Hokage: Reborn as Hokage, Starting with Saving Jiraiya

The tower's steel heart pulsed with a cold, oppressive silence, its walls slick with condensation from Amegakure's endless rain. Naruto stood at its center, rain-soaked and resolute, his Sage Mode glow casting faint orange shadows across the chamber. Before him, Nagato's skeletal form loomed within a mechanical cradle, black rods piercing his spine, his Rinnegan eyes glinting with wary curiosity. Konan flanked him, her paper wings poised like a shield, her amber gaze sharp with suspicion. Outside, the clash of Naruto's clones against Pain's Six Paths echoed faintly, a distant storm held at bay.

Nagato's rasping voice broke the stillness. "You've forced your way in. Speak—what do you want?"

Naruto met his stare, unflinching. "Senior Brother Nagato," he said, voice steady and deliberate, "I'm here to talk about bringing Akatsuki under my wing."

The words hung like a thunderclap. Nagato's frail frame stiffened, his Rinnegan narrowing as if doubting his ears. Konan stepped forward, her paper rustling with agitation. "Are you mad, Naruto? Do you even grasp what you're saying?"

Naruto exhaled, a flicker of weariness crossing his face. "I know it's a lot to swallow. Truth is, Konoha's already branded me a traitor—though I don't see it that way. I've burned that bridge to come here."

Konan's eyes widened, shock softening her guard. "You defected?"

He nodded, letting the weight settle. Nagato's voice cut in, low and edged with disdain. "You should be groveling for sanctuary, not daring to 'recruit' Akatsuki. You mock a god."

Naruto raised a hand, his tone shifting to something raw, earnest. "Listen, Brother—I've teased you before, sure. But now? I'm laying it bare. What you've abandoned—Jiraiya's ideals, peace—it's still worth something. What you're doing now? It's a farce. You're a puppet, dancing for someone else's strings."

Nagato's breath hitched, his gaunt face tightening. Naruto pressed on, voice rising with conviction. "If you truly held the reins, I'd call your vision divine. Collecting the tailed beasts, wielding them to end war, enforce peace—that's godly ambition. You've got that spark, stronger than any Kage. I see it."

The praise hung between them, a lifeline in the gloom. Nagato's frown deepened, uncertainty flickering in his Rinnegan. "You… understand my purpose?"

"Of course," Naruto replied, nodding. "Pain teaches fear, fear breeds peace—it's brutal, but it tracks. I get it."

Nagato studied him, searching for deceit. After a long pause, he rasped, "You grasp pain better than Jiraiya ever did."

Naruto's gaze softened, then hardened again. "But here's the catch, Brother. This 'Pain' you've built? It's a sham god. The real will—the true divine—dwarfs it. You're a ninja god at best, not the real deal."

Nagato leaned forward, his voice a hiss. "You claim to know a true god?"

Naruto's lips curved faintly, timing his move. Close enough. "Yeah—the Ōtsutsuki. Beings so vast they see us as straw dogs, lives to crush without a second thought. Your Pain? It's not enough to face them."

He unfurled the scroll at his side, chakra flaring as a crow burst free, its black wings beating the stale air. "Let me show you real power—something to match them." The bird's eye gleamed red—Shisui's Sharingan—and with a guttural caw, Distinguished Heavenly Gods ignited. Naruto's voice rolled out, smooth and commanding. "Follow me, obey my will, and I'll lead you to the light."

Nagato's Rinnegan dulled, his resistance crumbling under the genjutsu's insidious pull. "Junior Brother," he murmured, voice distant, "you're right. I'll follow you."

Konan's tense stance eased, a faint smile breaking through. "If it's you, Naruto, I'll trust that path."

Naruto's grin was subtle, triumphant. Shisui's masterpiece had worked—its power bypassed sight, rewriting minds without a trace. Nagato's Rinnegan, a transplant from Madara, couldn't counter it; his Uzumaki vitality fueled the eyes, not their mastery. Naruto had gambled on this, hoarding chakra for a fight if it failed, even preparing to unleash Kurama. But the plan held—no blood, just allegiance.

He stepped closer to Konan, rain dripping from his hair. "Senior Sister, got any spare robes? I'm soaked."

She nodded, warmth creeping into her tone. "Wait here, Junior Brother." She vanished in a swirl of paper, returning moments later with a black-and-red Akatsuki cloak tailored to his frame. Naruto took it, murmuring thanks, and slipped it on, the fabric heavy with irony. "Never thought I'd wear this," he said, a bitter chuckle escaping him.

Nagato summoned the Six Paths to the chamber, their forms aligning before him like obedient shadows. He turned to Naruto, voice weak but resolute. "You promised the path of light, Junior Brother. What's our next move?"

Naruto adjusted the cloak, its dark hues sharpening his presence into something formidable. "Akatsuki's done," he declared. "From now on, we're 'Ten'—Heaven. We're not just an organization; we're gods. Each of us carries divine will, and together, we're the order of this world."

Konan whispered, "Heaven?"

Nagato's eyes gleamed, a spark of awe igniting. "The will of God?"

"Exactly," Naruto said, voice low and firm. "We shield this world from the storm—starting now." He flung the cloak's hem back, striding toward the chamber's exit, his silhouette cutting through the dim light. "Heaven's first act begins."

Outside, the rain resumed, a soft patter against the tower's steel skin. Naruto emerged onto the spire's edge, the village sprawling below—a gray expanse of grief and resilience. Nagato and Konan followed, their faith reshaped by his will, the Six Paths trailing like silent enforcers. He'd claimed Akatsuki, turned it into something new—a force to rival the Ōtsutsuki, to rewrite the fate he'd once lost.

The cloak flapped in the wind, a symbol of his defection and his dominion. Jiraiya's teachings echoed in his mind—peace through understanding—but this was beyond that, a war against gods demanding a god's strength. Nagato's Rinnegan, Konan's loyalty, Shisui's eye—they were his now, pieces of a puzzle he'd assemble against the coming dark. He glanced back, meeting their gazes, and saw not just obedience but purpose. Heaven was born, and its first storm loomed on the horizon.

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