“We’re home!”
Kushina pushed open the gate to the Senju residence, still bursting with energy after an entire day at school.
Mostly because she had slept through half the classes.
Mirai dragged himself in behind her looking exhausted.
He had wanted to sleep in class too, but he kept sensing someone secretly watching him.
Anbu?
Root?
He had spent much of the day tracking the hidden observer with the Mind’s Eye of the Kagura, and the constant concentration had left his head aching.
The Divine Tree seed hadn’t provided any direct increase in power after taking root in his soul, but it had awakened Mirai’s Uzumaki bloodline to an extraordinary degree.
Any ability associated with the Uzumaki Clan came to him with remarkable ease.
The only thing he lacked was chakra capacity.
His seven-year-old body was still developing.
Extracting and refining too much chakra too early would do more harm than good.
When Mirai noticed the people gathered in the courtyard, he casually lifted a hand.
“Yo.”
“Hey, Kushina!
Mirai!
How’s the Academy treating you?”
A young boy came bounding toward them with a long-haired man walking behind him.
“Nawaki!” Kushina greeted him happily.
Her temper might be explosive outside, but at home she was surprisingly soft and affectionate.
Kushina deeply treasured her family.
Mirai looked at Nawaki.
Yep.
A classic chuunibyou brat.
Then his gaze shifted to the man behind him and sharpened.
Orochimaru!
At this point in time, Orochimaru still carried light in his heart.
A faint smile rested on his face, with none of the chilling aura he would develop later.
“Mind your manners, brat.”
Bonk!
“Ow!”
Mirai suddenly clutched his head.
At some point, Tsunade had appeared behind him and rewarded his casual greeting with a heavy knuckle to the skull.
‘Tsunade, remember this.
One day I’ll pay back today’s pain tenfold!’
‘And ten hits will be the minimum!’
Tsunade had no idea the little brother in her eyes was already plotting future revenge.
She simply crossed her arms and complained,
“If I’d known yesterday was just some stupid little school dispute, I wouldn’t have wasted the best gambling hours going there for you!”
“I lost so much money because of it, and now you come home without even greeting me properly.
You’ve got no manners at all!”
Mirai rubbed his aching head and glanced at the way Tsunade’s figure moved as she fumed.
“Big Sis, don’t you lose every time you gamble anyway?
Missing the ‘best gambling hours’ had absolutely nothing to do with it.”
“What did you say, you little brat?!”
Tsunade immediately rolled up her sleeves, ready for a one-on-one match with the seven-year-old.
Kushina paled.
Mirai’s body absolutely could not handle Tsunade’s monstrous strength.
She quickly jumped between them.
“Wait!
Tsunade, Mirai didn’t mean it like that!”
Mirai shook his head.
Tsunade might have top-tier looks and an incredible figure, but that temper of hers was just as extreme.
Still, backing down wasn’t an option.
“If you’re so tough, don’t use your fists.
Let’s settle this at the gambling table.
Dare to try?”
Gambling against Tsunade?
Wasn’t that basically a guaranteed win?
“Fine!
You think I’d be scared of a little brat like you?”
…
A gambling table was quickly set up in the courtyard.
Nawaki leaned toward Orochimaru and whispered,
“Orochimaru-sensei, who do you think is better, Mirai or my sister?”
Orochimaru leaned lazily against a wooden pillar, his snake-like eyes watching the two people glaring at each other across the table.
The corner of his mouth curled upward.
“You know your sister’s gambling luck better than anyone, don’t you?”
Nawaki scratched his head and laughed.
“Oh.
Right.”
On the other side of the courtyard, Mito sat in a rocking chair beneath the veranda with a cup of warm tea in her hands.
Her gentle eyes passed over Tsunade, who had rolled up her sleeves to seriously compete with a seven-year-old child, and the smile on her face refused to disappear.
“They’re alike…
far too alike,” she murmured.
Sunlight filled the courtyard while a breeze stirred the loose hair near her forehead.
She remembered many years ago, back when Konoha had only just been founded.
Hashirama used to loudly proclaim that he would “conquer the Five Great Nations through the gambling table.”
Every time he lost, he would squat in a corner and draw circles in the dirt.
The very next day, he would enthusiastically drag Tobirama back to the casino.
“Brother, this is the Hokage’s salary, not gambling money!” a younger Tobirama would shout, his face turning green with anger.
“Come on, Tobirama!
A man needs hobbies!”
“You have far too many hobbies!”
Mito laughed softly at the memory and took a sip of tea.
The arguments, laughter, and lively voices from those days had all scattered into the wind.
“Grandma?” Kushina noticed her smile.
“What are you laughing about?”
“Nothing.”
Mito affectionately stroked Kushina’s red hair.
“I was simply thinking that this home has finally become lively again.”
Nawaki turned around and grinned.
“Don’t worry, Grandma!
It’ll only get livelier!
Once I become Hokage—”
“Pass the Chunin Exams first,” Orochimaru said flatly.
“Orochimaru-sensei!”
Nawaki’s outrage made Mito laugh again.
At the gambling table, everything was ready.
“All right!
The rules are simple.”
Mirai placed both hands on his hips with the confidence of an old gambling veteran.
“Kushina will shake the dice.
You and I guess high or low.
Three dice: ten or below is low, eleven or above is high.
Best of five.
First to three wins.
How’s that?”
Tsunade narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.
As for the bet…
the loser has to give the winner massages for an entire month.
Dare to accept?”
“Hah!
What kind of gambling game haven’t I seen?
You’re on!”
Tsunade dropped into her seat and slapped the table.
“Kushina, shake!”
Kushina excitedly picked up the dice cup.
Three dice rattled loudly inside as she shook it with a very serious little expression.
Then—clack!
She slammed it onto the table.
“First round!
Place your bets!”
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the cup and tapped two fingers against the tabletop.
She had spent years wandering casinos.
She might lose frequently, but she still believed her ability to identify dice by sound was pretty good.
That sound just now…
Low and heavy.
Probably high.
“High!” Tsunade declared, slapping the table.
Mirai didn’t hesitate for even half a second.
“Then I’ll take low.”
What a joke.
When gambling with Tsunade, simply bet the opposite of whatever she chose and beachfront property would practically buy itself.
Kushina lifted the cup.
One, three, five.
Nine.
Low.
“Mirai wins!” Kushina’s eyes lit up.
Tsunade’s mouth twitched.
“…First round.
Just luck.”
Kushina shook again and slammed the cup down.
Tsunade perked up her ears and listened carefully, frowning.
This time it sounded clearer and lighter than before.
Probably low?
“…Low!”
Mirai remained completely calm.
“Then high.”
No thinking required.
Just blindly bet against Tsunade.
Winning against her was almost too easy.
Kushina opened the cup.
Four, five, six.
Fifteen.
High.
Tsunade’s face started turning green.
Even Kushina looked at her with pity.
“Again!” Tsunade growled through clenched teeth.
For the third round, Kushina shook even harder.
The dice clattered wildly inside the cup before it slammed onto the table.