The world opened up before her eyes. She flew under the canopy, weaving between trees and drinking in the sights of nature with perfect clarity despite her speed. The steady beat of her wings filled her with unparalleled joy with each flap and she stuck out her chest to release a joyful cry.

That said, Ino hadn’t forgotten her purpose.

She continued her flight, retracing her steps to see what had become of Kiba. The signs of a fight grew clearer—cratered ground, damaged trees tottering on their roots, and deep grooves where jutsu had dug up the earth.

Kiba lay at the site of the damage, out cold.

After the initial shock had run its course, Ino immediately cycled back at a slower pace, cautious. Team 10 was certainly nearby, otherwise, she would’ve been dragged back into her body ages ago. Everything pointed towards her being right; after a few minutes, she noticed footprints branded into the bark because of rough tree-hopping technique.

However, there were only two pairs of footprints, suggesting they’d split up. Ino continued, taking advantage of the woodpecker’s acute sense of hearing to make out abnormal sounds, not that there were any.

The footprints alone allowed her to catch up to Team 10 easily enough, but without any sounds to go off, she had to circle back a few times to avoid getting lost. When the trail of footprints ended, Ino continued moving forward, confident she’d find Team 10 because it was the same direction she and Shikamaru had travelled in—and find them she did.

They ran in an arrowhead formation with Hinata taking the point and Choji and Naruto following behind her. Ino kept her range, inching closer. The three hadn’t noticed her yet so she dared to close the distance ever so slightly.

The attack came without warning.

Hinata spun so fast that her long hair whipped around, masking the kunai in her hand. It struck Ino—the bird—directly in the chest, ending her flight. She felt her grip over the bird slackening as its consciousness began to dwindle.

“Why’d you kill the bird,” she heard Choji ask.

Hinata walked over to her dying body, a spiderweb of veins protruding against the sides of her eyes. “Its chakra network was slightly off, which is one of the effects of the Mind Transfer Jutsu.”

“What about insects?” asked Choji. “There might be bugs nearby.”

Naruto walked over to the dying bird. “There’s no point in following us around—we’re not the ones tracking him.”

With no host consciousness to piggyback off, her own exited the now-dead animal, closing the distance to her body. Ino opened her eyes with a deep gasp, jerking upwards at dizzying speeds. She looked around slowly. Her entire body ached in ways that it hadn’t before and her mind felt like it was moving through sludge.

She debated eating a food pill before ultimately deciding against it. Sure, it would double her chakra reserves and give her the energy to fight for three days and three nights, but she had maybe two more jutsu in her before she ran the risk of serious chakra exhaustion.

Her life wasn’t on the line so putting it there without the need to was absolutely nuts.

Groaning, she refreshed her mind on her surroundings—the difference in vision between a bird and a human was slightly startling but she shook it off. The next thing she did was look for Shikamaru; he sat cross-legged nearby with a slight frown and his eyes closed.

“What kind of guy doesn’t let a girl lean on him?” she asked.

Not that she particularly cared, but she liked to wind him up with stupid questions every once in a while—it also t helped her forget about the cold steel plunging deep into her chest and the agonisingly slow process of asphyxiation as she choked on her blood.

Or rather, the bird’s.

Ino rubbed her chest, grimacing at how sweaty she was.

“The kind of guy that knows when you’re trying to play him.” He snorted but quickly cut himself off when he opened his eyes and saw her. “You look like death. Are you sure you don’t want to tap out here?”

“No way,” she said with a glare. “Not after what I saw—and not after what happened to me.” His silent question filled the space between them and she frowned, looking away. “I’ll be fine.”

“Still, I’ll have to adjust my plans. We can’t have you in battle like this.”

“And you can’t fight without me.”

“...I can buy you some time to recover, though,” he said with a sigh, muttering something under his breath. “So, what did you see?”

“...First, Kiba’s out cold,” she said, squirming a little. “I mean, what did you think would happen? He’s strong, but fighting Hinata, Naruto, and Choji? He was never going to win…” Ino blinked, exclaiming, “He was never going to win and you knew it!”

“Yes, I knew it. We needed a diversion because Team 10 would have immediately gone after us.” Shikamaru stuck a finger in his ear. “And you’re being too loud.”

Ino glared at him. “Stop deflecting. I know there’s no one nearby. That was scummy of you, Shikamaru. You said we’d back him up without ever planning to.”

He looked away. “But it’ll be worth it. Where’s Team 7?”

“How the heck am I supposed to know?” she asked, rolling her eyes. He didn’t speak, so she huffed out an answer: “I can’t tell since they’re out of my sensory range now, but based on their travel speed and general direction when we were chasing them? About ten minutes west of here. You were right—they’re headed to the river.”

“And Team 10?”

