The Head of the Six Paths Maidens—Deva Path, Raiden Ei

At this point, the human modification project for Izumi Uchiha had finally been completed and stabilized according to the blueprint... no, it should be said that the body of the Raiden Shogun had finally stabilized.

Looking at the body on the ground that looked exactly like her own, Raiden Ei froze for a moment, "This is... my body?"

"That's right, do you like it?"

"I li..."

Like hell I do. You're the one who likes it, right?

Raiden Ei couldn't help but curl her lip.

Naruto Uzumaki didn't mind, continuing with his next step.

He pried open the eyelids of the Raiden Shogun, and his Rinnegan locked gazes with them, shooting a golden beam of light into the Raiden Shogun's eyes.

Naruto Uzumaki said to Raiden Ei, "Can we begin? I'm about to extract your soul, are you ready?"

Raiden Ei nodded, "I'm ready."

--Human Path Extraction!

The wooden figure's eyes lost their luster, and Raiden Ei's soul left the wood, entering the body on the ground.

A few seconds later, her eyelashes fluttered, and Raiden Ei opened her eyes, revealing dreamy, brilliant purple pupils.

Raiden Ei stood up, looked at her own hands, and murmured, "Is this a human body? It feels completely different from before..."

Naruto Uzumaki smiled, "Does it feel like you're truly alive?"

Raiden Ei placed her hand on her chest, "It also feels quite heavy."

Due to the previous modification project, the clothes on Raiden Ei's body were all tattered.

White, red, everything that should be exposed and everything that shouldn't was all on display.

Naruto Uzumaki said calmly, "It's a good thing, though other girls would be dying of envy."

"I feel it's a bit troublesome; it hinders my movement."

"It doesn't hinder you, and it's actually great. Think about your signature technique..."

Signature technique? Musou no Hitotachi?

No! It's the Milk-scented Blade!

That nickname... it was in Raiden Ei's memory, so she instantly understood what Naruto Uzumaki meant, glaring at him, "I do not acknowledge that vulgar name."

Naruto Uzumaki looked serious, "Actually, I don't acknowledge it either!"

Raiden Ei nodded, satisfied.

Seeing this, Naruto Uzumaki smiled, "I have bestowed upon you some special abilities of the Rinnegan to protect yourself in the Ninja World... you can try to sense them carefully; you should be able to feel them."

Raiden Ei closed her eyes, and a minute later, she opened them, revealing a pair of Rinnegan identical to Naruto Uzumaki's.

Floating into the air, Raiden Ei reached out her hand.

--Shinra Tensei!

A violent repulsive force crushed the nearby flowers, trees, and grass into powder, leaving a massive crater in the ground.

Landing on her feet, Raiden Ei touched her eyes and asked Naruto Uzumaki, "What is this?"

"Deva Path!"

Naruto Uzumaki solemnly declared, "Raiden Ei, from this day forward, you are the leader of my Six Paths Maiden—Deva Path Ei!"

After a night of turmoil, dawn finally arrived.

At the Konoha Hospital, the Third Hokage came to the ward to visit Sasuke.

Sasuke hadn't woken up; he lay unconscious on the hospital bed, his face looking terrifying and grim, sweat streaming down his forehead as if he were trapped in some horrific nightmare.

The attending physician on the side reported, "There is nothing wrong with the child's body, but his mind has suffered severe trauma; I fear there may be some lasting sequelae."

The Third Hokage asked, "Is there no way to heal him?"

For the last bloodline of the Uchiha, the Third Hokage did not want anything to go wrong.

The doctor shook his head, "There is no particularly good method. He can only rely on himself to pull through; we doctors can only provide auxiliary support at best."

The Third Hokage sighed, "Then do your best..."

Walking out of the ward, an Anbu member hurried over to report—the several Anbu responsible for monitoring Naruto Uzumaki had woken up.

"At the time, the Jinchuriki was on his way home, and we were following nearby. Suddenly, there was a massive force from behind, our bodies felt intense pain, and when we woke up, we were already in the ward."

"So, did you see what the enemy looked like?"

"We are very sorry, we..."

"Alright, rest easy now."

How could they possibly rest easy?

Losing the Jinchuriki... the crime was simply too grave; executing these Anbu on the spot would not have been an overreaction.

Even if they weren't executed, after committing such a massive blunder, they would have little chance of continuing their service as Anbu.

Thinking of their bleak and uncertain futures, the hearts of the several Anbu grew heavy.

Ibiki Morino had no intention of concerning himself with the Anbu's feelings. He put away his records and, with a cold expression, arrived outside the infirmary to report the interrogation results to the Third Hokage.

--Aside from further confirming that the enemy possessed a means to control force fields, there was basically no progress, and it was of no help in locating the Jinchuriki.

"You've worked hard."

After offering a word of comfort, the Third Hokage returned in disappointment to the Hokage office.

He hadn't been seated for long when an urgent report arrived from the Anbu.

"We've found the Jinchuriki!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Nine-Tails' tyrannical aura spread for several miles, the sensation of evil and hatred making every living creature feel stifled.

Naruto Uzumaki, in a semi-Jinchuriki state, seemed to have fallen into madness. Devoid of any reason, he let out beastly roars, rampaging recklessly through the mountains and wilderness.

Boulders, large trees, hills...

Crashing through everything in his path, Naruto's body was covered in wounds, yet under the nourishment of the Tailed Beast Chakra, he recovered quickly.

The ninja from the Inuzuka, Aburame, and Hyuga clans formed a sensory squad, following closely behind Naruto.

Looking at the scene around them, which resembled the aftermath of a hurricane, they all thought in unison: It's a good thing this isn't in Konoha...

If this were in Konoha, there was no telling how many ninja would have sacrificed their lives for this.

After tracking him for another ten minutes, the Hyuga ninja, who had kept his Byakugan activated the entire time, suddenly said: "Has the Sealing Squad not arrived yet? There is a village ahead of the Jinchuriki. If we don't stop... he's changing direction!"

The ninja from the Inuzuka Clan exclaimed in surprise: "Could it be that the Jinchuriki still retains some consciousness?"

The ninja from the Aburame Clan said calmly: "It's not impossible, but it could also be a coincidence."

Tap, tap, tap...

A flurry of rapid footsteps rang out as the Third Hokage personally led the Sealing Squad to the scene.

With the Nine-Tails right before his eyes, the Third Hokage breathed a long sigh of relief and praised the sensory squad: "You've done well. By finding the Jinchuriki, you have performed a great service for the village."

The sensory squad replied respectfully: "This is what we should do."

"The village is fair; merits will be rewarded, and faults will be punished. This time, I will count this as an A-rank mission for each of you."

An A-rank mission involves tasks concerning the movements of a nation or the village, with rewards ranging from 150,000 to 1,000,000 ryo.

Giving each of them an A-rank mission was, one could say, a very generous reward.

If the Jinchuriki weren't so incredibly important, the Third Hokage might not have been so willing to part with it.

After determining the direction and estimating the route, the Sealing Squad set up a barrier in advance, and Naruto foolishly crashed right into it.

Inside the barrier, the Third Hokage gripped his Adamantine Staff and said in a deep voice: "Naruto, wake up! Do not let the beast dominate your heart."

"ROAR!"

A flicker of human-like struggle flashed through Naruto's eyes, but it was quickly dominated by beastly instinct. Then, the beastly instinct vanished, humanity began to take control, and subsequently, it turned back into beastly instinct...

The cycle between humanity and beastly instinct repeated, dizzying to behold.

Seeing this, the Third Hokage was not worried, but delighted.