Shinigami in the Ninja World

Naruto looked down.

In an instant, Kisame unleashed a massive amount of chakra, creating a large hemispherical water reservoir in the forest.

His appearance also changed.

The Samehada on his back was gone, as its chakra merged with Kisame's own, transforming him. The already shark-like Kisame now had a dorsal fin on his head and scales on his arms, turning him into a living merman.

However, he didn't seem to have any intention of engaging in combat, instead swimming freely in the water, occasionally lifting his head and releasing his malevolent aura without restraint.

Was this meant to block the ground?

Five Rinnegan puppets floated up from the water.

Sasori also leaped off the large bird, landing on the water's surface. He tore open his robe, revealing his body. A large puppet face was embedded in his back, with a scorpion tail protruding like a tongue from its mouth.

Their chakra was surging intensely.

One formed hand seals.

"Summoning Jutsu."

Within the white smoke generated by the jutsu, a peculiar but faint chakra began to stir.

The tallest puppet raised its hand.

Using the smoke of the "Summoning Jutsu" as cover.

With a mechanical click, the puppet's arm split open, revealing several launch ports. Missiles, trailing flames, shot through the white smoke.

Naruto clasped his hands together.

"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

Dozens of chains surged from behind him, racing toward the missiles.

They flew swiftly, but the chains controlled by Naruto were even faster.

As they were about to collide, Pain raised both hands.

His right hand aimed at the chains, his left hand at Naruto.

He activated his jutsu.

Naruto's pupils dilated.

The chains were twisted by a strange force, narrowly missing the missiles.

Meanwhile, Naruto's body was pulled by a completely opposite force.

Chakra fluctuated, and the invisible struggle stirred small currents in the air.

Pain was also surprised.

This was the first time using "Banshō Ten'in" (Universal Pull) had been so difficult.

It felt like trying to pull someone out of quicksand.

He had to expend more chakra than usual to move Naruto.

But his goal was achieved!

He intended to make Naruto collide with the missiles.

But the pulling speed was too slow.

This gave the blond boy enough time to respond, reaching out and abandoning the incantation.

"Hadō # 1. Shō (衝, Thrust)."

A strong burst of air struck, causing the missiles to explode prematurely at a distance, with only some smoke and flames brushing against Naruto, singeing his clothes.

The Akatsuki's numbers gave them the advantage, and their assault was relentless.

As the smoke began to rise, several summoned beasts leaped forward, attacking.

A crab, an ox, a three-headed dog—they were all different, but each had a black rod embedded in its head, controlling them.

The Yang Nine-Tails on Naruto's right shoulder sprang into action.

"Be careful!" Naruto warned.

But the Yang Nine-Tails had already grown in size, stomping down.

These summoned beasts might have posed a threat to ordinary shinobi due to their large size, but to a tailed beast at the top of the food chain, they were nothing more than appetizers!

Under the pressure of chakra and the Nine-Tails' body, they were instantly crushed.

However, the other summoned beasts, protected by their summoning jutsu, vanished in white smoke before suffering fatal injuries.

Only the three-headed dog remained, and after being crushed into a bloody pulp, dozens of smaller one-headed dogs sprang out from its flesh.

Each of them not only had a black rod on its head but also carried one or two clay spiders.

Deidara clicked his tongue and formed a seal with his fingers, murmuring, "Detonate!"

The clay spiders swelled, emitting a white light before exploding violently.

The Nine-Tails' pupils contracted.

Only then did it hear Naruto's earlier warning.

The resulting fire, smoke, and surging shockwaves made the Nine-Tails stagger, destabilizing its chakra.

Its massive body began to fall.

Kisame grinned viciously, shooting upward like a swordfish.

Naruto extended his hand, pressing it against his abdomen.

The Four Symbols Seal twisted, swallowing both the Yang and Yin Nine-Tails, resealing them, and then immediately releasing them again.

The two Nine-Tails reappeared on his shoulders.

"How despicable!" The Yang Nine-Tails bared its fangs. "To set a trap among the summoned beasts, so treacherous and sly."

Naruto frowned.

The Yin Nine-Tails muttered, "That's because you're stupid."

"I am you too!" they bickered with each other.

The Akatsuki's assault continued.

Aside from Kisame, the only other non-flying member, Sasori, pulled off his mask.

When his lower face was covered, he still looked human.

But when fully exposed, the puppet features were all too apparent.

His jaw, which resembled a door panel, dropped, revealing a thick metal tube. Chakra activated, and a barrage of poisonous needles shot out.

Naruto didn't even attempt to dodge.

He let them hit him, but they couldn't even penetrate his defenses.

"Sasori-san, what a disgrace." Deidara laughed wildly, "Indeed, art is an explosion. Your soft attacks are not art."

As they exchanged words, an invisible wave of chakra approached.

Naruto drew his sword and slashed.

Blood spurted, and white smoke billowed—it was an invisible summoned beast.

But just as it disappeared, a puppet wielding a black rod swung it down at Naruto's head.

With Naruto's sensing abilities, this was far from a sneak attack.

However, the weapon in this puppet's hand...

What's the deal with this?

It had a similar aura to the Truth-Seeking Orbs, but it wasn't quite the same.

It felt like a degraded, incomplete version.

Yet, even as an incomplete product of the Sage of Six Paths' power, it still possessed extraordinary strength.

In its clash with the Nine-Tails' sword, sparks flew, but it didn't break.

