After watching for a moment, Uchiha Hikaru tossed the money to Tsunade behind him and said,
"Alright, guess you got lucky this time. Let's go—let's check out some other spots."
Nonō Yakushi and the others nodded in agreement.
Tsunade, briefly stunned, said nothing more.
This whole ordeal had made one thing painfully clear to her: her luck really was the worst.
And more than that, it had shown her the true nature of gambling—nine times out of ten, you lose.
Since she hadn't gone through her original life experiences in this timeline, she no longer needed gambling as a distraction from pain. So now that she understood, she had made up her mind to stop gambling altogether.
The group strolled out of the casino.
Behind them, the man in white silently let out a breath of relief, thankful to have escaped disaster.
But just as that relief surfaced in his chest, the leading shinobi of his group suddenly disintegrated—without warning—into a wisp of ash and vanished into the air.
The abruptness of it shocked everyone present.
Their eyes widened in disbelief.
Terror and unease spread rapidly through the crowd.
The man in white turned pale, cold sweat pouring down his back.
He understood—this was Hikaru's warning.
If he hadn't stepped in to de-escalate things earlier, he'd be the one reduced to ash right now.
A deathly silence fell over the casino, with only floating specks of ash and the fear lodged deep in everyone's hearts remaining.
—
After leaving the casino, Hikaru and the others began wandering around Tanzaku Town.
This street was one of the most famous entertainment districts in the Land of Fire—lined with all kinds of shops and dazzling goods, it attracted swarms of visitors for sightseeing and shopping.
They strolled and paused, pointing at this, poking at that, clearly enjoying themselves.
Nonō was especially interested in a stall selling masks.
She picked up a fox mask and put it on, making Tsunade burst into laughter.
Uchiha Chiri, meanwhile, was drawn to a shop selling ninja tools.
She carefully picked out a shuriken, tested its weight in her hand, then gave a satisfied nod.
Hikaru stood off to the side, quietly watching the girls enjoy themselves, feeling a sense of calm settle over him.
After some time, they arrived at a well-known ramen shop and decided to give it a try.
When the ramen was served, steam curled up into the air and the delicious aroma wafted out, instantly whetting their appetites.
They slurped noodles, chatted casually, and savored the rare moment of peace.
Just then, the door to the shop gently opened, and a familiar figure walked in.
Hatake Sakumo stepped inside, the warmth and lively atmosphere of the ramen shop bringing a sense of comfort.
As his gaze swept across the room, it suddenly locked onto a familiar face.
There was Hikaru, laughing and chatting with his companions at a corner table.
Hatake Sakumo's eyes lit up instantly.
He walked straight over, beaming.
After placing his order, he sat down and greeted them,
"What a coincidence. You guys here too?"
Hikaru looked up and, seeing Sakumo, returned the friendly smile.
"Yeah, didn't expect to see you here too, Sakumo-senpai."
"Haha, don't call me 'senpai'—if you do, I'll have to start calling you Lord Hikaru." Sakumo chuckled.
Ever since the Chūnin Exams, Hatake Sakumo's prowess had gained wider recognition. His nickname "White Fang" now echoed throughout the shinobi world thanks to countless successful missions.
However, compared to Hikaru, he was still not on the same level.
Hikaru's performance in the Chūnin Exams had been overwhelmingly dominant—even though he'd kept a low profile in recent years, no one who had seen those events could forget them.
And Hikaru was widely acknowledged as Konoha's next Hokage, so Sakumo's words weren't out of place at all.
Tsunade laughed and interjected,
"Alright, enough with the fuss. Just call each other by name already."
Hikaru and Sakumo shared a glance and broke into hearty laughter.
—
As the conversation continued, Hikaru learned that Sakumo was currently on a mission.
But when he heard the mission details, he couldn't help the tremor that ran through his heart.
It turned out Sakumo had been sent to investigate the destruction of Grass Ninja Village.
That news shook Hikaru to the core.
In his memory, Grass Ninja Village still existed well into the start of the main storyline.
No matter how much he had "butterflied" the timeline, it shouldn't have been erased this early.
After all, he hadn't gone out of his way to target it.
There wasn't even a war going on right now—so how could it be gone?
So Hikaru couldn't help asking:
"You're sure it was Grass Ninja Village that got destroyed?"
Sakumo nodded, his gaze turning heavy.
"Yeah. I saw the ruins with my own eyes.
The whole place looked like it had been wiped out by some overwhelming force—buildings collapsed, trees snapped, everything in chaos."
He left it at that—he didn't share any mission details.
The destruction of Grass Ninja Village was public knowledge now, so that much he could reveal.
But the finer points were classified, and he wasn't about to break protocol.
Thankfully, Hikaru wasn't truly interested—he was just caught off guard by how drastically the timeline had shifted.
Realizing Sakumo wasn't going to say more, Hikaru didn't push the issue.
That's when Hikaru's eyes fell on the ninja pouch strapped to Sakumo's waist, where a colorful book cover peeked out.
He teased,
"Sakumo-senpai, isn't it about time you found yourself a girlfriend? You should really cut back on those kinds of books."
Sakumo's face instantly turned bright red.
He quickly looked down at his pouch and realized the book he'd just bought had slipped partially out.
Awkwardly laughing, he shoved it back in and explained,
"It's just a bit of harmless fun—don't get the wrong idea."
Hikaru burst into laughter.
'Like father, like son. No wonder Kakashi turned out that way,' he thought.
But then, he noticed several curious gazes all landing squarely on him.
Turning his head, he saw Tsunade, Nonō, and Chiri all staring at him with inquisitive eyes.
This time, Hikaru couldn't laugh it off.
These girls' curiosity was just too intense.
He started rambling, trying to change the subject and gloss over the moment.
He cracked some random jokes, brought up recent funny stories—just enough to steer them off track for now.
But he didn't notice the gleam in Nonō and Tsunade's eyes.
These two Medical Ninja were extremely well-versed in human anatomy.
There was no way they didn't understand the real meaning behind "those kinds of books."
Only Chiri remained innocently curious, oblivious to the deeper implications.
And so, the cheerful atmosphere continued to fill the room.