Naruto: Drop System

"Such powerful Lightning Release…"

Watching the land bombardment by the dark-purple lightning, Tendo Pain felt a weighty solemnity upon seeing the supposedly unbreakable giant trees—impervious even to fine-cut blades—easily shattered by branching lightning bolts.

Even Asura Path, known for its robust defense, would likely be crushed instantly if it took a direct hit from that power. The same went for the rest of the Six Paths.

Realizing this, Nagato silently directed the Animal Path to perform a Summoning. A giant bird appeared, carrying the Hell Path into the skies. Safeguarding the Hell Path—capable of reviving the other Paths—was crucial. If any of them took just one blow from Yagyu's Sage Technique, they might collapse. Should Hell Path die, there'd be no chance of defeating Yagyu or dragging out the fight.

"Banshō Ten'in!"

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

Having avoided the lightning bombardment, Tendo Pain once again raised his hand, unleashing formidable gravitational force to yank Yagyu's main body forward. This time, he refrained from converting attraction into repulsion—nor did he have Asura Path fire more rockets. Instead, the Human Path stepped up, spewing a monstrous flood at Yagyu.

Whether it was due to receiving the Rinnegan in childhood or thanks to Uzumaki blood, Nagato himself wielded five basic nature transformations plus Yang Release—wind, fire, water, earth, lightning, and yang. During the Ame Orphans' youth, he stood out as the most gifted, mastering five-element ninjutsu at a young age. Now, as the Gatekeeper of the "super Kage" level, Nagato's five-element proficiency was second only to Sarutobi Hiruzen's skillful combinations. He simply never needed to develop advanced synergy, given that the Rinnegan provided him the Preta Path to absorb ninjutsu.

If Nagato had poured his talents into honing five-element ninjutsu exclusively, he'd rival even Yagyu's mastery. Orochimaru's own five-element skill was vastly inferior to his.

Thus, converting chakra into Water Release in this downpour-laden rainforest gave the Human Path a ready supply of water. Instantly, a wave of oceanic proportions roared toward Yagyu.

In response, Yagyu raised his palm, forming a massive orb of bluish-white energy, a white swirl spinning at high speed like a propeller-shaped shuriken. Hurling the orb forward:

Boom—crunch!

With the sound of an explosion, the raging flood visibly froze in an instant. In mere eye-blinks, the tsunami had become an icy river.

Crack—boom!

A burst of shattering resounded, and the ice wall before the Human Path suddenly exploded, leaving a gaping hole. From within strode Yagyu, who'd used his Ice Release to meld into the frozen flood and force his way to the other side—catching the Six Paths off guard.

But Nagato's reflexes were swift. The Human Path leaped back as Tendo Pain lifted his hand, releasing a burst of repulsive force:

"Shinra Tensei!"

A faint distortion in the air signaled an invisible shock wave charging at Yagyu. Yagyu met it with a single fist, shattering the unseen attack. Boom— The anticipated sight of Yagyu being blasted away failed to appear. Instead, a sudden surge of bright-blue aura burst from Yagyu's punch. He unleashed the Senju clan's chakra explosion to counter the shock wave.

The powerful Sage chakra successfully neutralized Tendo Pain's onrushing force.

For a split second, the expressionless face of Tendo Pain displayed astonishment. Clearly, Nagato never imagined that his usually invincible repulsion might be blocked. Suspecting the Tendo Pain's reduced strength due to it being a Simulacrum Summoning, he prepared to magnify its output. But Tendo Pain had just used Shinra Tensei, forcing a five-second cooldown.

Yagyu seized the chance, delivering a fist blow up close. Unable to dodge or use Shinra Tensei, Tendo Pain instinctively crossed both forearms, channeling chakra there for a guard. But Yagyu's punch suddenly shifted into an open palm, grabbing Tendo Pain's wrist with monstrous strength and yanking him forward into a knee-strike to his stomach. In a desperate reflex, Tendo Pain tried to block with his own knee— crack!

A crisp fracture rang out as Tendo Pain's knee snapped. Still, as a reanimated corpse, it felt no pain. He ignored the broken knee, instantly creating a black rod from Yin-Yang Release, launching it like an arrow at Yagyu's face. Yagyu casually tilted his head, letting the rod fly past.

By then, the five-second cooldown was done. Tendo Pain calmly spoke:

"Shinra Tensei!"

A renewed blast of repulsion freed him from Yagyu's grip and flung Yagyu away, toppling a row of giant trees. Tendo Pain had finally turned the tables.

Whish, whish, whish…

Boom! Boom!

Once more, the Asura Path unleashed a hail of missiles, raining destruction upon the toppled trees. Clouds of debris rose amid the downpour. Taking advantage of the moment, Tendo Pain soared upward again, landing on the giant bird to have the Hell Path mend the broken knee. Though he felt no pain, if the body were crippled or heavily fractured, that would limit his fighting capacity—like Oars in the One Piece world. Once Hell Path had finished the repair, Tendo Pain descended again, driving away the lingering smoke with a shock wave of repulsion— boom… as repeated explosions thundered in the forest.

Simultaneously, the surrounding trees suddenly "came alive," their branches swaying like serpents, whipping or trying to entangle the Six Paths. One branch emerged from the smoke, revealing Yagyu doing a "ninja run" across its surface. On either side of him, the branch-formed ground sprouted four identical Wood Clones. Yagyu and his four doppelgängers dashed toward the Six Paths, weaving through each other's moves. Soon, ten silhouettes clashed, some in taijutsu, some in five-element ninjutsu collisions. The backdrop was flickering green vines like anacondas, the unceasing drizzle, and countless bursts of ninjutsu in a dazzling array of color. Boom, boom, boom… thundered across the rainforest.

