"Girls, the knowledge in your minds is far too limited. Don't waste your time; learn more. Let me give you another riddle."
Although she knew it might not have much effect, Ino still offered some advice during the riddle session. If even one girl gave up on Sasuke and returned to a normal life, her efforts wouldn't be in vain.
The riddle session lasted about half an hour. Ino still had more riddles, but the chakra she had brought with her using the Mind Body Switch Technique was nearly depleted, so she prepared to retreat.
Just as she was about to release the Mind Body Switch Technique, a faint yet distinctly different spiritual energy fluctuation emerged from the depths of Sasuke's soul. Was it Indra's chakra? Had her prolonged possession of his body triggered some kind of resistance mechanism within that chakra? Curiosity got the better of her, and she couldn't help but "look" closer.
Their spiritual energies collided, and in her consciousness, a deafening thunderclap erupted. It was as if a colossal purple Tengu giant, wielding a massive sword, was slashing down at her with full force! The clash of spiritual energies made Ino feel like she was riding a bicycle straight into a speeding train.
Sasuke had no idea what was happening. He only heard Ino grunt, and the control of the Mind Body Switch Technique noticeably weakened.
Without hesitation, he seized partial control of his body. In the physical world, this manifested as him gripping a kunai in reverse and stabbing his own shoulder, attempting to use anti-genjutsu methods to resist the Mind Body Switch Technique.
"Release!" Ino's consciousness was injured by the purple giant, and her spiritual energy was damaged. Not wanting to worsen her injuries, she immediately abandoned a portion of her chakra, released the Secret Technique, and returned to her own body.
"Damn it... What the hell was that? What kind of technique did you use?" Ino leaned against a tree as she slowly stood up.
She wiped the corner of her mouth, and crimson blood trickled down her delicate chin.
The moment she regained control of her body, she activated her "shifting blame" skill—it was Sasuke who had injured her! She speculated that the purple giant was chakra imbued with Indra's will. This was a peculiar form of spiritual energy, its quantity minuscule but its quality unimaginably high.
If Ino's current spiritual energy level was 1, and Inoichi's was 1.5, then the intensity of this spiritual energy was around 7 or 8. Considering the countless reincarnations and the immense cost, Indra's original spiritual energy must have been even higher.
On the Sage of Six Paths' deathbed, Indra declared that he would destroy the ninja sect. Even in death, he would return through reincarnation to cause trouble, determined to prove that he was stronger than Asura, the Sage's chosen successor.
Asura, on the other hand, vowed to stop his elder brother Indra. Even if his body perished, his soul would reincarnate to thwart his brother.
The two brothers spoke of reincarnation as casually as going downstairs to buy cigarettes. But in reality? Even with the Sage of Six Paths' bloodline, their innate spiritual energy far surpassed that of many deities. Yet, the toll of repeated reincarnations was immense.
When Naruto and Sasuke formed the "Seal of Reconciliation" at the Valley of the End, it marked the conclusion of the destined battle between Indra and Asura. The last remnants of their consciousnesses finally returned to the earth.
Ino's proficiency in matters of the soul was quite low. Could the Sage of Six Paths still summon his two sons from the other side of the Yellow Springs? She didn't know. In any case, Ino hadn't seen any trace of Indra's will in their previous clash. If she had to describe it, what remained now was nothing more than a small program. Find the reincarnation of Asura, and then deal with him! Through that brief collision, she roughly grasped this intention.
This small program was extremely tenacious, and its offensive power was astonishingly high. Ino was nearly caught by this energy and had to hastily sever her connection, resulting in some loss of her spiritual energy.
The damage to her spiritual energy left Ino pale and drenched in cold sweat, a sight that deeply pained Inoichi. Unconsciously, the intelligence chief even drew his kunai, prompting Shikaku to quickly stop him, saying, "Old friend, it's not that serious, not that serious!" "You tricked me? Taking advantage of my carelessness, you lulled me into lowering my guard, and then you activated some countering secret technique when I had expended most of my chakra? Impressive, impressive, Uchiha Sasuke, I underestimated you!" Ino pointed at Sasuke, expertly shifting the blame.
Sasuke felt bitter but couldn't voice it.
He was still confused. Who had just expelled Ino from his body? Was it him? Nonsense! If he had such a method, why would he have stabbed himself with a kunai earlier? He wasn't stupid! It was clearly not his doing, but he couldn't explain it either. Saying that a stranger had remotely helped him? No one would believe that, so he simply didn't explain. Think what you will.
"Our duel isn't over yet. Are you going to surrender?" He pulled the kunai from his shoulder, letting blood stain half his body, and coldly stared at Ino.
Among the jonin, there were various speculations, some plausible, some not. The Third Hokage pondered for a moment and offered his inference: "It must have been a contingency Uchiha Itachi set up in advance. He was worried his brother might be ambushed, so he sealed some technique to resist spiritual energy erosion."
The jonin nodded repeatedly. The Hokage was right! It was definitely Uchiha Itachi's doing!
"Huh? What's going on? Why is Ino-pig standing up again? Are you hurt?! Oh, Sasuke, you're hurt too?" So much had happened in such a short time that Sakura was completely bewildered. She first saw the extremely weak Ino, then turned to see Sasuke's blood-soaked body.
What on earth was going on? Didn't Sasuke defeat Ino and keep everyone guessing? She felt that what was happening now was completely beyond her understanding.
"Stop fighting, both of you! You're both hurt, just stop!" Sakura tried to get them to cease, but neither paid her any attention.
Ino declared with great bravado, "Hmph, I didn't expect you to have such a contingency. I thought this was just a game, but it seems I was too naive. I won't surrender. Come on, let's continue!"
"Who's playing games with you? I'm not like you fools playing house at the Ninja Academy!!" Blood gushed from Sasuke's shoulder as if it were free. Clenching his teeth, he overcame the discomfort in his body and kicked fiercely at Ino's face.