Naruto: The Last Harbinger of Storm
NTLHOS BOOK 2: Chapter 37: Loyalty.
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🖋️ Author's Note:
Here's the next chapter! 🙌
I truly hope I've done justice to the fight scene and what do you think of the new twist? 7k chapter! The story is about to take a sharp turn, so buckle up. 🔥
Let me know your thoughts in the comments, your feedback helps me shape the arc ahead. 💬❤️
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"People live their lives bound by what they accept as correct and true. That's how they define 'reality.' But what does it mean to be 'correct' or 'true'? They are merely vague concepts… their 'reality' may all be a mirage." — Uchiha Itachi
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Previously on NTLHOS-2:
"Fouth Hokage isn't a one-trick pony. He's an undisputed master of three elements and a genius at creating new jutsu. Your own Rasengan variations trace back to his original design. His knowledge of fūinjutsu lets him seal a Bijū anywhere, even within special dimensions or another person's body. He's the go-to shinobi for any sealing need. And no, his only techniques aren't teleporting himself or teleporting objects to barriers, he has countless other asanas, too. I won't argue every detail now, I'll give you his file to study when you have time.
"But Minato nor Naruto's power doesn't come from being a sage. Take Might Guy: it's his Eight Inner Gates that make him formidable. I could open seven gates in my prime and doing so briefly would elevate me to SSS-rank status, but my body could not sustain it. If Guy ever sacrifices himself and opens the Eighth Gate, he, too, would briefly match a SSS-rank shinobi. Yet that is not a sage."
And so the discussion continued between grandson and grandfather until the sun had set, at which point Konohamaru reverse-summoned himself to the Land of Apes, unaware that the Rinnegan was already on their doorstep.
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Now:
The rain began as a whisper, a secret shared between the sky and the towers of Amegakure. Now, that same rain fell on Konohagakure, but it was no longer a secret. It was a cold, deliberate drizzle that clung to the skin, chilled the bone, and tasted of ozone and chakra. It was his rain. Pain's rain. As the Deva Path stood atop the highest water tower overlooking the sprawling, leaf-strewn metropolis, Nagato surveyed the village through its eyes, and he was thoroughly, profoundly disappointed.
He remembered this village. He had scouted it a decade and a half prior. Konoha had been a true fortress then, girded by a barrier of such complexity and raw, living power that it felt less like a seal and more like a slumbering, benevolent god. Due to that barrier Nagato couldn't enter in without tripping the alarms. Nagato, an Uzumaki by blood, had dedicated himself to the sealing arts of his ancestors. By any standard, even the modern Uzushiogakure, he could be considered a true sealing master. Yet, the grand masterpiece woven by Lady Mito Uzumaki herself, a Fūinjutsu that drew upon the very life force of the village, was something beyond him. It was almost perfect, seamless whole, an absolute defence he could not bypass, fool, or brute force without announcing his presence to the entire village.
And now? He looked upon this… this second-rate imitation.
Of course, to any other shinobi it remained a formidable defense, stronger than those of Suna, Iwa, or Kumo. But compared to Lady Mito's magnum opus, it was like a roughly carved wooden kunai in a child's hand versus a masterfully forged blade, capable of slitting a throat in one clean, silent, almost merciful sweep. This new barrier had no artistry, no soul, it was pure function, a patchwork of formulas optimized for efficiency, not the perfection or the raw power that could withstand and self-repair even after the Nine-Tails' rampage. He had bypassed its detection matrix four hours ago, laughably easy, like slipping through a poorly locked door. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Despite the front he had displayed to Madara, Nagato was no fool. He was a god, yes, but not one swayed by his own ego. He still believed he had a very good chance of defeating Hiruzen Sarutobi, but he had no desire to exhaust himself in a protracted, city-leveling battle with the old monkey only to have his true prize spirited away in the chaos. Madara could provoke and prod all he wanted with his childish taunts; Nagato would not engage 'the Professor' directly unless left with no other option or until the time was right.
The plan was simple. Kissame and Sozin Uzumaki, accompanied by a contingent of paid mercenaries flying the false flag of some minor villages, had launched a diversionary assault on the Fire Daimyo's capital palace. As predicted, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the shield of the Land of Fire, had been immediately summoned by the capital. The king was off the board. Now, it was time to find the most powerful piece remaining: the jinchūriki pawn, Konohamaru Sarutobi.
