"If you'd rather die, don't blame me." Madara scoffed silently. As he crossed his arms, all of his Wood Release clones instantaneously activated their Susanoo forms and launched at the Five Kage and Jiraiya.
Although these clones wielded Susanoo, their strength was far weaker than Madara's true body, strong enough for Jiraiya to instantly defeat two of them alone.
Seeing the Kage unleash their signature techniques, Shikaku and the others immediately began contacting the Allied Shinobi Forces—for a retreat could still be ordered in time.
Yet, Madara's suspicion remained: these were Edo Tensei bodies; how can one defeat them if they cannot die?
True—but even if shattered completely, so long as they aren't sealed, they remain effectively immortal and brimming with chakra. That's precisely why no one could come up with a reliable counter… except one option: seal them.
Skyborne voices broke through:
A voice full of derision:
"That one… the guy whose eyes are like Nagato's… he looks ridiculously powerful."
Momochi Zabuza, Kimimaro, and Guren appeared in the sky, attended by battle beasts: BattleBeastFalcon and SteelGaRaLu.
Tsunade frowned, recognizing the newcomer:
"Momochi Zabuza!"
Zabuza ignored her; instead, he sneered:
"Uchiha Madara… so even the dead still give orders. Hahah... Hitomi was right—the Five Great Nations have rotted away. They're clueless about how to counter Edo Tensei shinobi!"
With a flicker of movement, he teleported behind a sealing jutsu specialist and swung his execution blade's flat edge, knocking the ninja aside. Suddenly, Guren appeared and began sealing immediately. Miraculously, the ninja was sealed inside a mysterious mirror-box by the jutsu's magic.
Shikaku gasped with realization:
"So that's it! Edo Tensei shinobi can't die and won't run out of chakra. Fighting them forever is impossible—but seal them and we can deal with them!"
Others observed, enlightened.
Madara narrowed his eyes, amused:
"Hah. I want to see who this 'Hitomi' really is that you all speak of."
With a single fiery movement, his true Susanoo manifested in full—its crushing aura engulfed the field.
Meanwhile, on Turtle Island…
Hitomi stood, effortlessly countering the three Hokage's taijutsu. But always alert, he watched the battlefield.
When the First Hokage realized Hitomi's strategy, he activated Mei no Shinmon—the Divine Eye barrier—to imprison Hitomi while the Second and Third Hokage readied their jutsu.
Second: "Water Release – Water Severing Wave!"
Third: "Fire Release – Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
They unleashed them together. Hitomi sneered and slapped both jutsus away: one palm repelled Mei no Shinmon, the other hand flung the two elemental jutsus back like boomerangs.
Orochimaru watched with narrowing eyes—it suggested Hitomi's techniques didn't even use chakra, or not in a conventional sense. Many of Hitomi's abilities required no chakra at all. Even Orochimaru, by his cunning, couldn't wrap his head around it.
In a flash, Hitomi teleported and launched Super Thrust Dragon Whip Strikes at the three Hokage. The Second dodged swiftly with a kunai; the First vanished in a teleport, but the Third was caught off-guard—his heart impaled by the strike. Yet Edo Tensei's bodies endure—he continued fighting using chakra even with the wound.
Hitomi furrowed his brow, palms striking again. He couldn't be sloppy—initial hits might not kill them. He prepared to entangle them.
"Orochimaru… this time, your loss is sealed," Hitomi shouted. In an instant, he vanished into darkness and formed multiple Shadow Clones. Those clones fought fiercely with the three Hokage before transforming into steel wires and binding them.
"Seal!" Hitomi intoned, and his steel-wire-transformed clones activated sealing tags alongside his abilities.
Orochimaru gasped. The Fourth Hokage broke into the arena instantly, sword in hand, and a Rasengan aimed at Hitomi's heart.
"Damn you!" Hitomi spat. He teleported away—but the Fourth reappeared behind him moments later. However, teleportation as swift as Hitomi's isn't the domain of space-time ninjutsu, but Hitomi simply avoided it differently.
Boom! A thunderous explosion! The Fourth's Flying Thunder God struck—but Hitomi's Dark Art Path broke apart, unraveling his disguise. The Second Hokage also teleported in and released his Flying Thunder God technique.
Yet, the enchanted steel wires couldn't bind them—both Hokage reappeared beside the First and Third to sever their lines instantly. In the same blink, the Fourth once again teleported and tried to eliminate Hitomi for good.
Still, when the Rasengan hit, Hitomi's form snapped into a block of wood. In its place, Hitomi himself materialized behind the Fourth, Wind God Sword drawn, blade inches from the Fourth's neck. The Fourth vanished once more.
Hitomi's lip curled; his annoyance was clear. "Teleportation ninjutsu… worthless trick. Completely useless!"
He glared, explaining mentally: "The Fourth and the Second depend on space-time coordinates plus sensor-based teleport—Obito's method enters alternate space. Two separate systems. Even Obito's teleport might be suppressible through Starlight Chains—but Flying Thunder God? That's beyond control."
Only one solution remains: defeat Orochimaru to dispel the Edo Tensei seal…