One of the Three Great Sage Lands of the ninja world—Mount Myōboku.
This was the sacred land of the toad sages.
Inside a vast, sunlit hollow of an ancient tree, Naruto Uzumaki sat cross-legged, sipping a cup of strange green liquid.
Across from him were the oldest and wisest toads of Mount Myōboku—Fukasaku and Shima, the Sage Couple.
With a cheerful croak, Shima slung a tiny basket over her arm.
"Well then, since little Naruto says the food's too plain, I'll hop out and catch us something fresh!"
Naruto's face twisted into misery. Inside, he was screaming: Oh no… not another one of her 'special' toad recipes. Please, no more swamp stew!
Fukasaku gave her a quick reminder.
"Make sure it's something that'll boost his stamina, dear. We're about to start his sage chakra training."
Then the old white-browed sage turned back to Naruto, his tone suddenly solemn.
"It's time to begin your Sage Art training."
"You've learned enough of the Frog Kata and have a decent handle on the basics of senjutsu."
"But before we go any further," he added, narrowing his eyes, "there's one last thing you need to understand."
Naruto blinked, uneasy.
"Wh–what? You're making this sound kinda scary."
"It's about the risks of Sage Mode."
"Huh? Risks?"
"Yes. If you don't grasp the dangers, you'll never master it safely." Fukasaku's voice was grave.
Naruto leaned forward, curious. "Okay… so what kind of risks are we talking about?"
"First off," Fukasaku said, "Sage Mode doesn't last long—five minutes at most."
"And to maintain it, you have to draw in natural energy. But that requires total stillness. Once the fight starts, you can't move to recharge."
"If you try to gather nature energy mid-battle, you'll be a sitting duck."
"Ohh… I get it… kinda," Naruto muttered, scratching his head.
"That's why Sage Mode works best when you have teammates to cover you," the old toad continued. "Only then can you safely step back and recharge if things get rough."
Fukasaku's gaze darkened.
"But if you're up against a truly powerful opponent and you must rely on Sage Mode, you'll have to pull away from the fight long enough to gather energy again."
Naruto's eyes widened as the realization hit him.
"Wait—so that means I can't even use Sage Mode properly in a real fight!? Then what's the point of all this training?!"
"Don't be so glum, kid," Fukasaku said with a chuckle. "That's why I'm here, remember?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Simple. If I fuse with you, the problem disappears."
Naruto's imagination instantly betrayed him. He pictured a giant toad version of himself—his hair, his clothes—hopping around and croaking while flicking a long, slimy tongue.
"NO WAY!!" Naruto shouted, horrified.
Fukasaku sighed. "Relax. When I say 'fuse,' I just mean I'll attach myself lightly—on your shoulder or back."
"Huh? O–oh, really? Okay, that's… not as bad, I guess. But how does that even help?"
Fukasaku raised two fingers and said—
"Basically, it's just splitting the moving and the still jobs,".
"One stays active while the other remains motionless to absorb natural energy."
"Jiraiya used to ride on our shoulders—this is the final form of Sage Mode."
"I see… that actually sounds pretty cool," Naruto blurted, suddenly picturing himself looking badass.
"All right, don't worry, kid," Fukasaku said.
"Okay!"
Toad and boy slapped palms together.
Beyond Konoha's western wall, the Six Paths of Pain had already assembled.
Tendō stood at the front, Konan at the rear, the other five lined up between them.
"We'll split into feint and recon teams here," Tendō announced in a flat voice.
From inside the tree hollow, Nagato — the mind behind the Six Paths — discovered something shocking.
The Six Paths weren't mindless puppets at all.
Each retained a faint residue of the original body's consciousness and instinct.
Even without Nagato actively puppeteering them, they could still receive information and make basic judgments.
If Nagato tried to beam his will into all six at once, the chakra cost would be enormous—far greater than imbuing a single Path and then verbally relaying orders through it to the others.
So in practice, Nagato typically issued commands through Tendō. He spoke, the other Paths heard, and they followed.
He could force his will directly into the others using the Rinnegan, but that would drain too much chakra.
Only by personally experiencing the control did he realize the Paths were half-man, half-husk.
That revelation explained a puzzle Nagato had never understood in the original tale: why Tendō would voice the plan aloud before the other five and Konan, instead of simply broadcasting his intent telepathically from the hollow. Konan's body stood beside him in the tree; he could have whispered everything to her directly. Why the extra ceremony at Konoha's western wall?
Nagato's voice echoed in the hollow; Tendō's lips moved in perfect sync before the wall:
"Before we move, let me confirm."
"The feint team: Asura Path, Animal Path, Preta Path."
"The recon team: Tendō, Human Path, Naraka Path."
"Konan, you join reconnaissance."
"I understand," Konan replied.
Tendō looked at the high wall. The ripples of his Rinnegan widened, and his vision shifted—black and white spread across his sight: a dark Konoha and a pale… barrier.
It was a special Rinnegan ability—seeing chakra barriers.
"Konoha has erected a spherical barrier, both under the village and overhead," Tendō said.
Konan answered calmly, "It's a mechanism that immediately detects unauthorized intrusions."
Tendō continued, "Per plan, Animal Path will be dropped above Konoha to create a false assessment of our forces, to confuse them and buy time for the Animal's summoning."
Asura Path stepped forward.
Konan tilted her head in question, "It looked like Itachi and Kisame slipped through easily."
Tendō's voice was colder. "Itachi was once of Root; he knows the barrier's codes."
"I have my method."
Asura crouched and cradled the small, compact new Animal Path at his side.
A deep, lethal intent surged through Tendō's Rinnegan.
"From this moment, let the world feel pain."
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Don't forget to drop some Power Stones!💎💎💎