Beside her, Shikamaru took a small bite and was also overwhelmed by the spiciness, but he forced himself to keep eating. Asuma, on the other hand, ate half a plate as if nothing was wrong.
Ino wasn't incapable of handling spicy food, but after transmigrating, she had been eating the mild meals of the Yamanaka Clan for half a year. The sudden shift to such a heavy flavor was a bit too much for her.
However, after mentally preparing herself, she found the spiciness more bearable when she tried again.
After eating about a third of the curry, she was surprised to discover that it was incredibly invigorating. After two days of trekking through the forest, her somewhat fatigued body felt significantly restored, and her total Chakra reserve seemed to have increased slightly.
Could this curry actually increase Chakra capacity? Ino's Chakra was already very close to reaching the 7-point mark in "Spirit." However, limited by her innate physical potential and the significant resistance she had developed from consuming large amounts of Elixirs, her body always fell just short, and her Chakra had yet to break through that barrier.
She glanced at the bright red curry, took a deep breath, and decided to go for it. Worried that her stomach might not have enough capacity, she asked Granny Sansho to prepare a plate of curry with double the spiciness.
Even after finishing the double-spicy curry, she felt she was still a bit short. Gritting her teeth, she shouted at Granny Sansho, "Granny, give me a quadruple-spicy curry!"
Shikamaru was utterly shocked. Good grief, are you really going to compete over curry? Women are truly terrifying!
As soon as the quadruple-spicy curry entered her mouth, Ino felt as if her entire body had ignited. Steam billowed from the top of her head, her fair skin turned bright red, and an intense heat surged from her stomach to every corner of her body.
Choji, with curry smeared all over his mouth, stopped eating and cautiously stared at Ino, unsure of what she was doing.
Ino didn't have time to pay attention to them.
Closing her eyes and clenching her fists, she felt the lingering medicinal energy in her cells finally dissipate completely. The dampness accumulated in her body from long-term Water Release training was swept away, and her physical energy instantly surged to its peak. With a soft shout, Ino combined her spiritual energy and physical energy to create Chakra. She glanced at her status panel—her "Spirit" had finally reached 7!
Her physical condition was unusually good at this moment. Without hesitation, she invested the two Pot Points she had saved into the "Spirit" attribute, causing the number to rise again, from 7 to 8.
A faint blue Chakra glow emanated from her body. It wasn't particularly noticeable, but it was definitely there. The sudden surge in Ino's Chakra caused the cigarette in Asuma's mouth to fall. What was he seeing? After eating two plates of curry, his subordinate had suddenly erupted with such immense Chakra? He knew very well that the total amount of Chakra Ino was now emitting had surpassed his own. At the very least, he couldn't achieve this level of Chakra externalization.
What kind of joke was this?! He wasn't some resource-starved civilian ninja—his father was the Village Chief! Since childhood, he had access to the most abundant resources, the best teachers, and the most scientific methods of improvement. Yet now, Ino didn't have time to consider Asuma's feelings. She felt the density of Chakra energy within her body, like a stream of scorching magma.
Her current Chakra was probably comparable to Tsunade's, right? Tsunade was only at a mid-tier level among Kage-level ninjas, and even she possessed such vast Chakra. How terrifying would those with "Spirit" at 9 or 10 be?
"I'm going out to practice ninja techniques!" With that, Ino hurriedly ran out of the house and found a low-lying area. She aimed at the ground and unleashed a "Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave"! The output of the "Exploding Water Colliding Wave" was a bit small, so she added three more hand seals to the original technique and increased her chakra output, upgrading the B-rank ninja technique "Exploding Water Colliding Wave" to the A-rank "Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave"! The benefits of having a large amount of chakra were immediately evident. Previously, when fighting bandits, her "Exploding Water Colliding Wave" could only cover an area the size of a basketball court, with a height of about five or six meters. Now, the "Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave" seemed endless. By her estimation, the technique now covered at least the area of a football field, with the water forming waves over ten meters high. This was still due to her recent breakthrough and her lack of precise control over her chakra.
With the increase in total chakra, the amount of water produced also increased, and the impact force became much stronger. If the previous impact force was 1, it was now 5.
Ino was very satisfied. In battle, she could first use the "Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave" to create water, then use offensive techniques like "Water Dragon Bullet" and "Wild Water Wave," and for defense, she had the "Water Formation Wall." If she couldn't win, she could use the "Hidden Mist Technique," and if she encountered the Sharingan, she could use Shadow Clones. Combined with her clan's secret techniques, which could be used unexpectedly to catch enemies off guard, she was well-equipped for both offense and defense. At this stage, her ability to protect herself was already very strong. During the Konoha Crush, as long as she didn't recklessly confront characters like Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto, she would have no problem surviving.
The water she had released had completely altered the terrain of the area, and it couldn't be taken back. Ino was about to return to the Curry of Life Shop when she suddenly heard a dull "plop" behind her.
Who had fallen into the water? The amount of water was substantial now, as if a river had appeared out of nowhere. If a couple of passing villagers drowned, it would be a huge mistake on her part. She quickly turned to look.
She couldn't see the person clearly, but the individual didn't exhibit the usual struggles or cries for help that someone would after falling into the water. It seemed like they had sunk straight to the bottom.
Ino dove in to rescue them.
At this moment, she got a clear look at the person who had fallen in.
Her eyebrows twitched involuntarily.
Green spandex, a bowl cut, and thick eyebrows—this was none other than Rock Lee from the Hidden Leaf Village! What was he doing here?
He was a year ahead of her in school. The original Ino only liked handsome guys and had no impression of this guy, only knowing that he existed in the Ninja Academy. They had never even spoken.
Ino swam over to him.
It seemed like he had overexerted himself and hadn't noticed the ground beneath him, causing him to fall headfirst into the river she had just created.
Ino manipulated the water to forcefully push him from the riverbed to the shore.
Rock Lee lay on the ground, extremely weak. He tried to stand up twice but failed.
In a daze, he muttered, "Don't stop me, Might Guy-sensei, I can still run! Ten laps around the Land of Fire... I can still do it. If I can't, I'll jump rope three thousand times."
Ino leaned in to listen and couldn't help but sigh. Wow, you're pushing yourself too hard, buddy! You've run all the way to another country! Does your teacher know? As a fellow ninja from the same village, she couldn't just leave him to die. Ino tried to pull Rock Lee up.
I can't pull him! If there were water, it wouldn't be a problem, but on land, this guy is as heavy as a rock. Ino's pitiful strength of 2 points simply can't move him.
"Are you carrying weights? You're really pushing yourself, aren't you? It's not that I don't want to help, I really can't lift you. Asuma-sensei, Shikamaru, Choji! Come and help!" Ino quickly activated her summoning technique to call for backup!