Chương 172: You Become My Teacher, I’ll Become Your Grandfather

The moment the gamblers saw Tsunade betting on a specific triple, they immediately realized the legendary sucker had given up struggling. Why not call it a desperate final gamble? Because Tsunade's face lacked the feverish obsession common to ordinary gamblers. To her, gambling was little more than a pastime—a casual diversion. Winning or losing barely seemed to matter. Dongye Zhen placed the exact same bet. Tsunade merely glanced at him without much interest. Then the dice cup opened. Three threes. A perfect hit.

The entire table was wiped clean. Tsunade's pupils contracted slightly. Her brows furrowed as an inexplicable irritation stirred inside her chest. Refusing to believe it, she pushed her winnings forward and bet on triple threes again. The exact same wager. The gamblers didn't believe it either. Neither did the dealer. Dongye Zhen, however, trusted the accumulated experience of Konoha's older generation and calmly followed suit.

Only Shizune had completely lost herself in the bliss of frantically counting stacks of cash. The second round— Triple threes again. At this point, the only word that fit was cursed. But instead of becoming frustrated, Tsunade relaxed. A strange smile tugged at her lips as she stared directly at Dongye Zhen. After a brief moment of observation, she immediately figured out who was behind the trick. No matter what, she was still a veteran ninja. She simply hadn't paid attention earlier.

Dongye Zhen, meanwhile, couldn't care less. He just kept collecting money. The gamblers and dealer, on the other hand, were on the verge of collapse. The casino's hired ninja thoroughly inspected the table and even rerolled the dice several more times. Triple threes. Again. And again. Yet they detected absolutely nothing wrong. In the end, the casino could only invent an excuse to shut the table down and politely escort the two walking disasters out the door. Tsunade's bets hadn't been particularly large.

After two full-table wins, she merely recovered her losses and earned a small surplus. Dongye Zhen, however, had absolutely no shame. He had gutted the dealer for a massive payout. The reason he'd had Genma carry a giant money box wasn't to bring money in. It was to haul money out. If ninja missions didn't come with a little extra profit on the side, how were people supposed to enjoy a life where they could spend freely? On a secluded side street outside the casino, Tsunade narrowed her eyes at Dongye Zhen.

"Kid, you're still underage, aren't you? Pretty gutsy of you to sneak into a casino." Dongye Zhen answered with perfect seriousness.

"With this disguise, I've temporarily become an adult." Tsunade snorted.

"You seriously expect me to believe that crap?"

"That part isn't important." Tsunade's eyes drifted toward the money box in Genma's arms.

"You won quite a bit, brat. But… you wouldn't want your mother hearing about this, right?" A dangerous grin spread across her face.

"My silence doesn't come cheap." The moment those words left her mouth, Genma instantly sensed impending doom and hugged the money box tighter. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Dongye Zhen remained completely calm.

"Don't worry, Tsunade-sama. Once I hand over the money to the village, everything will be fine. I'm sure my mother will understand this was merely a necessary adjustment during the mission." Only then did Shizune snap out of her money-counting trance and realize something important. These people… Were all Konoha ninja. She had left the village years ago and spent most of her time wandering the world with Tsunade, so she wasn't particularly familiar with Dongye Zhen himself. She'd only heard stories.

But among them was someone she recognized. Shizune stared at one face for a few seconds before blurting out in surprise:"Genma? It's really you!" She had attended the Ninja Academy alongside Kakashi, Asuma, Genma, and the others. Genma shrugged.

"Yep. It's me." Then he offered Tsunade a respectful bow.

"Tsunade-sama."

"Tsunade-sama." ×2 Raidō and Iwashi followed suit immediately. No matter how long Tsunade had been absent from the village, her status among Konoha ninja remained extraordinary. Tsunade swept her gaze across the four of them.

"A mission, huh?" Her expression turned wary.

"Don't tell me the old man sent you to drag me back." She folded her arms decisively.

"Let me make this clear first—I'm not returning to Konoha." Dongye Zhen shook his head.

"That's not why we're here. We only wanted to ask you about something." Tsunade visibly relaxed. As long as it wasn't about going back, everything else was negotiable.

"What is it?"

"Tsunade-sama, have you visited Kusagakure recently?"

"And why should I tell you?" Almost immediately, her attention drifted back toward the cash box.

"You should know by now that certain ninja intelligence comes at a very expensive price." Dongye Zhen smiled faintly.

"How about we gamble on it? If I win, you give me the information. If you win, the money's yours."

"And if you lose?"

"Then you tell me the information anyway." Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"Hmph. Nice try, brat." There was no way she'd fall for something that obvious.

"How about this instead? I'll give you the intel, and you teach me the trick you used in the casino." Her gaze sharpened.

"Don't even think about pretending that wasn't your doing."

"Deal."

