If things really did develop that way over time...
Did you really think those animals who taught you Senjutsu were kind-hearted?
The things that came free were the most expensive of all.
Just then, Nara Dan's thoughts stirred, and he looked toward the house as if sensing something.
A graceful figure with smooth golden hair slowly emerged from Nara Dan's house.
It was Tsunade.
Of course, don't get the wrong idea. Yesterday, Nara Dan had passed by a tavern and seen Tsunade passed out on a table, with no one paying her any mind.
He'd had no choice but to take her home to rest for the night.
Tsunade walked up to Nara Dan, her expression complicated.
"Is this your house?"
Nara Dan nodded and explained,
"I saw you passed out drunk yesterday, and you couldn't get home,"
"And it seemed like no one was looking after you."
"So I had no choice but to bring you here for the time being."
Tsunade's face was full of suspicion and wariness as she demanded,
"Even if I was drunk, how did you manage to bring me here without waking me?"
That was right. Even passed out drunk, with Tsunade's years of battlefield experience and vigilance,
an ordinary person trying to carry her off or take advantage of her would have been noticed immediately.
Her body would have reacted even faster than her mind.
At that speed, the other person would already have been pulverized by her Strength of a Hundred.
It was no wonder Tsunade was so wary of Nara Dan. If she'd woken up with her clothes in disarray or anything wrong with her body,
Nara Dan would already have been on the receiving end of a Strength of a Hundred punch. She wouldn't have settled for a simple interrogation.
Suddenly, Tsunade's pupils contracted as if she'd witnessed something unbelievable. Goosebumps rose all over her body.
Her Sixth Sense was on full alert.
In the blink of an eye—or perhaps an even shorter instant—Nara Dan appeared directly behind Tsunade.
He reached out toward the back of her head.
But Tsunade was a veteran Kage Level fighter, and her reaction was swift. Blue Chakra surged around her body.
She raised her right arm and drove her elbow toward Nara Dan's heart.
Nara Dan remained calm, not a ripple crossing his expression, as if he'd anticipated this.
He simply lifted his left hand and pressed Tsunade's elbow down without the slightest show of force.
That strike, powerful enough to split boulders, was undone by a gentle press, as though it had never happened.
Meanwhile, Nara Dan's right hand had already closed around Tsunade's cervical vertebrae.
Her strong, resilient muscles were like marshmallows beneath his long, fair fingers, offering no protection to her bones.
Before Tsunade could speak, Nara Dan gave a slight flick of his right hand. Tsunade felt a strange force ripple through her body from her spine.
All at once, her muscles and bones lost every trace of strength.
Then Nara Dan gently lifted his hand, and Tsunade realized he had hoisted her up like a kitten held by the scruff.
Nara Dan raised the hundred-some-pound weight with one hand as effortlessly as if it weighed nothing, his expression relaxed and showing no strain.
"That's how I brought you back."
Before Tsunade, her face flushed red, could make a scene, he set her down.
"Does that make sense, Lady Tsunade?"
Tsunade stared at Nara Dan, still shaken, but quickly realized that he had her completely at his mercy.
Her face flushed as she moved to attack, her dainty fists cracking as she clenched them.
Nara Dan wasn't flustered or angry. He only looked at Tsunade calmly.
Sure enough, the moment Nara Dan's gaze, imbued with his Life Magnetic Field, swept over her, Tsunade's anger was doused as if someone had thrown cold water on it.
She calmed down instantly and reconsidered.
I could barely see that guy's speed just now.
I couldn't even tell how he neutralized my strength.
His Taijutsu has already surpassed mine.
Fighting him would be all effort and no gain.
Besides...
Tsunade thought of her condition. She absolutely couldn't fight anyone. Even a Genin who knew her weakness could take advantage of her,
let alone a peer like Nara Dan.
Tsunade took a deep breath, her ample chest rising and falling.
"How did you do that?"
Nara Dan smiled.
"I wonder what Lady Tsunade means?"
"Do you mean how fast you were just now? How you got behind me?"
Tsunade was irritated by Nara Dan's nonchalant manner.
He'd rejected her the same way back then, casually saying that Tsunade wasn't suited to his path.
"You don't need to play dumb."
Tsunade stared intently at Nara Dan, studying him.
"That's not what I mean."
"I mean, how did you make my anger subside?"
"That technique for controlling people's emotions..."
"As far as I know, only the Kurama Clan can do that."
Tsunade knew full well that she had a fiery temper.
Given her usual personality, even if she knew she was no match for Nara Dan, she wouldn't have swallowed this insult and let him off.
Nara Dan nodded inwardly. No wonder she would become the Fifth Hokage; her perception was astonishing.
She'd immediately grasped the core of Nara Dan's move.
It wasn't his supposedly terrifying speed or strength.
The most frightening thing was a ninja excelling in the very field where they were weakest.
Nara Dan shook his head and explained,
"This isn't Genjutsu."
"It's Taijutsu."
Tsunade was puzzled. What he said was incomprehensible to her.
She was a Taijutsu expert herself, but she also knew the limits of Taijutsu.
"Taijutsu can do that?"
Nara Dan nodded.
"That's right."
"To you, or to most people, Taijutsu is limited to strength and destruction."
"But whether it's the muscles of the human body or the brain,"
"or even one's energy, emotions, or Chakra,"
"I see all of them as parts of the human body."
"They're no different from muscles and bones."
Tsunade's expression grew complicated as she heard this.
She was an expert—not only a Taijutsu ninja, but also a Medical Ninja.
Hearing those words made it clear that Nara Dan viewed the human body as a whole that could be controlled, rather than focusing only on the muscles and bones.
He had completely blazed a new trail in the way of Taijutsu, becoming its founder and master.
Perhaps Nara Dan had already foreseen that he wouldn't become her student. He was confident he could forge a path of his own—
one no one had ever walked before.
"If you want to learn,"
"I can teach you."
Seeing Tsunade's troubled expression, Nara Dan offered her some comfort.
This time, unlike yesterday, Nara Dan wasn't teasing her or putting her to the test.
He was being sincere.
He wasn't possessive about his knowledge. If someone of equal standing wanted to exchange ideas,
Tsunade's expression shifted at his offer. She was indeed tempted.
After all, who wouldn't want to improve? Especially in the shinobi profession, where Kage Level was considered the limit.
But her expression soon darkened again.
She was already a ruined woman. What use was it to learn more?
She still couldn't bring back her younger brother or her lover.
Before you continue