Nagato had scoured Konoha for hours under his own rain, his Rinnegan's shared vision mapping every chakra signature as he hunted for the Nine-Tails' unique imprint. Normally, he could mask the downpour as natural rainfall, but village sensors detect chakra-infused water and would sound full alert. Instead, he'd timed his attack for a day of natural cloud cover, he only needed to release the rain and infuse it ever so subtly with his chakra, fooling the sensors. This minimal infusion, however, restricted the range of his mapping.
If he could not locate the boy and extract him peacefully, he intended to raze the village to the ground. In Hiruzen's absence, only the Nine-Tails itself could possibly stop him. By now, the old Hokage must have received word, a leak that Pain himself had breached Konoha's defenses and would be racing back, the frantic old man trying to plug a hole in a sinking ship. But it would be too late. Nagato had precious little time left to search. This ought to have been simple… were it not for the unforeseen complication of that one shinobi. Now come destruction. He will route the nine tails out.
All this destruction for what… only if…
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(Flashback)
The seven figures moved through the dense, whispering forests of the Land of Fire, inexorable tide of black cloaks and red clouds. The real body of Nagato followed leagues behind. The Deva Path, the core of his power, was in the lead, its Rinnegan eyes seeing all, a panoramic view of the world around them.
He was intercepted without a sound, without a flicker of disturbed chakra.
A figure stood in their path, leaning casually against the trunk of an oak as if he'd been waiting for hours. He wore a simple traveler's cloak, its hood drawn low, but there was nothing simple about the silence that surrounded him.
The Deva Path stopped. The other five Paths fanned out instantly, taking up positions without a single word exchanged. "what are you doing here?," the Deva Path stated. " Back to your position and step aside."
"I think not," the figure said, pushing himself off the tree with a languid grace. He lowered his hood, revealing a face that was young for the weariness it held. Long black hair framed aristocratic features, but it was the eyes. They were deep crimson, with three tomoe spinning lazily. Itachi Uchiha.
"The traitor of Konoha," the Deva Path noted, a hint of curiosity in its tone. "You have fulfilled your purpose. The Eight-Tails is captured. Your presence here not needed."
"My purpose has shifted," Itachi replied, his gaze calm, and unnervingly. "You will not enter Konoha."
Nagato felt a surge of irritation. This was an unforeseen nuisance he didn't need right now. He'd always known that Itachi's loyalties were layered and complex; no one could be certain where his true allegiance lay. The real question had always been whether Itachi had massacred his clan for Konoha, with or without its command; whether his enmity with Uzumaki Naruto had driven him to betray his own people so he could deprive Uzumaki Naruto of the Uchiha clan, or if, as many believed, he'd simply snapped. Very few even dared to entertain the first possibility, after all, the daimyō's contract would for such an act exact a heavy toll on Konoha, and indeed the village had paid dearly afterward. Yet now this development seemed to confirm it: Itachi had acted for Konoha. The man was a walking paradox, a saint masquerading as a demon, or perhaps is it the other way around. And yet to so openly defy him now? It was utterly illogical.
"Why am I not surprised? Tobi warned me of your possible allegiances. Do you really believe we were ignorant of the fact that you committed the massacre to aid Konoha?"
Itachi's gaze was cool, dispassionate. "I have no doubt you suspected my loyalty lay, first and foremost, with Konoha, that I was a spy from the moment I joined you. Tobi used me because my eyes were a useful tool, a weapon he needed. He used me because the only Sharingan he could still be useful was mine… or, as you call him, Madara's."
"Then why," the Deva Path spat, genuine anger flaring for the first time, "knowing I could crush you like a bug, do you think you stand a chance? Why stand here and commit suicide?
A slow, confident, almost melancholic smile curved Itachi's lips, a sight more unsettling than any overt threat. "You would have been right, if I still possessed only the plain Mangekyō Sharingan. The power that weeps blood and consumes the light from one's own eyes. But perhaps Madara didn't informed you, these eyes are different?"
His eyes flared. The crimson deepened to a bloody, arterial red. The three tomoe swirled violently, bleeding together before reforming into a new, intricate, star-like pattern of impossible geometry. An aura of power pulsed from him, a stark contrast to the bleeding, self-destructive energy of a normal Mangekyō. This was power perfected.
"Behold, the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan (Eien no Mangekyō Sharingan)."
He narrowed his gaze, the new pattern seeming to pierce through the veil of reality itself, fixing on the Deva Path. "These are the very eyes Madara Uchiha used to challenge Hashirama Senju and ascend to the pinnacle of the shinobi world as an SSS-ranked warrior. Let see if this eyes can defeat so called eye of the sage."
