Senba smiled and patted his shoulder. "Minato, just call me Senba from now on. No need for formalities."
Minato nodded. "Okay, Senba!"
"Did you bring the money?"
Minato eagerly pulled a stack of banknotes and coins from his pocket, holding them out with both hands. "This is all the money I've saved. It's ten thousand three hundred and seventy-two Ryo in total. I brought everything!"
Senba glanced at the pile of money and went upstairs. He returned quickly, a small cloth bag in hand.
"I brought a hundred thousand Ryo," he stated, tucking the bag away. Then, looking at Minato, he said, "Follow me."
Minato followed Senba outside, curiosity bubbling over. "Senba, how exactly are we going to make money?"
"First, we find someone to pretend to be our elder," Senba replied as they walked. "Then we use this money to place bets."
"Place bets?" Minato was stunned for a moment before his expression changed immediately. "Senba, do you mean... a casino?"
He stopped in his tracks, looking at Senba seriously. "But we're not allowed to gamble yet! And gambling is bad,; my dad said..."
Senba also stopped, turning to face him. "Minato, listen. If you can guarantee you'll always win, then it's not gambling." He paused, a smirk playing on his lips. "It's making money."
Minato opened his mouth to argue, but oddly enough, he found his reasons logical. He frowned, falling into deep thought.
Just then, an amused woman's voice cut through the air. "Yo, kid, what's with all the big talk?"
Both boys turned their heads simultaneously. Beneath a sycamore tree, a woman had appeared, leaning against the trunk with her arms crossed. Her long blonde hair glistened in the setting sun, tied in a low ponytail with a few stray strands dancing in the breeze.
Her brown eyes playfully sized up the two children.
Senba's eyes flickered. He recognized her immediately due to her 'amazing quality.' Only one person in Konoha fit that description: Tsunade! The granddaughter of the First Hokage, disciple of the Third, future Sannin member, the strongest medical ninja in the world, and the future Fifth Hokage.
Right now, she was looking at them with a half-smile, her gaze fixed on the bulging cloth bag in Senba's hand.
"What do kids know about gambling?" Tsunade straightened up from the tree and took two steps closer, looking down at Senba. "Taking so much money to throw away at a casino? Do the adults in your family know about this?" She paused, her smile deepening as she teased, "Or are you two little rascals trying to sneak in?"
Senba looked up, meeting her playful eyes. "We aren't going to gamble, but to make money."
Tsunade was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Make money? "Just the two of you, little runts?" She laughed so hard she doubled over, eventually wiping a non-existent tear from her eye.
"Kid," she said, catching her breath, "do you know what kind of place a casino is? Do you know how many sharks and cheaters there are? A fair-skinned little brat like you going in—you'll be lucky if you don't lose your pants!"
Minato felt embarrassed by her words and softly muttered, "But Senba said he can guarantee we'll always win..."
Tsunade glanced at Minato, then back at Senba, her eyes showing a flicker of interest.
"Oh? Guarantee you'll always win?" She leaned down, bringing her face close to Senba's, scrutinizing him. "Kid, what's your name?"
Senba didn't back away, answering calmly, "Uchiha Senba."
A flash of surprise crossed Tsunade's eyes. An Uchiha? She straightened, re-evaluating the black-haired, black-eyed child. Around six years old, delicate features, yet an unusually steady gaze, carrying a bag of money, followed by a blonde, blue-eyed little sidekick, claiming he's off to the casino to make money. How interesting.
She curled her lips into a somewhat provocative smile. "Uchiha boy, since you're so confident, do you dare to make a bet with me?"
Senba looked at the confident blonde woman and couldn't help smiling!
It was a well-known fact that Tsunade was a legendary fat sheep that would lose gambling unless misfortune was near her.
You walked right into this yourself.
"Sure." Senba nodded without hesitation. "What's the game? Dice or cards?"
Tsunade's eyes lit up and she quickly pulled a finely crafted dice cup from her waist, as if afraid he'd back out.
"We'll play the simplest one." Tsunade shook the dice cup. "Three dice, comparing totals. You can bet whatever you want." As she spoke, she pulled a thick stack of bills from her pocket and slapped them onto a nearby stone pillar. "Here are five hundred thousand Ryo. Is that enough?"
Minato's eyes widened at the sheer amount of money. Five hundred thousand Ryo! He had saved for years to get just over ten thousand, and this lady just casually pulled out five hundred thousand? But what confused him even more was her tone. Why did it sound like she was certain she would lose, even though she had put out much more money than Senba?
Minato opened his mouth, then swallowed his words, standing quietly to the side and watching Senba make his decision.
Tsunade, of course, didn't think she would definitely lose; she was just used to it.
Every time she gambled, she braced herself for defeat. It wasn't that she liked losing, but because she had never won.
From childhood to now, she'd gambled tens of thousands of times, and her wins could be counted on one hand. Yet, the more she lost, the more she gambled, and the more she gambled, the more she lost.
It had become a major hobby in her life; after all, she had money. She was the granddaughter of the First Hokage, the student of the Third, and a jonin of Konoha. She wasn't afraid of anyone refusing to pay up.
Senba looked at her nonchalant face, feeling a bit emotional.
It was only because the current Tsunade still cared about her dignity. If it were thirty years later, she would probably have used the transformation technique to turn into a little girl and run away after losing.
Senba shook his head. "I'll go all in with these hundred thousand ryo, but the rules have to change."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Speak."
