Ninja Pot Shadow

……

The improved relations between Konoha and Kirigakure led to a surge in trade between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. Many smaller ninja villages sent ninjas to gather information, and Ari was neither the first nor the last.

Konoha already had plans to demonstrate their strength, and now they can't afford to back down.

Team 7 on Naruto and Sasuke's side remained unchanged, while Team 10, with whom they had a close relationship, had learned that the village would be holding a large-scale Chunin Exam in early July of this year.

The village has begun sending formal invitations to its allies, inviting them to send genin (low-ranking ninja) to participate in the exam.

There was still about a month left before the exam.

Inoichi, Shikaku, and Choza all gave their children clear orders that they must participate in the Chunin Exams, and one of the hard requirements for participating in the Chunin Exams was to complete eight ninja-assigned missions.

Weeding, finding cats, finding people, eliminating bandits, eliminating the Black Hoe Clan, and Kirigakure Village—Ino's side completed a total of three D-rank missions, one C-rank mission, one B-rank mission, and one A-rank mission.

There's no such thing as splitting an A-rank mission into three B-rank missions. A mission is a mission, and even if she kills Uchiha Madara right now, it's still a mission.

According to the rules, in order to participate in the Chunin Exams, she must complete two tasks.

Missions aren't available every day. The poor are dirt poor; do they expect to ask ninjas to do missions every day? Don't they even have food to eat?

At this time, everyone is scrambling to complete missions. The village has been fair and just in this regard. Even with Asuma's connections, it took three days for Class 10 to finally get a D-rank mission.

That is, the job Orochimaru used to do: feeding pigs!

Choji disliked this mission and kept grumbling. The way he looked at the pig was strange, and the way the pig looked at him was strange too...

Ino didn't like this mission either. Ever since she knocked a pig unconscious with a stick a few days ago while practicing medical ninjutsu, and then used medical ninjutsu to kill the pig, the big pig, the little pig, and the sow have been looking at her with extremely hostile eyes.

Worried that the young lady, the chubby young master, and the pigs would fight, the job of feeding the pigs had to be done by Shikamaru, the rich young master.

Ino and Choji sat to the side, eating snacks and cheering on Shikamaru who was feeding the pigs, when Asuma came to call Ino.

"Ino, you've completed this D-rank mission. Go to the Hokage Building; the old man has another mission for you."

"Go by myself?"

"No, it should be a group with Red."

Kurenai Yuhi is the Jonin leader of Team 8, Hinata's team, and also Asuma's girlfriend.

The two classes often get together to eat barbecue, so they are very familiar with each other.

The female ninja Kurenai Yuhi's father died from the Nine-Tails' attack. Her father's name was very strange, Kurenai Yuhi. Ino suspected that Kurenai's grandfather might have been named Kurenai Yuhi.

Upon arriving at the Hokage Building, Ino saw Kurenai Yuhi and Hinata, as well as a female ninja wearing a pink off-the-shoulder top and dark trousers.

Ino recognized the other person, after all, he was a year ahead of them, and they would run into each other all the time. However, they hadn't interacted much, so she greeted him politely, "Tenten-senpai."

Tian Tian smiled and waved her hand: "It's strange to be called a senior by a genius like you. We're only a year apart, and we're on a mission together again. Just call me by my name."

"Ok."

The four female ninjas waited for a while, and soon the Third Hokage called them into the house.

The familiar interior decor and familiar faces—the Third Hokage, having handled official duties for many years, was not as busy as he was during Tsunade's time, and his various tasks were arranged in an orderly manner.

The Third Hokage handed the mission scroll to Kurenai.

Hong examined it carefully, then nodded and put away the mission scroll.

The Third Hokage gave them a mission description: "Ari said she comes from Suzaku Village, but we don't know where that village is, and we can't even be sure if she's telling the truth."

He exhaled a smoke ring: "Ali said she knows the addresses of several contacts in Suoqian Village and wants to find these people for the village. Your mission this time is only one: follow her and see who she meets and where she goes."