"I never liked you. Although I kept open the possibility that you'd massacred your clan for your village, in my eye, the eye of a god, you are failure incarnate, a pest that must be removed! A man who slaughtered his own blood, his own father, the lowest scum of the world! Yet I had use for you. I decided that one day I would deliver judgment and make you pay. I'm glad that day has come sooner rather than later."
Itachi gave a melancholic smile. "I await my judgment every day, and I know I have only one place to go: hell. But unfortunately, you will not be the one sentencing me there."
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The fight had not begun in the forest. Itachi, ever the ghost, decide on to hide in the forest ahead and fight gorilla war fare to stall for time.
"You cannot win, Itachi," the Deva Path said, the rain intensifying around them. "The gap between us is as the gap between a man and a god."
"There is only one God of Shinobi," Itachi countered, his hands flashing through seals with fluid precision. "And you are not him, despite what you belive. Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation (Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku)!"
Itachi didn't release a simple fireball. He unleashed a vast, sweeping wall of incandescent flame, a tsunami of fire designed to incinerate the entire clearing.
The portly Preta Path stepped forward and simply absorbed the entire attack. The sea of flames vanished into its outstretched palms without a sound, leaving behind only scorched earth. Simultaneously, the Animal Path slammed its hands on the ground. Summoning Jutsu (Kuchiyose no Jutsu)! Not one, but three creatures erupted from the earth: the giant, multi-headed dog, a colossal drill-beaked bird that immediately took to the sky, and a giant chameleon that shimmered and vanished from sight.
So this is the power of the Rinnegan, Itachi thought, his mind racing, processing information at inhuman speeds. Complete ninjutsu absorption. A multi-front assault with varied summons, none requiring a blood contract. Versatile.
The monstrous dog charged, its maws snapping, while the bird dove from above. Itachi's eyes look. Amaterasu!
Inescapable black flames erupted on the giant hound. It howled, a sound of pure agony, but as one head was consumed, it split and grew two more, trying to outgrow the unquenchable fire. As the bird swooped down, its beak a deadly spear, Itachi blurred. He didn't engage directly. Instead, a dozen crows erupted from his form, scattering in all directions. One crow, however, flew straight at the bird, its eye glowing with the Sharingan's light. A subtle genjutsu took hold, causing the bird to veer off course and crash into a nearby cliff face.
While the beasts were occupied, the Asura Path, its body bristling with hidden mechanisms, launched a volley of chakra-propelled missiles from its back. Itachi, now back in his original position, weaved between the explosions with grace. He appeared behind the Asura Path, a kunai aimed at its neck.
He was met with a fist. From the Asura Path's other side. An attack from its blind spot, perfectly timed. Itachi twisted, the blow grazing his cloak. They share their vision. A perfect panoramic view. A network. This is gone be difficult.
He kicked off the ground, putting distance between them. The Deva Path raised its hand. Universal Pull (Banshō Ten'in)!
Itachi felt a force seize him. He was yanked through the air, but he didn't fight it. Instead, he used the momentum, drawing three shuriken and flinging them at the other Paths. As he flew towards the Deva Path, its hand outstretched to grab him, he dissolved into a flock of crows. A clone.
The real Itachi appeared on a branch above them. Linked vision is a very powerful tool. But it is also a weakness. Too much information from six different perspectives can be as blinding as none at all.
His Eternal Mangekyō spun. He locked eyes with the Preta Path, the one that posed the greatest threat to his ninjutsu. Tsukuyomi!
The Preta Path froze, its mind plunged into a world of torment for second, seventy-two hours of torture compressed into a single, agonizing second. But instead of ensnaring the Path, a massive Rinnegan shattered the connection between him and the illusion. He dodged a projectile before it could decapitate him. He had hoped that casting Tsukuyomi (Tsukuyomi) would drag the other Paths into the same realm via their shared vision, but it seemed the Rinnegan could deflect even Tsukuyomi. Even Uzumaki Naruto was briefly pulled into that realm, although he broke free, it seems the Rinnegan simply could not be drawn in the first place.
The Deva Path floated forward. "Your eyes are impressive, but they are only eyes." It raised a hand, and from the ground around Itachi, several glowing chains of pure chakra erupted, lashing out like vipers. Divine Chains of Penance (Shinsei no Chōbatsu Kusari)!
Itachi was forced to leap back, the chains pursuing him. A sealing jutsu? No, it feels different. It's designed to bind and drain. He was forced to coat his body in the black flames of Amaterasu as a defensive shield, the chains hissing and dissolving as they made contact, but the effort was draining his chakra at an alarming rate. A imitation of the Uzumaki Kongo Fusa.
This was Nagato's own creation, a mid-level technique designed to subdue, not kill.
Seeing his opportunity while the chains kept Itachi occupied, the Human Path dashed forward, its hand outstretched, aiming for Itachi's head. Itachi, occupied by the chains, seemed to be trapped. But as the Human Path's hand was about to make contact, one of Itachi's crows, which had been circling overhead, dove down and poofed into a clone, taking the soul-ripping touch. The clone dissipated.
The real Itachi seized the opening. The Amaterasu shield vanished. He appeared before the mechanized Asura Path again.
I need to take them apart, piece by piece. Isolate their abilities.
He plunged his hand into the Asura Path's chest, not with brute force, but with a precise chakra shock that scrambled its internal mechanisms. The Path shuddered and collapsed, circuits sparking uselessly. One down. A faint translucent blade of Susano'o peaked out from its chest.
"You have no chance," the Deva Path's voice echoed, betraying no concern. "You cannot comprehend the true nature of my power."
From the corner of his eye, Itachi saw the chameleon summon shimmer into view, its long tongue lashing out to pin him. At the same time, the Animal Path, having recovered, summoned a giant, charging rhinoceros. It was a perfectly coordinated pincer attack.
Itachi didn't move. He simply let the tongue wrap around him. As the rhinoceros charged, about to impale him, the Itachi it held dissolved into crows. The real Itachi was already behind the Animal Path. He drove a kunai deep into its spine, severing its connection to Nagato, while simultaneously kicking the now-visible chameleon towards the still-catatonic Preta Path and the soul-less Human Path.
He slammed his hands on the ground. "Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique (Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu)!"
Multiple dragon-headed fireballs erupted from his mouth, weaving through the air and converging on the three downed paths, Asura, Human, and Preta as well as the stunned chameleon. The resulting explosion was immense, scorching the earth and turning the rain to steam.
Itachi stood, breathing heavily, his chakra significantly depleted from the repeated use of his Mangekyō. Four summons dealt with. Four paths downed. Only the Deva Path and one other remained hidden. He had deciphered their shared vision. He had systematically dismantled them.
A slow, deliberate clapping sound echoed from the edge of the clearing. A sixth figure, one Itachi hadn't sensed through the chaos, walked out from behind a tree. This one was slender, almost skeletal, with a vacant expression. The Naraka Path.
"A brilliant display, Itachi Uchiha," the Deva Path said calmly. "You have truly earned your reputation. You have analyzed, adapted, and overcome. But as I said. You do not understand."
The Naraka Path walked over to the charred remains of the three puppets Itachi had just incinerated. It opened its mouth, and a grotesque, purple entity with Rinnegan eyes of its own emerged, the King of Hell. The demonic effigy's own mouth gaped open, and long, spirit-like tongues shot out, grabbing the destroyed puppets and pulling them into its maw. It chewed for a moment, a sickening, spectral sound, and then spat them out onto the ground.
They were pristine. Perfect. Unharmed. The Asura, Human, and Preta paths rose to their feet as if they had merely been sleeping.
Itachi's blood ran cold. His mind, which had so brilliantly dissected the puzzle, was now faced with an impossible, soul-crushing solution. Regeneration? No… this is something else entirely. Restoration. He's not healing them, he's… remaking them from nothing. So this is the true power of the Rinnegan. Not just shared life… but renewed life. An endless cycle. So real person is not among them. All those rods.
"Now you see," the Deva Path said, a hint of what might have been pity. "You cannot defeat a god. I am eternal."
All six paths rushed him at once.
Itachi was almost out of tricks, out of time, his chakra dangerously low. The Asura Path fired a laser beam. The Animal Path summoned the giant rhinoceros again. The Preta Path was ready to absorb any ninjutsu. The Human Path lunged for his soul. The Naraka Path stood back, the King of Hell looming behind it, ready to restore any damage. And the Deva Path floated in the center, its hands outstretched, the orchestrator of his demise.
There was only one option left.
"I see," Itachi whispered to himself, a single tear of black blood running from his right eye. "A god must be answered with a god."
A colossal, spectral ribcage of crimson chakra erupted around him with a sound like tearing reality. It grew ethereal flesh, then layered, samurai-like armor, expanding outwards with a deafening roar of chakra. Susano'o!
The rhinoceros crashed against the armored deity and was shattered into smoke. The laser beam from the Asura Path dissipated harmlessly against the shimmering crimson form. Itachi stood within the Susano'o's core, a jeweled Magatama pendant hanging around its neck, safe within his ultimate, absolute defense. In its right hand, it wielded the Yata Mirror, a spiritual shield said to be able to deflect any and all attacks, changing its nature to match them. In its left, the Sword of Totsuka, a liquid, ethereal spirit weapon with the power to seal any soul it pierced for all eternity.
