Chereads / Naruto: Back in Ancient Times / Chapter 497 - Chapter 97

Chapter 497 - Chapter 97

Title: Naruto VS Pain

...

Shun's POV

[Shinra Tensei] can be conceptualized as a vector manipulation skill, where the user exercises control over vectors in a specific area. Vectors represent both the direction and magnitude of force, and in the case of Shinra Tensei:

Direction Control, where Nagato can alter the direction of incoming attacks or objects, repelling them away from a central point, being himself.

This directional manipulation allows him to create a protective barrier around his person or push away adversaries.

Another aspect was Magnitude Manipulation, which involves adjusting the magnitude of the repulsive force.

Nagato can decide the intensity with which he repels objects, ranging from a subtle force to a powerful blast capable of devastating large areas.

And in this case... It was utter destruction. The entire land that was Konohagakure was utterly ravaged. Trees and buildings, everything that stood in the path of the repulsive force was uprooted and displaced.

If inanimate objects such as those could face such outcomes... nothing should be said about the Humans caught in the blast.

5 seconds. That was the amount of time it took from the moment of release till the moment of calm.

And in that few seconds...

Puff*

"What the hell is this?" A blonde haired boy asked as he stood atop the head of Gamakichi who was sitting atop his father Gamabunta.

"Did something happen with Shima? How could she summon us here?" A tiny toad Seaton on the blond's shoulder asked as he looked around.

At that moment, the sound of someone approaching rang out causing the three giant frogs, one medium sized one, one little old one and a blond boy to look at the new arrival.

"Ma? What's the meaning of this? Didn't we tell you to summon us to Konoha?" Fukasaku asked, recognising the person who just arrived amidst the dust clouds.

"Pa, don't be mistaken by all this, look carefully around you..this is Konoha." She replied as she settled down on Naruto's other shoulder.

"What!?"

"It can't be!"

"That's the stone heads mountain!"

"Hm. And it's obvious who did this." Shima said. "I sense the same energies as when we rode atop Jiraiya-chan's shoulder."

Realization finally set in for Naruto as his expression contorted to one of extreme anger and hatred.

**Seconds Earlier**

"What..is...that?" Kawaki asked with dread marring his face. As an acute sensor, the amount of chakra he felt gathering in the skies above Konoha had him frozen in shock.

This wasn't shock from fear, but shock from the possibility that chakra presented.

Not even a bijuudama had that level of chakra Within. Granted, he had never really faced off against a tailed beast, but still, this wasn't the level of chakra a human should possess.

"Everyone! Get down!" The moment he saw the light that followed the soft, but loud voice of Pain, he shouted as he bit his finger, performing a series of hand signs, he slammed it on the ground.

"[Kuchiyose: Quadruple Rashomon!]⟩"

At that point in time, Kawaki didn't think about conservation of chakra. To him, conserving chakra at this point in time would be stupid. Since only the living had needs for chakra, If they died here...

As chakra rippled out of him, Four massive gates shot out from the ground and towered into the skies.

These gates were massive with width over 20 meters and height of 100 meters.

But even at that, Kawaki, for some reason didn't feel safe behind the gates touted to have been able to withstand the Nine Tails Bijuudama under the control of Uchiha Madara.

Jumping backwards, he made a series of hand signs and slammed his hands on the ground once again.

"[Doton: Great Earth Dome]"

All around him, the ground rippled and opened up to swallow him and the Shinobis, however...

BOOM!*

"BRACE YOURSELVES!" He shouted as he strained himself just to withstand the force behind whatever it was that was currently acting on his dome.

From the looks of things the Rashomon Gates weren't even able to last for long. 'Is it that weak or am I the weak one?' Kawaki thought to himself.

His grandfather had been able to Summon all five and they were said to be the strongest defense a Shinobi could summon, capable of even withstanding...

Creak!**

The Sound earth shattering rang out, snapping him out of his thoughts and looking to the source..."Oh no..."

