"Thank you again for your assistance."
Shen Mo smiled and thanked her once more, ever polite.
He didn't want some minor slip-up to derail the transaction before it even began.
Truth be told, he'd always been good at keeping himself in check.
"No need for thanks—just pay up." Tsunade waggled her open palm. "Ten thousand."
Ten thousand?
The corner of Shen Mo's eye twitched.
What a rip-off.
In this world, ten thousand in currency was roughly six thousand Trade Points in the System.
Purchasing power equivalent to about six thousand yuan.
But Shen Mo knew his body well. His collapse was merely due to transmigration—a brief fainting spell, coupled with the so-called "transmigration protection period." Even if Tsunade had done nothing, he wouldn't have been harmed before waking up.
In that case…
He felt zero guilt about scamming her right back.
"I'm truly sorry, but I'm penniless right now. However, I do have some merchandise." Shen Mo pulled out a scroll from behind him and unfurled it. With a soft pop, ten dark, unassuming cans appeared.
Each cost thirty Trade Points.
Add the scroll with its sealing ninjutsu, and the total cost was seven hundred Trade Points.
"Hm?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised that Shen Mo had a sealing scroll, but she didn't dwell on it. After a glance, she shot him a disdainful look. "Clay cans?"
What were clay cans worth?
"These aren't ordinary clay cans," Shen Mo said, maintaining his smile. "Each can is worth fifty thousand."
"Fifty thousand?" Tsunade's face screamed you're pulling my leg.
She could tell at a glance—these were plain old clay cans.
"The value lies not in the cans themselves, but in what's inside," Shen Mo explained. "Miss, are you familiar with lotteries? This is similar. The cans don't just contain money—they hold items. Some are worth less than fifty thousand, others far exceed it, even several times over."
This was gambling.
Before opening a can, you had no idea what was inside.
Buy one, and you might lose—or you might hit the jackpot.
As expected…
Tsunade, the notorious gambling addict, perked up with interest.
"How do I know there's really something worth several times more, like you claim? What if they're all filled with worthless junk?"
She held her sake cup in one hand, resting it on her leg, leaning forward with excitement in her eyes. She might as well have written "I'm hooked" across her face.
Shizune, standing nearby, felt a pang of embarrassment.
Her master was just…
"If you don't believe me, buy all of them. You're guaranteed to get at least one can worth several times more, though overall, you'll likely take a slight loss," Shen Mo said, sensing she was reeled in. He flashed a confident grin. "I'm not in the business of one-off deals. Those who strike it big will come back for more."
"You've got a head for business," Tsunade said with a nod of approval, catching on.
These cans were indeed like lotteries, but with better odds. For a gambler like her, they held no small appeal.
"These cans aren't made by me—I just source and sell them," Shen Mo said, shaking his head, distancing himself from their creation.
Otherwise, if Tsunade learned about the revival coin, why would she bother with cans?
She'd find a way to squeeze it out of him.
Even a direct trade wouldn't be as profitable as selling cans.
"Makes sense."
Tsunade nodded. In her eyes, Shen Mo was just an ordinary person—no way he could craft a scroll requiring sealing ninjutsu.
She set down her sake cup, her excitement building.
"I can take two?"
"Yes, as payment for the medical fees," Shen Mo confirmed, gesturing to the ten cans before him. "No touching, and no returns once they're opened."
These ten cans were empty.
At least for now.
But he wasn't worried about Tsunade cheating with ninjutsu or chakra. As the legendary fat sheep, she had enough gambler's pride to play fair.
"Hm…"
Tsunade's eyes scanned the ten cans. They looked identical from the outside, and since touching was forbidden, she couldn't gauge their weight.
"This one!"
She grabbed a can and smashed it open with a crack.
Close call!
Sweat beaded on Shen Mo's forehead.
He'd nearly missed his chance to swap something in.
"Just money? Ten thousand?"
Tsunade's face fell with disappointment. Shen Mo had said each can was worth fifty thousand.
This was like trading fifty thousand for ten thousand.
A huge loss.
But she shrugged it off quickly. Losing bets was par for the course for her, and besides, this was essentially free—she'd barely done more than check Shen Mo's vitals.
She casually picked up the next can.
This gave Shen Mo, who'd been watching intently, a moment to breathe. He swapped in the item.
This one…
This was the real bait.
Crack—
"A little bottle?" Tsunade's curiosity piqued, seeing it wasn't money.
"Congratulations!" Shen Mo immediately flashed a congratulatory, almost envious smile. "This is an incredibly valuable item—the Water of Life, worth fifty thousand."
Indeed, this was the genuine Water of Life.
Shen Mo had sourced it from the Fountain of Youth in Pirates of the Caribbean, ritual complete. Drinking it granted an ordinary person three extra days of vitality.
Cost: six hundred Trade Points.
In this world's currency, that was exactly ten thousand.
Yet Shen Mo brazenly claimed it was worth fifty thousand.
An item's value shifts with context.
No ruthlessness, no riches.
Tsunade uncorked the bottle, gave it a sniff, and shook it. A flicker of anger crossed her eyes.
"This is just water, worth fifty thousand?"
Her gaze turned dangerous. She didn't mind losing a bet, but being conned? She'd make sure this guy learned why the Sannin of Konoha were feared.
"This is no ordinary water," Shen Mo said, shaking his head, his tone serious. "We do business fair and square. This bottle of Water of Life can extend the life of a dying, near-death ordinary elder by three days. If you don't believe me, take a small sip—you'll feel it."
"Oh?" Tsunade neither agreed nor disagreed.
Extending a dying person's life by a few days? She could do that, and easily.
She was, after all, the medical ninja famed for curing any ailment.
But she detected no trace of herbal components in this water.
She smirked inwardly.
This guy probably didn't know who she was.
She lifted the bottle and downed half of it without hesitation, unconcerned about poison or hallucinogens.
Then—
Her pupils contracted slightly.
What… was this?
She felt an extraordinarily pure life force surge through her body from some unknown source.
Though faint for someone of her caliber, its purity was unprecedented—almost as if it were her own life force. As a top-tier medical ninja, wielder of techniques like the Ninpo: Creation Rebirth – Strength of a Hundred, which harnessed life force, this was profoundly shocking.
It truly added three days of life force.
Even—
Three days beyond what she herself could achieve.
For someone critically injured and near death, this tiny bottle was a lifeline, buying time for treatment!
Fifty thousand wasn't just worth it—it was a steal!
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