What was supposed to be a hot-blooded anime suddenly turned into a disaster movie.
Ino was very unaccustomed to it.
But whether she was accustomed to it or not, she could only try her best to cope at this moment.
She reinforced the earth wall, and Shikamaru, Choji, and several Ninja with minor injuries all helped, rescuing the villagers who had fled. Afterward, Sakura, who had recovered some stamina, also went to help.
Noticing that many people had gathered on their side, and that Otogakure Ninja and Sunagakure Ninja were coming to attack, Ino did not hold back. Water Severing Wave served them! One hit, one kill! All were eliminated!
Finally, she even teamed up with Shikamaru, Choji, Shino, and the Third Hokage's Shadow Clone to repel the Edo Tensei Fourth Kazekage. That's right, it was Shino Aburame; who knows when that guy arrived.
The Fourth Kazekage was trapped by Ino's large Water Prison Technique, and then poked with a stick by the Third's Shadow Clone, shattering his body. He could only lie on the ground, waiting for his Edo Tensei body to recover. The surrounding Sunagakure Ninja thought they had killed their Village's Kazekage and attacked like madmen.
Ino originally wanted to seal away this Edo Tensei Fourth Kazekage, because she remembered that during the Fourth Shinobi World War, the strong individuals resurrected by Yakushi Kabuto's Edo Tensei could be sealed. However, the Sunagakure Ninja were fearless, attacking with all their might. The Third's Shadow Clone's Chakra was limited, and most of the pressure was on her side. She fought very hard, and by the time she finished, she found that the Fourth Kazekage had already escaped.
The Third Hokage's Shadow Clone continued to pursue, and Ino sighed heavily. Sakura was the most distraught, sitting down in a duck-sitting position and then starting to cry.
"It's all my fault! This is all my fault!"
Ino: "???"
She couldn't understand how Sakura had arrived at that conclusion.
Sakura cried like a weeping willow: "If it wasn't for me... if it wasn't for me, the First Hokage wouldn't have been revived."
She didn't want to say anything more. Ino's mind raced for several circles, then she suddenly realized, feeling that she probably, possibly, seemed to understand.
Seeing Shikamaru and Shino looking over, she couldn't let these two smart people know the reason. She said decisively: "Are you stupid! That was Orochimaru's doing, what does it have to do with you? I think you're just too idle! Go help over there! Hurry!"
A scolding made Sakura shift her attention, while Ino secretly wiped away a cold sweat.
She assigned Sakura a mountain of tasks: applying medicine to the injured, bandaging wounds, preparing food for the villagers—anything to keep her from idly overthinking.
More and more villagers gathered around Ino. The task of rescuing the civilians was handed over to Shikamaru and the others. Her main focus was observing the enemies, especially the three Kage resurrected by Edo Tensei.
The Fourth Kazekage had a large attack range and was said to have the power to suppress the Ichibi in the desert. However, this was not a desert, and he was far from his strength in life, so he was not difficult to deal with.
The Second Hokage's performance was much worse than she expected. The Second Hokage resurrected by Orochimaru's Edo Tensei probably couldn't even unleash one-tenth of his strength in life.
The First Hokage's Wood Release was astonishing in its power, but it was just power; its lethality was far from the legendary level of directly confronting the armored Susanoo.
They were all downscaled versions.
Facing the encirclement of the Third and many Ninja, Orochimaru also felt the pressure. He then released some of the control over the Edo Tensei, while recalling the First and Second Hokage to his side.
Relaxing the control allowed for more combat abilities to be unleashed. Another obvious feature was that the eyes of the three Kage became more lively; they could speak, no longer in the robot-like state from before.
After the First, who was using Wood Release for reforestation work in the Village, had some control removed, he sensed something, turned his head, and looked in Ino's direction.
Orochimaru, who was controlling the Edo Tensei, quickly formed hand signs, finding that the First had not broken free from control; it seemed to be just an unconscious movement.
Ino was startled. In that instant, she felt a connection between the Asura Chakra within her and the First Hokage. The level of this connection was far higher than Edo Tensei.
The Second noticed the First's unusual behavior. He glanced at him and asked, "What's wrong, Big Brother?"
The First laughed heartily: "It seems to be one of my descendants? How embarrassing, to let a descendant see me in such a sorry state."
The Second 'hmph'ed, then scolded the Third: "Monkey, put some effort into it! Why are your attacks so weak? Can't you even defeat a dead man like me?"
The Third was panting from exhaustion, wanting to argue. He was seventy years old! Not thirty! It was already quite good that he had held on until now.
The First and Second returned to Orochimaru's side. He immediately dispelled his Shadow Clone and fully focused on the battle at hand.
On the other side, Ino discovered that by using the Asura Chakra and her own sensory transmission ability, she could bypass Edo Tensei and communicate with the First Hokage in their inner world from a distance.
"Are you my descendant?" the First asked through the sensory transmission ability.
"...Well, I can't really say, but I am Tsunade-sensei's student." Ino answered vaguely.
"Little Tsunade, how is she doing now?"
"She's doing great! Just three days ago, Tsunade-sensei and I were drinking sake. We each drank half of a huge barrel!"
"Hahahahaha--" The First laughed heartily.
The First Hokage, like Ashura and Naruto, had a boisterous personality and didn't realize that Ino was merely a "messenger," and that part of the Asura Chakra did not belong to her.
He didn't realize it, and Ino didn't explain. On the contrary, she spoke at length about her relationship with Tsunade.
The Senju Clan had long since integrated with Konoha. It was quite normal for descendants of the Yamanaka Clan to possess the Senju Clan's bloodline! At least, to the First, he found it normal.
Ino's lower Yang Release level and higher Yin Release level were also considered normal by him. Not everyone in the Senju Clan was so sunny; his brother, Senju Tobirama, was an example, just a tiny bit gloomy, what's wrong with that?
"Hahahahaha-- To think you're Tsunade's student, then we truly aren't strangers." Hearing Ino talk about his granddaughter and her student being chased all over by debt collectors, the First's mood was very pleasant. He was just like that back then; this was definitely his true granddaughter.
The First didn't know about the Asura Chakra. Currently, with Naruto and Gaara chatting in the distant forest, in his perception, Ino was the closest blood relative among his clan, without a doubt.
He said to Ino through sensory transmission: "This young man's Edo Tensei Jutsu is very powerful. He has great restrictions on me and Tobirama. I can temporarily resist his control, but I'm worried he might modify the control formula in my head. Once he completely strips away my consciousness, I'll be helpless. Little girl, I'll resist the Edo Tensei Jutsu formula, and you help me control my body. If you can hold Tobirama, the pressure on Monkey's side will be greatly reduced."
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