Jiraiya was nervous to be moving with such a large group, shinobi generally worked in four man cells for a reason and as a the Gama Sennin he usually worked in even smaller groups of just himself. However he couldn't disagree that the threat of the Akatsuki was a major one, not after learning Pein could have likely flattened the village looking for Naruto.
It was strange to be under command of someone much younger than himself, but he was sure Zabuza had been made Mizukage for a reason. More nerve wracking was the presence of Karin Uzumaki, even if she was a ninja too she was practically a non-combatant compared to the rest of the squad.
He also didn't really like the revived Uchiha patriarch being on the mission, but had to admit he'd probably appreciate having an Uchiha who could take a mortal blow and get back up when Madara Uchiha was one of their opponents. The fact Fugaku had apparently been planning a coup was another black mark on the dead man's record, so Jiraiya didn't trust the man at all.
Under Zabuza's direction they moved as a single squad, whenever they asked about Utakata the Mizukage made it clear that they were looking to inform him that the Chigiri era was over. Despite this they were still at it for a while before one of the information brokers Zabuza had worked with as a nukenin reluctantly pointed them in the right direction.
Jiraiya couldn't fault the man for being wary, selling out nukenin to their home village as an illicit information broker was a surefire way to lose business and only the number of different villages working together had assured the man they weren't trying to pull a fast one. The broker clearly knew enough of shinobi affairs to realize something above his pay grade was going on.
It was still a long search and every single member of the squad was worried about how things were back in Konohagakure no Sato. Darui knew the Raikage could be intense and quick to action so he hoped the older man was doing okay with taking orders from a child.
Karin and Sasuke shared in worry for Naruto, they both knew him fairly well at this point in their own ways, one from leaving with him and one from shedding blood with him. Karin was worried the stress would be getting to Naruto who not only had to lead the village at such a young age, but was also a primary target of the enemy, she hoped he could deal with soldiers dying under him. Sasuke was worried about similar things, but he knew from experience the confident blonde Sennin would sooner throw himself on a blade than to put friends in danger and he'd get up to do it again if it'd help him win, the Uchiha considered it a good thing Naruto was Uzumaki as it not only gave him the endurance to actually pull off using himself as a human shield for his friends more than once but it also allowed him to awaken the Rinnegan apparently.
Yamato was more concerned about leaving multiple Jinchuriki in one place without him there but knew they just had to trust Naruto to keep everything under control, the boy was trained in Fuinjutsu by Jiraiya who praised the boy as either a genius or an idiot savant depending on his mood but always in favor of his Fuinjutsu specifically. Considering how quickly and easily the boy took to ninjutsu and his training in taijutsu and kenjutsu against his own kage bunshin as well as having Sharingan for a while and now a Rinnegan that could see through even genjutsu weaved by Sharingan the boy was likely to earn a new title once everyone saw him go all out.
Yamato had already heard some of Iwagakure refer to the blonde as Nidaime Kiiroi Senko, albeit not in a flattering tone, so he wondered how long it would take for some to start referring to him as Sandaime Shinobi no Kami considering the boy could use not only all Godai Kihon Seishitsu but also had shown capable of using Hyoton and Mokuton as well. The Anbu veteran wondered how many Kekkei Genkai his young new Hokage was actually capable of.
Fugaku was still amazed that Sasuke had Itachi's eyes and had given his own eyes to Naruto, even more insane was that Sasuke had shown no interest in attempting to obtain the Rinnegan for himself. The dead Uchiha was likely the only one of them not worried about the situation back in Konohagakure as even Zabuza was worried about leaving his ninja without their Kage.
Akatsuchi was worried about the back and hip bones of the Tsuchikage, Onoki was still powerful a powerful man and thanks to one of his ninjutsu the man could take all the weight off his bones plus he could flow Doton chakra through his body to harden the bones in battle but he was an old man all the same.
Finally after over a week on the hunt Karin spotted the chakra of a Jinchuriki, having spent enough time around Naruto to recognize demonic chakra. The group closed in and Zabuza approached Ukataka in a wooded forest between Konohagakure and Kirigakure.
"Godaime Mizukage-dono himself is hunting me?" Ukataka asked, already on edge. Despite having heard the rumors Chigiri was done for Zabuza had a reputation as a Kijin due to his massacre of his own graduating class.
"Yeah, you're my villages war asset so you're my responsibility." Zabuza said bluntly, "Listen we need to get you to Konohagakure, there's a Shinobi Rengogun and we're protecting the Jinchuriki from Akatsuki." he explained quickly.
"Akatsuki are after the Biju and have some powerful S rank ninja," Jiraiya added as he stepped up, "if they attacked you in force right now I can't guarantee we'd be able to win, there are more powerful ninja and defenses in place back in Konohagakure." he explained.
