ShuraZero
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Chapter 44: The Eve and the Wager
🕑 Added 2025-08-15 01:00:51 +0000 UTC"Your eye sees the truth, Sasuke."
Kakashi's voice appeared behind him, with no sound to announce his arrival. Dawn filtered into the Uchiha compound, a pale light on the empty courtyards and silent houses. For Sasuke, the silence wasn't peaceful, but accusatory.
He didn't turn around. He deactivated his Sharingan, and the world snapped back to its normal colors with a suddenness that made him dizzy. The relief from the pressure in his skull was instant, but the rage at his own limit remained. Sweat covered his forehead, sticking strands of his black hair to his skin as air entered his lungs in controlled gasps. In front of him, the wooden training post was scarred with dozens of kunai impacts, all clustered in a tight, lethal pattern. It wasn't enough.
Just moments before, he had forced the sensation. A burning, like hot sand, grew behind his eyelids until the world was stained red. The outline of the trees, the grain of the wood, the flow of his own chakra… everything was sharp, analytical. A single black tomoe spun slowly in each pupil.
Longer, he thought, frustration burning in his chest. I have to keep it active for longer.
The strain was a physical pressure. He watched the bluish energy swirl in his hands, unstable. The memory of Hinata's agility and Sakura's strength was a thorn in his pride. They had a secret. And he had this. A power that was his by birthright, yet felt like a stranger in his own body.
"It's a powerful weapon against deception," Kakashi continued, moving to stand beside him. "But every second you use it, it drains you. Power has a price."
"It's a price I'm willing to pay," Sasuke retorted, his voice sharp. "Unlike others, I don't run from challenges."
Kakashi let out an almost imperceptible sigh. The wound to Sasuke's pride was an abyss.
"Seeing and reacting are two different things," Kakashi said, changing the subject. "Your eye shows you the path, but your body still has to walk it. Show me you can do both."
Without warning, Kakashi formed a hand seal. The world around Sasuke warped. The dusty ground became a waterlogged battlefield, and from the mud rose a dozen of his shadow clones, all wearing the same lazy, deadly expression.
The Sasuke of a week ago would have been overwhelmed. He would have searched for the real one, would have wasted energy on a large-scale attack. The Sasuke he was now was different.
He activated the Sharingan again. The burning returned with a vengeance. The clones charged, but to his newly awakened eye, the deception was crude. He saw the subtle flaws in the chakra flow of each illusion. He saw the real Kakashi, standing right where he had always been, watching him with his arms crossed.
"Are you just going to stand there?" one of the clones' voices taunted. "Or is that famous eye of yours only good for looking?"
Sasuke didn't move. He let the illusory clones pass right through him, their forms dissipating like smoke. His gaze never left the real Kakashi.
The genjutsu vanished. The training ground returned to dust and silence.
"Good," Kakashi said, a note of approval in his voice. "But the speed of your analysis cost you almost half of your remaining chakra. Orochimaru won't give you that much time."
He left a rolled-up scroll on a post.
"Chakra conservation techniques. For geniuses who tend to burn out too quickly. Read it. Or don't. The choice, as always, is yours."
With a swirl of leaves, he was gone. He left Sasuke alone with his new power, his silent fury, and the truth that, even with the Sharingan, he was still far from ready.
*****
The inn in Tanzaku Town smelled of stale sake and stagnant smoke. Naruto's room was a small chaos of ramen wrappers and crumpled information scrolls. He woke to the sound of the city already in full swing, a murmur of commerce and vice filtering through the dirty window.
He sat on the edge of the futon, running a hand through his blond hair.
Alright, second day in this city, he thought. The old ramen guy was right, everyone here talks about the "Legendary Princess," but no one knows where she is. The only place big enough for a legend… is that castle on the hill. I have to find her before the exams start and everything goes to hell in Konoha.
His first attempt, asking directly, had been a disaster. He needed to infiltrate, not interrogate.
"Well, if you can't join them… become one of them," he muttered to himself.
He stood and formed the seal for the Transformation Jutsu. A swirl of smoke enveloped him. When it cleared, a refined-looking young man stood in his place. His blond hair was combed back, he wore a dark blue silk kimono, and his expression was one of aristocratic boredom. He looked at himself in the broken piece of mirror and practiced an arrogant smile.
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a heavy cloth bag. Inside, a pile of rocks was covered by a top layer of gold coins. He shook the bag. The jingle was convincing.
"Time to go shopping," he said, his voice now a lower, more affected tone. "Or rather, to go gambling."
With his new identity, he walked out into the noisy streets of Tanzaku, heading toward the imposing silhouette of the castle on the hill.
****
The secret cave near Konoha smelled of damp earth. Light filtering through the vines at the entrance illuminated the space. Sakura and Hinata needed no words to begin. Their training had become a ritual.
Sakura sat in the center, cross-legged with her eyes closed. From her fingertips extended dozens of chakra threads, so fine they were nearly invisible. They formed a complex, three-dimensional web that filled the cave, each thread anchored to a wall, a rock, or the ceiling.
Hinata stood at the entrance, her posture relaxed but alert.
"Ready?" Sakura asked, her voice a concentrated whisper.
"Ready."
"Level three. Three simultaneous cuts. Spiral motion."
Hinata took a deep breath. Her Byakugan was not active. This was an exercise of instinct.
