Amata of Samsara

by WeirdGuyOne

The Six Paths of Pain, an ability of the Outer Path, is the utmost mastery of the Outer Path of the Rinnegan. An ability designed by Nagato Uzumaki, the Third Sage of Six Paths, it had allowed him to puppet corpses and infuse the abilities of the Rinnegan onto them. After Nagato's mastery with the other paths of the Rinnegan, he awakens the final Path of Pain, the Path of Amata.

1. The Amata Path awakens

I apologize for any mistakes I make. The Path of Amata is an OC with no history. The additional powers of the rinnegan awakened by the Path of Amata, as well as Amata's own abilities, all come from Lt Ouromov's Worm CYOA v6 mod. Some are power tweaked. If you can figure out what they are, you get a cookie. Amata has two abilities, Animal Path will have two abilities, and the Human Path will have two abilities.

Figure out which one is which and see if you can even guess the power tweak.

{ Line Break }

My first instance of awareness brought me to confusion. I could feel the cold of steel even though I had no idea what steel was. Information was seeping into my mind and each instance of thought was filled with confusion.

'Where am I?'

Feeling was the first sense to come and then I began to hear. Hearing was disorienting, noises and sounds coming into existence with a suddenness that caused my body to twitch. My sense of feeling developed, allowing me to feel things pierced into my flesh.

It was hard to do but I sorted through all the different sounds to try understanding what they were. I heard rain, I heard voices, I heard clicking.

I could see next with a vision disorienting and split into seven different views. I couldn't even differentiate which one was which from my confusion and disorientation. One of the views turned to an altar where a body with a ratty robe and orange hair laid while other views seemed to be looking at the different room. I had no basis to go off vision but this seemed unnatural.

'Who am I?'

I began taste now, tasting chemicals on the tip of my tongue. There was ash, dust, and more. Even the air tasted different. I only realized I could smell afterwards due to the sheer influx of information from the senses.

'What is going on?'

My eyes finally opened. What am I looking at? I thought my eyes were already open. No, they weren't. Those are different pairs of eyes and mine clicked. I froze, all my senses freezing as well, as I started to parse through all the information each sense was giving me. I could see through multiple eyes with the same sight but was unable to differentiate which was which. The only one I knew for a fact was me was the one staring at the ceiling.

My body was unprepared for each sense and I could barely think. Questions flew into my mind that I couldn't even understand. I closed my eyes and shut my mouth to focus on the rest of the senses. That was when a rush of energy or feeling jerked into me and I spasmed, my eyes shooting open and my mouth letting out a breathless gasp. It came through metal in my arms, in my face, in my body. Everywhere, I felt this rush of energy.

'What's happening to me?'

My body went into overdrive and the-

Everything reappeared and I could still each perspective from before, except in different locations.

'What happened?'

The voices from before, when my senses were overwhelmed, came back to me. This time, though, I could parse through what they were saying. I knew the language even if I didn't know what it was called. This information was confusing but I quickly focused on learning what was going on.

"I shall name this the Path of Amata."

The voice was deadened and speaking to a woman with blue hair. Now that I was able to pay attention, I realized each view had a purplish tint to their sight.

"Are you sure of th-" Her mouth closed shut and her head tilted to look at the body on an altar. I was seeing through other perspectives the body. The same orange-haired body with ratty robes. I could distinctly see feminine traits on the body from the vision of the body looking at it near the blue-haired woman.

The perspective began to move closer, that was when I could see every detail. The body was lined with black rods like piercings that I knew to be chakra receivers. It was still and frozen.

I could see pathways inside the body as the perspective gazed, with each receiver glowing with power.
I began to open my eyes, the perspective I was watching showing the woman open her eyes in synchronization.

And my vision stared into the gazes of a man wearing black cloaks with red clouds with piercings of his own and the same ringed gaze staring at me. Now that I could see, my eyes detected five others with the same design and everyone followed the same pattern. Orange hair with one sole exception without hair, piercings, and a unique pair of eyes.

We all shared the same vision and I finally understood that I was the one on the Altar.

The blue-haired woman, who also was wearing a black cloak with red clouds the other, what I knew to be Paths, came over. I noticed the rest of the paths leaving the room.

She waved a hand towards the others while an energy began to pulse through the chakra receivers lining my body. Information was pouring into me and I could feel a mutual exchange of information about abilities I had. Right afterwards, the chakra in my receivers fled.

The Angel of Amegakure tended to me, changing the cloak I was wearing. Underneath the cloak was attire of loose-fitting clothing that seemed to be designed for travelling and being comfortable.

Information flooded me and that was how I found out who I was. I was Amata, the unknown last Path of the Rinnegan, only afforded to one who has mastered every Path of the Rinnegan, including the Outer Path.

The blue-haired woman I now knew to be Konan stopped moving after putting me in the signature cloak she and the others wore. I looked into her amber eyes as she examined me.

"Nagato? No, his chakra isn't in the receivers." She spoke softly and impassive despite her surprise.

My eyes examined the surroundings and I realized I couldn't see the other perspectives that were typical. I had put them at the back of my mind because it was disorienting to look at so many fields of view at once, so I didn't notice until now.

I felt chakra surge into my body through the receivers and my vision was added to the collection again. All perspectives were added once again and I saw them moving.

My hands began to move without my control, my very body surrendered to the chakra of the current wielder of the rinnegan. They went through multiple signs. The energy stored in the receivers slowly started to feed me information.

My body's own chakra began to feed information to the man controlling me and the hand signs began to increase in speed.

