If Tsunade likes to gamble, let her gamble. What does it have to do with me?
Orochimaru walked out of the alley, looked at the distant Casino, then turned to walk back. After a couple of steps, she paused.
She thought about how Tsunade had treated her to a meal before, and how their interactions had been quite harmonious during this time. Although Tsunade had a somewhat violent and uninhibited personality, her violence was always directed at Jiraiya, not at her.
I should go check it out. After all, she's a Ninja. Surely no one would cheat Tsunade at the gambling table, right?
Orochimaru maintained her transformed appearance and entered the Casino, quickly finding Tsunade and the people she was gambling with in a room.
"Damn it!"
Tsunade, having lost another bet, watched helplessly as the chips were divided, her face growing increasingly grim.
No wonder she would later be known as the "Legendary Sucker." The title "Sucker" not only referred to her figure but also to her terrible luck with gambling. Meeting her was like meeting a fat sheep ready to be fleeced, wasn't it?
Orochimaru stood by, watching Tsunade and the others gamble. She felt the envious gazes of the surrounding people towards those gambling with Tsunade. Gambling with Tsunade was like picking up money; they could win no matter what. How could they not be envious?
If it weren't inappropriate to be discovered, Orochimaru would have wanted to go up and gamble with Tsunade herself. To whom did the money matter if it was lost anyway? It might as well be lost to her as future research funds.
The money in her hand wasn't even enough to buy one piece of research equipment; she was still too poor.
"Damn it, why didn't I discover her sooner?"
"Those guys are too lucky!"
"This woman with terrible gambling luck hasn't been here for a while. She must have made a lot of money, right? I wish I could gamble with her!"
Hearing the envious words of the people around, those gambling with Tsunade smiled smugly.
For them, today was truly a lucky day.
"You're all so noisy! Can't you be a little quieter!"
Tsunade's ears twitched. Hearing the people around discussing her, she flushed with anger and punched the ground. The solid wood floor shattered as if struck, and the entire Casino shook.
Tsunade's sudden outburst scared the people around her into silence, standing there as quiet as quails.
"Hmph!"
Tsunade snorted, threw her bad hand forward, reluctantly glanced at her few remaining chips, and walked towards the slot machine area.
"Are you not planning to leave the Casino until you've lost all your money?"
Orochimaru sat next to Tsunade at a slot machine. The slot machine's design was identical to the ones she was familiar with, and it took 50 ryo coins.
"Who are you? Don't meddle!"
Tsunade glared fiercely at Orochimaru. She was already in a bad mood, and someone dared to annoy her!
"Alright."
Orochimaru pushed up her glasses. Her unassuming brown pupils instantly turned golden.
"Ah..."
Tsunade froze for a moment, recognized the person in front of her, reached out and grabbed her wrist, then blinked and asked playfully, "Do you have any money?"
Orochimaru looked at the anticipation in Tsunade's eyes and had an ominous premonition, which quickly came true.
"Damn it..."
Tsunade, walking out of the Casino, dispelled her transformation Jutsu and stomped her foot in annoyance.
If others could win a few times gambling, Tsunade's gambling journey was just loss, loss, loss... The only time she won money today was when Orochimaru won it on the slot machine with a 50 ryo coin, and then she lost it again.
All that effort for nothing... My research funds... My research equipment... Six Paths Sage's goatee, if I had known, I wouldn't have bothered with Tsunade.
Orochimaru held her much lighter wallet, looking up at the sky with a lifeless expression. All the royalties she had earned were lost by Tsunade.
"Orochimaru, I'll pay you back."
Tsunade smiled awkwardly and patted Orochimaru's arm.
"Tsunade, if you're not gambling to win money, you can come to me and Jiraiya."
Orochimaru disliked gambling and didn't want to waste time gambling with Tsunade. She was thinking about her future research funds, and about many, many future 75,000 ryo.
Someone like Tsunade, on Earth, would be a complete gambling addict, the incurable kind.
It was this Ninja World that saved her.
"Who, who isn't gambling to win money!"
Tsunade retorted loudly, as if provoked by Orochimaru's words.
"Have you ever won?"
Orochimaru stared at Tsunade, asking a soul-searching question. Her bright brown eyes held a hint of evasion, not daring to meet Tsunade's gaze.
"How could I not have won? I've won a few times..."
Tsunade counted on her fingers, her voice growing softer and less confident.
"Tsunade, every ounce of money we earn from missions is important. We work hard for it. If possible, I'd rather you use that money for more important things, not the Casino."
