It's ironic to say, but Orochimaru was the first suspect to be ruled out.
The fact is, he has such a fearsome reputation, Gekkō Hayate's first reaction upon seeing Orochimaru would definitely not be thoughts like, "Ino can do it, so can I."
He had that much self-awareness; fleeing and calling for backup would be the normal course of action.
Ino was also ruled out; she used impressive Wind Release Ninjutsu when fighting Neji, but it was just impressive. Most of the wounds on Gekkō Hayate's body were caused by wind blades cutting him at close range, in a short amount of time. Ino's Wind Release was completely different from that.
Asuma's suspicion, on the other hand, was quite high. Highly skilled Wind Release Ninjutsu, proficient taijutsu, and his identity as the Hokage's son. If he had launched a surprise attack at close range, Gekkō Hayate wouldn't have had any time to defend himself.
The Third Hokage, with a casual remark, "Asuma has been home all night," cleared his son of suspicion.
The group suspected Ninja from the Hidden Sand Village, and Ninja from the Hidden Rain Village and Takigakure Village; there were a few Jonin squad leaders from those Villages who could use Wind Release.
Danzo Shimura's suspicion also crossed their minds, but he was even more sensitive than Asuma. Shikaku and the two Advisors weren't sure what the Third Hokage's exact thoughts were, so the group chose to avoid the topic. After a brief discussion, they decided it would be more appropriate to question Gekkō Hayate once he woke up.
The next day, Ino spoke to Inoichi about Gekkō Hayate's incident, and only then did she learn that Danzo had not been in the Village recently.
She asked, "Has he been gone for days? Even the Village's high-ranking officials can't find Lord Danzo?"
Inoichi had mentioned long ago that his family was connected to Danzo's faction. Now that his daughter's strength was growing, he consciously began to cultivate Ino's analytical abilities.
Inoichi said, "It's hard to say. Root has secret bases in many places. It's possible Lord Danzo is somewhere in the Village, or he might have already left the Village."
"Is it because of Orochimaru?" Ino asked.
The father and daughter spoke privately, without many reservations.
Inoichi nodded, "Possibly. Orochimaru worked in Root for many years. During that time, he partnered with Aburame Ryoma from the Aburame Clan for a while. Perhaps he holds some information that could be detrimental to Lord Danzo. Whether Lord Danzo plans to counter him or has other intentions, it's hard to say."
The father and daughter didn't discuss anything conclusive. The Yamanaka Clan was still a step removed from Root, so many things could only be guessed at.
Inoichi reminded Ino to be extremely careful when leaving the Village. Her reputation as a genius was already widespread, and there were many Ninja who would want to kill her for a bounty.
Walking on the streets of Konoha Village, Ino felt a little annoyed. The information that Danzo wasn't home came a bit late. If she had known a few days earlier, she could have definitely manipulated the situation a little.
Now it was a bit too late.
Danzo had done all sorts of bad things, truly a good candidate to take the blame.
However, precisely because he had done so many bad things, some trivial matters couldn't be pinned on him.
During the Uchiha clan massacre, Obito collected an entire wall of Sharingan, and the blame for gouging out eyes was entirely placed on Danzo. Facing those eyeless corpses, the Third Hokage assumed it was his old comrade who had done it. He didn't even ask. Danzo, as always, remained aloof and didn't explain. A large number of Sharingan were never mentioned, and the matter was glossed over.
To summarize, Danzo was a player who "only plays high-stakes games."
On the third day after Gekkō Hayate was treated, Ino quietly left Konoha Village. She took a detour and arrived at Takigakure Village.
Karin had already arrived. Besides this Uzumaki Clan orphan, Takigakure Village also had a young Female Ninja, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Fū.
"Are you the Konoha Ninja who saved that idiot Shibuki? I want to be friends with you! I want to make a hundred friends!" This Female Ninja, with dark skin and blue-green short hair, was extremely lively. Seeing her energetic appearance, Ino even felt old.
"Is Konoha Village very big? Is it a Village built on trees?"
"Are there many people in your Village? Are there five hundred?"
"Karin kept calling a name in her sleep last night. Was she calling you? Why did she call your name in her sleep? And make strange noises?"
Fū chattered on incessantly. Shibuki had just become the leader and had many duties, so Ino waited in the reception room.
She read the newspaper, and Fū chattered beside her.
She drank tea, and Fū continued to chatter.
She went to the restroom, and Fū followed.
This Jinchuriki had incredible energy, and because she had little contact with the outside world, her curiosity was exceptionally strong. If you asked her one question, she would dig for answers until the very end.
Ino had a plan to collect Tailed Beast Chakra, so of course, she didn't want the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki who was right in front of her to fly away.
Aside from some truly awkward questions, Ino basically answered everything.
Fū was very happy, like a cheerful little bird, telling everyone she met that she had a new friend, and she only needed to find ninety-nine more friends.
Ino sighed with emotion; Jinchuriki all lived very difficult lives. What they wanted most was the approval of others. Naruto was like that, and Fū was like that too.
They had just met, so saying something like, "I want to take over your body" was definitely inappropriate. Ino planned to slowly build their relationship.
Ino and Fū chatted aimlessly for about an hour, and Shibuki finally finished his official duties. He was also very happy that Fū had made a new friend.
Ino brought up her intentions: she wanted to do business with Takigakure Village, specifically in construction materials.
Just as there are Squibs in the Harry Potter world, there are also descendants of Ninja who cannot use Chakra. These people are actually even more tragic than Rock Lee and Might Dai. Lee can shout, "Even if I can't use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, I can still become a first-class Ninja." Those who can't even refine Chakra are completely out of luck when it comes to the Ninja profession.
These people could not be abandoned. During the Warring States Period, they could only do some logistical work for Ninja clans. In the era of Ninja Villages, the general environment was relatively peaceful, so they left their respective families, abandoned their original surnames, and became commoners, continuing to provide services to the Ninja Villages.
During her last visit, Ino noticed that Takigakure Village had many commoners. The Village's environment was too humid and completely unsuitable for farming, so going out to work was a good option.
Like how Pirate King Roger tricked Rayleigh, starting with, "Let's go cause trouble, big trouble?" That requires extremely strong charisma, which Ino lacked. Her idea was to start cooperation with small matters, and for both sides to slowly solidify their foundation of mutual trust.
Even after becoming the leader, Shibuki was essentially still that somewhat timid, somewhat cowardly big boy; he didn't dare to cause big trouble.
At this moment, he patiently listened to her explanation and tried to summarize, "So, Miss Yamanaka wants to establish a construction team under the name of Takigakure Village? Why do you want to do this? You're from a prominent family in Konoha Village, aren't you?"
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