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*I don't own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden, it all belongs to Kishimoto. Please R&R, I appreciate any feedback. Now on with the story!
*When there is typing like this it means it is a thought.
*When there is typing like this it means it is a conversation through a telepathic link.
KC = Kakashi Clone
IC = Ino Clone
BI = Blood Clone Ino
I had wanted to get this chapter out way sooner, but I was hospitalized and put on a ventilator and intubated because I had gotten sick and had a seizure that stopped by heart and put me in cardiac arrest. It was a long few days but I'm home recuperating and having to quarantine for the next 7 weeks because my lungs and heart are weak and susceptible to illnesses. That's kind of why this chapter took longer than the rest but I made it longer than my other chapters, so I hope that makes up for it. Anyway, happy readings and be safe and courteous of others during these trying times in the world. Also wash your hands and practice distancing. Trust me it helps. Now that I've rambled on back to the story!
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Phase 1 and 2
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Still at the BBQ entrance:
Asuma had left in a fury towards the Hokage Tower and left his two boys behind, still trying to make sense of everything that had happened that day. This was not how Shikamaru imagined Ino's homecoming to be, he thought it'd be happier and that maybe, just maybe she'd come back older but still the same girl he grew up with. But she was distant towards him and Asuma, that was evident in the way she spoke to them, composed herself around them and looked at them with blank eyes. She was only kind to Choji, and he was grateful for that, but he didn't understand why he didn't receive the same treatment. She didn't flinch when Choji touched her and would smile at him and speak to him albeit still very formally but didn't deny him answers even if they were one-worded. She'd just nod at him and Asuma and he didn't understand why, and he didn't like how she was too close to Kakashi. They barely even knew the man, yet she acted like she'd known him her whole life, it made no sense to him. She had only been gone 2 years and she had changed that much and was closer to a man they had only known a year prior and they barely knew him at that time.
Choji had noticed how everyone was on edge and reacted negatively to Ino's changes but he didn't see it as such a bad thing, they had sworn to each other to get stronger so they could stand on equal grounds with Shikamaru. She had done what she needed to do, and he didn't understand why they found her changes to be so unexpected. They all changed after the retrieval mission, Asuma became more involved in Shikamaru's training and life and his father became more involved in his training. It was natural for everyone to want to get stronger after such a mission and although Ino didn't go on it, it was clear that it affected her a great deal. He didn't understand at first until he asked his father about the topic. His father sighed and looked at his son somewhat disappointed and asked him to put himself in her shoes, had he been excluded, and his team members came back the way they did. How gut-wrenching and helpless would he feel? That had made him see things from her perspective and although he tried to explain it to his best friend many times, he never seemed to understand it. He would justify his actions as saying they had to protect her, that was their job and he was the leader at the time and how he carried everyone's injuries as his burden. After many times of trying to explain that he held no qualms with him about that mission he knew it never really sank in. It was evident the way he dove himself into more missions, more work, trying to get better and make every mission perfect. It was going to be a long next few weeks before the exams.
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Ino and Kakashi:
"Sensei I don't remember my father saying I'd be training with you today?" Ino asked once they were up on the rooftops far away from any prying ears. Although they were in fact heading to her home. "Set up a link." Was all he said as they kept moving. Once connected he began, "You've been watched since we reported to Tsunade-sama. It seems I should have told you to hold back some more during your sparing matches today. I stayed in ANBU uniform for the most part throughout the day but had to 'leave' when I had to stop you and Asuma. You need to control that fight or flight mentality anytime someone gets hurt. ANBU members don't react that way if it means the mission will be compromised. We leave one another behind so long as the mission gets completed. You need to remember that."Ino stayed quiet as she took in all the information. By the time they reached her home the night sky was spread out and she could see an array of stars she hadn't been able to in her previous years. She still had a long way to go and today proved it. Kakashi quietly escorted her home and made sure she was in her home when he departed. Ino contemplated continuing her training with Shisui but reconsidered it when she noticed her father still hadn't returned. She hadn't expected to pass so much time at the BBQ restaurant and when she got home and finished showering it had already been 10.
She really didn't want to go pick up her father knowing she had eyes on her but was also not going to leave him out all night at a bar. She passed her room and began changing out of her PJs when she heard a low knock at the door. She quickly ascended the stairs and looked through the peephole of the door. Relief washed over her as she was her father and uncle arm in arms holding one another up. Opening the door to let them in she immediately helped her uncle carry her father up into his room. Laying him down gently she took off his sandals and jacket before tucking him in and leaving him to help her uncle down the stairs. When she stepped out of her father's room and closed the door behind her, she was surprised to find him standing upright with his usually serious face. "This was the only way I could come speak with you without making it seem out of character." Was all he said before going down the stairs and entering the living room. As she followed, she asked if he'd like some tea to which he kindly declined. He didn't plan on staying too long. "Ino Asuma and Kakashi both reported your little matches earlier to Hokage-sama in my presence. Asuma was more there to ask what kind of hellish training you had been put through whereas Kakashi praised you, he seemed pleased with how you handled yourself. Though he did mention his worries about your reaction when you had seen your teammates were injured and although they are understandable for what you've been through, I've come up with an answer to remedy that." Ino had been hanging on every word and wondered what he had come up with to fix this problem of hers.
"I've managed to convince her to allow you to start your ANBU training now. There are too many eyes on you as it is and as we figured Danzo watched your spars. He's interested by your growing abilities and he doesn't even know about your gift yet." He stated. Although she was ecstatic to continue her training, she also knew ANBU training took longer than a few weeks. It was between 3-6 months and although she'd done the torture part of it she knew she still had a long way to go. She had the Exams coming up, how would she be able to do everything at once it was impossible, unless… "You don't plan on letting me take the Exams anyone uncle?" Shikaku sighed, he knew she was bright, since the moment she was born but sometimes he wished she wasn't so insightful. "I thought you had to be a chunin before one could be recruited into ANBU. I'm still clearly a genin." She continued, still not understanding her uncle's reason. If she couldn't take the exam's and keep progressing in titles and ranks, she would never be able to become Clan leader. The elders had already voiced their concerns because she was a female and although they were laxer about it since she had graduated top of her class they began persisting after the first exams and only Shikamaru had passed. Her father tried to keep that from her, but she knew the truth and knew they wouldn't accept her without the proper ranks.
