Mahoro Town, a prosperous settlement located in the western part of the Land of Fire, not far from the Land of Grass.
Because several types of medicinal herbs grown and produced here are of excellent quality, it has, for many years, served as a major distribution hub for the herbal trade in western Fire Country.
In addition to its own cultivation, specialty herbs from neighboring countries such as the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Taki are also transported here by merchants for trade.
This allowed Mahoro Town to gradually develop from a small village into an important economic center.
Later, with the outbreak of the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars, many wealthy merchants from the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass established businesses here.
In times of peace, they did business; in times of war, they avoided disaster. If anything happened, they could hire Konoha shinobi for protection—simply perfect.
As the population grew—especially the number of wealthy individuals—the scale of Mahoro Town expanded again and again, and, unsurprisingly, another pillar industry emerged: entertainment gambling, in other words, casinos.
Now, it has already become one of the most famous gambling cities within the Land of Fire, on par with Tanzaku Street.
The difference is that Tanzaku Street does not produce medicinal herbs. Its other pillar industry is cultural heritage tourism within the Land of Fire.
As everyone knows, if a town is famous for its casinos, then its other entertainment facilities are bound to be extremely prosperous as well.
Within Mahoro Town, aside from the herbal trade market and casinos, there are countless hot spring inns and izakayas. The women working there generally dress far more revealingly than those in Konoha.
A place like this is basically Tsunade's check-in spot—and Jiraiya's paradise.
After completing the mission of assisting Sarutobi Musashi's team in meeting with the Fūma clan, Makoto did not return to Konoha. Instead, he brought Genma's three-man squad to Mahoro Town.
...
The next day at noon, inside a hot spring inn.
The four of them lay immersed in a comfortable flowing hot spring, enjoying the relaxation of both body and mind.
There are many hot springs across the shinobi world, each with its own characteristics. Since they had come here, it would be a shame not to experience it.
After every bout of killing, one must relax mentally—this was experience passed down from Gekkō Kumomi, and it had now become a habit of Makoto.
Mainly because of his age—aside from soaking in hot springs, what else could he even do?
Tatami Iwashi looked a bit nervous. "Um… we're ANBU shinobi, right? Is this really okay?"
Makoto: "That's why I had you all change into normal outfits before entering the town."
Genma didn't care. "Iwashi, you need to fix that weak personality of yours. What are you afraid of? It was the captain's idea—we're just following orders."
Namiashi Raidō chimed in, "Exactly. Just enjoy it, Iwashi. We can't turn into mission machines like Root—that kind of life is too boring."
Iwashi: "But the captain came here under the name of a mission. Is the target really here?"
Makoto: "Relax. This has been confirmed by intelligence. I also sensed things after entering the town. Trust me—our top priority right now is to relieve our fatigue first, then have a proper big meal."
Iwashi: What else can I even say? You're the captain—you call the shots!
...
After enjoying a lavish lunch prepared by the inn, the four began putting on makeup in their room.
Yes—makeup.
Although shinobi can use the Transformation Technique, it produces obvious chakra fluctuations. Anyone experienced can spot it at a glance.
Makoto could hide it, but the other three could not.
So, the Transformation Technique isn't foolproof. Using ordinary disguise methods to alter one's appearance for infiltration is also a required skill for shinobi.
Very quickly, everyone changed into different clothes and made simple adjustments to their facial contours, making themselves look more mature.
Because shinobi train chakra and their bodies from a young age, they generally develop faster than ordinary people outside the villages.
At fourteen or fifteen, their physiques are already comparable to adults outside.
Among the four, Genma was the oldest and the tallest. Although Makoto was the youngest, his height was second only to Genma.
Now, with a change of appearance, he became a wealthy young second-generation rich kid out on a trip.
Genma played the role of the steward. As for Raidō and Iwashi? Naturally, they became loyal lackeys.
After getting ready, the four walked out of the inn and entered the largest casino on the street.
Before them, a bold and big-hearted older woman with twin ponytails had already gone in. Behind her followed a timid black-haired girl, clutching a box of money tightly in her arms.
The girl knew that this money would soon no longer belong to her. By nightfall, she might even have to sleep on the streets.
This was Tsunade and Shizune. At this point, it was still just the two of them—the pet pig Ton-Ton had probably not been born yet.
Only after seeing the mission target appear did Iwashi finally let out a sigh of relief. Sure enough, the captain was reliable. But he still didn't understand why they had to enter the casino.
Wouldn't it be enough to just approach Tsunade directly? They weren't even adults—they shouldn't be allowed into a casino.
Thinking of this, Iwashi carefully glanced at the guard at the casino entrance.
The man looked to be in his forties, but Makoto could sense the active chakra within him. That was different from ordinary people—he was likely a rogue shinobi hired at a high price by the casino to guard the entrance and prevent shinobi from sneaking in using transformation techniques.
Let ordinary people gamble against shinobi? How much wealth would it take to lose like that?
Inside the casino, ninjutsu was strictly prohibited—and minors were also not allowed.
That was why they used ordinary disguise. In places like this, transformation techniques and playing cute wouldn't work.
The guard glanced at Makoto and the others—especially at the large money box carried by Genma—then didn't bother with them and let them in directly.
People like them—the rich, foolish sons of landlords—were exactly the kind the casino loved most.
Makoto carried himself with an air of arrogant stupidity.
...
Inside the casino, at a dice table, Makoto sat opposite Tsunade, while Genma and the other two stood behind him like his personal flunkies.
Soon, the game began.
Everyone's attention only fell on the table when the dice were revealed. The rest of the time, their eyes would drift—intentionally or not—toward Tsunade.
There was no helping it—she was too beautiful. More importantly, she was too big, causing everyone's line of sight to focus excessively in one place.
Most people in the casino were adult men. It was hard for them to pull their eyes away from those towering peaks.
Makoto was an honest man. He didn't look around randomly. He simply placed a few casual bets—losing more than he won.
But soon, someone noticed something was off.
Why was that beautiful woman losing every single round?
At this point in time, Tsunade's reputation as the "Big Fat Sheep" had not yet spread widely. Not many people in gambling circles recognized her.
But this was a famous gambling city—there were always some who did.
Even those who didn't recognize her, as seasoned gamblers, could tell that a jinx had appeared at the table. At a time like this, you just had to bet the opposite of her.
Gambling methods in the shinobi world were still relatively primitive. Even with dice, it was mostly limited to betting on big or small—there weren't many variations developed yet.
Very quickly, under Shizune's devastated expression, Tsunade lost large sums of money, until only a small amount remained.
Tsunade didn't care about her own luck—she was already used to it.
Although she wanted to win, she also didn't dare to. Every time she won, something bad would happen.
Looking at the money left in her hand, for the final round, she simply threw it onto the highest payout bet—specific triple dice: three threes.
The number three still held some meaning for her.
She planned to lose the remaining money, then move on to another place to pass her days.
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