Naruto: Starting as a Defector in The Hidden Mist Village

A special thank you to all my patrons.

The List of My "Wandering Reader":

-[ ]

-Lord_Clamiral

-Cain

-Goha21

-Jacob Mooe

-Varun Madhu

-Paul Panzer

-Austin Levy

-Aziz Makda

You can read 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.

P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos

(just replace the "@" with "a")

ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!

-------------------------------------------------------------

"Lady Tsunade, wait for me…" A girl with short black hair reaching her ears, carrying a suitcase, ran over while panting heavily. 

Shizune… 

'Being by Tsunade's side must be exhausting for you.' Midorima muttered inwardly, but judging from Tsunade's expression, it was clear she was here to corner him. 

"Hello, may I ask who you are…?" 

He still had to play the part. 

"Tsunade. You still haven't answered my question. Are you Ida Hideo?" Tsunade crossed her arms, staring at Midorima with a blocking posture. 

"Well… I am." 

"Did you cure the poison in Iwasaki Hikaru's body?" Tsunade pressed. 

"Yes." Midorima had indeed detoxified the old man, so there was no reason to hide it. 

Since Tsunade knew, Iwasaki Hikaru must have shared information about him with her. 

"You've met the old man?" Midorima asked curiously. 

"Yes. He wasn't feeling too well, so I paid him another visit," Tsunade replied. 

Shizune rubbed her forehead. 

When Tsunade still had money, she completely ignored Iwasaki Hikaru. Only after running out of funds—and with no other merchants reaching out—did she remember that Iwasaki had once invited her. And so, she conveniently "borrowed" another five million ryo. 

"Is he alright?" 

Midorima remembered that Iwasaki hadn't been seriously ill. How could he be unwell now? 

Then again, the old man had recently been risking conflict with his own family, so Midorima hadn't reached out to him either. 

"Yes… Your technique was quite effective. The toxins were almost entirely purged. I've never seen a method like that before… Just who are you? Iwasaki said you came by ship from the Land of Water. Are you a medical ninja from Kirigakure? What brings you to the Land of Fire?" Tsunade's expression grew increasingly stern. 

Shizune, clutching the money chest, also kept a close eye on Midorima . 

Midorima hadn't expected Tsunade to take such an interest in him, but he wasn't afraid of her. In the worst case, he could stab himself—Tsunade would likely lose her combat effectiveness from the sight of blood. As for Shizune… 

She wasn't a match for him. 

"This isn't the place to talk…" Midorima glanced around. 

Not only were there too many passersby, but some matters weren't meant for outsiders' ears. 

"Are you familiar with this village?" Tsunade asked. 

Midorima shook his head. He had only been here once or twice, always leaving right after finishing his business—never lingering. 

Tsunade let out a relieved sigh, then puffed out her chest. "I know this place well. I'll recommend a spot." 

"Huh?" 

'Wait, why did she sigh in relief just from recommending a place?' Midorima was utterly baffled. 

Could it be a casino or a bar? 

The village Midorima was in, called Hiokoshi Village, was one of the larger settlements in the Land of Fire. Many merchants had set up offices here to expand their business. 

He had considered the possibility that Tsunade might take him to a casino or bar, but since Iwasaki Kazuichi was also here, she might have borrowed a room from him instead. 

Yet, Tsunade really did lead him straight to a casino. 

"Hey, wait a sec—" 

Before Midorima could finish, Tsunade strode confidently into the gambling den. 

The moment she entered, the noisy casino fell silent. Every pair of eyes locked onto Tsunade, burning with hunger as they collectively swallowed their saliva. 

The atmosphere was like a pack of starved beasts ready to tear apart a plump sheep in front of them. 

This was Midorima 's first time witnessing such a scene. 

If he hadn't known these gamblers were all weaklings, he might have genuinely felt threatened. 

Shizune, however, seemed accustomed to such gazes. She hugged the money chest tightly—today's mission was critical. The chest must not be emptied. 

Ignoring the stares, Tsunade went straight to the owner and requested a private room. 

Being a regular—and a VIP among VIPs—the owner swiftly arranged one. 

Midorima followed inside, his face darkening. 

The room was small, furnished with just a table and four chairs. On the table lay common gambling tools like dice, a dice cup, and mahjong tiles. 

When Tsunade asked Shizune for the money chest, the latter's expression was one of sheer despair. She then shot Midorima a glare full of resentment, as if he were an unforgivable sinner. 

What does this have to do with me? I didn't ask to come here! 

Midorima was beyond frustrated as he pulled out a chair and sat down, pondering how to communicate with Tsunade. But before he could speak, she had already loaded three dice into the cup, performed a dazzling series of shakes, and slammed it onto the table. 

The entire motion was seamless—clearly, she had paid plenty of "tuition fees." 

"Big or small?" Tsunade asked. 

Midorima rolled his eyes. 

He truly had no experience, but this was the person with the worst gambling luck in the entire Naruto universe—someone who almost never won. 

There was no way he'd lose. 

"Big." 

Tsunade lifted the cup—three ones. 

Shizune's eyes nearly popped out. How could Tsunade possibly win!? 

"Alright, now you answer my question." Tsunade rubbed her hands together, brimming with excitement. 

"Hold on, how did we suddenly jump to me answering questions?" 

The transition was way too abrupt. 

Midorima felt like his head was full of question marks. 

"Fine, let's reset the rules. We'll compare dice rolls. If I win, you answer my questions—no lies." 

"And if I win?" Midorima countered. 

"Name your terms." 

"Teach me a medical ninjutsu." 

Tsunade's greatest expertise was medical ninjutsu. How could Midorima pass up such a golden opportunity? 

This was one of the Legendary Sannin—of course he'd milk her for all she was worth! 

As for the odds of winning against Tsunade? Please, he'd survived gacha games—this was nothing. 

Shizune's gaze at Midorima now dripped with disdain. 

Lose the first round to lull Tsunade into complacency, then reveal his true skills when the stakes were high. 

Despicable, shameless, underhanded, vile… 

Every negative label imaginable was now stamped onto Midorima in her mind. 

Second round—Tsunade won. 

"What's your real name?" 

"Asachi Midorima ." 

Since Tsunade was asking, it meant Iwasaki Hikaru had already told her Midorima was using a fake name. Hiding it further was pointless. 

However, Tsunade rarely visited bounty exchange offices, so even upon hearing "Asachi Midorima ," she showed no reaction. 

Third round—Tsunade won. 

"Why did you come to the Land of Fire?" 

"To escape." 

Fourth round—Tsunade won. 

"Why were you escaping?" 

"I was framed." 

Shizune's eyes widened in disbelief. So this Asachi Midorima wasn't playing some long con—he was genuinely terrible at this. 

"This is too slow," Midorima said, stopping Tsunade as she reached for the dice cup again. "One final round. If I win, I'll tell you everything—why I'm here and what happened in Kirigakure. If you win, teach me a medical ninjutsu. Nothing too high-level, just B-rank." (T/N: ???)

"Deal." Tsunade agreed without hesitation. 

Since when had she ever backed down from a challenge? 

The dice cup landed. Midorima immediately called, "Big." 

Tsunade lifted it—four, five, six. Big. 

Midorima exhaled deeply, his back drenched in sweat. 

Damn, that was nerve-wracking. 

Who said Tsunade was the cash cow? 

He had almost lost his shirt. 

Shizune's mouth hung slightly open as she stared at Midorima , more confused than ever. Was this man skilled, or was he just lucky? 

"I want to learn the Fine Extraction Technique," Midorima declared.