However, before the dome could crack..."Don't just stand there! Earth style Shinobi, aid Kawaki-sama if you don't all want to die!"

Nobody knew who actually shouted, but nearly all the Jounins caught within the dome all slammed their palms on the ground before passing their chakra into the dome.

"You guys..." Kawaki couldn't help but let out a strained smile. Although he wasn't trying to be selfless, saving himself while allowing ninjas beside him die off would leave a bad taste in his mouth.

He didn't really have any great expectations from the Jounins, afterall, he was stronger than them. If he couldn't withstand it, what could they possibly contribute?

But seeing them fervently trying to help when shit was about to hit the fan... Saying he wasn't touched would be...

"We just need to hold off for a few seconds at most." Was all he could say. Gone was the cheery kid who wished to be the Hokage. After traveling around the world with his sister and Shizune, his mindset had been elevated to a certain level, and with that came a certain level of maturity.

...

True to Kawaki's words, seconds later, the rumbling stopped, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. Unfortunately though, they had all been buried under the rubbles that was once Konoha.

All over Konoha, everyone lucky enough to have a mini Katsuyu on their body managed to escape the rumbling, however, those without were quick enough to meet their makers.

Tsunade however, had managed to withstand the repulsive force by sheer physical might.

Just as the force was about to land, with no idea on how to face it, she could only muster up all her chakra to deliver a mighty punch.

This punch had managed to stave off the pressure a little, helping her and the four Anbu accompanying survive.

However, using that much force had taken its toll on her as the marking around her body receded back to her forehead, forming a diamond shaped seal before disappearing.

"Tsunade-sama, are you alright?" One of the Anbus asked, seeing Tsunade look so breathless.

"Ah..." She said but looking around her and seeing the dead bodies lying around, she couldn't help but shiver in trepidation. "W-what the hell is this?"

"You'll not get away with this!

Looking around her and taking in the destruction that had been enacted to her village, she couldn't help but be angry. Yet, all that anger, and yet, she had no energy to fight back.

All her stored up energy had been transferred to Katsuyu at the last moment just so that it could save as many people as possible...

...

"She can no longer fight." Jiraiya said with a list-less expression as he saw the sorry sight of Konoha and Tsunade... Tsunade most especially.

"It seems... but, Naruto is here. Isn't that good?" Shun said to the man as he tapped the air before drawing a seal that immediately disappeared.

"What was that?" Jiraiya asked with a frown. He hasn't seen the seal fully but from what his meager understanding of seals could tell him, that was a containment seal.

"Oh, it's nothing...just a seal to prevent some souls from moving on." Shun replied carelessly.

"What!?"

"Shhh. Don't be so agitated, watch and observe." Shun said.

'Hey! Watch and observe are the same thing!' Jiraiya thought, but the gravity around him didn't give him enough confidence to retort.

'Oh...that reminds me. Kakashi should be meeting with Sakumo right around now. I guess it's time he moved on.' Shun thought to himself.

'Oh? Is that Kiba? The kid sure is strong...' looking at Kiba supporting an entire building with his body while protecting his mother and a few Inuzuka clansmen, he couldn't help but praise.

'Unfortunately, this isn't his stage...'

Looking around Konoha, Shun could only nod at the sight of the survivors. All the ninjas with a Katsuyu had all managed to survive, although a few were already dead but due to being in close proximity, they were saved too.

Kakashi and Shizune were prime examples. Choza was already at death's door but with Katsuyu, he was sure to survive.

Heh, Look at that Hyūga simp fawning over Hinata. I gotta say, one of the most impressive butterfly effects I've caused is creating this version of Hinata.

Despite the devotion in the eyes of the Clan members around her, she didn't even bat an eye. This wasn't due to neglect or arrogance, but purely due to knowing when to be kind and when to be mean.

She had been the only one capable of using the revolving heaven, and with it, she had saved this group of Branch family members.

As for why she wasn't batting an eye in their direction...She had just seen Naruto's appearance, and compared to Naruto's manliness, what were these...

