Jirobo's attack and Ino's subsequent counterattack plunged the battlefield into further chaos.
Controlling the First Hokage and restraining the Second Hokage, Ino's impact far surpassed that of the Special Jonin.
By sacrificing one of his subordinates, Orochimaru finally seized the perfect opportunity to strike.
The Third Hokage's Adamantine Staff of Wishes was blocked by Anko Mitarashi's body, while Raido Namiashi, in his aggressive assault, inadvertently obstructed Uzuki Yugao from executing her Hidden Leaf Style Swordsmanship.
The Sunagakure Ninja had long since descended into disarray.
The Fourth Kazekage appeared normal—his ninja techniques, body techniques, and even his Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai seemed unchanged. But after such prolonged combat, the Sunagakure Ninja began to notice something amiss. Why wasn't their village's Kage speaking?
He gave no orders, merely watching as they clashed blindly with the Konoha Ninja. Something was wrong with this Kage.
Orochimaru couldn't risk letting the Fourth Kazekage speak. Controlling his speech was far too mentally taxing. If he allowed the Kazekage to regain his voice, a single shout of "Orochimaru is the culprit!" would expose him instantly.
Every second of deception counted. Relying on his own immortality, he danced on the edge of a blade, pushing his luck to the limit.
Jirobo's throw kicked up a massive cloud of dust, followed by Ino's Six Blossoms and Twelve Blossoms techniques, which erupted with earth-shaking force. Orochimaru slipped through the gaps between them, his neck elongating instantly, stretching over ten meters toward Ino. With a sharp inhale, he expelled a gleaming, razor-sharp blade from his mouth.
The Kusanagi Sword!
Orochimaru aimed to eliminate this unpredictable variable first with a surprise attack on Ino.
Meanwhile, the Second Hokage was forcibly controlled, intensifying his assault.
Ino struggled to evade the Second Hokage's Water Release: Water Dragon Biting Explosion. Barely escaping the forming water vortex half a second before it solidified, she paid the price—her right leg was slashed by high-speed water blades, leaving over a dozen wounds. With no time to dwell on her injuries, she first severed the Second Hokage's body with a Water Severing Wave, forcing him into a regeneration state. Then, clasping her hands together, she channeled all the Wood Release Chakra within the First Hokage's body, unleashing her newest technique—the strongest ninja technique the First could currently muster.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees!"
As for Orochimaru's ambush, Ino merely crouched slightly. Relying on the Slug's astonishing healing and her own ability to liquefy later, she allowed the Kusanagi Sword to pierce through her shoulder and part of her neck, determined to complete the technique. Overflowing chakra transformed into life force as she poured it into the ground.
The First Hokage could summon Wood Release with a single clap of his hands, but with Ino acting as an intermediary, the process was inevitably slower.
After roughly two seconds, the ground split into countless fine fissures. Twigs burst forth from the earth, sprouting new branches, budding flowers, blooming, and withering—all four stages completed within those fleeting moments. A gentle breeze carried vast amounts of pollen into the air, which in turn catalyzed the growth of even more blossoms.
Crimson petals swirled through the sky as the pollen shimmered in myriad hues, releasing an array of intoxicating fragrances. With each gust of wind, the scents and colors spread in all directions.
Inside the inner world, the First Hokage crossed his arms, looking puzzled at Ino's ninja technique. "I possess the Wood Release techniques of Advent of a World of Trees and Advent of a World of Flowering Trees. But what you're using now seems to lack any tree elements—definitely not Advent of a World of Trees, nor Advent of a World of Flowering Trees. Perhaps it should be called Advent of a World of Flowers?"
Ino was equally baffled. She had used the First's Wood Release Chakra to perform his signature technique, Advent of a World of Trees, yet the result was completely different. Where were the trees? Why was it just flowers?
She had a hunch—it must still be related to Ashura's Chakra.
The Ashura's Chakra within her was essentially a "quest item." Once the "delivery mission" was completed, it would no longer belong to her. The First's Wood Release Chakra wasn't hers either. Clearly, something had gone wrong.
The First's Chakra reserves were immense, and the entire battlefield was now blanketed in a sea of flowers.
The pollen floating in the air was toxic. A small amount inhaled wouldn't be an issue, but for someone like Orochimaru, who was standing so close, it became a problem. With his mouth wide open and his elongated neck, he resembled a giant vacuum cleaner, sucking in large amounts of pollen.
What the hell is this? The fifty-year-old immediately sensed something was wrong.
Orochimaru tried to use his Orochimaru-Style Substitution Jutsu to negate the pollen's effects, but as soon as he began channeling Chakra, he felt a tightness in his chest, his breathing grew labored, and he couldn't draw a full breath.
His substitution technique might seem like a passive ability, but it still required actions like shedding his skin with Chakra or expelling a new body. Now, having inhaled massive amounts of pollen—which contained highly concentrated hormone-like substances with estrogenic effects, as well as large quantities of nucleic acids that reacted with enzymes in his body to form uric acid, accumulating in his kidneys—his condition worsened rapidly.
All these processes, catalyzed by Chakra and his excessive pollen intake, accelerated thousands of times.
In short, the pollen had a severe impact on Orochimaru's nervous, respiratory, digestive, and renal systems, including his endocrine functions. He injected three different antidotes in succession, but none countered the cursed pollen's effects.
The remaining ninjas were also affected, though not as severely. Normal ninjas, upon sensing the issue, would cough a few times to expel the pollen. But Orochimaru's neck was just too long!
The Third Hokage seized this golden opportunity, creating three shadow clones.
All four versions of the Third formed hand seals simultaneously, targeting the First Hokage, Second Hokage, Fourth Kazekage, and Orochimaru.
He intended to seal all four souls at once.
Turning to Ino, he said calmly, "Tsunade indeed has better judgment than I do. You've done well, child. Leave the rest to me." His tone was matter-of-fact, betraying no hint of his impending sacrifice.
Meanwhile, the Chakra from Ino's Mind Body Switch Technique was nearly depleted. She glanced around but couldn't spot the Shinigami—the entity said to have a contract with the Reaper Death Seal user—even with the First's Edo Tensei body.
It was completely invisible, as if the Third were gesturing at thin air.
She didn't answer the Third immediately. Instead, she took the opportunity to steady her breathing and asked the First, "Lord First, do you know what the Third Hokage is trying to do? I don't seem to see anything. I can't understand his ninja techniques."
The First smiled and said, "Because you're among the living, you can't see it. This is a technique of the Uzumaki clan. I won't tell you its name—you're still young and shouldn't learn such techniques. Child, go back now. Your actions today saved many lives. Knowing there are young successors like you in the village brings me great comfort, and I believe Tobirama would be pleased too. We likely won't meet again, so thank you. Oh, and remember to give my regards to Tsunade for me."