The hand signs ended with the seal of an Ox. I stared at Konan, who has been watching me, specifically studying the hand seals I was making.

Then, Konan began to glow a purplish blue and I knew what had happened. I was forced to grant someone the ability of a manifestation of their soul.

She looked curiously before moving, gesturing for me to follow. My body stood up and moved as I was controlled into doing so.

'Where are we going?'

We passed through multiple corridors and up a few flights of stairs, coming to a wall and stopping. Konan made a handsign and the wall pulsed, fuinjutsu script appearing and opening it to reveal that inside was a man with red hair, sitting inside a contraption.

I could not see from his vision despite the fact he was most definitely the rinnegan wielder.

Black Receivers stuck out of his back like spears, his entire form looking sickly. I felt a buzz of chakra and information seeped onto me who this was.

I began moving close to him.

"Thank you, Konan," Nagato spoke, "Go to the and inform Chiza and his squad that Amegakure has been hired to assassinate a noble in the land of Iron."

Konan bowed and left, turning into paper.

Nagato gazed at me and his hands began to flow through a variety of hand signs, which my hands mimicked.

Golden light started to form around me and converge upon Nagato, the same happening from Nagato himself.

The Man was covered in the light. The sounds of snapping echoed out and I was able to see each chakra receiver on his back snap off despite the glare of light. I was still unable to move, but I could hear and see the man scowl in discomfort, closing his eyes. The light stopped and I noticed that the man's body was entirely healed.

Malnourishment, weakness, a skeletal frame, and all of it filled out, his hair becoming a vibrant red and his eyes glowing with power. He picked himself out of the machine he was in, standing on his own weight.

The receivers jutting out of his back earlier were on the ground dissolving.

"Come." Even before he finished speaking, I was already moving close to him.

My eyes closed without volition and I felt my hands making seals. The same ones I used on Konan.

And then I lost all sense as the final seal was used.

{ Line Break }

My next bit of consciousness was in the same room but Konan was here as well. Judging by what I was hearing, she had just exclaimed something.

"... healthy!" Konan had spoken.
"Yes. The Path of Amata has restored me."

"I'm glad. It's..." The conversation falls to a lull.

I shifted, my hands moving to the floor to push myself up.

"What have you learned so far?"

"Amata has two functions: Pure Yang Release and manifestation of souls. The awakening of Amata has unlocked abilities in the other paths of the Rinnegan which I have tried to learn but only have been moderately successful in."

I looked over, seeing Nagato staring at me with Konan listening to him speak.

"Amata." My body seized for a second before I fully pushed myself up to stand. I looked up into his eyes, shorter than him and Konan.

"Head downstairs to the right and into the circle. You will meet with the Deva Path."

I nodded, robotically, and did an about face, walking away and into a solid wall. A solid wall that led into a corridor that led to the stairs. Walking down, I turned right ten meters down without my own volition and Nagato's control faded as I continued walking through another solid wall. Down at the end of the corridor I was now in a circle of purple stared at me from the end.

'Pain is his name. I am a Path of Pain.' My thoughts interpreted information from what had happened.

I stepped inside of the circle, meeting a man with ringed eyes like my own but even taller than Nagato. A pulse of chakra hit my senses and I could see from his perspective as he nodded to me.

"Your ability to manifest souls does not work on the deceased or yourself." The Deva Path informed me with his deadened voice.

My mouth opened. I desired to speak but didn't know how. The Deva Path tilted his head a tiny bit, probably knowing the issue.

Like before, Pain took control and used my body to speak. "A fool's entertainer entertains the deity that is a fraud."

'Is that what I sound like?'

The voice was soft and feminine but with no inflection and while the words were meaningless, they were said to give me the knowledge of how to speak in general. Something that came naturally but stilted right after the control was lifted. I appreciated my Master's help in this endeavor. With knowledge of what I sounded like, even my inner voice and thoughts became the same.

I opened my mouth to speak, utilizing what I had understood happening when Pain had taken control.

"I. . ." My voice pronounced the word for far longer than necessary, "understand."

Each word was slowly spoken as I tried to get a feel for it. I had knowledge of the words and phonetics at least.

"Come." The Deva Path commanded and off we went. My hands were taken control of and started to make a Jutsu and I could feel the chakra in the black receivers increase in magnitude with a golden light.

'What was that about?'

We continued, ignoring what happened and the Deva Path coming to a door with a rectangle on it.

As he opened it, I could see the makings of a kitchen and dining room with two people in it.

One was a large man sitting on a couch leaning over a table. He was intimidating, with green eyes and red sclera. He looked over and paused. His hands were in the midst of counting money as he stared right at the Deva Path and I.

The other was a burly man with nothing notable except a fat nose. He was leaning against the wall and held a senbon in his mouth. They both wore the same cloaks as Konan, Pain, and I.

The burly man spoke first, "Do you dress whores to look like they belong to the Akatsuki?"

I tilted my head as Deva stared at the man. "You are free to believe what you wish, Hinto. Be reminded, though, I am your leader and those with these cloaks are your allies. If you cannot understand that, I will kill you here. Amata, these are Kakuzu and Hinto, members of our esteemed organization the Akatsuki. We strive for peace."

I nodded. Kakuzu had gotten back to counting his money but kept an eye on both of us while the man named Hinto was muttering under his breath.

"Amata is a new member of the organization. Your mission will be bringing Amata to Kusagakure to meet her temporary partner, Juzo Biwa. Hinto, your habits of preying on those weaker that you take interest in are not allowed. Kakuzu, I know your habits, but Amata cannot be killed. Hinto, more disrespect will only lead to your banishment from the Akatsuki."