"Oh right...Here's a medicinal balm. Use it to tend to your injuries." She said and fetched a few bottles containing her own specially made medicinal combination.

"Hinata-sama. You shouldn't concern yourself with us. It'll be a dishonor if we took-"

"Shut the fuck up and tend to your injuries." She said and cast the one that just spoke a side eye.

"Hai! Hinata-sama!" That one Hyūga screamed in delight? as he went to distribute the bottles.

'What a weird clan... Truly weird.' Shun thought as his attention was switched to another direction.

"Shikamaru-san!" One bestackled lady cried out in joy as she saw Shikamaru being spat out of Katsuyu. "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright...but more importantly, what the hell is going on?" He asked.

"Are you alright Shikamaru?" Another voice, this one deep asked as they approached him.

"Hmm? Father, I'm alright, just a broken leg." Shikamaru answered, causing his father to laugh while holding his ribs.

"You should consider yourself lucky then."

"Actually... Shikamaru shielded me...as a result, his leg was broken." The lady with the glasses said with a small sob.

"Oi oi. Now isn't the time for tears." He rebuked with his lazy expression before he turned serious. "They did possess this kind of Jutsu from the start and didn't use it?"

"Which means, they had a purpose, and that purpose had been achieved." Shikaku finished.

"Hm. And they changed from guerilla tactics to an all-out offensive."

"Who's 'They'?" The lady asked.

"Someone who can do this much damage to Konoha...The only one I can think of is the Akatsuki." Shikaku answered.

"And their target is none other than.."

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Shun, who was watching this duo, couldn't help but curse. What the fuck is with continuing eachother's sentences? If you both know it, why don't you let one person finish the whole thing?

"N-Naruto?" The lady asked.

...

Step. Step. Step.

Ningendo took slow and steady steps towards Naruto and his entourage causing both parties to lock eyes with each other.

One filled with intense emotions, the other filled with nothing but calm and relief.

"You saved us the trouble of looking for you." Ningendo said after a few seconds, stare off.

"Pain." Naruto could only utter. Looking at the one person he had sworn vengeance upon, no words came to mind. All his feelings of anger and hatred could only be expressed by that one word. 'Pain'

While this was going on, the other bodies of pain had already stood up and repaired the one that had been damaged by Kakashi.

As Naruto and Ningendo stood staring off,

...

"The effectiveness of the Jutsu when all the chakra is concentrated on Tendo is great, but it also increases the risks."

"Not only that, the other five are recovering much slower. Compared to last time this Jutsu was used..."

In a space within a tree a couple kilometers away from Konoha, Konan, the original Konan and Risa said while Yahiko just looked on with a melancholic expression.

"You're damaging your life force..." Risa said in a bid to stop this older brother figure of hers from wasting his life.

"This is my justice..." Nagato simply said, silencing the girl. She knew what they had gone through, and although she knew saying things like this was disrespectful to their cause, she still said it.

Just for the sake of saying it.

But if he put it that way...there was nothing she could do.

She was already aware that they knew they were being manipulated by 'Madara', but they still allowed themselves to be just so they could..

"I understand." She said with a smile, not that they could see it since she was putting on a mask.

...

"[Kuchiyose no Jutsu!]" Chikishudo, the Animal Path said as she descended on Tendo's location, immediately summoning the other Paths of pain mid air.

"Looks like all six have assembled." Fukasaku said seeing them all appear behind Tendo.

Unbeknownst to them, Tsunade had just appeared in between them. Not that she knew Naruto was there either.

The dust clouds were just too much that she didn't really pay attention to anyone other than the person who just destroyed her grandfather's legacy.

"I...am the Fifth Hokage!" She declared as she struggled to breath normally. "You trampled on the jewel...the dreams of my predecessors. I will not forgive you!"

"It appears you now understand a bit about pain. However...my business is not with you...My business is..."

