This week on Naruto, we shift over to Sasuke and Co. for a bit, and finally get some revelations as to what their intent was. I gotta say… that was unexpected.

Out of all the possible places they would end up at… I wouldn’t have anticipated Konoha being their final location. But not only do they end up going back there, they end up doing some pretty crazy stuff to boot. Using a mask from what seems to be an old Uzumaki Clan temple, Orochimaru intentionally summons and lets the Shinigami of the Shiki Fujin Sealing Technique possess him. This in turn allows for the cutting of its stomach and the release of previously sealed souls… including all of the previous Hokage, who turn out to be the the people they were seeking—“the ones that know it all.”

And well, I’m pretty speechless at this point. The whole reasoning behind how this allows for the resurrection of even people whom have been sealed makes a whole lot of sense. At the same time, there’s just this sense of ridiculousness behind it all… both at the lengths they’ve gone to in order to do this and there just so happening to be Zetsu clones within Sasuke to use for this technique.

Still, it makes me wonder what exactly they want to know that would require all four of the previous Hokage and if they’ll just end up using them or just discarding them after. As such, it’s a pretty interesting (and undoubtedly surprising) development, and it looks like we’ll see in the coming chapters how this ends up as we take a little break from Naruto and Co’s fight. But darn, it would be quite something if Naruto ends up fighting his dad and Madara ends up facing Hashirama again…

Other Notes:

  • Found it quite ironic that multiple forbidden techniques that originated in Konoha were used in the same place to resurrect not only their most powerful past ninja, but the same ones whose faces are carved into that mountain.
  • Also, another interesting thing someone pointed out on MAL, Sasuke’s comment about how much Konoha has changed provides a very interesting contrast to Naruto’s comment about how little it has changed when he came back from his training with Jiraiya.
  • 91 Comments

    1. Imagine if Orochimaru decided to bring the Kages to fight off Madara and Obito.

      Minato: OBITO. GET YOUR WHINY ASS OVER HERE. Oh hi, Kakashi! Good work taking care of my boy!

      Also, Sasuke probably pointed that out because much more had changed since HE left, as opposed to when Naruto came back and the only change was an extra head on the monument.

      Da5id
      1. I think it’s a bit more symbolic than that. Both Naruto and Sasuke jumped to a high vantage point and made their respective opinions on the village. Naruto felt nothing had changed most likely because he still Konoha as his home. Whereas Sasuke felt it changed a lot but in reality it was him who changed a lot.

        EamonX
        1. You are assuming that they are villians this ime.People do change over time.
          There are a sign of this when Orochimaru said “You are no longer my snakes.” When offered the chance to attack Kanoho now that it is left undefended.
          I’v had the sense that Sasuke and co have been on a mission to take down the greater enemy for a while now.
          As hinted at when it was pointed out last week when Sasuke was annoid that they could feel Naruto’s chakura soo far away fighting that greater enemy.

          Platue
    2. When you think about it, a lot of sense comes from Orochimaru’s statement “the ones that know it all.” The entirety of Konoha’s history can effectively be summed up between these four kage and then really, it stands to reason that almost every significant event of the past that we’re aware of has in some way or another been linked to one of them.

      Shouko
      1. I agree, it is a bit convenient to just slice open the Shinigami’s stomach. You’d think Kabuto or Orochimaru before would have done that to obtain the fourth’s soul.

        And then the mask. So if you don’t know the hand seals or technique to summon the shinigami (or in the case of Orochimaru where his jutsus were sealed), all it takes is to wear some mask.

        EamonX
        1. True, but isn’t Orochimaru a genius when it comes to jutsu and hand seal techniques, I mean unlike others who emphasize on Sharingan/Rinnengan/Tai jutsu/Tail beast Chakara and so on, Orochimaru’s strengths lie mainly in this area – it’s in-character for him to come up with new stuff.I always viewed him more in terms of a thinker than a fighter.

          shadowalker
      1. Hmm, now that you mention the yin chakra. Remember how Kyuubi couldn’t go into his full form like how Hachibi could with Killer Bee. It could be most likely due to the chakra split.

