Encounter at the Village Entrance

Ino slept for an entire day before finally waking up.

Shortly after she awoke, Choji came to visit her with a large bag of snacks, followed by Shikamaru, Sakura, Naruto, and even the usually aloof Sasuke.

Asuma and Kakashi arrived at noon. While the Genin were competing in the maze, which was a test of the future of both villages, the Jonin also had similar activities to gauge the current strength of both sides. The two of them were quite busy as well.

Kakashi casually sat down after entering the room. His face was slightly pale, a clear sign of excessive Chakra consumption.

"How did you guys fare this time?" Asuma lit a cigarette and asked straightforwardly.

Shikamaru clasped his hands behind his head, "The climate inside was very comfortable, a great place to escape the heat."

Choji was also happy, "The ramen there was delicious! I had a competition with Naruto, and in the end, I won!"

Asuma chuckled dryly and finally turned to Ino.

She spoke, half-truthfully, "Well, I did end up fighting Chojuro and Haku. They were both very strong. Ranmaru's Red Eye gave me a lot of trouble, otherwise, I wouldn't have been beaten so badly. After that, I obtained an S-rank Water Release Ninja Technique. It's probably a Water Release technique, but it's so difficult that I can't use it right now."

She told Asuma this more for the sake of reporting. Once Asuma knew, his father, the Village Chief, would also know. With all the formalities in place, she could use it in official settings next time.

Ino, after all, wasn't like Naruto, who could instantly recover to full health. Her body was still very weak. Choji left her favorite grilled fish, and the group left together.

Ino ate a few bites of the grilled fish and then drowsily slept for another half a day. Only after waking up did she have the energy to review her gains.

Ninjas improve their strength through life-and-death battles. This method is extremely dangerous but undeniably effective.

Since her arrival, the battle with the Mist trio was the toughest fight she had ever been in.

The life-and-death struggle allowed her body to tap into some of its potential, and her strength increased significantly.

Her "Body" and "Strength" each increased by one point.

The Vapor Explosion contained a wealth of Ninja Technique knowledge. Her calm response during the battle with the trio, as well as the confidence gained after the fight, also increased her "Wisdom" by one point.

Knowledge is also a part of "Wisdom." To put it simply, IQ is innate, but knowledge can be acquired. Orochimaru and Tsunade might not have a higher IQ than Shikamaru, but their "Wisdom" is 10 because of their vast knowledge.

Ino frequently used Water Release during the battle, and her Water Release level, which was already on the verge of a breakthrough, smoothly increased to lv4.

Her current attributes are: Ninja Skill 9, Body 4, Illusion 4, Wisdom 7, Strength 3, Speed 6, Stamina 8, Hand Seals 6, totaling 47.

In terms of Release Techniques: Water Release lv4, Earth Release lv2, Wind Release lv2, Yin Release lv3.

By shifting the blame to Kakashi, she gained two Pot Points. She plans to save up two more and then directly increase her "Ninja Skill" to 10.

Ao and Gonbei never inquired about Konoha's gains, only reiterating that Ninja Techniques could not be shared without Mist's consent. Asuma agreed on Ino's behalf.

After lying in bed for three days, the restless Ino dragged Sakura out for shopping and bought a pile of gifts.

She spoke with great conviction, explaining that the coat was for Inoichi, the scarf for Rino, and even Teacher Iruka, Moegi, and the gatekeeper Hagane Kotetsu had gifts prepared for them.

Sakura initially only bought things for herself, but seeing her so thoughtful, she also started buying some gifts. When Shikamaru heard the news, he held his head, too exhausted to speak.

Good grief, you're injured like this and still thinking about dragging us into this?

You, a severely injured person, have bought a pile of gifts for your relatives and friends, and we're supposed to go back empty-handed? We'd be hung up and beaten for sure! No choice, let's buy!

Shikamaru and Choji also joined the shopping spree.

In the end, even Asuma had a pang of conscience, realizing he couldn't just buy gifts for his girlfriend. The Village Chief, his father, and his nephew Konohamaru also deserved something. He bought a pipe for the Village Chief and a finely crafted ninja blade with a distinct Kirigakure Village style for his nephew.

Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke, who had no friends, no wife, no children, no parents, were utterly exasperated. Thanks for the reminder, our families are all dead, so we don't need to buy gifts! After about a week, the matters were settled, and the two villages reached a basic cooperative agreement. The group from the Hidden Leaf Village prepared to return.

Next would be the cooperation between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. Only after the financial backers of both sides cooperated could the two ninja villages establish deeper mutual trust.

Genji initially thought there might be some resistance from the Land of Water, but to his surprise, the proposal was approved as soon as it was submitted.

Although he found it a bit suspicious, since the daimyo had agreed, he couldn't think of any reason to oppose it.

On the way there, they took a detour, following the southern route, and with the added task of guarding Raiga Kurosuki and Zabuza, it took them over half a month. On the way back, they followed the trade route of the Land of Water and reached the Land of Waves in just over ten days.

Naruto, acting like a leader, inspected the bridge named after him, the "Great Naruto Bridge." At this point, only the bridge piers were completed, and the bridge itself was nowhere to be seen, but he was still thrilled and couldn't stop talking about it.

Mitokado Homura was heading to the capital of the Land of Fire to report to the daimyo, while Team 7 and Team 10 returned to the Hidden Leaf Village ahead of him.

"Yo, you guys worked hard," Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu, the gatekeepers, greeted Team 7 and Team 10 with smiles.

Compared to the eccentric and often tragic Team 7, Team 10, whose families were intact, had a much better relationship with these two gatekeepers.

Ino even brought out small gifts for the two, all local specialties from the Land of Water and the Land of Waves. Though not valuable, they were a gesture of respect.

"Old Kotetsu" was well-informed and had already heard about Ino beating up the younger generation of Kirigakure Village, so he teased her a bit.

The two teams quickly completed the village entry registration.

"Well, you're dismissed. Asuma and I will report to the Hokage," Kakashi's words trailed off as he paused, his gaze shifting to the distance.

Ino, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Sakura were all startled, then followed his gaze toward the village entrance.

There, three Anbu-masked ninja stood in a triangular formation, escorting a young woman through the gates.

The woman appeared to be in her early twenties, with long black hair, wearing an off-shoulder top and a fiery red long skirt.

Her face was somewhat pale, likely due to an injury.

"Kakashi-sensei, who is that?" Naruto asked bluntly.

Kakashi, as if suffering from senility, casually responded with a nonchalant "Hmm," as if that was enough of an answer.