After becoming the leader, with the heavy responsibility on his shoulders and the rebellion successfully resolved, Shibuki's intelligence came back online, free from mental pressure.
After all, he was trained to be a leader from a young age. He was terrified at the time, but after the fact, he gradually figured some things out.
A Chunin from a Great Shinobi Country is indeed different from a Chunin from a small Village, and a Jonin is also different. Ino killed Suien as easily as killing a chicken. Does this mean that Konoha's Genin are in a league of their own in the Ninja World? That's impossible! It's reasonable for them to be strong, but not that strong.
If all Konoha Village's Genin were at Ino's level, would they have needed to fight three Shinobi World Wars? They would have unified the Ninja World long ago!
Shibuki measured Ino's strength against his teacher Suien's. He estimated that she should have Jonin-level strength, but her Ninja rank was not high yet simply because of her youth.
Generally, Ninja with powerful Ninjutsu, strong will, and clear purpose are from Great Ninja Clans.
Since both parties are discussing cooperation, they naturally need to clarify their identities.
Friendship is friendship, and interests are interests. If their identities are not equal, Ino would not be qualified to discuss cooperation.
Ino nodded, "I am indeed from a Ninja Clan, but the situation in Konoha Village... well, your father and Tsunade-sensei were good friends, so you should know something about Tsunade-sensei's past, right? The sensei hasn't returned to the Village all these years precisely because the situation in the Village is quite complicated."
Shibuki thought of his own experiences and nodded, "It seems Great Shinobi Countries are not paradises either."
With undercurrents surging within Konoha Village, it was not advisable for the Yamanaka Clan, or even Ino–Shika–Choji, to do anything conspicuous at this time.
Collecting rent and opening a curry shop were pretty much the limits for people of Ino's age group. Going further would definitely touch upon other interests, and given their sensitive identities, people could easily overthink things and make them much bigger.
Yet, Ino now needed to stir up greater interests to create more incidents, and these incidents had to be controllable. The simplest method was to hire Kakuzu from Akatsuki, then pin the blame on the Akatsuki Organization. A more complex approach would be to exploit the conflict between the Daimyo and the Shinobi Villages. No matter which method, she needed financial support.
Money is not the decisive factor, but what if there is none? Then it's absolutely impossible! If there's no money to hire Kakuzu and you want to freeload, forget about Pain with the Rinnegan; even if the Six Paths Sage crawled out of the underworld, it would be useless.
Many powerful figures in the Land of Fire and Land of Water also needed to be paid off with money. No money, no deal.
After the Chunin Exams, Konoha Village entered a 'deep trouble' mode. If Tazuna from the Land of Waves could bring his grandson and the Village carpenters all the way to Konoha Village for work, why couldn't Ino do the same?
The Yamanaka Clan specializes in intelligence; they can receive news of floods or earthquakes immediately.
Takigakure Village is very isolated and has no such intelligence network. Without Ino, they would be completely in the dark and unable to do anything.
Ino also needed Takigakure Village's reputation and manpower.
Both sides have a basis for cooperation.
Takigakure Village is the only Shinobi Village below the Five Great Ninja Villages that possesses a Tailed Beast. It is weakened now, but its reputation remains. What's wrong with using their name to do some business in construction and building materials?
Ino explained the cooperation plan, and Shibuki thought for a while before agreeing.
After all, it wasn't a big deal, and it would give the villagers a little more income, which was a good thing.
The 'Cross Guild' was thus quietly established in Takigakure Village.
Ino instructed Karin to screen villagers skilled in carpentry and masonry.
Karin often seemed very muddled, but as long as she was given a task, she could execute it very well.
Ino was quite confident in her ability to get things done.
The Seven-Tails Jinchuriki Fuu also wanted to go out and play. Shibuki, who had always treated Fuu like a younger sister, immediately objected. It was too dangerous for a Jinchuriki to leave the Village. Fuu herself might not get into trouble, but the Tailed Beast inside her might. If the Tailed Beast went berserk, it would be a mobile natural disaster.
"Brother Shibuki, I'll only go out for three days, no, one day! Is that okay?" Fuu held up three fingers, and seeing that Shibuki was unmoved, she quickly retracted two fingers.
Shibuki smiled gently, and in Fuu's surprised gaze, he shook his head and refused.
Fuu pestered Shibuki for most of the day without getting permission, then came to Ino for help.
According to her, Ino was her number one friend, and friends should help each other. Since she was so upset, how could her friend just stand by and do nothing?
Ino did want to trick her into going out; Karin's strength was still a bit weak.
Orochimaru can teach, and I can teach too. Karin has Water Release and Earth Release, and Ino possesses both of these natures. No question, first tree climbing, then water walking, followed by developing Water Release Chakra, learning Hidden Mist Jutsu and Water Prison Technique. After that, depending on the conditions, see if she can learn Medical Ninjutsu. Ino's training plan for Karin was practically identical to Sakura's.
After three years of study, she would be almost ready to stand on her own, but how should those three years be spent?
Ino set her sights on her good friend Fuu.
Fuu is not as good as Naruto, and the Seven-Tails is not as good as the Nine-Tailed, but she is a Jinchuriki after all, and she is much stronger than ordinary Ninja in all aspects.
When facing the Akatsuki Organization, Fuu was captured by Kakuzu and Hidan and seemed vulnerable, but the Immortal Duo was very strong. If one didn't understand their true abilities, even someone like Killer Bee could be captured.
"I see... I don't have any good ideas either. I'll go talk for you." Ino thought for a moment. She was no longer the novice she was at the beginning of her transmigration. Now she had abundant and sophisticated methods. If it was simply fear of the Tailed Beast going berserk, her Five Elements Seal could be used here.
However, this Sealing Technique and Ino herself were not suitable. Fuu was Takigakure Village's Jinchuriki; it was impossible for her, an outsider, to casually place a seal on the Village's Jinchuriki. It couldn't even be mentioned.
Ino's help in pleading was just a formality. Tricking Fuu was a relatively long-term task, and letting her wander around now was still a bit too early.
Ino failed to convince Shibuki to change his mind. Fuu pouted for most of the day, but soon returned to her normal state.
At the Village entrance, when they were seeing them off, there was no trace of her previous dejection.
"What a lively girl!"
After leaving Takigakure Village, Ino went to find the former bandit leaders Buggy and Dong Feng, who were doing hard labor. If all went as expected, the 'Cross Guild' would soon need these two former bandits, who knew a lot about construction, to take charge.
In her previous life, directly recruiting people like this would have required a lot of maneuvering. But in a world where Ninja possessed extraordinary powers, and Ino herself was a Ninja, it wasn't that troublesome.
Falsifying the deaths of two prisoners in jail was something even low-grade Ninja Academy students could do. Getting them new identities was a bit more troublesome, but with the Yamanaka Clan's power, it could be done easily.
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