Money and Visits

With Orochimaru's abilities, it wouldn't be difficult to carry out this assassination flawlessly, but he was too reckless.

Having gained immortality, he often acted on a whim, discarding seven or eight-tenths of the caution he had during his ninja days.

Just like many counterfeit criminals who enjoy leaving their own marks inside fake paintings or porcelain, Orochimaru now seemed to have a similar tendency. He would leave clues behind, and if they weren't found, it was their incompetence.

Not to mention the Fourth Kazekage's Kekkei Genkai, "Magnet Release," which, in the future, could be used to create clones with the right scientists. Even his corpse alone held immense value.

Corpses can speak, and the ninjas of the Yamanaka Clan are particularly skilled at extracting information from the brains of the deceased. Ino naturally possessed this ability as well. The brain of a village's Kage, the Fourth Kazekage, would undoubtedly contain even more crucial information.

Secret accounts, the village's secret techniques, weapons, equipment, puppet techniques, and ninja techniques—all of these were like treasures hidden within the Fourth Kazekage's brain. Even if there were specialized brain sealing techniques, slowly deciphering them would yield a wealth of secrets.

As for Ino, there wasn't much to say. She packed everything up to take back for further study.

Orochimaru didn't bother to cover his tracks? No problem, I'll help you with that.

If the Sunagakure village couldn't find the body later, it would be Orochimaru's fault. What does that have to do with me?

Using Earth Release, Ino churned the scene twice, erasing all traces before leaving the Land of Rivers and returning to the Hidden Leaf Village.

As soon as she arrived home, Inoichi noticed that his daughter's spiritual energy had surged significantly, far surpassing his own.

Ino told Tsunade that it was due to her clan's secret techniques, while at home, she credited Tsunade's excellent teaching.

After all, the two sides couldn't confront each other.

Inoichi gave her a few words of advice, telling her to rest at home, not to wander around, and to focus on preparing for the final exam.

Fifteen minutes later, Inoichi secretly arrived at the Nara household. Not long after, the large figure of Akimichi Choza from the Akimichi Clan also appeared.

Shikaku got straight to the point: "I attended Dango's funeral. The Daimyo privately hinted that he could support me as Hokage, but I refused."

Having been allies for so many years, the three families deeply understood the importance of their alliance. Shikaku spoke with complete honesty.

Inoichi, who had access to a lot of intelligence, said, "The conflict between the Daimyo and the ninja village has become quite intense. The Daimyo is far more cunning than he appears. He probably isn't just trying to support you as Hokage, right? There must be other schemes."

Shikaku nodded. "Yes, his people promised that ninja clan members could now hold official positions. After earning merits, they could, like samurai, receive their own territories and recruit their own vassals within those lands. If we wanted, we could even establish our own ninja villages."

Shikaku carefully observed the expressions of his two old comrades. Seeing that they remained calm, he continued, "I also refused. It's not that we want to maintain the traditions of the ninja clans, but we need a slightly harsher environment to temper our younger generation. With our abilities, achieving a comfortable life isn't difficult. Our generation can resist various temptations, but what about the next? Surrounded by wealth, indulging in luxury, chasing extravagant lives—within three generations, there might be no more ninja clans left."

Inoichi and Choza hadn't thought as far ahead as he had, but both nodded in agreement with his reasoning.

Both ninja clans and ninja villages had the ability to amass wealth. The reason they confined themselves to the small circle of taking missions and earning commissions was the fear that future generations would be corrupted by money.

Born into luxury and comfort, without the spirit of enduring hardship, how many would be willing to study ninja techniques in the freezing cold or scorching heat? To train in body techniques? To hone their skills?

Ninja techniques, and the ninjas who mastered them, were the foundation of a ninja clan. If the younger generation indulged in comfort and no one was willing to become a ninja, the profession would naturally disappear.

Choza pondered, "Even if we refuse, there's no guarantee that other ninja clans won't be tempted."

Shikaku and Inoichi both fell silent. This was indeed the most concerning issue.

On one side was the temptation of wealth, and on the other, a relatively austere life. How many could resist such allure?

"So, what is our choice?" Inoichi asked.

Shikaku spoke in a consultative tone, "I believe that maintaining the status quo at this time is the choice that best aligns with the clan's interests."

"Meaning we continue to support the Third Hokage?"

"You could say that."

Kakashi led a group of Anbu ninjas out of the village to track Danzo's movements. Even with the Chunin Exams approaching, he hadn't returned.

Naruto was being taught by Jiraiya, so he didn't continue to pester about Wind Release Ninjutsu. Sasuke could train on his own, which was fine, but Sakura was in a tough spot.

She had already been eliminated by Hinata, so she wasn't worried about the exams.

But with both of her Team 7 companions training, and her knowing nothing, it was quite awkward.

She wanted to ask Sasuke out, but he was obsessively practicing Chidori and completely ignored her.

Ino, Tenten, and Hinata, these kunoichi were all training hard. Sakura couldn't find any excuse to slack off.

In desperation, she once again resorted to her trump card—writing a letter to the legendary "First Hokage."

The previous letters she sent seemed to have vanished without a trace, but one day before the Chunin Exams, the "First Hokage" finally replied.

The first thing he asked for was 100,000 ryo!

Wow, Sakura checked her wallet and bankbook three times. The total rewards from her recent missions added up to just over 100,000 ryo.

This "First Hokage" was truly amazing! He had guessed her savings perfectly. No wonder he was called the God of Shinobi!

The tree-climbing technique he taught her last time had made her quite the spectacle in front of Sasuke. Sakura had some trust in the "First Hokage."

Without hesitation, she transferred the money.

That afternoon, she received a seemingly extremely complex ninja technique, which Ino referred to as the Resurrection of Salted Fish Technique, a medical ninja technique.

This technique wasn't taught by Tsunade; it was a basic medical ninja technique that many at Konoha Hospital knew. Teaching it to Sakura now was no problem.

Sakura's talent in this area was absolutely top-notch. After understanding that it was a medical ninja technique, she felt it suited her well. She could already picture herself healing Sasuke's wounds in her mind.

The day passed quickly.

Konoha Village welcomed many visitors, most of whom were dignitaries from various countries coming to watch the Chunin Exams.

Ino first went to the hospital to visit Hayate Gekko. This poor guy had suffered too many injuries during his missions, leaving his body severely depleted. Now, after another near-death experience, he had been hospitalized for a month without regaining consciousness, though his complexion looked much better than before.

Ino sighed inwardly. Hayate Gekko and Uzuki Yugao had spent all their savings at the Konoha Hospital. It seemed that the Yamanaka Flower Shop had lost another big customer.

"Good luck! I have full confidence in you. The Chunin Exams should be no challenge for you," Uzuki Yugao encouraged her.

The purple-haired girl truly didn't think there were many Genin who could defeat Ino. Her encouragement was more of a courtesy, but Ino was quite nervous because today was going to be unimaginably busy.