"This is the end," Itachi said, his voice amplified by the Susano'o,. He raised the Sword of Totsuka, its ethereal blade humming with sealing power, ready to end this endless cycle.
Nagato, watching through the Deva Path's eyes, felt a flicker of something he hadn't felt since his battle with Hanzō: genuine danger. This Susano'o was a perfect defense and a perfect offense. A paradox made manifest.
But the Rinnegan held may secrets, terrible answer.
"You believe your defense is absolute?" the Deva Path asked, its voice taking on a new resonance, a new level of power as it rose into the air, its arms spread wide. It clapped its hands together, and a small, black sphere of immense gravity formed between its palms. The sphere pulsed with a light-devouring energy. "Then I will simply seal your defense away, along with the very ground you stand on. Planetary Devastation (Chibaku Tensei)!"
He released it into the sky. The effect was instantaneous. The ground beneath the Susano'o ripped upwards. Trees, rocks, the very earth itself was torn from its foundation and pulled towards the sphere, drawn by an irresistible gravitational pull. Itachi felt his Susano'o being lifted off the ground, chunks of earth slamming into it, burying it, encasing it within a new, growing moon. The Yata Mirror was blocking the physical impacts, but the gravitational force was overwhelming.
Yet, even as the sphere grew, Itachi pressed forward, the Sword of Totsuka aimed at the Deva Path. He had one chance to seal its main body. But the growing force of the mass dragged both the sword and shield into it, since Susano'o had abandoned them to gain purchase on the ground. Itachi was out of chakra and could not blast the mass to destroy its core.
Nagato changed his tactic. This was taking too long. He cancelled the Chibaku Tensei, letting the debris fall on the Susano. He brought the Deva Path floating down until it was face to face with the struggling Susano'o. He placed a hand on its crimson armor. He wasn't pushing. He wasn't pulling.
He was absorbing.
The Preta Path's ultimate power, channeled through the Deva Path on a unheard of scale, began to drain the Susano'o itself.
Itachi had expected a push, a blast of repulsive force meant to shatter his ultimate defense. What he got was infinitely worse. He felt a sickening leeching sensation, a pull that targeted not his body, but the very chakra. The Preta Path's ultimate power, channeled through the Deva Path on an unheard of, scale, began to drain the Susano'o itself.
This was Nagato's checkmate. Seeing the crimson deity falter, the other Paths launched their final, coordinated assault, designed to overwhelm and utterly demolish the cornered Uchiha. This was no longer a battle of skill; it was a pure, overwhelming force.
From below, the Preta Path itself slammed its palms on the ground, creating a localized, invisible vortex of absorption around the Susano'o's feet. Itachi felt it instantly, he was anchored. He couldn't simply dispel his defense and escape on foot; he was trapped inside his own crumbling fortress.
The storm arrived from all directions at once.
The Asura Path's body unfolded like a grotesque metal flower, revealing a central cannon that unleashed a continuous, searing Chakra Laser Beam, while its shoulders fired a relentless barrage of micro-missiles.
The Animal Path slapped its palm on the mud-soaked earth, summoning a new horror: a Giant Crustacean with a shell as hard as diamond. It scuttled forward and unleashed a devastating Water Style: Water Colliding Wave (Suiton: Suishōha), a high-pressure torrent that slammed into the Susano'o, grinding to wear down its structure.
It was the Human Path, however, that showcased the true, terrifying nature of the Rinnegan. It stood back, its hands a blur of motion, cycling through techniques with a mastery that defied all logic. First, a sharp inhalation. Wind Style: Vacuum Blade (Fūton: Shinkūjin)! A stream of invisible, razor-sharp blades of pure wind chakra bombarded, each impact creating a high-pitched noice. Then, it slammed its hands on the ground. Earth Style: Earth-Flow Spears (Doton: Doryūsō)! Dozens of sharpened spikes of hardened earth erupted from the ground, impaling the lower legs of the Susano'o, which cracked and splintered under the assault. Finally, it pointed a single finger to the sky. Lightning Style: Thunderbolt (Raiton: Sanda)! A brilliant, jagged bolt of raw lightning crashed down from the storm clouds above, striking the Susano'o's crown.
Itachi, at the heart of his creation, felt every impact, every element. His mind reeled in shock. Fire … Water … Wind, Earth, Lightning… all from a single source. All wielded with such mastery. The rumors are true. The legends… This isn't just a unique dōjutsu… this is the eye of the Sage himself. A true monster.
