Speedrunning Naruto to the Top

"Why does that brat possess such power as well?"

In one of the rooms within the mobile fortress, Haidō gazed out the window at Uchiha Sasuke, who was unleashing Sage: Storm Release: White Dragon below.

Shocked by what he saw, his eyes were also gleaming with delight as he muttered:

"Could he also be a descendant of that lineage? Does he, too, possess a Gelel Stone?"

Just as Haidō intended to continue observing whether there was a chance to seize Sasuke, a sudden presence emerged behind him.

"Wood Release: Smothering Binding Technique!"

Wooden tendrils sprouted from the floor, entangling Haidō like tight ropes and binding him into a human bundle.

"Who's there?!"

Startled, Haidō turned around.

Once he glimpsed that it was a red–haired youth, however, he found his body already immobile.

Without a moment's hesitation, Haidō immediately activated the Gelel Stone embedded in his hand, absorbing its power. Instantly, his hair turned from brown to white, his sclera became pitch–black and his irises glowed red; his skin likewise changed from a human complexion into something like steel in hue.

Crack–crack–crack...

The wooden bindings emitted crisp snapping noises as Haidō effortlessly broke free. Four fleshy growths sprouted from his back—like four thick prongs—and surged violently, hurtling toward Nagato like battering rams.

"What a bizarre energy. Is that also from that stone?"

Nagato—eyes on the glowing, cyan–lit stone on Haidō's back—brought his hands together and murmured:

"Shinra Tensei!"

Boom—!

A tremendous blast shook the surroundings.

Invisible force waves shattered the chamber's interior. The four charging flesh pillars were flung backwards, and Haidō himself crashed through the fortress wall, hurtling outside.

"Lord Haidō!"

The explosion drew everyone's attention.

Below, Temujin stared at Haidō in midair, face full of shock, and shouted in alarm.

At that moment, a figure flew out from the fortress's haze.

Seeing this individual, Hatake Kakashi's face changed drastically.

"Naruto, run!"

He urgently called out. At the same time, he formed seals and produced two shadow clones.

"Fire Release: Hiding in Ash and Dust Technique!"

Kakashi spat forth a massive cloud of ash that obscured Kisame's line of sight.

Moments later, several figures leapt from the dust—Kakashi and his clones whisking Uzumaki Naruto and Temujin away.

"Release me! I have to help Lord Haidō!"

Temujin brandished his knightly sword and activated the Gelel Stone's power, destroying one of Kakashi's shadow clones. Then he rushed off toward Haidō.

"Temujin!"

Naruto yelled, instinctively about to break away from Kakashi's grasp and go help.

"Idiot, do you want to kill everyone?!"

Even Kakashi rarely raised his voice so severely:

"That man up there is the leader of the Akatsuki. Their objective is to capture Tailed Beasts—that 'monster' inside you. That red–haired kid just now isn't your ally—he was even an enemy a moment ago. He doesn't want to leave, either. Going after him like this is suicidal; you'll drag us down, possibly even our entire village!"

Naruto, never having seen Kakashi so fierce, froze up.

Kakashi, having opened the First Gate of the Eight Inner Gates for a burst of speed, grabbed Naruto and hurried to where Sasuke was—Sasuke pinned down by Itachi's half–body Susanoo. Kakashi spoke quickly in a low voice:

"Sasuke, how much chakra do you have left? Use your widest–range technique to cover us so we can retreat."

"…Got it."

Sasuke glanced resentfully at Itachi, then formed seals with both hands, shouting:

"Wood Release: Nativity of a Sea of Trees!"

Rumble–rumble...

The waterlogged earth shook, countless tree branches burst from underground, rapidly sprouting leaves and becoming full trees, spreading in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, the foot of the mountain was transformed into a wooded grove.

Surrounded by this sea of trees, Uchiha Itachi ended his second–form Susanoo. The Mangekyō Sharingan receded back to three–tomoe form.

