Everything was going smoothly on Senju Hideki and Inuzuka Ryoha's side.
As for Uchiha Kamito, there was no point even mentioning him. The ones who should really be worried were the Hidden Mist Village.
Hyūga Hiyasu was still searching all over the world for traces of Sasori.
Honestly, once someone no longer needed to eat, drink, or sleep, tracking them down became a massive headache.
Back in the Hidden Leaf Village, Aburame Shiken was still constantly searching for allies.
If you lived without ambition or competition, life felt pretty leisurely.
But the moment you actually needed to get something done, you realized you had to beg favors from people everywhere. It was exhausting.
"Orochimaru-sensei, keeping busy lately?"
Orochimaru looked at the strained smile on Aburame Shiken's face and immediately felt a chill run down his spine.
There was definitely a phrase called "forcing a smile," right? What exactly was this guy planning? Why did he suddenly have such a bad feeling?
"I'm very busy lately. What is it?"
"Oh, it's nothing major. I just need you to squeeze out a little time and help with something."
"No time."
Orochimaru rejected him decisively.
Anything that started like this was guaranteed to be trouble. Better to refuse early and spare himself the headache.
The smile instantly vanished from Aburame Shiken's face.
"Orochimaru-sensei, sorry about this, but there's been a problem with the funding chain lately. Your research funding might have to be suspended for a year or two."
Now it was Orochimaru's turn to lose his smile.
Are you serious? Using research funds to threaten me?
What kind of person do you think I am?
"Well… if I squeeze my schedule a bit, it's not like I'm completely unavailable."
You really do understand people well!!!
"Hehe, Orochimaru-sensei, you should've said so earlier. As it happens, the funding chain just recovered. Your research budget will continue as normal."
Orochimaru: One second the funding chain has problems, the next second it's fine. What a shameless miser.
No wonder you two are master and student.
You were practically identical.
After dealing with Orochimaru, Aburame Shiken immediately rushed toward the casino.
Nine in the morning.
Trying to find Tsunade at the hospital at this hour was practically impossible.
So he decided to try his luck at the gambling house first.
Aside from Tsunade, everyone else in Konoha seemed to have pretty decent luck.
Could it be… Tsunade alone had absorbed all the bad luck of the entire village?
Looking at it that way, Tsunade had practically made immense contributions to Konoha.
"Put it all on big!"
The blonde Tsunade slammed one thousand ryo onto the "big" side.
"Small! Bet on small!"
"Put my head on small too!"
The other gamblers all shoved their chips onto "small."
Some were even planning to rush home, sell their houses and land, then come back to bet on small.
The Legendary Fat Sheep of the ninja world truly lived up to her name.
Aburame Shiken arrived quickly.
Finding Tsunade was incredibly easy.
After all, imagine how crowded a table would get if it had a one-hundred-percent guaranteed winning strategy.
"Three of a kind. House wins."
"My apologies, everyone."
The saying "nine out of ten gambles are scams" really wasn't a joke.
Even if you had a guaranteed winning strategy, there was nothing you could do against a crooked dealer.
Aburame Shiken saw through the casino's tricks at a glance, but he said nothing.
There was no saving a bunch of gambling addicts anyway.
"Tsunade-sama, Hideki is looking for you."
Senju Hideki: ??? Aren't I out working right now?
"Oh, Shiken. If Hideki wants something, just say it. Big. There hasn't been a single big result all night. No way this one isn't big too."
Seeing that even Hideki's name couldn't drag Tsunade away, Aburame Shiken had no choice but to use his final trump card.
He decisively walked over to the "small" side.
"One million ryo on small."
"I'm the clan head of the Aburame Clan. Your boss should know what that means."
The dealer instantly broke out in cold sweat.
For a moment, he was too terrified to even touch the dice cup in front of him.
If he cheated, there was no way he could survive the wrath of the head of Konoha's most terrifying clan.
But if he didn't cheat, the Fat Sheep was betting on big. If that one million ryo on small paid out, the casino owner would skin him alive.
"I-I-I…"
"There seems to be a problem with the casino equipment today. Everyone, please come back another time."
The casino owner hurried out to disperse the crowd.
He had even better instincts than the dealer.
One glance was enough to tell him that Clan Head Aburame clearly had business with the Fat Sheep.
When two titans clashed, little fry like them needed to get as far away as possible.
"Hmph. Fine, what do you want?"
"One hundred million ryo per job. Interested?"
Tsunade's eyes instantly transformed into money symbols.
You should've said that earlier!
If you'd mentioned that much money from the start, I would've agreed immediately!
Why waste all this effort?
"Well then, Shiken, I admit my attitude earlier was a little cold. Money isn't really important. The main thing is that I just want to help the younger generation."
Aburame Shiken was speechless.
Do you think I'm an idiot? How could I possibly believe that?
At that moment, Tsunade wrapped an arm around him.
"Shiken, you're not getting any younger. Even that brat Ryoha already has a daughter that grown. Don't you think it's about time you started considering things? Coincidentally, your big sister here is still in the prime of her youth. Want to think about it?"
Tsunade's mind was racing at full speed.
How much money could she really earn at one hundred million per task?
But if she managed to hook a golden husband like Aburame Shiken, then her future life would become just like Orochimaru's.
Complete financial freedom.
Just imagining it sounded unbelievably wonderful.
"Tsunade-sama, our ages aren't suitable."
"That's fine. I don't mind that you're younger."
"But I mind that you're old."
"Monster Strength!"
Tsunade smashed a fist straight through Aburame Shiken's chest, only to reveal it packed full of writhing insects.
"Tsunade-sama, the offer still stands."
With that said, the insect clone scattered apart and fled in every direction.
The casino owner and remaining gamblers nearby immediately climbed shakily onto tables and chairs to avoid the bugs.
Konoha's most terrifying clan truly deserved its reputation.
Meanwhile, Tsunade's anger only continued to rise.
Who exactly was that damn brat calling old?!
...
Meanwhile, on Senju Hideki's side—
He walked out carrying Kakuzu's corpse.
"This bastard actually keeps spare hearts on him at all times. What a scheming old monster."
Senju Hideki wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
The battle itself hadn't contained much suspense.
None of Kakuzu's techniques could injure Senju Hideki at all.
That was why stacking armor and defense really was the strongest strategy.
It was just exhausting.
Killing the same person several times in a row felt like grinding a game boss.
By the end of it, his back and waist were aching terribly.
"When I get back, I'll have Shiken study whatever the hell this Earth Grudge Fear thing is. Surviving after having your heart pierced is one thing, but even after I crushed his head, he still stayed alive. That's just absurd."
Kakuzu: Let everyone judge fairly here—which one of us is actually the unreasonable one?
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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