If one could master a technique that summons the dead, it could indeed guard against certain accidents.
"Is that enough?" Orochimaru formed a seal to release the Jutsu Formula, and the coffin turned into dust.
While Obito was still weighing the risks, Black Zetsu had already controlled the shadows on the ground to spread into a contract seal beneath Orochimaru's feet.
"We acknowledge your value," a gloomy voice echoed from all directions.
At the edge of the desert battlefield, Orochimaru hid in the shadow of a wind-eroded rock pillar, his golden snake pupils reflecting the heaven-shaking power of the distant Ten-Tails' roar.
When the brilliant golden light of Naruto's Nine-Tails Mode and the red Tailed Beast Cloaks spreading across the Allied Shinobi Forces lit up the dim sky, A playful arc curled at the corner of his pale mouth, and his eyes surged with undisguised greed and a desire for exploration.
That was an extreme obsession with power that transcended the mundane.
The Ten-Tails' nearly indestructible vitality and its overwhelming level of chakra were, in his eyes, the ultimate mysteries waiting to be dissected.
Just then, the gravel at his feet shifted silently, and an inconspicuous spore rapidly expanded, transforming in the blink of an eye into a White Zetsu clone emerging halfway from the ground.
White Zetsu whispered in that signature tone of flippancy and fawning, "Mr. Snake, the Lord asked me to pass on a message..."
Orochimaru's gaze didn't even shift from the center of the battlefield; only a low laugh escaped his raspy throat.
"Heh... Can't wait any longer?"
He extended his slender fingers, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing together as if he could already touch the ancient spirits about to descend.
"That's right~" White Zetsu's distorted face squeezed out a bizarre smile.
"The 'pawns' for the Edo Tensei can now be placed into this mad game of chess."
Before his voice finished fading, White Zetsu's body began to disintegrate rapidly, melting back into the dry sand without a trace, as if he had never appeared.
Orochimaru slowly licked his lips, the golden light in his eyes growing even brighter.
His golden snake pupils coldly scanned the chaotic situation.
Obito and Konan were in a fierce struggle, the Allied Shinobi Forces were stubbornly resisting while clad in red Tailed Beast Cloaks, and high above on the stone throne was Takuno's indifferent Six-Tomoe Rinnegan.
His reason for joining this turmoil stemmed from the insatiable curiosity of a scientist.
For decades, he had dissected the Sharingan and implanted Hashirama cells, yet he was always stuck at that threshold: the awakening of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
No matter how he replicated the secrets of the Uchiha bloodline, those eyes refused to bloom their true power for him.
It required extreme 'emotion,' but he had long since stripped away his emotions, leaving only pure logic.
When he learned the news that the Akatsuki had completed the capture of the Tailed Beasts, he felt as if he had found a priceless treasure.
Though he didn't fully understand it, the convergence of the nine Tailed Beasts would surely give birth to the most ultimate power, which might be the key to unlocking the mystery of the Mangekyo.
Thus, he took the initiative to seek out 'Akatsuki,' hoping to speak with the 'God' known as Nagato and witness that transcendent power with his own eyes.
But reality gave him a bizarre twist.
He didn't see Nagato; instead, he met the Masked Man who called himself 'Madara'.
The power Obito displayed in the Kamui Dimension, the ocular jutsu that distorted space, was indeed convincing.
Orochimaru once thought Obito was the mastermind behind Akatsuki, a chess player who could utilize Nagato and the Rinnegan.
But now, the battlefield laid bare the truth.
Nagato was pushing the plan forward regardless of everything, while Obito had a falling out with Konan, the two sides turning against each other.
This wasn't cooperation; it was a scam of mutual exploitation.
Black Zetsu's irritable instructions further confirmed this.
The interior of Akatsuki had long since split. Obito was busy with infighting, and he, Orochimaru, was merely a pawn who had voluntarily stepped into the vortex.
A cold smile surfaced at the corner of Orochimaru's mouth.
Scientists pursue truth, but truth is often wrapped in lies.
No matter how strong Obito's 'Kamui' was, it couldn't cover the loopholes in the plan.
No matter how high Nagato's 'Rinnegan' was, he couldn't escape the fate of being manipulated.
This internal strife had instead become an excellent sample for his observation.
Perhaps the true ultimate power didn't lie in the Sharingan or the Tailed Beasts, but in 'chaos' itself.
It could shatter all order and expose the essence of power.
Regarding Black Zetsu's contact, Orochimaru had already anticipated it and merely treated it as a noise signal to be discarded.
Pawns? Plans?
In Orochimaru's view, these things were far less important than the unprecedented feast of energy before him.
He wasn't standing on any side.