The combined elemental onslaught was too much. The Susano'o, the absolute defense, finally met an attack it could not fully negate: the sheer, overwhelming force of five natures wielded in perfect, brutal harmony. It shuddered, and with a sound like shattering glass.
Itachi's plan, when the Deva Path began absorbing it, was simple: cut his losses, dissipate the Susano'o, and move on to the next round. But Nagato had anticipated him. He pelted the fading Susano'o with a fresh barrage, knowing that if Itachi abandoned his shield, he would be eviscerated.
Seizing the moment of its failure, the Human Path fired a black chakra rod from its palm. It shot through the swirling debris and the now-thinned, weakened armor of the Susano'o's leg. The rod pierced through the spectral plating as if it were paper and sank deep into Itachi's ankle, pinning him physically to the floor.
Before Itachi could even register the searing pain, the Human Path flashed through a single hand seal. The embedded rod glowed with a malevolent blue-white energy. A powerful Lightning Style jutsu, channeled directly into his body, erupted through his chakra network.
Itachi screamed.
It was a raw, guttural sound. His vision whitened, his muscles seizing violently. His very life force was being ripped away by the Deva Path's absorption, his body was being paralyzed and fried by the Human Path's lightning, and his ultimate defense, the very manifestation of his soul's power, was being unmade around him.The ethereal armor groaned one last time, cracked, and began to dissolve like sugar in water, flaking away into nothingness. He was exposed, pinned by the rod in his ankle and impaled by several more that now shot from the other Paths, skewering him like an insect specimen.
"It is over," the Deva Path said, its hand still outstretched.
Gravely wounded, bleeding from a dozen wounds, his chakra almost gone, Itachi looked up. A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips, bloody and triumphant. "You were right," he coughed, blood speckling his words. "I cannot defeat a god… alone."
He made eye contact with a single, ordinary crow perched on a distant, dying tree, a crow that had been watching the entire battle, unnoticed. It was his final contingency, a single feather left on the board.
The world dissolved into a vortex of black feathers and ethereal flame.
Crow Clone Art: Reverse Summoning (Karasu Bunshin: Gyaku Kuchiyose)!
Before the Human Path could lunge forward to claim his soul, Itachi's body vanished, replaced by a crow that fell to the ground, lifeless. He was gone, leaving Nagato and his Six Paths alone in the cratered, devastated training ground.
Nagato stood silent for a long moment. He had won. He had faced the legendary Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and utterly crushed him. Itachi had stalled him and forced him to reveal many of his abilities, but none were beyond Nagato's mastery as an individual.
He had to hurry: Itachi would surely send word to the Third Hokage, and before he reached the village Nagato needed to locate the Nine-Tails. With that thought, he unleashed a massive gravitational force that pulverized the surrounding area.
"Damn it!" he shouted.
Flashback end.
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Hiruzen Sarutobi was having a very, very bad day.
It had begun with a rare moment of quiet sentimentality—a luxury he could seldom afford. He was seeing his grandson off: Konohamaru was departing for the Ape Summoning Realm. Hiruzen clasped the boy's shoulder, seeing in him a reflection of himself, the future of the Sarutobi clan, and the vessel of the Nine-Tails. A swell of pride rose in him, tinged with the perpetual, gnawing anxiety that came with being guardian to Konoha's greatest weapon and its most beloved child. Unlike his own children, who had never come close to matching or surpassing him, Konohamaru had every chance to carry on his legacy as the next Hokage, the next leader of the shinobi world.
The moment he left, the bad day began in earnest. An urgent message, delivered by a frantic ANBU, had arrived from the Fire Daimyo's capital palace. It was under siege, attacked by a sizable army of mercenary.
How on earth had an army of shinobi mercenaries reached the very heart of the Land of Fire without anyone being the wiser?
The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence. Hiruzen convened an impromptu council, his mind racing as he pieced together the outlines of a larger plot. He did not trust Danzō Shimura to remain in the village during a crisis, the old warhawk was a vulture who saw opportunity in chaos, perhaps he had orchestrated this himself, this right in his ally. So he ordered Danzō to accompany the response team. He left Aruraya and Sukino in charge of the village's defence and departed for the capital at top speed.
The battle at the capital was a farcical, infuriating piece of political theatre. The mercenaries were competent enough, but they stood no real chance of breaching the Daimyō's palace defenses. They were a threat, but a manageable one. Their S-rank leader slipped away the moment Hiruzen reached the capital, let alone the battlefield. Hiruzen knew their true purpose was not conquest, but posturing, hence an opportunity for Konoha to display its strength and remind the Daimyō of his reliance on their military might, a performance Danzō and he were all too eager to stage.
