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Hinata watched as Naruto fought desperately against Pain, her beautiful face clouded with worry.
"Naruto…" she whispered.
"He's fighting all by himself!"
Without another thought, Hinata dashed toward the battlefield.
The branch members of the Hyūga clan immediately called after her:"Lady Hinata, you can't!"
Hinata spun around, her long dark hair flying. "But Naruto is fighting for the village!"
"That may be true," one of them pleaded, "but if you throw yourself into that battle, you'll only hold him back. You'll distract him!"
Their words struck her hard. Hinata bit her lip until it almost bled, her fists trembling as she shouted, "Naruto!!!"
Naruto glared at Pain. "Damn it… even the old sages couldn't—"
"Quick, use the genjutsu!" Fukasaku urged Shima.
Shima huffed, embarrassed. "You really want us to sing in front of everyone? That's so humiliating!"
"Cut the chatter! Do it already!"
"But that illusion needs a huge amount of senjutsu chakra," she reminded him.
"Which means it'll take time to prepare!" Naruto cut in, determination blazing in his eyes. "Then I'll cover you. I'll aim for that five-second window!"
Fukasaku frowned deeply. "But Naruto-boy is still gathering natural energy himself. He's only got one shadow clone left—and if that goes, he won't be able to gather chakra while fighting. Sage Mode won't even last five minutes at this rate."
Shima nodded slowly. "Even so, having a clone sit still to gather chakra was clever."
"Why not just make more?" she asked.
Fukasaku shook his head. "It's like trying to look left and right at the same time. Training senjutsu isn't simple—two clones is already his limit. And if too many clones are used in battle, the ones gathering chakra will lose focus. The balance will collapse."
"I see… so dragging this out is dangerous either way," Shima muttered.
Naruto straightened, locking eyes with the remaining Pains.
The Deva Path sneered. "Impressive. You're the first to push me this far. But this is the end… Universal Pull!"
A crushing force yanked Naruto helplessly forward. The Preta Path lunged and seized him in a crushing grip.
"It's over!"
The Deva Path stood over him like a judge delivering sentence.
Nearby, Fukasaku and Shima clasped their hands together, gathering natural energy."Sorry, Naruto-boy… just hang on a little longer!"
Hinata's heart clenched at the sight. "Naruto!"
"Relax," the Deva Path said coldly. "I won't kill you. Not yet. You're far too important as a jinchūriki."
Naruto smirked despite his position. "Hah. You think this hurts? Don't underestimate Sage Mode." He gritted his teeth. "Now it's my turn!"
But then an ominous sensation crept over him—his chakra draining away.
"This guy… he's absorbing my senjutsu chakra?"
His body sagged, the orange pigment around his eyes fading. He stopped struggling entirely, looking almost defeated.
"The Nine-Tails is captured," Deva Path declared.
Fukasaku's heart pounded as he channeled chakra. Just a little longer, Naruto-boy…!
But Naruto's eyes suddenly snapped open. "No… not yet. It's not over!"
He felt the strange flow from the Preta Path. So that's it… he's drawing in my chakra. Then maybe… being still is perfect for this.
Closing his eyes, Naruto began pulling in natural energy on his own.
The Deva Path smirked. "Have you given up already?"
But in that instant, the Preta Path convulsed. The overwhelming senjutsu energy he'd absorbed burst out of control. His body swelled grotesquely, his limbs twisting.
"Senjutsu chakra… it's impossible to control!" he croaked—before his skin hardened, his body petrifying into the grotesque form of a stone toad.
Fukasaku's eyes widened. "He absorbed too much natural energy from Naruto! He's turned into a stone frog!"
With a roar, Naruto wrenched himself free, shattering the petrified arms that held him. Only the Deva Path remained.
Meanwhile…
On the road to Konoha, Jiraiya saw the monstrous, frog-like corpse collapse. A proud smile spread across his face.
"Naruto… you've really grown. To control senjutsu chakra so perfectly…"
He remembered his own training, the countless failures that ended in petrification. Even he couldn't fully master Sage Mode without his body changing.
"Senjutsu is powerful, but dangerous. That fool of a Pain never stood a chance. Absorbing natural energy without training is suicide," he muttered.
Back in Konoha, Tsunade stared at Naruto's silhouette in awe. "That brat… has he really mastered Mount Myōboku's sage arts? Incredible…" She, as a sage herself, understood just how impossible that was for most shinobi.
Far away in Amegakure, Nagato sat inside his tower."The Nine-Tails' host is this strong? He's destroyed five of the Six Paths already… I'll have to keep an eye on this Uzumaki Naruto."
Konan joined him quietly. "So that's Jiraiya-sensei's student… no wonder. I've never seen anyone stand against the Six Paths like this."
Back in the battle—
The Deva Path studied the crumbling Preta Path. "So senjutsu chakra carries that kind of risk."
Naruto raised his head. "Which means… you're the only one left!"
"Not quite," Deva Path replied calmly.
Slug Katsuyu spoke up from the sidelines: "Naruto, those bodies are just puppets. Someone else is controlling them from afar. The true enemy is still hidden."
Fukasaku and Shima's chakra surged like a storm.
"Alright, we're ready!" Fukasaku shouted. "Let's go, dear!"
"Right!" Shima answered.
Deva Path immediately took notice, raising his hand."Universal Pull!"
The crushing force ripped Fukasaku into the air.
"Dear!" Shima screamed."Grandpa Sage!" Naruto cried, sprinting toward Pain.
Time itself seemed to slow.
"I'm done with your illusions," Deva Path muttered. A black rod extended from his hand, piercing straight through Fukasaku's chest.
Blood sprayed.
"Dear!!!" Shima wailed, tears streaming down her face.
Naruto froze in horror. "You bastard!!!" He hurled a punch at Deva Path.
But Pain swung Fukasaku's limp body like a weapon, smashing it into Naruto.
Naruto caught the dying sage in his arms, his face pale with disbelief.
"Universal Pull!"
The force yanked him helplessly into Pain's grip. Pain slammed him into the ground, rubble exploding around them.
Fukasaku's lifeless body was flung aside like a rag doll.
Before Naruto could recover, black rods speared through his hands. His scream tore across the battlefield as his palms were nailed to the earth.
"..."
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