Naruto : The White Lightning Reincarnator

Six pairs of eyes sharing vision—on the surface, it didn't sound like an especially impressive ability. Could it really play a decisive role in battle?

It absolutely could.

Being completely observed by the enemy was a fatal state for a shinobi. Under such a comprehensive visual network, every movement of any opponent fighting Pain was fully exposed to Nagato's sight.

That was why he could respond with such composure.

Just as many shinobi deliberately conceal hand seals, ninja combat often hinges on sudden, lethal bursts. But under the Rinnegan's shared vision, the concept of "suddenness" simply ceased to exist.

Against Hagoromo, this visual advantage was still functioning perfectly.

The reason Hagoromo's first strike had succeeded wasn't because it escaped their vision, nor because it relied on surprise—it was simply because he was too fast. So fast that even though Pain saw it, there was no time to react.

Just as Hagoromo himself had realized, this extreme state was the fastest he had ever been.

This method of pushing Lightning Release to its absolute limit through sealing inscriptions was something Hagoromo had refined step by step through relentless experimentation. As Minato had once said, Lightning Release at the level of Chidori Current: Third Stage was an unbearable burden for ordinary shinobi.

But Hagoromo was different.

With his exceptional affinity and adaptability to Lightning Release, this strain was well within tolerable limits.

Hagoromo had never experienced the Eighth Gate of the Eight Gates—power purchased at the cost of certain death. But if he had to compare, then Chidori Current: Third Stage could be reasonably placed on the level of the Sixth or Seventh Gate.

This high-speed ninjutsu-taijutsu hybrid was originally developed to counter space–time ninjutsu. Hagoromo simply hadn't expected his opponent to be the Six Paths of Pain instead.

Fortunately, truly powerful taijutsu tended to possess universal applicability. Using it against Pain posed no fundamental issue.

Hagoromo didn't know Naruto's future.

He didn't know that when Pain would later invade Konoha, Might Guy just happened to be absent—otherwise, Naruto might never have had the chance to take the stage.

Some problems really could be solved by Guy alone.

If his opponents were living humans, Hagoromo would have already completed two instant kills in that brief exchange.

But these weren't living people.

They were corpses.

As long as the black chakra receivers remained intact, the bodies could continue to function.

But that didn't matter.

Individually, each Path of Pain was already an extremely dangerous combatant. Together, however, they truly manifested the Rinnegan's power. The Six Paths were, in essence, a compromise—no single corpse could withstand the full burden of the Rinnegan.

This division of power had both advantages and drawbacks.

At the end of the day, though—

The Six Paths of Pain were still just puppets.

And precisely because they were puppets, they also possessed traits that surpassed human limits.

Hagoromo had a general understanding of Pain's abilities, but he couldn't yet perfectly match each power to its respective Path. At this point in time, even the most dedicated Naruto fan wouldn't be able to distinguish them accurately—the corpses used now differed from those used more than a decade later.

Still, because he knew Yahiko, Hagoromo understood where the core of Pain's power lay.

First was Deva Path—Yahiko.

This was the only certainty.

Second, he had to identify Naraka Path. Otherwise, any destroyed Path could simply be restored.

But before all that, Hagoromo needed to test Deva Path itself.

He needed to know how strong it truly was—how far its power extended, and whether it could be destroyed directly.

Only then could he decide his next course of action.

As a shinobi highly skilled in destructive sealing techniques, Hagoromo knew that even a barrier of this level could be dismantled in under ten seconds.

But even those ten seconds were a luxury he did not possess.

To leave this place, he had to defeat Pain.

There was no other path.

After his two-strike opening, Hagoromo didn't even glance at the result. The moment his spinning kick landed, his right leg bent, compressed, then released with explosive force.

Using that recoil, he propelled himself forward without needing a second step.

His body skimmed the ground, nearly parallel to it, as he shot straight toward Deva Path.

On Pain's side, aside from the two Paths that had rushed out initially, the remaining four adjusted their formation.

As a result, the one directly in Hagoromo's path wasn't Deva Path.

It was Human Path.

Hagoromo's priority target was Deva Path. In one ten-thousandth of a second before contact, he altered his trajectory, completely bypassing Human Path instead of engaging it.

It was an instinctive—and correct—decision.

Human Path did not rely on direct physical attacks. Its methods targeted the soul and mind—intangibles that were difficult to defend against. The former posed little threat to Hagoromo; the latter was far more dangerous.

"Your speed is indeed exceptional," Deva Path spoke calmly. "Perhaps the fastest I have ever witnessed. But no matter how fast you are—even speed itself is nothing more than a human concept. Before divine power, it is meaningless."

Just as Hagoromo's fist was about to connect, Deva Path clearly pronounced four words:

"Shinra Tensei."

A purely linear attack was never going to work—Hagoromo knew that from the start.

Before the overwhelming repulsive force reached him, his precise prediction triggered a second directional shift.

Another foot slammed down.

He applied vertical counterforce to himself.

Rather than being blown away horizontally, Hagoromo rode Shinra Tensei's repulsion straight into the sky.

Even with altitude and gravity dispersing the force, the tearing pain throughout his limbs told him everything he needed to know about Deva Path's power.

This was not something he could resist with ordinary electromagnetic manipulation.

Deva Path truly could not be dealt with so easily.

At the apex of his ascent, suspended for a brief moment in weightlessness, Hagoromo began to fall.

Midair, he launched his next attack.

Boar—Dog—Rooster—Monkey—Goat!

Even his hand seal speed had increased—but there was no elegance to it. His movements were brutal, forceful, and he could clearly hear the impact of bone against bone as his hands collided.

This wasn't a flaw of the technique.

It was his emotional state.

Hagoromo was experiencing an emotion he had never felt before.

The jutsu he invoked was:

Summoning Technique: Rashōmon.

The massive gate slammed down from the sky like a steel meteor, dragging an immense shockwave with it.

If it landed cleanly, the three Paths below would be crushed into pulp instantly.

But Pain would never fall to something so simple.

Shinra Tensei's cooldown was five seconds.

Five seconds—slightly faster than the recharge time of Hagoromo's Lightning Release technique.

Just as Rashōmon was about to strike the ground, an immense force blasted it upward.

Such a massive, heavy object was rendered completely ineffective—flung away like a manhole cover torn loose by a ruptured high-pressure pipe.

It crashed, bounced several times, then vanished in a puff of smoke.

Still, that use of Shinra Tensei mattered.

Deva Path's cooldown had been spent.

And in that moment—

Hagoromo appeared before him.

He had already landed, and the luminous markings of Chidori Current: Third Stage had faded from his body.

He couldn't maintain two power states simultaneously.

Switching was unavoidable.

Hagoromo spread his arms wide—one forward, one back.

Twenty meters ahead stood Deva Path (Yahiko).

Five meters behind him stood Human Path.

Blue-white lightning crawled along his arms.

Then—

An orange-gold beam tore through the night sky.

Behind him, Human Path detonated into a cloud of blood mist.

In front of him, a rain of blood poured down, soaking Hagoromo until he was dyed crimson.

One success.

One failure.

The rear electromagnetic Lightning Release technique completely erased Human Path.

The frontal shot, however, failed to hit Deva Path.

Not because Shinra Tensei distorted its trajectory—the technique was still on cooldown. Hagoromo's timing had been flawless.

But Pain fought as six.

A massive summoned beast from Animal Path interposed itself, blocking the attack with its flesh.

Hagoromo showed no joy.

Hagoromo showed no frustration.

From beginning to end—

His face remained utterly expressionless.

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