When the temporary squad disbanded, Ino invited Hinata.
"Come to my house tonight to practice Taijutsu. My Taijutsu has always been my weakness, so I'll take this opportunity to learn from you." At the end, Ino, as if possessed, added, "No one's home tonight."
In her opinion, for Hinata to be called the "Byakugan Princess" by Ōtsutsuki Toneri, her talent, even if not on par with Hyuga Neji, far surpassed that of ordinary people.
The main problem for her current weakness was a lack of confidence, coupled with her likely being too afraid of her father. Many fundamental Taijutsu concepts were still vague to her, somewhere between understanding and not understanding. Her body didn't comprehend, nor did her mind. When she encountered problems, she didn't dare to speak up, much less ask questions, and simply buried herself in hard training every day.
In short, she hadn't yet "opened her mind."
Ino's Taijutsu was also weak, but she had the foundational knowledge; her practice intensity just wasn't high.
Now, if she tutored Hinata, her strength would definitely improve significantly.
Not to mention defeating Hyuga Neji, she wouldn't be utterly crushed by him.
"It's settled then! I'm leaving now!" Knowing Hinata wouldn't agree directly, she cut to the chase and finalized the matter.
"Eh?… Ino? I…" Hinata called out softly, wanting to discuss it further, but Ino had already run far away.
Her fiery demeanor was intimidating.
Hinata was very lonely; she had never had a single friend since childhood.
Her younger sister was constantly competing with her, her father's demands were extremely strict, and the gazes of her clan members put immense pressure on her.
After becoming a Genin, Yuhi was good to her, but Yuhi herself was in the midst of a passionate romance, and often found it difficult to attend to Hinata. The prestigious Hyuga Clan, saying too much or too little was inappropriate, and Yuhi and Asuma's relationship was no secret, so saying too much could easily be misinterpreted by the Hyuga Clan as a wrong signal.
Sakura and Hinata's relationship was extremely casual; they were merely nodding acquaintances.
The newly acquainted Tenten seemed like an enthusiastic girl, but the observant Hinata could sense that Tenten was somewhat resistant to her. She guessed it was still because of Hyuga Neji.
Counting them all, Ino was her only friend.
That evening, after dinner at home, Hinata said she wanted to go to the Yamanaka Clan to practice Taijutsu. Hyuga Hiashi thought for a moment and then agreed.
An hour later, Hinata stood in front of the Yamanaka Clan's gate, spacing out. Ino really hadn't lied; no one was home at her place that night!
This wasn't Ino deliberately standing her up; rather, the Ino–Shika–Choji three clans were having a dinner party at the Nara Clan's forest villa that night. The three clan heads were discussing the Village's successor and the future positioning of Ino–Shika–Choji within it, in a secret room.
It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that Ino remembered she had an appointment to practice with Hinata. She quickly sent a Shadow Clone back, which at least meant she hadn't completely broken her promise.
Even if Ari submitted her pledge of allegiance, her origins could still easily be criticized.
After Orochimaru defected from the Village, he was able to help Kabuto fabricate a new identity to return to Konoha Village. The Third Hokage, of course, found these tasks even easier.
The Third Hokage forged a series of identities for her, then had Ari put on a mask and become an ANBU Ninja directly under the Hokage. Because Gekkō Hayate became a Special Jonin and left the Anbu, Ari naturally joined the Anbu's Sixth Squad, which was one person short.
Her teammates were the three who had captured her a few days prior, including the Female Ninja Yūgao Uzuki.
The Third Hokage's intention was still surveillance, but he didn't object to Kakashi associating with this Female Ninja.
Yūgao Uzuki often brought Gekkō Hayate to buy flowers, and occasionally brought her new colleague Ari to look around. Ari, in turn, would sometimes bring Kakashi, and Ino always recommended the most expensive flowers to them, making Kakashi's wallet increasingly thin.
Ari was an extremely bold girl. Once she set her sights on someone, she would launch her pursuit, even at the cost of betraying her Village.
Of course, for Sakijō Village, her actions were definitely betrayal, but for Konoha, it was abandoning darkness for light.
Kakashi was severely repressed, his heart long shrouded in gloom. However, time would eventually dilute some things. The three lively members of Team 7 had opened a small crack in his heart, and Ari appeared at this time, asking him out for meals and shopping every other day. A woman pursuing a man is like a thin veil, and facing such a fiery, intense offensive, the darkness in his heart was slowly, but steadily, melting away.
Outwardly, this manifested in him actually accepting Might Guy's invitation for a race. The two of them sped from the back mountain to the Village entrance, then raced back to the Hokage Rock.
Their swift journey drew the attention of countless villagers and Ninja.
One must know that Kakashi used to use rock-paper-scissors to fob off Might Guy, and would never engage in such an exaggerated and passionate competition on the street.
His mindset was clearly different from before.
The happiest about this was not Ino or the other bystanders, but the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage truly didn't believe he could live to the age of a Village elder. Having endured so many bitter and deadly battles in his youth, his physical functions had severely declined with age; his strength, speed, and Chakra were all decreasing significantly.
Long ago, he had been looking for a successor, and Kakashi was the most outstanding among them, perhaps even uniquely so.
Seeing Kakashi slowly emerge from his inner darkness and become more cheerful, he was actually the happiest.
He didn't have the ability to foresee the future. He didn't know that his old comrade Danzo would contribute to the sealing bridge in the future, nor did he know that the two old men, Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu, could live all the way to boruto. Even if the two old men had only one breath left, they would never budge; they would die at their Advisor posts. In his view, the four of them would pass away one after another; if he breathed his last, how many more years could they live?
The Third Hokage immediately began to test his three old comrades, this time even Shikaku was excluded.
In fact, Shikaku was also qualified to inherit the position of Hokage. In the original timeline, Kakashi had, genuinely or not, sounded out Shikaku, hoping he would take on the role of Hokage. Shikaku refused, citing his age and imminent retirement.
The Third Hokage personally held Shikaku in high regard, but he also did not want the position of Hokage to fall to Ino–Shika–Choji. Their three-clan alliance was simply too powerful. Once they also gained legitimate rule over the Village, controlling the Anbu and Medical Ninja, other Ninja clans and civilians would have no chance to rise in the future.
With their internal alliance, the three clans could completely close their doors and play a game of pass the parcel: you be the Hokage, I'll be the Advisor; you be the Advisor, I'll be the Hokage.
If they played like that, what would be left for anyone else?
The Third Hokage tentatively brought up the idea of giving Kakashi more responsibilities. Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu closed their eyes and remained silent, the two old men knowing full well that, at this moment, someone else was even more anxious than they were.
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