Kabuto was extremely meticulous when it came to things that interested him, to the point of being fastidious.
Ino, playing the role of a historian, continuously borrowed ancient books from the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans for research. Ninja clans valued ninja techniques above all else, often neglecting historical knowledge.
These books were genuine, but the authenticity of their contents was questionable, filled with numerous contradictory accounts. Kabuto didn't mind, spending every day sifting through the old texts in search of what Ino had dubbed "historical truths."
The Sage of Six Paths, Indra, and Ashura had all become mythological figures.
Ino meticulously copied out any content related to the Rinnegan and the Sage's body, compiled it, and handed it over to Kabuto for further study.
As an outstanding student representative, Ino was assigned a D-rank mission by the Konoha Ninja Academy in late June, just three days before the Chunin Exams. The task was to give a lecture to the younger students about the differences between being a ninja and a student.
The academy had also approached Neji Hyuga and Uchiha Sasuke, but both declined, citing their busy training schedules.
Only Ino showed up at the Ninja Academy to teach a group of students.
After delivering a motivational speech, the students clamored for her to demonstrate a ninja technique.
In this setting, it was obviously inappropriate to summon her "Fat Ino" persona to perform the Vapor Explosion technique. These students hadn't carried rice sacks before and wouldn't understand the artistic essence of explosions.
Techniques like "Water Severing Wave" or "Water Formation Wall" were also unsuitable for demonstration. Instead, she performed a C-rank technique, "Water Release: Wild Water Wave."
Even though she now looked down on C-rank techniques, they were still considered advanced for Chunin-level learning.
After the motivational session, Moegi clung to Ino's arm, proudly showing off to her friends Konohamaru and Udon.
"Look, my big sister is amazing! She's way better than your perverted Naruto brother!"
Konohamaru respected Naruto but didn't harbor any hostility toward Ino. Asuma, Ino's Jonin team leader, was also Konohamaru's uncle, so there was a connection between them.
"Ino-nee, is it true that you've become Lady Tsunade's apprentice?" Moegi asked.
Ino glanced at her. It wasn't a secret, but she hadn't gone around advertising it either. How did Moegi know?
Moegi immediately sold out her friend: "Konohamaru told me."
Konohamaru, in turn, sold out his grandfather: "My grandpa told me."
Moegi was beyond excited, chattering away with questions about Tsunade.
Was Lady Tsunade strict in her teaching? Was Lady Tsunade beautiful?
The questions bordered on gossip, nearly veering into asking how many boyfriends Lady Tsunade had.
Ino praised her busty mentor, dismissing the rumors about her drinking and gambling as slander from outsiders.
"Ino-nee, can you teach us how to throw shuriken?" Moegi asked with eager anticipation.
After some thought, realizing she didn't have much else to do, and at Moegi's repeated pleas, Ino followed the three of them to the training ground to teach them shuriken throwing.
"To throw shuriken, you must master two skills: speed and accuracy. This requires a lot of practice. Right now, you're using stationary targets, but later you can try moving targets."
Ino started by explaining a lot of theory, leaving the three kids feeling dizzy. Her shuriken throwing skills weren't as good as Sasuke's or Tenten's, but they were still up to standard, and more than enough to teach the three children.
"Shuriken are often used for probing. If you don't know the enemy's information, you can throw shuriken to test them," Ino said, picking up a shuriken and throwing it behind her without even looking. "Like this!"
With a crisp "clang," her shuriken was deflected by a golden-haired woman using a large ninja fan. The woman said irritably, "Is this how you treat guests in Konoha?"
Ino glanced at the woman's forehead protector and retorted without backing down, "Do people from Sunagakure always like to eavesdrop from the shadows?"
"I wasn't eavesdropping! Is this even worth eavesdropping on?" The golden-haired woman closed her fan and said, "I've heard about you in Sunagakure, the genius of the Yamanaka Clan. But now that I see you, you're just an ordinary person playing ninja games with kids."
"Huh? You're the eldest daughter of the Fourth Kazekage, right? Are you 18 or 28? It's so pathetic that you're still taking the Chunin Exams at such an old age. Your ninja skills must be so bad that they bring shame to your family, and they've been too embarrassed to let you out, right?"
When it came to verbal sparring, Ino wasn't afraid of anyone.
The Sunagakure princess, Temari, was so angry she was practically fuming.
What the hell 18 or 28? She was only 15 this year!
She raised her ninja fan, ready to attack again.
This time, it was her younger brother Kankuro who stopped her, gesturing for her to look in another direction. "Why are you so impatient? Calm down!"
Both of them turned their heads.
Standing on a tree branch was Gaara, with his short red hair and the character "love" on his forehead, carrying a large gourd. He stared at them expressionlessly.
"Gaara," Temari called softly, as if afraid that raising her voice would awaken some monster.
Ino extended her left arm to protect Konohamaru and the other two, signaling them to step back. She then looked up at Gaara on the tree.
The Jinchuriki of the One-Tail Shukaku, the future Fifth Kazekage, who had fought the Seventh Hokage and the Sixth Mizukage. Ino now felt a strange sense of excitement at the thought of bullying a future Kage who hadn't yet fully grown. She wasn't sure where this emotion came from, but she could only assume it was a reaction to long-term suppression.
She looked at Gaara with a fiery gaze, a hint of fighting spirit showing in her eyes. Gaara was slightly surprised. "You're not afraid of me? Do you want to die?"
"I heard your sand defense is invincible? How about taking one of my moves? Water Release: Water Ball Technique!" Ino formed hand seals, and over a dozen translucent water bubbles appeared out of thin air. These seemingly playful bubbles floated in the air, guided by her, and drifted toward Gaara.
Although they appeared to float, their speed wasn't slow.
Ino had derived this Water Release: Water Ball Technique from the Vapor Explosion technique, and it wasn't much different from the original.
Gaara merely glanced at the incoming water bubbles. That's it? They looked rather unremarkable.
The spherical water bubbles flew toward Gaara, and the sunlight hitting them created a dazzling array of colors.
Gaara looked down on the attack in his heart, but he didn't refuse to defend. With a single thought, a seamless shield of sand immediately formed in front of him, blocking the water bubbles.
"Huh?"
As the water bubbles struck the Sand Shield one after another, he quickly realized something was wrong.
The sand that had been touched by the water bubbles was nearly out of control. No matter how he tried to manipulate it, this portion of the sand couldn't return to the shield.
After a careful examination, he soon discovered the clue. These bubbles were less like water and more like oil. The wall of sand he had formed was being soaked and disintegrated by this oil.