Not with the Allied Shinobi Forces on the brink of collapse, nor with the remnants of the Akatsuki possessing terrifying power.
Even the high-and-mighty mysterious Collector and the evolving Ten-Tails were just variables in a massive experiment to him.
Victory or defeat? Ownership? These were all irrelevant.
The true value lay in 'seeing'.
Just as he saw now, the pure Nine-Tails chakra burning like golden flames on Naruto.
It could actually be shared with tens of thousands of Allied Shinobi like a stream, granting them powerful defense and recovery.
This in itself was a subversion of the understanding of the nature of chakra.
And there was the terrifying vitality and evolutionary level displayed by the Ten-Tails, which left the top combat forces of the entire alliance helpless.
That 'life barrier' that seemed to transcend the known system of Ninjutsu...
All of this was the 'unknown' that exceeded his past cognition.
Orochimaru licked his lips, his cold vertical pupils flashing with the light of pure curiosity and a thirst for knowledge.
The ultimate power itself? It wasn't that he didn't desire it, but it was never the only goal.
If it were unattainable, he could simply return to his laboratory and continue exploring the mysteries of cells, Ninjutsu, and forbidden techniques within his existing knowledge framework; there would always be new riddles to solve.
However, the most terrifying thing wasn't being unable to obtain ultimate power, but being unable to even imagine what ultimate power looked like!
That meant a cage of cognition; it meant research had completely lost its direction.
It was like groping in endless darkness; if one had never even seen the outline of a sliver of light, how could one map out the path to illumination?
Now, this final battle sweeping the entire Shinobi World was presenting those forms of power that only existed in legends or theories.
Perfect Jinchuriki resonance, never-before-recorded Rinnegan variants, Ten-Tails power surpassing Tailed Beasts, and the life-link of large-scale chakra sharing—all were displayed before his eyes.
"Hehehe..." A low laugh overflowed from his throat.
"What... wonderful chaos."
The roar of the Ten-Tails, the boom of Ninjutsu, the collision of chakra...
Every explosion of energy, every phenomenon beyond common sense, was expanding new territories for the boundaries of his cognition!
These 'phenomena' witnessed with his own eyes, these 'unknowns' that transcended the existing theoretical framework, Were the most precious sparks for his future research, the guide for him to break through current bottlenecks and open up entirely new research directions.
No matter how this war ended, no matter who finally wielded that power, To Orochimaru, it didn't matter.
The most important thing was that he had seen the direction for his future research.
Besides, Orochimaru licked his lips; he hadn't actually paid much for this, had he?
Thinking this way, he looked at the four White Zetsu already prepared nearby, a smile appearing on his face.
Standing in the shadow of a sand dune, Orochimaru slowly formed hand seals.
The four bound White Zetsu let out shrill twists as their bodies were rapidly covered by black symbols, subsequently turning into a swirling vortex of flowing dust.
Amidst the trembling of the earth, four coffins with talismans attached burst from the ground.
The coffin lids slid off, and Deidara, Sasori, Kisame, and Kakuzu opened their eyes simultaneously, Edo Tensei dust rustling down from their cracked limbs.
Deidara was the first to lash out, tearing at the inextinguishable dust fragments on his body, fury distorting that young face.
"Hm?! What kind of art is this! My Ultimate Art (C0) was clearly supposed to return everything to nothingness! Now this half-dead, half-alive body... Dammit! This form of existence that desecrates art is even more nauseating than Lightning Release! Hm!"
He slammed his fist hard against the ground.
Sasori stood silently in place; the puppet shell of Hiruko had long since vanished, and now his original teenage body, reconstructed by Edo Tensei, was exposed.
He looked down at his arms covered in cracks, his fingertips opening and closing mechanically, his voice cold.
"Eternity... is the end point of art. Death was supposed to be the final 'eternal' work I completed."
He looked toward the center of the battlefield at the remains of his parents' puppets, half-buried in gold sand, a red light flashing slightly in his eyes.
"A Puppet Technique that forcibly drags the dead back to the living world? Truly... a low-class and boring interruption."
Kisame twisted his neck, making a clicking sound of bones rubbing, and grinned to reveal shark-like teeth.
"Hiss... It seems I regretted too early? I haven't seen the new world of the Eye of the Moon yet."
He weighed the replica of Samehada temporarily condensed from Edo Tensei dust in his hand; the touch was coarse and fake.
"However, fighting with this fake body feels as stifling as swinging a blade in a shallow pond. Samehada... isn't by my side either."
Kakuzu was the most pragmatic.
He felt his chest; the touch was stiff, and there was no longer a heartbeat.
The black threads of Earth Grudge Fear probed out from his shoulder blades, wrapping around his arms made of Edo Tensei dust, his voice dull like an old well.
