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Chapter – 1139 Kurama’s Doubts
🕑 Added 2025-03-23 14:21:23 +0000 UTCIchiraku Ramen Stall, Konohagakure
“Well then, Kakashi-san, it was a pleasure speaking with you and your Genin. Now, my party and I will take our leave—we’d like to do some sightseeing before returning to Daimyō-sama’s side,” said Mifune as he paid for the ramen. The four samurai accompanying him stood up in unison.
“Yes, I hope you enjoy your stay here in Konoha,” Kakashi said with a polite smile.
Mifune returned the smile and nodded. “I believe we will.” Then, with a brief but peculiar glint in his eyes—one that quickly vanished—he turned to Naruto and bowed slightly. “I wish you the best of luck in the upcoming semifinals and hope to see you fight in the finals.”
Naruto grinned confidently. “Sure thing, old man! I’m definitely going to win.”
Mifune chuckled. “Well, then, I look forward to seeing you fight and win the finals.” With that, he excused himself, and the four samurai followed him out.
Kakashi, Mika, and Naruto watched them leave before heading off in their own direction.
Meanwhile, inside Naruto’s consciousness, Kurama frowned. ‘That hostility I sensed for a brief moment… was I mistaken?’
He shook his head, dismissing the thought. ‘No, I couldn’t be wrong… there was definitely hostility coming from that samurai. But the real question is—was it directed solely at Uzumaki Naruto? Or were Hatake Kakashi and Shimizu Mika included as well? And why?’
He couldn’t be certain, but one thing was clear—there was something off about these five samurai from the Land of Iron.
But even with his doubts, Kurama decided not to dwell on the matter. Since Mifune and the other four samurai hadn’t taken any action and had simply left, there was no immediate cause for concern.
‘Maybe it’s just the usual tension between samurai and shinobi…’ he mused, ultimately choosing to ignore it for the time being.
…
At Konohagakure’s Gambling House
‘Huh? The odds have changed this much?!’ Shizune screamed in her mind as she examined the current bets being placed.
Originally, Deidara had been the favored choice for most ‘safe’ gamblers who were unwilling to take many risks, given his high chances of winning. However, after the performances in the qualifier round and quarterfinals, opinions had shifted significantly. Naturally, this change made sense—many of the original candidates were no longer in the competition, leaving only four remaining contenders, Uzumaki Naruto, Deidara, Raijin, and Darui, listed in order from least to highest odds.
Yes… after the conclusion of the quarterfinals, Deidara was no longer the candidate with the highest odds, it was Uzumaki Naruto standing at the forefront with the highest odds.
"1.5 to 1? It seems that not just Tsunade-sama, but everyone believes Naruto-kun will be the final winner and is betting on him," Shizune murmured thoughtfully. It wasn’t too surprising—Naruto had openly displayed the power of the Nine-Tails, even going so far as to use the Tailed Beast Bomb.
Although the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha had happened nearly thirteen years ago, those who witnessed its destruction still had vivid memories of that night. Moreover, Nine-tails is the strongest-tailed beast, therefore, in the eyes of most people, no matter how powerful the other three candidates were, they stood little chance against the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails.
Had Naruto struggled to control its power, the perception might have been different. But given his performance, it was clear that he was harnessing the Nine-Tails’ strength effortlessly, causing gamblers to shift their bets in his favor.
Moreover, it was widely known that Uzumaki Naruto was the second disciple of the Godaime Hokage, further boosting his reputation and encouraging more bets in his favor.
Following Naruto, Deidara of Iwagakure had 3-to-1 odds, Raijin had 6-to-1 odds, and finally, Darui had the lowest odds at 12-to-1.
Although Deidara was no longer the overwhelming favorite, the fact that he could use both Dust Release and Explosion Release—along with his fearsome reputation from his rogue days and his affiliation with Amatsukami—still worked in his favor.
