Chapter 3

Power of The Rinnegan

Naruto sat in his room at the Akatsuki underground base in Amegakure, a single candle casting eerie shadows around the dark room, his eyes glazed over in thought as he recalled the previous events of the day.

After hearing about his parents and all that he had to go through it left the Namikaze feeling cold, callous and revenge craving.

'I will get my revenge on them, I will!' he thought menacingly, referring to the people in Konoha who had neglected and hurt him to a breaking point.

'I'll make them feel the pain I've felt and kill all the people they hold precious,' he finished, clenching his fists. His cold hollow eyes lifelessly switched their gaze from the stone floor to the full length mirror opposite his bed, drinking in his new appearance.

The Jinchuuriki's visage had changed drastically to that of his former due to a powerful genjutsu that was placed on him from birth in order to disguise his true features, but it was removed by Nagato to reveal his true appearance.

He was no longer a midget but the appropriate height or taller for an eleven year old. His hair which was once a brilliant blonde was now a deep blood red, which he had inherited from his mother and he also had pale skin to match. His hair was styled differently. It was longer and the front instead of spiking up in no particular order grew to the right obscuring his eye and ending at his chin. The back like the front was still spiky but more so towards the top and decreased in volume until it reached the nape of his neck.

His face was longer, slimmer and more sculpted but his whisker marks were far less prominent, almost invisible. His expression had changed from the fake grin to his true countenance which was cold, callous and full of pain.

The maroon haired shinobi who had truthfully hated orange but wore it as part of his mask had discarded the wretched jumpsuit and now donned a black fish net shirt with a black fitted vest over it. On the back of the vest was the Namikaze clan sign which consisted of a blood red triangle with a smaller inverted one in its center. His upper arms to his wrists were banded in raven bandages and black fish net arm warmers covered his forearms. He also wore scarlet fingerless gloves with metal plates across the knuckles, standard black shinobi pants and sandals. However, his sandals differed from the ordinary kind because they had steel soles and a hidden blade which flicked out when a kicking motion was made with the foot. Over all this he wore the Akatsuki cloak and on the second finger of his right hand sat the ring which all Akatsuki members wore but his had the kanji for 'Kitsune' engraved upon it's flat ruby red surface. His short nails were also coloured black, adding to his sinister appearance.

The Rinnegan user dragged his empty gaze away from the mirror and blew out the sputtering candle, kicked of his sandals and removed his cloak and shirt. Then he lay down on his back, closing his eyes in order to get some rest and peace of mind before the beginning of his training on the morrow.

Back in Konoha

Four Jounin, Kakashi, Gai, Asuma and Kurenai stood before the Sandaime in his office awaiting his orders. Sarutobi observed the three shinobi and Kunoichi before him for a few minutes and then begun to speak in a low but deadly and serious voice.

"The kidnapping of Uzumaki Naruto by the Akatsuki is from this day on deemed as an S-Class secret and his not to leave this room, is that understood?" asked the grim Hokage.

"Hai, Hokage-Sama," they replied in sync.

"It will only be revealed if he kills of injures any shinobi of Konoha and we are forced to label him as a nuke-nin." Hiruzen stated. "Kakashi, Naruto will be replaced by Rido Hokaru until he returns, if and when he does. Also if asked about Naruto's absence tell the team that he is currently not in the village and may not be back for a long period of time," the Hokage in formed the Copy Nin. Hiruzen then dismissed the shinobi and they disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

Sarutobi sank in his chair while taking a long draw from his pipe, his shoulders slumping dejectedly as he let out a large sigh along with some smoke from the contents of the pipe which he was smoking. The lines of his deeply withered face became more pronounced due to his stress and sadness, aging him even further.

'I'm sorry it had to go this way, Naruto-kun,' he mused but was drawn back to reality when an aging man with long spiky white hair and a large scroll on his back entered the office through the open window, an expression of great rage and sadness etched into the very lines of his face.

'So you've heard, Jiraiya,' thought Sarutobi sadly.

"I-Is it true?" spat Jiraiya harshly not bothering to offer a greeting to his former sensei. Hiruzen nodded in reply.

"Shouldn't you be sending a troop of ANBU after him?" Jiraiya asked. Sarutobi shook his head and sighed,

"It's too late now," he said " and as you know finding the Akatsuki base is next to impossible in a short period of time and in the worst case scenario they've probably already killed him," he finished, not daring to look Jiraiya in the eye.

