Chapter 210: Kimimaro's Death
The Shinigami signing a contract with the Uzumaki clan could, in a sense, be seen as a native entity being 'recruited' or brought under the influence of an 'outside' force. Considering its main body hides in another dimension and doesn't come out, the possibility of it being forcibly conscripted was quite high.
If she could establish a good relationship with the Shinigami's main body, Ino stood to gain even more. She was highly interested in the sealing jutsus of those powerful Uzumaki clan members and the ninjutsu of their enemies.
Now, it just depended on how devoted Kabuto Yakushi was to Orochimaru and how many people he could trick into using that jutsu. The Reaper Death Seal was a high-level technique; it wasn't something just anyone pulled off the street could use. Without Orochimaru's ability to cut open the Shinigami's stomach, or the presence of White Zetsu, anyone using it would definitely die. Orochimaru simply couldn't be resurrected this way, and Ino wasn't worried in the slightest.
"Damn it! Are you listening to me?! I command you, revive Lord Orochimaru!" Kimimaro roared, but the Shinigami remained completely unmoved.
Kabuto was extremely curious: Who is he talking to? He wondered if Kimimaro had taken too much medicine and was hallucinating. But after thinking it over, he felt that wasn't right. Kimimaro's willpower was so tenacious that even he couldn't compare. How could someone like that experience hallucinations?
"I know you can understand me. Tell me, what will it take for you to revive Lord Orochimaru?" Kimimaro pointed at Orochimaru's corpse nearby, urgently questioning. His life was rapidly approaching its end; every second was precious now.
The Shinigami was initially indifferent, but under Kimimaro's repeated demands, it extended a finger and pointed towards Tayuya, who was not far away.
"You want her? You want her life? Fine!" Kimimaro was racing against time. A bone blade emerged from his right palm. With lightning speed, he thrust out his right hand, the white bone blade aiming straight for Tayuya's heart.
His usual presence commanded immense fear. Kabuto, shifting his feet, deliberately blocked Kidomaru. Tayuya's fear of Kimimaro on a normal day went bone-deep; encountering such a sudden turn of events, she was utterly terrified, practically frozen.
At the brink of death, she suddenly heard a woman's voice ring out in her ear: "What are you standing there傻 for? Move!"
The voice yanked her back to reality. Her survival instinct kicked in; her body instinctively rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the bone blade. Tayuya scrambled away, crawling and running over ten meters, her face a picture of panic and confusion.
After launching that single attack, Kimimaro had absolutely no stamina left for another.
"Run! Quickly, run!" Ino had no idea why her 'good friend,' the Shinigami, had taken an interest in Tayuya, but something valuable was at hand. If her 'good friend' needed something, she had to take a look herself. Tayuya couldn't just foolishly throw her life away here. If she was to be 'delivered,' Ino needed to understand the reason first.
Under her intense mental suggestion, Tayuya's survival instinct unleashed her full potential. She instantly entered Curse Mark Second State, turned on her heels, and bolted out of Orochimaru's Southern Base like a wisp of smoke.
Kabuto wore a thoughtful expression, bewildered by the reason for this unexpected turn of events. Kidomaru was hesitant. Was he the only one left of the Sound Four? His mind, usually priding itself on intelligence, was utterly muddled, having completely lost the ability to think.
Jugo only cared about his good friend Kimimaro and was indifferent to everyone and everything else.
Kimimaro grabbed his sleeve. "Friend, I'm sorry. I can't go on with you... Please, you must... cough, cough, cough, cough... Forget it. Go find your inner peace. You are free." A dying man's words are kind. He truly didn't want to place another shackle upon Jugo. He then looked at Kabuto: "You must revive Lord Orochimaru... Tayuya is definitely key. She must have... cough, cough... something that's very important..."
The summoning time was up. Without a word, the Shinigami directly took Kimimaro's soul. His body went limp, devoid of any trace of life.
Ino used her Yin nature chakra to 'gift' her 'idiotic friend' something once again. She then pointed at Kimimaro's corpse.
The Shinigami pointed at the corpse, then pointed at her, seemingly asking: You want this?
Ino nodded.
The Shinigami wanted souls and had no interest in corpses. If you like it, then I'll give it to you.
The next second, a gray vortex appeared out of nowhere. Before Kabuto and the others could react, Kimimaro's corpse was taken by the Shinigami and transferred to its 'idiotic friend'...
This summoning ended there.
The Shinigami got a 'buy one, get one free' deal, taking two souls. Ino, on her end, also acquired an extremely valuable corpse. She had almost worn out Jirobo's corpse from last time. Kimimaro, possessing the Shikotsumyaku, was undoubtedly of greater value.
At the same time, she also developed a little curiosity about Tayuya. How could such an ordinary genjutsu-type kunoichi have something that even the Shinigami valued?
The Shinigami gave no response to her question, remaining as 'idiotic' as ever.
Ino's consciousness returned to her body. Her first action was to seal Kimimaro's corpse. She then sensed the mental mark she had left on Tayuya. The distance was too great; she only knew the mark was still there, but pinpointing the exact location would require some time.
There was no rush with that. Perhaps after 'gifting' the Shinigami a couple more times, it would tell her the answer.
Tsunade returned to the village with twenty million ryo, called Jiraiya, and then performed a public demonstration of Wood Style on the training ground, shocking everyone present, related or not.
Everyone found it very strange. You're already so old, almost at the end of your rope; isn't it a bit late to awaken a Kekkei Genkai now?
Although Tsunade didn't explicitly state it, she went on about circulation of meridians and chakra flow, leading those with sharp minds to speculate. Could it be, did you figure out this Wood Style yourself?
Shikaku asked Ino about it.
Ino used the story she and her master had agreed upon, successfully misleading the great strategist. She said she had only provided the theories of Wood Style that the First Hokage had once described, explained these theories to Tsunade, and after receiving 'remote guidance' from the First Hokage, Tsunade unlocked her full potential, secluded herself for over ten days, and somehow managed to research and figure out Wood Style on her own.
Shikaku's intellect was entirely focused on strategy and tactics; his talent for ninjutsu was quite average. For a moment, he felt that peculiar sensation of 'not understanding, but feeling it's impressive.' When he saw the scroll with "MUSCLE" written on it, he was completely astonished. What in the world is this?! Ino explained the situation, and he suddenly understood, realizing he truly didn't have much ninja talent and lacked sufficient comprehension. He took his leave!
Tsunade had known about Yamato's existence for a long time. No matter how you looked at it, the fault didn't lie with Yamato; he was an infant when he was experimented on. The mistake was the village's, specifically the Third Hokage's and others'. However, she still called Yamato before her, demanding that he not waste the First Hokage's cells and urging him to dedicate himself completely to the Leaf Village, and so on. This was her way, as a member of the Senju clan, of acknowledging Yamato's existence.
From that point on, Yamato could truly step out into the sunlight.
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