"How do I know this isn't some kind of trick?" Ukataka asked, "You could be this 'Akatsuki' in disguise for all I know." he pointed out.
Zabuza considered that is was fair to be cautious, "Now that we're here Akatsuki might use that sort of trick, but against just yourself they have a guy who can flatten buildings while the Gokage are in them." he said, giving warning of the power Pein wielded.
Ukataka's eyes widened, "How would I identify Akatsuki?" he asked quickly.
"Black cloak, red clouds." Jiraiya answered swiftly, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.
"Oh fuck." Karin swore, feeling the chakra above them.
"Language young lady." Madara said, getting the attention of the ninja who were more than a little concerned by his Jikugan Ninjutsu. Fugaku frowned in confusion at the man, narrowing his eyes as his Sharingan detected familiar chakra.
"Madara." Sasuke greeted coldly, stabbing the tanto Kakashi had given him through the left side of his chest as he appeared next to the masked man with shunshin. Yamato was stunned by the precision the dark haired young jonin managed with his shunshin.
"Well aren't you a fast one." Madara said calmly, surprising Ukataka who didn't know about the masked man being able to just ignore attacks.
"Ukataka-san, we need to leave now." Darui said, knowing they needed to get Ukataka back now.
Jiraiya performed Kuchiyose and summoned two toads, Fukasaku and Shima jumped up onto his shoulders without question, understanding what kind of mission Jiraiya was on already. The Gama Sennin started gathering natural energy to give himself a more Senjutsu chakra for when the fighting started.
"Aw already?" Madara said before disappearing and reappearing on a different branch with Kisame and the Pein who could Kuchiyose without seals or blood, "We just got here, kind of rude to just run off." he added before Sasuke chased his position and thrust Hakko Chakra To at the masked man again only to be forced back by Kisame.
The young Uchiha was forced to pull back in order to block Samehada with his tanto and found himself unable to shunshin away as the momentum of the blade sent him flying through the air. Zabuza charged Kisame and forced the other swordsman to block Kubikiribocho and keep him from pressing the advantage against Sasuke.
Jiraiya leaped at Pein with a Senpo: Rasengan only for it to be absorbed by the second Pein that was summoned. The white haired Sennin was forced on the defensive by the six arms of the Pein with the thickest neck Jiraiya had ever seen.
Madara appeared behind Sasuke with a kunai poised to stab but was surprised when the boy disappeared.
"What a coincidence, my left eye has the same power as the right eye of the great 'Madara Uchiha'." Fugaku sneered, surprising Sasuke at the tone his father used, "I wish, perhaps then I'd be able to do more than just put a stop to you, Obi-" he would have continued had the masked man not appeared in front him with his right fist in Fugaku's face.
Yamato and Darui urged Ukataka to follow them and the retreated from the battlefield, with Karin running ahead and Akatsuchi guarding the rear. The red haired young Uzumaki jumped back to Yamato in fear, "Two more at two o'clock and a third at eleven!" she warned quickly, Akatsuchi made a pair of Doton golems and then performed Kengan no Jutsu as he rushed ahead to assist.
Pein moved to give chase but was halted by Jiraiya, the white haired man firing an Endan that Fukasaku enhanced with a Toppa, "Shinra Tensei." the next Pein to be brought to the fight with Kuchiyose intoned, blasting the attack away before the six armed Pein rushed to engage Jiraiya in taijutsu again.
Sasuke went on the offensive against the masked man, giving Fugaku a chance to speak, "You're actually dodging now, Obito?" the dead Uchiha asked, surprising Sasuke that the man was not in fact Madara, "I'm going to guess you're physical when you want to attack." he assumed as he palmed a kunai, "So let's see if I can figure out how to hit you while you're intangible, not a trick I ever figured out." he mused as he rushed the Uchiha he'd presumed dead.
Pein frowned, "An imposter took the name Madara?" he asked, annoyed at having been fooled.
"I guess you aren't omniscient after all." Jiraiya said with a smirk, although he was disappointed the group escorting Ukataka were too far to hear that bit of information.
Kisame looked particularly annoyed by the deception and wondered what else Obito had lied about while claiming to be Madara Uchiha, "Seems your boss was borrowing on the fame of someone else." Zabuza mocked, baring his sharpened teeth at Kisame with a grin.
"That's a scary face you're pulling there, seems you're still a bit of a Kijin at heart." Kisame shot back, failing to hide how angered he was at being lied to. The two swordsmen continued to clash blades, Zabuza refusing to give his opponent space to perform hand seals since he knew a ninjutsu battle with the Kirigakure no Kaijin was not to his advantage.
