Tsunade

To Dan's surprise.

He had barely taken two steps out of the inn when he ran into two Bounty Hunters rushing past him.

"Did you hear? That legendary Big Fat Sheep has appeared in Tanzaku Street. We need to hurry; we might be able to make a fortune at the gambling tables."

As the two brushed past him, they were discussing it with excited expressions, their eyes gleaming.

Big Fat Sheep?

The moment Dan heard this, he knew they were talking about one of the Sannin, Princess Tsunade.

After the Second Ninja World War, having lost her lover Dan and her younger brother, Princess Tsunade had left Konoha to travel through various countries, living a life of gambling and evading debts.

Over a decade had passed in the blink of an eye.

When Dan had left the village in the past, he had encountered Princess Tsunade two or three times, but each time it was only a fleeting glimpse from afar in a crowd; he had never deliberately approached her.

Because at that time, he had no interest in Princess Tsunade.

Now, however...

As far as Dan knew.

The Monster Strength that Princess Tsunade excelled at also belonged to the nature transformation of Yang Release; if he could copy it using his Sharingan, he would have yet another means of combat.

Dan wanted to know if, after learning both the Expansion Jutsu and Monster Strength in succession, he could push the power of his physical body to its absolute limit.

Therefore.

He decided on the spot that since it was on the way back to Konoha anyway, he would go to Tanzaku Street to take a look.

One day later.

Dan stood on a hillside with a wide view, looking down and taking in the entire scenery of Tanzaku Street below.

Tanzaku Street had initially been just a street.

But because this location was on a major thoroughfare in the Land of Fire, it had quickly developed into a small town, filled with merchants, nobles, and ninjas coming and going.

It was bustling and prosperous, a place where all kinds of people mixed together.

Tanzaku Street also had a unique feature: gambling houses of all shapes and sizes.

It was a holy land for gamblers.

This place was neither too big nor too small, so finding Princess Tsunade in a short amount of time would be a bit difficult.

Just as Dan was pondering this matter.

Boom.

A loud noise erupted from the distance.

He looked toward the sound and discovered that a gambling house had collapsed, with dust billowing into the sky.

Furthermore, he could vaguely see that the street was in chaos, as if ninjas were engaged in a fierce battle.

Whoosh.

Dan immediately leaped down from the hillside and rushed over.

Upon arriving at the scene.

Dan saw at a glance, amidst the crowd, a woman wearing a dark green trench coat with her blonde hair tied in twin tails, fiercely swinging her fists to beat people up.

She had fair skin and a hot figure, especially a pair of exaggerated breasts that were truly breathtaking.

Among the women Dan had seen, only the naturally gifted Samui could compare to her.

This woman was Princess Tsunade.

"What happened?"

Dan casually asked a bystander who was watching the show.

From the person, he learned.

It was said that a certain noble from the Land of Fire had lusted after Princess Tsunade, set a trap to make her owe a massive gambling debt, and then used that as leverage to try and force himself upon her.

As a result, he was beaten half to death on the spot by the hot-tempered Princess Tsunade.

"To actually have designs on Princess Tsunade, don't they know she is one of the legendary Sannin?"

"Princess Tsunade has plenty of creditors, but I've never seen anyone dare to force her to pay with her body."

"They are truly courting death."

"..."

The crowd of onlookers watched the show while discussing it with great interest.

As the saying goes, it is better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early.

Dan had arrived just in time for this show.

At this moment, in the open space in front of the gambling house, a group of guard ninjas hired by that noble at a high price were surrounding Princess Tsunade, swearing to take her down.

Although Princess Tsunade was known as the Princess of Konoha, not only was her background illustrious, but she was also famous throughout the Ninja World, and ordinary people dared not touch her.

However, the Land of Fire was ultimately ruled by the Daimyo, and the status of the noble class remained higher than that of the ninjas.

Tsunade was in trouble this time.

Suddenly.

"Lady Tsunade!"

A cry for help rang out from the crowd. A quiet-looking female ninja with short black hair was seen being held hostage by two enemies after a bitter struggle.

She was Tsunade's disciple, Shizune.

"Lady Tsunade, you wouldn't want to see your disciple die, would you?"

One of the enemies held a Kunai to Shizune's throat, sneering as he threatened Tsunade, demanding she surrender immediately and obediently tie herself up with rope.

They had expected such a threat to work.

Unexpectedly, it only thoroughly enraged Tsunade, igniting her true fury.

"Bastards!"

She gritted her teeth and cursed, raised her fists, and in a few swift moves, sent the ninjas surrounding her flying, leaving a trail of wailing men on the ground.

Seeing this, the two ninjas holding Shizune turned ruthless and prepared to finish her off.

Just then.

Dan flashed, appearing behind the two like a ghost.

Hm?

The hair on the back of their necks stood up, and they hurriedly turned around, only to be met by a pair of scarlet Sharingan.

Thud.

Before they could put up any resistance, they fell to the ground, caught in a Genjutsu.

Uchiha?

Seeing Dan save Shizune and catching sight of the Sharingan, Tsunade was stunned for a moment.

Is he a ninja from Konoha?

As a descendant of the Senju clan, Tsunade had been influenced since childhood and held no fondness for the Uchiha Clan.

After all, throughout the long years, the Uchiha had always been the sworn enemies of the Senju.

However.

Regardless of who he was, since he had saved her disciple, she at least owed him a verbal thank you.

Thinking this to herself, Tsunade walked toward Dan.

However.

Unexpectedly.

Swish.

Dan suddenly made a move, grabbing Shizune by the back of her neck, lifting the shaken girl up, and tossing her aside as if she were trash.

"Ah!"

Shizune let out a scream, diving headfirst into a roadside bush, leaving only her legs sticking out.

Dan was not a man of many words.

He knew that if he tried to approach Tsunade with smooth talk, it would likely only arouse her suspicion and guard, ultimately resulting in him being shut out.

Since that was the case.

It was better to appear as an enemy, start a fight with Tsunade right here and now, and just get on with stealing her abilities with the Sharingan.

As it turned out.

Dan's approach, while simple and crude, was immediately effective.

"!"

Seeing Shizune thrown away, Tsunade finally realized that the burly man wearing a Bamboo Hat before her wasn't there to help, but to pick a fight.

The guys from the Uchiha Clan, even after all these years, were as punchable as ever.

She frowned, and without another word, she lunged forward, intending to beat Dan to the ground first.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two exchanged a few blows, the sound of fists hitting flesh echoing loudly, making the eardrums of the surrounding onlookers ache as they retreated in terror.

As expected of Tsunade.

Dan was surprised inwardly; among the ninjas he had fought, Tsunade's strength was the greatest—she could be said to possess natural-born power.

Tsunade's inner surprise was even greater.

Every one of her heavy, powerful punches was calmly blocked by Dan, which meant that his strength was enough to rival her own.

In the entire Ninja World, you couldn't find three or five people like this.

"I thought you were all show, but it turns out those muscles aren't just for display. You're actually pretty impressive."

Tsunade took a step back, clenching her fists with a burning gaze.

It had been a long time since she encountered an opponent worth taking seriously, and her fighting spirit was ignited.

"Then let me see your Monster Strength."

No sooner had Dan finished speaking than he reached out his right hand to grab Tsunade, his right arm rapidly expanding and enlarging in the process.

Partial Expansion Jutsu.

What?

Caught off guard, Tsunade was instantly enveloped by Dan's five fingers, held like a figurine in the palm of his hand.

This figurine was actually quite soft.