Ding dong ding dong—!
The doorbell rang continuously. Orochimaru, who was rushing a manuscript, didn't even lift her head and said to her Shadow Clone, "Tsunade must be here. Go open the door. I'll be done soon."
"Understood."
The Shadow Clone walked to the door, and as soon as she opened it, she saw Tsunade, who was carrying a bag and looking displeased, ready to hit someone. Tsunade raised her hand and said, "Don't hit me, I'm a Shadow Clone. My main body is rushing a manuscript."
"Hmph!"
Tsunade snorted and walked into the house. Seeing Orochimaru rushing her manuscript, she stood beside her with her hands on her hips, unable to resist looking at what she was writing. She said with a hint of sarcasm, "Konoha's celebrity! Orochimaru, who has been in the limelight, what are your thoughts now?"
"Are you envious of me?"
Orochimaru paused her movements and looked up at Tsunade.
"Envious? I'm not envious at all! Such an important matter, and you didn't even call me! That's too unfriendly! I was the one who went with you to invite the Iburi Clan to join Konoha! To exclude me like this is too much!"
Tsunade clenched her fists, her cute little face flushed red, and she glared at Orochimaru, puffing out her cheeks.
She wasn't trying to hog the limelight; it was just that she had also participated in the matter, but she wasn't called upon when it was time to welcome the Iburi Clan to Konoha.
Orochimaru placed the finished manuscript aside and looked at Tsunade with sincere eyes, deeply realizing her mistake. "I'm very sorry, Tsunade. To express my apology to you, would you like to go to the Casino?"
At this point, the truth was no longer important. What Tsunade cared about wasn't her unhelpful explanations; the most important thing was how to appease her.
For a child, one naturally has to approach them through things they are interested in.
"I don't have any money!"
Tsunade's eyes lit up, suppressing the urge to agree immediately. She crossed her arms over her chest, unable to hide her anticipation.
"I do."
Orochimaru pointed to herself with her thumb. She wasn't too short on money now. She couldn't produce ten million Ryo, but she could certainly produce hundreds of thousands or millions of Ryo. Moreover, she was confident that she could win back double the money Tsunade lost, so it wouldn't be a loss either way.
"Don't think that just because of this I'll forgive you!"
Tsunade said that, but a happy smile appeared on her face.
Seriously, if I didn't know what you'd be like in the future, I'd really worry about you being sold and still counting money for the seller.
Orochimaru sighed inwardly, looking at the bag Tsunade was carrying.
"Speaking of which, what's this?"
"Ah... this is a scarf for you."
Tsunade took out a purple scarf from the bag, pointed to the red scarf around her own neck, and said with a smile, "It's the same style as my scarf!"
"Is it a gift? Then I'll accept it."
Orochimaru took the purple scarf from Tsunade's hand, placed it on the table, and got up to walk towards the wardrobe.
"Wait for me to change clothes, then we'll go to the Casino."
"Okay!"
Tsunade excitedly raised her hands, completely forgetting how angry she had been just moments ago.
The hot spring bathhouse on Hot Spring Street allowed people to bathe in hot springs even in winter. Many people chose to come here in winter to experience open-air hot springs, feeling the sensation of both hot and cold.
Under a cloudy sky, large snowflakes fell. Before they even reached the hot spring, they melted into the steam rising from the water.
"Why do I always lose!"
Tsunade gritted her teeth, her face filled with unwillingness. It was another day of losing everything.
"Yes... why is that?"
Orochimaru looked up at the sky, squinting at the falling snowflakes.
"Definitely, definitely, definitely! You're affecting my luck!"
Tsunade slapped the water, once again blaming Orochimaru for her gambling losses. "It must be! Every time you go to the Casino with me, you win so much money!"
Orochimaru glanced at Tsunade and retorted, "Did you win when I didn't go with you?"
"No... didn't win..."
Tsunade said softly, lacking confidence.
"The facts prove that I haven't affected your gambling luck; your gambling luck is just bad to begin with."
Orochimaru spread her hands. Everything had to be based on facts. She wouldn't dare to take the blame for Tsunade's bad gambling luck. Other things could be considered, but gambling luck was something she really couldn't take on.
"Wuwuwu..."
Tsunade clenched her fists and angrily pounced on Orochimaru.
"Toad?"
Orochimaru looked at Tsunade's jumping posture and subconsciously thought of a toad. Immediately after, this toad pressed down on her.
Not good!
It's the Roof Tile Demolition Jutsu!
Splash—!
A large splash of water erupted, followed by Tsunade's annoyed voice.
"You hateful Orochimaru! Who are you calling a toad! It must, must be you who affected my gambling luck!"
"Alright, alright, I affected your gambling luck..."
Orochimaru, unable to overpower Tsunade, was pinned against the rocks at the edge of the hot spring and reluctantly raised a white flag in surrender.
She must not let Tsunade get close; her strength was too terrifying.
Orochimaru was extremely frustrated. She had never thought of winning against Tsunade in terms of strength, but she also hadn't expected to be subdued so easily.
One must know that even the Fourth Raikage, who had been professionally lifting weights for twenty years in the original work, was not as strong as Tsunade. He only won an arm wrestling match by cheating.
"Hmph hmph! That's more like it!"
Tsunade looked at the helpless Orochimaru, her frustration from losing her bets completely gone. Looking at Orochimaru's pale skin with a hint of blush and her helpless and frustrated expression, Tsunade inexplicably thought of a plotline from a book Orochimaru wrote that was banned as soon as it was published.
A trace of panic flashed in Tsunade's eyes, and her cute little face turned red at a visible speed, like a wine glass filled with red wine, or a boiling kettle, becoming redder and redder.
Suddenly, Tsunade felt a warmth in her nose, as if the hot rush to her head had found an outlet. She quickly raised her hand to cover her nose, jumped out of the hot spring with a bang, and dashed into the room.
???
Orochimaru was full of question marks, not understanding why Tsunade had suddenly run off. She looked down at the slowly spreading blood in the water, placed her hand on the surface, and a drop of blood condensed in her palm.
Nosebleed caused by dry nasal passages leading to ruptured capillaries?
To encounter such a small probability, Tsunade not only had bad gambling luck but also very bad general luck... Orochimaru thought of this and rubbed her nose. Her nose had no problems at all.
What's the use of great strength? In terms of adaptability, I'm still stronger!
"Tsunade, are you alright?"
Orochimaru looked at the returning Tsunade and asked with concern.
"No... I'm fine..."
Tsunade's gaze was a bit shifty. The earlier fantasy made her feel a sense of guilt when facing Orochimaru.
"What's the big deal? It's just a nosebleed. There's no need to be embarrassed."
Seeing Tsunade's reaction, Orochimaru thought she was embarrassed. She chuckled and waved her hand, indicating that Tsunade shouldn't worry about it.
"You already knew..."
Tsunade thought Orochimaru knew, and seeing that she didn't care at all, she remembered that Orochimaru wrote banned books, and her views on such matters were different from her own. The worry she had been carrying in her heart settled, and she didn't dwell on it, walking into the hot spring and sitting next to Orochimaru.
And so, the two, having misunderstood each other, continued to enjoy the hot spring without any ill feelings.
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