Pain and Pleasure

In the sky, five golden chains swooped down towards Taiichi. Taiichi remained unmoved, watching helplessly as the chains wrapped around him.

Four chains wrapped around Taiichi's limbs, and one chain coiled around his chest and abdomen. As soon as the chains touched his body, a sealing force entered, and the flow of Chakra within Taiichi was immediately blocked.

As the chains tightened, the resistance grew stronger, until Taiichi needed to concentrate a great deal of his mental energy to barely mobilize his Chakra.

Carefully sensing the sealing power emanating from the chains, Taiichi seemed to understand something, but the sealing power was not strong enough, and his perception was not deep enough.

"Kushina, you haven't used your full strength yet, have you? I feel that with the current intensity, I can break free directly. Please, sister, use your full strength. I want to experience the true power of the Adamantine Sealing Chains."

Looking at the guy in front of her, who was bound by chains with only his head sticking out, Kushina felt helpless. But since she was willing to grant his request and he had made such a request, Kushina would no longer hold back, though she still had to give him a necessary reminder.

"Next, the chains will pierce your body, so be careful!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the heads of the five chains transformed into sharp cones, piercing into Taiichi's limbs and chest.

It didn't actually pierce into flesh and blood, but rather transformed into an illusion and pierced into Taiichi's meridians, further sealing off Taiichi's Chakra circulation.

But whether it was real or illusory, this blow really hurt Taiichi. A scream escaped his lips; he couldn't bear it any longer. It was just too painful.

"Taiichi, are you alright?" Kushina asked with concern.

"No... it's nothing, it was just too sudden, I didn't have time to react."

This is what they call being stubborn and refusing to admit it; even when in excruciating pain, they insist on enduring it.

But you know what, although it did hurt, the direct contact between the chains and the meridians made Taiichi feel the sealing power of the Adamantine Sealing Chains even more deeply.

Once Taiichi had gradually adapted to his current state, he reminded her, "Sister, I'm going to try to break free of the chains, so be careful!"

Kushina pouted. "You're tied up like this, and you still want to break free? Do you really think the Adamantine Sealing Chains Lock is just for show?"

"Go ahead and try to break free, I will control this power!"

With Kushina's response, Taiichi began to concentrate all his mental energy and mobilize the Chakra within his body. Nearly 70,000 points of Chakra suddenly erupted, forming a wave of energy around Taiichi.

The chains binding Taiichi immediately rattled, all five chains were taut, and the parts that were embedded in Taiichi's body were gradually forced out as Taiichi struggled to break free.

This really startled Kushina. What a little monster! If left unchecked, he could have easily broken free of the Adamantine Sealing Chains.

Kushina then stopped holding back, and with a massive influx of Chakra, the chains tightened again, ruthlessly suppressing Taiichi.

Thus, under a strange tacit understanding, the two of them, one resisting and the Taiichi suppressing, took the opportunity to carefully comprehend everything.

Within Taiichi's body, at the point where the chains met the meridians, in this stalemate, Taiichi, through the sensation of Chakra, could better understand the mechanism of the seal. Using his Lv12 Sealing Jutsu knowledge, he continuously tried to analyze and simulate it.

After more than half an hour, Taiichi collapsed to the ground, his Chakra almost completely depleted, and he could no longer resist the power of the seal.

At this moment, Kushina slowly withdrew the Adamantine Sealing Chains, and the five chains withdrew from Taiichi's body, gradually dissipating into the air.

Kushina quietly wiped the thin layer of sweat from her forehead, and couldn't help but breathe Taiichi sigh of relief. She really hadn't expected Taichi to be so tenacious. Although the strength of his struggle was far less than that of the Nine-Tails, it was still about one-tenth of that, which was already quite remarkable.

"How are you feeling?" Kushina walked up to Taiichi, looked at Taiichi had collapsed on the ground, and teased him.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness, let me rest for a while."

A muffled sound came from the ground. Kushina's lips curled slightly. "Serves you right for showing off, kid. Now you know what's what."

Thinking this to herself, she didn't slow down. She squatted down, turned Taiichi over so he was lying face up, and said, "This is a side effect of the seal. It will be fine in a little while."

Taiichi nodded weakly. His body was powerless, but his mind was racing.

