"Ino—Ino Yamanaka. I'm from the Yamanaka Clan..." She introduced herself, followed immediately by a direct pitch, "Sasuke, you look so cute."
Sasuke felt shy but responded politely, "Ino, you're very beautiful too. But your shuriken throwing technique is really amazing—you can actually embed them so deep! Ino, can we practice shuriken together?"
If the "original Ino" from the manga heard this, she'd probably jump for joy and be unable to sleep for three days and nights—
Sasuke actually invited her to practice shuriken throwing together... Unfortunately—
The current Ino was not the "original" one, and she had little interest in "shuriken throwing"—was her Azure Flame no longer appealing? Or did she think her wrists and arms were too thin and wanted them to be thicker? Or was she just bored and looking for wrist pain and trouble... Practicing shuriken was out of the question—absolutely impossible.
However, she couldn't say that directly. It would be too cruel to break the heart of such a cute little Sasuke, so she declined tactfully... "I'm sorry, Sasuke... I have a lot of things to do, so I might not have time to practice shuriken with you..."
Sasuke:...I feel like I've heard these words somewhere before. Oh right, it seems his older brother often says this to him with an apologetic face.
Sasuke blinked, a hint of dejection inevitably appearing in his eyes, yet he couldn't help but ask, "But, but... Ino, what are you busy with?"
Nearby, Shikamaru also rolled his eyes—yeah, busy. Ino was very busy, busy every day playing the zither, admiring flowers, and reading books.
This kind of divine lifestyle made even a lazy person like him envious. Whenever he could squeeze out a bit of time from his mom, he would go find Ino. For nothing else but to lie in the flower garden, sit under the shade of a tree, and listen to the tinkling sound of the zither, which made one feel a sense of relaxation... Sometimes he could stay for half a day; it was much more pleasant than being at home.
Ino gave a hum of agreement and spoke off the cuff, "As the daughter of the Yamanaka Clan head, I have many things to learn, especially managing the clan..."
"The Yamanaka Clan will be inherited by me in the future. If I don't have some skills, how can I inherit the family business?"
The words made a lot of sense. If Shikamaru didn't know what Ino did at home every day, he would have believed her.
Sasuke, however, didn't know and looked amazed. "Ah, Ino is so amazing, learning to manage the clan so early..."
In Sasuke's perception, a peer learning to manage a clan was certainly an impressive feat—even his dear brother hadn't started learning clan management yet!
Ino said, "Of course, I am very capable. There are goldfish over there... Eh? It's that goldfish seller again..."
"Mom, let's go look at the goldfish."
Sasuke looked up at his mother.
Mrs. Fugaku smiled gently, looked at Shikamaru and Ino, and then said to Mrs. Nara, "Since the children like it, let's go together..."
Then, the group charged to the goldfish stall. Sasuke and Shikamaru took turns, breaking over twenty paper nets.
"Nana, Kana, do you want to try?" Ino asked her two secretaries. Nana and Kana waved their hands repeatedly—
Although they really wanted to, they felt it would be a bit embarrassing to scoop goldfish with two little kids in front of Mrs. Fugaku and Mrs. Nara.
Kana asked, "Princess Ino, aren't you going to try?"
"No, I'm not interested."
This kind of small game designed specifically for suckers—anyone who plays it gets fooled, every single time. As long as the goldfish are alive, no one can scoop them up based on sheer strength—what kind of paper net can withstand their splashing once it's wet?
And if one used "methods," like some small Ninjutsu, then the game would lose its fun—
What's the point of a one-hundred-percent success rate in scooping goldfish?
After scooping the goldfish, everyone had finished reading their Letters of Repentance. However, the crowd in the square remained, lingering among the stalls, making it very lively. After wandering for a while, the three kids had various toys in their hands like windmills, dough figurines, and nine linked rings—while Shikamaru was still looking down studying the rings, he looked up to see the rings already unraveled by Ino.
Shikamaru... He felt like his "IQ" was fake, just a number: Why could Ino be faster than him?
If Ino knew his question, she would definitely tell him: Because these were things she had played with in her previous life—the nine linked rings, Huarong Path, Luban Lock... and so on. Not limited to these, even Sudoku puzzles were solved in seconds.
Then, Shikamaru watched as Ino put the rings back together, ring by ring.
"Shikamaru, do you know what the fastest way to solve the nine linked rings is?" Ino asked a seemingly simple yet difficult-to-answer question.
Shikamaru began brainstorming. After seeing Ino's handling technique, he already understood how to play the nine linked rings, so all that remained was precise hand speed... "Hand speed, as long as it's fast enough!"
"Stupid!"
The nine linked rings Ino swung clattered loudly.
"The best way to solve the nine linked rings is to open the seams of the iron rings and take them out directly. It's just like solving a Rubik's Cube or Huarong Path—you can't be limited by the rules. Just take it apart, and it naturally comes out."
Shikamaru's mouth hung open, looking unusually cute. "It can actually be done like that... But wouldn't the toy be broken?"
Ino's hand patted Shikamaru's shoulder. "As long as the goal is achieved, the process isn't that important..."
Sasuke had the expression of a little fanboy. "Ino is so amazing, to think of such a great method."
"Mhm, mhm, mhm..."
"Ino, Ino, I want to peek at my brother's diary, but he locked the drawer. Does that mean I can just pry the lock open..."
Mrs. Fugaku:... "Sasuke, how can you have such thoughts? It's wrong to peek at your brother's diary, and you definitely shouldn't pry open his lock."
Ino gave Shikamaru a look, and Shikamaru understood immediately. Although it was indeed a good method, little Sasuke, you shouldn't say it in front of your mom... Sigh, this kid is still too naive and a bit of a dork... Ino thought to herself, "This silly-cute Sasuke is both adorable and interesting, quite different from the cool type in the manga..."
To be honest, she didn't have much interest in Naruto and Sasuke from the original manga; those two protagonists were far less likable than Kiba, Shikamaru, and Ino.
"If the Uchiha Clan avoids the fate of extermination and Sasuke doesn't have to carry such heavy hatred, perhaps he would always remain such a silly-cute little darling? A bit of a dork, but really lovable..."
Beautiful things always make one reluctant to see them fade away.
So.
Autumn is truly a sentimental season, isn't it?
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