"My son did not win his match during the Exam's but showed a great deal of growth and knowledge, his involvement during Orochimaru and Suna's attack played a great deal. Had Kakashi not forced him on that mission, I'm sure he would have stayed a genin just like everyone else. Traditionally we use the exams to allow everyone to rise in the ranks but there are other ways. Itachi took the Exam's alone and passed at a young age as did Kakashi." He explained carefully trying to get her to understand his train of thought. "But uncle I haven't done anything as they have and those were different times. We were at war." Ino continued unable to see where he was leading. Finally, with a soft sigh he pulled out a small black book and slid it over to her. "Look in the Konoha section, go to the last page of the section." She knew what this was, Kakashi had shown it to her before but this version looked much newer. As she opened the book and filtered thought the villages until she landed on her own, she filtered through the pages, she had seen Itachi, Kakashi, her father, Ibiki, her uncle and even Sasuke's own faces. As she looked at their faces and the villages that associated the reasons as too why those faces were in there she was alarmed to land on a page with her own younger face. A picture from her academy days plastered on it, next to it her name and the Village that had requested her name in there. Oto, she had taken, no on the book it specifically stated stolen, something valuable from its leader and had hurt his student. She assumed that meant the time with Sasuke. Under that somehow it also had information on how she had faced off against one Itachi Uchiha and lived. She noticed next to her name and rank there was an asterisk. Pointing to it she looked up at her uncle.
He answered her before she could ask, "What it means is they're unsure of your rank, it means they consider you more dangerous than that and people should treat you as so. We don't know how this came to be but with this new information, you wouldn't be allowed to take the Exams. Not when all Village's will be attending these exams. They may single you out if they see you, especially any Oto shinobi. So Hokage-sama and I have decided to hold a meeting with the council tomorrow regarding all the real mission's you've had and trying to persuade them into allowing you to become a chunin under these special circumstances. The clan heads will be there and so will Danzo, we wish to use this opportunity to boast about you and catch even more of his attention. He'll show his approval and like towards you if he agrees in letting you become a chunin. If we manage to convince the council minutes later an ANBU member will appear before you and hand you a blank mask. It's their way of recruiting people. We want it to be a spectacle so everyone will be aware of it. Of course, it'll only be the council and clan head's so it'll stay between everyone there, but it will get his attention."
Ino looked down deep in thought, this wasn't how she had wanted to get her rank, she had promised Choji. She was going to be letting him down. Suddenly she stopped herself, this was what she had wanted and been aiming for, had she missed everyone so much she was reverting into her old ways? But she couldn't help herself. "If everyone agrees what about Choji? Will they get a third member in time to take the exams?" Her uncle smiled a small smile, she still worried about her team, after this she may not be the same, but he was glad she still held them close to a degree. "Yes. We'll find someone for them. I give you my word." He answered her resolutely. "If we do this. That means we won't need to erase Kakashi-sensei or anyone else's mind?" That had been something weighing heavy on her mind but now they all would seriously think she betrayed them when the time came. They would think this was all her own idea. It would be much worse than before when everyone would be in the dark. "You'll have to begin distancing yourself once the meeting is over and begin your training immediately. You won't have time to say anything to your peers except for Asuma since he'll be present. We thought you'd have more time before this mission began but time is not on our side." He said looking at her solemnly. "Your father also knows we plan to make you a chunin this way and has agreed but he does not know about the ANBU part, so it'll come as a shock to him too. The only ones that will know the truth are us and Tsunade and Kakashi.
It was a lot of information to take in and she realized he had in fact stayed longer than he expected. She wondered why that was what she was thinking about instead of the awful things that most likely would happen in the next few hours. Steeling her feelings and putting on her Kunoichi mask/face she looked up and nodded. She had no choice and even if she did, she had agreed to it from the beginning. Danzo needed to be brought down for the safety of the village, especially if it was something her uncle and Hokage believed. Shikaku slowly got up and offered her an apologetic smile before heading to the door. She watched his retreating 'drunken' form for a few moments before closing the door and running down into the basement. She needed to get as much help and advice from Shisui as she could before the Council meeting in a few hours. She didn't have much time. Sitting down in a comfortable position she dove into her mindscape and tried to feel him out. He was in the same place as before and she rushed to meet him. When she found herself standing in front of him, he looked at her sadly and apologetically as well. "Looks like you know." She mumbled to him looking down at the beautiful field of grass they were standing on. "We don't have much time. Luckily I met her." He said pointing behind him to Wolf who stood at attention. "I have an idea." He said motioning for Wolf to come closer. "Why doesn't she take your place for the ANBU training? After it's done, you'll have all the training down and you'd be able to train with me in here in the meantime?" he asked pointing at her mind. "That could work…"
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The Following Morning at 6:
Tsunade had a sleepless night and was too tired for what was about to happen. She had been waiting for her right-hand man to show up and was close to calling everything off. The low knock at her door signaled his arrival and she merely waited for him to let himself in, which he did. They both shared a tired look before she spoke up, "The meeting starts in an hour. Everyone's agreed to come?" She looked outside one of the larger windows and noticed how fallen the weather seemed. Almost like it knew what they were about to commit. "Yes, we should head there now. I believe everyone will get there early since it was another meeting called on such short notice." He answered somberly. "Let's go." She said getting up and heading out of her office to the official meeting room.
