SaiIno

"Thanks, beautiful. I really felt...your kindness."

- Sai thanking Ino (Shippuden ep. 493)

SaiIno is the het ship between Sai and Ino from the Naruto fandom.

Shippuden
Ino first met Sai when their teams encountered each other during a visit to the hospital and she quickly became captivated by him due to finding him attractive. Ino can be seen staring and blushing at Sai's presence and she compliments his looks whilst talking to Sakura. Having already become smitten upon meeting Sai, Ino devises a plan to sit next to him to flirt as both their teams are invited to go to eat barbecue by Asuma.

During dinner, Ino sits next to Sai and begins flirting with him. Sai had read in a book that you can form closer bonds with people by giving them nicknames based on their perceived personality traits. After realising that others get offended when called by the nicknames he gives them based on his true thoughts, decides to try to call them the opposite of what comes into his head and therefore calls Ino "Miss Beautiful", causing her to blush and become flustered as she did not know he was saying the opposite of what comes into his mind.

When Team 10 battle with the Akatsuki, Shikamaru diverts Hidan away leaving the rest of Team 10 and Kakashi to fight Kakuzu, Team 7 arrive as back up and Sai can be seen stood in front of Ino to protect her.

When stuck in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Ino dreams of Sai fighting with Sasuke for her affection whilst her father, Inoichi cheers her on.

After the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Ino realises her attraction to Sai has grown into something much stronger as her crush develops into a deep love as they begin to bond and become closer together during this period.

Blank Period
When Sai is captured and manipulated to be under the control of Gengo, Ino is triggered into action to save him as she has a crush on him. She performs her Mind Body Switch Technique on him as she delves deep into his mind. Ino dives deeply into Sai's heart as she feels she is the only one who can rescue him and hugs him. After Ino is able to free Sai from Gengo's control, the two wake from Ino’s jutsu and they both instinctively reach out for each others hand and Sai thanks Ino as her eyes begin to tear up before affectionately calling her "Miss Beautiful", meaning it for real this time.

When Ino and Sakura go to Sunagakure, Sakura asks Ino about her love life and she shyly reveals that her crush on Sai has progressed to love. Ino tells Sakura she plans to confess her love to him but is unsure which type of flower to give to Sai to express her feelings, lavender or a flowering dogwood.

When Akamaru and Kiba go for a walk, Akamaru beings to notice how romance has started to develop amongst their friends. Akamaru spots Ino and Sai on a date and describes them as being 'totally on heat.'

Ino and Sakura get into an argument as they both pick out the same gift to give to Naruto and Hinata for their wedding. The two share heated words including Ino saying Sakura is jealous because she would be getting married long before Sakura will which Sakura believes is her getting cocky about her blossoming relationship with Sai. Sai attended Naruto and Hinata's wedding alongside Ino. When Ino was wondering about since when Shikamaru and Temari were 'like that', Sai held her hand and told her that people probably think the same about us, hinting that there was something going on between them too.

Following an invasion in Konoha that is successfully prevented, Sai takes Ino to the hospital as she collapsed of exhaustion during the battle. Later, Shikamaru and Chōji decide to visit Ino at the hospital and find that Sai is watching over her whilst she sleeps as he sketches a flower that Ino's mother brought her. The three of them talk but when Shikamaru and Chōji get up to leave to go eat, they invite Sai but instead he states he will leave as soon as he has completed his drawing. However, Shikamaru notices several of Sai's already near-completed sketches in the trash as he exits. Shikamaru and Chōji realize that Sai did not want to leave Ino's side and begin discussing how much he has changed from the emotionless man they first met many years ago.

Boruto
Sai and Ino eventually get married and Ino gave birth their first and only son, Inojin Yamanaka. Sai took his wife's lastname and they run a modern version of the Yamanaka Flower shop together with their son. The couple train their only son who uses his father's techniques as part of the new generation Ino-Shika-Cho. At some point in Inojin's early childhood, Ino and Sai had Inojin have sleepovers with Shikadai and Chōchō and their parents would have matching pyjamas for them.

Earlier that morning, Ino calls Sai and Inojin for breakfast when Sai was saw Inojin started photocopying his Super Beast Imitation drawings. When Inojin lost the ability to do the Super Beast Imitating Drawing technique. One day Ino asked Sai on how he did in class, to which he responded that Inojin was bored. And she told him that he came to her in the morning to teach him the Mind Body Switch Technique. Ino asked Sai if theirs was any advice he can give him believing that at some point he's going to give up. And that his process will worsen and he'll lose interest on the technique. Sai believed that Inojin had to figure the out the truth on his own. Sai comforts Ino believe that he'll be fine because he's their son, causing Ino to blush. Sai believed that he connected with people through art and that's way he loved to draw. Ino believed that he should teach Inojin that but Sai said that he didn't to spell it out for him. Ino chuckles that Sai is oblivious as ever and comments that the sooner he tells him the better.

