Naruto: Drop System

"Prepare to halt the sealing at any moment and be ready to withdraw."

No sooner had the Six Paths of Pain been destroyed by Naruto and Sasuke than, in the underground base, the Tendo Pain thought-form opened its eyes and spoke.

"What's going on? Something happened?"

Hearing this, the Akatsuki members all looked at Tendo Pain in confusion.

"Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki has become a perfect host."

Tendo Pain stated frankly:

"And Uchiha Sasuke likely obtained Eternal Mangekyō. The two of them just teamed up to defeat the Six Paths of Pain. I'm not their match—plus Konoha's Wood Release user never even stepped in."

"So strong, huh? This 'grandmaster' wants to test their mettle."

Other than Deidara—recklessly eager for battle—everyone wore grave expressions.

They were well aware of how powerful the Six Paths were. Even Uchiha Obito couldn't be certain of beating Nagato. Strictly speaking, if not for Obito's unassailable Kamui "intangibility," he would never have stood as an equal to Nagato; Nagato and Konan wouldn't fear him so much otherwise.

But now, Tendo's Simulacrum version of the Six Paths had lost, and not even at Yagyu's hands, but that of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki and Sasuke. Obito and Black Zetsu felt immediate pressure.

If Pain's Six Paths lost to just those two—without Yagyu joining in—there was no way the "real" Tendo could handle Konoha's side either. Imagining this, Black Zetsu wanted to have Orochimaru resurrect Uchiha Madara at once. But Orochimaru wasn't Black Zetsu's subordinate and wouldn't take orders so readily. Besides, if they revived Madara now, Obito's hidden identity would be exposed, prompting Nagato to sense danger and fully halt the sealing—and possibly provoke Hundred Faces to strike Nagato or the Jinchūriki first. With the Five-Tails not yet sealed, reviving Madara was a last resort.

Realizing this, Black Zetsu felt heavy gloom. Evidently Sasuke really had awakened Eternal Mangekyō. This generation's Indra and Asura incarnations were now pushing dangerously close to the prior generation's Hashirama and Madara. Those "brothers" filled Black Zetsu with a sense that the board was slipping from his control.

Even so, the situation remained containable for now. Black Zetsu quietly communed with White Zetsu, then a White Zetsu clone emerged in Obito's chamber and conferred with him.

Soon, Uchiha Obito spoke:

"No need to halt the sealing. I have a plan."

At this, all the Akatsuki, including Tendo Pain, turned to him.

"A'fei, what plan?"

asked Deidara, the only one who didn't know Obito's true identity.

Obito didn't answer immediately but slowly closed his eyes. After a moment—just when Deidara was starting to wonder—on the Zero ring finger's Tendo thought-form, a visible transformation occurred, morphing into another person's appearance. Only its eye remained a Rinnegan. But previously they'd only seen Tendo's two Rinnegan exposed; now, it wore a fringe covering one side, leaving only one visible Rinnegan.

All at once, the Akatsuki members fixed their gaze there, Kisame and Deidara shocked, while Hundred Faces acted naïve:

"Leader, is this your true form?"

"Yes. Because of certain… special factors, I could only contact you via Pain's puppet. My name is Nagato."

"Huh? That means the leader we had before was just a puppet? I never noticed anything amiss—so that's the Rinnegan's ability?"

Deidara shot off a string of questions, revealing his confusion.

"Ah… I've just rectified the flaws of the Six Paths. Continue sealing,"

Nagato said with no further explanation. His thought-form again shut its eyes to focus on the process.

Meanwhile, six figures in black cloaks patterned with red clouds once more rushed out from Amegakure, speeding toward Konoha's battlefield. Yes—these were the same Six Paths that Naruto and Sasuke had destroyed. But this time, Tendo wasn't a Simulacrum using a White Zetsu sacrifice. It was the genuine article.

As stated before, Nagato prized only Tendo's Yahiko corpse—he didn't mind if the other Paths were broken. A true "Outer Path," Nagato could resurrect them all. After the prior defeat, he summoned the five surviving Paths back, and used the Hell Path to resurrect them. Charging at top speed, the Six Paths soon reentered Konoha's sector of the battlefront.

Whish, whish, whish…

Boom, boom, boom…

They didn't specifically seek revenge on Naruto and Sasuke but unleashed chaos at once. Masses of rockets burst from Asura Path in indiscriminate bombardment—killing those slow to dodge, White Zetsu clones and Konoha shinobi alike. Mistaking White Zetsu for just special clones of White Zetsu, Pain's Six Paths took no mercy, so their combat power was unrestrained. The Edo Tensei army, being immortal, also wasn't spared.

"Amaterasu!"

