As Ino and Itachi once again stood further apart from each other, and their fight entered a small state of reprieve, Ino decided to briefly check on her comrades.

She first glanced at Kurenai, who stood in the back to her right. The woman looked grave, and her determined eyes held an undertone of helpless frustration.

Ino inwardly sighed. She did notice the genjutsu support Kurenai tried to give her. But Itachi pretty much swatted every single one of Kurenai’s attempts as if they were annoying flies. It didn’t even make him pause.

It did take him a slight bit of attention, so Ino guessed Kurenai was helpful?

Despite her composed facade, the black-haired woman’s chakra felt scared, and Ino noticed the beads of sweat on her neck and temples. Sweat that was not there from physical exertion.

Ino’s eyes flew back toward Itachi, and she took a step to the side, mirroring his subtle attempt to move while she was distracted. He stopped and they exchanged a very brief look of acknowledgement, coming to a mutual understanding. The attempt was fair, but the mutual truce was going to last a few seconds longer.

Oh, Ino had no delusions. She counted on her opponent trying to cheat. He was probably scheming, trying to come up with a plan, or secretly using his more subtle techniques to gain an advantage.

But it was alright. She had her sensing techniques working overtime, and she expected foul play.

Her attention slipped back toward Kurenai. She would have preferred it if the woman had gone and helped Gai and Asuma deal with Itachi’s teammate. The one who most definitely was not an expert at genjutsu and would be at least somewhat vulnerable to her techniques.

Ino opened her mouth to tell Kurenai exactly that, but suddenly, Kisame let himself be kicked back by Gai, and he flew through the air until he slid to a halt on the water, right next to Itachi.

Ino closed her mouth, and inwardly, she wryly smiled. Well, so much for that plan.

“Kisame.” Itachi Uchiha nodded.

“Having a problem with a little girl, Itachi?” Kisame smirked, giving Ino and especially her sword a considering look that held a piqued interest and an unconcealed threat. “What about swapping opponents?”

Itachi frowned, but before he could answer, Gai shouted, “Yosh! What a youthful idea! I like it!” He gave his trademark sparkling grin to Itachi, who only slightly furrowed his eyebrows in response.

It may not tell much to other people, but to Ino, that small gesture screamed how troubled he felt.

She chuckled.

Alas, she needed to nip that idea in the bud. “Nah. The brother-poker and the sushi guy were leaving, Gai-sensei. I don’t think we will get to swap opponents.” Ino casually hummed, her lips slightly curving up at the corners when she noticed the offended glint in Kisame’s eyes.

Heh. Ugly bastard was self-conscious about his special appearance. Who would have guessed, right? Ino almost rolled her eyes.

“Oh, maybe I should shave off your face before we are on our way, you mouthy little shit?” Kisame’s expression darkened as he asked with slightly forced nonchalance. The murderous intent spiked in the surroundings as he was about to take a step forward.

Itachi’s hand shot forward like a coiled snake, and he tightly grasped Kisame’s forearm before he could move. “She is baiting you.”

That stopped Kisame in his tracks, and his wariness toward Ino increased.

“I think she is a bit to the side of what we are seeing. If you rushed in, attacking based on what you see, you’d end up stabbed.” Itachi warned.

“Hmm. Genjutsu?” Kisame sounded unconcerned, but the way his guarded gaze roamed over the Konoha ninjas told a different story.

“No. Something new. My Sharingan has trouble locating her.” Itachi slightly squinted and his eyes moved, just a little bit in Ino’s direction as if he could see something, but then he seemed to have problems properly discerning where she was really standing, and his gaze passed her several times without stopping on her.

Ino mentally noted that in her mind. Her mirage technique worked against Sharingan. That was good to know. Especially since she made it to be as anti-Byakugan as possible when facing a chakra-seeing cheating little bi- haaah.

Letting out a small huff in her mind, Ino had no doubt that the second she properly moved, something would give her position away. Chakra fluctuations, air waves, or even something as simple as stepping on grass, the Uchiha was going to notice something.

