Chapter 442: Opening Act
The night of July 5, Konoha Year 60.
The Konoha Casino had stopped accepting wagers half an hour ago, and Masahiko was conducting a final cross-check of the accounts.
Flipping open the account ledger, Masahiko was instantly startled.
"A grand total of over 1.93 billion?! Wasn't it not even at 1.5 billion yesterday? Even if it's the final day, there shouldn't be this much, right?"
The casino owner stood respectfully to one side, lightly wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Lord Jiraiya of the Three Sannin came today. He placed a wager of nearly 200 million Ryo all by himself, which is why the total surged this much."
Masahiko paused, a hint of realization dawning on him. "That bastard Jiraiya really is loaded!"
Jiraiya's current status was Konoha's 'intelligence ninja'. He spent years abroad gathering material, sending news of various major and minor affairs back to Konoha Village, which earned him hefty remunerations. Furthermore, he was an author—a bestselling author at that. In a Naruto world without the internet, Make-Out Paradise could indeed be hailed as a masterpiece among a certain demographic.
Masahiko heard that Jiraiya was currently writing a sequel, apparently titled something like Violence Paradise. The inspiration was supposedly drawn from a certain Shibuki-kun being caught in a bondage-play scenario in the Land of Rain a few years back... Just thinking about it was stimulating.
"Ahem." Masahiko let out a light cough, straightening his train of thought. "I knew he was rich, but I didn't expect him to be this rich. Dropping 200 million on a random wager? His net worth must be at least 500 million."
Pondering for a moment, Masahiko revealed a smile. 500 million sounded like a lot, but it probably wouldn't even cover half a year of Tsunade's losses...
"Who did he place his bets on?"
"Half of it was wagered on Naruto Uzumaki winning the championship, and the other half was scattered across several top-eight contenders with massive payout odds."
Masahiko breathed a sigh of relief; he could rest easy now. Naruto's training with the Summoning Jutsu over these past few days had been very successful, allowing him to stably summon Gamabunta. Jiraiya likely felt that Naruto had a guaranteed win.
But he was still far too naive.
If Naruto called upon a summon, Tenten could just call upon a pet. Gamabunta wasn't even enough to take two swipes from the Fat Cat's paws. What was Naruto going to do, call out Gamamaru instead?
"Guaranteed win, guaranteed win! The Great Ancestor is definitely striking it rich this wave, striking it rich!" Masahiko muttered, looking over at the casino owner beside him. "Relax. The Great Ancestor will eat the meat and leave you a bit of the soup... bowl."
The next morning, at dawn.
Masahiko led Kimimaro's trio, accompanying Kushina's family to the Konoha Stadium.
The colossal stadium was already half-filled, and civilians and ninjas were continuously streaming inside. According to Obito, the originally projected two thousand tickets weren't nearly enough, so he sold an additional two thousand, making the venue look slightly crowded.
However, Masahiko didn't need to worry about any of that. The stadium had a total of thirty-two rows of seats, and the seats in the very first row and the very last row weren't for sale, reserved exclusively for individuals of exceptional status—such as Masahiko.
"Kushina, are we sitting in the first row or the last row?" The venue was quite noisy, so Masahiko shouted loudly.
Kushina showed a brief hesitation, but the 'exam candidate' beside her, Naruto, spoke up impatiently: "Hey! Let's go to the first row!"
Naruto wasn't nervous in the slightest, wanting Masahiko and the others to watch his performance from close proximity.
Since Naruto requested it, the group didn't decline. Heading all the way forward, they sat down in the very first row of the stadium, casually chatting while waiting for the exam to begin.
Masahiko held little Tsukika on his lap, his large hand pinching both sides of her cheeks. "Tsukika, how has your training with Papa been going lately?"
"Great Ancestor, don't pinch my face!" Tsukika struggled in dissatisfaction. "Tsukika is a genius, Papa said I'll overtake Big Brother very soon!"
Masahiko chuckled and let go, but beside him, Karin and Haku simultaneously reached their hands out, once again pinching Tsukika's baby-fat cheeks from the left and right... The texture was indeed excellent, quite addictive.
Tsukika was very angry. Fumbling around in her vest, she pulled out a pair of gloves, put them on, and threatened huffily: "If you pinch my face again, I'll hit you!"
Masahiko suddenly really wanted to roll his eyes, but unfortunately, his eyes hadn't finished being nourished yet...
