Chapter 549: Naruto's Extra: Pure Power, Sage Mode Plus Sun Breathing Chakra Mode!
Naruto appeared above the massive crater, standing atop Gamabunta of Mount Myōboku.
Because the Deva Path had just used Almighty Push to destroy Konoha, huge amounts of dust and debris still hung over the village, shrouding everything in a haze.
And because he had been summoned directly into the center of that enormous pit from Mount Myōboku, Naruto did not immediately realize where he was.
Only after part of the dust gradually cleared, revealing the Hokage Rock on the cliff face, and after he sensed those familiar chakra signatures, did Naruto finally understand.
This was Konoha.
A destroyed Konoha.
Naruto said nothing, but rage slowly flooded his eyes.
Noticing Naruto's appearance in Konoha, Nagato, who had been preparing to leave, immediately controlled the Deva Path to descend near him.
At the same time, after the Naraka Path repaired the damaged Paths, the Animal Path was thrown back into Konoha.
While still in midair, the Animal Path formed a hand seal and used the Summoning Technique.
In the next instant, five Paths landed beside the Deva Path.
The Six Paths of Pain had been reassembled.
"Six of them," Fukasaku said gravely.
He had fought against the Paths before and knew just how terrifying they became when acting together.
"Unforgivable… to destroy Konoha to this extent…"
Tsunade climbed out from the rubble, gritting her teeth as she staggered toward Pain.
The hatred burning in her heart, along with the responsibility she bore as the Fifth Hokage, made her forget that she no longer had the chakra to keep fighting. Even so, she still wanted to attack.
Nagato's target was Naruto, but Tsunade's earlier words had truly enraged him, so he did not mind sending her to her death along the way.
Under Nagato's control, the Asura Path moved to intercept Tsunade.
Whoosh!
Bang!!
Naruto erupted with Sage Chakra, pushed his Yang Release Breathing to the limit, flashed above the Asura Path with Body Flicker, and smashed it apart with a Rasengan.
"Granny, just rest. Leave this to me. The Hokage and the others don't need to move for something like the Akatsuki."
Naruto spoke with his back to Tsunade.
Of course, that was the polite way of saying it for her sake. In truth, his perception had already told him that Tsunade's chakra was nearly exhausted.
"Gamaken, take Granny somewhere safe."
Naruto thought for a moment, still worried about her, and decided to have Gamaken protect her.
After all, with Gamaken's current strength, he would not be able to influence the battle much anyway.
Tsunade, however, pulled out a fragment of Katsuyu and had it pass along all the intelligence she had gathered to Naruto.
At the end, Naruto still could not stop himself from asking, "Is Kakashi-sensei out on a mission?"
Enhanced by Sage Mode, Naruto's senses now covered nearly all of Konoha.
He could feel many familiar chakra signatures, including Sakura, Shikamaru, and Hinata. Most of them were in terrible condition.
Tsunade lowered her eyes and remained silent.
Silence, in itself, was already an answer.
"I see… I get it."
Naruto lowered his head slightly.
The truth was, he had already guessed the answer from the beginning. He just had not dared to think it through. He had not wanted to.
Then Naruto lifted his gaze toward the Six Paths with a cold expression.
Since he was little, he had never felt killing intent toward anyone like this before.
He had killed Ero-sennin, destroyed Konoha, and now Kakashi-sensei was gone too.
Nagato was no longer merely trampling his bottom line. He was flooring the pedal while standing right on top of it.
"Summoning Technique!"
The Animal Path slammed a hand to the ground and summoned a gigantic rhinoceros, which charged straight at Naruto.
Naruto did not dodge.
He stood calmly in place, gathering chakra into his right hand while also focusing the power of his breathing into it.
The moment the rhinoceros closed in, Naruto swung his hand.
Compared to the enormous charging beast, Naruto looked like an ant trying to stop a chariot with his bare arm.
But in the next moment, no one present would think that again.
"Leaf Hand Blade!"
Bang!!
Naruto's palm struck the rhinoceros with overwhelming force.
