Tsunade and Shizune are doctors, not murderers. If the Spirit Transformation Technique caused death every time it was practiced, they would go mad.
Ino doesn't have this problem. The Yamanaka Clan's Secret Technique has a knack for returning to the body. She can't tell Tsunade and Shizune the training method for her clan's Secret Technique, but she can achieve a similar effect.
By leveraging the Yamanaka Clan's Secret Technique to supplement the missing parts of the Spirit Transformation Technique and successfully completing the technique, she can then deduce a soul return method that aligns with the Spirit Transformation Technique. At that point, it will be simple.
Ninjutsu, in its earliest form, originated from Ninshu. The Ninshu of the Six Paths Sage and Ashura was not meant for them to fight and kill. Everyone learned a little bit, and then copied each other; that's normal.
The most dangerous hurdle was successfully overcome, making the remaining tasks much easier.
The core of the Yamanaka Clan's Secret Technique is the "communication" skill obtained from the Six Paths Sage, which is now the Mind Body Switch Technique. This technique is the foundation for a series of subsequent Secret Techniques.
Strictly speaking, this is a technique passed down by the Sage, making its level higher than the original Spirit Transformation Technique.
However, the core of the Mind Body Switch Technique lies in the word "switch." This move is not a Ninjutsu used in battle, so if the target is injured, the caster will also be injured. Ultimately, the Six Paths Sage did not teach this technique to the Yamanaka Clan for them to be aggressive and combative.
The core of the Spirit Transformation Technique lies in the word "transformation," allowing one's Chakra to transform into a soul, disregard distance, and possess and kill enemies.
This technique exempts the Mind Body Switch Technique's flaw of the target and caster being simultaneously injured, truly transforming into a Ninjutsu that kills invisibly.
Spirit transformation, flying without regard for distance, and returning to the body are the three major steps.
When it comes to specific issues, such as how to mobilize Chakra and form hand seals during practice, Tsunade, Shizune, and Ino are also researching. Later generations are not necessarily inferior to previous ones, and the original Spirit Transformation Technique may not be 100% correct. They are constantly making adjustments.
According to Kato Dan's Secret Technique requirements, the first spirit transformation is very important. The body, mind, and external assistance all need to be perfected. Tsunade hasn't rested for three days, constantly adjusting the supplementary medicinal formula she completed.
Ino is not in a hurry. The Spirit Transformation Technique is rated as an S-Rank Ninjutsu, and it is currently incomplete. She would not rashly practice it. Stability is more important than anything.
Minato Namikaze's Rasengan only truly flourished in Naruto's hands, and Kakashi's Chidori also began as Chidori, evolving into a powerful killing move after more than ten years of refinement.
Ino is not in a hurry at all. Having learned the Yang Seal, she already has the confidence to deal with the Shinigami.
She lived an incredibly fulfilling life this past month.
Drinking and gambling aside.
Through Tsunade's direct instruction, she solidified her foundations in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Sealing Technique, and Medical Ninjutsu. Since graduating, she had been relying on attribute points to improve, but her actual foundation still came from what she learned at the Ninja Academy and from the Yamanaka Clan.
The Yamanaka Clan's knowledge is extensive, but they are limited by their perspective and ultimately cannot compare to an Kage-level expert like Tsunade.
Tsunade's guidance elevated Ino from a high school student to a university student level. The improvement in her perspective and understanding was completely different from before.
"Teacher, then I'll head back to the village?"
Tsunade, while researching a medicinal formula, waved impatiently, "Go back, hurry up and leave. Next time you come, remember to bring me Amaguriama's yokan."
Shizune raised a hand, "Me too, me too!"
After getting familiar, the beautiful senior sister also showed a goofy side, which Ino found rather speechless.
Tonton, the pet pig, also happily grunted "Pui Pui" a couple of times, meaning it also wanted a gift!
Ino actually wanted to talk about Tsunade succeeding as Hokage after the Third Hokage's death.
From her observations, Tsunade was 120% unwilling to be Hokage. What good was it? Besides being exhausted, she would also have to lead the charge in battle.
If she did well, people would say she was the First Hokage's granddaughter and that it was expected. If she didn't do well, people would criticize her! Saying she disgraced her ancestors.
Ino's own background was deep enough; whether or not she had a Hokage as a teacher wasn't important to her.
On the contrary, if Tsunade became Hokage, it would attract too much hostile attention to Ino. 'You're the Hokage's disciple, you should be at the forefront!' If she was sent to investigate the Akatsuki Organization today and to capture the Masked Man tomorrow, how would she live?
Tsunade was good to her, so she hoped the other party would be happy.
The Hokage position was a hot potato. Instead of expending so much effort, it would be better for classmate Tsunade to continue happily messing around.
However, these things hadn't happened yet, so she didn't even know where to begin talking about them.
Bidding farewell to Tsunade and Shizune, there were still two days until the final Chunin official exam.
On the way, she hesitated whether to take a detour to the Hidden Sound Village to create some chaos and then pin the blame on Danzo.
After repeated consideration, she abandoned the plan.
Too dangerous!
Even if Orochimaru had already impersonated the Fourth Kazekage and gone to Konoha, the gravely ill Kimimaro was most likely at home.
Ino wanted to bully the weak, not face a Taijutsu master who would go all out at any moment.
If someone like Kimimaro was determined to fight to the death, most people couldn't withstand it, and Ino couldn't guarantee that she would execute things flawlessly. This was completely different from facing ordinary people like Tan Go.
If she couldn't shift the blame and ended up making things worse, it would be troublesome.
Rolling away Orochimaru's research notes and test subjects would indeed yield immense benefits, but the Hidden Sound Village was simply too dangerous, so this option had to be abandoned.
Ino hurried along, patiently searching in the Land of Rivers, which lies between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire, and where Team 10 had once dealt with Raiga Kurosuki.
The Fourth Kazekage came to Konoha Village with his guards. This was an official visit, not a sneak attack. After entering the Land of Fire, there would also be Konoha Village Ninja escorting him all the way, so he would definitely not take some remote small paths.
Ino used Shadow Clone to search on several main roads, asking shops along the way, and confirmed their route through the Land of Rivers. Afterward, she found the Fourth Kazekage's body in a relatively secluded valley.
Orochimaru hadn't done much to conceal the scene. The bodies of the Fourth Kazekage and two guards were clearly laid out there.
From the traces at the scene, it was a close-range sneak attack. The Fourth Kazekage was severely wounded almost immediately upon arrival and was killed by Orochimaru after only a few struggles.
This Kage died in a truly humiliating way.
The Fourth Kazekage's heart was taken, and it's unknown if it was for Edo Tensei preparations.
His face was completely gone, his facial area a bloody mess, with no discernible features. The sacred robe (Goshin-robe) and straw hat, symbols of his Kazekage status, were also taken. His ring and all identity tokens had vanished. Simply looking at the corpse, it was hard to imagine this was the Fourth Kazekage.
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