.
Her luck had been neutralized by Hoshikawa, becoming normal.
"Let's go!" Tsunade patted Hoshikawa's shoulder. "My treat! I'm taking you for some roasted chicken!"
....
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