Outside Konoha Village, there was a spacious clearing.
A group of Root Ninjas spread out, alert for any potential intruders.
Akihara Kagura and the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen stood in the clearing, silently watching Orochimaru form the hand seals for the Summoning Jutsu, preparing to summon Manda.
"What do you want to do?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Orochimaru, then at Akihara Kagura: "You should have already mastered Sage Mode, right? What do you need Manda for?"
"I wanted to give Kagura-kun a heads up."
Orochimaru also turned his head to look at Akihara Kagura, voluntarily reminding him: "Whatever you ask Manda to do, it will demand a hundred humans as sacrifices..."
"I understand."
Akihara Kagura nodded.
"That's good then."
Seeing Akihara Kagura's agreement, Orochimaru bit his finger and performed a hand seal, pressing it on the ground: "Ninpo: Summoning Jutsu!"
A massive black summoning spell immediately appeared on the ground!
Amidst a cloud of smoke, a colossal purple serpent emerged in front of everyone, lowering its head to gaze at its summoner Orochimaru, speaking in a grim voice: "Orochimaru, whatever you want to summon me for, you must first prepare a hundred humans as sacrifices..."
"This time it's not me."
Orochimaru smiled and shook his head, pointing to Akihara Kagura behind him: "Someone needs your help and specifically asked me to summon you... If you want sacrifices, you can ask him directly, even if you want more, it's fine."
"Hmm?"
Manda couldn't help but slightly tilt its head, looking toward Akihara Kagura: "A little brat, what do you want me to do? No matter what you want me to do, you must prepare a hundred humans as sacrifices for me."
"..."
Akihara Kagura slowly walked toward Manda, holding a vial of Hashirama Cells, he spoke softly: "I only have one favor to ask of you..."
"What favor?"
Manda inquired in a gruff voice.
"To ask for your help... to become a sacrifice."
Akihara Kagura's speaking pace was slow, but as he uttered the last half of the sentence, his expression abruptly turned serious, swiftly completing the hand seals for the jutsu!
"Ninpo: Reanimation Jutsu!"
A gigantic black spell suddenly appeared on the ground!
This was an experiment Akihara Kagura had long considered; even if Manda fled, it didn't matter, he could find a way to capture Manda at Ryuchi Cave!
"What?"
Manda was still a bit bewildered, not quite understanding.
However, Orochimaru immediately comprehended Akihara Kagura's intention; he looked at Akihara Kagura in disbelief: "Kagura-kun, you want to use Manda as a sacrifice..."
Akihara Kagura quietly observed as the Hashirama Cells turned to ash within the spell, adhering to Manda's body, and calmly continued: "This is just an experiment. The stronger the Life Force, the more powerful the reanimated jutsu user becomes. I want to see what level of power will be restored to the First Hokage by sacrificing a summoned beast of Manda's caliber..."
"Interesting..."
Orochimaru's lips curled into a faint smile.
For Orochimaru, Manda had great use, but also significant drawbacks; if it encountered danger, it would flee. Conducting a valuable experiment with it was worthwhile...
In the future, when I use Reanimation Jutsu, I can summon other creatures from Ryuchi Cave with equally strong Life Force, and even find ways to enhance their power, then use those creatures as summoning sacrifices.
Wait!
Orochimaru suddenly realized something!
This bastard Akihara Kagura intends to reanimate the First Hokage Senju Hashirama, and if this so-called God of Ninja becomes a puppet controlled by Akihara Kagura, how can I possibly contend with him?
"You brat! What is this!"
Manda, with a face full of terror, watching the ash swirling around, quickly engulfed its scales, and it swiftly felt its Life Force depleting!
Its purple body continuously turned gray!
"You brat..."
Manda glared furiously at Akihara Kagura, opening its mouth to bite down on him: "Do you really intend to use me as a sacrifice for an evil jutsu?"
"Isn't that just perfect?"
Akihara Kagura raised his fingers, and a thick vine instantly bound Manda's head; he softly explained: "Manda, you are an inherently evil summoned beast, perfect for conducting my evil jutsu experiment..."
"Brat... wait for it!"
Manda stared intently at Akihara Kagura, its snake eyes filled with a sinister killing intent, clearly eager to kill this guy who dared to treat it as a sacrifice!
In the next moment!
A cloud of smoke rose!
Manda's body suddenly vanished from its original spot!
As a summoned beast, Manda could leave here anytime and return to Ryuchi Cave to recover, but this time it was clearly caught off guard...
Inside Ryuchi Cave.
Manda looked at the endless gray spreading over its body in terror, completely engulfing its body, and its pupils turned gray in an instant!
"No..."
Manda wanted to struggle!
As a creature with vast Life Force and colossal Sage Art Chakra within its body, becoming a sacrifice yielded an especially substantial result. Its body slowly coalesced, transforming into a humanoid shape, and a figure in red armor emerged from it.
The First Hokage Senju Hashirama stood inside Ryuchi Cave, immediately sensing the immense natural energy hidden within Ryuchi Cave, and realized that the power within him was almost the same as when he was alive, making him feel a bit peculiar.