Chapter 171: The Third Hokage's Reaper Death Seal
Jirobo's attack, followed swiftly by Ino's counterattack, plunged the battlefield into even greater chaos.
By controlling the First Hokage and simultaneously holding back the Second Hokage, Ino's contribution far exceeded that of the assembled Special Jōnin.
Having sacrificed a subordinate to create an opening, Orochimaru finally found the perfect angle to strike. The Third Hokage's Adamantine Staff was blocked by Mitarashi Anko's body, while Raidō Namiashi, in his own rush to attack, inadvertently obstructed Yūgao Uzuki, who had intended to use her Konoha-Style Sword Technique.
The Sand Village shinobi were already in disarray.
The Fourth Kazekage appeared largely unharmed – his ninjutsu, taijutsu, and even his Magnet Release Bloodline Limit seemed unchanged. However, as the battle dragged on, the Sand shinobi couldn't shake a growing sense of unease. Why wasn't their Kage speaking? He offered no commands, merely watching passively as they clashed blindly with the Konoha ninja. Something was definitely wrong with their leader.
Orochimaru wouldn't dare let the Fourth Kazekage speak. Manipulating his voice required too much focus. If he allowed the Kazekage to talk freely, a single cry of "Orochimaru is the killer!" would expose his entire scheme.
He intended to maintain the deception for as long as possible. Relying on his own immortality, he danced precariously on a knife's edge, pushing his luck to the absolute limit.
Jirobo's thrown earth technique kicked up a thick cloud of dust and debris. Ino followed immediately, unleashing her Six-Wheel Blossom and then the even more stunning Twelve-Wheel Blossom, the sheer scale of which was breathtaking. Slipping through a gap between the combatants, Orochimaru's neck elongated unnaturally, stretching over ten meters towards Ino. Taking a deep breath, he expelled a gleaming, deadly blade from his mouth.
The Sword of Kusanagi!
Orochimaru aimed to eliminate Ino first, removing this unpredictable variable from the equation. Simultaneously, the forcefully controlled Second Hokage intensified his assault.
Ino struggled to evade the Second Hokage's Water Release: Water Dragon Bite Explosion, narrowly escaping the forming vortex just half a second before it fully materialized. The price was steep – her right leg suffered over a dozen cuts from the high-speed water blades. Ignoring the potential damage to her own body for the moment, she first countered with Water Release: Water Severing Wave, slicing through the Second Hokage's reanimated body and forcing him into a state of regeneration. Then, clasping her hands together, she drew upon the entirety of the Wood Release chakra within the First Hokage's body, unleashing the newest technique she had grasped – the most powerful ninjutsu available through the First Hokage under the current circumstances.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowers!"
Facing Orochimaru's sneak attack, Ino merely ducked slightly. Banking on the incredible healing power provided by the link to Katsuyu, and her own ability to recover afterward, she allowed the Kusanagi sword to pierce her shoulder and graze her neck. Her priority was executing this jutsu. An overwhelming surge of chakra, transformed into life energy, poured from her into the ground.
The First Hokage could manifest Wood Release with a simple clap of his hands; for Ino, working through him, there was an inevitable delay.
Roughly two seconds passed. Countless fine cracks spiderwebbed across the earth. Tender shoots pushed their way out of the soil, rapidly sprouting branches, forming buds, blossoming, and then wilting – all four stages completed within that two-second window. A gentle breeze stirred, dispersing vast clouds of pollen into the air, which in turn seemed to catalyze the growth of even more flowers.
Crimson petals danced wildly in the air. The pollen shimmered with myriad colors, releasing a strange, potent fragrance that spread in all directions on the wind.
Within his inner world, the First Hokage watched with folded arms, perplexed by Ino's rendition of the technique. "I have jutsu called Advent of a World of Trees and Advent of a World of Flowering Trees... But yours seems to lack many trees. It's definitely not Advent of a World of Trees, and certainly not Advent of a World of Flowering Trees. Perhaps... Advent of a World of Flowers would be more fitting?"
Ino herself was baffled. She had used the First Hokage's Wood Release chakra and his signature technique, Advent of a World of Trees, yet the result was completely different. Where were the trees? Why were there only flowers?
She suspected it had something to do with the Ashura chakra. The Ashura chakra within her had functioned like a typical "quest item"; once the "delivery mission" was complete, it was no longer truly connected to her. The First Hokage's Wood Release chakra wasn't inherently hers either. It seemed like some kind of bug had occurred.
Still, the First Hokage's chakra reserves were immense. The entire battlefield was swiftly enveloped in a sea of flowers.
The airborne pollen was toxic. Minor inhalation wouldn't cause significant issues.
However, someone as close as Orochimaru had a serious problem. With his mouth agape and his neck elongated, he acted like a giant vacuum cleaner, sucking a substantial amount of pollen straight into his system.
What is this stuff? Orochimaru instantly sensed something was wrong.
He tried to activate his Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement Technique to negate the pollen's effects, but as he gathered his chakra, his chest tightened, his breathing grew ragged, and he found himself unable to draw a full breath. While his Body Replacement often seemed like a passive ability, it still required active chakra manipulation for actions like shedding his skin or disgorging a new body.
He had inhaled a massive dose of the pollen, which contained highly concentrated hormone-like substances producing estrogenic effects. Furthermore, the pollen was rich in nucleic acids. These reacted with enzymes in his body, converting into uric acid that rapidly accumulated in his kidneys, unable to be expelled.
Fueled by chakra catalysis and Orochimaru's massive intake, these detrimental processes accelerated thousands of times.
In summary, the pollen wreaked havoc on Orochimaru's nervous system, respiratory system, digestive tract, kidneys, and even his endocrine system. He quickly injected three different antidotes, but none could counteract this wretched pollen.
The other shinobi were also affected, though less severely. Most ninja, upon realizing the danger, could simply cough a few times to clear the pollen. But Orochimaru's absurdly long neck made expulsion nearly impossible!
The Third Hokage seized this golden opportunity. He once again created three shadow clones.
Four figures of the Third Hokage simultaneously began forming hand seals, targeting the First Hokage, the Second Hokage, the Fourth Kazekage, and Orochimaru himself.
He intended to seal all four souls at once.
Turning to Ino, he said, "Tsunade truly has a better eye for talent than I do. You've done exceptionally well. Thank you for your hard work, child. Please, leave the rest to me."
His tone was calm, betraying no hint of the sacrifice he was about to make.
Ino could feel the chakra reserves granted by the Mind Transfer Jutsu dwindling rapidly. She scanned her surroundings; even using the First Hokage's reanimated eyes, she couldn't perceive the Shinigami – the Death God said to form a contract with users of the Reaper Death Seal.
It was completely invisible, without a trace, as if the Third Hokage were performing hand seals at empty air.
Instead of replying immediately, she used the moment to steady her breathing and mentally asked the First Hokage, "Lord First, do you know what Lord Third is doing? I don't seem to see anything... I can't understand his jutsu."
The First Hokage chuckled mentally. "It is because you are among the living that you cannot see it. This is a technique of the Uzumaki clan. I won't tell you its name; you are still young and should not learn such jutsu. Go back, child. Your actions today have saved many lives. Knowing the village has young shinobi like you fills me with relief. I believe Tobirama would be pleased as well. It's unlikely we will meet again. Thank you... Oh, and remember to give Tsunade my regards."