It was a B-rank mission to protect an important person, the son of the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers, who could also be called a prince of a small country.
However, the method of protection was a bit special: Inoyue had to impersonate the Thirteenth Princess of the Land of Fire and marry him.
This was a political maneuver to show the Land of Fire's stance, thereby making the Land of Wind back off.
What in the world was this?
She was forced to marry at the age of eight.
Although she would be free after the mission period, she couldn't quite accept it in her heart.
The Third Hokage's schemes were too deep; she was almost sold off and still helped count the money; but it seemed she had already been sold!
Inoyue was indignant; in her previous life, she hadn't even married, but in this life, she was getting married first, and she was only eight years old!
It was simply beastly.
"What if that prince tries to XX me?" Inoyue's mind started to wander again.
She casually took out a kunai from her ninja pouch, and a bright light flickered at the tip of the kunai: "Hmph! If he really dares to touch me, I'll cut it off!"
Her expression was ruthless, very vivid.
"How interesting!" A sexy, hoarse male voice suddenly rang out.
The voice carried a hint of laziness, as if he had just woken up, and Inoyue heard it just as she was about to go downstairs.
But there should be no one in this stairwell; at least she hadn't seen anyone just now.
Pale skin, blue-green magatama-shaped earrings, long black hair, snake-like golden slit pupils, and purple eyeshadow extending to the bridge of his nose.
"Orochimaru!"
Staring at Orochimaru, who was standing to her right and had appeared at some unknown time, Inoyue was utterly astonished.
"What do you want to cut off?" Orochimaru showed an amused smile.
"Ah! Nothing at all! Hehe…" Inoyue smiled awkwardly, put away the kunai in her hand, and hopped away.
"Oh! Scared? How truly interesting!" Orochimaru's sexy voice rang out again, this time seemingly more energetic, with none of the sleepiness he had just moments ago.
...
In the Hokage's office, Danzo walked out of the inner room.
He was completely normal now, not bound by any disabled bandages, but his expression was a bit grim.
"You called me here just to show me this scene?" Danzo's voice carried a hint of questioning.
"Ah!" The Third Hokage replied simply.
"Just a newly promoted Chunin, do you need to personally come and warn me?"
The Third Hokage did not speak, but in his heart, he had already answered: "Right now, he is just a Chunin, but in the future, he will be one of the pillars who can help Minato uphold this sky!"
Danzo snorted and left.
Orochimaru happened to come in from outside, and their eyes met briefly midway.
At this time, Orochimaru was still the Third Hokage's proud disciple, one of the famous One of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha.
Orochimaru's arrival brightened the Third Hokage's expression considerably.
The main reason for calling Orochimaru this time was to lead a team to the east to guard against the Cloud and Mist ninja villages.
With the war against the Sand Ninja Village, the two ninja villages in the east also seemed to be stirring.
After a heartwarming conversation between master and disciple, Orochimaru suddenly asked before leaving: "When I came in, I saw a Little girl fiercely pulling out a kunai and saying: 'If he really dares to touch me, I'll cut it off.' I don't know what she was talking about, do you?"
At these words, the Third Hokage paused.
The two Chunin beside him involuntarily clamped their legs: "What is an eight-year-old Little girl thinking? She's too mature!
If she's like this now, what will she be like when she grows up? Who would dare want her?"
Seeing the expressions of the three, Orochimaru, who seemed to understand everything, gave an evil smile and left.
"Children nowadays are really precocious.
It's just a mission, what is she thinking?" The Third Hokage muttered helplessly.
He hadn't expected his newly promoted Little girl to be so precocious.
...
"Could Orochimaru have taken an interest in me?" Inoyue kept thinking about this question.
Just now, she had run at full speed for quite a distance before stopping.
In her previous life, she was very afraid of snakes, their soft, boneless bodies; thinking of them crawling on the ground made her whole body tremble.
No, she had to increase her own strength.
Right now, she was no different from an ant in front of Orochimaru.
He could lightly move a finger, and she wouldn't be able to resist.
Increasing strength, finding a master was the fastest way.
Master?
She already had one, Shinku Yuhi, one of the Konoha Eight Colors.
The Third Hokage himself had told her this.
Her teacher should be good, one of the Konoha Eight Colors, on the same level as White Fang, at least a quasi-Hokage level.
However, her teacher was currently on an S-rank mission and had not returned to Konoha, so for now, all training had to be done by herself.
The discharge procedures had been completely handled by Yūgao, the Little girl.
Inoyue ate something simple outside, returned home to change into her usual clothes, and headed straight for the depths of the Konoha forest.
Naruto learned Shadow Clone Technique in less than a night, so I also need to learn this Ninjutsu tonight.
Tomorrow, I'll go to the Ninjutsu library to check out new Ninjutsu I can learn.
As soon as she thought of it, Inoyue instantly formulated a study plan for herself.
There was still a week of preparation time before the B-rank mission.
By then, she had to rush to Daimyo City in the Land of Fire and impersonate the Thirteenth Princess to get married.
