Edo Tensei
The coffin lid burst open, and Uchiha Obito looked at the person inside, couldn't help but say in a deep voice, "Madara."
Step by step, Uchiha Madara emerged from the coffin, feeling the power of his body indifferently, and nodded: "Yes, this time I can finally exert all my combat power."
"Where is Hashirama?"
After emerging, Uchiha Madara felt a sense of unease, and suddenly he remembered that every time there was a reanimation, Hashirama was there, but this time there was nothing.
Uchiha Obito said solemnly, "Orochimaru of Konoha is also proficient in this reanimation jutsu. Last time in Konoha, Hashirama and Tobirama were sealed by Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha."
Hearing this, Uchiha Madara's mouth curled slightly, and an excited smile appeared on his face.
"Obito, so you're saying, our enemy this time is Hashirama!"
For some reason, Uchiha Madara had an inexplicable obsession with Hashirama. Hearing that Hashirama was on the opposing side, a sense of unprecedented fighting spirit rose in his heart.
"It can be said so, after all, Orochimaru of Konoha is proficient in the reanimation jutsu."
Obito nodded calmly, while Uchiha Madara narrowed his eyes, "Right, this time Konoha will also fully utilize Hashirama's abilities."
"So these coffins!"
Uchiha Madara looked indifferently at the densely packed coffins nearby, while a mocking smile appeared on Obito's face.
"These ninja villages have dug up the bones of their ancestors. These are the strongest ones of the ninja world in the past hundred years, except for Konoha, Mist, and Sand."
Knowing who was in these coffins, Uchiha Madara showed a hint of disinterest, and said indifferently, "Just a bunch of small characters."
"Heh, even if they are small characters, they can play a key role on the battlefield, at least making the fight even more fierce."
Obito's face showed a more malicious smile, and with a hand seal, the lids of the coffins fell with a loud bang.
One by one, figures slowly walked out from the darkness, and many who had been dead for years appeared confused.
Konoha's camp.
"It's bad, Captain Kakashi, sensory ninjas have detected reanimated ninjas in the Ninja Allied Forces, including the First, Second, and Third Tsuchikage, and Raikage..."
Hearing this news, Kakashi frowned and said solemnly, "It seems the Ninja Allied Forces are not giving us any breathing room."
"Haha, don't worry about the reanimation, Kakashi. With Orochimaru around, there won't be a problem," said Jiraiya, who was nearby, laughing heartily, not feeling any crisis from the reanimation.
"Leave the reanimation to me."
Just then, a figure wearing a hooded cloak walked in slowly, causing the jonin inside the tent to frown.
This person was somewhat elusive, making him hard to figure out.
Upon seeing the situation, Kakashi couldn't help but smile, "So it's you who have come. Now I don't need to worry."
Underneath a hood, a glint passed through round glasses, leaving everyone unclear about the person's identity.
On the vast land, Kakashi arrived with many elite ninjas, and the mysterious ninja in the hood clapped his hands together, suddenly striking the ground.
Boom! Coffins were summoned, creating a dense and unsettling sight.
Even the usually composed Kakashi was taken aback, "Is this the Edo Tensei? Isn't it said that this technique consumes a lot of chakra?"
The hooded, mysterious ninja was naturally Yakushi Kabuto. Kakashi certainly knew this, but Kabuto didn't want to reveal his identity, preferring to be an ordinary ninja, quietly protecting the orphanage.
The two were acquainted, but Kabuto's chakra reserves couldn't possibly be this vast.
In response to Kakashi's question, Kabuto, still wearing his hood, gently pushed up his glasses and chuckled softly, "Kakashi, every technique has its flaws, but also limitless potential for improvement."
"A regular Earth-Style Wall when used by the Third Hokage becomes a solid wall of blue stone, while an average ninja can only create a mud wall. You, Kakashi, would create a sturdy city wall."
"Similarly, the Edo Tensei technique has been greatly enhanced through my research with Orochimaru."
Pointing at the coffins, Kabuto laughed, "Of course, this is troublesome. It requires a series of preparatory steps."
"For example, the souls for the Edo Tensei need to be summoned in advance and sealed in the coffins. This prevents the same person from being summoned again. When needed in battle, the chakra consumed is only for the summoning."
"The most chakra-consuming part of Edo Tensei is actually summoning the souls from the afterlife, so this step being done in advance means there's no need for a large chakra consumption."
