RADG: Chapter 216: Yami’s Six Paths, Uninvited Guests at the Four Kage Conference

Nine Tails Chakra Mode. Nine Tails Golden Body Mode.

They might sound the same, and both are wrapped in golden chakra, but the difference in power between the two is massive.

Forcibly restraining Nine Tails’ chakra to activate Golden Body Mode only puts Naruto at the edge of Super Kage level. Due to the heavy natural energy burden, it was even less effective than Sage Mode in some cases.

But once Naruto activated the full Nine Tails Golden Body Mode, he could actually compete with the Complete Susanoo.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto was wrapped in a golden fox cloak. Upon fully transforming into a tailed beast, his height reached seventy meters.

Yami fired two flares into the sky in quick succession, signaling the Konoha shinobi who had sensed the disturbance to retreat.

Naruto stood on top of Kurama’s head, laughing wildly.

“Hahaha! Sasuke! I can get bigger now, way bigger than you! You won’t be able to handle this!”

That ridiculous line made Yami’s hands itch again.

After two full minutes of showing off, Naruto finally released the Nine-Horned Mode and landed back on the ground, though he maintained his golden cloak.

“Yami-nii, Kurama is seriously amazing. He’s helping me refine chakra constantly. It’s practically endless!”

“Don’t worry. You’ll have more than enough chances to burn through it later.”

Yami said this because Naruto had never experienced a Six Paths-level battle, where every move consumed tremendous chakra.

“Naruto, even as a perfect Jinchūriki, your sync rate with Kurama isn’t high enough to sustain that form for long.”

Naruto nodded. Kurama had just told him that Golden Body Mode could only last three minutes at most.

“Let Kurama learn how to refine Sage Chakra quickly. That way, he can support you in battle,” Yami reminded.

“Kurama can do that?” Naruto’s eyes widened, then Kurama’s growl echoed in his mind.

Absorbing natural energy and converting it into Sage Chakra? He was the most special of all the tailed beasts. How could such a trivial thing be difficult?

After being scolded, Naruto grew more confident again.

“Yami-nii, I’ve basically mastered the Sage Jutsu training method you taught me. I can maintain it for thirty minutes now. I don’t even need Kurama.”

“Can your refining efficiency compare to Kurama’s?”

Yami raised an eyebrow. “He can absorb more natural energy in one minute than you can in an hour. And if you combine that with Golden Body Mode, he’ll evolve into a true Sage Fox. That should be barely enough.”

Naruto’s eyes lit up.

Right. If he could combine both powers, wouldn’t he be able to beat up Sasuke anytime?

“You still have ten days. Work hard. In ten days, the war begins.”

With that final reminder, Yami activated Flying Thunder God and vanished.

Ame.

Although the transition had some hiccups, after purging the diehard loyalists, the village was finally brought under Konoha’s control.

The ones who resisted the hardest were a few Jōnin from the village.

As for the ordinary civilians, they were indifferent to these so-called “major events” and even welcomed them.

What was so great about being a small nation? Living in constant fear of being collateral damage in a larger war?

Wouldn’t it be better to join Konoha and ride with the most powerful force in the shinobi world? You didn’t have the connections before, but now that you’ve got the chance, you’re still resisting? Only an idiot would do that.

In the end, they were just laborers and tools no matter where they went. Naturally, they hoped their lives would improve.

The reason the Jōnin opposed it was simple. Under Pain and Konan’s rule, the village had been loosely managed, and most of the responsibilities had fallen on them. These Jōnin held significant authority.

But under Konoha, they would become just another set of mid-level shinobi. Of course they weren’t willing to cooperate.

For the first time, Konan realized that these so-called “pillars” of the village had so many personal agendas.

After Konan stabilized the situation, several figures in black cloaks with red clouds infiltrated the village.

Konan’s eyes widened when she saw who they were.

“Sasori, Deidara… you’re not dead?”

“Hey, Konan,” Deidara replied with a displeased tone. “You sound like you’re upset we survived. We’re teammates, you know. That’s pretty heartless.”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” Konan shook her head. “I just thought… Yami is usually decisive…”

“You’re right. We technically did die.”

