The system of registering when leaving the Village and entering the Village has always been strictly enforced in Konoha Village. It's unknown if the Hokage needs to register when leaving, but ANBU Ninja certainly do.
The ANBU Ninja wore masks, so naturally they wouldn't register their real names at this time. All three used their codenames to complete the registration.
Izumo Kamizuki also said "Good work" to the three of them before letting them pass.
Among the three Anbu, a Female Ninja with long purple hair and a long sword on her back noticed Ino and gave a subtle nod. Ino returned a glance. Strictly speaking, Anbu should abandon their personal identities and not greet people while on a mission, but this was a VIP customer who frequently bought flowers from the Yamanaka Flower Shop, and their relationship was good. A quick glance when meeting at the Village entrance was perfectly fine.
Yūgao Uzuki, a member of Anbu Team 6, and the lover of Special Jonin Gekkō Hayate.
This older sister particularly enjoyed flowers, and the sickly Gekkō Hayate would go on missions, earn money, and then come to buy flowers every day. How expensive were the flowers at the Yamanaka Flower Shop?! Over time, Ino became familiar with them.
At this moment, Ino had no intention of talking to Yūgao Uzuki. She looked at the woman being escorted by the three Anbu and then at Kakashi's strange expression. Could there be some gossip here?
Izumo Kamizuki had a good relationship with her, and constantly guarding the gate was incredibly boring, so his gossip-loving nature had long since awakened. He quickly glanced at the registration form and whispered, "It seems to be a Female Ninja disguised as a female entertainer, who came to the Land of Fire to gather information."
Kotetsu Hagane, "Old Iron," was even more well-informed: "In the past few days, with news of the Land of Fire and the Land of Water improving their relationship, some smaller Ninja Villages couldn't sit still."
Ino drew out a long "Oh," indicating she understood.
If two great nations formed an alliance, it would be an absolute catastrophe for some smaller nations.
Sending people to gather information was normal.
Ino had always been thinking about the matter of the Lord of the Land of Fire and the Lord of the Land of Water. If this matter could be manipulated, and the blame eventually shifted to Danzo, it would definitely be a major event that would change the world's pattern, resulting in an explosive amount of 'blame points'.
She was contemplating how and in what capacity she could intervene in this chaotic Uzumaki.
On the other side, Sakura was the first to notice something amiss. It must be said that at this time, Sakura genuinely lacked talent in Ninjutsu; she hadn't even mastered the Water Prison Technique yet. But in the realm of romance? Her mind was entirely focused on it.
While Naruto and Sasuke were still utterly bewildered, she looked excitedly at Kakashi, seemingly hoping he would chase after her, enacting a dramatic love story. Unfortunately, she was disappointed.
The female spy merely glanced back without saying a word, and Kakashi looked at her like a stranger, allowing the three ANBU Ninja to take the female spy away.
Sakura looked around and realized that everyone else was a straight man; only Ino could discuss such topics with her. So, she elbowed Ino: "Hey, do you think... they're *that* kind of couple?"
Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru all perked up their ears.
Choji even stopped eating his potato chips, listening intently.
Ino was a bit annoyed to have her thoughts interrupted, so she said grumpily, "Wide Forehead, you're really stupid. Isn't this obvious? Can't you even see that?"
The trip to the Land of Waves and then the Land of Water made Sakura realize a cruel reality: it would be quite difficult for her to catch up to Ino in terms of Ninja talent.
Her plan was to seize the opportunity, take a gentle approach, and slowly occupy an important place in Sasuke's heart. Ino's words made her furious, but remembering her persona, she repeatedly chanted to herself to be gentle, absolutely gentle!
After calming her inner anger, she forced a smile and said, "Then tell me, what do you think the Village will do with that beautiful older sister next?"
Ino stroked her chin, tilted her head, and thought for a moment: "For a spy, they should first be strung up and whipped. If she still doesn't confess, then they'll use branding irons, hammers. If she still doesn't talk, they'll pierce her fingers with bamboo splinters, use finger clamps! Cut off her feet, then her hands, then behead her, dismember her..."
Sakura's hair stood on end as she listened, her sweet fantasies shattered by the cruel reality, and her face turned very pale.
"I heard that the people in the Konoha Interrogation Department are all... all demons. Once that beautiful older sister falls into their hands..." Sakura was terrified.
Ino didn't have the heart to say, "Do you think our family only monopolizes the flower market in Konoha Village? Actually, our family is in charge of managing these 'demons'!".
The two Jonin went to the Hokage's office to report on their mission, while the Genin were dismissed and went home.
Ino didn't go home. After calculating the plan and its pros and cons in her mind, she strolled to the Interrogation Department, officially known as the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Department.
For many years, this part of intelligence work had been handled by the Yamanaka Clan.
The Third Hokage, using the pretext that the intelligence department had not given prior warning during the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack, leading to the Fourth Hokage's death, split the intelligence department.
Now, the Interrogation Squad and the Analysis Squad stand side-by-side. The Third Hokage's confidant, Morino Ibiki, serves as the head of the Interrogation Squad, and Yamanaka Inoichi serves as the head of the Analysis Squad.
Although they were administratively separate, when it came to work, both sides still operated together. This field was highly specialized, and the Yamanaka Clan had immense influence in this area. Coupled with Danzo's support, Inoichi still controlled the daily operations of the intelligence sector.
At Konoha Hospital, Ino was like a little transparent, no one paid much attention to her, only Yakushi Kabuto would chat with her a bit, but in the Interrogation Department, it was completely different.
"Ah, it's Miss Yamanaka. Are you here to see Lord Inoichi?"
"Yes, hello, senior."
"Oh, it's little Ino. Did you just return from the Hidden Mist Village?"
"Hello, teacher. I did just return to the Village."
Ino often came here and ignored the many gruesome sights in the interrogation rooms. Like returning home, she gave gifts to a few acquaintances, such as Aoba Yamashiro and Tobitake Tonbo, then turned left and right, and arrived at her cheap father's office.
"Did you just return to the Village? Is something wrong?" Inoichi was a little curious.
Of course, Ino couldn't say that Kakashi would become the Sixth Hokage in the future, that they shouldn't cling to Danzo, and that they should now establish a good relationship with Kakashi, incidentally enjoy some gossip, and finally test Obito's reaction to see if Obito was still observing Konoha Village.
None of these words could be spoken.
She could only say circuitously: "...It's like this. I think Kakashi-sensei and that Female Ninja who came as a spy definitely have a story. Their relationship is unusual. It's just that in Kakashi-sensei's heart, the Village is more important. Actually, it's not wartime right now, so how much intelligence can one Female Ninja gather? Can't we be a bit more flexible on this matter?"
Inoichi had seen too many dark things and wasn't easily fooled. He saw through the crux of the problem at a glance: "You have a favor to ask of Kakashi? So you want to start with this female spy?"
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