The God Bows Down

by Houkaru Kisaragi

When you harnessed pertinent knowledge of the future and were able to return to the past, what would you do? Naruto knew precisely what he should do to prevent an imminent catastrophe.

3. The New Era

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"Are the umbrellas ready for actions?"

"Checked!" Konan beamed.

"Are the snacks ready for consumption?"

"Checked." Nagato nodded.

"Are we ready to watch history in the making?"

"Yup!"

"Let's go then!" Naruto chortled as he grabbed his belongings and headed to the battleground. Konan and Nagato took theirs as well and followed the blonde.

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Setting the umbrellas and chairs on the apex of a cliff, Naruto dusted his hands and grinned. "Here we are!"

"Why are we here?" Nagato was perplexed.

"We're going to watch a battle that you don't get to see every day. Watch closely. We can get many things out of their fights." The blonde sat on his comfy chairs, grabbed the packet of popcorn and started munching his snacks. Konan shrugged and sat beside Naruto, sipping her lemon tea delightfully.

Nagato sighed. "Are we safe up here?"

"Don't worry. Their battle won't affect here. Hopefully." The blonde emphasised the last word quietly.

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The rain had rained upon the combatants. The Konoha ninja had arrived to proclaim ownership of Amegakure under the direct orders of the Sandaime Hokage. Since the land was established at the epicentre of all warring nations, it was only logical to assume that whoever possessed Amegakure could defeat the rest of the other elemental countries with ease. Hanzo smirked as he toys his kunai in amusement, watching attentively at Konoha's finest.

"We're here to take your head, Hanzo!" A busty blonde glared fiercely at the leader of Amegakure.

"I applaud you." Hanzo snickered. "For the three of you to come here recklessly, you must be either brave or… moronic."

"Save us the patronisation, Hanzo." A dark haired man with a pale complexion grinned.

"I'll take a rain check on that."

"Enough of this nonsense. Prepare yourself, Hanzo!" A white haired man, whose unkempt hair was kept in a spiky fashion, roared; the three Konoha ninja were wearing battle armour that signified their ranks as the authoritarian echelons within their army. Flashing seals with inconceivable speed, the white haired ninja formed a mouthpiece with his fingers and thumbs before unleashing a trail of ungodly flames at his enemy. "Katon: Karyuu Endan!" (Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)

"Puny tricks." Hanzo scoffed before kneading his chakra with a set of hand seals. As the aggressive inferno approached, the leader of Amegakure blew out torrent of water from his mouth. "Suiton: Suijinheki." (Water Style: Water Encampment Wall)

Moulding chakra via a series of hand seals in unbelievable velocity, the dark haired ninja thrusts his palm forward. "Futon: Daitoppa!" (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)

The squall of wind produced from the attack infused into the charging flames, augmenting its strength by folds as it collided against a wall composed of condensed water. Hanzo narrowed his eyes and analysed his situation. "They're trying to overwhelm my defence by a collaboration jutsu. Very interesting. Let's see how you can deal with this."

Within seconds, Hanzo had switched his battle style to offensive as he weaved a set of hand seals swiftly. "Suiton: Suiryuben!" (Water Style: Water Dragon Whip)

A sphere of water manifested before Hanzo and the rain that poured from the sky was absorbed into the orb, amplifying its power tremendously. When the time was ripe, the sphere of water erupted out tendrils of water at the flames, effectively conquering the assault before charging relentlessly at its foes. The white haired ninja widened his eyes and staggered. "I-Impossible! He uses such a high level Suiton jutsu with such extraordinary speed. D-Damn it!"

The busty blonde leaped to the sky before she landed onto the ground before her companions with a fist implanted on the ground. The rubbles rose from the ground and shielded the three ninja from Hanzo's hazardous attack.

"Impressive. Such massive strength is only possible for someone who has mastered chakra manipulation to the highest level. Truly astounding." Hanzo smirked as he watched his opponents struggled to stand against him.

