After restoring the Sixth and Seventh Universes to their original state, Ino didn't bother with the remaining minor issues.
On the second day after becoming the Supreme Kai of Time, she had used her Time Power to tap into the Time Nest's temporal network and form a closed time loop belonging solely to herself.
From now on, no matter how many times Grand Zeno went on an erasing spree — eight times a day if he felt like it — none of it would have anything to do with Ino.
She traveled back to an earlier era and, through subtle guidance, inspired the ancestors of the Yamanaka clan to develop the Mind Body Switch Technique, and later the Mind Body Transfer Jutsu.
That jutsu — so out of step with the shinobi world's norms, so jarringly unlike every other ninjutsu — had been her handiwork all along.
She handed the Treasured Tool: Plow over to the Sage of Six Paths.
That ninja tool, with its extraordinarily powerful time-piercing properties, also contained her Time Power within it. Another one of her creations.
Ino returned West Kai's Planet to West Kai.
She handed off the remaining work of building a civilized universe to the Grand Supreme Kai. She had genuinely done her best — this was as far as she could take it. Time to quit while she was ahead. If they wanted her to push it further, she honestly had no idea how. The Grand Supreme Kai had far more experience; perhaps he could advance the Seventh Universe's level of civilization even further. That was his problem now.
With every task wrapped up, she redirected all of her attention back to her duties as Supreme Kai of Time.
The Southern Song dynasty hadn't needed to rescue Emperors Huizong and Qinzong — it was better that both emperors died in captivity. Ino was different. She had to find a way to rescue her predecessor, the Supreme Kai of Time, Kuronoa.
Not because of any deep bond of camaraderie between them, but for Ino's own safety.
Right now, the Time Nest's defenses and concealment were essentially zero.
Yes, Kuronoa had been corrupted by demonic influence — but she was still the Supreme Kai of Time. She herself was a critically important key. At a crucial moment, she could lead a demon army right to the front door and serve as a quisling emperor calling for the gates to be opened.
If Ino didn't want a horde of demon soldiers and sorcerers to come bursting through the door while she and Hinata were having some intimate time together, she had to rescue this former sovereign.
Calling in outside help directly would violate the Time Nest's principle of independence — but she could use leverage.
She traveled to the Tenth Universe and sought out Zamasu to discuss a joint assault on the Demon Realm.
This was, by her count, their second meeting.
"A joint assault — and your trump cards are those unruly Saiyans?" The disdain in Zamasu's voice for Saiyans was unmistakable.
Ino studied this Apprentice Supreme Kai. Compared to their last meeting, Zamasu had grown considerably more arrogant, and his understanding of the line between good and evil seemed to have shifted in troubling new ways.
What a headache.
Looking at what this man would get up to in future timelines — needless to say, that also fell squarely within the Supreme Kai of Time's jurisdiction.
Kill him now? As the administrator of time, she couldn't do that.
Becoming the Supreme Kai of Time had lifted her beyond the multiverses — but it had also placed far more restrictions on her than before.
Beerus could one-shot Zamasu, then grumble something about stepping out of bed left-foot-first that morning and being in a terrible mood, and the whole thing would blow over.
She couldn't do the same.
Ino swallowed the words of warning she'd been about to say, deciding to keep an eye on him for now. The immediate problem was the assault on the Demon Realm and rescuing the "former sovereign."
She nodded. "The Saiyans are indeed my primary recruitment targets. They're powerful, and they have an unwavering will to fight for justice. That said, my target is rather high-profile, so it would be best if we operated separately."
Zamasu naturally wanted as many fighters attacking the Demon Realm as possible. A few brief exchanges were all it took to reach an agreement.
Zamasu would annihilate the Demon Realm's armies; Ino would handle Mechikabura, and rescue Kuronoa.
Both sides would attack simultaneously, but in practice they'd each fight their own battle without interfering with the other.
They agreed: one month from now, Zamasu's allied forces would muster in the Tenth Universe. His side had already seized dozens of passages and footholds into the Demon Realm — once the army arrived, the final decisive battle could begin. At the same moment, Ino would carry out a decapitation strike against Mechikabura. Both forces together would wipe out the Demon Realm's evil once and for all.
Ino returned to the Time Nest. It still wasn't safe here, so her wife and children remained in Konoha Village. She ordered her warriors to prepare for the assault on Mechikabura, and in the meantime began a new round of training herself. The Supreme Kai of Time came with many restrictions — but by the same token, as the administrator of time, her advantages were equally vast.
Massive quantities of Time Power flowed into her body. Her base combat strength rose a little every day, and took a big leap every three days.
Being in such close proximity to time, her understanding of it grew more and more refined. It was far better than all her previous abstract theorizing.
She hadn't even been in seclusion a full week when she was forced to "come out of training."
She had promised a month ago to let Kale and Beerus have their fight. The time had come, and the Destroyer was calling in the favor.
Even though she felt the whole thing was pointless, she still brought Hinata, Himawari, and Kale along — all four of them — and headed to Earth.
...
"Oh, quite the lively crowd." She had been on constant war footing lately, run absolutely ragged. Even coming home was just a brief pit stop before heading back to work.
Having no one above her was all well and good, but every decision rested on her shoulders alone. When the sky fell, she had to hold it up herself. She was deeply exhausted inside.
Suddenly seeing Earth in full festive swing, she felt the weight on her mind ease by half.
"Hey! Come eat with us! These dumplings are so good!" Whis spotted Ino from a distance and waved her over.
Bulma was holding a birthday party — she'd lost count of which one by now. Nearly all the Z Fighters were gathered there. Beerus and Whis had shown up uninvited; strictly speaking, Ino's family were gatecrashers too — they'd actually chosen Earth as their battleground...
Today she was wearing her brand-new Supreme Kai uniform. Her previous one had technically been Leila's. The Supreme Kai of Time's attire was leagues above her old outfit in both performance and appearance.
She hadn't come to Earth to fight, so she was still wearing her disguise — not the seven-year-old cute girl form.
Beerus lowered his head and waved her off, signaling that the fight could wait — let him finish the sushi in front of him first.
"One order of takoyaki for me, and for my daughter — actually, forget it, let them order for themselves." Ino noticed that Himawari and Kale had been to Earth even more often than she had, so she didn't bother ordering for them. They could pick whatever they liked. Bulma was footing the bill anyway.
The birthday party was in full swing. Scanning the crowd, Ino spotted the Pilaf gang — people she knew well. Last time she'd used the Dragon Balls to restore those three to their youth, but it seemed they'd been a bit over-restored. The three of them were insufferably childish now, and little Mai and little Trunks seemed to have developed a bit of a thing for each other.
She clicked her tongue. Kids these days were really growing up way too fast.
She whispered to Hinata while snacking on food.
No thinking about all that messy nonsense today. She'd been fighting her whole life, hadn't she? Time to take a proper vacation and enjoy herself.
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