Before he could complete his sentence however, Asura path shot off from his spot to attack her, and in that same breath, before it could reach Tsunade, Naruto appeared out of nowhere and stamped on it.

"Is with me." He said as he looked up from the already destroyed Asura path.

...

"You gotta pity that guy, don't you think?" Shun asked no one in particular.

"Huh?"

"That Asura Path, this should be the third time he'd been destroyed today right?" He asked.

"Now that you mention it...Yeah. that's quite..."

"Pitiful."

"I would've gone with sad but that one's good too."

"Hmm,"

...

"Naruto..." Tsunade muttered in both shock, surprise and relief. The figures of both Jiraiya and Minato seemed to have overlapped with the tall figure of Naruto standing protectively before her.

"There's no need for Konoha's Hokage to bother herself with the likes of them. Just sit back and drink some tea, Granny." Naruto said, turning to face her, he gave her a toothy smile that also made her smile.

"Um." She nodded.

Naruto's smile was very infectious, but behind that smile, Tsunade could feel his unwavering confidence and reassurance, leading to her nodding, notwithstanding that she was depending on someone as young as 16.

"Ji-chan, doesn't he remind you of those two." Gamabunta said with a smile...of course, a toady smile.

"Of course." Fukasaku said as he was reminded of both Jiraiya and Minato. Two prodigies he had been graced with teaching. Of course, compared to them, Naruto was even more of a prodigy.

'It seems Naruto-chan has already surpassed his predecessors,' he thought with a relieved smile.

...

"Naruto Uzumaki." Tendo called out.

"Gamakichi! Take Granny Tsunade to a safe place away from here." Naruto instructed as the little Gamakichi jumped down behind him.

"Gotcha!" He said before wrapping Tsunade with his tongue and dropping her on his head.

"Granny, I'll take over from here, tell everyone from the village to stay away from here. It'll be difficult to fight while trying to cover for them."

"Understood, but take Katsuyu. She'll be a bit useful to you, she has intel on them." Tsunade said and brought out a mini Katsuyu.

Fukasaku and Shima, who were already on their way up to Naruto , grabbed the little Katsuyu as they landed on the huge scroll hanging behind Naruto.

"Katsuyu-chan, keep yourself hidden in Naruto's clothes."

"Hai."

Naruto allowed the little slug entry into his clothes before he asked. "This may not be the best time to ask this but...now that I've mastered Senjutsu, I'm better at sensing everyone's chakra...Is Kakashi-sensei on a mission away from the village?"

"..."

"I see." Was all Naruto said in response to Tsunade's silence. "Leave! Gamakichi!"

"Hai!"

As Gamakichi jumped to leave though, Chikishudo immediately summoned a giant bull to attack Naruto.

That marked the beginning of their battle, Naruto who saw the approaching bull didn't even stress himself as he grabbed it by the horn before throwing it over his shoulders to the ground, effectively dispelling it.

One had to understand that in addition to the buff Senjutsu provided, Shun's unique Cultivation method had already increased Naruto's physical strength to absurd levels.

In comparison to Tsunade's serious punch, if hers was a level 70 strength, Naruto in his base form had that much, then with the Senjutsu buff, it'll reach a staggering 100.

That was saying a lot since Shun's system estimate for peak humans was 100. Beyond that was already stepping into the realms of becoming a Sage.

(A/N: Don't ask too much, I'll talk about it in later chapters.)

Unperturbed by this, Animal Path immediately summoned another two bulls, but this time, it was Shima and Fukasaku who acted as they used Frogs sonic attack to paralyze them and hold them in place.

This allowed Naruto to run past them, but not before creating two clones to deal with them.

...

"I feel like I should tell the kid to not dispel but seal those things away..." Shun muttered to himself. "Unfortunately, a certain Sensei didn't think it'll be important to teach him basic Fuinjutsu."

"Hey! We both know Naruto is akin to a basket when it comes to learning." Jiraiya said in defense.

