In a dilapidated village.
There was a makeshift graveyard.
A year ago some bandits had attacked the village and the men who had defended the village with their lives were buried here as heroes.
But now in the dead of the night, something eerie occurred.
A hand shot through the earth as if struggling and grasped the land around it. The fingers of the hand clenched hard, filling the nails with dirt. The dust around the hand trembled as the earth cracked open.
A figure emerged through the ground, entirely naked.
The figure seemed a bit disoriented as he glanced around in confusion. Slowly memories surged forth and the figure trembled, abruptly snapping his head towards the vast night sky, as if searching for something.
"...the Moon." A raspy, inhuman voice escaped the figure's lips, causing him to frown.
"So they still ended up on this disastrous path?"
Ryuzaki couldn't help but chuckle. His eyes glinted ruthlessly.
"Mount Myōboku."
Ryuzaki's voice was no different than a growl filled with hatred. The icy depths of his voice would send even the most devilish of figures trembling in fear.
"Gamamaru… you're not the only one to see the future."
Ryuzaki's trembling figure gradually calmed down and his eyes fell into an ethereal calm. He looked at himself and frowned once again. He turned around and dragged his long flowing hair across the muddy ground entering one of the huts in the nameless village.
His faint footsteps seemed to produce no sound and the sleeping family naturally remained unaware that a few clothes had disappeared from their house.
…
A thousand years of growth had led his hair to cascade down like a waterfall.
Ryuzaki gathered a minuscule amount of Chakra around his fingers before slashing through a portion of the hair, his hair now resting upon his lower back.
As the Son of Heaven, Emperor Ryuzaki had long grown accustomed to long hair. In that era, those who cut their hair short were synonymous with labourers or slaves.
Now wearing a plain black robe, Ryuzaki aimlessly drifted through the night, letting the wind dictate his path. His mind was long occupied with other matters.
"I'll have to test it regardless…" Ryuzaki suddenly muttered, before raising his pale arm devoid of any marks. His eyes drifted towards his bony fingers and he raised his other hand.
Snap!
His left index finger bent backwards at an eerie angle, clearly broken. Ryuzaki's expression remained unchanged as he closely observed the broken finger.
And much to his satisfaction the broken finger twitched before slowly repositioning itself, as if time itself had rewound.
"The Divine Seed seems to have borne fruit without complications."
Ryuzaki smiled softly before shaking his head.
In his heart, perhaps he had always wondered if the two children would still end up moving against their parents regardless of his intervention in their lives.
When Kaguya had named their first child Hagoromo Ryuzaki had frozen up. A seed of killing intent began festering in his heart. Thoughts of killing them had permeated his mind relentlessly as Hagoromo and Hamura slowly grew up.
But ultimately they were his children.
He couldn't bring himself to kill them.
The ruthless Emperor Ryuzaki's heart had become soft.
He had deluded himself, thinking that because of him the original plot would never occur.
Nonetheless, he had been prepared for betrayal.
Or rather even if there were signs of betrayal, Ryuzaki for his own selfishness had deliberately ignored them. Instead of stopping them he had created a backup plan.
He had to!
There was no other choice!
Ryuzaki had no choice but to feign ignorance of their scheme.
Because he possessed a method to awaken in a few centuries even if he were sealed.
It was the seed left behind after consuming the Chakra Fruit, the Seed of the God Tree.
The Divine Seed that had been left behind by the Chakra Fruit was left in Ryuzaki's care by Kaguya at his request.
After that Ryuzaki decided to plant the seed in an obscure location and using his Divine Powers he created a perfect copy of his memories a week before he was sealed and embedded it into the seed.
The activation of the absorption of the Chakra was deemed to occur should his consciousness fall into slumber for more than a month.
The Divine Seed for a thousand years absorbed the residue Chakra in the air before finally having awakened its planter, Ryuzaki.
Having not been a proper God Tree Ryuzaki's new body only seemed to have gained a sort of Immortality provided by the Chakra Fruit. Even his Chakra reserves seemed to be nothing special compared to his peak.
Yet he had no regrets.
"Sigh…"
He looked towards the glittering night sky once again, his eyes flashing with complex emotions as he gazed at the beautiful moon.
"Did I not resist…?"