Ino had not slept or gone back to her room the rest of the night and when she noticed the time outside of her mind, she instructed Wolf on how to act and what to say before they switched places. She didn't know if this plan would work, but she hoped it would. It was the only way to train with Shisui and partake in the ANBU training. It would be the only way to be completely ready for her mission once she finished her ANBU training. Wolf got up and went into her master's room to quickly change into her black pants and long sleeve top. She put her hair up in a high ponytail and put on one of her contacts. She hoped she'd be able to take many pairs of them and contact solution with her. But she'd cross that bridge when she got to it. Once she was done, she went downstairs into the kitchen where she heard her father making some noise. He had been brewing some tea and had his paper on the table. When she entered the room, he got up to get them both a cup to which she accepted gratefully. He had an odd look on his face. Wolf didn't understand why he kept looking up from his cup of tea or over his newspaper to sneak glances at her, but she chose to stay quiet and looked around the room. It was small but homey. Everything was done in neutral colors aside from the small bordering on the top of the walls, they were decorated in small bush clover petals. They were nice, Wolf thought. Finally, she looked at the time 6:36, they had to leave. "Father, the time." She stated quietly as she got up and walked towards the door and slid on her normal black sandals. He had noticed a change in her eyes but chalked it up to reading the missive about how she was also needed at the council meeting they were about to have. He didn't want to go through with this, something felt off, but he wanted his daughter to succeed and she needed this now more than ever. So, he followed in her stead and opened the door.
As they got closer, they noticed the rest of the clan head's make their way towards the Tower, Chouza spotted Inoichi and went over to him but was surprised to see Ino following behind her father in a respectable manner. He had heard from his son how much she had changed but he didn't think the changes had been this great. He wanted to ask his friend why he had brought her along but decided against it when he noticed his demeanor. So, they just walked side by side with Ino following a few paces behind them. Many of the other clan leaders noticed the young Yamanaka but assumed she was there for other reasons. It wasn't until the doors were opened for the Council room that they realized she was entering as well, everyone stared as Ino stood next to her father. When the council members, Danzo and the Hokage arrived along with Shikaku they started taking roll and took their seats. Once that was over and every clan's leaders or representatives were there, like Kakashi for the Hatake, or Asuma for the Sarutobi, Tsunade welcomed everyone. Before the meeting could start Hiashi Hyuga raised his hand and all eyes fell on him, giving him the floor to speak. He asked what everyone was curious about, "Why is that girl here? Were we supposed to all bring our heirs?"
All eyes turned to Ino for a moment before turning to Tsunade. "No there is a reason only she was asked to come. As you all know, we were able to gather valuable information about the Akatsuki concerning Naruto. We were given a time frame and were told they were hunting down all the tailed beasts. That was all thanks to Ino Yamanaka. You'll be interested to look in the bingo books set up in front of you. The last page from our village's section." The room was slowly filled with the sounds of pages flipping and turning and then a collective silence. Again, Hiashi spoke, "This must be some kind of joke, children aren't allowed in the book unless they've defected or during war times." He said scoffing at the information in front of him. Chouza just kept looking to Inoichi's side and knew it must be true when he didn't react in the same manner as Hiashi. "Under those circumstances yes but Ino is different, the mission in which she gathered the intel about the Akatsuki she faced Itachi Uchiha alone. Kakashi was off tailing a different member. It's all here in the mission's report. We also have proof of her assistance in the mission involving the stolen children from the villages near Oto. She accompanied Kakashi on it and fought with Itachi a second time, the thing she, no they are accused of stealing are the children Orochimaru had been experimenting on. Before all this she assisted the Frost Daimyo's team in trying to apprehend Sasuke Uchiha and Kabuto but was only able to help and give the team time to escape and scare them out of Frost."
Pulling out a long missive with the Daimyo's Seal and signature on it she showed it to everyone and let them all pass it around and read its contents. It spoke of Ino's immense help and how the Daimyo had been grateful and opened it's borders to Konoha merchants and shinobi, the latter under special circumstances of course but that was massive. Frost had closed its borders to most Villages since the last war and not much was known about it. As everyone read the reports, they looked over to Ino who still hadn't moved from her location or changed her facial expressions. Asuma was shocked at everything he was reading. He didn't know Ino had been added to the Bingo book and he especially didn't know about any of these missions. All of which were ranked B and up. The ones pertaining to Itachi were s ranked missions. Something unheard of for a mere genin. All the clan leaders turned to look at Inoichi who only sat upright and held the same serious expression as his daughter. It had been silent for some time as Tsunade allowed everyone to go over everything.
"What do you wish to do with this child then?" Finally, the man they had been waiting for to speak up! Ino could feel the room's attention shift between Danzo and Tsunade and she watched but acted as though it was all unimportant. "As you know Ino here will not be allowed to take the Chunin Exam's so long as Oto partakes in them, they would target her and most other villages wouldn't allow her because they'd think whatever team she was in would be at an advantage. It was why Kakashi took the exams alone when he was young, but he had not been in the bingo book yet and could take the exam. I am here to pass the notion that we allow her the rank of chunin as she's clearly earned it and has gotten us valuable information and could continue to do so." Tsunade said carefully. What she didn't want was for the other clan heads to try and throw their own children's names into the mix. That would make things messier. "Why only Inoichi's child? Neji has been proven a stronger shinobi and asset to the village?" again it was Hiashi and he seemed slightly miffed that someone from his own clan wasn't up for consideration.
"Has that child proven himself against S-ranked criminals and brought back useful information the way this child has?" Danzo questioned him. Everyone else that had wanted to say something or add their child's names in the mix stayed silent. When Hiashi didn't answer immediately Danzo continued, "From the sounds of it this child was trained by Kakashi Hatake, is that correct?" Kakashi nodded as a way of answer and an eerie smile grew on Danzo's face. Turning to the head council members he stood up and took the floor next to Tsunade, "For once I agree with our Hokage, this child should be given the rank of chunin and keep gathering valuable information for the village. Shall we put it to a vote?" he asked raising his own wrapped up old hand. Excellent. He really wants her now that he knows what she's done and has been a part of. Shikaku thought as he raised his hand in agreement. Followed by Inoichi, Tsunade, a reluctant Chouza, Kakashi, Shibi and Tsume. Asuma couldn't believe what was going on and slammed his hands on his desk, "No! She is far too young; we are not at war times where chunin are needed so desperately. She should take the Exam's like everyone else." This caught everyone's attention and caused Tsume to lower her hand.