The two shinobi stood in silent grief, their gazes locked on the monument of the Fourth as the sun slowly sank into the horizon.

Naruto lay on the damp ground of the training field that surrounded the Akatsuki base writhing in pain and screaming, courtesy of the genjutsu which had been placed on him by Nagato's Deva Path in order to activate his Rinnegan.

Inside Genjutsu

A five year old Naruto was surrounded by a group of villagers, their cold eyes boring into his soul like daggers as they pelted his young fragile body with rocks, stones and kunai.

"Yameru, yameru!" he screamed in pain while trying to shield his body from their attacks but no relief came. More painful memories surrounded him inside the genjutsu playing over and over like an eerie horror slide show. He was being beaten by the caretakers at the orphanage, berated by fellow academy students, being told that he was worthless by Kakashi, being neglected with no food and clothing, being forced to sleep on the street before the Sandaime bought him an apartment. Suddenly something snapped and he couldn't take it anymore.

"STOP!" he screamed as he held his head in his hands, hot red chakra seeping out of him forming the silhouette of a two tailed fox around his body. His nails lengthened to resemble claws and the usually faint whicker marks on his cheeks thickened, increasing his feral appearance. As the foul chakra filled the air he let out a deep guttural roar his head snapping up as he did so, revealing his eyes. But instead of the expected crimson orbs with slit pupils both his sclera and iris were grey with darker grey pupils and concentric rings surrounding his eye ball. He had activated his Kekkei Genkai, the legendary Samsara Eye.

'Activation complete,' thought the Deva Path as he quickly knocked out a rampaging Naruto.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes to find himself lying on a bed in a torch lit room.

"How are you feeling?" asked a voice from his right. The Namikaze immediately whipped his head around to find the source of the voice and saw a Kunoichi with grey-purple hair held in a bun at the top of her head which was accented by two paper roses while two pieces of hair framed her face. She also had a small stud on her lower lip and wore the Akatsuki cloak.

'She must be Konan,' Naruto thought because she was the only female member of the organization.

"I'm fine," he replied somewhat shortly then he noticed something different about his vision. He could see the chakra being emitted from Konan's body along with her chakra pathways and tenketsus.

'So this must be the Rinnegan,' he thought while smirking at his good fortune.

The crimson haired shinobi rose from the bed on which he lay and crossed the room to view his reflection in the small mirror at the other end of the room. The sight which met his eyes was one that he would never forget. Instead of being greeted by his usual electric blue orbs grey irises and sclera stared back at him with darker grey concentric rings surrounding his eye ball. Naruto closed his eyes and let the power of the Rinnegan flow through his body,letting it control his very essence.

'Hn, know I'm one step closer to getting my revenge on Konoha,' he thought darkly a smirk gracing his lips. The pre-teen stood with his eyes closed for a bit longer until Konan's voice interrupted his twisted musings.

"Since you seem to have recovered from the genjutsu," she said "You are to meet Nagato outside at the training field, but before you go there is a task I must fulfill," Konan finished as she held up a grey and black device that greatly resembled a stapler.

"This device is used to insert the chakra receivers which you will need in order to control the Six Paths of Pein, which Nagato will explain to you," she added when she saw his confused expression. Naruto nodded and sat down so Konan could perform her task.

"This is going to hurt," she warned but before he had time to reply she pressed the device down on his nose bridge, repeating this action three times and either side.

Naruto gripped the sheets on the bed in pain and bit back a scream as Konan pierced various parts of his face, inserting the chakra receivers. The pain soon eased and the blood flow ceased due to the Kyuubi's speedy healing abilities. A few minutes later Konan straightened and announced,

"I'm finished," while unhooking the square mirror off the wall so Naruto could view her creation.

Naruto took the mirror, his eyes widened slightly at his reflection. He could barely recognize his own face with all the piercings and the Rinnegan, the only familiar feature was his whisker like birth marks.

On either side of his nose bridge were three black studs, once piercing his lower lip and two adorned his left eyebrow. Six more studs lined the rim of each ear right down to the tip of his ear lobe and a set of three spikes pierced the pinna of his left ear, completing his dark rocker like appearance. A small smile formed on his lips as he observed in his new piercings, then he turned to face an anxious Konan.

