The Fourth Shinobi World War was the most intense arc in Naruto and rightfully so. Masashi Kishimoto created extremely powerful villains as well as overpowering jutsu that worked together to make the arc memorable.
Of course, the presence of Madara Uchiha complicated the plotline even more. He proved to be a greater threat than anything the shinobi had faced before. Since he was re-incarnated using Edo Tensei, he became next to unstoppable. In an interview with Viz Media, Masashi Kishimoto revealed what he thinks about the reincarnated zombies in Naruto.
Why Masashi Kishimoto Created Edo Tensei in Naruto
In an interview from 2012, Masashi Kishimoto explains what Edo Tensei is and how it works in Naruto. Edo Tensei binds the soul of a dead person with that of a living vessel and forces them to live by their summoner’s bidding. The user needs the DNA of the person they want to summon for this act as well as a living human who would be sacrificed.
These reincarnated souls retain their personalities, which gives them the freedom to battle as they wish, derived from their experiences from their past lives. In fact, bringing back a dead person would also psychologically scar anyone who used to know them before. The memories, consciousness, and personality of the reincarnated souls remain intact.
It allows the characters from the past to talk to the characters in the present. It’s a fantasy element of the series.
But being a cool move isn’t the only reason that Masashi Kishimoto invented Edo Tensei. According to the author, he wanted the characters from the past to talk to characters from the present about war and its effects. In another interview, the author had also acknowledged that Edo Tensei was in fact introduced to bring out Madara.
Masashi Kishimoto’s Favorite Character to Reincarnate Isn’t Madara
Kabuto, the latest user of Edo Tensei in Naruto was an expert in the field. He summoned several powerful deceased people from the past and used them to battle the shinobis. He summoned Kakuzu, Itachi, and Deidara, among who, the author picked Deidara as his favorite.
Why such an unusual pick? Because Deidara could make use of the regenerative abilities of Edo Tensei at its fullest. One of the major benefits of Edo Tensei is that it grants immortal bodies to the reincarnated souls and they can recover from any injury pretty quickly. Not only do the reincarnated people receive an inexhaustive chakra reserve, but they can also perfect their bodies beyond their prime.
Deidara uses Explosion Release kekkei genkai which allows him to give his chakra explosive qualities. He can detonate his chakra-infused clay at any time. But his ultimate move is actually terrifying. As a last resort, Deidara can make a bomb out of himself and this state has a large blast radius. However, it is a one-time technique since he would die as a result.
Out of Kabuto’s army, Deidara is my favorite character. Honestly, I think Edo Tensei Reanimation could make him the deadliest character because he can come back to life after he uses his special power to explode himself.
But once Deidara received access to Edo Tensei and its inexhaustive regeneration and chakra, he could explode himself at will and then return with no damage to his body. This capability would undoubtedly make Deidara one of the strongest characters.
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