"I'd like to hear from the child herself. If that's alright?" Danzo asked Tsunade which hesitantly agreed. "Who was your teacher these last few years. Who knows you more currently?" Wolf turned towards him and bowed before answering as a sign of respect, "Kakashi-sensei Danzo-sama." Wolf said out loud but seriously. Again, Tsume raised her hand this time followed by an extremely irate Hiashi. Tsunade could see the increased interest in Danzo's eyes once Ino had shown such respect towards him but she needed to end this before it got out of hand and people kept rebutting or trying to ask any more questions. Asuma seemed like he was going to say more but Tsunade called the council for its final verdict and when the rest of the hands stayed up it was agreed and made official. "Ino Yamanaka, step forward," Tsunade commanded her as she was handed a green flank jacket from Shikaku. Wolf did so and kept her head held high devoid of any emotions. If she showed pride the other clan leaders would be upset but if she showed shyness, they would think her not ready. Standing at attention in front of Tsunade she was congratulated and handed the jacket. "From here on out you will have the rank and title of chunin. You will be given missions that follow this rank and continue to train to be of use to Konoha." Wolf took the jacket and slowly put it on. It was final.
The meeting ended and everyone began to leave before stopping in front of Inoichi and Ino and congratulating the two. Hiashi was the only one to walk away without uttering a single word to them. Soon only Danzo, Tsunade, Kakashi, Shikaku, and Asuma were left congratulate the father and daughter. Shikaku had told her how proud he had been and was talking to Inoichi when two ANBU members appeared next to Tsunade and whispered in her ear. A shocked look on her face appeared but she nodded her head anyway. Asuma watched as they approached Ino cutting Danzo off and handed her a blank mask. He knew what this meant, and he tried making his way towards Ino but was held back by Kakashi. Inoichi saw the whole thing unfold and although worry flashed in his eyes, he put a reassuring hand on his daughters' shoulder as the members whispered something to her and waited. She turned to her father and looked up at him holding the mask close to her chest. "May I go?" she asked him. Inoichi had known his daughter would join ANBU as he had but at a much later time in her career, she was still a child! But he also knew this would secure her place as the heiress so with a heavy heart he nodded as he caressed his daughter's cheek affectionately. Just as they had arrived, they were gone but this time with Ino as well. Danzo had seemed peeved that he hadn't gotten the chance to speak to her but still gave his congratulations begrudgingly to Inoichi.
Before Asuma could question him or Shikaku they were gone as well. The only people left were Tsunade and Kakashi. So, he went to his Hokage as he shook Kakashi's hold on him, "No! This is where I draw the line. She is a child. She cannot be recruited into ANBU! Look at how well it's turned out for people her age?!" He said motioning towards Kakashi. Tsunade raised her hand to silence him, "You may be her team's Jonin but she is no longer a genin. You have no say in what she chooses to do with her career. As a chunin she can decide besides she got her father's and my permission. That is all that is needed. Even Kakashi wouldn't be able to intervene and stop her from doing this." Asuma couldn't believe his ears could he really do nothing to stop all this insanity from happening. Ino had already come back so different. Now she was going to be changed forever! Not knowing what to do or say Asuma stormed out of there. Tsunade sighed heavily when he left and looked towards Kakashi, "You're not against this?" Kakashi was quiet for a while and she thought that maybe he hadn't heard her until he said, "I would be if I hadn't seen that look on Danzo's face. He wants her more than ever. This is the only way for her to get stronger." After that he left in a puff of smoke. Tsunade looked around the now empty room and wondered if she'd done the right thing.
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Training Ground 10:
Shikamaru, Choji, and Sakura had been waiting for Asuma and Ino to show up, they knew Asuma would be running late because of the meeting that had been called but were starting to worry about Ino. She had always been punctual, and it was odd for her not to have arrived. What was even stranger was that Asuma had shown up before her and he seemed visibly angry. When he was finally standing before them, he told Sakura the training for the day had been canceled and to report back to Tsunade to which she quickly did. Choji and Shikamaru looked worried, Asuma was a very relaxed and chill individual, he only ever got mad when any of his students had gotten hurt. "Sensei why was training canceled? I'm worried about Ino, she's never late." Choji said timidly. Asuma clenched and unclenched his hands before taking a deep breath in and speaking up. "Ino won't be taking the exam anymore." This time Shikamaru stepped up and voiced his concerns, "Why she had gotten the proper approval? Why is she suddenly denied the opportunity?" Asuma reached into his vest and handed the small bingo book he had just received and handed it to him.
Shikamaru took the book and flipped through the pages. He had his own copy from the year he became a chunin and had memorized every face in there. But he noticed two faces that weren't in his copy. Sasuke's, who he agreed should be in the book and marked as traitor and Ino's from her academy days, marked as dangerous by Oto. The book shook in his trembling hands and it worried Choji, so he looked over his shoulder to see what was upsetting his friend so much. "Sensei, it's a mistake. They're rare but they happen, someone put her in here by mistake." Shikamaru said shoving the book back at his sensei and looking down at the ground hard. Asuma slide the book back in his vest's pocket and shook his head. "No, it isn't. That's what the meeting was about. What we should do with Ino." At that both boys reacted, "What do you mean? What we should do with her? Where is she?!" they asked afraid for their teammate's life. Asuma realized he should have worded things differently and immediately explained, "She can't be in the chunin exams because Oto shinobi will be partaking in it. It would be stupid and dangerous for her to take it knowing these risks. She, she will not take the exam this year or any other year for that matter." He said slowly trying to calm them down. Choji seemed to take it the hardest, "It's not fair, she's worked too hard for them to ban her from the exams. If she stays a genin forever she won't be able to lead her clan!" he yelled tears threatening to fall from his eyes. Sighing Asuma put a comforting hand on Choji's shoulder before continuing, "She won't ever take the exam because she's been promoted. She won't ever need to take it, unless she somehow gets demoted Choji." All the tears stopped, and both his students looked at him stupefied, had it been any other moment he would have laughed for having gotten that sort of reaction from Shikamaru. "WHAT?" They asked in unison.
