Nagato stamped lightly; strange Chakra rippled through the ground and ejected the Nara from the shadow, his face filled with dread.
"What jutsu is this? Why did my Shadow Possession fail?"
Nagato had no intention of explaining. With a casual push, he unleashed another burst of repulsive force.
Unlike the earlier wall-like shockwave, this one was compressed into a network of razor-thin lines that surged forward like a laser grid.
Such a field was far less impervious than a full Shinra Tensei, but its compressed strands were as keen as legendary blades, slicing and killing with far greater offensive power.
Ino–Shika–Chō had struck first, but dozens more Ninja charged behind them, only to witness the trio's instant collapse.
More cautious now, the Konoha Ninja hurled Kunai, shuriken, and assorted jutsu. Yet the variant Shinra Tensei shredded most weapons and techniques; the few fire or lightning jutsu that slipped through were brushed aside by Nagato.
Their assault achieved little, while Nagato's counterattack in the next instant tore most of his foes to pieces.
Amid shrill screams, clouds of bloody mist rose; the invisible, lightning-fast, blade-thin repulsive field carved the charging Ninja into seven or eight sections apiece.
Even the original Ino–Shika–Chō fared no better: apart from the Nara who dove once more into shadow, the other two were reduced to scattered chunks of flesh.
"You... you monster! You devil! How could you kill so many people!"
When the last Nara Ninja emerged from the shadows and surveyed the devastation—the comrades lying dead around him—his eyes filled with dread and hatred.
Yet, for all his fury, the sight of Nagato walking slowly toward him made the Nara Ninja instinctively step back.
Nagato sneered. "Survival of the fittest. Ninja are nothing but executioners who steal lives; whichever side dies has no right to complain."
"Had your strength surpassed mine and you killed me, I would have no grievance."
The words had scarcely left his mouth when Nagato reached out and brushed the Nara clansman's head, activating a soul-scouring power. The Nara's eyes rolled back and he slumped lifeless.
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... found!"
Smiling, Nagato rose into the air on a current of gravity and shot toward the Jinchuriki's location.
Only four or five years old, Uzumaki Naruto was being carried by several Anbu toward the Hokage Rock, where Konoha's shelters lay.
Unlike the communal bunkers, Naruto would be placed in a high-grade private shelter: partly to protect the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, partly to prevent him from rampaging through the crowd if frightened.
"Where are we going, masked-Ninja-uncle?" Naruto asked, peering around from an Anbu's back.
"To shelter." The Anbu spared only three words.
"But... I don't need so many of you to protect me. Aren't you supposed to fight the enemy?"
Young and brash he might be, yet hardship had sharpened Naruto's wits. He voiced the doubt aloud.
"Protecting you is our mission," the Anbu replied flatly, quickening his pace—spurring Naruto's suspicion further.
Before he could ask more, a figure dropped from the sky. The dreadful pressure made the Anbu's skin crawl; without hesitation they struck.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone!"
"Fire Release—Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
"Wind Release—Thousand-Blade Slice!"
A storm of shuriken, flame, and whirlwind wind surged toward the descending Nagato. He gave a cold laugh and raised his hand: "Shinra Tensei!"
Every attack rebounded. Screams rang out as, save the Anbu carrying Naruto, the rest were incinerated by their own jutsu.
"Banshō Ten'in!" Nagato thrust out his palm. Naruto felt a mighty pull, then tumbled helplessly through the air into Nagato's grasp.
"No!" The Anbu spun, seeing his charge gone, and drew his long blade. "Let Naruto go!"
He leapt, sword cleaving down: "Moon-Slit Dance!"
His form split into three, then merged again; the illusory edge flashed toward Nagato's skull.
"Did I land it?" Feeling the blade connect, the Anbu's eyes widened in shock.
"Clearly, that was only your imagination."
A calm voice revealed the truth: the sword had stopped mere centimeters from Nagato's forehead, halted by an invisible armor of Chakra.
Yang Release grants life, Yin Release grants form; the Rinnegan is the apex of Yin-Yang Release. Infused with Uchiha genes, Nagato could manifest Susanoo.
Once, lacking Chakra and barely able to wield the Rinnegan, he had left its depths untapped. Now, after Vegapunk's modifications and a cerebral chip, he could draw out its full power.
His combat style ill-suited the colossal Susanoo, so he reshaped it into a flexible armor that cloaked his body for defense alone.
"Is this... the Cloud's newest Chakra armor?"
The Anbu's face showed bewilderment, but Nagato offered no explanation—merely extended a hand.
Realizing the fate of his comrades, the Anbu sprang back. Nagato, however, released no Shinra Tensei; instead a vast Chakra dragon surged from his palm and swept through him.
The Anbu opened his mouth to speak, but the dragon coiled back into Nagato, draining every trace of Chakra and soul, leaving a hollow husk.
"What are you doing, villain?" Little Naruto, clutched in Nagato's hand, knew only that this man had slain Konoha's protectors. He swung tiny fists—harmless as feathers.
Unlike Kakashi, the four-year-old had never refined Chakra; his strength was truly that of a toddler.
As Nagato lifted a hand toward Naruto's head, a roar split the sky.
"Young man, remove your hand!"
A colossal adamantine staff plummeted. Nagato caught it bare-handed just above his crown, then activated the Preta Path, sapping its Chakra.
A scream echoed; the staff vanished in a puff of smoke.
"What..." The Third Hokage hovered overhead, face grave. "Enma's been injured?"
Though the staff, forged from the monkey Enma, was harder than Chakra steel, it was still a living construct of Chakra. Against Nagato's power to absorb Chakra and soul, it fell in an instant.
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