Chapter 233: Reporting Back to Asura
Chapter 233: Reporting Back to Asura
It took a full day for Ino to effectively control the surge of chakra within her body. Her 'Hand Seals' stat being at 8 was just enough to manage this chakra without major issues, though a 9 would probably have been better. However, she currently had no Stat Points left, and no money either.
This chakra increase wasn't a simple multiplication. The Asura Chakra the First Hokage had given her also responded to the surge in her own chakra, resulting in a subtle elevation of her life force. The effect was quite profound; Ino felt her current chakra reserves were roughly five times larger than when her 'Stamina' stat was at 9. Now, her total chakra was equivalent to that of 20 Tsunades, over 40 Asumas, and approximately 100 Kakashis.
Ino's current stats were: Ninjutsu 10, Taijutsu 7, Genjutsu 6, Intelligence 8, Strength 5, Speed 7, Stamina 10, Hand Seals 8, for a total of 61. This was a respectable total, making her quite powerful – certainly qualified for a seat in the Akatsuki.
In terms of elemental and other styles, she had Water Style Lv4, Earth Style Lv4, Wind Style Lv3, Fire Style Lv1, Yin Release Lv4, Yang Release Lv3, and Flower Style (Wood Style) Lv2. She held onto one Stat Point for now, not adding it. She had mostly filled her weak spots; her next Stat Points would need to be saved to meet the requirements for further leveling up Wood Style.
Wood Style required Ninjutsu 10, Stamina 10, and Water, Earth, and Yang Release at Lv5. Her Ninjutsu and Stamina were already met. The shortfall was in her elemental and Yang releases. She felt she could likely reach Water Style Lv5 with some hard training using Shadow Clones, so she wouldn't add points there yet.
Earth Style had only recently reached Lv4. Even with intense training, significant improvement would be difficult in the short term. She didn't know many Earth Style ninjutsu, and her understanding of this chakra nature transformation was far less developed than with Water Style. Relying solely on self-improvement would be too slow; reaching Lv5 would require adding points, needing four Stat Points. Yang Release was much further behind. Going from Lv3 to Lv4 needed three Stat Points, and Lv4 to Lv5 needed four more. That added up to eleven Stat Points needed to meet the conditions for Wood Style to continue improving.
Nothing to say but: start saving!
Only when the cellular turmoil subsided did Ino go find Tsunade. Tsunade was left speechless by yet another massive increase in her chakra, repeatedly questioning if Ino had Senju clan blood. How else could a Yamanaka clan ninja possess such immense chakra? Your chakra is so ridiculously large it feels like cheating, young lady!
Following Tsunade meant plenty of food and drink, and a stable mindset. After spending half a month casually idling around, the three of them and one pig returned to Konoha Village. The Gutsy Ninja Saga Film was nearing completion, so Tsunade invited Yukie Fujikaze, who played her, for dinner. Ino also brought along Hinata, who played her role in the film. In the current version of this production, there were two female leads, one big and one small: one named Teshuna and one named Noino. The original protagonist, Naruto? Who was that?
"Wow, is this Tonton? So cute!" Hinata was a little shy, but as Ino played with Tonton and brought her closer, she slowly relaxed. Hinata hugged Tonton, looking her over. Yep, definitely plump... Tonton looked up at the busty girl, then nudged her a couple of times, squealing "Puyopuyo!" to express how much she liked this girl – she was very much like Tsunade!
Tsunade slapped the table and burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! Hinata really is like me when I was young! I was just as shy and too embarrassed to talk to strangers back then. My grandfather always said I was incredibly refined from a young age! Hahahaha!"
Ino, standing nearby, didn't say anything. That's not quite what your grandfather said before... Jiraiya, who was there to freeload on dinner, also pretended not to hear. Refined? Was it Orochimaru who broke my ribs, then?
Jiraiya suddenly remembered something. He said, "Oh, right, little Ino. Come to my office tomorrow. There's a mission; the client specifically requested you complete it."
"Understood, Lord Hokage."
The next day, Ino received a C-rank mission.
"Be a princess's body double? Is this mission serious?" She held the mission brief, quickly scanning it. How should she describe this mission? It was utterly unreliable. The princess of a tiny, insignificant country, after seeing Ino's appearance during the Chunin Exams finals, thought she looked very similar and was now hiring Ino to be her body double.
It sounded somewhat normal; many ninjas had undertaken such missions. But...
Ino pointed at the photo of the plump princess, full of resentment. "How is this fatty anything like me?! She must weigh two hundred pounds!"
Jiraiya shrank back behind his desk, chuckling awkwardly. "They're both blond, both young women, and their presence is... similar enough... The client specifically requested you, hehe, haha..."
Ino stared at the photo of the blond, overweight princess, her face a mask of disbelief. However, that was the nature of being a ninja; you didn't have the right to pick and choose missions. When a mission came, you had to go.
"Oh, right, little Ino, take this guy with you too. He's completely cooped up and needs to get out and stretch his legs," Jiraiya said, pointing at Naruto, who was sitting nearby, looking completely numb and pretending to read a book. Naruto hadn't left the village in a very, very long time. He was constantly doing make-up lessons, and since he wasn't absorbing anything, he was on the verge of exploding. He stiffly turned his head to look over, and it took him nearly two minutes to figure out what was happening.
His face lit up with excitement. "Really?! Perverted Sage, I can really go on a mission outside the village?"
"Lord Hokage, will this be alright?" Ino asked pointedly.
Jiraiya lightly nodded. He had naturally made arrangements for letting Naruto leave the village. The boy couldn't be kept locked up forever. His learning efficiency had been abysmal lately. Even if Iruka tried to motivate him or Minato and Kushina somehow came back to life, it wouldn't help now. He absolutely needed to get out and move around. Ino's mission as the princess's body double was the easiest and lowest-risk mission available at the moment. With Ino's strength, she could handle strong enemies if they appeared, or at the very least, escape.
"Alright, I understand."
The two quickly left the village, heading for the tiny country called the Land of Wheat to find the princess who had hired Ino as her double, Princess Fuku.
Naruto chattered non-stop the entire way. In his stories, he had defeated Sasuke seventeen or eighteen times, and Sakura had thrown herself into his arms; they were practically married with children already. Ino just kept acknowledging him with "uh-huh" and "ah." After dinner, she used a sleeping pill to knock Naruto out.
Before, Naruto had always been under Iruka and Jiraiya's watchful eyes, so she never had the chance. Now, experienced and familiar with the process, her will entered Naruto's mental world to 'report the mission.' She completely ignored the Nine-Tails' furious roar, looked around, found a downward staircase, and slowly walked down.
Asura was the same as ever. The First Hokage's recognition of Ino was essentially his recognition; to him, past life and present life had no clear dividing line – it was all the same. He looked at Ino with significantly more warmth. Ino returned the Asura Chakra he had given her that day, and within it was the response from Indra's side.
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