Ino, having already gone back and forth from Hidden Mist Village, was practically an old hand. Seeing Yuhi patiently and meticulously explain the procedure for leaving the Village to Hinata, she suddenly realized, 'Goodness, Hinata has never left the Village before?'
Upon closer thought, it made sense. The Byakugan of the Hyuga Main Family was simply too precious; there was no guarantee someone wouldn't take a risk to obtain it.
Leaving the Village was dangerous, but Hinata couldn't stay in the Village her whole life. Not to mention her, even the Hyuga Hizashi and Hyuga Hiashi brothers had been on battlefields in their youth.
If they could go to the battlefield, then going out on missions was naturally also permissible.
They couldn't let fear paralyze them. Hinata needed training. This mission to monitor Ari was not difficult, but not simple either, and with three Female Ninja accompanying her, the safety was greatly increased, making it a good opportunity for training.
As soon as the four finished their departure procedures, they saw two green figures and a cloud of thick smoke running towards them from a distance.
"Tenten! You must give your all when on a mission!"
"Tenten! Might Guy and I will be cheering you on!"
"Yes, Tenten, let your youth burn! Let it boil!"
Might Guy and Lee, the master and disciple, ran all the way to see off their teammate, Tenten.
However, their passionate farewell made both the person involved and the onlookers extremely awkward.
Tenten clenched her fists, looking down at her toes, enduring it with great difficulty.
Yuhi covered her forehead, sighing softly.
Ino grabbed Hinata and swiftly moved five steps to the left, then peeked around, pretending to be a passerby, as if she had nothing to do with the scene unfolding before her.
Hyuga Neji, also a teammate, was much more normal. He arrived at the gate using the standard Ninja run, quietly gave Tenten a few instructions, then looked towards Ino, or rather, towards Hinata.
"Lady Hinata, please be careful and do not bring shame to the Hyuga Clan."
Hinata lowered her head, her toes pointing inward, her voice as faint as a mosquito's: "I, I understand, Neji brother."
Hyuga Neji was overbearing, holding his head high, seemingly about to say more, when Ino shielded Hinata behind her and said loudly: "You must be Hyuga Neji, right? I've always wanted to spar with you. Are you interested in a match right now?"
The news of Ino defeating the three Hidden Mist Village Ninja was not a secret in a small circle; Inoichi, the king of internal competition, had already spread it for her.
Haku was unknown and unnoticed, but Chōjūrō was different.
Even if Hidden Mist Village did not interact with the outside world, Chōjūrō, a young Ninja on whom Hidden Mist Village placed great hopes, had drawn the attention of intelligence departments from various Villages.
Ninja needed reputation; the names of Konoha's Sannin, Konoha White Fang, and Konohas Yellow Flash – the core of these reputations was their own strength, but the Village's publicity also played a part.
Hidden Mist Village had long ago established Chōjūrō's persona as a young genius.
This kind of reputation was also part of the tempering process. If one could overcome all difficulties and obstacles, they would naturally gain both fame and fortune, transforming from a young genius into a genius, and finally becoming a great figure admired by ordinary Ninja. If they died prematurely, the Village would at most find someone else to cultivate, without too much loss.
Ino gained a lot of attention by defeating Chōjūrō with her exquisite Water Release.
She hadn't reached the level of "Little Tobirama," but she already had a certain reputation.
Now she was challenging Hyuga Neji, the top student from the previous Ninja Academy class, and no one could find fault with that.
Might Guy and Lee, who were seeing off Tenten, passionately raised their fists, cheerfully shouting, "Agree to it!" "Agree to it!"
Izumo Kamizuki, who was guarding the gate, looked speechless. After much persuasion, he finally managed to calm down the two instigators.
Hyuga Neji's personality was very calm. He had heard of Ino's achievements and was somewhat tempted, but realizing that the current environment and time were not suitable, he immediately suppressed the impulse: "You're also participating in this year's Chunin Exams, aren't you? I will accept your challenge then."
He nodded slightly to Hinata and left alone.
The four Female Ninja walked out of the Konoha gate, and Might Guy and Lee were still waving vigorously behind them: "Everyone! Youth is boundless! Please run on the path you believe in!"
At the gate of the Village, under the setting sun, Ino seemed to still hear the sound of ocean waves crashing against the reefs.
She couldn't stand such a passionate scene and pulled Hinata away first.
Yuhi followed closely, and finally, Tenten, who seemed about to gasp her last breath.
Having escaped the passionate master-disciple duo, their team became much more normal.
This time, the team had Hinata's Byakugan, so Ino, who was only a half-baked reconnaissance expert, no longer had to be in charge of scouting.
Among the four, Ino, Yuhi, and Tenten had different outputs, corresponding to Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Ninja Tools as their three attack directions.
From the perspective of attack range, excluding Kakuzu's Shuriken thrown from eight hundred miles away, to speak properly, Ninjutsu had the largest attack range, followed by Ninja Tools, and Genjutsu had the smallest attack range, often requiring face-to-face contact to cast.
They discussed a temporary tactic, basically a Ninja version of the three-stage attack.
Upon encountering enemies, Ino would first clear the area with large-scale Ninjutsu, then Tenten would throw Ninja Tools to kill the remaining enemies. If, after two rounds of clearing, there were still enemies left, they must be powerful Ninja, and Yuhi's Genjutsu was perfect for dealing with such enemies.
If the enemies didn't fall for the Genjutsu, or broke free by other means, Ino, who had already retreated to the rear, could launch another wave of Ninjutsu, followed by Tenten's Ninja Tool throws, and Yuhi would continue to cast Genjutsu.
Hinata's role was reconnaissance. If they truly encountered enemies they couldn't defeat, then who cared about Ari? They should run quickly!
It was her first time leaving the Village, and Hinata was cautious all the way, using her Byakugan to check at the slightest rustle.
Along the way, Ino told Hinata about the first time Naruto's Team 7 and her own Team 10 left the Village to eliminate bandits.
She then talked about interesting stories in the Land of Waves and the Land of Water, but Hinata remained very nervous.
On the afternoon of the day they left the Village, Ari also received permission from the Village. Dressed in standard Ninja attire, she left Konoha Village.
Whether she was going to pledge her loyalty or harbor ill intentions, the four followed her from a distance using Hinata's Byakugan, watching where she went and whom she contacted.
They spent two full days traveling. On the evening of the second day, Ari found a valley to rest. The four Female Ninja monitoring her also set up their camp on a sheltered mountainside.
The work of keeping watch and continuing surveillance could not stop.
They split into two shifts.
Ino also had detection abilities, so she and Tenten kept watch during the first half of the night.
Hinata lacked experience, so she and Yuhi kept watch during the second half of the night.
All four had no objections.
Without Choji by their side, hot meals were out of the question. Each of them ate two cold rice balls, which served as dinner. Afterward, Yuhi took Hinata to rest first.
Only Ino and Tenten remained in front of the tent.
Dryly keeping watch made them sleepy, so they found topics to chat about.
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