I heard a thought broadcasted to me from Pain. 'Hinto shall die in this mission. Do not worry when it happens. He disgusts me and has no place in the Akatsuki. His habits of preying on Amegakure's kunoichi has disgusted me to the core.'

I didn't nod from the information clearly not meant to be shared to the man whose death was being plotted as I stood there and watched. Kakuzu gave an audible huff but grumbled his agreement while Hinto scowled.

I gave a slight bow to Kakuzu and ignored Hinto like Pain ordered. Hinto stepped close to me, hand dangerously close to my neck as he spoke into my ear with whispers.

"Just because you're the new bitch doesn't mean much. The blue one may not be nearby and she's just as much of a whore riding leader's dick."

A massive amount of chakra suddenly flooded the room from the Deva Path and Kakuzu slammed the money onto the table in reaction, looking at Pain who began to speak slowly.

"Kakuzu, there have been a change of plans. Hinto shall not be joining you for this mission. I will not have rogue elements in my organization disrespecting my second in command."

The words were accompanied by the Deva Path glaring at Hinto who was suddenly leaping out of what would no doubt be a danger zone in a mere moment.

My eyes shifted to the side to see where Kakuzu used to be, the couch vacant while ryo was on the table. A gurgle sounded out and my eyes noticed Hinto was frozen, his entire torso having been punched through by a fist grasping a heart. Viscera rained onto me.

Hinto wheezed and gurgled, choking on his own blood as Kakuzu detracted his hand, holding the heart and looking at it with a keen eye.

I looked to the Deva Path who was staring with a calm look as Kakuzu then began to speak out.

"I hope that new partner you talked about yesterday for me isn't going to take a long while to be recruited. Time is money and partners help me catch bounties a lot quicker."
The Deva Path shook his head, "It'll be a few weeks until he's in the fold. Until then, take Amata with you on the mission. You are to meet a member of the Akatsuki who was recruited years ago and was doing his own mission near Kusagakure. His name is Juzo Biwa. You will meet him in Grass."

Kakuzu hummed, "Him again? Very well. I expect more bounty missions after this."

"Certainly, it will be done. Go. Answer any questions Amata asks that you feel are fine to answer."

Kakuzu immediately lumbered out and I looked to the other Path of Pain for guidance. "Follow him."

'This is interesting if nothing else.' I thought as I followed the order.

The tower was a maze, but one that with Kakuzu leading me, we navigated without issue.

Of course, it came out slow due to how unused to speaking I was.

"How long have you been in the Akatsuki?"

Kakuzu continued on, the hood not even tilting my direction as I followed behind him.

"Seven years."

The message was quick and decisive. "Who else is in the Akatsuki and how powerful are they?"

"Other members include Sasori of the Red Sand, an S-Rank Shinobi who turned the desert red whenever he was deployed during the Third Shinobi War. His bounty is currently three hundred million ryo. Our leaders aren't listed on any bingo books, don't bother. Pain killed the legendary Shinobi Hanzo of the Salamander by himself, so he's no doubt worth even more than Sasori and I combined if he were to get a bounty."

I tilted my head. "Hanzo of the Salamander?"

Kakuzu stopped and looked at me. "You don't know? I thought you were from Rain. He ran this village before Pain and the shinobi are told to pretend Hanzo is still alive."

"How powerful was he and others like him?"

"Hanzo of the Salamander was one of the few shinobi ever produced to be able to wipe out entire divisions of experienced Shinobi by himself. Another would have been Sakumo Hatake of Konohagakure: a shinobi so talented and skilled that his mere presence in any mission nearly guaranteed its success until he failed a mission and was ostracized by Konoha."

I nodded while listening and he continued. That was interesting information to know. "Shinobi like Hanzo and Sakumo don't get treated well by their own people unless they're the leaders, which Hanzo was. Sakumo was worth a lot of money and was very powerful, one of Konoha's best, but because people hate their betters, they'll insult and hate them for things they have little control over."

I could hear bitterness out of Kakuzu's voice as he spoke. I hadn't even questioned anything about this Sakumo Hatake, so I was confused but paying attention. Perhaps it was personal and he was just using someone else as an example?

"They send shinobi like this on impossible missions and get upset when they can't accomplish it. I'll give you advice: the only thing a shinobi can trust is money, never forget that. Money is the only thing in this world that cannot and will not betray you. People will lie to you, imprison you, and hurt you beyond repair."

He glowered, "You can complete the most missions in the world, be the best shinobi in existence, be exactly like Sakumo Hatake. Powerful. Loyal. Skilled. And yet it does not mean anything. They will, as soon as you fail, abandon you. They do not care that you're their best."

Kakuzu started to raise his voice higher, "They only care that you get results on every mission, no matter how impossible. Not a single ounce of respect! And when their shinobi leave or commit suicide, they act as if nothing was their fault."

Kakuzu then looked back over to the tower of Pain, "It's always been that way. Be glad Pain is our leader. He is fair and gives you choice. No one has been killed by the organization in all of its years for failing a mission, even if those failures are few and far between. Pain is no shinobi, so he has no reason to hold himself to the standards of shinobi when it comes to leadership."

The words Kakuzu was speaking made little sense to me. Pain wore the headband indicating he was a shinobi, so how was he not? And Kakuzu was speaking as if he personally experienced these things. It's likely Kakuzu wasn't even thinking of Sakumo.