"Listen I can't go into the details but Ino's missions were a lot more dangerous and higher ranked than she led us to believe. She also opened relations with Frost Daimyo allowing them to open their borders to us. The day I tested you, she had been holding back, its why I allowed it to go so far but I didn't know that these were the reason's why." It was a lot of information to process. Shikamaru slightly understood why she had changed so much, she must have done and seen many things they still hadn't been able too. He was a diplomat so he knew the difficulties that came with the job but she was able to open relations with a village that had closed its borders to nearly everyone in the two years she was away and from the sounds of it that only took a fraction of the time she was away. He had been so lost in thought he had ignored all the questions Choji asked, most of which Asuma was unable to answer until he asked the main one, he wanted an answer to as well. "Then where is she?" Asuma sighed knowing he couldn't tell them the truth. All ANBU members were supposed to keep their identities secret, even if he wanted to tell them he was bound by silence towards the village. So, he told them half a lie, "She's been called away on a mission. They needed her immediately and it's for an indefinite amount of time. I don't know when she'll be back. I don't even know what she went to do. That's all the Hokage told me." With that he left his two students to keep thinking everything over. "What now?" Choji asked.
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Deep under the Crater Lake:
"Take off your hoods!" A deep thundering voice commanded them. Wolf immediately took off her hood and slowly waited for her eyes to adjust. Around her were 15 other people whose names or faces she didn't know. She looked back up at the voice and her eyes widened, "For those of you that don't know me, I'll be in charge of most of your training if you pass the first phase of ANBU training." Ibiki stated with an amused and terrifying grin. "You all will follow a senior member to a designated room and it's up to you to memorize where it's located and make it back here." With that ANBU members with different animal masks filtered into the small room and all went to a trainee. Wolf's senior member wore a tiger mask and motioned her to follow him. As they left the main room they were in, she instantly realized they were underground and began memorizing the halls as best she could. After 40 minutes of twists and turns they made it to a small neat room. Tiger told her that was her assigned room and she had 15 minutes to get back to the original room. Wolf felt his chakra disappear but all around her the other trainee's chakra zipping around everywhere.
She thought about how she'd get back and realized she could just try and sense out Ibiki's chakra back to the original room. So, she quickly released her chakra and tried to feel out his chakra. It was low as if he was masking it, but it was undeniably his, so she began running towards it. As she rounded each corner the chakra signature grew, and she began recognizing the halls. It was extremely dark but after spending so much time trapped underground her eyes had been able to adjust to the light difference. She could feel a few other people were in the room and recognized Tiger's own chakra in there as well. She continued running and began catching up to a few other trainees who seemed surer of themselves. 11 minutes in and she reached the room with all the other senior members including Ibiki. Along with them, 2 other trainees had beaten her there, by the time the 15 minutes were up only 7 trainees made it. Ibiki nodded to the senior members whose trainees hadn't made it and they left. "I'd say a good job, but this is expected of you all. This is the minimum requirement I expected of you and the ones that didn't make it have already been taken out of here and cut from the program. Go back to your rooms and wait for further instruction." He barked out before leaving the small dark room.
Wolf quickly learned that this part of the training was the part that they used to break them mentally, emotionally and spiritually. They would keep the lights in their rooms on at all hours off the day, there were no windows so they couldn't keep track of the time. At random intervals loud music or orders were dished out, even when they were supposed to be asleep. When those things weren't happening, they gave them paperwork to do, mundane administrative paperwork that they had to memorize at the drop of a hat when any senior members would enter their rooms. They would feed them just enough so they wouldn't starve but not enough that they'd feel full. Had Kakashi done worse to her master, she might have cracked but this was easy compared to being tortured. Granted she didn't know how long they'd been at it or how long she still had to go. But when she would sleep her master would talk to her and tell her about what she'd learn from Shisui so far and to not give up. So, Wolf did as she was told and stuck with it.
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Kakashi in the Hokage Tower:
"Hokage-sama you summoned me?" Kakashi asked Tsunade who had been working on a mountain of paperwork. "I hear that the first phase has been completed and only 5 people survived it. It seems your student was a part of those 5. I wonder just what kind of training you put her through." She said while continuing to work. Kakashi stayed silent not sure what the question was or how to answer. She had just signed her name on a piece of paper when she finally looked up at him. "I have a proposition that may interest you." Kakashi waited for his Hokage to continue, "Officially join ANBU so you can keep an eye on her and report back to me. That way you can have some peace of mind and afterward chose her to be on your team or squad or whatever position they give you. What do you say? Ibiki is ready to have you back." Kakashi couldn't lie and say the last month and a half had been truly awful. He worried about how his student had been doing and although he took on many mission's it didn't stop his mind from coming up with awful ideas. He had promised all his friends and sensei not to join after it had affected him so greatly, but times were different and he wouldn't necessarily be doing it just because he had a void in his life he wanted to fill. So, he agreed, and she sent him to Ibiki.
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Under the Crater Lake:
She had found herself in the same room as the first day they arrived but this time the number had dwindled even more. Everyone seemed worse for wear but not as she had been coming out of the Labyrinth. The 5 trainees stood at attention and waited for the captain. 6 hours later and one of the trainees, a man with dark red hair and grey eyes relaxed his arms and stance. Wolf had wanted to do the same but knew it would be a grave mistake. She stayed in the same position as the other 3 had and waited 2 more hours later and Ibiki finally showed up in a puff of smoke. "You there. You're out." He said pointing and grinning at the grey-eyed man. In an instance two senior members with a monkey and panda mask came and took him away. "You four have managed to survive, congratulations, and now we will begin phase two." At that Anko appeared next to him and licked her lips. "What a cute amount of people, this will do just fine." After that the trainees had burlap bags pulled over their faces and earmuffs placed over their ears. Wolf remained calm and allowed them to take her away.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a room like the one Kakashi would hang her from and torture her in, the clean and sterile one. But she wasn't being held there instead she was made to stand at attention and wait. Moments later Ibiki came in with a file and handed it to her. "Read it, memorize everything in there." When she opened the file, she read a man's name Eiji Kim, he had been found holding a prostitution ring and had begun moving on to using children. ANBU members had caught him but they hadn't been able to find any of the children. The women had all been killed when he realized people were catching onto him and the team hadn't been able to extract more information from him since. The only way they knew he had children were the pictures, his trophies he called them, he kept hidden in his hideout. What she read made her sick to her stomach but when she was done, she closed the file and handed it back. "Your phase two will not be extreme torture, you've been through it already. There would be no point." Ibiki stated plainly. Wolf looked at him quietly and waited. "You will begin learning your family's main trade." At that moment the man was dragged in, he looked as if he'd already been beaten thoroughly and was strapped to a metal chair. "Today you will learn the fun of torturing people to get answers out of them. Isn't that just great?" Ibiki asked as he lifted the man's head back and sickly grinned.
