The casino rumbled with activity. Poker chips fell to the ground, tossed by the heavy impact of various players. The night lights shone outside the shop. The festival's banners and gaudy coloration flickered, colors and lights shining across the table.

Now it's come to this, I'll buy everyone something after I win on a game requiring a brain. Mahjong's pretty dangerous. At its heart, it's a game focusing only on risk. It desires risks and danger. That is the simple truth. Given that… Kōju hurled the money down on the table. "Twenty-One!" She folded her fingers together, glancing to one side.

The dealer inclined his head. He looked down at the table again. "Any other takers?"

"Yes." The figure stepped forward, a smirk crossing her face.

Kōju's eyebrows furrowed. She glanced sideways.

The dealer's expression fell.

"That's the one," one of the onlookers whispered, swallowing tightly.

The pair placed down their bets, looking down at the table.

The cards shuffled rapidly.

The green-haired woman's eyes narrowed. She stared at the flipping cards intently.

What's she doing? Is she trying to memorize the positions of the top few cards?! Kōju's eyes narrowed. Wait. Reasoning through things more clearly, that's impossible. The cards are moving too quickly…

The cards fell into the deck.

"Deal them."

Two cards fell in front of Kōju. Reaching forward, she flipped the corner of the card over. Two face cards. This is good enough. Probably I can win using these. Kōju folded her hands together.

"Hit?"

"Stay." Kōju folded her arms. She glanced toward the green-haired girl. With that, I can probably win this round. Even if she has the same as me, the dealer is the only one who will have to deal out.

"Hit?"

The green-haired girl grinned. "Of course." She extended her hand.

Eh?! Kōju's eyes widened. Let's see… She glanced over. She has one face card face-up. That means her face-down card must be a two or a three…

"One ace."

She is pretty unlucky. Since she has a low card, that card must count as a one, meaning she can't win unless she gets hit again. Kōju nodded quietly. I get it, I get it.

"I draw one." The dealer smirked. He looked upward. "Open."

Two tens and a one lay against the table.

Kōju gasped. It's my loss?! Wow. This guy is pretty good…

"Heh." The green-haired girl flipped over the other card with the edge of the card.

Kōju gritted her teeth. She must be cheating… And that guy as well. Realistically it's hard for me to call them out on it, and I probably can't beat it if it's dealer techniques. How can I deal with these guys? Her eyes widened. Of course! I'll get them like that!

A white flash surrounded Kōju's body. Kōju's hand pressed downward against the deck.

The dealer's fist shot outward.

Kōju gasped. She fell backward, grasping her belly. "Ouch!"

"We don't accept cheaters here, you!" the dealer barked.

"Hold it." The green-haired girl smiled. "She didn't actually do anything, right?"

The dealer frowned. "Even so." He cleared his throat. "I'll have to get another deck here."

The deck shuffled again.

Again, the pair placed their bets on the table.

Kōju frowned. This next part is based on too large an assumption, but if it goes off. If it goes off… If I can make it happen, I can win!

The deck landed against the table.

The dealer dealt the top two cards to Kōju.

Kōju smiled. Her fingers brushed over the card. The first part of it has gone off fine. Now for the second part. If he doesn't have the ability to deal the right card. If he can't deal whatever card he wants, the top card on that deck…

It ends here. This girl is the type to put too much logic and reason into gambling. She won't possess the will to take a hit. The dealer frowned. This other one is too irritating…

"Hit?"

"Hit!" Kōju slapped the table.

The green-haired girl blinked in shock.

Kōju grinned.

The dealer swallowed tightly.

The card flipped over.

Heh! Twenty-one for me!

The green-haired girl extended her hand. "Hit me as well, please."

The third card hit the table.

"Let's end it here." The dealer swallowed tightly. He looked downward, biting his lip.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you at least have to get a seventeen?"

The dealer's head slipped downward.

The bets doubled.

"Let's take a walk," the green-haired girl requested, her brown eyes flickering slightly.

Kōju swallowed tightly. She followed after a moment.

"You managed to mark the cards pretty neatly. That's a shinobi's trick. Beyond even that, though, you decided that he couldn't be using some technique in his dealing." The green-haired girl walked out of the casino.

"…Yes." Kōju inclined her head, her green eyes flickering. She walked along the edge of the street.

"What basis did you have for that conclusion?"

"You managed to pull an ace out of nowhere. Unless you were working with him, it seemed logical that he wasn't capable of shuffling the deck easily."

The green-haired girl beamed, her eyes glimmering with light. "I see, I see. That makes sense. You marked that deck with chakra because you were sure he couldn't change the cards."

"Which doesn't explain how you did it. I saw you and you didn't touch it once. Did you mark the cards using some other method?"

