Naruto: Born Gifted in Konoha

"Cough, cough. Don't be so defensive toward me! I mean no harm."

Saitama spread his hands wide to show his goodwill again.

"Who are you? Why are you here? Are you one of Hanzo's allies?" Konan stepped forward, her eyes fixed warily on Saitama. She fired off several questions in quick succession.

"I'm not with Hanzo. To be precise, I came here to help you guys."

Saitama pointed at Nagato standing behind Konan.

"What is it that you want?" Nagato finally spoke. Having just defeated Hanzo, he was at the peak of his confidence.

Saitama swept his gaze around the circle, glancing briefly at some of Akatsuki's regular members standing nearby before turning serious.

"I can help you make better use of it!" As he spoke, Saitama raised his right index finger and pointed toward his eye.

"Hmph. Someone like you? A complete stranger?"

Nagato looked disdainful. He held himself in high regard. Although Saitama didn't seem weak, he still wasn't qualified enough to show off in front of him.

Whoosh! Saitama narrowed his eyes, pushed off the ground with both feet, and leaped aside in an instant, dodging just as a figure slammed a fist into the ground where he'd stood, leaving behind a massive crater.

"This isn't a very good way to greet someone!"

Saitama's expression remained neutral, but his tone clearly carried a trace of displeasure.

"Scatter!" Konan commanded the other members to disperse. Once Nagato had moved, this battle was beyond their ability to interfere.

"If you can escape from us, I might consider hearing more of your nonsense."

Nagato raised his hand. His wide sleeve revealed pale arms pierced with rows of black rods.

As he made his move, Yahiko activated once again, charging straight toward Saitama.

"How interesting!"

Zetsu appeared halfway out of a wall in a corner, while White Zetsu wore a solemn expression, seeming like the true mastermind.

"Watch carefully like an idiot," Black Zetsu remarked, his solitary eye flashing mysteriously.

"Tch!" White Zetsu made his signature sound, then focused his attention alongside Black Zetsu on the fighting figures.

Saitama stared at the approaching Deva Path, slightly curling his lips upward. He's no longer the man he used to be—the Deva Path alone might not even be his match.

Whoosh! Saitama placed his hand firmly on the ground, triggering waves of blue-white electricity that rippled outward in semicircular arcs from his position.

The lightning moved extremely fast, scorching everything it passed through into blackened ruins.

[Shinra Tensei]

Deva Path planted his stance firmly and raised both hands forward. An invisible barrier formed all around him.

The current surged along the ground toward the Deva Path, only to stop about a meter away from its target.

A zone completely immune to attack immediately formed around Yahiko.

Saitama showed no surprise—he had even anticipated this.

Right after releasing [Chidori Current], he started moving.

Following closely behind the wave of electricity, he darted toward the Deva Path who still stood in place.

He didn't need to test his opponent through probing attacks like Jiraiya did—he already had all the knowledge beforehand. On the contrary, Nagato needed to figure out Saitama's capabilities during the fight itself.

Knowing there would be roughly a five-second cooldown after using this move, Saitama casually charged forward.

His speed was incredible—without even stimulating his cells with chakra, he moved faster than his original peak.

Boom! He threw a punch straight into Deva Path's face. The muscles on its face instantly shifted and caved inward from the impact.

[Six Paths Technique]! Konan stood to the side. Seeing Saitama land a hit on Yahiko's body in an instant, she couldn't help but cry out.

But immediately afterward, she covered her mouth tightly and stared at Saitama, ready to provide backup at any moment.

[Universal Pull]

In the instant that Deva Path was sent flying by Saitama's punch, it raised one finger toward him, attempting to drag him closer.

Zzzap! Saitama was instantly pulled in, flying toward Deva Path at an even faster speed and slammed directly into the black rod extending from Deva Path's right hand.

Crackling fiercely! Thin arcs of electricity surged along the rod, engulfing Deva Path's entire body, while Saitama exploded shortly after.

Obviously, the struck Saitama wasn't the real one—it was just a [Lightning Release: Clone].

Frowning deeply, Nagato found this suddenly-appearing ninja particularly troublesome—each attack seemed precisely calculated against his own techniques.

Wave after wave of chakra rippled outward from Nagato's true form, and beneath strands of hair covering his eyes, they began emitting strange glows.

Thump! Deva Path landed beside Konan, its entire body covered in countless blackened scars—it had clearly taken severe damage from Saitama's [Lightning Release: Clone] earlier.

This version of Deva Path hadn't yet been reinforced by Nagato to endure attacks from a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in its berserk state.

"Yahiko!" Though Konan knew full well that Yahiko had died long ago on the day he saved her, seeing his corpse injured again still caused her pain.

"Where did he go?" Standing in place, Nagato continuously swept his chakra across the battlefield, searching the surroundings, yet still failing to locate Saitama.

Gently pushing off the ground with his toes, Nagato propelled himself skyward.

Possessing the Rinnegan granted him an overwhelming advantage akin to delivering a dimension-reducing strike against opponents.

Crash! No sooner had Nagato left the ground than the spot he'd been standing on shattered, as a hand suddenly shot up from underground.

Then, the entire area completely fractured, and Saitama leapt out from below.

"Hmm, I'm still a bit unskilled at this," Saitama shook his head slightly, apparently annoyed with his own performance.

Currently transformed using White Zetsu and Hashirama's cells, his body was already capable of executing something similar to White Zetsu's [Kagero no Jutsu], allowing him to merge into the earth and connect with plants for stealth movement.

However, because he hadn't used it often, this time Saitama hadn't quite achieved his intended outcome.

[Wind Release: Wind Palm]

Nagato looked down at Saitama below and pressed both hands together, slamming them downward.

A transparent Wind Release attack instantly formed. Under the amplification of his Rinnegan, even ordinary ninjutsu exuded immense power!

Nagato was a full prodigy who mastered all elemental styles of ninjutsu—not merely a tool reliant solely upon the Rinnegan.

Deng! Looking upward, Saitama saw three strange Tomoe swirling within his eyes.

Without retreating, Saitama bent his body and launched himself skyward, charging straight towards the Wind Release technique descending from above.

[Wind Release: Palm Blade] Nagato's Rinnegan instantly analyzed the trajectory of his ninjutsu. Saitama extended his right hand, forming a light blue chakra blade that stretched about half a meter beyond his palm.

Slash! His hand cut precisely through the center of the technique. Pausing for only half a second, Saitama severed it completely.

"Hmm?" Nagato felt slightly surprised; it had been a long time since he faced someone who could beat his techniques with brute force alone.

After slicing off Nagato's technique, Saitama didn't slow down at all. Instead, he kept soaring upwards, clearly set on facing Nagato head-on.

"Heh!" For once, Nagato showed a slight smile, the swirling patterns within his Rinnegan radiating an eerie blue glow.

Clack! A black rod blocked Saitama's right hand.

Three tomoe within Saitama's eyes rotated wildly as Nagato pressed down on him forcefully, sending them both crashing toward the ground below.

Boom! They crashed onto the ground, leaving behind a sizable crater and sending a cloud of dust billowing into the air.

"Konan cried out in worry but couldn't see past the thick wall of dust—completely obscuring the battle between Saitama and Nagato."

She did not rashly join the battle herself, knowing full well that Nagato disliked having others interfere—it would imply weakness on his part, something he had always insisted upon since Yahiko's passing.

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