On the bridge.
Izumi Uchiha instantly exposed the origin of Kakashi's Sharingan, uttering an unfamiliar term—"Kamui."
Kakashi was stunned and filled with suspicion.
His Sharingan had indeed awakened the Mangekyo long ago—many years back, on the battlefield of Mist, when he mistakenly killed Rin Nohara, his Mangekyo Sharingan was born.
However, Kakashi had never used the power of the Mangekyo. Not out of unwillingness, but sheer inability.
After all, he wasn't born into the Uchiha clan. His body could barely adapt to the Sharingan itself; using the triple-tomoe Sharingan was already his limit.
Now, hearing Izumi's words, Kakashi learned that he wasn't the only one who had awakened the Mangekyo—Obito had too.
Yet Obito supposedly died long ago. Still, from her tone, Kakashi keenly sensed something: perhaps Obito might still be alive.
Also, who exactly was this Uchiha girl? She was just unbelievably strong. That puzzled Kakashi the most.
Unfortunately, Izumi wouldn't answer him.
At that moment, Sasuke Uchiha, who had regained consciousness, solved Kakashi's mystery.
"I remember now—you're... you're Izumi Uchiha?!"
Sasuke stared at Izumi with terror, stammering as he spoke.
No wonder she looked familiar from the start. Now he finally recalled—it was her, the girl nearly killed by Itachi's blade on the night the Uchiha clan was slaughtered several years ago.
But what confused Sasuke was, five years had passed, yet her appearance hadn't changed at all. She still looked about twelve or thirteen years old. That made no sense at all.
"That's right. It's me."
Since Sasuke recognized her, Izumi openly admitted her identity. At the same time, she whispered to Sasuke:
"Let me share another secret with you—your older brother, Itachi Uchiha, is about to return to Konoha. But with your current strength, there's no way you can take revenge on him. Don't worry, I'll help you accomplish that."
After speaking these words, before Sasuke and others could react, Izumi smiled gently, then disappeared together with Haku using the Body Flicker Technique, vanishing into the thick fog covering the bridge.
Naruto and Sasuke snapped out of their daze, preparing to chase after them, but Kakashi raised his hand to stop them.
"Do you two want to die?! Their strength is leagues beyond ours, no matter how hard we try. Our top priority now should be returning to Konoha and reporting this to the high-ranking elders, especially the intelligence about Itachi Uchiha's imminent return to Konoha."
Kakashi said solemnly.
He realized that the Leaf Village would probably not remain peaceful for the upcoming period.
A day later.
Izumi and Haku returned to Konoha earlier than Team 7.
In the inn, Izumi brought Haku before Heiyan, giving her teacher a detailed report of this mission's circumstances.
"Well done."
Heiyan patted Izumi on the head in encouragement. Izumi shut her eyes in bliss, purring softly like a cat basking in the warmth of that moment.
Haku stood off to the side, hugging himself and avoiding Heiyan's gaze.
Seeing this, Heiyan exchanged a meaningful glance with Izumi, who immediately understood. She stepped forward, shared her own experiences, and helped ease Haku's nervousness.
After settling things here, Heiyan prepared to return to Tanukichou Street.
Before departing, he called Izumi into the room and entrusted her with two tasks.
The first was to relocate Haku to a new location, using Transformation Jutsu to hide his appearance so they could stay under the radar and avoid trouble from Konoha ninja.
Secondly, Heiyan looked at Izumi and asked, "What kind of person do you think Haku is?"
"Hmm," Izumi mused while stroking her chin. "Haku is gentle, kind-hearted, and very thoughtful. At first glance, he looks more like a girl than a boy."
Then, leaning closer to Heiyan, she whispered, "I took a peek at Haku's suitcase… and found a lot of girl's clothes inside."
"I have a new mission for you," Heiyan said after a moment's thought. "Help Haku understand himself better."
If Haku just has a fetish for wearing women's clothes, then it's nothing serious. But if he was naturally born a woman trapped in a male body, then helping him undergo gender reassignment surgery wouldn't be difficult for Heiyan.
After giving these instructions to Izumi, Heiyan returned directly to Tanukichou Street before Konoha's Chunin Exams drama began.
[Casino]
As soon as Heiyan arrived at the entrance, a manager rushed over to greet him, informing him that Tsunade and Shizune had come looking for him yesterday and were now waiting in the meeting room.
"I understand."
Heiyan nodded slightly and pushed the door open, instantly spotting Tsunade lounging on the couch, lazily eating a banana with one leg crossed over the other.
Beside her, Shizune stood uneasily with her pet pig cradled in her arms.
When Tsunade saw Heiyan enter, her eyes lit up. She sat upright immediately and tidied herself up.
Heiyan walked over calmly, took a seat on the sofa facing Tsunade, and asked,
"I heard you've been gambling again… and left behind quite a lot of debt?"
"Heh, heheh," Tsunade replied, letting out a forced laugh as she flushed red, trying to mask her embarrassment.
She had indeed given in to temptation once again and played just a few rounds. As expected, she ended up racking up yet another pile of debt. That's why she came running to Heiyan—to escape her creditors.
"Let me be straightforward—your problem isn't skill, it's pure bad luck," Heiyan stated bluntly, fixing Tsunade with a sharp stare.
Tsunade was momentarily stunned, then suddenly realized what he meant. Excitedly turning toward Shizune, she declared,
"See? I told you! It's just bad luck! Once my luck changes, I'll hit the jackpot!"
"Unfortunately, you might not live long enough to see that day," Heiyan interjected sharply, mercilessly dousing Tsunade's hope with cold reality as he delivered a soul-piercing question: "Sure, everyone gets a streak of bad luck now and then. But if you're always unlucky year after year, something's seriously wrong. Tsunade, have you ever considered why you've remained so cursed all these years?"
"This..."
Tsunade was taken aback, not knowing how to respond or explain the phenomenon.
"Let me check your fortune."
As Heiyan spoke, his pitch-black eyes gradually turned white, and prominent blue veins surfaced around his pupils.
Byakugan?
Seeing Heiyan's eyes change, Tsunade couldn't help but feel shocked.
So this guy is actually a ninja from the Hyūga Clan? No, wait—that's not an ordinary Byakugan.
Under Tsunade's increasingly astonished gaze, Heiyan's Byakugan evolved into an even more complex shape—appearing both like a Rinnegan and Tenseigan, filled with an air of mystery.
The eyes of the Otsutsuki Clan carry some extraordinary powers. Take Momoshiki, for example—he could see people's futures and destinies.
After tapping into the world's power, Heiyan found out by chance that he could not only boost his own luck a little, but also read others' fortunes.
Exactly as expected.
With one glance, Heiyan immediately noticed black aura swirling around Tsunade, nearly filling half the room—an incredible concentration of misfortune.
All these years, she hadn't sensed it at all.
Heiyan shook his head. What a miracle it must have been for someone this unlucky to ever win at gambling.
"What is it?"
Tsunade quickly asked, extremely curious.
Snap.
Heiyan pulled out a mirror, gave a snap, and instantly projected what he saw onto its surface.
Tsunade and Shizune leaned in, eyes fixed on the mirror.
First appeared Shizune—the white aura surrounding her body looked like light gauze. This kind of white vapor represented most ordinary people, whose fortunes were neither especially good nor bad—just plain average.
Next came Heiyan himself. Unlike the typical civilian like Shizune, golden vapor overflowed from outside his body, shining like glittering gold. This golden energy signified inconceivable good luck—as if you could find money just by walking down the street.
Finally, it was Tsunade's turn.
When she saw her own image in the mirror—black vapor rising off her like wildfire—her face twitched, and she lost her cool completely.
No need for Heiyan to explain further; even she could now clearly tell just how terribly unlucky she really was.
A heavy silence settled over the room.
"So, can these black vapors be removed or eliminated somehow?"
Tsunade stared at Heiyan hopefully, anxiously waiting for his answer.
"Fortune is innate—it follows a person from birth until death. It's almost impossible to alter."
Heiyan sighed, explaining.
That's it then.
Upon hearing those words, Tsunade felt as though lightning had struck her from clear skies; she plopped heavily onto the sofa. Looks like she really was born under a bad star.
Wait a minute.
Heiyan said "almost impossible"—meaning there might still be a way?
Suddenly catching on to the implication behind Heiyan's statement, Tsunade's hope flared again as she looked toward him pleadingly.
"Shizune, please leave for a moment. There are some things I must discuss privately with Tsunade."
Heiyan glanced at Shizune and softly gave her instructions.
"Yes, Master Heiyan."
"Shizune, please leave now," Heiyan said, watching as Shizune quickly exited the room hugging a little pig, closing the door behind her.
"Do you want to change your fortune?"
After Shizune left, Heiyan sat down on the sofa and asked Tsunade.
"Of course I do!"
Tsunade nodded without hesitation, urging him on. "Quick, tell me what I should do?"
"It's actually simple—you need a man."
Heiyan dropped his bombshell, shocking Tsunade into silence with one sentence.
Not waiting for her to recover, he continued explaining:
"Once you find that special man in your life, through uniting with him and forming a fate-bound partnership, your bad luck will naturally transfer to him. If that person has particularly good fortune, he might even share some of it with you, thereby improving your luck."
What Heiyan said hit her like lightning—could he possibly mean himself?
Instantly, she felt tricked and realized she had been deceived.
"You sneaky bastard! You went all this way just to get into my pants, didn't you?"
Tsunade clenched her fists tightly, frowning as she questioned him. She knew right away he must have ulterior motives—how predictable, revealing his true intentions so soon.
But what surprised Tsunade was—
"You're wrong. The man you're supposed to find isn't me, because I would never agree."
Heiyan shook his head, then asked her pointedly, "Let me ask you—since the day you were born, why did the Senju Family fall into ruin within merely twenty years? Why did your former boyfriend Dan Kato die? And why did your younger brother Nawaki die on the battlefield? Now, everyone close to you—your family and lovers—are all dead, yet you alone remain safe and sound. Haven't you ever wondered why?"
This series of questions stunned Tsunade into stillness.
"Are you saying..." Her voice trembled as she asked.
"It's unfortunate, but those people were indeed cursed by you. As ordinary individuals with average fortune, they couldn't withstand your terrible luck and thus suffered misfortune alongside you.
You are like a cursed rose with thorns, dooming anyone who gets too close.
You should consider yourself lucky that Shizune is only your apprentice rather than a sister by blood, or she wouldn't have survived until today."
Heiyan spoke slowly, each word feeling like sharp needles pricking mercilessly at Tsunade's heart.
"No wonder... every time I win money, something awful always follows."
Tsunade muttered, as if her soul had left her body.
Every time she happened to get lucky and win money, someone close to her would immediately meet with disaster—either injured or killed. Looking back on it now, clearly she had stolen their fortune instead.
"The reason I proposed we become fake lovers was simply to satisfy my own vanity. But if we truly entered a relationship, even if I somehow managed to survive your curse and alter your bad luck, I'm certain my great fortune would be siphoned off by you completely. After that, I would just be an ordinary person, no longer the Gambling God. You really think I'd pay such a steep price for you?"
Heiyan continued, each word striking deeper into her heart.
"You're right. I was a fool to think otherwise. Sorry."
Tsunade let out a heavy sigh. She rarely apologized—yet here she was, offering one to Heiyan and lowering her proud head before him.
She felt deeply discouraged—not because of her own misfortune—but because she had recalled Dan Kato and Nawaki. It was her fault they had died.
Just thinking about it filled her with guilt.
"Actually, you're being too hard on yourself. It wasn't your fault."
Heiyan, sensing what Tsunade was feeling, sat down beside her, patted her shoulder, and comforted her.
Then, he tilted his head up, gazing at the ceiling as he murmured,
"Sigh, looking back, I became the Gambling God mostly by good luck. I've earned enough money already and have wanted to retire for a long time. Maybe returning to an ordinary life wouldn't be so bad. What do you think?"
As he spoke the last sentence, he turned his head toward Tsunade, fixing his gaze on her.
Hearing that, Tsunade turned in surprise, only to find Heiyan staring at her intently—as if he were about to confess his feelings outright.
She couldn't help but realize once again how handsome this white-haired young man truly was—the kind of guy who could make any girl fall for him at first glance.
What's more, for reasons she couldn't explain, ever since meeting Heiyan for the first time, she'd felt a strange sense of familiarity and connection with him, as if they had known each other for years.
No, what exactly are you thinking, Tsunade? This can't go on.
She suddenly snapped out of it, unable to meet Heiyan's eyes directly, quickly rising to her feet.
"I still have things to attend to. I should leave first."
Blushing, she said hastily and hurriedly turned to walk away.
Unfazed, Heiyan simply watched Tsunade leave.
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