A Stand-In Takes Over

With his heart set on killing, Pain held nothing back this time. A massive amount of Chakra flooded into his Rinnegan.

In an instant, centered on Pain, an invisible force field spread out like a nuclear blast, its power ten times greater than the simple reflection of the Tailed Beast Bomb earlier.

Blinding white light nearly dazzled everyone, and the air trembled violently, squeezed into visible ripples as it let out deafening booms.

The already-battered ground suffered even more. The earth cracked layer upon layer like fragile glass, sturdy rocks crumbled to dust, and the top layers were peeled away to reveal fresh stone beneath.

The world fell abruptly silent. It seemed as if the end of the world had arrived.

"Ah!"

Akimichi Choza roared. As his body rapidly expanded, he grew gaunt, and two blue Chakra wings suddenly sprouted from behind his shoulders.

He had finally activated "Expansion Jutsu: Butterfly Mode," his ultimate form, which burned vast amounts of body fat at the cost of consuming huge quantities of his Chakra.

But under the immense pressure, he couldn't attack Pain in the sky at all. He could only hunch over with difficulty, like a tree in a storm, shielding his comrades beside him.

"Get out of here!"

He roared and grabbed Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi, who were pinned down and unable to move, one in each hand, then hurled them toward the distance.

"No!"

The two cried out, unwilling to abandon their comrade and flee alone at such a moment.

Nara Shikaku rapidly formed Hand Seals and controlled his enormous Shadow Whip, trying to ease the pressure on Akimichi Choza.

Yamanaka Inoichi used the "Mind Disturbance Technique" on Akimichi Choza, hoping to control him and make him escape with them.

But the methods that had always worked before failed completely this time.

Yamanaka Inoichi's secret technique rebounded, while Akimichi Choza refused to be controlled.

The big man, who was always smiling honestly and ready to follow his comrades' orders, showed a stubbornness unlike anything he'd ever displayed before.

"He's too strong! There's no chance!" Akimichi Choza bellowed.

"Get out of here!"

"Make sure you take the intel back!"

With nothing to brace themselves against in midair, the two could only watch helplessly as Akimichi Choza's familiar, honest face grew farther and farther away.

"Hahaha..."

Amid a burst of wild laughter, a gigantic energy face suddenly appeared in their line of sight, along with a pair of enormous palms swinging toward them.

"If you're so unwilling to leave your comrades, then why not stay with them?"

Uchiha An controlled Susanoo and suddenly cut them off midway, his laughter filled with the cruel delight of a cat toying with mice.

Caught in midair, the two had nowhere to dodge. Susanoo grabbed them both in one swift motion.

"Haha... Akimichi Choza, I owe you one!"

Uchiha An laughed maniacally and clenched both hands.

"No!"

Yamanaka Inoichi screamed. Ignoring the damage from the backlash of his secret technique, he desperately poured Chakra into it and sent a mental attack crashing toward Uchiha An.

Uchiha An fought back just as fiercely, pushing his Mangekyō Sharingan to its limits. Blood Tears streamed from his left eye as he overused his Dojutsu, but even as the mental assault left him dizzy, he still didn't loosen his clenched fists.

Nara Shikaku's Shadow Whip tried to resist, but it was utterly useless against Susanoo's palms. It was easily crushed, breaking apart and vanishing like a spiderweb.

With a wet pop, two masses of flesh exploded between Susanoo's fingers, showering the air with blood and gore.

"Haha..."

Uchiha An's laughter grew even more deranged. He slowly opened his hands, showing Akimichi Choza the blood and pulped flesh running down his fingers. Choza was pressed to one knee by "Shinra Tensei," unable to lift his head.

"Hey, Akimichi Choza, your good buddies have been turned into meat paste!"

"Why the hell are you still resisting?"

"Hurry up and shrink back down, then join them as meat paste!"

"Haha..."

"You bastard!" Akimichi Choza's eyes were bloodshot, as if he had activated the Ketsuryūgan. He fought against the pressure of "Shinra Tensei," trying to get back up and attack Uchiha An.

But his body only swayed before he was slammed back down. He spat mouthfuls of blood, his butterfly wings shattered completely, and his massive body slowly shrank.

His body had finally reached its limit, crushed by the tremendous pressure.

His last Chakra scattered into points of light and vanished into the air. His life was like a candle flickering in the wind, liable to go out at any moment.

Without his protection, the other Konoha shinobi couldn't hold out for even a moment. They were all crushed to the ground by the immense pressure, their bones broken and tendons torn. The casualties were severe, and screams rose one after another.

Pain stood silently in midair, quietly watching their suffering and savoring their agony, his Rinnegan showing neither grief nor joy.

He only had to wait for the delay on "Shinra Tensei" to pass, then strike again, and he could wipe them all out.

But suddenly, his brow furrowed, and he looked up at the enormous sphere in the sky.

Everyone followed his gaze. The stone sphere, which had been securely sealed, was now trembling violently, cracks appearing across its surface as wisps of fiery-red Chakra leaked out from within.

Was the Nine-Tails about to break free?

How was that possible?

Uchiha An knew better than anyone.

The Rinnegan's Dojutsu was among the most powerful in the Ninja World.

Once sealed by "Chibaku Tensei," not even the Nine-Tails could escape. Even the Rabbit Goddess, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, would be trapped!

Had Pain used too little Chakra?

Knowing how powerful it was only made this even more unbelievable.

Under everyone's astonished gazes, the sealed stone sphere exploded with a roar. A figure appeared before them, small in stature, with a mop of blond hair. He looked like the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki from before.

But the docile golden-red Nine-Tails Chakra cloak around him, and the calm, unfamiliar look in his eyes, made it clear that this wasn't the original Uzumaki Naruto.

Pain furrowed his brow, but didn't think much of it.

He was just a Child. So what if he had tamed the Nine-Tails?

Could he really stand against the power of a god?

He raised a hand slightly, preparing to use "Chibaku Tensei" again and put an end to the problem for good.

But the figure flickered in midair and suddenly vanished out of thin air. When he appeared again, he was already beside the gravely wounded Akimichi Choza.

He moved so fast even the Rinnegan could barely follow him, leaving only a golden afterimage in the air.

Akimichi Choza struggled to open his eyes and met Uzumaki Naruto's gaze. In them, he saw a gentle, familiar look. That gaze crossed time and space, perfectly overlapping with a figure from his memories.

"Lord Fourth..." he murmured instinctively.

Holy crap!

The Fourth Hokage had logged in to take over!