Ino convinced Kakashi with two reasons: "A Ninja's injuries affect their combat ability" and "Protecting comrades."
He thought for a moment, then said very seriously, "Since you've made up your mind, I will recommend you to Jiraiya-sama. I hope he can put in a good word with Lady Tsunade. However..."
He scratched his head with a smile, "...Haha, but don't get your hopes up too high. My influence might not be enough."
Your influence will definitely work! Ino was absolutely convinced of this.
Tsunade doesn't just take anyone. If Sakura hadn't formed a bond with Naruto and Sasuke, Tsunade wouldn't have given her a second glance.
Ino couldn't find that kind of bond, so she had to find a solution elsewhere.
At this stage, where Jiraiya hadn't yet acknowledged Naruto, Jiraiya would generally agree to Kakashi's requests, as long as they didn't go too much against his principles. After all, Kakashi was his grand-disciple, practically family. Once Jiraiya got serious, Tsunade would also give him face.
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."
"Ah? Oh, you're welcome, you're welcome."
The improved relationship between Konoha Village and Hidden Mist Village led to a surge in trade between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. Many small Ninja Villages sent Ninja to gather information; Ari was not the first, nor would she be the last.
Konoha already had plans to display its strength, and now it was even more imperative not to back down.
Team 7, with Naruto and Sasuke, remained unchanged. Team 10, with its deep bonds, had already learned that the Village would hold a large-scale Chunin Exams in early July this year.
The Village had already begun issuing formal communiqués to its allies, inviting them to send Genin to participate in the exams.
At this point, there was still about a month until the exams.
Inoichi, Shikaku, and Choza all explicitly ordered their children to participate in this Chunin Exams. One strict requirement for participating in the Chunin Exams was to complete eight Ninja missions.
Weeding, finding cats, finding people, eliminating bandits, eliminating the Kurosuki Family, Hidden Mist Village – Ino had completed three D-rank missions, one C-rank mission, one B-rank mission, and one A-rank mission.
There was no such thing as splitting one A-rank mission into three B-rank missions; one mission was one mission. Even if she were to kill Uchiha Madara now, it would still be one mission.
According to the rules, to participate in the Chunin Exams, she still had to complete two more missions.
Missions weren't available every day. Commoners were dirt poor; could they really commission Ninja for missions every day? Wouldn't they starve?
At this time, everyone was scrambling for missions. The Village maintained fairness and impartiality in this regard. Even with Asuma's connections, it took three days before Team 10 managed to snag a D-rank mission.
It was the same job Orochimaru once did: feeding pigs!
Choji didn't like this mission and kept pouting. The way he looked at the pigs was strange, and the way the pigs looked at him was also strange.
Ino didn't like this mission either. Ever since a few days ago, when she knocked out a pig with a stick to practice Medical Ninjutsu and then accidentally killed it with Medical Ninjutsu, the big pigs, small pigs, and sows all looked at her with extreme hostility.
Worried that the young lady, the chubby young master, and the pigs would start a fight, the task of feeding the pigs could only be done by Shikamaru, the rich young master.
Ino and Choji sat to the side, eating snacks and cheering on Shikamaru as he fed the pigs, when Asuma came to call Ino.
"Ino, this D-rank mission counts as completed for you. Go to the Hokage Building; the old man has another mission for you."
"I'm going by myself?"
"No, you should be grouped with Yuhi."
Kurenai Yuhi was the Jonin leader of Hinata's Team 8, and also Asuma's girlfriend.
The two teams often gathered for barbecue and were very familiar with each other.
The father of this Female Ninja, Kurenai Yuhi, died during the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack. His father's name was quite peculiar: Shinku Yuhi. Ino wondered if Kurenai's grandfather was named Shinshinku Yuhi?
Arriving at the Hokage Building, Ino saw Kurenai Yuhi, Hinata, and a Female Ninja wearing a pink cross-collared top and dark trousers.
Ino knew the other person; after all, she was only one year her senior, so they often ran into each other, but they hadn't interacted much. She greeted her politely: "Tenten-senpai."
Tenten smiled and waved her hand: "It feels strange to be called 'senpai' by a genius like you. We're only a year apart, and we're on a mission together this time, so just call me by my name."
"Alright."
The four Female Ninja waited for a while, and soon the Third Hokage called them into his office.
The familiar interior decoration, the familiar person. The Third Hokage had handled official business for many years and wasn't as busy as during Tsunade's era, with various missions arranged in an orderly fashion.
The Third Hokage handed the mission scroll to Yuhi.
Yuhi examined it carefully, then nodded and put away the mission scroll.
The Third Hokage gave them a mission briefing: "Ari said she came from Sakijō Village, but we don't know where this Village is located. We can't even be sure if what she's saying is true."
He exhaled a smoke ring: "Ari claims to know the addresses of several Sakijō Village contacts and wants to find these people for her Village. Your mission this time is simple: follow her and see who she meets and where she goes."
Sending male Ninja wasn't out of the question, but it was often inconvenient. Except for people like Jiraiya and Naruto, most male Ninja were unwilling to "gather information" in places like women's bathhouses. Kakashi was the most suitable successor to the will of fire, and the Third Hokage, nearing seventy, had to consider Ari's relationship with Kakashi. He was very cautious, so he sent these four Female Ninja to track her.
Even if they encountered enemies, with Yuhi's Genjutsu, Ino's Ninjutsu, Hinata's Byakugan, and Tenten's many Ninja tools, they would be able to retreat safely.
"Go."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Ino returned home, left a note about going on a mission, grabbed her pack, said goodbye to her teammates who were still feeding pigs, and then hurried to the Village entrance.
The other three Female Ninja hadn't arrived yet, so Ino bragged a bit to Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane, bringing up the time she was "ganged up on" by the Hidden Mist Village's Three Man Squad. They talked about how Hidden Mist Village was despicable and petty, all three of them speaking freely and having a great time.
Kurenai Yuhi was the first to arrive, followed by Tenten, and finally Hinata, who was carrying a large backpack.
Actually, it wasn't that Hinata's bag was large, but rather that her stature made her seem a bit petite.
As Ino's Chakra surged, her Taijutsu, strength, and other attributes increased accordingly. Her height had grown by 10 centimeters in the past six months, and she was now 1.65 meters tall. Her purple shorts naturally carried a seductive allure, and her smooth calves and open-toed sandals further accentuated her extremely long legs.
Ino's sense of fashion was among the best in the Ninja profession, while Hinata's height and attire made her appear very childish and bulky. Coupled with her large head and frequent shy downward glances, she was clearly a pretty girl, but she lacked any aura of a beautiful woman.
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