The giant beast was blasted backward like a cannonball. Before it could even hit the ground, it dispersed into white smoke, unable to withstand Naruto's power.
Naruto had studied under Mugetsu for a month.
Yang Release Breathing was the greatest thing he had learned, but it was far from the only thing.
Chakra control, all kinds of taijutsu fundamentals, Wind Release Nature Transformation, Yang Release Nature Transformation…
Combined with Mugetsu's vast knowledge and teaching skill, plus Naruto's unique Shadow Clone training method, all of it produced an incredible chain reaction and gave Naruto gains that should have been impossible in only one month.
Though it might have sounded unfair to Jiraiya and Kakashi, Naruto had to admit something.
When it came to teaching, Mugetsu could easily beat all of his teachers put together.
"With this kind of strength, if the Deva Path's power still hasn't recovered, then he's no match," Nagato judged silently as he moved the Deva Path behind the remaining Paths.
The Deva Path was by far the strongest among them, far above the others.
Naruto's display had not only surprised Nagato. It had also shocked all the Konoha shinobi watching the battle.
"Naruto is actually this strong?!" Sakura's eyes widened.
She had not expected Naruto to destroy one Path in a single strike, then erase an enormous summon with nothing more than a hand blade.
Hinata, watching with her Byakugan, felt some of the pressure in her heart ease slightly.
"Naruto-kun… you can do it!"
She cheered for him silently in her heart, while at the same time searching for a good position where she could support him if necessary.
Boom! Boom!
The Animal Path quickly formed another seal and summoned three more giant beasts.
But this time, the toads of Mount Myōboku moved.
Naruto was not fighting alone.
Besides Fukasaku and Shima, Gamabunta, Gamaken, and Gamahiro had also come to Konoha with him.
The three great toads attacked together and instantly pinned down the Animal Path's summons.
"The one at the very front can absorb all ninjutsu. The one standing behind him can use the technique that repels everything, but there's a five-second interval between uses. Also, all of their vision is linked."
Katsuyu relayed all the information she had gathered in one breath.
"In that case, I need to take out the one that can revive the others first."
Naruto instantly chose his primary target.
The Path that could repel everything was obviously troublesome, but if he failed to eliminate the Naraka Path first, any Path he defeated could simply be brought back.
Bang!
Naruto first threw out a specially made smoke bomb, then formed a seal for the Shadow Clone Technique.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A final volley of shuriken flew toward the Six Paths.
But against enemies who shared vision, straightforward projectile attacks like that were easy to evade.
The next second, three Narutos holding Rasengan burst out of the smoke and charged at the Paths.
The Preta Path stepped forward with a cold expression and activated its absorption barrier.
The three Rasengan struck the Preta Path one after another, yet had absolutely no effect.
Then, taking advantage of the opening, the remaining Paths moved to strike.
But what happened next took Nagato by surprise.
All three Narutos dissolved into white smoke.
They were all Shadow Clones.
"The real attack is here. Sage Art: Rasengan!"
A kunai lying near the Naraka Path suddenly transformed into Naruto, who slammed a Rasengan infused with Sage Chakra directly into the Naraka Path's body.
Bang!
The Naraka Path's eyes widened, then its body fell limp to the ground.
Naruto stood beside its corpse and coldly faced the remaining four Paths.
"Uzumaki Naruto… you've grown much stronger after becoming a Sage, just like Jiraiya-sensei," the Deva Path said with a trace of emotion.
At the same time, Nagato's true body far away forced more chakra into the remaining Paths, desperately accelerating the recovery of the Deva Path.
"Shouldn't we retreat?" Konan asked from Nagato's side, unable to hold back any longer. "You've already consumed too much chakra."
Nagato had already forced the Six Paths to fight many Konoha shinobi, and then overextended himself further to use Almighty Push and destroy the village. His current condition was already terrible.
"No. If we leave this time, finding Uzumaki Naruto again later will be extremely difficult."
Nagato rejected Konan's suggestion immediately.
The Akatsuki had already gathered the One Tail through the Eight Tails. Only the Nine Tails remained before he could complete the peace he sought.