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"Wow, Hanzo-sama is so strong!" Konan gawked. "I thought his strength is just a fluke."

"You'll be surprise." Naruto grinned.

"But it's three against one." Nagato argued. "Surely the three of them can beat him. The three of them look strong."

"Not up to Hanzo' standard yet." The blonde chewed on his popcorn. "Not only does Hanzo have the skills, he has more fighting experiences than the three of them. He's not going to lose this fight. Nagato, focus on their hand seals. See if you can copy it with your Rinnegan."

"O-Okay." The redhead nodded meekly.

"Konan, watch how that grandma- Uh… I mean, watch that woman fight."

The blue haired girl raised a brow. "Why?"

"She is a chakra manipulator, just like you. Her control over her enormous chakra is so perfect that she can use it to boast her strength significantly. If you can learn that technique, I bet many boys will be afraid of you." Naruto smirked.

"Including you."

The blonde dropped his head in mock sadness. "Yes. Including me."

Konan giggled.

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Hanzo sighed as he watched the three Konoha ninja panted tediously. "Let's not waste anymore pointless time over this. Kuchiyose!" (Summoning Technique)

A gigantic puff of smokes exploded, obscuring the three ninja's vision. When the dusty clouds cleared, a large salamander appeared with Hanzo standing atop of its head. "I'll end this quick for the three of you. Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu." (Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique)

Without utilising any mandatory hand seals, Hanzo spat out a gargantuan globe of blazing fire at his foes. Predictably, the Konoha ninja evaded the assault and jumped away. Having already anticipated the inevitable, Hanzo threw a barrage of kunai onto certain spots before his hands bolted into overdrive as he sped through the hand seals. "So foreseeable. Ninja these days are getting dull. Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu." (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Technique)

Discharging a volley of burning bullets at his opponents, Hanzo directed his attacks' trajectory at the three ninja's locations. The white haired ninja gritted his teeth in exasperation. "Damn it! That fireball jutsu is meant to lure the three of us away. He then throws all that kunai with explosive tags on the ground to prevent us from landing there and then force us to avoid that fire jutsu. No wonder he's undefeatable by many powerful ninja. His strength and his intelligence are seriously annoying! At any rate, I have no choice…"

"Orochimaru!"

The black haired ninja understood the signal and clamped his hands into a prayer motion. "Mandara no Jin!" (Myriad Snake Net Formation)

Throwing out a nest of snakes from his mouth, the black haired ninja commanded his summons to cause divergence while the white haired ninja promptly prepared his impending attack. "Hari Jizo!" (Needle Jizo)

Without hesitation, the busty blonde dashed forward and channelled an abundance load of chakra into her fist, carefully avoiding the explosions as she ran.

Hanzo smirked as he deciphered the true intention of his enemies' tactics. "Very impressive. Those snakes are to draw my attention at them. They are attacking me, alright. But those are just lucky shots. That hair attack is to compel me to evade and in thus, force me to lose concentration. The both of them are just creating an opening for the girl to attack me with her ridiculous strength. Child's play. Still, I am impressed for their teamwork. To fight as one is not an easy feat. However, they are still too weak to best me."

Tapping his foot on the head of the salamander, Hanzo muttered. "Ibuse, you know what to do."

A stream of poisonous mist was emitted from the salamander's mouth and it flew towards the horde of slithering snakes. Engulfed by the toxic gas, the snakes were twitching in agitation before they were eradicated. Witnessing the venomous power the poisonous mist was capable of, the white haired ninja bellowed. "Tsunade! Come back!"

The busty blonde didn't listen though. "This is our chance! I'm not going to retreat! Hyah!"

