Impression
It’s been a long time coming, but this week we finally see an end to the Edo Tensei, along with the disappearance of all the reanimated shinobi who have been forced to fight against their comrades. It feels like it’s been ages – and rightfully so, as Kishimoto pretty much had Kabuto resurrect the entire cast, while Studio Pierrot cheerfully piled on as many anime-original episodes as they could fit in. All the sealed former Kage and Akatsuki are leaving, as are the Jinchuuriki – this brings a lot of the fighting in many battlefields to an end, and it’s all because of Itachi and Sasuke. Who’d have thought they’d be the ones to do it? Presuming all the White Zetsu are dead, now that the vast majority of enemies have disappeared for good I don’t think it’s quite right to refer to this as a world war any longer. Instead, the main conflict is now centered around two people: Tobi and… Madara.
It really shouldn’t have been much of a surprise, regardless of whether you follow the manga or not. Even for Uchiha standards, it’s been made plainly obvious that Madara is ridiculously overpowered (even more so in death than in life with his Mokuton abilities and Rinnegan). It turns out that anyone could have dispelled the contract as long as they knew the signs – and I’m not surprised Madara was privy to that sort of info, especially given his pedigree. To be honest, if anyone was going to escape from the Edo Tensei, it’d be him. And now, the Five Kage are up against the strongest Uchiha, in a form that can move around freely while possessing an immortal body and infinite chakra. Mother of god… :O If he had known about it, Itachi really should have made Kabuto get rid of Madara individually before undoing the Edo Tensei. I’m not sure whether it was right to animate Madara in the way they did after he freed himself – getting rid of the corpse-like marks on his face makes it seem like he’s alive again. Strictly speaking, he’s not – while he’s free, he’s still very much dead and is possessing an Edo Tensei corpse. Anyway, it doesn’t change the fact that life has suddenly become a lot more difficult for the Kage. Assuming they live, of course.
We’re transitioning out of the World War IV arc and towards the Juubi Revival arc, as can be seen from Tobi’s decision to revive an incomplete Juubi through chakra fragments of the Hachibi and Kyuubi. Naruto’s talking about taking off his mask, so you can look forward to that as a future plot twist a couple episodes from now 😀 But meanwhile, it’s all about Sasuke and his decision to revive Orochimaru! He’s starting to think rather philosophically after meeting Itachi – and he’s going to search for the answer from the ones who “know everything”.