Chapter 109: They’re All Actors

Ino’s sharp glare was like a kunai.

It stabbed straight into Karin’s heart.

Critical Hit!

This was the pain she could never forget.

Karin instinctively glanced at Ino’s chest.

Then she gritted her teeth so hard that her face flushed.

Not a single word came out.

Jealousy instantly surged through her.

Suddenly—

She heard laughter beside her.

Karin raised her fist, grinding her teeth.

"Suigetsu~!"

Dangerous light flickered in her eyes.

Suigetsu’s heart skipped a beat.

His right eyebrow began twitching uncontrollably.

Left eye predicts good fortune, right eye predicts disaster!

Danger!

Sweat appeared on Suigetsu’s forehead.

He mechanically turned his head toward Karin.

Seeing her face dark with anger, Suigetsu suddenly had an idea.

He awkwardly raised both hands and whispered,

"Karin... remember, you’re a lady."

As he spoke, he subtly glanced toward Naruto from an angle that no one else could see.

Karin froze.

"Naruto saw that!"

It was as if someone had flipped a switch inside her head.

A light bulb suddenly appeared above her.

Her expression rapidly changed.

"Ahem."

She lightly cleared her throat and pushed her glasses up.

Then she casually glanced at Ino.

In an instant, she transformed into an elegant and refined young lady.

Suigetsu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Ino saw Karin acting as if she couldn’t be bothered to argue with her.

It felt like throwing a punch at cotton—there was nowhere for the force to go.

Yet she felt incredibly frustrated.

At that moment, Kimimaro spoke.

"Alright, let’s go. We should find an inn and rest. Don’t waste time here."

He turned around, preparing to leave.

Ino looked puzzled.

"Wait, aren’t accommodations specifically arranged for participants of the Chunin Exams?"

Karin adjusted her glasses.

"They’re too noisy. It’ll interfere with my reading."

Ino was instantly speechless.

Reading?

Are you serious?

Just because you wear glasses, you think you can pretend to be some intellectual?

Ironing board!

She secretly complained to herself, but said aloud,

"Most inns are already full. I know an inn nearby that still has vacant rooms. I’ll take you there."

She memorized their positions.

Next time, I’ll bring Sakura and have a proper verbal battle with this ironing board!

Meanwhile, Naruto looked completely bewildered.

He turned toward Ino.

His expression seemed to ask,

Why are you being so helpful?

Ino understood what he meant.

She tightened her grip on his hand and replied,

"They’re all here in Konoha for the exams. They don’t know the village well, so we should help them out."

Recently, most of the Genin from the other villages participating in the Chunin Exams had already arrived in Konoha.

Ino had been asked for directions and helped people find their way more than once.

First, as a Konoha shinobi, she naturally wanted to show the visitors the hospitality of Konoha.

Of course, if someone had a bad attitude, she wouldn’t mind teaching them a lesson either.

Second, it was also an opportunity to gather information about their opponents.

Everyone participating in the Chunin Exams was a potential competitor.

And when shinobi fought each other, intelligence was extremely important.

Naruto understood what Ino meant and smiled without saying anything.

Karin, meanwhile, noticed Ino’s little movement.

She slowly took a deep breath.

Don’t get angry.

Don’t get angry.

She repeated it several times in her mind like a mantra.

Eventually, her expression returned to normal.

Kimimaro nodded.

"Then we’ll trouble you."

Ino smiled.

"No trouble at all. It’s just nearby. Let’s go."

On the way.

Suigetsu walked with both hands behind his head.

"You’re Genin participating in the exams too, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"Yeah. Are you really Genin?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Jūgo.

Jūgo was huge.

At nearly 1.8 meters tall, his muscular build made him look even more like a jōnin than Kimimaro.

If I remember correctly, he’ll grow to around two meters in a few years.

Suigetsu patted Jūgo’s thick arm.

"He’s just a big idiot."

Then he looked at Naruto.

"What about you two? You haven’t introduced yourselves yet."

Suigetsu knew Naruto was deliberately trying to gather information, so he was equally careful with what he revealed.

Naruto exchanged a glance with Ino.

Then he said,

"Shouldn’t you introduce yourself before asking other people?"

