Time passed, and by the following evening, inside a casino in the Land of Birds—
"Big! Big! Big!"
"Small! Small! Small!"
"Open! Three ones—triple dice… Leopard win! Ah—this guest wins alone! Thirty-six times the bet!"
The dealer standing at the gambling table instantly broke into a cold sweat when he saw the pile of chips on the table. He stared at the woman across from him who had bet on the triple dice result, disbelief written all over his face.
A fat sheep?
Where on earth did such ridiculous rumors come from?
This woman had been winning all afternoon. No matter what game she played—even the tiny pachinko machines—she hadn't lost a single round.
Fortunately, she had shown restraint and never placed excessively large bets at once.
"Guest, here are your winnings—360,000 ryō."
The dealer pushed a stack of banknotes toward the woman.
"That's amazing, Lady Tsunade! You won again!"
Standing beside her, Shizune beamed with excitement and quickly gathered the banknotes in front of Tsunade.
In all these years, Shizune had followed Tsunade into hundreds of casinos, yet this was the first time they had actually made money.
And in just one afternoon, they had already won nearly ten million ryō!
"Shizune, we're leaving."
However, Tsunade showed none of the excitement one would expect. Her face was gloomy as she stood up and walked away.
"Huh?!"
Shizune froze for several seconds. Only when Tsunade pushed through the crowd and left the gambling table did she finally react, quickly grabbing the money case and hurrying after her.
From Shizune's perspective, Tsunade's luck today was incredible. Normally, Tsunade would press her advantage and continue gambling.
Yet this time, she simply got up and left.
Shizune couldn't understand it at all.
Meanwhile, the dealer secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The so-called "fat sheep" had finally left. If she had continued gambling like that, his career—perhaps even his life—might have ended tonight.
After leaving the casino, Tsunade and Shizune entered a nearby tavern.
Once the food and drinks were served, Tsunade began silently drinking cup after cup. Her mood grew increasingly heavy.
Shizune soon sensed that something was wrong.
However, she had followed Tsunade for only a few years and didn't understand why Tsunade used to remain full of energy even after losing money—always shouting that she would win it all back.
Now that she had actually won, she looked even more miserable.
What Shizune didn't know was that while winning money was usually a happy thing, it was different for Tsunade.
In the past, every time Tsunade had experienced a rare winning streak, something terrible followed.
When she won before, it coincided with the deaths of:
Her grandparentsHer parentsHer younger brotherHer lover
Tsunade had become afraid of winning.
Her expression grew darker, anxiety gnawing at her heart. She could only rely on alcohol to numb the unease.
Shizune didn't dare say anything. She didn't even dare to urge Tsunade to drink less like she used to.
She could only sit there and watch Tsunade drown herself in alcohol.
Soon the table was covered with empty bottles, and Tsunade's gaze began to grow unfocused.
At that moment, two guards dressed in formal attire entered the tavern.
They scanned the room once. When their eyes landed on Tsunade and Shizune, they brightened immediately and they hurried over.
"Princess!"
The two guards stopped in front of Tsunade and immediately bowed.
"Hm—?!"
Tsunade's hazy eyes instantly cleared somewhat. She looked at them in surprise.
"You're from the Fire Daimyō's court?"
Based on her terrible gambling luck today—or rather, her good luck—Tsunade had already expected that something bad was about to happen.
She had assumed it would involve Konohagakure.
Instead, the first people to find her were from the Daimyō's court.
"Yes, Princess. The Daimyō ordered us to deliver this letter to you."
One of the guards pulled out a scroll from his robes and handed it to Tsunade.
"Honestly, why couldn't they just say whatever it is directly? Why make it so mysterious…"
Tsunade took the scroll while grumbling.
What she didn't notice was that after handing over the scroll, the guard quietly stepped back several paces, putting distance between himself and her.
Tsunade opened the scroll.
After reading only the first few lines, her expression changed instantly. A large vein bulged on her forehead.
"A political marriage?!"
"BOOM!"
Tsunade slammed her palm onto the table, shattering the solid wooden table into pieces. Bottles crashed to the floor as she glared at the two guards.
"What the hell are those old fools thinking?! They want me to marry for politics?!"
"Believe it or not, I'll send them to the Pure Land ahead of schedule!"
Tsunade gritted her teeth in fury. Her immense chakra pressure surged, and the killing intent in her eyes seemed almost tangible.
The main reason Tsunade had left Konoha in the first place was because she couldn't stand the dark political struggles within the village leadership.
Yet the worst part was that the people behind those struggles included her own teacher.
That was why she chose to leave—out of sight, out of mind.
But now, even though she had already removed herself from those affairs, the political games had still managed to find their way to her.
A political marriage?
What a nice way to say it.
In truth, it was nothing more than a transaction of interests.
Those damned bastards!
"Princess, please calm down," one of the guards said nervously, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"The Daimyō said that you should read everything in the scroll before making a decision."
They didn't know exactly what was written in the scroll, but the Daimyō had already predicted Tsunade's reaction.
Before they departed, he had given them specific instructions on what to do when this happened.
Tsunade didn't vent her anger on the messengers. Instead, she picked up the scroll again and continued reading.
Soon, her face turned ashen.
Her grip tightened unconsciously, crumpling the scroll in her hand.
The contents of the latter half were simple.
It described a promise made by the Senju Clan to the Fire Daimyō at the founding of Konoha.
When Konohagakure was established, it became the most powerful military force within the Land of Fire, taking over the nation's defense responsibilities.
In doing so, the village effectively tied the fate of Konoha and the Land of Fire together.
However, that also meant that the original military institutions of the Land of Fire were dissolved.
To achieve this transition, the Senju Clan had made several concessions.
One of those concessions was a promise:
The Senju Clan would unconditionally grant one request from the Fire Daimyō's lineage, as long as it did not betray Konoha's interests.
This promise had been made personally by the God of Shinobi—Hashirama Senju.
Its weight and authority were obvious.
But as the Senju Clan gradually declined, the practical value of this promise faded.
Over time, almost everyone had forgotten about it.
Now, however, with the Senju Clan reduced to a single remaining member—Tsunade, the Fire Daimyō had suddenly remembered that promise.
Tsunade's face turned icy as she looked at the two guards.
"Did you bring that item?"
"We did!"
One guard hurriedly pulled another scroll from his robes.
This one was far more ornate.
He respectfully presented it with both hands.
Tsunade took the scroll and immediately recognized the unique sealing formula of the Senju Clan engraved on its surface.
Her heart sank.
"This… is going to be troublesome."
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