Ninja Pot Shadow

Ino only stayed in the ward for five minutes before leaving, followed closely by Shikamaru and Choji. Both were teenagers. When Sasuke said he would take on three opponents at once, Shikamaru was actually quite unhappy. High intelligence doesn't mean no temper. If he didn't want to fight, that was his own business. But if you look down on me, then we'll have to talk about it.

Choji is mild-mannered, kind to everyone, and never argues with anyone. He has an exceptionally good temper. However, he and Shikamaru are best friends. If Sasuke upsets Shikamaru, don't expect Choji to give you a friendly look.

When Sasuke was pursuing the mission, he fought Jirobo to the death for Shikamaru, not for Sasuke.

After the three left, Kiba Inuzuka and several classmates also walked out of the ward one after another.

No one knows when Shino Aburame left.

Sakura, Hinata, and the other girls were the last to leave.

Sakura really wanted to peel an apple for Sasuke, but seeing his face, which was as calm as a dead man's, she ultimately didn't dare to go over.

She's been quite busy lately, practicing tree climbing and water-style chakra nature transformation, determined to catch up with Ino. These things have taken up most of her energy, and with her body so tired, she doesn't have time to think about romance.

The ward quickly fell silent. Sasuke stared blankly at the ceiling, his eyes vacant, lost in thought.

"Hey kid, how's your recovery going?" Kakashi appeared at the window and greeted him.

"who are you?"

"You were unconscious at the time, so you probably didn't recognize me. I'm here to help you. I owed the Uchiha clan a huge favor back then..." After a simple opening, Kakashi explained his purpose.

He was commissioned by the Third Hokage to assist Sasuke in awakening the Sharingan.

Sasuke didn't care who Kakashi was or what he had done; he only cared about what he saw.

He asked coldly, "What's wrong with my eyes?"

Kakashi scratched his head. There were too many things he couldn't say about this, at least he didn't know how to talk about Itachi's part. After considering his words, he decided to just shift the blame.

"...This is complicated to explain, but judging from your expression, it won't work if I don't explain it clearly. So, let me start from the beginning. That young lady from the Yamanaka family used a secret technique to possess your body, and then..."

He avoided the main point and didn't mention Uchiha Itachi or his eye power at all.

Don't ask, the answer is that your body is a bit special.

Sasuke had been quite puzzled as to why Ino's secret technique had suddenly failed. He couldn't figure it out, but combined with Kakashi's words at this moment, he felt that he had the answer: "You mean that outsiders cannot take over the bodies of Uchiha people, and that they will suffer a backlash once they do?"

Is that what I meant? Kakashi was too lazy to explain. Think what you want. Being possessed once is enough. Surely no one else wants to possess your body, right?

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Renting a Room and Training

Kakashi didn't want to explain too much to a twelve-year-old. His mission was partly official and partly personal, partly due to his friendship with Obito Uchiha, but Sasuke was ultimately not Obito.

Naruto has an average face. When Tsunade sees him, she thinks of her younger brother. When Sai sees him, he thinks of Shin. When Obito sees him, he thinks of himself from back then. A bunch of people can think of all sorts of random relatives just by looking at his back. This includes, but is not limited to, his father, brother, younger brother, and son. It seems that Naruto has a weakened version of Kotoamatsukami attached to him. Everyone wants to chat with him and reminisce about the past.

Sasuke didn't have that ability, so Kakashi didn't bother with pleasantries and beckoned him to come with him.

The two left the hospital and soon arrived at a cave in the mountains behind the village.

Kakashi said bluntly, "The Hokage ordered me to help you awaken your Sharingan. I don't know much about how your clan awakens it, so I can only offer some assistance. If you don't mind, shall we begin?"

Sasuke lacked trust in Kakashi, a stranger, but he craved power and the Sharingan even more. Ino, whom he had previously looked down upon, had made him look so pathetic, and he wished he could awaken the Sharingan immediately.

Kakashi formed hand seals: "Let me briefly explain the process. Your eyes, including a portion of your chakra, are sealed. I need you to bypass this area, connect with your eyes, and then open them directly. For this, I need to use genjutsu to stimulate your mental energy. My genjutsu level is only average, so I need your cooperation. Remember, completely relax your body and let my genjutsu affect you..."

Sasuke thought about it seriously for a few seconds. Perhaps the two of them were naturally compatible. He had a certain degree of trust in Kakashi, though not a high degree. But at this moment, he didn't have many other options.

"I understand, let's begin."

……

Time passed day by day.

Kakashi was training Sasuke to awaken his Sharingan. Ino was very concerned about collecting rent from the rental properties. After obtaining the keys to a total of fifteen vacant houses belonging to the Yamanaka and Nara families, she began looking for tenants.

What does the Yamanaka family do? They are in charge of intelligence work.

