"So?"
Ren stood with his sword, hands folded, face blank. No respect for the legendary Tsunade.
She did not mind. She slung an arm around his neck, all buddy-buddy.
"I hear you are rich and generous."
"I have many virtues. You are focusing on my generosity?"
"Generosity is the only one that matters to me."
Smiling, Tsunade held out her other hand, rubbing thumb and forefinger. "You are so rich. Lend me one or two hundred million to play."
Asuma and Kurenai were dumbstruck. Who asks to borrow money the instant they meet, and for hundreds of millions?
Then again, with Uchiha Ren, it was not unheard of.
"No," Ren said, brushing her hand away.
"I heard someone once asked you for two hundred million the first time they met you, and you lent it."
"Two hundred million is a rumor. It was twenty million."
"But you lent it."
"I did."
Tsunade arched a brow. "Then why not me? Do not tell me you are in a bad mood today and were in a good mood then. Give me a reason that will make me drop it."
Ren did not think twice. He gave her a reason that would make most people drop it. "Because I was sure he would repay, and I am sure you will not."
"How can you say I will not?"
"Because the casino manager refused to lend you money."
Shinku and the kids, who knew neither casinos nor Tsunade, were lost. How does the manager refusing a loan prove she will not repay?
As the insider, Tsunade followed Ren's logic and felt a private jolt. Sharp kid. Hard to fool.
"Why?" Shinku asked the question for everyone. "Why does that make you sure Lady Tsunade will not repay?"
Ren kept his blank face. "If I were the manager, I would lend Tsunade money and limit it to the casino's tables, not to private bets with other patrons.
Given Tsunade's luck, no matter how much we loaned, the house would get back every ryo."
Shinku frowned. "So the manager did not think of that?"
"This lending model is from a friend who runs a casino."
In other words, it is how casinos lend.
Ren looked at Tsunade. "So the problem is on your side. Either you broke the agreement, or you already owe the house so much you have not repaid it."
If Tsunade will not repay, letting her owe more is pointless. Letting the money pass through her hands only adds risk.
Everyone looked to Tsunade.
She lifted her chin and said righteously, "I never said I would not repay. I just have not saved enough yet. When I have enough, I will clear this casino's debt in one go."
"How much do you owe here?"
Shinku was curious. How much would make Tsunade use the word "save"?
"Less than three hundred million. With good luck, I could win that in one night."
Less than three hundred million?
No one could grasp how she could say such a number so lightly. Three hundred million. Even the Sannin, just doing missions, might take half a lifetime to earn that.
Worse, she kept saying "this casino."
Which means she owes others too. You could sell the entire Leaf and still not clear Tsunade's debts across the houses.
So Ren had a reason not to lend. She probably would not repay.
"Lady Tsunade, let us return to the Leaf. The Hokage promised to lend you money if you come back."
In urgent cases, even honest Shinku had to wave the Hokage's banner.
The village is paying. Come home.
"Do not try that on me. The old man's nest egg is long gone. I gambled it away."
Tsunade sneered. The look was pure "quit gambling forum sis", the archetypal hardened sister who knows every excuse.
With Shinku's flimsy lie popped, Tsunade turned to Ren. "If you will not lend me money, at least feed me. You have enough friends. Do not tell me none are food-and-drink friends."
"Most of my friends are food-and-drink friends."
"Thanks."
Tsunade patted Ren, rubbed her flat stomach, and led the way. "Come on. Let us eat.
There is a famous stall in this street. The chef is special. You are lucky I know it. Even locals miss it."
Shinku sighed. "I knew this mission would not be simple. I have no idea what will make Tsunade agree to return."
Ren stayed blank. "Someone will think of a way. We do not need to rush."
"What do you mean?" Shinku blinked.
"Nothing."
Shinku did not press. Ren's aura shifted again, that different vibe. When he does not want to speak, questions only get riddles.
Asuma, idol broken, sighed. "I did not expect Lady Tsunade to be like this."
"That is how legends work. When people promote someone, they exaggerate the side they want to show.
Take me. People say I am generous enough to risk all for any stranger. You know I am not that man.
And take the Third. The real Third Hokage and the legendary one - you, Asuma, know that gap very well."
Asuma understood. He knew the gaps between the real Uchiha Ren and the rumors, between the real Third and the legend.
Kurenai, idol broken too, murmured, eyes wet. "But she is still Lady Tsunade."
"The Tsunade in your heart died years ago. What you are seeing now is the process of the body decaying."
Kurenai tipped her head, not understanding why Ren would say that.
Shinku sighed. If you have not lived her pain, as an outsider, who has the right to demand she stand strong?
Outside the casino, seeing the four had not followed, Tsunade turned back, afraid the meal ticket might run. She lowered her eyes. A trace of sorrow touched her features.
The process of decay…
Is there really a difference between me and a walking corpse now?
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