"And so were you once upon a time, yet...look at you now." Shun said, but looking at him, he said. "Sorry, wrong person."

"Hey!"

Unfortunately, Shun wasn't paying him any attention as he continued watching Naruto fight it out with the Pains.

...

"Naruto, Ninjutsu won't work on the Pain in front of you now." Katsuyu Informed him as he approached the Paths.

The one in front of him was Gakido, the Preta Path. Naruto, hearing this, smiled and said, "Then it's a good thing I don't plan on using Ninjutsu. Not that I know any..."

He muttered the last part as he reached Gakido and made to throw a deceptive punch only for Gakido to dodge despite looking away. Unperturbed by this, Naruto followed up with a kick, only for his leg to be caught, but before Gakido's grip on his leg could strengthen, he twisted his body before kicking Gakido and jumping back.

"Naruto-chan, all the Paths are visually linked. A blind spot attack is meaningless unless you move out of their sight." Katsuyu Informed.

"Oh? Then I'd just have to show them an attack they can't see." Naruto said with a smirk before charging in once again, this time however, he used the Frog Kumite and deliberately missed a punch.

Due to it not being a direct attack, none of the Paths thought it necessary to dodge, hence the disregard. Unfortunately, when using the Frog Kumite, Naruto's body was already covered with natural energy, so even if he did miss, the blunt force of the Senjutsu Chakra made contact with Gakido's face sending him flying.

Serious or otherwise, a physical punch delivered under the influence of Senjutsu was strong enough to destroy buildings, not to mention a mere puppet crafted from a dead corpse.

"The frog Kumite...What an interesting technique..." Shun said with a bit of reminiscing in his tone.

Jiraiya, though, had a proud look on his face seeing Naruto already mastering something he took nearly all his youthful days to master.

One has to know that with this technique, both threat perception and attack range are enhanced way beyond the ordinary.

"It's still a wonder why you lost though. You had the full Haki package and yet..." Shun said and looked at Jiraiya in disdain.

"Haki...what a familiar word." Jiraiya said, not minding the kid beside him.

"Oh? You've heard of it?" Shun asked.

"Hmm, in that closed off training dimension of your clan. Although the Frog Kumite doesn't give access to the King's Aura."

"It's called Conquerors Haki. As years passed, some called it Emperor's Haki and now King's Haki. But you're all wrong. A king, and sometimes Emperor do submit…but a conqueror…he doesn't submit. He has a will of his own…One that goes against the norms…" Shun said as he let out a bit of his Haki.

"You're still normal under my Haki, this shows you have promise, however, you're someone with a will not of your own. You can't ever get access to this." Shun said to the man.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jiraiya asked but Shun merely smiled and remained silent.

One had to know that Jiraiya was one of the most strong willed humans alive in this era, unfortunately, his will had been contaminated a while back.

The moment he was told that prophecy his will was already being influenced, but the moment he decided to go according to the prophecy, he wasn't really living the life meant for him.

One had to know what they wanted in life. If living the life he lives was his original destiny, then that was well and good, but the moment he was told that it was his destiny and he didn't question it or try to go against it, he became a puppet.

Yes, a puppet to fate.

That was all there is to it.

"I see…You've become a Sage." Tendo said after observing Naruto. "Mastering the same Jutsu as Jiraiya-sensei."

"Jiraiya…'sensei'?" Naruto asked in shock.

"I was once under Jiraiya-sensei's mentorship. He was once my master…which should make us…sibling disciples."

Not letting the shock sink in, Tendo continued. "Sharing the same master, you and I should be able to understand one another. Our master desired peace…"

"Shut the hell up!" Naruto interrupted as a massive Rasengan spun in his hand. The only outlier was the fact that this Rasengan had a massive amount of wind chakra swirling around it in the form of a shuriken.

"What massive chakra…Did you teach him that, Pa?" Shima asked

"No…I'm seeing it for the first time too. He never showed that during his training. What could that boy be planning?" replied Fukasaku.

