Ino Yamanaka

The Land of Fire, Hidden Leaf Village.

At the northern end of the village stood a tall cliff. The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and Uchiha Madara had once stood atop this cliff, gazing southward over the plains. They envisioned a land where there would be no killings, and no hatred, where children could take off their armor, discard their swords, and play freely with smiles on their faces.

Abandoning their conflict, they joined forces to establish the largest ninja village in the Shinobi World: Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village. Following the will of the First Hokage, the Second Hokage established a ninja academy below the cliff.

The faces of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage are vividly depicted on the rock face. Their expressions were solemn, and the villagers looked up occasionally, seeing the shadowy silhouettes of the four Hokages. The villagers held a deep respect for their Hokages.

With half a year left until the graduation exam, the teachers in the Ninja Academy are doing their utmost to instill more knowledge into the students.

Of course, exams are inevitable to gauge the student's actual abilities.

"Sigh, I'm doomed."

"This is just too difficult."

"Haha, you think it's hard? I can't even understand the questions!"

The students lamented, feeling that the questions were too difficult, and many handed in blank papers.

A few top students whispered among themselves. They believed that at least three of the ten questions asked fell within the range of the Chunin Exams. It's outrageous; they're not even Genin yet.

With golden hair, a strand of bangs covering her right eye, and dressed in a white long-sleeved coat with the character "亥" (hai) on each sleeve in blue-green stripes, Ino Yamanaka seemed a bit peculiar to her classmates because she was someone who fell between being a top student and a struggling one.

After handing in her paper, her movements and expression seemed unusually heavy.

"Ino, did you not do well either?" a familiar female classmate asked in a low voice.

"It's just... sigh, it's hard to explain.

"I didn't do well this time and definitely failed. I made mistakes in several places; my head is like mush right now," Ino said with a face full of frustration as if she were about to burst into tears the next moment.

"It's okay; it's just a practice exam."

"Yeah, one mistake doesn't mean anything."

A few close friends comforted her, holding her hands.

Not long after, Iruka Umino, a young teacher with a scar visible on his nose and wearing a Chunin vest, finished grading the papers and announced the results on the spot.

"Ino, 95 points; first place!"

"Sakura Haruno, 94 points, second place."

"..."

A few female classmates, who were considered underachievers, stiffened their necks. Their gazes toward Ino Yamanaka had changed dramatically. They had prepared to console her on the surface but secretly mocked her. And now? First place? Was she kidding them?

Ino felt secretly pleased. 'While you play during class and continue playing at home, I study during class and then study hard at home. Can the results be the same?'

As someone who had applied for sales jobs to buy a house, then interned at a renovation company after getting an insider's price, and later switched to working as a salesperson at a furniture store, she had worked hard for half a year. Just when she was about to move into her new house, she suddenly found herself transmigrated to the crisis-ridden world of Naruto. Her inner turmoil was intense.

She wondered who would eventually get that house. Thinking about it made her feel like she was losing out.

Ino looked out the window as several shadows passed by at an incredibly fast speed, disappearing from sight in less than two seconds. She knew very well that they were the ninjas of the village. Everyone was accustomed to it.

"Superhumans," who could jump eight meters high and break a tree with one punch, were commonplace in the village. Instead of taking the proper roads, they insisted on leaping across rooftops. This was a common practice among many ninjas. After experiencing fear, suspicion, unease, and extreme caution, Ino gradually got used to it.

Since she couldn't change the world, she could only try to change herself.

She studied, regardless of whether it seemed useful or not. She delved deeply into any knowledge that could be acquired in school, even the "Will of Fire" series of books that many transmigrators criticized. She found the handwritten copy left by the Third Hokage in the school and read it attentively from beginning to end twice.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a martial arts manual like the Shaolin Scripture, with no martial arts secrets between the lines.

She studied hard to become stronger, but in order not to be isolated by her classmates, she had to pretend to be mediocre. Ultimately, it all stemmed from her lack of security.

As everyone received their papers, Teacher Iruka began discussing the questions.

"The ninth question: A solution containing a certain aromatic hydrocarbon in ether is first treated with dilute hydrochloric acid and then with sodium hydroxide solution, resulting in a layered mixture. What compound is present in the ether layer?"

"What is it?" Iruka hadn't expected the students to answer, and he continued writing on the board.

"This is a problem that ninjas often encounter during missions. Due to the lack of some necessary conditions, we must make reasonable assumptions and analyses. Let's assume this aromatic hydrocarbon contains an amino group, which would react with hydrochloric acid first. In this case, we need to analyze the situation."

He began listing several scenarios that could occur, providing specific analyses and results for each hypothesis. The blackboard was densely filled with information, and only then was this question fully unraveled.

"What is a ninja? Someone who remains calm during battles and can analyze intelligence," Iruka said with emphasis. He looked at his blackboard; the analysis was reasonable, the explanations were clear, and his tone and demeanor were quite inspiring. He glanced over the classroom with the corner of his eye, and his heart sank to the bottom of the sea because hardly anyone was listening.

Smack! Iruka slapped the blackboard loudly, raising his voice dramatically. "You guys are the worst class I've ever taught! What are you all daydreaming about? Write it all down! You never know when this question will appear on the exam! Write it all down!"

"Okay."

"Got it."

"Understood."

Except for a few genuinely good students who were writing diligently, the remaining ninety percent of the students responded with listless voices. They casually scribbled with their pencils as if they were just going through the motions. Judging from their performance, these guys were definitely a group of underachievers.

Ino still maintained her role as a pseudo-underachiever while being a true top student. With her left hand supporting her chin, she occasionally glanced up lazily, summarily jotting down some of the content from the blackboard.

Iruka, still at the podium, continued to berate the underachievers. Fairly speaking, he was an excellent teacher—dedicated, patient, and meticulous. One could see the virtues of the teaching profession embodied in this 22-year-old man.

However, for many 12-year-old children, this material was genuinely challenging.

The Ninja Academy didn't have specialized math, chemistry, or physics courses. Instead, there were five subjects: theory, physical training, practical experience, history, and practice.

A large amount of mathematical, chemical, physical, and geographical knowledge was all integrated into the single subject of theory, making it challenging for students to grasp.

Without the foundation of higher education from her previous life, Ino would have struggled even more.