The Third Hokage had three famous disciples.
The first was Jiraiya. He had signed a Summoning Contract with the toads of Mount Myoboku, and his mastery of the Summoning Jutsu and various elemental ninjutsu made him one of the strongest Jōnin in Konoha.
When he was not training or traveling, Jiraiya often wandered through the red light districts. It was said that he knew the layout of Konoha's hot springs better than he knew the inside of his own house.
Another disciple was Orochimaru.
Orochimaru was widely regarded as a rare scientific genius. Even the Third Hokage himself could not easily surpass Orochimaru's research into forbidden techniques. Orochimaru was obsessed with studying the human body, and he often established underground laboratories even inside temporary battlefield camps.
The final disciple was Tsunade.
Tsunade Hime, the granddaughter of the First Hokage, was famous throughout the ninja world. She possessed unmatched medical ninjutsu, and even ninja from other villages addressed her respectfully as Lady Tsunade.
However, her most common destination was not the hospital.
It was the underground casinos scattered around Konoha.
She was notorious for losing nearly every bet she made. Because of that, gamblers often joked that she was "all chest and no brains." The casinos themselves loved seeing her walk through the door, since she was practically guaranteed profit.
But after losing thirty million ryo in only three days, even the Third Hokage might hesitate before admitting she was his disciple.
Will Konoha abandon its only aging princess over thirty million in gambling debt? Who is the real winner?
Standing outside an underground casino somewhere in Konoha, Hayashi glanced at a cheaply printed tabloid and casually tossed it into a nearby trash bin.
Then he stepped inside.
The smell hit him immediately.
The interior still maintained the appearance of traditional Japanese architecture, complete with sliding doors and tatami floors, but the air was thick with tobacco smoke and stale breath.
For a ninja with sharp senses, the environment was especially unpleasant.
"Hahaha! I won!"
After searching through several rooms without finding the person he wanted, Hayashi suddenly heard a loud and unmistakable voice echoing from the next room.
It was Tsunade.
Curious, he slid open the door and quietly entered. Without attracting attention, he took a seat at the edge of the gambling table.
"Damn it, I knew my luck couldn't stay this good forever," Tsunade muttered.
Even so, she pretended not to notice Hayashi's arrival.
"Come on, hurry up and pay!" she shouted loudly.
Tsunade stood up without the slightest hint of elegance, stretching her hand toward the gamblers around her as she demanded her winnings.
"Did the fat sheep finally get lucky today?" one gambler whispered quietly.
Despite the comment, everyone obediently pushed their chips toward her.
"Stop talking nonsense!" Tsunade snorted proudly. "Before, I was just taking it easy on you. If I get serious, I wouldn't even be afraid if the Sage of Six Paths himself showed up. Now hurry up and deal the next round!"
Hayashi fell silent.
He wondered how the Sage of Six Paths would react if he could hear a descendant speaking like this.
More importantly, Hayashi suddenly felt like leaving.
Hadn't people always said Tsunade gambled only to cope with painful memories of the First Hokage and to hide her fragile emotions?
From Hayashi's perspective, however, she looked exactly like a veteran gambler enjoying herself.
The image of a goddess had completely collapsed.
At that moment, the wooden door slid open again.
"Lady Tsunade, I brought lunch."
A small girl walked inside carrying several lunch boxes. She looked only four or five years old.
"Oh, Shizune, just leave it there," Tsunade replied casually without even turning around. "Wait until I finish this round."
Then she returned her full attention to the gambling table.
If she kept winning today, maybe she could pay off part of her thirty million debt.
"So this is Shizune?"
Hayashi observed the black haired girl with interest.
He wondered why such a young child was here in a place like this.
For a moment, an absurd thought crossed his mind.
Could this be kidnapping?
Shizune noticed the strange man staring at her.
Although he looked handsome, he was clearly older than her. Anyone sitting inside a casino could not possibly be a good person, except for Lady Tsunade of course.
The little girl raised her fist and glared at him with all the fierceness she could muster.
Seeing her childish expression, Hayashi could not help laughing quietly.
Of course, if he had known she secretly thought he looked "a bit old," he probably would not have laughed so happily.
Hayashi glanced around the room.
Then he snapped his fingers softly.
