"Hey, that's crossing the line, big sister. Me losing money and you losing money are not the same thing, okay?"
Uchiha Mai finally broke free from Tsunade's iron grip and began arguing passionately:
"My hole cards were the queen and nine of clubs. The flop came with three clubs on the board. I had a strong flush draw - betting thirty thousand over the pot was completely reasonable.
Who would've guessed the guy after me was such a gambling maniac? He called my overbet holding nothing but the king of clubs. Then the turn brought another club, and just like that, my hand fell behind.
In that kind of situation, any normal player would struggle to fold and probably shove it all in. But I immediately realized he was likely holding the king or ace of clubs, so I folded and saved myself from losing a lot more."
Mai held up four fingers.
"That kind of cursed setup happened to me four times in one night. Those four hands alone cost me one hundred and eighty thousand.
Honestly, that loss proves my skill. If it were you in those situations, you could've easily blown one point eight million instead."
"Then what about the extra tens of thousands you lost?" Tsunade demanded fiercely, one hand on her hip while gripping Mai by the collar.
"That part was your loss. What does that have to do with me?" Mai shrugged, shamelessly dumping all the blame on her.
"Huh? I didn't even touch the cards all night. How could I be losing money?" Tsunade couldn't wrap her head around it.
Mai began counting on his fingers, laying out the logic:
"You didn't play, sure - but you sat right next to me all night and kept peeking at my hole cards.
When my hand was trash, you wore that gloomy, funeral-face expression. When my cards were decent, you'd light up like it was New Year's.
When I was bluffing with a weak hand, your nervousness was written all over your face. When I actually had a strong hand and tried to extract value slowly, you practically wanted to shove all my chips in for me.
My hand strength was basically written on your face. Anyone with eyes could read it. How was I supposed to win like that?"
He spread his hands confidently.
"Because of you, I won at least a hundred thousand less and lost an extra two hundred thousand last night. If you hadn't been there, even with those four cursed hands, I'd still have walked away up two hundred thousand."
Mai spoke righteously. Having a teammate like that and not going bankrupt was already a miracle.
Texas Hold'em was a game that demanded sharp calculation, mixed with luck and psychological warfare.
You had to calculate your own odds, read your opponents' actions, and estimate their hand strength - then squeeze out the maximum value as safely as possible.
For example, if you start with two cards and hit a nut straight on the flop, shoving all-in immediately is terrible play.
Anyone with half a brain would see you're strong and fold. You'd have a premium hand and win nothing. Every bet and call is a psychological battle.
That's why every high-level poker player is an actor.
They can sit there with a stone-cold face the entire time, yet convincingly act out tension, excitement, and hesitation.
"So you're saying this is my fault?" Tsunade released him and pointed at her own nose.
"If it's not your fault, whose is it?" Mai replied without the slightest hint of shame - despite losing over two hundred thousand.
Trash teammate. Not my problem.
"…Then what are we supposed to do? This money was borrowed from Minato. We have to pay it back," Tsunade said after some reflection, reluctantly admitting she might actually be the issue.
"We'll win it back tonight."
Mai shot her an annoyed look.
"For the next few days, I'll play and you stay away from the table. With you around, it's hard for me to win.
Just trust my skills. I'm the Texas Hold'em King of the Five Nations and Five Villages - my reputation isn't fake."
He continued confidently:
"There are three types of poker players.
The first are casual players - the vast majority.
They win because of luck and lose because of skill, yet always believe it's the other way around. These people might win short-term, but gamble long enough and they'll lose everything.
The second type are advanced players.
They win because of skill and lose because of bad luck.
They calculate odds, read opponents, maximize value with strong hands, and fold decisively when behind. They can bluff and also catch bluffs.
That's the kind of player I am.
Short-term wins and losses fluctuate - that's normal variance. But if you look at ten days, a month, or a year, I'll always be up.
Because my play is fundamentally sound."
In short:
Ask why I lost - normal variance.
Ask why I adjusted - technical optimization.
Whether he was bragging or not, Mai spoke with such confidence that it was hard not to believe him.
Tsunade's heaving chest slowly calmed down, but she soon frowned again.
"No. I'm still going with you. Even if I don't touch the cards, I want to watch how you play."
Terrible player, massive addiction.
"Fine. Then wear a mask. When you get nervous, pinch your thigh. And don't say a word.
Those are my conditions. If you don't agree, we split the remaining money - you go your way, I will go back to Konoha."
"…Fine," Tsunade agreed reluctantly, nodding.
After settling the terms, the two returned to the inn and collapsed into bed. Poker consumed a lot of mental energy - skipping rest wasn't an option.
Over the next few days, Mai went to the Tanzaku Street casino every night with borrowed capital, accompanied by Tsunade, whose beauty could honestly be described as world-class.
Spending money freely with a beauty by his side - it truly felt like living the life of a rich boss.
Meanwhile, Minato secretly led Guy and Kakashi in the shadows to protect Princess Tsunade, praying desperately that Mai would keep winning.
Otherwise, once they returned to the village, Kushina would definitely kill him.
Night Two:
240,000 buy-in → 380,000 cash-out (+140,000)
Night Three:
380,000 buy-in → 650,000 cash-out (+270,000)
Night Four:
500,000 buy-in → 480,000 cash-out (−20,000)
Night Five:
500,000 buy-in → 1,430,000 cash-out (+930,000)
…
Night Nine:
2,000,000 buy-in → 3,850,000 cash-out (+1,850,000)
Night Ten:
2,000,000 buy-in → 2,770,000 cash-out (+770,000)
Including the initial 260,000 loss on the first day, over ten days, Mai turned an initial 500,000 into 7.66 million, netting 7.16 million in profit.
Though he failed to reach his promise of ten million in ten days, a fifteen-fold return was still nothing short of miraculous.
Mai's playstyle was tight yet aggressive - bluffing hard when sensing weakness, folding decisively when danger loomed.
It wasn't explosive, but it was stable. Playing looser might've earned ten million… or dropped him to five.
After ten days, Mai refused to gamble any further. After repaying Minato, he and Tsunade split the remaining winnings as agreed and went their separate ways.
Interlude ends. Next chapter returns to the main plot.
(End of Chapter)