War had returned.

  Unlike the Third Great Ninja War, this one involved only Konoha and Kumogakure.

  And for now, it was mostly a probing conflict.

  Kumo had tasted bitter defeat the st time they invaded, all thanks to one man—Namikaze Minato, who single-handedly stopped the A-B Combo: the Fourth Raikage, A, and Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki.

  But now Minato was dead, an unexpected casualty.

  Kumogakure wasted no time. They unched another strike.

  If Konoha, now without Minato, failed to resist, then it would be a bloodless profit for Kumo.

  And if things didn’t work out? Well, no big deal. They’d just fall back to the negotiation table.

  Either way, Konoha didn’t have the spine to go all-out anymore—not after everything they’d been through. They wouldn’t dare fight Kumo to the bitter end.

  According to the original timeline, this war would drag on for two to three years.

  Natsume remembered this arc vividly, mainly because Kumogakure would pull a major stunt during the peace talks.

  Their envoys would attempt to kidnap the Hyūga cn’s heiress, Hinata. But instead of an easy win, they’d get a corpse—Hinata's father, Hiashi, killed the would-be abductor on the spot.

  Kumo, shameless as ever, would twist it around and demand justice: hand over the “murderer” or face another war.

  In the end, it was Hiashi’s twin brother, Hizashi, from the branch family, who took the fall—sacrificing himself to maintain peace.

  Now…

  Tanzaku Town.

  A den of indulgence not far from Konoha.

  Eight characters summed it up perfectly: eat, drink, whore, gamble—they had it all.

  A pce guaranteed never to disappoint.

  Natsume wandered the streets, eyes darting left and right, taking it all in.

  Compared to the still-rebuilding Konoha, Tanzaku Town was positively booming.

  Vendors hawked their wares, izakayas lured in drinkers, casinos gleamed under neon lights, and scantily-cd women leaned zily in doorways.

  In weather this cold, quite a few men looked ready to “warm them up” with their bodies.

  Tsunade didn’t spare any of them a gnce. One hand gripped a bright red case; the other held Natsume’s tightly.

  With the ease of a seasoned regur, she came to a stop outside a rge casino.

  “Natsume,” she said, letting go of his hand, “transform your face. With that kid look of yours, they’re not letting you gamble.”

  Natsume nodded. With a puff of smoke, he performed the Transformation Jutsu and morphed into a thirty-something-year-old man.

  “Not bad,” Tsunade commented, eyeing his new face. “Who’s that?”

  “No clue,” Natsume replied casually. “Just some random guy I saw on the street.”

  That was a lie.

  He had transformed into Chow Yun-fat from God of Gamblers.

  Cue the cssic theme music.

  “Let’s go.”

  Tsunade pushed open the doors, drawing every eye in the pce.

  The head pit boss caught sight of her neckce and his expression stiffened. “No way… Is that her?”

  “Her who?” asked a cheongsam-cd dealer nearby. “She famous or something?”

  “You idiot!”

  The boss shot her a gre. “You work in a casino and don’t know her name? That’s the legendary walking jackpot!”

  By the end, he couldn’t even suppress his glee. He actually ughed.

  Tsunade didn’t care. She popped open the case, revealing stacks of cash.

  “Change it all for chips,” she said, high-spirited.

  “Of course!” The pit boss practically rolled out a red carpet for her.

  Everyone in the underground knew: this woman never won. If Tsunade was here, she was basically making a donation.

  Free money incoming!

  In no time, she had her chips—150,000 ryo.

  Not exactly pocket change, but not absurdly high either.

  In terms of ninja missions, it was about the reward for a B-rank job.

  Except mission rewards were split between the vilge, the team, and administration. A ninja wouldn’t actually pocket the full amount.

  To earn that kind of cash solo, you’d need to complete three or four B-rank missions at least.

  But hey, Tsunade was one of the legendary Sannin. Missions were easy money for her.

  If not for her gambling habit, she’d be living like a queen. Just look at Jiraiya and Orochimaru for comparison.

