Chapter 300: A Small Problem in the Transaction
The five Rashōmon gates bore the heavy marks of time. Ino reached out and touched them; the sorrowful aura emanating from the gates seemed to attest to the grudges and passions between the original native deities and visitors from beyond the stars.
The Shinigami was peacefully eating hot pot and singing songs at home, bothering no one, provoking no one, and then the aliens came!
They kicked down the door and started a war! One could imagine a scene similar to villagers kicking down the door of some unfortunate celebrity.
After a fierce battle, the Shinigami old pal was beaten black and blue. His home was ransacked, and everything valuable was looted.
By Ino's estimation, the Shinigami's servants, namely the "Three Demons" Tayuya summoned, probably fled at that time.
Outmatched, the Shinigami could only admit defeat, lying down in a posture of "my door is always open," as if to say, Come and violate me in turns! I won't resist anymore!
Its non-resistance policy further fueled the arrogance of the aliens and their descendants, until eventually, even its front gates were carted away!
The Shinigami was scared witless. In the very end, it was even reduced to being a hired thug for the Uzumaki clan. Enduring, always enduring, enduring with all its might – it was actually the greatest ninja in the shinobi world! Fortunately, its patience finally paid off!
Ever since meeting its good friend Ino, the Shinigami's fortunes had taken a turn for the better. Its servants had returned, and its gates were about to be restored.
Ino had originally planned to go the route of buying on credit or using the evil personality within Kurama Yakumo. But now, with the gates, neither credit nor Miss Yakumo's dark side was necessary.
In the ninja world, Rashōmon was merely a defensive summoning tool. Not only did it consume a massive amount of chakra, but it could also only be used in open areas. Apart from tanking a Tailed Beast Bomb, it wasn't very useful most of the time. Useless to ninjas, but to the Shinigami, these were the portals to the entire world.
The value of this item in Orochimaru's hands was 100; in the transaction between Ino and the Shinigami, its value was 10,000.
Ino formed hand seals and performed the Reverse Reaper Death Seal. Orochimaru could understand this step. She then shook prayer beads with a specific rhythm; this was clearly part of the ritual, and Orochimaru could also comprehend it.
Kurama Yakumo's room had been rewritten by her Kekkei Genkai's power. It was now an intermediate zone between the material and non-material worlds, allowing the Shinigami to arrive more smoothly and also effectively block Zetsu's prying eyes.
An ominous wind from the world of the dead continuously poured in.
A layer of frost quickly covered the walls, windows, and furniture.
Tsunade, Shizune, and even Jiraiya were experienced. The three began to change into winter clothing, fully equipped with gloves and hats. Jiraiya wasn't wearing geta today but had come in cotton socks and cotton shoes.
Orochimaru found it a bit strange, but he gritted his teeth; he could barely endure this low-temperature environment.
Kakashi and Shikaku were freezing badly. The chilling wind gusted, and the two could only huddle in a corner, enduring it.
Orochimaru stared intently at Ino, not missing a single one of her movements.
The physical rules of the room they were in had been largely altered. Even those who couldn't summon the Shinigami, like Tsunade and the others, could vaguely see a rough humanoid silhouette.
Ino's friendship with the Shinigami old pal was growing stronger; they could now communicate telepathically, albeit with a significant delay, but it was a hundred times better than their initial clumsy gesturing.
She first showed the Shinigami the gates she had "picked up on the cheap."
The Shinigami immediately conveyed a joyful emotion to her; its gates, lost for many years, were finally back!
Ino had no intention of keeping them.
Keeping one or two gates was pointless, as they wouldn't offer much defense. If she kept all of them, what kind of deal would that be?
One gate, two gates, three gates, the kitchen door, the toilet door – she returned them all to the Shinigami.
She took out the summoning scroll she had just acquired and threw it directly to the Shinigami.
The Shinigami, from bottom to top, wiped its hand across the scroll, and all the names on it vanished. Let alone Ino, even Hashirama Senju would no longer be able to use this summoning jutsu.
The gates returned to the Shinigami's possession.
Ino began to collect her payment.
She first glanced at Orochimaru.
The room was as cold as an ice cellar, yet Orochimaru was sweating profusely, the ground at his feet soaked with sweat.
Was he sweating like a pig out of fear? Definitely not. He was in pain. The deficiency in his soul kept him in a constant state of being torn apart.
Out of twenty-four hours a day, he was in pain for at least twenty. His desperate move to find Jiraiya was because he truly couldn't hold on any longer; he was dying.
Ino saw a thick aura of death on him, even denser than the one on the Third Hokage before his passing.
"What is it, Miss Yamanaka? Is something amiss?" Orochimaru asked grimly.
The others also looked at Ino.
She said, "I'm just contemplating your current state. I want to confirm one last time, what is your cognitive age in your current state?"
Orochimaru thought for a moment. "Around forty years old, I suppose."
Ino continued to ask, "Then what do those ten years of experience after you defected from the village mean to you?"
"That is merely a memory. The Yamanaka clan should have experience with this, right? Are the memories you see in someone else's mind your own memories? Memory does not equal experience. Are you satisfied with my answer?"
"Mm, I understand."
Ino indeed understood. Orochimaru had essentially used a ninjutsu to create a solo version of a "life simulator" for himself. He walked the evil path, found it impassable, then relied on Mitarashi Anko's Cursed Seal of Heaven to "reset his stats." He returned his cognition to the state before his defection and was now preparing to try another path.
There was no justice or evil in this, only his infinite desire for longevity.
"Alright, don't try to endure it any longer. Let's solve your problem first."
Orochimaru's request was the simplest. In the Shinigami's eyes, he was just a "passerby worth 50 ryo." Ino proposed the transaction, and the Shinigami, without a second word, simply pointed, returning his soul to him.
The familiar soul returned to his body. Orochimaru took a sharp breath; the abundant spiritual energy within him made him feel as if his body was about to explode. Fortunately, his foundation was still there. He suppressed the discomfort and gradually reined in the surging spiritual energy.
As long as he found his former corpses and retrieved the chakra within them, he could return to his peak.
Jiraiya stared fixedly at Ino's side. After waiting for a long time without seeing Minato Namikaze's soul appear, he couldn't help but ask anxiously, "What about Minato? How is Minato?"
Ino turned back and gestured that it was alright. "Don't worry, it's just a small problem."
Actually, the problem wasn't small at all!
She had never expected that, in the Shinigami's eyes, Minato Namikaze's value was far higher than Orochimaru's. Through her inquiries and the Shinigami's explanations, enduring the high latency between the two worlds, they communicated for half an hour before she understood the crux of the issue.
The Yin Nine-Tails! The Yin Nine-Tails that Minato Namikaze had sealed within his body was immensely valuable.
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 30 advanced chapters available on Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/GirlsLove1