"What cute rabbits!" The wives were instantly drawn to the two snow-white rabbits. Nara Yoshino and Yamanaka Nobuko each grabbed one, cradling them in their arms and stroking them. The two rabbits stayed motionless in their embrace, merely trembling... Yamanaka Nobuko whispered softly, "The little guys are terrified. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, be good..." After a pause, she asked Inoichi Yamanaka, "Quite a harvest... Did you catch these rabbits for Ino?"
"She caught them herself..."
Inoichi Yamanaka only replied with half the story. As for the fact that Ino liked them cooked and spicy, he decided not to mention it... His wife was happily stroking the rabbit; he couldn't very well ruin the mood, could he?
Ino climbed down from Inoichi Yamanaka's neck, placed the snake and fish on the ground cloth, and said, "I found the rabbits near a tree hollow. I used just a tiny bit of Secret Technique, and they both ran right up to me obediently..." As she spoke, she puffed out her flat chest, looking very proud of herself—using the clan's Secret Technique to catch rabbits was truly effective.
Nara Yoshino said, "Ino is really amazing."
"Mm... Making food deliver itself right to the door, Ino's Secret Technique is very impressive!"
Mrs. Akimichi's way of praising caused Nara Yoshino's and Yamanaka Nobuko's hands to freeze simultaneously—
Food?
...The two of them turned their heads in unison and stared—
Bunnies are so cute, and you actually want to eat them?
"D-did I say something wrong?"
Mrs. Akimichi looked utterly bewildered... Ino shot Mrs. Akimichi a look of sympathy, thinking to herself, "You're not wrong, I wanted to eat them too. But now is really not the time to say that... Look at my old lady and Shikamaru's mom; they've been completely captured by the bunnies' cute appearance. Their maternal instincts are overflowing..." Ino immediately betrayed her own desires— "Auntie, bunnies are so cute, how could you eat a bunny?"
Inoichi Yamanaka turned his head away, unable to watch... Daughter, that's not what you told me just now! That was a way too fast betrayal... Ino looked longingly at the rabbit in Mrs. Yamanaka's arms. To avoid ruining her mother's mood, she could only bid farewell to her beloved roasted rabbit.
In her heart, she silently made a promise to the rabbit:
Definitely next time!
Composing herself, Ino decided that out of sight was out of mind, so she ran over to help Inoichi Yamanaka process the ingredients.
Afraid of dirtying her gloves, Ino took them off and handed them to Mrs. Yamanaka to hold, then rolled up her sleeves... "Next, it's time to witness a miracle. Let me show you all how to handle a snake..."
Ino rubbed her hands together, quite excited to revisit a childhood hobby from her 'previous life'—she stepped on the snake's tail with one foot, grabbed the head with both hands, and with a tear, the snake's lower and upper jaws were separated. Then, using her fingernail to tear a small opening in the skin at the corner of the mouth, the entire snake skin was peeled off backwards, revealing the pale white snake meat inside.
The internal organs in the abdomen were also completely exposed. With a hook of her finger, in one simple motion, they were cleaned out.
Her technique was so skilled... one look and you knew she had victimized many snakes.
"Then, a quick wash..."
Ino was used to Water Release. She was about to use Water Release to wash the snake when she remembered there were outsiders present, so she switched to washing it with regular water.
While she, Inoichi Yamanaka, and the Nara and Akimichi fathers had been out hunting, the three wives had already fetched water and boiled a kettle, using the boiling water to scald and clean all the tools. Ino placed the snake in a basin and washed it clean with warm water until it became a long, white strip. For the snake head, she had Inoichi Yamanaka lend a hand, and he chopped it off with a Kunai.
Inoichi Yamanaka took the opportunity to test Ino with a question: "Ino, tell me, why do we need to chop off the snake's head?"
This question was far too simple. Whether from the experience of her 'previous life' or the books she had read in this life, there was relevant information—
"Because it's uncertain if it's a venomous snake. Venomous snakes have glands in their mouths that produce venom. When the snake's teeth bite into prey, they release toxins... Different venomous snakes have different toxins, so one must be careful. And these venoms can seep into the body through a person's fragile mucous membranes..."
A specific example would be someone getting bitten by a snake and using their mouth to suck out the venom, only for their mouth to swell up like a sausage afterward.
One should be grateful if it's just'swelling'; in more severe cases, they'd end up dead right alongside the victim, with the bitten person's soul wandering the underworld and the rescuer following right after.
"By throwing away the snake head, you can avoid this potential poisoning. Although many types of snake venom will lose their toxicity if boiled in water for long enough, there are many others that won't—their protein structures will denature, but even after denaturing, they remain toxic..."
After Ino finished speaking, she raised an eyebrow at Inoichi Yamanaka.
"Dad, was I right?"
"Mm, very correct..."
Inoichi Yamanaka had processed the fish guts but left the scales on. He skewered the three fish with wooden sticks and placed a pot over the fire, making snake soup while grilling the fish. Of the three fish, he took care of two, and Ino took care of one.
While grilling the fish, they talked about 'wilderness survival.' wilderness survival in a dangerous, anti-exposure state is a completely different mode from the normal state.
Normal wilderness survival involves finding a water source and lighting a campfire at a certain distance from it to keep wild beasts away.
The area near a water source is the most dangerous place. Water is the source of life, but it's also where predators and prey in nature converge—the water source closest to life is also closest to death. Therefore, a campsite should be chosen away from the water source, but not so far that fetching water becomes a hassle. A campfire must also be lit, as animals are afraid of fire.
However, when performing missions where the objective absolutely cannot be exposed, one must stay away from water sources unless necessary, must not have open flames, and must leave no artificial traces. The best place to choose for rest is up in the trees.
One should try to avoid having distinct odors on the body, change resting places as frequently as possible, and maintain sustenance with soldier pills.
If all else fails... then 'eat raw.'
The first choice for 'raw food' is wild grain seeds, some wild fruits and vegetables, followed by the eggs of birds and snakes, as well as several types of non-toxic, protein-rich insects... These 'required courses' for Ninjas are actually no longer taught in times of peace; they are old records from Inoichi Yamanaka's era.
Therefore, the various foods mentioned included no shortage of nauseating and unacceptable things. For example, Ino couldn't accept eating raw insects—however, thinking about it, with her prowess as Princess Ino, it seemed no one in this world could push her to the point of 'wilderness survival'... Listening to it just for the sake of it felt different—
It was quite a novelty.
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