Naruto: Reborn with the Template System

"It's different from sixteen years ago. I will let you see the power of God."

Nagato's words were spoken through Tendo Pain.

"Hahaha."

Guts couldn't help but shrug and laugh out loud.

This guy's self-delusion never fails to amuse him... it's like a kid, totally.

Not to mention the eyes aren't even his, it made Guts feel secondhand embarrassment.

Thinking about the truth of the matter, even if Nagato's backstory is pitiful, Guts couldn't help but feel amused.

He decided this time, he would break this guy's self-confidence... break it step by step.

However, Nagato didn't think that deeply. He simply thought Guts was provoking him.

Shurado Path Pain stepped forward and raised his right hand.

The metallic skin opened, and several rocket launchers burst out with smoke, blasting toward Guts.

Faced with the rockets launching in a curved arc difficult for ordinary eyes to follow, Guts slightly shifted his posture.

In the next moment, his hands suddenly spread out and caught several rockets directly with his arms.

"Nani!?"

Tendo Pain's expression changed.

It was the first time he saw someone use such a method to block Shurado's attack.

"Return these toys to you!"

Guts laughed and twisted his body.

In the next instant, the rockets he'd pinned between his arms were flung back.

But this time, the target was Pain's Six Paths.

"Almighty Push!"

Rumble—

Tendo Pain raised his right hand and detonated the rockets midair, far enough away to prevent damage to himself or the others.

"Sixteen years have only made the gap between us bigger... Just relying on the Rinnegan won't get you anywhere." Guts said, as if pitying a child who didn't know any better.

He smiled and said, "Take me to your main body—at least that way, you might survive."

Nagato's face, hidden away, turned sour.

The last time he'd tasted failure was sixteen years ago.

Compared to then, he could now use the Rinnegan's power more efficiently.

But he didn't expect Guts to look down on him this much.

"It seems we still have to fight in the end. But that's fine…"

Halfway through the sentence, Guts blasted toward the Six Paths.

"That's what I was hoping for."

So fast!

Tendo Pain's eyes shrank as he braced himself.

Shurado Pain tossed away his Akatsuki cloak, revealing his robot-like body.

A sword-tail, long and sharp like Sasori's, extended to an exaggerated length and shot forward.

"This scene really feels familiar. So many years, and this is all you've practiced?"

Guts grabbed the tail with one hand, yanked it hard, and hurled Shurado Pain into the air.

"Summoning Technique!!"

Chikushodo summoned a massive multi-headed dog, which roared and charged forward.

Guts narrowed his eyes and let go of Shurado's tail, sending him flying, then turned his attention to the dog.

"Aha!!!"

He stretched out his hands. Now that he possessed power surpassing even Garp, his Conqueror's Haki had also evolved. Whether it compared to Roger's or not, it was enough for these weanlings.

Originally, sixteen years ago, his Conqueror's had no effect on these dead-summon beasts.

But now it was different. As long as something had thought or even the faintest sense of will, it could be affected.

That's how far he'd come.

"Woo…"

The multi-headed dog that had been charging to attack suddenly froze.

Like a puppy facing a lion, it dropped low and trembled.

"This guy…"

Nagato was stunned again.

He remembered clearly—sixteen years ago, Guts's Conqueror's had no effect on his summons.

Has he really evolved this far…?

"Get back."

Guts's voice was cold.

The multi-headed dog, once under Nagato's control, dropped into a submissive crouch, then vanished—returning itself to the Summoning World without a fight.

"Those tricks you used against Six Tails won't work on me. I know every single one of your skills—and which enemy they're meant for."

Guts chuckled and spread his arms.

"Of course, even if I didn't know, the gap in our strength is too massive. It wouldn't matter either way."

Nagato frowned.

Konan, standing beside him, spoke worriedly: "Nagato, you already used a lot of chakra in the battle with Six Tails. Don't push yourself!"

Nagato might've won big against Utakata, but Six Tails was no weakling.

It had gone down fast only because of Pain's specific abilities and even then, Nagato had expended a massive amount of chakra.

He only maintained relative stability thanks to his Uzumaki lineage.

"That guy can track. He won't let me go, Konan."

Nagato felt the urge to retreat.

But he knew full well—this wasn't a battle he could just walk away from.

If he pulled back, Guts would use his tracking ability which was hundreds of times stronger than any ninja dog to dig out his hiding place without mercy.

"Come on, show me something worthwhile, Pain. You did say you'd finish me off, right?" Guts tilted his head and mocked him with a grin.

Guts had already decided... this battle was about crushing Nagato's spirit completely.

Letting him try his hardest, only to realize that nothing he did mattered.