Fugaku and Sasuke continued their own assault on the newly revealed Obito as the youngest Uchiha wondered how someone listed as killed in action was still moving around, it was just as unbelievable as Madara. Sasuke really did have something in common with Obito Uchiha, both had given their left eye to their team member.
Yamato made a quartet of moku bunshin and had them move to assist the golems Akatsuchi had formed, rushing past the ensuing melee between the constructs and a group of Zetsu bunshin. Karin warned the group of hidden enemies, allowing them to avoid and intercept the threats as they made their escape.
The red eyed Uzumaki gasped, "Above!" she warned frantically and Darui started weaving hand seals as he saw Deidara flying overhead. Yamato frowned but left the threat to the only one of them that had Raiton chakra, keeping himself ready to protect Karin or Darui from any other threats that might rear their heads.
"Ranton: Reiza Sakasu!" Darui declared, intercepting Deidara's attempted bombing run with a torrent of electrical beams that flowed like a Suiton no Jutsu through the falling clay pigeons. Akatsuchi rushed to intercept a Zetsu coming at the Kumo nin while he performed the ninjutsu, slamming his stone covered fist into the chest of the strange bunshin and knocking it back.
Fugaku noticed the light show and frowned, "Sasuke, return to Konoha and report to your Hokage about Obito Uchiha, if Kakashi has the same eye then the secret to beating this man is likely inside his left eye." he explained, "My own left eye isn't exactly like his, they're similar but I see that while mine can transport things his is capable of causing things to not exist. In which case my nature as a being created by Edo Tensei means he doesn't stand a chance, he'll run out of chakra long before I even begin to tire."
Sasuke didn't like it but knew the information would be good for morale since they weren't actually fighting Madara, he figured his Sharingan could help against Kisame but he didn't have the kind of sword that would allow him to get close to the blue skinned ninja and Samehada would just drain his chakra through Raijin no Ken so the young Uchiha bolted to catch up with the others.
Fugaku palmed a kunai in his left hand and continued the assault, noticing with a smirk that Obito had started dodging instead of turning intangible as he tried to chase after Sasuke but his attempt at disappearing into his eye was halted by the Mangekyo Sharingan of the dead Uchiha.
"So you can stop me from disappearing but can't stop my intangibility? An interesting match up." Obito mused, disguising his anger with curiosity.
"Perhaps it would have been a good match up for you if we'd crossed blades while I lived." Fugaku suggested, knowing that the limitless chakra Edo Tensei supplied him with was his reason for being able to defeat the intangibility.
"You said a moment ago that I didn't have a chance, allow me to correct you." Obito said before rushing Fugaku, the dead Uchiha countered by swinging his kunai at the masked Uchiha. The living Uchiha allowed the blades to pass through his intangible head before catch the wrists holding them as they came out the other sides.
Fugaku twisted his grips and Obito went intangible again, moving through Fugaku before slamming his right elbow into the back of the walking corpse and following up with a right back hand to the base of his skull. The dead Uchiha was glad he was dead, knowing that the blows he just took would be crippling if he was alive.
Jiraiya fought a defensive battle against Pein while the two Uchiha had their lethal intangibility dance, even with Senjutsu the man was outnumbered and the raw power the Rinnegan wielded split between mutliple bodies was something horrifying to behold. He noticed the situation and knew things were not looking good for him, even without turning it into a ninjutsu battle Kisame had more stamina than Zabuza and was fighting defensively. Combine that with Pein and the Sennin wondered how they were supposed to win this since Fugaku had outright confessed he still couldn't touch Obito so they were stuck in a stamina battle.
Jiraiya was only capable of winning his stamina battle since he had Senjutsu, but the Rinnegan being able to lift and drag him towards his opponent helpless was hard to beat. Only Fukasaku and Shima had prevented his death by firing ninjutsu at any Pein who tried to attack while he couldn't defend himself, thus they'd learned that attacking the one who could attract and repulse objects he was forced to halt his control.
Even with that in mind Jiraiya was still on the defense even with Senjutsu, he could fight them off thanks to the assistance of Fukasaku and Shima but couldn't land a blow that would put one of the Pein down without leaving himself open.
Despite Jiraiya's assessment of the stamina of the combatants Zabuza was wearing down on Kisame's defenses, the slightly lighter weight of Kubikiribocho allowing him an edge in speed and the two were close enough to equals in kenjutsu involving large blades. The Samehada could not get close enough to Zabuza to drain much chakra due to the reach the weapons granted allowing Zabuza to dance in and out of the threat of shaving blade while threatening Kisame, the Mizukage fighting aggressively and intently to try and force his way through the defenses of his opponent.