I tilted my head in confusion and decided to not press Kakuzu's past, "He's not a shinobi?"

Kakuzu started to move and derisively snorted, "Of course not. The man walks, talks, and acts like a god amongst mortals, but even that isn't enough. He does not move like a shinobi would, he is not concerned about threats to himself, he sees everything in his own view and willingly listens to other views and does not hold himself to monetary values or the mission."

We were moving out of Amegakure now and into the barren Land of Rain. The lake that surrounded Amegakure wasn't truly fully surrounding it and there was a way out. "He's been trained in the shinobi arts but being a shinobi is a mindset. A mindset of courting death every second. Even Sasori displays habits of a Shinobi, but the Leader does not. It is unique. Even Hashirama, the God of Shinobi, was most certainly a shinobi, using deception and facades mid-battle. The Leader? None of those habits apply to him. He does not tense or conceal himself, nor does he identify threats. He is completely assured of his invincibility and it is no facade."

"I see." It was weird to hear someone talk about my master with as much respect as Kakuzu does. He most likely supports the organization entirely. I was confused as well. I looked very much like the other paths, even if I was shorter than them and had a female body. Does he not see the chakra receivers and my rinnegan eyes?

'Did Master Pain do something to conceal those traits?'

We had finally started to near the border of the land of Rain to close into the land of Grass. Kakuzu had started sprinting and I followed him to the best of my abilities, barely keeping pace. And yet he was obviously slowing down for my benefit. The chakra receivers were full of chakra but it was dipping fast. One last push of control had me making a hand sign and the chakra in them suddenly transmitting even further back to Amegakure.

I could feel Pain in my mind. 'Connection reestablished. I'll be monitoring now. Follow Kakuzu's orders.'

Kakuzu looked over at me, confused on what I did but dismissing it. "We're nearing Kusagakure. Prepare yourself."

With that, Kakuzu and I slowed down drastically, only multiple kilometers out from Kusagakure. Kakuzu had tensed for some odd reason but I didn't pay much attention to it. Only five minutes later, he had moved.

He turned around, hands in a seal, "Earth Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Water and earth were suddenly forming into that of mud that took the shape of a dragon. It roared and I barely spun around before it raced to a figure I could barely see coming close.

"Water Style: Great Cannon Ball Jutsu!" The enemy roared out, a massive barrage of water exploding out of their mouth and tearing through the dragon before it could do more than cross fifty meters.

The water jutsu petered out before it reached us and I was tensed.

The man formed a seal and the water that was from his jutsu turned into a curtain of mist. Before Kakuzu and I were enveloped, I saw Kakuzu tense. My vision was being blocked by the sheer density of the chakra in the mist, preventing me from seeing further. It was only a moment after I clasped my hands to use Yang Release that I saw a shadow in front of me. I ducked instinctively, a massive sword swinging over my head.

'Where's Kakuzu?' I thought out as I twisted out of the way of another swing, and then my head was nearly taken off as the sword changed direction immediately and swung right back.

I ducked and a bit of my wavy hair was severed. I couldn't react any further as a foot slammed into my torso and tossed me to the side. I skidded on the ground, flipping over from sheer momentum and I did my best to put myself back into a standing position. I failed as I extended my palm to give me a sense of gravity and instead felt another foot slam into my wrist, followed by a kick that sent me into the air, and the feeling of a massive weight tossing me to the ground.

My back impacted the grass and it was like my entire ribcage was busted. One of my arms formed a single sign and I felt something take control. Everything in my vision sharpened and I twisted, a massive slab of a sword appearing right where I was ready to decapitate me.

I clapped my hands, whispering, "Yang Release: Heaven's Blade."

Light itself formed multiple sword that collided with the other blade, preventing it from taking me. The swords made of light cracked and shattered and I was nearly bisected, the swords having allowed me to roll out of the way in time.

Mid roll my body twisted, sending a kick to the man's wrist before he could finish his next swing towards me. I slammed a hand onto the ground as I did so, light forming underneath me. He moved to the side, his massive blade carving through the light and going straight towards me.

With widened eyes and a sudden weakness, I was unable to fully avoid the attack, having tried to jerk to the side as I nearly finished my roll, but the attack still scored a massive hit. My entire arm was taken off from the sword and blood splattered onto the blade, my eyes taking note as it was restored. The mist around us disappeared.

With momentum from the sudden movement and the momentum from the sheer force that cut off my arm, I slammed a foot onto the ground and twisted my ankle, bringing me up to a standing position.

Two one handed signs and my ankle fully healed, golden light stopping the bleeding from my missing arm and healing my injuries. And that was the extent of all I was able to do as I was forced to avoid the massive blade. My ribs were healing enough that I could physically avoid lazy swings. I ducked under one careless horizontal swipe, hand pushing the blade up, as I tried to dash forth into the enemy. This was unsuccessful and I had to leap backwards to avoid the sudden movement.

And the sword was coming back towards me, so I jumped up and onto the blade, kicking myself off in a leap towards my opponent, hand outstretched.

With this, I was able to finally see who my opponent was. They wore the same cloak as me, had a scar under their sharp eyes, a headband with four symbols and a scratch through it, and weird red patterns painted onto the skin around their jaw. As I was about to score the hit, they let go of their sword and grabbed my wrist, spinning me around and slamming a knee into my midsection and folding me over it as I let out a gasp involuntarily, and then he trapped me with their elbow and knee, their free hand now on the back of my neck.

