The thick talisman in Sasori's hand was the trump card Jing Xiu had left him when he invaded Iwagakure.
After years of refinement, the talisman's power was no longer remotely comparable to what it had once been.
"On Yomi's far shore, the path of living souls."
"In my name, awaken the will to fight."
"Bind spirits here, gather shinobi souls."
"Three thousand heroic souls, heed my summons."
"Cross life and death, break eternal slumber."
"Stupa Ghost Army, release the seal!"
"By my talisman's command, all souls take your places."
"Become an army and fight for me."
As Sasori chanted an incantation they had never heard before, pale blue figures slowly emerged from the thick talisman.
"Is this some kind of ritual?"
Uchiha Itachi tentatively asked Hidan.
Hidan, who usually tended to neglect his duties, grew solemn at this moment.
"I can feel death calling!"
Black Zetsu grew somewhat flustered and shouted outright, "Stop him!"
Just as they were about to act, a chilling aura enveloped the surroundings.
Uchiha Itachi tentatively spat out a Great Fireball Technique, but when the fireball collided with that chilling aura...
Like ice and snow dropped into hot water, it melted away without a sound.
Though the members of the Akatsuki were eager to interrupt Sasori, the sight left them no choice but to gather their strength and wait for his ritual to finish.
Among the Akatsuki's seven members, Uchiha Itachi, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Deidara all came from the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
The three found quite a few of the pale blue figures familiar.
Kisame Hoshigaki stared at several of them in disbelief. "These... could they be the previous generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?!"
"Suikazan Fuguki, Jūzō Biwa, Kushimaru Kuriarare, Jinin Akebino, Munashi Jinpachi, Raiga Kurosuki!"
Uchiha Itachi also spoke in