While Old Man Danzo was reading the newspaper, Ino officially recruited Mountain Bandit Baki as her subordinate. She had also taken advantage of the chaos in the prison to capture the traitor East Wind, whom she now threw to the ground, allowing Baki to finish off this scoundrel with a single strike.
Karin, holding a letter from Ino, was tasked with delivering it. Although Karin's skills were indeed lacking, she was a genuine Ninja and could travel to the Waterfall Village.
Baki, being a civilian, couldn't manage that. Without taking the secret path, he wouldn't be able to swim through the great waterfall of the Waterfall Village without holding his breath for seven or eight minutes.
Ino instructed Baki to go to the Land of Waterfalls to find Karin, after which the main work would still be handled by Karin.
Meanwhile, Ino took the suspected rogue Ninja, Ibiki Morino, back to the Hidden Leaf Village. On the way, she encountered her Senior Sister Shizune, who had a pair of long, fair legs.
"Sister Shizune, did you come specifically to find me? You're too kind. We're not strangers, after all," Ino said happily. Look, even with her "commuting," she had a pick-up service. Lady Tsunade was quite considerate.
But Shizune's next words made Ino realize she had been completely mistaken.
"No, no, I came to find him," Shizune said, pointing at Ibiki Morino, indicating that he was the target.
"Are you taking him back to the village?" Ino asked.
"Yes, I suspect this guy is a rogue Ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village. Since I ran into him, I naturally have to bring him back," Ino said, her tone full of loyalty to the Hidden Leaf.
Shizune looked around and then pulled Ino aside, whispering, "Ibiki's current boss is Mr. Jirocho from the Land of Tea, and Mr. Jirocho has always been on good terms with Lady Tsunade."
She went on to explain, hoping Ino wouldn't be so rigid. After all, the village didn't know about this. If neither of them said anything, the matter could be swept under the rug, right?
She spoke very subtly, glossing over the relationship between Mr. Jirocho and Lady Tsunade. Ino didn't fully understand what their relationship was, but she wondered if it might involve a younger lover. Poor Jiraiya, it seemed like he was being cuckolded.
Noticing the gossipy look in Ino's eyes, Shizune quickly waved her hands, lowering her voice even further, "No, no! It's not that kind of relationship. Mr. Jirocho is just an ordinary person. His organization has helped Lady Tsunade pay off her gambling debts a few times, that's all."
By the end, Shizune looked both troubled and extremely embarrassed.
Ino nodded in sudden understanding. Ah, so he was Lady Tsunade's financial backer!
She had never quite understood these civilian organizations. They seemed to engage in all sorts of shady activities, like extortion and blackmail, yet many local power players and even some small country governments recognized these "vibrant social organizations." Some Daimyo were even good friends with the leaders of these groups. It was a strange, twisted phenomenon.
With Shizune's intercession, Ino didn't insist on taking Ibiki Morino back to the village.
"How is my older brother doing now?" Ibiki Morino, having avoided the fate of returning to the village to face his brother, regained his wits and wanted to inquire about his elder brother's current situation.
Shizune and Tsunade had been away from the village for many years, so Shizune had no idea about Morino Ibiki's recent situation. The two were classmates, and even if you included Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai, these ninjas were all from the same graduating class or within two classes. Shizune's ninja registration number was 010800, while Morino Ibiki's was 010913, so they were essentially from the same class. Even if they weren't, they likely knew each other since childhood.
Hearing Ibiki Morino's question, Shizune couldn't help but look at Ino, wanting to know about their old classmate's current state.
"Morino Ibiki? He's doing great! Such a big rock," Ino gestured, roughly the size of a millstone. "This kind of big rock, your brother lifts it every day to train his strength, and then he uses it to hit people. Within a hundred meters, he never misses!"
Shizune: "..."
Ibiki Morino: "..."
This Morino Ibiki didn't sound very smart, completely different from the iron-blooded man they remembered.
Ino laughed, spinning a wild tale: "Occasionally practicing with big rocks to cultivate his temperament. He's very busy with work, though."
In reality, Morino Ibiki was considered strong among the Special Jonin, able to hold his own against the Animal Path for several rounds. However, by the time of Boruto, the iron-blooded man had completely deteriorated, only capable of throwing big rocks and even forgetting his ninja techniques.
Tsunade was currently in the Land of Tea, and Ino, Shizune, and Ibiki Morino were traveling together to find her.
On the way, Ino began to tally her recent gains.
It had to be said, the "Pot King" had quite the reputation.
By shifting the blame to Danzo, Ino directly received five Pot Points, the most she had ever obtained in one go.
Adding the two points she had saved up earlier, she now had seven Pot Points, a level of wealth she had never experienced before.
First, she took out three Pot Points and added them to her "Stamina." Chakra was something you could never have too much of.
Seven points was a watershed. Before seven points, going from four to five, five to six, and six to seven, each stage could be achieved with one Pot Point, a level attainable by ordinary people with effort. After seven points, it was the realm of the talented, or so-called geniuses, requiring two, three, or even four Pot Points to increase, with each boost being significant.
With three Pot Points added, Ino's "Stamina" reached nine points, just one step away from a Chakra Ton.
She felt her body's cells brimming with vitality, the sudden surge of chakra making her feel like she was about to explode!
Ninja technique talent was hard to quantify. Raising her "Ninja Skill" to ten, she only felt a deep understanding of ninja techniques, but how deep exactly? It was hard to say.
Chakra was different.
More was more, less was less.
From seven to eight points, investing two Pot Points was equivalent to doubling her original seven points of chakra. Now, from eight to nine points, investing three Pot Points, she felt like she had tripled her chakra from the eight-point level.
It was simply too much! The chakra was nearly uncontrollable.
Originally, she planned to use the remaining four Pot Points to raise her "Stamina" to ten. But now, with nine points already showing signs of being overwhelming, she didn't dare to add so much at once. She needed some time to adapt to the sudden surge of chakra, to gain control over it, before considering further increases.
It was estimated that it would be difficult to adapt to the sudden surge in Chakra within the month leading up to the official Chunin exams. Leaving the 4 Pot Points unused? That would be a real waste.
After careful consideration, she gathered the three Pot Points together and added them to the level of Yin Release. Yin Release at lv3 was upgraded to lv4.
If nothing unexpected happened, the Third Hokage would still use the Reaper Death Seal. This time, Ino would not be facing the residual Chakra of the Second Mizukage, nor a Summoning Beast that had been asleep for fifty years and was almost dulled by it. Instead, she would be confronting a genuine deity, a native god who had survived the brutal onslaught of Kaguya Otsutsuki and still stood strong.
Yin Release at lv3 was still insufficient. Only with lv4 would she have a bit of confidence to befriend the Shinigami.