Ninjas don't care too much about the lives of ordinary people, but they can find out who needs to rent a house and who is rich. This is one of the reasons why Shikamaru handed over his work to Ino and became a hands-off manager. His father was the leader of the Jonin team and the Hokage's advisor. He was indeed in a high position and had great power, but he didn't usually care about these trivial matters.

Based on individual needs and the family's actual income, Ino made a precise move, planning for two days before taking her "clients" to see the house on the morning of the third day.

"Look to my left, everyone. These three houses are all available for rent. Look at this location; it's right next to the commercial district. Do you know Konoha's most famous flower shop, Yamanaka Flower Shop? It's just to the northwest of this block. Walk north for 120 meters, and that's the Ninja Academy. You parents surely want your children to receive an excellent education and a safe environment to grow up in, right? Let me tell you, the teachers at the Ninja Academy all live nearby, and even the weakest among them are Chunin! Think about it, your children will be taught and protected by Chunin. Is there any safer place in the Land of Fire than this?"

Ino is eloquent and speaks fluently about the many benefits of "school district housing."

She discussed the value of the house from many perspectives, including commerce, convenience for residents, and children's schooling. When villagers inquired about the rent, she avoided the topic, only hinting that the rent was relatively high and that they should be prepared.

In just one morning, five out of fifteen apartments were rented out.

Actually, for her, getting these tenants to buy houses would be more profitable.

It's okay if you're short of money, she can provide loans, and even a loan-to-loan system is possible. Ino isn't worried about anyone defaulting on their debts. How many commoners would dare to fight a ninja? I may not be able to beat Kaguya Otsutsuki, but I can certainly beat a few of you commoners.

There's no need to do that; selling the house now would be too much of a loss for me.

Orochimaru's plan to destroy Konoha is at most half a year away. By then, the village will not be completely destroyed, but at least several blocks will be ravaged by those giant snakes.

When Asagiri returned home, Itachi and Kisame only came by for a stroll and didn't really fight. But now it's hard to say. Sasuke looks so miserable. What if it creates a butterfly effect?

Who will build the dam Kisame built? It might destroy a large part of Konoha Village again.

The dam builders left, but three years later the rice carriers returned...

Advising someone to buy a house in the disaster-ridden Konoha Village is absolutely outrageous. Ino still has her bottom line: renting is fine, but buying a house is unnecessary.

"Oh my god! How come I can't explain it to you? This house is only for rent, not for sale!" Several villagers were excited when they heard about the many conveniences of "school district housing". With the mentality of buying at rock-bottom prices, they kept clamoring to buy, but she refused them repeatedly.

We've been talking all afternoon and still haven't gotten it right. The more you refuse to sell, the more we want to buy.

Her resolute attitude indirectly proved the value of the houses. Originally, only five units were supposed to be rented out, but by the time she parted ways with the viewing group in the afternoon, all fifteen units had been rented out...

One-third of the rent had to be handed over to the family, and 40% of the remaining amount had to be given to Shikamaru. The amount wasn't much, but fortunately, this income was stable. Before Orochimaru came to cause trouble, the rent could at least make up for her increasingly thin wallet.

After arranging the rental, she went to Nara's house. She wanted to clarify the money beforehand, but when she arrived, she learned that Shikamaru had been taken out for training by his elders.

Goodness! This guy who always complains about nothing can be quite fierce when he gets going!

She left a note detailing all the rental details before rushing home; she also needed to get back to training.

Putting everything else aside, she's been practicing Water Release these past two days, and she feels she'll soon be able to upgrade her Water Release to level 2.

Judging from the stats of the eight ninja attributes, Ino is already on par with strong genin like Kankuro and Temari, but if they actually fought, she estimates she still wouldn't be able to beat Temari.

Temari is three years older than both Ino and Shikamaru. While the difference in strength between a 53-year-old and a 50-year-old isn't significant, the difference between a four-year-old and a one-year-old is enormous. Temari is skilled in powerful Wind Release ninjutsu, has specialized ninja tools, and even summons beasts. If Ino were to face her now, she wouldn't stand a chance. Temari has already been a ninja for two years, completed numerous missions, and possesses a vast repertoire of ninjutsu. Ino, on the other hand, hasn't even graduated yet—how can they possibly fight?

Ino's stats are good enough, but she still has a limited number of ninjutsu.

In the original timeline, Shikamaru was able to force Temari to that extent through meticulous scheming; that's truly impressive, you have to admire him.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Bursting Water Waves

Ino can't replicate Shikamaru's achievements, nor does she need to. She plans to learn the Shadow Clone Technique in the shortest time possible, and then use this cheat to learn a large number of ninjutsu, enriching her skill set.

……

"Shadow Clone Technique? Are you sure you want to learn such a difficult ninjutsu?" After the family finished dinner, Ino made her request, and Inoichi's expression showed obvious hesitation.

