Chapter 140: Cooperation with Takigakure

Chapter 140: Cooperation with Takigakure

Ironically, Orochimaru was the first person to be cleared of suspicion.

Given his notorious reputation, when Hayate Gekko first encountered Orochimaru, his immediate thought certainly wouldn't have been, "If Ino can do it, so can I." He was self-aware enough to know that his only sensible options were to flee and call for backup.

Ino was also ruled out. While her Wind Release techniques in the fight against Neji were impressive, that's all they were. Hayate's wounds were mostly from rapid, close-range wind blade attacks, a style completely different from Ino's Wind Release.

Asuma, on the other hand, was a strong suspect. His mastery of Wind Release, taijutsu proficiency, and status as the Hokage's son made him a prime candidate. A close-range sneak attack from him would have left Hayate with no time to defend himself.

However, the Third Hokage casually mentioned, "Asuma was home all night," immediately clearing his son's name.

The group then shifted their focus to ninjas from Sunagakure, Amegakure, and Takigakure. Several jōnin from these villages were skilled in Wind Release.

They also considered Danzō Shimura as a suspect, but he was an even more delicate subject than Asuma. Shikaku Nara and the two advisors were unsure of the Third Hokage's position on Danzō, so they decided to avoid the topic altogether. After a brief discussion, they concluded that it would be best to wait until Hayate regained consciousness before questioning him further.

The next day, when Ino discussed Hayate's situation with her father, Inoichi, she learned that Danzō had been absent from the village for some time.

She asked, "Has he been gone for days? Even the village leadership can't locate Lord Danzō?"

Inoichi had previously mentioned that their family was aligned with Danzō's faction. Now that his daughter's strength was growing, he consciously tried to develop her analytical skills.

Inoichi replied, "It's hard to say. Root has secret bases in many locations. Lord Danzō could be somewhere within the village, or he might have already left."

"Is it because of Orochimaru?" Ino asked.

Since they were speaking privately, there was no need for caution.

Inoichi nodded. "Possibly. Orochimaru worked in Root for many years. During that time, he partnered with Aburame Torune for a while. He might have information that could damage Lord Danzō. Whether Lord Danzō is planning a counterattack or something else, it's difficult to say."

The father and daughter reached no firm conclusions. After all, the Yamanaka clan was still one step removed from Root, and many things remained speculation.

Inoichi warned Ino to be extra careful when leaving the village. Her reputation as a prodigy had spread widely, and many ninjas would kill her for the bounty on her head.

As Ino walked through the streets of Konoha, she felt a pang of regret. The information about Danzō's absence had come too late. If she had known a few days earlier, she might have been able to... manipulate the situation a bit.

Now, it was too late.

Danzō had done so many terrible things that he was the perfect scapegoat.

But precisely because he had committed so many atrocities, it was difficult to pin trivial matters on him.

During the Uchiha Massacre, Obito had collected an entire wall of Sharingan eyes. The blame for gouging out the eyes fell entirely on Danzō. When the Third Hokage saw the eyeless corpses, he assumed it was the work of his old comrade and didn't even bother to ask. Danzō, as aloof as ever, offered no explanation. The matter of the countless Sharingan eyes was swept under the rug.

In summary, Danzō was a player who only dealt in high-stakes games.

Three days after treating Hayate, Ino quietly left Konoha. She took a detour and arrived at Takigakure.

Karin had already arrived. Besides the last survivor of the Uzumaki clan, there was another young kunoichi in Takigakure: Fū, the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki.

"Are you the Konoha ninja who saved that idiot Shibuki? I want to be your friend! I want to make a hundred friends!" This dark-skinned kunoichi with blue-green hair was extremely lively. Her boundless energy made Ino feel old.

"Is Konoha big? Is it a village built in trees?"

"How many people are in your village? Is it more than five hundred?"

"Karin kept calling your name in her sleep last night. Why was she calling your name? And why was she making those strange noises?"

Fū chattered nonstop. Shibuki, who had just become the village leader, was busy with numerous tasks, so Ino waited in the reception room.

She read the newspaper while Fū continued to chatter.

She drank tea while Fū kept talking.

She even went to the bathroom, and Fū followed her.

This Jinchūriki's energy was astonishing. However, having had little contact with the outside world, her curiosity was immense. She would delve deeply into any question, no matter how trivial.

Ino planned to collect tailed beast chakra, so she wasn't about to let the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki slip away.

Aside from some awkward questions, Ino answered almost everything.

Fū was overjoyed, like a cheerful little bird, telling everyone she had made a new friend and only needed ninety-nine more.

Ino couldn't help but sigh. Jinchūriki lived difficult lives. What they wanted most was recognition from others. Naruto was like this, and so was Fū.

Since they had just met, it wouldn't be appropriate to say something like, "I want to take over your body." Ino planned to build their relationship slowly.

After about an hour of small talk, Shibuki finally finished his work. He was also happy to hear that Fū had made a new friend.

Ino explained her reason for coming: she wanted to do business with Takigakure, specifically in the construction materials industry.

Just like how there were Squibs in the Harry Potter world, there were also descendants of ninjas who couldn't use chakra. These people were even worse off than Rock Lee and Might Guy. While Lee could declare, "Even if I can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, I can still become a top-tier ninja," those who couldn't even extract chakra were completely cut off from the ninja profession.

These people couldn't be abandoned. During the Warring States period, they could only provide logistical support for their clans. In the era of ninja villages, with a relatively peaceful environment, they left their clans, abandoned their family names, and became civilians, continuing to serve the village.

During her last visit, Ino had noticed that Takigakure had many civilians. The village's environment was too damp for farming, so working outside the village was a good alternative.

Like how Gol D. Roger convinced Rayleigh with the opening line, "Let's go cause some chaos, do something big?" That kind of approach required immense charisma, which Ino didn't possess. Her idea was to start with small collaborations and gradually build a foundation of mutual trust.

Even though Shibuki had become the village leader, he was still the somewhat timid and cautious boy at heart. He wasn't keen on anything too ambitious.

After patiently listening to her proposal, he tried to summarize, "So, Miss Yamanaka, you want to establish a construction team under Takigakure's name? Why do you want to do this? Aren't you from a prominent clan in Konoha?"

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