Ino knows that most of her peers don't get what it means to be a kunoichi.
Like most of her classmates, she agrees that Uchiha Sasuke is the hottest guy in their class, but her conclusion isn't reached solely on the basis of his pretty face (although it is certainly a major factor). His cool personality, too, is attractive, but Ino realizes his true appeal comes from who he is: the heir of the Uchiha, one of the strongest clans in Konoha.
She's a bit chagrined to admit that setting her sights on Sasuke is something she does because it makes sense. Ino would like to believe in true love, like any other girl, but she is going to become the best kunoichi of her age. And that means she's going to go after the man who can best help her further her cause.
She knows, intellectually, that Sasuke is not the stuff of romantic fairy tales. He hasn't yet awakened to the fact that girls are fabulous, and he hasn't shown any interest in having a girlfriend. Ino coos and flirts with the best of them, but that's not going to be enough to get his attention... and even if it did, Ino knows enough about clan politics to realize Sasuke is going to be pressured to marry someone from within his own clan to keep his bloodline strong.
Still, Ino finds it fun to flirt, and getting into fights with other girls is a good way to train. None of them get what it means to be kunoichi, not like she does.
The best kunoichi are never famous for their battle prowess. It's why Ino doesn't think much of Tsunade – she is an aberration, closer to being a shinobi than being a fighter that exploits her strength as a woman. Kunoichi are strong because of their gender, not in spite of it.
Ino has her own ideal to follow, anyway - Uchiha Mikoto. Now there's a kunoichi.
Part of the reason she sets her sights on Sasuke is because of whom his mother is. Uchiha Mikoto was a jounin-ranked kunoichi before she settled down to raise her family, and that's rarer than a blue moon in the male-dominated society of Konoha. There's no stories about how Mikoto earned her rank, but Ino reads between the lines and understands how stellar the woman has to be. The lack of stories indicates that Mikoto hasn't failed yet.
Whenever the Uchiha matriarch stops into the flower shop, Ino finds herself fascinated. She likes to watch the way Mikoto moves, the elegant smoothness of her hands as she accepts the latest arrangement. She always makes pleasant conversation with Ino's father, effortlessly charming as she compliments him on his creative ikkebana techniques, or offering a bit of gossip about the tea sale taking place a couple blocks over.
No one would guess that this woman is one of Konoha's most deadly fighters. That, to Ino, is something to strive for. She wants to become an elegant lady, and since her own mother died in the Kyuubi attack, she's fixated on Mikoto as a role model.
So, yes, she wants Sasuke for more than his pretty face.
At least until a couple of months before she turns eleven. It's a brilliant summer day with not a cloud in the blue, blue sky when the Godaime ascends.
Ino's heard the rumors that Sasuke's older brother is slated to become the next Hokage – not only is she president of Sasuke's fan club, but she's also a Yamanaka. Her clan gathers gossip as easily as an Inuzuka gathered fleas, but she's never really given much thought to Sasuke's brother. Having a respected older brother was just another reason that Sasuke was cool.
But when she sees the new Hokage, Ino realizes what her future holds. She's going to become Itachi's wife.
Ino doesn't believe in love at first sight – it's impractical for a kunoichi to believe in love at all, and even if love does exist, it would be amazingly stupid to fall in love with a man she's only seen and never met. But when she goes to bed that night, she finds herself staring at the ceiling, unable to think of anything except Itachi.
Ino knows she's attracted to power, but maybe the Godaime will offer her something else: the chance to have it all. He's handsome and he must be intelligent to have risen so far so quickly. Ino has met Sandaime several times, and knows the old man wouldn't choose anyone who wasn't kind to replace him.
She and Uchiha Itachi would make a hell of a lot of sense. Five years isn't that much of an age difference. She's been trained to be the ideal wife for a powerful man, and all of the past Hokage have taken brides from within the village. Plus? If she marries him, Itachi will gain the undying support of the Yamanaka, and the Akamichi and Nara by extension. That's three of the village's most influential clans, all lined up to help the Hokage.
Ino isn't foolish enough to think no other girl is entertaining similar thoughts about the Godaime. Unlike Sasuke, she will have to fight not only her peers, but every single woman in the village for Itachi's affections. But Ino is going to be the best kunoichi of her generation – and that means she will always win. No woman can stand against her, and no man can deny her what she wants.
That is what it means to be kunoichi.