"Ashina Country, Emma, Brother." Three lines of information were recorded on the small wooden plaque. There weren't many words, and the handwriting wasn't delicate, but it was clear and concise, containing everything necessary.
The middle-aged woman, like a black market tour guide, seemed to do this often; her business was extremely proficient.
Ino looked at her a couple more times. This person wasn't a Ninja, but she had calluses on her hands, indicating she used weapons. This organization that helps people "fulfill their dreams" seemed to be very problematic.
Some young girls gradually arrived at this gathering place.
None of them looked older than twenty.
The girls believed they would see their deceased relatives, and their expressions were all a bit excited. However, not all of them were fools; gathering at a strange place in the middle of the night made them worried about encountering danger.
Some were leading their pet dogs, some were holding cats, but Ino was the only one holding a pig.
Tonton even looked down on these cats and dogs, shaking its head with a "Puyo Puyo" and patting Ino's shoulder, meaning, "If anything happens, I'll protect you!"
"If anything happens, I'll throw you at them!" Ino said expressionlessly.
Tonton quickly acted cute, and that's how it narrowly passed.
Ino knew her demeanor was too different from these girls. She tried her best to clear her mind, staring blankly straight ahead, appearing dazed.
"Pig."
"Shh, pig..."
Someone was talking behind her.
Ino didn't pay it any mind, thinking someone had seen the pet pig in her arms. She casually pinched Tonton's very bouncy rear.
When the woman behind her called out "Pig" for the third time, Tonton nudged her with its hoof, meaning the person was calling her.
Ino was furious!
How dare you call me that? Do you want to dance too? Taste my Steam Impurities Explosion!
She turned sharply and saw a blonde girl with twin pigtails standing behind her. The girl was holding a brown-furred pug with a blue bandana tied around its forehead.
The pug could talk. At this moment, it drooped its eyes and weakly raised a paw, greeting her: "Yo!"
Tonton clearly recognized the pug. With "Puyo Puyo" and "Mm-hm Mm-hm," the pig and dog started chatting.
Ino had a black line on her face, looking at the blonde twin-tailed girl behind her.
It was a classic case of not recognizing someone when they were fully clothed, but upon closer inspection, she realized something was off.
It must be said, the Transformation Technique is a good Ninjutsu. Back then, or strictly speaking, last year... last year, she used the Transformation Technique to avoid a lot of blame. Now, she no longer plays that game, and she could see through this Transformation Technique at a glance.
Considering the other person kept calling her "pig, pig," there was only one person who dared to call Ino that these days...
She said irritably, "What are you shouting about?"
"Isn't it because I'm afraid of revealing my true identity?"
Ino lowered her voice and asked, "Sakura, what are you doing here? And why did you transform into this?"
Transforming into Naruko's appearance to sneak in, even with Kakashi's summoned beast by her side, Sakura was still on edge. Their combination was simply too weak. Now that she saw Ino, she felt much more at ease!
As long as Sasuke wasn't involved, they were good friends, or at least, that's what she thought.
Sakura put her hand to her mouth: "I heard... I heard they have evil jutsu that can kill people remotely using their appearance and name."
Ino glanced at the small wooden plaque in her hand. It read: "Land of Fire, Naruko, wishes to see her deceased father."
"..."
Ino didn't know how to complain for a moment. Naruto was studying in the Village, studying until his eyes became nearsighted, and you're out here ruining his reputation? Shifting the blame to him? Aren't you afraid Minato Namikaze will crawl out of the Shinigami's belly to beat you?
Sakura also glanced at her small wooden plaque. As for Ashina Country, she said she had never heard of it.
The name Emma was good, not like something made up on the spot. At least, Sakura herself couldn't come up with such a name.
"Whose name is this?" she asked.
Ino casually brushed her off: "A Medical Ninja with very high medical skills."
She looked at the pug in Sakura's arms: "This is Kakashi-sensei's summoned beast, isn't it?"
The Ninja dog named Pakkun could speak human language. In that regard, its functionality was a little more than Tonton's. It whispered, "If you're counting on Kakashi to come, that's very difficult. He's tied up with another mission. It's just me and Sakura here."
Seeing Ino examine it up and down, Pakkun quickly explained: "Don't look at me. I'm a tracking-type Ninja dog, not a combat-type."
Ino nodded silently. Thanks for the reminder, my eyes aren't blind, you don't need to specifically explain.
Sakura clenched her fists: "My strength is actually very strong..." Halfway through her sentence, her momentum was cut in half: "...I can also offer some help."
Ino smiled strangely.
Sunagakure had Temari, Iwagakure had Kurotsuchi, Kumogakure had Karui, Hidden Mist had Haku—okay, scratch that one.
The Four Great Shinobi Villages actually all had successors in terms of Female Ninja, except for Konoha. If Ino hadn't suddenly emerged, this generation of Female Ninja would truly be lacking...
Hinata winning against Neji that one time was mainly because it was too sudden, and it was a sibling spar, so Neji underestimated her. Since then, Hinata had never beaten Neji again; the gap in their talents was still quite large.
The remaining Sakura and Tenten, the former learned a variety of things, the latter had limited talent and could only rush down the path of being wealthy. Neither counted as excellent Female Ninja.
Konoha's Female Ninja, even including the original Ino, didn't have much combat talent. They weren't as strong as the married-in Temari and Karui, the two cun hua.
"Wide Forehead, what's your mission content?" Ino asked Sakura.
"It's like this... the Village received a mission." Sakura's mission was to investigate missing girls. She borrowed the Ninja dog Pakkun from Kakashi and had been tracking ever since.
This matter would be a major case in Detective Conan, but in the Naruto World, it was a typical C-rank mission.
Ino said "Oh," then casually petted Pakkun's head.
Sakura seemed to guess what she was going to say, clenching her fists and her eyebrows twitching twice.
"Hmm, as the rumors say, Pakkun's fur is indeed very soft. Sakura, I remember the shampoo you usually use is also this brand, right?"
Sakura hung her head in dejection: "This... how did even you know about this?"
Ino said with a mischievous attitude: "Actually, many people know. Hinata, Tenten, Neji, Lee, oh, and Sasuke seems to know too."
Sakura was struck by lightning, sitting on the ground like a duck. It was over! If Sasuke knew she used the same shampoo as a Ninja dog, he would definitely look down on her. Damn it! She really wanted to change shampoo, but she genuinely had no money! All her money had gone to the First Hokage!
Someone's revenge doesn't wait overnight. That's for calling her "pig" so enthusiastically just now!
After severely striking down Sakura, Ino began to ponder the matter at hand.
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