Haruno Sakura

"Ino-pig, what are you doing standing by the window?" A somewhat displeased voice came from behind Ino's side.

"You guys chat, I'm going over there to clean. See you later, Ino," Hinata said, as if she had received amnesty. The shy Hinata felt relieved as she grabbed a small bucket and hurried away.

With the fusion of souls, she naturally also received the interpersonal relationships of the original Ino.

Sighing, she and this resentful girl behind her could be described as having a complicated relationship.

With a broad forehead and wearing a pink high-slit cheongsam with green shorts, this was her classmate Sakura Haruno.

Ino, including her past self, had complex feelings towards Haruno Sakura. Lately, she's been so busy that she hasn't figured out how to handle this strained friendship.

For now, she'd respond as she always did.

She let out a "hmph" sound, and spoke condescendingly, "Forehead, you were so annoying! I remember telling you not to appear near me. Go find your precious Sasuke."

Her tone was full of sarcasm.

Ino was annoyed. After transmigrating, she had lost all interest in the stoic Uchiha Sasuke. Yet, this plastic sister behind her still harbored hostility toward her, even thinking Ino was playing hard-to-get to attract Sasuke's attention.

Regarding the romantic fantasies of the lovesick girl, Haruno Sakura, all she could do was shake her head in disbelief. She didn't know how to explain it, nor did she want to.

The previous Ino was very caring towards Haruno Sakura, offering words of encouragement, playing together, and even helping to fight bullying. Their friendship could be described as extremely good. But what happened? Once a handsome guy appeared, their friendship boat capsized swiftly.

If they had completely fallen out, it would have been easier to handle. However, Ino can't help but see glimpses of friendship in many of the previous Ino's thoughts. Even if they fell out, previous Ino believed that Haruno Sakura was still her friend.

As for what Haruno Sakura was thinking, that remained unknown.

"What are you looking at? Are you looking for Sasuke?! You're so cunning!"

"You scored 95 today! I'm so angry! You must be trying to attract Sasuke's attention, right? I completely saw through you!"

Ino glanced to the side, not wanting to engage with her.

Whether this girl before her was insecure or willing to do anything for love, Ino didn't want too much interaction with Haruno Sakura. She was currently pondering who would be the next scapegoat. She didn't have time to play love games with a 12-year-old girl. She was very busy.

"Go away, Forehead, stop bothering me."

"Ino-pig, you're trying to escape!"

Ino was fed up. Haruno Sakura kept pestering her, insisting that she swear to forever give up pursuing Sasuke. Ino has no feelings for Sasuke, but she can't make a vow that completely contradicts her predecessor's behavior. From an outsider's view, such a personality change was too abrupt and no matter how one looked at it, there would be problems.

"You must swear! Hurry up!"

"Quick, say it, say you'll give up Sasuke forever. Hurry up!"

The word "井" appeared on Ino's forehead. She was standing here, cleaning windows, waiting for a "fateful encounter." Now, Haruno Sakura was incessantly bothering her. Ino was fed up.

If Sakura was unkind, don't blame her for being unrighteous. Since she was taking the initiative, she can take the blame instead.

She suddenly pointed out the window with a panicked look, "Ah, look, Sasuke is injured!"

"Where? Where?" Sakura leaned on the window, nervously looking around. Suddenly, Ino kicked her squarely in the butt from behind.

Leaving behind a teasing remark, Ino confidently exited the classroom. She made her way to the rooftop and called out to Shikamaru and Chōji, who hadn't bothered to attend the training field session. The three of them decided to ditch class to go eat barbecue.

"Barbecue? Now?! That's great! Let's go, let's go!" Chōji jumped up excitedly. If Ino hadn't grabbed his collar, he might have jumped straight off the rooftop.

Sure, falling definitely wouldn't kill him, but such an enthusiastic display was a bit exaggerated. Even when skipping class, one should be discreet and not draw too much attention.

"Shikamaru, let's go together." In Ino's memories, Sarutobi Asuma, the Jōnin whose father is the Hokage, was forced to kneel and apologize to the barbecue shop owner because of Choji's excessive eating. Ino felt that the money she had wouldn't be enough to cover the bill, so she brought Shikamaru along for assistance.

"Tch, what a drag." Shikamaru guessed her intention and looked at the clouds in the sky like a retired person, slowly sighing.

Not all teachers were as serious and responsible as Iruka. The Suzume-sensei in charge of teaching the girls housework and Mizuki-sensei in the distance acted as if they hadn't seen anything, allowing the three of them to leave unobstructed.

If things go as expected, the three of them would be the 16th generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the heirs of their respective clans. Their alliance had lasted for over two hundred years, from the Warring States period to the present day, longer than the history of Konoha itself.

The Yamanaka clan, represented by "Ino," handled intelligence; the Nara clan, represented by "Shika," handled medicinal herbs; and the Akimichi clan, represented by "Cho," handled logistics and supplies. Together, the three families had over ten Jōnin and possessed a large number of ninjutsu and secret techniques. Their strength was not inferior to that of many small ninja villages.

With the Senju clan gone, the Uchiha clan reduced to the four crazy guys, and the Hyuga clan struggling to find successors, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had become a premier ninja clan in the Shinobi world.

"I'm so angry! Ino-pig ranked first in the exam. I must work harder! Ah! Once I regain the top spot, Sasuke will definitely notice me! I'm so embarrassed. Ino-pig actually dared to kick me!"

Sakura Haruno crawled out of the bushes, extremely annoyed by Ino. How could she do that? Thinking of Sasuke, she immediately reverted to a lovesick expression.

Exams, Sasuke, and Ino—her thoughts kept jumping between these three things.

"Huh? What's this?" Haruno Sakura had keen observation skills. In a short time, she found what looked like a slightly damaged scroll buried under a piece of soil in the bushes.

She opened the scroll.

"Wow!" She exclaimed in surprise, then quickly covered her mouth, looking around to see no one had noticed her before carefully reading the words on the scroll.

"You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place. Now you just have to find it." The writing on the scroll was bold and powerful, accompanied by a map signed by someone named Senju Hashirama.