Ninja Pot Shadow

"Flounder - Release!" With a powerful swing of his sword, a faint blue light emanated from the flounder-like blade, followed by a meteor-like chakra orb over a meter in diameter hurtling into the distance.

The violent energy blasted a huge hole in the water's surface, sending waves soaring into the sky, among which was a figure.

"Found you!" Chojuro was overjoyed; this cunning enemy had finally fallen into his hands.

He knew very well that his opponent was not good at close combat.

He took three steps in two, held the ninja sword Hiramekarei upside down, and leaped into the air, charging straight at the figure.

Ino's golden ponytail was already wet from the water, and there was blood at the corner of her mouth. She seemed very flustered in the face of Chojuro's attack.

"Give up, I don't want to hurt you." Chojuro swung the Hiramekarei sword with one hand. This guy looked thin, but he could actually wield the Hiramekarei, a large ninja sword. His strength was far greater than Ino's. He knocked away the kunai that was stabbing towards his forehead with one strike, and then used his free hand to grab Ino's collar, saying with great momentum.

Left with no other choice, Ino could only raise her hand in surrender.

Chojuro was momentarily stunned, but immediately realized something was wrong; his opponent wasn't the type to give up so easily.

It's an illusion! I've been caught in an illusion? Chojuro quickly tried to disrupt his chakra.

He only paused for a second, and Ino took the opportunity to release a huge water dragon bullet. The water dragon roared and swept him into the sky, flying higher and higher.

Chojuro roared and channeled chakra into Hiramekarei once more. The massive chakra sphere shattered the Water Dragon Bullet with a deafening roar.

As soon as he landed, he felt a chill in his back. Ino, whom he had always thought was not good at close combat, used her Water Instant to accelerate, reversed her grip on the kunai, and stabbed it toward his heart.

The Flounder was a huge ninja sword, far less convenient than a kunai, but Chojuro was extremely familiar with it. With a shout, he swung the sword, spun half a circle, and slashed backward.

Ino was feinting; she only went halfway through her attack before changing her kunai from a thrust to a throw, drawing Chojuro's attention to slash. She then circled around to the front, clenched her right fist, and delivered an uppercut to Chojuro.

With a "bang," Chojuro's glasses were knocked off, and his vision blurred. Then, his opponent's fists rained down on him.

"You three can take on me!"

"You even brought in a ninja sword? Could you be any more shameless?"

Chojuro immediately retorted, "I was carrying my ninja sword before entering the labyrinth, and you didn't protest then?"

Ino angrily retorted, "This is too domineering! You're bullying a weak woman like me! Are you even men?!"

The "weak woman" punched and kicked Chojuro.

It's true that Ino is weak, but if you punch someone in the face, it's not the fist that gets hurt, right?

Chojuro was also driven to desperation, roaring and wildly slashing with his flounder. Without his glasses, his nearsightedness made him look no different from a blind man in the thick fog.

He had trained to cope with his nearsightedness, and although the flounder's wild dance seemed chaotic, it was actually quite methodical.

Ino suffered a huge wound on her back from the flounder's slash, but she still had the upper hand. Chojuro was punched more than ten times, his eyes were swollen, and his neck, shoulders, arms, chest and abdomen were pierced with several bloody holes by kunai.

Ino was exhausted, but she gritted her teeth and persevered, kicking away his ninja sword. Chojuro also fought more and more tenaciously. He was blind and couldn't find Hiramekarei for a moment, so he could only draw his white katana to continue fighting. He always carried this sword with him. The two fought for more than thirty more moves. Finally, Ino punched him on the back of the head, eliminating the future Sixth Mizukage.

Ino was extremely exhausted after defeating the three members of Kirigakure in succession. The reason she was able to win was because she had a variety of methods. Compared with ninjas of the same age, she doesn't actually have many weaknesses now.

"Huff...huff, Second Mizukage, did I...did I pass the test?" she asked the man with the mustache, panting.

There is a considerable degree of goodwill between the two sides. After all, the man with the mustache is still a Mizukage, and he still has his bottom line.

He sighed heavily: "These younger generations have really disappointed me. Luckily I'm already dead, otherwise they would have driven me crazy... Yes, you passed the test!"

Ino pursed her lips, waiting for him to continue.