Ino could wait until Naruto learns Shadow Clone Jutsu and then use the excuse that all her classmates know it but she doesn't to learn it herself. However, she thinks that would be too slow. Since the clan has a scroll for learning Shadow Clone Jutsu, she shouldn't waste time.

She nodded: "I'm sure. Because of my battle with Sasuke, I think that if I use shadow clones to control the Water Prison Technique while the main body is hiding in the shadows, the effect will be better."

Her reasons did not completely convince Inoichi. He was somewhat hesitant about his daughter learning the Shadow Clone Technique, a high-risk B-rank ninjutsu, before even graduating from the Ninja Academy.

This is different from the family's B-level secret technique, the Mind-Body Disorder Technique. The Mind-Body Disorder Technique is just a deeper application of the Mind-Body Transformation Technique. Once you get the hang of it, it's not difficult. If your mental energy is strong enough, it will come naturally.

The Shadow Clone Technique is unrelated to family secrets, and practicing it carries risks.

After thinking for a moment, Haiyi got up and went to the study. Not long after, he took out a scroll: "Here's what we'll do. This is a B-rank Water Release ninjutsu: Exploding Water Wave. It's a Jonin-level ninjutsu. If you can master this technique, I'll believe you have the ability to learn Shadow Clone Jutsu."

A burst of water and a blast wave? The cheapskate dad's got some guts.

This is the ninjutsu that uses chakra to create a large amount of water in a waterless environment. If it were upgraded from a B-rank ninjutsu to an A-rank ninjutsu, it would be Kisame's Great Explosive Water Shockwave.

This technique is indeed necessary for her to learn, given that she uses Water Release and has a considerable amount of chakra.

Ino did not refuse and took the scroll: "Father, don't worry, I will prove myself."

People from Konoha especially like to say these things, always trying to "prove" themselves or seeking someone's "approval." When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Ino can now say these very ninja-like, passionate things without hesitation.

After leaving the room, Ino tidied herself up and went to the courtyard alone to practice Water Release.

She first carefully read through the scroll, then closed her eyes and pondered for a long time before picking it up again and reading it through once more. She repeatedly reviewed the key points in her mind.

The 8th Ninja Technique brought her a significant change. She now has a completely new understanding of chakra and ninjutsu. She enjoys the process of chakra gathering and flowing in her body, and then undergoing changes in nature and form. Whenever she learns something related to ninjutsu, she feels a heartfelt joy.

It has a bit of the meaning of "If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening".

She has now truly come to love these ninjutsu techniques.

Learning is no longer a tedious and arduous process, but a spiritual enjoyment.

Once Ino believed she had mastered the hand seals and key points of the entire technique, she harmonized her physical and mental energy to create chakra. Then, she added water-attribute nature transformation and followed the scroll's instructions to perform chakra shape transformation. The resulting chakra gathered in her throat, and she quickly formed hand seals, charging for over ten seconds before exhaling it.

"Water Release: Exploding Water Wave!"

"Pfft!" The amount of water sprayed out was only about ten liters; the first attempt at the spell failed.

After a day of practice, Ino had almost mastered this B-rank ninjutsu. Her "Water Release" level had also successfully reached lv2 after this period of hard training. However, the consequences of putting more points into "Ninjutsu" and not into "Spirit" were that with 6 points of "Spirit", the effect of using the Jonin-level B-rank ninjutsu Water Release: Exploding Water Wave was still somewhat lacking.

Having used up a lot of chakra, Ino didn't continue practicing after dinner. She told Rino Yamanaka and went for a walk.

We must learn ninjutsu, but we can't neglect the task of shifting blame.

She was lucky today. Just as she arrived at the Hokage Rock, Naruto appeared out of some hidden corner. Ino hid in the shadows and waited for Naruto to finish his doodle. Then she used her transformation jutsu to become Naruto and added a few more strokes.

On her way home, she transformed into Sasuke and smashed the window of a Fire Country official's house, then transformed into Sakura and beat up two drunkards who were bullying civilians.

The harvest wasn't much, but it wasn't small either. With this accumulation, she could harvest another pot of food in just a few days.

Ino, disguised as Iruka, circled around the Ninja Academy, but didn't see any of the usual mischievous kids. As she passed through a small alley in front of the school, she overheard a few girls talking.

As her spiritual energy grew stronger, her hearing and vision naturally improved. Even without her consciously listening, the other person's words automatically entered her ears.

"Sasuke looks so cool when he solves riddles!"

"Yeah, yeah, I've been thinking about it these past two days since I got home. Why is Sasuke so smart? The riddles he tells are so interesting!"

Five or six girls looked on with infatuation, which Ino scoffed at. Just as she was about to leave the alley, one of the girls' words made her stop in her tracks.

"How about we pool our money to publish a book about Sasuke, so that more people can recognize how outstanding he is?"

"But we don't have much money..."