Over the past two years, as Ino's performance has become increasingly dazzling, it has sparked a wave of imitation among Kunoichi of the same age.
Although Karin is not a Konoha Ninja, she often comes to Konoha for business, and Hinata has seen her twice. It's clear that Karin is deliberately imitating Ino's style of dress.
Sleeveless vests, shorts, long hair, and zippers only pulled up to the abdomen, deliberately exposing strong, firm abs and a belly button.
Karin is considered the most successful imitator.
Sakura also has a tendency to imitate, but her chest is too flat, lacking curves, and exposing her belly button doesn't look good. In reality, she still wants to expose it.
Hinata, when soaking in hot springs with a bunch of other girls, would rather cover herself up. She doesn't want to expose anything; she just hopes she can grow a little taller.
When Ino was buying shoes, she secretly glanced at Ino's calves. Those legs are really long, truly beautiful!
Even if she is determined to be a housewife, Hinata still cares about her height and appearance. It would naturally be a good thing to grow a little taller, not too tall, 1.60 meters would be perfect.
They bought a lot of clothes and shoes for Ino. There were many items, but they didn't actually spend much money. They didn't care about the money.
Carrying large and small bags was just for the atmosphere. Under Hinata's adoring gaze, Ino sealed all the purchased items into a scroll. Hinata, who hadn't even mastered her family's taijutsu, was still completely ignorant of Sealing Technique.
The two set off lightly and continued to stroll.
Actually, when Hinata came out shopping today, she also received a secret mission from Rino. Buying clothes was one mission, and making Ino more cheerful and sunny was another mission.
Despite feeling a bit embarrassed, Hinata still wore goggles and participated in the eating contest. The result was no surprise; she easily won the championship.
In the afternoon, the two went flower arranging, occasionally sharing interesting stories.
In the evening, they visited the night market.
Hinata wrote a very festive couplet with a brush.
"You try it?" She asked Ino to try as well.
Try it and die. Ino, who was especially energetic at night, did not refuse.
Wielding her brush, without even thinking, she wrote a large character "Memorial" (diàn, meaning 'to offer sacrifices to the dead') for the stall owner.
Fairly speaking, this character was well-written, with a flowing, powerful stroke that seemed to penetrate the paper. Just looking at it gave one a sense of being there. Hinata's handwriting was merely delicate, but she had already captured a certain artistic conception.
The two fled in dismay under the angry gaze of the stall owner.
Back at the inn, Ino brought up the topic of bathing.
After a day of shopping, Ninja are also human and sweat. No matter how naturally beautiful they are, after ten days to half a month without a bath, they would turn into mud monkeys.
Hinata is a clean girl and nodded, "Oh, then I'll tidy up the clothes we bought today."
Ino imitated Might Guy, holding her arms out flat and giving a thumbs-up: "I'll go find the bathing supplies."
A quarter of an hour later, she returned to the room carrying a furo-oke (a wooden bathing tub), followed by two inn maids carrying large kettles.
After pouring the hot water into the tub, the maids bowed politely and left.
Hinata looked at the tub, then at her, and then down at the tub again.
She hesitated, thought for a long time, but still couldn't help but ask, "Ino, isn't this tub a bit small?"
She really wanted to ask, "Is this for bathing children?"
Ino looked surprised, "How can that be? If we use a big tub, how much water would we waste? Water resources in the Land of Fire are very scarce, you know?"
Hinata held out both hands, forming a circle, and gestured at the size of the tub, "Then, then why don't you go first?"
Ino looked suspicious, "There's only this much water at the inn. If I go first, do you mean you want to use my bathwater?"
Hinata waved her hands repeatedly, "Then, then I'll go first?"
"Do you want me to use your bathwater?"
"Then what should we do?" Hinata was utterly confused.
Ino said with great spirit, "We're both wanderers, out in the world, so there's no need to fuss over minor details. Let's just make do and bathe together!"
"Huh?!" Hinata looked at the small tub. A fat person like Choji, with a particularly large backside, probably wouldn't even fit. The two of them could fit, but how cramped would that be?!
Ino kept urging her, "Hurry up! After bathing, it takes a long time for hair to dry. Your short hair is fine, but my hair is long. If it doesn't dry, I'll catch a cold tomorrow."
At this time, in another secluded corner of the capital.
Kazuma, formerly one of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve, was leading his subordinates in negotiations with the Daimyo's envoy.
Kazuma was an absolute radical, believing that the Hokage should not exist, and that Ninja Villages should unconditionally obey the Daimyo's orders. The Daimyo pays, and you risk your lives; it's that simple. Why is there a Hokage in between?
His lifelong ambition was to eliminate the Hokage, this "black intermediary," and allow the Daimyo and Ninja to communicate directly. The former is the master, the latter are tools, servants. How simple is that relationship?
Back then, because his radical ideas were too extreme, they provoked strong opposition from conservatives like Asuma. The two sides fought a great battle, and the conservatives, backed by Konoha Village, defeated the radicals. The Daimyo had no choice but to exile Kazuma.
Now Kazuma has returned.
Konoha's forces are strong, but to those outside who are unaware, they have not yet emerged from the aftermath of the Third Hokage's death.
Danzo, utilizing Hashirama cells and his profound Ninjutsu mastery, could use Kotoamatsukami, but his use of Kotoamatsukami was ultimately not as effective as Shisui himself.
He merely instilled in the Daimyo the idea of supporting him as Hokage; he did not modify other aspects. For Danzo, it was a good thing that the Daimyo was hostile towards Konoha, as it gave him more opportunities.
Currently, the Daimyo still harbors hostility towards Konoha and the Hokage, especially since Konoha has been frequently sending people to demand money and supplies recently, which has made him extremely irritated. Therefore, he dispatched envoys to negotiate with Kazuma and his Ninja, discussing how to teach Konoha Village a lesson.
"Sir, please look at this." Kazuma, facing the powerless envoy who was merely a close attendant of the Daimyo, was extremely respectful. He opened a Ninjutsu scroll.
The scroll unfurled, revealing about seven or eight square meters of dark brown soil.
The attendant covered his nose. The soil carried a putrid smell: "Bastard! It stinks so much. What exactly is this thing?"
Kazuma was not at all bothered by the attendant's insults; instead, he was smug: "This is soil I found in a small Ninja Village during my travels. It is said to be able to revive the dead. As long as I infiltrate Konoha Village and cover their cemeteries with this soil, all the Konoha Ninja who died in battle will be revived. Heh heh, Konoha Village will certainly be lively then."
The attendant was overjoyed: "Really? Does this soil have such miraculous effects?"
Kazuma guessed his thoughts and quickly explained: "This is not resurrection in the true sense; it is just a... well, it's just using this soil with special Chakra attributes to allow the deceased to regain their ability to act once more."
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