Chapter 315: The Risks of Reanimation
"Reanimation Jutsu."
When Haruno Sakura saw the coffin standing in front of Orochimaru, she immediately realized the ninjutsu he was going to use.
She said these four words calmly, but her heart was far from being as calm as it appeared on the surface.
Sakura, of course, knew the power of this jutsu.
In fact, she had been collecting information on this jutsu, intending to apply to learn this forbidden jutsu in the near future.
However, unlike Orochimaru and the Second Hokage, she wanted to learn this jutsu and summon the dead not to have them help in battle, but to gain their knowledge and wisdom!
As the saying goes, it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.
Using this jutsu purely for combat was a waste of natural resources; instead of using it to temporarily increase combat power, it was better to use them to acquire knowledge and guidance, permanently increasing one's own strength!
Especially using it to learn lost ninjutsu, which would save a lot of time in collecting information and slowly recreating ninjutsu.
Haruno Sakura believed that this was the greatest value of this jutsu.
However, with an identity like Orochimaru's, he could probably only forcibly manipulate the reanimated dead to fight. Wanting to get knowledge from the dead? Haruno Sakura didn't think that the two Hokages he had summoned before, or other dead people who had no relation to him, would kindly help and guide this traitor of Konoha.
Someone like Sakura, who was a Konoha native with a clean background, might still be able to gain the approval of those dead Konoha ninja; Orochimaru was the representative of betrayal.
So the dead he summoned had to have their self-awareness erased before they could be manipulated by him for battle!
"Who did he summon this time?" Haruno Sakura thought to herself as she watched the coffin door slightly open.
During the Chunin Exams, because the Third Hokage hadn't used the Reaper Death Seal to take Orochimaru down with him, the souls of the two previous Hokages summoned by Orochimaru had not been sealed into the Reaper's stomach and could still be summoned; this was the butterfly effect brought by Sakura's transmigration.
Orochimaru had researched the First and Second Hokages the most, so unsurprisingly, the one he summoned would still be one of these two; of course, other experts were also possible. Orochimaru hadn't even let Zabuza go, coming over to collect his body tissue, so he probably had records of other experts as well.
In terms of strength, the First Hokage was obviously much stronger than the Second, but according to Tsunade, the two Hokages reanimated by Orochimaru were far from their peak combat power. No matter which one was summoned, the strength displayed wouldn't differ too much...
Then, it should be him...
Haruno Sakura took a deep breath and watched as the coffin lid slowly opened under Orochimaru's control, revealing the figure inside.
Orochimaru supported himself on the coffin, panting slightly. After using this forbidden jutsu, his chakra signature had decreased a lot.
After casting several large-scale and super-large-scale ninjutsu in succession, even a ninja like Orochimaru needed a moment to recover.
However, his spirit had not diminished in the slightest!
"Hehehehe..." he chuckled softly. "Konoha's former Water Style Grandmaster, and the new generation's Water Style genius, which one is stronger?"
The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, walked out of the coffin.
"Reanimation Jutsu... is it you again, the ninja named Orochimaru?" The Second Hokage turned to look at Orochimaru and said coldly.
"Sarutobi really taught a good disciple! Is Sarutobi Hiruzen dead?"
"The Third Hokage is not dead. He has retired," Orochimaru did not answer, but Haruno Sakura answered from a distance.
The Second Hokage turned his head and looked over. His gaze swept across the girl's young face and landed on the Konoha forehead protector tied around her neck.
"It's a Konoha ninja..." the Second Hokage sighed. "The ninjutsu I developed was intended to protect Konoha. I didn't expect it to be used repeatedly against Konoha ninja!"
The only consolation was that although the Konoha ninja opposite him was young, her strength was astonishing. Even he hadn't been this strong at this age! This at least showed that Konoha had successors...
"So, who are you, young Konoha ninja!" Tobirama Senju asked, his gaze lingering on the mysterious purple mark on Sakura's forehead.
This familiar ninjutsu... he keenly sensed its existence. That's the Yin Seal, isn't it? In that case, is this pink-haired girl her disciple?
"I am Haruno Sakura, Lady Tsunade's disciple," Sakura keenly noticed his gaze and explained. "Master Tsunade has succeeded as the Fifth Hokage."
As expected. But...
Tsunade became the Hokage? The Second Hokage was momentarily stunned: Sarutobi, is it really okay for you to choose Tsunade as the new Hokage?
His heart, which had just been put at ease about Konoha, was raised again; in short, the village hasn't been gambled away by Tsunade, has it?
Tobirama Senju was about to continue speaking, but was interrupted by Orochimaru.
"She is the strongest among Konoha's new generation, and also a ninja who uses Water Style..." Orochimaru interjected, and then teased, "And, like you, she also likes to develop various dangerous ninjutsu!"
"You should have a lot in common... why don't you save it for the battle!" he said with a sneer. "Chat time is over!"
Is it over so soon? Haruno Sakura felt a little pity. She actually had many questions she wanted to discuss with the Second Hokage...
After witnessing this jutsu with her own eyes, she desired this move even more: the summoned dead were fully sentient and capable of answering her ninjutsu questions, and could even be her sparring partners, training with her!
It was really a waste for this ninjutsu to fall into Orochimaru's hands!
However, before considering how to apply for this forbidden jutsu or seize the data on this jutsu from Orochimaru.
