"Hm?" Just as she stepped into the dense fog, Ino realized that Shikamaru and Choji were no longer beside her; the three of them had been forcibly separated by this maze.
She looked ahead, seeing no trace of Naruto or the others, and waited for a while, but still didn't see the three Hidden Mist Village Ninja who should have followed them in.
"This Genjutsu is really powerful." Her Genjutsu skills were simply not up to par; she didn't even know what made the other party's Genjutsu so good, only able to exclaim how amazing it was!
Ino continued walking forward in the direction she had been going, and after ten minutes, she still hadn't seen an exit.
With dense fog all around, she quickly lost her sense of direction, instinctively feeling that she must have gone off course, but there was nothing she could do but keep going.
The fog was boundless, and her own sense of direction was completely muddled.
"There's no other way, Shadow Clone Technique!" Ino couldn't just run around aimlessly in the fog. She immediately created eight Shadow Clones, then numbered them, assigned them directions, and sent them out one by one to find a path.
No matter how strong that "Mirage" was, it couldn't use Space-Time Ninjutsu. They were in the cave before, and they must still be in the cave now; it was just that the path underfoot was obscured by Genjutsu.
This Genjutsu affected the surroundings, not Ino and her companions, so they couldn't break this thing that was called Genjutsu but was actually more like an illusion.
"Bang!" One Shadow Clone fell into a giant pit, and the returned memory was received by Ino's main body. She drew an 'X' in the direction where the Shadow Clone disappeared.
"Bang, bang, bang!" One Shadow Clone after another disappeared; some fell into traps, others encountered dead ends. Ino sorted through all the memories and slowly moved forward.
She continuously sent out Shadow Clones to scout, while her main body took the most confident path. Thirty minutes later, her vision suddenly cleared.
"Fresh eels, fresh eels, come and see!"
"Steamed buns! One tael each!"
"Mizuno-kun, will your mother dislike me? Is this outfit too flashy for my first visit?"
The surroundings were bustling with noise, and Ino instantly found herself in a marketplace, with vendors selling miscellaneous goods, seafood, and all sorts of people.
She looked back and found that behind her were also crowds of people. Her action of stopping abruptly and looking back intently made many passersby find her strange, and several people pointed at her, whispering something.
Ino immediately used her sensory abilities, trying to find Shikamaru and Choji.
After a wide-ranging search, she didn't see a single familiar face. Let alone Shikamaru or Choji, she didn't even see Naruto or Sakura.
"...Shikamaru's plan is a pity. That guy must have gone to find a place to sleep by now, right?"
Ino put her hands on her hips, observing her surroundings.
Since she couldn't find her companions, she could only act alone.
She walked around the market once but didn't see anything unusual.
Ino tried to use the traditional method, which is to disrupt Chakra flow, to break this Genjutsu.
"Release!"
Chakra circulated twice within her body, but when she opened her eyes, she was still in the bustling city.
The level of this Genjutsu was simply too high!
Whether Sasuke, who possessed the Sharingan, could break it, she didn't know, but she knew she couldn't break this thing.
The Second Mizukage's Genjutsu mastery was far stronger than imagined. The bustling crowds, the lively market on both sides, the streetlights, and the distant castle tower—the sounds, smells, and tactile sensations—everything seemed incredibly real.
Ino picked up a monkey-faced mask from a roadside stall; it felt slightly rough. The stall owner even chattered incessantly, telling her it was a masterpiece made by a master.
Fireworks bloomed in the night sky, and jugglers constantly tossed and caught torches, eliciting laughter from a group of children. It looked like a scene of peaceful paradise.
Ino picked an unknown wild flower from the roadside, brought it to her nose, and sniffed. The floral scent was refreshing and lingered long.
Chōjūrō wasn't here, nor was Uchiha Sasuke. It seemed there were countless people, yet it also seemed she was the only one.
Ino concentrated, holding the wild flower in her right hand, twirling it between her fingers like a pen, then gave a soft shout.
"Flower Shuriken!"
The wild flower flew straight behind her.
The so-called Flower Shuriken was completely Ino's childhood rhetoric to Sakura, just like children playing 'I'm Optimus Prime' or 'I'm Megatron.' Children can't turn into Optimus Prime, and a wild flower thrown like this is far from having the power of a Shuriken, but in this maze, it was a test to determine reality from illusion.
She looked back, her brow furrowed.
Sakura, with her pink hair and Wide Forehead, extended her right hand, index and middle fingers together, clamping the wild flower. She stood three meters away, giving Ino a rather smug smile.
Her height, demeanor, clothing, expression, and even that conflicted, hesitant air were exactly like Sakura's.
"Ino, I won't lose to you anymore, never again!" Sakura said with great spirit, "To win Sasuke-kun's love, let's settle this here today!"
Ino couldn't help but shiver, "Uncle, please stop your divine powers. Your tone really scared me, it's so disgusting!"
"Hm? Is that so? Your willpower is actually this strong? You weren't affected by the Genjutsu at all?" Sakura's figure became hazy, and soon, a man who appeared to be at least 1.8 meters tall, with long yellow hair and wearing a high-collared trench coat, appeared before Ino.
The man had no eyebrows, heavy dark circles under his eyes, and a slightly comical handlebar mustache.
He stroked his chin, carefully examining Ino: "That shouldn't be. How can a little girl like you remain unaffected by my Genjutsu all this time? Could it be that you possess some unique Bloodline Limit?"
Before Ino could answer, he suddenly jumped up as if he had discovered a new continent, his movements extremely exaggerated. Then he pointed at Ino's waist: "...This is!? This is a Konoha Village forehead protector? You are a Ninja from Konoha Village?"
"Yes, Senior, I am…"
Little Mustache was shocked: "Could it be that Hidden Mist Village has been destroyed by Konoha? And the gem that activates the maze fell into Konoha Village's hands? Those bastard juniors, they've really disgraced me! I'm furious! Ahhh—I'm truly going to die of anger!"
One moment he was saying he had failed the First Mizukage's trust, the next he was cursing his descendants for being incompetent.
He wallowed in self-pity for a full five minutes. Ino finally managed to interrupt him while he was kneeling and pounding the ground: "Senior! Second Mizukage-sama! Konoha Village and Hidden Mist Village are not enemies; we are here for friendly exchange."
"Are you really not enemies?"
"Really not!"
Little Mustache stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and looked quite annoyed: "Exchange? I left them so many powerful Ninjutsu; do they still need to exchange with Konoha Village? They're just a bunch of good-for-nothings!"
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