After hearing the system's explanation, Hiromi finally started to piece things together.
There were five tiers of summoning—White, Green, Blue, Purple, and Gold. Each allowed him to summon spirits from the afterlife to fight by his side like summon beasts.
Except right now, he could only summon those connected to Konohagakure.
But that was already insane.
"If I could summon Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara... wouldn't that be broken?!"
Just imagining those two monsters fighting side-by-side as his summons had Hiromi trembling with excitement.
Susanoo over a Buddha statue, incinerating the four nations with Fire Style and engulfing the land in forests.
Even the Toads, Slugs, and Snakes would be small fry in front of those legends.
And technically, they were Konoha's dead—so it wasn't impossible.
"System, I assume summoning isn't free, right? What do I need to do?"
**[This system issues no missions.] [Summons require Wealth Points, which may be acquired through ryo.] [White Tier: 10,000 WP. Green Tier: 100,000 WP. Blue Tier: 1,000,000 WP. Purple Tier: 10,000,000 WP. Gold Tier: 100,000,000 WP.] [Conversion rate: 1 ryo = 1 WP.] [Each summoned spirit grants you one random ability from their life.]
Hiromi's high crashed instantly.
One hundred million ryo to summon a Gold Tier?
Even if he sold his entire clan, it wouldn't amount to that much.
Just for comparison—Asuma Sarutobi, a Jounin and the Hokage's own son, had a bounty of only 35 million.
Hiromi did the math. One Elite Jounin cost 10 million WP, but an actual Jounin's life was worth less than that. Which meant summoning was arguably a bargain. And if he got stronger, maybe making money wouldn't be so hard.
S-rank missions pulled in at least a million each. And Jiraiya got rich writing pervy novels. So there were options.
"Or I could just rob people. This world's all about strength anyway."
Still, Hiromi wasn't done haggling.
"System, since this is your fault for being late... Don't I get a starter pack or something? Other systems always give one!"
**[Issuing Starter Pack...] [Congratulations. One free Gold Tier Summon acquired.]
"NO WAY?! For real?! I love you, System!"
One Gold Tier summon meant a guaranteed Kage-level powerhouse. And with Konoha's limited list of dead Kage-tier shinobi, his odds of getting Hashirama or Madara just skyrocketed.
"System! Activate Gold Tier Summon—NOW!"
**[Please perform the Summoning Technique hand seals.]
"Seriously? Even with the token?"
No problem. Hiromi went through the hand signs Iruka had demonstrated earlier and slammed his palm onto the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
Golden markings burst out from the ground in radiant light. Flames of soul energy surged upward, and a form began to materialize within the glow.
Red armor. Wild, spiked hair.
"No way... That's really Uchiha Madara?!"
Hiromi's jaw dropped as the legendary figure emerged fully from the light.
A towering man with crimson armor and untamed hair stood with arms folded, radiating sheer menace.
Golden Legend.
"Where... am I?" the man asked, scanning the surroundings.
"Revived? Through Rinne Rebirth? Did my plan work? Did Obito manage it?"
"No... This isn't the shinobi world. And this isn't Rinne Rebirth either."
"These are Summoning Technique markings. Impossible."
Madara's brows furrowed. "I'm still in the Spirit Realm? Then what the hell is going on?"
As the golden light faded, Hiromi finally got a good look at his first summon: the myth himself—Uchiha Madara.
Red armor. Spiked hair. Just standing there exuded enough pressure to make the air vibrate.
Madara's eyes locked on Hiromi.
"You. Brat. Explain—now."