Jiraiya might have been cooped up for too long, his blood boiling, completely forgetting that Tsunade was standing beside him. At this moment, he asked excitedly, "Are there really hundreds of young and beautiful Kunoichi?"
Tsunade clenched her fists, her eyes filled with killing intent, her face so gloomy it looked like water could drip from it.
After punching and kicking Jiraiya for ten minutes, the two fifty-year-old elders finally sat down to continue listening to Ino describe the battle.
Among the details was the assistance from the Third Kazekage.
"The Third Kazekage? That guy died many years ago, didn't he?" the bruised and swollen Jiraiya asked Tsunade.
Tsunade softly uttered the word "ghost," and Jiraiya nodded, indicating he understood. No need to say more, it must be Ino's underworld friends again! He had gotten used to it.
After Ino finished her mission report with Jiraiya, she handed over both the Third Kazekage and Orochimaru's human puppets for Jiraiya to deal with.
He could use them however he wished.
She was too tired. After seeing that Shikamaru and Choji had both gone home, she also went home to rest.
As soon as she entered her house, she saw Hinata hanging clothes in the courtyard.
The sunlight slanted into the courtyard, and Hinata's pure white sleeves and the refreshing fragrance emanating from her body were intoxicating. In a wooden basin nearby, there were several pieces of Ino's clothing.
Hinata gently said, "You're back? Go take a bath quickly. Give me your clothes later, there's still plenty of laundry water here, I'll wash them all for you."
Ino took two steps back again, looked up at the gate, then at the neighbors. Yes, this was her house, not the Hyuga Clan's.
She felt a bit embarrassed: "No need, I'll just wash them myself later. The clothes aren't too dirty."
Hinata was absolutely firm when it came to housework. She said in a commanding tone, "I don't have much ability, so I can only help you in these ways. Go take a bath quickly."
She forcibly pushed Ino into the bathroom, then took all the clothes off her body and sat in the courtyard to start washing them.
Crossing the desert twice in a month, no matter how much water she used or how naturally beautiful she was, it was useless. The environment was what it was.
Ino's clothes had a sour smell mixed with a strong scent of blood. Hinata washed them extremely carefully, not missing a speck of dirt.
A quarter of an hour later, she entered the bathroom and found Ino already asleep.
Hinata sniffed her hair. In the last few days, there wasn't even enough clean water to drink, and washing hair in the desert was impossible. The smell in her hair at this moment was truly unpleasant.
She quickly took out shampoo and washed Ino's hair.
Halfway through the wash, Ino woke up.
She mumbled, "Just a quick wash is fine."
Hinata patted her: "It'll be quick, don't move."
While washing her hair, she looked Ino over. It was fine, she didn't see any wounds.
Hinata had heard from the senior Ninja of the Hyuga Clan that the highest casualty rate for Ninja was during their first time on the battlefield. Many Ninja who were skilled in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu would freeze up once they reached the battlefield.
Now, it seemed Ino was not injured, which was good news.
"Is there going to be a war?" she asked softly.
Ino felt there was no need to hide it: "Yes, if we don't fight, other Ninja Villages won't respect Konoha. We must fight, and for us, it's better to fight sooner than later."
"You must be careful. I've wanted to tell you about your personality for a long time—you're so reckless, not at all like a girl. You must be careful on the battlefield. Even if you're a Jonin, you must be careful. Don't go up against those masters who have been famous for many years. We only graduated a little over a year ago, we definitely aren't a match for those senior Ninja."
Hinata babbled on and on.
Ino didn't quite agree. If they really met on the battlefield, who knows who should be careful.
If those old veterans of the Ninja World didn't have any special skills, she could sweep away a large area with her Wood Dragon Technique.
However, Hinata's intentions were entirely good, so she listened very sincerely and said that she would definitely follow her leader's instructions, save her life, and focus on slacking off!
Overly relaxed, she soon fell asleep again.
Hinata quickly helped her out, wiped her entire body clean, blew her hair dry, then sealed her in the quilt, and went back to the courtyard to continue washing clothes.
Ino only rested in the Village for two days before she had to return to the Land of Rivers.
Sunagakure had split.
The Elder Council, consisting of Baki, Yura, Huangsha, Longsha, Teiseki, and Sasori, officially went their separate ways.
Longsha and his moderate supporters headed east, choosing to seek refuge with the great tree that was Konoha.
Elder Huangsha, who had previously interrogated Kankuro about the whereabouts of the Gold Dust, had hidden himself very deeply. No one expected that this guy was actually from Iwagakure. Just one day after Ino and her group, Kitsuchi, the son of the Third Tsuchikage, led people to take away Huangsha's faction of Sand Ninja.
Yura self-destructed, and his subordinates suffered heavy losses from Sasori's mad experiments and a series of subsequent infighting. Knowing their situation was dire and seeing no way back, these remnants also defected to Iwagakure.
Including civilians and Ninja, Iwagakure had gathered roughly over five thousand people.
The remaining three elders, Baki, Teiseki, and Sasori, with their subordinate Ninja, finally managed to quell the chaos within the Village, clear out the pollen, and eliminate all the "madmen." But facing a riddled Sunagakure, like a forest, they could only sigh in despair.
The Shinobi World War hadn't even started, and Sunagakure was already out of the game.
Iwagakure's army continuously appeared on the border, and Konoha also kept sending reinforcements to the Land of Rivers.
Kitsuchi personally led the team, and the Third Tsuchikage even sent his disciple, the three-hundred-pound fat man Akatsuchi, to the front lines.
Asuma believed he definitely couldn't defeat the combination of Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi, so he quickly called Ino back for help. "You don't want to see your teacher Kurenai become a widow, do you? For the sake of all those barbecues back then, please come back first. Call Shikamaru and Choji back too, so Team 10 can reunite for a few more days."
Ino immediately returned to the front lines with Shikamaru and Choji. As old rivals, she stared intently at Kitsuchi, who, with his tall stature, was also quite wary of her. They set up defenses from a distance, neither making the first move.
Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha Village—the traditional border of the three great Ninja Villages was the Land of Rain. The three Ninja Villages often used the Land of Rain as a battlefield, but this time, the opposing sides had a tacit understanding and didn't go to the Land of Rain, choosing instead the Land of Rivers, which bordered the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.
The two sides did not engage in combat, both waiting for orders from their Village's high command. From time to time, more Sand Ninja and civilians joined both sides' ranks; they were accepted without question.
During the most dangerous encounter, Ino saw Kitsuchi's two-meter-tall physique from afar. Ninja from both sides drew their Kunai and Exploding Tags, but under the restraint of her and Kitsuchi, they still retreated.
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