The moment the four Paths stepped into the clearing, the air tightened around us. Their eyes were empty. Cold. Focused.
Rinnegan.
I did not wait for them to move.
My hands blurred through seals.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
The forest exploded with smoke. Hundreds of clones burst into existence, filling the branches, the ground, the air. Most of them transformed instantly, taking on the shapes of Shikamaru, Lee, and Han.
The clearing became a maze of identical bodies.
"Scatter," I said.
The clones moved in groups of four, each group sprinting in a different direction. Some leapt into the trees. Others dropped to the forest floor. A few charged straight at the Paths.
Chaos erupted.
Clones unleashed water dragons that tore through the branches. Mist rolled across the clearing, thick and cold. Lightning arced between trees as transformed clones attacked from every angle.
The Paths reacted fast.
Animal Path summoned a giant bird that screeched through the mist. Summons crashed into existence. Asura Path fired a barrage of chakra missiles that tore through clones in bursts of smoke. Preta Path absorbed a water dragon whole. Human Path moved like a shadow, ripping through illusions and bodies alike.
But they were attacking shadows.
That was the point.
"Move," I said.
Lee grabbed Han's arm. Shikamaru stayed close to me. We slipped into the chaos, using the smoke and mist as cover. Clones puffed into smoke around us, each one buying us seconds.
Han surged forward beside us, steam blasting from his armor in controlled bursts. Shikamaru's shadow stretched across branches as we moved, snapping at roots and trunks to disrupt sight lines.
We ran west.
Branches whipped past. The forest blurred.
Behind us, the Paths tore through clone after clone, but they could not track the real us. Not yet.
Behind us, chaos.
Water dragons slammed into the Asura Path.
A massive rhinoceros tore through a wave of clones.
Mist thickened. Lightning flashed.
Clones died by the dozens.
Good. Let them waste time.
I sent one clone back.
He landed on a branch, closed his eyes, and inhaled.
Nature chakra brushed against his skin. The world sharpened. My vision sharpened through him.
Monkey Sage Mode flickered to life.
Not full. Not stable. But enough.
My vision sharpened. Gold flooded my pupils. The world snapped into clarity.
I burst from the mist and slammed into the Animal Path with a Rasengan that cracked ribs and sent her skidding across broken branches.
The rest of the Paths had regrouped. They hadn't chased blindly. They'd circled.
Konan reacted instantly.
Paper wings snapped open, scattering razor‑thin sheets that sliced through the mist toward me.
I ducked under them and vanished into smoke.
"Too slow," I muttered.
The Deva Path lifted a hand.
Almighty Pull.
I felt the invisible force latch onto his chest. I drove my staff downward into a trunk and used the pull to vault upward instead of forward. The force dragged me past the Deva Path's shoulder.
I flipped mid-air and landed behind him.
Close enough to speak.
"Nagato," I said clearly. "You're being used."
The Deva Path turned his head slightly.
Konan's paper wings flared behind him, protective, instinctive.
Before the pull could react again, I planted the base of my staff against the Deva Path's back and vaulted again, landing face to face with the Human Path.
I locked eyes with the Rinnegan.
"Ask yourself what Madara really wants."
For half a second, something flickered in that shared vision. Recognition.
Then the Deva Path's gravity shifted again.
I smiled faintly.
And dispersed.
Smoke swallowed me.
The real me felt the memory hit like a spark.
We kept running.
We did not stop until the forest thinned and the air felt less heavy. Han collapsed against a tree, steam hissing from his armor.
"That was excessive," Shikamaru muttered. "Effective. But excessive."
Han's steam vented more slowly now.
"What did you do?" he asked.
"Bought time."
Lee glanced back toward the forest. "Did you defeat them?"
"No."
Shikamaru looked at me sharply. "How many?"
"Six Paths," I said. "And Konan."
Han stiffened. "Seven."
"Yes."
Shikamaru's expression went flat. "That's not good."
Lee frowned. "They share vision."
"Except Konan," I said. "She's independent. Smarter. Faster. She'll flank."
Han looked between us. "You know them."
"I know what they can do."
I forced myself to speak clearly. Calmly.
"The one with gravity controls attraction and repulsion. Short intervals between uses. Watch his hands."
Shikamaru nodded slowly. "So he's the anchor."
Lee's fists tightened. "Then we strike the summoner first."
"Not yet," I said.
Shikamaru folded his arms. "There's more."
"Naraka Path can revive the others."
Lee's eyes widened. "Revive?"
"Yes."
Han cursed under his breath. "And they are hunting me."
"They are hunting all jinchuriki," I said. "You were just the closest."
Han looked away. "I have no loyalty to my village. If going with you keeps me alive, I will go."
Shikamaru rubbed his temples. "Great. Another jinchuriki. This mission just keeps getting better."
Lee straightened. "We will protect him. That is our duty."
I nodded. "We move again soon. They will track us."
Shikamaru sighed. "What a drag."
Lee smiled. "Youth thrives in adversity."
I tightened my grip on my staff.
The Paths would not stop. And neither would we.
We stood in the thinning forest, all of us breathing hard. The memory of the clone's last moments still buzzed in my skull like static.
Shikamaru rubbed his temples. "Alright. We need a plan. A real one. Not whatever that was."
"That was improvisation," I said.
"That was suicide," he muttered. "Effective suicide, but still suicide."
Lee straightened. "We cannot run forever. We must stand and fight."
"No," Shikamaru said. "We fight only long enough to escape. If we stay in one place, we die."
Han exhaled steam. "They will track me. They always do."
"They track chakra signatures," I said. "And they share vision. But they can't see through everything."
Shikamaru's eyes sharpened. "You're thinking terrain."
"Yes."
