Unleashing the Ultimate Technique: Kabuto's Unrivaled Mastery of the Edo Tensei Jutsu

The Summoning; Impure World Reincarnation or Edo Tensei, a powerful kinjutsu, played a crucial role in the early stages of the Fourth Shinobi World War led by Obito Uchiha in Naruto. One of its notable achievements was the revival of Madara Uchiha. Initially created by the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, this jutsu required a human sacrifice for its activation, leading to its prohibition by its creator. However, this did not deter Konoha shinobi like Orochimaru from experimenting and improving upon its abilities, resulting in a more advanced version of the Edo Tensei that overcame its previous limitations.

Despite Orochimaru's notable progress, there were still imperfections in the technique. Recognizing these shortcomings, Kabuto Yakushi, Orochimaru's loyal subordinate, developed his own enhancements for the jutsu. These upgrades provided a higher level of control over its applications and improved the physical capabilities of the reincarnated shinobi. Kabuto's interpretation of the Edo Tensei is widely regarded as the definitive version in the Naruto universe, and is often hailed as nearly flawless in its execution.

The Original Edo Tensei

In order to perform the Edo Tensei jutsu, it is crucial to have a DNA sample of the person being reincarnated, as well as a living human sacrifice to act as a vessel for the restored soul. However, it is important to note that only souls in the Pure Land can be revived through this technique. Those who have been sealed away or trapped in the Shinigami's stomach, such as the Fourth Hokage, cannot be summoned using this method.

Obtaining the necessary DNA often involves acquiring it from the target's remains, which can be seen as a form of grave robbing in most cases. There are only a few instances where it is possible to collect uncontaminated blood, organs, or hair from the location where the individual died.

The caster must collect the necessary materials and then apply the target's DNA onto a scroll. This activates the jutsu, causing the remains of the reincarnated individual to spread out in a circular pattern, with the sacrifice placed at the center. The remains envelop the sacrifice's body, resembling ash and replicating the appearance of the deceased soul in a painful process. Although the sacrifice's body remains technically alive, it no longer belongs to them as the revived soul gains complete control.

Initially, the revived body appears grey and displays minor decay. However, the summoner can restore the individual's normal complexion and rejuvenate their appearance by supplying chakra. It should be noted that this change is merely cosmetic. Summoned shinobi possess all their kekkei genkai abilities and techniques, along with an unlimited amount of chakra. They can also regenerate from most fatal attacks, except for Truth-Seeking Balls. Additionally, there are very limited methods to subdue them aside from releasing the jutsu or sealing them. Once the jutsu is released, the sacrifice's body perishes as well. This is the reason why Tobirama, the jutsu's inventor, prohibited its usage. His version of the jutsu had significant flaws, as the revived souls could only access a fraction of their power and he could only control a small number of them at a time.

Refined By Orochimaru

When Orochimaru developed his own version of the Edo Tensei, he made significant advancements in bringing the reincarnated shinobi closer to their original power levels. Moreover, he found a way to control a larger number of Edo Tensei shinobi simultaneously by devising his own method of exerting control over them. However, despite initially being able to control the movements of the reincarnated shinobi, individuals with exceptional strength like Tobirama Senju and his brother Hashirama could resist these commands due to their immense power.

During the Konoha Crush, Orochimaru used cells cultivated from Hashirama Senju as a binding agent to enhance the jutsu and prevent the resistance of stronger individuals. Orochimaru himself acknowledged that even with the binding agent, Hashirama could resist his commands if he were brought back closer to his full power. Additionally, users had to insert a special talisman, usually attached to a kunai, into the brain of the reincarnations to gain varying levels of control over them.

Casters have the option to decide whether the reincarnated individual retains their original personality. In the default scenario, the summoned shinobi will receive commands that can be executed without the need for specific instructions from the summoner. This grants them the freedom to act and utilize their abilities as they see fit. However, it also opens up the possibility for unwilling reincarnations to provide directions on how to defeat them. These particular shinobi exhibit grey sclerae. On the other hand, reincarnations can have their personalities completely erased, allowing the caster to directly control their actions. Nevertheless, this approach hampers their ability to multitask. Orochimaru, for instance, preferred this method when he summoned the deceased Hokage during the Konoha Crush, signified by their black sclerae which indicated their suppressed personalities. Reincarnated shinobi have the ability to release the jutsu by performing the appropriate hand signs, although Hagoromo was able to accomplish this without them.

Kabuto's Perfected Version

Kabuto, however, preferred the initial method of control and was even seen manually rewriting tags when necessary. His notable advancements focused on rejuvenating summoned shinobi to nearly their full strength and eliminating restrictions on the number of reincarnations that could be summoned by a single caster. The only limitations Kabuto faced were the availability of DNA samples and the number of sacrifices he could gather. While there were still a few restrictions, such as the recreation of weapons, accessing all Rinnegan abilities, or becoming the Ten-Tails jinchuriki, the benefits far outweighed these drawbacks.

Additionally, Kabuto surpassed Orochimaru in his ability to enhance the reincarnated shinobi. This was evident in the case of Madara, where Kabuto selectively evolved him to unlock abilities from different stages of his life, including his Rinnegan and Hashirama grafts, while also restoring him to his peak physical condition. Moreover, the Edo Tensei technique, which required minimal chakra to execute, made it incredibly overpowered in the Naruto universe, enabling users to amass armies of deceased shinobi to carry out their commands.