Chapter 269: Naruto's Reputation Suffers
"Land of Ashina, Emma, brother." The small wooden plaque recorded these three lines of information. The words were few, and the handwriting was far from elegant, but it was clear and concise, containing all the necessary details.
The middle-aged woman, resembling a shady tour guide, seemed to do this often; her business was extremely proficient.
Ino took a couple of extra glances at her. This person wasn't a ninja, but she had calluses on her hands, indicating she knew how to use weapons. This organization that helped people "realize their dreams" seemed highly problematic.
More young girls gradually arrived at this gathering place.
None of them looked older than twenty.
The girls believed they would see their deceased relatives, and their expressions were somewhat excited. However, not all of them were fools. Gathering at an unfamiliar location so late at night, they were also worried about encountering danger.
Some brought their family dogs, others carried cats, but Ino, holding a pig, was unique.
Tonton looked down on these cats and dogs, shaking its head "Puyo puyo" and patting Ino's shoulder as if to say, If anything happens, I'll protect you!
"If anything happens, I'll throw you over!" Ino said expressionlessly.
Tonton quickly acted cute, narrowly passing that test.
Ino knew her temperament was too different from these young girls. She tried hard to empty her mind, staring straight ahead with a blank expression, feigning a daze.
"Pig."
"Shhh, shhh, pig."
Someone was talking behind her.
Ino paid it no mind, assuming someone had seen the pet pig in her arms. She casually pinched Tonton's very springy bottom.
When the woman behind her called out "Pig" for the third time, Tonton nudged her with its hoof, meaning, That person is calling you.
Ino was furious!
How dare you call me that? Do you wish to dance too? Taste my Steam Imp Jōki Bōi!
She whipped her head around and found a blonde girl with twin ponytails standing behind her. The girl was holding a pug with brown fur and a blue bandana tied around its forehead.
The pug could talk. It drooped its eyes and listlessly raised a paw, greeting her, "Yo!"
Tonton clearly recognized the pug. "Puyo puyo," "Mhm mhm," the pig and dog actually started chatting.
Ino had dark lines on her forehead as she looked at the blonde, twin-tailed girl behind her.
It was a classic case of not recognizing someone once they changed clothes. Upon closer inspection, she realized something was still off.
It had to be said, the Transformation Jutsu was a good ninjutsu. Back then, strictly speaking, last year... last year she had used the Transformation Jutsu to shift a lot of blame. Now, she no longer played this game; she could see through this Transformation Jutsu at a glance.
Connecting it to the other party's incessant "pig pig" calls, the only person who dared to call Ino that these days was...
She said irritably, "What are you shouting randomly for?"
"Isn't it to avoid revealing our true identities?"
Ino lowered her voice and asked, "Sakura-san, what are you doing here? And why did you transform into this?"
Sneaking in disguised as Naruko (female Naruto), even with Kakashi's summoning animal by her side, Sakura was on edge. Their combination was simply too weak. Now, seeing Ino, she felt much more relieved!
As long as Sasuke wasn't involved, the two were good friends, or at least she thought so.
Sakura put her hand to her mouth: "I heard... I heard they have evil techniques that can use a person's appearance and name to kill them remotely."
Ino glanced at the small wooden plaque in her hand. It read: "Land of Fire, Naruko, wishes to see deceased father."
"..."
For a moment, Ino didn't know how to react. Naruto is in the village studying so hard his eyes have gone nearsighted, and you guys are out here ruining his reputation? Shifting the blame to him? Aren't you afraid Minato Namikaze will climb out of the Reaper Death Seal's stomach to beat you up?
Sakura also glanced at her wooden plaque. Regarding the Land of Ashina, she stated she had never heard of it.
The name Emma was good, didn't sound like it was made up on the spot. At least Sakura herself couldn't come up with such a name.
"This name is?" she asked.
Ino casually brushed it off: "A highly skilled medical-nin."
She looked at the pug in Sakura's arms: "This is Kakashi-sensei's summoning animal, right?"
The ninken named Pakkun could speak human language. In this regard, its functionality was a bit more than Tonton's. It said in a low voice, "If you're expecting Kakashi to come, that's very unlikely. He's held up by another mission. It's just me and Sakura here."
Seeing Ino looking him up and down, Pakkun quickly explained, "Don't look at me, I'm a tracking-type ninken, not a combat-type."
Ino nodded silently. Thanks for the reminder, I'm not blind, you don't need to point it out.
Sakura clenched her fists: "My strength is actually very strong too..." Halfway through her sentence, her imposing manner was cut in half: "...I can also provide some help."
Ino smiled strangely.
Sunagakure had Temari, Iwagakure had Kurotsuchi, Kumogakure had Karui, Kirigakure had Haku... okay, cross that last one out.
The four great ninja villages actually had successors in terms of female ninja. Only Konoha, if Ino hadn't emerged spectacularly, this generation of female ninja was truly lacking.
[Original Text Continues from a different context, referring to Hinata vs Neji] Hinata managing to win a move against Neji was mainly because it was too sudden, plus it was a sibling spar, and Neji underestimated her. After that time, Hinata never beat Neji again; the talent gap between them was still quite large.
As for the remaining Sakura and Tenten, the former learned a bit of everything, while the latter had limited talent and could only sprint down the path of getting rich; neither was considered an outstanding female ninja.
Konoha's female ninja, including the original Ino, didn't have much combat talent. They weren't even as capable as Temari and Karui, the village beauties who married into Konoha.
"Forehead girl, what's your mission?" Ino asked Sakura.
"It's like this... the village received a mission." Sakura's mission was to investigate missing girls. She borrowed the ninken Pakkun from Kakashi and tracked them here.
This would be a major case in Detective Conan, but in the Naruto world, it was a typical C-rank mission.
Ino said "Oh," then casually patted Pakkun's head.
Sakura seemed to guess what she was about to say, clenching her fists, her eyebrows twitching.
"Hmm, just like the rumors, Pakkun's fur is indeed very soft. Sakura, I remember the shampoo you usually use seems to be this brand too?"
Sakura hung her head in dejection: "H-how... how did even you find out..."
Ino, with a mischievous intent, said: "Actually, many people know. Hinata, Tenten, Neji, Lee, oh right, Sasuke seems to know too..."
Sakura was struck as if by lightning, slumping to the ground like a duck. It's over! The fact that I use the same shampoo as a ninken, if Sasuke finds out, he'll definitely look down on me! Damn it! She really wanted to switch shampoos, but she truly had no money! All her money had gone to the "First Hokage"!
Someone takes revenge without waiting overnight. That's for shouting "Pig" so enthusiastically just now!
After thoroughly demoralizing Sakura, Ino began to ponder the matter at hand.
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