"Summoning Jutsu — Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"
The earth split open.
A thunderous rumble shook the entire village as the colossal Gedo Mazo rose from the ground, towering over Amegakure's skyline. Its roar echoed for miles, sending civilians into panic.
All eyes turned toward it—including Hinata's.
"What... what is that?" she whispered, her Byakugan widening as she took in the monstrous figure. But realization struck her immediately.
Her eyes sharpened. "No—he's going to—!"
Hinata darted aside just as Obito's chains lashed out, followed by Pain's chakra rods, both missing her by inches.
The other Paths of Pain, newly revived by the Hell Path, converged. All six surrounded Hinata completely.
Obito and the rest of Akatsuki stepped back, forming a wide perimeter to block any escape—and to protect themselves from what came next.
A deep dread filled Hinata's chest. Her instincts screamed danger.
The Gedo Mazo opened its mouth. A massive chakra dragon erupted outward, screaming as it spiraled toward her.
Hinata retaliated immediately, unleashing her Repulsion Force in combination with her Revolving Heaven. The shockwave blasted five of the Six Paths away—
all except for the Deva Path, who countered her repulsion with his own.
The collision of their powers sent tremors through the ground.
Hinata tried to retreat, but Pain pressed forward, closing the gap between them in an instant.
Their close-quarters exchange was furious, the tempo so fast that Hinata couldn't find a single opening to activate Yomotsu Hirasaka again.
And then—
the chakra dragon struck.
Its energy wrapped around her like chains, binding her. Hinata's entire body convulsed as the dragon's mouth latched onto her, draining her chakra in a violent surge.
Her Ten-Tails cloak flickered—then cracked apart like glass.
"Drink... drink...!" Nagato's voice strained as blood trickled from his nose, his body shaking under the force of channeling the Gedo Mazo.
Hinata's body trembled violently as her chakra—her life itself—was sucked away. The Ten-Tails' power within her began to fade, flooding out uncontrollably like a broken dam.
Nagato's eyes narrowed, his voice grim. "She's stronger than I imagined. But once she's drained, she'll be finished. This is our only chance to end it."
Hinata's vision blurred. Her body felt heavy. Cold. Empty.
Is this… death again?
"No…" she whispered hoarsely, tears mixing with the rain. "Not again… I won't die… I can't die! AHHHH!!"
Having died once before, Hinata didn't want to die even more. She screamed silently and struggled desperately.
All of the Ten-Tails' chakra had been extracted—
except for one crucial element.
The core essence that allowed regeneration and restoration of the Ten-Tails' chakra still remained within Hinata's body. No matter how much the Gedo Mazo pulled, it could not take that last fragment away.
Whether it was the instinct to survive or an inherent bond between Hinata and the Ten-Tails' power, that final core refused to be removed.
Nagato didn't know this. He continued forcing chakra into the statue, his breath ragged, his body trembling. The Gedo Mazo's suction intensified, as though it sought to tear out Hinata's very soul.
The Ten-Tails' chakra flowed in a cycle—
regenerated within Hinata, then immediately drawn out by the Gedo Mazo again.
With each pulse of energy, the statue's lifeless, skeletal form began to change.
Its surface rippled.
Its branches twisted into limbs.
The withered husk of a tree-like monster transformed into something terrifyingly alive.
Hands and feet grew where roots once were.
Ten tails erupted behind it.
Its head stretched into a monstrous visage filled with fangs and claws, and its roar split the air, shaking heaven and earth.
That single, eerie eye blinked open—
and in an instant, the Gedo Mazo became an incomplete form of the Ten-Tails itself.
Breaking free from Nagato's control, the beast let out a deafening shriek and charged straight toward Hinata.
The Akatsuki members who had surrounded her scattered immediately.
"It's done! The Ten-Tails!" Obito's voice was ecstatic.
Even Black Zetsu trembled with excitement.
Only Nagato's face darkened with realization. "Something's wrong..."
The Ten-Tails showed no intention of stopping.
It barreled forward with terrifying speed, directly toward the fallen Hinata.
Just when everyone thought she would be crushed beneath its claws—
The Ten-Tails' body convulsed. Its massive head twisted violently, and in the next moment, the entire creature dissolved into a torrent of raw chakra—
and rushed straight into Hinata.
Every last fragment of it.
When the torrent vanished, silence fell.
"!!"
Obito stared, speechless.
Black Zetsu froze.
