Chapter 359: Splitting Up

Chapter 359: Splitting Up

Ino said, "Actually, our body's development during puberty is influenced by hormones. When the energy provided by hormones far exceeds the body's consumption, the excess energy will promote bone growth and a series of bodily developments. You understand that, right?"

The Sakura before her fully embodied the Konoha Village's principle of "comprehensive development" for ninjas. She had learned a bit of everything—ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, sealing jutsu, medical ninjutsu. Although she hadn't mastered any of them and was at a "knows a little" level, she at least had a foundation.

She nodded, indicating she could understand.

Ino continued, "We are ninjas with chakra. In this aspect, we naturally have an advantage over ordinary people. Our height, weight, strength, speed, and other stats are all stronger and more perfect than ordinary people's. The reason you are so… um, so slow, is because you don't have enough chakra in your body."

Sakura frowned tightly.

Ino pointed at her small bean buns and said with some disdain, "I can't do anything about your chakra, but I can teach you a new sealing jutsu I've researched. Normally, you temporarily seal the chakra pathways in a local area. Seal it for a month, then release it for five days. During these five days, let your body develop rapidly, then seal it again for another month."

This had nothing to do with the Yin Seal or Yang Seal; it was just a shrunken-down local seal created using the Four Symbols Seal.

She taught Sakura twice, and she mastered it completely. Then, she went back to her room to apply the sealing formula to herself!

The next day, the squad bid farewell to Prince Michiru and left the royal palace. They didn't go to the pier but found another inn to stay in. They still had to wait for the fleet from the southern continent and then return to the Land of Fire together.

Prince Michiru's move to hire ninjas gave the ill-intentioned minister, Shabadaba, a sense of crisis. Having gone this far, he couldn't turn back. On the fifth day after Ino and the others left, Minister Shabadaba, as expected and reasonable, launched a coup.

The old king died on the spot. Prince Michiru fell into Shabadaba's hands and became a puppet. The boy who looked like Harry Potter, Hikaru, was desperately sent out of the royal palace by guards loyal to the royal family.

Shabadaba had also hired ninjas. No matter how good the guards' martial arts were, without chakra, they were just ordinary people in front of ninjas. Like cutting wheat, they were slaughtered, with heads rolling.

"Go… find Konoha, find the Konoha ninjas!" The guard captain left behind his last words and breathed his last.

Hikaru, who had never suffered before, was at a loss. His gaming experience was useless now. All the guards were dead, and the only one by his side was a monkey that performed in a circus.

"So hungry…" Hikaru wore a servant's clothes. There were two cracks on the lens of his right eye, caused by a fall when he was escaping earlier.

Now, no one would come to use "Reparo" on him. He could only rely on himself.

As a matter of princely pride, he wouldn't steal bread, but he was really too hungry.

The guard captain had told him to find the Konoha ninjas. It was easy to say, but where were the Konoha ninjas? Should he shout on the street?

A seemingly kind old woman saw his predicament and pointed him to a large mansion two streets away, where some kind people were giving out food for free.

Hikaru was only seven years old this year. He had been pampered and had no social experience at all. His stomach was growling, and in a daze, he went.

When those kind people drew his blood and several strong men stared at him with fierce eyes, he knew something was wrong. These guys were definitely not good people.

At the critical moment, he let the monkey run first. He himself was caught by several men and then pushed into a warehouse.

The warehouse was filled with a thick smell of blood. The floor was covered in dried blood plasma. In the empty room, there were more than ten large vats filled with a dark brown liquid. Three soft tubes extended from the vats, continuously injecting the dark brown liquid into transparent sealed bags hanging above the vats.

Hikaru was shocked. He saw that the transparent sealed bags contained boys and girls about his size. He subconsciously wanted to cry for help, but a man's hand suddenly covered his mouth from behind. He smelled a pungent odor, instantly lost his strength, and was manipulated like a toy. He felt himself being hung upside down in a transparent sealed bag, and then, out of excessive fear, he fainted.

Ino and the others knew about the coup in the Land of the Moon. The royal palace had been blockading information, but for ninjas, this blockade was no different from no blockade. The reason they hadn't acted was to wait for an opportunity to offer help in a time of need.

They didn't care if the old king died or not, at least Ino didn't.

If they rescued Prince Michiru at a critical moment, and he was grateful, then it would be easy for the Ino-Shika-Cho to establish a base in the Land of the Moon.

"Squeak, squeak-squeak?! Squeak-squeak-squeak!" Hikaru's monkey found them, which was unexpected for the four of them.

Ino and the others looked at each other. What was it saying?

Ino could understand Tonton's words because Tsunade and Shizune had taught her, but she didn't understand monkey language.

The monkey was extremely anxious, but the four of them didn't know what it meant.

"Watch me!" Sakura snapped her fingers and, on the spot, used the Summoning Jutsu to summon Kakashi's tracking dog, Pakkun.

"Yo!" Pakkun had the same expression as Kakashi and raised his right paw to greet them.

Ino really didn't know that Sakura had learned the Summoning Jutsu from Kakashi. If this girl had a stat panel, her skill bar would definitely be a whole row of lv1s. She had learned so much miscellaneous stuff, but not a single skill was mastered…

After a session of dog barking and monkey screeching between Pakkun and the monkey, they learned about Hikaru's kidnapping. Ino frowned. The group that kidnapped Hikaru didn't sound like they were with the coup plotters in the palace.

Shikamaru said, "There should be a connection. For them to abduct people on such a large scale, it's impossible not to alert the official forces of the Land of the Moon. I guess it was tacitly approved. We now have to not only save Prince Michiru but also save Hikaru."

Ino thought for two seconds and used her sensory ability to investigate.

There were three ninjas in the royal palace. Judging from their chakra reactions, they should be at the chunin level. Following the monkey's directions, she searched towards the mansion. This search startled her. She saw a very strong chakra reaction, somewhat familiar. Before she could take a closer look, the other party disappeared from her senses.

She thought for a moment and said, "There's definitely more to this Hikaru matter. Um… Sakura, you take Pakkun and go with me to save Hikaru. Shikamaru, you and Choji go to the palace to save Prince Michiru."

"Yes." x3

The four split up. Ino and Sakura, under Pakkun's guidance, found Hikaru's scent and tracked it all the way to the warehouse door.

A tall, silver-haired young man in a black robe and mask stood at the entrance. His gaze was sharp, his back straight. He stood there like a javelin.

Around them, some men holding weapons appeared one after another, surrounding Ino and Sakura.

________________________________________

If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 50 advanced chapters available on Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/GirlsLove1