Then the position changed in a blink of an eye, and I was held in the air by the neck, the man looking over me with his sharp eyes.

Then I was tossed to the ground harshly as the man started to chuckle. "You sure this is a new member, Kakuzu? You didn't just get a pet to travel with you? Sure, she's better than any chunin but she clearly is new to fighting."

"Pain can answer it better as he told me to bring her to you as the newest member of the Akatsuki," I noticed Kakuzu was standing behind the man, observing with a keen eye.

Suddenly, I saw a glow coming from a hand on each of the others' fingers, a projection of the Deva Path now standing in the clearing.

'As pathetic as her attempts at combat against an S-Class like yourself, Juzo, she is still now a member of the organization. This is Amata and she will take up a support role, eventually being good enough to qualify as an S-class Nin like yourself, Juzo. Amata, this is Juzo Biwa, a veteran of our organization. Let her show you what she already knows and you can show her the ropes on a mission, Juzo.'

I felt Pain take control of me and my hand started blurring into signs, light forming in the shape of my missing arm.

My arm was entirely regrown and I let out a sigh.

"I see. So, she's some sort of medic on the level of the Legendary Sucker of Konoha? Where'd you find this chick? I'd think she'd be renown if that ability is any indication." Juzo asked, staring me over with a keen eye. I was entirely still, just wanting to recuperate from what had happened.

'You will know when I decide to let you.' Juzo sighed, before smirking towards me, "Well newbie, looks like you're hanging out with me for now on. The miser's gonna be heading away soon, but we can travel alongside him for a bit."

Kakuzu's eyes glared at Juzo, "We're heading towards the nearest bounty station first."

"What for?"

"Hinto. He's worth quite a bit to Iwagakure for rape, theft, and murder." Kakuzu left it at that and began walking, Juzo following. Pain had ordered me to follow and I couldn't disobey his orders, so I began walking after them.

Kakuzu began to sprint as he took the lead, Juzo following forth, and I struggled to even keep them in my view while I tried running.

I was still too slow.

{ Line Break }

After dropping off the body of Hinto to the bounty station, a bar underneath a small hut in the Land of Grass, Kakuzu said he was given a new mission by the Leader, quickly leaving to the Land of Earth. I turned to Juzo who was looking at our surroundings as it had quickly turned dark.

I thought back to what had happened right after Kakuzu left, specifically when Pain was giving us mission details. Pain had latched onto my Yang Release and projected himself using the chakra within the rings all members had. I even had one, though mine was pure yellow with not a number or anything on it.

Pain's projection had appeared in front of Juzo and I and began stating mission details.

"Juzo, Amata. Your mission is in the Land of Fire and approximately one hundred and thirteen kilometers from your location. On the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers, there is a barren wasteland that is eighty kilometers in width and size. In the midst of it, there are two villages but only one is important. The one that is important is within a massive hole that seems out of place within a barren land like the area you're going to. The Hole is what it is referred to as and the village is known as Tonika Village. You will head there, I will be monitoring you due to how important this mission is."

And with that, we had quickly started packing supplies and preparing for our mission. The day had gone by quick and by now it was dark.

I thought back to the sights I saw while travelling Kusagakure with Juzo.

The Land of Grass was much different in sights from what I saw when Kakuzu and I were travelling the Land of Rain, full of beautiful forests and waterfalls. We had stumbled across even a ravine. The Land of Grass was filled with more wonder and beauty than the barren lands of the Land of Rain. While travelling, I had caught Juzo looked at some of the waterfalls, lakes, and rivers with a sad look.

"Is something wrong, Juzo?" My voice was tinted with curiosity, but no matter what my voice was always distinctly unemotive.

"Not really. I was just thinking of better days. Days when I still had friends rather than acquaintances." And that was the end of that conversation.

I sat still on the log of the camp we decided to take for the night. As a Path of Pain, I didn't need to sleep, though Juzo didn't know that. Him taking watch would only weaken us as he was the by far better fighter between us two, so conserving and restoring any strength he might have lost was important.

"I see. Perhaps you would like to relax, then? I can take watch." I spoke out to Juzo after we held a conversation about the meaning of stars. He said the stars in the sky were dreams we could never reach while I thought they were just beautiful sights.

Juzo sighed, "and leave the newbie to the night watch? Can I even trust you to do so, girlie? I night get stabbed the one place stars don't shine here!"

I tilted my head as Juzo's frown turned into a smirk and his eyes closed, as if pleased with himself for something. I didn't quite understand, but I gave a hesitant smile to him in response as he opened his eyes and gawked.

"Oh, come on! That was a good one. Fine, fine. Look, just wake me up in thirty minutes."
I nodded, fully intending on not doing that. The fire we had was snuffed out by a weak water jutsu from Juzo and I waited for him to fall asleep.

I looked at the trees and the moon, my rinnegan eyes reflected. It was a wonder that no member had talked about them, they were quite unique.

I only now noticed there was a slight distortion over my face, though, as if something-

'Pain put a genjutsu over them.' I thought in surprise. I didn't notice because I wasn't searching for one, but it was quite an elaborate one. I looked over to Juzo, who was sleeping peacefully. His face was stressed and his body was tense.

'May I give him peace?' I asked in my thoughts and a slight pulse from Pain, far in Amegakure, giving me approval was the response.

My hands moved slowly, forming seals that weren't part of the basic twelve, and I brought one to Juzo's leg, the light traveling slowly up and into him. One of his eyes cracked open, staring at me, and I only now noticed as his leg had shifted to be close enough to crush my windpipe if he continued the motion.