So, Hiruzen played his part. He fought with flashy, grandiose jutsu, holding back his true, terrifying power, making the mercenaries seem more formidable than they were. He allowed the fight to drag on, a carefully choreographed dance and near-misses designed to impress the nobles watching from the battlements. Beside him, Danzō did the same, his ROOT operatives moving with deadly grace but always stopping short of a killing blow. It was a tedious, and Hiruzen hated every moment of it.
From the shadows of a nearby rooftop, two figures watched. Kisame Hoshigaki, his bandaged sword Samehada quivering with a mixture of fear and bloodlust, and Sozin, observed the battle. Their mission was simple: ensure the fight lasted long enough. Ensure the Hokage was kept occupied.
"He's toying with them," Kisame growled, his shark-like teeth glinting in the torchlight. "I could've butchered this entire lot in the time it takes to boil a kettle. That old man is a monster, I wouldn't dare face him for all the riches in the world."
"Our orders are to maintain the engagement until we receive the signal," Sozen reminded him, his voice flat. " Pain requires time. The Hokage's performance serves our purpose."
Then, in the middle of Hiruzen parrying a clumsy sword strike with his Adamantine Staff, it happened. A single black crow, unremarkable in every way, broke through the chaos of the battle and flew directly towards him. It didn't land on his shoulder. It simply dissolved into smoke a foot from his face, and a small, tightly sealed scroll dropped into his waiting hand.
Hiruzen's blood ran cold. This was no ordinary messenger crow. It was a direct, emergency summons, linked to a seal he wore stitched into the lining of his robes. A seal only one person could activate. A seal Itachi Uchiha was only to use in the event of a catastrophic, village-level threat. For this message to be sent here, to his person, and not to the secret receiving chamber in his office, meant something was terribly, terribly wrong.
His fingers, steady through a lifetime of war and strife, trembled slightly as he broke the seal. He unrolled the scroll. There were only thirteen words, written in Itachi's neat, precise script.
Pain on his way to Konoha. I will engage him. Will try to Stall.
The world seemed to fall away. The sounds of the staged battle, the shouts of the mercenaries, the distant gasps of the watching nobles, it all faded into a dull, meaningless roar. The carefully constructed façade of the patient, theatrical old Hokage shattered, and what lay beneath was unleashed.
His face, a moment ago a mask of grandfatherly concern, became ashen, then hardened into a visage of pure, apocalyptic fury. The very air around him crackled and grew heavy, thick with a pressure so immense it felt like the bottom of the ocean. The mercenaries closest to him stopped mid-swing, their bodies freezing up, their lungs struggling for air as they were crushed by an invisible weight.
"Danzō!" Hiruzen's voice was no longer that of a leader. it was of killer."Finish this! NOW!"
All pretence was gone. Hiruzen left his position in a blur of motion that no one could follow. He was no longer playing. He was a god of shinobi. He moved through the mercenary contingent like a natural disaster. His Adamantine Staff became a blur, each swing shattering bones and pulping flesh. He didn't use flashy jutsu. He didn't need to. It was pure, overwhelming force, an application of speed and power that was utterly absolute. Danzō, seeing the shift, abandoned his own theatrics. His Wind Style jutsus, moments before just gusts to push enemies back, now became razor-sharp blades that sliced through armor and bodies with equal ease.
In less than a minute, the entire mercenary contingent was slaughtered. Slaughtered. Their bodies lay broken and torn across the courtyard.
From his distant perch, Kisame's non-existent hairs stood on end. He felt the chakra spike, a colossal, terrifying wave of pure killing intent that washed over the capital. it brough back memories.
"He knows," Kisame hissed, his usual bloodthirsty grin replaced by a grimace of genuine concern. "The old monkey knows. We're leaving. Now!"
Sozin needed no convincing. The two of them flickered and vanished, fleeing the capital as fast as they could. Kisame had a chilling hunch that their leader's plan had just gone horribly wrong.
On the palace battlements, Danzō Shimura approached Hiruzen, who stood amidst the carnage, his knuckles white where he gripped his staff. "What is it, Hiruzen?" Danzō demanded, his voice laced with annoyance. "This was a good opportunity to impress the Daimyo, to emphasise his dependency on us. You've literally terrified the man! Look!"
He gestured up at the royal box. It was true. The Fire Daimyo, who had been watching the battle with a mixture of fear and excitement, had fainted from the sheer pressure of Hiruzen's chakra release. His attendants were frantically trying to revive him.
