Another hour passed...
"Finish the battle! My strongest ace—Sarutobi Sasuke, direct attack!"
"Take this from old Sarutobi!"
A miniature version of Sarutobi Sasuke leapt from the table, swinging an extended Vajra rod at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Though he'd seen this scene several times before, Sarutobi Hiruzen still had the urge to swear. Why did he have to experience such a tragic father-and-son scenario just from playing a card game?
Beep beep beep beep!
[Your life points are zero; game over. Winner: God of Dongba]
With these words displayed on the screen, the projection and cards on the table gradually disappeared.
I lost again.
Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, showing a somewhat helpless smile. This was his ninth game loss. He underestimated the difference between tutorials and actual battles.
Feeling it was getting late, Sarutobi Hiruzen prepared to bid farewell to Dongba and leave the tavern to go home. Just then, a few flashy-haired players passed by and saw the end-of-game screen.
One of them grinned at Dongba, "Playing cards again, Dongba?"
Dongba ignored them and said to Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Don't mind them; let's continue." He sent another battle request.
Seeing Dongba not respond, one of them loudly exclaimed, "You must be bullying newbies to rank up again!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
Dongba widened his eyes, "How can you unjustly accuse me like this..."
"Innocent? I saw you bullying newbies to rank up the other day, and you almost got beaten up."
Dongba's face turned red, veins popping on his forehead as he argued, "Teaching games don't count as bullying... Teaching games! I'm just teaching this old man how to battle. Besides, can a duelist's actions be considered bullying?"
Then he started spouting incomprehensible phrases like "clear conscience" and "I'm an unfeeling spandex man"...
He was immediately shut down with, "Then why don't you play practice mode?"
Everyone burst into laughter, filling the tavern with a lively atmosphere.
Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen still confused, a player next to him slapped his forehead. " It looks like Dongba didn't explain ladder mode to you."
"Old man, you might not know, but Dongba is famous for being a newbie killer here. He loves to first guide newbies on how to play, lulling them into a false sense of security and earning a card pack in the process. Then, he invites them to battle in ladder mode, taking advantage of their unfamiliarity to rank up. Your ladder points are only 550 now; new players usually have 1000 points."
Sarutobi Hiruzen listened for a while before he began to understand. It turned out Dongba had tricked him! He felt a mix of amusement and disbelief that he, the Hokage, could be fooled by someone who couldn't even use the Transformation Jutsu properly. Perhaps it was because he felt a vague sense of familiarity with Dongba that he let his guard down.
Having been exposed, Dongba shamelessly switched to taunting mode, knowing no one dared to fight in the tavern after the Uchiha Shou incident.
"Ha ha ha, so what if I'm bullying newbies? What can you do about it?"
He looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen with a sinister smile, veins bulging on his exaggeratedly smiling face. His long tongue stuck out, making him look quite terrifying.
"Ha ha ha, don't blame me, old man. The world of ninja cards is survival of the fittest!"
Dongba stood up, leaning over Sarutobi Hiruzen with a wicked grin.
"Stupid rookie, if you want revenge, hate me! Despise me! Come find me when you have the strength to match me!"
With that, Dongba turned to leave.
"Wait, I haven't responded to your battle request," Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly said.
Dongba, having taken a few steps away, smiled cunningly.
"The second trap of Dongba appears!"
"This is a chain strategy to exploit the opponent's defiance after being deceived and harvest points again!"
"Old man, don't be rash. Forget it, you can't beat Dongba now."
Though Sarutobi Hiruzen heard their words, he remained calm. Indeed, he was not Dongba's match at the moment. However, from the previous games, he realised that besides skill, the strength of the card deck was crucial for victory.
He took out a scroll from his pocket and smiled, "But before the battle, I need to open some card packs."
He unfurled the scroll, and with a puff, hundreds of "Sasuke Chronicles" appeared on the table, piled like a small mountain.
Everyone gasped in unison.
