Pain felt uneasy, not just from the abnormal speed of extraction, but also from what was seeping out of Naruto's body.
Mysterious black viscous substances flowed and converged slowly in the air.
This was an unprecedented situation.
He raised his head.
Despite it being day, the sky suddenly darkened as if tainted by these substances.
His heart followed with a pang of anxiety.
It wasn't the overwhelming pressure of his "aura" strengthening from the outside to inside, but rather an inner crisis akin to meeting a natural enemy, a feeling he hadn't had since he "evolved" into a "god."
Extracting this man's soul might not be a good thing.
As this thought crossed his mind, the long-haired puppet had already reached out and completely pulled Naruto Uzumaki's soul from his body.
Konan's pupils dilated in disbelief.
That soul was utterly different from any soul the Human Path had ever extracted before.
Previously, when Nagato used this technique, the souls extracted were deep purple chakra-laden "grudge souls," almost indistinguishable.
But Naruto's soul retained his form, even his clothing.
A black shinigami outfit and a white haori.
Before everyone's eyes, Naruto, now a soul, was completely unaffected by the Human Path's manipulation.
"You've done enough to help me." He reached out, grasping the long-haired puppet's wrist and saying softly, "I can handle the rest myself."
The remaining half-spirit body effortlessly walked out of the shell.
His physical body, devoid of support, fell downward.
The two Nine-Tailed Beasts still stood on it, leaping onto his soul's shoulder.
Naruto reached out.
Golden chains flew out, wrapping around his physical body, sealing it in a scroll.
"What is this?" Pain was finally somewhat moved, his voice carrying disbelief.
"Reviving from the dead" was something he could understand, the Rinnegan possessed the ability to resurrect the dead.
But a soul free from the physical body after death, still wielding great power, this was something entirely beyond his comprehension.
Naruto lowered his head, examining himself: "If someone like you can call yourself a god,"
"Then without a doubt, I am the Grim Reaper, Uzumaki Naruto."
With a swing of his sword, the black viscous liquid, seemingly tangible, boiled and extended into dotted lines across the sky, rendering the entire world an enigmatic illusion.
The pressure followed suit.
The Rinnegan puppets creaked under the strain.
Konan's face turned especially bleak.
Kisame's smile froze, his speed in the water abruptly slowed to a crawl.
This oppression was far greater and clearer than what was felt before.
Naruto looked across the water, gazing into the depths below.
The power of the Sage of Six Paths was incredibly distinct in his perception but was not acting with the same decisiveness it had shown while capturing others' souls.
Instead, it was lurking, observing.
From the very first confrontation with the Sage of Six Paths, the Truth-Seeking Orbs easily shattered chakra but failed to immediately disrupt his soul power, he realized that 'chakra' and 'soul' might be two fundamentally different forms of power.
But Naruto didn't know the technique to separate soul from body.
The Soul Society naturally had this technology.
Ginjo Kugo had mastered it.
As a captain, going to the living world involved cumbersome procedures, and he only went twice on missions and never used an 'artificial body,' so naturally, he never learned what seemed an unnecessary trick.
During his time in the ninja world, he studied it, but compared to other things, it was not urgent.
But now, his hypothesis was confirmed.
Naruto twisted his wrist: "As a gesture of thanks, I'll let you witness this power."
He slashed with his sword.
The summoned puppet raised a black rod to counter.
Sparks flew.
The black rod remained unscathed, but the puppet's body couldn't bear the overload, whether from the spiritual pressure or a more formidable power, it was beyond its burden.
Pain was astonished.
Even after detaching from the physical body, Uzumaki Naruto's power remained unaffected and, if anything, became even more formidable.
"Surprised, aren't you?" Naruto thrust a blade through the summoning puppet, slicing it in half, a pleased tone in his voice. "Even I didn't realize it myself."
"As a member of the Uzumaki clan, my physical strength surpasses that of ordinary ninjas several times over."
"However,"
"compared to the strength of my soul, it's still far behind."
In the physical state, chakra leads over spiritual power; although it's still unclear why I can use 'chakra' as a medium to perform techniques like the Ghost Path and the Death God's power.
Despite the strength remaining formidable, there is a layer of 'transformation' that unexpectedly weakens it, even for myself.
In the soul state, though there is still 'chakra' within the spirit form, using the 'Death God's power' is entirely governed by soul strength.
Without the 'transformation' weakening, the spiritual pressure is fully unleashed.
The purple-faced head swings its 'hand'-like tongue.
Natural energy is driven by chakra to operate, trying to connect with the previously adapted 'rules of force'.
But.
"Shut your mouth!" Naruto shouts, spiritual pressure crashing down.
The purple-faced head is held down by an invisible hand, its jaws clamped tightly shut.
