Chapter 65: Six Paths Two Outcomes

Out of all the things I was expecting to go wrong, especially with having to deal with Iwa, this… Finding Jiraiya battered and beaten wasn't one of them.

From the first glance, Jiraiya appeared to be severely wounded. Blood pooled around his vest, dripping down his shirt, but… He appeared to be in a somewhat stable condition, likely due to him still being in sage mode.

"Naruto…" He began, before devolving into a coughing fit. Spitting up a mouthful of blood, he exhaled and leaned against the tree behind him.

There were only a handful of people in the world that were capable of putting Jiraiya in this condition and judging by the discarded black Chakra receiver rod that laid at Jiraiya's feet, I already knew who it was.

Nagato.

I was going to beat the living hell out of him… After I took care of Jiraiya.

"I'm sending you back to Konoha," I announced, forming a Shadow Clone to take him to the hospital.

"Not yet…" He muttered. Pushing himself back up, he took several slow breaths. "It was just a lung… I've still got the other one."

"You might want to listen to the lad, Jiraiya," Pa said, his voice sounding more than a little raspy.

"I've got to see this through. He was my student making it my mess to clean up," Jiraiya argued. "I've made many mistakes throughout my life so please… Let me fix at least one of them."

Seeing my clone hesitate, I sighed. There would be no convincing him. Catching my clone's eye, I gave a nod, sending him away. I might not be able to convince Jiraiya to leave with my clone, Utakata on the other hand...

Feeling a pulse of Chakra, I flashed through several seals and smashed my hands into the ground, forming a large wall made of earth that shook violently as something collided with it, exploding on impact.

Waiting for a few moments as Pa reattached himself to Jiraiya's shoulder, I removed my hands from the ground allowing the wall to crumble under its own weight, revealing the destroyed section of the forest along with a group of Shinobi. Nagato's Paths of Pain… Oddly enough, there were only four of them.

"You've called for backup," The Pain which I assumed was the Deva Path noted. "And in doing so you've delivered the Kyuubi Jinchuriki to me."

"Funny," I said, stepping forward. "I was just about to say the same thing about you. I was wondering when I'd run into the so-called leader of the Akatsuki. I wasn't expecting it to be today of all days, but I guess it makes sense what with the Akatsuki's track record of attacking when everyone else is distracted."

"A needed necessity with the state of the world today," The Deva path commented. "Something that you yourself have had a hand in. Unfortunately the peace you've fostered between the nations will only last for a short time. There will come a point where the nations will grow weary of their alliance and split from it, waging war upon each other once more. I've seen it all happen before and I know that you have too with Suna's attempt at invading Konoha."

I could already guess what he was going to say next, but keeping him talking suited me. The longer he was distracted, the more time my clone would have to find and transport Utakata and bring him back to Konoha.

It wasn't entirely necessary, but it would ensure that the battlefield was empty when Nagato's Paths and I came to blows.

"You and I are quite similar, we share the same master, we both know the feeling of pain and we both strive to bring peace to this conflict driven world of ours. Our methods may differ, but at the end of the day, we're the same," The Deva Path continued. "What this world needs now is to mature… For something to break this cycle of hatred. I have developed such a method, but it can't be done without the Biju. Help me and together we could put an end to this self destructive cycle of..."

"Enough," Ma snapped. "You really like to flap your gums, but as pretty as you make your offer sound, you're still slinging crap. Don't even give his offer a moment's thought, lad. He may say that he plans on bringing peace, but it will only be peace because there won't be anyone left."

"I know," I replied. Enough time had passed that my clone was already near Utakata. "I never had any intention of going with him. I was only humoring him."

There was no way that I'd actually consider helping Nagato complete his crazy plan. Outside of the fact that it would kill a massive amount of people, there were just too many things that could go wrong with his plan.

Nagato planned on creating a weapon that would be able to decimate entire cities. This world's equivalent of nuclear weaponry… Albeit, much more powerful. The result of using such weapons would leave the population of the world horrified and less prone to war, that much was true.