"Now."
Hinata moved, becoming a lavender blur. Her "Flowing Step" carried her through the deadly web with a grace that defied logic. She didn't run; she flowed.
"Point one, east wall, halfway up," Sakura's voice was monotone, like a surgeon's.
Hinata spun in mid-air, her fingers extended. A flash of chakra, and the indicated thread was cleanly severed.
"Point two, ceiling, northern sector. Point three, ground, behind you."
She pushed off the wall, her body twisting in a perfect spiral. She cut the thread on the ceiling with a Jūken strike and, upon landing, spun on her heels to sever the last point at ground level.
She stopped right in front of Sakura, without a single scratch, her breathing only slightly heavy. The web remained intact, except for the three points she had cut.
"Perfect," Sakura said, opening her eyes with a proud smile.
"Your control is amazing, Sakura-san," Hinata said, catching her breath. "It feels as if the threads are an extension of your own will."
"And your speed is unreal, Hinata. Sometimes, not even my Analytical Eye can follow you. Tomorrow—" her voice turned more serious, "—no matter what happens, we fight together. Even if we're on different teams."
"Together," Hinata confirmed.
They took a moment, sitting on the cool floor.
"Do you think he's okay?" Sakura asked quietly. "Out there, alone."
Hinata followed her gaze, which seemed to pierce through the rock toward the village.
"Naruto-kun is stronger than anyone thinks," she replied, her voice full of faith. "But it's not his strength that worries me. It's his heart. He carries too heavy a burden."
"I know," Sakura admitted.
They both shared a sad smile.
"We have to be ready for when he comes back," Sakura said, her determination returning. "Not just for the exams. For him. So he doesn't have to carry that burden alone."
Hinata nodded, her pearly eyes shining with new resolve.
****
The inside of Shirogane Castle was a whirlwind of opulence. The air was thick with the smoke of cigars and the reek of greed. The clinking of chips, the murmur of bets, and forced laughter created a constant noise that Naruto found both exhilarating and nauseating.
He moved through the main hall with a practiced arrogance, his bag of "coins" jingling with every step. He ignored the smaller tables, searching for someone.
And then he saw her. At a card table, a woman with short black hair was slumped over the felt, an expression of misery on her face. At her feet, a small pig in a pink vest ate from a bowl.
Shizune, Naruto thought. And Tonton. If she's here…
He approached the table, fully in character.
"Excuse me, miss. Is this seat taken?" he asked.
Shizune looked up. Her tired eyes analyzed him, saw the expensive kimono, and she sighed.
"It's all yours, young master. But I warn you, the luck at this table is cursed."
"Luck is for those without skill," Naruto replied, sitting down and gesturing to the dealer. "Deal."
As he purposefully lost a hand, he watched her from the corner of his eye. Shizune wasn't a bad player, but she was predictable. She played with desperation.
A commotion in the center of the hall drew his attention. A crowd had gathered around the main dice table. And at its center, an imposing figure dominated the scene.
A blonde woman, with the kanji for "gamble" (賭) on the back of her green haori, was laughing heartily. In front of her, a mountain of chips and bills formed a wall of wealth.
There she is! It's her! And she's winning! Panic seized Naruto. This is bad, really bad! I have to stop her before she throws away that whole fortune!
"Again!" Tsunade roared. "Lady Luck is with me tonight! The Princess is back!"
The croupier, a pale, sweating man, swallowed hard.
"Tsunade-sama, are you sure? That's a very large bet…"
"Of course I'm sure!" she exclaimed, sweeping all her winnings into the center. "EVERYTHING ON THIS ROLL! DOUBLE OR NOTHING!"
The onlookers gasped collectively.
Tsunade grabbed the dice cups, her face euphoric. She shook them above her head, preparing for the throw. This was the moment. Naruto acted.
"Oh, excuse me! How clumsy of me!"
With a motion that looked like an accidental stumble, he lunged toward a waiter passing by with a tray loaded with sake bottles and appetizers. The collision was perfect. The tray went flying. Bottles shattered, plates broke, and a cascade of sake, rice, and raw fish crashed down on the dice table.
The liquid soaked the money. A piece of eel stuck to Tsunade's forehead. Sake dripped through her hair, ruining her kimono.
The hall fell into a deathly silence.
Tsunade froze. She slowly looked down at her drenched kimono, then at the mess on the table.
Her face shifted from euphoria to volcanic fury.
"WHO," her voice was a low, dangerous thunder, "WAS THE IDIOT?"
Naruto, still on the floor, looked up with feigned panic.
"I'm so sorry! A thousand apologies, ma'am! I wasn't watching where I was going! Please, allow me to pay for the damages!"
He motioned as if to pull out his bag of coins. But it was too late. The moment was broken. The streak was shattered. The bet was off.
Tsunade's legendary bad luck, for once, had been broken. Naruto Uzumaki had just become the most hated man in the casino. His mission to find the Sannin was over; his mission to survive her had just begun.
Comments
Ari Gómez García
The only way Tsunade wouldn't lose money is by divine intervention, lol.
Prana
Did he really just interfer with fate itself to prevent her loss ? If it isn't proof that he is a god I don't know what is ! Only a real GOD can prevent Tsunade's loss.
Ari Gómez García
You're welcome 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️
travis btmb
Tftc