Hearing Kabuto's explanation, Kakashi showed an expression of realization and admiration, "Indeed, that's typical of you and Orochimaru."
"In fact, the chakra consumption of the Edo Tensei technique hasn't decreased. It's just been completed in advance. When needed, the coffins from a specific space are summoned."
The Edo Tensei technique has almost been mastered by Orochimaru and Kabuto.
Kabuto, still in his hood, shook his head and smiled, "Likewise, this situation has its drawbacks. Even with the constraint of the Edo Tensei, the bound souls can only last for a month."
"This technique is well-known in the ninja world, and its weaknesses are clear. Although the bodies of the Edo Tensei heal automatically, they also become stiff. Additionally, they are vulnerable to sealing techniques."
Sealing techniques are somewhat obscure in the ninja world, but they are also continuously studied by the major ninja villages.
Especially the five great nations, to combat the Tailed Beasts and to strengthen their Jinchūriki, each village has invested a lot in sealing techniques.
Boom! As the lids of the coffins fell, figures slowly emerged.
Seeing this, many ninjas' eyes moistened, and some even exclaimed in shock.
"Look, isn't that Lord…?"
"That's the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu."
"And there's the Second Kazekage…"
This time, the Edo Tensei summoned almost all the deceased forebears from the three great ninja villages: Konoha, Mist, and Sand. After all, it was both reasonable and legitimate.
Digging up graves is inherently heartless, but faced with the powerful Ninja Alliance, especially since the Edo Tensei technique had already spread throughout the Ninja world.
Thus, the leaders of various clans from Sand, Mist, and even Konoha, descendants of these once-great and powerful ninja heroes, frowned and discussed, with hardly any objections.
After all, it wasn't about controlling their own ancestors, and besides being able to see them, some down-and-out ninjas were secretly eager.
Summoning their ancestors could be a great achievement credited to them, and they might even learn lost ninja techniques or gain guidance from their ancestors.
It was a win-win-win situation, with hardly any downsides.
Therefore, a grave-digging craze almost broke out in the three great ninja villages, but of course, it was only their own family graves. There was a rule: only Jonin were qualified to perform the Edo Tensei.
However, the Five Great Ninja Countries were established not more than a hundred years ago, and many clans had perished during these tumultuous decades.
Likewise, countless ninjas who died on the battlefield, many without even leaving a body behind, as a ninja's corpse is highly valuable, and many destroyed their bodies before death.
Therefore, there weren't as many as imagined. However, almost all the Kages from various generations were summoned since their bodies were considered the most precious treasures by the great ninja villages, almost perfectly preserved.
Especially for the major clans, after the Uchiha clan set the precedent, it went quite smoothly.
When the powerful members of the Uchiha clan from various generations appeared, opening their Sharingan eyes with three tomoe, the surrounding Uchiha ninjas laughed excitedly.
"These are the strong warriors of our Uchiha clan through the ages."
Similarly, under the activation of their unique Sharingan, the Uchiha clan started communicating through their unique genjutsu space.
In the next moment, the summoned proud Uchiha ninjas showed excitement on their faces.
"What! Our Uchiha clan has reached this point today!"
"Haha, great, our Uchiha clan may not have become the Hokage, but we have surpassed them."
"Haha, who dares to look down on our Uchiha clan now."
"Our Uchiha clan has finally taken this step."
Knowing the current situation, the summoned deceased of the Uchiha clan shouted excitedly. In contrast, the Hyuga clan, especially the main family, was quite embarrassed.
"Haha, old geezers of the main family, our branch family has finally stood up!"
"Good! Our Hyuga branch is not weaker than the main family!"
Meanwhile, the members of the Hyuga main family were so angry that veins bulge on their foreheads, glaring at the branch family members.
The Konoha Hyuga branch and main family ninjas awkwardly tried to calm their ancestors.
"Ancestors, regardless of right or wrong, all this was caused by the rogue ninja, Danzo..."
In this instance, both the Hyuga main and branch families unified their stance, directing all blame at Danzo.
Unbelievable!
What's more, the rogue ninja Shimura Danzo was also summoned, facing countless hostile faces, he was filled with frustration and anger.
Mainly because Danzo's severed arm left a lot of cells behind, and there were also cells of the arm in the Root base, this naturally became the material for Yakushi Kabuto's Edo Tensei.
Meanwhile, in the Mist Village.