        EamonX
      2. Maybe Kurama will get his chakra back and then he will tell Naruto that the only way for that to happen is because of the seal that the 4th did broke. And then BAAM! they will understand that someone is messing with the seal reviving the hokages. Don’t ever forget that Kurama is smart and he will tell that stuff to Naruto 🙂

        diaz
      3. Considering Yin and Yang means Dark and Light respectively, I get the feeling that if the Yin chakra were to be released, it would be drawn more towards the Jubi than to Naruto. x_x

        HalfDemonInuyasha
    3. Damn that edo tensei jutsu, everybody is just coming back from the dead. I wonder who will be next to be brought back. Let’s take a good guess maybe orochimaru should have brought danzo(ie, if he gets his DNA) back, (although he was not officially Hokage but close), and I know that he will like to bring his old friend Jiraya(IE if he gets his DNA as well) back to fight with either Naruto or Tsunade just to torment them like he did to Hiruzen when he brought back the 1st and the 2nd Hokage to fight him(Hiruzen). Maybe Shisui Uchiha will be brought back(someone has to have his missing body, maybe Obito does) and Obito might revive members of the Uchiha Clan since He learned the jutsu from Kabuto and has access to their DNA from the pile of sharingans in his hideouts. Or will someone some how get lucky to revive the Sage of the Six Paths(very doubtful).

      K C M
    4. I really loved how Naruto and Sasuke went to take a view of Konoha there first time back.

      I’m also glad to see Konoha has been rebuild now. I don’t know if there is a deeper meaning behind this, but maybe Sasuke thought it changed so much because it’s not an exact replica of how it was before.

      Remember it WAS destroyed, so in a sense we can call this new Konoha.

      I can’t wait to see how this turns out. In the back of my mind I have a feeling the 4 Hokage will face Madara, as well as they might not.

      But if the 5 kage couldn’t do anything, it would be nice to see the original 4 HOkage (putting stress on the ho.) face him, especially the history Madara has with the first, Hashirama.

      swordhack4
    5. “It’s impossible that something is impossible” Greed, FMA. True indeed.

      As much as this is some sort of deus ex machina development, it is quite interesting to see all the hokages back, not only because they’ll provide revealing insights regarding the history of the shinobi world, but also because it will be damn cool to see their powers combined!

      @Zephyr: I think Sasuke argues that Konoha has changed maybe because it was reconstructed differently after Pain and Konan turned it into dust.

      SouthSky
    6. Head – desk
      head – desk
      head – desk

      Ok, in hindsight this was pretty obvious; the former Hokage do know everything about the Uchiha and the village. Still, the Grim Reaper unseal is just too convenient for me to swallow easily. Yeah, the Uzumaki connection makes sense, but the mask and how Orochimaru was able to cheat the consequences of using it just feels like a total asspull no jutsu.

      Really mixed feelings about this chapter. I’m happy that the Hokages are back and getting development (instead of new characters being pulled out of nowhere), and I’m glad that Sasuke’s trying to figure things out himself instead of letting himself be manipulated. The imagery at the beginning as Sasuke returned to Konoha was particularly effective, though I do wonder how a devastated crater was completely rebuilt in under two weeks. On the other hand, more people were brought back from the dead, and in an even more BS-ish manner. Also, Orochimaru having all their DNA on him, right after being unsealed from Anko is way too convenient. I can see why Kishi did this, and I’m interested in where it’s going, but the how really grates me.

      Some things to note:
      -Did Orochimaru just transfer his soul to Zetsu? If so, he’s got his perfect body and only needs to steal a pair of Sharringan to unlock the Sage’s power…
      -Will the Hokage break free of the Edo Tensai? If Madara could do it surely at least Tobirama, who created the technique, could too.
      -Orochimaru got his arms back; Kuruma should be getting his chakra back too…
      -Hopefully Hashirama and Madara’s backstory will be expanded. Madara as a villain has never really clicked with me.

      I guess it’s time for Konoha History 101.

      Hochmeister
      1. I second that the Hokages should easily break the Edo Tensei, but IMO by doing that they’ll become immortal – being pure Konoha shinobis & believing in “the Will of Fire” (passing responsibilities to succeding generations), they surely don’t want that.

        Lone Wanderer
        1. Or, Naruto would talk to them, perhaps exchange a few punches and a few jutsus along. As Naruto talks to them He will mention how His dream is to become Hokage just like them and how He has inherited their will and intend to surpass all of them and create a legacy for Konoha that will last forever thereby giving them closure so that they can undo the jutsu with their emotion and fade away to the afterlife and Naruto will mention to his father(the 4th) that He has met his mother and thank him for everything they have done for him, before his father fades with the others to the afterlife.