The man with the mustache held up three fingers, then, realizing something was amiss, put them away: "I know far too many ninjutsu. You can only choose one. The ninjutsu I know are: Ninjutsu: Steam Explosion, Water Release: Water Ball Technique, Water Release: Oil Transformation, Water Release... then Secret Technique: Water Gun Technique... finally, Genjutsu... and the summoning scroll for my most precious summoning beast, 'Mirage.' Which one do you want to choose?"

He went on and on, especially using a lot of adjectives when talking about the summoned beasts.

Only after he finished speaking did Ino say, "I'll learn the first ninjutsu, Steam Explosion."

The man with the mustache looked like a chicken being strangled, his expression extremely unpleasant.

Ino nodded emphatically: "Usually the first technique mentioned isn't very good, right? Second Mizukage, you spoke so perfunctorily and so quickly, it must be because the technique's power is average. Teach me the ninjutsu: Steam Explosion, I'll learn that."

Chapter Ninety-Five: Steaming Danger and Explosion

The man with the mustache tried to salvage the situation: "Actually, other ninjutsu are also quite good. Did you not hear me clearly? Let me say it again."

Ino waved her hand weakly: "Second Mizukage, I was seriously injured in order to defeat your three outstanding ninjas from Kirigakure. Please teach me the Steam Burst Technique immediately so I can go out and treat my injuries."

The man with the mustache had no choice but to agree.

Steam Explosion is not only an extremely difficult S-rank secret ninjutsu to learn, but also a composite ninjutsu that combines the essence of many of the Second Mizukage's water-style, secret, and genjutsu techniques.

Water ball technique, oil transformation, family secret technique, illusion technique, steam explosion, and so on—all of these are involved to some extent in the game.

If I could only choose one, I would naturally choose this one.

Why couldn't Asuma reach Kage level? It's because he lacked a powerful, decisive ninjutsu, or rather, he couldn't learn it.

Even without the Sharingan, Kakashi is still a Kage-level ninja because he has the S-rank Lightning Blade.

Not to mention Matt Kai and the like.

Ino's abilities are relatively complete, but she still lacks a trump card, and Steam Explosion is just right.

The mustache was ultimately just a remnant of the original body's chakra; there were no ninjutsu scrolls to give to Ino, so he could only dictate them.

He only taught for half an hour, during which he explained in detail the hand seals for the Steaming Explosion Technique, the chakra mobilization trajectory, and many precautions to take when practicing this technique.

He has very limited chakra left and won't set an example. How much you learn is up to you.

Even though Ino currently has 9 points in "Ninjutsu", 8 points in "Spirit", and a level 3 "Water Release", she still felt dizzy when she suddenly encountered such a difficult ninjutsu.

This technique is extremely complex and cannot be learned in a day or two. It involves the secret technique of water transformation, the Water Release: Oil Transformation, and a great deal of knowledge about chakra nature and form transformation. She wanted to write it down, but she simply didn't have the strength. She could only memorize it by heart, remembering every word the mustachioed man said, and then carefully ponder it later when she went out.

Half an hour later, Ino passed through a smoke-filled door and returned to reality.

She appeared at the same time as Shiro and Chojuro, who were covered in blood. Later, the labyrinth "spit out" Chojuro's flounder and Shiro's katana.

Ino gained a completely new understanding of the genjutsu used by the mustache and Saku. This genjutsu even affected the internal timeline? Impressive! Unfortunately, in a world where people possess the Sharingan, genjutsu is simply too powerless.

Quan Bingwei put away the activated gem. The once dazzling gem had dimmed considerably, and many fine cracks could be vaguely seen. This high-ranking official of Kirigakure felt very distressed.

The people who came out had different expressions.

Ino, Chojuro, and Haku—these three looked like they were covered in blood, clearly having gone through a fierce battle.

Chojuro and Shiro used their weapons to support themselves and barely managed to stand, while Ino leaned against the rock wall, trying to catch her breath. She felt so tired that she was about to faint.

Sasuke's face was gloomy, it seemed that he hadn't encountered anything pleasant during the genjutsu.

Shikamaru... Shikamaru is unusually energetic, and there are even marks on his face. He's clearly gone to sleep.

Naruto and Choji were both patting their stomachs, and every burp they made smelled like ramen.

Sakura? Ino looked over and noticed that Sakura looked a little confused. She seemed to have been carrying something in her hand before, but it disappeared into thin air after they left the maze.

Ino's expression was strange. Goodness, you went shopping, didn't you?

So, it turns out I'm the only one fighting for Konoha's glory, covered in wounds, while you guys are just here for sightseeing?

