Ino was in a daze, completely devoid of any ability to think, as if being pulled by something. She took a few steps forward and stopped only when she was three meters away from the tall man.
A very unfamiliar voice came from Ino: "Lord Indra, please forgive my rudeness. I had to use the Mind Body Switch Technique to meet you."
The tall man still hadn't turned around. He snorted coldly: "Yamanaka, what has my dear brother Ashura been up to lately?"
The voice from Ino's side replied respectfully: "Lord Ashura has been in contact with the three elders within Ninshu, preparing to abandon the spread of ninja techniques and—"
The voice hesitated for a moment. The tall man said disdainfully: "And what? Make me disappear from everyone's sight and acknowledge him as the heir of Ninshu? Don't hold back, you can say it directly. I know my own brother; he's always been this hypocritical!"
Ino's side nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right, my lord."
"Any other news?"
Ino's side thought for a moment: "Also... oh, right, Lord Ashura mentioned that he has already gained the support of Mount Myōboku. Many of the Ninshu elders have switched sides because of this..."
The tall man turned around, his eyes glowing a deep red: "And among those 'many elders,' does that include you? Yamanaka, my two-faced friend."
Without waiting for an explanation from Ino's side, he spoke in an overwhelmingly oppressive tone: "Let me tell you a secret. You know about the battle between my father, uncle, and grandmother, which ultimately shattered countless continents, right? Do you know who instigated it? I'll tell you—it was that stinking toad from Mount Myōboku! And here's another thing: originally, my father intended for me to inherit Ninshu. Do you know who made him change his mind? That same stinking toad!
That toad has been involved in both of the Ōtsutsuki clan's internal conflicts, yet it has managed to disguise itself perfectly, pretending to be aloof and detached. But in reality? The Ōtsutsuki clan once ruled this world! Sacred lands? Ridiculous! When my grandmother was around, those lowlifes could only cower in the corners, trembling. And now? The descendants of the Ōtsutsuki have fallen so low that they need the support of that stinking toad! It's a disgrace!"
The tall man was furious: "Just wait. After I defeat Ashura and inherit Ninshu, I will crush Mount Myōboku! I'll dig out that vile black heart of theirs! Yamanaka, when that time comes—"
Ino's mind went blank. She didn't hear anything that was said afterward.
"Ino? Ino! Wake up, why are you sleeping in today? Get up, I made your favorite miso soup." Yamanaka Rino was puzzled. The girl had been so diligent lately; what was going on today? She had to put in a lot of effort to wake Ino up.
Dizzy, so dizzy! It took all of Ino's willpower to free herself from the clutches of her blanket.
For some reason today, she felt physically weak and mentally exhausted. Her memories were hazy, and she vaguely remembered having a dream, but she couldn't recall any of its contents.
Inoichi looked at her with concern: "You look so pale. Did something go wrong while practicing the Exploding Water Colliding Wave? Stay home and rest for the day."
Ino also felt that she was not in good spirits today, and for a moment, she even thought she might have caught a cold. However, while she could pause her training, she couldn't stop her mischief. After breakfast, she insisted on going to class, thinking that perhaps Naruto might show up today. Naruto and Iruka were getting along better and better, and each encounter was becoming rarer. She couldn't let this opportunity slip away! After two consecutive days of exhaustion, her spirits finally returned to normal on the third day.
After resting for another two days, Ino resumed her training and finally mastered the Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave. She immediately reported this to her father, and the two of them headed to the back mountain of the village.
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!" Ino gathered Chakra in her throat, then harmonized the Water Nature Transformation of her Chakra, quickly forming hand seals, and after a brief charge of a few seconds, she spewed a massive amount of water directly in front of her.
The father and daughter had chosen a valley with low terrain, where the ground was pockmarked from previous ninjas training their techniques. The water quickly filled the numerous pits, and the water level continued to rise, covering an area roughly the size of a basketball court. Inoichi looked down at his feet, which were submerged up to his ankles.
Having participated in the Third Great Ninja War, Inoichi had seen many Water Release users from the Hidden Mist Village. While Ino's technique execution wasn't yet smooth, the amount of Chakra she used was already comparable to those Water Release ninjas.
Chakra couldn't be directly measured. Who had more Chakra between Kakashi and Asuma? Who had less? Often, it was hard to tell. One could only estimate based on the techniques they used—this person had a bit more, that person had a bit less. The exact amounts were difficult to discern.
Inoichi could only make a rough estimate. In his view, excluding the Jinchūriki, among normal ninjas, Ino's Chakra reserves were quite substantial, especially considering she was only twelve years old and had plenty of room for growth.
Learning the Shadow Clone Technique would be more than enough for her.
Before handing her the training scroll, he repeatedly cautioned her: "The Shadow Clone Technique involves splitting your Chakra to create physical clones. Remember, do not maintain the clones for too long, and do not create too many at once. Keep my words in mind—until your Chakra increases significantly, you must not create more than three clones."
"Got it, no more than three clones."
The Shadow Clone Technique was a B-rank ninja technique, and in Ino's opinion, it was much harder to learn than the Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave! It was somewhat similar to the Great Shift of the Universe—those with deep internal energy could master it in one night, while those with average internal energy might spend two years on the first level, five years on the second, and never complete the third before they passed away.
Ino was currently at the level of average internal energy. The first step of the Shadow Clone Technique, which involved distributing Chakra, was where she got stuck.
Those with a Chakra Ton could divide it freely—whether the distribution was uneven or the speed was inconsistent didn't matter. Practice makes perfect; with more attempts, it would gradually become smoother.
Ino, who was still using Chakra, found it difficult. She had to strictly divide the Chakra between her main body and her clone according to the requirements of the scroll. The boundary of separation had to be very precise. Separating the Chakra once required half an hour of rest, making the practice efficiency very low.
The Shadow Clone technique didn't require mastery of Chakra control, Chakra Nature Transformation, or Shape Transformation. It only depended on the total amount of Chakra and, to some extent, the level of "endurance."
Ino was slow to get started. The natural growth rate of Chakra in her body was becoming increasingly slower. Looking at the freshly made Pot Point in the black pot, she hesitated. Should she add a point directly, or wait a bit longer?