In the world of Naruto, among the Six Paths of Pain, excluding the Deva Path, the one ranked strongest was actually the Asura Path.
That guy, with his whole body remade into mechanical components loaded with all kinds of missiles and weaponry, was a walking engine of war in every sense.
But—
Ryota, in the end, did not choose the Asura Path.
He chose the Animal Path.
Not because it was stronger, but because it was far more suited to coordinated team combat.
Three days later, when the siege match began, he would already have the puppet weapon known as the "strongest Kazekage"—the Third Kazekage—at his side.
Its Magnet Style: Iron Sand, capable of covering half a battlefield with its area-of-effect abilities, would undoubtedly be the key to breaking through.
Although Ottar couldn't take part in the siege, Ryota, ever cautious, still had to plan for the worst with the Third Kazekage on his side.
No matter how powerful an attacker, you still needed cover and suppression.
And the Animal Path was precisely there to provide that space control and tempo support.
Ranked just behind the Asura Path for offensive capability among the Six Paths, the Animal Path boasted a huge variety of summoned beasts.
Even more crucially, the Animal Path's tactical mobility was incredible, and the summoned beasts weren't limited to being controlled by just a single person.
Ryota could deploy them to cooperate with the Loki Familia's other members.
What did that mean?
It meant—
he summoned them, and everyone benefitted!
"In a siege match, it's never about who hits hardest — it's about who can hold on the longest, who can create chaos the fastest."
"I don't just want to win — I want the Loki Familia to suffer the fewest casualties possible. Ideally, none at all."
About five minutes later, a feedback signal rippled through his sea of consciousness.
His first experience with advanced Reanimation was complete.
Without hesitation, Ryota formed hand seals at lightning speed:
As his hands came together, the air in front of him suddenly twisted!
Boom—
A burst of white mist exploded outward, sending a shockwave rippling through the room.
The mist dissipated quickly, revealing a slender figure in Ryota's line of sight.
It was a woman in an Akatsuki black cloak, tall and slim, with short orange hair.
A few black metal piercings were set into either side of her cheeks, but what surprised Ryota most was—
the woman's eyes were not the characteristic Rinnegan of the Six Paths of Pain.
They were identical to his own Mangekyō Sharingan!
Ryota narrowed his eyes slightly, murmuring:
"An advanced version of Reanimation, huh... so smart?"
Obviously, this female Animal Path had been created using Ryota's own chakra as a core, molded by the advanced Reanimation jutsu.
Since he carried the Mangekyō Sharingan, then of course this "Animal Path" would inherit his Dōjutsu.
Suddenly, Ryota thought of a weird question:
"Wait a second — if I awaken the Rinnegan later, then use Reanimation on Uchiha Madara... would he have the Eternal Mangekyō or the Rinnegan?"
"Does this advanced Reanimation always scale with my own abilities?"
He puzzled over it for a while but gave up trying to figure it out.
After all, he couldn't exactly "afford" Uchiha Madara right now.
He refocused on the woman in front of him.
According to the knowledge in his head, these "Paths of Pain," or rather these "Reanimated Puppets," retained their original appearance and powers but had no soul or consciousness of their own, following only Ryota's commands.
He spoke softly:
"Ajisai."
As if responding to Ryota's call, the woman tilted her head.
Click—
With a mechanical reboot-like whir, the red-and-black Mangekyō Sharingan in her eyes began to spin slowly.
For a few seconds, the very air in the room seemed to freeze.
Then Ajisai dropped to one knee, bowing respectfully.
"Master."
[Ding! Summon the Six Paths of Pain and let the DanMachi world experience true pain progress updated: (1/6)]
Ryota nodded in satisfaction, the corners of his mouth lifting ever so slightly.
"I wonder what it'll look like when Pain shows up with his bags of rice..."
Pulling back his thoughts, he took a close look at Ajisai, the female Animal Path, in front of him.
"Mm, as expected of a reanimated weapon. Steady, obedient."
"If you really think about this jutsu..."
He sighed softly,
"It's no wonder it turned entire battlefields upside down in the Naruto world."
"Reviving the dead, unafraid of pain, unafraid of death, retaining their jutsu... a perfect army tactic."
He shook his head, marveling once again at just how insane the Naruto world's concept of war really was, then shifted to more practical matters.
He was about to check the Animal Path's summoning list to see if it matched what he remembered, when—
knock, knock, knock!
Three sharp knocks on the door broke the silence.
Ryota raised an eyebrow and looked over.
"Lefiya?"
Even through the door, he could hear the faint, anxious breathing.
A moment later, the voice of the elven girl came through, cautious and hesitant:
"Um... Ryota, are you free right now?"
Ryota paused, then waved a hand.
"Go on."
Ajisai stood, her figure flickering before vanishing into the shadows.
Only a faint swirl of residual chakra energy lingered in the room.
Ryota stepped forward and opened the door.
Lefiya looked up and froze on the spot the moment she saw him.
Because she could still clearly sense a strange, dangerous presence lingering in the room behind him.
That aura felt neither human, nor like any monster or known magic signature.
It was more like...
Lefiya couldn't even put it into words.
It was an indescribable pressure, the kind that cornered your very soul, and even its leftover traces made her want to flee.
After all, Lefiya was no ordinary mage.
She was the Thousand Elf.
Even if Ryota always teased her as the "idiot elf,"
the truth was, ever since joining the Familia, she'd trained constantly with Riveria by her side.