Wolf knew this was the time her master would really need to know and learn so with an equally twisted grin she skipped towards the man bend down to get a closer look. Wolf knew she wouldn't be around much longer after Ino became a full ANBU member, she wouldn't need her anymore so she would do everything she could for her master now. It hadn't been spoken between them, but she knew two sides of one person could not stay in a Yamanaka. Once all the training was over, they would merge, and she would experience everything Wolf went through while also having done her training with Shisui. She wanted her master to be well prepared and versed in everything they taught her here. So following Ibiki's lead she asked in a sing-song voice, "Do I get to play with this one?" Once the man noticed her, he visibly became erect and tried lunging at her but Ibiki held him in place. "I'm so kind I'll give you a week with him. Play with him to your heart's content. But by the end he better be repulsed at the sight of any woman." With that Ibiki patted Wolf on the head and left. She knew she didn't have a full week with this man. She knew the main objective was to get answers, to find out where he had stashed the children.
With that in mind she smiled sweetly at the man that had tried lunging towards her. "Oh my, all this attention, it makes me so happy." But the smile he received was dark and demented. Even if he wanted this one, she might have already been broken but he still wanted her. He was greedy. The man had been so weak that Ino was able to lift his upper body and hang it from the ceiling hook hanging nearby. Just as she had been by her arms, but he still had the audacity to try and lick her face when she moved him. She kept a smile on her face as she went to the side of the room that held the instruments she could use. She wrote something on a piece of paper and held it up to the two-way mirror briefly before starting. Wolf had noticed he could still use his legs and that didn't seem fair, so she picked up a bludgeoning bat and began wailing on his legs. She was sure the man's screams echoed thought the building but as Kakashi had been careful not to hit any main arteries and veins neither did she. She still needed this man alive. By now he was cursing her with every name under the sun and bleeding out. But her smile only grew, "Oh no did I hurt my toy? But I just want to make sure you can't run away and stay with me forever." She said in a child-like voice.
The man's eyes grew with anger and he continued cursing her. Next, she began stripping him of his clothes. They must have had him for longer than a week because in the picture in the file he was muscular and lean but now he seemed scrawnier than anything. He tried squirming around as she undressed him and she 'accidentally cut his chest and neck as she ripped his shirt off him. "Look what you made me do! I don't want to hurt my toy, but you keep being bad!" You need to learn some manners and listen to your master!" she said again in a childlike manner. Stepping back, she assessed his body and began to giggle and that seemed to enrage him, "You fucking whore! What's so funny, if I didn't have these restraints, I'd fuck the sense right out of you!" That got an even harder laugh from her before she skipped to the table and picked out an item that looked like a peeler. "Oh, you said a mean thing. I told you I'd have to punish you." She said skipping back to him and raking the item across his thigh, starting dangerously close to his penis. Again, the man yelled out in pain and tried wriggling away from her. "Another one for moving without being told too." And she did a similar peel to his other thigh.
Things had proceeded in that manner until Ibiki came in hours later to 'check-up' on her. When he stepped in the man begged for help to take the 'blonde bitch' away from him but all Ibiki could do was smile as he reached into his jacket to hand over something covered in a cloth to Wolf. After that he was gone with a demented laugh. "Oh, he brought us a toy. Oh, I can't wait!" She said hurriedly unwrapping her new tool. When the man saw it, he began to cry out begging for her to stop. "Now, now, I can't have you crying it won't make this next part enjoyable." She said feigning sadness as she dangled a polaroid camera in front of him and proceeded to take degrading pictures of the man. By now he was begging for his life and offering her any information she wanted. After about 30 photographs she stopped set the camera down on the table and turned to him to face him fully. No more smiles just an emotionless look in her eyes. "The children, where are they? If they are even still alive. Don't lie or I'll have to break my toy" she said in a menacing whisper. "There's a cave 50 miles east of where my hideout is. I hold them there when things get messy. It's up on a high cliff so they don't dare escape. I leave them enough food and water for a week and a half before I go and check on them." He whimpered out. Wolf could feel he wasn't lying but didn't want to take any chances and placed her fingertip on his forehead and checked his memories. The files and pictures hadn't been enough to describe the atrocities he committed. Everything was 100 times worse and she wanted to kill the man then and there, but she knew that was not part of her assignment. He had been telling the truth.
She wasn't sure if she was supposed to step out or wait for Ibiki or another senior member to show up. She didn't have to wait long when Ibiki came in with three other members; Tiger, Mouse, and Dog, who she knew was Kakashi, but she said nothing. "Trainee you will go with this team to verify your findings. Go and get ready and listen to everything they tell you." Ibiki instructed her and she merely bowed and left back to her room to change. The other 3 members left the man's room and went to wait back at the main room everyone would always meet. Kakashi couldn't lie and say he wasn't disturbed by what he had witnessed but the whole time Ibiki was explaining why she chose to do the things she did. When he dissected it, the horrors he saw weren't so bad and he knew had Ibiki been in there he would've done much worse. It had taken Ino less than 6 hours to break this man and Ibiki couldn't hide the proud smile on his face and that made Kakashi somewhat unnerved. Ino showed up in her training ANBU uniform and slipped on her blank mask.
