Hearing Tsunade say that, Mikami Yuu almost said something, then stopped himself.
How should he put it… Tsunade probably really was loaded.
She was the princess of the Senju clan, after all, and had inherited part of the Uzumaki clan's legacy too. On top of that, as one of Konoha's Kage-level powerhouses, she had completed over a thousand missions, at least half of them A-rank or above. Add up the pay from all of that, and it had to be worth several Asumas, at the very least.
But that money had probably all been dumped into the gambling hall long ago.
It was only because Tsunade still had Hiruzen and Jiraiya covering for her behind the scenes, plus a bunch of creditors treating IOUs like insurance cards, that she could still act like a rich woman in front of him.
Still—
"Lady Tsunade, are you sure you don't want a cut? It may not look like much right now, but this could turn into a very large amount of money later."
Yuu asked again.
"Tch, how much could it possibly make? Can it bring in two hundred thousand ryō in net profit a month?"
Tsunade gave a dismissive laugh and waved her hand. "Even if it did make two hundred thousand, that's only the pay from a single B-rank mission. It wouldn't even be enough for me to— ahem."
She had clearly been about to say, "not enough for one round at the casino," but stopped herself mid-sentence when she remembered the two people in front of her were still kids, and decided not to corrupt their values too openly.
But Mikami Yuu picked up the thread right away.
"Lady Tsunade, how about a bet?"
"A bet?"
The moment she heard that word, Tsunade perked up. "What kind of bet?"
"Let's use six months as the deadline and bet on whether Konoha Raw Cola's monthly net profit can exceed two hundred thousand ryō."
Yuu smiled. "If it does go over two hundred thousand, I win. In that case, I get to ask one not-too-unreasonable favor from you—like learning one of the secret techniques you know. If you win instead, you get to make one request of me.
"How about it?"
Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
She wasn't some clueless noble girl who had never dealt with real expenses. Even if she had spent the last few years slacking off and mostly going back and forth between home and the gambling hall without paying much attention to the outside world, she still knew the basic price levels in Konoha and the Five Great Nations.
Take the two hottest restaurants in the village right now, Ichiraku Ramen and Yakiniku Q. Even they only brought in a few hundred thousand ryō a month in revenue at best. If you estimated net profit generously at thirty percent, even that would be hard-pressed to cross two hundred thousand.
If Yuu had set the deadline at a year or two, Tsunade might actually have hesitated.
But—
half a year?
Did he think running a business was that easy?
Not even getting into supply chains and production, just landing the formula and choosing a storefront would eat up a month or two of busywork. And Mikami Tajima was still in the hospital. At most, they'd have four months to work with. Beating long-established staples like Ichiraku and Yakiniku Q with one little sweet soda in that kind of timeframe? That was pure fantasy.
Yes, Tsunade's gambling luck was bad. That much was true. But if she still lost a bet this one-sided—
then she'd eat the recipe sheet on the spot.
"Fine! I'm in!"
Tsunade slapped the table without hesitation, her gaze drifting as she looked Yuu up and down with the expression of someone who had already eaten him alive. "And I won't even take advantage of you. I'll start working on the formula this very afternoon. Once I improve it, I'll have Shizune deliver it to you right away. If you're out of the village, I'll just go straight to Mikami Tajima instead. But don't worry—you're definitely going to lose. So don't try to welsh on it when the time comes."
"Likewise."
Yuu replied.
That wrapped up both matters.
After a few more polite words, Yuu got up to leave.
Rin also finished her quiet conversation with Shizune, turned back, and asked, "Are we going now, Yuu-kun? Then goodbye, Shizune-san. I'll come visit you and Lady Tsunade again sometime."
At that point, Tsunade hesitated for a second, then suddenly stopped them with a cold voice.
"Hey. You two—be careful lately. Don't die."
"Huh?"
Yuu blinked.
Rin looked confused too.
"I heard there may be some major military movements in the village soon. That could affect where the two of you end up going for the next stretch. I don't know the details myself. When that brat Minato comes back, ask him."
Tsunade said that much, then turned around and took the Raw Cola recipe back inside.
Shizune was left to see them out.
Yuu and Rin suppressed the unease in their hearts.
"Let's head back first, Rin. There's a lot in this Mystical Palm scroll. Do you want to come over to my place tonight and copy it together? If either of us misses something, we can remind each other."
"Huh? Oh! Of course!"
Rin snapped out of it and nodded hard, her clear eyes shining with excitement. "Yuu-kun, let's do our best! We have to learn Mystical Palm! And that Super Strength Tsunade-sama used just now too—it was incredible!"
"Yeah."
After leaving the Senju estate, the two stopped by a ninja supply shop to buy two blank scrolls, along with some replacement tools for what they'd used up recently.
Because of the war, prices at Konoha's equipment shops had stayed high for the last half year, only dropping a little recently because of Konoha's military victory over Sunagakure.
But Yuu knew the current win was only halftime. Suna would come back again, and there was no telling when Iwa or Kumo might decide to strike Konoha too. So it made sense to stock up while prices were lower.
On the way home, Obito spawned in right on schedule.
By now, even he understood that he really wasn't built for medical ninjutsu and had no way of entering the advanced medical class with Yuu and Rin. So all he could do at times like this was trail along behind them, chattering nonstop and proudly talking about how much he'd improved lately.
Of course—
that improvement looked painfully ordinary next to Mikami Yuu.
After all, Yuu completely covered Obito's role now, which left him in an awkward spot on the team. The few Fire Release techniques Obito knew, Yuu also knew—and used better. Meanwhile, the things Yuu knew, like swordsmanship, Water Release, and even the Eight Gates, were all things Obito couldn't do.
Still—
considering that the very first Fire Release technique Yuu ever got, Great Fireball, had been farmed off Obito in the first place, Yuu decided to forgive him.
"Oh, right, Rin—have you guys seen Kakashi lately?"
Obito suddenly asked, like he'd just remembered something. "Last time I asked him to train with me, he turned me down. Said he was developing a new jutsu and didn't have time to play with me. It pissed me off so bad. That guy seriously treats me like a little kid."
"A new jutsu?"
Rin blinked, curious.
But Yuu already understood.
Looks like Kakashi's Chidori was about to be born.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!