One of the turning points of the naruto saga that ushered in the 4th Great Shinobi War is when Kabuto used the most dangerous Jutsu ever made, the Kuchiyose Edo Tensei. It’s not even an exaggeration to say that the high-ranking shinobi that was revived by Kabuto with this Jutsu is one of the greatest assets that Tobi/Madara had during the great war.
Furthermore, Kabuto was quite thorough with his plan. He hand-picked some of the most skillful and talented shinobi from every hidden village and had them fight against their former allies. However, there is one particular legendary shinobi that he didn’t revive, despite him being one of the most powerful and famous shinobi from Konoha. His name is Jiraiya, and here’s why Kabuto didn’t use the Edo Tensei on him.
How the Edo Tensei Works
Edo Tensei is actually a variation of the usual summoning (Kuchiyose) jutsu. However, rather than summoning spirit animals that have made contracts with the user, such as toads or snakes, Edo Tensei calls forth the soul of the dead from the underworld instead. But the most surprising thing about it is the fact that it is actually not that hard to do.
You see, other than a general knowledge about the summoning technique, there are two things that you need in order to activate the Edo Tensei. The first one is a certain amount of flesh from the person that you want to revive. In other words, the DNA. During their conversation about the Jutsu, Kabuto remarks to Tobi that this part is more akin to grave robbing, rather than a proper shinobi work.
The second thing that you need is a living person that will be imbued by the soul of the dead. The person in question doesn’t even need to have a similar body type to the summoned soul, because once the soul of the dead enters the body of the living, it would mold and shape the body according to how the person looked when they were still alive. And that’s pretty much it. This deadly jutsu doesn’t even have any sort of risk to its user, which is why it is so powerful and dangerous.
Why Didn't Kabuto Revive Jiraiya?
As explained above, for such a powerful jutsu, Edo Tensei is actually not that hard to execute. The hardest part, however, is obtaining the flesh or any other body part of the person that the user intends to revive. After all, the grave of powerful and dangerous shinobi is usually either in an unknown location, or deeply hidden by the village. So locating the corpse itself is quite a challenging endeavor to do. But once you find the body, then it’s smooth sailing from there.
So why didn’t Kabuto revive Jiraiya then? Well, let’s first talk about the circumstances of Jiraiya’s death. Jiraiya lost his life during the fight against his former student who happened to be the leader of the Akatsuki, Pain/Nagato. The fight happened at Pain’s hometown, the Village Hidden by the Rain, also known as Amegakure. Jiraiya managed to reveal the secret behind Pain’s mysterious technique and also how his Rinnegan works, at the cost of his life. At the end of the fight, Pain coldly looks at his former master’s lifeless body as it’s slowly but surely being swallowed by the ocean.
So the reason why Kabuto didn’t revive Jiraiya during the 4th Great Shinobi War was simply because he couldn’t find Jiraiya’s body. Not that he didn’t know where the body was, Kabuto just couldn’t get his hands on Jiraiya’s corpse. After all, Jiraiya’s lifeless body is in the bottom of the ocean right now. No matter how strong Kabuto may be, it’s still impossible for him to go to the bottom of the ocean. Even if he somehow found a way to do it, there’s no reason for him to go to such trouble just for the corpse of one man while there are tons of other powerful shinobi available at much easier places.
Other High-Ranking Ninja That Couldn’t Be Revived
Jiraiya is not the only high-ranking shinobi that Kabuto didn’t revive during the 4th Great Shinobi War. There are other notable shinobi that would’ve been an excellent pawn for Kabuto, but unfortunately, he couldn’t revive them. They are the Hokage of Konoha, specifically the first through the fourth Hokage.
The reason why Kabuto didn’t revive them is actually the opposite of Jiraiya’s case. Because unlike with Jiraiya, Kabuto could easily get his hands on all of the Hokage’s lifeless bodies. The problem, however, is in their soul. You see, all four of the Hokage’s souls have been sealed or being used to seal other souls. The third Hokage used his life to seal the souls of the First and Second Hokage during Orochimaru’s invasion. As for the fourth Hokage, well, he sealed half of the Nine-Tailed Fox’s soul inside himself. That is why none of their souls are available for grabs, hence why Kabuto couldn’t revive them.
That being said, even without reviving powerful shinobi like Jiraiya or the four Hokages, Kabuto has proved that his Edo Tensei is a very valuable weapon during the 4th Great Shinobi War. It’s not even an exaggeration to say that this jutsu is the one that caused the most damage to the allied shinobi during the war. That’s how dangerous the Edo Tensei truly is.