In the next moment, the little girl who had been standing there swayed slightly before collapsing gently onto the tatami floor.
She had fallen asleep.
Hayashi calmly removed a cloak from a storage scroll and placed it over Shizune to keep her warm.
Afterward, he walked to the window and pushed it open, allowing fresh air to enter the room.
The smoky atmosphere began to clear slightly.
Tsunade glanced at him from the corner of her eye and let out a dissatisfied grunt, but she did not stop him.
Soon the cold winter air began flowing into the room.
For ninja like Hayashi and Tsunade, the temperature was nothing.
The gamblers, however, were ordinary civilians.
One man quickly stood up, shivering as he walked toward the window.
He reached it, hesitated for a moment, then quietly turned around and returned to his seat.
"Why didn't you close it?" another gambler complained while walking over himself.
Meanwhile, Hayashi had already opened the lunch box Shizune brought for Tsunade.
Tsunade looked sideways at him.
The veins on her forehead twitched slightly.
"Haha," Hayashi laughed casually, completely ignoring her expression.
"Eh? Why won't this window close?" the gambler said with confusion.
No matter how hard he tried, the window refused to move.
Eventually he gave up and walked back.
Even though a heater burned in the room, the open window allowed freezing air to pour inside. The temperature soon dropped drastically.
The gamblers were wearing thin jackets at most.
The cold wind quickly became unbearable.
"This room might be haunted," someone muttered nervously.
One by one, the gamblers began losing their patience. After shivering through another round and losing more money to Tsunade, they all stood up and declared they were done playing.
Tsunade tried to stop them several times, but none of them stayed.
Soon the entire room was empty.
Only Tsunade, Hayashi, and the sleeping Shizune remained.
"Are you enjoying this?" Tsunade finally stood up and walked to the window.
She easily closed it, something the gamblers had been unable to do earlier.
Then she returned to the low table and sat down.
Even though ninja had strong resistance to heat and cold, sitting in the winter wind for half an hour was still unpleasant.
"Tsunade sensei is making money comfortably," Hayashi said while eating from the lunch box. "Compared to ninja like us who run across battlefields all year, your life looks quite relaxing."
"You brat, well, I guess I can't really call you a brat anymore," Tsunade said while glancing at him.
She suddenly realized he was now a head taller than her.
"I just came back from the battlefield recently," she continued. "Is it too much to ask for a little personal time?"
"Of course not," Hayashi replied.
"But sensei, isn't this child labor?"
He looked toward Shizune, who was still sleeping peacefully.
"Good thing Konoha doesn't enforce strict laws about that, otherwise you might be facing a long prison sentence."
"Nonsense," Tsunade snorted.
She held a lunch box in one hand and chopsticks in the other, eating without the slightest grace expected of a legendary beauty.
"She is my new disciple. A disciple helping her teacher is perfectly normal."
Hayashi raised an eyebrow.
"When did you take another disciple?"
Tsunade paused slightly before answering.
"It wasn't exactly planned."
"Her father was my classmate. He died during a mission in the Land of Water, and I couldn't save him."
"Before he died, he asked me to take care of Shizune."
"I see," Hayashi nodded slowly.
The story itself was touching.
Still, he could not help feeling that Shizune had just entered a tiger's den.
Bringing a four year old child to a casino.
If Shizune's father knew about this, he would probably crawl out of his grave in anger.
Tsunade suddenly narrowed her eyes.
"Strange," she said slowly.
"Why do I feel like you're secretly insulting me in your head?"
Hayashi quickly wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead.
"Haha, sensei, how could I possibly do that?"
Then he forced a smile.
"Other people might misunderstand you, but I know the truth."
"Oh?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"You are clearly following the First Hokage's teaching philosophy. Hard experiences shape strong ninja."
Hayashi nodded seriously.
"Under your guidance, Shizune will definitely become an outstanding kunoichi."
Tsunade finally smiled with satisfaction.
"That's more like it."
Then she looked at him with sudden interest.
"Since you respect my teaching methods so much, how about this?"
"In the future, let me train your daughter."
"I will pass down all my abilities."
Hayashi froze.
All his life's savings disappearing in a single night suddenly flashed through his mind.
Tsunade truly was a terrifying person.
^_________^
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