He even planned on giving it over to the people when he died, giving them the means to use the weapon again in order to bring another era of peace when war broke out once more.

There was however one major factor that worked against his plan for peace. It relied on fear and disgust at using such a weapon to snuff out numerous lives. Sadly not everyone would react that way. Those like Danzo or Orochimaru would use it repeatedly, wiping out all those that wouldn't follow them and oppressing those that did.

It wasn't just a possibility either. There are more than a few Shinobi that would jump at the chance to secure such a power. Nagato's plan was ultimately doomed to fail… And that wasn't even including Obito and Black Zetsu into the equation. Those two would betray him the instant he was no longer useful to their cause.

"I see," The Deva Path muttered. "If you won't see reason, then I will simply have to take you by force."

Fire ignited from beneath the Asura path feet, propelling it forward at a much faster speed than it should have been capable of. A variety of blades grew from its outstretched hand as the path changed its trajectory, seemingly aiming for Jiraiya who stood off to the side.

Launching myself towards the approaching path, I brought my arm up just as I neared him, performing the Lariat that I'd seen Bee use numerous times when I was in Kumo.

Not stopping there, I tightened my arm around the Paths neck. Squeezing tightly there was a sound of metal groaning, before the mechanical paths head was torn off.

Catching the Asura Paths head, I came to a sudden stop. Out of morbid curiosity, I pulled the top open, revealing the interior which consisted of a variety of metal components.

"You dropped this," I called out, tossing the disembodied head over to the three paths.

Watching as it neared them, I pulsed my Chakra, detonating the explosive tag that I'd hidden in the Asura Paths head. It didn't have much of an effect as the Deva Path repelled it, but it did leave them momentarily surprised.

"Sensei… I think it might be better if you sat this one out," I called out. "I can't account for your safety if I go all out."

"Don't think that…" Jiraiya began.

"Jiraiya," Pa interrupted, his tone softer and full of understanding. "If we interfere now, we'll only get in the way. Let's leave this to your student and if he should stumble we'll be there to help pick him up."

Jiraiya let out a long sigh, before smiling. "The next generation always exceeds the previous one. I've known that he's long since surpassed me but seeing it with my own eyes fills me with a sense of pride. Naruto, go ahead and go all out, you won't have to worry about us. We'll stay out of your way."

Nodding, I grabbed a handful of Kunai and scattered them throughout the forest. Throwing the final one towards the Deva Path, I watched as it was repelled.

"The Hiraishin coupled with the same technique our master uses to enhance himself," The Deva Path commented. "I can see why you've been such a major thorn in our side. Kakuzu was right to be weary of you."

"Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet," I muttered.

Forming a Wind Style Rasenshuriken, I threw it towards the group and slipped a pair of Kunai into my hand. Throwing one of them high into the air, I threw the other one towards the Deva Path.

Both were easily countered. The Rasenshuriken was absorbed by the Preta Path while the Deva Path repelled the Kunai I threw directly at him. The one I threw upward though came down and landed between the three paths.

Teleporting to my new marker between the paths, I lashed out, landing a solid blow against the Preta Path, sending it tumbling to the side while also breaking its neck.

The other two exploded into action. The Deva Path jumped back, gaining some space, buying time for the cooldown of its technique while the other path raced forward with a black Chakra receiver.

I momentarily considered letting him stab me in order to use the rod to track Nagato's location, before deciding otherwise. The closer I got to Nagato, the better he'd be able to control his Paths. It would be better if I killed them all first, before confronting the man himself.

Bringing my hand up, I struck the black rod with my palm, shattering it on impact. Grabbing the Path's arm, I tugged him towards me and shoved a newly formed Rasengan into his gut, taking him out.

Turning my attention to the lone Deva Path, an invisible force began pulling me towards him. Forming a Rasenshuriken, I threw it towards the Deva Path, before teleporting to one of my Kunai that had been embedded in a tree nearby.

Counting in my head, I waited the Deva Path to dodge the Rasenshuriken before launching myself towards him with my fist pulled back.