          K C M
      2. @Lone Wanderer: It’s been shown that they can be sealed without too much trouble, which takes care of that issue. Plus, if Sasuke &co. can sense Naruto surely they can as well and will realize that something’s up. I doubt they’d be very partial to being controlled by Orochimaru again.

        @SOSAnimeBoy: which was written a decade ago… If Madara knows the seals to free himself, surely Tobirama who created the jutsu knows how to release it, otherwise how would Madara have learned it?

        Hochmeister
    7. Here is a question that goes way back but still needs answering: Who was the third person Orochimaru was going to summon when he fought the Third Hokage?
      It couldn’t have bee the Fourth Hokage, otherwise why was the Third so desperate to stop that third person from being summoned if he knew the details of the Reaper Jutsu and the Edo Tensei.

      Spencer
    8. I would like Obito Uchiha or Orochimaru to also bring back the following people.

      1. Jiraya
      2. Shisui Uchiha
      3. Kisame Hoshigaki
      4. Danzo shimura
      5. Members of the Uchiha Clan including Fugaku,Inabi,Yashiro and Tekka
      6. Izuna Uchiha
      7. Hidan
      8. Yahiko
      9. Konan
      10. The 1st Tsuchikage
      11. The 1st and 3rd Mizukage
      12. The 1st and 2nd Raikage
      13. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Kazekage.
      14. The sound four members which includes Sakon and Ukon, Kidomaru, Tayuya and Jirobo

      You guys name your picks. I know some of you might mention The Sage of the Six Paths and His two Sons, I already thought about that but I realised that it’s not going to happen.

      K C M
    9. How big is Konoha anyways? I need a map with areas that were destroyed by pain HIGHLIGHTED -.-

      Part of me feels like WTF? Orochimaru should have done this a lot earlier to get his arms back. Remember the struggle he had to go through? (Get tsunade, get new body, take tons of medication, etc.) BUT, maybe he didn’t know… AND with Konoha’s security weakened, maybe it was easier now. Not to mention he has Sasuke to open the gate. Whatever the case, I want to know what the Kage has to say 🙂 “Uchiha clan is gone.” “Oh…. our bad.”

      Silentrax
    10. “Sasuke’s comment about how much Konoha has changed provides a very interesting contrast to Naruto’s comment about how little it has changed when he came back from his training with Jiraiya”

      Ummmm, I don’t know if I read you right Zepher, but didn’t Pain literally demolished Konoha entirely and they had to literally rebuilt the entire village. I wouldn’t be shocked if any of the old buildings are long gone and new better buildings had to be made.

      I am currently interested in how the team was able to invade Konoha so easily. I guess most of the Anbu are in the war.

      L002
    11. [quote]Also, another interesting thing someone pointed out on MAL, Sasuke’s comment about how much Konoha has changed provides a very interesting contrast to Naruto’s comment about how little it has changed when he came back from his training with Jiraiya.[/quote]

      maybe someone pointed it out already, but sasuke found a lot more changed because pain destroyed konoha and it had to be rebuild thus the big change.

      inferno
    12. I am far more interested in this than I am in the war.

      I’m surprised so many people are crying “asspull” and “convenience” at something like THIS yet have been perfectly fine with all the stuff done with Naruto, Sasuke, and other things (with no real explanation BESIDES “asspull”, “convenience”, etc) that have been going on…

      This is perfectly within the realm of “Orochimaru” from what we’ve seen. Like those who were complaining about Orochimaru’s resurrection seem to completely overlook the fact that he did a similar bit through Sasuke’s own Curse Seal against Itachi, which was an improvement on Anko’s, so him coming back is perfectly reasonable there considering each Curse Seal (including Kimimaro and the Sound Four) most likely would’ve been capable of doing the same thing if necessary.

      And while the mask bit and cutting open the Shinigami’s stomach was a stretch, we can’t forget that this is the Uzumaki we’re talking about, the ones who made the mask. With their mastery of Fuinjutsu, who knows what sort of things they were capable of. Chances are that that mask could’ve been used to help Minato develop the Shiki Fuin in the first place.

      I also wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of the knowledge Orochimaru has, that Obito didn’t know that he had (and was surprised and angry when Obito found out he did), came from previously using Edo Tensei (even before the Chunin Exams) and learning about it straight from Hashirama and/or Tobirama’s mouths. Maybe we’ll get some more history on the Senju, how Hashirama was so powerful besides Mokuton and Biju taming and how he actually died in battle, how the Senju seemed to fade out while the Uchiha remained, and more about the Uzumaki Clan as well. More on the good/dirty dealings done during each one’s tenure as Hokage, especially Hiruzen with his holding the title the longest.