Fugaku was impressed with how powerful Obito had become, he was curious as the how he was alive but assumed it had something to do with the foreign chakra taking up half of his body. The dead Uchiha knew the others couldn't last forever like he could, the power of Edo Tensei was truly amazing.
Obito found his fist blocked by a flaming rib cage encasing the clan head before a skeletal arm back handed him through a tree, "I said already, you don't stand a chance." Fugaku repeated himself, "I have both of my Mangekyo Sharingan." he reminded as his Susanoo finished forming around him.
Fugaku leaped at the battle between the two swordsmen and his Susanoo threw a left hook at Kisame, the chakra construct was blocked by Samehada as the blue skinned shinobi chuckled, "That's right, give me-" he began to mock Fugaku only to stop himself short as the eye opening on the fist revealed he was in a genjutsu, and then he found himself caught within a second genjutsu, "Tsukuyomi." Kisame recognized this one.
"You know of the unbreakable genjutsu within my right eye?" Fugaku asked, surprised at the recognition from the Kiri swordsman.
"I was partners with Itachi until his little brother killed him." Kisame answered calmly, knowing there was no getting out of the genjutsu he had been trapped in.
"I see, so Itachi had this ability too." Fugaku mused, "From what Sasuke told me his other ability was Amaterasu, while Sasuke has Amaterasu and Kagetsuchi, now he has Tsukuyomi through Itachi's eyes." he had plenty of time to torture Kisame so he was taking his time musing over how powerful his sons had become.
"Wait is there like a pool of Mangekyo Sharingan abilities or something?" Kisame asked, assuming that to be the case.
"Not exactly," Fugaku answered with a shrug, "we of the Uchiha clan have attained these eyes before and as the clan head I had access to all records, certain eyes breed certain eyes. It was known that my union with Mikoto would likely breed Amaterasu due to the Mangekyo her father had. It's not a certainty," he explained, "but I'm glad to hear both my sons were powerful even if they did disagree with me."
"Didn't Itachi kill you?" Kisame asked, feeling like 'disagree' was an understatement.
"It was a very intense disagreement." Fugaku said calmly with a nod, "Still, his eyes must have been amazing, it's a shame he didn't stand with the clan." he added regretfully, "Well, since you were his partner why don't you tell me how Itachi was doing up until the end?" he asked, "Before we get to torturing information on the living members of Akatsuki out of you." he clarified.
Kisame chuckled, "Well aren't you a forgiving father, still proud of the boy who killed you?" he asked rhetorically, "Alright, well honestly right up at the end he was starting to suffer from an illness. He didn't outright tell me but the way he wanted to fight Sasuke I could tell he didn't plan on surviving. I wasn't sure why, he kept talking about the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and how it would allow him to surpass Madara. Now that I know a little more I think I get it, he didn't want to surpass Madara himself, he wanted to do it through Sasuke." the man explained at length to put off the torture.
Fugaku was surprised that Itachi had even told this blue skinned man of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, so he assumed there might actually be more to Kisame than it seemed, "What do you make of him sacrificing himself to make the enemy of your organization stronger?" he asked, knowing that for whatever reason his youngest son would stand with his teammate, who was the youngest Hokage ever. Fugaku had thought Minato becoming Hokage so young had been odd, but it wasn't like Hiruzen became Hokage as an old man, he just lasted a while.
Kisame shrugged, "I sort of wish he hadn't, and I feel bad for helping kill his little brother since I respected the man, but I want to see the plan through. Although I have some questions for 'Madara' now." he said the last part with a hint of venom that gave Fugaku an idea.
The Uchiha used the time within the Tsukuyomi to hypnotize Kisame with his eyes, knowing that it wouldn't buy much time against another Sharingan but also knowing Kisame was strong enough to make what he was about to do actually count. Fugaku was clan head of the Uchiha clan for more than just blood right, it was the duty of the clan head to be the strongest which is why Fugaku had intended on making Itachi clan head once a member of their clan was sitting as Hokage.
The dead Uchiha considered it a shame that Itachi had chosen the village over the clan still, but he recognized that Sasuke had grown up well considering how violently his parents had been taken from him and the man considered himself at least partly to blame for the incident.
Fugaku released Kisame from the Tsukuyomi and stepped aside, "I know you want to take down your village nukenin, but you and Jiraiya should retreat." he warned Zabuza as the hypnotized blue shinobi charged at Obito, swinging Samehada and forcing the masked Uchiha to dodge since Samehada would eat his chakra even if he did go intangible.
"What? Why?" Zabuza asked, wanting to press the advantage the Uchiha had made.
