They had only just praised the Third Hokage's grandson for performing well and not embarrassing the Old Man, but now Uzumaki Naruto was the one truly putting on an outstanding display.
"Gramps, don't you see the shadows of two familiar people in him?"
Gamabunta sighed with emotion.
In his eyes, it was as though Namikaze Minato and Jiraiya had appeared once more.
"Indeed. It seems little Naruto has already surpassed those who came before him," Fukasaku said.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Deva Path Pain said calmly.
Hearing his name spoken like that only pushed Naruto's fury even further.
"Let's settle this."
The Deva Path's power won't recover for a while. In that case…
Deva Path Pain considered the situation as the other Paths gathered around him.
In truth, he hadn't taken Uzumaki Naruto seriously at first. He had assumed he could simply capture him and leave.
But Naruto had just destroyed the Asura Path with a single punch.
That display of strength forced him to become cautious.
Clearly, Uzumaki Naruto's power had already surpassed ordinary Kage Level shinobi by a considerable margin.
Everyone watching hurried to commit the details to memory.
A normal Shinra Tensei seemed to have an interval of roughly five seconds.
But after using a Shinra Tensei on such an enormous scale, the recovery time was clearly far longer. The technique had also placed an immense burden on Deva Path Pain.
In his current state, he couldn't even attack directly. If he forced himself to do so, his body would probably suffer severe damage.
"Gamakichi, take Granny Tsunade somewhere safe," Uzumaki Naruto ordered. "Granny, leave the rest to me. Tell everyone else in the village not to interfere either. If I have to protect them while fighting, it'll only make things harder."
"Understood. Take this Katsuyu with you. She should be able to help a little. She has information on those enemies."
Tsunade handed Naruto a palm-sized fragment of Katsuyu.
The tiny Katsuyu crawled inside the front of Naruto's clothes.
"I know this probably isn't the time to ask, but because I'm absorbing Natural Energy right now, I can sense everyone's Chakra." Grief crept into Naruto's voice. "Did Kakashi-sensei leave the village on a mission?"
He had already guessed the truth.
He simply didn't want to believe it.
Tsunade bit her lip and said nothing.
"Naruto…"
Hatake Kakashi sighed as he watched the diary.
In the video, Naruto understood.
Nothing more needed to be said.
The battle between Uzumaki Naruto and the Six Paths of Pain erupted at once.
The Animal Path immediately summoned a swarm of Summoned Beasts.
But Naruto was even stronger than Jiraiya had been during his battle against Pain. The creatures that had posed such a deadly threat to Jiraiya were helpless against Naruto's Sage Art: Big Ball Rasengan.
As Naruto closed the distance and engaged the Six Paths of Pain directly, Katsuyu constantly fed him information about each Path's abilities.
With the terrifying strength granted by Sage Mode, Naruto defeated the Preta Path in only a few exchanges.
"There's no more time. I'll settle this with the new jutsu I just learned."
Naruto had run out of patience.
"I see. So you have become a Sage and learned the same Ninjutsu as Master Jiraiya," Deva Path Pain said.
Then he revealed a startling truth.
He had once studied Ninjutsu under Jiraiya.
Jiraiya had been his teacher too.
"That makes me your senpai. We were taught by the same master, so we should be able to understand each other. Our master always wished for peace…"
Before Deva Path Pain could finish, the enraged Naruto cut him off.
"Don't give me that!"
Using his Shadow Clone Jutsu, Naruto formed a terrifying Rasengan.
Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
"You're the ones who did this! How can you look at any of this and call it peace?"
Uzumaki Naruto roared, holding the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken in his hand.
For Deva Path Pain to lecture him about peace after killing so many people was nothing short of a cruel joke.
"You are blinded by what lies directly before you. You simply do not understand the true meaning of peace," Deva Path Pain replied.
"Surrender quietly. Your death will bring peace."
To achieve his final dream and bring ultimate, lasting peace to the Shinobi World, he was willing to pay any price.
"I told you to stop joking!"
Uzumaki Naruto hurled the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
The horrifying Wind Release jutsu erupted with unimaginable destructive power.
"So this is that Ninjutsu."
The moment Namikaze Minato saw the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, he remembered something.
Back when Kaede Kitahara had still been in their timeline, he had asked the future Uzumaki Naruto about this technique.
Minato hadn't seen the completed version at the time.
Now he finally had.
Its power was every bit as astonishing as expected.
"Naruto, you managed to blend Senjutsu energy and Wind Release Chakra into the Rasengan. Well done. As expected of my son."
Namikaze Minato smiled.