Orochimaru genuinely felt that Tsunade's gambling habit wasn't good. If she liked to gamble, she could do it with friends. As the saying goes, 'small gambling is enjoyable, big gambling harms the body.'
"Orochimaru, don't you think you're too naggy? You're meddling too much!"
Tsunade put her hands on her hips, unable to stand Orochimaru's lecturing tone.
"My apologies."
Orochimaru realized she had no right to lecture Tsunade, just as Jiraiya liked to peek into women's bathhouses. She could condemn it, but there was no need. Even if she spoke, Jiraiya wouldn't change. In the original story, Jiraiya was consistent in his 'research' for decades.
Even her respected Hiruzen-sensei had a bad habit of peeping... truly an LSP and XSP.
"You..."
Tsunade looked at Orochimaru, whose face showed little expression and no emotion. She had expected Orochimaru to argue with her after her tantrum, but she never imagined this reaction.
"Tsunade, I'm going to train."
Orochimaru didn't care about what Tsunade said. With her two lifetimes combined, her age far exceeded Tsunade's. She wasn't so childish as to argue with a kid, and she didn't intend to make Tsunade repay the 75,000 ryo.
"Orochimaru! You, wait for me!"
Tsunade saw Orochimaru turn and leave, a panic in her heart, and subconsciously chased after her.
"Um... I was wrong just now!"
"I'm not angry."
Orochimaru looked at Tsunade, whose cute face was flushed as she awkwardly apologized. A smile curved her lips, making her seem much warmer.
"Speaking of which, you're going to train. What kind of training is it?"
Seeing that Orochimaru was indeed not angry, Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief and asked curiously.
"Ninjutsu training. Hiruzen-sensei gave me Ninjutsu scrolls recording the Fire Release, Wind Release, Earth Release, Water Release, and Lightning Release, the five basic elemental Ninjutsu. Although they are the most basic and easiest to learn Ninjutsu, it's still difficult for me to master them at my current level."
As Orochimaru spoke, she pulled out a scroll. It contained five Ninjutsu, one for each of the five elemental Releases.
"You're going to learn all of them?"
Tsunade looked at the scroll in Orochimaru's hand in surprise.
"They might be useful in future missions." Ninja tools are too expensive; Ninjutsu is more cost-effective.
Orochimaru didn't voice the rest of her thought, lest Tsunade misunderstand that she was asking for repayment. She admired a straightforward girl like Tsunade.
"Future missions, huh..."
Tsunade thought about how Jiraiya had also been training hard recently.
"Tsunade, if your Chakra nature includes Lightning, I suggest you learn Lightning Release. By activating all your body cells with Lightning Release Chakra to increase your speed, combined with your monstrous strength, it would be a terrifying offensive method."
Orochimaru thought of Tsunade in the original story. What she remembered most was that Tsunade's attacks often missed. If her monstrous strength could be combined with improved accuracy, her power would increase qualitatively.
"Lightning Release, huh? I'll consider it."
Tsunade scratched her cheek, thinking of the Sealing Technique her grandmother wanted her to learn, which gave her a headache. She was more interested in the Yin Seal. As for Ninjutsu, she wanted to learn Medical Ninjutsu. That way, she wouldn't have to worry about hitting people too hard, and she could even heal them, then hit them again!
(Tsunade's Yin Seal, which Uzumaki Mito also had on her forehead, even when she was young, should be a type of Uzumaki Clan Sealing Technique. It was later passed from Uzumaki Mito to Tsunade. Tsunade developed the Strength of a Hundred Sealings Technique and Mitotic Regeneration through the Yin Seal.
I personally speculate that Uzumaki Mito probably wanted Tsunade to learn all of the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Technique. Unfortunately, Tsunade, who possessed both Uzumaki and Senju bloodlines, did not inherit Kagura Shingan and Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Also, the idea of Tsunade learning Medical Ninjutsu to hit people more effectively is something I made up. Considering her childhood temper, there must have been times when she couldn't control her strength and injured others, which could have been the catalyst for her wanting to learn Medical Ninjutsu.)
"Tsunade, do you want to train with me?"
Orochimaru looked at Tsunade walking beside her. No sooner had she spoken than Tsunade's stomach rumbled.
The air solidified at that moment. A gust of wind blew, lifting a leaf from the ground.
"I'll treat you to a meal."
Orochimaru chuckled, pointing to a tavern not far away.
"You still have money?"
Tsunade said in surprise, her gaze towards Orochimaru changing. 75,000 ryo was no small sum, and after taking out so much money, Orochimaru still had some left.
"You, what do you want to do?!"
Orochimaru subconsciously clutched her wallet, staring warily at Tsunade, cold sweat breaking out.