"Of course—your daughter is a genius!" Ino spoke with full confidence; she had the foundation to back up those words.
"Mm, mm, that's true. On that point, Papa will never deny it!" Inoichi Yamanaka laughed heartily and ordered Ino, "Go, get Papa another teacup. This table and the floor will need to be repaired tomorrow... I have an idea, what do you think, Ino?"
Inoichi Yamanaka shared his idea regarding the repair of the table and the floor:
"We'll keep these burn marks, have the workers fill them with transparent resin, then sand it down and apply a layer of clear varnish..."
"After all, it's a Ninjutsu worth commemorating, isn't it?"
Using three meridians and the same note from different octaves to vibrate Chakra to the extreme, blending it into such a startling Azure Flame Ninjutsu... What did Inoichi Yamanaka associate this with? He thought of 'Kekkei Tōta'—the legendary ability possessed only by Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage of the Hidden Stone Village, and his teacher before him—the only Kekkei Tōta in the entire Ninja World: Dust Release. Or more specifically, 'Atomic Dismantling Jutsu'.
A Ninjutsu that could directly decompose a target into atoms, erasing its macroscopic form; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the strongest technique in the Ninja World today.
After all, that was a 'Kekkei Tōta', which was a level higher than a 'Bloodline Limit'... This—
Was a 'Kekkei Tōta' belonging to the Yamanaka Clan.
Just like the 'Atomic Dismantling Jutsu'.
However, Inoichi Yamanaka restrained himself, deliberately acting as nonchalant as possible while praising the power of the Ninjutsu. As for supporting evidence like 'Kekkei Tōta' to prove how powerful it was, he didn't tell Ino. She was only five years old with a bright future ahead of her; she shouldn't stop progressing... If she knew her Ninjutsu was already the best in the Ninja World, would she still work hard? Would she continue her research?
Although he hadn't read the story of 'The Lament for Zhongyong', Inoichi Yamanaka had seen too many real-life examples—
Too many Ninjas hailed as 'geniuses' had fallen, their lives validating the story of 'The Lament for Zhongyong'. They carried the title of genius in their youth, showered with praise, only to become 'mediocre' ordinary Jonin or even just Special Jonin upon reaching adulthood. Many Ninjas who were originally obscure ended up surpassing them.
For instance... Ebisu.
Ebisu was a contemporary of Guy and Kakashi. Back in school, he was recognized by everyone as the most talented student besides Kakashi.
But it was useless... Ebisu didn't become a Chunin until he was seventeen... The probability of someone resting on their laurels being motivated to work harder and widen the gap with others was far lower than the probability of them resting on their laurels and 'lying flat' under the halo of a genius.
This was basic human nature... "Why have such a strange idea?" Ino was speechless, tilting her head to look at Inoichi, then at the hole in the table... Apparently, if filled with transparent resin, it would indeed be very beautiful. An interesting idea suddenly popped into Ino's mind—
"Papa, since that's the case, why don't we set aside a section of the floor and use resin to make a model?"
"A model? What kind of model..." Having to admire his daughter's amazing imagination, Inoichi Yamanaka asked a question while also thinking about this 'model' in his mind... Currently, it seemed that in the entire Konoha, or even the entire Ninja World, no one had used resin to make models yet.
Ino thought for a moment and said, "Mountains, trees, rivers... we arrange these elements and then pour in the resin. Once it solidifies, the scenery will be sealed inside the resin. After polishing, it will be very beautiful... Hmm, why don't we make Konoha Village into a small landscape like this and place it on the living room floor..."
Imagining the entire Konoha right beneath her feet—that feeling was simply too great.
"Oh, you can do that?"
"Of course. Using resin, we can also create the feeling of standing on the ocean or above the clouds in the sky..."
...Inoichi Yamanaka had a whole new world opened to him by Ino, his mind filled with wonderful ideas—not only did he want to replace the floor at home, but he also planned to replace the floor of the clan's Library with the kind that made one feel like they were high in the air, looking down at the ground from above the clouds... He could also make some small resin landscapes of flowers—not just for the four seasons, but they would remain beautiful forever.
As for the task of having Ino get a teacup, he had already forgotten about it. Ino figured: well, since her father forgot, she might as well forget too.
After a while, Mrs. Yamanaka finished preparing dinner. It was a sumptuous meal featuring a foot-long fish, cooked using a technique dictated by Ino—a pure Chinese culinary method. Ino couldn't get used to the traditional cooking style of the Yamanaka family.
It was too bland.
Mrs. Yamanaka and Inoichi were initially not used to this flavor-rich way of eating, but to accommodate Ino's appetite, they passively grew accustomed to it.
Once their palates adjusted, they found that various cuisines from the outside world didn't taste right or were missing something.
The rice was stir-fried with eggs, then wrapped in an egg omelet along with finely chopped ham, tomatoes, and cucumbers; the taste was extremely satisfying.
Add a bowl of seaweed soup, eating and drinking at the same time—the wonderful flavors were simply an enjoyment.
"Madam's skills are getting better and better... Haha, Shikaku has started complaining that I'm being unfair. Several times when we went out for drinks, I just came home instead."
Ino gave a thumbs up and summarized with a supplement: "This is called: to keep a man's heart, you must first keep his stomach!"
"Go on, why is a child meddling in this?"
Mrs. Yamanaka picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks and placed it in Ino's bowl. Her meaning was clear: even food can't shut your mouth.
After dinner, Mrs. Yamanaka went to tidy the kitchen, while Inoichi Yamanaka gave Ino a brief "report" on the progress of carving up the Public Security Division—
It was a fact that the Uchiha Clan was no longer fit to control the Public Security Division. Consequently, Danzo, leading the Anbu, and the Hokage himself proposed a motion to abolish the Public Security Division and have the Anbu maintain the Village's security.
Such a "proposal" was only logical—because the Hokage directly led the Anbu and held absolute command.
Danzo, being within the Anbu and independently controlling Root, could likewise gain sufficient benefits from this matter.
Since there was an opportunity to reclaim the power of the Public Security Division for the Anbu, how could the two direct beneficiaries pass it up?
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