Dog began leading them out all while asking Ino to link them up, communicators always had a chance of malfunctioning and he didn't want to risk it when children's lives were at stake. Once everyone was connected, he began explaining the strategy and how they needed to find those children even if they had all been dead. It was a simple mission, all other factors aside. The location was only 3 hours away from the village and because they were ANBU they didn't have to go through the hassle of signing out and letting the Hokage know they were leaving and getting permission. They moved at the same ungodly pace he had trained her at, and they made it with 15 minutes to spare. Once they were close Dog asked the Trainee to locate the exact cave on the high cliff before they began ascending it. It took them minutes to reach the cave and the stench from inside was evident that there were in fact people in there, they just didn't know if it was the children or something else. As they entered, they could hear whimpers and soft cries coming from the back of the cave. Ino noticed bloodied mattresses and a lot of human waste all around as they got closer to the cries. When they could see the children her heart broke. About 30 children, all from different ages were huddled together. The older ones held on to the younger ones protectively when they saw the four figures come closer.
Mouse crouched down to the children's levels, to try and not frighten them but it didn't work, and they only cowered more. Still linked up Kakashi asked Wolf, "Can, you link me up to Ibiki. Or is he too far away?" Wolf broke the connection between all four of them and walked over to Kakashi who slightly lowered his mask so his forehead would be exposed. She didn't know if she could, but she knew her chakra reserves had grown a lot more since Ino had been working with Shisui and so had her chakra control. She only hoped it was enough. Using her sensory abilities, she pushed her chakra out towards the village and began sorting through all the signatures she felt. Blood had begun running down her nose, but she ignored it and pushed passed the pain. There! "Ibiki?" Kakashi asked. "How in the hell?!" She could hear Ibiki's voice ring in her head as she transmitted it to Kakashi, "I'll explain later, the situation is worse than we expected, there are way more children than we predicted. We count 30 and many don't look to be faring so well. We need orders." Ibiki's side was silent for a while and he worried the connection had broken when he got a response. "I'm sending some of our medics and more personnel to you guys they'll be there in no time just tell me the exact coordinates." When Kakashi finished relaying the message Wolf broke the transmission and felt her body sway but forced herself to stay upright.
With that Kakashi explained the situation to the senior members and they began to try and make the children more comfortable by lighting up some fires so they could see better and be warm and handing out food to the children that seemed to need it more. In less than 3 hours all the back up had arrived and once the medic ANBU began working on the children they grew to trust them all more and agreed to be taken back to get better treated and fed. By the time they reached Konoha a large group of medics were waiting at the village gates along with many chunin and genin to help transfer the children. Once everyone had been taken all the ANBU dispersed and Dog's team went back under the Crater Lake hideout. Ibiki and Anko had been waiting for them in the small meeting room. They told Wolf to go back to her room and waited until she was completely out of earshot. "How did you link up to me?" Ibiki asked once only Kakashi and Anko were in the room. "Ino, she transmitted my thoughts to you. She kept the four of us linked up the whole mission aside from when I spoke to you. Her range has grown again. Yet you haven't even started phase 3." He answered truthfully. When he had asked her back in the cave, he had slightly been joking but she never once wavered and managed such an amazing feat. He knew her father could do it over 10 hours away, but he had been doing that technique for much longer. "I see." Was all Ibiki said before walking away with Anko. Kakashi wanted to check on how Ino was doing but knew he couldn't, it was forbidden so all he could do was pray to kami she was feeling okay. Phase two had just started and she was already capable of so much more than before.
"==========================================================================================" At the Hokage Tower 2 weeks after:
Ibiki needed to report Ino incredible abilities at T&I and how her telepathic and transmitting abilities far surpassed his expectations. In his usual manner he didn't announce he would be showing up and just made his way through the tower as if he had an appointment. He barged into the room he was heading towards and looked at the smaller man looking over various papers. "Still can't knock my door Ibiki?" Shikaku asked sighing loudly and pinching the bridge of his nose. "No." Was the simple response he got as he saw Ibiki shut the door behind him and put up a soundproof barrier. "But you'll like the news I have for you." With that Shikaku leaned back in his seat and looked at him expectantly. "Ino has surpassed all our expectations. I don't even know if there's any more I can teach her in the T&I department. Every case I've given her she's been able to crack and extract the correct information, her times went from lasting 6-7 hours to lasting anywhere from 1-3 hours. That's unheard of, the only other people able to do it in that time or less I can count on one hand and it includes Inoichi and myself." Shikaku looked up at him speechless.
"Look I know it makes no sense because of her age, but she has a knack for this. Here are all the files she cracked and solved in the last 2 and a half weeks. Anko and I believe she's ready to graduate and just do phase 3 as she's learning. We even chose a partner for her since we believe she'd work best in groups of 2 or 4 people." Ibiki said pushing many files up to Shikaku. The first case alone made him want to throw up, he knew Inoichi and Ibiki had some difficult and nightmarish jobs, but he never thought Ino would be able to handle such things at only 13 going on 14. In her own right she was a prodigy. The more files he read, the more he realized how her interrogation techniques had evolved and how easily torture came to her. But everything she did she did for a reason. She didn't torture just to do the act; it was all done meticulously. After reading half of the files he set them down and looked up at Ibiki. "And the team or group you want to put her in?" Shikaku asked already knowing the answer. "Dog. They work seamlessly together. It's the perfect duo and she'd be able to learn so much from him as she continued her career in ANBU and finished phase 3." Shikaku sat there contemplating whether to give the okay but it wasn't a question. It was obvious that Ibiki would push this to no end. "Do it. Besides Tsunade-sama has plans for her and this will work out in our favor." With that Ibiki was gone with all the files and making people step out of his way. Now Shikaku had to speak to Tsunade.
