Chapter 126
Chapter 126
The Land of Hot Water is located to the northeast of the Land of Fire, close to the Land of Lightning. As the name suggests, it's renowned for its hot spring culture. Even Hidan, known for his "immortal" ability, hails from here.
Due to the nature of the mission, Haneda's team didn't rush to the Land of Hot Water as they had to the Land of Rivers. By the time they arrived, a month had already passed.
At a hot spring inn in Yugakure, Haneda leaned his head back against the edge of the hot spring, resting his hands on a soft towel to make it more comfortable for the back of his head.
Seeing Haneda acting so relaxed, Asuma couldn't help but say, "Haneda, aren't we here to find Lady Tsunade?"
Haneda opened his eyes slightly and replied lazily, "Don't rush. We just got here; we should familiarize ourselves with the area first. Besides, don't you find this hot spring really relaxing?"
"It is pretty nice..." Asuma instinctively agreed, but quickly realized something was off and looked at Haneda again. A bold yet logical thought crossed his mind—could it be that Haneda already had a plan to persuade Lady Tsunade? No wonder he had been so calm on the journey here; he must have been thinking up a good strategy! As expected of Haneda, always thinking three steps ahead!
In reality, Haneda had been leading Asuma and Kurenai around aimlessly using shadow clones, while he himself was training in Lightning Style and Wood Style alone. It wasn't that Haneda was completely ignoring the mission; it was just that Tsunade's location changed frequently. Recently, she had been moving between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire.
It was Haneda's own efforts that led them to Yugakure this time. By collecting rumors of a "legendary big spender" and a "blonde gambler who always runs out on her tab" at various casinos, they finally arrived at Yugakure after a month of wandering.
In the evening, as the time seemed about right, Haneda got out of the hot spring. He wiped off the remaining water and said to Asuma, "The casino's open. Let's go."
"Asuma, let Kurenai know," he continued. "Lady Tsunade lost a lot at the Red Star Casino last time; there's a good chance she'll show up there again tonight."
Asuma raised an eyebrow, "She lost almost 100,000 ryo there. Would she really go back?"
"Of course. Unless she's completely out of money," Haneda nodded confidently.
He had a decent understanding of a gambler's mindset. Returning to the scene of a previous loss to try to win back what was lost was a common habit among gamblers. Everything could be blamed on luck, and luck, in turn, could be blamed on timing—whether it was yesterday, today, or tomorrow. There were always plenty of reasons.
Sure enough, Haneda's prediction proved accurate.
---
At the Red Star Casino, Tsunade was playing poker against four other gamblers while Shizune, holding a small pig, sighed behind her.
"Relax, Shizune! This time, we're guaranteed to win! Four eights—I don't even know how I could lose!"
Poker has one face-down card revealed only at the end, and with four eights in her hand, Tsunade had a strong chance. But Shizune, who had long since lost faith in Tsunade's luck, simply shook her head. Unless Tsunade drew the highest possible straight flush, she was sure to lose, as her opponents always seemed to pull out higher hands. That's just how it went for the legendary "big spender."
When Tsunade revealed her cards, her opponent looked worried but soon regained confidence upon seeing his own cards—a sequence of spades, 10 through King. Faced with the infamous "big spender," he was confident he wouldn't lose! As the last card was flipped, Shizune sighed again. A spade ace—the highest straight flush.
Tsunade looked at her opponent's cards in disbelief. "Four eights, and I still lost?!"
"Time to pay up, big spender!" the opponent mocked as he collected her money. Just as Tsunade prepared to bet again, Shizune held her back, pleading, "Lady Tsunade, if we keep going, we won't even have money left for food or a place to stay."
"Trust me one more time, Shizune! This time, I'll win it all back!" Tsunade insisted, reaching sneakily for Shizune's wallet, only to have her hand slapped away.
The touch didn't feel like Shizune's, and Tsunade instantly recognized the familiar sensation. She turned around to see Haneda standing there, with Asuma and Kurenai behind him.
"Lady Tsunade, helping yourself to others' wallets without permission is considered theft," Haneda said, returning the wallet to Shizune and then looking Tsunade squarely in the eyes.
"What are you here for, kid?" Tsunade looked at Haneda, and seeing Asuma and Kurenai, she guessed his purpose. "If you're here on the old man's orders, save it. Jiraiya came before you, and I already turned him down."
"Even Jiraiya couldn't convince me," she continued. "I doubt the old man has any high hopes for you, kid."
Hearing Tsunade's dismissive tone, Asuma couldn't hold back. "Haneda's one of the most spirited, talented, and forward-thinking new generation ninja of Konoha! Don't underestimate him!"
Seeing Asuma's admiration for this Uchiha, Tsunade raised an eyebrow. Wasn't the old man always trying to bring the Uchiha clan into the fold? Had the tables turned?
Meanwhile, Tsunade's fellow gamblers grew impatient. "Are you in or out? If you're not playing, move aside!" they shouted.
Tsunade glanced away from Haneda to look at Shizune, who clutched her wallet, shaking her head.
Then, Haneda took out a stack of bills and said, "How about I pay you 100,000 ryo to have dinner with me? This doesn't seem like the best place for a conversation."
Seeing the money in Haneda's hand, Tsunade was intrigued, though she wasn't about to accept just any offer. She was, after all, Tsunade, the Princess of the Land of Fire.
Haneda held up two fingers and said, "200,000 ryo."
Seeing her interest, he raised his offer again to 500,000.
"Kid, don't underestimate me. Even down on my luck, 500,000 isn't enough to sway me!" she scoffed.
"One million," Haneda said finally, holding up four fingers and looking at her steadily. "That's my final offer."
"Deal!" Tsunade grabbed the case Asuma was holding and opened it, the smell of money wafting up. Inside was a neatly packed stack of bills, enough to keep her comfortable for a while.
Asuma watched as Haneda used cash to resolve the situation once again, thinking back to a certain powerful figure with a similar reputation. Haneda's understanding of people was truly impressive.