Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe

Edo Tensei and the Explosive Tag technique weren't secrets to the other ninja villages. During the First Great Ninja War, Tobirama Senju had used these two jutsu to eliminate numerous top shinobi from the other Four Great Villages.

Tobirama's death occurred near the end of the First Ninja War, during negotiations between Konoha and Kumogakure. Despite being killed by the Gold and Silver Brothers, who also took down the Second Raikage, Konoha didn't retaliate against Kumogakure, as both sides had lost key leaders in that conflict.

The Edo Tensei technique Tobirama used back then was different from the more advanced version seen today. In those days, he primarily used Edo Tensei to cast the Multiplying Explosive Tags jutsu.

Tobirama understood the ethical concerns around playing with souls, but in times of war, victory was paramount. Other considerations could wait until after the war.

Accompanying the resurrected Third Raikage were the Third and Fourth Kazekage. Unfortunately for them, the battle took place over a lake, the worst terrain for wind-users like them. The water significantly hampered their ability to control their techniques, whether they were manipulating iron sand, gold dust, or regular sand.

That's why Daniel had strategically sent these two Kazekage to support the battle against Kumogakure instead of sending them to Kirigakure. In the watery terrain, their abilities were severely hindered.

The Edo Tensei army had been split into three groups—one for Kumogakure, another for Kirigakure, and the last for Konoha. As for Iwagakure, Daniel had intended to send forces there too, but Uchiha Madara himself insisted on dealing with Iwa. Madara had said he wanted to give the Third Tsuchikage a "surprise."

"This is quite entertaining," Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, smirked as he looked at the confrontation between the two Raikage. His glee was evident. After all, anything that weakened a rival village was good news for Sunagakure.

While most of the Edo Tensei resurrected shinobi didn't fully grasp what was going on, they assumed this was the start of the Fourth Great Ninja War. The idea of the Five Great Villages uniting against a small ninja village like Amegakure seemed odd, but they recalled similar circumstances from the past. After all, Uzushiogakure had been destroyed by the united might of the Great Villages.

"Father..." The Fourth Raikage, though seething with rage, managed to hold back his lightning-coated fist as he faced the resurrected Third Raikage.

"We are enemies now, son. Don't hold back. Strike me down," the Third Raikage said in a deep, commanding voice.

"I understand. I'm sorry, Father."

"My body is not under my control, so I won't be able to go easy on you. Show me how much you've grown!" As the two Raikage spoke, both erupted in powerful lightning chakra and charged at each other.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!"

"Four-Fingered Hell Stab!"

With a thunderous crash, the two Raikage collided in the center of the lake. The immense chakra surrounding them whipped the water into massive waves, creating a shockwave that lowered the water level around them by several meters. The resulting waves towered high into the sky, forcing the two Kazekage to retreat several dozen meters to avoid being swept up.

Killer Bee, partially transformed into his Eight-Tails form, swatted the oncoming waves away to protect the surviving Kumogakure shinobi behind him.

After Konan's devastating attack, only about twenty Cloud ninja remained. Most of them had been saved by Dodai's Lava Release, while the rest had been shielded by Killer Bee's transformation. However, Bee had taken on the brunt of the explosive tags, and his chakra reserves were now dangerously low.

"You've grown stronger," the Third Raikage remarked, glancing at his missing right hand, his tone one of approval. He had lost the clash with the Fourth Raikage, but thanks to the Edo Tensei, his body instantly regenerated, his hand reforming in seconds.

"Ai, my body is immortal. You must find a way to seal me," the Third Raikage instructed.

"I know. Bee!" the Fourth Raikage called out to his brother. As skilled as the Raikages were in taijutsu, neither knew advanced sealing techniques. Only Killer Bee, with the power of the Eight-Tails, could perform a sealing jutsu strong enough to stop the Third Raikage.

"Got it," Bee replied. Unlike his usual carefree self, the tragedy unfolding around him had erased all traces of humor.

But just as Bee moved to assist his brother, he was intercepted by the Third Kazekage, who manipulated iron sand to block his path. Despite being over water, where their abilities were weakened, both Kazekages were formidable enough that they could still pose a serious threat, especially since the Cloud ninja lacked water techniques to fight back effectively.

"Lord Bee!" Dodai, along with other surviving Cloud shinobi and Darui, moved to intercept the Third Kazekage. However, they were soon blocked by the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.

Unlike the Raikages, who had personal reasons for hesitating, the Kazekages had no such reservations. They showed no mercy, regardless of their own resurrected state. For them, weakening a rival village was always a top priority.

