In the evening, just as night fell, Ishikawa was dragged out of the mayor's mansion by his two younger brothers, who looked unusually excited.
"I say, is it really necessary to be this anxious?" Rubbing his groggy head, Ishikawa looked at the two of them with a helpless expression.
Though gathering intel was important, wasn't the actual mission to suppress the bandits tonight even more critical? How could they fight effectively without proper rest and chakra recovery??
"Big bro, we're in another country, right? Don't you want to take the chance to explore a bit and see what other places are like?"
"Exactly, big bro! We were in a rush when we arrived, but now's the perfect time to collect intel and enjoy the local scenery!"
The two younger brothers spoke with such eager enthusiasm that anyone nearby might've mistaken their excitement for a pleasure trip.
"…I didn't expect you two to be this into it." Ishikawa sighed speechlessly, then took off his forehead protector and slipped it into his pocket.
"Big bro, why are you taking off your forehead protector?" Jiro blinked in confusion.
"You idiot, we're gathering intel from civilians in a foreign land. It's more convenient without the forehead protector." Taro slapped Jiro's head lightly and gave Ishikawa an admiring glance.
If Ishikawa hadn't removed his forehead protector, Taro wouldn't have even thought of such a thing.
"Alright, let's begin." Once the two had followed suit, Ishikawa took the lead and headed toward the town's busiest street.
A lively town meant a lot of foot traffic—and the more people there were, the easier it would be to gather useful information.
"Uhh, big bro… where should we even start? I'm totally clueless!" Looking around at the bustling shops and dazzling displays, Taro felt lost.
Meanwhile, Jiro was already munching on local snacks and sampling exotic treats with a look of pure delight.
"Casino or pub. We'll just go to whichever we find first," Ishikawa replied without hesitation. He'd already considered this earlier.
The messier and more chaotic a place, the more likely one could overhear useful gossip and leads. If it weren't for age and money constraints, Ishikawa might have shamelessly taken a certain perverted sage's approach and gone straight to the red-light districts to dig up intel.
"Casino? Hey, I think I saw one over there!" Taro's sudden shout snapped Ishikawa out of his thoughts.
Even from over ten meters away, Ishikawa could already hear the raucous shouting and buzzing excitement echoing from the building.
"This is the place." He nodded calmly and headed for the casino entrance with his two younger brothers close behind.
Compared to Izakayas, casinos were actually more practical for their intel mission. Izakayas had age restrictions, but casinos didn't have those limitations.
And gamblers who'd lost money were often more irritable and easier to extract information from than drunken ramblers!
"Come on, place your bets—big or small!"
"Hurry up, bet against her, don't mess up!"
"Stop pushing! Even if you shove your way forward, you won't win anything. That sucker's ours…"
"Bastards! Why are you the only one making money? I want in too!"
"Shut it! I've decided to cash out and leave—"
The moment they stepped into the casino, Ishikawa and the other two were stunned by the sight before them. There was no one at the clean, well-laid-out tables in the main hall. Instead, crowds packed into the private rooms along the sides.
Hundreds of gamblers swarmed the area, stacked in three layers, shouting curses and yelling at the top of their lungs as they craned their necks to push their way in.
"These are gamblers? What a terrifying bunch…" Taro instinctively stepped back, clearly intimidated, and looked ready to flee.
"How about we try somewhere else?" Jiro echoed, having completely given up on gathering any intelligence in this chaos.
There was no way they'd get any useful information out of this insane crowd!
Just as the two were about to drag their elder brother away, they noticed Ishikawa standing still, eyes locked onto the crowd with an unusual glint, muttering something under his breath.
'Big bro… you're not possessed by a gambling demon, are you?' The two brothers exchanged a look and instantly realized they were thinking the exact same thing.
"Taro, Jiro, hand over all your money," Ishikawa suddenly snapped back to life, eyes gleaming as he extended his hand.
The way his hands trembled and his eyes reddened… he looked just like the gamblers foaming at the mouth around the table.
"No."
"No way!"
Without hesitation, the two younger brothers clutched their wallets protectively and shouted in unison.
With the little money they had, there was no way they could afford to gamble! They didn't want to return to the village broke and living off instant noodles.
Especially after two D-rank missions this month, they had already given up on the naive fantasy of earning 5,000 ryo a month…
A shaky monthly income of 1,000 ryo was now their realistic expectation.
"Then don't blame me for not helping you get rich. Later, suckers!" With a sour expression, Ishikawa left them behind, exchanged all his assets for chips, and eagerly plunged into the noisy crowd.
"Taro… are we being too heartless with Big Bro?" Watching Ishikawa disappear into the sea of gamblers, Jiro asked hesitantly.
"Idiot! We're helping him. It's better for Big Bro to lose everything than all of us. At least if he's broke, we still have money to bail him out. But if all three of us go down, we'll be dumpster diving back into the village."
"…I get it now. That makes sense." Enlightened by Taro's logic, Jiro nodded seriously, silently resolving to lend Big Bro 300—no, 500—ryo in case of emergency.
Unaware of his younger brothers' budgeting discussion, Ishikawa was already laser-focused on the shapely figure at the gambling table.
Especially that heavenly figure—enough to make even saints waver.
"Damn it, I'm not losing again! C'mon, bet big or small…"
With a deep frown, Tsunade glared at the dice. Undeterred by the murmurs around her, she refused to back down.
The crowd erupted with excitement once again!!
'I can't believe it… Tsunade?! One of the Legendary Sannin, the Princess of Konoha… and she's right here, gambling away. Fate really is bizarre. Even Jiraiya-sama's dream woman is here on my first mission outside the village!'
Ishikawa's eyes burned with fire as he looked at her… or more accurately, the goldmine that was Tsunade's gambling curse. Without hesitation, he bet all his chips. The God of Wealth had walked into his lap—if he didn't take this chance, he'd be insulting fate!
As for pursuing Tsunade? Dream on. He was just a Genin—what business did a nobody like him have with a Sannin?
Besides, a nearly fifty-year-old woman wasn't his type anyway. Reality came first—he needed cash. He needed enough to stockpile a few hundred explosive tags as trump cards.
"Place your bets… and roll!" Under Ishikawa's intense gaze, Tsunade shouted like a queen possessed by the God of Gamblers.
Her presence was intimidating, but reality had no mercy.
As expected from her cursed luck, she once again delivered a massive payout… to everyone but herself.
Three Thousand Ryou wasn't enough! Ishikawa was still young—he needed thirty million! Thirty million would be enough… for now.