The Third Hokage clung tightly to the Scroll of Seals, leaving Ino with no way to learn the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags. Taking advantage of Chojuro's inexperience, she seized the initiative. Despite the excruciating pain in her left hand, she formed hand seals once again.
"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"
Chojuro swung his Hiramekarei, having just shattered an Exploding Tag, and was still pondering the weaknesses of the "Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags" when he suddenly found himself enveloped in thick mist.
At first, he thought it was just fog on his glasses and instinctively wiped them. But then he realized that the mist surrounded him completely.
Looking around, he immediately understood and couldn't help but feel exasperated. "This is our Kirigakure Village's Hidden Mist Technique, for crying out loud!"
Chojuro, after all, was the future Sixth Mizukage. Though he had personality flaws, his mind was sharp. He quickly grasped Ino's intention in using the Hidden Mist Technique at this moment.
"You're afraid of my Ninja Blade, and with your injuries, you don't dare engage me in close combat, right? I absolutely cannot lose to you, a ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village!" Chojuro gripped Hiramekarei tightly with both hands, his eyes scanning his surroundings. If any Water Release Ninja Technique came flying at him now, he would strike it down head-on.
Little Mustache, watching from the shadows, was speechless. Using Kirigakure's signature technique at such a critical moment in the battle—while it might be effective, didn't it feel ironic? Shouldn't she be using Hidden Leaf's techniques to settle this?
Chojuro knew the weaknesses of the Hidden Mist Technique. It had been thoroughly studied in Kirigakure, so it was nothing new to him.
He closed his eyes, focusing intently. The sound of flowing water filled his ears, but if he listened carefully, he could detect the faint sound of Chakra footsteps on the water's surface.
"Found you!" Chojuro heard three sets of footsteps simultaneously. Putting himself in his opponent's shoes, he figured they would likely attack with a Shadow Clone while the real body retreated.
With a roar, he swung his blade toward the direction of the retreating sound.
"Hiramekarei: Release!" As he swung with full force, a faint blue light emanated from the blade, shaped like a halibut. A Chakra sphere over a meter in diameter shot out like a meteor, crashing into the distance.
The explosive energy created a massive hole in the water, sending a towering wave into the air. Within it was a figure.
"Got you!" Chojuro was thrilled. This cunning enemy had finally fallen into his hands.
He knew full well that his opponent was not skilled in close combat.
Taking three steps in one, he leaped into the air, Hiramekarei in hand, charging straight at the figure.
Ino's golden ponytail was soaked, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Facing Chojuro's assault, she seemed flustered.
"Surrender. I don't want to hurt you," Chojuro said, wielding Hiramekarei with one hand. Despite his slender appearance, his strength far surpassed Ino's, as evidenced by how easily he deflected the Kunai aimed at his forehead. With his free hand, he grabbed Ino by the collar, speaking with authority.
Left with no choice, Ino raised her hands in surrender.
Chojuro hesitated for a moment, then immediately sensed something was off. This wasn't the kind of person who would surrender so easily.
It was Genjutsu! Had he fallen under a Genjutsu? Chojuro quickly disrupted his Chakra flow.
He paused for just a second, but that was enough for Ino to seize the opportunity and unleash a massive Water Dragon Bullet. The roaring water dragon swept him up into the sky, carrying him higher and higher.
Chojuro let out a furious roar and channeled more Chakra into Hiramekarei. With a deafening boom, the massive Chakra sphere shattered the Water Dragon Bullet.
As soon as he landed, he felt a chill at the back of his heart. Ino, whom he had always considered weak in close combat, had used Water Instantaneous Body to accelerate and was now thrusting a Kunai toward his heart. Hiramekarei, a massive Ninja Blade, was far less agile than a Kunai, but Chojuro was intimately familiar with it. With a loud shout, he swung the blade, spinning halfway around and slashing fiercely behind him.
Ino's attack was a feint. Halfway through her strike, she switched from thrusting to throwing the Kunai, luring Chojuro into swinging his blade. She then circled around to his front, clenched her right fist, and delivered a powerful uppercut.
With a loud thud, Chojuro's glasses were sent flying, and his vision blurred. Immediately after, a flurry of punches rained down on him.
"You three ganging up on me?!"
"And you even brought a Ninja Blade in here? How shameless can you get?"
Chojuro retorted immediately, "I was carrying the Ninja Blade before I entered the maze. You didn't protest then!"
Ino snapped back, "You're so overbearing, bullying a weak woman like me. Are you even men?!"
The so-called "weak woman" proceeded to pummel Chojuro with punches and kicks.
It was true that Ino wasn't particularly strong, but when it came to punching someone in the face, it was never the fist that got hurt. Chojuro, now furious, roared and swung Hiramekarei wildly. Without his glasses, his nearsightedness made him practically blind in the thick fog.
He had trained to compensate for his nearsightedness, and though his swings with Hiramekarei seemed chaotic, they were actually quite precise.
Ino's back was slashed open by Hiramekarei, leaving a massive wound, but she still held the upper hand. Chojuro had been punched over a dozen times, his eyes swollen, and his neck, shoulders, arms, and torso riddled with bloody holes from the Kunai.
Ino was exhausted but gritted her teeth and pressed on. With a kick, she sent his Ninja Blade flying. Chojuro, growing more tenacious by the minute, couldn't find Hiramekarei in his blind state. Instead, he drew Haku's Samurai Sword, which he had been carrying all along, and continued the fight. The two exchanged over thirty more moves before Ino finally landed a punch on the back of his head, eliminating the future Sixth Mizukage.
Having defeated the Kirigakure trio in succession, Ino was utterly drained. Her victory hinged on her versatility; compared to her peers, she had few weaknesses at this stage.
"Huff… huff… Second Mizukage, did I… did I pass the test?" she asked Little Mustache, gasping for breath.
There was a decent level of camaraderie between them, and Little Mustache, after all, was still a Mizukage with his own principles.
He sighed heavily, "These juniors are such a disappointment. Good thing I'm already dead, or they'd drive me to the grave… Yes, you've passed the test!"
Ino pursed her lips, waiting for him to continue.
Little Mustache raised three fingers, then thought better of it and put them down. "I know too many ninja techniques, so you can only choose one. The techniques I know are Ninja Art: Steaming Danger Tyranny, Water Release: Water Ball Technique, Water Release: Oil Transformation, Water Release, and then the Secret Technique: Water Gun Technique. Finally, there's Genjutsu and the summoning scroll for my most precious Summoning Beast, Shinkiro. Which one do you want to pick?"
He rambled on and on, especially using a lot of adjectives when describing the Summoning Beast.
Only after he finished did Ino speak up. "I'll learn the first technique, Steaming Danger Tyranny."
Little Mustache's expression turned as if he had been choked, looking extremely displeased.
Ino nodded firmly. "Usually, the first technique mentioned isn't that great, right? Second Mizukage-sama, you were so dismissive and quick about it, so it must be because this technique isn't very powerful. Teach me Ninja Art: Steaming Danger Tyranny. I'll learn this one."