Hiruzen slowly turned his head. "The leader of the Akatsuki," he said. "The man with the Rinnegan. Possibly Nagato Uzumaki, if our theories are correct. He is on his way to Konoha as we speak, or in the worst case, he is already in Konoha."
As he said the words, a second raven appeared, this one looking ragged, its flight unsteady. It landed on Hiruzen's shoulder, offered another scroll, and promptly collapsed, dead from exhaustion.
Hiruzen's hands were shaking now as he opened it. This scroll was longer. It was Itachi's last act, a message written in his own chakra before he had lost consciousness. It detailed his battle, the six paths, their shared vision, the horrifying ability to restore the fallen puppets, and the Rinnegan's absolute power over ninjutsu. It was a perfect, concise tactical analysis, printed on the page just as Minato had once printed the seal of the Flying Thunder God on his foes. The final line confirmed Hiruzen's worst fear: Escaped via reverse summoning. Critical condition. Will be unconscious any moment now, in crow realm.
Hiruzen went pale, the fury in his eyes replaced by a dawning, sickening horror. It had taken him, at most, ten minutes from receiving the first message to finishing the battle. The summons themselves would have taken several minutes to reach him. All told, maybe twenty, thirty minutes had passed since Itachi first engaged the enemy. That meant Itachi Uchiha, wielding the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, had only lasted fifteen to twenty minutes.
He had no time. He rushed to the Daimyo's chamber, barking orders at the guards to inform of a village-level emergency, then turned and left the capital, a blur of motion heading back towards his home. Danzō followed, his single eye wide.
They moved at a speed that tore through the landscape, trees becoming a solid green wall on either side. They were halfway to Konoha when it happened.
Shing! Shing! Shing!
Three kunai, trailing explosive tags, shot out from the forest towards Hiruzen. He reacted on pure instinct, his staff a blur as he smashed the projectiles out of the air. They detonated instantly, the explosions far larger, far more potent than any standard explosive seal. The force of the blast sent a shockwave through the forest.
Hiruzen and Danzō landed in a defensive crouch in a clearing, scanning the trees. And then, the last person Hiruzen wanted to see in the entire world stepped out from behind the trunk of a giant cedar.
Danzo's face, already grim, went bone-white. He took an involuntary step back.
The man was tall, clad in the archaic armor of a forgotten era, his long white hair swaying gently in the breeze. An infuriatingly calm, almost bored smile played on his lips as he rested a hand on the hilt of the massive sword at his side.
"Now, now, my old friends," Nobunaga Yukishin said, his voice a smooth, silken purr. "Don't hurry. It's not good for your old bones to be in such a hurry."
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Naruto found himself alone in a silent forest clearing, the soft rustle of leaves contrasting sharply with the agony that wracked his body. Tralucent chakra shackles bound his legs to the earth and his wrists to a gnarled tree trunk. Across his chest were the cruel crisscross scars of an invisible whip, each lash searing through flesh, nerve, and bone like living fire.
He remembered the moment it began. After leaving the tribal isles and driven by fury and sorrow at the corruption he'd unwittingly helped unleash, Naruto had sought seclusion to meditate. But his master appeared.
"You overstepped," the enlightened master said. "Your gift of the seal to the tribe was your right. But your rage was made known to your people, and now those higher must rebalance the scales fearing you." Naruto's heart thudded. "Your punishment is your choice: a longer exile… or seven days and seven nights of unrelenting pain."
Naruto did not hesitate. He had endured training since his ANBU days for missions past torture so that no physical torment could make him break. He would rather bear agony than see his sentence extended.
And so the invisible whipping began. With each crack, every nerve in Naruto's body exploded in pain. He felt it not just in his flesh, but in his mind, an unholy echo that twisted chakra and tore at his very soul. Normally a shinobi could detach, let the pain pass like a distant wind. But these lashes reached across every boundary of his being, dragging his thoughts into the maelstrom.
On the third day, Naruto nearly gave in. A whisper of self-doubt echoed: "This is too much." But he envisioned the faces of those he loved, his child, his beloved wife and a fresh surge of determination flared. He would endure.
By the fifth day, exhaustion had hollowed him. His limbs shook uncontrollably, and each breath felt stolen. On the seventh dawn, as the last echo of invisible steel faded, the shackles vanished. Naruto collapsed face first, eyelids heavy. He closed his eyes and drew a trembling breath, already feeling the first flickers of renewed energy in his mind.
He recalled his master's final words: "Choose well when your bonds are broken. Tonight, the drums of war will echo across the Elemental Nations." Though Naruto could barely move, his spirit stirred. The forest was calm… but only for a moment.
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Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of NTLHOS- Book 2!
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