At the coastline on the border of the Land of Lightning—
The First Division was locked in a fierce battle against the White Zetsu Army and the Edo Tensei shinobi from the Akatsuki.
The fighting had already gone on for nearly an entire day. The Allied Shinobi Forces had thrown in everything they had, finally managing to halt the enemy's advance.
However, because of the special nature of the White Zetsu army and the reanimated ninja, a considerable portion of the enemy's elite forces still remained undefeated...
Behind the front lines, several makeshift tents had been turned into a temporary field hospital. Ninja were constantly being carried in and out, while beside the tents lay countless fallen comrades, each covered by a white sheet.
Ino, a specialist in the Yamanaka clan's Mind Body Switch Technique, could have contributed significantly to the combat teams. But because of the severe shortage of medical ninja—and since she was Tsunade-sama's disciple—she had no choice but to follow Shizune's lead and help run the medical corps.
Now, with Shizune and several medical teams reassigned to the Land of Iron, Ino had been appointed the leader of the medical squad stationed at the Land of Lightning's battlefield.
At this moment, she was wearing a white coat and a mask, working frantically inside the operating tent.
She had just finished treating one ninja's eye when another, with a severed leg, was carried in from outside...
Haruno Sakura, assisting at her side, couldn't help but complain,
"There are so many injured... With fewer than fifty people in our medical unit, there's no way we can take care of everyone! What are we supposed to do… T_T"
Ino sighed. "This is wartime. We're short on hands, so we can only treat the critical ones first... I just wish I had abilities like Shinju's—then maybe we could save everyone."
Sakura comforted her, "Don't overthink it. Not everyone's born with Shinju's kind of gift. All we can do is save as many lives as possible."
As they spoke, the female patient lying on the bed suddenly looked surprised.
"You two... know Shinju?"
While tending to her injuries, Ino replied, "Yeah, we're... classmates."
The woman brightened. "So you're Shinju's classmates! (๑╹ヮ╹๑)ﾉ"
"I'm Yugito Nii from Kumogakure. Could you help me pass a message to Shinju? Tell him... I really like him!! (´つヮ⊂︎)"
At those words, Ino's hands trembled so much that she nearly dropped the scalpel! (´°Δ°`)
"You and Shinju, you two..."
"I used to be the Two-Tails' jinchūriki. He saved me many times," Yugito explained.
"Even though I'm a little older than him... well, relationships like that aren't that rare, right?（--0027▿--0027）"
Her face reddened, but her voice was firm.
"Besides, it's wartime now. If you don't say what's in your heart, you might never get the chance. (ˊ˘ˋ)"
Ino froze, forcing a bitter smile that looked worse than tears.
"You're... right about that."
...
Night fell.
After a full day of work and saving countless lives, Ino lay weakly in her tent, staring blankly up at the ceiling.
She had long known that Shinju—the prodigy, the rising star of the shinobi world—would be admired by countless people.
She had told herself she was prepared for it. But even so, meeting one of his admirers face-to-face still left her feeling an ache she couldn't hide. ꒦ິ^꒦ິ
Just then, Sakura lifted the flap of Ino's tent and sat down beside her.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked softly.
"Nothing," Ino replied casually.
Sakura smiled faintly. "Come on. We've grown up together since we were kids. Sure, we've had our share of rough patches, but I can still tell what's on your mind. (•̀⌄•́)"
"You're worried about you and Shinju's future, aren't you?"
Ino turned to face her, serious now.
"Sakura... do you really think Shinju and I have a future together?"
Sakura shook her head. "How would I know something like that?"
"But at least you can see Shinju. You can hear about what he's doing."
"Unlike me... Sasuke hasn't shown up in forever.〒_〒"
Her voice softened, her expression dimmed.
"I don't even know if he's still alive. (｡•́︿•̀｡)"
Ino asked gently, "Do you still like him?"
Without hesitation, Sakura nodded.
"Yeah. No matter what the future holds, right now Haruno Sakura is still waiting for Sasuke to come home."
Ino smiled faintly. "Thanks... for talking with me."
Sakura said nothing more. She waved lightly and left the tent.
The night grew still.
After a while, a male voice came from outside.
"Excuse me... is Ino-chan in there?"
Hearing that, Ino replied, "What is it? Come in."
A few seconds later, the tent flap lifted, and a Kumogakure ninja with bandages wrapped around his head stepped inside.
Seeing he was a patient, Ino asked, "What's wrong? Are your wounds hurting again?"
"No," the man said, shaking his head. Then, carefully, he pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. "I'm here to deliver something. (๑❛ᴗ❛๑)"
Ino blinked. "Something urgent enough to bring at night? (´｀;)?"
The Kumogakure ninja's face flushed. He stammered,
"I... um... actually, it's a love letter! (´つヮ⊂︎)"
Ino blinked again, slow on the uptake.
"A love letter? So you want me to deliver it to someone? Tell me, who in the medical unit is it for?"
"No, no, no!" The ninja waved his hands frantically, lowering his head in embarrassment. "It's for you..."
"These past few days, thanks to your care, I've recovered really quickly."
"Ino, when you're treating people, you look... really beautiful. So I wanted to ask if you'd be my—"
Realizing what he was getting at, Ino cut him off before he could finish.
"Sorry. I'm not interested."
The man froze, then asked in frustration,
"Why not? Am I... not good enough?"
"I'm twenty-two, a jōnin from Kumogakure—and, well, I'm not bad-looking, right?"
Ino smiled softly. "It's not about looks. It's just... I already have someone I like. ^_^"
"Oh... I see." The man sighed, accepting it. "Can I at least ask... who he is?"
"I don't mean anything by it—I'm just curious. Whoever could win the heart of someone as amazing as Ino must be a remarkable man. ´◡`"
Ino nodded. "He really is remarkable. ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )"
"But I can't tell you his name."
"All I can say is, he's confident, steadfast, and kind... just a little slow sometimes. •́‸ก"
"I understand... I won't bother you anymore."
With that, the Kumogakure ninja left quietly—likely to cry outside.
Inside the tent, Ino still wore a faint smile.
"Shinju... I'll keep on liking you, no matter what. ≧∇≦"
...
In Konohagakure—
"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"
Just as Shinju was about to leave with Kisame, he suddenly sneezed three times in a row!
After a pause, he muttered to himself, "Who's missing me this much? (ಠ .̫.̫ ಠ)"
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo