The communication ninja's report continued:
"At the same time, according to the latest news from the First Division, the White Zetsu with transformation abilities has most likely infiltrated the Allied Shinobi Forces and is waiting for an opportunity to strike... Yamanaka Ino was killed by a White Zetsu assassination..."
"Bang!"
The helmet in Yamanaka Inoichi's hand fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
He immediately turned toward the ninja who had just delivered the news of his daughter's death.
"What did you say?!"
The communication ninja repeated his report word for word:
"Reporting to Captain—incoming message from the First Combat Division: medical-nin Yamanaka Ino has been confirmed dead."
"Buzz—"
In that instant, exhaustion from days of work and the grief of losing his daughter struck all at once—
So many feelings surged together that Yamanaka Inoichi's vision went dark.
Within the darkness, chaotic sounds filled his mind: urgent shouting, hurried footsteps, and the howling wind outside headquarters...
His daughter's voice... would never be heard again...
...
Beside the Island Turtle, on the land created by the Shinju.
While forging iron, Shinju suddenly paused. His brow furrowed as if he had sensed something significant.
Naruto, who was helping out nearby, looked at him in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
Shinju frowned slightly. "One of the Flying Thunder God markers I left behind... seems to be calling me. That's... strange."
Naruto waved dismissively. "You've just been working too hard lately, dattebayo. ¯\(ツ)/¯"
Shinju shook his head.
"No, something's off. I need to check it out!"
...
At the shore.
Ino, whose breathing had stopped just moments ago, suddenly opened her eyes and looked around in confusion.
"I died, didn't I? Why does the underworld look exactly like the living world?"
Then she turned her head—and saw Shinju, red-haired and clearly anxious.
Ino: (ૢ˃ꌂ˂⁎)
She murmured softly, "So this really must be the underworld... I actually got my wish of seeing Shinju one last time! ❛‿˂̵✧"
"But... a fake is still a fake..."
As she spoke, sadness crept back into her voice.
Unable to watch her sink into despair, Shinju pulled her into his arms.
"What fake?"
Ino: ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!
"The illusion... can talk?!"
Shinju, Sakura, and the others: (||๐_๐), --003d_--003d, 눈_눈
Finally, Sakura stepped forward to explain.
"You were out for barely two seconds before Shinju teleported here using the Flying Thunder God."
"You can probably guess the rest."
"With Shinju's medical skills... even if you really were dead, he'd still be able to bring you back."
Ino's eyes widened in disbelief. ∑(°Д°)
"So... this isn't a dream?"
"I'm actually alive?! (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)"
Overcome with emotion, Ino threw her arms around Shinju's neck, tears streaming down her face.
"Shinju, this is amazing! It feels so good to be alive! .·´¯(＞▂＜)´¯·."
While speaking, she kept rubbing her tear-stained face against Shinju's chest.
Shinju patted her on the back.
"Alright, alright, everyone's watching... You're getting snot on me, you know. →_→"
"Relax. As long as you've got my Flying Thunder God kunai on you, how could I ever let you die? (´∇ﾉ｀*)ノ"
Hearing that, Ino couldn't help but giggle.
"You know, I am a girl. How could you say something like that? That's slander! (´つヮ⊂︎)"
Shinju lifted his collar and pointed at two damp spots on it, speaking righteously.
"It's not slander—it's the truth. See? This part's your tears, and this spot here's your snot. Not much, but still—"
The longer Ino listened, the darker her expression grew.
Finally, she shoved Shinju hard and stormed off. (╯＞д＜)╯⁽˙³˙⁾
Shinju stood frozen, full of question marks. (‧_‧???)
He turned to Darui beside him.
"Did I say something wrong? Why does she keep switching between crying and laughing? Girls are impossible to understand! ╭(╯ε╰)╮"
"Kuh~" Darui tried his best to hold in his laughter. "Well... maybe your way of talking to girls is the problem?"
Shinju shook his head. "Can't be. I've always been honest. Don't girls like honest guys?"
"Pfft~"
Darui finally burst out laughing. ꉂ(ˊᗜˋ*)
Shinju frowned. "What's so funny?! (′д｀σ)σ"
To spare Shinju's pride, Darui came up with an excuse.
"Uh... my wife's having a baby—"
"Pfft~"
"Pfft~"
Several more people nearby also burst into laughter.
Shinju was speechless. "Now what are you all laughing at? Ծ‸ Ծ"
"Don't tell me... all your wives are giving birth too? (눈益눈)"
The other shinobi waved their hands frantically.
"No, no! Just... pure coincidence, hahaha! ꉂ(ˊᗜˋ*)"
Shinju sighed and walked off, expression blank. Somehow, this whole scene felt strangely familiar...
...
Meanwhile, not far away, Ino was furiously pounding a helpless rock.
"I'm so mad! I'm so mad! (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ)"
"What is wrong with that guy Shinju?!"
"Not only is he dense, but I swear he's left half his brain somewhere! (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)"
Sakura came over, smiling teasingly.
"You know, Shinju actually does care about you..."
Ino sighed. "Don't say that. I know him too well—he's a total straight-laced idiot. ¯\(ツ)/¯"
"To him, I'm just a classmate. He treats everyone the same! (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)"
"That's not true," Sakura said. "You didn't see how panicked he was when he found you unconscious. He was terrified."
"And after he healed you, he even left a special mark on you. I don't know what it's for, but he definitely did it because he cares."
Ino blinked, then quickly started checking her body.
"A mark? Where?"
Sakura nodded. "On your back. You can't see it yourself."
"And... that mark looks exactly like the one Shinju put on Tsunade-sama before!"
Ino gasped. "Really?! (´◊ω◊｀)"
She remembered when Shinju placed that same mark on Tsunade's hand. He had said it required chakra to maintain, and that it would activate in emergencies...
She didn't know what it actually did—but it was clearly a sign of genuine care.
And now, Shinju had placed one on her too!
That made her the third person, after Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sensei, to receive Shinju's special concern! (⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)✧︎
"That dense guy... finally figured it out!! ୧⍢⃝୨"
...
Desert battlefield of the Land of Iron.
The Four Kage had faced Uchiha Madara, whose chakra seemed infinite—and still couldn't win.
Now, all four lay exhausted on the ground, completely spent of chakra.
Tsunade's body had been cut clean in half, and from overuse of the Creation Rebirth technique, she had reverted to her true age—an elderly woman in her fifties or sixties.
And at that moment...
The mark Shinju had placed on her hand flickered faintly.