Red Soup Inn?
Shishou glanced at the beautiful woman in front of him and realized he didn't recognize her.
Another village's ninja?
Thinking this, he casually pointed in a direction and said, "Straight ahead, then turn right."
With that, Shishou walked away.
Because of the upcoming Chunin Selection Exam, many outsiders were in Konoha, so Shishou didn't think much of it.
"Thank you," the white-haired beauty replied politely, watching him leave.
Once Shishou disappeared, the woman furrowed her brows and turned away.
"Same name, but too young. It can't be him."
"The person I seek was surrounded by many women, clearly not someone who just graduated from the Ninja Academy."
"And if the renowned sage of the ninja world was indeed taken down by a kid, it would be too shocking."
"If that were the case, he'd be terrifying... finding trouble with his associates now would be suicidal."
"Unfortunately, he's too cautious. He severed our contract link, making it impossible for me to pinpoint him using secret techniques."
"With my current strength, even if I found him, I couldn't confront him. Better find Orochimaru first."
"Once my strength improves, I'll investigate this kid further."
As she walked towards the Red Soup Inn, the woman named Raiko kept thinking to herself.
Meanwhile,
Unaware that he had been targeted, Shishou returned home and immediately went to the basement. He took out the stone Ino had given him, ready to carve it.
Holding the stone in one hand, Shishou released a Rasengan with the other.
He planned to use the Rasengan to remove the rough parts of the stone.
After the rough work, he used the Inorganic Reincarnation Jutsu to shape the stone into a small gourd bottle.
Then, Shishou used sandpaper to polish it.
Before long, a thumb-sized, red, semi-transparent gourd bottle was in his hand.
Shishou then strengthened the gourd with sealing techniques and engraved Ino's name inside it.
With the gourd ready, he set out for Ino's house.
At the Yamanaka residence,
"Ino is training right now. Please have a seat; I'll go get her," Ino's mother, Yamanaka Naho, said, welcoming Shishou inside.
Retracting his gaze from Naho's graceful figure, Shishou sat in the living room, patiently waiting.
Soon, the sound of hurried footsteps reached his ears.
The next moment, Ino, wearing her training outfit, appeared in the hallway and rushed to Shishou, smiling brightly.
"Shishou, what brings you here?"
"Come to my room."
Saying this, Ino grabbed Shishou and pulled him towards her room.
"Ino, this might not be appropriate," Shishou said, bewildered.
In the ninja world, entering a girl's room wasn't taken lightly.
He just came to deliver something but ended up being dragged into Ino's room. What if her mother found out?
Should he explain it as a misunderstanding to Naho?
Or to Ino as a mistake?
Ino glared at Shishou, "I said come!"
With that, Ino pulled Shishou into her room.
Outside, Naho saw the two entering the room and frowned, quietly moving to the door to prevent them from doing anything inappropriate.
Inside Ino's room,
Inhaling the faint fragrance, Shishou casually glanced around the room.
Then, he handed Ino the small gourd.
"Here, this is for you."
"Wow, such a beautiful gourd," Ino said, delighted, examining it closely.
Noticing medical ninjutsu scrolls on Ino's desk, Shishou commented,
"I made this from the stone you gave me. There's your name inside the bottle."
"By the way, are you studying medical ninjutsu too?" he asked, pointing to the scrolls.
Shishou didn't expect Ino to be working so hard behind the scenes.
Was she planning to secretly outshine Hinata and the others?
Hearing that Shishou had turned the stone she gave him into such a lovely gourd, Ino felt both sweet and touched.
But when Shishou mentioned the scrolls, she felt slightly embarrassed, as if her secret had been discovered.
She explained,
"Seeing how hard Hinata is working, I feel pressured too."
"And Shikamaru said this Chunin Exam is crucial, so I want to improve my skills. I don't want to die in the exam."
Despite her carefree appearance, Ino was quite pressured by the display of Sasuke and Naruto's techniques during the picnic.
So, she had thrown herself into training immediately after returning home.
Hearing Ino's concerns, Shishou frowned.
Though he had given Ino a scroll containing a sealed shadow clone of himself, in an emergency, Ino might not be able to use it properly.
One scroll alone wasn't enough to ensure Ino's safety completely.
Thinking for a moment, Shishou smiled and said,
"Ino, I'll find you during the Chunin Exam."
Ino, feeling a bit dejected, responded,
"For some reason, hearing you say that makes me feel useless."
Shishou chuckled at her words.
He flicked her forehead lightly and said,
"Don't overthink. If you die, I'll be short one future wife."
He needed to remind Ino and Tenten occasionally that he intended to have more than one woman in the future, ensuring they wouldn't resist the idea later.
Hearing Shishou's shameless remark, Ino glared at him playfully,
"You shameless flirt, I won't be your wife!"
"Then I'll leave?" Shishou shrugged, pretending to go.
"Stop right there!" Ino demanded.
Then, she jumped into his arms, pulled down his mask, and kissed him.
"From now on, you belong to me," she declared, stepping back proudly.
Blushing, she waved him off,
"Now you can go!"
If Shishou didn't leave now, Ino would die of embarrassment.
Touching the spot where Ino had kissed, Shishou adjusted his mask and opened the door.
As he opened the door, he saw Naho hurriedly walking away.
"Was she eavesdropping?" he muttered, leaving Ino's room.
**********
This fanfiction is complete on my P@treon. If you want to read it, you can find it at p@treon.com/Betek. change @ to a