Chapter 396

"Did you discover something? Ino, you're acting strange."

Ino's heart skipped a beat. At first, she really thought Sakura had found something, but then she reconsidered. She had been sneaking into Yoichi's pharmacy late at night, even avoiding the security forces and Anbu. How could Sakura possibly know?

"Why are you suddenly bringing this up? Right now, I only care about Ijin's situation."

Sakura chuckled and then placed her hands on her hips. "I haven't interacted much with that pharmacist, Yoichi, but I do know that he's incredibly greedy when it comes to money. Yet, when he's with you, he changes. Not only does he let you buy on credit, but he even gave you that precious Jōnin Pill. Ino, we're best friends who share everything—you're not hiding anything from me, are you?"

"I'm not hiding anything..."

Ino nervously took two steps back, her blue eyes darting left and right, avoiding Sakura's sharp gaze.

"It's so obvious, Ino!"

Sakura saw through it immediately. After confirming her suspicion, she sighed and took a step back. "Well, as long as you know what you're doing. As your friend, I just hope you find happiness. But Ino... this isn't because of what I accidentally told Sarada last time, is it?"

"No, it has nothing to do with you, Sakura. Sai and I have our own problems. Besides, you know better than anyone how irritating he can be when he talks."

Ino clenched her fists as she recalled past memories. She and Sai had lost their love long ago, and now her heart belonged entirely to Yoichi.

"Haha... yeah, I get that. But it's probably because of his past, right? Don't dwell on it too much, Ino."

Sakura laughed it off. When she first met Sai, she had seriously wanted to beat him to death. Although he had improved over time, he still had a habit of saying infuriating things. That was likely due to his early years in Root, where he had little interaction with people.

Now, Sakura was sure—Ino and Yoichi were definitely involved. The only question was, since when?

"Ino, what exactly is that Jōnin Pill? It gave Inojin such a huge boost, and I examined him thoroughly just now—I couldn't find any side effects at all."

Sakura's tone became more serious when she brought up the main issue. She was a master of medical ninjutsu, trained by Tsunade herself, and could decipher almost any poison in the ninja world.

She could guarantee that Ijin's transformation was not a temporary enhancement. His very cells were growing stronger. She had even taken three separate blood samples to analyze, and each time, his cells were becoming increasingly potent.

In the end, his cells were brimming with vitality—almost like Hashirama's cells.

"I didn't ask too many questions at the time, but Yoichi-kun mentioned that the Jōnin Pill is a Rank Six secret medicine. It's the most advanced elixir he can currently make. Even if I were to take it, it would significantly increase my chakra. The stronger the user, the better the effects."

Ino recalled Yoichi's words, then blushed slightly. She hadn't actually asked too many details back then. She had gotten distracted by Yoichi, and, well... one thing led to another, and they ended up doing that again. After that, she completely forgot to ask.

"A secret medicine that precious... Ino, that guy definitely made it just for you, didn't he?"

Sakura couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy. Even now, someone was willing to go to such lengths for Ino. She wished Sasuke would do the same for her.

Ino felt a bit embarrassed. She and Yoichi hadn't made their relationship public yet, so she quickly changed the subject. "L-Let's stop talking about me! Sakura, how's everything at home? I heard Sasuke-kun has been staying in Konoha for a while now..."

"Sasuke-kun left the village again as soon as he recovered. Things aren't looking great. He still needs to investigate those enemies."

Sakura's face instantly fell. She had wanted to spend a few peaceful days at home with Sasuke, but she understood the village's situation. Still, not being able to sit down and have a meal with her daughter and Sasuke made her feel incredibly disappointed.

"Don't think about it too much, Sakura. Why don't we find some time to go to the hot springs together?"

Ino patted Sakura's shoulder, suddenly remembering the promise she made to Yoichi. A hot spring trip... and she had to wear white stockings the entire time. That bastard! He always found ways to embarrass her. Ino's face flushed red again.

"That sounds nice. Some relaxation would be good. But lately, things have been too busy in the village," Sakura replied with a smile. Then she carefully examined Ijin once more. After confirming that there were no abnormalities, she finally allowed Ino and Ijin to leave.

However, after Ino left, Sakura hesitated for a moment. She ultimately decided to put aside her work and head to the Hokage's office.

Inside Kamui Space

After years of cultivation, the Ōtsutsuki clone was finally complete.

The reason it had taken so long was that Ōtsutsuki genes were extremely difficult to clone, requiring an extended period to stabilize. Even after success, the clone needed an enormous amount of chakra, which meant an additional long incubation in nutrient solutions.

After nearly two years, this single Ōtsutsuki clone had finally been perfected—to be fed to the Ten-Tails.

Once Yoichi retrieved the clone, he immediately threw it to the Ten-Tails and loosened half of its restraints.

"Eat up. Hurry and evolve—you still have many flaws."

As soon as Yoichi finished speaking, his symbiote emerged from his shoulder and, in its usual snarky tone, commented, "If you let it evolve any further, its intelligence might increase even more. This creature... my apologies, my deepest apologies!"

Yoichi's hand instantly ignited with Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flames, forcing the symbiote to retreat.

The Ten-Tails, upon receiving the Ōtsutsuki clone, lunged forward on instinct. Its body morphed to reveal more of its Ten-Tails features, and it opened its massive maw, swallowing the clone whole.

Crunch, crunch!

A few chews later, the Ōtsutsuki clone was completely devoured. Before long, the Ten-Tails broke free from its Truth-Seeking Orb restraints, and its body began to expand.

RUMBLE!

The Ten-Tails rapidly transformed into the Divine Tree within Kamui Space. Its countless roots stretched downward in search of energy, but this was not the Shinobi World—it was Kamui Space.

Even if it rooted itself into the ground, the Divine Tree couldn't absorb any energy.

Still, as the Ten-Tails took on its Divine Tree form, it continued to change. Yoichi could clearly sense the energy converging at the top of the tree, forming a Chakra Fruit.

"It worked—wait, no!"

The symbiote peeked out again and exclaimed, "It's evolving! It's using that fruit to evolve! This thing... how is it even more—"

Before it could finish, it instinctively retracted again.

In the next moment, Yoichi's arm was engulfed in golden flames, extending into a massive golden blade over tens of meters long.

Simultaneously, his Tenseigan Clone entered Tenseigan Chakra Mode, concentrating Truth-Seeking Orbs into his palm to unleash the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!

Zzzzzt!

BOOM!

Gold flames and golden light clashed against the Divine Tree. Even as the Divine Tree raised countless indestructible branches, it couldn't stop the combined assault.

(End of Chapter)

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