"Lord First, your chakra reserves are immense!" Ino herself was astonished. If her own Water Severing Wave was akin to a firefighter's water hose, then using the First Hokage's chakra made it comparable to an industrial water cutter.
Even though this wasn't his original body—just some insignificant Sound Village grunt—the moment the First Hokage possessed it, an enormous surge of chakra erupted.
The more chakra he had, the greater the pressure behind the Water Severing Wave.
The First Hokage laughed heartily, "This is nothing! My chakra reserves during my lifetime were far greater than this, hahaha—"
Ino estimated that the First Hokage's current state under Edo Tensei was at a "Stamina Stat" of 10, equivalent to four Inos, twelve Tsunades, twenty-four Asumas, or forty to fifty Kakashis in terms of chakra volume.
A "Stamina Stat" of 10 might be the upper limit for Ino, but for the First Hokage, it was merely his baseline.
No wonder, when this powerhouse saw Naruto distributing Nine-Tails chakra to the Allied Shinobi Forces, he remarked, "This kid's chakra is on par with mine!"
A living human being, compared to a Tailed Beast—one that had been granted an extra fraction of the Ten-Tails' chakra by the Sage of Six Paths, no less—in terms of chakra? Is that even humanly possible?
Orochimaru used his Orochimaru-Style Substitution Jutsu, emerging from the mouth of his previous body, now covered in mucus. The fatal wounds from earlier had completely vanished. He scrutinized the First Hokage with a calculating gaze, seemingly pondering the nature of this unexpected turn of events.
Meanwhile, Ino intercepted the Second Hokage with Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave before calling out to the Third Hokage from a distance, "Third Hokage, leave this to me! I'll hold off the Second for you!"
The Third Hokage, a veteran of countless battles, didn't have time to dwell on who was aiding him.
"Understood. I leave it to you!"
He formed the hand seals for Great Dragon Fire Technique to block Orochimaru, then swung his Adamantine Staff of Wishes, engaging his former student in close combat.
Ino now faced her idol, the Second Hokage.
Water Dragon Bullet clashed with Water Dragon Bullet. Water Severing Wave met Water Severing Wave.
Her mastery of Water Release paled in comparison to the Second Hokage's, but the First's overwhelming chakra compensated for the gap.
By now, the Second had regained his ability to speak.
After exchanging two moves, he asked, "Hmm? A talented young shinobi. Brother, is your consciousness still intact?"
Ino answered on behalf of the First, also seizing the opportunity to explain the situation to the Third Hokage—after all, good deeds should be credited.
"Lord Second, Lord First asked me to inform you that he's resisting Orochimaru's control. You don't know who Orochimaru is? Ah, right—he's the ninja controlling you. Long hair, golden pupils. Lord Second, I'm Tsunade-sensei's student and have studied many of your Water Release ninja techniques. Allow me, Yamanaka Ino, to be your opponent today."
Announcing one's name had its advantages, but it also came with drawbacks—namely, drawing attention.
In Orochimaru's mind, a series of "click-click-click" sounds echoed as everything fell into place. So it's you!
"If you're eager to die, I'll oblige!" Orochimaru gritted his teeth, enduring a crushing blow to the head from the Third Hokage's Adamantine Staff of Wishes, and formed hand seals with both hands. He intended to dispel the Edo Tensei—a technique with a high likelihood of dragging Ino's consciousness along to the afterlife.
His reaction was swift, and the Third Hokage knew his disciple well enough. The Adamantine Staff of Wishes carved a half-circle in the air, forcefully wedging itself between Orochimaru's hands. With a flick and a twist, it disrupted his hand seals.
While maintaining his Water Release Ninja Technique, the Second Hokage quietly instructed Ino about the precautions of Edo Tensei: "This technique was invented by me. It seems Orochimaru has modified it based on my work, but he can't alter its core. You only need to form the first three hand seals—Rat, Ox, Tiger—followed by Dragon and Boar to counteract his release technique. Completing all five seals will allow the First's consciousness to return to eternal rest."
The Second Hokage was undoubtedly an excellent teacher. While he didn't explain how to use Edo Tensei, he meticulously detailed how to dispel and resist it.
From a distance, Orochimaru attempted twice in succession but was interrupted both times. Distracted, he took two additional staff blows, forcing him to issue absolute commands to the Second Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage to attack fiercely while he focused entirely on the Third Hokage.
The Second Hokage's hand seals were incredibly fast, almost as if a single clap of his hands summoned a technique. The silver-haired, red-eyed ninja, adorned with blue layered ornaments, finished explaining the method to dispel Edo Tensei and continued his instruction.
"You seem to have used Water Colliding Wave earlier?"
"Huh? Yes, Teacher Tsunade taught me."
The Second chuckled: "Little Tsunade wouldn't know the first thing about Water Release—she's practically leading you astray. Watch me. My hand seal sequence is Boar, Tiger, Monkey, simplified to just Tiger and Monkey. I circulate chakra from the left kidney, making one and a half rotations through the Belt Meridian..."
While clashing with Ino using Water Release, he thoroughly explained the principles and methods of the technique.
Orochimaru initially paid no attention but later noticed their impromptu teaching session and laughed in exasperation: "Lord Second, isn't it a bit late for lessons now?"
The Third Hokage, however, disagreed: "Orochimaru, you're not the only genius from the Hidden Leaf Village. The next generation will catch up and far surpass you. Minato was proof of that, and today's children are no different. Stuck in the glory of your past, you'll never see the true trajectory of your life."
Orochimaru sneered: "The Fourth? Where is he? Can you bring him out to teach me a lesson?"
Ino had no mind for their master-disciple bickering. She divided her focus three ways: fending off the Second Hokage's advanced Water Release techniques, learning from him, and studying the Water Release chakra within the First's body.
Blessed with exceptional talent for ninja techniques and deep understanding of Water Release, Ino had already gained insights from Old Man Kosuke and Tsunade. Combined with the Second Hokage's live instruction, all conditions aligned perfectly.
Often, within minutes of the Second Hokage demonstrating a Water Release technique, she could roughly replicate it. B-rank Water Release techniques posed no challenge, and C-rank techniques were mastered after a single explanation.
Water Release: Water Colliding Wave, Water Release: Water Serial Bullets, Water Release: Water Trumpet, Water Release: Wave Surfing Attack, and Water Release: Water Dragon Biting Explosion—she had mastered them all. However, Water Release: Heavenly Weeping and Water Release: Water Blade Slash were more advanced techniques, and even she couldn't learn them immediately. She would need to go back and study them further.
Ino also attempted to use the First's Wood Release, but the results were disappointing.
Just as the Second's teaching skills were exceptional, the First's were abysmal!
"How do you use Wood Release? That's really—" In the inner world, the First scratched his head like a big boy. How was he supposed to answer that? He couldn't explain it clearly!