An Idol's Downfall

Kurenai Yuhi's team traveled in a style completely different from that of other ninja.

To highlight what made ninja unique, Kishimoto had designed a very distinctive "ninja run." It was memorable and instantly recognizable. The moment you struck that pose at a convention, everyone knew you were imitating the way ninja ran in Naruto.

But was this running style actually practical?

There was no doubt it went against human biomechanics and aerodynamics as we understood them on Earth. As for whether it was scientifically sound in the Ninja World, Jiang Feng had no idea.

All he knew was that the pose wasn't cool enough.

So Jiang Feng never used the "ninja run" to travel. He used lightness skills instead, as he always had.

Jiang Feng had poured a great deal of effort into developing a set of lightness skills that were both cool and practical. He had drawn mainly on Chu Liuxiang's [Moon-Treading Fragrance], Lu Xiaofeng's [Twin Flying Colorful Wings], Quanzhen's [Golden Goose Skill], Wudang's [Ladder Cloud Leap], and the Naruto World's [Body Flicker Technique], while also referencing the lightness skills from dozens of other templates. In the end, he tailored a set just for himself.

The Golden Goose Skill and Ladder Cloud Leap provided height, allowing Jiang Feng to leap lightly and soar hundreds of meters into the air. The Body Flicker Technique provided speed; for short-distance bursts, it had an overwhelming advantage over the various lightness skills.

[Twin Flying Colorful Wings] provided maneuverability while airborne, letting Jiang Feng move as if he were walking on level ground, even in midair, and change directions up to thirteen times in succession.

Chu Liuxiang's original [Moon-Treading Fragrance] was responsible for concealing his presence, as well as grace and style. The Thief-Sovereign Chu Liuxiang's lightness skill really was something special.

Jiang Feng still named this skill set [Moon-Treading Fragrance]. It had now reached version 6.3.

Once Jiang Feng had made a start on developing the skill, some of his ninja friends began to realize that even their usual running posture could be improved.

There was no need to say more. Many friends came to Jiang Feng, having heard of his skills, to ask for advice on how to improve their running posture. Jiang Feng also taught them whichever lightness skills he thought suited them, for them to use as reference. Naturally, these "friends" included his teammates and his teacher, Kurenai Yuhi, among others.

The skill he taught the young Kurenai Yuhi was the most special of all: Jiang Feng's version of [Moon-Treading Fragrance]. She hadn't mastered it, and powered only by Chakra, she might not be much faster than an ordinary running posture. But she could soar high into the air, moving with an ethereal grace.

Most importantly, a girl always hoped to be special in your heart. So Jiang Feng made Kurenai Yuhi the special one.

At dusk, the four-person squad arrived in Tanzaku Town.

Tanzaku Town was a large settlement, with more than one bustling street. Gambling dens, eateries, hot-spring hotels, and entertainment districts were everywhere...

Even though the sun had set, even though the weather was still caught between warm and cold, and even though the Ninja World was in such a turbulent state, the streets were still full of tourists coming and going, along with pretty women in skimpy outfits beckoning customers.

"Hey, handsome, come have some fun! Hee hee hee..."

"Handsome, spend enough at our shop and you'll get a mysterious gift~"

The colorful sights were dazzling. Asami, the naïve young man, was immediately distracted by the "flowers" on the street, his face flushing red.

Konoha was already prosperous enough, and Tanzaku Town wasn't much more prosperous than Konoha. But it was more "debauched," and the air itself was thick with the mixed scents of rouge, perfume, and alcohol.

That was the smell of a life of luxury and indulgence.

"Get a hold of yourself!"

Kurenai Yuhi patted Asuma and sternly warned him, "Lust is the first hurdle for a young man. If you can't get past it, then no matter how gifted or skilled you are, it'll all be for nothing..."

"I wasn't looking at them!"

Asuma's face flushed as he stammered out an excuse. "I was just thinking, the old man only said Tsunade was in Tanzaku Town. There are so many people and so many shops here—how long will it take to find her?"

Sigh.

Jiang Feng discreetly slipped Asuma a small card.

Asuma's eyes widened at once!

It was a VIP card for a local adult-entertainment establishment. It featured a scantily clad beauty, along with the address and the names of several services that set the imagination running, such as bubble baths and call-out services.

What was this!?

Jiang Feng sighed softly. "I have a friend."

When other people said that, they were probably pretending to have a friend. But Jiang Feng really did have a friend who ran an adult-entertainment establishment in Tanzaku Town.

That friend had once asked Jiang Feng to invite Jiraiya, the Ninja World's renowned lady-killer, over to provide the girls at the establishment with some short-term training.

Jiang Feng had merely acted as an intermediary, but he'd gained two unbreakable friendships and a dozen VIP cards that gave him a thirty-percent discount.

"You sure have a wide circle of acquaintances!"

Asuma happily tucked away the VIP card. At that moment, he suspected that even if Jiang Feng fell into a volcano, he'd find a friend down there.

"What friend?" Kurenai Yuhi asked curiously, having missed the two men's little exchange.

"Just an ordinary friend."

"Friends are friends. How can a friend be ordinary?" The young woman pressed him for an answer.

"If you can have special friends, you can have ordinary ones."

"Who's your special friend?"

"You are."

The young Kurenai Yuhi was defeated. Her delicate cheeks turned faintly red, and she turned away with a pleased smile, no longer asking questions.

Team leader Kurenai Yuhi glanced at her daughter, who had surrendered in an instant, and shook her head. Then she brought the conversation back to the matter at hand. "Can your friend help us find Tsunade?"

"Anyone in Tanzaku Town can help us find Tsunade."

Jiang Feng casually stopped a woman passing by and asked, "Do you know where Big Fat Sheep is right now?"

The woman took one look at Jiang Feng and immediately broke into a beaming smile, swaying with laughter. "Big Fat Sheep? She's at the gambling den at the end of the second street. But, handsome, you're a little late.

"That big cow has been losing for days. There's not much money left to squeeze out of her. I heard she owes the inn a lot, too. She can't even pay for her room, let alone afford a meal. She's a disheveled mess. Wouldn't surprise me if she's kicked out of Tanzaku Town tomorrow with a mountain of debt..."

Women always had plenty to say when talking about another woman—especially when it came to the flaws and wretched circumstances of another pretty woman.

The passerby rambled on, angrily saying that Tsunade was completely worthless and painting her current situation as utterly miserable.

Uchiha Jiang Feng listened patiently, then politely declined the woman's invitation to "play a round."

Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi, the two youngsters, stared in shock.

"No way!"

"Tsunade's really like that?"

"Isn't Tsunade the most powerful medical ninja in the Ninja World? How did she end up in such a terrible state!?"

Konoha's internal propaganda had always portrayed Tsunade as valiant, compassionate, and powerful. She had established the medical ninja system and fought alongside Jiraiya and Orochimaru to a draw against the demigod of the Ninja World...

She was one of the most beautiful and powerful kunoichi in the Ninja World. In short, she had every virtue imaginable. Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma had grown up listening to stories about Tsunade.

To them, Tsunade was a legendary hero.

But the Tsunade described by that woman? She was a full-blown gambling addict who had lost everything.

It was like being a fan of Furong Wangyuan for ages, only to suddenly find out one day that their idol had betrayed the traditionalist camp, embraced technology, and started smoking e-cigarettes.

At that moment, the two young people felt a similar sense of devastation, like fans discovering their idol's scandal.