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled proudly. He still needed to understand the significance of ladder points. In fact, if Dongba had just asked him, he would have willingly given the points. But, what I give you is yours; what I don't offer, you can't take!
Hence, Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to teach Dongba a critical lesson by substituting for his parents.
...
"Hey, stop playing cards and come see the newbie killer versus the wealthy warrior!"
"How wealthy?"
"He bought hundreds of 'Sasuke Chronicles' and is opening packs now!"
"That rich? I remember that the book is costly. Definitely worth checking out."
By now, a large crowd had gathered around Sarutobi Hiruzen, all excitedly watching him open one card pack after another.
Besides playing cards, watching a wealthy person open packs was the most enjoyable activity in the ninja tavern.
As he opened each pack, white and blue lights flashed intermittently. Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned slightly. He'd heard from Dongba that white standard cards and blue rare cards were just ordinary. They wouldn't help him defeat Dongba's [Sarutobi Sasuke].
Seeing no surprise on the faces of the onlookers, he realised this was normal. His first-pack epic card was a rare occurrence.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before a purple light shot up from the machine.
"An epic card!"
Before Sarutobi Hiruzen could rejoice, a nearby onlooker shouted, "It's [Akimichi Hachimon]! Its skill [Disband] can return all cards on the field to the hand. Very versatile!"
The crowd voiced their envy. Due to a shady merchant's design, good cards in ninja packs were scarce, mostly just blue and white, so even an epic card was astonishing.
This was why everyone disliked Dongba. Despite his luck in drawing [Sarutobi Sasuke], he resorted to bullying newbies to rank up.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt elated, finding the card's purple glow pleasing. However, he remembered [Sarutobi Sasuke] was an orange legendary card, a tier above this one. There still needs to be more!
Determined, he continued opening packs. After another dozen packs of blue and white, he was unfazed. Soon, another purple light appeared.
"Another epic card!"
"This time it's [Yamanaka Wu]! Its skill [Master Captured!] can fetch [Sarutobi Sasuke] and [Akimichi Hachimon] from the deck, crucial for a Sarutobi Sasuke deck!"
But there still needs to be more.
Soon after, another purple light appeared.
"Wow, it's the ultra-rare epic card [Nara Sanzo]! Its effect [ONLY YOU] changes the game's BGM to the song by Summer Hiko Boss and disables the opponent's [Sarutobi Sasuke]. Additionally, although not stated on the card, if sent to the graveyard from the field, it causes your [Sarutobi Sasuke] to go berserk, doubling its attack power!"
At this moment, the onlookers started to quiet down.
Seeing three of the famous four disciples of the Warring States period already making their appearances, the whole thing was a buildup to the final person's debut.
However, this time, Lady Luck's favour took time to come.
Although the three previous epic cards reappeared once or twice, more was needed to excite everyone.
Boring! We want to see the legendary cards!
More and more people gathered around.
As the number of card packs decreased, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart started to race, and his hand trembled as he clicked to open the packs.
His extensive experience told him something was amiss.
He realised that this so-called card opening was essentially a form of gambling.
Even though he often criticised his disciple Tsunade for being addicted to gambling, the thrill of not knowing what card might appear next was too much for him to resist.
He couldn't stop!
And the number of card packs was quickly decreasing.
Thirty packs... 20 packs... 10 packs... 8 packs...
When there were only three packs left, and Sarutobi's fingers were numb from clicking to open the packs,
A blinding orange light shot into the sky!!
At the same time, an announcement was broadcast in the tavern: "Congratulations to the player [Doctor] for obtaining the legendary card [The Third Phantom · Sarutobi Sasuke]!"
Fireworks projections appeared on the ceiling.
The onlookers immediately gasped in admiration.
Even the remaining patrons crowded around, eager to see the legendary card.
"It finally appeared!!"
"This is the second one in the tavern."
"Does that mean we'll soon see [Sarutobi Sasuke] against [Sarutobi Sasuke]?"
"And this guy isn't like Dongba with just a single card; he has the whole Sarutobi Sasuke deck!"
"It looks like there's a new strong challenger for the Duel King title!"
