In a dense forest on Konoha's outskirts, Fujimoto Tōma's true body leaned against a massive tree, eyes closed, quietly training.
Since hearing from Nara Shikaku that Akatsuki had made their move on the Eight-Tails, Tōma had relocated here. In truth, it didn't matter where he trained anymore. His large-scale, destructive techniques were already complete. What remained was a far more delicate task: attempting to fuse the three Sage Modes.
A gentle breeze brushed past his face. The sky was clear, the forest lush, the temperature just right.
A rare, perfect day.
Tōma smiled faintly.
Looks like he wasn't the only one who thought so.
They were finally here. Akatsuki… or more precisely—
The Six Paths of Pain.
Inside the Hokage's Office, Tōma's spirit clone lifted its head, eyes narrowing as it looked outside.
So it's time.
"Shikaku," Tōma said calmly, "sound the alarm. Activate defensive protocol two. Evacuate civilians, the elderly, the injured, and non-combatants to the shelters immediately."
Shikaku's pupils shrank. "Hokage-sama… is Akatsuki attacking?"
Tōma nodded. "This fight isn't something ordinary shinobi can interfere with. The one coming possesses the Rinnegan."
Shikaku swallowed hard. The legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths…
"I understand. I'll handle it at once."
He rushed out without hesitation.
Tōma set down the documents in his hands and walked to the window. The alarm echoed across Konoha, sharp and urgent. He smiled faintly.
If Pain's trump card were something like a tailed-beast bomb, he could redirect it with Flying Thunder God. But Shinra Tensei was different. That power ignored distance and direction. Even if he suppressed Nagato, the shockwaves alone could devastate the village.
Evacuation was necessary.
Relying on the enemy to revive the dead afterward was laughable. Even if resurrection were possible, death itself was not something people should have to experience.
The best solution was simple: stop them outside the village.
That was exactly what his true body was doing now. Everything else was just insurance.
Tōma glanced over Konoha's buildings. None of this came for free. Letting it all be destroyed would be burning the village's own resources.
Unless…
He chuckled quietly.
Unless Konan somehow delivered Kakuzu's entire savings as compensation.
In that case, leveling Konoha might almost be acceptable. Kakuzu's money could probably rebuild a village from scratch.
Watching civilians efficiently move toward shelters under shinobi guidance, Tōma nodded in approval.
Good discipline.
With that settled, the spirit clone dispersed, returning all memories and awareness to the original body.
Facing Nagato, a man who could have passed for a final boss in any other timeline, Tōma had no intention of being careless. No one knew what other abilities the Rinnegan might still be hiding.
Outside Konoha, seven figures advanced rapidly through the forest.
Suddenly, the one at the center stopped.
"Nagato?" Konan asked quietly.
"Someone is already waiting for us," the Deva Path replied, his Rinnegan fixed on a familiar figure ahead.
Konan wasn't surprised. Akatsuki's movements in the Land of Lightning couldn't stay hidden forever. Once the Eight-Tails was targeted, it was obvious the Nine-Tails would follow.
"What do we do next?" she asked.
"To capture the Nine-Tails, we must first cross the Sixth Hokage," the Deva Path said evenly. "This confrontation simply came sooner than planned."
Konan nodded. There was no turning back now.
"Konan, go to the designated location," the Deva Path continued. "I'll follow shortly."
"Yes."
Her body dissolved into countless sheets of paper, drifting away in another direction.
The Six Paths adjusted their route slightly and pressed forward.
Soon, the lone figure ahead came fully into view.
"Yo. Long time no see," Tōma said, greeting them with a hint of nostalgia.
Once, these were names that filled him with caution. Now, standing alone against them, he felt no pressure at all.
"One against six," he thought lightly. "Still… advantage is on my side."
"Sixth Hokage, Fujimoto Tōma," the Deva Path said calmly. "You know why I'm here. Hand over the Nine-Tails."
"Then you already know the answer," Tōma replied. "That's not happening."
"Very well," the Deva Path said coldly. "Then you will experience pain. With Konoha behind you, can you still escape using Flying Thunder God?"
"Make me feel pain?" Tōma scoffed. "Unfortunately… you're not capable of that."
The Asura Path moved first.
Its arms separated at the joints, opening mechanical compartments as missiles launched in rapid succession toward Tōma.
Tōma didn't even look at them.
The missiles halted midair, frozen as if caught by an invisible hand.
The Deva Path frowned.
The missiles suddenly twisted around and flew back toward the Six Paths, detonating among them in a chain of explosions.
Smoke billowed outward.
Yet when it reached Tōma, it parted smoothly, flowing around him like water around a rock.
When the smoke cleared, the Deva Path saw it clearly.
The Asura Path was being dragged through the air, its body completely out of control, straight into Tōma's grasp.
Tōma seized it by the throat, studying it with mild curiosity.
"Give it up," he said casually. "The moment you replaced your body with metal, you'd already lost."
Magnet Release.
Originally, it wasn't especially powerful. But against puppets, it was absolute. Any construct that relied on metal was helpless.
And the Asura Path was nothing but a living puppet.
With a sharp twist, its body bent unnaturally. Metal screeched. Then it collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
"Magnet Release?" the Deva Path muttered, startled. Intelligence reports had never mentioned Tōma possessing a kekkei genkai.
"Good eye," Tōma replied. "Too late, though."
At that moment, the Animal Path completed its hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
The forest trembled as massive creatures erupted into existence, crushing trees beneath their weight.
A giant crab. A chameleon. A three-headed dog. A colossal bird. A raging bull.
All bore the Rinnegan.
Tōma winced. "Hey, trees take years to grow, you know."
Then he shrugged. "Ah well. Yamato can fix it later."
Biting his finger, Tōma slammed his hand to the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
The forest roared again.
Gamakichi's father, Gamabunta, appeared first, followed by Gamaken and Gamariki. Slugs from Shikkotsu Forest spread across the ground, and from Ryūchi Cave emerged Manda, hissing with hostility.
Tension crackled instantly.
"Enough," Tōma said flatly. "Handle them. Manda, the chameleon's yours. You wouldn't fail, right?"
Manda snarled but turned toward its target, fury redirected.
"Those eyes again… troublesome," Gamabunta muttered. "Gamaken, Gamariki, take the bull and the bird."
Assignments were made in seconds.
The battlefield erupted.
Tōma turned back to the Deva Path. "Anything else? You might want to hurry."
For the first time, the Deva Path hesitated.
Then—
Another presence arrived.
Tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a forehead protector marked with the kanji for oil.
Jiraiya.
"…Sensei," the Deva Path said quietly.
"So it really is you," Jiraiya replied, pain etched into his voice. "Should I call you Yahiko… or Nagato?"
Silence.
"Yahiko and Nagato died long ago," the Deva Path finally said. "What stands before you is Pain, the emissary of a god."
Jiraiya clenched his teeth. "Danzo is dead. Tōma killed him."
"It means nothing," Pain replied. "Peace requires pain. The tailed beasts are necessary."
"Peace doesn't work that way!" Jiraiya protested.
Pain's voice rose. "Only by knowing pain can people understand each other! I will make the world feel pain, and through that, achieve peace!"
Tōma stepped forward. "Sensei, you won't convince him. Leave this to me."
Jiraiya hesitated, anguish written across his face, then slowly stepped back.
Tōma faced the remaining Paths alone once more.
"Whether you're right or wrong," he said calmly, "we'll find out after I beat you… and meet the real you."
The forest shook as the battle truly began.
...
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