Twisting in mid air, the Deva Path managed to avoid my fist, but was still hit by the invisible Natural Energy that I had laced my strike with. Being thrown backwards, the Deva Path crashed into a tree trunk, shattering it as he passed through.

Following him, I saw him raise his hand and teleported to another one of my Kunai, deftly avoiding the unrelenting force of his attack.

Pushing himself up, the Deva Path brushed the dust off his cloak as the other three Paths that I'd just killed surrounded him.

"I see," I muttered under my breath.

Nagato was playing things fairly smart. He'd taken care to hide the Naraka Path so he could continuously repair the destroyed Paths. All he had to do in order to win was play the slow, defensive game. Eventually one of two things would happen. His opponent would run out of Chakra or they would make a mistake that he could capitalize on.

Since he didn't need to transport the destroyed bodies by hand, he was using the Animal Path to summon them to a hidden location. As long as he had Chakra, he was able to do this endlessly. The only way to get around it would be to completely destroy the Paths bodies or to kill the Naraka Path.

Finding the Naraka Path would be difficult as it seemed that there was something that was obscuring its Chakra signature. The Paths didn't give off any negative emotions as they were technically dead and being controlled by Nagato, meaning I couldn't find them that way either. There was however a better option available to me.

Creating a single Shadow Clone, I had it stay behind and wait. Throwing a Kunai towards the Deva Path, he repelled it as expected and burst the smoke bomb I had attached to the back.

Rushing forward with a Rasengan in each hand, I was met halfway by the Asura which launched nearly a dozen missiles.

Holding my one hand out, I poured more Chakra into my Rasengan, massively increasing its size. Holding the giant spiraling ball in front of me, the missiles from the Asura path were torn apart before they even had a chance to detonate.

Feeling my massive Rasengan collided with the Asura Path, I held it for a moment before dispelling it, revealing the totaled mechanical body behind. Sensing a Chakra signature behind me, I stepped to the side as an outstretched hand harmlessly sailed over my shoulder.

Using my remaining Rasengan, I shoved it into what I assumed was the Human Path's gut. Turning around, I slammed my free palm into the Paths face, killing it.

With two of Nagato's Paths dead once more, I turned my attention to the remaining two. The Deva Path and the Preta Path. Both would be annoying to deal with, but I would only need to kill them once.

I had to wonder how many times Jiraiya had already killed them before calling me, because this was already feeling tedious.

Stepping away from the bodies as the smoke began to clear, I smirked when they suddenly disappeared. There was a sudden, high pitched ringing in the air as the clone I'd created earlier formed its own Rasenshuriken, before it suddenly disappeared.

For a brief moment, there was silence, before it was suddenly interrupted by a shockwave that was followed by the sound of the Rasenshuriken detonating.

By the sudden lack of movement from the Deva and Preta Paths, it seemed that Nagato was only beginning to comprehend what happened. He'd lost his Animal and Naraka Path in one single move.

All it took was a single marker on the Human Path and my clone was able to follow it after being summoned and detonate the Rasenshuriken at point blank range, reducing everything into a fine red mist.

No longer able to play the long game of wearing me down, the remaining two Paths charged forward. Feeling a tugging sensation that pulled me towards the duo, I formed a Rasengan and went with it.

As was expected, when I tried to strike the Deva Path, the Preta Path got in the way and absorbed my technique. Latching down on my hands, he locked me in place while the Deva Path attempted to stab me with his Chakra receiver.

Taking the Preta Path with me as I teleported a little deeper into the forest, I latched onto his Chakra, preventing him from being able to absorb my own. "Yeah, that's not going to work on me. I've done this with far stronger beings than you."

Breathing easily I gave a harsh tug on his Chakra ripping a large chunk of it out of his body. Blinking, I was hit with a vision of Nagato who appeared surprised briefly flashing through my mind.

"I see you."

"Shinra Tensei!"

The full force of the Deva Paths technique smashed into my body, sending me sailing through several trees, before I managed to right myself. Sticking myself to the ground I tore a deep trench in the ground as I slid to a stop.