"Obito may only have one eye, but that eye is a dangerous Mangekyo Sharingan, you need to tell Sasuke that he has Kamui and my son should be able to find out what that is from my notes if he hasn't studied them already." Fugaku explained, "I can hold them off, I am currently immortal thanks to the Edo Tensei, but losing you and Jiraiya would be a devastating hit to morale."
"He's right." Jiraiya spoke up after he'd shot a blast of oil out of his mouth that Shima ignited with Katon and Fukasaku sent after Pein with Futon, "But with Pein here you'll just get overwhelmed." he pointed out, prepared to stay as well.
"We'll see about that." Fugaku said before using a ninjutsu that would test the limits of Edo Tensei, "Taiju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." the Uchiha intoned and a large regiment of thirty Fugaku suddenly appeared. Jiraiya was surprised but seeing the bunshin also used Susanoo the white haired man decided that it might work.
"Alright, fine, we'll retreat for now." Zabuza didn't look happy to be confirming the order but retreated just as Kisame was regaining control of himself. Jiraiya fled with the Mizukage as thirty Susanoo stood against Pein. The first one to charge them was absorbed by the chakra absorbing Pein, however the power of the Susanoo was difficult for even the Rinnegan to contain.
While the chakra absorbing one was busy the other three Pein were teleported next to a different group of Susanoo, the one that used Kuchiyose was torn apart but the thick necked one managed to dodge and evade the attacks. The third Pein repulsed the Susanoo away from himself and sent them flying through trees around them.
The chakra absorbing Pein keeled over as a hail of shuriken and kunai struck his back from a Fugaku that had dropped his Susanoo to sneak behind, this Fugaku began hand seals soon after that and unleashed a Gokakyu no Jutsu at the Pein who repulsed Susanoo.
Obito retreated with Kisame, not having expected Fugaku to be so powerful. As soon as he was gone the kage bunshin disappeared, "Hm, seems my bunshin don't have the limitless stamina I do." the dead Uchiha mused idly as he stared down the remaining two Pein.
Then Obito returned with a third Pein inside the Susanoo. Before Fugaku could react the new Pein grabbed at something close to the dead Uchiha and started pulling. The dead man realized his soul itself was being ripped out and wondered at the power the Rinnegan wielded as he quickly preformed a trio of hand seals before his body crumbled.
"Good work, Pein." Obito commended before the ashes of Fugaku returned and the soul disappeared from Pein's hand. The living Uchiha stared in shock before he recognized that the right eye of the dead Uchiha was shut, "Izanagi!?" he snapped.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you know this jutsu." Fugaku groused as he transported the soul sucking Pein with his left eye and thrust a swiftly palmed kunai at the orange haired man with his right hand, making a seal of confrontation with his left to help him quickly flow Katon chakra into the blade.
Pein dodged back but his coat caught fire as it was glanced by the edge of the ignited kunai and Fugaku tossed the weapon at Obito, weaving hand seals as the projectile flew right through the masked Uchiha without touching him, "Futon: Toppa!" Fugaku declared, blowing a blast of wind at the soul stealing Pein, picking up the dying embers on his coat and reigniting them with Futon chakra to engulf the man in swirling flames.
"Bansho Ten'in." Pein intoned and Fugaku was dragged towards the orange haired man before the thick necked Pein intercepted with a blast from his skull that became a cannon for firing blasts of raw chakra. The dead Uchiha took a moment longer to recover from the lethal combination thanks to his Edo Tensei body.
"I do wonder, how did you come by Rinnegan?" Fugaku asked as his body reassembled, "To my understanding it's the natural progression of the Sharingan due to our ancestry, but Jiraiya seems to believe someone named Nagato was the owner of those eyes and was Uzumaki. Are you a child of a rogue Uchiha and an Uzumaki I wonder?" the Uchiha mused curiously, trying to remember if there were any MIA Uchiha, then considered that Obito had been classified KIA and knew there was no point trying to wonder what other KIA Uchiha had in fact survived to be the parent of an Uzumaki in Amegakure.
"Your conceit is noted, Uchiha." Pein responded as he prepared a chakra receiver, "However my eyes are the eyes of god, I will purge this rotten world and rebuild it better. Sinful humans have been allowed to squabble with their free will for too long." he preached, gesturing to drag the still reforming Uchiha in, stabbing the Edo Tensei body through the chest with his Kuroikui.
"Eyes of god?" Fugaku asked, unconcerned by the damage, "And you call me conceited? You know you aren't the only one with the Rikudo no Me, I heard you fought Naruto Uzumaki." he accused, "Those Rinnegan of his are actually the eyes of my youngest son." he explained.