Sending male ninjas isn't impossible, but it's often inconvenient. Apart from people like Jiraiya and Naruto, most male ninjas are unwilling to go to places like women's bathhouses to "gather information." Kakashi is currently the most suitable successor to the Will of Fire. The Third Hokage, who is approaching seventy, has to consider the relationship between Kakashi and Kagami. He is very cautious, so he sent these four female ninjas to follow them.

Even when encountering enemies, they can escape unscathed thanks to Kurenai's genjutsu, Ino's ninjutsu, Hinata's Byakugan, and Tenten's numerous ninja tools.

"Go."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Ino returned home, left a note saying she was going on a mission, grabbed her bag, said goodbye to her friends who were still feeding the pigs, and then hurried to the village entrance.

Before the other three female ninjas arrived, Ino boasted to Izumo and Kotetsu about being "beaten up" by the three members of Kirigakure. She talked about how Kirigakure was despicable and petty, and the three of them chatted happily.

The first to arrive was Kurenai Yuhi, followed by Tenten, and finally Hinata, who was carrying a large bag.

It's not so much that Hinata's bag is big, but rather that she appears rather petite.

As Ino's chakra surged, her physical abilities, strength, and other attributes also improved accordingly. In the past six months, she has grown 10 centimeters taller, now standing at 1.65 meters. Her purple shorts naturally exude an alluring charm, and her smooth calves and open-toed sandals further accentuate her exceptionally long legs.

Ino's sense of style is second to none among ninjas, while Hinata's height and attire make her appear very young and bulky. In addition, she has a large head and often looks down shyly. Although she is a pretty girl, she doesn't have any of the qualities of a beautiful woman.

Chapter 101 Every Day

Ino, who had already fought her way through Kirigakure, was quite experienced. When she saw Kurenai patiently and meticulously explaining the process of leaving the village to Hinata, she realized, "Goodness, Hinata has never left the village before!"

Upon closer examination, it makes sense. The Byakugan of the Hyuga main family is indeed extremely precious, and there's no guarantee that someone won't take the risk.

Leaving the village is dangerous, but Hinata can't stay in the village forever. Not to mention her, even the Hyuga brothers, Hizashi and Hiashi, had been on the battlefield back then.

You can go to the battlefield, and you can also go out of the village to do missions.

We shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Hinata needs to train. This task of monitoring Ari isn't too difficult, but it's not easy either. With three female ninjas accompanying her, her safety is greatly enhanced, so it can be considered a good training opportunity.

Just as the four finished completing the procedures to leave the village, they saw two green figures running towards them from a distance, accompanied by billowing smoke.

"Tian Tian! You must give it your all when doing tasks!"

"Tian Tian! Teacher Kai and I will cheer you on!"

"Yes, Tiantian, let your youth burn! Let it boil!"

Might Guy and Lee, the mentor and apprentice, traveled a long way to see their teammate Tian Tian off.

However, their passionate farewell left both the parties involved and the onlookers feeling extremely awkward.

I clench my fists every day, look down at my toes, and endure the hardship.

Hong covered her forehead and sighed softly.

Ino grabbed Hinata and swiftly moved five steps to the left before she could react. Then she peeked around cautiously, pretending to be a passerby and that she had nothing to do with what was happening.

Neji Hyuga, who was also a teammate, was much more normal. He ran to the gate in the standard ninja running posture, whispered a few words to Tenten, and then looked at Ino, or rather, at Hinata.

"Please be careful, young lady, and don't bring shame to the Hyuga family."

Hinata lowered her head, her toes pointing inward, and her voice was so soft it was barely audible: "I...I understand, Neji-nii-san..."

Hyuga Neji, arrogant and haughty, held his head high, seemingly about to say something. Ino, shielding Hinata behind her, said loudly, "You must be Hyuga Neji? I've always wanted to have a match with you. How about a fight now?"

Ino's defeat of the three members of Kirigakure was not a secret within a small circle; the king of infighting, Inoichi, had already spread the word.

Bai was unknown and no one paid attention to him, but Changshilang was different.

Even though Kirigakure doesn't communicate with the outside world, Chojuro, the young ninja on whom Kirigakure places high hopes, has attracted the attention of intelligence departments in various villages.

Ninjas need a reputation. The titles of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, the White Fang of Konoha, and the Yellow Flash of Konoha are based on their own strength, but the village's propaganda also plays a role.

