"That one is simple enough!"
Hearing Madara Uchiha's exclamation, Orochimaru chuckled, then turned to look at Madara's chest.
"It all depends on whether you're willing to cut a piece of flesh from yourself..."
Madara Uchiha paused for a moment, then his eyes blazed with an intense light.
"You mean..."
"Tobirama's Edo Tensei?"
Orochimaru nodded with a smile, then shook his head.
"Yes, but that's not all."
"With my current power, creating life from nothing is as easy as lifting a finger."
Madara Uchiha's expression brightened upon hearing this. He immediately pulled open his robe and, without hesitation, gouged out a large piece of flesh from his chest where Hashirama Senju's face was.
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"To fight alongside Hashirama once more, and together witness the arrival of peace in the ninja world, I have no other desires in this life!"
"Take it!"
Orochimaru took the palm-sized piece of flesh and couldn't help but marvel.
Good heavens, to see Hashirama Senju again, Madara was truly willing to cut off a piece of himself!
"Heh heh..."
With a meaningful chuckle, Orochimaru casually split the flesh into two portions.
One portion would serve as material for the Edo Tensei of Hashirama Senju, and the other would be the foundation for creation using Yin-Yang Release.
"Black Zetsu, pick any White Zetsu you find to serve as a sacrifice for Edo Tensei."
He casually instructed. Orochimaru's Yang Release power surged, and under the shocked gazes of countless shinobi allied forces, he painstakingly transformed the vague piece of flesh in his hand into a human form, from the smallest parts to the bones and the entire body.
It was none other than Hashirama Senju in his prime.
At this moment, the White Zetsu to be used as a sacrifice for Edo Tensei was also pulled from underground by Black Zetsu and presented to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru nodded gently, signaling Black Zetsu to place the White Zetsu on the ground. With a casual wave of his hand, he scattered a patch of dark runes, instantly setting up a formation for Edo Tensei.
"Ninjutsu - Edo Tensei!"
...
The piece of flesh provided by Madara Uchiha already contained a trace of the Rinnegan's unique Yin-Yang Release power. Coupled with Orochimaru's generous infusion of Six Paths power, the newly formed body of Hashirama Senju possessed a strength that could only be described as superhuman.
As soon as Orochimaru pressed the soul into the body, the Yin-Yang Release power within the new body began to circulate spontaneously. In just a few breaths, Hashirama Senju opened his eyes.
"Huh?"
"I've been summoned to the human world again? Orochimaru, are you and Tsunade getting married?"
"Where's your grandmother? Why didn't you call her out too?"
Hashirama Senju, not yet understanding what was happening, saw Orochimaru and immediately began to babble questions without even glancing at his surroundings.
"Hashirama!"
Before Orochimaru could reply, an excited shout suddenly echoed in Hashirama's ears, startling him.
"Huh?"
"That voice..."
Hashirama Senju rubbed his ear and turned his head in confusion, only to meet Madara Uchiha's face pressed close to him.
"Madara?"
"You've been Edo Tensei'd out by Orochimaru too?"
Madara Uchiha grabbed Hashirama Senju's arm. In his excitement, the force he exerted was astonishing, yet Hashirama Senju showed no signs of pain.
"Haha, it's no use trying to exert force."
"This body of mine can't feel anything right now..."
"Huh?"
Hashirama Senju, who was about to mock Madara Uchiha for not understanding the Edo Tensei technique, suddenly froze and placed his hand on his chest.
"I..."
"How can I feel your warmth? And why do I have a heartbeat?"
"Orochimaru, this is...?"
Orochimaru nodded with a smile.
"Indeed!"
"Senior Madara was insistent on fighting alongside you once more. I thought it might liven things up in the ninja world if there were more people, so I resurrected you."
Orochimaru's answer was casual, and Hashirama Senju seemed to accept it as a matter of course.
"So that's how it is..."
"Then, it might be difficult to explain to your grandmother..."
Seeing Hashirama Senju awaken, after asking if he had also been Edo Tensei'd, Madara Uchiha immediately snorted and kicked him.
"What time is it, and you're still worrying about such trivial matters?"
"Look over there. I had Orochimaru revive you so you could join me in defeating that guy."
"You idiot!"
Hashirama Senju patted his backside and stood up from the ground, showing no intention of refuting Madara Uchiha. Instead, he grinned triumphantly at him.
"Madara, you old geezer, your strength has declined considerably over the years!"
"I didn't feel a thing from that kick!"
This infuriated Madara Uchiha, who was about to activate his Rinnegan to settle the score with this boastful fellow.
"Senior Madara..."
Orochimaru let out a wry smile, reached out to stop Madara Uchiha, and slowly shook his head at him.
"Don't be impulsive..."
"To be honest, even with your Rinnegan, you might not be able to defeat Lord First in this current body."
"After all, I created this with Six Paths power, based on your Yin-Yang Release."
Madara Uchiha's pupils contracted, and then he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha..."
"Good! Good! This is much more interesting!"
"After this battle is over, I will definitely have a good fight with this idiot again."
"I'm so looking forward to it!"
Hashirama Senju nodded excitedly upon hearing Madara's challenge.
"We're thinking the same thing!"
"Madara, you truly are my best partner!"
Seeing the two of them about to fall back into their usual dramatic exchanges where they only had eyes for each other, Orochimaru quickly stepped between them and explained the battle arrangements.
"We can talk about sparring later."
"First, I need to inform everyone of their missions once the battle begins."
Madara Uchiha glared at Orochimaru, the spoilsport, but did not retort. He quietly moved behind Orochimaru, standing close to Hashirama Senju.
Orochimaru ignored the two men behind him exchanging knowing glances. He cleared his throat and addressed the shinobi allied forces in front of him in a clear voice:
"Everyone!"
"The tree growing upwards before you is called the God Tree, the true form of the Ten-Tails, the most powerful Tailed Beast."
"When it grows tall enough and absorbs enough power from the ninja world, it will be time for us to launch our attack on the Otsutsuki clan."
Orochimaru did not tell these people about the existence of the chakra fruit. That was a gift from the Dragon Vein Spirit. What belonged to him would absolutely not be interfered with by others.
He swept his gaze seriously across the faces of the shinobi allied forces and continued in a deep voice:
"The enemy's strength is immense. To ensure everyone's safety, ninjas below Kage-level strength are not permitted to leave their teams easily."
"Form yourselves into group operations, and assist the Kage-level powerhouses responsible for the assault in clearing any subordinates that might be around Isshiki Otsutsuki."
The ninjas of Jonin rank and above heard this and looked at the Kage-level powerhouses with solemn expressions, nodding silently.
"Kage-level powerhouses will be responsible for dealing with the smaller Ten-Tails that separate from the God Tree."
"Although they are not as large as the main body of the Ten-Tails, their power level far exceeds the limits that ordinary ninjas can comprehend."
"Even Kage-level powerhouses will only have some ability to protect themselves against these smaller Ten-Tails."
"Therefore..."
Orochimaru said, then turned to look at the two men standing behind him.
"Senior Madara, Lord First."
"You two will be responsible for providing me support, and also for protecting these comrades."
"Understood?"
Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, having emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, naturally understood the gravity of the situation and readily nodded.
Orochimaru smiled and nodded, looking up at the giant tree in the distance that was almost touching the moon, and decisively gave the order for a full-scale assault.
"Then let's go!"