Kakashi didn't want to explain too much to a twelve-year-old child. His current mission was half-public, half-private, and his friendship with Uchiha Obito was part of the reason, but Sasuke was not Obito after all.
Naruto had a common face. Tsunade thought of her younger brother when she saw him, Sai thought of Shin when he saw him, Obito thought of his past self when he saw him. A bunch of people would think of all sorts of random relatives, including but not limited to fathers, older brothers, younger brothers, and sons, just by seeing his back. It was as if Naruto had a weakened version of Kotoamatsukami constantly active on him; everyone wanted to chat with him and reminisce about the past.
Sasuke didn't have this ability, and Kakashi had no intention of making small talk. He beckoned for him to follow.
The two left the hospital and soon arrived at a cave in the back mountains of the Village.
Kakashi said very directly, "Hokage-sama ordered me to help you awaken your Sharingan. I don't really understand how your clan awakens it, so I can only provide some assistance. If you don't mind, shall we start now?"
Sasuke lacked trust in the stranger Kakashi, but he craved power and the Sharingan even more. Ino, someone he used to look down on, had made him so miserable, he wished he could awaken his Sharingan immediately.
Kakashi formed hand signs: "I'll briefly explain the process. A portion of your Chakra, including that in your eyes and body, has been sealed. I need you to bypass this area, connect with your eyes, and then awaken them directly. For this, I need to use Genjutsu to stimulate your mental energy. My Genjutsu level is only average, so I need your cooperation. Remember, completely relax your body so my Genjutsu can affect you."
Sasuke thought seriously for a few seconds. Perhaps it was because they were naturally compatible, but he had a certain degree of trust in Kakashi. This level of trust wasn't high, but at this moment, he didn't have many other options.
"I understand. Let's begin."
Days passed one by one.
Kakashi was training Sasuke to awaken his Sharingan, while Ino was very serious about renting out houses and collecting rent. After getting the keys to fifteen vacant houses from the Yamanaka Clan and Nara Clan, she began looking for tenants.
What did the Yamanaka Clan do? They were responsible for intelligence work.
Ninja didn't care much about the lives of civilians, but information like who needed to rent a house and who was relatively wealthy could all be found. This was also one reason Shikamaru gave the work to Ino and acted as a hands-off manager. His father was the Jonin Squad Leader and a Hokage advisor, holding a high position and power, but he usually didn't handle such trivial matters.
Ino, based on individual needs and actual household income, made precise moves. After two days of planning, on the morning of the third day, she took her "clients" to view houses.
"Everyone, look to my left. These three houses here are all available for rent. Look at this location, right next to the commercial district. Do you know Konoha Village's most famous flower shop, the Yamanaka Flower Shop? It's in the northwest direction of this street block. If you walk north from here for 120 meters, that's the Ninja Academy. As parents, you surely hope your children receive excellent education and grow up in a safe environment, right? I'm telling you, the teachers at the Ninja Academy all live nearby, and the weakest among them are Chunin! Think about it, your children will be taught and protected by Chunin. Is there anywhere safer in the Land of Fire than this?"
Ino spoke eloquently, gushing about the many benefits of a "school district house."
From commercial aspects, convenience, and children's enrollment, she spoke about the value of the houses from many angles. When villagers asked about the rent, she avoided the topic, only hinting that the rent here was relatively expensive and they should be mentally prepared.
In one morning, five out of fifteen houses were rented out.
Actually, for her, her earnings would be greater if these tenants bought the houses.
No money? No problem, she could provide loans. Loans passed down from generation to generation weren't out of the question. Ino wasn't worried about people owing money and not paying. How many civilians dared to fight a Ninja? I can't beat Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, but can't I beat you few civilians?
It just wasn't necessary to do so. Selling houses now would be too unethical.
There was at most half a year left until Orochimaru's Konoha Crush. At that time, the Village might not be completely destroyed, but at least several blocks would be ruined as if those giant snakes had rolled around.
Originally, when Itachi returned from the Hidden Mist, Uchiha Itachi and Kisame just wandered around, hardly making a move. Now, it was hard to say. Sasuke looked so miserable, what if a butterfly effect occurred?
Kisame's Great Waterfall Jutsu could potentially destroy a large part of Konoha Village again.
The dam-builder left, and three years later, the rice-carrier returned.
Convincing people to buy houses in the disaster-prone Konoha Village would definitely invite divine retribution. Ino still had her bottom line; renting was fine, but buying was absolutely unnecessary.
"Oh my! Why can't I make you understand? These houses are for rent, not for sale!" Several villagers, hearing about the many conveniences of a "school district house," were extremely excited. With a mentality of buying at the bottom, they kept clamoring to buy, but she repeatedly refused.
She couldn't make it clear even after talking for a whole morning. The more she refused to sell, the more they wanted to buy.
Her firm attitude indirectly proved the value of the houses. Originally, only five were rented out, but by the time she parted ways with the viewing group in the afternoon, all fifteen were rented out.
One-third of the rent had to be handed over to the clan, and four-tenths of the remaining portion had to be given to Shikamaru. The amount wasn't large, but at least this income was stable. Before Orochimaru caused trouble, the rent could somewhat make up for her increasingly thin wallet.
After arranging the rental matters, she went to the Nara Clan. The money issue still needed to be clarified beforehand, but when she arrived at the Nara Clan, she learned that Shikamaru had been taken out for training by his elders.
Goodness! Even a guy who always complained about trouble could get so intense when he got serious!
She left a note, detailing all the rental specifics, then rushed home. She also needed to return to training.
Aside from anything else, she had been practicing Water Release for the past two days, and she felt that her Water Release would soon upgrade to Lv2.
In terms of the Ninja Eight Stats, Ino was already comparable to stronger Genin like Kankuro and Temari, but if it came to an actual fight, she estimated she still couldn't beat Temari.
Temari was three full years older than her and Shikamaru. The strength gap between a fifty-three-year-old and a fifty-year-old isn't large, but the gap between a four-year-old and a one-year-old is huge. Temari was already skilled in powerful Wind Release Ninjutsu, had specialized Ninja tools, and even a summoning beast. If they were to fight now, Ino couldn't win at all. Temari had already been a Ninja for two years and completed many missions, mastering a multitude of Ninjutsu, while they hadn't even graduated yet. How could they fight?
Ino's stats were sufficient, but she still knew too few Ninjutsu.
In the original timeline, Shikamaru's ability to corner Temari to that extent through careful planning was truly impressive and undeniable.
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