At this moment, Tsunade finally noticed Ino and immediately pulled her into a hug. The intimate posture made Ino feel flustered.
Tsunade asked, "Oh, little Ino is back! You don't look hurt, do you? That's great, that's great. Did you manage to bring that fool Kawaragi back to the Hidden Leaf Village?"
This matter was related to Tsunade's test mission, so Ino had to explain it clearly. She recounted how she escorted Kawaragi back to the Hidden Leaf Village and then followed him to the Hidden Waterfall Village.
Tsunade didn't care at all about the rebellion or the suppression of it. She was only interested in the final part. Her eyes sparkled with excitement: "An A-rank mission? And you went on it with just Kurenai? If you split the reward evenly, how much did you get? Was it at least 500,000 ryo?"
Shizune, standing nearby, covered her face, feeling utterly embarrassed to be associated with her boss.
Ino had come prepared to face Tsunade. After all, her money was hard-earned, and she wasn't about to throw it away! She complained pitifully, "The Hidden Waterfall Village did pay the reward, but... but my money was all borrowed by Asuma-sensei!"
"What?! He dared?!" Tsunade was furious.
How dare that little Asuma "steal" money from her? Did he have a death wish?
Ino explained with a troubled expression, "Asuma-sensei is about to marry Teacher Kurenai, and he's been tight on money lately. On top of that, the Third Hokage ordered him to learn the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags technique. So, in the end... well, all the money I worked so hard to earn is gone..."
Tsunade, of course, knew about the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags. She was well aware of this S-rank ninja technique developed by her grandfather, and it still gave her chills. The technique was terrifying—and ridiculously expensive!
She was full of resentment toward the Sarutobi family. With all that money, why not just gamble? Why waste it on practicing something like the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags? What a waste! Though Tsunade grumbled, she didn't take it to heart. Ino's Pot Point increase was less than one-eighth, so the matter was brushed off.
The Fourth Raikage, who had been standing there the entire time, was not known for his patience. However, he wasn't stupid. He knew Tsunade was using this conversation to make him wait, as payback for his earlier trick during their arm-wrestling match.
He stood there like a wall, waiting patiently.
Tsunade spent five minutes ranting to Ino, and her complaints were almost entirely directed at the Sarutobi family.
The old man was cowardly, Asuma was immature, and even the eight-year-old Konohamaru wasn't spared.
"Hmph, I heard many villagers and ninjas are calling him 'Lord Konohamaru' now? Just because his grandfather is the Hokage? My grandfather was the Hokage too, but do you see me acting all proud?"
Ino and Shizune forced smiles, and even Tonton, the pet pig, nodded along. You're the best, Tsunade. The entire Sarutobi family, three generations combined, couldn't hold a candle to you.
Just as the Fourth Raikage was about to lose his temper, Tsunade patted Ino on the shoulder and said, "Well, choosing me as your teacher shows you have good taste. You're much better than those fools in the Sarutobi family. From now on, you'll study under me."
Ino immediately changed her tone, "Thank you, Teacher. I'll work hard to learn."
She was well aware that this apprenticeship was not as simple as it appeared on the surface. The Yamanaka Clan, the Ino-Shika-Cho Formation, Kakashi, and even Jiraiya had all played a part in it. Even the Sarutobi family, whom Tsunade had complained about for half a day, had spent considerable effort and connections on her behalf.
The reason these people were willing to help was because Ino had proven her strength and worth. Otherwise, if just anyone could come and become Tsunade's apprentice, wouldn't she be exhausted? Once Tsunade and Ino formally established their master-disciple relationship, the Fourth Raikage, who was present, offered a few dry words of congratulations as a witness. Afterward, they followed the Cloud Hidden Village group to a cabin outside the town to treat the injured.
The injured man was named Karui. On his chest, there was a spider-shaped bulge that pulsated rapidly with his heartbeat. From the outside, it appeared that Karui's blood was continuously gathering toward this spider-shaped bulge. When the energy accumulated to its peak, it might trigger a significant explosion.
Tsunade's hands emitted a fine layer of Chakra, and she began to examine the spider-shaped bulge beneath Karui's skin as if threading a needle. After studying it for a while, she asked, "I heard you stole the Secret Technique from the Cedar Village? Did they do this?"
The Fourth Raikage remained silent for a moment before replying, "It wasn't the Cedar Village's ninjas. We encountered the Nokizaru Group. Those guys make a living by hunting ninjas. They were probably hired by the Cedar Village."
Tsunade didn't pay much attention to the talk of hunting ninjas or the Nokizaru Group, and neither did Ino. After all, who would dare provoke the Fourth Raikage? He was a standard warmonger. If the Hidden Leaf Village's combat desire was rated at 1, the Cloud Hidden Village's would be at least 10.
Next, they needed to remove the lesion from Karui. Tsunade still couldn't handle blood, so she provided the surgical plan, and the entire operation had to be carried out by Shizune.
Ino hadn't even begun to master the Resurrection of Salted Fish Technique, so letting her perform the surgery would only kill the patient. However, having worked at the Hidden Leaf Hospital for two months, she could at least assist.
Shizune asked her, "Do you know any Medical Ninja Techniques?"
Ino felt extremely awkward. Despite her early preparations, she still hadn't learned a single Medical Ninja Technique. She shook her head sheepishly.
Shizune, however, was very patient and didn't mind at all. "You can hand me the tools, and I'll explain the key points of the removal to you."
She first lifted her right leg, pulled an anesthetic from the thigh holster, and quickly injected it into Karui's vein. The entire action was smooth and efficient, and within five seconds, Karui was completely anesthetized.
Ino secretly admired her. Just look at that movement—how skilled! How many people had she anesthetized to develop such expertise?
Shizune was also one of the top medical ninjas of the time, far surpassing the Jonin like Kampo at the Hidden Leaf Hospital. She took over Tsunade's teaching role, explaining everything from the basics to the advanced details, and Ino listened very attentively.
Medical Ninja Techniques were still a form of ninja techniques, but their primary focus was on healing.
When Ino used the Vapor Explosion, she didn't need to distinguish between the mucosal layer, submucosal layer, muscular layer, or serosal layer—she just blew everything up! But as a medical ninja, she had to carefully identify these layers and couldn't act recklessly. Her foundation was quite weak, and her theoretical knowledge wasn't even half-baked. Jumping straight into the operating room was comparable to Sasuke trying to learn the Chidori without first mastering Lightning Release—it was an immense pressure.
She had her own method, though: the Shadow Clone Technique, let's go! She created nine Shadow Clones to assist Shizune in the surgery.
Her main body focused on listening attentively, while among the Shadow Clones, some took notes, some took photos, some drew diagrams, and others handed over tools. They formed a solid wall, tightly sealing off the surgical environment.
The Fourth Raikage craned his neck for a long time but couldn't see what was happening inside. The blood that would have splattered onto Tsunade was completely blocked by Ino's wall of clones, not a single drop escaping.