      You know, DETAILS.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      1. I’ve never had a problem with the method of Orochimaru’s resurrection, just with how it didn’t fit into the story. His arc was neatly concluded before the Itachi arc, and resurrecting him reopened that whole can of worms. We’ll see if it was worth it.

        Naturally more backstory is good, and I can kinda accept the idea of bringing the Hokage’s back, its just a little too convenient. Suigestu and Juugo just happen to randomly find a scroll which just happens to have a previously unknown way to release them from the Shinigami, and Orochimaru and Sasuke just happen to have the exact number of Zetsu clones to resurrect them all and Orochimaru just happens to be able to jump bodies to avoid having his soul eaten, and just happens to have the DNA of all the hokages on his newly resurrected body which he sealed into Anko how long ago? It’s not “great snake escape” levels, but suspension of disbelief is kind of difficult here.

        Hochmeister
        1. I hardly call it neatly. He just comes out all “BWAH!!!! I’LL TAKE SASUKE’S BODY!!!” than *WHAM!* Totsuka gets him. Now if he actually fully came out and we got an actual fight, that would’ve been a much better end, but they obviously couldn’t do that because of how they made Itachi look already (all sickly and such, but still owning).

          And again, considering all the crap we’ve seen done with Naruto, Sasuke, and other things lately with the war and beyond, I find mere numbers and all to be FAR below that level. A stretch, yes, but I find myself griping a lot less about this than those other things.

          HalfDemonInuyasha
    13. I somehow feel like this is information madara already knows.
      two reasons. one we know almost all the information about hirashima and madara all the way up to forming of konoha. The only thing not really know is about the history of the senju clan.
      Number 2 is because obito knew all the information about the past when he told naruto at the samurai summit. im betting that madara didnt reveal everything to obito

      B_Mack
      1. I doubt he knows SO much (at least anything post Konoha). He leaves not long after Konoha’s finding and was “dead” ever since then, living underground for decades and away from the world. He’d probably only know things from older times (Jubi, Rikudo Sennin, etc stuff) which he could’ve easily told Obito about during his time with him which is how Obito could know of such things.

        Obito, obviously, knows nothing about what went on behind the scenes in Konoha besides things with the Uchiha which Itachi most likely told him about. We could get more info on such things over the next few chapters and then some.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
    14. And once again this shows how much Naruto gets the short end of the stick : does he know anything about his roots? No. But there was a temple belonging to his mother’s clan just nearby and he’ll probably never know about it. But hey, he’s meant to be a happy go lucky idiot so it’s fine for him to remain ignorant for the rest of his life.

      weird d
    15. Im pretty confused at this development. We got the 4 former Hokage’s back, which is great. But whose side will they be on? The odds are already stacked against the ninja alliance so having the 4 former kages in their immortal bodies coming to the rescue would be great, but I still dont know Sasuke and Orochimaru’s intentions through all this.

      YanDaMan
    16. Funny text from tumblr:

      Congrats to Orochimaru who managed to bring Sasuke back to Konoha.

      sorry Naruto

      Imo the sentence about changing Konoha may portray how Sasuke truly has changed from his latest visit in his homeland, like Naruto really in the end hasn’t change so much ( that’s why he said that Konoha hasn’t changed too much ), but it’s only my assumption.

      Shirocat
    17. Well hell, I’d been thinking that all of the slow buildup with Sauske and crew better be worth it… and this definitely a welcome development.

      Though that depends on whether they’re going to be used for some exposition and then released or if they’ll head for the front lines afterward.

      Exposition is great but stopping there would be a damn waste.

      qwert
    18. I’m not only liking that the Kages are all back, but there is also the fact that that 1/2 of Kurama’s chakra that was sealed is free. Now where will it go? Will it go back to Kurama or will it go to the Jubei?

      GoukaRyuu
    19. I have been wondering about it for some time now, so I might as well ask… Have you guys ever actually considered blogging the animated Naruto? If not, then why? It’s not that I’m demanding it or anything (as if I was in a position to do that), I’m just curious whether it ever crossed your minds. Cheers and thanks for the reply in advance 🙂

      prejsu
      1. Off the top of my head, I admittedly don’t know why the animated version never ended up being covered here.