"Plundering hearts to prolong life for a hundred years... only to be captured by an even more despicable 'undead' jutsu in the end?"
He looked up directly at the caster in the shadows ahead, his dark green pupils locking onto Orochimaru.
"Hey, Orochimaru. Using this jutsu to summon the dead doesn't come cheap."
In the shadows, Orochimaru's golden snake pupils flashed with a playful light, his raspy voice carrying a suggestive laugh.
"Edo Tensei, a forbidden jutsu that brings back the dead. There's no need for you all to look deeply into the principles; you only need to know that your existence still has 'value'."
He slowly raised his hand, forming a control seal, his voice suddenly turning cold.
"Now then, for the sake of my plan, burn your last embers once more. A magnificent stage is waiting for your return."
The Edo Tensei dust danced wildly in the wind as four figures once again rushed toward the center of the battlefield.
Orochimaru watched the four figures, his wet tongue licking his cheek.
So, the flesh and blood information of the four Akatsuki members was provided to him by Black Zetsu; all he needed to do was use Edo Tensei to summon them back from the Pure Land.
Of course, those four weren't the only ones he had reincarnated; he had completed another Edo Tensei before this.
However, that one reincarnated body was taken away by 'Madara'.
Thinking of the owner of that body, a hint of interesting color appeared in Orochimaru's eyes.
If that body belongs to him, then who exactly is this Masked Man impersonating 'Madara'?
At this point, it's finally time to take off that mask, isn't it?
Orochimaru laughed, and then his figure dissipated from the spot once more.
He couldn't stay in one position; those people from the alliance were still constantly searching for Nagato's original body, so he could only continuously adjust his observation point.
Fortunately, with White Zetsu's reminders, it wasn't difficult to evade the eyes and ears of the alliance.
...
On the battlefield, before the four Akatsuki members reincarnated by Orochimaru's Edo Tensei could reach the scene, Black Zetsu's figure, pitch-black like oil sludge, had already silently climbed onto Obito's shoulder.
"Obito..."
The low, raspy voice rang directly in Obito's mind, carrying an unquestionable tone of command.
"Execute the final step of the plan. We can't wait any longer."
Obito's single eye, hidden behind the swirl mask, scanned the mess of the battlefield below.
The Allied Shinobi, bolstered by the Nine-Tails chakra Cloaks, were stubbornly contending with the Ten-Tails and its terrifying regenerative abilities, trying to find Nagato's original body;
On the other side, many of Konan's paper sheets had been burned by him in the previous fierce fight, yet they still drifted everywhere like falling snowflakes.
It was hard to distinguish the remaining quantity and specific locations, which invisibly hindered his actions.
The Collector's figure, wearing a Fox Mask, still hung high above on the stone throne, indifferently looking down at everything as if enjoying a play that had nothing to do with him.
The battle was at a stalemate; if left to continue like this, the Ten-Tails would surely evolve again.
Black Zetsu was right; the deadlock had to be broken, but this step...
Obito's gaze finally fell back to the present.
Resistance churned in his heart at the thought of dragging that man back into this world.
It meant that the control over the 'Eye of the Moon' plan he had meticulously woven would face a huge variable, or even be completely lost.
For this moment, he had carried the weight of Rin's death, betrayed the entire world, and stained his hands with blood. How could he be willing to pave the way for someone else?
However, he knew even better that he must not show even a hint of this unwillingness.
In front of Black Zetsu, in front of the absolute power and deterrence represented by the name 'Madara', and most importantly, in front of that cursed seal on his heart, He had to play the part of the 'pawn' driven by that will.
Any hesitation or resistance could bring about total disaster.
"Hmph..."
Obito let out a cold snort of ambiguous meaning, suppressing the stray thoughts churning in his heart, his voice remaining low and calm.
"Understood."
He no longer looked at Konan's hard-to-clear paper sheets, nor did he pay attention to the struggles of the alliance below.
Forming hand seals: Summoning Jutsu!
Accompanied by a violent surge of chakra and a strange distortion of space, a cold aura suddenly descended upon the heart of the battlefield!
The ground split open silently, and a giant coffin carved with eerie symbols, enveloped in thick dust and the scent of death, slowly rose from the crack.
Finally, it landed on the ground with a steady 'thud,' causing the surrounding air to stagnate.
This sudden abnormality instantly drew almost everyone's gaze!
The Five Kage, Kakashi, Might Guy, and the others, who had just barely stabilized their positions, saw the color drain from their faces.
A chill originating from instinct made their hair stand on end!
That aura... it was powerful enough to be suffocating, far exceeding any previous enemy!