Uehara walked out of the back room. The noise in the main hall was deafening. Smoke filled the air and the sound of dice hitting porcelain cups echoed from every corner.
"I am good for it! I am Tsunade!"
A blonde woman with a large bust and a green coat was slamming her hand on a table. Next to her a black haired woman holding a pig looked ready to cry from embarrassment.
"Lady Tsunade please... we have no more money..." Shizune whispered tugging at the woman's sleeve. "We need to save enough for dinner."
"Quiet Shizune! I just need one win! Just one! I can feel my luck changing!"
Uehara stood in the shadows near the door watching.
System Notification:
[Side Mission Triggered: Defeat one of the Legendary Sannin.]
[Reward: Unknown.]
Uehara almost choked. Defeat a Sannin?
In a fight? He would be dead in three seconds. Tsunade had monstrous strength and regeneration. Even with his new skills he was not ready to face a Kage level opponent head on.
But then he looked at the context. They were in a gambling den. The mission did not specify combat.
"Defeat... doesn't necessarily mean a ninja battle right?" Uehara thought.
Tsunade turned around scanning the room desperately looking for a lender or a new opponent. Her brown eyes locked onto Uehara. Specifically they locked onto the heavy pouch at his waist which was bulging with the 5.5 million Ryo he just received.
Her eyes sparkled. It was the look of a hungry predator finding a very fat rabbit.
"Hey you! Handsome kid over there!" Tsunade shouted pointing at him.
Uehara blinked and pointed at himself. "Me?"
"Yes you!" Tsunade walked over slapping him on the shoulder. Her strength was heavy. Uehara felt his bones creak and he had to use chakra to keep his knees from buckling.
"You are a ninja right? From the Rain Village? I saw you come out of the exchange room" Tsunade grinned showing her teeth. "You must have just finished a big mission. How about a game?"
"A game?" Uehara acted confused.
"A friendly game of dice!" Tsunade leaned in close smelling of sake and perfume. "If you win I will give you... uh... this necklace!"
She grabbed the crystal necklace hanging around her neck. The First Hokage's necklace. A treasure worth enough to buy three mountains.
Shizune panicked. "Lady Tsunade! You can't bet that! That belongs to your grandfather!"
"Shut up! I am going to win this time!" Tsunade insisted pushing Shizune aside. She looked back at Uehara with predatory eyes. "Well kid? Are you brave enough?"
Uehara looked at the necklace. It was worth money sure. But he was more interested in the mission reward.
"And if I lose?" Uehara asked.
"If you lose you give me that bag of money" Tsunade said shamelessly pointing at his waist.
It was daylight robbery. A legendary ninja bullying a genin out of his hard earned bounty money.
"Okay" Uehara smiled looking like an innocent lamb leading itself to the slaughter. "I accept."
He knew exactly who she was. The Legendary Sucker. Her luck was so bad it was practically a universal law. Betting against her was the safest investment in the ninja world.
They sat at a table. A crowd gathered instantly eager to watch the famous Sannin lose again.
"Dice" Tsunade said slamming a cup down. "High or Low."
"I will let you choose first Lady Tsunade" Uehara said politely.
"I choose High!" Tsunade shouted confidently slamming a fistful of IOUs on the table.
"Then I choose Low" Uehara said placing a stack of bills on the table.
The dealer shook the cup. Clatter clatter.
He lifted the lid.
"1, 2, 3. Low."
Tsunade's jaw dropped.
"Again!" she roared. "Double or nothing!"
"High!"
Result: Low.
"Low!"
Result: High.
"Evens!"
Result: Odds.
Ten minutes later Tsunade was slumped over the table completely defeated. Uehara had not only kept his 5.5 million Ryo but he had won every single Ryo Shizune had hidden in her pockets plus Tsunade's sake money.
[Mission Complete: Defeat one of the Legendary Sannin (Gambling).]
[Reward: 500 Gold Coins. Passive Skill: Life Steal (Minor).]
Uehara looked at the reward. Life Steal? That was useful. It meant his attacks would heal him slightly. A perfect sustain tool.
"Kid..." Tsunade growled lifting her head. Her eyes were bloodshot. She grabbed his collar. "One more. I bet the necklace. For real this time."
Uehara looked at the desperate woman. Taking the First Hokage's necklace would bring too much trouble especially from Konoha. He had what he wanted.
"I am done" Uehara said standing up.
He grabbed a small stack of bills from his winnings—money he had won from her—and pushed it back towards Shizune who looked like she wanted to die.
"Here" Uehara said to the shocked assistant. "Buy her some sake. And maybe some food for the pig. It looks hungry."
Tsunade blinked. "You... you are giving it back?"
"My teacher told me to respect my elders" Uehara said with a straight face. "And you look like you need it more than I do Grandma."
The entire hall went silent. The air temperature seemed to drop ten degrees.
Grandma.
A vein popped on Tsunade's forehead. She clenched her fist. The sturdy wooden table cracked under the pressure splintering into pieces.
"What... did you call me?"
Uehara realized he might have pushed his luck too far.
"I mean... beautiful sister!" Uehara corrected himself quickly backing away. "I have to go! My mom is calling me! Bye!"
"Speed Boots active!"
He turned and bolted out of the tavern moving faster than a genin had any right to move.
"Get back here you brat!" Tsunade shouted standing up and overturning the table. "I will turn you into dust!"
But the Mastermind was already gone vanishing into the crowd leaving behind a furious Sannin and a relieved Shizune.
"He was... a strange kid" Shizune said clutching the returned money. "But at least we can eat tonight."
Tsunade huffed chugging a bottle of sake she grabbed from a nearby patron. She wiped her mouth staring at the door where Uehara had fled.
"Rain Village huh?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "That kid... he wasn't scared of me at all."