...

While Yagyu and the Six Paths fought fiercely, the special squads from the Five Great Nations had returned to camp bearing verified intel. Facing the commanding Five Kage and other leaders—who'd personally come—the squads delivered their report. Immediately, an attack order was issued.

At the Land of Iron's side, Mifune led an army of samurai in armor, wielding gleaming blades and refined techniques in disciplined collaboration—slashing down White Zetsu clones as they advanced slowly toward Amegakure. Meanwhile, the Five Great Nations replaced their sensor forces at the front with their combat divisions. Their similarly elegant but distinct ninja-style attacks sparkled with special-effects synergy on the battlefield. Their teamwork outshone even the samurai.

After all, samurai often preferred one-on-one duels. By contrast, shinobi had been trained in teamwork from childhood, splitting into three-man squads after graduation with well-practiced strategies and signals. Years of accumulated synergy allowed them to coordinate with mere glances.

Seeing all this via White Zetsu clones, and sharing intel with Black Zetsu, they realized a mere hundred thousand White Zetsu wouldn't suffice to hold off the allied forces of five Great Nations plus the Land of Iron for half a month. White Zetsu clones were ultimately just low-tier cannon fodder. Against well-coordinated chūnin and special jōnin—not to mention powerful elite jōnin—they were as feeble as a mob of ordinary civilians. A single large-scale ninjutsu could wipe out a swath of them.

Hence, through mental communion, Black Zetsu commanded the White Zetsu clones: half would keep up the frontal assault, the other half would use the "Mayfly" technique to tunnel underground and stealthily siphon chakra from unsuspecting ninja. Once they succeeded, they'd emerge disguised as those ninja to sow chaos, preventing their foes from trusting one another or acting freely.

White Zetsu then reported:

"The Five Great Nations and the Land of Iron have confirmed we're still in the Land of Rain and are launching a full offensive. The White Zetsu army alone can't handle them. Without high-level backup, it'll take them at most a week to break from the border to Amegakure."

Hearing that, Tendo Pain—who'd been focusing on the fight—opened his eyes and spoke to Hiruko:

"Hundred Faces (Hiruko)…"

"Understood."

Without needing to hear the rest, Hiruko nodded. Controlling his Simulacrum Summoning, he formed hand seals with both hands:

"Edo Tensei!"

Tadpole-like lettering spread across the ground, yet no coffin rose at that spot. Not because his technique failed, but because the coffins would appear elsewhere. Across the misty Land of Rain, at over a hundred different locations, single coffins abruptly protruded from the ground. As each coffin lid fell, out stepped one after another body—cracked skin, empty eyes—reborn in Edo Tensei form.

Each figure was a known, even legendary, ninja recorded in history books from each of the Five Great Nations. Some came from smaller villages but had once been formidable. Leading the list for Kirigakure was the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu, and the genius Hōzuki Mangetsu, who'd tamed seven ninja swords at a young age. From Kumogakure came the Third Raikage, as mighty as Ōnoki at the top of the Kage scale—rumored to be near "super Kage" levels if not for bloodline restraints, boasting the ultimate defense unstoppable by even an S-rank Rasenshuriken or the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb. Iwagakure's reanimations included Mohachi, Kagari, and other jōnin. Sunagakure brought forth the Fourth Kazekage and Pakura. Konoha yielded Hatake Sakumo, Hyūga Hizashi, and even the real star of "Shippūden," Gekkō Hayate. Lesser ninja villages saw famed figures like Kakuzu of Takigakure and Hidan of Yugakure resurface as well.

This contrasted with the original story in which Yakushi Kabuto scoured countless graves and reanimated many ninja, strong and weak alike. Although here Yagyu's numerous Wood Clones infiltrated villages to gather key corpses, they only took remains of the truly strong. It was enough to form a high-end force, each reanimated at near full strength. Even upper-chūnin are cornerstones of major villages; for small ones, they're leadership material. Elite jōnin are basically top-level fighters. Now, bestowed with Edo Tensei's immortality and infinite chakra, their destructive might arguably surpassed Tailed Beasts.

Whish, whish…

No sooner did they emerge from the coffins than their vacant, lifeless eyes snapped open. Instantly, these figures blurred away. Indeed, Hundred Faces had stripped them of free will entirely—no chance to see the living or gain "closure." He knew full well that if reanimated nin found resolution or spiritual clarity, they could slip Edo Tensei's bonds. For instance, in the original storyline, Gekkō Hayate regained his mind and broke free, spawning the "Hayate is the true main character" gag.

Hence, no fulfilling closure here. Hundred Faces wanted them only for slaughtering the Four Great Nations, and to avoid exposing himself, he summoned even Konoha's heroes. He wouldn't let them ruin his plan by forcibly dispelling Edo Tensei.

Yet they weren't mindlessly acting on basic instincts either. While he'd removed their consciousness, they were still under someone's direct control—someone, or rather many, who possessed significant intelligence and an abundant well of chakra: Yagyu's Wood Clone army.

Unlike Kabuto in the original storyline—who was limited in his own chakra—Yagyu's reserves were immense as the sea. And Hundred Faces, despite having a unique name, was ultimately Yagyu's most special Wood Clone. Because a Wood Clone cast the Edo Tensei, the rest of Yagyu's clones could manipulate its reanimations. No matter how many powerful undead, Yagyu had enough clones to manage them all.

Consider: powerful undead with infinite chakra, immortality, and now an equally formidable overseer—what manner of beings did that produce?

Soon, the Five Great Nations plus the Land of Iron would discover the answer!

...

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