Synthesis Ninja system

For the next few days, Shiro stayed by Tsunade's side, slowly taking care of her. As a result, Shiro's wallet gradually grew fatter.

One day, Tsunade came out of the inn, and Shiro, who was staying next door, quickly followed her. Finally, Tsunade couldn't take it anymore. She swiftly approached Shiro, grabbed his collar with one hand.

"Kid, enough is enough! It's one thing that you follow me to the gambling halls every day, but why do you always bet against me? Even a clay statue has some patience!"

"Tsunade-sama, I was wrong. I shouldn't have followed you to the gambling halls so often!" 

Hearing Shiro's excuse, Tsunade's face flared with anger.

"The issue is not just you following me! Why do you always bet against me?"

"Alright, alright, Tsunade-sama. He's just a kid..." Shizune quickly stepped in to smooth things over, but Tsunade pretended not to notice her.

At this moment, Shiro suddenly dropped his fearful expression and looked at Tsunade seriously.

"Tsunade-sama, do you want to make money? Or rather, do you want to win?"

Tsunade paused, loosening her grip on his collar.

It wasn't that Tsunade was interested in making money; she just wanted to win. But her luck had always been terrible—she lost every time she gambled!

Seeing that Tsunade had calmed down, Shiro smiled slightly.

"You've already noticed, haven't you? Your gambling luck is really bad, almost a guarantee of losing every time!" 

Tsunade nodded slightly. As much as she didn't want to admit it, it was the truth.

"Actually, all you need to do is bet a small amount on one side, while I put all the money on the other side. This way, we're guaranteed to win! Then, I'll split the earnings with you!"

"That... makes some sense..." Tsunade touched her chin, deep in thought.

Although Shiro's suggestion seemed reliable, Tsunade couldn't shake the feeling that winning money this way would somehow lead to losing something more important in life.

"Tsunade-sama, this plan sounds great!" Shizune, holding Tonton, beamed with excitement.

"Fine, let's give it a try."

The trio, along with Tonton, headed to the gambling hall. The moment the owner saw Tsunade, his face turned dark.

The owner had never seen anyone with such bad luck before! She could go an entire night without winning a single hand!

Tsunade had become notorious; betting against her was almost a surefire way to win.

Other gamblers lit up with excitement when they saw Tsunade enter.

The owner now wondered if Tsunade had been sent by a rival gambling hall to ruin his business! Normally, they would just beat someone like her up and throw her out.

But who was Tsunade?

She was one of the Legendary Sannin! Even if the entire staff teamed up, they wouldn't stand a chance against her!

The owner rushed over to Tsunade, practically crawling, and pleaded, "Tsunade-sama, please go gamble somewhere else! I'll refund all the money you lost here! I beg you, just leave!"

Hearing the word "refund," Tsunade didn't look happy; instead, her face darkened, and she nearly punched the owner out of frustration.

Shiro's eyes brightened, and with a mischievous grin, he whispered to the owner.

"I can help you take down these greedy customers, but you have to give me half of the profit."

The owner hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Tsunade.

"Can you really pull it off? This woman is like a walking curse! No matter what tricks I use, she always loses!"

"What did you say? Do you want me to hit you?!"

Normally, gambling halls would rig the game to make customers lose, scamming them out of their money. But this time, the hall was trying every trick to help her win, yet she kept losing!

This had utterly crushed Tsunade's pride.

"Are you in or not? Otherwise, there's no way you can stop Tsunade-sama with your current staff."

Trembling, the owner reluctantly nodded.

The three of them walked over to a gambling table, and immediately, people made way for them to pass.

The area around the table was packed with people, and the owner had to struggle to push through the crowd. When he saw how much money everyone was holding, his face darkened again.

He could only hope that Shiro would keep his word!

Shiro casually placed all his money on the table—after sticking with Tsunade, he had won 2.56 million! 

Tsunade sneered and was about to place a bet herself when Shiro quickly stopped her.

"Tsunade-sama, just sit there and don't do anything!" Shiro said, then turned to Shizune. "Shizune-sister, you place the bet. It doesn't matter what you pick!"

Tsunade folded her arms in frustration. If she hadn't already run out of money, she would never have agreed to this!

Shizune hesitated for a moment before placing a 10,000-yen note on "big."

In an instant, the other gamblers placed all their money on "small." Roughly tens of millions piled up on "small," while greedy eyes stared at the gambling hall owner.

The owner forced a smile, picked up the dice cup, and began shaking it with little hope.

The way he shook the dice seemed casual, but it was actually quite precise.

No matter what outcome he wanted, a simple shake would get him the desired result, making it impossible for gamblers to win. 

However, Tsunade was a special case!

"Big! Big! Big!" The owner silently prayed. If he lost this round, the gambling hall wouldn't be worth as much as the money at stake.

As he slowly lifted the dice cup and opened his eyes, he expected to see three sixes—just as planned.

But now, Tsunade was sitting across from him.

"Three sixes!"

The owner stared in disbelief, rubbing his eyes several times to make sure he wasn't seeing things wrong.

"How is this possible? Why isn't her curse working?!"

"Damn it! That was all my savings!"

"I borrowed money to gamble!"

Shiro sneered. The people least deserving of sympathy in this world were gamblers. Betting everything they owned on slim odds, especially in a game where the house could rig the outcome, only guaranteed they'd ruin their lives.

This win wasn't because Tsunade's luck had turned around.

It was because all the money was Shiro's, the bets were placed by Shizune, and the dice were shaken by the gambling hall owner.

Tsunade just sat there, like a lucky mascot.

Satisfied with his winnings, Shiro wasn't planning to keep gambling.

This trip to the gambling hall was part of his preparation for the future. If he was going to travel across other countries, he'd need more than strength—he'd need money.

Now that he had enough, there was no need to continue.

After collecting his winnings from the gambling hall owner, Tsunade immediately snatched half of the money.

Tsunade, now as cheerful as a child, wrapped an arm around Shiro's neck as they swaggered out together.

"Excuse me, are you Tsunade-sama?"

The three turned to see a silver-haired young man with round glasses and a sinister smile on his face.

"Yakushi Kabuto!"

"Alright, folks, hand over your votes! This is... a robbery!" 

(End of Chapter)