"I like it," he said earning a small smile from the usually serious Kunoichi. Her smile widened slightly as he Shunshined abruptly out of the room towards the training grounds.

'He is so much like his brother,' she thought while shaking her head at their similarities.

A few minutes later Naruto stood in front of Nagato at the training field.

"So I see you have activated the Rinnegan, Otouto," commented Nagato, a small pride filled smile gracing his cold stoic features.

"Indeed," replied Naruto with a smirk.

"As you know the Rinnegan is our Kekkei Genkai but unlike the Sharingan it cannot deactivate," began Nagato, "It was passed down into the Namikaze clan from the Rikudõ Sennin himself. The user of the Rinnegan is gifted with the power of gods to bring peace to this wretched world through pain. The abilities of the Rinnegan are largely unknown because the Namikaze were always very secretive, even more so than the Hyuuga. The Rinnegan is able to control the Six Paths of Pein: the Deva Path, Animal Path, Preta Path, Human Path, Asura Path and the Naraka Path. The user is also considered as the seventh Pein which controls life and death."

Nagato continued to explain about the abilities and weaknesses of the Paths. He also explained about the Rinnegan's ability to control all five elements including the sixth element gravity and being able to see chakra and images in slow motion similar to that of the Sharingan and Byakugan.

Naruto stood silent with shock; he had never imagined that the power of the Rinnegan was so powerful. It even put the 'great' Sharingan to shame. The red head smirked and thought,

'With this new power I will be ten times stronger than the Teme; I will even have the power to wipe out and entire nation.'

Nagato watched his brother's expression; he could see the hunger for power and revenge in his eyes.

'Yes,' he thought 'Use your pain and hate Konoha with all your strength and you will become truly strong,' the Akatsuki leader mused darkly a smirk playing across his lips.

"Since I have explained the abilities of the Rinnegan to you I will start by teaching you the simplest which is a jutsu called Shinra Tensei. This jutsu gives the user the ability to manipulate gravity and repulse any type of matter away. If enough force is put into this jutsu it can easily shatter wood, bones and stone."

Naruto watched in awe as Nagato demonstrated by holding his palm out and the trees surrounding them were blown to bits.

"But your chakra control must be perfect in order to correctly manipulate the jutsu," The older Namikaze informed Naruto.

"My chakra control is not excellent and still needs a lot of work," replied the Jinchuuriki, " but I've already mastered the tree climbing and water walking exercise and I'm still working on the Kunai and leaf."

"Excellent," praised Nagato.

"Now that I have activated the Rinnegan I shall have access to all the elements, am I correct?" questioned Naruto. Nagato nodded in reply,

"Yes, but before you move on to learning how to use those elements you need to perfect your chakra control in order to use the Shinra Tensei, Banshõ Tennin and Chibaku Tensei. So for now you will practice your chakra control, you are to have all the exercises perfected by tomorrow at sunrise, I will come and check to see if you have completed the task," stated Nagato and disappeared in a gust of wind.

Naruto walked over to the nearest tree and plucked a leaf off of it. He then proceeded to insert chakra into it causing the leaf to hover over the tip of his finger for a few seconds before he lost control and the leaf disintegrated from too much chakra. The Namikaze continued to practice the exercise and by sundown he had it perfected.

Naruto lay on the ground beneath the tree from which he had just descended, his face pointing towards the gloomy grey skies of Amegakure. The night breeze gently ruffled his crimson hair, his body surrounded by leaves and kunai which he had been practicing his chakra control with all day. The red head forced his worn out body to sit up and he reached for a kunai and leaf which lay beside him. He then inserted chakra into both, causing them to hover over his finger tips. He pushed himself to his feet and walked towards a tree, when he was a few yards away he picked up speed and begun to run up the tree, all the while hovering the kunai and leaf over either index finger. He repeated this a few times then he flipped backwards and landed on his feet, letting the kunai and leaf fall to the ground.

'Finally, it's perfect," he thought, referring to his chakra control when suddenly his body gave way due to chakra exhaustion and he hit the damp ground face forward before weakly rolling onto his back.

'Just a little while longer and I will be strong enough to get my revenge on Konoha and crush the rest of the shinobi world,' he thought darkly as a smirk formed on his lips and he let out a sinister cackle; his evil laughter echoed into the night as unconsciousness closed in and the gloomy heavens of Amegakure gave way and the rain poured down, soaking his clothes in the process but his world had already gone dark.