Fwoosh!!!

Blazing firelight streaked across the sky.

It cut through the air at incredible speed, leaving a fiery trail across the horizon.

With multiple abilities combined, Naruto spent only three hours arriving in the Land of Lightning, descending atop a desolate, barren mountain.

"Still a bit slow… If only I had eaten the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit) instead…"

Naruto looked at the flames flickering on his hand with a hint of regret.

The Mera Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit) and the Goro Goro no Mi were both powerful Logia-type Devil Fruits.

But if one had to be ranked above the other, then the Goro Goro no Mi undoubtedly stood at the top—after all, it had no superior ability.

"Naruto-dono, after staying on Fishman Island for so long, the ninja world feels kind of… small…" Uchiha Izumi said honestly.

Through the news birds of the shinobi world, she had learned a lot about the pirate world—its scattered islands, the Four Seas, the Grand Line, the New World, the Red Line, and even Mary Geoise.

Under Naruto's influence, her worldview had changed. She now thought of the shinobi world as nothing more than a single island in the vast pirate world.

"Don't sell it short!"

Naruto smiled, looking toward the sky.

"The shinobi world is small, yes—but also vast. You only think it's small because you haven't seen how wide it truly is."

Izumi looked confused, but Naruto didn't explain further.

Should he really start talking about the Ōtsutsuki clan on the moon?

And how there were even more of them scattered in deep space?

"Let's go."

Naruto led Izumi toward the nearest town.

"Not this one…"

He shook his head, retracting his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki).

"Not that either…"

He tried again.

"Still not it…"

After relentless searching, he finally located the princess of the Senju Clan—who was currently resembling a literal cash cow—in a town packed with casinos.

"Found her…"

Naruto's lips curled into a smirk.

——

"Tsunade-sama, please stop gambling! I'm begging you, you really can't keep going!"

By a slot machine, Shizune was nearly in tears as she hugged Tonton tightly.

"You've already lost five million ryō today! If you keep going, we won't even have money for food!"

"That was all borrowed too—at high interest! If we can't repay it, we'll have yet another creditor chasing us!"

"So many people are already after us… We should just give them this money while we still can…"

"Stop whining, Shizune!"

The blonde woman, with her long ponytail, a purple-blue Yin Seal on her forehead, short fine eyebrows, bright amber eyes, and crimson lips, grinned excitedly as she stared at the slot machine.

Her fair skin, generous bust, and voluptuous figure made her a strikingly beautiful mature kunoichi.

"I have a good feeling about this pull. I'm telling you—this one's gonna win me 100,000 ryō!"

Shizune looked even more miserable.

"But you've already lost twenty rounds! We're down hundreds of thousands already!"

Tsunade ignored her, licked her lips, and pulled the lever on the slot machine.

"This time, I'm definitely winning."

A few seconds later, three matching symbols lit up on the screen, and a triumphant jingle echoed from the machine.

Clink-clink-clink!

A flood of coins spewed out.

Shizune blinked, rubbed her eyes in disbelief, then screamed with joy and lunged forward.

Holding fistfuls of coins, she shouted, "You actually won! Tsunade-sama, you really won! I've never seen you win a single slot game before!"

She quickly stuffed the coins into her pouch while guarding them from Tsunade's reach.

"These coins are ours, Tsunade-sama! This is our money for food and lodging—we have to use it carefully!"

To her surprise, Tsunade didn't even reach for the coins like usual.

Instead, her pale brows furrowed.

A few seconds later, Tsunade casually tossed the rest of the coins back into the machine.

Clink-clink-clink…

Another jackpot.

Clink-clink-clink…

And again.

Clink-clink-clink…

And again.

Clink-clink-clink…

Each pull, without fail, a jackpot.

The mountain of coins quickly grew.

Shizune was moved to tears, hugging Tsunade's thigh tightly.

"Tsunade-sama! Your luck has finally turned! Let's go place some big bets—maybe we can win everything back and more!"

But to her utter shock, Tsunade merely gave a blank expression, threw down the coins, and turned to walk out of the casino.

"Leave them. We're going, Shizune."

"Eh!?"

Shizune froze, torn between the small mountain of coins and Tsunade's retreating figure.

In the end, she gritted her teeth and ran after her, still clutching Tonton.

"Tsunade-sama! Why'd you leave all that money behind? That was nearly ten million ryō!"

Tsunade's pretty face paled slightly, her voice silent.

She was thinking of many painful memories.

It always happened.

Every time she won, something horrible would follow—her brother's death, her lover's death...

Those scenes replayed again in her mind, making her body tremble.

Then, as she passed a certain alley, her steps froze.

A voice rang out from a young blond man leaning against the wall.

"So… whenever something bad's about to happen, you start winning?"

"What a broken ability. Feels almost prophetic."

Tsunade gritted her teeth and forced her trembling body to stay steady. She turned coldly to Naruto and asked:

"Who are you? What do you want from me?"

Naruto smiled politely.

"My name is Menma. I came here because I'd like to learn your Monster Strength Taijutsu."

"Of course, I won't ask for it for free."

As he spoke, Naruto raised his hand and pushed lightly at the air.

A spatial gate opened.

And from it spilled a mountain of gold and gemstones.

Shizune's eyes went wide.

"Wha—!? So much treasure!? How much is this all worth!?"

Naruto just smiled. All of this was collected from Fishman Island.

As the halfway point between the Grand Line and the New World—and under Whitebeard's protection—Fishman Island was absurdly rich.

The gold and jewels alone filled multiple warehouses.

But Tsunade only glanced at it before turning her sharp gaze on Naruto.

"The S-rank missing-nin who invaded Konoha… Menma?"

(End of Chapter)

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