How could he back down now?
"For the sake of peace, even temporary peace, sacrificing some lifespan is worth it."
Nagato poured everything he had left into the remaining four Paths and launched another attack.
The Preta Path and Human Path burst forward together.
"Jiraiya-sensei?"
Naruto's brows furrowed. He had no idea what the leader of the Akatsuki was trying to say anymore.
"I was about to deal with you anyway. Coming to me yourself just saves time."
This was a battle. Naruto didn't let himself think too much. He immediately turned his focus back to the fight.
He ignored the Human Path for the moment and prepared to deal with the Preta Path first.
Though the Human Path's ability to tear out souls was terrifying, Naruto was in Sage Mode and was also bolstered by Yang Release Breathing. He was confident that it would not be able to get close.
At the same time, the Deva Path and the Animal Path did not advance, instead using their shared vision to support from the rear.
As soon as the Preta Path approached, it activated its absorption barrier again.
Nagato's plan was simple.
The Preta Path would neutralize Naruto's ninjutsu, and the Human Path would then move in and kill him instantly.
But Naruto, after one month of training in Rōran and a week on Mount Myōboku, was far beyond what the Akatsuki's intelligence suggested.
"Frog Kata!"
Naruto gathered natural energy around his body, pushed Yang Release Breathing to the limit, and then threw a fierce palm strike at the approaching Preta Path.
Something unbelievable happened.
Naruto's palm never actually touched the Preta Path.
Bang!!
And yet the Preta Path was still blown away.
Whoosh!
"Leaf Hand Blade!"
Naruto immediately flashed to the left, dodging the Human Path's grasping hand, and at the same time fired a transparent blast of force at the Preta Path to follow up.
That attack, like Morning Tiger, contained no chakra. The Preta Path had no way to absorb it.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
After widening the gap from the Human Path, Naruto formed a seal and created a Shadow Clone.
This clone was not for direct combat. It was there to help him prepare Rasenshuriken.
Buzz. Buzz.
The piercing rotational howl of the chakra shuriken instantly drew everyone's attention.
"Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"
Instead of throwing it at the closer Human Path, Naruto hurled it at the distant Deva Path.
Even though he still didn't understand why the Deva Path was not using attraction or repulsion more aggressively, based on the information he had, that Path remained the most troublesome one and needed to be taken down as soon as possible.
Because the Deva Path was still close to full recovery, Nagato made his move without hesitation.
He used the Human Path as a shield and forced it directly into the trajectory of the Sage Art: Rasenshuriken.
Rumble!!
A blinding white explosion swallowed the Human Path, shredding both its body and the ground around it.
"Only two left."
Naruto let out a slight breath as he observed the battlefield.
Because the toads had not known the Split Dog's special property, they had accidentally allowed it to multiply, and the Animal Path was still summoning more beasts.
At the moment, Gamabunta and the others were fully occupied with the Animal Path's summons.
Nagato's assessment was correct.
Naruto's Sage Chakra was indeed almost depleted by now. Even if he wanted to take out the remaining two Paths immediately, his body could no longer sustain that level of output.
"Summoning Technique!"
The Animal Path summoned a giant bird and sent it straight at Naruto.
Knowing he had little Sage Chakra left, Naruto did not take the attack head on. He burst backward with Body Flicker and narrowly evaded it.
The Paths were still sharing vision, and all of them saw the same thing.
Naruto had slowed down.
"Has his Sage Chakra finally run out? Then even if the outcome was already inevitable, now it's just become easier," Nagato thought coldly.
The Deva Path, now regaining power, slowly walked toward Naruto.
Under Nagato's desperate drain of his own life force, its abilities were recovering even faster than before.
If Naruto faced the Deva Path without Sage Mode, there was no chance he could compete with it.
"There's still a little left… but this isn't the time to be stingy."
Naruto immediately pulled out the large scroll strapped to his back, preparing to summon the Shadow Clone he had left on Mount Myōboku to gather natural energy.
