Chapter 172: The First Hokage's Gift
The First Hokage didn't wait for Ino's reply. He simply formed a hand seal, and she immediately felt herself lose control of his body. Her Mind Body Transmission Technique had been forcibly dispelled by him.
Following the connection created by the secret technique, she returned to her own body.
"Ugh! Cough cough cough cough—!"
As soon as she was back in her own skin, she felt the severity of her injuries. Orochimaru's flying sword attack had been far more damaging than she had initially thought.
A bloody gash had been carved into her neck, making even speaking difficult. Blood seeped into her windpipe, and every cough sent a spray of blood from her neck.
Her neck, shoulders, and right leg were riddled with injuries. Seven or eight slugs were constantly healing her with Sage Art Chakra, creating a vibrant green glow of chakra that could be seen from afar.
"Hmm? Little Ino, how did your recovery ability suddenly improve?" Katsuyu asked gently.
Did it? Recovery ability wasn't something that showed up on her status panel, but she still glanced at it out of habit.
Her "Intelligence" stat in the ninja's eight parameters had increased slightly, going from 7 to 8. This was likely due to Tsunade's teachings over the past month, and the Second Hokage's guidance just now also played a significant role. It indicated that her perspective had broadened and her knowledge reserves had become richer.
In terms of skills, her Yang Release had increased significantly, jumping directly from level 1 to level 3.
"It should be the First Hokage," she murmured, both answering Katsuyu's question and speaking to herself.
In the final moments of dispelling the Mind Body Transmission Technique, she seemed to hear the First Hokage chuckle. The God of Shinobi apparently thought Ino's chakra was too meager, so he had separated a portion of his own soul's chakra and given it to her.
This separation by the First Hokage was likely something he hadn't given much thought to. He simply felt that this portion of chakra was harmless to Ino, without any personal trace, and that Ino could absorb it on her own. It was a gift from a senior to a junior. In reality, he had no idea that what Ino could easily absorb was precisely Ashura's chakra! The foundation of the Sage Body!
Compared to a proper reincarnation of Ashura, the amount of chakra was still small. However, unlike a simple "delivery" mission, this portion of chakra now completely belonged to Ino, becoming one with her own. In terms of sheer quality, it far surpassed the small amount of Ashura's chakra that Yamato and Danzo had extracted from Hashirama's cells.
Danzo didn't know about Ashura; he simply believed that Hashirama's cells were the key to Wood Release and powerful regenerative abilities.
Ashura's reincarnation took away ninety-nine percent of his chakra. After the First Hokage's death, his soul took away another ninety-nine percent of the remaining Ashura's chakra. The fact that Danzo and his cohorts could even create someone like Yamato by haphazardly experimenting with the tiny bit of Sage traits they could scavenge from Hashirama's cells was a miracle. The Ashura chakra content in those cells was simply too low.
What they had wasn't even close to a Sage Body, whereas Ino, having received the First Hokage's gift, now possessed roughly one percent of a Sage Body.
There was another unexpected gain this time. The Wood Release area on her status panel, which originally required a Ninjutsu stat of 10, an Intelligence stat of 10, and Earth, Water, and Yang Release all at level 5, had all its restrictions lifted. As long as she invested one skill point, she could learn Wood Release.
Feeling that things couldn't be this simple, Ino focused her mind on the panel and studied it carefully. She discovered that the area between Earth and Water wasn't the character for "Wood" but rather, faintly, resembled the character for "Flower."
Flower Release? What the heck was that?
She looked closer.
She found that this Flower Release was more like a fork in the road with the same destination but different starting points. She could only level it up twice, reaching level 2, before it rejoined the old path. She would still need to meet the original requirements of Ninjutsu 10 and Intelligence 10 to continue improving, and the final destination, unsurprisingly, should still be Wood Release.
Ino didn't have any skill points on hand at the moment. She was anxious to see the Third Hokage's Reaper Death Seal and didn't have time to study it in detail.
She coughed a couple of times. Only then did she realize that the pollen from Flower World Descent had already enveloped most of the village. Shikamaru and Sakura were also coughing.
Shikamaru complained, "Cough cough, this pollen is so weird, cough cough, I wonder who created it."
Sakura, being physically weaker, now had flushed skin and was coughing so hard she couldn't speak.
Ino quickly winked at Lady Katsuyu, but the slug couldn't understand her meaning. Ino could only use her level 3 Yang Release to perform medical ninjutsu while simultaneously focusing her body's recovery power to fully heal the wound on her neck.
As soon as she regained her ability to speak, she started shifting the blame. "I recognize this ninjutsu! Isn't this the First Hokage's Flower Tree? There are no trees here, so this must be the First Hokage's Wood Release: Flower World Descent!"
She explained to the others with the air of someone who was well-read, "The First Hokage's signature moves are Wood Release: Tree World Descent and Wood Release: Flower Tree World Descent. This ninjutsu is clearly derived from those two. Tree World Descent, Flower Tree World Descent, Flower World Descent—you can see the connection between these ninjutsu!"
Choji, with his thick neck and exceptionally strong digestive system, a true glutton, wasn't bothered by a little pollen. He asked curiously, "So, are you saying all this pollen is from the First Hokage?"
Ino immediately placed a "Five Elements Seal" on her conscience before vividly explaining, "Didn't I use the Mind Body Transmission Technique earlier? I saw it very clearly. This is the First Hokage's ninjutsu. Only he could use Wood Release ninjutsu of this caliber. Tsk tsk, truly amazing."
As soon as she finished shifting the blame, she saw the energy in her "black pot" (presumably a metaphor for her experience or skill accumulation) start to rise rapidly.
Ino instructed them to wear masks, keep the room ventilated, and wash their hands frequently. Inhaling too much of this pollen could be quite dangerous.
More and more pollen filled the air. She quickly retrieved several masks from her flower shop and handed them to her teammates. Then, she prepared a solvent to temporarily stabilize Sakura's condition.
As for the other villagers, they would have to fend for themselves. She really couldn't spare the attention.
She gazed into the distance.
The Third Hokage had finally made up his mind to deal with Orochimaru. He had no choice. If he allowed Orochimaru to summon the First Hokage, Second Hokage, and Fourth Kazekage every now and then, Konoha would be finished.
Today, someone had to sacrifice themselves, and that person was him, the Hokage.
His gaze was sharp as a blade as he stared intently at Orochimaru. His hands moved rapidly through a series of hand seals. The Second Hokage, who was lying on the ground waiting for his body to regenerate, was the first to be sealed away. Now, the First Hokage was being sealed.
Ino used her sensory abilities, even with her one percent Sage Body, but she couldn't see the Reaper.
Could she only see it after making a contract with the Reaper Death Seal?
The Reaper seemed to have been scared by Kaguya Otsutsuki. The old thing was actually hiding to this extent. Even making friends with it was this difficult.
Ino thought for a moment and decided to activate the backup plan.
At this time, she needed to rely on her family.
She used her sensory abilities to locate Inoichi. Using sensory transmission, she whispered a few words.