"Do you truly think it is merely genetics to awaken these eyes?" Pein asked, "There is far more to it than that, the Rikudo no Me are the ultimate eyes of spirituality. They are the eyes of the god of the ninja world." he explained, "There is truly something special about the Uzumaki, but I needed no Sharingan to obtain these eyes." he revealed, surprising Fugaku.
Before Fugaku could respond his soul was being pulled out again and he noticed the Pein he had defeated were restored, the dead Uchiha scowled, knowing this was because he'd taken his eyes off Obito. Still the shinobi resolved to hold them off as long as he could.
So when Fugaku's ash restored and both of his eyes were closed he used a single jutsu, "Taiju Bunshin Daibakuha!" he exclaimed, creating a swarm of clones to explode. While reforming the man smirked at the destruction he was capable of thanks to the stamina granted by being undead, but he could continue no longer as Pein took his soul for the third time and he had no more eyes to sacrifice to Izanagi. He wasn't sure how much damage he'd dealt without the use of his eyes so he would just have to hope it was enough to allow the others to return to Konoha.
Zabuza and Jiraiya both heard the massive explosion but neither dared slow down or look back, rushing to catch up with the rest of the squad. They could see the light show of the Ranton no Jutsu being used up ahead and knew it must be Darui covering the squad from Deidara.
Jiraiya frowned, knowing that jutsu like what Darui was using would drain chakra faster than the clay bombs Deidara used. He still had some natural energy and could feel Sasuke up ahead of them but was surprised by the Haraton no Jutsu that flew from the treeline and flew at Deidara fast.
The bird Deidara was flying on was struck by the Ryuhara and exploded, due to the distance Jiraiya lost track of Deidara so the man presumed he'd probably survived that but could have been injured if he didn't escape the blast radius in time. The jutsu had been fast but at that distance Deidara would have had time to prepare a contingency and avoid the blast.
This was confirmed when they caught up to Sasuke, who was scowling at the direction Deidara had been in, "He escaped." the young Uchiha informed and since he had his Mangekyo Sharingan active Jiraiya figured the boy had probably actually seen it in detail even at that distance. Zabuza wondered just how powerful the ocular abilities of dojutsu really were.
Sasuke didn't ask about Fugaku and the three of them continued to chase after their squad, rushing to catch up in case something strong attacked them.
Karin's eyes widened in fear as she felt something strong appear directly in front of them, "Twelve!" she shouted in warning and Akatsuchi made a golem that charged ahead as the group altered course. The golem was shattered by the six armed Pein.
Yamato quickly made a pair of moku bunshin and the two charged to try binding and stalling the six armed threat with Mokuton, effectively creating a living fence to stab at the Pein. Karin felt more presences ahead and wondered just how many Akatsuki were after them.
Before the red haired Uzumaki could declare her warning she was picked up and pulled towards the chakra she'd felt, "Karin!" Darui cried out, mostly to warn the others. The group halted as they saw Pein holding Karin by the neck.
"So you're their sensor." Pein mused as he created a Kuroikui, "Should I kill you first or make you watch them die for wasting our time?" he asked, "Personally, I feel merciful, so I shall end you quickly." he decided, lifting the sharp black spike to point at the trembling girl.
Before Pein could deliver the killing strike the smell of burning air and a flash of light interrupted, "Haraton:" Sasuke intoned as he leaped at Pein, who was surprised to see his right arm gone and Karin on the ground, "Kamikiri!" the young Uchiha declared, thrusting his left hand at Pein, the fingers and thumb glowing white.
The orange haired man stepped back to get out of reach of Sasuke only of the boy to make a knifehand and his fingers to seem to lengthen into a humming blade of Haraton chakra, the attack was too fast for even Pein to dodge fully and his cheek was turn open as he narrowly avoided having his skull impaled.
The blade of burning plasma retreated back to Sasuke but the hand remained a knifehand, "Kamikiri?" Pein asked, "A conceited name, don't you think?" he added hypocritically.
"I think it just earned it's name." Sasuke shot back, having heard of the ego of the man with the same dojutsu as Naruto, "If Kakashi can evolve his Chidori into Raikiri, then I can evolve mine into Kamikiri." he added, revealing that his new Haraton no Jutsu was an altered Chidori.
"Everyone! Keep running, there should be sensory ninja near Konoha!" Jiraiya shouted as he leaped at the six armed Pein and sent it flying with a Senjutsu enhanced kick, "I'll hold these guys back! Sasuke go with them in case Obito shows up again!" he added, moving to engage Pein.
