YAMANAKA INO

First Manga Appearance: Chapter 34
First Anime Appearance: Naruto Episode 1
Name Meaning: Yamanaka=Among the Mountains, Ino= Boar or a Sign of the Zodiac
Hidden Village: Leaf Village
Rank: Chuunin - Team 10
Age: 16
Jounin Master: Sarutobi Asuma
Signature Abilites: Shintenshin no jutsu
Notable Features: Sasuke-Idiot, Sakura's rival
Notable Quotes: "I won't let you be the only one who gets to look good in front of Sasuke-kun!"
See also: Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, Sarutobi Asuma, Yamanaka Inoichi

HISTORY:

A Genin from Leaf Village, Yamanaka Ino considers herself the only one worthy of Uchiha Sasuke's love. Because she is not the only one who shares that view, she is the rival of Haruno Sakura.Ino and Sakura weren't always rivals. When they were little young, Sakura did not have much self-confidence in herself. It wasn't until Ino became friends with her and encouraged her to not be afraid of the taunts of the other children that Sakura grew out of her shell. Their friendship ended though when they both took an interest in Sasuke. Their rivalry came to a head in the third prelimiary round of the Chuunin Exam, as the two young women were placed against each other in fight. Both gave it their all but in the end there was a double knock out. This resulted in both Ino and Sakura being unable to move on to the third round.

Ino would later watch her teammate Shikamaru in the Exam's third test. She was excited and hoped he would knock out his opponent Temari. When he quit his match for tactical reasons she was shocked. She was later rendered unconscious when Kabuto put the stadium audience to sleep. Over the following years Ino would greatly increase her skills and eventually pass the Chuunin Exam. After Naruto returned from his training with Jiraiya, she welcomed him back. Ino would later take a fancy to Naruto's new teammate Sai. The socially clueless Sai always said what was on his mind. When he called Sakura ugly she made him pay for it. When he met Ino he decided he should say the opposite, calling her beautiful. The blushing Ino didn't know what to say.