Ino grimaced. “They’re about fifteen minutes south from us and are closing in.”

“Then we need to hurry—come on.”

Ino took the lead, taking them through the quickest path possible to reach Team 7. There was a quiet tension between them—she still hadn’t let go of how easily Shikamaru had thrown away Kiba and he knew it. However, she couldn’t fault the strategy either; with the way things were going, they’d win the training exercise.

And even if she had something to say, just moving required a higher degree of focus and Ino’s overburdened mind was struggling to cope. Because of how low she was running, she had to pay attention to how much chakra she used to propel herself through the forest.

“Are we close enough that you can sense their chakra signatures?” Shikamaru pulled up beside her as they jumped from tree to tree.

She nodded.

“Good.”

Without another word, she dropped behind a bush, minimising her presence as much as possible as he went ahead to engage them. Shikamaru's plan was brilliant, but the downside was that it required flawless timing and precision.

Ino watched as four clones descended upon Team 7 along the river bank. Sasuke sprung back, barking out orders as he covered his retreat with a volley of shuriken, destroying half of the clones. Sakura stood in front of him protectively, leaving Shino to face the clones.

Hidden from view, Ino closed her eyes briefly, mentally preparing herself for the delicate technique. She had to be fast and accurate—because there would be no second chance. In the event of failure, Shino’s chakra-consuming bugs would immediately give up her position.

Sakura's eyes darted around, her instincts on high alert. “Stay close to me, Sasuke!” she called out, frequently shifting her stance around him. “Kiba and Ino are hiding somewhere around here. Otherwise, Shikamaru wouldn’t try anything like this.”

“You seem pretty sure about that,” said Shikamaru with a small smile.

He was down to one clone that soon puffed out of existence, pierced by one of Sasuke’s wire-guided shuriken. While the prisoner seal prevented him from moulding chakra, he wasn’t someone they could just ignore.

Frustrated, Ino chewed her lip.

Sakura was too perceptive. She was beginning to see Shikamaru's misdirection tactics for what they were and, sooner or later, Ino would be forced to reveal her position to prevent him from losing. Soon enough, Team 10 would reach their location, destroying all hopes of her and Shikamaru winning the training exercise.

Sakura’s movements were precise and defensive, ready to intercept any attempt to breach their position. Ino watched as Shikamaru’s shadows lashed out, trying to bind Sasuke. Sakura stepped back, allowing Shino to counter with his insects. They siphoned the jutsu’s chakra and the shadows dwindled, forcing Shikamaru to either abandon his jutsu or pump even more chakra into it to overcome the rate of chakra absorption.

He chose the former, summoning another half a dozen clones. A certain degree of chaos returned to the battlefield thanks to the clones, taking a load off both himself and Ino. Sakura’s focus was on Shikamaru with her back to her hiding spot.

Ino steadied herself.

“They say no plan survives contact with the enemy. Sorry, Sakura,” she whispered, feeling the familiar surge of chakra as she initiated her jutsu.

After this, she’d probably only have one more good jutsu left in her.

Her consciousness shot out of her body through the gap between her hands fast enough that the world blurred. She entered Sakura’s mind, quickly overpowering her before the disorientation that always accompanied the transfer kicked in. Renewing her grip over the kunai, Ino-as-Sakura turned to Sasuke.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Stay calm,” she said. “If they’re not backing up Shikamaru, it means they’re planning something.”

Sasuke nodded.

Ino internally sighed in relief; deception was half the battle won. She felt the rush of her heartbeat, the tension in her muscles, fearful that something would give her away. Sakura’s consciousness fought her all the while but Ino redoubled her efforts, stifling the irritating resistance in the back of her mind.

She looked around, assessing the situation from a new vantage point.

Shikamaru’s clones swarmed Shino, keeping him occupied, if only for a few seconds. Ino moved, guiding Sakura’s body with careful precision, slowly shifting behind Sasuke. Sensing the shift, Shikamaru redirected his efforts subtly. He repositioned himself to keep Sasuke in his line of sight, now unobstructed by Sakura thanks to her.

“Now, Ino!” he signalled, his voice carrying a note of urgency.

Shino and Sasuke looked about cautiously, expecting her to burst out of a thicket or descend from a tree. She smirked and grabbed Sasuke’s arm. “Hold still,” she whispered, her voice low and commanding.

Sasuke, confused but compliant, didn’t resist.

“Do it, now!” Ino yelled through Sakura’s lips, and Shikamaru’s shadow raced forward, spearing through Shino’s to extend further.

Sasuke tried to break out of her grip but Ino snaked her other arm around him, pressing him close to her and sticking herself to the ground to stop him from breaking free. Violent winds slammed into them from above, destroying Ino’s balance—and therefore the chakra flowing to her feet—and her hold over Sasuke.

