After becoming the leader, the heavy responsibilities on his shoulders, coupled with the smooth resolution of the rebellion, relieved the pressure in Kawaragi's mind, allowing his intelligence to come back online.
After all, he had been groomed as a leader since childhood. Although he had been terrified at the time, he gradually began to understand things more clearly afterward.
The Chunin of major ninja villages and those of smaller ninja villages were indeed different, and the same went for the Jonin. Ino had killed Suien as easily as slaughtering a chicken, which made Kawaragi wonder if the Genin of Konoha were in a league of their own in the Shinobi World? That couldn't be! It was reasonable for them to be strong, but not to such an extreme degree.
If all the Genin of Konoha were at Ino's level, would there have been a need for three Great Ninja Wars? They would have already unified the Shinobi World! Kawaragi used his teacher Suien's strength as a benchmark to gauge Ino's abilities, estimating that she likely had Jonin-level strength but was still young, hence her lower ninja rank.
Generally, ninjas with powerful techniques, strong mental fortitude, and a highly goal-oriented approach were often from major ninja clans.
Since they were discussing cooperation, it was natural to clarify each other's identities.
Friendship was one thing, but interests were another. If their statuses were not equal, Ino wouldn't even have the qualifications to discuss cooperation.
Ino nodded, "I am indeed from a ninja clan, but the situation in Konoha... well, your father was close to Teacher Tsunade, so you should know a bit about her past, right? Teacher hasn't returned to the village for years because the situation there is quite complicated."
Kawaragi thought about his own experiences and nodded, "It seems even major ninja villages aren't paradises."
Undercurrents were surging within Konoha, and at this time, the Yamanaka Clan, or even the Ino-Shika-Cho Formation, should avoid drawing too much attention.
Collecting rent and running a curry shop were about the limits for someone of Ino's age. Going further would inevitably touch on other interests, and given their sensitive status, people would easily blow things out of proportion.
Yet, Ino now needed to stir up greater interests to create more disturbances, and these disturbances had to be controllable. The simplest way was to hire Kakuzu from the Akatsuki and then pin the blame on the organization. A more complex approach would be to exploit the conflicts between the daimyo and the ninja villages. Either way, she needed financial support.
Money wasn't the decisive factor, but without it? Absolutely nothing could be done! If she tried to hire Kakuzu without money, even if the Rinnegan-wielding Pain or the Sage of Six Paths himself crawled out of the underworld, it would be useless.
Many nobles from the Land of Fire and the Land of Water also required money to be managed. Without funds, nothing could be accomplished.
After the Chunin Exams, Konoha entered a "turbulent" phase. Even Tazuna from the Land of Waves could bring his grandson and the village's carpenters all the way to Konoha to find work. Why couldn't Ino do the same?
The Yamanaka Clan specialized in intelligence. They could receive news about floods, earthquakes, and other events as soon as they happened.
The Waterfall Village was extremely isolated and lacked such an intelligence network. Without Ino, they would be completely in the dark, unable to do anything.
Ino also needed the reputation and manpower of the Waterfall Village.
Both sides had a foundation for cooperation.
The Waterfall Village was the only ninja village beneath the Five Great Ninja Villages to possess a Tailed Beast. Though it had declined in strength, its reputation remained. Leveraging their name to engage in construction and building material businesses—what was the issue with that? Ino laid out the cooperative plan between the two sides, and after some contemplation, Kawaragi agreed.
After all, it wasn't a major affair. There was no harm in letting the villagers earn a little extra income.
Thus, the "Cross Guild" quietly took root in the Waterfall Village.
Ino instructed Karin to screen villagers skilled in carpentry and masonry.
Karin often seemed scatterbrained, but once given a task, she executed it flawlessly. Ino trusted her competence.
Fuu, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, wanted to tag along for some fun, but Kawaragi—who treated her like a little sister—immediately objected. It was far too dangerous for a Jinchuriki to leave the village. While Fuu herself might be fine, the Tailed Beast inside her was another matter. If it went on a rampage, it would be nothing short of a walking calamity.
"Brother Kawaragi, just three days—no, one day! What do you say?" Fuu held up three fingers, then hastily retracted two when she saw his unmoved expression.
Kawaragi smiled gently but shook his head, dashing Fuu's hopes.
After pestering him for half the day to no avail, Fuu turned to Ino for help.
According to her, Ino was her "Number One Friend," and friends were supposed to help each other. How could Ino just sit back and watch her suffer like this?
Ino did want to coax her into leaving—Karin's abilities were still lacking.
If Orochimaru could teach, so could she. Karin had Water and Earth affinities, both of which Ino possessed. First, tree-walking, then water-walking, followed by Water Release training—the Hiding in Mist Technique, the Water Prison Technique—and later, depending on her aptitude, Medical Ninja Techniques. Ino's training plan for Karin was practically identical to Sakura's. Three years of this, and she'd be capable enough to stand on her own. But how to get through those three years?
That was where Ino's "good friend" Fuu came in.
Fuu wasn't as strong as Naruto, and the Seven-Tails wasn't the Nine-Tails, but as a Jinchuriki, she still far surpassed ordinary ninja.
When facing the Akatsuki, Fuu had been captured by Kakuzu and Hidan, seemingly powerless. But in truth, the Immortal Duo was formidable—even someone like Killer Bee could have been taken if their abilities were unknown.
"Hmm... I don't have any good ideas either, but I'll put in a word for you." Ino pondered. She was no longer the clueless newcomer from when she first arrived—now, she had plenty of high-level methods at her disposal. If the only concern was a Tailed Beast rampage, her Five Elements Seal would be perfect here.
But neither the sealing technique nor Ino herself were suitable. Fuu was the Waterfall Village's Jinchuriki—there was no way they'd let an outsider casually place a seal on her. She couldn't even bring it up.
Ino's attempt to intercede was just for show. Coaxing Fuu was a long-term project; letting her wander around now was still too soon.
Ino failed to sway Kawaragi, and Fuu sulked for hours before quickly bouncing back.
By the time they saw her off at the village gates, not a trace of her earlier dejection remained.
"What a lively girl!"
After leaving Waterfall Village, Ino went to find the former bandit leaders Baki and East Wind, who were serving hard labor. If all went well, the "Cross Guild" would soon need these two construction-savvy ex-bandits to get to work.
In her previous life, pulling strings to directly extract people like this would have required greasing countless wheels. But in a world where ninjas wielded supernatural power—and Ino herself was a ninja—things didn't need to be so complicated.
Faking the deaths of two prisoners was something even the youngest students at the Ninja Academy could manage. Giving them new identities was slightly more troublesome, but with the Yamanaka Clan's influence, even that was easily handled.