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Back Underground the Crater Lake:
Wolf had been led by Tiger deeper underground than she'd ever been, and she wondered if it was because she'd be interrogating and even stronger criminal. Suddenly they stopped in front of a large door and he stood out of her way and motioned for her to enter. She did as she was told and felt his chakra disappear as she opened the door. Looking inside she realized Ibiki was sitting along behind a large desk. He watched her enter and waited until she stood at attention before him. After a few moments passed he pulled out and set down a black cardboard box in front of her and motioned for her to open it. She did so delicately unsure of what kind of test this was and was shocked to find a painted Wolf mask staring back at her. She slowly reached for it and examined it, it was heavier than the blank one she had to always wear and was painted beautifully. Looking up at Ibiki she waited for him to explain, "It has been unanimously decided by all the captains that have seen your work and I that we allow you to graduate early under two conditions." He said motioning her to sit down in front of him. She did so swiftly and kept her gaze on him, "condition number one would be that you do phase 3 with a captain watching over you. Phase 3 consists of the physical training aspect, but we've decided that can be done will you continue working out there, in the real world. Condition 2 would be that your captain and team member will be Dog." As he said this Dog appeared next to him.
"Do we have a deal?" Ibiki asked Wolf whose only way to answer was slipping off her blank mask and putting on her new Wolf mask. "From here on you are no longer a trainee and have graduated ANBU training. You may leave after you get your mark." Ibiki said before dismissing them. Wolf had been in a daze as Dog led her out of the room and through the tunnels to a new different. This looked like a medical sickbay and when they entered Dog handed over a paper to one of the medics. The medic nodded and motioned for Wolf to follow him over to a small resting bed behind a curtain. After taking off her top she was instructed to lay back down and stay as still as possible. The next hour consisted of her getting her ANBU tattoo on her right shoulder. After that was over Dog instructed her to clean out her room and dispose of anything that was unnecessary, including her training uniforms and she did so. Before exiting the hideout they stopped at what seemed to be a storage room. The woman working behind the desk looked at the same paper Dog had shown the medic and quickly went about gathering pieces of garments together and packing them all into a black backpack. Wolf was told to grab it and they stopped at a bathroom nearby. He instructed her to change into a new uniform quickly. Wolf slipped on the new outfit along with the hooded coat and met Dog who now had his own hood pulled up over his head.
"Set up a link." Was all he said as he made his way out of the hideout. "Tsunade-sama requests our presence." It was all he said as they made their way towards the tower, once there she realized they weren't going in through the regular entrance. Instead of going in through the front they went in from an entrance in the rooftop. They went down a maze of stairs and hallways and passed a few other ANBU along the way who seemed to try and stay out of Dogs way. Once they were standing on top of what looked to be a trap door they waited. The door opened from under them and Ino realized they were now in Tsunade's office. She had been sitting by a low table towards the back of the room and motioned for them to join her on the floor. "Ah just the duo I've been expecting. It seems you've managed to graduate early with flying colors Wolf." Tsunade said raising a sake cup in her honor. Wolf nodded but noticed her vision was starting to blur, she couldn't listen clearly to what Tsunade was saying and realized her body began to tremble. Tsunade had been caught mid-sentence when she noticed the symptoms Ino was showing and quickly ordered Kakashi to remove her mask. He did so just as her body fell to the side and began convulsing. She could feel them moving around her and Tsunade's warm glowing hands over her head, but the pain wasn't coming from there. She felt like she was being called into the eye and did so to try and figure out the source of her problem.
Once inside her mindscape she was met with her master who grabbed hold of her in a tight embrace. Wolf began to feel light and looked at her master who could only hold her. She realized the light feeling had been her body merging with her masters and looked around to see if the man called Shisui was around but was surprised to see Itachi standing over them. Wolf wanted to tell her master to look out but before she could utter a word, she was sent back into her master's body. Ino slowly stood up and Itachi watched with interest, he observed how the girl stood up straighter and looked at him more calculated. She was different and he didn't know if it had been because of what he witnessed or if it was another technique she had developed. "It's a good thing you told me this now." She answered him in a more mature and velvety voice. "I will keep him safe. You have my word." With that he disappeared, and she felt her body was no longer convulsing and out of her control. Outside Tsunade had worked hard trying to find the reason for the seizure-like activity Ino had just had but couldn't find anything after 3 minutes they stopped abruptly, and she opened her eyes. Composing herself, grabbing her mask from Kakashi who had been by her side and slipping it on she bowed deeply towards Tsunade. "I received some urgent news from Itachi Uchiha." She said in a serious tone.
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JenniJ: Muito obrigado, já faz um tempo e estou tão feliz que você ainda voltou a esta fic e gostou muito. Sim, eu senti que ela nunca foi a líder, que eles apenas a deixaram dizer que era, mas ignoraram suas tentativas. Mais uma vez, muito obrigado! Espero que este capítulo também esteja lá fora e você não tenha previsto. Espero que você goste da história até agora e continue gostando e escrevendo resenhas. Fiquei tão feliz em ver seu nome aparecer que me levou a prolongar esse capítulo e me deu a ideia para essa mudança. Obrigado, estou me sentindo muito melhor, além de a vida em quarentena não ser tão ruim. Espero que você esteja indo bem também e estou enviando meu amor como sempre :) Boas leituras!
MinakoTrickster: It's something I felt both Asuma and Kakashi needed to work on but Kakashi never really had the chance after the retrieval mission whereas Asuma had plenty of time. I still love Kakashi and Ino's sensei thought and am so glad I paired them up. I hope you like this new chapter and the turn I took with it; I swear it's not over for the chunin exams. Thank you for offering. I'm lucky to be here and that's enough. After all this quarantine and pandemic is over, I hope to go to any beach and just enjoy it. Being sick the last couple of years has made me miss a lot of the little things in life but it's also given me the chance to continue writing and come back to this story. Happy readings and I hope you liked this chapter and like the next one too.
Guest: Thank you for the concerns, I'm fine just a couple bruises and a cough from the intubation but other than that, not the worst I've been through. AHHH I hope the interaction between Asuma and Ino was enough for you, I feel I may have put too much in this chapter, but I couldn't stop once I started. I hope you like this chapter and don't think it's too rushed. I kind of love this chapter myself and hope the readers do too. No worries ill keep trying to dish out chapters they just may not be every few days like my last ones, but I promise they'll come out. Happy readings!