"Damn it, our bloodline clans in the Mist Village were almost wiped out!"
"Criminals! How could the Third and Fourth Mizukage still be controlled!"
Compared to that, the Third and Fourth Mizukage of the Mist Village were in a difficult situation. Facing the accusations of the people, they had their own unspeakable hardships.
Uchiha Obito is now the most powerful person in the ninja world. Facing such a level of power, how many people wouldn't be controlled?
The situation in the Sand Village was somewhat better. After all, they had been defeated in all three Great Ninja Wars. Once a powerful village, they had fallen into this state under their hands. It was already not bad to have come this far.
In the Konoha Village.
In the Hokage office, Orochimaru used the Edo Tensei technique to summon the First and Second Hokage.
"Hehe, fortunately, last time Tsunade, you and Karin joined forces to seal the two, otherwise, they would still be enemies."
Hashirama, who walked out of the coffin, burst into laughter when he saw the familiar environment and Tsunade's face.
"Little Tsuna did well, finally rescuing your grandfather. Otherwise, your grandfather would have been used by others again."
"Idiot!" Tsunade, looking at her nonsensical grandfather, the First Hokage, roared in frustration.
"Haha, Little Tsuna, it's not good to have such a temper. By the way, I heard you haven't had children yet?"
Hashirama, acting familiar, looked at Tsunade with suspicion: "It shouldn't be, although you're not young, Tsunade, our Senju clan's bloodline shouldn't have a problem with having children."
"How come you haven't had a few in such a long time? Little Tsuna, you can't find it troublesome, the hope of the Senju clan's revival is all on you now."
Good grief, Tsunade, who had lived for so many years, had once experienced marriage pressure, and now she even had to be urged to have children by her deceased grandfather.
Immediately, Tsunade became angry, glaring with big eyes, "Grandpa, what nonsense are you talking about!"
Meanwhile, Tobirama, a man of cold demeanor, looked a bit displeased. Looking through the window, he naturally saw the Hokage Rock, especially the almost un-repaired face of the Third Hokage, and snorted coldly.
"Brother, there are outsiders here!"
Watching his embarrassing big brother, Hashirama, if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't beat him, Tobirama would have already gone up to shut his tactless big brother's mouth.
In the office, there were also the Mizukage Mei Terumī Mei and the Kazekage Pakura. Both of them appeared to ignore everything else. Hashirama did not feel the slightest embarrassment; instead, he laughed heartily.
"Tobirama, I can already sense that the Uchiha clan has many children, so I asked Tsunade to hurry up with it."
It was rare for Tobirama not to argue back. Now that the Senju clan was in decline, even the usually aloof Tobirama lifted his head and looked straight at Tsunade.
Faced with this scene, Tsunade widened her eyes, "Granduncle, you can't possibly mean...!"
Tobirama coldly said, "Tsunade, although it's said that the ancestors of the Senju and the Uchiha were brothers and came from the same source, it's precisely because of this that the child you give birth to will have an even purer bloodline."
Upon sensing the prosperity of the Uchiha clan, which was now surpassing his own Senju clan, Tobirama showed a rare hint of frustration.
Thinking back to how the Senju clan flourished under their (Hashirama and Tobirama) leadership, overshadowing the Uchiha clan, it was ironic to see their current predicament.
Seeing this, Tsunade's forehead vein throbbed as she complained discontentedly, "Whose fault is this? It's all because you insisted on having the Third Hokage succeed the old man."
"Although our Senju clan didn't have any Kage-level powerhouses, we had many strong fighters just below that level. Choosing the most reputable among them would have avoided this situation."
Tsunade was also extremely dissatisfied with this matter, and she snorted coldly, "What fairness? When has the selection of the Hokage in Konoha ever been fair?"
While Hashirama did play some tricks for the position of the First Hokage, Hashirama was indeed the popular choice.
Then, Tobirama, the Second Hokage, succeeded the position without any election, directly appointed, although he was indeed the strongest at the time.
But was there any fairness in that?
And the Third Hokage was also appointed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama, without any fairness.
Otherwise, if there had been a fair election, at least the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga clans could have overthrown Hiruzen.
Given the strength of the Senju clan at the time, it was highly likely that they would have retained power.
Faced with Tsunade's mockery, the Second Hokage, Tobirama, uncharacteristically fell silent. His decision back then was meant to give the village a good start, but he never expected it to sow the seeds of decline for the Senju clan.