“Origin of the bloodline?” Tsunade scoffed.
“What are you looking for?
Ancestral secret techniques?” “Every major family in the shinobi world thinks their bloodline is prestigious, and they all stash away a few generations’ worth of ancestral scrolls.
But how many have truly turned their fortunes around by relying on that alone?” She paused, her tone carrying a hint of subtle complexity.
“Kid, my grandfather was the First Hokage, the founder of Konoha.
His bloodline couldn’t have been any more prestigious, don’t you think?
But do you know what he used to say?” Souji shook his head.
“He said shinobi shouldn’t rely on bloodlines.
They should rely on their hearts.” Tsunade laughed, taking a gulp of soup as if it were sake.
“Of course, that old man’s own bloodline was already ridiculous.
Easy for him to say.” “But he wasn’t wrong.
Bloodline gives you a starting point.
How far you go is up to you.” She fixed her gaze on Souji, her golden eyes shining brilliantly in the firelight.
“I’m not stopping you from looking for your clan’s records.” “But remember: if you find them, it’s luck.
If you don’t, that’s perfectly normal too.
Don’t pin all your hopes on some rotten scraps of paper.” “Those eyes of yours, plus everything you’ve learned this past year, are already enough for you to make something of yourself.
Don’t spend your life living in Kaguya’s shadow.” Souji was silent for a moment, then bowed slightly.
“I understand.” “Understand what?
Cut the formalities.” Tsunade waved him off, leaning back against the rock.
“If you want to go to the Land of Water, wait until this voyage is over.
You still have plenty of medical ninjutsu to learn.
Besides, there are gambling ships waiting for me in the Land of Lightning.” She closed her eyes and said no more.
Shizune sidled up to Souji and whispered, “Souji-kun, are you really going back to the Land of Water?
It’s so dangerous there…” “I’m only considering it.” Souji lowered his voice as well.
“I haven’t decided when yet.” Shizune looked at him with worry.
She wanted to say something, but in the end, she only sighed and went back to feeding Tonton.
The fire crackled, sending sparks into the night sky, echoing the distant lights of the mining site.
Souji held his bowl of soup as the Six Eyes’ perception gradually spread outward.
The rolling hills lay like slumbering beasts in the darkness.
The muffled rumble of mining machinery drifted over from afar.
Even farther away, the snow-capped mountains stretching toward the Land of Iron formed a continuous silhouette.
The Cursed Energy System, shinobi training, and the Kaguya bloodline.
Three paths lay before him.
The first: bloody and direct, but it required him to leave Tsunade’s protection and face the costs and dangers of bloodshed on his own.
The second: steady and reliable, allowing him to accumulate strength with the combined support of Tsunade’s guidance and the Six Eyes.
It was currently the most realistic path to becoming stronger.
The third: unknown.
It might conceal a great secret, or it might lead to nothing at all.
But if he never explored it, he would never know the answer.
He took a sip of soup.
It had already gone lukewarm, the salty flavor of the dried meat spreading across his tongue.
There was no rush.
They still had half the voyage to the Land of Lightning ahead of them.
They had already passed through the Land of Iron and the Land of Hot Water.
Next came the Land of the Moon, then the Land of Frost, and finally the Land of Lightning.
Along the way, he would have plenty of time to keep learning and keep thinking.
As for the Land of Water…
He raised his head and looked toward the distant darkness in the southeast.
One day.
… The Land of Gold had no ninja village of its own.
Instead, the most defining feature of the nation was that its military security relied entirely on the samurai of the neighboring Land of Iron to the north.
Every 15 kilometers along the border stood a samurai outpost where armored swordsmen patrolled day and night, ensuring this mineral-rich land would not attract the greed of the surrounding great nations.
And the Land of Gold was wealthy.
Obscenely wealthy.
The gold, silver, and copper mines buried beneath its surface had turned this tiny nation into the primary supplier of ore for more than half the shinobi world.
Miners labored tirelessly in the lightless tunnels, while the wealth they created ultimately flowed into the Land of Gold’s only major city…
Kinzawa City.
The city was built within a basin embraced by mountains.
Its streets were broad and straight, lined with shops on both sides.
Unlike the towns of other countries, most of the buildings here were constructed from stone rather than wood.