"I am only healing you, Juzo. Do not panic."

He relaxed, just keeping an eye on me as I continued my ministrations. I should have known that he'd have woken up immediately, though I was not thinking of that.

His body was riddled with scars that were hidden by the cloak that my light fixed and healed.

He was extremely tense, stressed in only a way someone close to death at every hour would be.

I looked at him with pity. "Do you feel better now?"

He slowly nodded and moved a bit away from me before speaking up, "Don't do that again, girlie. I'm better than most at keeping my cool, but others wouldn't be so receptive. Then again, not many lights exist at the end of a Shinobi's life."

I nodded, then turned back to observing the forest that surrounded us. Juzo sighed again, and I tilted my head, looking at him.

"Just... nothing. It was a joke."
I continued to stare, "A joke?"

He muttered under his breath.

'I wonder what's going on in his head.'

The man shrugged, going back to his resting position, quickly falling back asleep. I turned back to the forest, intent on just watching it.

Hours passed as I sat still, light shining down on the poorly constructed encampment. I stood up, walking over to Juzo.
"It's time to move."

He tensed, but didn't move aside from an opening of the eyes. "My shift?" He spoke out, groggy but alert, eyes looking around in confusion.

"No. It is the day." I answered, staring at him. "I did not need to sleep."

He sighed, "You sure about that, newbie?"

A nod and the man stood up, brushing dirt and more off of him. He went over to the blade laying against a rock, putting it on his back as he adjusted his cloak. "Let's head on then."

"Where are we going?" I asked, following after Juzo. He was walking, which was quite different from Kakuzu. Kakuzu seemed to like running place to place, walking whenever he thought there was danger.

Juzo on the other hand walked and did so casually while he continued to make more of his 'jokes', I believe. Some were vulgar, others were just wordplay, and a few were depressing. I gave a soft smile whenever he turned to me, but everytime he shook his head.

'Was I reacting wrong?'

Soon enough, we entered the Land of Fire, our destination being Tonika Village.

{ Line Break }

The few days we were in the Land of Fire we were continuing as usual. Juzo cracked his jokes every once in a while and I proceeded to react poorly, or so I assume, while Juzo would then start speaking about a particularly dangerous opponent he had faced.

Apparently, Juzo had once faced an Earth User whose entire style revolved around making golems to fight for him and it was so unique that Juzo made sure to recognize the handsigns and movements his foe made.

"Anyways, newbie, we need to get up to par with each other. Usually, whenever Pain gives me a partner, it's to show them the ropes and more of the Akatsuki and then they're sent to another partner. Must be due to my agreeable personality, right?"

He grinned at me with his sharp teeth and I nodded, "That would make sense."

I heard him facepalm and looked over, "Sheesh, kid, do you not know what rhetorical questions are?"

I was about to open my mouth and his hand flashed out, "Don't answer that. That was ALSO a rhetorical question."

"Look, you did something to my Executioner Blade earlier, so I wanted to test it out. I think this is the best place to do so. I'm going to spawn a few water clones, you and I are going to try our best to find a technique that'd synergize well. Any questions?"

"How much chakra do you need me to restore whenever you're low?"

"You can do that?" His voice was incredulous. I didn't understand why, one of my abilities actually revolved around restoration, it wouldn't be impossible to restore someone spiritually when I also dealt with unlocking ones' soul.

"Yes. Is that rare?"

"Rare? Sheesh, kid, I don't know where boss found ya, but you're rarer than even the Seven Swords. Whatever, I'll tell you when to do so."

And thus we spent the next few nights training for multiple hours. I felt more exhausted than ever after the sessions as restoring someone's chakra was, while extremely efficient, also taxing on my own reserves.

And thus we figured out a technique known as Heaven's Feel. The Executioner Blade was able to conduct the effects of my Yang Release, so all I had to do was have stationary targets be imbued by the light and it'd all drain into the Executioner Blade.

Normally, Yang Release did nothing at all to actually steal vitality, only improve, but because of the Executioner Blade's new ability to do the opposite, it became much more dangerous.

The night after using the technique, we were suddenly attacked by Hunter Ninja who immediately recognized Juzo and moved to attack us.

We had only just started to exit the forests and into the barren wasteland when this happened, and Juzo exclaimed something about Kirigakure being on the complete other side of the world.

Juzo equipped his blade and immediately spun it, senbon being deflected back and away.

I leaped forward as quickly as possible, arms slamming into the floor to launch me into the air from a handstand using chakra. This was the best way to actually see the battlefield due to my support role, and allowed me to do what I needed.

I noticed there were only three hunter-nin, and my eyes detected their chakra pathways were only moderately above that of some young Amegakure shinobi I had seen as Kakuzu and I left the Village Hidden in the Rain.

I formed a sign, a barrier of light appearing underneath my feet and I surged upwards to gain more vertical height.

One of them had their chakra suddenly surging, only one hand sign being used as water suddenly fled the leaves of the trees. I realized they were using leftover rain from three nights ago for this technique.

"Water Senbon Barrage!"

It was impressive, as the nin was clearly adept in chakra control and the jutsu. Yet, this didn't help them. I slapped my palms together, light pooling from them and blasting downwards to Juzo who was deflecting each piece of water with ease. I could tell it had an effect as he was suddenly deflecting them even faster.

The other two hunters were quickly swimming through hand signs, I didn't want to see what they were doing and neither did Juzo.

Juzo did the unthinkable for the Hunters as he made a single handsign and the Water needles suddenly swirled into a technique of his own, a massive ball of water forming in the air from all the water in the area, including the water needles.