Before she could gather her bearings, a second wave finished the job and the four of them tumbled away from each other.

Sasuke scrambled to his feet, pointing a kunai in her direction with a small frown. “...Yamanaka.”

“Sorry, Ino,” said Naruto, dropping between them. “It was a good plan, but we’re here to ruin it.”

She looked at him with a guilty smile. Naruto cocked his arm back and swung but before it could land and transfer the damage back to her, Ino pulled the plug on the Mind Transfer Jutsu, her consciousness returning to her body. The short journey ate away at her already meagre chakra reserves.

Her eyes snapped open and she gasped.

“She’s in a bush,” said Hinata, her voice coming from above.

Ino’s stomach sank and she darted to safety right before Choji destroyed it with his thunderous descent from the canopy. She emerged in front of Shikamaru, taking stock of the current situation. Hinata was perched on a treetop above them, Naruto stood guard in front of Sasuke and Sakura.

Shino threw a shuriken between them just as Choji rushed at her and Shikamaru. “Why are you here, Team 10?”

“Hey!” Choji’s eyes were wide with disbelief. “We’re here to help you, man.”

“That said, if you throw another weapon at my teammate, we’ll leave,” said Hinata.

Naruto laughed. “Alright, calm down everyone. We’re here to help Team 7.”

“But our second target’s on your team,” said Ino. “How about you let us capture Team 7 and go put some distance between us.”

“Why should he?” said Sakura, smirking over Naruto’s shoulder. “He’s got more to gain taking you out here and now—assault team, remember?”

“...Shit,” she grunted.

“Do you know what time it is right now?” asked Shikamaru.

“Not exactly, but it’s sunset,” Sakura replied. “Why?”

Sasuke was the one to answer, “That’s when the shadows are the longest—and when Shikamaru’s jutsu is at its most dangerous. He can rely on the length of the shadows, leaving him with more chakra to use for other ninjutsu.”

“Bingo. So, here’s what’s going to happen. First, I’m going to capture our target on Team 10 and then?” He looked straight at Sasuke. “Then, it’s your turn.”

Without another word, his shadow shorts out before swerving towards Choji. Ino stifled her laugh and jumped headfirst into battle, engaging Shino rather than Naruto. Their blades met in a shower of sparks before she pushed off the edge to put some distance between them. She looked back to see Hinata switching positions with Naruto, who went to help Choji.

Ino fingered a smoke bomb, pivoting and aiming at Sasuke.

“She’s going to use the Mind Transfer Jutsu on Sasuke!” Hinata cried.

Naruto yelled out, punching Shikamaru so hard he bounced his head off a tree and crumpled to the ground. When he stumbled to his feet, Choji pressed a kunai to his throat, leaving Ino alone against several opponents.

His sunny-blond hair swayed in the wind as he bolted towards Sasuke. “Get out of the way—I’ve got Sasuke!”

Ino watched Hinata flit back onto a tree branch with her peripheral vision, her hands still aimed at Sasuke. She quickly switched her aim to her, but she dodged sideways to escape. Naruto came sprinting from the thicket up ahead and Ino switched her aim a final time, summoning the last dregs of chakra she had left.

Naruto’s eyes widened in horror, terrified words forming on his tongue.

She smirked, readying herself to send her consciousness into his mind. “Sorry, honey, but you’re out.”

Her consciousness clashed with his for a moment, but then it touched something else and Ino found herself in an unfamiliar darkness.

She couldn’t see much of anything but knew she was falling, which was weird. Usually, she entered an opponent's mind, dominated their consciousness and controlled their body. There wasn’t anything… material about that human mind—not with the Mind Transfer Jutsu, anyway.

She touched down and took in her surroundings, warm drafts tousling her long hair. Her surroundings were dark, but not so dark that she couldn’t see. Ino stood still, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness before continuing. Ahead of her was a single, narrow path that seemed to only narrow even further as it went on. With nowhere else to go, she followed it until it gathered into a small gap that she forced herself into.

Ino squeezed until she was through, emerging out of it and walking across a wide, windowless room. The walls were carved with intricate symbols that spanned the entire room, including the ceiling and floor. However, the most striking thing in the room was the massive prison cell straight ahead. It was easily more than forty metres tall and just as wide, with a two-metre-long tag plastered on top of the lock.

She edged closer to the prison, wary of what could be inside, but more curious than cautious. It almost proved to be her undoing because when its inhabitant tried to stab her, she didn’t see it coming. A gargantuan claw scraped at the stone floor, wedging between the thick bars, and missing her by a mere inch.

Ino screamed, scrambling away and falling onto her back, her heart racing. She stopped, suddenly very aware of the slitted crimson pupils—the very massive slitted pupils—looming overhead.

