No, he couldn't just stand by and watch Tsunade's money flow away like water, all of it handed over to the casino, only for her to lose every last coin.
It might as well go to him!
"Ahem... Big Sis Tsunade, putting everything else aside, I'm technically your student now, right?"
Takizawa Dan cleared his throat.
"Of course! I already announced it at the Chunin Ninja Exams. Who would dare question you?"
Tsunade answered at once, her voice ringing with conviction. "Tell me, who's bullying you? I'll go beat them up for you right now!"
Hearing Tsunade say she would stand up for him, Takizawa Dan felt a warm glow in his heart.
His Big Sis Tsunade might be unreliable in certain ways, but she had always treated him wonderfully.
"Hehe, that's not what I meant. Of course I believe you really care about me, Big Sis Tsunade. And who would dare deny what you say?" Takizawa Dan hurried to explain. "What I'm worried about... is that you might not have enough money to support my training!"
"Oh? Is that what you mean?" Tsunade paused. "I thought the village provided living expenses for you as an orphan of a fallen hero."
Because of the many missions and the large and small conflicts that plagued the Shinobi World, casualties among ninja had always been high.
When a ninja died, their children naturally became orphans, left without their parents' protection.
To protect those children, the village provided living expenses for the orphans of fallen heroes, raising them until they came of age.
Of course, that was how things worked for ordinary children. Most ninja children inherited their parents' techniques and chakra, and nine times out of ten would grow up to become capable ninja themselves.
Takizawa Dan was the exception. He couldn't mold chakra, and his body was frail, so he would have to rely on the village for the rest of his life.
"Big Sis Tsunade... the problem is, the village's living allowance is just enough to keep me alive. If I'm going to become a ninja, it's nowhere near enough to cover my training!"
Takizawa Dan was utterly speechless at how oblivious his Big Sis Tsunade could be.
After all, a ninja village wasn't a charity. Though it promised to take proper care of the children of fallen heroes, it certainly couldn't spend too much money on them.
Before, Takizawa Dan had only received one-tenth of a standard Genin's monthly income. That was enough to fill his stomach, and if he saved carefully, buy one manga a month. There was nothing left beyond that.
Some months, when the village tightened its belt, Takizawa Dan was given flour, rice, and other goods instead of money. They had just been paid in tribute by the poor farmers of the Land of Fire.
The problem was, Takizawa Dan couldn't cook. If he hadn't handed the food over to Uncle Ichiraku in exchange for a month's worth of meals at Ichiraku Ramen, he might have actually starved to death...
That was how Takizawa Dan and Uncle Ichiraku first formed their unbreakable bond, but that was another story.
In short, with such a meager allowance, it was impossible for Takizawa Dan to train properly as a ninja. Shikamaru had even said in the original story that he'd spent a whole year's worth of pocket money on an Explosive Tag and some smoke bombs.
The Nara Clan was one of Konoha's "Ino-Shika-Cho" clans, and a prestigious family at that. If even Shikamaru was strapped for cash during training, what hope did a penniless kid like Takizawa Dan have?
Orphans in similar circumstances, who had to rely on Konoha to support them in their early years, could only take on all kinds of bounty missions while struggling to keep up with their training. Naturally, they couldn't train with their full attention, and progressed much more slowly than others.
At the very least, Takizawa Dan had made a point of asking around, and as far as he knew, none of them had ever become a Konoha Jonin!
At best, a few had made it to Chunin, spending their days running around the village like office workers and working themselves to exhaustion. Without family connections to support them, they struggled at every turn and had a hard time earning respect.
Some even remained Genin their entire lives. Their circumstances weren't much better than Takizawa Dan's.
Only then did Tsunade, that oblivious woman, finally seem to understand.
"So that's how it is... I've never really paid attention to the village's finances. I had no idea you'd been living such a miserable life!"
Takizawa Dan grumbled to himself. It was a good thing Lady Tsunade had never paid attention to the finances, or she would probably have gambled away all of Konoha!
"The thing is... even if I submitted a request to the village for extra funding for you, I doubt those old geezers in the upper ranks would agree." Tsunade rubbed her temples. "Those stubborn old men care about money more than anything. It's incredibly hard to pry any out of their hands."
"So I have no one else to rely on. You're all I have, Big Sis Tsunade! Tell me... if you keep leaving your money at the casino, how am I supposed to train in the future?"
Takizawa Dan deliberately put all his heart into his words. He even managed to squeeze out two tears, and Tsunade's heart melted.
"Fine, fine! Since you've put it that way, I won't gamble anymore. From now on, I'll save all my money for your training!"
Tsunade hurriedly promised.
"Really?"
Takizawa Dan pressed her for an answer while the iron was hot.
"You little brat, I'm the Hokage! A Hokage's word is their bond. Why would I lie?"
Tsunade immediately protested, half scolding and half laughing.
"Haha, if you can promise me that, Big Sis Tsunade, then I can relax."
Takizawa Dan laughed, a faint, almost imperceptible smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Things had gone far more easily than he'd imagined.
Tsunade was a woman who took her promises very seriously. Once she agreed to something, she would never go back on her word. In other words, from now on, all of Tsunade's wages belonged to Takizawa Dan!
The thought of having gotten his hands on the Hokage's entire budget made Takizawa Dan want to cheer.
It seemed that from now on, he'd never have to worry about not having enough money again.
"But... now that I think about it, it really hurts. I lost so much money at the casino!"
Thinking about her past gambling, Tsunade felt a pang of regret.
She hadn't truly changed her ways. She just thought how wonderful it would have been if she'd saved all that money to spend on Takizawa Dan!
Before you continue