Ino didn't linger in front of Kabuto, and he didn't pay much attention to her either. Their relationship was simply that Kampo, the hospital director, had asked Kabuto to show Ino around the hospital. The Konoha Hospital didn't have separate departments for internal medicine and surgery, and there were very few medical ninjas despite the heavy workload. So, who else would they turn to but a seemingly low-potential Genin like her? After a quick tour, Kabuto soon took his leave.
Ino was left behind to assist a few medical ninjas.
The Third Hokage had done a decent job in the medical field. The village provided annual subsidies to the hospital, ensuring that even ordinary civilians could receive treatment at an affordable cost.
If this were a Western fantasy setting, how many priests with divine magic would be willing to cast healing spells on commoners? While the situation outside the village was beyond their control, the happiness index of the villagers in Konoha was actually quite high.
Many civilians were also willing to settle in Konoha.
In the following days, Ino continued to assist a Chunin named Goton, who was considered a backbone of the hospital. Goton was highly skilled and experienced, though his personality was a bit blunt. In the original timeline, it was this very Goton who had declared during the Chunin Exams that Rock Lee would never be able to be a ninja again.
Ino's time was limited, so she studied diligently, squeezing in every opportunity to learn. She started with Chakra control and stimulating cell growth, bit by bit.
Medical Ninja Techniques were different from the Five Nature Transformation Techniques or Clan Secret Techniques. They required a vast amount of knowledge. As a result, Ino had to cancel the Shadow Clones she used to practice Water Release and Earth Release at home and bring them all to the hospital. One clone would read books, another would practice Chakra control, while her main body followed the medical ninjas, observing and learning Medical Ninja Techniques step by step.
She didn't set high expectations for herself. Before becoming Tsunade's disciple, she just needed to grasp the basics of Medical Ninja Techniques. Going to Tsunade with no knowledge at all would be embarrassing.
Which professor would want to teach a primary school student, starting from addition and subtraction? Tsunade might have a broad mind and be willing to teach from scratch, but Ino felt that wasn't appropriate. She decided to learn as much as she could on her own first.
Medical Ninja Techniques were difficult to learn and master. In the original timeline, Tsunade took Sakura as her disciple not only because of Sakura's bond with Naruto and Sasuke but also because Sakura was genuinely suited for this path.
Ino's talent in this area wasn't as strong as Sakura's.
Under Tsunade's guidance, Sakura had taken a full three months to complete the first step of mastering Medical Ninja Techniques—reviving a dying fish. Without a master, Ino's progress was even slower.
In her hands, fish died one after another, with no signs of revival.
What to do with the dead fish? The Konoha Hospital wasn't a profit-driven institution and couldn't afford to provide a large number of fish for practice every day. Kampo, the hospital director, made it clear that the hospital's budget was limited, and Ino would have to pay for the fish herself.
She bought the dead fish and sold them to Choji. She couldn't make a profit, but at least she didn't lose money.
At the famous "Yakiniku Q" barbecue restaurant in Konoha, the Tenth Team had turned it into the base of the sixteenth generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho Formation.
Sitting in his seat, Asuma occasionally glanced at his wallet. Ever since leading Team 10, he had noticed that his wallet was thinning at a visibly alarming rate. As the Jonin leader of Team 10, and with his girlfriend Yuhi Kurenai leading Team 8, it was only natural for the two teams to dine together frequently.
His subordinate Choji had a hearty appetite, but Kurenai's subordinate Hinata could eat even more. Asuma, who always insisted on paying the bill, found himself in an awkward position.
Heaven help him—if this kept up, he might not have enough money to get married! Using his girlfriend's money? Asking his father, the Village Chief, for funds? He couldn't bear the shame! If only he could take on A-rank or S-rank missions, he wouldn't be short on cash. But instead, he was stuck leading Team 10 on D-rank missions like weeding and feeding pigs, followed by barbecue feasts. He was truly running out of money.
After much deliberation, he heard that Team 7 had taken on another C-rank mission. So, during a visit home, he asked his father, the Village Chief, if he could assign a C-rank mission to Team 10 as well. The pay wasn't much, but at least it would help him recover some funds, allowing him to accompany his girlfriend on outings and buy a couple of bouquets from the Yamanaka flower shop.
He wasn't just relying on connections, though. When he approached his father about the C-rank mission, he did so with confidence: "Ino and Shikamaru's excellence is undeniable, and Choji's skills have grown rapidly under their influence. D-rank missions simply don't offer any room for improvement. If Team 7 can take on C-rank missions independently, so can Team 10."
The Third Hokage thought it over. He was well aware of his son's abilities—while he couldn't compare to his own three disciples, he was still far stronger than the average Jonin.
"Alright, come to my office tomorrow. I'll see if there's a suitable mission for Team 10."
The next day, Team 10 finished their trash-collecting mission early. Ino recalled all her Shadow Clones, and the four of them headed to the Hokage Building together.
The Third Hokage sifted through the available missions and handed Asuma a scroll: "This is a request from the Land of Rivers. Recently, a gold mine was discovered at the Oxalis Mine. The Land of Rivers is a friendly neighbor to our Land of Fire. However, we've received reports that a group of ronin calling themselves the Black Hoe Clan has taken over the mine, enslaving the local villagers to extract the gold.
Your mission is to investigate the situation, eliminate the ronin, rescue the villagers, and return control of the mine to the Land of Rivers."
Compared to problem children like Naruto and Sasuke, Ino and her team were far more reliable. The Ino-Shika-Cho Formation was a dependable and disciplined group of ninjas. After briefly explaining the mission for about fifteen minutes, the Third Hokage waved his hand, signaling that they could proceed.
As they left the Hokage Building, Choji asked his teammates, "Where is the Land of Rivers? Why are we being assigned a mission from another country?"
Shikamaru, who usually avoided unnecessary talk, didn't hesitate to explain to his friend: "The Land of Rivers lies to the west of the Land of Fire, sandwiched between us and the Land of Wind. It serves as a buffer zone between the two major powers. Since we're currently allied with Sunagakure of the Land of Wind, this mission could have been assigned to them—or, naturally, to us."
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Choji's chubby face showed a look of half-understanding, but he quickly brushed aside his doubts, opened a bag of potato chips, and happily started munching away.
Ino had heard that Team 7 had taken on a mission to escort an elderly person to the Land of Waves.
At the moment, she was feeling quite relaxed. Holding the mission scroll and map, she studied them for a while before asking Asuma, "Asuma-sensei, it seems like the location of this mission, Oxalis Mountain, is quite close to where we teamed up with Team 7 to wipe out those bandits last time, isn't it?"