Petrification?
Ino first examined Choji's petrified left leg.
As Sakura had previously judged, this was caused by a massive loss of life energy in a short period, and could be remedied by using Medical Ninjutsu to replenish it.
Ino's medical skills were undeniably high, but her methods were often a bit unconventional.
She always struggled to control the ratio of Yin and Yang Release Chakra.
To prevent overtreatment, she simply used a small amount of Yang Release Chakra, then stimulated the fat within Choji's body, allowing him to use the Yang Release Chakra accumulated through his family's Secret Technique to provide life energy to his left leg.
His left leg returned to normal, but the fat he had accumulated for over a month was completely depleted.
Sakura, exercising her feminine charm, was comforting Mangetsu and his son, Ko, when she casually turned her head, and three question marks appeared in her mind.
Who was this handsome guy wearing Choji's clothes? His facial features were so sharp, with a pointed chin, a high nose bridge, and a melancholic look in his eyes; he looked like a god, easily on par with Sasuke!
While Ino was examining the Petrification Gauntlet, she quietly snuck over and whispered, "Where's Choji? Is his leg okay?"
Ino saw through her thoughts instantly; this girl was a looks-obsessed love-brain whose IQ plummeted at the sight of a handsome guy.
She sighed, "Can't save him, his leg is ruined."
Sakura hadn't really heard what she said specifically, just mumbled "Oh," and then asked again, "Who's that handsome guy over there? He looks so charismatic!"
Ino was speechless. Was this a case of "Choji, you only lost a leg, but Sakura lost love"?
"That is Choji," she said decisively, aiming to shatter Sakura's romantic fantasy.
Sakura's mouth fell open, as if she had been touched by the Petrification Gauntlet, and she froze there, speechless for a long time.
Ino couldn't be bothered with her, swiftly swung her blade, and severed the horse-faced Ninja's right arm.
The black hand emitted bursts of purple light, and the yellow vertical pupil on its back looked left and right, seemingly realizing it had been separated from its original user. Countless fine needles appeared inside the gauntlet, and the horse-faced Ninja's severed hand was converted into nutrients, absorbed completely in less than three seconds. Only a severed bone hand remained inside the empty gauntlet.
"Amazing! What is this thing?" Shikamaru also walked over, squatted down, and examined it closely.
Ino poked at the gauntlet with her blade tip, examining it carefully. There was undoubtedly Chakra inside the gauntlet, and it was powered by Chakra.
Connecting this to her previous battle with Kashin Koji, a term appeared in her mind: Scientific Ninja Tool.
The flesh touched by the gauntlet would petrify, but this was not Petrification in the traditional sense; rather, it was a loss of energy caused by the absorption of life energy.
Ino experimented on the deceased horse-faced Ninja. She used her blade tip to pick up the gauntlet and placed the Petrification Gauntlet on the horse-faced Ninja's chest.
Nothing happened. The pale yellow vertical pupil on the back of the gauntlet showed signs of closing.
"Can't it absorb? Or does it require a controller?" She wouldn't rashly put on the gauntlet, so she carefully examined the eye on its back.
Ino thought of the frogs at Mount Myōboku that had turned into stone statues after failing to master Sage Mode. Was there a connection here?
The Sage Mode of the Three Great Sage Regions were all different. Ino didn't know about Ryūchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode could only be used by the Slug Sage. That was a Sage Art belonging to mollusks. From beginning to end, the Slug Sage had no clansmen, only her clones, so there was naturally no need to research a Sage Mode that outsiders or humans could master.
Mount Myōboku had many disciples and grand-disciples, and their Sage Mode had been practiced by many humans throughout history, possessing a relatively mature set of training methods.
The yellow vertical pupil on the back of the Petrification Gauntlet looked very much like a certain frog or toad species.
Ino speculated that it was likely a frog or toad that had practiced Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode, then lost control of its Sage Art Chakra, went berserk, and turned into a stone statue. Its eye was then gouged out and, through technological means, crafted into this Petrification Gauntlet.
The Kara recruited these three as Outer members to collect children in the Land of the Moon, and in return, they were rewarded with the Petrification Gauntlet.
Considering she had just fought Kashin Koji, who was exceptionally skilled at using Sage Mode, Ino estimated that this speculation was about seventy percent accurate.
She sealed the gauntlet, intending to take it back to the Village for research.
"Can I go to your Village's school? Can I learn Ninjutsu?" Ko, in his new glasses and clothes, seemed to have reverted to that reclusive, sharp-tongued boy, speaking with unusual bluntness.
Sakura was still immersed in the pain of "losing love," and with a pout, she said, "You'll have to ask our Jonin about that."
Choji was still gorging himself to replenish his fat, and at this point, he also pointed in Ino's direction, meaning, you have to ask her, we can't make the decision.
Shikamaru glanced at Ino, thinking, 'You lured him into buying'school district housing,' and now you're getting your comeuppance, aren't you?'
Ino sat on a nearby chair, eating. Facing Ko's question, she said, "Ninja are different from ordinary people. Ninja require arduous training. Once you learn the Ninjutsu of a Ninja Village, you are automatically considered a member of that Ninja Village. When the Kage issues orders, you must carry out various missions like murder and arson. Have you thought about this problem? If you refuse a mission, you become a Rogue Ninja, an enemy to all Ninja."
She described the bloody reality of the Ninja profession very directly.
Ko was stunned.
"Do I have to kill people?"
"If a mission is issued, you must go."
"Even if I encounter a mission I don't want to do, must I still carry it out?"
Ino smiled brightly: "You've always annoyed me, but to carry out my mission, didn't I still go and save you? To save you, I dismantled half of your royal capital. That's what a mission-priority Ninja is like. The mission is important; my personal joys and sorrows are not."
One sentence from Ko made her frown: "If I encounter a mission I don't want to carry out, can't I hire other Ninja to do it? Can't I hire you to do it?"
Prince Mangetsu, who had remained silent, immediately interjected when he heard them discussing his area of expertise: "I have money, any amount! Please help Ko!"
Ino really wanted to refuse, but when she saw the Fat Prince immediately write out a "one billion ryo" check without a word, her voice suddenly felt very dry.
She'd give Tsunade thirty million, Jiraiya twenty million, and this matter didn't seem impossible to handle. At most, she'd treat Iruka to a bowl of ramen and enroll a transfer student in his class; it shouldn't be a big problem.
Ino tried not to look at the check. She asked in confusion, "You're a Prince in the Land of the Moon, why would you want to become a Ninja and endure such hardship?"
Ko's tender voice brought tears to the Fat Prince's eyes: "I want to protect Father, and protect everyone."
Ino sighed, "I don't know if you have the talent of a Ninja. I'll spend these two days guiding you. If you have talent, and your father allows it, I'll take you back to Konoha Village."
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