Chapter 147: Tsunade's Secret Technique

Chapter 147: Tsunade's Secret Technique

Yin Release operates differently than Water Release or Wind Release. For example, Ino could practice Water Release ninjutsu hundreds of times a day simply by finding a river and utilizing the natural environment. This kind of repetitive, rigorous training allowed her to gradually improve her skill. But Yin Release isn't like that. Without complete rest, recovering lost mental energy is difficult. For techniques like the Mind Body Switch Technique or genjutsu, practicing even three times a day was considered strenuous. With such low training efficiency, trying to improve through sheer effort alone was simply too challenging.

Yin Release and Yang Release were fundamentally a tier above the five basic elemental releases. These two types of ninjutsu relied primarily on talent, followed by chakra, and only then on dedicated training.

The Uchiha clan possessed high-level Yin Release. The Uzumaki and Senju clans had high-level Yang Release. Did they train relentlessly for it? Absolutely not! It was all innate. Shikaku trained his entire life, yet his current Yin Release level was still inferior to Ino's, clearly demonstrating this point.

However, even after reaching Level 3, she saw no signs of breaking through the next barrier. Since she had "pot points" to spare, she decided to invest them!

She allocated three pot points to Yin Release. As for the remaining point, after a moment's thought, she didn't save it; instead, she put it into "Body."

"Body" was something she could train on her own, but she much preferred practicing ninjutsu to the tediousness of kicking wooden posts.

Originally, her "Body" stat was at 4. Now, after raising it to 5, it might not seem like a significant increase, but in reality, Temari, Sasuke, and Hinata were currently around that level.

Ino had largely moved beyond the stage of picking on weaker opponents. The enemies she would face from now on would only become stronger, so addressing her weaknesses was crucial.

Strengthen key attributes, maintain her strengths, and then distribute the remaining points evenly – that was her strategy.

Ino also planned to learn some taijutsu secret techniques from Tsunade. After years of accumulation, the Yamanaka clan couldn't be considered completely inept at taijutsu; they had some insights. However, after reviewing them, Ino had to admit they were all rather mediocre.

A month from now, during the Chunin Exams, she might even be able to use taijutsu to gain an advantage over Gaara. From what she'd observed, Gaara was clearly even worse at taijutsu than she was.

And what's more satisfying for a beginner than facing an opponent who's even more of a beginner?

Ino's current stats were:

Nin: 10

Tai: 5

Gen: 4

Int: 7

Str: 3

Spd: 6

Sta: 9

Seal: 6 Total: 50

In terms of releases:

Water Release: Lv. 4

Yin Release: Lv. 4

Earth Release: Lv. 2

Wind Release: Lv. 2

Yang Release: Lv. 1

The increase in Yin Release level had also significantly boosted Ino's mental energy. Chakra was a combination of physical and mental energy, but in reality, it leaned more towards the physical aspect. If your body was weak, no matter how strong your mind was, your chakra wouldn't be abundant. Conversely, if your body was strong, even with poor mental energy, your chakra could still be terrifyingly vast. Chakra was primarily rooted in the body.

Major transportation hubs had long been controlled by the great nations. The Land of Tea, nestled similarly among mountains, was a truly small country.

Even with Shizune leading the way, Ino still had to put in considerable effort to find Tsunade. This woman was truly elusive; tracking her down was no easy feat.

"Hmm?" Upon meeting, Tsunade first pinched Ino's cheeks, then scrutinized her from head to toe. "Your Yin Release has improved dramatically again? It seems like you've already far surpassed Shikaku and the others. And your chakra has grown this much too… How strange. Don't tell me you're also a descendant of the Senju clan?"

Tsunade felt that Ino's chakra had already surpassed her own. She was a legitimate Senju descendant, yet now, in terms of chakra, she'd been overtaken by an outsider. It was genuinely puzzling. By her estimation, aside from jinchūriki, Ino was probably the female ninja with the most chakra now.

After a quick check, she found no signs of forbidden drugs or techniques. In the end, she could only attribute it to Ino hitting puberty – her body developing, her mental energy skyrocketing, and consequently boosting both her chakra and Yin Release levels.

Because of chakra, a ninja's puberty was different from that of ordinary people. The effects of puberty varied from person to person, and the extent of improvement also differed.

Take Tsunade's grandfather, Hashirama Senju, for example. Old Hashirama's mental maturity had always been lacking, but his chakra never stopped growing. Normal ninjas' chakra stopped increasing around 15 or 16, but Hashirama was different; right up until the day he died, his chakra grew limitlessly!

Medicine couldn't explain this phenomenon at all. Tsunade could only assume her grandfather had been stuck in some kind of bizarre perpetual puberty.

"Alright, since you're here, I'll teach you a thing or two. Did you bring money? How about we talk over some drinks?"

Shizune, standing nearby, immediately objected, forcing Tsunade to abandon the idea of dragging her new disciple out for booze right after meeting.

Frowning in thought, Tsunade said, "Since you've become my student, I can't just teach you nothing. There's a little chakra control trick here – wanna learn it?"

Seeing how casually she said it, Shizune quietly whispered to Ino, fearing she might underestimate this so-called "little trick": "It's a ninjutsu Lady Tsunade spent over ten days refining."

A technique modified specifically for her? Ino was a little surprised. This teacher of hers seemed rough around the edges, but she was actually quite thoughtful.

She quickly nodded. "I'll learn it! Definitely!"

Tsunade pointed to the purple diamond mark on her forehead. "This is my Strength of a Hundred Seal, a medical-type sealing jutsu. Normally, it automatically stores excess chakra from my body. When released, it provides a massive chakra boost. Because of this seal, I also developed the Creation Rebirth technique, which allows my body to automatically heal injuries. So, little Ino, wanna learn it?"

"Of course I do! Teach me, sensei!"

Tsunade leisurely picked up a teacup, took a sip, and savored it. "You can't learn this technique."

Ino: "..."

Tsunade explained, "Because of Creation Rebirth, the chakra I store is all Yang-natured. This chakra has extremely powerful life-recovery properties; no matter how severe the injury, as long as I'm not dead on the spot, it can heal me. How much Yang-natured chakra do you think you can store?"

Ino was dumbfounded. This was… tricky.

Her Yang Release level was low, so the amount of Yang-natured chakra she could produce through chakra nature transformation was naturally small, and its purity was lacking. This was a matter of innate constitution.

Tsunade grinned smugly. "Because of your constitution, I tweaked the Strength of a Hundred Seal a bit. While my seal stores Yang-natured chakra, I specially created a Yin Seal for you – one that stores Yin-natured chakra. Your Yamanaka clan's secret techniques require a lot of Yin-natured chakra, right?"

Ino was stunned for a moment, then ecstatic!

The Mind Disturbance technique required an enormous amount of ultra-pure Yin-natured chakra, completely free of impurities. She had to use a long series of hand seals, like rinsing rice, just to purify the Yin-natured chakra. Now, with a Yin Seal, it'd be a huge help!