Naruto: The Otsutsuki Naruto

Naruto and Orochimaru walked through the dimly lit corridors of an underground facility.

They were heading to a specific place to accomplish a specific task.

What task? Keen observers would have already guessed.

Yes, it was the Edo Tensei summoning of the Four Hokage!

The souls of the Four Hokage had already been retrieved from the belly of the Shinigami when Naruto assisted Orochimaru in reclaiming his arms. These souls had been stored within the Hell Path's King of Hell statue using Naruto's Rinnegan.

[TN: Note that while the summoned King of Hell statues look identical, they are not universally connected. Therefore, the souls stored by Naruto could not be accessed when Nagato or Madara summoned their respective statues, despite their eyes essentially being the same pair.]

Thus, summoning the Four Hokage via Edo Tensei was a trivial matter for Naruto.

Why had he delayed doing so? First, he hadn't figured out how to face them, especially the Fourth Hokage.

Additionally, he had to consider the possibility that his ideals might not be accepted by the Four Hokage. As someone who had lived a second life, Naruto acted with extreme caution, preferring not to act unless he was absolutely certain.

Hence, it had been postponed until now.

In a dark chamber, Konan had already prepared four White Zetsu clones as sacrificial offerings.

To prevent them from speaking nonsense, Konan had sealed their mouths with paper tags.

The White Zetsu clones glared at Naruto, their eyes brimming with hatred.

Facing their accusatory stares, Naruto spoke sincerely: "I'm sorry. Honestly, I don't want to do this. After all, 200 of your kind are now my allies. But the Edo Tensei technique, created by the Second Hokage Tobirama, is far too cruel—it requires live sacrifices. I have no choice but to use you as offerings."

As he said this, Naruto thought to himself: Obito, I'll borrow your 'No Choice Technique' for this one.

"Mmm! Mmm!" The White Zetsu clones, naturally, were not moved and struggled even more violently.

Naruto activated the Rinnegan in his palm.

Hell Path!

Boom! The King of Hell statue ignited, its mouth opening wide.

The souls of the First through Fourth Hokage emerged and lined up in front of them.

Orochimaru immediately stepped forward to perform the technique, but Naruto stopped him. "I have a technique I want to use here first."

Orochimaru stepped aside, his snake-like eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Boom! A large, semi-transparent white flame ignited in Naruto's palm!

Orochimaru's slit pupils widened instantly. He recognized the essence of the flame at a glance: "This... is a soul?"

Naruto spoke calmly: "This is a pure, untainted soul. I call it a Soul Gem."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The large Soul Gem split into four pieces, flying into the souls of the Four Hokage!

Naruto explained: "Soul Gems can be considered patches for souls, perfecting them. This way, their Edo Tensei forms will possess power far beyond their abilities in life. It's my way of compensating for their absence all these years."

Orochimaru's eyes sparkled with a thirst for knowledge. "Soul Gems... They can't be created out of thin air, can they? Could it be that they're made from your own soul?"

Naruto chuckled. "Using my own soul is certainly possible, but that would be a waste. This method was granted to me by these eyes!"

Orochimaru asked eagerly: "What is this ocular technique called?"

Naruto half-closed his eyes. "Futsunomitama, the ocular technique that governs souls. The left eye collects, and the right eye processes."

Futsunomitama. Orochimaru's gaze grew even more fervent. "How exactly does the collection work? It shouldn't be like the Rinnegan's Human Path, directly extracting souls, right? After all, I've been by your side since you awakened these eyes, and I've never seen you perform such an act!"

Naruto smiled: "There's something I learned only when I awakened these eyes. [TN: When ocular powers awaken, all knowledge about them naturally emerges in the user's mind. This is why those who awaken their eyes instinctively know the names and functions of their techniques.]"

"Souls are also a type of energy field. Individuals with souls unconsciously emit soul energy fields outward. These fields are so minuscule they can be ignored and are harmless to the individual. However, if the number of sources is large enough, this energy becomes immensely powerful!"

Naruto raised his hand, covering his left eye lightly. "My left eye collects these unconscious soul energy fields."

Orochimaru suddenly understood: "I see... Then where is the collected soul energy stored? And how does the right eye process it?"

Naruto decided to satisfy Orochimaru's curiosity: "The collected soul energy is stored in a Soul Capacitor located in my mental world, which appeared when my ocular powers awakened. Of course, this capacitor has a storage limit—it cannot exceed ten times the capacity of my own soul."

"Additionally, besides the Soul Capacitor, my mental world contains a Soul Refinery, which processes the collected soul energy. The Soul Gem you saw earlier is one of its processed products."

Naruto scratched his head and laughed sheepishly: "To be honest, I've only recently awakened this ocular technique, so there's still a lot I don't understand."

Orochimaru's inner world was shaken to its core, leaving him speechless.

Souls had always been an unknown territory for ninjas. Throughout history, only a few had touched its secrets. The Second Hokage Tobirama had merely scratched the surface, yet he developed impactful forbidden techniques like Edo Tensei and Spirit Transformation Jutsu. Naruto's Futsunomitama, however, directly grasped the core mysteries of souls—an unprecedented leap. It was terrifying!

Without further delay, Orochimaru completed the technique inscriptions and restored the life essence of the Four Hokage.

Konan, who had been standing behind the White Zetsu clones, immediately retreated to Naruto's side.

Whoosh!

As Orochimaru formed seals, a strong wind swept through the sealed chamber. His jet-black hair fluttered, and his expression became exceptionally solemn.

Forbidden Technique: Edo Tensei!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The four souls floating in front disappeared!

Swish! Dust swirled around the bodies of the White Zetsu clones, and the Four Hokage, who had witnessed history since the founding of Konoha, returned to the world once more!

Second Hokage Tobirama: "Is it that Orochimaru again?"

First Hokage Hashirama: "What's going on?"

Third Hokage Hiruzen: "The seal of Reaper Death Seal must have been broken, and then Edo Tensei was performed."

Fourth Hokage Minato: "I didn't expect the Reaper Death Seal to be undone. Orochimaru-san, how did you manage that?"

Orochimaru: "You underestimate me, Minato. This was originally a sealing technique of the Uzumaki Clan. Ever since their disappearance, I've been researching the ruins of this lost clan and their scattered documents."

Minato: Turns to the First Hokage. "It seems we've been resurrected in this era, Hashirama-sama."

Hashirama and Tobirama, together: "By the way, who are you?"

Minato: Points to his Hokage cloak. "I'm the Fourth Hokage."

Hashirama: "Oh!! You're the Fourth?! Hmm! Hmm! It seems the village has been stable for quite a long time!"

Minato: "I'm not sure if it's truly stable. I died before the Third and was sealed away."

Hashirama: "Hmm? Is that so? I thought you and Monkey were sealed in the same incident?"

Minato: Smiles politely but awkwardly. "No, it was a different incident."

At this moment, Tobirama glanced at Hiruzen: "Monkey, I recall you were an old geezer when you died. Why do you look younger now?"

Hiruzen: Checks himself and exclaims joyfully. "Ah, I do seem younger! I look like I'm in my thirties again! How did this happen? You sly Orochimaru, you've really outdone yourself!"

Orochimaru: Murmurs. "To be honest, this time it wasn't my doing."

Hashirama: "Why haven't I become younger?!"

Tobirama: "That's because, big brother, you passed away at a young age."

Clang!!

The God of Shinobi instantly fell into despair.

This must be what Sasuke experienced back then. I can imagine his exasperated expression.

Pfft—hahaha! Behind Orochimaru, Naruto burst into laughter.

Hmm? Following the laughter, the resurrected Hokage turned their eyes toward Naruto.

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