Reaching out to grab a hold of something as I stood up, I steadied myself with what I assumed was a smooth tree branch. Leaning on it, it let off a soft clinking noise.

"I was wondering when that would happen. It seems that absorbing some of the Rinnegan's Chakra helped yours mature a little faster," Kurama commented.

Held within my hand was a black shakujō. Shifting it to the side, the small rings held within the top portion clinked into each other, giving off an odd, almost metallic sound. Looking behind my back to see if I'd gained any more Truth-Seeking Balls, I found that the shakujō in my hand was the only one.

"I'm not entirely sure what that's about either. If I had to guess, you'll gain more later on," Kurama noted. "We can figure this out later. Don't forget that you're still in the middle of a fight."

"Right," I muttered.

Stepping to the side of the trench with my shakujō held firmly in my hand, I reached out with my senses and found the two Paths heading this way and I had the perfect thing to test on them.

Waiting a handful of moments for the duo to arrive, I suddenly found myself being pulled towards them and went with it. Moving through the forest at a fast rate, I caught a flicker of movement from the corner of my eye.

Turning in midair, I found the Preta Path racing towards me, aiming to impale me with a Chakra receiver. Swinging my newly formed shakujō, the staff effortlessly passed through the black receiver before it continued on to pass through the Preta Path, cutting him in half.

Landing, I turned towards the Deva Path only to find him running. Chasing after him, I realized he was bringing me closer to his real body. There was only one thing he could be doing that for and there was no way in hell I was going to let him do it.

Coming to a stop, I stabbed my shakujō into the ground and clapped my hands together. Shoving them into the ground, a massive wave of trees grew in front of the Deva Path, forming an interlocking wall of wood.

Watching as he blew through it, I redoubled my efforts and patched the hole before he was able to pass through while also forming a few vines that latched onto him in an effort to slow his movement. Grabbing my shakujō, I flipped it in my hand, before throwing it as hard as I could at the Deva Path.

The Deva Path didn't even have a moment to react before the black Staff passed through his chest, leaving a perfect hole through his body. Shifting into its ball form, the Truth-Seeking Balls floated back towards me where it hovered behind my back.

Sighing, I created a pair of clones and sent them to collect the bodies. I was going to have to deal with the real Nagato now and the one thing I knew for certain… It wasn't going to end well.

"So this is where he's been hiding," Jiraiya said as we came to a stop in front of a large tree made from hundreds of sheets of coloured paper. "I don't think I would have been able to find this on my own…"

Nodding along, I turned a concerned eye towards Jiraiya's wound before taking in his exhausted state. It didn't seem as bad now, but that didn't mean he was in any condition to fight… Especially since Ma and Pa went home after all the last Path was killed.

"Are you sure you're up for this?"

"Yeah," Jiraiya muttered. "I told you already… I've got to see this through."

Well okay then.

Digging my hand into the artificial tree, I tore open a hole and stepped through with Jiraiya following closely behind. Sitting in the center of the room, hooked up to a large mechanical contraption with several tubes attached to his body was Nagato.

"So we finally meet face to face, Uzumaki Naruto… Jiraiya-Sensei," Nagato greeted. "Konan, please come down."

Looking to the side, I caught sight of Konan who was partially merged with the paper wall with a Kunai in her hand, ready to strike.

Appearing conflicted, Konan relented and pulled herself out of the wall. Breaking apart into hundreds of sheets of paper, she reformed herself, standing next to Nagato.

"What have you done to yourself?" Jiraiya asked, staring at Nagato's form with a grim look on his face.

"Nothing. This is merely what the world has turned me into," Nagato explained. "I've become what it needs... A person who will stop at nothing to break this never ending cycle of hatred."

"Creating a weapon that kills almost everyone isn't exactly putting an end to the cycle of hatred," I interrupted. "All you're doing is treating the symptoms while avoiding the real issues." Zetsu being the main perpetrator.

"And how would you bring peace to this world?" Nagato asked. "I want to know what your answer is."