"Is the drop rate for this Sarutobi Sasuke theme pack really that high? I need to buy some too!"
Unaware that he had inadvertently advertised the pack, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart was still pounding.
He felt rejuvenated, not just on the outside but even inside, like in his younger days.
Since becoming Hokage, he hadn't felt this lively in a long time.
While everyone was celebrating the birth of another legendary card, a figure tried to sneak away.
"Hey, Dongba, where do you think you're going? Your match isn't over yet!"
The onlookers, who had just enjoyed the first half of the show, naturally couldn't let the main character of the second half slip away.
Surrounded by several burly men, Dongba forced a smile:
"It's... It's too late; I need to go home and do my homework."
"Do you think you're still a ninja student? You can't leave until you finish this match!"
Dongba was quickly brought back to his seat, almost in tears.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi started building his new deck with the enthusiastic guidance of the crowd behind him.
Soon, he had constructed a powerful deck that left everyone in awe.
Then, Sarutobi clicked on Dongba's challenge request and accepted it.
Finally, he gave Dongba a benevolent smile.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Dongba was speechless, forcing a smile that was more pitiful than crying.
...
"End this battle! My strongest trump card—Sarutobi Sasuke, direct attack!"
"Take this, old Sarutobi's staff!"
A miniature version of Sarutobi Sasuke raised the Nyoi staff and leapt from the table...
The exact words, the same scene, but this time, the one defeated was Dongba.
With his overpowered deck, Hiruzen Sarutobi launched a relentless counterattack against Dongba.
Chunin... Genin... Ninja student...
Due to the vast difference in their points, Dongba's points plummeted after each match.
Soon, Dongba's rank dropped back to ninja student.
And Sarutobi's rank rose to Chunin by draining Dongba's points.
Seeing the admiration and envy in the eyes of those around him, Sarutobi felt a rush of satisfaction, releasing all the pent-up emotions from his compromises for the village's stability.
Seeing that Dongba had no more points to squeeze out, this rich reversal drama was coming to an end, and everyone stepped aside, letting the dejected Dongba leave.
Dongba stumbled a few steps, thinking of how his hard-earned points had all vanished; he burst into tears and ran out of the tavern, shouting:
"Remember this, I'll tell my father!"
Everyone in the tavern was dumbfounded, looking at each other in confusion.
Are young people nowadays really that fragile?
Dongba, who had just run out of the tavern, entered a small alley, crying.
Moments later, a boy with red-rimmed eyes emerged.
It was Asuma Sarutobi.
He kicked a stone angrily, muttering:
"Damn it, if it weren't for the huge difference in deck power, I wouldn't have lost to that jerk!"
"Having some money is no big deal!"
"I'm the son of the strongest Hokage. Do I go around bragging about it?"
...
Grumbling, Asuma walked for a long time before reaching his house.
He unexpectedly ran into his father, who had just returned home.
Since learning that his father, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was more potent than the First Hokage, Asuma's relationship with him had improved.
Seeing his father returning home so late, likely exhausted from village duties, Asuma felt guilty.
After all, he said he was training with Guy every night but was actually honing his card skills in the nearby tavern.
Hiruzen Sarutobi also noticed Asuma and, thinking of his night of card games, felt a bit awkward.
"Son, just finished training?"
"Dad, just finished work?"
"Yeah." X2
"…"
They both walked into the house in awkward silence.
As they walked, Sarutobi thought: Asuma has been training hard lately, worthy of my son, but I must keep a close eye on him to prevent him from turning out like Dongba.
But he didn't know what his precious son was thinking:
Damn Doctor, what goes around comes around; one day, I'll make you cry and call me daddy!
(End of this chapter)
I am back after a short break, as my laptop was completely fucked up. I did not get any support on my Patreon, so I did some minor fixes to my device, and here I am. The fiction will be updated on a regular basis now.
Chapters 128-125 are up on my Patreon.
Chapter 105 is free on my Patreon.
pat reon.com/ReidAstrea