"Foolish girl." Hanzo tossed a few kunai at his approaching enemy. Realising the explosive tag that were stuck onto the kunai were thrown, the busty blonde had no choice but to leap away, only to widen her eyes in horror when she saw Hanzo finished his hand seals. "Got you now. Katon: Kar-"

"Futon: Daitoppa!" The black haired ninja interrupted as he released a gust of violent wing to sweep the poisonous mist away, as well as alarming Hanzo in the process. The busty blonde took the opportunity to smash the ground, embedding a humongous crater into the debris and smirked in relief. Adroitly, the white haired ninja seized the chance to complete his hand seals. "Good job, Orochimaru, Tsunade! Now, let us fry ourselves a salamander meat! Katon: Keshi Makuga Hara!" (Fire Style: Exploding Flame Crater)

Hanzo growled with annoyance as he unravelled his opponents' strategy. "A bunch of immature fools. Still, they are really fighting as one. Her teammate knows coming at me is suicide so he distracts me therefore the girl can pummel that crater beneath me… but to think they can synchronise their thoughts so easily… Truly impressive. But not good enough. Shunshin no Jutsu." (Body Flicker Technique)

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Nagato was marvelled by the scene before him. "Wow. Hanzo-sama just teleport himself! And the salamander too."

"Yeah… if he didn't, he would probably be dead by now. No one can survive that column of flames, no matter who you are. But to think that he can teleport, not just himself, but other creatures too." Naruto stroked his chin in contemplation. "Nagato, can your Rinnegan record their hand seals."

"I cannot… record their hand seals but no matter how fast they perform their hand seals, I can see it. It's as if they're doing it in slow motion." The redhead smiled. "And I've already remembered all of them. It's like I have some photographic memory or something. Everything is so crystal clear to me when I use my Rinnegan to see their movements."

"Good job." The blonde switched his sights at Konan. "What about you? Can you deduce anything?"

"Her timing is too good to be true." The blue haired girl was flabbergasted. "She is releasing her chakra into her fist before she attacks. And in a spur of moment, she releases all of them precisely before she makes contact. A human anatomy is complicated and any novice medic will be in complete disarray when it comes to profound chakra manipulation. When she punches, she doesn't just send chakra from her coils to her fist. No. She sends it to her skeleton, her brain, her muscle, her joints, her ligaments, her tendons and her neurons within a second to execute that flawless punch. Of course, I have read a similar technique that resembles hers. There are consequences. The training of it will be arduous and if one doesn't know the proper skills, you can pull your muscle and worst case scenario, you might even tear your limbs off."

"Perceptive." Naruto shuddered. "And gruesome."

"Yeah… Still, I don't mind trying it.'

"Just don't come to me with a missing arm." The blonde chuckled as the blue haired girl stuck out her tongue at him. "It seems that Konan-chan is highly insightful on the little details. Even I didn't know the depth of baa-chan's secret and yet she sees it with a glimpse. And Nagato's Rinnegan control some elements of time as well, judging by the fact that his eyes allow him to see every attack in his perception as slow motion. He can't imitate the attacks he has seen, unlike the Sharingan, but he has eidetic memory to back him up. I don't think my Rinnegan allows me to do something like that. So depressing."

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Firing a shower of kunai, with explosive tags attached on it, they landed right before the group of Konoha ninja. Catching a quick glimpse of the kunai, the white haired ninja warned aloud. "Tsunade! Orochimaru! Get away!"

The trio fled from the explosion sites but Hanzo had expected what their natural instincts had enforced them to act. Accelerating hand seals hurriedly, Hanzo smirked with sinister intents glowing in his eyes. "There! Got her! Ninpo: Bakuhatsu Hogan no Jutsu."(Ninja Art: Explosion Encompass Technique)

Explosive tags started to emerge from the ground and slowly wrapped themselves onto the busty blonde's leg. The white haired ninja blanched in terror as he screamed fearfully. "Tsunade! Watch out!"

"Huh?" The busty blonde blinked, oblivious to her predicament until she realised her dilemma. "Oh no!"

