Chapter 174: The Shinigami and His Simple-Minded Friend

Chapter 174: The Shinigami and His Simple-Minded Friend

Ino held absolutely no reverence for the deities of the shinobi world, prompting Inoichi to urge her toward patience.

Why are you cursing the Shinigami? We're supposed to be making friends here!

Ino conceded that she had indeed been too hasty and forced herself to gesture patiently.

"Welcome, friend! Are you… alright?"

"I am… yours, yes, yes, yours. Me." She pointed emphatically. "Look at my finger, pointing at me, right? Friend! I am your friend!"

"No, no, no! Not the old man down there, me! I'm your friend!"

Ino continued her frantic gesturing.

For a moment, Inoichi thought she might be weaving hand seals, but after watching longer, he realized she was just making hand signals, hopping about, and occasionally using broader body language.

He clicked his tongue. This was certainly proving difficult. The clan records never mentioned any language barrier issues, and he couldn't offer much help.

The Shinigami simply stared, a massive question mark seeming to hang over its spectral head, utterly bewildered by Ino's performance.

"What do we do now?" Inoichi noticed the Shinigami in the mental world fixing him with a piercing gaze, as if contemplating ending him right there. He quickly ducked behind his daughter, and only then did the palpable killing intent dissipate. From this perspective, it seemed the first step of the Mind Body Disturbance Technique had succeeded.

Ino herself didn't know how to explain it. As she understood it, they existed on different dimensional planes. The Shinigami was either excessively cautious or perhaps still terrified after its encounter with Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, retreating entirely into another dimension.

Whatever Ino said here, the entity couldn't hear it. To make it understand, she'd have to become more… spectral, more aligned with its netherworldly dimension. Only then could they communicate properly, only then was there a chance of becoming friends.

Imagine an Earthling and an alien chatting online – neither understanding a word the other types. How could they possibly become friends? Just by exchanging gifts and likes? That only fosters a superficial connection.

Still, Ino's wild gesticulations seemed to have some effect.

The Shinigami murmured in low tones, words Ino couldn't comprehend at all, like meaningless, dreamlike whispers. She could only observe intently.

The Shinigami spread its arms. In the center of its torso hovered a pale blue, humanoid silhouette – undoubtedly the soul of the Third Hokage, offered as the summoning sacrifice. In other words, once this jutsu began, regardless of success or failure, the Third's soul was forfeit to the Shinigami from the start. This process was irreversible. Floating beside the Shinigami were three other spiritual masses – likely the souls of the recently sealed First Hokage, Second Hokage, and Fourth Kazekage.

The entity was essentially killing two birds with one stone; on this business trip, the Third Hokage's soul was the cost of doing business, while the other three high-quality souls were pure profit.

Currently, the Third Hokage was struggling to extract Orochimaru's soul. The old man was nearly depleted of stamina, his spiritual energy too weak, making the extraction agonizingly difficult.

At this point, Ino understood. The Reaper Death Seal had entered its final stage.

Inoichi didn't know the specific mechanics of the jutsu; no written records of the Shiki Fūjin existed in the village. However, it was the technique the Fourth Hokage had used, and those who witnessed it back then retained some impression.

Combining her own memories with her father's insights, Ino discussed the jutsu's key points, analyzing if the Yamanaka clan could somehow profit from the situation. After all, the Shinigami was now a friend – even a superficial friend was still a friend…

"So, the Third Hokage will definitely die… What a pity. He was an outstanding shinobi," Inoichi lamented. "How much influence do you have over the Shinigami? Can you affect this transaction even slightly? Is it possible?" he asked.

Ino thought hard, then turned back to the Shinigami and resumed her gesturing.

She first pointed to the Third Hokage's soul: "Old man. Yours."

The Shinigami tilted its head, regarding its "simple-minded" friend. How peculiar!

This old man summoned me; as the price for the summoning, his soul naturally belongs to me!

This new friend who had appeared out of nowhere truly didn't seem very bright.

The Shinigami pointed at the Third's soul and nodded, confirming ownership.

Ino gestured again, pointing first at the Third's soul, then at herself: "Old man, yours. Friend… share with me? Okay?"

The Shinigami immediately shook its head – absolutely not! It extended its right hand simultaneously, implying, You want to save this old man? Then you must also offer a sacrifice.

Ino jumped back, startled. The friendship level isn't high enough yet! How could you demand your friend's soul? Doesn't your conscience bother you?

She certainly wasn't about to trade her own life for the Third's.

However, this was indeed a good opportunity to test the waters. Even if the Shinigami turned hostile, it wouldn't be a disaster. The entity's intelligence, or rather, its thought process, was fundamentally different from a human's. Besides, for Ino, her sunk cost was merely the Yin-natured chakra she had accumulated over the past month using her Yang Seal. Losing that amount of chakra wouldn't pain her much.

Of course, she possessed a vast amount of chakra. The Yin chakra she stored in a month via the Yang Seal was equivalent to what an ordinary Yamanaka clan member might accumulate over several years.

Finding the constant gesturing exhausting, she conjured a white paper mannequin within the mental world and began to haggle with the Shinigami.

She pointed at the white paper figure, then at the Third Hokage's soul.

First, she snipped off the paper figure's feet. The Shinigami shook its head. Then she cut off the entire lower body. The Shinigami still refused. Finally, Ino cut away most of the figure's body – both legs and one arm – leaving only the head, heart, and one arm. The Shinigami still shook its head.

No, this approach is completely blocked.

The Shinigami guarded its sacrifices fiercely, seemingly bound by certain rules.

Ino decided to try a different angle.

She continued gesturing with the paper figure—now just a head, heart, and arm—at her "simple-minded" friend.

"Old man, yours. Deferred payment. Give you… half now? Most of it? Okay?"

The Shinigami looked at its "simple-minded" friend, not quite grasping the concept of deferred payment.

Since it all belongs to me eventually, what's the point of deferring?

After sixty seconds had passed in the mental world, Ino relayed the results of their "discussion" to Inoichi.

"We definitely can't save the Third's soul entirely. My negotiation with the Shinigami resulted in it taking most of his soul now, with the remainder payable later. The Third won't be able to use ninjutsu or function as a shinobi anymore, and his remaining lifespan will be extremely short. Is there any point in us doing this?"

Inoichi shook his head gravely. "You don't understand the political situation within the village. As long as the Third Hokage draws breath, he holds immense influence over the appointment of the next Hokage. It's not just about the Yamanaka clan; the next Hokage is crucial for the future direction of the entire Ino-Shika-Cho trio… After this jutsu, how long would the Third live?"

Ino went through another round of frantic gesturing, like playing a hand-guessing game, with the Shinigami before replying uncertainly, "Based on my medical knowledge… having lost most of his soul, the Third probably has about a month left, maybe less. After all, his organs are already failing."

A Shinigami mask materialized in Ino's hand. "As the price for this deferred payment, we'll have to provide it with a new soul eventually. Anyone's soul will do, voluntary or not…"