Plus after their journey together into the Dungeon, she'd broken free of her past traumas.
So by now, her sense for magic flow had advanced by leaps and bounds.
That was exactly why, the moment she got close to this room, she could instantly detect that unsettling presence.
But now, with the door open, she saw only Ryota standing there, looking a bit sleepy and disheveled.
"...?"
Question marks practically popped above the elf girl's head.
"What is it?"
Ryota finally spoke, snapping her out of her spinning thoughts.
Lefiya regained her senses, her expression faltering as she nervously lowered her head, stammering:
"I-I heard that... um, that people were saying you... you collapsed."
"Hmm?"
Ryota chuckled.
"So you came all this way just to check if I was dead or alive?"
"T-That's not what I meant!"
Lefiya frantically waved her hands,
"I just... I came to see if you were okay... and, um, to make sure..."
"Heh."
Ryota shot her a sidelong glance.
"You really buy into those rumors?"
"I—"
Lefiya froze, unable to deny that yes, she had been influenced by them.
After all, the rumors had been incredibly convincing!
Things like "he collapsed after the battle," or "side effects from the skeleton giant"...
Even Hephaestus and Hestia had come to ask a few questions about him last night.
As a sensitive, worry-prone elf girl, hearing that kind of talk over and over had left her uneasy.
Just as she was fumbling for how to explain, Ryota reached out and gently ruffled her hair, speaking softly:
"How could I possibly collapse? Relax."
Feeling that familiar warmth on her head, Lefiya went blank.
That tone, that voice, that reassuring touch—
it was just like all the fantasies she'd replayed in her mind countless times.
Whoosh—!
Her face went bright red, all the way from her ears to the base of her neck!
It was another— another— another— head-pat kill shot—!
Her entire body froze up like she'd been hit with some paralyzing technique, unable to even form proper words.
Ryota looked at her reaction, amused.
"You're even worse than last time."
"W-What do you mean, worse than last time?!"
Lefiya practically leapt up, waving her hands wildly to try to shield her head, but also unwilling to actually push his hand away, leaving her spinning in place like a frantic kitten:
"T-This is way too unfair!!"
"Do you even realize how embarrassing it is for an elf to have her head touched— especially by a guy?!"
"Q-Quit it already!!"
Ryota shrugged and finally let go.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop."
"But if you keep blushing like a tomato, people are going to think I'm bullying you."
"You are bullying me!!"
Lefiya stomped her foot in a mix of shame and frustration, puffing up like a bristling kitten.
But those eyes couldn't hide the excitement and happiness sparkling deep inside.
After letting her cool off a bit, Ryota asked:
"So, be honest — what did you actually come for?"
"Ah?"
Busted on the spot, Lefiya flinched, her already-rosy face turning an even deeper shade of red.
She lowered her head and said in a tiny voice:
"I... I want to join the siege match in three days."
"..."
Ryota blinked, genuinely surprised.
Before he could say anything, Lefiya quickly continued, voice trembling but determined:
"On the expedition, I was always the one being protected."
"But this time, it's about you — about our entire Familia."
"I want to help, too. So I was hoping, in these next few days, maybe I could... reach Level 4."
As she spoke, she lifted her head.
Those usually timid green eyes were unexpectedly firm and resolute.
Ryota paused, momentarily taken aback.
He could read the subtext easily enough.
—She wanted him to take her into the Dungeon again.
"Lefiya..."
Ryota sighed a bit.
"These days I've been busy with War Game stuff. Ever since I dealt with that Minotaur, I haven't even gone back to the Dungeon."
"To be honest, I've only made it to the eleventh floor."
"I haven't even stepped into the middle floors yet."
Lefiya lowered her head, but her voice didn't falter:
"But when you took me before... I improved so fast."
"Even if it's just the upper floors, I want to try."
Ryota looked at her for a few seconds, then nodded.
"Alright. Then this time, we'll aim for the middle floors."
"Really?!"
Lefiya's eyes lit up, her lips curling in a smile that couldn't hide her joy.
With a flourish, she pulled out a piece of finely crafted protective gear from behind her like a magician.
"You had this ready in advance?"
"U-Um... it was... just in case, that's all..."
Lefiya hugged the cloak close, eyes darting around, but the grin on her face was wider than a double-barreled shotgun.
Ryota was just about to say something when he felt another pair of eyes on him from down the hall.
He looked over —
Ais was poking her head around the corridor corner, spying in their direction.
The Sword Princess clearly hadn't learned how to hide her presence yet.
Ryota froze for a second.
"...You two?"
"Ahem!"
Lefiya straightened up stiffly, blurting out as if to beat Ais to the punch:
"Miss Ais and I — we both feel the same way!"
"..."
Ryota didn't even know who to complain at first.
He glanced down at the cloak in Lefiya's arms again.
At that moment, a strange sense of foreboding crept over him.
Like he'd stepped onto a pirate ship with no way back —
the ticket was stamped, the cannons loaded, the oars tied to his hands, all at once.
Ais walked over from the corridor, speaking softly:
"I... will support you."
Ryota glanced at her, then at Lefiya's barely hidden grin.
"What is this, the Loki Familia's expedition squad?"
Lefiya covered her mouth and laughed, while Ais calmly answered:
"We're here to support you."
"Or rather... to learn from you."
Ryota: "..."
Damn. They really weren't going to give him a chance to argue, huh?