Tsunade's setup for winning or losing was clearly a big gamble; even before it started, she felt she would lose.
However, Tsunade didn't know that when it came to rolling dice, she could never gain an advantage in front of Mutsuki, as he had a trick up his sleeve. Behind his glasses, he could quietly activate his Byakugan and see through the dice.
"Then thank you, Tsunade-sama. If you win, I'll actually have you help me," Mutsuki said with a smile.
Although he had the means to cheat, Mutsuki didn't intend to use his Byakugan. He had already gained plenty from Tsunade, and if she was truly reluctant, he wouldn't force her. He had a clear plan in mind: without Tsunade's help, it would just take a bit more time.
Tsunade felt that Mutsuki was teasing her, but she had no evidence since he had never been to the casino with her, and not many people in Konoha knew that she always lost when gambling.
Fortunately, Tsunade wasn't one to argue about such things. She simply slapped Mutsuki on the back and laughed, "Of course! Otherwise, how would I be teaching you Medical Ninjutsu?"
Mutsuki maintained a faint smile on his face. He had been keeping up his Stone Breathing Constant, which increased his defense, and Tsunade had only used a playful amount of strength.
"Your physical training is quite good," Tsunade said, raising an eyebrow as she felt the solid muscle beneath her palm. She had exerted a bit of force just now.
As mealtime approached, Tsunade didn't want to waste Mutsuki's time and quickly called Shizune to bring the tools.
With a clatter, the dice continuously collided with the cup as Tsunade shook it rapidly.
"Have you ever been to a casino?" Tsunade asked Mutsuki while shaking the dice.
"No," Mutsuki shook his head in response.
He had never been to a casino in either his previous life or the world of Naruto, at most playing a game of Liar's Dice with friends at karaoke.
"Newbie, huh? Then I should congratulate you in advance; beginners usually have pretty good luck," Tsunade said with a smile.
"There are five dice in total. Seventeen and below is small, and seventeen and above is big. Whoever guesses correctly wins," Tsunade explained the rules of the game since Mutsuki claimed to be a newcomer.
Bang!
After finishing her explanation, Tsunade slammed the cup down on the table and looked at Mutsuki, saying, "Since you're a newcomer, I'll let you go first."
Without activating his Byakugan, Mutsuki also lacked the ability to discern the sound of the dice. He didn't think too much about it and casually called out "big."
"Great! Then I'll bet on small," Tsunade replied as she lifted the cup to reveal the five dice inside.
As she revealed the dice, Tsunade couldn't help but break into a triumphant laugh, feeling that she had played this round perfectly, making the most of her strange gambling luck.
However, when Tsunade clearly saw the numbers on the five dice, her smile slowly froze, ultimately turning into a look of disbelief.
Mutsuki was also slightly surprised by the outcome; it was exactly sixteen points. If it had been just a bit higher, it wouldn't have been classified as small.
This was a bit unexpected for Mutsuki; he was fully prepared to win, after all, Tsunade was well-known in the ninja world as a big fish, and going to a casino with her was basically like doing charity work.
"Congratulations! It seems that as the veteran, Tsunade-sama, you have the upper hand," Mutsuki said with a warm smile.
"Ah, how could this happen? I actually won!" Tsunade exclaimed, still looking incredulous.
Throughout her life, she had never won, whether it was cards, dice, or even lottery tickets—she had never won a single time.
Tsunade rubbed her eyes and leaned closer to examine the dice carefully. But no matter how she looked at them, the numbers wouldn't change; it was still sixteen points.
"It's impossible, it shouldn't be like this," Tsunade mumbled to herself while tugging at her hair.
Tsunade's unusual actions drew Shizune, who was washing vegetables, over, and she couldn't help but ask, "Tsunade-sama, did you lose again?"
She remembered that Tsunade didn't seem to show much emotion even after losing a million ryo.
"If I had lost, that would have been fine, but I actually won," Tsunade replied helplessly. She genuinely didn't expect to win.
"Isn't winning a good thing..." Shizune thought of Tsunade's bizarre bet and quickly shut her mouth.
For Tsunade and Mutsuki, winning the bet essentially meant losing, and losing equated to winning.
"Looking at it this way, it seems that Tsunade-sama actually lost like usual," Shizune thought to herself.
"Something feels off, could it be that your luck is worse than mine?" Tsunade, who had lost throughout her childhood, suddenly winning made her feel completely out of sorts.
