Ino couldn't possibly use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal herself, but to maintain her relationship with the Shinigami, occasionally summoning him to offer gifts and build up favor, she absolutely had to keep that mask and the Dead Demon Consuming Seal scroll.
She collected everything, planning to find some unlucky soul in the future to summon the Shinigami for her.
For now, it was time to deal with the Third Hokage's matter.
The Shinigami usually didn't participate in the specific work of the offerings; it didn't care whether you could pull the enemy's soul over or not. The summoner's soul was with him, which was the baseline. Regardless of whether you profited, he certainly wouldn't lose out.
At this moment, the Third Hokage's Chakra was too depleted, and he was clearly on the verge of collapsing.
The Shinigami was in a good mood today. Ino, his somewhat 'mentally challenged' new friend, exuded a gloomy aura, which was much more pleasing to him than those Uzumaki Clan members who radiated positive energy.
The First Hokage, the Second Hokage, the Third Hokage, and the Fourth Kazekage—these were all high-quality souls. Plus, there was the'small gift' of Sakon and Ukon. He felt that coming out today was a complete profit, so he didn't mind personally lending a hand. After all, by pulling Orochimaru over, he gained another high-quality soul. Why not?
The Third Hokage felt his vision darken at this point, his Chakra nearly exhausted. He had already begun to prepare for the worst.
If push came to shove, he would seal Orochimaru's hands, and his old life wouldn't have been wasted.
But just as he was about to give up, he saw the Shinigami's right hand, which was reaching for Orochimaru, suddenly become solid. Black curses covered his arm, and with a flick of his wrist, a string of prayer beads appeared, instantly increasing the pulling force by dozens of times.
The Third Hokage watched in stunned silence as Orochimaru's soul was pulled from his body. The fear, confusion, and hatred in his beloved student's eyes vanished along with his soul.
Without a soul, Orochimaru's body fell limply to the ground, like an empty shell.
The Otogakure Ninja nearby gasped. These sounds seemed very far away to the Third Hokage, like they were from the horizon, hazy and indistinct. He couldn't quite articulate his thoughts at the moment, only mechanically forming hand seals.
"Seal!" A seal appeared on the Third Hokage's stomach, seemingly sealing Orochimaru's soul within his body. In reality, these souls were all with the Shinigami; he was merely a conduit.
According to the Shinigami and Ino's agreement for deferred payment, three-quarters of the Third Hokage's soul was also taken. The old man, exhausted of Chakra, fainted on the spot.
Led by Kidōmaru, the Otogakure Ninja desperately snatched Orochimaru's body and fled Konoha Village in a panic.
The Sunagakure Ninja were utterly bewildered. What exactly were we here for?
After all, they were Ninja from a Great Village; though defeated, they didn't panic. Konoha didn't press further, allowing Gaara to step forward and explain what had happened today. They were half-believing, half-doubting, and finally, they all withdrew from Konoha Village. They had no choice but to retreat; the pollen was pervasive here. Although Sunagakure Ninja had goggles and scarves and were accustomed to harsh environments, they still felt a bit uncomfortable. "Let's withdraw first and discuss it slowly."
Once the external enemies retreated, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado immediately jumped out to manage the aftermath. They didn't even glance at the Third Hokage lying in the dust.
"Asuma, take the barrier squad and set up a barrier at the Village entrance! Konoha is at its weakest right now, hurry!"
"Yuhi, call out all the women and children from the safe houses to help rescue people."
"Shikaku! I order you to gather all the Jonin! If Sunagakure and Otogakure don't give Konoha an explanation, war awaits them!"
"Inoichi, the intelligence department has failed again! Your work is truly disappointing! Look at the Village's losses; these are all the results of your inadequate work!"
The two Advisors frantically shifted blame. The Ino–Shika–Choji families and numerous Ninja clans had long grown accustomed to their behavior of wielding minor authority like a supreme command.
First, they'd blame you, then a couple of days later, they'd appease you, talk about personal friendship, and the matter would eventually be glossed over. They had been doing this for over thirty years.
Shikaku and Inoichi remained silent. No one mentioned that the Third Hokage was still alive; they just wanted to watch the two Advisors' splendid performance.
The more imposing you are now, the more embarrassed you'll be later.
The two Advisors were busy giving orders.
The clan heads, meanwhile, were busy tallying their losses.
"For the Village, we mobilized hundreds of Ninja from our entire clan—men to fight, women to transport. After fierce, bitter, and desperate battles, the clan heads fearlessly led their clansmen into charge multiple times. Now, after tallying, we found a total loss of two Shuriken. It's perfectly reasonable for the Village to compensate us with those two plots of land in front of Konoha Hospital, isn't it?"
Ino put away the Shinigami mask and the Dead Demon Consuming Seal scroll, then removed the earth walls surrounding the Yamanaka Flower Shop.
With her active participation, the damage sustained by Konoha Village this time was considerably greater than in the original timeline.
In particular, the Ninjutsu used by the First Hokage, the Second Hokage, and the Fourth Kazekage flattened countless houses, almost changing the Village's topography.
She didn't participate in the power play of the important figures. Instead, she opened the doors of the Yamanaka Flower Shop and started selling medicine!
A special medicine for treating pollen allergies.
The First Hokage's Wood Release could create the Forest of Death, and decades after his death, Konoha still used the Forest of Death as a training ground.
The First Hokage's Chakra had a certain characteristic of fitting in with the natural environment and would not disappear. Now, the Flower World Advent created by Ino using his Chakra also couldn't disappear. Pollen was also quite difficult to deal with. Blowing it away with Wind Release? If it blew all over the world, then her medicine could be sold worldwide.
Relatively speaking, the moral bottom line of Konoha Ninja was still quite high. They chose to deal with the pollen by burying it, which made the processing speed much slower.
Villagers who had inhaled large amounts of pollen needed treatment, and Ino appeared at the opportune moment.
"You see, our family runs the only flower shop in Konoha Village. Now, it's perfectly reasonable for us to sell medicine to treat pollen, isn't it?"
"What? You suspect I caused this pollen? How can you so baselessly slander someone's innocence?"
"Someone, take this fellow to the Konoha Interrogation Department and ask him if he's a spy from Sunagakure or Otogakure! Show him all the branding irons, thumb screws, hammers, hot branding, and bamboo splinters. Let him see how our Konoha Interrogation Department enforces the law civilly, and ask him if he dares to spout nonsense again!"
Ino called Shikamaru and Sakura to help. The villagers they had previously rescued also helped spread the word.
While Kidōmaru, Tayuya, and the others were still carrying Orochimaru's still-warm body out of the Village, her stall for selling medicine and masks was already set up.
Ino's main body was selling medicine. After checking, she felt she still had ample Chakra, so she summoned a giant Slug Sage. Then, she created fifty Shadow Clones, who took the Slug Sage's clones to rescue people throughout the Village.
She wouldn't give up the profits she had gained, and she also wanted a good reputation.
The Slug Sage, after being summoned, didn't understand what was going on. It just followed Ino's Shadow Clones and healed the injured people.
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