"Ninpo: Hari Jizo!" The white haired ninja extended the length of his hair and encircled his comrade before dragging her to his side, successfully shielding her from the deafening blasts. Hanzo was surprised by the various functions of that technique and examined keenly. "He hardens his hair to protect the girl. How very interesting-"

"Sen'eijashu!" (Hidden Shadow Snake hands)

Averting his eyes viciously to his side, Hanzo grunted as snakes blitzed from the black haired ninja's hands and enwrapped around him. "Jiraiya!"

"Yosh! Hari Jigoku!" (Needle Hell)

"Shunshin no Jutsu."

The torrent of stark white needles missed their target when Hanzo vanished into untraceable velocity, leaving a huge chunk of smokes at his vacated spot. The dark haired ninja ducked away when Hanzo reanimated his frame, along with his salamander, beside his opponent, petrifying them with his seemingly implausible prowess. The black haired man clenched his trembling fists fiercely, astonished by the strength of the leader of Amegakure "W-What is this madness?"

"I'm sorry you have to help me on that. I was careless…" The busty blonde draped her injured comrade's hand over her shoulders.

"What? Are you kidding me? I won't die by that kind of burns."

"Our techniques are not working against him." The dark haired ninja ground his teeth in vexation.

"Give up, Konoha ninja. You cannot defeat me, not with your current powers." Hanzo sighed. "However, Konoha is most likely going to come out as the victor from this war. Therefore, I will let you live."

"Your sympathy is not needed!" The white haired man roared heatedly. "We can still fight."

"Stop it, Jiraiya!"

"You three are strong, that's a fact. You've even survived the battlefield here, which shows your potential to be powerful ninja in the future. Leave now for I, Hanzo, shall bestow upon the three of you the title as the Sannin of Konoha. In exchange for your lives, tell me your names!"

"…Tsunade."

"J-Jiraiya."

"Orochimaru…"

"You might be defeated today Sannin, but your tenacity and determination have earned my respect. When I tell tales of the three of you, I will regard the three of you as heroes!"

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"Heh! Show's over. Let's go back before someone catches us."

Konan and Nagato nodded before they packed their stuffs back to their bunker. They did notice the palpable sorrow emanating from Naruto's grimace.

"I'm sorry… baa-chan… ero-sennin… I can't protect the both of you in the past. But that will change. I promise the both of you! Believe it!"

Konan patted the blonde's shoulder, concern displaying on her face. "Naruto-kun? Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go."

Their trip was dreadfully quiet.

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(A week later…)

Nagato was uncertain about his situation. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. Konan is busy training. Why don't we get this chance to spar? Test our strength." Naruto smirked. "I know you have already mastered those jutsu that the Sannin have used."

The redhead nodded timidly. "Y-Yes. How do you-"

"I saw you secretly recalling those hand seals." The blonde grinned buoyantly. "And I know the yin-yang jutsu that you have been trying out lately. The Omnyoton, right? If I'm not wrong, any jutsu that don't revolve around nature manipulations are considered as part of the Omnyoton."

"You read my book, didn't you?" Nagato deadpanned.

"Yup."

The redhead elaborated with a hint of enthusiasm lacing his tone. "I got this book that details the Rikudo Sennin's mastery of the legendary Izanagi. However, that is only possible if one mastered the Omnyoton. If you wish to know more about it, I can teach it to you."

"Maybe next time." The blonde cracked his neck and flexed his wrist. "You sure you don't want to explore the power of elementary jutsu in depth? I have jotted down a list of jutsu, based on their functions and power. Most of them are destructive, naturally. I dare not say this but recognising elementary jutsu is fairly easy, especially when I try to learn it with my Rinnegan.'

"And 500 kage bushin make everything even easier. I love my clones! I have literally mastered all the five elements in five days. How cool is that? If it is the me in the past, mastering all five of the elements will probably take me a month or more, since I was born with only one element!" Naruto snickered inwardly, giggling in a juvenile manner while a clueless Nagato tilted his head in confusion. "Now that I have unlocked my potential, this will mark the beginning of my journey for greatness! Heh! This time, Madara can kiss my ass!"