As long as he canceled the clone, the natural energy inside it would flow back into him, restoring his Sage Mode completely.
He had prepared two such clones. Judging from the battle so far, they should have been enough.
"Bansho Tenin!"
The moment the Deva Path's power fully returned, it acted.
But instead of targeting Naruto, it used the attraction technique on Fukasaku, who had been gathering Sage Chakra and preparing Frog Song.
Frog Song was an incredibly dangerous Sage Art Genjutsu. Even with both Fukasaku and Shima working together, it required time to set up.
Fukasaku had seen Naruto tear through four Paths so fiercely that he had tried to accumulate power in secret so he and Shima could end the fight in one move.
He never expected Pain to target him instead.
His small body was yanked forward at incredible speed, hurtling straight toward the black rod in the Deva Path's hand.
"Grandpa!"
Shima cried out in alarm, but she had no way to stop it.
"Boss!"
Gamabunta, still tangled up with the Split Dog, burned with rage and wished he could charge in and cleave the Deva Path in half himself.
Whoosh!
At the critical moment, Naruto gave up on summoning the clone.
Instead, he used all his remaining Sage Chakra, stacked Yang Release Breathing on top of it, and pushed Body Flicker and Shave to their absolute limit.
"Stay away from my Grandpa Sage!"
Naruto appeared in front of the Deva Path almost instantly and threw a punch.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The Deva Path abandoned its attempt to kill Fukasaku and instead released Shinra Tensei, blasting both Naruto and Fukasaku backward.
Bang! Bang!
The two of them crashed hard into the ground.
Naruto's Sage Chakra finally ran dry, forcing him out of Sage Mode.
Fukasaku ignored his own injuries and immediately began frantically signaling to Shima with his eyes, telling her to activate the summoning scroll and bring back Naruto's reserve Shadow Clone.
At this point, Naruto was the strongest fighter on the field. If he could not reenter Sage Mode, then they had no chance of defeating Pain.
Shima herself was not the one who had come up with Naruto's Shadow Clone refill plan, so she did not know the full details. But after years together, she understood Fukasaku's intent immediately.
She moved in secret toward the summoning scroll.
But just as she reached it, a giant invisible lizard suddenly appeared behind her and whipped her away with its tail.
"Damn it. That invisible lizard again."
Shima's face twisted in anger.
After stopping her, the lizard scooped up the scroll and placed it near the Deva Path before returning to aid the Animal Path's summons.
Now completely out of Sage Mode, Naruto quickly shifted his breathing and used Yang Release Breathing to draw in natural energy and strengthen his body.
It was nowhere near as strong as Sage Mode, but at least it was enough to let him keep up with the Deva Path in close combat.
The real problem was Fukasaku.
Naruto in this state, while also trying to protect an injured elder, was immediately placed under terrible pressure against the Deva Path supported by the Animal Path.
"Bansho Tenin!"
A massive force of attraction erupted again.
Naruto used the last of his strength to shove Fukasaku away. Then his own body was pulled helplessly toward the Deva Path.
Pfft!
The Animal Path stepped in with perfect timing and drove a black rod into Naruto's body as he was dragged forward, carefully avoiding his vital points.
Naruto's chakra instantly became tangled and chaotic, making it almost impossible for him to properly gather power and reinforce his body.
Bang!
The Deva Path grabbed Naruto by the throat and smashed him to the ground. Then, with a reverse grip, it stabbed another black rod through Naruto's palm and pinned him to the earth, worsening the interference in his chakra network.
"This should calm you down a little."
"Damn it!"
Even with his chakra disrupted and one arm nailed to the ground, Naruto still refused to stop fighting. He tried to kick upward at Pain.
Pfft! Pfft!
Two more black rods pierced through his legs.
To Nagato, as long as Naruto stayed alive, it did not matter how broken the body became.
After all, what he truly needed was the Nine Tails inside him, not Naruto himself.
"Bastard! Let go of that kid!"
The toads of Mount Myōboku ignored the Split Dog's bites and charged recklessly at the Deva Path.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
Gamabunta and the other great toads were hurled out of Konoha entirely.