Time was pressing, and she couldn't afford to be lazy.
In the three months since her transmigration, this was the first time Inoyue had so urgently wanted to become stronger.
...
The familiar small river, the dense forest, Inoyue arrived at the place where she usually practiced Chakra control.
She opened the Shadow Clone Technique scroll, then began to study and practice.
Shadow Clone Technique is a B-rank Ninjutsu, developed by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
This Ninjutsu is a highly versatile technique for luring enemies, counter-killing, tracking, etc., and is basically one of the essential Ninjutsu for Jonin.
The scroll also recorded an upgraded version of Shadow Clone Technique: Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Its difficulty was A-rank.
Inoyue was just starting and hadn't even learned Shadow Clone Technique, so she didn't even look at Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Before mastering Shadow Clone Technique, everything else was futile.
"Shadow Clone Technique," Inoyue called out softly, forming hand seals, and her Chakra flowed according to the pre-planned routes in her body.
But, it was useless!
Chakra was consumed, but no clone appeared, not even a fart.
Again!
Inoyue was not discouraged.
"Shadow Clone Technique," she called out softly again, but again, nothing happened.
Again, nothing; again, still nothing!
Why?
The hand seals were correct, and the Chakra flow routes were also correct after repeated comparisons.
What was the problem?
Why wasn't it working?
Inoyue got up, experimenting repeatedly, consuming her Chakra again and again.
It was already dark when she started practicing.
Now, intermittently, she would recover Chakra and then practice again.
After such a struggle, the sky was already faintly lit, but progress was slow, and still, nothing.
There was unwillingness, and also anger at herself.
Looking at the slightly fish-belly white eastern sky, Inoyue was tired and hungry, sighing in her heart: "I underestimated Ninjutsu too much."
...
"Ha…ah! Still haven't found the problem?" The sexy, hoarse voice rang out again.
"Orochimaru?" Inoyue's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly turned to look at where the voice came from.
Twenty meters behind her, Orochimaru was lying on a branch of a large tree, yawning.
"Why are you so afraid of me? It seems you know something about me!" Suddenly, with a flash, Orochimaru appeared in front of Inoyue with Shunshin.
Just now he was twenty meters away, and suddenly he was right in front of her.
Inoyue's heart tightened, and her whole body instinctively jumped backward, her hand already at the position of her ninja pouch.
If she hadn't intentionally controlled herself, she might have already pulled out a kunai by reflex.
"Oh…! Instinctively avoiding danger, are we? What truly extraordinary intuition!" Orochimaru made no further moves, looking at Inoyue, who was on high alert, and stated his conclusion.
Inoyue said nothing, just looking at Orochimaru.
She didn't know what to say or what to do; facing Orochimaru, all disguises seemed futile.
"You want to become strong so much, then why don't you become my disciple?" Orochimaru smiled, actually inviting Inoyue.
Being the disciple of One of the Legendary Sannin was not only a shortcut to gaining power but also an honor, a favor many people would break their heads to get.
But Inoyue didn't want to.
If it were Tsunade or Jiraiya, Inoyue would be overjoyed, but Orochimaru was too dangerous and not suitable as a master; just think of Anko Mitarashi.
"I'm sorry, Orochimaru-sama.
Hokage-sama has already arranged a teacher for me." Inoyue replied truthfully, hoping that the Third Hokage's arrangement would break Orochimaru's idea of taking her as a disciple.
Orochimaru's eyes subtly moved, a little surprised.
He hadn't expected his teacher to value her so much; it seemed he also had to temporarily put aside the idea of doing anything to this Little girl.
"Although Shadow Clone Technique is a B-rank Ninjutsu, its difficulty is actually A-rank.
The key point is that you can't think when creating the clone, oh!
This Ninjutsu is very special, perhaps related to the soul!" Orochimaru turned, explaining as he left.
After walking a few meters, he turned to look at Inoyue, who was still frozen in place: "How about it? Having me as a teacher is pretty good, right!
If you change your mind, you can come find me anytime!"
...
Orochimaru had already left, but Inoyue was still immersed in Orochimaru's guidance.
So the problem was that when she was creating the clone, she was intentionally imagining the outcome of the clone appearing.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Suddenly, there was an indescribable feeling; the clone finally succeeded, and an identical Inoyue stood beside her.
The feeling of a successful clone was so strange, as if an extra twin sister or younger sister had appeared, and even stranger was that the clone was a real person.
She couldn't intentionally control it, but she could sense it with great tacit agreement.
For example, if she wanted the clone to do something, the clone would also have that thought, so it would do what she thought.
It was not controlled by the main body, but had the same thoughts as the main body.
The same thoughts led to the same results.
It was very magical!
And after the clone was dispelled, the experiences of what it had done would suddenly appear in the main body's mind, as if the main body had personally experienced them.
It seemed Orochimaru was telling the truth; 'Shadow Clone Technique' indeed had intricate ties to the soul.
[ + 1 chapter. 20 New collection. ]