"Fine." Tsunade crossed her arms.

"Start talking. Why are you asking about Kusagakure?" Dongye Zhen summarized concisely.

"You know how unstable the smaller hidden villages have become recently. Kusagakure in particular has been aggressively expanding its sphere of influence." He continued evenly.

"They've already fallen out with Amegakure, and now they've set their sights on Takigakure. Fighting has already broken out along the border." Tsunade thought for a moment before speaking casually.

"Both are technically Konoha allies, so interfering would be awkward, huh?" She shrugged lazily.

"Then don't interfere. Let them fight." A faint smirk curved her lips.

"No matter who wins, it benefits Konoha in the end." From that single statement alone, it was obvious why Tsunade had eventually become Hokage in the original timeline. Not because there was nobody else. But because she genuinely understood the political structure of the shinobi world. Small hidden villages could never truly escape Konoha's influence. If they fought each other into mutual ruin, they would only become even more dependent on Konoha afterward. Dongye Zhen nodded.

"That was originally our assessment as well. But recently, Takigakure reported that Kusagakure appears to have obtained the support of a powerful medical ninja."

"Several important figures on their side recover from injuries unusually quickly and return to battle almost immediately."

"So Takigakure wants to know whether Konoha is secretly backing Kusagakure." His eyes met Tsunade's.

"That's why we came to you. Among Konoha's top medical ninja, you're the only one currently free enough to operate independently." Tsunade immediately denied it.

"Not me." Her expression darkened slightly.

"You're overthinking things. Why would I help that bunch of fence-sitters?"

"Is that so? The village also felt it probably wasn't you." Tsunade wasn't the type to lie about something like this. Nor did she have any reason to aid Kusagakure. Not to mention she was still burdened by her hemophobia. Dongye Zhen naturally knew the real answer. Kusagakure had obviously acquired an endless healing battery— Karin's mother. But there was no way he could simply blurt that out. He still had to perform the proper investigation routine for appearances' sake.

"Now that you know it wasn't me," Tsunade said impatiently, "quit wasting time and teach me your gambling trick."

"It's simple," Dongye Zhen replied casually.

"I just used chakra to subtly manipulate the dice while they rolled." Veins bulged faintly at Tsunade's temples.

"Brat, are you screwing with me?" Her fists clenched.

"You think casinos don't have countermeasures against that? Even if they didn't, you think I wouldn't notice?" Dongye Zhen spread his hands innocently.

"But that's exactly what I did."

"Yeah right." Tsunade snorted, then—right in front of the younger generation—reached into the mysterious valley between her breasts and pulled out three dice. The sight instantly sent the blood pressure of Genma and the others skyrocketing. Before leaving the casino, Tsunade had apparently stolen the dice straight from the table out of curiosity. For one of the Legendary Sannin, pulling off something like that was effortless. She tossed the dice onto the ground.

The three cubes bounced and rolled before finally stopping. Triple threes. Exactly as called. Though Tsunade's large-scale sensory abilities primarily relied on Katsuyu's split bodies, she was still a member of the Senju Clan. Her own sensory perception was far beyond ordinary ninja. And even without that— They were practically standing face to face. Any competent shinobi should've detected chakra manipulation instantly. Yet she sensed absolutely nothing. Refusing to believe it, she threw them again.

"This time, I want triple sixes." The result spoke for itself. Even when Shizune rolled the dice on the third attempt, the outcome remained unchanged. Dongye Zhen shrugged.

"See? I'm cheating right in front of you, and you still can't detect it." Of course she couldn't. Dongye Zhen wasn't manipulating the dice with ordinary chakra at all. He used the chakra within his body to communicate with traces of natural energy in the environment, attaching that power to the dice and controlling them freely. Ordinary ninja couldn't perceive natural energy in the first place. Hashirama Senju probably could. Tsunade? She didn't know Sage Mode. Tsunade stared at him in disbelief.

"This is seriously creepy." Ever since meeting Dongye Zhen, she had felt there was something absurdly unnatural about his talent. His aptitude exceeded even Orochimaru's monstrous genius from years ago. The boy had literally learned her monstrous strength technique mid-fight. As much as she hated admitting it, Dongye Zhen could technically be considered her disciple. After all, she had intentionally guided him when teaching the technique. And now…

It seemed even his chakra was fundamentally different from everyone else's. Tsunade had always been a woman who acted on impulse. So she did exactly what she wanted. Stepping forward, she grabbed Dongye Zhen's hand directly, attempting to probe the peculiar nature of his chakra. And in that instant— She felt it. An ocean-like volume of chakra. Boundless vitality. The sensation was hauntingly familiar. For one fleeting moment, she felt as though the person standing before her wasn't Dongye Zhen at all…

But her granduncle. The man once hailed as the God of Shinobi.