Darkness

After repelling the First and Second Hokage, Shinji didn't let it go to his head.

Contrary to his expectations, the First and Second Hokage, summoned through the Impure World Reincarnation for the first time, had been somewhat faster and stronger than he'd anticipated.

And with the terrifying insight of his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, he could see that the First and Second Hokage's bodies were still slowly growing stronger.

Glancing at Orochimaru across from him, Shinji thought, Has he already improved the Impure World Reincarnation at this point?

Undoubtedly.

Shinji knew the Impure World Reincarnation well. The jutsu had gone through three broad stages: the Second Hokage's initial creation, Orochimaru's period of secretly learning it, and finally the improvements made by Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi.

And the jutsu's potential varied greatly from one stage to the next.

The Second Hokage had created the jutsu to work in tandem with the Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tags, so the first stage of the Impure World Reincarnation had been incomplete.

In the second stage, Orochimaru had added his own ideas while secretly learning the jutsu. By then, the Impure World Reincarnation had already become formidable. If the target was a powerful shinobi like the First or Second Hokage, then even the Third Hokage would have had no choice but to sacrifice himself to seal them.

The third stage came during the Fourth Shinobi World War in the original timeline. By then, the Impure World Reincarnation had become one of the keys to turning the tide of battle—a terrifying Forbidden Jutsu capable of changing the course of the entire war!

Shinji had thought the Impure World Reincarnation was still in its second stage, but now it seemed its power had already surpassed that.

Because they were immortal, the First and Second Hokage quickly got back to