"Don't call me Mom yet, wait... My mind is a bit of a mess, let me think..." Nobuko Yamanaka rubbed her temples, her gaze shifting back and forth between Ino and Kana. Kana's body was exuding a thick aura of Ino—every movement was like a larger version of Ino. The two, one big and one small, created a truly bizarre scene.
Ino, meanwhile, was performing a "duet." Both the large and small "Inos" spoke in unison: "Dearest Mother, can you really not recognize your cute and well-behaved daughter?"
"As long as you don't make me angry..." Mrs. Yamanaka let out a chuckle before immediately asking, "Just what is going on with this Secret Technique?"
"The Secret Technique? What about it?"
Using Kana's body, Ino spoke up, saying, "Isn't this just how the Secret Technique works?" She was intentionally playing dumb, which resulted in her original body's backside being rewarded with a slap from Mrs. Yamanaka. Mrs. Yamanaka shot her a look that clearly meant: "Try fooling your mother again?" It made Ino fully realize what it meant to "not follow martial ethics." Ino curled her lip and let out a cute, huffy snort.
Mrs. Yamanaka casually pointed out the differences in Ino's version of the family Secret Technique—
First, Ino wasn't directly facing Kana, nor did her hand signs "frame" Kana. The "Mind Transfer" Secret Technique's hand sign is both the trigger for the technique and a way to frame the target. The heart shape formed by the thumbs and index fingers acts like a scope to lock onto the target—this clear framing allows one's attention to focus entirely within that small square.
Even with the advanced "Mind Transfer Clone" technique, hand signs are still used for framing. The only difference is that during the "process," the spiritual power can curve around obstacles to successfully occupy the target's body... and that's it.
Second, after performing the Secret Technique, Ino's original body actually remained conscious, instead of her spirit being poured entirely into the target's body while her own fell unconscious.
Third, multitasking. She could control two bodies to perform non-synchronized activities simultaneously. It was like drawing a circle with one hand while drawing a square with the other... While both "Inos" listened, the Kana-version of Ino began researching her own body while listening:
This skin-tight suit, which covered her entire body including gloves, wrapped her up very tightly. It was a bit stuffy to wear, but not excessively so, and the mask was quite breathable... Her hand reached up, squeezing her chest repeatedly with a look of intense curiosity... Meanwhile, the real Kana... her consciousness was weak and fragile, her face flushing red: Princess Ino, don't do that! This is so shameful... stop... It wasn't that she didn't resist, but her resistance was futile—Ino's spiritual projection didn't look large, but it was exceptionally heavy. She used every ounce of strength she had to try and push Ino out of her consciousness to regain control of her body, but alas... it didn't budge. She could only offer a weak resistance... helplessly "watching" as her own sinful hands squeezed her chest, touched her waist, felt her thighs, and even gave a rub to the intersection of the Y-shape... Aside from weakly crying "stop," all she could do was watch.
"Ino!"
Mrs. Yamanaka, who had been discussing the differences in the "Secret Technique" and had momentarily forgotten that Ino still occupied Kana's body, saw Kana's movements and immediately remembered—this was clearly her daughter using Kana's body to do some inappropriate things.
Both Inos raised their hands.
The Kana-version of Ino said, "Mom, let me explain." The original Ino said, "That's right, Mom, listen to her excuses."
Question: At a time like this, how should one deflect and neutralize the anger of the Mother Superior?
Naturally, by being playful, acting silly, and being cute.
No one can refuse a cute, silly little girl acting adorable. Even if her mother's shout of "Ino" just now sounded furious, she would surely be defeated by this cute-tactic... Well, it also bought some time to think of an excuse—she was just curious, after all. Touching and squeezing a bit to see how it felt, what was the big deal?
Mrs. Yamanaka was actually forced into an amused state by the anger.
"Pfft..."
A laugh escaped like a leak, and once it started, she couldn't hold it back.
"Fine, give me your excuse. If you can't come up with a good one, see how I deal with you!"
"I was just purely curious... curious about what I'll look like when I grow up. Mmm, I'm done being curious now."
"Curious..."
Mrs. Yamanaka didn't doubt this "excuse" at all—children all long to grow up, and it's normal for a girl to be curious about her adult features. It was just that Ino's behavior was a bit too impolite.
Then, Mrs. Yamanaka noticed another difference from the family Secret Technique—Kana didn't have any reaction at all?
Normally, Ino's behavior would strongly stimulate the consciousness of the person being occupied. Strong stimulation or excitement would cause the spirit to be rejected from the body even without the person actively resisting. But seeing how steady Kana appeared, there wasn't a single sign of that—this was precisely why the Yamanaka Clan's Secret Technique had such great limitations.
It could only control someone for a "short time" and over a "short distance." It wouldn't work if the duration was even slightly long, but Ino's was clearly long.
"Ino, did you feel a strong repulsive force trying to push you out of the spiritual world?"
"A strong repulsive force?" Ino thought for a moment. "No... Oh, just now it felt like something was pushing me, but the strength was so tiny..."
Kana, listening in sync, huddled deep within her consciousness and wanted to cry: Princess Ino, what you call "tiny strength" was me using every bit of power I had!
Was this... the gap between a mediocre person and a genius?
But:
Princess Ino's spiritual body didn't seem that much stronger, so why was it so heavy and impossible to move?
Mrs. Yamanaka:..."Get out of Kana's body first!"
Mrs. Yamanaka directly used her authority as a mother to rescue Kana. Ino released the hand sign and her spirit returned. Kana's body visibly heated up, getting so hot she almost seemed to be steaming. Her face under the sunscreen mask was burning red, and the corners of her eyes were flushed, making her look more radiant than peach blossoms.
"I-Ino-hime, Madam..."
She just wanted to find a hole to crawl into right now; Ino's behavior earlier had been far too shameful.
"Kana, what did it feel like when your body was occupied?" Mrs. Yamanaka asked about her experience.
Kana thought for a moment and said, "A... a very overbearing feeling. I didn't even have time to react before I lost control of my body. I tried to push Princess Ino out, but I couldn't move her no matter how hard I tried..." At this point, her tone became resentful, "And she didn't even feel it, I..." It was just too infuriating—and her chest hurt!
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