Sakura should first be concerned about how to defeat Orochimaru, who had used the forbidden jutsu...
The strength of the Second Hokage was top-tier even among the "Kage"-level ninja; and according to Tsunade's description, the two Hokages summoned by Orochimaru at that time only had the combat power of elite Jonin. If not for their infinite chakra and rapid recovery from any injury, the Third Hokage might not have lost an arm!
The strength of the Second Hokage in front of her felt completely different from Tsunade's description. It seemed that Orochimaru had improved this jutsu a lot!
That abyss-like chakra texture, that sharp and awe-inspiring presence...
"I can almost use eighty percent of my strength... It seems you have improved the precision of the Reanimation Jutsu a lot, young man!" The Second Hokage suddenly said, turning his head and glancing coldly at Orochimaru, who was casting a jutsu to control him. "However, have you misunderstood something..."
Orochimaru was suddenly startled!
A cold light flashed. The Second Hokage's movement was so fast that even Sakura, in her Sakura Rush Phase Two, felt she couldn't react!
"Space-Time Ninjutsu: Flying Raijin Slice!"
SWISH—!
In the next second, Orochimaru's head flew into the sky!
Splatter...
Fresh red blood gushed madly from Orochimaru's neck, as spectacular as a holiday fountain!
The figure of the Second Hokage holding the sword stopped abruptly behind Orochimaru's mutilated body.
"With just this bastard Reanimation Jutsu of yours, you think you can bind me!" Tobirama Senju's voice was as cold and piercing as the wind on a high mountain!
"Careful, he's not dead!" Haruno Sakura shouted a warning from a distance!
She had just made a defensive move, but she hadn't expected the Second Hokage's strike to be a counterattack against Orochimaru!
The speed and power of the Flying Raijin Slice were such that even Haruno Sakura, who had activated Sakura Rush Phase Two, had trouble reacting... In just an instant, he had appeared in front of Orochimaru and slashed in mid-air! The attack was completed in less than the blink of an eye. Even Sakura, as a bystander, felt a chill watching this sharp offensive. If this slash had been aimed at her...
Could I dodge it?
She felt a lingering fear!
Haruno Sakura's warning came a little late.
"Ugh!" The Second Hokage's movement suddenly stiffened, and his expression changed slightly: "As expected, he's not dead... and the binding power has actually been strengthened to this extent!"
His whole body couldn't move, only his eyeballs could turn. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked at Orochimaru, who had drilled out of the corpse, and said with a gloomy look, "You actually transplanted my elder brother's cells into your body..."
Orochimaru smiled coldly, but the hand seal movements in his hands did not dare to relax in the slightest. He said, "I almost let you break free... that was close!"
The man in the kimono slid out of the corpse's mouth and licked his lips: "Fortunately, I didn't summon the First Hokage as well, otherwise it would have been really dangerous..."
Thinking that he had almost made a mistake just now and summoned the First Hokage, who possessed more than half of his strength in life... Orochimaru felt a lingering fear. Just the Second Hokage was already this terrifying. What kind of strength would the First Hokage, who was several levels stronger than him, have!
"You are actually trying to possess Hashirama's power," the Second Hokage said coldly, his presence astonishingly strong even while bound. "You really don't know how to die!"
"You dead person, stop worrying about the living. Just fight properly for me—"
Before Orochimaru could finish his sentence, he was suddenly startled and turned sharply to look at Haruno Sakura's side.
A giant monster, hundreds of meters long, had taken advantage of the moment Orochimaru was binding Tobirama Senju to condense and take form in the air!
While the two were talking, the giant beast let out a heart-pounding roar and dived down impatiently from the air, whistling as it crashed towards Orochimaru's position!
"Water Style: Leviathan's Wrath!"
"Amazing little girl!" The Second Hokage looked at the Zerg behemoth charging over with the force of a mountain, and smiled brightly. To be able to cast this ninjutsu with such power, it seemed that Konoha had a successor!
He spoke words of praise, but his hands uncontrollably formed seals: "Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
The entire mass of seawater in an area of a hundred meters suddenly surged up. Tobirama Senju had practically lifted a million tons of seawater! Under his chakra control, it turned into a giant water wall across the sea, blocking in front of the ferocious giant monster!
Water Style against Water Style!
Endless seawater collided brazenly in the air, making a huge sound that resounded through the sky. The momentum was extremely terrifying! The sound waves squeezed the air, forming a visible, surging wall of air that boomed and spread, instantly raising a wave dozens of meters high on the sea surface!
In the environment of the sea, both Tobirama Senju and Haruno Sakura displayed two hundred percent of their strength. The momentum of the collision of the two ninjutsu was actually a bit stronger than the Fire Style that Orochimaru had brewed for a long time and cast with all his might just now!
Even Orochimaru, who was fully controlling the Second Hokage on the side, watched with trepidation!
"Even more terrifying than her Ice Style..." Orochimaru said coldly. Controlling the Second Hokage to complete a ninjutsu of this level, even for him, his voice was faintly strained! In the collision of ninjutsu, the Water Formation Wall hastily cast by the Second Hokage was crumbling and soon defeated. The two quickly jumped up, avoiding the aftershock of the giant beast.
In the air, the Second Hokage's hands quickly formed seals, completing the ninjutsu at the same time as Haruno Sakura opposite him.
The two Water Style ninja tacitly used the same move!
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