Chapter 245: Has Deidara Come Knocking?
Having committed three incidents in a row, the saying "things don't go beyond three" certainly applied.
The 'trouble' she caused could be big or small. Currently, she needed it to be just significant enough to avoid too strong a backlash. If she caused ten or eight incidents, things would escalate drastically. Not only would the Akatsuki be alerted, but neighboring Lands of Lightning and Fire would also dispatch ninja to investigate. That wouldn't be worth the trouble; frequent incidents were less effective than a slow, steady flow. Three incidents, given the speed of information dissemination in this world, was about the limit.
There were too many rumors that got twisted. The robbery of a merchant in the Land of Iron, when it reached the Land of Rain, would be considered an insignificant trifle that the Akatsuki wouldn't care about. With Ino having conveniently assigned the blame, Deidara would bear this 'pot' of responsibility quite securely.
After causing three incidents, she immediately returned to the Land of Wheat to play dead, waiting for the situation to develop.
This trip netted her two 'Trouble Points.' Adding the three she had saved previously, she now held a total of five. She first used one to raise her "Seal" stat from 8 to 9.
She had originally intended to save the remaining two points, but after much internal debate—upgrading once felt great, but constant upgrading felt even better—she couldn't resist. One point went to "Genjutsu," raising it from 6 to 7, and the other went to "Strength," increasing it from 5 to 6.
Ino's current stats were: Ninjutsu 10, Taijutsu 7, Genjutsu 7, Intelligence 8, Strength 6, Speed 7, Stamina 10, Seal 9, for a total of 64.
In terms of elemental releases, she had Water Style Lv4, Earth Style Lv5, Wind Style Lv3, Fire Style Lv2, Yin Release Lv4, Yang Release Lv3, and Flower Style (Wood Style) Lv2.
She waited two days, but there wasn't the slightest ripple of disturbance.
Roughly speaking, the Akatsuki, being a group with extremely high standards (either gazing at the moon or contemplating Tailed Beasts), apparently couldn't be bothered with trivial matters like a few merchants dying. Ino was very satisfied; this was perfect!
Now that the portly prince and princess had officially met, Ino's mission here was complete, and it was time to gracefully withdraw. She received her mission completion slip and prepared to return to the village, but unexpectedly, Shikamaru and Choji found her first.
"This is the Fifth Hokage's order," Shikamaru called her aside and handed her a mission scroll. Naruto wanted to come over and see, but Choji forcibly dragged him away.
Ino quickly scanned the mission details, then nodded, indicating she accepted. She turned to look at Naruto. "Naruto, this is an order from the Fifth Hokage. You're temporarily assigned to Team Ten and will be accompanying us on a mission to the Land of This."
Naruto had been having a blast in the Land of Wheat recently. Asking him to return to the village to study now? What kind of joke was that! He had no idea where this 'Land of This' was, but he just nodded vigorously, expressing his willingness to accept the mission.
Ino bid farewell to her new friend, the plump Princess Fuku, and then led the team out of the Land of Wheat. While Choji distracted Naruto by convincing him to gather ingredients, Shikamaru explained the key points of the mission to Ino – the hidden information that couldn't be written down explicitly.
"On the surface, we're going to participate in the eating contest in the Land of This. But the real mission for Team Ten is to kidnap the prince of the Land of That. The Land of That is an ally of the Land of This. Currently, the Land of That is planning to break their alliance and side with the Land of Fire. Therefore, they must rescue their prince, who is being held hostage in the Land of This, at the first opportunity. This is a mission sent directly to the village from the Daimyo of the Land of That."
Ino listened and nodded. The Konoha Village depicted in the anime was very bright and sunny, practically a moral paragon. In reality, they certainly weren't above kidnapping and extortion. This wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last. She gestured for Shikamaru to continue.
Shikamaru went on, "The village received information from an undercover agent that the Akatsuki have also been targeting the Land of This recently. We heard they are collecting information on Jinchuriki. The village believes Naruto can serve as the first layer of bait, and the rest of us will be the second layer of bait, luring the Akatsuki out so the Jonin lying in ambush can capture them in one swoop."
Ino had no objections to this plan. The entire strategy involved both overt and covert elements, considering all angles. It clearly bore the mark of Shikaku's planning. However, facing the Akatsuki now, she truly felt uncertain. Konoha knew too little about the Akatsuki. Jiraiya, as Hokage, couldn't easily leave the village, and the so-called ambush would only involve Kakashi, Asuma, and a few others. Whether it would ultimately succeed was anyone's guess, but fighting them to gather intelligence on the enemy was still the right choice.
The village had appointed her as the apparent leader for this mission, with Shikamaru assisting her, Choji participating in the eating contest, and Naruto... Naruto's normal antics were more than enough to attract attention. Making the best use of available resources – Shikaku's plans were always like this; there was nothing to fault.
Along the way, Ino also started to ponder. The Akatsuki going to the Land of This? Did something major happen there? Other than Pain and Itachi Uchiha, she didn't fear the rest of the members. Even if she were facing two of them at once and couldn't win, she could still escape. This mission had been tentatively classified as B-rank, but except for Naruto, the three of them knew full well that it could escalate to A-rank, or even higher, at any moment.
Even Shikamaru felt a bit nervous, not to mention Choji. Ino's composure and Naruto's carefree attitude helped ease their tension somewhat. Eating grilled fish made by Choji again, Ino felt quite excited. The food when she was with Tsunade wasn't bad, but drinking heavily and soaking in hot springs every day was really hard on her liver...
Upon arriving in the Land of This, Choji signed up for the eating contest. Then, as if possessed by a ghost and a god, Naruto also spontaneously entered the preliminary round because he heard one of the segments was a ramen eating contest, and all mission expenses were the captain's responsibility. He rushed over to sign up.
Ino crouched on the eaves, took out a scroll, and quite seriously noted down the mission expenses, planning to get reimbursed by the Hokage upon their return. Entry fee: eighty thousand! Shikamaru slapped his forehead. Wasn't the entry fee eight hundred? Is what you're doing really appropriate? Ino completely disregarded his opinion, finished her notes, and started watching the competition.
The first round was a steamed bun eating contest. Naruto was completely not cut out for it. After eating only two steamed buns, he was choked and kept drinking water. When his stomach was swollen high, looking like he was ten months pregnant, the preliminary round finally finally concluded.
The second round was the ramen eating contest. Alas, with thick, noodle-like tears streaming down his face, Naruto gritted his teeth and drank two mouthfuls of soup, managing to eat barely one Narutomaki before his stomach truly couldn't fit any more...
Ultimately, Choji helped Naruto leave the competition area. They rendezvoused with Ino and Shikamaru and began discussing the kidnapping plan for the evening.
The process was extremely simple. Ino used genjutsu to control the young master of the Land of That. Then, Naruto left behind a shadow clone transformed into the young master's appearance to buy time. The four of them effortlessly brought the young master out of the city.
As they were about to leave the castle town, violent explosions resounded from all three fortified gates.
Ino stopped Choji, who was walking forward with his head down, still reminiscing about the sushi contest. Her face was full of caution. "Stop. We..."
That explosion sound was far too familiar to her. The concentration of Earth Release chakra inputted was different, but the method of explosion was simply identical... If the current explosions weren't her doing, then it must be Deidara's!
Deidara in the Land of This? Did he intend to come here anyway, or is he here looking for her?
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