"Oh my god, how could such a large store disappear overnight..."
"We must have stumbled upon an enchanted place, like Urashima Tarō accidentally entering the Dragon Palace!"
"No wonder there were so many magical games inside!"
"Don't think too much, this is probably the work of ninjas. I've seen them put massive things into tiny scrolls before."
"So that's how it is..."
The gamblers gathered around the notice board were also amazed by the fact that the arcade had vanished without a trace.
However, they soon reached a consensus, as usual, attributing this bizarre phenomenon to the mysterious abilities of ninjas.
Yet Tsunade, who was standing behind them, listening, could only shake her head with a mix of amusement and disbelief.
These ordinary people were overestimating the abilities of ninjas.
Creating a storage scroll capable of packing away an entire arcade would likely be a challenging task even for her grandmother Mito, the strongest sealing master of the time.
That's why Tsunade had initially speculated that Natsuhiko must have dismantled the arcade into individual components and stored them in several different scrolls, allowing him to carry an entire arcade with him.
But now, it seemed that her guess might not be entirely accurate either.
After all, judging by how confidently Natsuhiko had left a hint of the arcade's location, they should be able to find a fully operational arcade at the new address if they went there now.
However, if her guess was right, then Natsuhiko would have had to dismantle the arcade in just one night, store each part separately, and then transport everything to the new location to rebuild it piece by piece.
Even for a ninja, that amount of work couldn't be done in a single night.
So, Natsuhiko must have some kind of special trick!
Damn!
As this thought crossed her mind, Tsunade felt a sudden surge of frustration.
Because every time she unraveled some mystery about this boy Natsuhiko, it only led to even more questions!
Where on earth did such a strange boy come from, and why had she never heard of him before?
—Great, now there were even more puzzles.
Just as Tsunade was becoming more exasperated with Natsuhiko, the tug on her clothes snapped her back to reality.
"Tsunade-sama, what should we do now?"
It was Shizune, noticing that Tsunade had been standing there in a daze for a while, who gently tried to bring her back.
Seeing that Tsunade had come to her senses, Shizune pointed at the crowd in the distance and said:
"Tsunade-sama, many people have already left; they seem to be heading to find Natsuhiko-sensei's arcade."
"Should we follow them?"
It wasn't surprising that Shizune was so eager, after all, Tsunade had miraculously won big yesterday instead of losing as usual.
And for now, it seemed like her winning streak hadn't triggered any bad luck.
Shizune couldn't help but marvel, just as Rin and Obito often said, that Natsuhiko-sensei really could do anything.
He had effortlessly lifted the curse that had plagued Tsunade-sama for so long.
This also reminded Shizune of the time she chose to forgo joining the research team in order to study medical ninjutsu.
She didn't regret it, but she did feel a bit of longing.
If she had joined back then, perhaps she would have experienced these wonders much earlier...
When Tsunade looked in the direction Shizune pointed, she indeed saw that most of the gamblers had already started moving.
Some were driven by curiosity, others by the desire to keep playing. All were heading toward the location indicated on the notice board, intending to find the elusive arcade once again.
Tsunade should have been among them, yet something still felt off to her.
Natsuhiko had gone out of his way to find her, and it just so happened that he owned an arcade filled with games seemingly tailored to her interests.
There had to be some ulterior motive behind this.
Could Natsuhiko's goal be to lure her in with the arcade, only to ultimately make her return to Konoha?
A cold smirk appeared on Tsunade's lips as she entertained the possibility.
If that were true, then Natsuhiko was underestimating her.
A ninja is someone who endures all things.
Did he really think she would just take the bait and run back?
Her curiosity piqued, Tsunade found herself increasingly interested in what tricks Natsuhiko would pull next.
With a bold wave, she said to Shizune:
"Alright, let's follow them."
"I want to see what Natsuhiko is up to."
…
A five-kilometer journey was nothing for a ninja.
So it wasn't long before Tsunade, carrying Shizune along the way, arrived at the location indicated by Natsuhiko's notice board.
It was a small village, and Natsuhiko's strange arcade was set up not far from the entrance.
Though she had anticipated it, Tsunade still felt a sense of disbelief when she saw the same exact building from yesterday, now sitting five kilometers away.
How had Natsuhiko done it?
Perhaps because Tsunade had moved too quickly, the other gamblers hadn't arrived yet.
However, a group of villagers had gathered near the arcade's entrance, seemingly discussing the sudden appearance of the building.
It sounded like they were nominating a brave warrior to take the village's best sword and venture inside the mysterious structure to investigate.
Under normal circumstances, Tsunade would never miss out on such drama, but with the arcade right in front of her, she had no time for them. She went straight to the arcade's door and pushed it open.
The lively discussion among the villagers fell silent as they exchanged confused glances.
Inside the arcade, Tsunade glanced around, only to find not a single soul in sight.
There were no customers, and neither Natsuhiko nor Kakashi could be found.
Had they predicted she would come looking for them and decided to hide on purpose?
Tsunade muttered to herself.
But seeing that no one else was around to use the games, she wasn't about to let the opportunity pass.
Her eyes lit up as she gazed at the array of machines, hesitating over which one to try first.
Ah, having too many choices could be a delightful burden...
Soon, other gamblers began arriving, and the nearby villagers cautiously entered the arcade as well, quickly falling under the spell of the strange, unfamiliar machines.