Standing atop a tall tree, he looked first up at Nagato in the sky, then at the distant Team Seven swiftly escaping. Letting out a quiet breath, he thought:

I sure was startled by Nagato's sudden appearance there.

He had initially feared Nagato had come for the Nine–Tails, almost panicking. Fortunately, the other's target seemed to be that fortress's leader.

Kisame then showed up next to Itachi with a quick Body Flicker, teasing:

"Itachi–san, they got away. Shall we chase them?"

"The Nine–Tails isn't our assignment right now. Let's await the leader's orders." Itachi replied blandly, though there was tension beneath his calm mask.

Kisame gave a knowing chuckle, turning to where Team Seven's chakra signature had vanished.

"Didn't expect your younger brother, whom you easily beat half a year ago, to force you to reveal your trump card now. At this rate, if he truly obtains eyes like yours, won't he be beyond your control?"

"It's fine. Everything's going according to plan," Itachi responded flatly. But his eyelids trembled slightly.

Going through Tsukuyomi and activating Susanoo continuously wasn't easy on him. Fortunately, he had made a habit of avoiding direct fights over the years, leaving Kisame to handle most battles, so his Mangekyō had not been overused. Nonetheless, his body was worsening, and his total chakra dwindled yearly. He probably only had three to five more years left.

He used to worry that he might not hold on until Sasuke's power matured. Now, however, that was clearly not an issue. At Sasuke's current rate, perhaps in just another year or two he would be strong enough to kill Itachi. Even if still just three–tomoe, once Sasuke killed him for vengeance, the Mangekyō would awaken.

All that remained was ensuring certain truths remained hidden and that someone would guide Sasuke to the Eternal Mangekyō. Itachi figured he still needed one final contingency. Perhaps it was time to pay a visit to the future Sixth Hokage.

At the same time, high in the air, Nagato had finished his fight.

"Banshō Ten'in!"

While hovering, Nagato raised a hand and unleashed that uncanny attractive force like an invisible hand, dragging the airborne Haidō back. His other hand extended wooden vines to restrain Haidō once more.

This time, Haidō had no chance to break free before Nagato upped his chakra output, softly chanting:

"Sealing Technique: Four Limb Weighting Seal!"

The vines radiated a bluish aura, black spider–like inscriptions crawling out from the chakra aura, swiftly covering Haidō's entire body. Instantly, he could not even speak.

Nagato didn't descend but created a Wood Clone mid–air. The clone pressed a hand onto Haidō, using the Preta Path to absorb his power.

With the Gelel Stone's energy siphoned away, Haidō returned to normal.

"…So that's your energy?"

The Wood Clone that absorbed Haidō's power abruptly widened its eyes, morphing partway into a monster before automatically reverting. In place of that distortion, faint red Sage–like eye–markings appeared.

"So it's actually natural energy!"

Nagato, absorbing the info from his Wood Clone in real–time, murmured:

"Yet it's not merely normal natural energy. It also contains a lifeforce akin to Mokuton's Yang Release. Presumably from that stone?"

He stared at the glowing stone on Haidō's right hand:

"This must be the Gelel Stone. Let's see exactly what it is."

Nagato laid a hand on Haidō's head. Ignoring the man's desperate, silent pleas, he directly employed the Human Path, yanking out Haidō's soul.

Countless memories surged into Nagato's mind.

Filtering through them, he extracted crucial intel about the Gelel Stone. Then, thoroughly assimilating that information, Nagato's expression grew astonished:

"So the Gelel Stone can conjure inexhaustible wells, livestock that mature overnight, continuous bountiful harvests, anti–aging studies, ecological synergy…? The ninja world once had an entire empire built around this stone? How is it that no trace of it remains?"

"No— it's not that. The knowledge was never truly gone; only fewer and fewer people knew, and they likely emigrated overseas."

From Haidō's corpse, Nagato retrieved a photograph. Seeing the elderly man with a ferret in the picture, he mused quietly:

"So perhaps I'll find the answer on him."

"Let go of Lord Haidō!"

A shout echoed up from below.

Nagato glanced downward and saw Temujin launching a green slash skyward toward him. He was about to act, but the Sage–Mode–empowered Wood Clone beside him flew down first.

No Rinnegan ability needed—only a single punch from the clone.

Fist and slash collided, the latter shattering into green gusts. Temujin, who had unleashed that blow, stared in horror as the clone soared toward him.

"So this is Sage–style chakra?"

The Wood Clone observed its unharmed fist, murmuring:

"Natural energy, combined with Wood Release—truly a perfect match. This lifeforce also augments Yang–Release. If I possessed more of those stones, I wouldn't even need Hashirama's cells to enhance my Mokuton. I'd just keep leveling it up."

With that in mind, the Wood Clone fixed an intense gaze on Temujin. So the boy was presumably one of that empire's descendants. That old man with the ferret likely knew where to find the Gelel Stone's underground veins.

So the clone swiftly subdued and sealed Temujin using Mokuton.

Nagato's main body then formed a half seal, closing his eyes to fully activate his sensing ability and scan for Team Seven's location.

Seconds later, he snapped his eyes open, scowling:

"The Tenseigan… That cursed eye."

Moments ago, Nagato had sensed a familiar chakra—the "Ōtsutsuki Toneri" type—lurking near Team Seven. But then, both that chakra and two life–signs, one large and one small, vanished without warning. Based on faint signifiers, those were the old man and the ferret from that photo.

Evidently, he had targeted Haidō, while the Tenseigan user had seized the old man.

At that moment, Nagato was thankful he came in person. Otherwise, he'd have gained nothing.

Reflecting on it, Nagato concluded:

"The Gelel Stone veins are very likely hidden underground in the Land of Rivers or the Land of Wind. For now, I can confirm that the Tenseigan's user has a Byakugan–like supreme vision yet can't detect White Zetsu merging with the earth or sense natural energy, just like my Rinnegan can't either."

"So I can have Zetsu's clones search for veins matching this stone's signature underground, along with my Wood Clones scanning with large–area perception. If he finds it, the chakra might expose its location."

"And he lacks Wood Release; it won't synergize strongly with that stone's energy the way mine does. Thus it's less beneficial to him. Even if he obtains it, he'll at best learn Sage Mode. As for the lifeforce aspect, it won't increase his strength nearly as much. Unless the Gelel Veins lie somewhere else entirely, he can't monopolize them."

With all that in mind, Nagato felt more secure. He returned to rummage through Haidō's fortress for final spoils. In case he couldn't locate the Gelel Stone veins, at least he would keep these smaller stones. With them, he could sense natural energy on his own—no stone required—allowing him to replicate Hashirama–like indefinite Sage Mode.

On the other side, the Izayoi–wood–clone that had gone off to borrow some Six–Tails chakra from Utakata's side, track the old man with the ferret and extracted the needed intel via Mind Sphere.

Seeing the old man's memories, the clone mused:

"An ancient empire, the Gelel Stone veins holding enough power to destroy half a continent… This rings a faint bell."

Yet he truly couldn't recall the storyline in detail, certain only that it was from a movie arc.

Izayoi was now sure why he had zero recollection—it must be from some filler–tier, seldom–discussed movie. The only anime–original arcs he half–remembered never mentioned this. Indeed, it had to be from a lesser–known film.

So this explained how Sage Mode turned into "flip–the–switch" mode for Nagato's clone. Coupled with the fact that Mokuton provided an edge in synergy with natural energy, one could see how unstoppable that synergy was.

Hence Izayoi recognized that if he wanted to master Sage Mode himself, the best route was likely the same as Hashirama's approach: not reliant on any Summoning–place's contract but forging his own path, just as the First Hokage had.

~~~

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