Sakura noticed a purple figure standing to her right, frowned deeply, and instinctively turned around: "Ino, are you... Oh! How did you get so badly injured?! Good heavens, who hurt you?"

She was startled by Ino's injuries and nervously grabbed her hand. Only then did she notice the huge wound on Ino's palm, which had been pierced through by Haku's katana.

The wound was already bandaged, but it was still bleeding inside. Just from the simple act of holding hands, Ino's blood stained Sakura's hands red.

Sakura was flustered and didn't know what to do, so she instinctively called out to Kakashi.

After Sasuke left the genjutsu, the gloom on his face subsided. He examined Ino's injuries and asked, "Did you encounter people from Kirigakure in the dungeon?"

Ino rolled her eyes: "...That's nonsense. You didn't injure them, did you?"

"You can take on all three of them by yourself?"

"The three of them attacked me! I'm the victim."

Kakashi and Asuma, who were reading erotic novels in the distance, heard Sakura's call and rushed over. Kakashi glanced at Ino's wound and said, "Don't worry, there are medical ninjas among Mito-no-sama's guards. I'll call him over to treat you."

Before long, the Jonin guarding Mitokado Homura arrived. This Jonin knew medical ninjutsu and treated Ino without saying a word. Ino was covered in injuries and the only reason she hadn't collapsed was because her attention had been focused on the Steam Explosion. Now she was on the verge of fainting.

Medical ninjas from Kirigakure rushed over to treat Chojuro and Haku.

The two heroes were clearly unable to hold on any longer. Ranmaru tried to help Shiro up, but he failed and the two of them almost fell down together.

The medical ninja's ninjutsu can stimulate the growth of wound cells, but it still consumes the body's energy. The two of them lay down on the stretcher, their eyelids drooping, having lost too much blood and their bodies were extremely exhausted.

Ino lay dizzy on a stretcher, being treated by a Konoha Jonin.

Just before she lost consciousness, Ino grabbed Kakashi's hand and said sincerely, "Kakashi-sensei, thank you for your guidance. Thanks to your guidance, I was able to defeat the three of them in the dungeon this time."

"Give me pointers? What did I give you pointers on?" Kakashi was completely confused.

He felt that Ino was confused because of her severe injuries, so she attributed Asuma's usual guidance to herself. At this moment, it was clearly not appropriate for her to explain, nor was it necessary to explain.

He scratched his head and hummed in agreement, taking over the blame.

In her final moments before losing consciousness, Ino glanced at the Hidden Mist ninja not far away, then looked at her own stats.

Heh, just one sentence and she's got two more accusations against her. Just how petty are those people from Kirigakure?! Luckily, she managed to shift the blame in time, otherwise all that resentment would have been directed at her.

She could actually throw Asuma off, but she was worried that Asuma's small frame wouldn't be able to handle it; someone like Kakashi would be perfect...

As everything grew darker, Sakura, for reasons unknown, kept calling out to Ino, asking her not to sleep and to keep her company. Ino waved her hand, indicating that she was fine, and then everything went black as she passed out completely.

Chapter Ninety-Six: Encounter at the Village Entrance

Ino slept for a whole day before waking up.

Not long after she woke up, Choji came to see her with a big bag of snacks, followed by Shikamaru, Sakura, Naruto, and finally even the awkward Sasuke came.

Asuma and Kakashi arrived at noon. The genin entered the labyrinth to compete, which was a test of the future of the two villages. The jonin also had similar activities, which were to measure the current strength of both sides. The two of them were very busy.

After Kakashi entered the room, he casually sat down to one side. His face was a little pale, which was obviously a sign of excessive chakra consumption.

"How was your harvest this time?" Asma lit a cigarette and asked bluntly.

Shikamaru covered his head with his hands: "The climate inside is very comfortable; it's a great place to cool off in the summer."

Choji was also very happy: "The ramen there was delicious! I had a ramen-scramble with Naruto! And I won in the end!"

Asuma chuckled twice, then looked at Ino.

She said, whether she meant it or not, "Well... I did fight with Chojuro and Haku. They were both very strong. Ranmaru's red eyes really hurt me, otherwise I wouldn't have been beaten like this. After that, I got an S-rank water-style ninjutsu, I think it was water-style. This ninjutsu is too difficult, I can't use it at all now."

She told Asma these things mainly to report the matter. Once Asma knew, his village chief father would also know, and with all the paperwork in place, it could be used in formal settings next time.