First Encounter with Tsunade

Jiraiya's gaze at Ino was complicated. She first created two Shadow Clones, then immediately unleashed the "Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave," followed by a series of "Water Dragon Bullet," "Water Formation Wall," and "Wild Water Wave." The most astonishing part was that she even used the Second Hokage's unique ninja technique, "Water Release: Water Severing Wave."

In between, she also employed advanced techniques like "Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere" and "Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall."

Jiraiya had initially thought that Ino's limit would be a C-rank Water Release technique. He never expected to witness such a barrage of high-level ninja techniques! The last person who could unleash so many techniques at the age of 13 was Orochimaru.

"Your Water Release..." Jiraiya racked his brain, trying to come up with something. He had already spoken too confidently earlier, so he felt he had to offer some guidance. But after thinking for a long time, he couldn't figure out what advice to give. Her Water Release was already at such a high level—what more could he possibly teach her?

Suggesting that Ino seek guidance from Tsunade? Jiraiya had to admit, his love for Tsunade was genuine. He knew her capabilities well and didn't want her to be embarrassed.

In her youth, Tsunade had mastered a few of the Five Nature Transformation Techniques, given her strong affinity for Fire, Lightning, Earth, and Water. However, as her Chakra control became more refined and her physical strength grew, she often found that the power of her Release Techniques paled in comparison to the sheer force of her punches. The effort of forming hand seals was sometimes less effective than simply charging in and delivering a blow.

In terms of the Five Nature Transformation Techniques, Orochimaru surpassed Jiraiya, and Jiraiya surpassed Tsunade.

Not wanting Tsunade to lose face, Jiraiya decided he had to keep Ino occupied on his end.

He cleared his throat and spoke with a serious tone, "Ahem, well, I must say, your Water Release is quite impressive. However! Your Chakra Nature Transformation is still lacking. This is a crucial area you need to work on if you want to become a Chunin—ahem, I mean, this is an area you need to improve."

Jiraiya didn't believe these topics were something a Genin or even a Chunin should be delving into, so his opening remarks came off as rather dry.

As for the Oil Transformation Techniques of Mount Myōboku, such as the C-rank technique "Toad Oil Bullet," he couldn't teach those to Ino.

Judging by Ino's talent, Tsunade would have no problem taking her as a disciple. From Jiraiya's observation, her Chakra reserves were more than sufficient. There was a high likelihood that this girl would eventually enter Shikkotsu Forest. Therefore, he couldn't teach her the techniques of Mount Myōboku at this time, but he could impart some theoretical knowledge.

Having taught Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, and Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya had a wealth of teaching experience.

He enjoyed teaching geniuses, and Ino, at her current stage, was undoubtedly a genius.

Three days later, Jiraiya left the town.

Ino had gained a lot of advanced knowledge about Chakra Nature Transformation, including the principles of Chakra Oilification.

Jiraiya's approach was simple: he would teach the theory, and how much she could grasp was entirely up to her. It had nothing to do with him.

Ino had no intention of learning something like "Toad Oil Bullet." With the foundational knowledge of Oilification she had acquired from Jiraiya, she had already cleared all obstacles in mastering "Vapor Explosion." The only thing left was to practice and perfect it.

As Jiraiya sprinted off toward the northwest, Ino decided to repay his teachings in her own way.

Using the Transformation Technique, she took on Jiraiya's appearance and spent two days peeking into the women's bathhouse. Of course, she could have gone in openly, but to shift the blame onto Jiraiya, she reluctantly endured and kept up the act for two days.

To be honest, this sneaky feeling was quite thrilling. Sometimes, when she saw some top-notch sights, her mood would become particularly joyful.

"The figures are all quite average, clearly lacking in nutrition. Hmm? This one seems decent—curvy and perky! Oh no, I've been spotted!"

In two days, Ino had been discovered four times by women of all ages, and each time she had to run for two blocks to escape.

On the evening of the fifth day in this small town, she canceled her Transformation Technique and let a group of women wrapped in towels run past her. She found a small street-side shop, ate her meal, and checked the energy in her panel. She had earned two Pot Points in Kirigakure Village, inexplicably gained one Pot Point on the road, and after two days of peeping, combined with her previous accumulation, she had gathered another Pot Point.

The four Pot Points transformed into a torrent, directly input into the panel. The "Ninja Skill" attribute began to flash rapidly, quickly rising from 9 to 10!

Ino's current stats were: Ninja Skill 10, Body 4, Illusion 4, Intelligence 7, Strength 3, Speed 6, Stamina 8, Hand Seals 6, with a total attribute of 48.

She finally had a maxed-out attribute.

Her understanding, learning ability, mastery, proficiency, and the power of her ninja techniques had all significantly improved.

Now, she was on par with Kage-level experts in the field of ninja techniques.

Ino casually released a C-rank Wild Water Wave. The moment the technique was released, it felt incredibly smooth. The mobilization of chakra within her body had become as natural as breathing or closing her eyes—it had turned into a bodily instinct.

She took out a learning scroll for a C-rank Earth Release technique: Earth Release: Hiding in Rock Technique. After reading it from start to finish just once, she pondered it in her mind. Following the method on the scroll, she formed the hand seals and immediately concealed her body within a cluster of rocks. From the opposite side, only various shapes of rocks could be seen, with no trace of her.

Her current learning speed was comparable to Uchiha Itachi when he learned the Great Fireball Technique. Without needing to use the Sharingan to copy, she could learn a C-rank ninja technique just by reading it once.

Four Pot Points for one attribute was indeed expensive. If she had distributed the points evenly, adding to Body or Strength, she could have compensated for many of her weaknesses. But she believed it was worth it.

Jiraiya had run away, Oilification was fully mastered, the Pot Points were spent, and her attributes were boosted. Ino had completed the tasks she needed to do one by one. Now, only one thing remained—to become Tsunade's disciple.

Whether it was Medical Ninja Techniques, Sage Mode, powerful close-combat abilities, or the possibly existing Spiritual Transformation Technique, she needed to become Tsunade's disciple to obtain them.

She left the town and headed to another small town in the northeast, where she heard there was a casino.

Ino arrived in the town using her real appearance and asked around in the casino. She learned that Tsunade had just lost all her money and had likely returned to her inn.

She went to the inn.

As soon as she entered, before she could speak, she saw three menacing men holding a photo of Tsunade, asking the innkeeper, "Have you seen this blonde woman? She has a large chest and is about this tall!"

The leader of the group gestured a height.

Upon learning that the three were debt collectors, the innkeeper didn't dare to speak and simply pointed upstairs.

The three men stormed upstairs, and Ino followed them.

Soon, the three of them found a little girl on the second floor. She had light yellow long hair, wore a tea-green long gown with a black cloth belt around her waist, and dark blue cropped pants. The little girl looked up and asked with a smile, "Uncles, who are you looking for?"

The three instinctively held up the photo in their hands and asked, "Little girl, have you seen this auntie?"