"You guys go on ahead!"
Uehara Naraku waved at Hoshigaki Kisame and Kaguya Kimimaro, then suddenly added, "Wait, leave me some money."
"Lord Uehara hasn't come of age yet, right?"
Hoshigaki Kisame's expression was somewhat peculiar. Just as he wanted to say more, he saw Uehara urging him with a look, so he tossed a sealing scroll to Uehara Naraku.
What kind of boss is this?
Asking his subordinates for money!
Uehara Naraku accepted the scroll, unable to resist glancing at the blond-haired female ninja at the gambling table and her domineering figure.
As a current underage in the Ninja World, Uehara wasn't thinking about anything inappropriate; he just wanted to complete two relatively simple side tasks.
Side task: Beat Tsunade at the gambling table (0/1), reward unknown.
Side task: Lose to Tsunade at the gambling table (0/1), reward unknown.
With two tasks this simple, surely he could complete at least one, right?
Even though the task is simple, the reward might not be that substantial.
Just when Uehara wanted to enter the casino, two bouncers shoved him out, cursing as they did so: "Kid, you haven't even grown hair in the right places, trying to be a loser here? Get out!"
"..."
The customs of the Ninja World are a bit peculiar.
People here ignore underage ninjas going to war, killing, burning places down, and tossing around paper bombs, but strictly forbid underage ninjas from entering casinos, pubs, and establishments.
Even bookstore owners will proactively refuse to sell inappropriate books to underage ninjas.
Perhaps this is the last moral line in the Ninja World.
Of course, this is just the attitude of ordinary people in the Ninja World; there are always exceptions, like the blond-haired female ninja Tsunade at the gambling table.
Tsunade grew up learning to gamble under the teachings of the God of Ninja, Senju Hashirama, ultimately getting entrenched in debt.
By evening time.
Tsunade had lost all the money she had on her, staggering out of the casino with her disciple, Shizune, planning to find a place to have a drink.
Shizune, holding a pink little pig, frowned and scolded her: "Lady Tsunade, you lost too much today..."
"Shizune, I know you must have some living expenses stashed away somewhere..."
Tsunade waved her hand, about to say something more, but noticed a card flying towards her from the corner of her eye and leaned back swiftly to dodge it!
Tsunade stood straight, looking at the card that had suddenly appeared on the wall.
This inexplicably flying card had cut off a strand of her hair, embedding deeply into the wall beside her!
"Who goes there!"
Tsunade turned her head sharply in the direction the card had flown from, only to see a boy playing with a card at the corner of the wall.
The card in Uehara Naraku's hand danced nimbly between his fingers. He slowly lifted his head to look at Tsunade, revealing an innocent smile: "Hey, wanna play a game? It's said to be... a jackpot."
"..."
Tsunade's face immediately turned furious, veins popping on her forehead as she clenched her fists, gritting her teeth: "Where's this little brat, daring to boast in front of me! Shizune, give me some money!"
It was bad enough to lose all afternoon, but now even a teenager dared to mock her, was this kid looking for trouble?
The Konoha Sannin are known for having little dignity, it's common for them to bully kids; Jiraiya would secretly spend all the savings Naruto had collected, while Orochimaru openly tried to seize Sasuke's body.
The gambling match between Tsunade and Uehara Naraku was simply child's play.
An hour later.
In a room of an inn.
Tsunade wiped her mouth, feeling refreshed, looking at Uehara Naraku with a hint of satisfaction on her face: "You're quite skilled, kid, but you have a lot of room to improve..."
"..."
Uehara Naraku looked at the satisfied Tsunade, then at the smiling Shizune, feeling like something was off with this world.
Tsunade proudly picked up the dice cup, glancing challengingly at the youngster across the gambling table: "Kid, wanna keep playing?"
After that, Tsunade laughed heartily and continued, "I'm even okay with you going into debt! Shizune, prepare some IOUs for him!"
"Yes, Lady Tsunade!"
Shizune, without objection, smiled and collected the last stack of money from in front of Uehara, turning to find pen and paper in the room.
Uehara Naraku snapped back to reality, hurriedly shaking his head and waving his hands at Tsunade: "No... there's no need for that... today is already enough..."
Having said that, Uehara quickly put on his shoes, intending to leave.
Because in the gambling match just now, Uehara lost to Tsunade for an entire hour, losing all the money Hoshigaki Kisame gave him.
Uehara's losses made him start to question life itself.
Was Tsunade's luck actually not as bad as the legends, or was his own luck just worse?
"Wait..."
Just as Uehara was about to leave, Tsunade flicked a banknote from her fingers, tossing it to land in front of Uehara, it wedged into the wooden door before him!
Uehara Naraku looked puzzledly towards Tsunade at the table.
Tsunade picked up a teacup from the table, sipping her tea slowly, and spoke leisurely: "Kid, you're an outsider ninja, aren't you? Tonight, you've lost all your accommodation money to me, haven't you?
Take it, it's a gift; that money should at least be enough for you to find the worst inn to stay overnight in Hidden Hot Water Village."
"..."
Uehara Naraku's face flushed red.
Was this woman pitying him or humiliating him?
Has Tsunade gotten a bit too cocky, just by winning a little money off him, she forgot she's the biggest debtor in the Ninja World?
"Tsk, I actually won over three million Ryō tonight!"
Tsunade delightedly kissed the money on the table, unable to stop laughing: "In an hour, I won back what I've lost over several days!"
"..."
Uehara Naraku ground his teeth upon hearing this.
A mere three million Ryō, just one-tenth of Asuma's bounty, and she gets this smug over winning such a small amount!
Not to mention, does she really think this little money is enough to pay off her debts?
Besides, Uehara Naraku just felt a bit frustrated because losing to Tsunade in gambling, it's not something that's easy to live down.
"Kid, you're welcome to come play with me again in the future!"
Tsunade winked at Uehara Naraku, blowing him a kiss: "Remember to come with enough money next time! Hahaha... lost so much in the afternoon, but managed to win it all back in the evening, is today my lucky day?"
"Silly woman..."
Uehara Naraku rubbed his forehead, taking down the banknote, pushing open the door, his gloomy expression gradually lifting: "Today was clearly my lucky day!"
Though he lost a lot of money, he gained something far more valuable.
Side task: Lose to Tsunade at the gambling table (1/1), task complete, rewarded with the skill Destiny.
Destiny: Allows you to locate everyone within a hundred kilometers, including ninjas using hidden ninjutsu, Transformation Jutsu, and Clone Jutsu, lasts for 6 seconds; once the Destiny skill is activated, after 1.5 seconds you can use the power of space-time to teleport within fifty kilometers to anyone's side.
The range of the Destiny skill is related to Chakra expenditure, with a minimum of 100 Chakra points consumed, cooldown period of 150 seconds.
Given these calculations, as long as Uehara's Chakra is sufficient, the Destiny skill could scout out the entire Ninja World Continent!
This skill could be considered the ultimate escape skill Uehara acquired, but it can also be used to hunt down enemies.
No one can escape his grasp!
A faint smile appeared on Uehara Naraku's lips, the dissatisfaction and gloom from losing to Tsunade dissipating considerably, as he glanced back at the inn he was leaving.
Tsunade's joyful laughter continuously echoed from the windows into the night sky, Uehara thought again of Tsunade's vibrant and charming smile, perhaps she had never been this happy before?
"Tsk, if it weren't for the task, who would want to gamble with that woman..."
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