Inside the casino, Tsunade sat upright at the gaming table, her expression heavy and grave.
The round had just ended.
"Three ones!"
"Whoa! She actually won at twenty times the odds?!"
"I thought everyone said this woman was a total sucker for losses? How did she suddenly win — and on something as absurd as three ones?!"
"Hey, help me work this out: a million ryō multiplied by twenty is how much?"
"Twenty million ryō! A full twenty million!"
"Just this one bet — she not only won back all the millions she lost before, but turned it into several times more!"
"Now this is going to get interesting. Twenty million ryō… I wonder if the casino boss can even pay up."
"Even if he can, he won't! If he pays that much, he'll go bankrupt!"
"True. Compared to reputation, money always comes first. Worst case, he just packs up and moves somewhere else to start over."
The hall buzzed with noise as everyone talked and speculated.
Meanwhile, the dealer standing before the dice was already drenched in cold sweat.
I swear on my life — I did not cheat just now. There was no reason to cheat at all!
If she had bet on high or low, he might have adjusted the outcome with his skill.
But in this final round, she had thrown all her remaining money onto the almost impossible result of three ones — it looked like pure desperation, someone ready to lose everything and walk away.
So he hadn't bothered to pay attention, shaking the dice casually and setting the cup down without a second thought. Even from the sound alone, he knew it could never be three ones.
Yet somehow, against all logic, it had happened.
There they were — three bright, glaring red ones, lined up as if mocking his blindness.
He knew if he didn't handle this perfectly, his body would be found floating in the gutter by midnight.
The casino's owner didn't care how much profit he had made in the past; he would only remember that this one roll had cost the house twenty million ryō.
"Amazing! Lady Tsunade is incredible!"
Beside her, Shizune was so excited her face turned bright red. After following Tsunade for so long, this was the first time she had ever seen her win — and win this much.
But in her excitement, Shizune failed to notice Tsunade's strange state.
Though she had just won a fortune, Tsunade's eyes were distant and unfocused, her expression tense and heavy, as if she could sense something terrible was about to happen.
As the crowd shouted and jeered, demanding the casino pay out, the owner finally could not stay hidden any longer and hurried out.
His first action was to shoot a sharp, furious glare at the dealer. The man's heart sank — he knew he might be finished.
"My apologies, everyone, please remain calm! We will most certainly honor this payout of twenty million ryō. However, we do not currently have that much cash on hand here; it will take a little time to transfer funds from our reserves."
"If our guest does not wish to play further, please make yourself comfortable in our private VIP lounge. We will exchange your chips for cash shortly."
"Of course, if you still feel lucky and wish to continue, we will bring you twenty million ryō worth of chips immediately."
The casino boss spoke smoothly and confidently.
After all, twenty million ryō was no small sum; asking for a short delay was reasonable enough.
At least for now, he wasn't openly refusing to pay — and that was enough to quiet many of the onlookers. In fact, several began to look at Tsunade with envious, greedy eyes.
Seeing the tension in the room ease, the boss breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
But as for "transferring funds"? Hah — as if.
Where would he get that much money on such short notice? Even if he had it, he would never hand it over willingly.
His words were just a trick to buy time. Once he lured the woman into the so‑called VIP room, he had a hundred ways to make her "voluntarily" forfeit the money — or even end up owing him more.
And if she chose to keep playing instead? That would be even better!
He was certain this last win was nothing but a fluke — unless the dealer wanted to die. If she kept betting, she would almost certainly lose it all back. Then no one could say a word against it.
A cold smirk crept across the boss's mind.
Tsunade glanced at him once and saw right through every scheme he was hatching.
But she didn't care in the slightest. Compared to money, there was something else far more important on her mind.
"Lady Tsunade, let's exchange the chips and leave," Shizune whispered urgently beside her.
But Tsunade slammed her palm down on the table. "Who said anything about leaving? Bring me the chips — I'm playing on!"
"Well said! A true woman of spirit! Bring twenty million ryō in chips to this lady — and do it quickly!"
Before Tsunade could change her mind, the boss ordered his staff to fetch the chips, barely able to contain his delight.
At the same time, he shot a sharp warning look at the dealer, who had just narrowly escaped disaster — a clear message: Do your job properly. If you mess up again, you won't see tomorrow's sunrise.
The dealer understood perfectly. He nodded subtly, already determined to control the dice with absolute precision from now on. He had just gotten his life back; he would not risk it again.
The other gamblers grew excited too, hoping Tsunade would lose it all in the next round.
Only Shizune, holding Ton‑Ton in her arms, watched anxiously, silently begging Tsunade to stop while she was ahead.
But Tsunade ignored her, as if in a trance, determined to keep going.
"Place your bets! Place your bets!"
Everyone waited eagerly to see what she would choose next — high or low.
But to everyone's shock, Tsunade acted as if she had completely lost her mind. She swept every single chip on the tray and pushed them all onto the space marked three ones.
"She's lost it!"
"Is this woman crazy? Two times in a row on three ones? Impossible!"
"If she wins again, I'll chop off my own head and use it as a chamber pot for everyone!"
"You fools don't get it — this is exactly what being smart means. Does she really think she can walk out of here with that much money alive?"
"Forget it — I'm sitting this one out and watching."
"Same here. I have a feeling this round is going to be something special."
"Open the dice! Hurry up and open it!"
When the dealer saw Tsunade bet on three ones again, he let out a long breath of relief.
He was certain this time: the dice inside were 1, 1, 2 — a total of four, definitely low. There was no way this could go wrong.
As the boss signaled frantically from the side, the dealer smiled with total confidence.
I, the great gambler, have won!
Open!
WHOA!!!
First, a strange hush fell over the room — then it erupted in an uproar.
All three dice lay perfectly aligned: three bright, blood‑red ones, staring up like the gaze of the Grim Reaper himself.
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