Sasori, who was sealed inside a red amber sphere, said in a deep voice, “To make us easier to use, he played some tricks.”

At this point, Konan noticed the changes in them and began to breathe heavily. It was like she was seeing something unbelievable.

“This is…”

“It seems you’ve noticed,” the one leading them said with a smile as she removed her hood, revealing short golden hair and a beautiful face. Konan recognized her instantly.

The Two Tails Jinchūriki from Kumo—Yugito Nii.

“Since Nagato created Pain’s Six Paths, I thought I’d create my own Yami Six Paths for fun.”

As she spoke, the others removed their hoods as well.

“Deva Path – Yugito Nii”

“Asura Path – Sasori”

“Animal Path – Ajisai”

“Human Path – Kakuzu”

“Preta Path – Deidara”

“Naraka Path – Hidan”

Yugito—no, Yami—finished the introductions and added, “Unlike Pain, my Six Paths have their own consciousness. In addition to the abilities of the Six Paths, they can use their original ninjutsu and abilities.”

“Oh, except for Yugito. She’s a wild horse I haven’t tamed yet. For now, I can only control her with genjutsu.”

After hearing that, Konan fell silent for a long time.

“You stole the Rinnegan from ‘Madara’?”

“No, this is my own Rinnegan.”

Konan found that after the initial shock, she wasn’t that surprised anymore. The world had gone so far beyond reason that this was just one more unbelievable thing on the list.

“What’s up with Hidan?”

Konan noticed that Hidan’s eyes were lifeless. He always looked a little crazy, but not this blank.

“Religious types always have a few screws loose. I had Shisui use Kotoamatsukami on him. The aftereffects haven’t worn off yet, but it doesn’t affect his usability.”

“What do you need from me?” Konan took a deep breath and stopped fixating on the details.

“Destroy countries,” Kakuzu answered gruffly. “The boss wants to start with the Land of Rivers, then the Land of Bears, then the Land of Tea. Thirty million people. Small nations first.”

He wasn’t upset at all about being transformed.

On the contrary, his strength had increased, and his salary had doubled. He was making over a million ryō a month more than before. He was even eager to be transformed more thoroughly.

“Exactly. The Four Kage Conference is about to begin, followed by the final battle. I don’t want any instability in the rear. So, we strike first.”

All the countries mentioned were southwest neighbors of the Land of Fire. The battlefield was most likely to be in the north.

Konan calmly accepted the mission. Yami didn’t leave the Yugito Nii behind and took her back for further training.

As for the rest, they were handed over to Konan.

Except for Ajisai, everyone else was formerly part of the Akatsuki. Even Ajisai was a Genin from the Land of Rain—and a crazed fan of Konan.

At this point... was the Akatsuki even still a rogue group, or had it become legitimate under Konoha?

Without wasting time, Konan quickly handled her affairs and led Kakuzu and the others to the Land of Rivers—where she witnessed firsthand the power of the Yami Six Paths.

Asura Path Sasori had upgraded his body into a walking artillery platform, with cannons popping out from every part of him. His heart-thread remained connected to the puppet of the Third Kazekage, who released additional ninjutsu.

Deidara used Preta Path abilities to manipulate chakra and turn enemy shinobi into living bombs. Each explosion rivaled his own C3-level bombs.

Ajisai had the most exaggerated power boost.

With nearly unlimited chakra provided by Yami, she could summon countless Ryūchidō summoning beasts and Rinnegan-exclusive creatures, trampling over everything like a stampede.

In just one hour, the capital of the Land of Rivers and the daimyō’s mansion were completely destroyed. This country didn’t even have a shinobi village—just a few hired ninja.

Konan and the Yami Six Paths handled the assault and cleanup. The rest—takeover, governance—would be handled by designated Konoha personnel.

Amid this stormy backdrop, the scheduled Four Kage Conference finally arrived.

Land of Iron.

The Kage of the four major villages arrived with their guards, under heavy secrecy.

Mifune, leader of the Land of Iron’s samurai, was the host. Other leaders from smaller countries, including the Land of Grass, Land of Waterfalls, and Land of Mountains, also attended.

A large round table sat in the center of the hall. Including Mifune’s seat, there were five total—four now occupied. The remaining seat for the Land of Sound was still empty.