Their walls were inlaid with polished ores of every color, glittering brilliantly beneath the sunlight.
The air carried the faint dust of mining slag, mingled with the aroma of sake drifting from taverns and the lazy sense of ease found only in places blessed with great wealth.
The merchant ship would remain docked in the Land of Gold for half a month.
A shipment of specially made mining tools had to be delivered, along with a batch of hot spring bath products brought from the Land of Hot Water, which were said to be especially popular among the families of miners.
Souji needed to oversee these deliveries, and Tsunade and Shizune came along as well.
After all, they had nothing better to do.
At this moment, the afternoon sun slanted across the busiest street in Kinzawa City.
The three of them were heading in the same direction.
Or rather…
Tsunade was the one striding purposefully toward a single destination.
Shizune hurried after her with Tonton in her arms, while Souji followed unhurriedly behind, blindfolded, tapping the ground with his bamboo staff, looking every bit like a carefree blind merchant.
Their destination was the three-story building standing at the street corner.
A vermilion-lacquered entrance, a gold-lettered signboard, and large red lanterns hanging outside.
House of Gold and Silver.
The largest gambling hall in Kinzawa City.
At the entrance, a young attendant dressed in short work clothes was lazily sweeping dust from the ground with a bamboo broom.
He yawned, his eyes unfocused, clearly lacking even the slightest enthusiasm for the same dull routine day after day.
Then…
From the corner of his eye, he spotted three figures approaching from the end of the street.
The attendant froze.
His broom stopped in midair.
He saw a blonde woman walking at the front.
Her long golden hair was tied high behind her head, and a diamond-shaped mark rested upon her forehead.
She wore a deep-purple kimono beneath a haori embroidered with black patterns, and on its back was a huge kanji reading “Gamble.” Her strides were so powerful that they looked as though they could shatter the stone pavement beneath her feet.
Behind her walked a black-haired woman carrying a pink pig, along with a silver-haired youth wearing a blindfold and tapping the ground with a bamboo staff.
It was certainly an unusual group.
But what truly caused the attendant to stiffen…
was what followed behind the blonde woman.
Three wooden chests.
Not ordinary chests.
These were massive wooden trunks large enough to fit an entire grown man inside, built from thick timber and reinforced with copper-plated corners.
Normally, each chest required two burly men to carry.
Yet at this very moment…
they were suspended from a single carrying pole resting across the silver-haired boy’s shoulders.
It was nothing more than a slender bamboo shoulder pole.
It swayed slightly with each step.
Yet it remained as steady as though it had grown from his shoulders.
The attendant’s pupils contracted violently.
He knew exactly how heavy those chests were.
He had seen chests used to transport banknotes before.
A chest of that size could easily contain 50 million ryo.
Three chests…
meant 150 million ryo.
150 million ryo!!!
He swallowed hard.
With great difficulty, his gaze shifted from the chests to the blonde woman’s face.
Then…
he recognized her.
That face…
He had never seen her in person.But anyone in the gambling business had heard of that legend.
Who hadn’t seen her portrait?
She lost every single bet.
And she lost on such a spectacular scale that every prominent gambling hall across the nations worshipped her as the God of Wealth.
“Th…
Th-the Legendary…
Sucker!” The attendant’s voice cracked with excitement.
Tsunade’s footsteps paused.
She turned her head slightly, her golden eyes glancing at him.
There was no emotion in that glance.
It was nothing more than a calm, indifferent look.
Yet the attendant felt his legs go weak.
He nearly collapsed onto his knees.
Tsunade paid him no further attention and continued toward the entrance of the gambling hall.
The attendant suddenly snapped out of his daze.
Throwing aside his broom, he practically stumbled and crawled through the doorway, his shrill voice piercing enough to tear through the roof.
“Sh-she’s here!!!” “The Legendary Sucker is here!!!” The noisy gambling hall instantly fell silent, as though someone had grabbed its throat.
The next moment…
A tremendous uproar erupted.
“What?
The Legendary Sucker?” “Tsunade-hime herself?” “The Legendary Sannin?!” “Who cares if she’s one of the Sannin!
She’s here to lose money!” “Quick!
Notify the manager!
Bring out every chip we’ve got!”