Sasuke frowned and prepared to cut through Pein to move forward, "Shinra Tensei." Pein intoned, raising his left hand and sending Jiraiya, Sasuke, and Karin flying back, the girl wincing as her back hit a tree before the back of her head hit that same tree. The Uzumaki cursed internally, feeling dizzy from the blow.
Sasuke slammed against a tree but had tucked his chin to his chest and was less winded by the blow, while Jiraiya had been caught by Fukasaku and Shima grabbing onto trees to halt his momentum. Yamato enclosed Pein with Mokuton, "Run!" the jonin ordered.
Darui weaved hand seals as Akatsuchi and Ukataka continued towards Konohagakure no Sato. Karin struggled to stand and follow but stumbled from the blow to her head, Sasuke caught her and noticed the girl had a concussion. The Uchiha frowned since he couldn't just carry her with shunshin, but seeing as Darui had just used Reiza Sakasu and been repulsed by Pein for his efforts the youngest jonin picked up Karin and ran.
Sasuke would like to fight but knew he had to get Karin to safety first, then he could return and finish Pein off, "Hey kid!" Zabuza called out as he caught up, "Your dad says Obito has Kamui." he informed as Jiraiya rushed to intercept the six armed Pein going after Ukataka.
Sasuke frowned and wondered how the ability to suck things into a pocket dimension made someone intangible, "Sasuke! Ahead and below!" Karin warned in a sudden panic and the Uchiha jumped, leaping over Obito rising out of the ground. Zabuza focused his eyes on the center mass of his opponent, knowing from his battle with Kakashi to never make eye contact with the Sharingan, and swung his sword.
Kubikiribocho went straight through the masked Uchiha and he chased after Sasuke, apparently intent on taking out Karin for her sensory ability, "Behind!" the Uzumaki cried out, Sasuke activated Susanoo before he even turned to glance at what he'd stopped and saw the tail blade of the six armed Pein blocked by a flaming rib cage of Susanoo.
The younger Uchiha powered through and formed a flaming skeleton arm to grab the thick necked Pein and throw him through the trees away from the young jonin carrying the sensory iryonin. Sasuke stumbled and released Susanoo, even though his vision was still clear the Susanoo was a chakra intensive jutsu and the young Uchiha still hadn't managed to manifest the whole thing like Itachi had done.
Karin was concerned, she could sense Sasuke was running low on chakra but her head still throbbed painfully, then she saw Obito release Kisame from within his eye and realized just how much trouble they were in. Samehada was halted by Kubikiribocho as the two swordsman stared each other down yet again, Zabuza looking angered and the blue skinned man looking amused.
The red haired Uzumaki suddenly felt another chakra watching her and realized they were in range of reinforcements, so they just needed to hold out for reinforcments, however that idea didn't seem like it would work as the six armed Pein charged at the exhausted Uchiha holding Karin.
In a flash of yellow an old man appeared next to Sasuke and Karin before intercepting their assailant with a Rasengan. The thick necked corpse puppet was knocked flying back by the muscular balding corpse puppet with the swirling orb of chakra.
"Good job, Sasuke." Naruto spoke through Pachi, "Now get Karin-nee back to the village, more reinforcements are on the way." he ordered, weaving hand seals with Pachi's hands as a group of Zetsu's odd bunshin came charging. Sasuke scowled but knew he was out of energy to fight and carried Karin to safety, escaping after Akatsuchi and Ukataka.
Yamato and Darui came flying over the heads of the Zetsu bunshin, hitting the ground hard in both cases and neither on their feet. Jiraiya landed between the injured jonin and the approaching Zetsu, "Figure out any of this guys powers for yourself yet?" the Sannin asked his student, knowing he could hear him through the corpse of the nukenin.
A Gokakyu no Jutsu launched from Pachi at the Zetsu bunshin, "A few." Naruto answered, still finding it weird to speak through a corpse, "I also figured out there is a limit to how far his corpse puppets can get from him, so he can't be too far and he has to be high up." he added quickly, finding that information relevant.
"So as long as he isn't in range to attack the village running from him does work." Jiraiya mused as a mixed group of Kiri and Kumo nin arrived, the Raikage himself leading the Kumo contingent. The two sides sized each other up, Jiraiya using Kuchiyose to summon two human sized toads sized toads and ordering them to get Yamato and Darui back to the village.
"Tsunade may be the best healer, but we have battle medic tents set up on the outer edges too!" A called out, "If they aren't in mortal peril and they just need light healing then take them there instead!" he ordered, the toads looking to Jiraiya for confirmation who nodded, confident neither was grieviously wounded.
"So," Pein began as his spiky haired form that repulsed and attracted objects approached the front line of Akatsuki's side, "you really have learned to split your power between corpses. What other abilities have you learned, kohai?" he asked, it was hard to tell if he was being genuine about using such a term for the other Rinnegan bearer or using it in a mocking way considering the serious tone he maintained.