Not for the first time, Ino wondered if she should send an overpowered Vacuum Bomb at them. She was very tempted. So, very tempted.

But her shoulders relaxed and she inwardly shook her head. No. She couldn’t do that. It was too big a risk. Her eyes flashed toward the line of houses not far away from them. This was the outskirts of Konoha, but people still lived here. Starting a big ninjutsu fight with two S-rank rogue ninjas while Konoha citizens are in the vicinity would have been the stupidest thing they could do, since the two S-rank ninjas did not seem keen to cause wanton destruction unless provoked.

Ino honestly lamented the fact that Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai decided to intercept Itachi and Kisame so close to the village. It made this entire exchange into a playfight at best.

The Konoha side held back because they could not escalate it into a full-blown ninjutsu dogfight. Ino, especially, could not start flinging techniques at Itachi because her back was to the houses. Itachi could dodge her techniques. She could not dodge his because any stray fireball would fly somewhere into the line of houses. She would have had to block every single one of his ninjutsu if it came to that kind of fight.

That wasn’t even mentioning the fact that Itachi or Kisame could deliberately target the houses behind them with destructive ninjutsu, and Ino, with her momentary teammates, would have to defend, giving their opponents a massive advantage.

It was in Ino’s best interest to keep the fight ninjutsu-restricted because the Akatsuki duo might as well have hostages at the ready in this position.

And as for Itachi and Kisame, the two were clearly not here to cause trouble. They held back to not escalate the fight further and alert every ANBU and Jonin within a several-mile radius. Ino imagined it couldn’t be fun, being hunted by an entire village while trying to run away.

Kisame gave Ino a dark look, but she only smiled at him in return. Unexpectedly, that made the fishman grin at her before he looked at Gai, “The smug bint is right. We are leaving. It was a good fight, weirdo. Let’s finish it when we meet next time.”

“IT’S A PROMISE!” Gai gave him a thumbs-up pose, and Kisame’s grin became somewhat brittle.

Itachi and Kisame glanced at each other, and Ino knew what was coming even before they did it. She leaped back, and her hands joined in a hurry as they started going through hand seals at the same time as Itachi and Kisame suddenly started casting a ninjutsu. of their own.

“Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!”

“Water Bullet Barrage!”

“Earth Wall Technique!”

Three voices resounded at the same time. Itachi spewed dozens of small balls of fire that flew through the air, aimed directly at the houses behind the Konoha ninjas.

Kisame did the same with small water bullets coming out of his mouth, one after another at a rapid speed. He also aimed at different spots than Itachi’s small fireballs.

With both techniques, their area of effect was extremely wide, and even if Ino erected a big wall made of earth from the ground that would block most of it, Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai’s eyes widened as they realized it would not be enough. The fireballs and waterballs on the sides would go through because Ino did not have the time to make the wall wide enough.

The Jonin instantly sprang into action and started blocking the attacks that would go through Ino’s defense with their own techniques.

The whole thing lasted maybe four seconds, but once they were done and Ino’s abused Earth Wall crumbled, partially under the barrage of attacks and partially because Ino simply released the technique, Itachi and Kisame were gone.

Ino looked to the west, feeling their chakra signatures slowly disappearing from her perception with the increasing distance. She huffed, sending a few stray strands of her blonde hair swaying under her released breath.

“Well, at least nobody died.” She jokingly said as she turned toward the Konoha Jonin, getting an amused response from Gai and Asume while Kurenai deadpanned at her.

“I am going back to my date!”

With that, Ino disappeared in a burst of speed before they could pester her about reporting to the Hokage Tower. She had a day off today, and she didn’t intend to spend it doing more work.

Maybe spending a day with Ren on the beach on their secret training ground was in order? Nobody was going to find her there, even if the Hokage called a country-wide search for her.

Because, naturally, nobody would acknowledge the fact that she was forced to work during her vacation. Nobody would give her the day of vacation back. She was very intent on not wasting it. Not even for reporting an attack by an S-rank ninja. The Hokage was going to have to make do with the report from the three conscious Jonin.

This blonde girl was not working today.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep