Naruto : Cruel Rebirth

Naruto and Konan had been exploring the Pure Land for two hours. They had already signed contracts with Pain's past summoning beasts: the stone panda, the mighty rhinoceros, the flying monster bird, and the three-headed hellhound.

The Shadow Clone grabbed the crab's two antennae, and Naruto, with the help of the frog sniper, forced a black rod into its forehead.

"Phew," Naruto landed and exited Sage Mode, taking a breath. "This is harder than fighting Danzo..."

Boom! The crab disappeared, the contract was successfully signed! 

Konan said, "We've made good progress tonight, we already have eighteen." 

Naruto asked, "Sister Konan, is there a limit to the number of animals that can be summoned by the Animal Path?"

Konan replied, "There's no limit to the number of summoned creatures you can make a contract with, but for the creatures summoned by the Rinnegan, they require the user's chakra to function, so in practice, there is a limit. Nagato's limit was twenty-seven."

Naruto mumbled, "Twenty-seven, huh? I've contracted with eighteen so far, six of them are ocean creatures, so I still have room to summon more…"

Konan asked, "Aren't you going to rest?" 

Naruto smiled and said, "Dreams come to an end eventually. Getting here wasn't easy, we need to make the most of our time!"

Konan nodded, "Alright, I'll stay with you."

Naruto activated Sage Mode again and after traveling ten kilometers, he suddenly stopped, staring in surprise at a familiar giant creature. "I can't believe this…"

Konan asked in confusion, "What is it? I've never seen it before."

Naruto said, "If I'm not mistaken, that's Danzo's summoned beast, Baku!" 

Konan looked at Naruto, "Danzo, did his summoned beast die?"

Naruto replied, "Yeah, you weren't there at the time, Sister Konan, but to resist my Sage Mode Fire Release, Danzo sacrificed his summoned beast!"

Konan looked at the Dream Eater again, "Summoned beasts that can enter the Pure Land after death are special. Do you want to capture it?"

Naruto smiled, "Meeting like this is fate, how could I miss it?"

"Roar…" Baku recognized Naruto, triggering a psychological reaction, and it immediately turned and fled. 

Naruto laughed, "It's solid, but it sure runs fast…"

Bang! Baku realized it couldn't escape with Naruto hot on its heels. It stopped, turned around, and opened its mouth wide to try and swallow Naruto! "You're still trying this? You really don't learn, huh…"

Naruto remained calm, holding a black rod, and threw it skillfully into the Bakur's throat!

"Roar…" The creature screamed in agony, vanishing in a cloud of white smoke, now under Naruto's control!

Naruto landed on the ground and muttered, "It's strong, but not very smart… just like its master…" 

If Baku is here, then the other creature should be nearby too…

Naruto thought to himself.

"It's too slow, we need to speed up the search!"

—Shadow Clone Jutsu!

"Everyone, handle what you can yourself! If you can't, work together. If that doesn't work, mark it, dispel the clones, and I'll use Flying Thunder God to come immediately!" 

"Got it!!"

"Leave it to me!!!"

"Are there any other kinds of crabs? I'll catch them all!!!"

The shadow clones scattered in all directions, and Naruto sat down.

First, he used multiple shadow clones to try and enter the Pure Land. Once there, he even used more shadow clones again! 

Konan was secretly amazed: During his battle with Nagato, his chakra was strong but not to this level. Since he got the Rinnegan, his chakra has grown by leaps and bounds. He might even be close to Nagato's level now…

The shadow clones fought the summoned creatures they encountered, but there were too many creatures and not enough clones. With a dozen or even close to a hundred clones surrounding each creature, things went smoothly. The number of contracted summoned creatures quickly passed one hundred and was still increasing.

Konan said with complexity, "Nagato spent over ten years, entering the Pure Land more than ten times, contracting various summoned beasts, around one hundred and fifty in total. It looks like you'll reach that number in just one night…"

Naruto smiled, "The number isn't everything. Senior brother likes to be picky, but mom taught me not to be picky…"

Konan shook her head and smiled helplessly. 

"Oh?"

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes shifted, and he stood up.

Konan asked, "Is there a surprise?"

"Something like that," Naruto replied.

He placed his hand on Konan's shoulder and used Flying Thunder God to teleport them to another location. 

Before the shadow clones disappeared, they left behind a Flying Thunder God mark on the ground.

Naruto looked at the massive purple snake in front of him, which was several dozen meters tall, and said in a deep voice, "So you're here too, Manda!"

Manda's vertical pupils locked onto Naruto, glaring intensely. "The golden-haired kid who was with that stinky toad back then, your appearance here is the only surprise I've had!"

Naruto laughed. "I guess we can consider ourselves acquaintances now, so how about we skip the formalities?"

Manda's vertical pupils glared coldly at Naruto. "I wouldn't mind cooperating with you, as long as you go back outside and kill that Uchiha Sasuke for me!" 

"Oh?" Naruto's eyes shifted. "I'll ask you this, what's the reason?"

Manda snarled fiercely. "He used me with that Sharingan of his. I would rather die than let him have his way!"

Naruto's eyes darkened. "Hey, Manda, I've got a question for you. Can you swim?"

Manda: "?"

Naruto said seriously, "Answer me, this is important." 

Manda replied, "Except for not being able to fly, I'm good at everything else. I just don't like to swim because I don't want to be with that stinky toad!"

Naruto said, "Oh, well, I suppose you still have some use then..."

Manda asked, "What did you say?"

Zing! Naruto's right eye activated, the Three Tomoe Sharingan! "That eye...!?"

Manda was shocked and immediately activated his own Three Tomoe Sharingan!

Whoosh! Naruto jumped up, grabbing a sharp black rod with both hands, and thrust it violently into Manda's eye! 

Crack! The intense pain woke Manda, and he roared, "Damn it, I'm being attacked by that cursed Sharingan again!!!"

Naruto said, "Do your job well. If you can find the perverted sage, I'll spare you. Otherwise, I'll send you back to the cycle of reincarnation to wander forever..."

"I absolutely do not want to return here, this place... has that monster!!!"

Boom! With a terrified shout, Manda disappeared into a cloud of white smoke, becoming Naruto's possession! 

Boom boom boom...! The shadow clones scattered around each area completed their battles and vanished one by one.

Naruto had deepened into the cycle of reincarnation, his expression serious as he stared at the thick fog ahead.

"I can feel it, there's a lot of terrifying chakra up ahead, and it's almost as strong as the Tailed Beasts..."

Konan asked, "Do you want to continue?"

Naruto replied, "Since we've come this far, we have to check it out. But don't worry, Sister Konan, I know my limits..." 

Konan said, "Mm, that's good."

The two moved forward into the fog, heading toward the forbidden area of the cycle of reincarnation.

To be cautious, Naruto asked, "Sister Konan, you mentioned before that even during Nagato's prime, there were beings here that he couldn't make contracts with. Can you tell me about it?"

Konan said, "When I ventured into the cycle of reincarnation with him, we encountered a giant ape. It had an incredibly tough body, and Nagato's black rods couldn't even pierce it. The ape's name seemed to be 'Enma.'" 

Naruto's eyes flickered. "Enma? The Third Hokage's summoning beast is also called Enma..."

"Nagato speculated that it was probably it's ancestor."

Konan paused before revealing another shocking fact. "There was another time before this when Nagato came in alone. He nearly died. When I asked him what happened, he refused to say a word!"

"Afterward, I couldn't leave him alone, so I came in with him. I'm sure that whatever it was, even Nagato had no way of dealing with it. If we encounter it..."

Suddenly, Naruto stopped in his tracks, his expression turning extremely serious.

Konan frowned. "What's wrong?" 

Naruto clenched his fists. "I feel a really evil and terrifying chakra. And it has the same sage power as mine..." 

————— ----

You can read 10 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu