Yamato, lying battered on the ground, forced himself to stay conscious. His chest rose and fell heavily as he sucked in air, eyes locked on the sky. Through the haze of pain and dust, he saw it—that unmistakable flash of blond descending like a thunderbolt.
For a moment, time itself seemed to freeze.
His pupils trembled violently, then widened with uncontrollable excitement.
That back. That hair. That aura.
"That's right…!" Yamato muttered through clenched teeth, voice trembling. "It's really… sensei!"
His vision blurred from the blood dripping into his eyes, but his heart burned fiercely.
"Great! If sensei is here… the experimental field will be saved!"
Hope, desperate and blazing, filled Yamato's battered body. The man standing above him was more than just a Hokage—he was Konoha's god, the one who turned the impossible into reality. If anyone could protect the hybrid rice fields and crush the so-called "god" who had come to destroy them, it was him.
'Yes. As long as sensei fights, even this Pain would be no match.'
…
Not far away, two trembling figures crouched behind a massive boulder, peeking out just enough to catch the unfolding clash.
"Quick! Be sure to record it every second!" the TV reporter hissed, gripping the cameraman's shoulder with white-knuckled intensity.
The lens shook slightly, but the cameraman adjusted, zooming in to capture the golden figure facing down the ripple-eyed invader.
The reporter's voice quavered with excitement. "The Fifth Hokage of Konoha… against Pain, who claims to be a god!"
His heart raced wildly. Ratings would explode. The network would go insane. His name would be plastered across every newsroom bulletin.
"My promotion and salary increase… it's guaranteed this time!" he muttered to himself, face flushed.
Originally, he had come here grumbling about covering a boring ribbon-cutting ceremony for an agricultural project. A puff piece, he thought. Nothing more than shaking hands and waving at cameras. Yet now—he had stumbled upon the most shocking confrontation of the decade!
The reporter pressed his palms together in delight. "I'm going to become a legend in broadcasting!"
…
In the center of the ruined field, Namikaze Mirai stood tall, his eyes burning a brilliant blue. He stared at the ripple-patterned eyes of the man before him, utterly fascinated. The corner of his lips curled in an almost childlike smile.
"So this… is the Rinnegan." he whispered, voice trembling with excitement.
Across from him, Tendo Pain regarded him with cold detachment. Those rippling eyes reflected no emotion, only divine arrogance.
"The Fifth Hokage…" Nagato's voice echoed from the shadows, carried through the Paths of Pain. "This is perfect. Let us deal with you here and now."
After Orochimaru defected back to Konoha, Nagato's interest in the village's new Hokage had sharpened. The intelligence Orochimaru had leaked about Namikaze Mirai only heightened his caution. If left unchecked, this man could threaten Akatsuki's grand scheme.
In the heavily fortified Konoha, striking him would be too difficult. But here, isolated, standing in open fields? This was an opportunity that could not be ignored.
Nagato's will surged through Pain. "Right here, Namikaze Mirai… you will be judged by God."
…
"Accept God's punishment!" Tendo Pain's voice rang out coldly as he raised his hand.
But before the jutsu could unleash, Namikaze Mirai vanished.
The next heartbeat, he reappeared right in front of him.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A deafening shockwave erupted, the air bending into a massive arc of invisible force that tore at the earth and sent shockwaves through the nearby hills. The boulder the reporters hid behind cracked, dust raining down on their heads.
But to Nagato's shock, the blonde did not fly backward.
The Fifth Hokage's figure stood braced against the storm of repulsion. His cloak whipped violently in the gale, his boots digging furrows into the soil. Two fingers, sharp and precise, pierced forward like blades, tearing through the oppressive wall of force. Inch by inch, they pushed toward Pain's face.
His aim—straight for the Rinnegan.
Those blue eyes gleamed with something both terrifying and ecstatic.
"He… he wants to gouge out my eyes!" Nagato realized, his calm breaking for the first time.
The sheer madness of that intent rattled him. His chakra flow faltered, the repulsion weakening.
In that instant, Mirai's fingers lunged forward.
"Never!" he shouted.
Pain twisted back desperately. The fingers scraped down his chest, carving two deep, bloody lines across his body.
He stumbled back, putting distance between them. His expression—usually an emotionless mask—now flickered with the rarest of things: fear.
Across the field, Mirai glanced at the blood dripping from his fingers and sighed with disappointment. "What a shame. I almost dug them out."
