Evening fell, and Shin and his friends emerged from the Yakiniku restaurant, Nawaki patting his full stomach with satisfaction.
"You sure can pack it away, Nawaki. Looks like I'll have to drag your sister to the gambling dens again."
Shin patted his wallet, which was significantly lighter than before.
"Can I come too? I want to make some money!"
Nawaki's eyes lit up.
"You want to make money? What for? Tsunade will just take it all," Shin said, pitying the boy.
Having a gambling-addicted sister must be tough.
"Shin, Kushina, I'll see you tomorrow," Mikoto said with a smile.
The Senju and Uchiha compounds were on opposite sides of the village. With the deep-rooted animosity between the two clans, they naturally wouldn't live close to each other.
"See you tomorrow," Shin waved.
Kushina pinched Shin discreetly, then gave Mikoto a bright smile.
Shin glared at Kushina, who glared right back.
"What was that for?" Shin grumbled. He hadn't done anything to deserve a pinch.
"Hmph, you and Mikoto seem to be getting awfully chummy. A bit too chummy," Kushina huffed, jealousy evident in her voice.
Shin shook his head at Kushina's childish jealousy and headed home with her.
As for Nawaki? He was left behind, forgotten.
Back at the Senju compound, Nawaki went to his own residence, while Shin and Kushina returned to Tsunade's courtyard.
"Oh, Tsunade, you're back!" Shin's eyes lit up when he saw her.
Tsunade glanced at him. Seeing that sparkle in his eyes, she knew he wanted something.
"Spit it out. What do you need? I'm in a good mood; I might just agree."
"You'll definitely agree to this. I'm a bit short on cash. How about we make a trip to the gambling dens?"
"Hmph, using me to make money again? Do you have no faith in my gambling skills?" Tsunade stood up, grabbed Shin's face, and started pinching his cheeks.
"Tsunade, let go of Shin right now!"
Kushina, the queen of jealousy, couldn't stand seeing Tsunade manhandle Shin.
Tsunade chuckled at Kushina's outburst.
After a while, she finally let go. Shin's cheeks were so soft and squishy; she could pinch them all day.
"Fine, I'll help you make some money. But we split the profits fifty-fifty," Tsunade declared.
"What? Fifty-fifty? That's not fair!" Shin protested, rubbing his cheeks.
If it weren't for the fact that Tsunade had agreed to keep his strength a secret, he would never have agreed to her cheek-pinching condition.
"Not fair? Don't forget, you're relying on me to make the money," Tsunade said with a smirk.
"Fine."
Shin might be complaining, but he knew this was a good deal. All he had to do was bet against Tsunade, and he'd make a killing.
That was his strategy.
Thankfully, Tsunade wasn't infamous yet. She wasn't known as the "Legendary Sucker" yet. Otherwise, this plan wouldn't work.
"Let's go!"
Tsunade grabbed Shin's hand, channeled Chakra to her feet, and vanished in a series of leaps, leaving Kushina fuming.
"That woman! She left me behind again!"
Kushina wanted to follow, but she didn't know where they were going. She could only wait at home.
They returned late at night, both grinning as they counted their winnings.
"Shin, when are we going to make another killing?"
Tsunade had earned over ten million Ryo, even after splitting the profits. That was equivalent to the reward for over a dozen S-rank missions.
"When we run out of money. This should last us a while."
If they were frugal, ten million Ryo could last them over a decade.
But being a Shinobi was expensive. Still, this should be enough to last them until graduation.
"You're finally back! Shin, did that woman do anything to you?"
Kushina rushed out, grabbing Shin and glaring at Tsunade.
"Hey, brat, do you think I'm some kind of pervert?" Tsunade said indignantly.
"Hmph, you think you're being subtle? I see right through you, you cougar!!"
Shin, embarrassed, excused himself and went to his room.
"You two have fun arguing. I'm going to bed."
"Little girl, if you weren't so young, You'd be crying in a corner right now," Tsunade threatened, slamming her fist on a nearby table, shattering it.
"I'm not scared of you! In a few years, I'll challenge you to a duel, and we'll see who's stronger!"
Kushina declared, her small fist clenched.
Tsunade simply chuckled, her dismissive attitude clear.
Kushina took a deep breath. She wasn't strong enough to defeat Tsunade yet. She'd have to be patient.
"I'm warning you, if you pinch Shin's face again, I won't forgive you!"
Kushina left to train, seemingly motivated by her rivalry with Tsunade.
Tsunade smiled after Kushina left.
She didn't mind their bickering. Having Shin and Kushina around had livened up the place.
Before, she had lived here alone. It had been lonely.
As for Nawaki, he was terrified of Tsunade, always afraid she'd take his allowance. He usually avoided her.
In his room, Shin sat on the tatami mat, refining Chakra.
He didn't know how much Chakra he had now, but he felt it surpassed that of most Kage.
Of course, this was just in terms of quantity. The quality of his Chakra was probably inferior to that of a Kage who had been honing their Chakra for decades.
Having a large amount of Chakra wasn't enough; quality was also important. For example, a Tailed Beast's Chakra was undoubtedly superior to that of a human.
Shin, despite having a Perfect Sage Body, still had to refine his Chakra to improve its quality. There were no shortcuts, unless he became the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.
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