Before Pain's Six Paths could revel in destruction, a black blaze sprang from thin air, swiftly forming a towering ring of flame around them—blocking Asura Path's rocket attacks. Not giving Preta Path time to absorb the inextinguishable flames, two figures appeared, none other than Naruto (in golden Sage mode) and Sasuke with his Kusanagi blade.

"So the previous you was just a stand-in. I guess this is your real body."

Naruto spoke, brimming with certainty.

"Careful, Naruto,"

Sasuke cautioned:

"These guys' chakras differ from before entirely."

Looking more closely, a rare flicker of alarm crossed Sasuke's face, as if his Eternal Mangekyō had glimpsed something astonishing.

"Banshō Ten'in!"

Tendo wasted no words, raising a palm to create a mini black hole in the center, generating powerful gravitational pull on Naruto. Dragged from the ground, Naruto hurtled helplessly toward Tendo.

"That won't work on me. Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!"

Naruto shouted. At once, two gold chakra arms formed from his cloak, each cradling a huge swirling sphere of blue energy. He planned to slam it onto Tendo at close range. Yet Asura Path didn't seize this moment to strike, nor did Preta Path intercept to absorb Naruto's sage jutsu. Tendo merely stared flatly, then said:

"Shinra Tensei!"

Next instant, both Naruto and Sasuke turned pale with shock.

Boom!

A deafening roar rippled across the battlefield. From a distance, one saw a colossal shockwave violently break through the black firewall, scything across the battleground in a straight line. Any ground in its path was pulverized, rubble and dust thrown into the air. The wave hammered through friend and foe. Whether a high-ranking jōnin or a lower-ranked White Zetsu or Edo Tensei elite, none survived the blow. Their organs ruptured from the impact, killing them instantly. White Zetsu clones twisted and died. Even Edo Tensei bodies fared no better, shredded into countless pieces. Those on the edge of the wave were launched aloft, spewing blood, their condition unknown upon landing.

"This is that move…"

One Edo Tensei'd undead saw it and, unconsciously letting out his tongue, stared burning with interest at the black flame wall. He seemed to gaze at Tendo Pain behind it. In that moment, the Rinnegan's allure overshadowed even the Mangekyō's. Though the Mangekyō had once threatened Orochimaru with potential instant defeat, the newly reborn Orochimaru found the White Zetsu vessel a perfect fit—no longer requiring body-hopping. Hence his interest in the Mangekyō had waned. Next to the Rinnegan, it was nothing. He recalled how Tendo's Shinra Tensei had once razed a forest with a casual blow; that day's scene had enthralled him. Now Tendo Pain was even stronger than before.

"Who knew it was possible to do that?"

Yagyu also felt amazed. The Tendo in front of them was nothing like before. Naruto, Sasuke, and even Orochimaru didn't understand. Yet Yagyu, who had an inside man in the Akatsuki—and even his own Wood Clone hidden via Mayfly—knew the reason. It wasn't merely because Tendo was now the true body. In year 64 of Konoha's calendar, Nagato's condition had long deteriorated—his strength could never reach its prime. Back when recruiting Orochimaru, Tendo's casual Shinra Tensei leveled an entire forest. By now, he normally couldn't replicate that. Even a single Super Shinra Tensei plus a few Chibaku Tensei would exhaust him, making him bleed and shorten his lifespan. But now, unbelievably, Tendo Pain's technique looked stronger than ever.

The cause? It was courtesy of Uchiha Obito.

In the underground base, the camera panned to Nagato's chamber. A tube protruded from the ground and attached to Nagato's body. Waves pulsed along the tube's surface, as if delivering something into him. Nagato's wasted, pale body and white hair started to regain vigor, returning to a healthy glow. Though he was only thirty-five, once he'd appeared aged and near death. Now he resembled how the canon Edo Tensei Nagato had revived himself by absorbing Naruto and Bee's Tailed Beast chakra: a young, vigorous form. Even that previously near-infinite chakra expanded further. With a single Shinra Tensei unleashing such savage might, one could see how enormous Nagato's power had become. The only difference from the canonical Edo Tensei version was that his legs remained crippled. But that hardly mattered to him—he couldn't appear in person anyway.

Having given the Six Paths a colossal boost—and drastically extended his own life—Nagato felt content. But his caution toward Uchiha Obito soared. It turned out "Uchiha Madara" understood the Gedo Statue better than he, the Rinnegan wielder, did. Indeed, the method to "keep Nagato alive," in fact restore him, was unbelievably simple. Back in Madara's day, the Gedo Statue lacked even a single Tailed Beast yet could keep him alive. Now it held four sealed beasts—and a fifth in progress—enough to heal Nagato. Observing quietly, Yagyu deduced the principle. Like the "Limited Tsukuyomi" that required seven Tailed Beasts, this "life support technique" was akin to partially becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki. Now Nagato was mightier than ever.

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