Its 'soul power' and 'natural energy', controlled by chakra, in front of this moment's Naruto, feel like a small river colliding with the ocean, instantly extinguishing and shrinking.
Even the puppet in front of it goes limp at the feet, prostrating on the water's surface.
Pain feels a heavy weight in his heart.
Using the 'Human Path' was a terrible decision.
Naruto turns his head to look at Konan.
She's flying at the battlefield's edge, hands maintaining a seal.
Pain's protection of her is not just out of camaraderie.
Can it determine the battle's outcome?
He raises his hand, incantation spoken.
"Bones of beasts strewn across the sky!"
"Spire, red crystal, wheels of steel."
"Motion is wind, stillness is void."
Spiritual pressure accumulates, gathering in his palm, golden lightning crackling, disrupting the airflow, reverberating through the void, mottled traces stretching outward.
What immense power!
Even just the aftershock creates swirling winds, causing ripples across the water's surface as if to split it apart.
Konan flaps her wings, attempting to flee.
Golden chains whip through the air, binding her body.
Konan dispelled the seal she had been maintaining to try other paper jutsu.
But.
The chains also sealed her chakra.
"The sound of lances clashing fills the void city!" Naruto completed the last chant.
Lightning fully materialized.
Upon his shoulders, the two Nine-Tails also focused their chakra on Naruto's target.
"Destructive Art No. 63, Thunder Roar Cannon."
A straight bolt of lightning shot out.
The Tailed Beast Bomb followed, entwining along the lightning, twisting into a spiral.
Konan struggled fiercely.
But her strength, like an ant pushing a mountain, couldn't move it at all.
Pain raised his hand: "Then let me show you the true power of a god."
"No, not that jutsu." Konan realized something.
But her warning failed to stop the sudden burst of chakra.
Naruto glanced sideways.
An incomparable force erupted from the Rinnegan in Pain's eyes.
Chakra was drawn from several puppets.
All of it gathered into Pain alone.
"Super Shinra Tensei."
From his palm, a "repulsive force" exploded, pushing forward.
"Thunder Roar Cannon" and "Tailed Beast Bomb" were forcibly redirected, flying into the distance.
Yet the power of this jutsu didn't stop there.
Naruto's body was sent uncontrollably flying back.
The Water Prison on the ground created by Kisame was affected by the shockwaves, slicing more than half away.
In front of this jutsu's path, targeting the direction inside the Land of Fire, a radius of tens of kilometers was flattened.
Trees were uprooted, hills razed.
Just this one technique completely altered the terrain.
From forested hills to flat wasteland.
Inside the Land of Rain, at Amegakure, two men with Sharingan stood atop the "Pain Statue," gazing at the distant battlefield.
"Truly astounding power," said the one wearing a mask.
"The name of 'god' is no exaggeration."
"Will the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki survive under those circumstances?" Itachi Uchiha asked calmly.
The masked man shook his head, "Who knows."
"Someone's coming," Itachi murmured, looking down at a Rain Village ninja. "Hide in the shadows."
"Jiraiya, isn't it?"
The masked Uchiha said nothing.
"Should we stop him?" Itachi suggested.
The masked Uchiha shook his head again, "Wait a little longer."
He felt uneasy inside.
Forcing the "Rinnegan" to unleash such power...
He couldn't shake the feeling that "Naruto Uzumaki" wouldn't easily perish with this technique.
"Let him... meet with Nagato."
Akatsuki's power had almost entirely been diverted to manage the battle with "Naruto."
Several Jonin were left to guard, but they lacked the ability to detect Jiraiya.
After extensive searching, the ninja, controlled by his "Toad Flat Shadow Manipulation Technique," entered a room.
It was completely empty inside, pitch-dark with no lights.
Yet, Jiraiya could see.
A massive life-support device held a gaunt figure embedded within it, his back pierced by numerous black rods.
His hair was red, and his eyes, slightly purplish, featured a ripple pattern.
"Jiraiya-sensei, since you're here, you might as well come out," Nagato urged, turning his head slightly to stare at a shadowy spot on the floor.
Jiraiya emerged from the shadows, his expression solemn, "Nagato, is it really you?"
Nagato spoke, his voice weak, "I never expected you to make it here, Jiraiya-sensei."
"But even if you did, what of it?"
Jiraiya grit his teeth, "What exactly happened to you all?"
"To make you do such things."
Nagato's tone was calm, "It's all because of war."
"Many died here, including Yahiko."
"Those pains made me grow."
"Made me evolve from a person enduring endless agony."
"From a human,"
"into a god."
"Jiraiya-sensei, are you intending to use your mortal, frail body to stand against a god?"
(End of Chapter)