Chapter 172: Yamanaka Ino Will Never Be Weaker Than Haruno Sakura in Her Life
Yamanaka Inoichi gritted his teeth and turned to leave, showing no mercy.
At this moment, he felt like a failed father.
The guilt in his heart, the tears in his eyes, almost made him regret it.
But then, he heard Ino's happy laughter from behind. It turned out that Akiyama Makoto had told her that there was another big surprise waiting for her.
For a moment, he was a little confused. Was he, her father, completely unnecessary now?
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from behind again. Hope surged in his heart. He was incomparably familiar with these footsteps. It was his daughter. Had she, in the end, been unable to bear to part with him and come to say goodbye?
Unfortunately, reality was cruel.
She took the initiative to close the main gate and even slid the lock. Although for a ninja, this gate had almost no practical significance, it represented her attitude. At least for this moment, for her, this was home, and he, her father, was the outsider.
He walked away, dejected.
He decided to go home and study this miraculous ninjutsu with all his might. When he taught it to her later, at least he could use this method to regain his daughter's admiration.
Returning to Akiyama Makoto's side, Ino leaned against the door, listening to her father's retreating footsteps, and let out a sigh of relief.
Today was the day she and he would leave their mark. She couldn't let her father interrupt all of this. It was just that she hadn't expected him to have prepared such an important gift for her. It was something that was enough to take both her and the Yamanaka clan to the next level. Now that he had given it to her father, and her father had acknowledged their relationship...
At this thought, she felt her body go weak.
Was her current preparation still not enough?
She had just been about to turn around when she felt a gentle hand on the back of her neck, lightly kneading it.
Her face flushed red, and like a kitten grabbed by the scruff of its neck, she slowly backed away and leaned against his chest.
"Are you sick? Why are you so weak?"
He looked at her with a half-smile. She turned and pushed at his cheek with her hand. At this moment, she didn't dare to look at him, because she hadn't yet decided on what expression to wear.
"Alright, stop messing around."
He grabbed her by the wrist and, without another word, lowered his head and blew into her ear.
"Should we start now, or should we wait until you've calmed down?"
She gasped for air. After finally calming down, she simply said two words.
"Now."
Since she had said so, what more could he say?
He took her by the hand and they walked upstairs, arriving in front of her room. Although this wasn't the first time he had been here, it was the first time he had come with her, not to mention that they were about to "use" it for the first time. Even he felt a little nervous, perhaps because emotions were contagious.
He opened the door, went in first, turned around, and said, "Welcome home."
"Pfft, 'home'—that word sounds so strange here!"
She giggled to hide her nervousness, then walked into the room with a cheerful gait, pretending to look up and down at her "new home." Finally, she tilted her head and smiled. "I'm back—"
He was just about to respond, but she spat out the last two words.
"—darling."
He looked at her in surprise. She had a triumphant look on her face, as if proud of having gained the upper hand in their verbal sparring.
But with just one sentence, he instantly broke her composure.
"Thank God you're finally back. Our baby wet the bed. How do we change the diaper?"
She shot him a fierce glare, rushed over, and started pushing and shoving him, about to "teach" him how to change a diaper. But in the midst of their pushing and pulling, the two of them ended up sitting on the carpet by the bed, holding each other tightly.
A long while later, after their emotions had calmed down a bit, he finally said, "About the True Spirit Seal, do I need to explain it again?"
She shot up like a spring. "There's one thing I thought about all last night and couldn't figure out. What was that girl Sakura laughing about?"
"Do you remember?"
She wanted to describe the scene at that time, but he interrupted her. "I remember."
"Hm?"
She looked at him suspiciously. "Are you two accomplices? Confess! What bad things did you two say about me behind my back?"
"How could I? Behind your back, I only say that you are beautiful, smart, and understanding."
She snorted lightly, pretending not to believe him, but the corners of her mouth had already uncontrollably curled up.
"As for the reason she was laughing, it's nothing to tell you now—"
He looked at her waist. At this moment, she was leaning against the window. The sunlight shone through the fabric of her sundress, revealing her slender waist that could be held in one hand. Even though her bust had yet to develop, she was already beginning to show the graceful bearing of the future Ino.
She naturally knew what he was looking at. She even took the initiative to do a lazy stretch. In that half-revealed, half-hidden state, she became even more confident in her own charm.
Seeing that he was still just looking and not speaking, she ran her finger over his lips. "Don't be so obsessed. You haven't told me why Sakura was laughing at me. Don't think you can just muddle through."
"Alright, it's actually very simple."
He did something that was completely unexpected to her. He lifted her sundress.
She was instantly petrified.
To meet today's challenge, she hadn't worn safety shorts. Underneath was the orange-red "decisive battle" lingerie she had chosen.
She trembled, wanting to push his hand down, but in the end, she held back and instead tugged on his two ears to vent her dissatisfaction.
But he just said with a researcher's attitude, "Sakura's mark is here. Normally, leaving the mark here has the best effect, but you like to wear crop tops."
He lowered her sundress and held out his hand. "Although I can make the mark very beautiful, you don't want it to be seen by others, do you?"
Only then did she understand. She lowered her head and touched her stomach. The thought of everyone looking at this spot when she fought made her, who was usually so open and generous, feel her body begin to burn and smoke. She could be his girlfriend, and she didn't mind what others said about their relationship, but she would absolutely not allow anyone to belittle the feelings between them.
"It's fine! I just won't wear those clothes in the future!"
"Or I can just wrap my waist with bandages. I actually do that often."
She was telling the truth. No matter how much she loved beauty, she wouldn't run around in a crop top in the winter. But summer was a different story.
He shook his head and said seriously, "I actually quite like your fashion sense, so you can consider moving the mark to another location."
"For example—here."
He gestured vaguely at her chest. A location near the heart would also be beneficial to the growth of the True Spirit Seal's spiritual power. Of course, even if it were moved to another private area, the impact on the seal wouldn't be that great. After all, only he could provide this kind of sealing jutsu. At most, it would just be a comparison between the girls.
She subconsciously crossed her arms over her chest. Although she was prepared to be seen by him, to leave the True Spirit Seal there was a bit beyond her expectations.
But she didn't refuse directly. Instead, she bit her lip and asked, "How much of a difference would it be from Sakura's?"
"Not much..."
"No, I want the specific numbers!"
She gestured at her chest. "For example—for example, when we get married in a few years, will she be bigger than me?"
He blinked, recalling the Ino and Sakura of a few years later. In reality, there was very little to compare. Although Ino wasn't particularly gifted in this area, she was at a normal level. And since she knew how to dress, people's attention would only be focused on her beautiful makeup when they looked at her.
As for Sakura—all he could say was that her level was beyond even what the Yin Seal could save. His True Spirit Seal could certainly save a part of her, but at most, it would only bring her to the lower limit of a normal person.
Of course, in the current situation, he naturally wouldn't say that. He did indeed like to see her in crop tops, but on the condition that it was only for him to see.
So—he cleared his throat. "Sakura will probably be a little bigger. After all, she had a one-month head start."
And it was this sentence that made her make up her mind completely.
Compared to a critical issue like bust size, whether or not to wear a crop top was a trivial matter.
She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. "I want the mark here too. Now! Immediately!"
❃❃❃
⤑ Show your support with Power Stones!
⤑ Unlock a Bonus Chapter every time we hit 200 Power Stones!
❃❃❃
♕ Get early access to 20+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
🔗 https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to open the link!)
💬 Enjoying the story? Drop a review!
Your support really helps the series grow—thank you