Wok Shadow Ninja

Chapter 118: The Whole World is Sick

Not doing missions was impossible. This was the current working model for ninjas, unless Ino decided to defect from the village.

On top of that, Tsunade's training regimen was also incredibly demanding.

Ino's solution was to become a "commuter student"!

She would complete missions for two days, then use her days off to go train with Tsunade. Once her break was over, she'd return to Konoha to continue being the village's tool.

When the Third Hokage heard that Ino had become Tsunade's disciple, he nodded with satisfaction.

Although she wasn't one of his "Monkey Tutoring" students, becoming Tsunade's disciple still meant she was part of the Hokage's inner circle.

The Third Hokage's nose twitched slightly, catching a faint whiff of alcohol.

Good grief, they've been drinking quite a bit, haven't they? 

He knew Tsunade, his former student, all too well. But what could he say? That it was the First Hokage who taught her to drink? Or that he, the Third Hokage, was the one who set the example?

Instead, he simply said, "Good! Drinking is good! It helps prevent cardiovascular diseases. Very good! Keep drinking, you two!"

Tsunade's whereabouts were unpredictable, and Ino, who was now gaining a reputation as a prodigy, needed a flexible exit permit to leave the village. This was to prevent hunter-nin from targeting her.

From now on, she wouldn't leave through the main gate or go through the usual procedures. Instead, she'd use the secret routes monitored by the ANBU.

The Third Hokage agreed to this immediately, but with one condition: she had to achieve excellent results in the Chunin Exams.

What exactly counted as "excellent results"? Ino wasn't sure, but since it was also the expectation of her parents, Inoichi and Rino, she readily agreed.

For the sake of this exam and the freedom to leave the village at will, she was determined to give it her all.

At the end of their conversation, the Third Hokage asked a couple of casual questions.

"How are Tsunade and Jiraiya doing?" the old man inquired.

Ino thought seriously for a full minute, which puzzled the Third. Why did such a simple question require so much thought?

"...I'm not sure if they're doing well, but the moment I walked in, I saw Lady Tsunade hitting Lord Jiraiya!"

The Third Hokage nodded stiffly. Yes, that sounded exactly like his disciples. It seemed Ino had found the right people.

The water transformation aspect of the Steaming Danger Tyranny technique was still incomplete. Despite Ino's efforts to patch it up, she could only achieve partial water transformation. Plus, the technique was naturally weak against Lightning Release, so her first choice for a survival skill remained medical ninjutsu.

Following Tsunade's instructions, while studying basic theoretical knowledge, she also didn't give up on observing surgeries at Konoha Hospital.

Even if she wasn't directly involved, just watching from the sidelines helped her gain some experience.

The staff at Konoha Hospital still treated her as if she were invisible not outright ignoring her, but far from being welcoming.

She couldn't loudly announce her relationship with Tsunade, so only Kabuto Yakushi, the "eternal genin," was willing to chat with her.

Medical ninjas were busy, and most of the time, Ino couldn't help much. She could only watch from the sidelines. Over time, in a hospital where even the lowest-ranked staff were chunin, the two "genin" naturally grew closer.

"Ino, are you preparing for the Chunin Exams too?" Kabuto asked kindly.

The acting maestro loved to put on a show, and Ino was happy to play along.

"Yes, Senior Kabuto. Are you participating this year too?"

"Haha, I actually don't want to. Over the past four years, I've taken the Chunin Exams seven times. I know my limits I really don't have much talent as a ninja. But my teammates keep encouraging me, so I haven't made up my mind yet."

"Senior, I'm sure you can do it. When we're in the exam, I'll need your guidance. Just thinking about the exam makes me nervous."

"Hahaha, let's help each other out. I hope we both pass!"

Their conversation was full of empty words, with neither of them speaking honestly.

Kabuto spent most of his time reading, and when he did step into the operating room, he acted clumsily. When Ino asked him about it, he claimed he had limited talent and planned to focus more on theoretical research.

Ino could only think to herself, Yeah, right. I don't believe a word of it!

The seemingly peaceful ninja world was anything but peaceful. The tranquility within the village existed because someone was silently bearing the weight. These ninjas might not know earth-shattering techniques, but it was their sacrifices that gave the younger generation the time to grow.

Despite the medical ninjas' best efforts, one of the three injured ninjas, who had been severely wounded, couldn't be saved.

Ino arrived too late to summon Katsuyu for help.

As the body, covered with a white cloth, was wheeled out of the operating room, all the medical ninjas stood in silent respect. Even Kabuto, who had been reading nearby, stood up and showed a degree of reverence for the deceased.

After the body was taken away, Ino glanced at Kabuto. "Compared to the living, I noticed you seem to respect the dead more?"

This was something she had observed. Not just ninjas, but even civilians and merchants when they died, Kabuto would show a certain level of respect. Ino felt there was some pretense in it, but there was also a hint of genuine emotion.

She was curious about Kabuto's mindset.

Kabuto adjusted his round glasses with his left hand. The lenses reflected the light, making it impossible for Ino to see his eyes clearly.

"The more you see, the more you realize that many things are meaningless. All beings are drowning in a sea of suffering, rising and falling... Perhaps only in death do they find true meaning." Sensing that his words might have been too heavy, he quickly shifted tone and resumed his gentle smile. "Actually, there's a lot I don't understand. I just read about these things in books."

"Meaning, huh?" Ino pondered for a moment. The word "meaning" might sound ordinary at first, but in the context of the ninja world, it carried an extraordinary weight.

Haku had once said he was just a tool, but wasn't everyone else the same? They were all tools. What meaning was there in that?

The poet's description of "joining the army at fifteen and returning at eighty" painted a bleak picture, but in the ninja world, it was even worse.

Kakashi had started killing on the battlefield at the age of six. Ino and her peers graduated from the academy at twelve and were thrown into various battles. Compared to the "fifteen-year-old soldier," they were latecomers. The Third Hokage, at sixty-nine, wanted to live out his remaining years in peace, but his most beloved disciple declared, "No! I won't let you live to eighty. I'll make sure you die!"

The entire ninja world was sick. Most people had some form of mental illness. Ino even suspected that she herself was ill. She was obsessively chasing after powerful techniques initially for survival, but was that still the case now? When she saw the Amegakure jonin, Suien, being blown to ashes by the Steaming Danger Tyranny, she didn't feel disgust or discomfort. Instead, she felt a deep sense of satisfaction. She had changed. She was sick too, just not as severely as some others.

Ino couldn't help but voice her thoughts: "People are sick, and the whole world is sick..."

Kabuto, seemingly finding her words naive, retorted with a hint of mockery, "Then have you figured out the cause of this sickness?"

Ino gave him a strange look. You're the one who asked for this. Don't regret it!

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