Ninja Pot Shadow

Using the kunai she carried with her, she dug furiously, and soon, she unearthed another scroll from the bottom of the pit...

It's similar in style to the previous scroll, except that there's a "初" (chu) character on the side of the scroll.

With immense hope, she trembled as she opened the scroll.

The handwriting that caught her eye made her pause for a moment.

"Greetings, junior of Konoha! I am Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage. On that day at the Valley of the End, I fought a decisive battle with XXXX. Later, I succumbed to my injuries... In fact, I did not die, but have been in a deep sleep. Now, I am about to awaken!"

Even though Sakura was already feeling very troubled, she was still startled by the information on the scroll. Good heavens! The First Hokage wasn't dead?!

There was a name deliberately crossed out on the scroll, and she didn't know who it was. She was a little curious, but she still unfolded the scroll and continued reading.

"Young man of Konoha, my resurrection requires a sum of money. Once you transfer the money to the account below, I will grant you a corresponding position based on the amount of your donation after my resurrection, ranging from Hokage advisor to Chunin!"

The First Hokage is resurrected and returns, then asks to become his advisor?

Sakura's eyes were filled with hope. If she became the Hokage's advisor, she could stop Ino and Sasuke from having such a meaningless battle, right?

After the initial excitement, she quickly calmed down, and the reason for her calmness was quite simple: she had no money!

She discovered there were more words on the back of the scroll, so she quickly unfolded it and continued reading.

The scroll read, "If you don't have money, that's fine too. I am the First Hokage. Following the principle of rank-based exchange, you can deposit five thousand ryo into the account below, and I will teach you a training method that is extremely important for a ninja and can benefit you for a lifetime."

Sakura wanted to see what happened next, but there was a sealing spell on the back of the scroll, sealing all the text, which could not be broken by force.

Sakura doesn't understand sealing techniques and has no idea how to break them.

The scroll simply stated that after depositing the money into the account, one would receive a letter the following day containing the solution to the sealing spell.

Sakura hesitated greatly. She didn't have much pocket money, but fortunately, she didn't spend much. Five thousand taels... She thought about it several times. Her total savings seemed to be only five thousand taels?!

I looked at the scroll several times, from top to bottom and left to right. Can this scroll read minds? How does it know that it has exactly five thousand taels?

Sakura was worried that it was a scam, but she didn't want to give up the opportunity. The descriptions inside were so serious, with words like "extremely important" and "affecting one's life." She felt that if she gave up, she would be the one who would lose the most!

She gritted her teeth and decided to go all out! For Sasuke!

I'll give this training method to Sasuke as soon as I get it! I'll let Sasuke learn this method so he can give Ino-boo a good beating next time!

When she got home, she took out all her savings and deposited them into the secret account on the scroll.

Then began the agonizing wait, and sure enough, she found a letter in her mailbox the next day after school.

Sakura had never learned sealing techniques, and the person who sent the letter had no intention of teaching her. This "extremely important" and "life-changing" training method was written directly in the letter.

"Climbing trees? What kind of training method is that?" She looked closely and found that this training method was completely unheard of.

"Control your chakra, gather it at your feet, use adhesion to firmly stick to the tree, and then climb up step by step?"

The letter also listed many benefits of this training. When Sakura saw it, she was surprised to find that there were a total of eighteen benefits, such as increasing chakra control and increasing chakra extraction speed. These sounded reasonable, but the effects of whitening, breast enhancement, and improving posture were a bit strange. Was this training really that powerful?

The letter also included an explanation that if another 10,000 taels were deposited into that account, the other party would send over an even more important training method.

Sakura is out of money! She doesn't want to think about that "more important" training method anytime soon. Right now, she wants to focus on this tree-climbing training. If it works, she'll recommend it to Sasuke!

Chapter Twenty-Eight: What Was Said Back Then

While Sakura was holding the "First Hokage's" martial arts manual, preparing to practice climbing trees in an attempt to enhance her breasts and improve her chakra control, Ino was resting at home.

Thanks to a donation from a kind person, her meager wallet was finally replenished.

The battle with Sasuke was a devastating blow to her.

That's so hurtful!

She used a total of five explosive tags from Mandiantang, and countless senbon, kunai, and shuriken! Except for the Fuma shuriken, which looks like a giant fan when opened, she didn't bring it because it was inconvenient to carry to school, she used up almost all the other ninja tools.

Ninja tools can be retrieved, but she had no experience and was too tired at the time. It was her first battle, and as a transmigrator from a peaceful era, she was fighting hand-to-hand with kunai. Even though she was mentally prepared, she was still very nervous. Sasuke was too proud to pick up the ninja tools, and in her dazed state, she didn't even think about it. No one reminded her, and as a result, they all benefited Naruto...

I'm going out today to mail a letter to someone, and I'll also stop by Mandian Hall to replenish my ninja tools.

After some haggling, the excitement of defeating Sasuke vanished.

I've become stronger, but I've also become poorer!

This is Ino's true thought.

The five thousand taels from the kind-hearted person finally pulled her back from the brink of bankruptcy.

It wasn't until the third day, when Ino's chakra had mostly recovered, that she finally emerged from her slump.

"Ino, don't just stay at home all the time, why don't you go shopping with your mother?" Rino Yamanaka, dressed like a wealthy lady, asked Ino gently.

Shopping costs money, and Ino didn't want to spend any money right now. Without much hesitation, she said, "My head still hurts a little, I want to rest for another day..."

Before she could finish speaking, Rino Yamanaka held up a finger and gave a somewhat childlike smile: "A thousand taels! You get a thousand taels as a reward for going shopping with Mom."

Ino hesitated immediately, because the headache caused by the large consumption of chakra seemed to have been relieved by more than half. It was really amazing.

