"Who are you? I don't think I know you, do I?" King Kai asked in surprise, holding a watering can.
Ino could understand the other party's language. This didn't mean King Kai spoke the language of the shinobi world, but rather that it was some kind of language comprehension skill, similar to one King Yama also seemed to possess.
Unsure how to properly greet him, she subconsciously cupped her fist. "Bu Piao Bo Ban... no, that's not right. I heard that Lord King Kai is a master of great supernatural powers, and I have specially crossed the Snake Way to become your apprentice!"
Apprenticeship ×
Latching onto a powerful figure √
Not just anyone who crossed the Snake Way could become King Kai's apprentice; one needed a relatively qualified status or an introduction. Ino was part of the "system," so King Kai was not averse to her arrival.
King Kai sized her up for a moment, then broke into a very comical smile. "Becoming my apprentice isn't out of the question. As long as you can make this King Kai laugh with a joke, I'll accept you as my student!"
Just as I thought... Ino had come fully prepared for this.
At a time like this, her pride didn't matter in the slightest, nor did she value it much.
She mimicked Jiraiya's movements, striking a Noh theater pose. She hopped twice on one leg, "thump, thump, thump," and after capturing King Kai's full attention, she put on a deadpan, serious expression. "Hello, hello? That's strange, why isn't anyone answering the phone!"
"Hehehehe, hahahaha, that's hilarious!" King Kai clutched his stomach and laughed, his counterweight-like body rolling twice on the grass. He laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face. Beside him, his pet monkey rolled its eyes and picked its nose with a thick finger.
Ino maintained a look of pure obedience...
"Alright, alright, seeing as you've come from so far away, I'll teach you a few of my special tricks," King Kai said, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief.
Only then did he ask for Ino's name and inquire in detail about her race.
"Otsutsuki? Let me think... I have a faint impression. They're an extremely rare cosmic race, aren't they?" He suddenly slapped his plump right fist into his left palm. "They're the ones who go around planting trees everywhere, right? It's been hundreds of years since I've seen them. Are you one of their descendants?"
Needless to say, the Otsutsuki clan surely had a bad reputation across the universe. Ino quickly explained, "I'm not. I was born on a place called the Blue Planet. I just inherited a little bit of Otsutsuki blood."
King Kai let out an "Oh." In truth, he didn't much care what the Otsutsuki had done. The territory under his jurisdiction was too vast, and in comparison, the Otsutsuki just secretly found planets to plant trees. They were far better than the cosmic pirates who destroyed planets, sold planets, and trafficked intelligent life at the drop of a hat.
The main reason Ino could become his disciple was because of her status as a deity, so he asked a couple of extra questions.
"Are you ready? My training is much tougher than you can imagine! Can you endure it?"
Ino nodded vigorously. "Yes, I'm mentally prepared."
King Kai's voice suddenly grew high-pitched. "You must become the number one in the universe, the best in all the world, both physically and spiritually! Can you do it?"
"I understand!"
King Kai nodded, then clasped his hands behind his back and began to strut around. "But before that, I'm going to have a cup of tea."
Ino was silent for a moment. "I'll join you, I'll join you!"
They drank tea for two hours, after which the formal training began.
"Alright, I see you have some foundation, but as a deity who has just stepped off her planet, you still have many shortcomings. For your first lesson, you must adapt to the gravity here!"
King Kai pointed at the monkey watching the show from the side. "The gravity on King Kai's Planet is ten times that of a normal planet. You must adapt as quickly as possible. Many powerful beings in the universe were born in this kind of high-gravity environment. That guy over there is named Bubbles. If you can catch him, you pass."
The Ino with "some foundation" turned her head. The monkey waved at her, then, under ten times gravity, scurried off into the distance.
Previously, in Kaguya Otsutsuki's super-gravity dimension, Ino could only stagger a few steps. It was much the same now. To catch a monkey that ran like the wind, she really needed to train hard.
She rolled up her sleeves and quickly chased after it.
...
Konoha Village.
Konohamaru had some questions about his training and had come to ask his teacher, only to find that Ino wasn't home.
"Big Sis Hinata, when will Teacher be back?"
"She went to a very faraway place. She said she'll be back in about half a year."
A faraway place? Konohamaru didn't quite understand just how far "faraway" was.
"Is something the matter?"
"...I have some questions about ninjutsu."
Everyone knew Hinata's level. She was decent at taijutsu, but her knowledge of ninjutsu was superficial at best. Faced with Konohamaru's questions, she realized she didn't understand either.
But that was fine.
She thought for a moment. "I remember Ino left a piece of calligraphy, saying it contained the essence of her life's work in ninjutsu. Perhaps it can answer your question."
Hinata rummaged around for a while and finally found a scroll, which she opened for Konohamaru to see.
Ino had written a poem.
"Green trees cast deep shade on a long summer day.
Pavilion reflections fall into the pond.
Crystal curtains stir as a light breeze rises.
A trellis full of roses perfumes the courtyard."
The calligraphy was very fluid, deserving of the description 'dragons fly and phoenixes dance.' Each character had subtle differences, and the artistic conception and expression of each line were also distinct.
Hinata explained, "The first line corresponds to Yin-Yang Release. The second is a deeper application of the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques. The third is about Water Release, and the fourth is Wood Release. She wrote her most proficient ninjutsu into this poem."
Konohamaru was completely bewildered. What could he possibly learn from this? He hoped Hinata would explain it in more detail.
Hinata shook her head and smiled apologetically. "Actually, I don't understand these either. Ino said that if you came to ask, I should give you the third and fourth lines to study."
Konohamaru had no idea where to even begin. Hinata then gave him the scroll from the First Hokage with the two large characters related to Wood Release. "Take this. It also contains Wood Release techniques. This is the insight of the First Hokage."
Konohamaru unrolled it and took a closer look, only to find two large characters inside: "Muscles/Sinews." He flipped it over and saw the back was empty. Good grief! What kind of tradition is this? I'd rather study my teacher's calligraphy. At least it's two lines of a poem, fourteen characters in total!
Hinata was busy taking care of little Himawari and didn't have much time to talk, so she quickly sent him on his way.
Konohamaru walked away with the scroll, pondering it as he went.
"Crystal curtains stir as a light breeze rises, a trellis full of roses perfumes the courtyard?…"
Konohamaru was now 15 and had considerable talent. He soon began to see something between the lines of the characters, and his steps quickened as he hurried toward the training grounds.
...
King Kai's Planet.
Ino finished her day's training, exhausted and hungry.
She was trying hard to adjust some of her habits.
According to King Kai's explanation, natural energy, chakra, ki, and even the energy used by many extraterrestrials could all be broadly classified as 'energy.' It was a very general concept. All energy that could be absorbed and used by intelligent life fell within this scope. You could consider them all the same thing; whether you called it energy or ki didn't really matter.
What did Son Goku say after Captain Ginyu took over his body?
He said: "That's my body. Can you use the Kaio-ken? When the spirit and body are not in sync, you can't bring out its true power."
Sound familiar? Son Goku definitely used ki, and his so-called alignment of spirit and body, his pursuit of internal power, was actually not much different from chakra. Ki was more unrestrained, while chakra was more refined, but their essence was more or less the same.
Master Roshi's Kamehameha Wave was also blue, just like chakra.
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