When it comes to the Fourth Ninja War in the Naruto series, Kabuto’s role was significant because he possessed an enormous collection of powerful Edo Tensei ninjas. However, out of his collections, not a single Hokage was revived, even though he extracted Edo Tensei Kages from other villages. So, what could be the reason for that? Let’s find out.
1. DNA of the Hokage
It might be plausible that Kabuto had the DNA of the Hokage. However, they cannot be revived through the usual Edo Tensei method because their souls are trapped in the Shiki Fujin. Even though Orochimaru had the DNA of Hashirama and Tobirama, who died before Hiruzen and Minato, the four deceased Hokage could not be revived through regular Edo Tensei. The reason being that their souls are sealed within the Shiki Fujin, and Hiruzen sealed the souls of Hashirama and Tobirama while they were still Edo Tensei. On the other hand, the souls of Hiruzen and Minato became the payments for the technique of Shiki Fujin that they each performed.
2. Souls Locked inside Shiki Fujin
Do you recall when Orochimaru failed to revive Minato for the first time? The reason was that Minato’s soul was trapped within the Shiki Fujin. Souls trapped within the Shiki Fujin cannot be revived through ordinary means because their souls are locked up inside it. They must be extracted first before they can be summoned using the Edo Tensei technique. Hence Kabuto couldn’t revive the four Hokage.
3. Orochimaru’s method
Orochimaru is different from Kabuto since he had a more profound understanding of Shiki Fujin. As he needed his hands back (which were also inside the Shiki Fujin), he studied the Uzumaki technique to unlock it. The technique not only allowed Orochimaru’s hands to escape, but it also freed the four Hokage’s souls from the Shiki Fujin. Since the souls were already out of the Shiki Fujin, Orochimaru could perform the Edo Tensei on the four Hokages, something that Kabuto could not do.
In conclusion, Kabuto couldn’t revive the four Hokage because their souls were sealed inside the Shiki Fujin. Orochimaru’s technique allowed him to unlock the souls from the Shiki Fujin, making it possible for him to revive the four Hokage. This fact shows the importance of knowing the fundamental aspects of techniques and their applications.