Suigetsu smiled.

"Are all Konoha Genin this cautious?"

"Fine. I’m Suigetsu, a Genin from the Sound Village."

He deliberately omitted his surname.

In the shinobi world, a surname could reveal a great deal of information.

Anyone who had studied the major shinobi clans would immediately know what abilities someone might possess simply from their family name.

For example, someone familiar with the Hōzuki clan would naturally associate them with the Hydrification Technique and their ability to negate physical attacks.

That information could allow an opponent to prepare an effective countermeasure.

After Suigetsu finished introducing himself, Naruto nodded and looked toward Jūgo and Karin.

Jūgo spoke calmly.

"Jūgo."

Karin pushed her glasses up with two fingers.

"Karin."

The three of them then looked at Naruto and Ino.

Naruto smiled.

"You’re pretty cautious yourselves, aren’t you?"

"My name is Naruto. I’m a Konoha Genin."

Ino followed.

"I’m Ino. Konoha Genin."

Neither of them revealed their surnames.

Of course, it was also possible that they simply didn’t have one.

However, Karin, walking slightly behind them, glanced at the clan crest on Ino’s clothes.

"Yamanaka clan? The clan skilled in mental techniques?"

Ino gave Karin a deep look.

She was wearing her clan crest openly, so she naturally wouldn’t forget about it.

Yet she still hadn’t given her surname.

One reason was that she didn’t want to reveal information voluntarily.

The other was to see how familiar the Sound shinobi were with Konoha’s secret technique clans.

Even newly graduated Konoha Genin might not recognize all the clan crests in the village.

Recently, among all the shinobi who had arrived for the exams, only the Sand shinobi had managed to identify her clan from her crest.

She hadn’t expected the Sound Village to recognize it at a glance as well.

The Sound Village came prepared.

The upcoming exams might be a serious challenge.

At that moment, Suigetsu looked at Naruto.

"Uzumaki... Naruto?"

He froze.

It was as if he suddenly remembered something.

His expression changed dramatically.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

The moment those words left his mouth, the entire Sound team froze.

They stared at Naruto in shock.

"Hmph, hmph~!"

Seeing their stunned expressions, Ino couldn’t help but laugh proudly.

She hugged Naruto around the waist, clearly delighted.

Even after nine years, Naruto’s reputation was still incredibly formidable.

After recovering from his shock, Kimimaro’s expression turned cold.

"Our Land of Sound certainly has Konoha and Kumogakure to thank."

Suigetsu’s eyes also flashed with hostility.

"Yeah. We really should thank you for forcing the daimyo of the Land of Sound to establish our Sound Village."

Ino’s expression froze.

Her mind immediately pulled up the map of the shinobi world.

Kumogakure was northeast of Konoha, but the two countries didn’t share a border.

Several countries lay between them.

The country directly northeast of Konoha was the Land of Hot Water.

And directly north was the Land of Sound.

The Land of Hot Water already had its own ninja village.

If Kumogakure wanted to use the Land of Hot Water as a route to attack Konoha, negotiations would certainly be difficult.

And judging from the way these Sound shinobi spoke, it sounded as though the establishment of the Sound Village had been directly connected to a war between the two great villages.

Could Konoha and Kumogakure have fought in the Land of Sound back then?

Ino instinctively looked toward Naruto.

Naruto nodded slightly.

Back then, Kumogakure’s main forces had established their base in the Land of Sound.

The first few major battles had taken place along the country’s border.

In other words, the war had actually begun on the territory of the Land of Sound.

Many small civilian villages along the border had been harassed or even destroyed.

It was only later, after Kumogakure broke through the border defenses of the Land of Fire and Konoha retreated, that the Kumogakure forces entered the Land of Fire.

Back then, even the Nine-Tails’ Tailed Beast Bomb had landed just outside the border of the Land of Sound.

"Ahem."

After receiving confirmation, Ino awkwardly cleared her throat twice.

Then she quickly pointed toward the inn ahead.

"We’re here. That’s the inn."

"We won’t walk you inside. Goodbye!"

With that, Ino grabbed Naruto’s hand and hurried away.

to read 50plus advance Chapters join my patreon Ph4nt0mTL: