Seeing Tsunade in person, the Sannin out of manga and anime, Ren finally understood why that woman had spoken of Tsunade with such bite.
They found Tsunade in a small gambling booth at the end of the street. The lights were dim. Tsunade stood in the glow. The four watched from the shadows.
Frankly, her state was even worse than described.
She slumped over the table. Her pale blonde hair was a tangled mess, split ends everywhere. Her eyes were bloodshot. Her face was gaunt, like she had not slept for days.
On the table lay a little scatter of bills and coins, probably the last of her money. All together, it was only a few thousand ryo.
Tsunade pushed the pile forward with a small hand. The dealer counted and dealt.
Two or three meters back, the crowd ringed around, hollering "Open, open, open." They were eager to see the famous cash cow lose and get chased out of Tanzaku.
Naturally, the result met their hopes. Tsunade, like every gambler vowing to win it all back with one last hand, lost the last of her money.
For a heartbeat, she looked dead inside, frozen for a full two or three seconds. Then she sprang up, grabbed the casino manager, and asked for a loan.
The manager kept his smile and shook his head.
Asuma and Kurenai stared at Tsunade wheedling the casino head. Their idol shattered. The last sliver of hope vanished.
Ren watched Tsunade a different way.
Even in this wreck of a state, even with zero sensual aura in her red-eyed gambling-addict look, she was still beautiful, the most compelling woman in this casino, maybe in this whole town.
Cream-pale skin that seemed to bruise at a touch. Tall, slender, and curving. Her assets rose and rounded under the collar, a hint of ice mountain peeking, tossing white waves when she moved.
With looks that perfect, no wonder other women felt jealous.
"Lady Tsunade."
They could not let her keep losing face. Wearing his Leaf jonin vest, Yuuhi Shinku pushed through, bowed in front of her.
"Lady Tsunade, the Hokage sent us to escort you back to the Leaf."
"Shinku-senpai."
Tsunade is a bit younger than Shinku. Seeing the familiar face, her eyes brightened. She let go of the manager and grabbed Shinku instead.
"Do you have money on you? I have not eaten in three days…"
"Uh, I only brought a few ten-thousands…"
Thinking she meant to stop, honest Shinku pulled out his wallet to take her for dinner. Suddenly his hand was light.
"Consider it a loan."
Tsunade snatched the wallet, dumped every bill onto the table, then stuffed the wallet back into Shinku's hand.
"Continue. I do not believe it. Your luck cannot stay this good…"
"Open, open, open…"
"You are kidding. Even this loses?"
Tsunade's eyes went wide. She glanced at Shinku, whom she had ignored for nearly a minute. "Do you have more? Lend me a bit more. Next hand, my luck will turn.
I can feel it. My good luck is coming."
"That was all I had."
"Really? You are not lying? Trust me. One thousand ryo is fine. I do not mind small. My turn is just one hand away. One hundred works too…"
Once she confirmed there was no more juice to squeeze, Tsunade sighed, soul drained, and reluctantly left the table.
The crowd dissolved. Everyone knew the cash cow would slink out of town again, then return with a fresh stash to feed the house and the lucky ones.
Years on end. Over and over.
"Lady Tsunade, shall we find dinner and rest, or head straight to the Leaf?"
Shinku felt it was time to broach the return.
"The Leaf? Why would I return? When did I ever say I would? I told Jiraiya to tell the old man, from now on, I have nothing to do with the Leaf. Whether I live or die, do not bother me."
He had not said? Shinku froze, then realized Tsunade had not agreed to return. The Third had never said they could bring her back just by meeting her.
Trapped. The Hokage had set them up. The mission would not be easy.
"By the way, did you come alone, Shinku-senpai?" Tsunade suddenly realized he probably was not alone.
Shinku has no money left. But he has students.
"Uh, with my students."
Students?
So he is a squad leader now. That means the team are young chunin or genin with not much money. Still, mosquito legs are legs. Young ones are easy to coax.
"Ahem."
Tsunade cleared her throat, put on a righteous face, ready to con kids out of their New Year money. "Shinku-senpai's students. I must meet them. Where…"
She looked around, found Ren and the other two lurking in the half-light. Her gaze skimmed Asuma and Kurenai for a beat, then locked onto Ren, standing with a sword, expression blank, and could not look away.
Shinku returned to the trio and introduced them one by one. The Hokage's son, Asuma. My daughter, Kurenai…
The two young ones greeted her with complicated hearts. The idol had fallen, but they had loved her for years. It was hard to treat her like a disgraced celebrity all at once.
Tsunade nodded perfunctorily to the two. When she reached Ren, she spoke before Shinku could.
"I know you. You are Uchiha Ren."
Hm?
Ren tilted his head, puzzled. He had a lot of friends, a super lot, but Tsunade was not one of them.
"Jiraiya told me about you," she said. "He said you are unlike any Uchiha, unlike anyone. If someone sees you once, they will recognize you anywhere, and never forget you."
She could not recall how she and Jiraiya got onto the topic. She did remember how he described Ren.
He did not describe Ren's looks or character. He did not describe anything. He simply spoke, marveling for a long time.
Different creators have different styles. Every creator's characters differ. No matter how odd or independent we are, we all feel like characters from the same creator.
If one day you meet a man who makes you think, at first glance, that he is a character from another creator, do not doubt. That man is Uchiha Ren.
Tsunade had not believed it. Now she did.
This kid Jiraiya praised to the skies… truly was different.
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