Chapter 168: Division of Labor
Hashirama Senju was once the reincarnation of Asura's chakra, but that's a thing of the past. With his death, Asura's chakra became dormant.
Asura and Indra's chakras are passed down through bloodlines, and their reincarnations are connected in some way.
In the decades following Hashirama Senju's death, there was no sign of Asura's chakra awakening. It wasn't until Madara Uchiha finally died that Indra's chakra reincarnated into Sasuke, and Asura's chakra into Naruto.
Sasuke's birthday is July 23rd, and Naruto's is October 10th, clearly indicating the order in which they were born.
Essentially, Madara breathed his last, and shortly after, Sasuke was born. At the same time, Asura's chakra, which had been dormant for decades, found a new host.
Like a wild goose leaving a trace, or the wind leaving a sound, Asura's chakra moved on, but this doesn't mean that Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, had no Asura chakra left.
This spiritual influence has always existed. His soul still contains Asura's chakra, just not a significant amount.
Seeing Ino, he felt a natural closeness, which he believed was due to a bloodline connection, but it wasn't.
The First Hokage's request for help made Ino very hesitant.
Befriending Asura is actually more practical than "befriending" the ethereal Grim Reaper. The Grim Reapers are just lingering spirits, captured by ninjas to be used as tools. Who is Asura? The son of the Sage of Six Paths! And the Sage of Six Paths is still observing the ninja world from the intersection of yin and yang.
While Asura has indeed reincarnated into Naruto, the First Hokage isn't just a completely lonely ghost in the usual sense. If she helps him, there's a high probability she'll come to the attention of the Sage of Six Paths.
She's already a well-known and capable person among the village's higher-ups. Does she want to reach a new level and become known and capable in the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths?
Ino carefully considered the pros and cons. She definitely wanted to see the Third Hokage's Reaper Death Seal. She had come all this way just to witness that technique, hadn't she? She also wanted to befriend the First Hokage. She quickly made up her mind, but she still needed to be discreet.
She said to Shikamaru, "I want to go help the Third Hokage, if..."
Shikamaru was stunned for a moment, then immediately said seriously, "Go ahead. If... if they blame you later, just say it was my idea. It's okay, at most they'll just scold me a few times."
He had noticed that his family wasn't enthusiastic about rescuing the Third Hokage. His father was the one who made the decision. Deep down, Shikamaru wanted to save the Third Hokage, and if he could, he definitely would.
Now that Ino was going against the family's wishes to rescue the Third Hokage, he supported her. He even directly promised that if the family blamed her later, Ino could put the blame on him.
Choji didn't know what they were talking about, but seeing that both of them were very serious, he nodded firmly. What was there to be afraid of? The Ino-Shika-Cho trio would always act together!
"Go, we'll be here." Shino seemed unusually pleased to be entrusted with an important task, and his mood improved noticeably.
Sakura didn't know what she was supposed to do, she just nodded along with the others.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Ino summoned Katsuyu, the Slug Sage. This time, she controlled her chakra output and only summoned a slug about the size of a person.
The sudden appearance of such a strange creature startled Sakura.
"Lord Katsuyu, my body might get injured later, please heal me in time," Ino said.
Katsuyu looked around, then said in a gentle, young woman's voice, "Little Ino, I understand. I must say, your Leaf Village certainly has its share of disasters."
This was a bit awkward to respond to, so Ino could only force a smile. This was nothing yet! Just wait and see! There's still a long way to go in the future.
In the original timeline, Ino could use Hinata's Byakugan to remotely control Obito with great power. Now, with the higher-level Asura chakra for positioning, the effect would naturally be even better.
She got into position and told the First Hokage that she was ready.
The First Hokage is known as the God of Shinobi. When it comes to understanding ninjutsu and chakra, Orochimaru is truly no match for him.
With a thought, he forcibly broke free from the control of the Impure World Reincarnation.
Orochimaru's reaction speed was incredibly fast. He immediately formed hand seals, wanting to regain control of the Impure World Reincarnation. He had only exerted a limited amount of power over the First Hokage and had always been very cautious. If he had just two seconds, he could regain control.
However, he was ultimately too late. Using the Mind Body Switch Technique and the positioning provided by Asura's chakra, Ino sent her consciousness into the reincarnated body of the First Hokage.
"Child, my power is limited now. I need to focus all my strength on resisting the technique's control. I'll leave my body to you." The First Hokage and Ino quickly divided the labor, one focusing internally and the other externally.
Orochimaru was also very decisive after realizing that the First Hokage had broken free from his control.
Like a snake, he forcefully emerged from the Third Hokage's staff shadows, then leaped up. A special kunai appeared in his hand. He wanted to alter the formula in the First Hokage's brain. He wasn't going to engage in any mental games; he was going for a direct reset.
The distance between them closed rapidly. When they were only five meters apart, the First Hokage's eyes reopened.
The foundation of Vapor Explosion is the Water Clone Technique, while the essence of Impure World Reincarnation is the Summoning Technique.
The First Hokage's reawakening is essentially his soul being summoned back by the Summoning Technique.
Impure World Reincarnation requires a living person as a vessel for the soul. In Ino's investigation, the quality of this body itself was very poor. She couldn't tell who the host was now, nor did she care.
The original host's consciousness, the First Hokage's consciousness, and Ino's consciousness were like Russian nesting dolls, one inside the other.
After accommodating the First Hokage's soul, this body possessed the six chakra natures: fire, wind, lightning, earth, water, and yang. It lacked yin, which she estimated was because the First Hokage's Yang Release was too strong.
This body also had Wood Release chakra. Theoretically, it should be the same as when Orochimaru occupied Sasuke's body. After taking over, the original body's kekkei genkai could be used. However, Wood Release relied on Asura's chakra, and they were currently in a nested state, plus the whole thing was quite complex.
Ino was basically in a state where "the body understands, but the mind doesn't yet." No matter how strong her aptitude for ninjutsu was, she couldn't possibly learn Wood Release in an instant.
Facing the aggressively charging Orochimaru, she could only use her own ninjutsu first.
Yamato could use Water Release and Earth Release, so naturally the First Hokage could as well.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!" Ino took a deep breath, and then a high-pressure, gun-like stream of silver water shot towards Orochimaru.
Second Hokage: "???"
Third Hokage: "???"
Orochimaru was still thinking about how to alter the formula in the First Hokage's head. Caught off guard, he didn't even have time to dodge when the Water Severing Wave reached his eyes. The water stream blasted a hole straight through his forehead, and then Ino casually slashed, removing a third of his head.
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