Naruto Shippuuden Episode 265

[DarthEnderX]

If you reckon the sacrifice has got nothing to do with powering the zombies, then why have the sacrifices in the first place?

To make them, you know, not dead? To let them do things a corpse normally can't do regardless of their chakra. Like...move...or talk.

The very fact it does require somebody to sacrifice tells me that's where the power is drawn.

I don't think the mere existence of sacrifices is sufficient to draw that conclusion. As it still doesn't explain how the zombies have the chakra to use techniques their sacrifices shouldn't even have the chakra to cast even once.

[David75]

Pure guess:
The technique uses the sacrifice chakra, all of it. Hence the sacrifice.
Chakra is needed for the body to function, all organs need it.
Sassori rid himself of all organs and body parts just to keep a core, in order to free chakra lines to be able to control more puppets.
So the guess is that everyone -excep jinchuriki- has more or less the same chakra potential. The difference is in how much is free to use techniques and how training enables you to free a little more chakra.
Endo tensei probably accesses all of the chakra in the scarifices body, stopping all body functions at some point.

[Kraco]

Yeah, that's my point as well. If it was possible to use ten years worth of chakra in ten days (even though the last traces of life would be extinguished after those ten days), anybody could perform ninjutsu miracles. I think that's the whole point of human sacrifices in magic in general, as long as they aren't merely meant to be eaten by some demon...

[DarthEnderX]

I guess that would also be in keeping with the explanation of the 8 Chakra gates. Where by opening all 8, you become as strong as a Kage, but then die afterwards.