Chapter 138: The Twelve Leaf Ninja

Chapter 138: The Twelve Leaf Ninja

"Don't worry, I'll definitely beat her in the official match," Ino declared solemnly, promising to avenge Tenten by defeating Temari during the competition.

"You guys keep chatting, I'm going out to change my bandages," Tenten said, noticing Neji looked like he was about to say something, and took the opportunity to leave the hospital room.

Ino glanced at Neji and remarked, "Huh? You actually look better than before? Did you have some kind of breakthrough during the fight?"

Neji seemed to have shed the burden of being a genius. A defeated genius was no longer a genius, and from now on, people would pay less attention to him. Having fallen from grace, his expression actually seemed a bit more relaxed.

He nodded and said, "You've been working hard to improve your taijutsu too, right?"

Due to inaccurate information, he had assumed Ino's taijutsu was weak, but in reality, it wasn't as bad as the rumors suggested. They had exchanged over a dozen moves without any issues, and this miscalculation kept adding up. By the time Ino successfully used the Shadow Clone Technique, he had already lost. The subsequent Eight Trigrams: Heavenly Spin did little more than wreck the arena, with no real significance.

"Do you think I need to focus more on ninjutsu training?" he asked bluntly.

Did he need to? Ino was currently grinding ninjutsu out of necessity time wasn't on her side.

Taijutsu was undoubtedly good, but on one hand, she didn't have Rock Lee's level of perseverance, and on the other, there simply wasn't enough time.

The Fourth Great Ninja War was just over three years away. Even someone as hardworking as Lee only barely managed to open the Sixth Gate by the end. What use was the Sixth Gate in the final battle? All that sweat, all those sleepless nights of training what did it ultimately achieve?

Ino used herself as an example: "Look at me, I mainly focus on ninjutsu. As long as my taijutsu isn't too weak, I won't get completely crushed by someone like you, a taijutsu expert. Since you're so naturally gifted in taijutsu, switching to ninjutsu now seems unnecessary. Just do some supplementary training in ninjutsu. That's my humble opinion."

"Understood, thanks for the advice."

"You're welcome."

While waiting for Inoichi to gather information on Tsunade's whereabouts over the next two days, Ino took a large set of keys and went around the village collecting rent. Some tenants paid on time, but others tried to freeload, either pretending not to be home or timing their outings to avoid her. How could she tolerate that? Was the Shadow Clone Technique just for show?

While battling wits with her tenants, Ino unexpectedly discovered a new shop in the village: The Curry of Life! The cooks were none other than Granny Shijimi and her reformed grandson.

After some inquiries, she found out that the curry shop was privately funded by Shikamaru, who had invited Granny Shijimi to open it in Konoha.

Seeing Shikamaru, drenched in sweat and struggling with his curry, Ino was baffled.

"I never knew you had a taste for such spicy food. Are you okay?"

Shikamaru's face was red from the heat, but he waved her off, indicating he was fine. After downing two buckets of cold water, he finally managed to suppress the spiciness.

Upon learning the reason, it wasn't anything surprising just the result of internal competition.

Shikamaru had been reflecting on his abilities. He could train in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu, but he wasn't like Ino, who could master C-rank ninjutsu after seeing it once or use B-rank ninjutsu at 50-60% efficiency after a few days of practice. He didn't have that kind of natural talent for ninjutsu, but these things could be compensated for with hard work. The one thing he couldn't improve through effort alone was his chakra reserves.

There were few ways to increase chakra after reaching a certain level. Shikamaru's chakra wasn't low, but it wasn't particularly high either. Faced with this internal competition, he had to find ways to boost his chakra.

Having once witnessed Ino's chakra surge at The Curry of Life, he thought eating spicy food might help. Surprisingly, the chili peppers, which warmed the stomach and improved blood circulation, did seem to give him a slight chakra boost. Combined with the secret medicines he had taken since childhood as a member of a major ninja clan, the spiciness helped dissolve the residual medicinal effects in his body, leading to a slight increase in his chakra.

So, what else was there to do? As long as it didn't kill him, he would eat as much as he could.

First, it was Shikamaru, then his good friend Choji, followed by Lee, who had a soft spot for curry. Then Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and Hinata joined in. Finally, even Neji, who had just recovered from his injuries, was dragged by Tenten and Lee to give it a try.

As Lee put it, "Come on, try it. It's absolutely delicious."

Neji, with a "why not" attitude, went to The Curry of Life. But after eating, he nearly "passed away." Less than thirty minutes after being discharged from the hospital, he was carried back in for stomach pumping and induced vomiting. It was quite the ordeal.

Though the process was embarrassing, this incident stripped away about 70-80% of Neji's aloof demeanor. With Tenten and Lee as bridges, and his relationship with Hinata, he somewhat awkwardly integrated into Ino's little group.

The Twelve Leaf Ninja were finally united! Shikamaru treated everyone to another round of curry.

Hearing from his students that curry could increase chakra, Might Guy rushed over to join the feast. To set an example for his students, he didn't bother with double or quadruple spice levels. A real man had to be tough on himself, so he went straight for the 100x spicy curry. Sweating profusely and with his hair nearly turning red, he licked the plate clean and gave his students a thumbs-up, declaring that this, too, was a form of training!

Another day passed, and Inoichi finally got word of Tsunade's location. Ino didn't leave through the main gate guarded by her comrades. With the Third Hokage's permission, she quietly exited the village through a hidden outpost.

Less than 500 meters out of the village, she noticed three masked ANBU ninja quickly pursuing her.

What's going on? Ino was confused. Had she done something wrong? Not that she knew of!

She hadn't betrayed the village, so why this?

As they got closer, she recognized the leader a purple-haired ANBU kunoichi with a long sword strapped to her back. Yuugao Uzuki?

To emphasize the urgency, Yuugao immediately removed her mask and grabbed Ino's hand. "Quick! Hayate is injured, and it's serious. The Third Hokage believes only you can save him. Can you contact Lady Tsunade? Or do you have some kind of healing medicine?"

With her lover's life on the line, the usually aloof Yuugao was extremely anxious.

After all that had happened, Hayate, that unlucky guy, had still been cut down? And the Third Hokage thought she could heal him?

For a moment, Ino felt a surge of admiration for the Third Hokage. As the teacher of the Sannin, this was what you called insight! Look, even the Professor of Ninjutsu recognized her talent in medical ninjutsu!

But then her heart sank. She knew her own limits, didn't she?

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