Jirobo's attack, combined with Ino's counterattack, made the battlefield even more chaotic.
Controlling the First Hokage and holding back the Second Hokage, Ino's role far surpassed that of the Special Jonin.
By sacrificing one of his subordinates, Orochimaru finally found an excellent attack angle.
The Third Hokage's adamantine staff was blocked by Anko Mitarashi's body, and Namikaze Raidō, due to his aggressive charge, pinned down Yūgao Uzuki, who was trying to use Konoha-Style Swordsmanship.
Those Hidden Sand Village Ninja were already in disarray.
The Fourth Kazekage seemed to have no problems; his Ninjutsu and Taijutsu seemed similar to before, and his Magnet Release Bloodline Limit was also present, but after fighting for so long, the Hidden Sand Village Ninja began to notice something was off: why didn't their Village's Kazekage speak?
He wasn't giving any commands, just watching them fight blindly against the Konoha Ninja? There's something wrong with this Kazekage.
Orochimaru dared not let the Fourth Kazekage speak; controlling his speech was too mentally exhausting. If he enabled the speech function, and the Fourth Kazekage yelled, "Orochimaru is the murderer," wouldn't his deception be exposed?
He'd hide it for as long as he could. Relying on his inability to die, he danced on a knife's edge, utterly reckless.
Jirobo's throw kicked up a lot of smoke and dust, followed by Ino's Six Petal Bloom and Twelve Petal Bloom, which were even more astonishing in their force. Orochimaru squeezed out from a gap between a few people, his neck instantly elongating, stretching over ten meters towards Ino. Then, he inhaled deeply and, with a burst of power, spat out a gleaming, sharp blade.
Kusanagi Sword!
Orochimaru ambushed Ino, wanting to eliminate this unpredictable factor first.
The Second Hokage was also forcibly controlled, increasing the intensity of his attacks.
Ino somewhat laboriously dodged the Second Hokage's Water Release: Water Severing Wave. Half a second before the water vortex fully formed, she made a last-second escape. The cost was over a dozen cuts on her right leg from the rapidly spinning water blade. Without time to think about the damage to her main body, she first used a Water Severing Wave to cut through the Second Hokage's body, forcing the teacher into a body-repairing state. Then, clenching her fists, she channeled all the Wood Release Chakra within the First Hokage, activating her newly learned Ninjutsu, which was also the strongest Ninjutsu the First Hokage could use in the current situation.
"Wood Release: Descent of the Tree World!"
Regarding Orochimaru's sneak attack, Ino merely crouched slightly. Relying on the Slug's astonishing healing power and her ability to turn into water later, she allowed the Kusanagi Sword to pierce her shoulder and half her neck. She was determined to activate this Ninjutsu, injecting the extremely vigorous Chakra, transformed into life force, into the ground.
The First Hokage could form a Wood Release with a single clap, but she, working through a layer, was ultimately a bit slower.
In about two seconds, countless fine cracks appeared in the ground. Twigs squeezed out from the earth, growing new branches, differentiating flower buds, blooming, and withering—all four processes completed within two seconds. A gentle breeze blew, and a large amount of pollen filled the air, subsequently giving rise to even more flowers.
Crimson petals danced in the sky, and pollen shimmered with various colors in the air, emitting numerous exotic fragrances. Carried by the wind, it spread in all directions.
Inside her inner world, the First Hokage crossed his arms, looking puzzled at Ino's Ninjutsu: "I have the Ninjutsu of Descent of the Tree World and Flower Tree World Advent. Now... yours doesn't seem to have much tree component. It's definitely not Descent of the Tree World, and even less Flower Tree World Advent. Why not call it Flower World Advent?"
Ino was also puzzled. She used the First Hokage's Wood Release Chakra and his signature Ninjutsu, Descent of the Tree World, but what she produced was completely different. Where were the trees? Why were there only flowers left?
She had some theories, likely still related to Asura Chakra.
The Asura Chakra in her body was a typical "quest item"; once the "delivery quest" was completed, it had nothing to do with her. The First Hokage's Wood Release Chakra didn't belong to her either. There was definitely a bug now.
The First Hokage's Chakra was indeed abundant; the entire battlefield was engulfed by a sea of flowers.
The pollen floating in the air was toxic. If inhaled in small amounts, it was fine.
But for someone like Orochimaru, who was so close to her, it was a problem. With his wide-open mouth and long neck, he was like a giant vacuum cleaner, "slurping and slurping" a lot of pollen into his stomach.
What the hell is this? The fifty-year-old woman immediately noticed something was wrong.
Orochimaru tried to use the Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement Technique to negate the effects of the pollen, but as soon as he started to gather Chakra, he felt a tightness in his chest, rapid breathing, and couldn't draw a full breath.
His Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement Technique seemed like a passive ability, but it still fell short; actions like shedding skin with Chakra and spitting out a new body were still required.
He had now inhaled a large amount of pollen, and the pollen contained extremely high concentrations of hormone-like substances that would produce estrogenic effects. The pollen also contained a large amount of nucleic acids, which reacted with enzymes in the body to become uric acid, accumulating in the kidneys and unable to be excreted.
These processes were accelerated thousands of times under the catalysis of Chakra and Orochimaru's massive inhalation of pollen.
In summary, a large amount of pollen had a huge impact on Orochimaru's nervous system, respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, and even endocrine system. He injected three types of antidotes consecutively, but even they couldn't undo the effects of this cursed pollen.
The remaining Ninja were also affected, but not as severely as he was. There was nothing they could do; normal Ninja, noticing the problem, would immediately cough twice, and the pollen would be expelled, but Orochimaru's neck was too long!
The Third Hokage immediately seized this excellent opportunity, once again creating three Shadow Clones.
The four Third Hokage formed hand signs, targeting the First Hokage, Second Hokage, Fourth Kazekage, and Orochimaru.
He intended to seal the souls of four people simultaneously.
Facing Ino, he said, "Tsunade truly has better foresight than I do. You've done very well. You've worked hard, child. Please leave the rest to me."
His tone was normal, showing no hint of sacrificing himself.
Ino's Chakra, brought by the Mind Body Switch Technique, was also nearly depleted. She looked around, and even with the First Hokage's Edo Tensei body, she couldn't see the Shinigami, who was said to have a contract with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal user.
Completely invisible, not a trace, as if the Third Hokage was just gesturing wildly at the air.
She didn't answer the Third Hokage immediately, but instead, using the opportunity to adjust her breathing, asked the Shodai(1st)-sama, "Shodai(1st)-sama, do you know what the Third Hokage is trying to do? I don't seem to see anything, and I don't understand his Ninjutsu."
The Shodai(1st)-sama smiled: "Because you are alive, you cannot see it. This is a Ninjutsu of the Uzumaki Clan. I won't tell you its name; you are still young, do not learn this kind of Ninjutsu. Child, go back. Your actions today saved many people. Knowing that there are young successors like you in the Village makes me very pleased. I think Tobirama is also very happy. We probably won't meet again. Thank you. Oh, remember to give my regards to Tsunade."
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 70 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!