Kurumi: "Tatsuki, I'm in. Your deal sounds kind of fun. At least it's a lot more fun than killing people."
Tatsuki: "Deal struck. Contract formed. Anyone who goes back on their word will suffer the punishment of Devouring Rock."
Kurumi: "Devouring Rock?"
Kiana: "Eating rocks? What kind of weird punishment is that?"
Tatsuki: "Well, you'll have to ask Morax."
Furina: "Morax… the Geo Archon!"
Platelet: "Everyone, I think the new person who just joined is talking."
White Blood Cell: "Yeah. The one named 'The legendary sucker.'"
The legendary sucker: "Huh? Who are you calling The legendary sucker?!"
March 7th: "Ahem. The new member's finally talking. The legendary sucker, you can change your name, you know."
Kiana: "The legendary sucker—yeah, that name's ridiculous. Now I'm hungry."
Even Tatsuki thought the name was pretty funny.
"Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf?"
If that was actually it, he'd have a massive headache.
Tsunade: "Tch. First thing that happens in the middle of a bet and I'm already being called 'The legendary sucker.' Bad luck."
Tatsuki blinked.
No way.
So it really was the legendary sucker—turns out it was Tsunade.
Good thing it wasn't that Pleasant Goat thing.
Tsunade: "So what the hell is this? Someone hitting me with a genjutsu sneak attack? You'd better hope I don't catch you—otherwise I'll show you what monster strength really looks like!"
Red Hot-Blooded Habanero: "Lady Tsunade?"
Tsunade: "And who are you?"
Kushina: "I'm Kushina Uzumaki, a Konoha jōnin."
Tsunade: "Kushina? Hah. This is very funny. You—or you people—don't seriously think you can fool me by using a dead person, do you? I'm one of the Legendary Sannin."
Kushina: "What are you talking about? When did I die? I'm obviously alive and well."
Tsunade: "Kushina died in the Nine-Tails incident over a decade ago. You didn't even bother to investigate before casting your genjutsu?"
Kushina: "Impossible! I'm only twenty-four. How could I have died over ten years ago? I was a kid back then!"
Tsunade: "You're honestly pathetic. You can't even lie properly."
Kushina: "I seriously have no idea what you're saying, Lady Tsunade!"
Kushina: "No—there's no way you're Lady Tsunade. Who's casting this genjutsu? Come out right now! I'll make you taste my fists!"
…
Inside a casino.
A woman sat sprawled in her seat, careless and bold. Her light-blonde hair was usually tied into a thick ponytail.
On her forehead was the bluish-purple mark of the Strength of a Hundred Seal. Short, pale-blonde brows; bright brown eyes; soft red lips; red nails.
She had fair skin and huge breasts, a full, curvy figure—an incredibly beautiful, mature kunoichi.
She wore a tea-green haori with black trim over a loose, sleeveless kimono-style top, a black sash around her waist, and dark-blue cropped pants.
Tsunade was the kind of woman with flawless skin, a killer body, and real beauty. Especially those heavy, eye-catching breasts.
A crowd stared at her like hawks.
Not because they wanted her, because they wanted her money.
No one in the whole casino didn't know Tsunade's legendary nickname: The legendary sucker.
"Always loses when she gambles" wasn't just a joke.
She didn't just lose every time—she was also ridiculously rich.
Anyone wanted a game with her. It was a straight shot at getting filthy rich, but right now, Tsunade had no interest at all, her brows knitted tight.
"Kushina…"
Before leaving Konoha, she had known of her.
The Nine-Tails jinchūriki, but Kushina had died in the Nine-Tails incident more than ten years ago.
Was the caster an idiot? To Tsunade, the odds of this being genjutsu were extremely high.
She swept her gaze around, but still couldn't find the person behind it.
"Looks like if I want to figure out what this crap is, I'll have to start investigating from here."
…
Inside a residence in Konoha.
Kushina, her vivid red hair blazing, tugged at her own hair in frustration.
She was certain the Lady Tsunade speaking on that glowing screen was absolutely not Lady Tsunade, but no matter how she searched, she couldn't find the genjutsu caster.
"What do I do… at a time like this…"
If only there were someone she could trust—someone who could share the burden.
Thinking that, her expression dimmed.
She slumped to the floor, bitterness curling at the corners of her mouth.
How could a violent red-haired girl like her ever have friends?
For more than ten years in Konoha, she couldn't feel even a trace of warmth. She couldn't trust anyone—not even the Third.
And it seemed like they couldn't trust her, either…
She touched her belly.
It was all because of the Nine-Tails sealed inside her. She was the Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
I'm alive, but I'm dead.
…
This whole exchange left everyone completely thrown.
Exusiai: "Uh… so do they know each other or not?"
Kiana: "Oh my god, I'm getting confused. Is Kushina dead or not?"
Saeko Busujima: "I can't tell. It feels like the two of them are in different times."
Furina: "Hahaha, this one's a script full of mystery. Come on—let's guess what's really going on."
Hai Xiaomei: "No clue."
Not just them—Tatsuki was watching in a daze too.
Tsunade, Kushina—those were definitely people from Naruto.
And as far as he remembered, Kushina died in the Nine-Tails incident.
So Tsunade's information wasn't wrong. It matched, but Kushina was insisting she was only twenty-four!
That made the problem huge. There was a gap of over ten years.
Could it really be two people from the past and future? Tatsuki frowned hard.
If so, the timeline didn't make sense at all. Whatever was going on between them seemed complicated as hell.
Even with all those questions, he didn't rush to ask.
Because his fingers could already feel how narrow the path beside him had gotten—like they were being squeezed to the limit—which meant the big one was coming.
His eyes sharpened. He sped up instantly.
"Nngh~"
Megumi's eyes opened a little wider. One small hand pushed hard for more speed, while the other gripped her phone tightly.
Yui let out a strained, breathy whimper, her small hand clenching hard on top of his head—hard enough that Tatsuki almost couldn't hold on.
The three of them made Yukino's pretty face flush bright red.
They were finished.
Tatsuki wasn't.
After Megumi's gaze turned hazy for a moment, she glanced down.
She set her phone aside and picked up the pen on the table.
With a soft clack.
The pen dropped easily to the floor and rolled to Tatsuki's feet.
"Oh… my pen fell."
A flat, casual tone—paired with a line that was way too deliberate.
Then Megumi slipped under the table to pick up the ballpoint pen.
Except… it looked like where it had fallen was hard to find.
Megumi searched for a long time and still couldn't find it, lingering under the table…