…
"Summoning Jutsu!"
The Animal Path slammed his palm to the earth. A surge of chakra rippled, and with a boom of white smoke, a gargantuan rhinoceros appeared. Its roar shook the heavens as it thundered forward, hooves tearing trenches through the wheat fields.
The ground trembled as it charged Mirai like a living avalanche.
But just before impact, the blonde Hokage disappeared.
From above, a spear of blue lightning crashed down.
*BOOOOM!*
The rhino's skull shattered beneath the impact, its massive body cratering into the soil until only its hind legs stuck out from the ground.
The Animal Path snarled, clapping his hands together again. "It's not finished yet!"
Another summoning circle flared. This time, a monstrous, brown hellhound burst forth, its jaws bristling with sharpened teeth and a black rod piercing its upper jaw. Drool hissed against the scorched soil as it lunged.
"RAAAH!"
But what greeted it was a single flash of silver.
*Shhhk!*
The blade tore through the beast, slicing it cleanly in half.
Blood sprayed—then something horrifying happened.
The severed halves writhed, and from each stump grew two new snarling heads. Four heads now gnashed their teeth, all locked onto Mirai.
The audience watching on screens across the Fire Nation recoiled. Mothers clutched children closer. Farmers dropped their tools in shock.
"Interesting." Mirai whispered, eyes glittering.
He darted forward, leaping gracefully over snapping jaws, and landed on the beast's broad back. His fingers dug into its flesh as his grin widened.
"Let's see how many times you can split."
With brutal force, he tore.
*Riiippp!*
The Cerberus shrieked as its body split wider, sprouting even more snarling heads.
Six… seven… ten…
Lightning crackled violently from Mirai's hands, surging through the creature's writhing form. Heads continued multiplying grotesquely, until the abomination was nothing but a wriggling mass of teeth and eyes.
The crowd watching the broadcast could barely stand to look. Trypophobia-inducing horror filled the screen, waves of nausea sweeping over viewers.
And then—
*BOOOOOOM!*
The beast exploded into a rain of black-brown sludge, coating the ground and filling the air with the stench of death.
Gasps filled living rooms and military command centers alike. The unkillable Cerberus… crushed.
Even the Animal Path, who had summoned it, stood frozen, his confidence shaken.
…
"Retreat!" Nagato reacted sharply.
The fight could not be won here. The Fifth Hokage's strength far exceeded expectations. Prolonging this battle risked total disaster.
More important than defeating Mirai was securing the rice.
The Preta Path snatched up a sack bulging with grain and leapt across the ruined fields. Tendo himself heaved another sack—so large it dwarfed his frame—and prepared to withdraw.
But Mirai was already in motion, lightning exploding around him. The ground beneath his feet shattered as he launched forward, faster than sight.
Behind him, a sudden chill slithered up his spine.
The Human Path materialized in his blind spot, arms wrapping around him. Black rods dug into his body as its hands clawed at his chest.
Nagato's eyes narrowed. "Now… your soul is mine."
If the Human Path could rip his spirit free, even Mirai would fall.
But before the extraction could begin, silver fluid seeped from Mirai's skin, coating the Human Path's arms. It spread like quicksilver, crawling upward, drowning its face and piercing every orifice.
The Human Path's eyes widened in terror. "Wh-what is this?!"
The connection severed abruptly. Nagato's vision through the Path collapsed into static, then nothing but darkness.
The Human Path dropped lifelessly to the ground, silver liquid oozing grotesquely from every pore.
Mirai brushed his shoulder casually, eyes already shifting toward Tendo, who staggered under the weight of his rice sack.
Lightning burst again beneath his feet as he accelerated.
Tendo's pulse spiked. Desperation flooded Nagato's chest.
He flung out his palm. "Shinra Tensei!"
The repulsion detonated, hurling him forward at breakneck speed.
"Run!" Nagato urged himself. "Just run!"
…
Behind the boulder, the reporter was practically shaking with ecstasy. His voice cracked as he screamed to the cameraman.
"Hurry!! We must film this scene!!"
The camera zoomed in, capturing the surreal image: the godlike Pain, burdened by a sack of rice bigger than his own body, fleeing across the golden fields while the Fifth Hokage hunted him like a predator.
"This footage…" the reporter's eyes shone with manic glee, "the ratings will explode!"
*****
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