After Inojin regains the ability to do the Super Beast Imitating Drawing technique, Inojin had sent a drawing of a bird that flew into the Yamanaka flower shop. Suprising both of his parents, Inojin explained to them about how he regained the ability.

When two Chūnin guards where attacked and the disappearances of Mitsuki. Ino and Sai along with Naruto, Shikamaru, Kakashi, Tsunade, and the Elders where in the medical department to find out what happened during the attack before Mitsuki disappeared.

During the event of Parent and Child Day, after Sai and Inojin competed in a food competition, where they went overboard. Back at home Sai rests on Ino's lap while she affectionately comforts him.

During the Time Slip Arc, Inojin asked his parents on helping him master the Mind Body Switch Technique. During training, when Ino used the technique on a raccoon, she rest on Sai's shoulder. Inojin found out that he can easily use the technique on small animals. But when Inojin had to perform it on a human he showed signs of struggle, for example when he had to prevent Chōchō from reaching a bag of potato chips because he couldn't overcome her strong will, making Ino frustrated that Inojin wanted to give up.

Sai tried to intervene but that lead them to having a quarrel between Inojin's training. Inojin tried to use the technique of his parents but to no avail. When Inojin took control of his father he tried to apologize in Sai's body, but it didn't work as Ino realized that he was under Inojin's mind transfer. Inojin later made peace between his parent when he used the technique on his mother, successfully taking control of her and telling her about his motivation to master this jutsu. When Sai gave Ino a hug on ChōChō's advice to solve their fight, Ino blushed when she woke up from Inojin's mind transfer. Both talked and complimented Inojin as he mastered the technique before they walked home.

When Shikamaru forgets his wedding anniversary, he goes to Yamanaka Flower's to buy a gift for Temari, Shikamaru asks Ino if Sai had ever forgotten their anniversary but Ino states that Sai always remembers special occasions such as her and Inojin's birthdays, their wedding anniversary, etc and always makes sure to do something for it even if he's busy at work.

In Sasuke Retsuden, When Sakura and Ino are hanging out and they are discussing their families, Ino tells Sakura about how Inojin has inherited Sai's straight hair so she enjoys curling it.

After learning about Kara and deciding to increase security, Ino and Sai ran the trial of the new sensory team. Sai helps Ino by taking the role of a mock intruder when Ino organised a trial run of the village's new sensing security system. When Inojin failed to apprehend a single mock intruder, he told his father he thought Ino was disappointed in him. Sai however explained to Inojin that Ino's dedication to sensing stems from her admiration for her father, who died during the war. She was inspired by him, and avoided forcing Inojin to take on sensing because she wanted him to be inspired by her as well.

During the Chūnin Re-Examination Ino and Sai watched the final round of Inojin's match against Hōki.

Children
Inojin Yamanaka Inojin is the first and only son of Sai and Ino and a member of the Yamanaka Clan. He inherited his mother's blonde hair and blue eyes and his father's pale skin, his hairstyle and clothing also closely resemble Sai. Inojin is a Genin from Konoha and a member of Team Moegi along with Shikadai Nara and Chōchō Akimichi. Inojin has been taught the art-oriented techniques of his father, and as such he is able to effectively animate his drawings for various purposes, though his drawing style differs greatly from that of his father's as it is more childish, and even more noticeably, he uses colour in his drawings. He has also shown he can use his mother's Mind Body Switch Technique and carries a sword similar to his father when he was a child.

Fanon
SaiIno is a pairing that has grown rapidly in popularity over the years and is well known by fans. The pairing quickly gained a fanbase after Sai and Ino had their first interaction in the manga. The couple's fanbase grew significantly once it was revealed that Ino and Sai eventually got married and had a child together and it continues to grow due to various material such as the light novels and the anime which showcases their relationship in depth. SaiIno are often credited in the fandom for being the couple with the most PDA as well as being appreciated for their healthy dynamic together as a couple and parents in the Boruto series. Many members of the fandom nickname this pairing the flower and the root. It is commonly a companion couple of ShikaTema, NaruHina and SasuSaku.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Sai/Ino on FanFiction.Net
 * Sai/Ino on FanFiction.Net

FAN ART

TUMBLR

TWITTER

WIKIS
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Trivia

 * The pairing is nicknamed The Flower and the Root by fans.
 * InoSai and Saino are less commonly used variations of the ship name.
 * Sai is the only known male character in the series to take on his spouse's surname upon marriage.
 * As a married couple, Ino refers to Sai as anata ('darling' in Japanese).
 * Ino and Sai's wedding day is described in the Naruto Retsuden novel, making it only the 2nd wedding in the series among canon couples to have ever been mentioned.
 * Sai and Ino (as well as their son, Inojin) are always associated with the color purple from clothes, merch and various openings and endings.

Variations

 * SakuInoSai refers to the ship between Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka and Sai