By the time noon drew near, Naruto had finally won back almost all the gambling money Hashirama Senju had "accidentally" lost.
Poor First Hokage. A great big God of Shinobi, crouching miserably on the ground like a lucky mascot. Beside him, Fugaku Uchiha, Captain of the Uchiha Police Force, had never felt so humiliated in his life.
His trust in the Hokage lineage kept dropping by "-1." His expression was so ugly that even Sasuke, who had wanted to go over and say a few words to him, ended up taking a roundabout approach and started criticizing Hashirama Senju instead.
"You're the First Hokage of Konoha, at least. Can't you show a little dignity?"
It was not that Sasuke did not respect the Hokage. He just really could not stand watching anymore. For some reason, Hashirama Senju's dejected look reminded him of a certain underachiever whenever he got depressed.
"Mm-hmm."
Sakura nodded again and again.
"No matter how you look at it, he's an adult. Losing money gambling and making kids like us win it back for him really is a little…"
Young Obito said, "For Konoha to survive until our era, the Second Hokage-sama must have worked several times harder than anyone else, right?"
"I heard the Second Hokage-sama never married in his whole life," Rin said tactfully. "Maybe he was too busy and never had the time?"
For once, Kakashi did not make a sarcastic comment. Instead, he reminded them, "If you keep talking, this person is going to learn Obito's Intangibility."
First Hokage: ascending to heaven on the spot.
The gambling den owner still could not find a single flaw in Naruto's play. In the end, he admitted defeat and only prayed that this little plague of a brat across from him would hurry up and leave.
Damn it. He thought he had run into a legendary bunch of fat sheep!
Turns out the clown was him all along!!
At this point, all the gamblers had already started betting along with Naruto. If the First Hokage had not been penniless and reduced to acting as a mascot, he would definitely have followed Naruto's bets too.
The only question was, if Naruto Uzumaki and Hashirama Senju both bet on "Big" at the same time, whose passive buff would prove stronger?
The chance came. Hashirama Senju, crouched dispiritedly on the ground, noticed some money, belonging to who knew whom, roll right in front of him…
Wood Release quietly pushed several coins into the "Bet on Big" area. No one noticed. Everyone was waiting for Naruto Uzumaki to roll another three-of-a-kind.
Naruto, who had long since gotten bored and was itching to go train, stretched his limbs. "This is the last round, dattebayo!!! If we win, we can redeem Old Man First Hokage and Sasuke's dad!"
"I'm counting on you, Naruto."
Since this involved his father, who had only just been revived, even Sasuke set aside his usual pride and entrusted the heavy responsibility to Naruto.
Naruto thumped his chest and confidently promised he had it covered.
Young Kakashi reminded him, "Once we win this round, we retreat immediately."
After they had won so many rounds in a row, there was no shortage of hostile gazes around them.
Naruto, of course, had no intention of continuing to gamble either.
Even with that outrageous luck, Naruto still preferred earning mission rewards properly and filling up his little toad wallet through honest work.
Everything had been going smoothly. But who could have expected that just then, a woman's voice would come from outside?
"Na-ru-to."
"I'm pretty sure I told you, didn't I?"
"Children are not allowed to gamble, dattebane!!!"
After that booming roar came a thunderous crash, and a section of the wall at the entrance of the gambling den was smashed apart.
Hearing that familiar voice, Naruto froze.
Although he had only heard it a few times, he would never forget that voice for the rest of his life.
Especially that dattebane catchphrase.
He whipped his head around. At the entrance of the gambling den stood a woman in house clothes, holding a spoon, her red hair flaring wildly like Kurama's tails.
"Mom?!! But why…"
Why was Mom in the Warring States Period?!
And hadn't his mom sacrificed herself together with his dad long ago during the Nine-Tails Incident to protect him?!
Naruto was stunned.
Sakura, Sasuke, and the three students from Team Minato also had no idea what was going on.
When they thought of Kushina Uzumaki, their deepest memory was still traveling to the era when the "Masked Man" attacked Konoha, watching her life force fade little by little, and learning that the child she and the Fourth Hokage had protected with their lives was called "Naruto." In that moment, they had almost felt Naruto's grief and despair take physical form.
The ones who had come here with Kushina Uzumaki were the Clan Head of the Uzumaki Clan, several Uzumaki clansmen, Adult Obito, Adult Kakashi, and Madara Uchiha.
"Actually, it's like this. Naruto was only trying to help the First Hokage…"
Kakashi tried to say something in Naruto's defense. Kushina-nee was in a rage right now, the kind even Minato-sensei would be afraid of.
"You!" Kushina made a sharp gesture. "Step aside."
Adult Kakashi said, "Yes."
Then he gave his student a helpless look that said he was on his own.
Naruto's terrified little face looked exactly like the famous painting The Scream.
He had once promised his mom that he would eat well, sleep well, bathe every day, stay away from prostitution, gambling, and drugs, and keep his mission money safe!!
His gambling luck was great, but tragedy had struck right here. He had been caught red-handed!
When Hashirama saw Ashina Uzumaki and the woman who seemed to have Naruto trembling in fear, he quickly tried to explain a few things on behalf of his junior, who was also an Ashura reincarnate.
Unfortunately, Kushina had only ever paid attention to the First Hokage on the Hokage Rock. She did not recognize the tall, handsome young man in front of her at all. She gave him no respect whatsoever and treated him like one of Kakashi's peers, snapping, "You! Go stand over there!"
For some reason, it made Hashirama Senju remember the times Mito had fiercely scolded him back then. Embarrassed, he obediently went and stood to the side.
Fortunately, after hearing the commotion, Tobirama Senju, Minato Namikaze, and Izuna Uchiha, who had been discussing how to count the mission as complete and leave this world, rushed over.
Seeing Kushina on the verge of going berserk, Minato Namikaze hurried to calm her down and explained at top speed that the First Hokage had lost money, and Naruto had only been helping him win it back.
"Even then, children still can't gamble!!"
"Yes, yes, yes! It won't happen again!"
"You'd better keep your word, dattebane?!"
"Of course I will. Right, Naruto?"
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm!"
Naruto nodded so fast his head looked like a pounding pestle. He looked badly frightened, but deep down, he was truly, truly enjoying the feeling of being scolded by his mother and protected by his father.
Kushina strode up to the gambling table, clenched her fist, and asked the owner if they still wanted to gamble.
Looking at the woman who had casually crushed the wall of his gambling den like rotten straw, the gambling den owner hurriedly said that the final round had already been played. All he had to do was lift the dice cup and check whether the dice were big or small.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the dealer lifted the dice cup.
Since he had at least placed a few coins as a bet, Hashirama Senju squeezed into the crowd and shouted along with them, "Big! Open big!! Open big!!"
The moment Tobirama Senju heard that, he knew his elder brother had definitely bet again!!
"Damn it! Big Brother placed a bet too!"
Based on his many tragic experiences, he immediately ordered Izuna Uchiha, "Use your Dōjutsu! Make absolutely sure nothing goes wrong! Hurry!"
"Three!"
"Big! Big, big, big!"
"It has to be big. There's no need to guess."
"The house is going to lose badly this time."
"One, three…"
The dealer's lips kept curling upward.
"No way?!"
"Is that kid actually going to lose?!"
"Damn it! I bet all my money on this!"
"It all comes down to the last die!"
"It has to be higher than three! Higher than three!!!"
"The last die is…" The dealer slowly lifted the dice cup.
Although Izuna Uchiha did not want to take orders from Tobirama Senju, one of his own clansmen was among the collateral, so he could only do as told.
Izuna Uchiha opened his Mangekyō Sharingan, and time slowed to an extreme crawl under his Dōjutsu.
He pushed the dealer's hand aside. One die showed two, two dice showed three, and it really had come up "Small."
The corner of Izuna Uchiha's mouth twitched. "Does Hashirama Senju have some special ability or something? That kid named Naruto was winning every round before…"
Changing the two into a four, Izuna Uchiha returned to where he had been standing, released the control of his Dōjutsu, and let his crimson eyes return to bright black pupils.
"The last die is…"
"Four."
"How could it be a four?!!!"
Those dice were clearly specially made. They should not have been able to roll anything higher than three!!
They had deliberately saved this huge pot for last to make a killing. And now they had miscalculated?!!
The gambling den owner and the dealer exchanged a glance. Both saw the same ruthless, sinister smile in the other's eyes.
The ninjas hidden among the gamblers dropped their disguises and reached out to attack the six children led by Naruto!!
The red chakra that Kushina Uzumaki knew all too well appeared around Naruto Uzumaki, blocking the ninja blade that attacked him from behind!
Crack.
The ninja blade was bitten into several pieces in the mouth of that vicious-looking fox!
The enormous eyes staring at the attacking hired ninjas narrowed into slit-like beast pupils, rimmed with red veins. Just looking at them left no doubt about how terrifying it was.
"Kurama?!" Naruto had not expected the Nine-Tails to come out and help.
["I was too bored, so I came out for some air."]
The Nine-Tails yawned and went back to sleep.
The ninjas from various clans who had accepted the job to kill these children were all scared stiff!
Not only were they stunned, but even Ashina Uzumaki, the Clan Head of the Uzumaki Clan who had come with Kushina Uzumaki, and several Uzumaki ninjas were shocked by that indescribably massive chakra.
That was because they were born with the most unique chakra-sensing ability in the entire Ninja World.
While everyone else saw red chakra gather behind the boy and form a crimson, vicious fox head, what they sensed was themselves standing before an ancient giant beast.
That beast was ferocious to the extreme, with malice in its eyes. It looked like a fox, yet it had nine tails.
"A natural disaster?!"
In the Warring States Period, the people of the Land of Fire still called the Nine-Tails a natural disaster or an ill omen.
If the Nine-Tails had not revealed its chakra on its own, they would not have deliberately sensed that such a terrifying thing existed inside the boy's body.
And that thing, fierce, awkward, and sharp-tongued as it was, had truly protected Naruto Uzumaki?
…
Obito: Kushina knows what kind of life Naruto really lived all these years. I'm afraid I'll have to die again.
Sasuke: Once?
Gaara: Is that enough?
Shikamaru: He probably means "a hundred million times."