“Tch… almost.”

“...He-Hello?”

“Look at what’s crawled into the seal,” said a deep, gravelly voice from beyond the barrier. “You are not my captor, little trespasser, merely a child—lost and terrified—cowering… from me.”

She buckled to her knees under a wave of pure… hatred so thick it solidified the air. Clawing at her throat, she gagged, trying to breathe, but her lungs refused to obey her. The monster—because there was no other word for it—laughed at her suffering and increased the pressure of its hatred.

Its inhuman crimson eyes gleamed with unbridled, sadistic glee at her suffering. “Your suffering is exquisite, little trespasser. Only, it’s a shame this damnable seal prevents me from spearing you and swallowing you whole.” It chuckled, sighing as the laughter came to an end. “But it’s no matter. Watching your will break will have to suffice until the day this accursed prison weakens.”

The overwhelming hatred somehow doubled in intensity and Ino heard the cries of a thousand tortured souls in her ears. Her throat was so raw that she might’ve been screaming alongside them. Her heartbeat stopped and started, dancing to the whims of the terrible presence dwelling deeper in the cave.

Her own cries reached a feverish pitch, and she was re-energised with the desperation to live.

Ino screamed, flailing away from him only to go flying so far that her bare shoulder smashed into the leftmost wall. Her mind must have been broken beyond repair because she watched Naruto throw himself towards her, pulling her into his embrace as they made contact with the ground.

“What the hell did you do?” Naruto hissed, his voice teetering on the edge of hysteria. “Why!”

“I-I don’t know,” she stammered, too out of it to notice Naruto had practically smashed her against his body and still hadn’t let go. “C-Can… c-can you put me down, please?”

His eyes cleared and he put her down, aghast, straightening his clothes as he inspected every inch of her. He twisted his neck and growled at the monster inside the prison. “...You bastard.”

“Naruto,” it spoke with a deep, gravelly voice. “You do not understand the good it does me to speak with you at last.”

“I can’t say the same, monster,” Naruto replied, his voice more intense than Ino had ever heard. “You don’t understand how desperately I want to bury you with my own hands.”

“Believe me, the feeling is mutual.”

There was something in its voice that made Naruto turn on his heel immediately, looking stricken.

“W-What?” Ino stuttered as he took her by the hand, squeezing until it hurt, and dragged her away. “What is it?”

“What’s wrong, boy? Are you afraid of me?”

To Ino’s relief, Naruto didn’t look back, so neither did she.

They walked hand in hand out of the cave through a path that wasn’t there when she first entered the prison room. Outside of the cavern, the two of them stood under grey skies and a cold sun, overlooking a barren wasteland. He placed a calming hand on her shoulder and when she looked up, she nearly gasped at how gentle Naruto’s vivid blue eyes were.

The tears fell from her own eyes without any say on her part.

“N-Naruto?” Ino choked and sniffled her way back to coherence. “Wha-Wha-What is that thing and why is it in your mi-mind?”

He jutted his chin towards the cave. “It’s a mutt that can’t be put down. Don’t worry about it for now. Let’s get out of here” He offered his hand and Ino took it.

The monster began to laugh—its voice somehow reaching them from outside the cave. It started with a slow burr and built up to thunderous, booming laughter that shook the ground beneath them. This time, it was Ino who was clinging onto Naruto with a vice-like grip.

He was her only lifeline back to safety.

“Ino?” Naruto closed his eyes and sighed. “I know you’ve been through a lot today, but I’m going to need you to release your jutsu.”

She looked back at the cave and then at his face with wide, terrified eyes. “B-But what if the mo-monster. What if… what if it kills me?”

“It won’t,” said Naruto, squeezing her shoulder again. “I promise. The sooner you do it, the sooner we can get out of here, understand?”

“...Okay.” She wiped the tears from her face. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

Ino’s consciousness returned to her body at an excruciatingly slow pace and with each passing second, she feared that the monster would burst out of the cave so much that she didn’t know when exactly she exited Naruto’s mind. The green of the forestry around her was muted and everyone’s voices were coming from so far away.

She tried to respond, but her mouth wouldn’t move—and when she tried to move anything, the same thing happened. All she could was look blankly at the sky, her vision darkening bit by bit. Then, she was back in the cave, surrounded by the pervasive darkness and the monster’s hatred.

All at once, Ino opened her eyes wide and screamed until she couldn’t scream anymore, surrendering herself to blissful unconsciousness. Before everything went dark, she saw Naruto’s face, concern etched into every crevice of his skin. His blue eyes were heavy with guilt and while she could see her hand captured in his, she couldn’t feel it.

Her vision continued to dim, and Ino realised it was a shame that she couldn’t feel his warmth anymore.