"N-Naruto? You're spacing out."

Returning back to reality, Naruto shook his head and beamed joyously. "Oh? It's nothing! Come on! Give me your best shot!"

"Before we commence, I just want to say that I have read your books secretly as well. Prepare yourself, Naruto!" Threading a series of hand seals abruptly, an impish grin tugged at his lips. "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" (Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)

"Oh! So scary! What should I do?" Naruto feigned horror before his features twisted into a visage of mischief. Forming only one hand seal, the blonde sighed laxly. "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu."

Nagato widened his eyes, stupefied to know that Naruto had mimicked his assault with only one hand seal. Both water dragons clashed into each other and the assaults were nullified. "N-No way! This is not possible! With only one hand seal? What the hell? The Suiryudan has forty four hand seals in order for it to be operative. How in the hell does Naruto do that with only one hand seal? What is he? A prodigy? I knew his Rinnegan is special than mine, but not this special."

Noticing the redhead's daze form, Naruto formed another hand seal and smirked haughtily. "Suiton: Suigadan no Jutsu!" (Water Style: Water Fang Bullet)

"I must say that the Nidame Hokage-sama's secret technique of conserving time by diminishing the hand seals required for a technique is actually very useful." The puddle of water, along with the moist vapour in the air, started to merge together before tendrils of liquid materialised, circulating around its master. When the command phrase was articulated, the tendrils launched themselves at Nagato. The redhead immediately retreated before speeding through his own hand seals and yelled out. "Doton: Doryuheki!" (Earth Style: Mud Wall)

Nagato spat out glob of mud chunks onto the ground; sweats were forming on his temples as he witnessed the dirt beneath him started to shake before a humongous wall rose. The water smashed at the wall, but its solidity proved durable as it withstood the pressure of the attack. The blonde had formulated a quick tactic before he outstretched his hand and opened his palm. A spiral of luminous energy orbited at the epicentre of his palm before a sphere of power materialised. Smirking gleefully, Naruto thrust his hand forward, plunging the orb into the obstructing wall. "Rasengan!"

"W-What? He demolishes my earth wall with that technique? What is that technique anyway? I've never seen before. Darn it. This is not the time to analyse this." Nagato clamped his hands together and started managing several hand seals before aiming his hand at an approaching Naruto. "Futon: Daitoppa!"

The onslaught of raging wind blasted the blonde point blank and sent him soaring away. Much to Nagato's chagrin, Naruto was dissipated into smokes and disappeared from his sight. "What the hell? Clone?"

"Yeah, they're Kage Bushin." Naruto reappeared behind the redhead with a kunai pointing on his neck. "You lose, dude."

Nagato sighed. "I didn't see you performing a clone. You're charging at me! How did you do it?"

"Let just say Kage Bushin is my speciality." The blonde kept his kunai back into his weapon utility pouch and smirked. "Work hard. You might beat me next time."

"Yeah, I guess." The redhead nodded depressingly. "It's not like I can ever reach your level, Naruto."

"Hey, don't say that. I'm sure you're going to be hell of a ninja in the future."

"Absolutely." Hanzo clapped as he made his appearance from the shadow. "You've done well, the both of you."

"H-Hanzo-sama!" Nagato froze in fear while Naruto simply arched his brow. "I didn't sense you. You're really good at concealing presence."

"I'm good at suppressing my chakra." The leader of Amegakure gestured Konan to join the group. "Konan, come here."

The girl nodded and ran to Naruto and Nagato's side.

"Remember, children. One can only become strong with perseverance and courage. In this world, you must learn to be cunning and calm. But what's truly important is not just power or wisdom. It is to learn never to lose your sight in your goal." Hanzo stared at the children who were listening to him with rapt attention. "Listen, Nagato, Konan, Naruto. The three of you possess potential that exceeds many other incompetent saps in the world. However, you must hold onto your faith."