In the ninja world, the law of survival was ruthless. Young shinobi with potential were targeted and eliminated during missions, and any opportunity to cripple a rival village was taken without hesitation.

Daniel, watching from the highest floor of Amegakure's steel tower, chuckled as he observed the battle between the Kazekages and Raikages. "These two Kazekage are really making good use of their Edo Tensei bodies, exploiting their immortality to wreak havoc."

The resurrected shinobi had no sense of pain, nor did they have vital points. Without a sealing team present, they could press the advantage relentlessly. Using these traits, Rasa had already eliminated two surviving Cloud ninjas, and Darui had only narrowly avoided the same fate.

The Third Kazekage was using his iron sand to bind Killer Bee's Eight-Tails form, while the Fourth Raikage was locked in battle with the resurrected Third Raikage.

"Madara really is something else... I guess I'm doing this for the good of the ninja world," Daniel thought to himself. He stopped paying attention to the ongoing battle between the Raikages and Kazekages, knowing the outcome wouldn't change regardless of who won. His gaze shifted toward the Sand Village's defenses, and he scratched his head in frustration. Initially, his plan had been for Amegakure's ninja army to engage Iwagakure's forces, giving Madara time to join the fight later.

But Madara had dismissed that strategy entirely, insisting there was no need for such elaborate tactics. His plan was simple: overpower the enemy with brute force. In fact, if Daniel hadn't reminded him that Akatsuki didn't have enough personnel to govern the entire ninja world yet, Madara would've already stormed the Five Great Villages with Nagato and obliterated them all.

"I guess I've been too cautious, and I've interfered too much. Madara and people like him—like Emperor Qin—are confident in their strength, and they're not wrong." Although Daniel had vetoed Madara's idea, he did reflect on his overly cautious approach. The ninja world, after all, was a place where the strong ruled. Trying to apply modern strategies here wasn't always the best approach. Adapting to the environment was key.

Still, Daniel wasn't ready to give up on the ninja army he had spent so long training. Instead, he redirected his forces toward Konoha and Kirigakure.

As Konoha and Kirigakure's forces neared the shore of Amegakure, Daniel's ninja army was ready. They lay in wait, unlike the direct confrontation with Kumogakure, where most of the enemy forces had already been annihilated.

"Fire!" As the Konoha and Kirigakure forces approached, Amegakure's forces unleashed a barrage of kunai and shuriken, filling the sky and raining down upon the enemy.

"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

The incoming projectiles were met with defensive ninjutsu. Kiri's ninjas, though fighting over frozen water, could still create water from their own chakra. However, despite their efforts, a significant portion of the projectiles still reached the ranks of the two villages.

It wasn't surprising. Shinobi wars were typically fought with specialized tactics, and even during the Fourth Great Ninja War, which pitted eighty thousand against one hundred thousand, the battles were still primarily fought with guerrilla tactics. The concept of large-scale projectile warfare was foreign to them.

But Daniel, with technology and improved weaponry courtesy of Sasori, had brought a new level of warfare to the table. If these techniques had been used during Deidara's capture of Gaara, the battle would've been far less one-sided.

This barrage had severely crippled Kiri's forces, reducing their numbers by a third. Konoha fared slightly better, with about a quarter of its forces down. The projectiles weren't just kunai—they were laced with explosive tags and poison.

Daniel had anticipated even greater losses for the enemy

, expecting to wipe out more than half of their forces with this ambush. However, he had underestimated the power of individual shinobi. After all, he himself was a one-man army.

Much of the attack on Kirigakure's forces had been thwarted by Mei Terumi and her elite jonin, who combined their Water and Wind Styles to nullify many of the projectiles.

Konoha's lower casualty rate was due to the Aburame clan, who had deployed a massive swarm of bugs to form a protective barrier. The Hyuga clan also played a significant role, using their Eight Trigrams Air Palm to deflect many of the projectiles.

"Bug Tornado!" After the barrage ceased, Konoha launched its counterattack. Several members of the Aburame clan combined their chakra to create massive tornadoes of insects, sending them hurtling toward Amegakure's defenses. The sheer scale of the attack was comparable to the earlier barrage of projectiles.

"Not bad," the Second and Third Hokage, watching from the rear of the Konoha forces, nodded in approval. Using bugs to probe the enemy's defenses was a smart move, especially since they didn't know what traps Amegakure had in store.

Both Tobirama and Hiruzen knew, however, that no matter how well Konoha performed in this battle, the real threat was Uchiha Madara.

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