Perhaps due to being a puppet or still needing chakra to control, this puppet, despite wielding a formidable weapon, was lacking in taijutsu, and after a few exchanges...

A flash of red light.

The puppet's right arm, along with the black rod it was holding, was sliced off and fell into the water with a splash.

At that moment—

The puppet that had launched the missiles bent over and extended its hand.

Its head opened like a blooming lotus, exposing mechanical inner workings. Chakra gathered, and a moment later, a laser beam shot out.

Two fists suddenly split open with a "pop" from the wrist, releasing jets of air as they arced through the air, circling behind.

Naruto raised his hand.

"Bakudō #39. Enkōsen (円閘扇, Round Lock Fan)."

The laser clashed against the barrier, rippling away.

At that moment, the fists flew toward him, each wrapped in centipede-like clay.

The two Nine-Tails turned their heads, focused on the threat, and gathered small Tailed Beast Bombs in their mouths.

They released the bombs, which collided with the fists, detonating the clay.

However, beneath the smoke, two small birds, no bigger than a palm, darted towards them.

The two Nine-Tails were startled.

Naruto quickly reached back and caught them.

Deidara, full of anticipation, shouted, "Explode for me!"

But the scene he hoped for—of limbs flying everywhere—did not happen.

Naruto opened his hand, revealing a scroll. The two clay birds were sealed inside it.

"A summoning? And sealing?" Deidara exclaimed in shock. "When did you do that?"

In just the blink of an eye, he had managed to perform both techniques?

Naruto did not respond.

The next wave of attacks had already begun.

Sand surged, forming sharp spikes, attacking from four directions—above, below, left, and right.

This was... Gaara's "Sand Release."

Naruto swept the battlefield with his senses.

A new chakra source had appeared next to Sasori.

It was a humanoid puppet, and the sand release originated from it.

A puppet with a Kekkei Genkai?

Naruto used Shunpo to dodge, the sand chasing after him, but it was too slow to catch him.

Pain raised his hand.

"Banshō Ten'in!"

That strange pulling force reappeared.

Naruto's movement was briefly disrupted.

The sand surged towards him.

In response, the two Nine-Tails gathered Tailed Beast Bombs of considerable size in their mouths and launched them, colliding with the sand and dispersing the chakra contained within it.

Seizing this brief opening, Naruto raised his hand and forwent the incantation.

"Hadō #54. Haien (廃炎, Abolishing Flames)."

A purple flame disk flew out, spinning swiftly as it sliced towards Pain.

In that critical moment, the one-armed puppet stepped forward.

It bit its finger and slammed its hand down, forming seals.

"Summoning Jutsu."

A massive stone panda appeared out of nowhere, positioning itself between the "Haien" and the one-armed puppet.

But with just a single collision, the stone shattered.

The disk continued its trajectory, unfazed, slicing through the one-armed puppet.

Flames engulfed it, burning the entire puppet to a crisp in an instant.

Even the "chakra receivers" crumbled in seconds.

One puppet's combat ability was lost.

But in the next second, another puppet waved its hand, igniting purple flames on the water's surface.

Naruto was momentarily stunned, his eyes wide with surprise, as he looked down.

This was... "Soul."

Did the Rinnegan have the ability to manipulate souls?

The purple flames formed a circle, and an enormous head emerged from within.

Its face was entirely purple, with Rinnegan eyes, and it wore a massive hood with the character "王 (King)" inscribed in the center.

It opened its mouth.

A tongue, resembling a hand, extended out, wrapping around the severely damaged puppet and pulling it into its mouth.

The power of the soul seemed to be restoring and repairing it.

Sasori continued to control the human puppet, with sand swirling around.

Deidara waited for an opportunity, mixing his clay bombs with the sand.

Pain intermittently manipulated "gravity" to interfere.

"Nine-Tails, I need to borrow your power," Naruto said softly, his gaze locked on Pain. "I'll need to get serious to deal with those eyes."

The two Nine-Tails responded in unison.

Naruto reached out and grabbed his second sword.

He began chanting the release command.

A connected power surged from both the "Nine-Tails" and "Ashura," intertwining and glowing with golden light, as four additional arms sprouted from Naruto.

"His aura just grew even stronger!" Deidara gritted his teeth, even lowering his flying altitude slightly.

Konan flapped her wings, retreating a few steps.

"Not using the other mode?" the Yang Nine-Tails asked.

The Yin Nine-Tails' eyes sparkled.

Is this... Shikai?

It felt its power becoming slightly stronger, seemingly amplified by "Ashura."

Naruto shook his head. "To deal with them, it's better to keep the target small."

"Borrowing the Tailed Beast's power, huh?" Pain remarked, his tone still cold. "An interesting display."

Naruto didn't respond to him, his gaze sweeping over the battlefield.

The main attackers on the Akatsuki's side were Pain, the puppet that could launch missiles, and Deidara.

Sasori was providing interference and support.

Kisame was waiting for Naruto to approach the water.

But most importantly, three people hadn't yet made their move: Konan, who could use "Paper Release," as well as a fat man and a puppet with long, waist-length hair.

What were they planning?

"Wow, that move is so cool!" Deidara exclaimed, his voice tinged with envy. "How do you do it? Storing power in the sword in advance? And even turning chakra into extra hands?"

Naruto didn't reply.

He simply clasped his hands together, and golden chains lashed out.

~~~

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