One crashed into the side of a mountain.
Another was blasted into a lake.
All of them were severely injured.
"This is bad. I've become little Naruto's weakness."
Cold sweat trickled down Fukasaku's face.
Naruto had truly given everything he had. In the end, the ones holding him back were them, the sages.
"Why did you bring up Jiraiya-sensei? What exactly are you trying to do?!"
Pinned to the ground, Naruto glared up at the Deva Path.
Even if he died here, he refused to die without knowing the truth.
"It's simple," Nagato replied through the Deva Path. "Because I also learned ninjutsu from Jiraiya-sensei. In terms of seniority, I'm even your senior disciple."
"As for what I want… in short, I want to create peace. I want to bring justice to the world."
"To complete the work Jiraiya-sensei left unfinished."
Naruto stared at the Deva Path, unable to believe what he was hearing.
Creating peace? Justice?
This was the man who had killed Ero-sennin, destroyed Konoha, and just murdered Kakashi-sensei.
Nagato then spoke at length about Konoha's wars, and about how those wars had turned countless children in Amegakure into orphans.
Naruto fell silent.
Born in peacetime, he had never truly imagined that Konoha, the village he wanted to protect, had such a past.
Then Nagato spoke of gathering the Tailed Beasts to create an ultimate weapon.
He would use overwhelming destruction and fear to force the world into peace.
That was when Naruto finally spoke again.
He still did not know how to create a world where everyone could truly understand one another, but he knew one thing with absolute certainty.
The "peace" Nagato described, a peace built on death, pain, and terror, was not peace at all.
In the end, neither side could persuade the other.
While Naruto and Nagato argued, Fukasaku and Shima attempted several times to interfere with the Deva Path, but they remained tied down by the Animal Path and its summons.
Meanwhile, Hinata, though far weaker in direct combat, possessed the Byakugan.
Using it, she quietly crept closer.
Instead of attacking the Deva Path immediately, she seized the summoning scroll from where it lay and flung it toward the two sages.
She didn't know exactly what it was, but from everything she had seen before, she understood one thing.
That scroll could help Naruto.
The instant after throwing it, Hinata gathered chakra and charged the Deva Path herself, hoping to delay him.
"Naruto, don't worry about me," she whispered in her heart.
"Naruto-kun!"
"Hinata?! What are you doing here?! Get away! You're no match for him!"
Naruto's face was filled with panic.
If even he was pinned like this, then what could Hinata possibly do alone?
"Shinra Tensei!"
Nagato did not even bother to deal with the scroll. With Naruto's chakra already sealed, the scroll no longer mattered.
Instead, he used Shinra Tensei and blasted Hinata away.
Bang!!
She crashed into the ground and blood immediately spilled from the corner of her mouth.
"Damn it! Why did you come here?!"
Naruto struggled wildly against the black rods, desperately trying to force strength into his body. It was useless.
At that moment, a realization came over the Deva Path.
It had sensed the reactions between the two of them.
"It seems the two of you are very close. Perhaps if you see someone precious to you die before your eyes, you'll understand my words better."
The Deva Path walked toward Hinata, black rod in hand.
Nagato had become who he was because he had twice experienced exactly that.
First, his parents had been murdered by Konoha shinobi.
Then later, someone who was not his blood family but had become family to him, Yahiko, died before him too.
Nagato believed that killing Hinata in front of Naruto would make Naruto understand more deeply.
In the final moment of her life, Hinata did not cry.
Instead, she smiled.
"Because… because I… love you, Naruto."
"Before, I always cried. I always gave up. But it was your smile that changed me…"
She had never seen anyone like Naruto before.
Even though they were the same age, even though Naruto himself had lived such a painful life, he still always smiled. He still always reached out to people weaker than him.
"The only thing I regret… is that I never got to walk beside you."
To Hinata, Naruto had always been like the dazzling sun in the sky.
She had wanted to get closer to him countless times, but in the end, her own timid nature had always made her retreat, burned back by that brilliant warmth.