  Jiraiya was off somewhere, probably ghosting everyone again.

  Orochimaru was pouring his fortune into human experiments.

  “Split half with my student—let him have some fun.”

  Tsunade waved a hand.

  The boss gnced at Natsume and smiled.

  The student of a walking jackpot? That’s two jackpots in one day!

  Double the luck.

  Natsume received 80,000 ryo in chips and picked a random table to sit at.

  The casino had all kinds of games.

  But at Natsume’s suggestion, Tsunade stuck to one simple one: betting high or low.

  Rules were easy.

  If you bet right, you double your wager.

  If you bet wrong, the house takes your chips.

  On paper, it was a fifty-fifty chance.

  But in real-world statistics? A few dozen rounds, maybe a hundred? That kind of fairness was a fantasy.

  On top of that, the house took a 5% cut from any winnings.

  Losing money was practically built into the system.

  The dealer shook the dice cup, set it down on the table. “Pce your bets.”

  Tsunade hesitated for two seconds before tossing down three chips—3,000 ryo on “low.”

  Natsume casually pushed out eight chips on “high.”

  He wasn’t going all in. Not yet. He wanted to see if Tsunade’s legendary bad luck really held up.

  The cup opened.

  Triple sixes.

  “All bets on high win,” the dealer announced with professional politeness.

  Tsunade didn’t look the least bit upset.

  Sure, she lost 3,000 ryo—but Natsume just made bank.

  She wasn’t addicted to gambling just for the thrill. It was partly habit… partly escapism. A way to forget all the grief from her past.

  Losing money? She could live with that.

  But Natsume was different.

  To Tsunade, he was practically a little brother now. That’s why she was indulging him in this casino escapade.

  And honestly? She was having fun.

  Unfortunately, not everyone shared her mood.

  The pit boss was fuming.

  Are you two cheesing the system right now?

  Natsume wasn’t being subtle. After a few rounds, other pyers started copying his bets.

  The pit boss’s face grew darker with every win.

  Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he shut down the whole floor.

  No more bleeding today. End of story.

  “Hell yeah!”

  Tsunade counted her chips. In just one hour, she’d raked in 100,000 ryo.

  Unbelievable.

  She didn’t care much about money, but seeing those winnings still gave her a rush.

  “C’mon, next stop!”

  Grabbing Natsume’s arm, she practically skipped to the next casino.

  Dusk.

  Natsume examined his bankbook, thoroughly satisfied.

  A single day, and they were up a cool million ryo.

  Equivalent to completing a high-risk, time-consuming S-rank mission.

  “Natsume, you’re still a kid,” Tsunade said, eyeing the bankbook with a sly smile. “Want me to hold onto it for you?”

  Wait a minute… Why did that line sound so familiar?

  Natsume had a fshback to his childhood—his mom, using those same words to snatch his New Year’s money.

  He shook his head quickly. “I’ll hold it myself.”

  Sure, he was doing this to keep Tsunade company. But money was money.

  And besides, his organization needed funding too.

  Tsunade saw how protective he was of the cash and chuckled, ruffling his hair. “Alright, you keep it.”

  She usually wouldn’t trust a kid with that kind of money.

  But Natsume was smart. Mature. And frankly, he’d earned it.

  “Let’s come back tomorrow,” she added.

  Tsunade clearly hadn’t realized the problem.

  They’d just pissed off every casino in Tanzaku Town.

  Next time, the welcome probably wouldn’t include drinks—but a quick escort to the exit.

  Still, Natsume couldn’t help but think—wasn’t this technically helping her quit gambling?

  Back in Konoha, after dinner and three hours of Wood Style training, Natsume finally had a moment to himself.

  He started pnning his next move.

  Now that he had a million ryo, he could rent a pce—set up a temporary base.

  Only problem: he had no one to staff it.

  Kabuto was still too weak. At least two or three years away from being useful.

  Rubbing his chin, Natsume suddenly thought of Karin and her mother.

  Now that… that could work.

  Two Uzumaki cn members. It’d be a waste not to recruit them.

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