Shikamaru ran us through the plan, and we started to move.
We reached the ravine in minutes. A narrow cut in the earth, steep walls, and only one real path through. Perfect.
Shikamaru crouched low, hands forming seals. His shadow stretched across the ground, splitting into branching tendrils that crawled up the ravine walls.
"Lee," he said. "You're the wall. Open as many gates as you can without dying."
Lee nodded. "I will not fail."
Han stepped forward, steam venting from his armor. "I will hold the front."
I inhaled slowly.
Nature chakra brushed against my skin.
Kurama stirred.
"You're pushing it," he growled.
"I know."
"Good."
I let the cloak flicker around me, red chakra curling like smoke. At the same time, I pulled in nature chakra, letting it settle into my muscles, my joints, my breath.
Monkey Sage discipline. Kurama's fire.
They did not blend. They balanced.
The forest behind us went silent. Then the ground shook.
Animal Path appeared first, perched on a massive bird. Asura Path landed beside it. Preta Path absorbed the mist. Human Path walked calmly.
Konan descended last, wings spread wide, paper drifting like snow.
Seven enemies.
Shikamaru whispered, "Now."
I slammed my staff into the ground.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Dozens of clones appeared, each one flickering with red chakra or faint sage markings. They charged the ravine entrance, forming a living barricade.
Animal Path summoned a giant centipede.
Lee vanished.
The Third Gate burst open with a shockwave that cracked bark around him. His skin flushed red. The ground shattered under his first step. He blurred forward and kicked the centipede so hard its body folded in half.
Han followed, steam blasting from his armor as he slammed into Asura Path, sending metal limbs flying.
Konan's paper wings sliced through clones, shredding half the front line in seconds.
Shikamaru's shadows snapped upward, binding the legs of a summoned bird and slamming it into the ravine wall.
I moved through the chaos, staff spinning, cloak flaring, sage chakra sharpening every movement.
A clone beside me exploded into smoke as Preta Path absorbed its chakra.
Good.
Let them waste time.
I leapt forward and slammed my staff into Human Path's ribs. The impact cracked bone. He staggered but did not fall.
Konan reacted instantly, and paper spears shot toward me.
I twisted, letting the sage chakra guide my movement, and the spears embedded into the rock behind me.
Lee roared.
"Fourth Gate. Open."
He struck Asura Path with a spinning kick that sent the body crashing into the ravine wall.
Han roared and surged forward, steam armor glowing bright blue. He slammed into the Preta Path with raw force, not chakra. Pure physical impact. The ground cratered beneath them.
Shikamaru's shadow shot across the broken terrain.
It split. Then split again. Shadow Stitching.
Tendrils erupted upward and pinned the Human Path against a trunk for a fraction of a second.
"That one pulls souls," I shouted.
"I figured," Shikamaru replied calmly.
Konan's wings flared; she sent a wave of paper bombs down the ravine.
"Down!" I yelled.
Han blasted steam upward, detonating the bombs early.
The Deva Path raised his hand.
"Gravity in three," Shikamaru muttered.
I stepped forward. Monkey Sage flared. Gold flooded my vision. I layered Kurama's cloak over it.
"Almighty Push."
Heat exploded across my skin as red chakra wrapped around my body in a controlled sheath.
Gravity detonated outward.
I drove my staff into the ground and anchored myself. The shockwave tore trees from the earth. Lee slid backward but dug his heels in. Han braced behind steam bursts.
Konan shielded herself with layered paper. She was the only one who didn't move.
The clearing became a wasteland.
The Deva Path's five-second interval began.
"Now," Shikamaru said.
Lee vanished again. Fourth Gate.
The air cracked like thunder.
He struck the Asura Path mid-recovery and obliterated its mechanical arm entirely.
Han pivoted and slammed both palms into the ground, releasing a boiling wave of steam that blanketed the area in scalding fog.
Animal Path leapt backward to summon again.
I intercepted. Staff met forearm.
I spun low, swept her legs, and drove a Rasengan into her center mass. She flew backward into the Naraka Path.
"Reviver in the back," I called.
Shikamaru's shadow latched onto Naraka's ankle.
"Got you."
For two seconds.
That was enough.
Shikamaru's voice cut through the chaos.
"Menma. Now. We retreat."
I nodded.
"Lee. Han. Fall back."
Lee jumped back, panting but still burning with energy. Han staggered but kept moving.
I spun my staff, creating a burst of wind and dust that blinded the Paths for a heartbeat.
"Move," I said.
We sprinted through the ravine, shadows and steam and red chakra trailing behind us.
Behind us, the Paths tore through the last of the clones. But we were already gone.
Konan's paper wings sliced through the dust behind us, but Shikamaru's shadows dragged fallen trunks into her path, slowing her down.
Lee carried Han for bursts when his steam faltered. I dropped clones in staggered intervals to fake directions, using them as distractions, making them use water jutsu against Konan.
The Paths followed. But slower now. Damaged. One missing.
We did not stop moving for hours.
We didn't stop until the trees changed, until the air felt different, until the oppressive weight of the Rinnegan faded behind us.
Han collapsed first, steam venting weakly.
Lee finally dropped from the trees and exhaled hard.
"The Fourth Gate… is still painful."
"You held it well," I said.
He beamed despite the bruising spreading across his arms.
Shikamaru collapsed against a trunk and stared at the sky.
"That was… the worst mission I've ever been on."
Han looked at me. "They will come again."
"Yes."
Lee looked between us. "Then we must warn the village."
Shikamaru nodded. "We head straight to Kakashi. No detours."
I tightened my grip on my staff.
"We move."
And we did.
We ran until the forest thinned, until the familiar scent of Konoha reached us, until the gates came into view.
We made it back.
Alive.