A kinjutsu capable of retrieving the souls of the dead from the Pure Land, the Summoning; Impure World Reincarnation or Edo Tensei played a major role in the initial stages of the Fourth Shinobi World Wareffort led by Obito UchihainNaruto.Its most notable application was perhaps in the revival of Madara Uchiha. Invented by the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, the jutsu necessitated the use of a human sacrifice for its execution, which led to its creator outlawing its usage. However, this did not stop Konoha shinobi such as Orochimaru from experimenting with its capabilities and developing it further, creating a better version of the Edo Tensei that improved on its earlier shortcomings.
While Orochimaru’s achievements were commendable, there were still imperfections to it. On seeing these issues, Kabuto Yakushi, Orochimaru’s right-hand man, devised his own upgrades to the jutsu. They allowed for a greater degree of control over its applications, and the enhancements that could be made to a reincarnated shinobi’s body. In many ways,Kabuto’s take on the Edo Tenseiis regarded as the definitive version inNaruto, and has even been recognized as nearly perfect in its execution.
RELATED:Naruto: The Demonic Statue Of The Outer Path, Explained
The Original Edo Tensei
The essential tenet of the Edo Tensei jutsu calls for a DNA sample of the person that is being reincarnated as well as a living human sacrifice to serve as a vessel for the revived soul. Souls can only be revived if they are in the Pure Land and those who have been sealed away or trapped in stomach of the Shinigami due to the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, cannot be summoned in this fashion,as in the case of the Fourth Hokage.
Acquiring DNA from the intended target of the reincarnation,essentially amounts to grave robbingfor the most part, aside from a few instances where it is possible to collect blood, organs, or hair from the location where the individual dies before it gets contaminated.
On gathering these, the caster then has to smear the target’s DNA on a scroll, which will activate the jutsu, spreading the remains of the reincarnated individual in a circle with the sacrifice at its center. The remains encase the sacrifice’s body in a manner that is reminiscent of ash, in a painful process that replicates the dead soul’s appearance. Although the sacrifice’s body is technically still alive, it will never belong to them again after this point, as the revived soul will take complete control over it.
Initially, the revived body will be grey and appear in a state of minor decay, and the summoner can rejuvenate its appearance and restore the individual’s normal complexion by supplying chakra, although this is only a cosmetic change. Summoned shinobi will haveaccess to all their kekkei gekkeiand techniques, an endless supply of chakra and can also regenerate from most fatal attacks — aside from Truth-Seeking Balls — and there are very few ways to subdue them apart from releasing the jutsu or sealing them. Once the jutsu is released,the sacrifice’s body will also die, which is why Tobirama forbid its usage, despite being the one who invented it. His version of the jutsu had major flaws, as the reincarnated souls only had access to a fraction of their power, and he could only control a very limited number of them at a time.
RELATED:Naruto: The Hyuga’s Gentle Fist, Explained
Refined By Orochimaru
When Orochimaru devised his own version of the Edo Tensei, he was able to bring the reincarnated shinobi much closer to the actual level of power they had during their lifetimes. He could also control more Edo Tensei shinobi at a time, and came up with his own method to assert control over them. Although the caster can initially control the reincarnated shinobi’s movements, stronger individualssuch as the likes of Tobirama Senjuand his brother Hashirama, could resist these commands due to their immense power.
In the first use of the jutsu during the Konoha Crush, Orochimaru used cells cultivated from Hashirama Senju to serve as a binding agent that would strengthen the jutsu and prevent this. Orochimaru himself admitted thatHashirama could resist his commandsif he were brought back closer to his full power, even with the binding agent. In addition to this, users had to place a special talisman, usually attached to a kunai, into the reincarnation’s brain, granting them varying levels of control over the reincarnations.
Casters can choose whether the reincarnated individual retains their personality. In the base case, they will be given commands that can be fulfilled without specific instructions from the summoner. While this allows the shinobi to act anduse their abilities as they knowbest, it can also permit unwilling reincarnations to give directions on how to defeat them. These shinobi have grey sclerae. Alternatively, reincarnations can have their personalities wiped entirely, and their actions controlled directly by the caster, but this limits multitasking. Orochimaru preferred the latter when he summoned the deceased Hokage during the Konoha Crush, giving them black sclerae to signify their suppressed personalities. Reincarnated shinobi can release the jutsu by using the appropriate hand signs, although Hagoromo was able to do it without them.
Kabuto’s Perfected Version
Kabuto on the other hand, preferred the first method of control, although he was shown rewriting tags manually when necessary. His greatest improvements were in restoring summoned shinobi to near full strength, and removing limits on how many reincarnations could be summoned by a single caster. In his case, the only limits were the availability of DNA samples and the number of sacrifices that could be gathered. There were still a few restrictions such as the recreation of weapons,accessing all Rinnegan abilities, orbecoming the Ten-Tails jinchuriki—although other tailed beasts could be sealedinside reincarnations — but the benefits here far overwhelm the drawbacks.
Furthermore, Kabuto was also able to enhance the reincarnated shinobi more than Orochimaru. Madara’s reincarnation was the best example here, as Kabuto put him through a selective evolution to manifest abilities from various portions ofhis life such as his Rinneganand Hashirama grafts, while also restoring him to his physical prime. This, combined with the fact that Edo Tensei requires little to no chakra to perform, made it one of the most ridiculously overpowered jutsu inNaruto, allowing casters to assemble armies of deceased shinobi to do their bidding.