"This one……"

"Two thousand taels."

"..."

"Three thousand taels!"

"Deal! I'll go change right now!"

It wasn't that Ino didn't want to summarize and reflect on the battle at home, but rather that her adoptive mother had given her far too much.

When Rino Yamanaka said she was "shopping," she really meant it. She looked around here and there, and asked around. When Ino asked her what she wanted to buy, she wouldn't say. It seemed like she was just wandering around aimlessly.

What does this mean? Ino was completely baffled by her adoptive mother's actions.

As they strolled around, Rino Yamanaka's eyes suddenly lit up, and she pulled Ino toward a middle-aged woman with undeniable force.

"Yoshino!" Rino Yamanaka smiled especially warmly, as if she had seen a good friend on the street.

The other person was surprised at first, then gave a bright smile: "Rino? What a coincidence, oh, Ino is here too."

Ino had seen this middle-aged woman before; she was the "troublesome woman" who had caused Shikamaru a lot of childhood trauma and whom Shikamaru often talked about.

This woman is Shikaku's wife and Shikamaru's mother, Yoshino Nara!

Afterwards, Ino encountered the so-called "friendship." Rino Yamanaka took three steps at a time, seemingly slow but actually fast, and dragged Choji's mother out of a general store where she was trying to hide. The three exchanged pleasantries about everyday matters and then traveled together.

Ino thought to herself, "Choji's mother's reaction speed is not slow, but where can you hide with such a huge body? And you underestimated the Yamanaka family's perception ability!"

Rino Yamanaka, Shikamaru's mother, and Choji's mother went shopping. Ino faithfully fulfilled her duty, which was to be a good tool. Whenever the three mentioned her name, she would show a shy or surprised expression depending on the context, and that would be it.

Rino Yamanaka asked, "How's Shikamaru's studies going lately?"

"No way! That unlucky kid, all he does is complain about is 'trouble' all the time, it drives me crazy! Your Ino is so much better! She's smart, cute, and obedient, she's so wonderful."

"Ino is no good either. Her dad was criticizing her yesterday. This kid has a hard time even beating up Uchiha Sasuke. It's really worrying for us parents."

Shikamaru's mother: "..."

Choji's mom: "..."

Mikoto Uchiha, now in the underworld: "..."

"Shikamaru is smart, and Choji is kind; they are both good kids."

"I've seen it all along. Of the three families, Ino is the most outstanding! Rino, you're going to have a great time from now on."

"That's not true. You don't know, raising girls is much more troublesome than raising boys..."

Ino listened silently to her adoptive mother's boasting, like a wooden doll.

We had lunch together, and our joint shopping trip didn't end until the sun was about to set in the evening.

Ino wiped the sweat from her brow. Earning those three thousand taels was no easy feat; it was much easier to swindle money from Sakura...

She was just thinking about Sakura when she suddenly looked up and saw Sakura with a broad forehead, wearing a pink high-slit cheongsam, standing at her door, clearly waiting for someone.

Standing at her door, he must be waiting for her. He couldn't possibly come to the Yamanaka residence to look for Sasuke, could he?

The First Hokage's secret has been exposed? That shouldn't be the case! Ino felt she had done a very discreet job. Besides, the method of training chakra by climbing trees is really not expensive for a commoner ninja; it's definitely a friendly price.

Her movements were a little hesitant, and her steps involuntarily slowed down.

Rino Yamanaka, who had been busy all day, was in high spirits and said cheerfully, "That girl came to see you, right? Go have some fun."

Ino slowly walked over and noticed that Sakura's expression was very strange today; it was a complex expression that combined strength, trepidation, and hesitation.

What exactly is this thing here for?

"Can you walk with me for a bit?" Sakura whispered.

Ino wasn't afraid of her, but she felt she hadn't done anything all day except accompany people around. She nodded and said, "Okay."

Both of them remained silent as they gradually moved away from the crowd and entered the park. When they passed a sea of ​​flowers, Sakura stopped.

Sakura, with her back to her, whispered, "Ino."

Confused by her actions, Ino asked, a little bewildered, "Is something wrong?"

Sakura paused for a few seconds: "There are some things I originally planned to say after graduation."

Ino stared at her back, then shifted her gaze to the distance: "Let's talk about it after graduation."

“Ino is beautiful and cute, knows a lot, and is very skilled in shurikenjutsu… Now you’re even so good at ninjutsu… Even Sasuke… is no match for you.” Sakura paused for a moment: “Do you remember what we said here back then?”

What did she say? Ino looked around, and the original owner's memories quickly surfaced.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: An Unbreakable Bond

Sakura said, "Back then, I told you that you were a beautiful cosmos, while I was just an ordinary eupatorium. But you said I wasn't even a flower, and that it would be more appropriate to call me a bud. Do you remember those words?"

"remember."

Sakura took out a red ribbon: "You said it would be such a pity if my flower bud withered prematurely, so you gave me your ribbon... You said I would bloom into a flower even more beautiful than a cosmos."

Ino nodded. The original owner of this body had indeed said those words. Now that she thought back on it, she felt that the scene was a bit yuri-ish. She remembered that Sakura's face turned red at the time.

“Ino, I have always believed what you said to me back then, and I still believe it today… If only it were true, if only I could bloom into a beautiful flower, I have always wanted to be like you, I have taken you as my goal to get to where I am today… Thanks to you, I am able to stand here.”

Sakura's tone grew increasingly firm. She stretched out her arm and handed the red ribbon to Ino: "I know it sounds ridiculous now, but I still have to say it: I will never lose to Ino again! If I want everything to have meaning, then I must surpass you! Ino, this ribbon... is back for you!"

Ino looked at the ribbon in Sakura's hand. This ribbon symbolized the friendship between the two, as well as all sorts of other things.