Secret Technique: Barrier Jutsu

Takizawa Dan glanced around. The two Anbu Ninja were dead, turned into fertilizer beneath the forest, but the barrier jutsu from earlier was still working, glowing faintly all around them!

At first, Takizawa Dan had been a little puzzled. He'd even wondered if the ninja who cast the jutsu was still alive.

But he soon figured out what had happened and breathed a sigh of relief.

The reason was simple: the barrier was maintained through chakra, and chakra was released in a single burst. It couldn't be released continuously, at any time and place.

After all, ninjas still had to fight. They couldn't keep releasing chakra throughout a battle.

That would make it easy to lose focus, and it would be highly inefficient.

So the Anbu Ninja must have laid down a barrier around the area all at once, strong enough to last ten or twenty minutes, and then turned to fight.

After all, the "Secret Technique: Barrier Jutsu" he'd obtained also had a time limit. Each use lasted thirty minutes, and after it ended, he had to wait an hour before he could use it again.

As if to confirm Takizawa Dan's suspicions, the barrier around them began to fade rapidly. It looked like it was about to expire!

Takizawa Dan's mind stirred. "Go!"

At once, the barrier jutsu he'd just learned filled the gap.

The barrier around them, which had been on the verge of vanishing, was replenished and immediately regained its former strength. It could hold for another half hour.

"Phew... That was close. Finally got it done!"

Takizawa Dan relaxed when he saw it.

This wasn't just anywhere. It was Tsunade's home!

Tsunade was still engrossed in the village's gambling dens and hadn't returned yet, but her assistant and that pig named Tonton weren't just there for show.

If the barrier disappeared and they saw what was inside, it would spell disaster!

With that in mind, Takizawa Dan hurried up!

When he withdrew "Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence," the trees withered rapidly, as if they'd lost their nourishment. In just a few seconds, they sank back beneath the ground.

There wasn't a trace left to be seen! Takizawa Dan couldn't help being surprised.

Compared to the other jutsu that came later, which could leave behind the aftermath of a nuclear explosion, "Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence" really was one of the more environmentally friendly ultimate techniques...

As expected of Senju Hashirama. Even the jutsu he developed was so peaceful and unobtrusive!

Of course, that meant he could relax now.

The two Anbu Ninja's corpses had been completely decomposed and buried deep underground, gone without a trace.

Unless the Konoha High Command was willing to dig up the entire village to find them, there was no way anyone would find a clue.

After silently saying a prayer for the two ninjas who'd died without knowing why, Takizawa Dan returned to his usual calm demeanor and removed the barrier.

No one looking at the area now could tell that a great battle had just taken place.

"Takizawa Dan!"

A voice suddenly called out beside him.

Takizawa Dan looked over and saw Tsunade walking toward him, waving repeatedly.

He smiled faintly. It looked like Tsunade was done gambling.

Without giving it much thought, he went to meet her.

"Lady Tsunade, are you done gambling?"

Based on experience, Takizawa Dan already knew the outcome. He'd asked on purpose.

"Ugh... Don't even ask." Just as Takizawa Dan had expected, Tsunade let out a long sigh, her face full of defeat. "I lost all my money. I'd only just gotten paid..."

Tsunade had always been under a strange curse: she lost every time she gambled. It was practically a hex.

The thing was, most people who kept losing at gambling would come to their senses, quit, and never touch it again.

But Tsunade was different. She seemed to genuinely love gambling. Whenever she had even a little money, she'd go looking for a place to gamble, and she didn't care if she lost every last coin each time. She'd even taken out loans from loan sharks just so she could keep losing at the casino!

Because of Tsunade, Shizune and Tonton had a hard time of it too...

That very trait was also why Tsunade was the only person in the entire ninja village who was paid daily.

Otherwise, she'd rush straight to the casino the day she got paid and lose every last coin, leaving herself unable to afford food for the rest of the month.

Giving her a small amount each day kept her gambling at a harmless level and ensured she could afford three meals a day without going too far.

"Ahem... Lady Tsunade, maybe you should try to exercise a little restraint? Gambling isn't a good thing, after all. It's no good for you, Shizune, or Tonton. And as Hokage, you should at least set a good example for the children of Konoha!"

Takizawa Dan tried to reason with her, smiling wryly. He dared to poke the tiger in the eye only because Tsunade thought highly of him.

He knew his advice would probably have little effect, but in his heart, Lady Tsunade had always been an almost perfect idol—except for her gambling.

So if she could quit, that would be all the better.

"Ugh... I have to face the High Command grilling me about this during the day, and then I come home and get lectured by you. This is so annoying!" Tsunade clutched her head, looking utterly troubled. "Aaaah! I'm the Hokage, anyway! Even if they pay my salary in daily installments, it's still a lot! What's wrong with gambling a couple of times a day?"

That was true enough. In the ninja world, as the name suggested, ninjas were in charge, and their incomes were naturally the highest.

In his previous life, Takizawa Dan had seen experts online investigate and analyze the subject. Their conclusion was that even the lowest-ranking Genin could earn an income in the upper-middle range!

Once you passed the Chunin Ninja Exams and became a full-fledged Chunin, you entered the elite class and earned an upper-class income.

Even a mere Chunin earned that much, so there was no need to mention Jonin or someone of even higher rank, like the Hokage!

You could say that if Tsunade weren't a gambler, her salary as Hokage alone would be more than enough to make her a bona fide rich woman!

Thinking that he could've had the chance to be kept by a rich woman, only for Tsunade to waste all that money at the casino, made Takizawa Dan's stomach ache.