Since everything from exchanging game tokens to playing the games was automated, there was no need for staff.
And with the arcade being so magical, the guests were all too awed to misbehave, allowing it to operate smoothly on its own.
Earlier, while it was still quiet, Tsunade and Shizune had already tried out most of the games.
As Tsunade had suspected, each game was highly refined, as if it had gone through multiple iterations.
But despite being a seasoned gambler, Tsunade had never heard of any of these games before.
Could Natsuhiko really have perfected all of them out of thin air?
It felt like Natsuhiko's mysteries had only deepened.
The only disappointment for Tsunade and Shizune was that despite being machines, most of the games couldn't escape Tsunade's curse of always losing.
It seemed that whenever luck was involved, her curse would automatically trigger.
So after trying them all, Tsunade eventually returned to her beloved Ninja Emperor '97.
As they say, it's easy to get used to luxury, but hard to return to simplicity.
In the past, Tsunade could lose every day and still have fun, but after tasting the thrill of winning, it became harder to tolerate constant losses...
With yesterday's experience and her natural ninja talents, Tsunade quickly dominated Ninja Emperor '97.
The day before, she had occasionally lost a few matches due to unfamiliarity with the other characters' playstyles.
But today, she made no such mistakes, mercilessly crushing her opponents and soon becoming the reigning champion of the game, feared by all.
Even when matched against her, players only dared to bet the minimum amount allowed.
Tsunade didn't mind, though; after all, winning a little was still better than losing all the time.
And so, a happy day quickly passed, and it was already close to midnight.
The villagers had gone back to rest, while some gamblers, too lazy to return home, had found lodging in the village.
[This arcade will be closing soon. Please leave if you have not yet done so.]
The arcade began broadcasting this message, urging the remaining guests to leave.
But Tsunade, Shizune, and a few sharp gamblers lingered, waiting for something.
They were clearly hoping to witness the rare event of the arcade moving once again.
Time ticked by, and soon even the machines began shutting down, no longer playable.
Yet the scene everyone was waiting for had still not occurred.
And Natsuhiko, the arcade's owner, had yet to make an appearance.
Could it be that nothing was happening because they were still inside?
Just as this thought crossed their minds, the clock struck midnight.
At that very moment, a thick fog, as dense as milk, spread throughout the arcade without warning.
Why had fog suddenly appeared?
Wait, something was off about this fog.
Tsunade quickly dismissed her initial thought.
Though the white mist seemed very realistic, it lacked the moisture that usually accompanied real fog.
Could this be a projection technique?
Having witnessed the wonders of Natsuhiko's games, Tsunade wouldn't be surprised if he possessed such an ability.
But despite her experience as a ninja, she had no idea how to distinguish illusions from reality in this situation.
While she was still puzzled, the fog began to swirl in front of her, gradually forming a human-like shape.
A human figure?
With such distinct movements, it seemed less likely that this was a random occurrence.
Was someone trying to create this figure using some secret technique?
Soon, the silhouette started to become clearer.
The figure was wrapped in a pure white, ancient-style robe, exuding an aura so dignified that it was as if he were a sacred being who had descended to the mortal realm.
A god?
Tsunade had encountered many incredible things throughout her life, but this was a first!
What exactly was Natsuhiko up to?
At that very moment, a dense mist, thick like milk, suddenly filled the arcade without any warning.
"Why did it suddenly get foggy?"
"No, something's strange about this mist."
Tsunade quickly dismissed her initial thought.
Though the white mist seemed very realistic, it lacked the moisture that real fog typically carries.
"Could this be the effect of a projection technique?"
After witnessing the wonders of Natsuhiko's various arcade machines, Tsunade had gone to Shizune to learn more about Natsuhiko's background, which included information about projection techniques.
So, when the mist appeared, she quickly guessed that it was just an illusion created by projection.
But before she could react, the surroundings began to change dramatically.
Even though everything in front of her was still shrouded in white, making it impossible to see anything clearly, Tsunade could hear strange, loud creaking noises from all over the arcade.
It reminded her of the sound her suitcase made when she crammed too much luggage into it, groaning under the weight.
What on earth is happening to the arcade right now?
Tsunade stood up, alert and cautious of her surroundings.
To be honest, she even started to suspect that this might be Natsuhiko's ultimate goal—to set a trap, capture her, and forcibly bring her back to Konoha.
Just then, Shizune, who had been sitting beside her, suddenly let out a gasp and fell backward.
Tsunade quickly grabbed her and anxiously asked, "Shizune, are you alright? What happened?"
Shizune, clutching her chest, replied with lingering fear, "Lady Tsunade, I don't know, it just felt like the chair I was sitting on suddenly disappeared."
"A chair?"
Tsunade asked in confusion, and then reached around. Sure enough, the chair she had been sitting on was gone!
It was important to note that the chairs in this arcade were fixed to the floor. How could it have disappeared without a sound?
Not only that, as Tsunade groped around further, she was even more astonished to find that the arcade machines had also vanished.
A chilly night breeze blew through, and something suddenly came to Tsunade's mind. She stomped her foot firmly on the ground.
Sure enough, it felt like soft soil beneath her…
Tsunade let out a helpless smile.
At this moment, the white mist quickly dissipated, revealing the scene around them once again.
The arcade had disappeared without a trace, and once more, they found themselves standing on an empty plot of land.
(End of chapter)