Pot-kage Ninja (TL)

Ino couldn't personally use the Reaper Death Seal, but to maintain her relationship with the Shinigami—summoning it occasionally to offer gifts and build goodwill—she had to keep both the mask and the scroll containing the seal.

She stored them away, planning to find some unlucky soul to summon the Shinigami for her later.

Right now, the priority was dealing with the Third Hokage.

Normally, the Shinigami didn't involve itself in the specifics of sacrifices. Whether or not you managed to drag your enemy's soul over didn't matter—the summoner's soul was the guaranteed payment. Win or lose, the Shinigami never came out at a loss.

At this moment, the Third Hokage was on the verge of collapse, his stamina nearly depleted.

Today, however, the Shinigami was in a good mood. Ino, this somewhat "eccentric" new friend of his, radiated an eerie aura, far more pleasing to him than the blazing vitality of the Uzumaki clan.

The First Hokage, the Second Hokage, the Third Hokage, and the Fourth Kazekage—these were all high-quality souls. Add in Sakon and Ukon as a "little bonus," and this outing was already a massive win. So, the Shinigami didn't mind lending a hand. After all, dragging Orochimaru over meant another high-quality soul. Why not?

The Third Hokage's vision darkened as his strength waned. He had already begun preparing for the worst.

If nothing else, he would seal Orochimaru's hands. At least his own life wouldn't have been wasted.

But just as he was about to give up, the Shinigami's right hand—reaching for Orochimaru—suddenly solidified. Black curse markings spread along its arm, and a string of prayer beads manifested around its wrist. The pulling force instantly multiplied dozens of times over.

The Third Hokage watched in stunned silence as Orochimaru's soul was violently ripped from his body. The fear, confusion, and hatred in his beloved disciple's eyes vanished along with his departing soul.

Without a soul, Orochimaru's body crumpled limply to the ground like an empty husk.

The Sound Ninja nearby cried out in shock, their voices distant and muffled to the Third Hokage, as if echoing from the horizon. He couldn't quite process his own thoughts, mechanically forming the final hand seals.

"Seal!" A sealing mark appeared on the Third Hokage's stomach. While it seemed like Orochimaru's soul was being sealed within him, in truth, all the souls belonged to the Shinigami—he was merely a conduit.

Following the delayed-payment agreement between the Shinigami and Ino, three-fourths of the Third Hokage's soul was also taken. The old man, completely drained, collapsed unconscious on the spot.

Under Kidomaru's lead, the Sound Ninja desperately snatched up Orochimaru's corpse and fled Konoha in panic.

The Sunagakure Ninja stood dumbfounded. Wait… what exactly were we here for again?

Still, as shinobi from a major village, they retreated in orderly fashion. Konoha didn't press the attack, allowing Gaara to step forward and explain the day's events. Though skeptical, the Sand Ninja collectively withdrew from the village—they had no choice. The air was thick with pollen, and even with their goggles and scarves, accustomed to harsh environments as they were, they found it unbearable. Best to retreat and regroup.

Once the enemies had retreated, Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Homura immediately jumped in to take control of the aftermath. They didn't so much as glance at the Third Hokage lying in the dust.

"Asuma!" one of them barked. "Take the Barrier Team and set up defenses at the village entrance! Konoha is at its weakest now—move quickly!"

"Kurenai, bring out all the women and children from the safe houses to help with rescue efforts."

"Shikaku! I order you to mobilize all Jonin. If Sunagakure and Sound Village don't give Konoha an explanation, war awaits them!"

"Inoichi, the intelligence division has failed yet again. Your performance is utterly disappointing! Look at the village's losses—this is the result of your incompetence!"

The two advisors were frantically shifting blame. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio and various ninja clans had long grown accustomed to their habit of wielding trivial authority as absolute commands.

First, they'd dump responsibility on others. Then after a couple days of appeasement and personal favors, the matter would be swept under the rug. This had been their modus operandi for over thirty years.

Shikaku and Inoichi remained silent, neither mentioning that the Third was still alive. They wanted to witness these advisors' spectacular performance firsthand.

The more authoritative they acted now, the more humiliated they'd be later.

While the advisors busied themselves with commands, the clan heads were assessing damages.

"Our entire clan mobilized hundreds of ninjas for the village—men fought while women transported supplies. Through fierce battles, desperate struggles, and life-or-death combat, our clan leaders repeatedly led charges without regard for personal safety. After careful accounting, we've determined our total losses amount to... two shuriken. It's only reasonable for the village to compensate us with those two plots of land by Konoha Hospital, don't you agree?"

Ino stored away the Shinigami mask and Reaper Death Seal scroll, dismantling the earthen walls surrounding the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

Thanks to her active participation, Konoha's destruction this time far exceeded that of the original timeline.

Particularly the ninja techniques used by the First Hokage, Second Hokage, and Fourth Kazekage had flattened countless buildings, nearly altering the village's entire topography.

Rather than engaging in the power struggles of the elite, Ino simply opened her flower shop's doors—to sell medicine!

Specialized treatment for pollen allergies.

The First Hokage's Wood Release could create the Forest of Death, which Konoha still used as a training ground decades after his passing.

The First's chakra possessed unique properties harmonizing with nature, making it virtually indestructible. Now the pollen from Ino's Advent of a World of Flowers technique, created using his chakra, wouldn't disappear either. Wind Release to disperse it? That would just spread pollen everywhere, allowing her medicine to be sold worldwide.

Compared to this, Konoha ninjas maintained relatively higher ethical standards. They opted for burial and other slower methods to handle the pollen.

With villagers needing treatment for heavy pollen exposure, Ino appeared at just the right moment.

"See, ours is Konoha's only flower shop. Now we're selling some pollen treatment—perfectly reasonable, wouldn't you agree?"

"What? You suspect I created this pollen? How dare you slander me without evidence?"

"Someone! Take this man to Konoha's interrogation division! Let's see if he's a spy from Sunagakure or Sound Village! Show him the branding irons, finger presses, hammers, hot pillars, and bamboo splinters—let him witness our civilized law enforcement methods! Then ask if he still dares spread baseless accusations!"

Ino recruited Shikamaru and Sakura to help, while villagers they'd previously rescued enthusiastically spread word about her medicine.

Before Kidomaru and Tayuya could even carry Orochimaru's still-warm corpse out of the village, Ino had already set up her stalls selling medicine and masks.

Ino's main body was handling the medicine sales. Seeing that she still had plenty of Chakra to spare, she summoned an enormous Slug Sage, then created fifty Shadow Clones. These clones spread throughout the village with the Slug Sage's smaller bodies to heal people.

She wouldn't give up the profits she'd gained, but she also wanted the good reputation.