"Faith?" Konan arched a brow.

"Yes. Faith gives you strength to fight. Faith gives you motive and a goal. It is your drive, your energy and your reason for living. If you lose faith, you are but an empty shell. People's lives don't just end when they die. No. People's lives end when they lose their faith. With faith, even if they die, it can still live on to the next generation. Faith is what keeps nation strong and what make capable ninja what they are." Hanzo lectured sternly. "I hope the three of you learn something out of this today."

"Understood, Hanzo-sama/sensei."

Naruto watched as Hanzo spun around and walked away. "Hmm… Hanzo isn't that of an evil person people often speak about. Perhaps something happen that make him change his point of view? He's still a sneaky bastard, no doubt. But…"

The leader of Amegakure suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around, glaring at Nagato and Naruto. "And the two of you. Come to my office later. I want a report of how you obtain those elementary jutsu."

The blonde and the redhead sighed. "Damn."

Konan simply giggled at their inevitable trouble.

"Shut up, Konan-chan. You're part of this as well."

"But I didn't show them off, did I?" The blue haired girl stuck her tongue out at them and skipped away.

Naruto shook his head. "Girls these days…"

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"How did the two of you utilise those elementary jutsu without my supervision?" Hanzo narrowed his eyes. "To be precise, how did you master it in a week?"

"It comes naturally to you when you have the Rinnegan." Naruto shrugged. "Makes things easier."

"You sound as if you've been trying to use jutsu without your dojutsu before you've arrived here." Hanzo arched his brows. "Why is that? Is it because your previous mentor has taught something to you without knowing about the potent power sealed within you?"

"I guess so. I'm not really sure if he knows anything about me though." The blonde was awfully nonchalant. "We'll spill the beans. I went to your library a few days ago to steal a couple of jutsu manuals. I gave some of them to Konan-chan and Nagato."

The leader of Amegakure broke into laughter, starling Naruto and Nagato in the process. "To think that kids like you are able to infiltrate through my tunnels and navigate yourself into the library without anybody noticing you… mesmerising. At any rate, you don't need to steal those manuals anymore. I'm giving the three of you permissions to enter the library as you wish. Take as many books as you want. Examine all the scrolls that you desire. What's mine is yours."

Naruto grinned triumphantly. "Things are progressing well."

"Off the record…" Hanzo scrutinised the blonde keenly. "What's that strange attack that you used just now?"

"Just a parlour trick."

"Parlour trick? What parlour trick?" The snarky smirk was still plastered on Naruto's features and the leader of Amegakure swore it had curled up a couple of inches. "Nope. Don't tell me. I don't think I want to know."

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(2 years later)

Twirling the boiling pot of soup with a wooden spoon, Naruto was whistling gleefully. Konan was chopping carrots and onions beside him, humming musical tones. When she had finished her dicing, she poured the contents into the soup and placed the lid over the pot. The blonde threw the spoon into the sink and twirled the tap on. "Soup will be ready in 10 minutes time."

Konan nodded fervently. "Umm! Where's Nagato?"

"He went training by himself. He told me this morning that he has already unlocked another powers of the Rinnegan." Naruto chuckled before shutting the faucet. "That guy gets excited way too easily."

The blue haired girl giggled. "How's your training with chakra manipulation? Need some tips."

Naruto deadpanned at a cocky Konan. "Nah, it's okay. I'm doing good, though not as good as you… but I have already started developing two additional elements that I can utilise. I'm still stronger than both you and Nagato! Hah!"

"Not true. Nagato ends up a draw against you last week!"

The blonde wagged a disapproving finger at the blue haired girl. "That might be true but that's a total of 50-32. I'm heaps better than Nagato."

"You cheated all the time." Konan pouted.

