Honestly, Tsunade's acting was a little clumsy.
After all, Mikami Yuu and Nohara Rin had clearly seen what she looked like when the dice were revealed, and when they came in, they had heard those passersby mention the "Legendary Sucker."
However, Rin still had a bit of an idol filter toward Tsunade. Although she was half convinced and half doubtful, on the surface she still accepted Tsunade's explanation that "ninja are under a lot of pressure and occasionally need to relax."
This explanation wasn't exactly wrong.
It was just that Tsunade's "occasionally" was a little too frequent.
"Ahem…"
Mikami Yuu cleared his throat. His gaze moved down from Tsunade's twin divine peaks and glanced at the few lonely chips on the table.
"Lady Tsunade, from the looks of things… you're about finished here? How about I gamble this last round for you?
"If I win, it counts as yours. If I lose, I'll pay double."
"!"
Tsunade's eyes instantly widened. "Are you serious?"
"Of course."
Although Yuu still didn't know what Raw Cola's current revenue had reached, he had spent quite some time at the southwestern border and had earned plenty of allowances and mission rewards. He didn't dare claim he was rich, but taking out eight or ten thousand ryō was still easy enough.
At this moment,
inside the galgame system, a certain gambling-addicted ninjutsu also became excited.
[Monster Strength: (rubbing hands excitedly) Gamble! Hurry up and gamble! I already have a feeling what the next result will be. Trust me on this round, guaranteed double!]
[Clone Technique: Hmm… Little Mikami is playing with that blond gambling ghost again? This doesn't feel good… Listen to me, it's better not to play.]
…Don't worry. It's just a small gamble for fun.
Yuu exchanged a few words with the ninjutsu through the galgame system, then looked at Tsunade.
She had clearly been losing for most of the day and was in an irritable state. Hearing Yuu say that, she simply decided to go all in.
"Fine! Brat, the last few chips are yours! If you lose, you don't need to pay double. One times is enough!"
As she spoke, Tsunade pushed the few chips in front of Yuu.
"Begin."
Previously, through gambling against Monster Strength inside the galgame system, Yuu had basically figured out all kinds of card and dice games. So he didn't need Tsunade to explain the rules.
At this moment, the dealer picked up the dice cup again, threw the dice inside, and began shaking it at a dazzling speed. The dice collided back and forth inside the cup, producing dense, crisp sounds that tugged at the heartstrings of all the gamblers around them.
Tsunade unconsciously clenched her hands and looked at Yuu's back.
Rin also looked nervous.
Just as the dealer's shaking motion was about to stop and he was about to set the cup down—
deep in Mikami Yuu's pupils, a faint sharp gleam flashed by.
Cell Activation Technique, activate!
In an instant, the world seemed to be put into slow motion.
Yuu's dynamic vision and hearing were pushed to their limits for these few seconds. He clearly captured and magnified the trembling of the dealer's wrist, the trajectory of the dice cup as it fell, and even every tiny sound of the dice rolling and colliding. Then, in his mind, he rapidly analyzed and judged them.
Smack—!
"Bets are final!"
"…High!"
The instant the dealer pressed the dice cup down, Yuu pushed all the chips in front of him onto the "High" area without hesitation. His movement was crisp and decisive.
"Hm?"
Tsunade tugged at Yuu's sleeve from behind and lowered her voice. "Hey, brat, are you sure? My chips are only enough for one more bet. If you guess wrong, I'll be completely wiped out!"
"Relax."
Yuu said.
After the other gamblers around them all placed their bets, the dealer slowly lifted the dice cup.
Four, five, six. Fifteen points. High!
"Huh, he really guessed it? This kid's luck isn't bad!"
"Heh, newbie protection period. When I first entered a casino, I was like that too. Now I'm almost bankrupt."
Amid the surrounding chatter, Tsunade looked at the chips that had just been pushed back, now increased by half. Her tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed, and a smile appeared on her face.
"Interesting… Continue?"
"…Continue."
In the next two rounds, the dealer's dice-shaking technique became even more mysterious and difficult to predict, trying to interfere with Yuu's judgment.
But Yuu's Cell Activation Technique still performed steadily.
After three short rounds,
Yuu hit all three guesses. The chips in front of him were now four times more than when he first took over. Although he hadn't won back all the principal Tsunade had lost today, he had recovered more than half.
At this point,
a large crowd had gathered around the gambling table. Quite a few people were whispering among themselves.
Even Monster Strength in the galgame system was watching with blood boiling.
[Monster Strength affection +2!]
Only the dealer's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and the way he looked at Yuu grew grave.
Before anyone realized it, several ninja dressed as casino employees had gathered around, each staring closely at Yuu, trying to catch evidence of cheating.
That's right. In theory, casinos in the Naruto world prohibited using ninjutsu to cheat. Otherwise, high-level ninja would have far too many ways to secretly cheat.
But Yuu's method of cheating was simply enhancing his own perception. He did not interfere with anything on the gambling table at all. So unless the other party could see the chakra flow inside his body, they had no way of discovering how he completed this series of cheating operations.
Incidentally, for this same reason, members of the Uchiha and Hyūga clans were usually forbidden from entering casinos. Their physical features were too obvious, and under normal circumstances, they were hard to mistake.
On the other side,
Tsunade looked at the pile of chips she had regained, unable to hide the surprise on her face anymore. She slapped Yuu hard on the back and burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha! Good kid, nice work! You really have a trick or two! Again, again! I'm just a little away from breaking even…"
"Lady Tsunade, you should quit while you're ahead."
Yuu said calmly. "Luck is something that decreases every time you use it. You can't be too greedy."
"…Fine."
Tsunade was a little disappointed, but she still nodded.
Mm… mainly because Rin was still watching from the side. Also, her relationship with Yuu wasn't that close yet. At this moment, Tsunade still cared a little about maintaining her identity as a "medical saint" and didn't want the two kids to think she was a gambling addict, so she finally relented.
After waiting for the attendant to exchange the chips back into cash,
Tsunade stuffed the money into her pocket, then wrapped an arm around Yuu's shoulders while calling to Rin, who was still somewhat dazed.
"Let's go. Find a place to sit, and let me hear what you two have been up to on the front line…"
…
A few minutes later,
inside a dango shop on another street in Konoha.
Tsunade held a cup of tea and listened to Yuu and Rin's story while drinking.
"So, you ran into that old woman Chiyo at the border, fought her, captured a Scorch Release user, and reached an agreement with her to collect a full set of experimental data?"
"That's right."
Yuu nodded and took out the scroll he had prepared in advance, placing it on the table.
"This is the analysis report Rin and I organized with Hebishi-senpai's help. There are also cell samples obtained from Pakura. Please take a look."
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!