The two figures stepped slowly from their coffins, bodies coated in dust, faces cracked, eyes shut tight. As Danzo flashed through hand signs behind them, palms pressed together, the shriveled corpses began to fill out—muscles swelling, color returning, a faint spark of life flickering in their forms.
On the left stood a man with long black hair, clad in a black combat suit under layered red armor. The Senju clan's crest gleamed on his left shoulder plate. Red iron bracers circled his wrists, his sword-like brows and sharp eyes radiating heroic energy.
On the right, a silver-haired man with narrow eyes and a steel faceguard. Three red markings slashed across his cheeks. He wore a black bodysuit under blue layered armor, both shoulders draped in a white fur collar that swept down his back. Even at a glance, you could tell he was not to be trifled with.
The Third Raikage shaded his eyes, squinting at the pair emerging from the coffins.
"Jinghang, these two look familiar. You know them?"
Jinghang gritted his teeth, shooting the Raikage a bitter smile. "I know them, but I've never met them. Call them family, I guess."
The Raikage blinked. "Family? You got relatives in Konoha? What kind of family?"
"By seniority," Jinghang replied, "I should call them Grandpa."
The Raikage's jaw dropped, then he slapped his forehead. "Wait—now I get it! Your wife's Tsunade, right? Damn!"
He finally pieced it together. "So they're..."
Jinghang nodded. "Yep. Those two old legends."
"No wonder Danzo's strutting around today, acting all high and mighty. He's holding these two as trump cards! What kind of jutsu is this? It's twisted!"
"That's Edo Tensei," Jinghang said, seizing the lull before Konoha advanced to give the Raikage a quick rundown.
"Retains most of their power and can't be killed? That's just cheating. What's the point of fighting?"
The Raikage's brow furrowed so deeply it looked like the kanji for "river."
Hashirama and Tobirama Senju hadn't been gone long; their legend still echoed across the shinobi world. To most, they were mountains—unreachable, awe-inspiring.
But Jinghang wasn't ready to give up. Edo Tensei, the jutsu that haunted the entire manga, wasn't perfect at the start. Tobirama developed it not to create zombie warriors, but to counter the "evil Uchiha"—the man spent his whole life inventing forbidden techniques just to deal with them.
Originally, Edo Tensei was a tactical combo: summon the dead, blind the enemy with the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, then wrap the corpse in Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags and send them in as human bombs. Every move was designed to mess with the Uchiha.
Tobirama never got to use it himself, and since it required living sacrifices, it was banned as a forbidden jutsu.
But Orochimaru, obsessed with ninjutsu, saw the potential and refined it so the reanimated dead could use part of their former power.
In "Konoha Crush," Edo Hashirama and Edo Tobirama, under Orochimaru's control, gave old Hiruzen Sarutobi hell, forcing him to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal in a last-ditch mutual kill. Even then, the Senju brothers only showed about seventy percent of their power—Hashirama didn't even summon his Wood Human "Gundam," and his biggest move was just "Deep Forest Emergence," a basic attack for him.
By the manga's end, though, Edo Tensei was nearly perfected. Kabuto's Edo Madara and Orochimaru's bugged-out resurrection of past Hokage operated at near-peak power. (Not making this up—Madara said so himself.)
But right now, Orochimaru hadn't reached that level. The best Danzo could do was "Konoha Crush"-era strength. Still dangerous, but not unbeatable.
Jinghang scanned his own side: himself, the strongest Third Kazekage in history, the strongest Third Raikage, five Earthly Branches, five Alphabet Group members—an all-star lineup. Meanwhile, Hiruzen was stuck in the hospital, Minato was missing. Maybe, just maybe, they had a shot.
The real problem? Regular ninjutsu barely scratched Edo bodies. Tear off an arm, a leg, even the head—they'd just keep coming. Only Six Paths power's Yin-Yang Release or sealing jutsu could do real damage.
Wait—Six Paths power!
Jinghang glanced at the Alphabet Group's hands, spotting several Six Paths tools. Suddenly, a plan sparked in his mind.
"Old man, I've got an idea..."
Jinghang leaned in, whispering to the Raikage.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Danzo bowed deeply—ninety degrees—to the First and Second Hokage.
"Lord Hashirama, Teacher Tobirama, forgive me for disturbing your rest."
Hashirama flexed his hand, tested his limbs, glanced at Tobirama, then swept his gaze over the battlefield.
"Tobirama, this your jutsu? Wasn't it forbidden?"
Tobirama rolled his neck, eyes scanning the scene before settling on Danzo.
"Hm? You're Shimura Danzo? You summoned us?"
Danzo didn't dare meet his eyes. "Yes!"
Hashirama frowned.
Tobirama's face darkened. "Where's Monkey?"
Danzo raised his head. "He's sick."
"Sick?"
"Yes."
"And you are...?"
"I'm the Fourth Hokage now."
"..."
Tobirama said nothing, his face growing stormier.
Hashirama, ever the optimist, broke the silence. "So, why'd you call us up?"
Danzo finally found his voice. "Sunagakure and Kumogakure are at our gates. I called you to... help me drive them off."
Hashirama's sword-like brows shot up.
"Sunagakure? Kumogakure? Those scrappy villages actually made it to our doorstep? Is Konoha really this weak now?"
(Question: How do you use the Amber Purifying Pot again? Author doesn't remember.
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