Next was Raijin, whose performance throughout the Joint Chūnin Promotion Exam had been nothing short of astonishing, especially for someone who had seemingly emerged from nowhere in a lesser-known shinobi village like Amegakure. His victories over formidable opponents like Uchiha Sasuke, who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and Hyūga Neji, the Godaime Hokage’s first disciple, had significantly raised his standing. However, unlike Naruto and Deidara, Raijin wasn’t perceived to have any overwhelming or "broken" abilities, which kept his odds from surpassing theirs.
According to expert opinions, Raijin had won his matches through a combination of skill and seizing opportunities—advantages that might not serve him as well against Naruto, who had seemingly limitless chakra, or Deidara, who could take to the skies and bombard him from a distance with Dust Release. As a result, he ranked third in the odds.
Lastly, in fourth place was Darui of Kumogakure. So far, he had yet to showcase anything particularly exceptional in the Joint Chūnin Promotion Exam, making him the least favored candidate.
After assessing the state of the gambling house and the current odds, Shizune considered placing her own bet. She hesitated, thinking to herself, ‘Tsunade-sama wants to bet on Naruto… but…’
As a kunoichi of Konohagakure, Shizune naturally wanted to believe that Naruto would emerge victorious. However, given Tsunade-hime’s infamous track record with gambling, a part of her couldn’t ignore the nagging doubt—if Tsunade was betting on Naruto, his chances of winning might not be as high as they seemed.
As Shizune wrestled with her doubts, hushed whispers reached her ears.
"Huh? We're betting on Raijin. Why? Isn't Uzumaki Naruto the better choice? He has the Nine-Tails! And this amount… it’s a lot… if we lose this… gulp… it could cause trouble…"
"This is Mizukage-sama's order," another voice replied. "Honestly, I’d rather bet on Uzumaki Naruto too, but Mizukage-sama specifically instructed me to place everything on Raijin and no one else. I can’t go against his orders."
"What if we lose?"
"Mizukage-sama said he'll take full responsibility. We don’t need to worry about that."
"Huh? Mizukage-sama really seems to trust this Raijin guy… Does he know something?"
"Who knows… Let’s just place the bet and get out of here. Carrying around this much money makes me nervous… If we lose it, we’ll be in serious trouble."
"Al… alright…"
‘Mizukage is betting a huge amount on Raijin of Amegakure? Why?’ The thought immediately struck Shizune.
She was well aware of Kirigakure’s poor financial situation. In such circumstances, for the Mizukage to place such a large bet—wasn’t that an enormous risk?
‘Unless… he knows something we don’t…?’ Shizune pondered, her suspicions growing.
Lost in thought, Shizune didn’t notice someone in her path until—thud!—she bumped into them and fell onto her backside.
“Oww…” she murmured, rubbing her sore spot. When she looked up to see who she had collided with, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Uchiha Shinichi?” Shizune muttered in disbelief. Of all people, she hadn’t expected to run into him here.
“Uh… ah… I’m sorry…” Shinichi quickly apologized, offering her a hand. He helped her back to her feet before picking up the small booklet that had fallen with her and handing it back. “Here… you dropped this.”
“Ah…” Shizune reacted in panic, snatching the booklet from his hand and clutching it tightly as if her life depended on it. She let out a nervous laugh. “Hahaha… funny running into the deputy captain of the Konoha Military Police Force here…”
Internally, however, she was thinking, ‘Hundreds of millions of Ryōs could have been lost…’
Shinichi shrugged, unfazed by her reaction. “Why? Can’t an Uchiha gamble?”
“Ah… that’s not what I meant…” Shizune waved her hands hurriedly, trying to clear up any misunderstanding. But then her eyes landed on the ticket in Shinichi’s hand, and her words trailed off.
“You… bet on Raijin of Amegakure?” she asked, eyes narrowing.
Shinichi stiffened for a brief moment before swiftly tucking the ticket into his pocket. “That’s… none of your concern.”
Without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving behind a puzzled and increasingly suspicious Shizune.
‘Not only the Mizukage but even Uchiha Shinichi is betting on Raijin of Amegakure…’ Shizune thought, her suspicion growing.
‘Could it be that Uchiha Shinichi knows something about Raijin that we don’t?’
