The village gate was far more magnificent than before.
People flowed in and out without end—ninjas carrying travel packs, merchants with carts piled high with goods, and even tourists who had come just to see the famous village.
Tsunade stood at the gate, staring at the familiar yet unfamiliar scene before her, brows tightly furrowed.
Beside her, Shizune held Tonton in her arms, her expression just as shocked.
"Tsunade-sama, is this really Konoha?" Shizune asked in a small voice. "It looks completely different from how I remember it."
Tsunade didn't answer.
This time, she hadn't come back for nostalgia.
She had come back for money.
From the rumors she'd heard in the gambling circles, the Leaf Village had carried out a series of reforms and its economy was now flourishing like never before.
What tempted her the most was the news that Konoha had opened the very first, and largest, fully legal casino in the entire ninja world—the "Konoha Entertainment Hall."
They said the games there were new and exciting, and the payout rates were extremely high.
For someone who always lost at gambling yet was addicted to it with her whole soul, this was a fatal temptation.
Tsunade firmly believed that this time, she would definitely break her curse and win back all the money she had lost before—with interest.
"Tsunade-sama, maybe we shouldn't go gambling…" Shizune said helplessly. "Have you forgotten? You've never once won in the past."
"That's where you're wrong, Shizune." Tsunade waved her hand grandly. "Those were just little setbacks on the road to victory. If you can't even overcome something this small, how are you supposed to win big? Hahaha!"
At this point, Tsunade was already completely lost in a fantasy where she would sweep through the casino unhindered and walk out with an enormous fortune. She had no awareness at all that if she failed to turn things around again, she might sink into an even deeper abyss than before.
But no matter how much Shizune tried to persuade her, Tsunade probably wouldn't listen. So Shizune could only give up with a sigh.
And so, Tsunade led Shizune, head held high and chest puffed out, marching into the Leaf Village in great spirits.
The prosperous commercial street quickly made her feel dizzy.
Both sides of the street were lined with all kinds of shops she had never seen before, selling goods from all over the world.
Tsunade had no interest in admiring any of it.
Following the directions she had gathered, she went straight to a huge, resplendent building that looked like a golden palace—the Konoha Entertainment Hall.
When she pushed open the gold-trimmed doors, she stepped into a world she had never even imagined before.
Massive crystal chandeliers hung overhead. The floor was covered in red velvet carpet. Attendants in matching uniforms wove through the crowd with trays in hand.
All kinds of gambling tables and machines filled the hall.
There were traditional dice and cards, and also strange machines that glowed with lights and spun as they ran.
Tsunade's eyes lit up instantly.
This, was her paradise.
"Shizune! Exchange all of our money for chips!" she shouted with heroic vigor.
Shizune could only clutch Tonton tightly, her heart full of unease, as she reluctantly followed the order.
…
One day later.
At the entrance of the Konoha Entertainment Hall, Tsunade squatted on the ground holding her head, wearing nothing but a thin inner layer of clothing. Her whole body was shrouded in shadow.
Shizune stood beside her, completely at a loss, Tonton in her arms letting out anxious little squeals.
She had lost.
She had lost everything.
Not only had she gambled away all of her own savings, but in a rush of excitement she had even signed ten IOUs that she might never be able to repay in her entire lifetime.
She couldn't understand.
Why?
Why had the "brave gambler's luck" she prided herself on completely failed her here?
When she played dice, if she bet small, the result would definitely be big.
When she played cards, every time she went for twenty-one, the sum in her hand would inevitably become twenty-two.
When she sat down in front of one of those spinning slot machines, the person before her had just walked away after a big payout—but the moment she took that seat, the machine never spat out a single coin again.
Her "always loses when she gambles" curse was brought out to its fullest here, precise to the point it felt like some kind of law of nature.
When Jiraiya finally found her, this was the sight that greeted him.
"Tsunade… you…" He looked at his former teammate's utterly miserable state and couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.
"Jiraiya! You came at the perfect time!" Tsunade's eyes lit up as if she'd seen a savior. "Quick, lend me some money! I'm just one step away from turning it all around!"
"You still want to turn it around?" Jiraiya slapped his own forehead. "Do you have any idea how much you owe?"
He took the IOUs from Shizune. The moment he saw the string of numbers written on them, even he—a bestselling author whose royalties were nothing to scoff at—felt a pang in his chest.
"This much…"
"Tsunade-sama, we look forward to welcoming you again next time."
A polite manager walked out of the casino at that moment. Behind him were several burly security staff, clearly the kind of people who stayed on-site to "resolve issues" if they arose.
The manager gave Tsunade a courteous bow.
"According to our boss's rules, any gambling debts you incur can be repaid through labor," he said with a warm smile.
He then held out a document.
"Our boss thinks very highly of your talents. The newly built Konoha Central Hospital just happens to be lacking a director. With your level of medical ninjutsu, the salary from that position will be enough to pay off your debts within fifty years."
Tsunade looked at the "labor contract" in his hands and felt her anger boil over. To her, this was practically an insult.
"Cut the crap! I don't have money!" she snapped. "You want me to work it off? No way!"
"Work? Impossible. There's no way I'm working. Not in this lifetime!"
She suddenly stood up, fists clenched tight.
A powerful surge of chakra burst forth from her body.
"Kairiki Ken (Monstrous Strength Fist)!"
She planned to solve this the same way she always solved her problems—by doing what she did best.
However, her fist stopped in midair before she could swing.
At some point, two young men had appeared behind the casino manager.
One had black hair and a cold, sharp expression. The other was also black-haired, but his face wore a gentle smile.
Both of them were dressed in the uniform of the Uchiha Security Force, bearing the fan crest on their backs. But the aura they gave off made Tsunade's heart tighten.
In an instant, she realized that these two were anything but ordinary. For now, it was better to observe before she acted.
Itachi.
Shisui.
They didn't say a word, merely stood there on the spot, quietly watching Tsunade.
The fist that could easily split rock and crack the earth could no longer be swung down.
Each of these two young men gave her pressure no less than what she felt from Orochimaru at his peak.
She had no doubt that if she dared to make a move, the next second she would fall into a state of utter ruin.
Her strength was definitely at the level of a Kage, but since when had Kage-level become so common?
Randomly pull out two young Uchiha, and they were both on par with her.
Her violence and shamelessness, the fields she was best at, were completely crushed by absolute strength and "rules."
Tsunade's fighting spirit leaked away. Her raised fist drooped powerlessly to her side.
Shizune watched this dramatic scene unfold, but in her heart, a deep curiosity was quietly taking root toward the "casino boss" who had not shown his face even once yet still had everything in the palm of his hand.
Just who was this person?
He had not only predicted that Tsunade would come, but also that she would lose. He had even prepared the follow-up "job arrangement" and "armed deterrence" down to the last detail.
This was no longer mere gambling skill.
This was the art of manipulating human nature.
In the end, under the "escort" of the two Uchiha prodigies, one of the Legendary Sannin, the pinnacle of medical ninjutsu, Tsunade-hime, was "invited" back to the Leaf Village in an extremely undignified manner and became the contract director of the Konoha Central Hospital.
Her very first task was to treat the monks who had been injured in the battle at the Fire Temple.
(End of Chapter)
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