"To be sure of the order of cards, you need to use one of three methods." The green-haired girl grinned. "Do you want to sit down?"

Kōju inclined her head reluctantly.

The pair sat down on a bench outside one of the ice cream shops. Most of the district had closed now, but the lights remained, sparkling over the city.

"There are three methods to be certain of dealings. Counting cards is uncertain, as is relying on logic and interpretation." The green-haired girl raised her fingers. "Thus, three methods work. The first is what you just did—marking cards. The second is some insight into what the dealer will deal out, either through being in league with him or some ability of foresight." She trailed off after a moment.

"The third?"

"The third is to memorize each card as it's shown." The green-haired girl's eyes glinted ominously.

Kōju gasped.

"In other words, it's a kind of technique. It's something my father left behind." The green-haired girl extended her hand. "My name's Fū. It's good to meet you…"

"Hatake Kōju." Kōju extended her hand.

The pair shook hands.

History

Nightfall came and passed, the weather scarring the landscape and damaging the same rights. The same clearing met the weary eyes. Pieces of trees had been torn away by the high winds, blasted and scoured as though by the winds of a hurricane. Yet the ball remained. A single offending rubber ball remained in the field, unimpacted by the efforts of the shinobi.

Falling in weakness, Naruto knelt before the rubber ball. No matter how you look at it, I haven't improved. It won't break. I feel pain every time I let my chakra out… the more chakra, the more pain… "All the chakra has to enter, or else it won't break." Naruto grinned as he suddenly understood the key. Perfect. He focused his energy intently into the ball. Pain reflects my full energy… so the more energy, the more pain…

The ball rippled with energy. Pieces blew outward on the ball.

Not yet… Naruto gritted his teeth as the focus went on.

The pain grew unbearable.

Now!

The ball ruptured. Slowly, air released from the center.

Naruto stared irritated at the deflating ball.

Jiraiya observed from the side. "Well, you've improved somewhat," he commented calmly.

Naruto winced, spinning to face Jiraiya. "It only broke somewhat. It's only halfway."

"You've started getting the idea." Jiraiya walked forward, splitting an ice cream bar in half and offering Naruto one half.

Naruto laughed, rubbing his hair.

"Well, yes. Once you've reached here, you've gotten most of it… let's see the next part."

Naruto exclaimed "What? What?" with youthful abandon.

"This." Jiraiya retrieved a marker from his robes. Moving quickly, he drew a circle on Naruto's palm.

Naruto blinked. What?

"Hey, old man! Any advice on shaping chakra?" Sasuke questioned, turning her head from her work.

"Che." Jiraiya scowled. "I don't teach disrespectful brats like you!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Whatever." She turned her gaze back to the rock. The hand extended. Lightning crackled rapidly along the hand.

"…Anyway… what's this all about?"

Jiraiya smiled. He removed his hand guard and showed Naruto the palm of his own hand. The same spiral circled the center.

"…Okay…" Naruto tilted his head to one side. "So, what's the point of that?"

"It's called focus," Kōju remarked, raising her hand. Her face dripped heavily with sweat.

"Good!" Jiraiya paused. He looked back at Naruto. "Well, Kōju-san can explain it…"

"Basically, when using techniques, you need to focus energy. That pain in your hands tells you that much."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. The ink glimmered on the palm. "Hm." He tilted his head to one side. "And…"

"That swirl controls that energy. In a way it directs your thoughts… this technique is called direction."

"Awesome!" Naruto smiled. "Okay… So…"

"You were the type accused of not concentrating in genin training, weren't you?" Jiraiya remarked distantly.

Naruto scowled. "Hey…"

"But you had to concentrate energy on that point to pop it, just now."

Naruto blinked. "…Huh. Okay… I think I get it. To break it, I concentrate my energy on the dot, right?"

"Correct." Jiraiya turned.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to gather more information. What I have right now is insufficient." Jiraiya scowled. "If I was lucky, I might find her, or I might not. We need to be certain."

"Don't you have some advice for your student?" Naruto demanded angrily.

Jiraiya grinned. Leaning down, he picked up the ball. He placed the ball between his teeth. "Strike!" he shouted, his teeth showing. "All right…" He spat out the ball. "Enough baseball practice."

"Dumbass! All right, I'll win!"

This guy… he's got a lot of power, but very little refinement. If he succeeds… even I can't say what might happen next. Jiraiya grinned. He hurried away.

These two are definitely very similar… Sasuke rubbed her temples.

All right. Concentrate… concentrate… Naruto grinned. He lifted the ball.

STRIKE! Jiraiya roared inside Naruto's head.

