There is a'Squeeze Theorem,' where pressure is applied from both sides, gradually closing in to squeeze out a precise value. In the Ninja World, what gets squeezed out in this way is the spy—their own Village exerts pressure, and the enemy Village exerts pressure too, forcing them down a path of no return.
Every spy, before embarking on their undercover journey, must undergo a brutal 'experience' that leaves deep psychological scars from their childhood:
They witness how their own Village 'handles spies.' Those enemy Village spies, or rather, teaching tools labeled as'spies,' are tortured by the Village's interrogation Ninja using the most cruel and brutal methods, tormented until they are on the brink of death... They are left in a state where they can neither live nor die, and are ultimately killed in the most cruel manner, their corpses discarded for wild dogs.
This scene serves to show them the consequences if the enemy Village discovers they are spies—and indeed, every Village does exactly this.
Then, they are shown how their own Village deals with traitors!
...Ino didn't even need a blink of an eye to deduce the methods used to prevent spies from betraying—people in this world might think it's clever, but in Ino's eyes, it seems low-tier and not worth mentioning.
When Ino Yamanaka explained her speculation on how to prevent spies from betraying and how to 'vaccinate' them against it, Inoichi Yamanaka almost couldn't hold himself together.
At least, Konoha does exactly this—the head of the Root intelligence department, who directly serves the Hokage's shadow, is none other than his little brother, Fu Yamanaka. The Yamanaka Clan is all too familiar with these dirty affairs. The entire process is exactly as Ino speculated, down to the last detail. After the two lessons on handling spies and traitors, a spy's loyalty is maxed out!
They aren't warriors with lofty ideals—since they are ordinary, fearing death and fearing being tortured to death is simply biological instinct.
'Spies are exactly this kind of group, pressured simultaneously by their own Village and the enemy Village, squeezed in the middle, just like this!'
Ino pressed her hands together, sandwiching Inoichi's hand between her palms... 'If both my hands apply force simultaneously, then your hand can only be trapped in the middle, struggling to survive in a suffocatingly narrow gap. You have no choice but to struggle. If you don't move, my hands will press so hard that blood can't circulate, and your whole hand will go numb. But, if one side loosens its grip—then the pressure from the other side will immediately push your hand toward that side... As one wanes, the other waxes. Their way out actually depends on our choices...'
This principle is so simple, so clear, that Inoichi instantly understood it in a flash... Unfortunately... 'Even so, the entire intelligence department isn't something I, as the squad leader, can decide alone. Matters like this require the higher-ups like the Hokage and the Advisors...'
Inoichi rubbed his nose, now also feeling a sense of helplessness, 'Perhaps this is exactly how Ino felt just now when talking to me?'
Ino wrinkled her nose, let out a 'hmph,' and said, 'I think it'd be more fitting to put a few little pigs in their positions.'
'Shall we put our family's little pig up there then?' Inoichi teased Ino.
Ino said, 'No way! A Village chief... who even wants to be a Village chief? If I'm going to be anything, I'll be a planet chief!'
'Hahaha...'
It was visibly over an hour later than usual today, but they couldn't stay up any longer, so Mrs. Yamanaka took Ino to bed.
After changing Ino into cotton pajamas, watching her lie down and close her eyes, Mrs. Yamanaka finally left Ino's bedroom and closed the door.
After the couple lay down, there was another bout of soft, intimate murmuring, the topic still revolving around Ino... 'To be honest, a lot of what Ino says, I don't understand. I feel like communicating with our daughter is going to get harder and harder in the future...'
Inoichi felt both the deep satisfaction of seeing his daughter's intelligence and wisdom, and a sense of loss from not understanding what she was saying... This difficulty in communication might become even more pronounced as the child grows older.
In the original manga, Inoichi Yamanaka was similarly troubled by not knowing how to communicate with his daughter—but that was because he was busy with work, had little contact with his daughter, and Ino just happened to be entering puberty.
The current Inoichi Yamanaka... although the reasons are different, the troubles he faces are exactly the same—
Even this 'trouble' has arrived earlier.
Mrs. Yamanaka was silent for a long while before saying, 'I think what Ino said about the clan's Jonin, Chunin, and Genin all needing to persist in studying, with monthly assessments to determine some of the clan's benefits and resources based on the results... that's really necessary...' At this point, she chuckled, 'Especially you, as her dad. If you don't study more, you really won't be able to keep up with our girl's pace in the future... And—'
'What?'
Inoichi began to get restless, his hands wandering.
'Ino's plan, convincing the clan members must be very difficult, right?' Mrs. Yamanaka asked a very practical question while accommodating him.
'Mm, very difficult.'
Inoichi panted softly, doing push-ups as he spoke, 'I can already imagine this will cause arguments for a long time.'
Mrs. Yamanaka tightened her arms around Inoichi's neck... 'There you have it—if they usually read a bit more useful books, learned a bit more, your persuasion would probably be much easier. Often, things are like this; it's hard to reason with an illiterate farmer—not because you lack reason, but because they simply can't understand your words.'
'Mm, starting tomorrow, I'll begin studying hard, dear, you...'
'You devil!'
And indeed, as expected, things developed with just as much difficulty. Whether it was the kindergarten matter, the tutoring classes, or the clan Ninjas' studies and assessments... not a single item was approved.
The only thing that went smoothly was the unified printing and free distribution to clan members of Ino's three-lesson preschool teaching materials.
Upon learning of the lack of progress, Ino wasn't much disheartened—these things were inherently difficult to accomplish. The road must be walked step by step, and food must be eaten bite by bite. And the direction in her heart always lay outside Konoha—Konoha was too small and too constrained by others. She needed a realm of her own, where her word was law, and whatever she said went.
Establishing a Yamanaka Clan private school outside Konoha was her medium to long-term plan; the constraints within the Village and the clan were still too great.
Just like this matter, discussed back and forth, it almost amounted to nothing being accomplished.
She wanted a place where, as long as she had an idea—whether right or wrong—there would be a group of people to execute it unconditionally.
She wanted her word to carry absolute weight, to leave a mark with every utterance.
Of course.
This would have to wait for the future.
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