Chapter 65

Shizune felt a deep sense of shame welling up inside her.

Tsunade-sama should never feel ashamed!

The dignified Tsunade-hime... reduced to gambling recklessly, almost ending up penniless on the streets with no food to eat...

Shizune clenched her fists tightly.

She couldn't bear to hear such words again.

She must not let Tsunade continue to disgrace herself!

——

After a while, the casino's people—Ao and Haidao—walked in together, escorting an unfamiliar individual.

The unfamiliar individual seemed to be one of Konoha's scouts.

"Are you all right?"

"Have they released the technique used to control you?"

Tian Yu spoke first, his tone calm but firm.

"It's been removed. Thank you for saving me!"

The Konoha spy bowed repeatedly, gratitude written all over his face.

Meanwhile, Ao and Haidao stood silently with their heads lowered.

They had violated their captain's orders, acted on their own without informing Tian Yu, and were captured.

In the end, it was the captain they disobeyed who personally rescued them.

Ao and Haidao were too ashamed to even look Tian Yu in the eye.

"You're welcome. Let's go."

Tian Yu didn't rebuke them, nor did he lecture them.

He exchanged a few more words with the rescued Konoha scout before leading the group out of the casino.

The personnel were recovered,

and the sealing formula controlling the scout was successfully undone.

Tian Yu saw no further reason to linger in the casino.

As they exited the remote building, countless gamblers swarmed toward Tian Yu, bombarding him with questions.

Tian Yu calmly brushed them off, giving vague answers to each inquiry.

Tian Yu was no saint.

He bore no obligation to disclose the casino's internal secrets to these gamblers.

Their curiosity wasn't born out of concern for him.

They simply wanted to gain some insider advantage from what Tian Yu might reveal.

Leaving the casino behind,

Sunflower's way of addressing Tian Yu subtly changed.

"Captain, are we heading back to Konoha now?"

The rescue was completed without any fighting.

Even the four Jonin from the casino had not dared to act on their home turf.

Sunflower looked at Tian Yu with pure admiration,

her eyes practically sparkling with excitement.

Tian Yu nodded,

then turned to the Konoha scout.

"You'll come with us too. Your cover has been blown. Staying in the Land of Hot Water would be too dangerous for you now."

"Yes, understood!"

The scout agreed without hesitation.

Tsunade and Shizune also came forward to bid Tian Yu farewell.

"Lady Tsunade, you're not planning to go back on your word, are you?"

Tian Yu asked suddenly, a teasing tone in his voice.

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up.

"Brat, why would I?"

"Didn't you say that if I won, you'd help settle our troubles?"

Tsunade crossed her arms, snorting.

"Hmph! Didn't you settle everything yourself? What's left for me to fix?"

"Boy, are you trying to trick me?"

Tian Yu shook his head, smiling slightly.

He had won nearly ten million ryo from the casino.

Tsunade wasn't doing badly either—

she had managed not only to recover her losses and redeem her pawned belongings but even won an additional three million ryo.

But that wasn't the end of it.

After so many consecutive victories against different dealers,

it was impossible the casino hadn't noticed:

Tian Yu could somehow influence their specialized dice.

This meant Tian Yu now held a crucial advantage—

one the casino could not allow to continue existing unchecked.

Yet Tian Yu had made such a public spectacle inside the casino,

that openly detaining him would have severely damaged the casino's reputation among gamblers.

For the sake of maintaining appearances and continued profits,

the casino had been forced to let Tian Yu leave—for now.

Still, the threat wasn't over.

"I hope Tsunade-sama can accompany us for a while," Tian Yu suggested calmly.

"It's better if we look after one another."

Shizune's worried face brightened instantly,

and before Tsunade could respond, she nodded vigorously in agreement.

There had been four Jonin stationed inside that remote building—

That couldn't possibly be the entirety of the casino's fighting force.

If the casino decided to retaliate later, and Tsunade and Shizune were alone...

Tsunade remained silent for a moment,

then sighed and nodded.

"Alright, kid. We'll go together."

Thus, Tian Yu's Anbu team,

the rescued Konoha spy,

Tsunade, and Shizune,

a total of seven people,

quickly set out on the journey back toward Konoha.

——

The stars hung high in the sky,

the night wind gently stirred the treetops, producing soft rustling sounds.

Fireflies flitted through the darkness,

their faint glows blending so naturally into the landscape that they were nearly invisible.

One of the fireflies drifted silently toward Tian Yu's group,

eventually landing on Ao's fingertip.

After a moment, Ao asked,

"Captain Tian Yu, no signs of pursuers so far. Should I continue the surveillance?"

Tian Yu replied coolly,

"Stay vigilant. I'm absolutely certain they'll come after us.

We took a massive amount of money from them and discovered their secrets.

There's no way they'll let us go easily."

Tian Yu then turned toward Haidao.

"Haidao, keep your Byakugan active. Monitor for any chakra fluctuations nearby."

"Yes, Captain Tian Yu!" Haidao responded crisply.

Not far away, Tsunade, who was resting, took a quiet breath, a faint "s" sound slipping from between her lips.

Her sharp eyes gleamed with undisguised curiosity.

In this small Anbu team, there were—

A Hyuga clan member skilled in the Byakugan,

and an Aburame clan member proficient in using insects and bugs for sensory operations.

Both clans were prestigious in Konoha.

Both were providing rare, high-value sensory-type ninjas.

And the remaining girl... Tsunade wasn't sure of her specialty yet.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes slightly, pondering.

The Konoha Anbu—the Assassination and Tactical Squad—

was originally established by her great-uncle, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

Tsunade was extremely familiar with Anbu's structure and operations.

Anbu prioritized overwhelming strength above all else,

ruthlessly pursuing mission success at any cost.

Thus, it was extremely unusual to see two sensory specialists assigned to a single squad.

Even more astonishing—

the squad's captain was just a twelve-year-old boy!

Could such a young captain truly lead this team effectively?

Tsunade exhaled quietly.

Still, for the sake of the boy who had just helped her win back her fortune,

and for the village they had both once sworn loyalty to…

If they needed her help during the journey,

she would lend a hand without hesitation.