Naruto however was currently seething with rising anger. So much anger that even his system threatened to enter focus mode if he didn't calm down.

"All you've done…Peace…Where's the 'Peace' in that?" Naruto asked, still holding onto the massive Rasenshuriken.

"You're merely looking at trees and not the whole forest." Tendo replied, unperturbed by the chakra gathering in Naruto's hand. "You don't know the true meaning of peace. So let yourself be captured. Your death will lead to peace."

"I told you to shut the hell up!" Naruto shouted and threw the rasenshuriken.

Tendo, seeing this and knowing from the density and make up of the Jutsu, knew he couldn't withstand it and jumped to dodge.

Gakido, the path who absorbed Jutsu was down and out of the fight so they could only dodge. However, controlling multiple bodies proved to not be as easy as Nagato made it out to be.

While Tendo and Jigokudo jumped away, Ningendo had to pull Chikishudo out of the way, however, the rasenshuriken reached them and expanded.

This was totally unforeseen but quickly adapting to the situation, Ningendo threw Chikishodo out of the blast radius as he bore the brunt of the technique.

The rasenshuriken was in one word, a meat grinder. And the Paths bore witness to it as they saw Ningendo destroyed from the inside out.

Chikushodo, seeing this, slammed her palm on the ground and summoned a giant bird which immediately shot at Naruto.

Seeing this bird, Naruto frowned and bent his body backwards, as the bird drew closer, he threw his right hand towards the bird, and with a slap, Naruto dispelled the bird.

"It seems Deidara was right…You don't listen." Tendo said as he watched his body get totally destroyed.

"That's three…three more to go." Naruto said

"What the hell is going on down there? Is someone fighting down there?" Shikamaru asked as the sound of the explosion reached them.

"It's Naruto." Katsuyu Informed.

"Naruto?! He's back?" Shikamaru asked in surprise.

"Hm. He's mastered Senjutsu and is fighting Pain alone." Katsuyu replied.

"What!?" Shikamaru cried in alarm and made to stand up only for him to stumble back due to his broken leg.

"Please stay here. Naruto has ordered that no one is to approach." Katsuyu said.

"He's so full of himself!" Shikamaru said. "Look what that guy did to the village and he thinks he can take him on?"

"Yes." Shikaku, who had recovered, answered his son. "If he has mastered Senjutsu, then Yes. Right now, he's in a class of his own. The highest level of teamwork you can accord him now is by staying away from him."

Looking at his worried son, he advised. "Sit right, Shikamaru."

"Damn it!"

As all this transpired, Naruto and Chikishodo were clashing, this time, it was Taijutsu. Having been told by Katsuyu that the rod in Chikishodo's hands was dangerous, Naruto used his Kunai to parry it when necessary.

And as time passed, Tendo noticed something.

"You're slowing down." He stated. "It seems like your Senjutsu Chakra is decreasing. Did you use up your Senjutsu Chakra in that last Jutsu?"

To Tendo's question, Naruto turned a deaf ear as he assessed himself. It was the truth that he was losing his Senjutsu Chakra but it wasn't so much that he should be worried.

His body could already contain Senjutsu Chakra for a good ten minutes before losing it.

He understood it was due to the special technique Shun had made him learn, but still, according to Fukasaku, his body hadn't completely been transformed.

But still…'I have to bring this guy down before sage mode runs out.' he thought.

***

A/N: Alright. This is as far as I can go with improvising in this battle. We all know how this played out and how it's going to play out. So I'm gonna skip this and move to Shun's POV where he'll watch the two argue on their logic of peace.

Nagato will die with Yahiko, Konan and Risa returning to Amegakure. There they'll fight Obito with one of them dying.

Anyways, I'm currently in a pinch now. I won't be that active in writing as I'm in my final year and I'm running around for my final year project.

Hope y'all understand and keep up with the support.

I'll keep on trying to write as many words as I can whenever I write and In due time, I'll be finishing this book.

Enjoy.