Right at that moment, Masahiko suddenly felt something and looked back. He saw Obito, Hiruzen, and three Konoha elders (Sakumo, Nawaki, and Hiashi) accompanying the 'Fourth Kazekage' inside, taking their seats in the very last row.
Orochimaru actually came. His gall is truly not small; the people beside him combined could beat him into a dead snake. Masahiko muttered to himself, while subconsciously placing his hand on Tsukika's face again to knead it.
Tsukika bore a face full of helplessness, leaning her tiny body back into Masahiko's embrace, letting him do whatever he wanted...
As time ticked away, the stadium was gradually filled to capacity, but the noisy chatter quieted down instead.
Because the countdown on the massive screen directly in front of Masahiko only had two minutes left. Two minutes later, the first duel would commence, and the duelists would be randomly drawn on the big screen.
"Great-grandfather, don't you feel like something is missing?" Kushina suddenly spoke up.
Before Masahiko could react, Minato shook his head and said: "What's missing is a defensive barrier, right? There probably won't be one of those. The venue is too large, making it very troublesome to set up. Obito likely intends to use manpower to protect the spectators behind them. Kakashi and the other instructing Jonin are sitting in the first row on the west side, Itachi and Kiba are on the east side, and we are right here."
Masahiko paused, looking left and right. It truly was the case. "This child Obito has also learned to be quite slippery... Minato, I leave it to you!"
"Great Ancestor is a big lazy pig."
Masahiko pinched Tsukika's little face once more: "You'll understand in the future that adults always have a few days every month where they're so lazy they don't want to move a muscle."
Kushina: "..."
While they were chatting idly, the stadium suddenly became deathly silent; the big screen had begun to roll. The moment the rolling stopped, the crowd instantly erupted into a massive din!
Masahiko spoke with a smile: "Tsukika, do you recognize the characters on the screen?"
"Tenten vs. Temari. Am I right, Great Ancestor?" Tsukika turned her head.
"Brilliant!" Masahiko executed a head-rub maneuver, catching a look full of absolute disdain in return...
Without any redundant speeches, the moment Tenten and Temari stood fixed in the center of the arena, the proctor Genma Shiranui raised his arm high and dropped it. The very first match of the third phase of the Chunin Exams officially commenced.
Tenten hadn't brought the Fat Cat with her. Instead, she fully exploited her 'wealthy second-generation advantage', hurling all sorts of large and small ninja tools toward Temari's face as if they cost nothing.
Facing Tenten, whom 'Masahiko highly favored to win the championship', Temari was exceptionally cautious. She continuously defended and tested her opponent, her giant fan whipping up fierce gales, but Tenten nimble dodged every single one of them.
However, Tenten's ninja tools were also completely blown away by her fan, locking the scene into a temporary stalemate.
Masahiko could hear many people behind him letting out sighs of regret, while many ninjas who hadn't wagered on Tenten grew highly interested in the various ninja tools she utilized...
It must be the Fat Cat's idea, using this opportunity to advertise the family business's ninja tools, simply classic. Masahiko helplessly rubbed his forehead.
Tenten displayed every variety of ninja tool under the sun, yet failed to resolve Temari. After a brief hesitation, her little face rapidly flushed red. Curving her body slightly, her hands curled into claws and were positioned in front of her chest...
Masahiko chuckled: "It's over."
In the arena, seeing Tenten 'change her stance', Temari instantly went on full guard, but Tenten's figure still vanished entirely without a trace in a fraction of a second.
In the very next second, Temari felt her shoulders sink. Tenten had somehow unknowingly mounted her shoulders, her feet crossed tightly to lock her chest from the front. There was even something sharp pressing against her neck, feeling like fingernails... Her body froze instantly.
"So... so fast!"
The stadium fell silent for a fraction of a second before erupting into a massive din once more, with Jonin exclaiming that even they hadn't clearly seen the trajectory of Tenten's movement.
Masahiko turned his head with a broad grin, locking eyes with Minato and giving a light nod.
Minato immediately revealed a radiant, sun-like smile.
Kushina showed a look of surprise: "This little girl actually possesses a talent for Space-Time Ninjutsu?"
"First match, winner: Tenten!"
Genma Shiranui's voice echoed through the stadium, representing a perfect opening act for the third phase of the Chunin Exams!
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