The others didn't yet understand what had happened, but Konan, sensing disaster, immediately turned into a flurry of paper and flew toward Nagato's location.
…
Meanwhile, Hinata's appearance began to change once again.
Her once-dark hair turned pure white, shimmering under the dim sky. Her skin grew paler, almost luminous. Two short horns extended from her head, growing longer as her chakra stabilized.
The torn remnants of her outfit remained the same, but behind her, the small black orbs began to multiply—
from one, to two, to three… until there were nine.
Hinata didn't fully understand what had just happened. All she knew was one thing—
she was alive.
And that was enough.
With a trembling breath, she activated Yomotsu Hirasaka.
Seeing this, Obito instinctively reached out his hand. "Wait!"
Hinata glanced back with a faint, defiant smile. "Then keep waiting."
She stepped into the darkness and vanished.
"!!"
Obito's expression twisted in disbelief. He spun toward Nagato.
"What happened?! Why was the Gedo Mazo absorbed into her body?!"
Nagato wiped the blood from his lips, breathing heavily. "The Gedo Mazo broke free of my control. It moved on its own… drawn to her chakra. The moment it regained autonomy, it acted purely on instinct. It—wanted her power."
Obito clenched his fists, pacing in frustration. "Damn it… The Eye of the Moon plan depends on the Ten-Tails! Without it, the project is meaningless! We need that statue—without it, we're blind!"
Nagato's gaze hardened. The Gedo Mazo wasn't just a weapon; it was the cornerstone of Akatsuki's vision for "peace."
Without it, everything they'd built so far would crumble to nothing.
"We'll find her," Obito said grimly. "No matter what it takes."
Nagato gave a weary nod. "We have no choice."
…
A pitch-black void opened far from Amegakure's ruins.
Hinata tumbled out, hitting the ground hard before finally lying still.
The nine black orbs around her floated instinctively into formation—since she was on her back, they no longer hung behind her but formed a protective ring, circling her from nine directions, each hovering half a meter above the ground.
For a long moment, Hinata simply stared at the sky, her mind blank. Slowly, she lifted herself up. As she moved, the orbs shifted with her, responding like extensions of her will.
"I'm… still alive?" she whispered.
Her trembling hands clenched into fists. The exhaustion that should have crushed her was gone. Instead, a stronger, deeper energy surged through her veins—vast and boundless.
Hinata smiled faintly. "It's good to be alive."
…
She allowed the Ten-Tails Chakra Mode to fade. The transformation reversed—the horns receded, her white hair darkened back to its original color, her skin regained warmth, and the nine orbs dissolved into faint motes of light before vanishing entirely.
She placed a hand over her lower abdomen and closed her eyes. Beneath her palm, she could feel it—the monstrous energy that now slumbered within her.
"The Ten-Tails…" she murmured. "It really exists."
Suppressing the whirl of thoughts in her mind, Hinata began to assess her condition. Her chakra pathways were stable, her body undamaged, her strength fully restored. In truth, she was stronger than ever.
After resting briefly, she stood and took a deep breath.
"Should I go home…?"
She hesitated. Returning to Konoha was dangerous. Akatsuki would never let her go so easily—and her presence might bring danger to her family.
But if she stayed away too long, Akatsuki might target her home instead.
Either choice was perilous.
"Then…" she murmured to herself, "if the soldiers come, I'll meet them head-on. If the flood rises, I'll hold the line."
Activating her Byakugan, Hinata scanned the landscape to determine her surroundings. The vision stretched for kilometers—and far ahead, on the edge of a cliff, she spotted a young child dangling precariously from a tree branch.
Without hesitation, she opened Yomotsu Hirasaka, stepping through the void to appear beside the child in an instant.
"Hey, what are you doing? It's dangerous here." Hinata scolded gently as she reached out and pulled the child to safety.
Through her Byakugan, she noticed bundles of herbs growing near the cliff's edge, and a bamboo basket strapped to the child's back.
Collecting herbs…? she thought.
The child, though close to Hinata's own age, looked small and timid. To Hinata, who carried the maturity of another lifetime, the girl seemed much younger.
The path down the mountain was treacherous, so Hinata decided to escort her. Along the way, she found several rare herbs and helped the child collect them, her calm demeanor masking the storm she had just survived.
----
[Translator's Note:]The review page looks empty because of the story's re-upload. So, everyone, please leave a review, and I'll update 5 chapters tomorrow!