        If I had to say though, I think it was a mixture of it being so many episodes, the break between original series and Shippuden, all the fillers and stuff in between that made it not really that good of a choice to cover eh. Div probably figured it was best to cover the manga, which had a more consistent schedule and isn’t likely to have any major hiatus (and no filler) or something.

        1. At first the anime clearly separated the main story from the fillers, but many months ago they started mixing them so viewers were forced to keep watching. Plus there are lots and lots of fillers, maybe as many episodes as those concerning the main story.

          SouthSky
    20. An interesting development, but at the same time I can’t help but feel that they’re adding layers to the story for the sake of it. We already have the climax of the war going on, with Naruto, Kakashi and Obito’s confrontation still waiting to be concluded, then we have the alliances all finally truly combining their forces to form a unified country that will stand after the battle’s end. I was hoping that Sasuke and Orochimaru would have some ultimate way to seal the 10 tails, but instead they just revived MORE people. I’m keen as ever to see how the Hokage foursome will react to what’s going on…however I really don’t think we needed this in order for the story to progress, there’s a lot in play already.

      That’s my rant done, don’t get the wrong idea, I am pretty excited to see the Fourth Hokage and the rest reappear, just I think it’s a little late in the day to be adding them into the mix.

      Celecia01
    21. So when did Orochimaru discover this technique of regaining his arms, because he probably could have used it a few years back when he lost against the 3rd. I guess he was too obsessed with Sasuke to remember.

      LightHawk
    22. Oh look, it’s Hokage Tea Time! XD

      And so, thanks to Edo Tensei, just about all the old famous Ninjas from Shinobi History are back on their once-buried feet. About the only one who hasn’t rejoined the party is Rin, though I think she’ll show up towards the end of the battle probably, as distraction for Obito and/or way to finally reveal why she died.

      With the mask, it stirred a notion to mind – when I saw the Shinigami, it made me think of the Sage (Both having wild spiky hair + horns) + it’s one of the best Sealing Jutsus, something both the Sage and the Uzumaki Clan (distant blood relative) are famous for.
      So, my notion is – What if the Shinigami is something the Sage made, or even something of the Sage’s chakra left behind, as a safety measure in case of the Ten Tails?

      Depending on the user (especially one with a huge supply of chakra) you could half the Ten Tails power or even reseal it, at a price, of course.

      Digid
      1. I like your idea of Naruto being the one to seal the 10 tails with the Shiki Fujin… And then it being impossible to unseal without having the same amount of chakra, which is then impossible because he’s sealed him and the fox away. It’s definitely interesting, perhaps with his life as forfei, then maybe he’ll get his face put on the mountainside in Konoha posthumously. I like it.

        Drock85
    23. OMFG OMFG OMFG OMFG OMFG OMFG OMG@!%$#^$#$@%@%

      This chpater, how much F’s it did not give, 1st orochimaru clone (wat the fuck did itachi seal into the susanno anyway!!!) got undid the shiki fuujin reverse style omg, got his arms back and at the same time b4 his body was sacrificed revived the souls of the 4 hokage all had been imprisoned in shiki fujin one way or another. He also slipped into zetsu preventing his death for the like the billionth time. He did this all in an instant with some stupid mask from the uzumaki clan and some seals. And kabuto/tobi/madara didnt know about this?

      Ok so much my head hurts, minato sealed some of his chakra with kushina and the yang chakra of the kyuubi into naruto (on his dying breath) and the rest of him was sealed along with the ying chakra of the kyuubi into the shiki fujin as sacrifice right?

      Well i want 1st of the ying chakra to return to the kyuubi to power him up, for 4 the kage rangers the dispel edo tensei on themselves and revive the fallen kage/assist naruto like itachi did. But yes i guess at the end of the day if they were to explain all the (remaining) mysteries of madara the village and entire shinobi history to sasuke and orochi that would be great to. I want minato and naruto to meet again.

      Is there any possibility to revive kushina? Also orochimaru is so friggin badass now i want him to survive the entire series just cause he’s survived so damn much already. I dont even understand how he can just get his “arms” back just like that but ok which means parts of chakra taken can be restored and not just bodies. Minato and 3rd didnt actually die kinda sorta but thier last remaining life was sealed into the shiki, does that mean anything?

      I cant take any more of this im like freaking out here. Finally how fucking awesome was the last shot of all 4 hokage standing in order badass (reanimated) but still badass in that head down pose amiright!!!

      voidgenesis

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