The hunters sped up their handsigns, but it didn't matter as Juzo tossed the Executioner blade up and into the ball of water, hands going through seals at a rate even I couldn't begin to differentiate, and the massive ball of water slammed downwards to flood the area.

The water flooding the area grew arms and limbs to wrap around the Shinobi, preventing them from escaping and moving as their legs and hands were bound. They struggled, but that would be irrelevant.

It was time to utilize Heaven's Feel.

I was now falling to the ground, so I had to be quick.

Timing it right would mean the maximum usage of the technique, so I made sure to pace my handsigns to match when I'd hit the ground to slam my palm for the final seal.

Four seconds. One of the Hunter-Nin was able to free one of their hands, but it was too late.

Two seconds.

I finished the second to last seal and then immediately slammed my fist into the ground as I landed, light forming from it and then blasting to the Executioner Blade in the air, beginning its descent. "Yang Release: Heaven's Feel!"

The light hit the Executioner Blade still in the air and then swirled into three beams connecting themselves to the Shinobi trapped. They immediately began slowing down as their vitality was suddenly being drained into the Executioner Blade.

And then the amount being drained tripled when the Blade finally landed onto the ground, into the water, right next to Juzo. Juzo began leaning against it, and some of the light began to enter him, rejuvenating him.

I assumed that my blood had some sort of benefit to it that the Executioner Blade started stealing vitality itself from any foe to repair itself, leeching off of them instead. Juzo was surprised about that and it was the first time I ever felt fatigue in my limited life before restoring Juzo's chakra during the sessions.

The Hunter-Nin all began to fall into unconsciousness and Juzo let go of his technique of water as I let go of my technique.

The golden glow of the Executioner Blade cut off and Juzo simply lifted it with one hand. Within a second, all the heads of the shinobi were rolling. I pulled out a pouch with a sealing scroll, unsealing a canteen of water and tossing it to Juzo. Most of the water was actually from him rather than the water needles, so it made sense if he was dehydrated.

"Thanks, newbie." He grinned at me, holstering his blade on his back.

The technique couldn't actually kill as it stopped leeching vitality as soon as the body fell unconscious, as Juzo can attest from being an opponent, and it didn't steal chakra, so there were limitations.

We pilfered the Hunter-nin's bodies, or rather Juzo did. "Anything of value?"

"On these amateurs? No, they just saw me and decided to attack, not even sure of their capabilities. We better get a move on. I'm not even sure why they're so close to the Land of Fire. Something's probably going on or someone saw us."

I nodded, "Let's get there quickly then."

We immediately began to sprint to our destination into the barren part of the Land of Fire outskirts. Within a few minutes, I saw a piece of the wasteland that looked out of place, quickly informing Juzo.

"I believe we've found it."

We began to slow down and arrived at the edge of a massive hole punched into the barren wasteland. The sheer cliff walls arced away in a perfect circle, large enough to house the entire village and the forests surrounding it. The Hole, as Pain had called it, was full of wildlife and more.

It was beautiful, stunning: thriving nature surrounded by a place so barren. The contrast made it seem even more mystical. And the entire thing was easily dozen of kilometers in circumference, the forest and waters screamed to me of their soothing and lively nature. There was power in it.

In the center was a village, difficult to see through the forests that sang of wildlife. That was the village we were heading to: Tonika Village.

Juzo whistled in appreciation and I nodded. It was truly stunning, a treasure one would never expect to find in these barren wastes.

We leaped and I watched Juzo's pathways as he landed on water. They were circulated around his feet to allow him to stand on it. I felt Pain guiding me as I copied the technique and landed on the water myself, wobbling a bit.

And so I performed water walking for the first time. Juzo continued to sprint towards the obvious village in the center of the hole and I followed, not able to look at myself in surprise. We arrived on land, passed through trees, and saw the village proper.

The village was heavily guarded, walls that are pristine and full of people armed with armor and weapons.

Two of those men saw us and quickly started shouting, one seemingly recognizing our cloak.

"Mercs! Some stupid idiot hired shinobi to invade us! Battle stations!"

And with that, the entire village exploded in uproar, people grabbing armaments ready to drive us off.

Juzo grinned, unholstering the executioner blade from his back. I felt Pain circulate energy into me, reinforcing me for the upcoming fight.

My eyes looked over at each opponent I saw, confirming what I had assumed upon sight. The rinnegan allowed me to see chakra pathways and identify possibly how powerful my opponents were. And these people were hardly able to even attempt low ranking jutsus.

These people were not shinobi but instead mundane warriors.

I twisted to the side, arrows flying around me as I turned, ducked, and backhanded a particular one trying to impale my eye.

'Concentrate on your palms and grow.' echoed through my mind from Pain.

Following his instructions, a chakra receiver appeared out of my right palm and I quickly used it to return an arrow back to sender and seven other arrows into the ground. One nasty dagger was also flying towards me, but I flicked it upwards and slammed a foot onto the handle as it was coming down.

The dagger was sent blurring back to the sender but I noticed it suddenly fling itself off of the path. My eyes widened.

'Who did that?'

I continued to deflect arrows, noticing that before they ever hit the target I deflected it back to it would be hit out of the sky by a blur.

I noticed Juzo had run up the building, a water echo following him as he slammed into someone, the force duplicated and carving straight through them. The blur was going to attack him and I threw my chakra receiver right where the blur was going to be.

One step, two steps and the blur deflected the receiver into the sky.