Almost instinctively, he began following the same principle and formed a Rasengan.
It wasn't nearly as large, only half the size of his palm.
He infused Wind Release Chakra into it, and within moments, a miniature Wind Release: Rasenshuriken took shape.
"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, huh? Not bad, Naruto. Not bad at all."
A grin spread across Namikaze Minato's face.
Although it was his first attempt, the technique hadn't been particularly difficult for him.
Still, he didn't release it.
He had overheard Kaede Kitahara and Uzumaki Naruto discussing the technique before. Unless the user entered Sage Mode and threw it from a distance, using it at close range risked getting caught in the attack as well.
Minato had been worried that the Rasengan lacked enough destructive power.
Now he had found a new technique that suited him perfectly.
Had he known this move back then, he could have taught Uchiha Kenji a painful lesson on the spot.
The Sage Art: Rasenshuriken possessed unprecedented power.
In a single strike, it defeated the Human Path.
"So this is Naruto's new technique?"
Uchiha Sasuke murmured to himself.
Its power was definitely no weaker than the Amaterasu his future self would unleash through the Mangekyo Sharingan.
The fact that Naruto would one day become a savior clearly wasn't just empty praise.
After several exchanges, Deva Path Pain finally noticed an opening.
"Your movements have slowed. It seems your Senjutsu power is weakening. Did that last attack exhaust your Senjutsu Chakra?"
Deva Path Pain had clearly realized what was happening.
Sage Mode had a time limit.
Senjutsu Chakra couldn't continuously produce itself. The user had to keep gathering and refining Natural Energy.
During a battle this intense, Uzumaki Naruto obviously couldn't fight and gather Senjutsu Chakra at the same time.
He was already approaching the limit of how long he could maintain Sage Mode in combat.
Namikaze Minato and Jiraiya, who also knew Sage Mode, understood that better than anyone.
Of course, that only applied to the Uzumaki Naruto of the past.
For the current Seventh Hokage Naruto, what limit?
There was no such thing.
He had never even heard of one!
Gathering Senjutsu Chakra while fighting was basic technique for him.
He could probably even form a Spirit Bomb by hand if he felt like it.
The only thing he lacked was the ability to transform into a Super Saiyan.
Damn it. Sage Mode is about to wear off. Before that happens, I have to take this guy down.
Uzumaki Naruto panted heavily.
At that moment, Shima blew a vast cloud of dust and sand across the battlefield, cutting off the Rinnegan's field of vision.
The Rinnegan might have been powerful, but it wasn't the Byakugan. It couldn't see through solid objects.
At the critical moment, Gamabunta was thrown forward and swallowed the Animal Path whole.
Inside Gamabunta's mouth, Uzumaki Naruto crushed the Animal Path with brute force.
The Summoned Beasts created by the Animal Path immediately vanished.
After such an intense battle, Naruto's Sage Mode finally ended, and his appearance returned to normal.
Everything had unfolded exactly as Deva Path Pain predicted.
Sage Mode had worn off on its own.
Deva Path Pain seized the opportunity and charged.
Uzumaki Naruto fled while carrying a massive Kaguya's Scroll, trying to reenter Sage Mode and replenish his Senjutsu Chakra.
Even then, he would only be able to use four more Rasenshuriken.
He had to settle the battle before he ran out.
At that crucial moment, everyone noticed something remarkable.
Naruto had left two Shadow Clones at Mount Myoboku to gather Senjutsu Chakra.
When the time came, he summoned one of them to the battlefield.
The moment he dispelled the clone, all the Senjutsu Chakra it had gathered returned directly to his body.
"You can use Shadow Clones like that?"
Naruto's creative application of the Shadow Clone Jutsu left everyone watching the diary stunned.
None of them had ever considered such a method before.
Normally, Shadow Clones were treated as disposable Ninjutsu, primarily used for reconnaissance.
Even when Senju Tobirama created the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he had mainly intended it for scouting.
No one had imagined it could be used this way.
Maintaining a Shadow Clone already consumed a great deal of Chakra. The clone continuously drained Chakra for every moment it remained active.
That was why Kaede Kitahara had to periodically create a new Shadow Clone to stand guard at Gato's place. The previous clone would eventually disappear once its Chakra ran out.
Using Shadow Clones to gather Senjutsu Chakra was an extraordinarily creative tactic.
Of course, it couldn't be maintained indefinitely.
Once the clone exhausted its own Chakra and vanished, all that effort would be wasted.
"As expected of the number one most unpredictable ninja."
A faint smile appeared on Hatake Kakashi's lips.
Sensei, if you could see this, I'm sure you'd be proud.