"It depends on what you mean by peace," I replied. "Putting an end to all conflict is impossible. So long as there's two people in this world, there's going to be conflict and tension. Putting an end to war on the other hand is much more achievable and it starts with one simple step… Communication."

I'd actually been thinking about this ever since I'd run into Bee on the Demon island years prior. Forcing villages to be peaceful never went well. Communication on the other hand… That had seen an uneasy peace between Konoha and Kumo become a full blown alliance.

"It's not perfect, but…"

"Naruto," Kurama warned.

'I know.'

A whole lot of Chakra signatures were approaching from underground and another… Familiar one had just appeared within the paper tree.

"Please don't stop on my account," Obito said, using his fake Madara voice. "I too would like to hear how you will bring peace to this world."

"Madara…" Konan began, pausing when a dozen Zetsu clones appeared, rising from the floor.

Jiraiya's knuckles popped as his fists tightened and I could understand why. Obito was directly responsible for Minato and Kushina's deaths and he was only a few short steps away. I could see by the look on his face that Jiraiya knew that, even though he wanted to kill Obito, he wasn't in any condition to make the attempt.

"So, Naruto... Are you going to continue telling us your plan or should I tell you mine?" Obito asked.

"You may as well go ahead since you already interrupted," I replied.

"It won't take too long," Obito noted. "It involves me killing your master and capturing you."

Narrowing my eyes, I felt a second pulse of Chakra and looked towards Nagato whose body was coated in Black Zetsu's fluid like one. Stepping forward to do something, the White Zetsu's all let out a war cry as they charged forward, buying their counterpart some time. Obito stood idly by, waiting for me to make a decision.

"KONAN… RUN!" Nagato managed to yell out before he was fully engulfed by Black Zetsu. "I CAN'T CONTROL MYSELF!"

Grabbing my shakujō, golden Chakra burst into existence around my body. Helping Jiraiya fend off the Zetsu's, a golden Chakra arm extended from my back and rushed towards Nagato.

Nearing Nagato's Rinnegan, the Chakra arm was only an inch away before it hit an invisible wall. The world rippled and an unbelievable wave of force exploded from Nagato's body, destroying the machine he'd been seated in before expanding, smashing everything it came into contact with.

Obito remained unbothered, able to simply slip through anything that came his way. Konan on the other hand broke into hundreds of sheets of paper, lessening the impact on her body.

Tightening my grip on my shakujō, I grabbed Jiraiya and teleported out of the fake tree, taking us to one of the further markers I had in the area.

The ground shook as the area we'd just been standing in along with a sizable chunk of the forest exploded outward, creating a massive crater the size of a village.

Feeling Nagato's Chakra signature disappear alongside Zetsu's and Obito's, I cursed. Obito had engineered that entire situation to suit him. He'd played it perfectly… It seemed that he'd learned from our previous encounter.

"Naruto, I…"

"it's fine," I said, already knowing what he was going to say. "The important thing is that you're alive and we managed to save Utakata. There'll be other opportunities to kill Obito."

Gripping my shakujō, I let out a breath and willed it back into its Ball form. Whatever it was Obito was planning, I'd be ready for it.

Sensing a weak Chakra signature off in the distance, I peered down into the massive crater and found a blue head of hair.

Maybe there was still more to be gained.

And that's chapter 65.

Naruto awakens a portion of his Six Paths powers and gains a single Truth Seeking Orb. jiraiya gets to face Nagato directly and Obito plays the situation perfectly, outmaneuvering Naruto by putting Jiraiya at risk, gaining Nagato and more specifically, the Rinnegan. Konan on the other hand manages to survive, barely.

Anyways, I'm up to chapter 72 on the spooky P word website

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I go by the name of ThatKircguy. Just copy the name and paste it in the Patty Rio On search bar. It'd help me out immensely, but don't worry if that's not your style. I will be uploading weekly, so it's not going to be stuck there permanently.

Also, I post my original stuff there as well. It's nothing much, just two short stories for now, but I'll post more as I write them.

The next chapter will be posted on the 28th of March.
See you all then dudes and dudettes.