It was then that Tsunade finally saw Ino and pulled her into a hug, their posture so ambiguous that Ino felt flustered.
Tsunade asked, "Oh, little Ino is back! You don't seem to be hurt? That's good, that's good. Did you send that idiot Shibuki back to Konoha Village?"
This matter involved Tsunade's test mission, so it had to be explained clearly. Ino recounted sending Shibuki back to Konoha and then following him to Takigakure Village.
Tsunade didn't care about the rebellions or their suppression. She only cared about the last part, her eyes gleaming with gold: "It was an A-Rank mission? Only you and Kurenai-sensei went to execute it? If two people split it, how much money did you get? Did you get five hundred thousand ryo?"
Shizune, beside her, covered her face, feeling very embarrassed to be with her boss.
Ino dared to come to Tsunade, naturally, because she was fully prepared.
Her money was hard-earned; she couldn't just throw it away!
She complained bitterly, "Takigakure Village did pay the reward, but my money... my money was all borrowed by Asuma-sensei!"
"What?! He dared!" Tsunade was furious.
How dare little Asuma 'steal' money from her? He must have a death wish, right?
Ino explained with a worried look, "Asuma-sensei is about to marry Kurenai-sensei, and he's been tight on money lately. Plus, Lord Third made him learn Multiple Exploding Tags, and the result is... sigh, all the money I worked so hard to earn..."
Tsunade, of course, knew about Multiple Exploding Tags. She was still wary of this S-Rank Ninjutsu developed by her grand-uncle. This Ninjutsu was too terrifying! And it cost too much money!
She was full of resentment towards the Sarutobi Clan's father and son. You have so much money, why not gamble? Why practice Multiple Exploding Tags? Why are you so reckless?
Though Tsunade expressed dissatisfaction, she didn't take it to heart. Ino's contribution to the 'pot' didn't even increase by an eighth, so the matter was essentially brushed aside.
The Fourth Raikage was never a good-tempered person, but he wasn't stupid. He knew Tsunade was using this conversation to make him wait for a while, retaliating for his trickery during their arm wrestle earlier.
He stood there like a wall, waiting.
Tsunade grumbled to Ino for five minutes, her complaints mostly directed at the Sarutobi Clan.
The old man was cowardly and timid, Asuma was immature, and she even criticized the eight-year-old Konohamaru.
"Heh heh, I heard many villagers and Ninja call him Lord Konohamaru now? An eight-year-old child, just because his grandfather is the Hokage? My grandfather was also the Hokage, do you see me being arrogant?"
Ino and Shizune smiled apologetically beside her, and even the pet pig named Tonton nodded with a smile. You are the best; the three generations of the Sarutobi Clan combined are not as good as you.
Just before the Fourth Raikage was about to explode, Tsunade patted Ino's shoulder: "Hmm, choosing me as your teacher shows you have good judgment, better than the idiots of the Sarutobi Clan. From now on, you'll study with me."
Ino immediately changed her address: "Thank you, Teacher, I will study hard."
She knew perfectly well that this apprenticeship was not as simple as it seemed on the surface. The Yamanaka Clan, Ino–Shika–Choji, Kakashi, and Jiraiya had all played a part, and even the Sarutobi Clan, whom Tsunade had been complaining about for half the day, had spent quite a bit of favors for her.
The reason these people were willing to help was also because Ino had proven her strength; she had that value.
Otherwise, if Tsunade accepted anyone who came to apprentice, wouldn't she be exhausted to death?
Tsunade and Ino officially established their teacher-student relationship. The Fourth Raikage dryly offered a few words of congratulations, serving as a witness. Afterward, they followed the Hidden Cloud Village group to a wooden house outside the town to treat the injured.
The injured person was named Kayui. A spider-shaped protrusion had appeared on his chest, which pulsated rapidly with his heart. From the outside, Kayui's blood was continuously gathering at the spider-shaped protrusion. When the energy accumulated to its peak, a considerable explosion might occur.
Tsunade's hands emitted a fine layer of Chakra, then, like threading a needle, she examined the spider-shaped protrusion under Kayui's skin.
Tsunade studied it for a while and asked, "I heard you stole the Secret Technique of the Village of the Cedars? Is this their doing?"
The Fourth Raikage was silent for a moment, then said, "It wasn't the Ninja from the Village of the Cedars. We encountered the Xuanyuan Group. Those guys hunt Ninja for a living, and they must have been hired by the Village of the Cedars."
Tsunade paid no mind to 'hunting Ninja' or the 'Xuanyuan Group,' and Ino didn't take it seriously either. Who would mess with the Fourth Raikage and get away with it? This one was a typical warmonger. If Konoha Village's desire for battle was 1, Hidden Cloud Village's desire for battle was at least 10.
Next, they had to excise the lesion from Kayui. Tsunade still couldn't see blood, so she provided the surgical plan, and Shizune would perform the entire operation.
Ino hadn't even started learning the 'Salted Fish Revival Technique.' If she were to go now, she would only kill the patient. However, she had at least worked as an assistant at Konoha Hospital for two months, so she could help out.
Shizune asked her, "Do you know any Medical Ninjutsu?"
Ino was terribly embarrassed. Despite preparing early, she still couldn't use any Medical Ninjutsu.
She shook her head sheepishly.
Shizune, however, had a good temper. She didn't mind at all: "You hand me the tools, and I'll explain the key points of the excision to you."
She first raised her right leg, pulled a syringe of anesthetic from the holster on her thigh, aimed it at Kayui's vein, and quickly injected it. The entire action was clean and swift. In less than five seconds, Kayui was knocked out.
Ino secretly admired, looking at that motion? How skilled! How many people must she have knocked out to develop such a technique?
Shizune was also a top-tier Medical Ninja of her time, far superior to Jonin like Kanpo at Konoha Hospital. She taught on behalf of Tsunade, explaining things meticulously from simple to complex, and Ino listened very carefully.
Medical Ninjutsu is also Ninjutsu, but it is still primarily for healing.
When Ino used Steam Impurities Explosion, she didn't need to distinguish between the mucosal layer, submucosal layer, muscle layer, and serosa layer; she just blew it up! As a Medical Ninja, one needs to identify carefully and cannot act recklessly.
Her foundation was quite weak, and her theoretical knowledge wasn't even half-baked. Going straight into the operating room was like Sasuke learning Chidori without learning Lightning Release first—the pressure was immense.
She also had her own method: the Shadow Clone Technique, activated!
She created nine Shadow Clones to assist Shizune with the surgery.
The main body listened attentively, while the Shadow Clones took notes, took photos, drew diagrams, and helped hand tools. They formed a human wall, completely blocking off the surgical environment.
The Fourth Raikage stretched his neck and watched for a long time but couldn't see what was happening inside. The blood that would have splattered on Tsunade was also blocked by Ino's human wall, not a single drop flew out.
Recommending a new book by the old author 'Ge Bang,' [Blood Grimoire] - a gender-bender novel, single lead.
Synopsis: Standing before you is: the dark regulator and protector, the subverter and restorer of order, the creator and persecutor of simp, the tea master, the goddess of the night, the nightmare and grave digger of the gods, the true ancestor of blood—Charlotte de Castel.
Accompanied by madness, born with blood, hand in hand with curses, walking with destruction.
This is a legend belonging to the bloodline...
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