Below the round table, other long tables were set up for leaders of smaller shinobi villages and daimyō representatives.

Seeing the empty seat, Raikage scowled. Just as he was about to snap, a cheerful voice rang out from outside the room.

“Ah, apologies. I got so caught up admiring the Iron Country’s scenery that I lost track of time.”

The doors swung open. Kitsuchi entered first, with Ōnoki and Akatsuchi flanking him.

The one who’d just spoken wasn’t the honest Kitsuchi, but the spry Ōnoki, who had deliberately shown up late to make a statement.

Everyone noticed the delay. Gaara remained calm. Terumi Mei, on the other hand, focused on her senior.

But seeing the lineup from Iwa—short and stubby, not one good-looking person—her disappointment was obvious.

Why was Konoha the only village with attractive men?

Not to mention Yami, who was undoubtedly the most handsome in the shinobi world, even the Uchiha who attacked the Hidden Mist had matched her tastes.

What about other villages?

Suna shinobi had permanent dark circles. Iwa shinobi were short and round. Kumo shinobi....

Would she ever resolve her love life?

As she drifted into these thoughts, Terumi Mei actually lost focus, only to be snapped out of it by the sound of Raikage slamming the table.

“Ōnoki! Even after all these years, you’re still pulling your little tricks. If you don’t want to be here, take your old bones back to Iwagakure and stop wasting our time.”

Faced with Raikage A’s temper, Ōnoki simply smiled.

“Spitting image. Really. You and your father are getting more and more alike.”

That one line made A’s face burn red.

Everyone knew the Third Raikage had starved to death at the hands of Iwagakure.

Ōnoki was as ruthless as ever.

Just as A was about to explode, Terumi Mei cut in.

“Lord Third Tsuchikage, Lord Raikage, both of you are seniors to Kazekage and me. Please set an example for the younger generation. Now is not the time for infighting.”

Ōnoki glanced deeply at Terumi Mei. Despite her youth, he held no contempt for her.

A also cooled down. “Mizukage is right. Now’s not the time for nonsense.”

“Lord Mifune, everyone is here. Can we begin?”

“I humbly accept the cooperation of all present.”

Mifune stood and bowed to the four Kage. Once the formalities were completed, he began the meeting.

As a supposedly neutral samurai nation, the Land of Iron should never have gotten involved.

But Konoha’s current actions were no different from the Akatsuki’s from the original timeline. Openly declaring their intent to collect tailed beasts, destroying Kirigakure with only a handful of shinobi.

Now that Konoha’s ambitions were this exposed, the entire shinobi world could no longer stand by. Mifune and the Land of Iron’s daimyō understood—claiming neutrality now was suicide.

After a short speech explaining Konoha’s threat, Mifune returned to his seat.

His ability to stand with the great powers wasn’t due to strength, but rather his unique neutral host status.

Following a brief silence, Terumi Mei stood up.

“You all know what happened to Kirigakure. Konoha toyed with us like cats playing with mice, captured Ao and Genji. If those Uchiha had been willing to play a bit more, they could have wiped us out completely.”

Her expression was grim, gone was her usual flirtatious smile.

“I believe Lord Ōnoki knows this feeling of helplessness all too well.”

Ōnoki’s body tensed. After a moment, he sighed. “Mizukage is right. I’ve dreamed about that day over and over these past two years.”

“It only took a single jutsu. Yami… He reminded me of Uchiha Madara. Enemies like that must be eliminated.”

Gaara frowned. “But if we go all-out against Konoha, it won’t be easy for us either. The best option is a four-nation alliance to pressure them. That might prevent war.”

Ōnoki was about to respond when a cold, mocking voice echoed through the chamber, sharp and clear.

“Fools. Are the new generation of shinobi still this naïve?”

“Who is it!?”

“Protect the Kage!”

Instantly, the guards behind the four Kage and Mifune sprang into action, surrounding their leaders.

Boom—!

The doors blasted open. Two figures slowly emerged from the dust.

As they stepped through, Ōnoki saw a face he hadn’t forgotten in decades. His shock broke his hovering technique, and he dropped to the floor.

“U… Uchiha Madara!?”

(To be continued.)