"And every ninja cheats. We're not ninja if we don't cheat. That's just not possible. If we have a ninja bible, the first verse is gonna be 'all ninja cheats their way out from conundrums.' We're not samurai. We don't need to obey any honorary codes when we kicks ass in night time." Naruto grinned impishly as he had won the argument. "Besides, I'm getting really tired with trainings nowadays. Hanzo doesn't really care about our personal lives anymore."

"Yeah, we don't need to report to him frequently." Konan sighed. "That's a relief. He gives me the creeps."

"Doesn't everybody else?" Naruto and Konan chortled harmoniously; the blue haired girl had noted that the blonde was a gregarious individual and was always optimistic. Perhaps war had put a toll on his mentality but she knew no matter what, the blonde cared for her deeply. That's all it mattered. Konan raised the lid from the pot and picked up a spoon before stirring it. Naruto leaned against the counter and opened his mouth. "I think the soup is ready. Feed me some."

Konan grinned mischievously. "Why must I? I'm the one who's holding the spoon here. I get the first taste."

Ladling the soup into the curvature of the spoon, Konan took a little sip and beamed. "Yummy!"

"Me want some!" Naruto whined childishly and the blue haired girl gave in into the blonde's adorable pout; she always succumbed to Naruto's antics. "Alright! Here you go."

Konan fed the blonde the soup and was rewarded with a loud cheer. "Taste great! The soup is ready! Let's dig in!"

"Uh, uh, uh! Table manners. What's the number one rule in the house?"

Naruto lowered his head in defeat and responded dejectedly. "Be patient for the food to be served."

"Good. Now seat down there while I serve us some delicious hot minestrone soup." Catching a glimpse of Naruto blinking innocently at her, Konan's heart melted as she caressed his cheeks. "Aww, don't be sad. You get your soup soon. Now be good and seat down there, okay?"

The blonde nodded and the blue haired girl gave him a quick peck on his warm cheek.

Naruto blushed and obliged. However, recalling his past memories made him sigh. "Sakura-chan has never kissed me before. I don't think she even notice me until we become teammates. In the end, she loves Sasuke more than me. I'm just an ordinary friend to her. I guess it's time to move on. At the very least, Konan-chan is more gentle and less violent than Sakura-chan. Not to mention her womanly curves are really developing. Heh! I think I'm starting to understand why so many people are in love with Ero-Sennin's porno literature. Konan-chan is gonna become a bombshell one day!"

Oblivious to his bleeding nose, Naruto continued his perverted fantasising.

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Nagato was standing in an isolated region of Amegakure's many outskirts, preparing to unleash a forbidden technique reserved only for those who possessed the Rinnegan. Devising a series of hand seals, mixing the potent chakra of Omnyoton and the power of the Rinnegan, Nagato slammed a palm onto the ground. "Jigokudo: Yama no Gedo!" (Hell Realm: Hell King's Outer Path)

What happened next horrified the redhead. He was not prepared to meet the head of a demonic entity emerging from the ground. It had a pair of Rinnegan and it was staring furiously at him. Swallowing hard, Nagato waved a friendly hand at the supposedly mirage of the king of hell. "Er… hi?"

There was no respond.

"Hello?"

It continued to stare at the redhead, who was almost suffering an anxiety attack. Closing his eyes, Nagato tranquilised his thoughts and neutralised his chakra, dispelling the technique in the process. The demonic entity sunk into the ground and restored its vacated spot with soil and dirt. The redhead sat down on the floor and investigated his notes. "Hmm… perhaps the Rinnegan really control life and death. Naruto says that the Rinnegan grants the both of us powers that defies imagination. But to be able to control… such power? If I'm not wrong, that technique allows me to instil fear into my enemy. Perhaps I can use it for interrogation. Sucking enemies' souls out for spite is really an overkill."

Nagato smiled and shut his notebook. "I'm going to tell Naruto and Konan my good news."

Wrestling himself up into a standing posture, Nagato carried his valuables and ran back to his hideout.

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Nagato barged into his bunker and announced aloud. "I'm back! Guess what? I mastered the Jigokudo technique!"