Naruto frowned but kept Pachi's face neutral as he watching the six armed and chakra absorbing Pein bodies move to flank the 'leader', "That body is Yahiko right?" he asked instead of answering.
"What the hell happened, Nagato?" Jiraiya asked, sounding regretful and looking disappointed.
Pein didn't react visibly but Naruto realized his actual body language was hidden still, "This body once went by that name, now we are only Pein." he answered, "The Rikudo you see before you are Shurado," he introduced the body of the six armed man, "Gakido," he continued by gesturing to the body that absorbed chakra, "and Tendo." he finished with the one who spoke for the rest.
Naruto decided thinking of each corpse as being named for their path was easiest as he broke down the meaning behind the words in order to figure out more powers. Tendo was the most worrying and it seemed to be the most powerful, Gakido he could do too, but Shurado was an interesting one and he realized the arms were like the arms of a puppet.
"If you will not introduce your own Rikudo, then I will learn by force." Pein said after a moment and his Shurado rushed Pachi. Naruto countered by flooding Pachi with Senjutsu through the receivers and the now golden eyed Pachi intercepted with a right hook that didn't need to physically land for the thick necked man to be struck in the face by an invisible force and knocked back into a jumping left hooking kick from Jiraiya that knocked the corpse into the ground before the older Sennin landed on his left foot and twisted to break the thick neck of Shurado Pein with a dropping axe kick that he crouched into.
"You're up against two Gama Sennin here." Jiraiya reminded Pein as he stood up, only to notice Shurado Pein disappearing in a puff of smoke, "Ah, so this time your corpse restoral is kept off battlefield, and I take it Obito is your transport for them this time?" he guessed.
"Who is Obito?" Naruto asked through Pachi, confusion evident on his face to those in the Hokage tower far from the battle.
"The masked Uchiha was only using the name Madara, he's not as immortal as he pretends." Zabuza answered, "That being said, Fugaku was supposed to hold these guys back, so I guess Uchiha just like to bluff about being immortal." he suggested, "I blame the eyes for giving a god complex." he added with a dry look at the two remaining Pein.
"Ningendo tore out his soul to end the Edo Tensei by exorcising his spirit." Pein responded, "To his credit I had to send his soul to the afterlife three times before he stopped coming back." he added with a hint of annoyance. Jiraiya was impressed that Fugaku had stalled Pein at all, but he still didn't like Edo Tensei.
"What the hell kind of power is tearing out souls!?" Naruto snapped through Pachi, shocked that such a power was available to the Rinnegan.
"Ningendo is a step above the Chikushodo you already displayed." Pein answered, "It is also a step below Shurado, who is a step below Tendo. I have theorized that the powers you attain are based on your own capability, if Chikushodo is the best you can do then it is natural for you to learn of the paths below it but reaching above your own ability shall not be easy." he explained, "For me, Tendo came naturally." he added to remind them of the difference in their ocular abilities.
Naruto wondered why Pein seemed to be genuine about referring to him as a kohai earlier, "Guess I'll just have to fight you and figure out how to surpass those abilities myself, senpai." he declared to his opponent, having Pachi perform the snake hand seal to harden his body for combat with Doton: Domu.
"Not so simple." Tendo answered, "While Chikushodo is a mental place of fear, instinct, and survival of the fittest, Ningendo is a passion, desire, doubt, and pride. Logically both are possible for a human to attain, but Shurado is a place for gods, albeit jealous gods. I doubt you capable of having the mind set of an Asura, kohai." he lectured.
Naruto got the feeling that last 'kohai' was suspposed to be mocking but it was really hard to tell with Pein, especially when his advice seemed genuine. The Uzumaki took a moment to consider what the mentality of an Asura would be, but only knew that they were 'jealous war gods' and he didn't know how to think like a god.
Obito teleported Shurado Pein to the battle and disappeared just as A tried to hit him with a lariat, the Raikage was undeterred and followed through to try taking out the delivered Pein, "Shinra Tensei." Tendo Pein intoned and A was sent flying backwards to land among his Kumo shinobi.
Naruto frowned but was prepared to use Senjutsu for as long as he needed to thanks to his main body remaining still in the Hokage tower. So he was prepared to use Pachi's body to defend the living ninja of the Shinobi Rengogun, keeping the hands of the dead old man in the snake seal he made a trio of Moku Bunshin, shaping them to look like himself instead of Pachi. Naruto noticed he could look through the eyes of these bunshin too and prepared to split his focus between four fighting bodies.
Then Naruto became aware of another problem elsewhere.