"I love you most, Naruto."
Facing the black rod descending toward her, Hinata closed her eyes and spoke her final confession and farewell.
"Pain!"
At that moment, Naruto understood true pain.
It was not the pain of black rods piercing his limbs.
It was not physical agony.
It was the pain of Kakashi's death.
The pain of Konoha's destruction.
The pain of Gamabunta and the others being grievously wounded.
The pain of seeing so many villagers collapsed and broken.
And now, even the girl who had confessed to him was about to die in front of him.
The pain in Naruto's heart reached its absolute peak.
At that same instant, his breathing also shattered through the final barrier, breaking through the wall he had never crossed during training on Mount Myōboku.
The Nine Tails immediately tried to send its chakra to tempt Naruto into losing control.
But in the next moment, it realized something was wrong.
Naruto's consciousness was perfectly clear.
The Nine Tails instantly withdrew.
"Hm?"
Just as the Deva Path moved to kill Hinata, Nagato suddenly heard the sound of something cutting through the air.
He immediately forced the Deva Path to retreat.
Whoosh!
A black rod stained with blood shot past the place where the Deva Path had just been.
Naruto had stood up.
Even with his chakra sealed, even with the rods still embedded in him, he had forced himself back onto his feet.
And his aura had changed completely.
"I knew it. The secret technique Brother Mugetsu taught me had to be powerful."
Naruto calmly pulled the black rods out of his body one by one.
The wounds in his flesh healed almost instantly, as though they had never existed.
At that moment, Naruto had entered Yang Release Breathing Chakra Mode.
He could now freely control the chakra in his body and transform it into Yang Release chakra, unleashing various Yang Release effects at will.
"Little Naruto, hurry and dispel the Shadow Clone!"
Fukasaku finally broke through the Animal Path's interference, retrieved the summoning scroll, and called back one of Naruto's reserve clones.
Naruto formed a seal.
The clone dispersed.
A large flood of natural energy rushed into his body, which he immediately refined into Sage Chakra.
In the blink of an eye, he had entered Sage Mode again.
"As expected. As long as I don't use the Breathing Technique itself to absorb natural energy, Yang Release Breathing Chakra Mode can stack with Sage Mode!"
Naruto silently thanked Mugetsu in his heart.
Now the roles were reversed.
Since Hinata was still on the field, Naruto first sent a Shadow Clone to get her to safety.
He would not allow her to be hurt again.
Nagato no longer wasted time on words.
He immediately directed the remaining Paths to attack with everything they had.
At the same time, Naruto's expression hardened as the battle entered its final stage.
The rest of the fight unfolded with unstoppable speed.
The toads pinned down the giant summons.
Naruto tore through the remaining Pain bodies with overwhelming force, switching between Sage techniques, taijutsu, and Yang Release enhancements with frightening precision.
Even when the Deva Path finally forced him into Chibaku Tensei, Naruto broke through the technique after receiving guidance from the sealed chakra Mugetsu had once left inside him, and after speaking once more with both Mugetsu and Minato within his consciousness.
Armed with the truth, Naruto located Nagato's real body.
What exactly Naruto and Nagato said to each other there, no one besides the two of them and Konan ever truly knew.
But for Konoha, the result was the best one imaginable.
All those who had died in the battle were revived.
The only loss left behind was the destruction of the village itself.
"Wood Release: Four Pillar House Technique!"
Yamato rapidly formed hand seals, and a row of houses rose from the earth.
Cheers immediately erupted from the shinobi and civilians around him.
Because he had been outside the village when Pain attacked, Yamato had been unable to help Naruto during the battle itself.
Naruto watched the busy reconstruction and felt the weight in his heart finally lighten, if only a little.
But then information arrived that instantly made it impossible for him to stay calm.
"Danzo Shimura has become the Sixth Hokage," someone reported, voice tense, "and he has already given the order to execute Sasuke!"
Naruto's expression froze.
The peace he had just fought so hard to preserve shattered all over again.
[Naruto Gaiden: Nagato's Attack on Konoha Arc — End]
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