Ino's fair-weather sister, Sakura, also had astonishing hand speed. Sakura had an 'Ink' stat as high as 8. Heaven knows how she trained it. Could it be that she practiced her hand speed at home while shouting Sasuke's name?
Ino's 5 'Ink' stat couldn't compare to these well-trained individuals.
Her fastest Ninjutsu seal record for the Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet, which required forty-four seals, was nineteen seconds. While it seemed only nine seconds slower than skilled Water Release Ninja, the actual gap was too large.
Old Man Kosuke also taught her a simplified version of the Water Dragon Bullet. To correctly use this Ninjutsu, even with the Second Hokage's tricks and Old Man Kosuke's experience, she could only compress the terrifying forty-four seals of the Water Dragon Bullet to thirty-nine. If she reduced it further, there would be a very high chance of the Ninjutsu failing when released.
"For your age, this level is already very good. If I, an old man, had this level of comprehension when I was young, I wouldn't have had so many regrets. If a Ninjutsu genius like the Second Hokage saw you, he would definitely take you as his disciple." Ino wasn't satisfied herself, but the old man praised her every day, making her quite embarrassed.
Having an 8 'Ninja' stat also had its benefits. Her understanding of Ninjutsu was very strong, and she quickly grasped the principles of the Water Dragon Bullet. The next step was practice makes perfect.
Water Release Ninjutsu had many restrictions when used on the battlefield, but it was very simple to practice. Just find a place with water. Using natural water as the main body consumed very little Chakra.
In this regard, Fire Release, Lightning Release, and Wind Release were not as good as Water Release and Earth Release. The former three Ninjutsu were not easy to use with the natural environment. Practicing Lightning Release during a thunderstorm? That's just asking for death!
Normally, one could only rely on their own Chakra to transform into fire, lightning, and wind. This slowed down the efficiency of practice, but the power of these three Ninjutsu was stronger than Water Release and Earth Release.
It could only be said that the Five Nature Transformation Techniques had their pros and cons, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
Ino wasn't the only one getting special training.
Shikamaru's inherited Secret Technique was the Shadow Imitation Technique, and a series of Secret Techniques derived from it.
The Nara Clan, like the Yamanaka Clan, possessed the Chakra nature of Yin Release.
Shikamaru's highest Chakra affinity was Fire, but his Chakra nature transformation training had not yet been completed, so he wouldn't dabble in Fire Release Ninjutsu at this stage. After some thought, Old Man Kosuke taught him a Genjutsu called "Konoha-Style Willow."
This was a combination of Kenjutsu and Genjutsu. It required no hand seals. One would wave a sword or Kunai in their hand, add their Yin Release Chakra, and then either disappear from the enemy's sight or simply bind the enemy with this Ninjutsu.
Shikamaru's Ninjutsu talent was only above average. Having him learn Fire Release now would indeed waste a lot of time. If Ino hadn't been so competitive, he wouldn't even bother practicing his clan's Secret Technique.
His Genjutsu talent was similar to his Ninjutsu talent. This "Konoha-Style Willow" Genjutsu often required considering factors such as the surrounding environment, the enemy's line of sight, lighting, and angle, making it relatively suitable for him to use.
Choji also gained a lot. He learned Old Man Kosuke's cooking skills!
How to find ingredients in the wild, how to add seasonings, how to make soup in the wilderness—while Ino was huffing and puffing practicing Water Dragon Bullet by the river, and Shikamaru was aimlessly gesturing at a willow tree with a Kunai, Choji's cooking skills greatly improved.
Old Man Kosuke was not their master. Neither the three of them nor their parents would allow their heirs to become Kosuke's disciples. The master-disciple relationship was extremely important in the entire Ninja World and had to be handled with extreme caution. Such an important "bond" could not be wasted on an old man with one foot in the grave.
"Goodbye, Grandpa Kosuke! Thank you for your guidance." A week later, the four returned to Konoha Village. They bid farewell to the old man at the village entrance. The seventy-year-old man still had patrol duties to perform, and the three of them went their separate ways home.
Ino returned home, dropped her backpack, and went to take a bath.
Living in the wild for a week, with high-intensity training every day and no way to bathe, even a naturally beautiful woman couldn't endure it.
She smelled a sour odor on Shikamaru and Choji, and she guessed she wasn't much better.
After showering, she washed all her Ninja gear, changed into her usual clothes, and leisurely strolled through the streets, looking for a hotpot restaurant.
Passing by Shueisha, she noticed that the booklet titled "sasuke's youthful story" was already on the shelves.
She was even more surprised to see a tall man inside the shop, wearing a forehead protector with the character "Oil," a red haori, and wooden clogs.
This guy with a lewd expression, was he Jiraiya? Why was he back in Konoha Village? Was he here to see Naruto?.
Ino had already stepped into the bookstore. Turning back now would be too suspicious. Fortunately, she hadn't used the Transformation Technique today.
The Transformation Technique might fool civilians, but the obvious Chakra flow in her face couldn't hide from an expert like Jiraiya.
Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Jiraiya was flipping through "sasuke's youthful story." There was no particular benefit to meeting Jiraiya now, but no harm either. Knowing him was better than not knowing him, after all, the core ideology of Konoha Village and the entire Ninja World was still "choosing capable people from acquaintances, and choosing acquaintances from capable people."
Ino immediately put on a fangirl expression, full of anticipation, and asked the shop assistant, "Boss, do you have the latest 'sasuke's youthful story'?"
The assistant was very happy. This book wasn't selling explosively, but quite a few people were buying it, including but not limited to daimyo's wives, rich ladies, young married women, young girls, the Nine-Tailed brat, and that pervert not far away.
In his eyes, Ino could also be classified as a young girl. He had seen many such fangirls.
"Yes, this book is selling particularly well right now, and we don't have much stock left. It's fifteen hundred ryo a copy."
Ino fidgeted a bit, pretending to be very embarrassed: "I'm still a student. I really like the books published by your Shueisha, but I don't have much money. Can you give me two copies? If you can give me three thousand ryo, I'll help you promote it and give you good reviews!"
Assistant: "???"
He was utterly confused and took a long time to understand. Good heavens! We have to pay you money?
He instinctively wanted to refuse, but seeing Ino's seemingly pitiful expression, he felt a little reluctant.
He was stunned for a moment.
Ino looked at him pitifully, but her real target wasn't him at all.
Sure enough, the pervert not far away burst out laughing: "What a cute little girl. How about this, as the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, I'll ask you a few questions. If your answers satisfy me, I'll pay for you, how about that?"
Ino showed a wary expression, like she was dealing with a pervert, and cautiously stepped back three paces: "...Uncle, go ahead and ask."
Jiraiya stroked his chin, thought about his wording, then held up the copy of "sasuke's youthful story," with Sasuke's cover facing Ino: "These past few days, I've seen many women of different ages buying this book. Help me out here. Do you think a fifty-year-old old woman prefers this kind of expressionless face or a majestic and domineering man like me?"
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