"Let's have another round. This time, winning or losing won't affect our agreement," Tsunade said calmly.
She wouldn't go back on her word; after all, it was just about helping Mutsuki develop a Ninjutsu. It wasn't like signing a grueling work contract. Once the Ninjutsu development was complete, she could happily return to her laid-back lifestyle.
Tsunade really wanted to gamble again to see what was going on.
"No problem," Mutsuki nodded in agreement.
He was also curious about what was happening. Could it be that his luck was worse than Tsunade's?
After Mutsuki spoke, Tsunade immediately shook the dice and then quickly placed them on the table.
"I'll go first this time. I guess it's big," Tsunade said confidently.
"Then I'll guess small," Mutsuki replied.
Tsunade swiftly revealed the five dice inside the cup.
"Maybe there really is such a thing as beginner's luck," Mutsuki said as he looked at the dice.
This time, the total was ten, meaning Mutsuki won.
Tsunade felt an inexplicable sense of melancholy; if she won again this time, she might feel a bit happier.
Not willing to give up, Tsunade had another round with Mutsuki, but again, Mutsuki won.
Now Tsunade understood that Mutsuki's luck was quite normal, unlike hers—the first victory was merely a coincidence.
"Forget it; at least I won once. But having lost for so long, suddenly winning once... I hope nothing bad happens," Tsunade said casually.
This remark caught Mutsuki's attention.
Although Tsunade always lost when gambling, she could occasionally win a few times, but something bad would happen every time she did.
...
Guy stood before a five-meter-high giant rock, slowly taking out the single baton Mutsuki had given him. He gripped the stick with his left hand and the iron chain of the single baton with his right, then slightly spread his legs and turned his body to the right.
"Legend of Mi Long: Blade and Sword: Golden Skyline!"
Guy placed his left hand in front of him and his right hand behind his waist, extending his index and middle fingers. He then shouted loudly as he charged towards the giant rock. In the midst of his charge, his left hand moved in a drawing motion, driving his right hand forward to slash, ultimately creating a golden line.
Boom!!
A massive explosion echoed, and a dazzling golden light flashed as the giant rock split in half and exploded.
After using Golden Skyline, Guy's fingers trembled uncontrollably for a moment.
He didn't pay attention to the pain in his fingers; instead, an expression of immense excitement spread across his face because he had finally been able to use Golden Skyline at a preliminary level.
However, Guy couldn't use Golden Skyline like Mutsuki could; Mutsuki could use it in his normal state, while Guy could only unleash it with the aid of the Eight Inner Gates.
Nevertheless, Guy was quite satisfied because the power of Golden Skyline was truly immense. He had just sliced through a five-meter giant rock and hardly felt any difficulty.
"This Taijutsu is so powerful," Genma exclaimed.
For him, as a regular Ninja, Guy's performance was incredibly impressive. A rock the size of a small house had been blown apart just like that.
Ebisu nodded in agreement, looking impressed.
"Is this the Taijutsu that Mutsuki taught you?" Chen-sensei asked as he walked over to Guy, glancing at the destroyed giant rock.
From his perspective, this Taijutsu was formidable and had more power than the Konoha Dragon God.
Of course, this jutsu was not the same type as the Konoha Dragon God; while the Konoha Dragon God was a wide-area attack, it also had its own advantages.
"Yeah, but this Taijutsu wasn't developed by Yumi-sensei," Guy said excitedly, nodding his head. He then began to share the story of this Taijutsu with Chen-sensei.
He thought the story was really fascinating and wanted to share it with others.
"Taijutsu from before the Ninja Village era, Mi Long?" Chen-sensei recalled seriously but found he had no relevant memories.
However, Chen-sensei didn't mind too much; he wasn't a history expert, and if it concerned figures from a long time ago, he genuinely wouldn't know.
"I didn't expect that kid Mutsuki had such skills left over from our last spar. I need to ask him about it again," Chen-sensei thought, eager to see Mutsuki perform Golden Skyline.
Chen-sensei had originally lost his motivation to practice Taijutsu because he felt he had reached a dead end in his training.
It wasn't that he thought he was invincible; he was well aware that he could never defeat the Hokage or the Sannin. Instead, he didn't believe it was due to his Taijutsu being inferior; rather, it was that he was generally lacking in other Ninja skills.
After meeting Mutsuki, things were different. That battle seemed to be a tie on the surface, but Chen-sensei knew that Mutsuki actually had the upper hand.
