"Edo Tensei… so this is your trump card?"
When Orochimaru summoned the past Kage of the Five Great Villages with Edo Tensei, Uchiha Fugaku's expression remained calm.
Had this been before he awakened the Rinnegan, it might have caused him some trouble.
But only trouble—nothing more. In the end, he would have dealt with it regardless.
And now, with the Rinnegan in his eyes, even the ability to "cause trouble" no longer existed before him.
"Yes. This is my trump card against you. They are the previous Kage of the Five Great Villages, each far stronger than an average Kage. Most importantly… they cannot die."
"No matter how powerful you are, facing enemies who are immortal is anything but easy."
Orochimaru's voice was laced with confidence.
Uchiha Fugaku was indeed formidable, but Orochimaru was no longer the same as before.
Ever since being humiliated and captured by Fugaku last time, he had dedicated himself to perfecting Edo Tensei. And now, he had finally succeeded.
His perfected Edo Tensei not only granted tighter control over the resurrected, making it nearly impossible for even powerful shinobi to resist with sheer will, but also restored them to at least half of their original strength in life.
With the perfected Edo Tensei and the legendary might of the past Kage, even against Uchiha Fugaku, Orochimaru now had confidence in battle.
"The past Kage of the Five Great Villages?"
Fugaku chuckled lightly, as though he didn't regard them as threats at all.
And truthfully—he didn't.
If these Edo Tensei had been restored to their full strength in life, then perhaps they could pose some threat to him.
But that was impossible. Edo Tensei was still Edo Tensei. They weren't truly alive.
With their consciousness erased, their vast battle experience could never be fully applied. Their power would never equal what they once had.
"To think you could deal with me using puppets stripped of their own will… Orochimaru, you underestimate me far too much."
"Let's see if you can remain so arrogant."
Feeling Fugaku's disdain, Orochimaru's face darkened. He gave his command to the seven resurrected Kage:
"Attack!"
At once, the Seven Kage launched into action.
"Lightning Armor!"
The Third Raikage cloaked himself in crackling lightning, his body shining like a living bolt. He lunged toward Fugaku, his finger extended like a lightning spear, stabbing viciously forward.
But before he could land his blow, two kunai spun through the air—marked kunai.
In a flash, two figures appeared beside Fugaku: Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage, and Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage.
Masters of the Flying Thunder God Technique, their instantaneous movement was unmatched.
Without hesitation, Minato formed a Rasengan in his palm and drove it at Fugaku, while Tobirama's longsword, infused with crackling lightning chakra, thrust toward him.
"Rinnegan Chakra Mode."
The instant Orochimaru commanded his resurrected, Fugaku's eyes had already transformed, his body cloaked in the glowing aura of the Rinnegan's chakra mode.
Emerald chakra enveloped him like an armor of green light.
Nine black Truth-Seeking Orbs materialized, floating ominously at his back, each radiating overwhelming danger.
Fugaku didn't move. Instead, three of the orbs merged into a massive protective dome around him.
Minato's Rasengan struck the dome and burst like a fragile bubble—dispersed instantly.
Tobirama's lightning-charged sword shattered the moment it touched the dome.
Were it not for their mastery of the Flying Thunder God, both Hokage would have lost their hands in that instant.
Then came the Third Raikage, his lightning spear stabbing directly into the dome.
Crunch—
Unlike Minato and Tobirama, he had no instantaneous escape. His arm slammed into the dome and was obliterated on impact.
His legendary body, said to withstand even tailed beasts, was as fragile as rotten wood before the power of the Truth-Seeking Orbs.
Barely halting his advance to avoid total annihilation, the Raikage was immediately countered.
From within the dome, Fugaku's Rinnegan saw all. He sent one of the remaining six orbs flying.
Crunch—
With a sound like glass shattering, the Third Raikage's entire body disintegrated into nothing.
"Dust Release—"
From above, the Second Tsuchikage unleashed his forbidden jutsu. A destructive beam of Dust Release engulfed Fugaku's dome.
But the dome remained intact. Fugaku unscathed.
Instead, Fugaku's gaze turned skyward.
Whoosh—
An orb streaked upward. The Tsuchikage tried to evade but was too slow.
Crunch—
Struck, his body shattered apart, erased completely.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method!"
The Third Kazekage, famed as the strongest Kazekage, commanded iron sand into a massive spiked formation, converging on the dome from every direction.
Useless. Each spike that touched the dome crumbled into dust.
An orb answered, and like the Raikage and Tsuchikage before him, the Kazekage was erased without a trace.
"Steaming Danger Tyranny!"
The Second Mizukage's giant clone swelled and exploded in a devastating blast that tore across the battlefield.
The dome remained flawless.
But Fugaku's Rinnegan pierced illusions, and he located the true body hiding with mirage techniques.
Another orb flew.
The Mizukage liquefied his body in desperation—but even water could not resist the orbs. His body was crushed and erased.
"Sage Art: Wood Release—True Several Thousand Hands!"
Senju Hashirama entered Sage Mode, summoning a colossal Buddha with a thousand arms, each striking down upon the dome.
Unlike ordinary ninjutsu, his sage-enhanced Wood Release could touch the orbs—but only barely.
The thousand arms battered the dome, yet it stood unbroken.
Two orbs struck back, shattering the statue and dispersing the Wood Release. Only Hashirama's reflexes saved him from destruction.
In a single exchange, four resurrected Kage had been erased.
"Do you still want to continue?"
The dome dissolved back into three orbs. Fugaku recalled the others and gazed coldly at Orochimaru.
"Don't get cocky. They are immortal. You can't kill them."
Despite his shock at losing four Kage in moments, Orochimaru clung to his confidence. Immortality was the core strength of Edo Tensei.
"Immortal, you say? Are you certain?"
Fugaku smiled faintly, his tone mocking.
Confused by his words, Orochimaru turned his gaze toward where the fallen Kage should have been regenerating.
What he saw stunned him—
The four Edo Tensei did not revive. It was as though the technique binding them had been completely undone.