Naruto: Hidden Hokage

"Nonō, you can go ahead and take care of your tasks. I'll keep an eye on Yorin," Tsunade said casually after finishing her meal.

"You're not taking him to a casino," Nonō Yakushi said with suspicion, looking at her.

"I won't," Tsunade replied, crossing her arms.

She wouldn't take him, but if Yorin insisted on going, that was another matter entirely.

"Well, I'll leave him to you, Lady Tsunade," Nonō eventually agreed after some thought.

Unlike Tsunade, Nonō wasn't as free; many matters at Konoha Hospital required her personal attention.

"Yorin," Nonō said, holding three empty lunchboxes. "Behave and don't argue with Lady Tsunade."

"Okay," Yorin nodded obediently.

"One more thing," Nonō said suddenly, as if remembering something. "You shouldn't leave the village for the time being."

"Why?" Yorin asked, surprised and curious.

"There have been multiple cases of children disappearing around Konoha recently, including many newborns," Nonō explained directly without hiding anything.

Missing infants?

Yorin immediately connected this with Tsunade's earlier surgery and Yamanaka Inoichi's attitude.

Considering the timeline, could this be related to the Wood Release experiments?

In the original story, Konoha conducted Wood Release experiments to recreate Hashirama Senju's unmatched ability. The experiments used Hashirama's cells in human trials, which caused countless deaths before being stopped by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

However, Danzo Shimura and Orochimaru secretly continued the experiments, eventually creating a Wood Release ninja known as Yamato.

"In any case, just don't leave the village," Nonō said gently. "With so many ninjas in Konoha, no one would dare act inside the village."

"Understood," Yorin said, suppressing his urge to comment further.

Nonō then turned and left the office.

"Lady Tsunade, should I start now?" Yorin asked, extending his hands over the carp.

"Yes," Tsunade replied, glancing at him. "If you make any mistakes, I'll correct you."

Yorin took a deep breath, and his hands emitted a faint, warm glow of chakra.

Tsunade tapped her fingers lightly on her thigh, her mind wandering to thoughts of where to borrow money.

Despite her heavy debts, her reputation as one of the Legendary Sannin and a master medical ninja often allowed her to secure loans.

In the war-torn ninja world, injuries were inevitable, and a skilled medical ninja was always in demand.

"I'll step out for a bit," Tsunade said, quickly identifying a target.

Yorin nodded slightly.

To his surprise, Tsunade returned within ten minutes.

She had a cheerful expression and seemed to be in a good mood.

It didn't take much guessing to realize she had found some money.

"Your posture is off," Tsunade said as she approached him, lifting his arms slightly.

Yorin instinctively looked up, only to find his view completely obscured by the towering "snowy mountains" above him—he couldn't see her face at all.

"Focus," Tsunade reminded him.

Yorin turned off his "auto-aim" and resumed his practice.

Under Tsunade's guidance, his progress bar increased significantly.

Two hours later, it had reached 15%.

Tsunade's private guidance really was impressive.

"Are you still holding up?" Tsunade asked, giving him a once-over.

"My chakra is almost depleted," Yorin said, rolling up the scroll. "Shall we head to the casino?"

Tsunade's spirits immediately lifted, her beautiful face brimming with excitement.

Under her lead, Yorin followed her to a casino in the ninja world.

This was his first time stepping into a real casino in two lifetimes.

Accidentally clicking on an online casino banner didn't count.

"Lady Tsunade," a young man at the casino entrance stopped them. "According to the rules, children are not allowed inside."

"Is that so?"

Tsunade raised her hand and clenched her fist.

The shockwave in the air made the man step back, his face turning pale.

"P-please, come in," he quickly stammered with a fawning smile.

A punch backed by thirty years of experience—there was no way he could withstand it.

The moment Tsunade entered the casino, all eyes turned toward her, the crowd's gaze practically filled with glowing yen signs.

The reason was simple.

Tsunade was a legendary cash cow, and everyone in the casino world knew her reputation.

As for Yorin, he was automatically ignored.

The purpose of visiting a casino was to win money—everything else was irrelevant.

Yorin glanced around.

The casinos in the ninja world resembled early arcades.

On the left were various plugged-in gambling machines, while on the right were betting tables surrounded by groups of people placing wagers. Unfortunately, there weren't any glamorous dealers.

"Make room for Lady Tsunade," a young dealer said with a smile.

Money had come walking in.

A quarrel immediately broke out near the tables, as everyone wanted to be at the same table as Tsunade.

Trouble!

Yorin realized a significant problem.

Due to his height, he couldn't see the betting table at all.

Just as he was about to look for a stool, he felt his body lighten and found himself being lifted.

A faint scent filled his senses.

Yorin blinked.

It wasn't until he found himself sitting on Tsunade's lap that he understood what had happened.

"All right, let's begin," Tsunade said, holding Yorin with one arm as she leaned forward with a focused expression.

Why does this feel like a "collision foul"?

Yorin could feel the soft pressure on his head.

After calming himself, he finally got a clear view of the table—and immediately felt a headache coming on.

This wasn't a simple game of betting big or small; it was a roulette game with 37 slots.

You could bet on a single number, red or black, odd or even, high or low, and so on.

The payouts ranged from small to massive.

Betting on a single number yielded the highest payout.

It's all about luck.

Yorin figured his luck couldn't be too bad—after all, he had experienced something as improbable as reincarnation.

Moreover, no matter how bad his luck was, it couldn't possibly be worse than Tsunade's.

As long as his luck was average, they wouldn't lose everything.

"Bet on black," Yorin suggested when he saw Tsunade place her bet on red.

"All right," Tsunade said after a brief moment of thought, moving her bet to black.

"No more bets," the young dealer said as he spun the roulette wheel.

A few seconds later, the result was revealed—it landed on black.

"We actually won?!" Tsunade froze for a moment, then hugged Yorin excitedly.

"I... I can't... breathe..."

Caught off guard, Yorin suddenly felt like two mountains were toppling over him.

"Let's go again!" Tsunade released him and declared confidently, "I'm definitely winning big today!"

No, Lady Luck is clearly smiling at me.

Yorin refocused his energy.

While enjoying his "human seat," he assisted Tsunade in strategizing.

Although they didn't win every single bet, eliminating one wrong option increased their chances significantly.

Three hours later, they had won 300,000 ryo—a modest amount, less than a third of an S-rank mission's payout.

But for Tsunade, it was groundbreaking.

Her luck had been normalized thanks to Yorin's presence.

"Let's go!" Tsunade patted Yorin's shoulder. "My treat—I'm taking you for roasted chicken!"