It might have been the immense pressure from Mutsuki's Taijutsu that allowed him to make progress in an area where he felt he had hit a dead end. Although the improvement was minimal, it still made Chen-sensei very happy after such a long time without any progress.
Now that he discovered Mutsuki had such a powerful Taijutsu like Golden Skyline that he hadn't used, he wanted to battle Mutsuki again to see if he could achieve another breakthrough.
"Yumi-sensei seems quite busy lately. Should I ask him for you?" Guy scratched his head and asked.
Chen-sensei nodded without hesitation.
After finishing his training, Guy went directly to Mutsuki's house to inquire about the situation since the training in the southern forest had disbanded by that time.
"In about a month and a half," Mutsuki thought for a moment before replying.
He was willing to spar in Taijutsu, but he wouldn't be able to find time for it in the next month and a half.
"It's dinner time, so let's have a meal before you go," Mutsuki urged.
Guy's face showed a hint of desire; he hadn't had Mutsuki's cooking in a while.
However, worried that his father would wait for him to come home to eat, Guy ran home first to notify his father before racing back to Mutsuki's house for dinner.
After finishing the meal, Guy didn't head home; instead, he went straight to Kakashi's house.
Now that he could not only open the fourth gate of the Eight Inner Gates but also perform Golden Skyline, he felt confident he could beat Kakashi.
"Hey, Kakashi, let's have a passionate battle of youth!" Guy quickly found Kakashi and issued the challenge, relying on his familiarity with him.
Kakashi looked at Guy with a blank expression and remarked, "Don't you think it's a bit strange to challenge me here?"
After saying that, Kakashi turned to the side, looking exasperated—this was the bathroom!
Although Guy's actions annoyed him, Kakashi was somewhat used to it; after all, Guy was never one to consider the occasion or atmosphere.
After washing his hands, Kakashi led Guy to the courtyard to prepare for the battle.
After a long time of practice, he had finally mastered Transparent World, not only being able to perfectly control his own body but also seeing through others' bodies.
"My dear friend, I have been training hard since the end of the Chunin Exam just to defeat you. Get ready to experience the taste of failure!" Guy said with a confident smile.
He had narrowly lost to Kakashi back when he used three gates and Konoha Dragon God, but now with the ability to open the fourth gate of the Eight Inner Gates and having mastered Golden Skyline, he was determined not to lose again.
"Is that so? But I haven't been slacking off either. Who knows who will be experiencing failure this time?" Kakashi replied.
After consecutively defeating Obito and Shisui, Kakashi had regained his confidence as a genius. As long as he was facing peers, he felt confident in winning.
"Hahaha!" Hearing Kakashi's confidence, Guy couldn't help but burst into laughter and gave Kakashi a thumbs-up.
"Truly worthy of being a dear friend. Let's start the battle on the count of three."
Kakashi nodded.
"Three, two, one, start!"
"Stone Breathing, Total Concentration! Eight Inner Gates, Gate of Life, open!"
As soon as the battle began, Guy immediately focused his breathing and opened the third gate of the Eight Inner Gates.
"Thunder Breathing, Total Concentration!"
Kakashi also concentrated his breathing and gathered Chakra for Lightning Release.
Whoosh!
The two of them instantly dashed toward each other.
Years of training had made Guy's body increasingly powerful; even with just three gates open, his strength surpassed his previous levels, delivering impressive punches and kicks.
Although Kakashi could use Lightning Release to activate his cells and enhance his strength, this method consumed a lot of Chakra. So, he didn't engage Guy in a direct clash but instead opened Transparent World to enhance his perception.
With the aid of Transparent World, all of Guy's movements were seen through by Kakashi.
This made it very difficult for Guy; he couldn't hit Kakashi, but Kakashi could hit him.
Although the enhancement from Stone Breathing made him tough, with the aid of Transparent World, Kakashi's punches and kicks were also powerful, and for a time, Guy found himself at a disadvantage.
Guy didn't panic; instead, his smile grew even broader.
The stronger Kakashi became, the more excited he felt, because winning against a stronger opponent would give him even more of a sense of accomplishment.
"Dear friend, this is a technique I specially prepared for you, and I haven't used it in battle against anyone else yet."
Since Guy opened the Gate of Pain for the first time at home, aside from Mutsuki and Duy, no one else knew about this information.
"Eight Inner Gates, Gate of Pain, open!"
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