Guts learned this method from Kaido-sensei. A little One Piece inspiration.

The main function of the Naraka Path, aside from the hook shot, was far more critical—it could resurrect the other Pains.

Basically, it was the medical ninja of the squad.

So naturally, it stayed in the back.

When Guts appeared behind the remaining Paths, it was the first one to suffer.

Sensing the shift, Tendo Pain and the others quickly turned their heads

Bang!

Puff!

Bang!

It all happened in a flash... brutal, meaty sounds filled the forest.

The Ningendō Path, Chikushōdō Path, and Shuradō Path were all blasted away in one instant.

Along their flight path, countless massive trees snapped like twigs, and the bodies never once stopped rolling.

By the time they finally came to a halt, Nagato the one controlling them was already drenched in cold sweat.

Pain's Six Paths were just puppets of his Rinnegan, but he could feel it clearly. Three of them had been annihilated.

What just happened?

It was instantaneous. He hadn't even seen Guts move, and four of the six Paths were gone.

The combined power of the Six Paths was considered the pinnacle of Kage-level strength.

Thanks to the Rinnegan's abilities, even Kage-level shinobi could be killed in a flash—especially if they didn't understand how the Rinnegan worked.

If Nagato had been summoned with Impure World Reincarnation and combined the abilities of all six paths into one body, he could've easily surpassed the Kage-level threshold.

But Guts had just neutralized them while holding back.

And Guts's current strength? He was standing toe-to-toe with powers that rivaled the Six Paths Sage himself.

"There's just Gakidō Path and Tendo Pain left. The one that absorbs chakra? Absolutely useless against me," Guts said with a smirk.

"So now what, Pain? What are you going to do?"

He chuckled, "You don't really think you can beat me now, do you?"

Tendo Pain's strength was impressive... at least, compared to the average ninja in the world.

If you lined up Shisui and Tendo Pain one-on-one, without the support of the other Paths, Guts figured Shisui would probably come out on top.

But if Nagato gave up here, he wouldn't be Nagato anymore.

Twenty years ago, Yahiko's death shattered him. Sure, the main culprit was some shadowy mastermind... but Danzo, the king of Konoha scapegoats, had his hands dirty too.

"Almighty Push!"

A violent shockwave blasted outward...rocks, trees, animals everything was swept away.

Ordinary ninjas would've been launched thousands of meters by that pressure. Even the five-second cooldown wouldn't matter to them. They'd be gone long before then.

But when the smoke cleared, and Tendo Pain lowered his hand, he saw something terrifying.

Guts hadn't moved.

He was still standing there... like a mountain.

"How is that possible!? He actually resisted Almighty Push!?"

"I told you," Guts said, his voice calm, "don't waste time on meaningless techniques."

He drew his fist back.

With only physical force, the pressure radiating from his punch alone dispersed what was left of the Almighty Push.

Then the force of his strike expanded outward—obliterating the trees, cracking the earth, smashing boulders into dust.

"How can this be…!?"

Tendo Pain stumbled two steps back, barely keeping his footing.

Boom—boom!

Guts stomped the ground, leaving a crater under his foot.

Gakidō Path Pain immediately rushed forward to intervene, stepping between them.

"This kind of trash in front of me is just—nothing!" Guts declared, blasting the Gakidō Path's head off with one clean punch before it could even raise a hand.

"No," said Tendo Pain from behind. "Gakidō's mission is over."

Suddenly, Nagato's face darkened. His eyes locked with resolve. "I'm going to get serious, Konan."

Konan's expression shifted in alarm. "No, Nagato! If you use that move, you'll—"

"—I don't have a choice," Nagato interrupted.

"I underestimated him. If I don't use this now, you won't make it out alive. Don't try to stop me, Konan."

Konan fell silent.

She knew too well... once Nagato made a decision, no one could change his mind.

Tendo Pain raised his hands and spread them slightly.

A black sphere floated out of his palms, rising into the sky like a second sun.

Guts was less than five meters away.

From that black ball, a gravitational pull far stronger than Universal Pull erupted, dragging Guts and the earth beneath him into the sky.

"Planetary Devastation!"

Tendo Pain poured the last of his Chakra into the jutsu.

Mountains of rock, trees, earth—all of it surged into the air, spiraling toward the black ball. Guts included.

Konan, hiding inside a paper-formed tree far in the distance, saw the growing "planet" overhead.

Her gaze shifted toward Nagato, filled with dread.

With his body in its current state, using such a massive technique wouldn't just drain his Chakra.

It would cost his life.

In the midst of all this, Guts stood atop a chunk of stone, being pulled toward the center of it all by overwhelming gravity...

But he didn't look worried.

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