"Doraemon, hurry up and use the Anywhere Door to get us out of here!" Shizuka exclaimed anxiously.
However, Doraemon shook his head and replied, "I can't. I tried, but the Anywhere Door doesn't work here. This place isn't part of our Earth's space. We'll have to find an exit."
"Where's the exit?! When we tried retracing our steps earlier, the way back seemed endless, and we couldn't find our way," Nobita said in a panic.
"Don't worry, I've got a plan," Doraemon reassured them, pulling out a ball-like gadget from his pocket.
"The Maze Exit Finder. With this, we'll be fine."
Doraemon activated the gadget, which emitted thick smoke that spread throughout the area.
"This gadget releases smoke to cover the entire maze and then locates the exit, leading us to it," Doraemon explained.
"But this Ikea is an infinite space. Will it cover everything?" Bruce reminded Doraemon of this crucial fact.
Doraemon paused, reflecting on the point Bruce made.
"Well, we'll just have to take our chances," Doraemon said after a moment of thought.
"Beep beep beep!"
The gadget suddenly emitted a beeping sound and began bouncing up and down, causing Doraemon to smile with delight.
"Great! It found the exit! Follow the ball!"
The ball flew through the air in one direction, and everyone quickly followed it.
"What's the mechanism behind this? Does the smoke contain some kind of signal, which is then calculated by a high-tech computer?" Bruce asked, intrigued by the gadget's potential. A tool like this could be incredibly useful for navigating mazes. If it could be replicated, it would be invaluable.
"More or less," Doraemon responded after thinking for a moment.
"Who's there?!"
"Where did this smoke come from?!"
"Ahhh!!"
Along the way, they passed many staff monsters wailing and wandering aimlessly, seemingly searching for the source of the smoke.
The smoke had undoubtedly attracted the attention of numerous monsters.
"Good thing we have the Stone Hats. Otherwise, being spotted by so many monsters would be a disaster," Nobita whispered, his face full of fear.
"Indeed, the smoke is quite conspicuous," Bruce agreed, nodding. Even the best technology had its flaws, it seemed.
Doraemon didn't know how to respond; after all, he couldn't change the situation.
Meanwhile, in another part of the Ikea, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro were battling a group of staff monsters.
Naturally, with their strength, these monsters were no match for them.
"What is this place? We saw this unfamiliar store and decided to check it out, but now we can't leave, and there are monsters everywhere. What's going on?" Temari said in frustration as she swung her fan around, surveying the surroundings.
At first, they thought they were trapped in a genjutsu, but after multiple tests, it became clear that wasn't the case. So where exactly were they?
There was no place like this in the Sand Village.
"Damn it, we can't find the way back, and we don't know where the exit is. Are we going to be stuck here forever?" Kankuro complained as he sat down, clearly irritated.
"Don't stress. Since we got in, there must be a way out," an elderly voice said from beside them.
If Bruce had been there, he would have immediately recognized the elderly man as none other than his butler, Alfred!
"Thank you so much for protecting me. I don't have the same strength as you and can only rely on your protection," Alfred said gratefully to the three.
After getting lost in the Ikea, Alfred had been unable to find a way out. He eventually encountered Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro and had since been relying on them for protection.
"Don't mention it. You cooked us such delicious meals—we've never had anything like that before," Temari said with a cheerful smile.
Earlier, when they were hungry, Alfred had used the resources available in the store to prepare a gourmet feast. The food, which came from another universe, was unlike anything they had ever tasted, and the group quickly bonded with Alfred.
"It's my honor to make you happy, young masters and misses," Alfred said with his usual gentlemanly demeanor.
"Please, stop calling us 'young master'; it's weird," Kankuro said, waving his hand in embarrassment.
"But what are we going to do? Are we really stuck here forever?" Temari asked, looking around at the seemingly endless shelves filled with unfamiliar items. Though she felt frustrated, she couldn't help but be curious.
"That's impossible. If we got in, we can definitely get out. And with such a large building suddenly appearing in the village, they'll surely send people to investigate. We'll get out eventually, right, Gaara?" Kankuro said, trying to encourage everyone before turning to Gaara.
However, Gaara had been standing with his back to them, trembling, muttering something under his breath.
"Gaara, what's wrong?" Kankuro asked, worried as he noticed Gaara's unusual behavior.
"Nothing, don't worry about me," Gaara snapped, glancing at Kankuro with irritation.
Kankuro frowned. Ever since they returned from the Hidden Leaf, Gaara's behavior had been different. And now, it seemed like Gaara was regressing to how he used to be. Both Kankuro and Temari were deeply concerned.
"Gaara, young master, don't worry. Your family is with you; you're not alone," Alfred said gently, stepping forward to soothe Gaara.
His voice was calm, carrying a certain warmth that seemed to have a calming effect.
"Here, please wipe your sweat," Alfred offered kindly, handing Gaara a handkerchief.
"Thank you," Gaara said, his eyes softening as if recalling something, before taking the handkerchief and wiping his sweat in a daze.
"Phew..."
Seeing this, Kankuro and Temari sighed in relief.
"Leave immediately, the store is closing."
"Get out! Leave!"
Just as everyone began to relax, the growling voices of the staff monsters echoed again.
From every direction, a swarm of monsters surged toward them, like a plague of locusts.
"Damn it, they're coming again! There's no end to them!" Temari said, her expression darkening as she saw the approaching horde. This time, the monsters were towering at over ten meters tall—these ones looked much more difficult to handle.
"Gaara, what's wrong? We need to move!" Kankuro prepared to retreat but noticed that Gaara was frozen in place.
Gaara continued to stand still, head lowered, seemingly listening to the voices around him.
"Leave this place!"
"Get out!"
(End of Chapter)
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