My hand raised and I swung it down, a chakra receiver growing dozens of meters in length within a second to impale a man behind Juzo. I only realized now I committed a grievous error.

"Juzo! Be cautiou-" I attempted to yell. My voice was still soft and not too loud, unused to ever being louder. Juzo seemed to have sensitive ears as he shouted an affirmation on his warpath against the people.

And yet, my message was cut off as I had to quickly throw myself to the side to avoid a sword.

'Damn it-'

I couldn't do anything or help Juzo as I felt my jaw dislocate from a fist in my face, then my arm suddenly turned useless as a sword impaled itself into my elbow.

The sword was violently ripped out before I could react and my ribs were crushed as a foot slammed into them to toss me away.

'Who?! This is a monster!'

A shuriken was suddenly carving through a piece of my neck and a lucky archer landed a hit to my left knee.

My undamaged arm tried to make a sign and then two fingers were cut off by a flash of my opponent's blade. I couldn't even react any further before a hand grasped me by the neck and threw me into the air, following by a rising kick to send me further.

I choked on my own blood as my wounds started to heal. I wasn't going to die, but this would definitely kill me if it continued. My eyes were starting to close but I couldn't let that happen.

I forced them to stay open through willpower. The chakra receivers had aura pool into them to help me heal. Chakra pooled into my wounds and I created a different sign with my damaged arm, golden light forming over my wounds and healing the worst.

My hand still lacked two fingers and my elbow was still ruined, but it'd do for now. My eyes focused onto the fight below, seeing a blurring white-haired man leap straight towards me.

'Not again-' I mentally shouted as my eyes widened before I was forced to abandon thought as I was punched in the abdomen, bowling over the first. My mouth opened involuntarily, blood flying out.

The fist buried in my stomach went back and an arm wrapped around my neck before the forces of gravity seemed to double.

We soared downwards, my thoughts in rapid-pace with my mouth desperate to give some sort of message to Juzo.

"J-Ju-"
'Juzo, help me!'

Then, I was slammed into the dirt, my spine snapping in three different sections.

My body was on fire, but I couldn't feel the pain. "Ju-" I couldn't even speak, the pronunciation of even half of Juzo's name too much.

Blood was leaving my mouth as the ground was cratered. Whoever this was, they were extremely dangerous and I felt helpless, unable to put up even a meager resistance.

The man brought his sword to my neck and I looked around with only my eyes, unable to move my neck, seeing Juzo surrounded by seven others, all of them thrashing within water as a water serpent was encircling them.

I was gasping, my body not at all responding to me, only my natural healing factor stopping me from being dead. It appears the man above me knew I was alive, but I could hint a bit of disbelief as he started speaking.

"I am Min of Tonika Village. You intruders chose a poor place to invade. As the current chief I will give you merciful but quick deaths. You could also leave and I will let you." I felt the sword the man held closer to my neck and I looked to Juzo, who was swearing quietly.

'Do not leave. Juzo, prepare for my arrival. Keep the serpent active, I'll need the civilians to confirm something for me. Amata, close your eyes and relax. Everything will be fine.' Pain's voice echoed out into our minds. Juzo relaxed, standing at ease. He then spoke out casually. I closed my eyes.

"Look, just leave the girl alone, eh? Trust me. You don't want to make me upset."

"No. Leave or die, shinobi."

'Kuchiyose No Jutsu'

The Chakra Receivers suddenly felt like chakra poured into them and I felt smoke, my eyes trying to open but unable to see through anything as smoke pooled around.

I heard a clang as the man above me was forced back by someone else, and then I was suddenly lifted and tossed.

My body impacted someone else and as I looked up, I realized who. It was Juzo, his friendly face staring into mine. "Sheesh, newbie. Gave me quite a scare, yknow? That geezer was kicking your ass."

He smirked, though I noticed he actually was somewhat ashamed and guilty. I tilted my head, turning over to see a Path of Pain standing where I was.

"Juzo, Amata." It was the Human Path. "I shall assist you here."
The human path walked over to us as the man from before stared with caution. He was tensed.

Juzo's water serpent suddenly shifted as the Human Path raised a hand. The Water Serpent took on more detail and all the people trapped were suddenly unable to even move as they started to drown.

The obvious leader, Min, leaped forward and the Human Path indicated to Juzo to fend him off. Juzo put me to the ground with gentle care and leaped forward, blade meeting Min's own as they engaged in a battle of spectacular Kenjutsu.

I watched through the Human Path's eyes as he went up to one of the people in the water serpent, hand onto their head as they ripped the soul out.

A substance on top of the soul slowly layered over the Akatsuki cloak the Human Path wore, making it seem more than before.

The Human Path repeated this with every hostage in the Water Serpent before making the seal of a Ram, the Water Serpent growing in detail even further.

'It is done. Juzo, Amata, the mission is a failure. The weapon I was wanting to find has long since diminished. Ama no Hoko is useless to our plans. Use the Serpent to escape. Return to Amegakure.'

Juzo grinned from his place in combat and the water serpent, that looked every bit like an actual massive serpent made of sheer water, lurched forward towards Min. Juzo leaped towards me, his sword on his back as Min tried to avoid the serpent which was slowly losing itself due to the many sword strikes Min was attacking it with.

I felt myself being picked up and the injuries on my Path-body caught up to me and for the first time in my life, I actually fell asleep.

{ Line Break }

And thus is the end of the first chapter. The Path of Amata's abilities are going to not make sense as they are out of context adapted to be in context, but whatever.