Since his memories belonged to a week before his sealing Ryuzaki remained unaware of what exactly happened.
But seeing the Moon in the sky, Ryuzaki was sure of one thing.
He had allowed himself to be sealed.
"Otsutsuki… Toad Sage…"
A faint whisper echoed through the surroundings.
…
Land of Fire— Konoha Year 39
The Second Shinobi War had been dragging on for almost seven years now. Yet the ravages of these wars were concealed from the eyes of common people. Many did not even know such an event was going on.
But that was to be expected.
The Five Great Shinobi Villages were declared Hidden for a reason.
The prosperous Land of Fire had nothing to do with the bloody war… at least for the common people.
And within this extremely fertile land lay a town known for its unique entertainment.
Tanzaku Town.
A town notorious for its gambling dens, red light district and restaurants.
This usually serene but bustling area was now occupied by hushed whispers and excited expressions, as if something unprecedented were going on.
Amongst the bustling crowd, two figures looked at the increase in the crowd with puzzlement.
"I haven't been gone for long have I? It's only been a few months and something interesting seems to be happening."
The speaker was a middle-aged man with black hair and eyes, his facial features average.
"Should I go investigate Lady Tsunade?"
The one who responded was a teenager with similar features. The pair resembled a father and son travelling.
"Let's just follow the crowd, that'll be more fun Shizune."
The middle-aged man chuckled.
Tsunade and Shizune, disguised, had just returned to Tanzaku Town after getting weary of travelling. The Second Shinobi World War had long been unofficially over five months ago.
The only reason it dragged on till now was for all the participants of the war to compile, negotiate and sign treaties and the winning villages to collect war reparations.
Tsunade had long grown weary of this endless conflict and after developing Haemophobia she knew her career as a Medical Ninja was all but over.
The gruesome deaths of her little brother and her recently formed lover had thrown Tsunade into a quagmire of self-loathing and trauma. To numb herself Tsunade threw herself into the vices called gambling and drinking. Perhaps through these self-destructive actions, she'd be able to forget about it all.
…
Tsunade and Shizune soon converged with the crowd and noticed a semicircle at the end of the road.
It was a narrow alley, wide enough for all spectators to see the end.
And at the end lay a small table wrapped in white. There was a large sign on the front of the table—
One Bet— 10,000 Ryō
Bet Clause— Classic Dice guessing, win ten times your bet. Three chances per person.
God of Gambling— Emperor Ryuzaki
God of Gambling.
What an arrogant title!
Tsunade and Shizune's eyes widened. It wasn't that there was a lack of arrogant fools, every other occasion there would be fools who came and proclaim themselves the God of Gambling, hoping to emulate the legendary God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju.
And every time such a fool popped up they would be forced into becoming a beggar by the furious gambling 'experts' as soon as possible.
"It's Mr Tsukishima!" A voice sounded from the crowd, drawing the attention of everyone. At the same time, the crowd parted allowing an aged elder to walk slowly towards the self-proclaimed God of Gambling.
His head was entirely bald and the wrinkles on his face suggested the geezer had one foot in the coffin. Yet his gait was steady as he walked towards Emperor Ryuzaki.
"I've heard Mr Tsukishima had dealings with the legendary Hashirama Senju. They say his win rate against the God of Gambling himself was 40%!"
"It looks like Emperor Ryuzaki is out of luck."
"Yeah, the past month has been exhilarating for sure."
"I suppose Emperor Ryuzaki, while not as legendary as Mr Hashirama definitely deserves his place as one of the elites for forcing Mr Tsukishima himself to come out."
Tsunade who had been listening to the crowd felt her gaze tremble as she looked at the elderly figure. She remembered him. Her grandfather often lamented the fact that nobody besides Mr Tsukishima could contend against him.
To the majority of ordinary people of this town, Ninjas were elusive figures. They know not of the significance of the title- God of Shinobi.
But her grandfather had left a legacy even among common people.
His title— The God of Gambling.
She knew of Mr Tsukishima's respect for her grandfather. Having forced him out meant this Ryuzaki guy's skills were the real deal.
Still, Tsunade's lips twitched with anger. She couldn't accept some random guy stealing her grandfather's title.
She hoped Mr Tsukishima would win.