Blinking dumbly, the redhead regained his composure and saw Naruto and Konan, staring at him with noodles dangling from the edge of their lips. "Er… hi?"

The blonde swallowed his food and beamed proudly. "Good job, Nagato."

"Yes! I finally surpass you, Naruto!" Nagato snickered.

Naruto shook his hand displeasingly. "Nah, you didn't."

"I so did." The redhead declared. "I am on my fourth pain! There are a total of six pains. That makes me closer to mastery over the Rinnegan."

"Jigokudo, huh?" Konan wiped her mouth with her napkin and queried curiously. "What is that? Sounds scary."

"The hell realm." Naruto answered, much to Nagato's surprise. "With a fair usage of the Omnyoton, Rinnegan users like Nagato and I can summon Yama. It requires over two hundred and sixty-seven hand seals to operate the jutsu. However, that can be shortened. You see, because it has such a massive amount of hand seals as perquisites for the jutsu to be stable, the hand seals are split into five segments. There are tricks to shorten the hand seals of course. Frankly, I don't need any."

"H-How did you know…" Nagato was dumbfounded when realisation struck him. "You… you've already mastered that technique, haven't you?"

The blonde shrugged. "A month ago. It looks like a giant head with a pair of creepy Rinnegan eyes staring through your soul, right?"

Nagato nodded and sighed. "I can't catch up to you, Naruto."

"Work hard, dude. You'll be able to do so in the future."

Twisting attentions at the blue haired girl, Nagato smiled. "So how's your training?"

"I can form multiple paper clones. I call them Kami Bushin." Konan stared shyly at Naruto. "And it's all thanks to Naruto. He gives me some useful pointers."

"That's true." Nagato stroked his chin before he gazed upon a smirking Naruto with discerning perspective. "How do you know so much, Naruto? You know many things we don't. It's like you live a former life before."

The blonde chuckled at the irony. "Maybe."

Nagato sat on the chair and eyed the blonde. "You're hiding something from us. I demand answers!"

"Aww, you needn't be angry, this is how the world works." Naruto took a large gulp from his bowl of soup and sighed. "Nice soup. Hey, wanna go out?"

Konan was confounded. "Seriously? The last time we decide to go out with you, we got punished by Hanzo-sama."

"Yeah… but that's fun, right?" Naruto smirked. "Come on, let's go. I heard Hanzo is battling a few samurai. We cannot miss this show."

"Samurai?" Nagato was motivated. "I'm in."

Konan was aggravated. "Nagato!"

"What? We're talking samurai here! It's gonna be fun, and educational to watch them fight. They are the masters of weaponry. It's only natural we get to learn stuffs from them." Nagato stood up and went to his closet to prepare his equipments. Naruto placed both his and Konan's bowl of soup into the sink, much to the blue haired girl's protest. "Hey! I haven't finished that!"

"No time left, Konan-chan. Get dress or I'll take it off this instance! You know I want to!"

Konan stood up begrudgingly and flicked the boy's nose. "Naughty boy. I'll slap you and it will hurt a lot if you peek on me, you little pervert."

"I'll be gay if I'm not. Now shoo." Naruto beckoned the girl to her bedroom. Konan glared at the blonde and reluctantly went into her room.

The blonde smirked. "All according to plan."

X-o~O~o-X-o~O~o-X-o~O~o-X-o~O~o-X

As I've said, Naruto's pairings are endless.

1.) NarutoXKonan
2.) NarutoXMei
3.) NarutoXKurotsuchi
4.) NarutoXShizune
5.) NarutoXKurenai
7.) You are busy reading the list of pairings you didn't notice 6.) is missing.
8.) NarutoXAnko
9.) NarutoXSamui
10.) NarutoXMabui
11.) NarutoXYugito
12.) NarutoXFu
13.) NarutoXShion
14.) NarutoXKoyuki
15.) NarutoXPakura
16.) NarutoXHarem

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