Wen Lan pulled Uchiha Hikari by the hand and walked toward the entrance, then extended his hand toward Arashi.
Arashi stared blankly at him.
"What?"
Wen Lan's eyes bulged. He stepped forward and kicked Arashi in the leg.
"Clothes! Give me clothes! What else could it be? Do you want me to run around naked?!"
"Ow!" Arashi hopped away, clutching his backside, his face full of grievance.
"Third Elder, you never told me to bring clothes! Besides, what kind of ninja brings spare clothes on a mission?!"
"Then hurry up and buy me a set!" Wen Lan snapped.
"If you don't come back with clothes, I'll strip yours off and wear them myself—you can run naked!"
"Hehe, Third Elder, you're still a kid. My clothes wouldn't fit you."
"I'll kill you!" Wen Lan's temples throbbed as he grabbed Arashi by the collar.
"You got a death wish, huh?!"
Uchiha Hikari, standing to the side, couldn't help covering her mouth as she quietly laughed, her eyes curving with amusement.
Arashi immediately raised his hands in surrender, putting on a cheeky grin.
"Spare me, Third Elder! I'll go right now—I'll pick the most imposing ninja outfit for you!"
Wen Lan snorted and let go. Arashi bolted off, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Grrr—"
A soft sound came from Hikari's stomach. Her face instantly flushed red, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.
Wen Lan glanced at her, then shouted toward Arashi's retreating back:
"Buy some food too!"
"Got it!"
Wen Lan pulled Hikari back to sit on the stone platform again. He silently resolved that from now on, he'd definitely bring spare clothes on missions.
Hikari sat stiffly beside him, listening carefully as Wen Lan explained the current state of the shinobi world.
There was a small incident in the middle—when Wen Lan mentioned the Third Shinobi World War, Hikari almost had a stress reaction. She thought letting her out meant dragging her back into war.
Wen Lan hurriedly explained, repeatedly reassuring her that the war was over.
"If I wanted you to fight, why would I wait until now to unseal you?"
Only after a long time did she finally relax, the vigilance in her eyes fading into faint confusion and distant memories.
But soon enough, confusion turned into hunger.
When Arashi returned with clothes and food, Hikari's eyes lit up instantly. She stared fixedly at the rice balls and grilled fish in his hands, her throat bobbing unconsciously.
Wen Lan couldn't help laughing. He took the food and handed it to her.
"Eat first. Don't starve yourself."
Hikari lowered her head and bit into a rice ball, her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel hoarding nuts.
But Wen Lan stopped laughing very quickly.
Because she ate enough for three people.
Wen Lan and Arashi each managed only one rice ball—while Hikari was still hungry.
Thinking about it, it made sense. She'd been sealed for so many years; an ordinary person would've starved to death long ago.
So Wen Lan led them to a nearby town restaurant, where they began eating like there was no tomorrow.
The moment the dishes hit the table, Hikari's eyes shone brightly. Her chopsticks flew, food piling into a small mountain in her bowl before collapsing just as quickly.
Wen Lan and Arashi exchanged glances and silently pushed the remaining grilled meat toward her.
The townsfolk watched curiously but didn't dare say a word—
After all, who would dare provoke two intimidating-looking ninjas?
After eating their fill, Hikari rubbed her round belly and hummed softly in satisfaction, tears shimmering at the corners of her eyes—as if that hot meal had restored warmth from a hundred years ago.
Arashi paid the bill, and the three of them walked out of the restaurant, preparing to head straight back to Konoha.
Then, voices suddenly rang out from nearby.
"Hurry up! If we're late, it'll be over!"
"That's the legendary cash cow—loses every bet! She's basically here to give us money!"
"Move, move! If we don't hurry, she'll lose it all before we get there!"
Wen Lan froze when he heard the words "legendary cash cow" and "loses every bet." He turned his head and saw several people rushing toward a gambling house.
"Third Elder?" Arashi asked, puzzled, seeing Wen Lan stop.
"Let's go take a look," Wen Lan said, a meaningful smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"So this is where fate brings us—no effort wasted at all."
The moment they stepped into the casino, a nauseating stench assaulted their noses. Hikari nearly threw up the food she'd just eaten, wrinkling her nose and retreating instinctively.
Wen Lan, however, remained unfazed, his sharp gaze sweeping across the noisy gambling hall.
Very quickly, he locked onto one spot.
A crowd stood there. Among them was a woman with blonde hair tied into two long tails, wearing a green outer robe emblazoned with the character (Gamble).
Beside her stood a young girl in black clothes, nervously hugging a pig, cautiously glancing around.
Hikari followed Wen Lan's gaze. The moment she saw Tsunade, a surge of disgust welled up in her heart—she sensed the bloodline of the Senju clan.
Wen Lan gently patted her shoulder and stepped forward to see what was happening.
As he drew closer, he saw Tsunade surrounded by gamblers, her eyes locked onto the dealer's dice cup, sweat beading on her forehead as she didn't blink once.
The dealer slammed the dice cup onto the table and lifted it.
"Small—one, one, two, four!"
"Damn it!" Tsunade's face flushed red with anger. She turned to Shizune and shouted,
"Shizune! Give me more money!"
Shizune shook her head frantically.
"Lady Tsunade, you can't keep gambling! If you do, we won't even have a place to sleep, let alone dinner!"
"Stop talking and give me the money!"
Under Tsunade's oppressive glare, Shizune could only silently hand it over.
At that moment, Wen Lan finally witnessed the true value of the 'legendary cash cow.'
Thirty rounds in a row.
She lost every single one.
The dealer didn't even cheat—there was even one time Tsunade bet on big, and the dealer, worried she might quit if she kept losing, subtly manipulated the dice to land on three, four, five.
But when he lifted the cup, it somehow nudged the 'five'—turning it into a 'one.'
Big instantly became small.
Wen Lan was stunned. Looking at Tsunade, he could only think one thing—
He had never seen luck this bad.
An inverse god of gambling.
By the end, Tsunade was even gambling on credit.
Wen Lan stood to the side, watching as Tsunade pushed her last few copper coins onto the table, her fingers trembling but her lips stubbornly pressed together.
The dice cup opened again.
Still small.
Her body stiffened. Her face turned pale as paper. Shizune had already started crying.
Arashi stood beside Wen Lan, completely dumbfounded, whispering:
"My god… sixty-three rounds in a row… every single one lost!
Even rock-paper-scissors wouldn't be this miserable!"
Wen Lan slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again, a trace of pity flashing within.
He'd always thought the original story exaggerated this.
Turns out—it was painfully realistic.
"I'm done!" Tsunade snapped, turning to leave.
The casino attendants immediately panicked. Leaving was fine—but the debt had to be settled first.
One of them stepped forward, blocking her path, smiling politely.
"Miss, you owe a total of ten million ryō. You can't leave without paying."
Whether they recognized one of the Legendary Sannin or not didn't matter—money came first.
Tsunade spun around and slammed her fist into the ground.
Boom!
The floor shattered as the crowd jumped back in shock.
She clenched her teeth and growled:
"Ten million ryō? I, Tsunade, can't afford that?
Tomorrow!"
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