"DAMN IT! That idiot's completely ruined my training! BELIEVE IT!"

Sasuke sighed. Her brow creased. What the hell am I going to do with these teammates of mine…? I might actually be the most normal.

The sun hung low over the mountains.

Naruto groaned as he tried to force himself upright. My chakra's too low… Let me rest… Just a while…

Leaves floated over the clearing.

One leaf landed on Naruto's forehead.

Thinking back, Naruto remembered what this reminded him of…

Naruto is seven. He sleeps beside Shikamaru, his thoughts falling silent.

Iruka gathers the four slackers of the class together: Shikamaru, Kiba, Naruto, and Chōji. "YOU GUYS CAN'T FOCUS AT ALL!" he shouts, his face furious. "YOU'LL NEVER BE GREAT NINJA LIKE THIS!"

The four reprobates shuffle their feet. Shikamaru yawns, Chōji stuffs a chip into his mouth, Kiba smirks, and Naruto asks whether Iruka could shorten the lecture instead.

Iruka's teeth show in a fury of inchoate anger. "Extra class for everyone!" he orders.

A wave of protest rises from the group.

"What's this?" Naruto asks after Iruka puts a leaf on his forehead.

"This is the way our Hidden Leaf masters trained in the old days."

Naruto raises an eyebrow.

"Focus all your chakra on the leaf on your forehead. That'll improve your concentration."

"Huh…" Naruto thinks aloud, staring at the leaf.

"Your concentration will define you as a great ninja… The Hidden Leaf sign on my headband comes from this training," Iruka assures them.

"The strength of a ninja is all that counts!" Kiba declares firmly.

Naruto agrees. "Concentration won't matter!"

Rather ashamed, Iruka bows his head. "Hah…"

In the present day, Naruto looked at the leaf, sighing. "Hah… This is the same… If I'd paid attention to Iruka-sensei back then… But… Well, that was the past… And this is the future!" He glared at the palm. He licked his thumb, and then smudged the spiral into the rough shape of a Hidden Leaf symbol. "And now… I have to change the future!" Concentrate… Concentrate… Holding the ball in place, he charged swirling wind around the spot. The rubber ball stretched as a hurricane built within it.

Finally, the rubber ball snapped. Naruto flew backward from the force of the energy.

Kōju caught Naruto, falling back on her heels. "Wow!" she declared aloud, her face surprised.

"It's done…" Naruto whispered hoarsely. "Third stage…"

"Your hands are burned. If I let you continue, you'll only die uselessly," Kōju scolded in a soft voice. She forced Naruto to the ground.

Sasuke glanced over her shoulder, her eyebrow rising. What a weird guy. "Bring him back to the room," she requested quietly. She let the lightning die on her fingers. We should go. For now, we can't train any longer.

The three shinobi stumbled back to the hotel.

Sand

The city glistened with afternoon's fading light. Crenellations arched the walls, blocking assault and creating openings to respond to an attack. Banners flew across the citadel, lights falling from the sky. The sunlight colored the walls a deep golden-brown.

Within the only gambling establishment in reasonable distance of the hotel, Tsunade pulled a lever on a strange machine.

Three whirring dials rotated rapidly. Three sevens marked on the dials appeared simultaneously.

Shizune threw her hand up in the air. "You won!" she declared excitedly.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed in concern as Tsunade stared at the machine. "How could I have gotten triple sevens?" Something's not right…

Shizune and Ton-Ton both grinned widely.

Outside the gambler's house, Tsunade tilted her head to the side, listening for something unknown.

"You won!" Shizune stated excitedly. "It's good fortune… why are you unhappy?"

"Something's not right here," Tsunade repeated. Her head turned away slowly. She looked back at the road. "We should leave soon."

"But it's a beautiful place, lovely castle—"

"Then we can take a quick look around and leave after." Tsunade turned on her heel, hurrying along the pathway.

"Tanzaku Castle is so beautiful. It's assuredly the treasure of arts!" Shizune declared, shading her eyes with one free hand.

"Don't waste any more time. We must leave soon." Tsunade's eyes turned from side to side, seeking the source of her uneasiness.

"But can't we stay a little longer? The view is free…"

Cracks appeared in the castle's walls.

A drop of sweat dribbled down Tsunade's brow. "Shizune. We're leaving, now."

The castle shook.

A form emerged from the trees.

Shizune gasped.

An enormous snake's head loomed out of the forest. On it stood a tall, ominous man and a calm-looking medic-nin.

"That…" Shizune swallowed deeply.

Orochimaru. Outwardly, Tsunade was calm, quite different from when she gambled. Inwardly, her mind ran in circles.

"Found you," Orochimaru claimed.