The Second Mizukage

"Huh?" As soon as Ino stepped into the thick fog, she realized that Shikamaru and Choji were no longer by her side. The three of them had been forcibly separated by this maze.

She looked ahead but saw no trace of Naruto and the others. After waiting for a while, she also didn't notice the three ninjas from Kirigakure Village who were supposed to follow them in.

"This Genjutsu is really powerful," she thought. Her own Genjutsu skills were far from impressive, so she couldn't pinpoint exactly what made this one so effective. All she could say was, "Damn, this is amazing!" Ino continued walking in the direction she had been going, but after ten minutes, she still hadn't found an exit.

Surrounded by dense fog on all sides, she quickly lost her sense of direction. She had a feeling she was going off course, but there was nothing she could do except keep moving.

The fog seemed endless, and her sense of direction was completely disoriented.

"There's no way I can use the Shadow Clone Technique here!" Ino couldn't just run blindly in the fog. She immediately created eight Shadow Clones, assigned them numbers, and sent them off in different directions to scout the path.

No matter how strong "Shinkiro" was, it couldn't possibly use space-time Ninja techniques. They had been in the cave earlier, and they were definitely still in the cave now. It was just that the path beneath their feet was obscured by Genjutsu. This Genjutsu affected the surroundings rather than Ino and her companions directly, so they couldn't break free from what was essentially more of an illusion than a traditional Genjutsu.

"Bam!" One of the Shadow Clones fell into a huge pit, and the memory returned to Ino's main body. She marked the direction where the clone had disappeared with an "X."

"Bam! Bam! Bam!" One after another, the Shadow Clones disappeared—some fell into traps, while others hit dead ends. Ino sorted through all the memories and slowly moved forward.

She kept sending out Shadow Clones to scout the path while her main body followed the most reliable route. After thirty minutes, the fog suddenly cleared, and her surroundings became bright and open.

"Fresh eel, fresh eel, come take a look!"

"Steamed buns! One tael each!"

"Mizuno-kun, do you think your mother will like me? Is this outfit too flashy for my first visit?"

The bustling sounds of a marketplace surrounded her. Ino found herself in the middle of a lively market, with vendors selling everything from groceries to seafood. When she turned around, she saw that the area behind her was also crowded with people. Her sudden stop and intense gaze drew curious looks from passersby, who pointed at her and whispered among themselves.

Ino immediately activated her sensing ability, hoping to locate Shikamaru and Choji.

After a wide-ranging search, she didn't see a single familiar face—not Shikamaru, not Choji, not even Naruto or Sakura.

"Too bad for Shikamaru's plan. That guy must have found a place to take a nap by now, right?"

Ino placed her hands on her hips and surveyed her surroundings.

Since she couldn't find her companions, she would have to act alone.

She walked around the market but didn't notice anything unusual.

Ino tried the traditional method of disrupting her Chakra flow to break the Genjutsu.

"Release!"

Her Chakra circulated twice within her body, but when she opened her eyes, she was still in the middle of the bustling market.

The level of this Genjutsu was simply too high! She didn't know if Sasuke, with his Sharingan, could break it, but she was certain she couldn't.

The Second Mizukage's mastery of Genjutsu was far more formidable than imagined. The bustling streets, the crowded marketplace, the lanterns lining the roads, and the distant castle tower—everything looked, sounded, smelled, and felt utterly real.

Ino picked up a monkey-faced mask from a roadside stall. It felt slightly rough to the touch, and the vendor kept rambling on about how it was a masterpiece crafted by a renowned artisan. Fireworks bloomed in the night sky, and jugglers tossed flaming torches, eliciting laughter from the children. It all seemed like a scene from a peaceful paradise.

Ino plucked a nameless wildflower from the roadside and brought it to her nose. The fragrance was refreshing and lingered pleasantly.

There was no sign of Chojuro, nor of Uchiha Sasuke. It felt as though there were countless people around, yet at the same time, it seemed like she was the only one there.

Ino focused her thoughts, holding the wildflower in her right hand. She twirled it between her fingers like a pen, then shouted softly.

"Flower Shuriken!"

The wildflower shot straight backward.

The so-called Flower Shuriken was nothing more than a term Ino had made up as a child to impress Sakura. It was like kids pretending to be Optimus Prime or Megatron during play—children couldn't actually become Transformers, and a thrown wildflower was nowhere near as powerful as a real shuriken. But in this labyrinth, it was a test to determine what was real and what was illusion.

She turned to look behind her, her brow furrowed.

Sakura, with her pink hair and wide forehead, stood three meters away. She extended her right hand, her index and middle fingers pinching the wildflower. She gave Ino a triumphant smile.

Her height, demeanor, clothing, expression—even that awkward, hesitant energy—were exactly like Sakura's.

"Ino, I won't lose to you anymore, never again!" Sakura declared with a bold and spirited tone. "To win Sasuke-kun's love, let's settle this here and now!"

Ino couldn't help but shiver. "Old man, please stop with the act. Your tone is really creeping me out. It's disgusting!"

"Huh? Is that so? Your willpower is this strong? You're completely unaffected by my Genjutsu?" Sakura's figure began to blur, and soon, a man about 1.8 meters tall with long yellow hair and a high-collared coat appeared before Ino.

The man had no eyebrows, heavy dark circles under his eyes, and a slightly comical mustache.

He stroked his chin, scrutinizing Ino closely. "This shouldn't be possible. A little girl like you hasn't been affected by my Genjutsu at all? Do you have some kind of unique Kekkei Genkai?"

Before Ino could answer, he suddenly jumped up as if he had discovered something extraordinary. His movements were exaggerated as he pointed at Ino's waist. "This is!? The Hidden Leaf Village's Forehead Protector? You're a ninja from the Hidden Leaf?"

"Yes, senior, I am—"

The mustached man's face turned pale. "Has Kirigakure Village already been destroyed by the Hidden Leaf? Did the gem that opens the labyrinth fall into the hands of the Hidden Leaf? Those useless descendants of mine! They've completely disgraced me! Ahhh—I'm so furious!"

He alternated between lamenting how he had failed the trust of the First Mizukage and cursing his descendants for their incompetence.

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! The Hidden Leaf Village and Kirigakure Village are not enemies. We are here for a friendly exchange."

"Are we really not enemies?"

"Really not!"

The mustached man stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and looked quite annoyed: "Exchange? I left them so many powerful ninja techniques, and they still need to exchange with the Hidden Leaf Village? What a bunch of incompetents!"