Kirigakure had established Chojuro's persona as a young genius from an early age.

This reputation is also part of the training. If one can overcome all the hardships and obstacles, one will naturally gain both fame and fortune, transforming from a child prodigy into a genius, and finally becoming a great figure that ordinary ninjas look up to. If one dies prematurely, the village can simply find someone else to train; there won't be a significant loss.

Ino gained considerable attention for defeating Chojuro with her exquisite water-style techniques.

He may not have reached the level of "Kotobirama," but he already has a certain degree of fame.

She is now challenging Hyuga Neji, the top student of the previous ninja academy, and no one can find fault with that.

Matt Kai and Xiao Li, who were seeing Tian Tian off, raised their fists with great enthusiasm and shouted excitedly, "Say yes! Say yes!"

The gatekeeper, Shingetsu Izumo, was speechless. It took a lot of persuasion to finally calm the two troublemakers down.

Hyuga Neji was very calm. He heard about Ino's achievements and was somewhat tempted, but considering that the current environment and time were not suitable, he immediately suppressed his impulse: "You're also going to participate in this year's Chunin Exams, right? I'll accept your challenge then."

He nodded slightly to Hinata and left alone.

Four female ninjas walked out of the Konoha gates, with Might Guy and Rock Lee waving vigorously behind them: "Everyone! Youth is endless! Run on the path you believe in!"

At the village gate, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, Ino seemed to still hear the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks…

Unable to bear the intense scene any longer, she pulled Hinata away first.

Kurenai followed closely behind, and finally Tenten, who seemed to be on her last breath.

Once they were rid of the passionate master-disciple duo, their team became much more normal.

With Hinata's Byakugan in the team this time, Ino, the incompetent one, finally doesn't have to be in charge of reconnaissance.

Among the four, Ino, Kurenai, and Tenten each have different attack styles, corresponding to the three attack directions of ninjutsu, genjutsu, and ninja tools.

In terms of attack range, excluding Kakuzu's shuriken thrown from 800 miles away, to be honest, ninjutsu has the largest attack range, followed by ninja tools, and genjutsu has the smallest attack range. Genjutsu often requires face-to-face interaction to be used.

They devised a temporary tactic, which was basically a ninja version of the three-hit combo.

When encountering an enemy, Ino first uses wide-range ninjutsu to clear the area, and then throws ninja tools to kill the remaining enemies. If there are still enemies left after two rounds of clearing the area, they must be powerful ninjas. Kurenai's genjutsu is just right for dealing with such enemies.

If the enemy isn't affected by the genjutsu, or manages to break free through other means, Ino, who has already retreated to the rear, can unleash another wave of ninjutsu, followed by Tenten's ninja tool throwing, and Kurenai continuing to cast genjutsu...

Hinata's role is reconnaissance. If she encounters an enemy she can't defeat, she doesn't care about Ari anymore and just runs away!

On her first time leaving the village, Hinata was very cautious, glancing at the slightest disturbance with her Byakugan.

On the way, Ino told Hinata about Naruto's Team 7 and her own Team 10's first time leaving the village to wipe out mountain bandits.

Afterwards, she talked about some interesting things that happened in the Land of Waves and the Land of Water, but Hinata was still very nervous.

On the afternoon of the day they left the village, Ari also received permission from the village to leave Konoha Village dressed in standard ninja attire.

Whether she was trying to prove her loyalty or harbored malicious intentions, the four of them relied on Hinata's Byakugan to follow her from a distance, observing where she went and who she met.

After two whole days of traveling, Ali found a valley to rest on the evening of the second day, while the four female ninjas who were monitoring her also set up camp in a sheltered spot halfway up the mountain.

The work of keeping watch and continuing surveillance cannot be stopped.

They were divided into two classes.

Ino also has detection abilities, and she and Tenten keep watch for the first half of the night.

Hinata, lacking experience, stayed up late with Kurenai.

None of the four had any objections.

Without Choji by her side, there was no way to get cooked food. She ate two cold rice balls by herself, which was her dinner. Afterwards, Kurenai took Hinata to rest.