Realm of Reincarnation

On the open ground outside the tower in Amegakure, thousands of Shadow Clones sat in the pouring rain.

Konan stood beside Naruto's original body, looking apologetic. "Sorry. There are simply too many of you, so we can only do this outdoors."

Naruto said gently, "Konan, go get some sleep. You don't have to stay out in the rain with me."

Konan replied as though it were only natural, "How could I? If you're this committed, how could I slack off?"

And so Naruto and his Shadow Clones began trying to fall asleep.

Perhaps the rain was too heavy, perhaps the night was too cold, or perhaps it was all in their heads, but sleep refused to come.

"Achoo...!" One Shadow Clone caught a chill, sneezed, and vanished in a puff of white smoke.

Another Shadow Clone barely managed to fall asleep, only to suffer sleep paralysis and vanish in white smoke amid a series of spasms.

The Shadow Clones' experiences fed back to the original. Naruto's brow furrowed, and he grew increasingly unsettled.

Konan's gaze darkened slightly. "This isn't going to work..."

Rustle...!

She spread her arms, and her body scattered into countless sheets of paper in the rain. They gathered into piles and folded themselves into floating paper umbrellas, shielding Naruto and his Shadow Clones from the downpour!

Naruto exclaimed in surprise, "Konan!"

In front of his original body, Konan's incomplete paper form held an umbrella over him. She said gently, "This should help you sleep a little more peacefully!"

Naruto glanced back. Controlling enough paper to match the number of his Shadow Clones required an enormous amount of chakra!

Those sheets of paper were effectively parts of Konan's body. She had essentially enlarged herself thousands of times over and exposed herself to the pouring rain. It was reckless!

Naruto felt terribly guilty and even began regretting his own willfulness.

But Konan said, "Helping our teacher escape that sea would be a small act of atonement for me, Naruto..."

"I understand!"

Naruto said no more. Fighting the pressure, he tried hard to fall asleep, and an idea began to take shape.

His mind often became especially sharp at critical moments, and that remained true even in his second life.

"Meditating for Sage Mode requires absolute stillness of body and mind. Maybe I can put that to use..."

So Naruto and his Shadow Clones calmed their minds, following the meditation used for Sage Mode!

"Z~~Z~~~Z~~~!"

It really worked. Once they cleared away their distracting thoughts, he and his Shadow Clones fell asleep one after another, bubbles forming at their noses.

Entering the Realm of Reincarnation involved an element of luck. Increasing their numbers could significantly improve their chances of triggering it, though the consequences were unknown.

After all, no one had ever attempted this before.

Half an hour passed in the cold rain of that long night.

Poof!

Suddenly, every Shadow Clone vanished at once!

Konan's expression shifted. "This is..."

Judging by Nagato's experience, entering the Realm of Reincarnation required highly concentrated chakra. Had the Shadow Clones been forcibly dispelled, feeding both their chakra and the triggered effect back to the original?

"If that's what happened, then he really succeeded...!"

Indeed, one of Naruto's Shadow Clones had successfully stumbled into it, and what followed was exactly as Konan had surmised!

"The Realm of Reincarnation isn't an ordinary place. The slightest carelessness could put him in danger. To be safe, I have to stay beside him and help..."

Whoosh!

The thousands of paper umbrellas floating overhead broke apart, and the sodden sheets gathered together again.

Her orange eyes fixed on the person before her, Konan sat cross-legged, took out a special paper talisman, and stuck it to Naruto's forehead before forming a two-finger hand seal.

Paper Curse Technique: Translocation!

Konan slowly closed her eyes. Chakra poured into the paper talisman, breaking the character for "seal" at its center!

Whoosh! Naruto found himself on a vast, unfamiliar stretch of land. As he stood there bewildered, Konan's figure materialized beside him!

Naruto exclaimed in surprise, "Konan!"

Konan said, "I used a secret technique to send my chakra here. I've helped Nagato this way before."

Naruto scanned his surroundings and asked in confusion, "Is this the Realm of Reincarnation? Why don't I see any summoning beasts?"

Konan said, "The Realm of Reincarnation is enormous, so sensory abilities are especially important here. Nagato's sensory abilities were far beyond those of ordinary people..."

Naruto nodded knowingly and thought, That's right. Back when Kabuto brought Nagato back through Impure World Reincarnation, he detected me and Bee, and even Kabuto Yakushi...

Konan said, "Of course, your sensory abilities in Sage Mode won't fall far short of his..."

"Yeah, that's just what I was thinking!"

Naruto sat down and began meditating to enter Sage Mode!

Orange markings appeared around his eyes, and the Naruto in the outside world took on the same features.

Bzz!

Naruto opened his eyes and pointed behind him. "I've sensed you! You're hiding right there. Don't think I don't know...!"

"Over there..."

Konan extended a hand. A mass of paper swept over and wrapped around an outline!

Naruto's eyes lit up. "A lizard!?"

Konan said, "That's a chameleon, one of Nagato's former summoning beasts. Now that Nagato is gone, it's returned to the wild. Its ability is invisibility..."

Naruto frowned. "Its chakra isn't all that strong."

Konan said, "The Rinnegan's Summoning Technique falls under the category of the Amplified Summoning Technique. Once a Summoning Contract is signed, its strength will increase severalfold!"

Understanding dawned on Naruto. "I see. The monsters Nagato summoned had Black Receivers on their bodies, just like Pain, but the ones here don't..."

Hiss!!

The chameleon spat acid from its mouth, melting the paper, then turned and fled with a bizarre gait!

Konan said, "Spitting acid is another of its abilities. Defeat it, then drive Black Receivers into it, and you'll be able to establish a Summoning Contract!"

Naruto rubbed his fists eagerly. "It's fine if I hit a little hard, right?"

Konan smiled. "It's better not to hit too hard. They don't truly die in the Realm of Reincarnation, but they do respawn elsewhere. If it respawns too far away, subduing it again will only create unnecessary trouble..."

"Got it!"

Boom!!

Naruto surged forward. Sage Mode gave him extraordinary leaping power and speed, and he soon caught up to the chameleon. Gathering power in his fist, he punched from a distance.

Frog Kata!!

Thud!

A fist formed from natural energy slammed the chameleon onto the ground!

Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!

Several Black Receivers flew down, piercing different parts of the chameleon's body...!

Whoosh!

The chameleon's body vanished in smoke!

Konan said, "It's your summoning beast now. Once we leave the Realm of Reincarnation, you can use the Animal Path to summon it to help you fight!"

Naruto said, "That was much easier than I imagined..."

Konan cautioned him, "Don't let your guard down. They say the Realm of Reincarnation holds powerful summoning beasts that died throughout the ages. There are even 'monsters' that Nagato couldn't establish contracts with in his prime..."