"How could this be! I lost again! Isn't it said that things don't happen more than three times? Three losses in a row? I even checked the almanac today was supposed to be my lucky day!"
Tsunade slammed her hand on the table in frustration, watching her stack of winnings disappear again. Every chip she had painstakingly built up through sheer gambling luck and instinct was gone in an instant.
"Big fat sheep~ Now you owe us money~"
The gamblers in the casino leaned forward with predatory smiles. In a place like this, winning was allowed, but debt was not something they tolerated.
Because once someone owed money, the casino would squeeze them dry, forcing repayment through endless cycles of gambling. Men lost pride, but women
Their eyes slowly drifted toward Tsunade's figure, more precisely, her chest.
Even though Tsunade was over fifty, she used the "Byakugō Seal" on her forehead to maintain a youthful appearance in her twenties, preserving both beauty and an exceptional physique one of the most perfect in the shinobi world.
As the gazes grew more obvious, Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temple.
"Men…"
As one of the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade wasn't intimidated by a few thugs. But repaying debt was a matter of principle, and she couldn't simply resort to violence inside a civilian gambling hall. It was irritating.
"Give me a few days. I'll pay it back."
"Pay it back? Don't joke with us. You're famous in the underground circuit you're a walking 'big fat sheep.' You always disappear after losing big, then show up somewhere else. Not this time."
The gamblers closed in, preparing to restrain her.
Tsunade's fingers slowly curled. She was already calculating just how much force she could use without turning them into corpses.
Then
"Wait. I've already paid her debt."
The crowd froze.
All eyes turned toward the entrance.
There stood a young woman, holding a bundle of cash.
"It was only 500,000 yen. I've cleared it."
Chinatsu casually tossed the money forward. Her usual exhausted aura had shifted into something sharper controlled confidence mixed with financial decisiveness.
She had started with 1,000,000 yen, spent 200,000 on black-market intelligence about Tsunade, another 100,000 lost through repeated travel expenses and information gathering. After earlier gambling rounds, she had recovered profits and stabilized around 700,000 yen and now used 500,000 to settle Tsunade's debt.
To her, this was simple investment logic: buying a future favor from a Legendary Sannin at a discount.
Efficient. High return.
The gamblers blinked.
"…Huh?"
Then one of them grinned.
"Girl, don't interfere. Or better yet, stay and make money with us."
Another stepped forward, eyes narrowing.
"Wait… she's actually cute."
"And that one over there… a big fat sheep and a beauty? Today's our lucky day."
Their tone shifted instantly, greedy and vulgar.
Chinatsu stared at them in silence, then lightly pressed her hand to her cheek.
"…Please, I'm trying to save you people."
Internally, she sighed.
So this is what happens when logic meets NPC behavior.
Tsunade, watching from the side, lowered her head slightly her shoulders shaking faintly. She was trying very hard not to laugh.
Chinatsu, meanwhile, exhaled slowly.
"Looks like reasoning doesn't work on them."
The gamblers moved closer.
"Little lady, how about working for us? We'll protect you, give you good pay… but you'll need to wear something a bit more… fitting."
Chinatsu paused.
Then she slowly closed her eyes.
"…I see."
She had officially given up on diplomacy.
"These guys are beyond saving."
Her hands came together.
Clap.
Tsunade's eyes widened instantly.
"That hand sign…!"
Her expression shifted sharply.
Wood Release.
Chinatsu's chakra surged outward. The ground cracked violently as thick wooden vines erupted from beneath the casino floor. In an instant, they wrapped around the gamblers' legs and bodies, lifting them into the air like insects caught in a trap.
A second later
They were slammed outward in sweeping arcs, like garbage being cleared from a room.
Boom! Crash! Thud!
Most were knocked unconscious immediately. The remaining few were struck again mid-air and dropped without resistance.
Chinatsu dusted her hands.
"…If they had just taken the money and left, none of this would've happened. I really prefer peaceful solutions."
Tsunade stared in complete silence.
"…Wood Release…"
Her mind froze.
Hashirama Senju.
Her grandfather.
The First Hokage.
That same legendary kekkei genkai that should not exist outside him or at most, artificially replicated through forbidden means.
Tsunade's thoughts spiraled.
This girl… Wood Release… but she's not Senju… so why…
Wait.
Is she… related to Grandpa?!
…My little sister?!
Her brain practically stalled from the implication.
Chinatsu, unaware of Tsunade's internal crisis, turned around and took a breath.
Mission success: target located.
She stepped forward and extended a hand.
"Tsunade-senpai… I need your help."
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