Half a month later, the Great Bridge of the Land of Waves was finally completed!
Team 7 was preparing to head back to the village to report their mission.
Watching the figures of Team 7 on the bridge, Tazuna turned toward the people on the island.
"We still haven't given this bridge a name."
Inari said, "Why don't we call it the Shinju Bridge?"
...
On a mountain peak not far away.
A small, newly raised mound sat there, with a mask and a wreath placed upon it.
Zabuza stood there with the Executioner's Blade in hand, watching as Team 7's figures grew smaller and smaller in the distance.
...
With the Land of Waves mission completed successfully,
Team 7 returned to Konohagakure.
Sakura, who had been harboring a crush on Sasuke, waited for them on the road into the village as soon as she learned they were back.
She wanted to ask Sasuke to have a meal with her.
At that moment, waiting by the roadside, Sakura spotted a familiar figure.
"Ino? Why are you here?"
Confusion appeared on Sakura's face.
Then, the wide-foreheaded Sakura suddenly realized.
Could it be that Ino also liked Sasuke, and was here to invite him out too?!
"Give it up, Sasuke only likes me!"
Sakura bared her teeth like a guard dog protecting her food as she spoke to Ino.
Ino crossed her arms, utterly unimpressed. "You're overthinking it. You think everyone's like you?"
"I'm waiting for Shinju!"
Sakura, annoyed by Ino's smug look, deliberately teased her.
"Sure, Shinju might have been lucky enough to end up in the same team as Sasuke, but that doesn't mean their strength is on the same level. Sasuke's not just good-looking—more importantly, he's a ninjutsu genius!"
"That's my line."
Ino replied, still with her arms crossed, completely unconcerned.
Although Shinju had yet to showcase any overwhelming ninjutsu in public, Ino blindly believed his talent was second to none!
A guy who could almost pull off Multi-Element Clone Techniques—how could he possibly be weak?!
The two were still arguing when Team 7 finally returned.
The moment Sakura saw Sasuke, she became like a chameleon.
The irritation from arguing with Ino melted into excitement and joy.
"Sasuke-kun, you're finally back! You must be exhausted after doing a C-rank mission—want to grab a meal with me?" Sakura said warmly.
But Sasuke, ever the one to miss such signals, shook his head.
"Sorry, I don't have time."
And he truly didn't.
After this mission, he had become painfully aware of the gap between himself and Shinju.
On top of that, he was ashamed of how, during the final battle on the bridge, he had been of no help at all.
So, after returning, his plan was to shut himself away for training—pushing his ninjutsu to a new level.
Hearing his refusal, Sakura's face fell.
"Ah… alright then."
"Forehead Girl, rejected again, huh? Hahahahaha…"
Seeing her like this, Yamanaka Ino didn't hold back from mocking her.
Of course, Sakura wouldn't just take the insult, so she fired back.
"At least I had the guts to ask Sasuke. You're different—you just stand there watching Shinju from afar, too scared to even talk to him. ╮(╯▽╰)╭"
Ino: (｡•́︿•̀｡)
Truth was—Sakura was right.
Ino had been paying attention to Shinju for a long time now.
Even back in their earlier years at the Academy, she had noticed—
Shinju wasn't just handsome; he was also incredibly hardworking.
The only problem was that his ninjutsu level never seemed to improve.
Later, when Shinju suddenly stunned everyone in class, Ino realized her feelings for him.
But despite being classmates for years, they had never spoken.
So taking that first step felt incredibly difficult.
Facing Sakura's smug expression, Ino opened her mouth to retort, "I…"
But before she could get the words out, Sakura pushed again.
"If you want to argue, why don't you go prove it to me directly?"
Ino looked conflicted.
Wouldn't it be too sudden to just walk up like that?
What if Shinju thought she was being forward?
What if Shinju didn't like her?
What if Shinju rejected her the way Sasuke rejected Sakura?
And… what exactly should she say to him if she did go?
Her mind went completely blank!
She swallowed nervously.
Truthfully, she wanted to take that first step.
But the first step is always the hardest.
Just then, Team 7 passed right by her.
Shinju greeted her naturally.
"Ino, you're here too? Waiting for someone?"
Hearing that, Ino looked up—straight into Shinju's fair, handsome face.
"I-I-I…"
She stammered, unable to form a single complete sentence.
Shinju found her a bit strange and casually asked,
"Aren't you in the same team as Shikamaru and the others? Where are they?"
Ino's face grew even redder.
"They…"
At that moment, Shikamaru and Chōji came walking over, greeting Shinju warmly.
"Yo, Shinju, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei—you guys just got back from a mission outside the village?"
Back when Shinju and Naruto were little, they had suffered countless cold looks from the villagers because they were orphans.
Shikamaru and Chōji were among the few who never judged them and were even willing to talk to them.
So Shinju had always thought highly of them.
Before Shinju could respond, the ever-outgoing Naruto jumped in, talking non-stop about everything they'd seen and done along the way.
"Yeah! We just got back from the Land of Waves. You wouldn't believe how dangerous it got this time…"
"And the best part—Shinju was amazing during this mission."
By the end, Naruto made a grand introduction, gesturing toward Shinju.
"If it weren't for him showing up in time during the bridge fight, Sasuke and I would've been in big trouble…"
As Naruto started talking about Shinju's fight, Ino gradually relaxed and listened closely.
Anything related to Shinju fascinated her!
Shikamaru nodded along.
"I see… oh yeah, that Body Flicker Technique you keep mentioning—what was it called again?"
Naruto thought for a moment.
"Kakashi-sensei said it was something like… Flying Thunder God? Yeah, Flying Thunder God!"
Shikamaru, Sakura, Ino: "What? ⊙▽⊙"
Shikamaru even thought he'd heard wrong and asked again, "You sure?"
When Naruto confirmed it, waves rippled through Shikamaru's mind.
He'd been sharp since he was little and loved reading.
He knew the history of Konoha and most of its ninjutsu.
And the Flying Thunder God Technique was one of the most special!
A space–time ninjutsu capable of teleporting to any location marked with its seal!
A forbidden technique developed by the Second Hokage, made famous by the Fourth Hokage!
One of the Konoha forbidden jutsu recorded in the Scroll of Seals!
How on earth had Shinju learned it?!
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