This Adamantine Sealing Chains truly lives up to its Sealing Jutsu capable of sealing the Nine-Tails. It is indeed powerful. As long as you have enough Chakra and sufficient preparation time, you can seal anyone you encounter.

However, that's precisely why the Adamantine Sealing Chains require catching a target. Large creatures like the Tailed Beast are easy to catch, but the real challenge lies in completely sealing them off while they break free.

As for smaller targets like ninjas, the real challenge lies in how you manage to catch them.

But no matter what, Taiichi's trip wasn't in vain; the Adamantine Sealing Chains was worth the ordeal he endured.

Once Taiichi had recovered, he struggled to his feet and immediately took his leave of Kushina. He was bursting with inspiration and needed to go back and record it all.

Watching Taiichi use the Flying Thunder God to leave, Kushina was filled with emotion. Perhaps this was why Taiichi was so powerful at such a young age—he never missed any opportunity to become stronger.

She couldn't help but feel remorseful, wondering if she had been too lazy lately, spending her days lounging at home doing nothing.

Thinking about this, Kushina wanted to slap herself. "No, starting tomorrow, I'll work harder!"

As for now, of course I should go to sleep first. I don't even know how late Taiichi has kept me up.

Taiichi, having returned home with the Flying Thunder God, appeared directly in the study. Without any delay, he went to his desk, picked up paper and pen, and began to record the inspiration in his mind.

Speculations about the personification of Chakra ----

Speculations on how sealing abilities are achieved----

Deconstructing the Rune Culture of the Adamantine Sealing Chains ----

Future improvement plans for the Adamantine Sealing Chains ----

One by one, inspirations flowed from the tip of his pen, like ink, onto the scrolls. It took a full half hour to fill four scrolls before Taiichi finally put down his pen.

It was at this moment that Taiichi noticed the change in the panel.

[After a long period of effort, you have gained a new understanding of Sealing Jutsu. Sealing Jutsu - Unnamed Lv0 (1/100)]

Upon seeing the skill generated, Taiichi burst out laughing. Two months of diligent reading in the Barrier Team, the hard work on Shadow Clone Technique during this period, plus the personal experience of Adamantine Sealing Chains tonight, had finally allowed him to grind out this skill.

With the basic framework of this skill in place, it shouldn't be long before Taiichi is able to formally research and develop it.

The next day, Taiichi had been so excited that he didn't fall asleep until very late the night before, woke up early in the morning, still influenced by his biological clock. After his usual morning classes, Taiichi left behind Shadow Clone to train, while his real body went to the Barrier Team.

However, Taiichi was in an exceptionally good mood today; anyone who saw him could tell he was in a good mood.

"Taiichi, did something happy happen today? Why are you so happy!"

As soon as Yamanaka Kiyoharu saw Taiichi, he noticed that he was different today; the joy emanating from his heart could be felt even from a distance.

"Is it that obvious?" Taiichi chuckled, touching his face and trying to force a smile, but he couldn't hide it.

"Hey~ hey~ hey~ stop talking, just watching you laugh like that is making my heart ache. You should just go to work!"

"Alright!"

Taiichi didn't mind. After saying goodbye to Yamanaka Kiyoharu, he began to inspect the work of each group. As a result, everyone in the Barrier Team saw a different Taiichi today.

His smile showed no sign of fading throughout the entire day.

But as the saying goes, good things often come with difficulties, and excessive joy can turn into sorrow.

After a happy day Taiichi finally received some terrible news that made him extremely depressed when he got home in the evening.

When Taiichi dispelled all his Shadow Clone and the memories merged, he discovered that the experience points for the Unnamed Sealing Jutsu hadn't increased at all.

If this isn't due to the wrong direction of today's research, then the rate at which this experience is growing is unimaginably slow.

Now, my good mood for the day was completely ruined. At this rate, it could take a year to develop this Sealing Jutsu.

Although this seems fast to outsiders—after all, it took Minato three years to develop the Rasengan, and he's only had a year— Taiichi, knowing how precious time is, doesn't want to wait that long.

He opened the scroll he had written yesterday, both to recall his thoughts from the day before and to think about what else he could do to speed up the development process.

When the last scroll was turned over, Taiichi finally had an answer. He figured he would still need Kushina's help to have her use the Adamantine Sealing Chains on him a few more times so that he could more deeply appreciate the wonders of the scroll and speed up the development process.