"I won't bet on big or small." Senba pointed at the dice cup in her hand. "I'll guess the exact numbers. If I'm wrong, I lose."
Tsunade was stunned. Guessing the exact numbers?
With three dice, there were only a few combinations for big or small, but the exact numbers?
From 3 to 18 points, there were sixteen possibilities in total. The probability of guessing correctly was only one in sixteen. Was this kid crazy?
But then, a hint of amusement flashed in her eyes. This was interesting.
"Fine!" Tsunade smiled. "If you guess right, I'll pay you double your hundred thousand ryo! If you're wrong, these hundred thousand ryo belong to me."
Senba didn't answer but just looked back at Minato. "Bet your money too."
Minato said in surprise, "Huh? Me too?"
"Bet on it." Senba's tone left no room for doubt. "Just trust me."
Looking into those calm black eyes, Minato suddenly felt a strange surge of confidence for some reason.
He took out his ten thousand three hundred and seventy-two ryo and carefully placed it on the stone stool.
"O-okay..."
Tsunade looked at the two kids, the smile at the corners of her mouth deepening.
She picked up the dice cup and began to shake it. Her movements were smooth as flowing water, and the dice clattered crisply inside the cup as she flipped her wrist.
She shook it quite flashily: three circles to the left and three to the right. She even did a high-difficulty throw, the dice cup spinning three times in the air before landing steadily back in her hand.
Then, with a "thud," she slammed it onto the ground.
"Done!" Tsunade looked up, a sly smile on her face. "Kid, take a guess."
Senba looked down at the dice cup, his eyes narrowing slightly. MAX-level gambling techniques gave him observation and dynamic vision far beyond ordinary people.
While Tsunade was shaking the dice just now, he had already roughly determined their positions based on the sound and the vibration when they landed.
But Tsunade's final slam seemed to involve a little trick...
The corners of Senba's lips curled up slightly. Trying to cheat?
He looked up and said calmly, "There are two values."
"What?"
Tsunade was momentarily stunned. With three dice in total, how could it be two points?
"Two dice are stacked on top of each other."
Senba's tone was flat, as if he were saying the weather was nice today. "The single die is a two. Of the two stacked ones, the top one is one."
He paused, his gaze landing on the dice cup.
"The one underneath is a four."
Tsunade's expression froze. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
Minato looked at Senba and then at Tsunade, having no idea what was happening.
Silence lasted for three seconds before Tsunade suddenly lifted the dice cup. On the stone stool, the three dice lay quietly.
The single die had the two-point face up.
The other two dice were stacked, with the one on top showing a one.
Tsunade reached out and removed the top die; the one underneath showed a "four."
Minato's eyes widened.
"A-all correct?!"
Tsunade stared at the three dice, silent for a long while.
Then she looked up and re-evaluated the black-haired, black-eyed kid in front of her.
Six years old, Uchiha Clan, guessing the numbers correctly on the first try, and even with the dice stacked...
She suddenly remembered her little cheating thought just now—deliberately stacking two dice so that no matter what he guessed, it would be almost impossible to win.
But this kid saw through it at a glance. He even clearly stated the positions and the respective numbers of the three dice.
Tsunade took a deep breath and then laughed.
"Interesting."
She casually counted out two hundred thousand ryo from the stack of bills on the stone stool. One hundred thousand was Senba's principal, and the other hundred thousand was the double payout she promised. She pushed it directly in front of Senba.
"Yours."
Then she counted out twenty thousand ryo and pushed it in front of Minato.
"And yours. I won't give you the small change; it's too much trouble to calculate."
Minato looked at the bills in front of him, completely dumbfounded. T-twenty thousand ryo?
He put in ten thousand ryo and came out with twenty thousand? This, this was too...
"What are you still standing there for?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow seeing him not moving. "Think it's too little? Or are you afraid to take it?"
Minato shook his head quickly, cupping the money in his hands and carefully tucking it into his robe, looking as if he were afraid it might fly away.
Tsunade withdrew her gaze and looked back at Senba.
She licked her lips, her eyes burning with the light unique to gamblers.
"Kid, another round."
"Okay."
Senba nodded. "I'm going all-in again this time."
He pushed the two hundred and twenty thousand ryo in front of him forward, and Tsunade's eyes immediately lit up.
"You've got guts!"
She picked up the dice cup and began shaking it again. This time she shook it longer and more flashily, even using chakra.
The dice spun rapidly inside the cup, the clattering sounds merging into one, making it impossible to hear any pattern.
"Bang!"
The dice cup hit the ground.
Tsunade crossed her arms, her chin slightly raised. "Guess."
Senba lowered his eyes, seemingly listening for something.
Three seconds later.
"Five, three, and six. A total of fourteen."
Tsunade lifted the dice cup.
Five, three, six.
Not a single one-off.
Tsunade: "..."
She took a deep breath and pushed the remaining two hundred and eighty thousand ryo in front of Senba, but she was still short by one hundred and twenty thousand.
Minato shrunk his neck and quietly moved half a step behind Senba, asking in a low voice, "S-Senba... will this older sister..."
He didn't finish, but the meaning was obvious: would he be a sore loser?
Tsunade's expression was indeed not very good. She stared at Senba, her chest heaving violently.
She stared at him for a full ten seconds, then suddenly grabbed his shoulders.
"Please teach me!"
Her head was almost pressing against his forehead.