Orochimaru had already prepared everything he needed.
As Hidan was placed in the Edo Tensei formation, a glimmer of excitement appeared in Orochimaru's eyes as he quickly formed the hand seals.
Edo Tensei, the Forbidden Technique!
As the forbidden technique activated, a bright white light appeared beneath Hidan, surrounding his entire body in a beam of light.
At the same time, dust particles materialized from the air, clinging to Hidan's body.
After all, this was a technique that revived the dead, summoning souls from the Pure Land—a technique that toyed with the dead.
As Edo Tensei took effect, Akira felt the atmosphere around him grow dark and ominous.
Meanwhile, under the power of the technique, Hidan seemed to snap out of his illusion, letting out a sharp scream.
But the activation of Edo Tensei was fast, and the scream only lasted a few seconds before the forbidden technique was complete.
Then, a figure appeared before Akira.
Dressed in the bright red armor of the Warring States era, the figure's body was covered in cracks, like shattered porcelain, with no sign of life.
"Is this… the First Hokage?" Akira's face showed disbelief as he looked at the figure revived by Edo Tensei.
He never expected Orochimaru to use the First Hokage as a test subject for the forbidden technique.
"If I wanted to revive someone else, I'd have to dig up their grave, and time's a bit tight. Luckily, I've been cultivating plenty of the First Hokage's cells," Orochimaru explained.
Akira nodded, understanding the logic.
Digging up someone else's grave could be risky. But with enough of the First Hokage's cells, using him as the target made perfect sense.
As they were talking, the Edo Tensei process was completed, and the First Hokage opened his eyes.
"You two… are Konoha ninjas? Is this… Tobirama's technique?" The First Hokage glanced at Akira and Orochimaru's headbands, then at himself, quickly realizing he'd been revived by Edo Tensei.
"I never thought I'd meet the legendary God of Shinobi like this," Orochimaru said with a smile.
"What's your purpose in reviving me?" asked the First Hokage.
"Oh, no real purpose, just wanted to meet you," Orochimaru replied, showing no intention of engaging in a fight.
Even though he could use a talisman to control the First Hokage if he wanted to.
"Is that so? Haha! So, my name has been passed down through the ages? Did you bring me back for my autograph?" The First Hokage laughed heartily, his eyes sparkling as he teased Orochimaru.
If he had a tail, it would be wagging in delight at this point.
"Uh… is this really the First Hokage?" Orochimaru's eye twitched, taken aback by this lighthearted side of the man he had always known as the God of Shinobi.
As a Konoha ninja, Orochimaru had grown up hearing stories about the First Hokage.
But seeing this playful side now made Orochimaru feel like the legendary figure in his mind had completely shattered.
Akira, however, wasn't surprised at all.
The First Hokage and Naruto Uzumaki were both reincarnations of Asura.
So, it wasn't surprising that their personalities were at least 90% alike!
"But, even if you are my fan, this technique is one that manipulates the souls of the dead. I hope you don't use it casually in the future," the First Hokage said, switching to a more serious tone as he lectured Orochimaru.
"Understood," Orochimaru replied, obediently playing along.
He even pulled out some paper and a pen, letting the First Hokage sign his name before preparing to undo Edo Tensei.
The whole point of bringing back the First Hokage was to see if Hidan would actually die as a result of being used in Edo Tensei.
Now that the technique had been tested, there was no reason to keep it going.
"Wait…" Just as Orochimaru was about to release Edo Tensei, Akira spoke up.
"Akira?" Orochimaru stopped, looking at Akira with curiosity.
The First Hokage also turned his gaze to Akira.
A boy around fourteen or fifteen?
Wearing Uchiha clan clothing?
It seems he's another descendant of the Uchiha.
What could he want?
"How much of your original power do you still have, First Hokage?" Akira asked.
"Hm? I'd say about half of my strength from when I was alive. Why do you ask, Uchiha boy?" the First Hokage replied, looking at Akira.
"So, you're not as strong as you were during the Fourth Great Ninja War, but you're stronger than you were during the Konoha Crush?" Akira muttered to himself.
Half of his power? If the First Hokage had half of his original strength during the Konoha Crush, he could've easily overpowered the Third Hokage.
There's no way two revived Hokage would've been defeated by the Third Hokage's Reaper Death Seal!
"Well, since we've met, I'd like to ask you for a sparring match," Akira said.
Orochimaru reviving the First Hokage had certainly been a surprise.
But now that he was here, it made sense to take advantage of the opportunity.
In the life simulator, Akira had spent a lot of time learning Wood Release techniques.
If he could see the First Hokage use them firsthand, his Sharingan might be able to copy them.
Even if he couldn't copy them exactly, it would be incredibly helpful for his future training!
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity Akira wasn't going to miss.
"You want to spar with me?" The First Hokage blinked, genuinely surprised by the challenge.
If they had revived him to fight on their behalf, that would have made sense.
But they wanted to spar?
This Uchiha kid was quite bold!
Did he really think he could defeat him, even with only half his original power?
"Akira!?" Both the First Hokage and Orochimaru were shocked by Akira's bold challenge.
But now that Akira had said it, Orochimaru was curious.
Since Akira's transformation into a dragon, just how powerful had he become?
This was a perfect chance to find out.
Even though Akira had sparred with Naruto in his Four-Tails form, it was obvious to any keen observer that Naruto wasn't a match for Akira, even in that state.
"Well, First Hokage? Up for a bit of exercise?" Akira asked again, eager for the fight.
"Very well, let's see what kind of power the younger generation of Konoha, and the Uchiha clan, possess," the First Hokage replied with a nod, accepting the challenge.
Seeing the First Hokage agree, Akira took a deep breath and drew his Kusanagi sword.
Orochimaru, sensing the impending battle, quickly moved to a safe distance.
Both Akira and the First Hokage were stronger than him, and if they were going to fight, it was best for him to stay far away!
Orochimaru even created a few shadow clones, spreading them out to set up a barrier to contain the fight.
As for whether the barrier could actually hold them in, Orochimaru wasn't entirely sure, but he'd give it his best shot!
"You're the junior, so go ahead and make the first move," the First Hokage said, gesturing for Akira to begin.
"Alright, I won't hold back," Akira replied. He nodded and swung the Kusanagi sword.
Even though they were several meters apart, the Kusanagi sword extended, slashing directly at the First Hokage.
The First Hokage clapped his hands together, and suddenly the ground beneath Akira's feet cracked open. A long vine shot up, wrapping around Akira's arm and stopping his sword in its tracks.
"Kusanagi sword, huh? Quite the weapon," the First Hokage remarked, glancing at the blade now suspended in front of him. He nodded in recognition.
Even back in the Warring States period, the Kusanagi sword was a famous blade. The First Hokage was familiar with it.
"So this is how you use Wood Release… launching it from right under the target's feet, with an element of surprise," Akira thought to himself, silently impressed by the technique. He realized he was learning some of the finer points of using Wood Release.
Just learning the jutsu wasn't enough to make you powerful.
When and how to use it—that was where the true skill lay.
It was like playing an online game.
Even if two players had the same character and equipment, a Bronze-level player and a Master-level player would perform completely differently.
Akira realized that although he had learned many Wood Release techniques...
Sparring with the First Hokage...
Would give him incredible insight into how to use them effectively in battle!
*********
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 214 at patreon.com/Emik01.
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