Ino had no reverence for the deities of the Naruto World, so Inoichi told her to be patient.
Why are you scolding the Shinigami? We're here to make friends!
Ino also felt she had been too impatient and could only patiently gesticulate.
"Welcome, friend, how are you?"
"I am... yours, yes, yes, it's you. I, look at my finger, pointing at me, right? Friend, I am your friend!"
"No, no, no! Not that old man down there, it's me! I am your friend!"
Ino gestured wildly.
For a moment, Inoichi thought she was forming hand seals, but after watching for a while, he realized she was just making hand gestures, jumping around, and occasionally using body language.
He clicked his tongue; this was indeed difficult. The clan records never mentioned language barriers, and he couldn't help much.
The Shinigami looked puzzled, not understanding what Ino was doing.
"What do we do now?" Inoichi noticed the Shinigami in the mental world staring intently at him, as if about to kill him, and quickly hid behind his daughter. The killing intent on the Shinigami then dissipated. From this perspective, the first step of unsettling him seemed successful.
Ino didn't know what to say. As she understood it, the two sides were in different dimensions. The Shinigami was too cautious, or perhaps too scared by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, and had hidden directly in another dimension.
The Shinigami couldn't hear what Ino was saying at all. To make him understand her, she had to go even further into the netherworld, into another dimension, so they could communicate normally and potentially become friends.
It was like an Earthling and an alien chatting online, neither understanding the other's words. How could they be friends? Just by sending gifts? That's only a superficial friendship.
Ino's random gesturing had some effect.
The Shinigami murmured softly. Ino couldn't understand a single word; it sounded like meaningless gibberish. She could only observe carefully.
The Shinigami spread his arms, and in the center of his body was a faint blue humanoid phantom, which should be the soul of the Third Hokage, the sacrificial offering. In other words, once this Ninjutsu began, whether successful or not, the Third Hokage's soul was already given to the Shinigami, and this process was irreversible. Three spiritual bodies floated beside the Shinigami; those should be the First Hokage, Second Hokage, and Fourth Kazekage from earlier.
This fellow was killing two birds with one stone. On this trip, the Third Hokage's soul was the cost, and the three remaining high-quality souls were extra income.
Currently, the Third Hokage was pulling Orochimaru's soul.
The old man's physical strength was almost exhausted, and his mental energy was too weak, making the pulling very strenuous.
At this point, Ino understood: the Dead Demon Consuming Seal had entered its final stage.
Inoichi didn't understand the specific mechanism of this Ninjutsu, and there were no written records of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal in the Village. But this was, after all, a Ninjutsu used by the Fourth Hokage, and those who witnessed it back then had some impression.
Ino combined her memories with her cheap dad to discuss the key points of this Ninjutsu, researching whether the Yamanaka Clan could profit from it. After all, the Shinigami was already a friend, even if a superficial one...
"So, the Third Hokage will definitely die... What a pity, he's a very excellent Ninja. How much influence do you have over the Shinigami? Can you slightly influence this transaction? Can you do it?" Inoichi asked.
Ino thought seriously, then faced the Shinigami and started gesturing again.
She first pointed at the Third Hokage's soul: "Old man, yours."
The Shinigami tilted his head, looking at his "mentally challenged" friend. How novel!
This old man summoned me. As the price for summoning, his soul is mine!
This new friend who inexplicably appeared seemed truly not very smart.
The Shinigami pointed at the Third Hokage's soul, then nodded, indicating that this soul was his.
Ino gestured again, pointing at the Third Hokage's soul, then at herself: "Old man, yours. Friend, share with me, okay?"
The Shinigami immediately shook his head. This was absolutely not allowed! He also extended his right hand, meaning: you want to save this old man? Then you must also pay a sacrifice.
Ino was startled. The friendship level still wasn't enough. How could you ask for a friend's soul? Doesn't your conscience hurt?
She certainly wouldn't trade her own life for the Third Hokage.
However, this was indeed a good opportunity for a test. Even if the Shinigami turned hostile, it didn't matter. This guy's intelligence, or rather, his way of thinking, was different from humans. And for Ino, her sunk cost was only a month's worth of accumulated Yin Style Chakra. Even if this Chakra was lost, she wouldn't feel bad.
Of course, she had a lot of Chakra. Her Yin Seal's accumulation of a month's Yin Style Chakra was equivalent to several years' worth for an ordinary Yamanaka Clan Ninja.
Feeling too tired to gesture, she conjured a white paper doll in the mental world and began to haggle with the Shinigami.
She pointed at the white paper doll, then at the Third Hokage's soul.
She first cut off the paper doll's two feet, the Shinigami shook his head. Then she cut off the entire lower body, the Shinigami still disagreed. Finally, Ino cut off most of the paper doll's body, both legs, and one arm, leaving only a head, a heart, and one arm. The Shinigami still shook his head.
No, this path was completely unfeasible.
The Shinigami valued his sacrifices very much, and seemed to be bound by some rules.
Ino decided to try another approach.
She continued to gesture with the paper doll, which now only had a head, heart, and one arm, to her "mentally challenged" friend.
"Old man, yours. Deferred payment, give it to you first, half, a large half? Okay?"
The Shinigami looked at his "mentally challenged" friend, not quite understanding the meaning of deferred payment.
Since it's all mine anyway, what's the point of deferring?
Sixty seconds later in the mental world, Ino explained the results of their discussion to Inoichi.
"The Third Hokage's soul definitely can't be kept. My discussion with the Shinigami resulted in him taking most of his soul first, with the remaining portion being deferred payment. The Third Hokage won't be able to use Ninjutsu, won't be a Ninja, and his lifespan will be extremely short. Is it really necessary for us to do this now?"
Inoichi shook his head gravely: "You don't understand the situation within the Village. As long as the Third Hokage still has a breath left, he has enormous influence over the appointment of the new Hokage. Not just the Yamanaka Clan, but the new Hokage is very important for the future development of Ino–Shika–Choji. After this Ninjutsu, how long can the Third Hokage live?"
Ino then gestured to the Shinigami like playing rock-paper-scissors, then said with some uncertainty: "Based on my medical knowledge, if a large portion of his soul is taken, the Third Hokage probably has about a month to live, maybe even less, as his organs are basically all failing."
A Shinigami mask appeared in Ino's hand: "As the price for deferred payment, we also have to pay him a new soul. Any soul will do, whether voluntary or not..."
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