Thinking about how he would often have someone chain him with iron chains as thick as his forearm, Taiichi's face, which had been smiling all day, was now full of bitterness. Maybe he really shouldn't have smiled so brightly today. Could it be that he had used up all the smiles he would have for the next year today?

But despite his distress, he still had to endure the suffering. In order to secure Kushina's continued help, Taiichi had no choice but to agree to a series of unequal treaties.

For example, you should take time to chat with her every day, cook for her every two days, and fight with her every three days, etc.

This will continue until Taiichi goes out on a mission or no longer needs Kushina's help.

However, these efforts were indeed effective. During this period, Taiichi's new technique was increasing at a rate of 1 point of experience per day. Although it was not fast, it still gave him hope.

This good news made Taiichi feel much better, even though he was always being pierced by the chains.

Just as Taiichi was immersed in this bittersweet experience, a reply from Tsunade finally arrived in Taiichi hands. To Taiichi's delight, the Flying Thunder God Kunai he had sent earlier was not returned.

This means that Tsunade doesn't object to him visiting her in the future, which is a huge step forward. Previously, they could only communicate through letters, but now they can meet anytime. So, how far is it from finally persuading Tsunade to return to Konoha?

Taiichi happily opened Tsunade's letter and read it carefully.

Unlike usual, aside from a few greetings at the beginning and some words relayed by Dai Shizune, the entire letter was mostly complaints.

Despite saying that the new year brought no new beginnings, she continued to lose money as always. In just the first few days of the year, she lost nearly a million taels of silver.

She said that during the New Year period, apart from Taiichi's greetings, she did not receive any other blessings.

It is said that the Ninja World is becoming increasingly chaotic, and even these small countries far from the conflict have been affected by the Ninja World War and have become unstable.

At the end of the letter, Tsunade solemnly warned, "Taiichi, you brat, are you trying to keep an eye on her all the time? But the magnanimous Lady Tsunade will forgive you. She has accepted the Wind and Thunder God Kunai, but Taiichi, don't come to her place so often. She wants to enjoy these leisurely days a little longer."

Taiichi stared at the letter in his hand, speechless. Tsunade's temper had been quite intense lately, and it wasn't just because of losing money. It was probably more because of the Third Kazekage, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, but that was beyond his control.

As for Tsunade's final warning, Taiichi completely ignored it. Women are often hypocritical; didn't you see that Tsunade only gave a verbal warning? The Flying Thunder God Kunai still under his command after all.

Therefore, everything depends on action. Just like now, Taiichi folded the letter and put it away, ready to perform a super long-distance Flying Thunder God technique.

Since the Flying Thunder God Kunai has already been given away, there's no reason not to go at least once.

Carefully focusing on the vague sensation emanating from that distant space, Taiichi's figure suddenly vanished from the spot.

When Taiichi reappeared, he was startled by the noisy commotion around him. Looking around, he saw a chaotic scene: a large group of people were gathered around tables, shouting excitedly. This was a gambling den that was in operation.

Taiichi felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down his forehead. He truly hadn't expected to be here. Fortunately, most people were focused on their own gambling tables and didn't really notice the suggestion. Those who did would just assume it was another ninja trick.

Taiichi looked around and quickly spotted the spot with the largest gambling table, the most people, and the loudest shouts. He didn't even need to guess; Tsunade must be there.

He effortlessly parted the crowd with a flick of his hands and walked towards that direction.

Sure enough, on one side of the gambling table, Taiichi saw Tsunade standing by the table, one foot on a stool, one hand supporting herself on the table, shirtless, yelling loudly at the dealer, "Open it, open it now, I don't believe this hand will be big again."

Taiichi felt an urge to cover his face; he really hadn't expected Tsunade to be so unrestrained at the casino.

He silently approached Tsunade from behind, glanced at the few remaining chips in front of her, and sighed inwardly. It seemed she had been gambling for quite some time, and these chips were about to run out.

At that moment, after the dealer announced "Place your bets, no more betting," he abruptly overturned the dice cup, and then loudly announced, "Four, five, six, fifteen points, big!"

Immediately, everyone in the arena except Tsunade cheered. Taiichi even vaguely heard the term "Legendary Sucker" in the crowd.

It seems Tsunade's reputation has spread here, otherwise she wouldn't be the only one betting on "big" at the table of gamblers, while everyone else bet on the opposite side.