Chapter 148: Gambling House [1]

Kael reached his parents’ house just as the smell of miso and grilled fish drifted out from the kitchen. Kushina was already setting the table. Minato sat with a stack of mission reports beside his bowl, the kind of quiet focus that never quite left him even at home.

"You’re here," Kushina said, smiling as she pushed a seat out for him. "Sit. Eat before it gets cold."

Kael dropped into the chair and started eating. Between bites he listened while Minato talked. The upcoming Five Kage Summit had pulled almost every high-level jōnin into protective details. Each Kage would travel under heavy escort, and Konoha was responsible for making sure none of them arrived with a knife in their back.

"I’ve been assigned to the Raikage," Minato said, pouring tea. "We leave next week to hidden cloud village. The route’s long and the man’s temper is shorter. I’d rather you stayed here while I’m gone."

Kael nodded. "I’ll stay."

Across the table Kushina’s chopsticks paused for half a second. Her thighs pressed together under the table. The last time Minato had been away for more than a few days was still fresh in her body. She kept her face calm and went back to eating, but the memory sat warm and low in her stomach.

After breakfast Kael left for Tsunade and headed to the Hokage tower. Shizune met him at the office door, looking tired.

"Lady Tsunade hasn’t come in yet," she said. "She’s... probably still recovering from last night."

Kael handed over the written request that he would no longer be available to watch the four future girls. Shizune took it without comment. He left the tower and walked the afternoon streets with no clear destination.

The noise reached him first—shouts, laughter, the hard slap of a bamboo cup on wood. He followed it to a low gambling house near the edge of the commercial district. The place was packed. Smoke and sake fumes hung in the air. In the center of the main room Tsunade stood over a low table, cheeks flushed, eyes bright with drink and victory.

"Cho!" she barked as the cup slammed down. The dice settled. Even. Another pile of ryo slid toward her side of the table.

A man near the back muttered, "Legendary sucker got lucky again."

Someone else answered, "She’s been winning since last night. Dice must be cursed."

Tsunade heard them and laughed, loud and unrestrained. "Cursed? I’m just better than you lot. Next round—who’s got the guts?"

A heavy-set gambler who had already lost more than he could afford shoved back from the table. "You’re cheating, whore. No one wins that clean."

He swung. Tsunade didn’t even set her cup down. Her fist shot out in a straight, short punch that caught him square in the stomach. The man folded, left the floor, flew past Kael, and crashed through the open doorway into the street outside. Dust settled. Tsunade straightened, still grinning.

"Next!"

No one moved.

She spread her arms, voice rising. "What, all of you turn soft the second I start winning? Come on. I’m still the Hokage. Bet everything I’ve got left. Someone grow a balls and play."

Silence answered her.

Tsunade’s grin turned sharp. "Cowards. The whole lot of you."

Kael pushed through the crowd. People stepped aside when they saw the look on his face. He stopped on the opposite side of the table and met her eyes.

"I’ll play Grandma."

Tsunade blinked, then recognition landed. A slow, drunken smile spread across her face.

"Well, well. Look who finally showed up. The quiet brat. You sure you can handle the stakes, Naruto? I’ve been on a streak that would make the old man cry."

Kael pulled a chair over and sat. "Cho-Han. Your rules."

She laughed, the sound rough with sake. "That’s more like it. Don’t come crying when I take everything you walk in with." She grabbed the bamboo cup, dropped the two dice inside, and gave it a hard shake. "Call it."

Kael watched her hands, the way the cup moved, the slight delay before she slammed it down. Old habits from another life stirred—reading tells, counting probabilities, the quiet certainty that the house only won when you let it.

"Han," he said.

Tsunade’s eyebrows rose. "Odd, huh? Bold."

She lifted the cup.

The dice showed five and two. Seven. Odd.

A ripple of surprise moved through the watching crowd. Tsunade stared at the dice for a long second, then threw her head back and laughed again, louder than before.

"Well, damn. The kid’s got some luck after all." She shoved a portion of her winnings across the table. "One more. Double or nothing. Or are you already done?"

Kael left the ryo where it sat. "Again."

Tsunade’s eyes narrowed with interest. She gathered the dice, shook the cup harder this time, and slammed it down.

"Call it."

"Cho."

Even.

She lifted the cup. Four and two. Six. Even.

The room went quieter. Tsunade leaned back, studying him over the rim of her sake cup. The drunken haze was still there, but something sharper sat behind it now. ℯℯ𝑙.

"You’re not guessing," she said. "You’re reading me."

Kael only shrugged.

She grinned, wide and dangerous. "All right, brat. Let’s see how far that luck runs. One more round. Everything on the table. And if you win... you get to name the favor. Within reason. I’m still the Hokage, after all."

Kael met her gaze and nodded once.

Tsunade shook the cup one more time, the sound of the dice sharp in the sudden quiet of the gambling house.

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