At some point Chiya's eyes had already changed. The Mangekyō Sharingan had quietly activated.
Within the crimson eyes, complex patterns slowly rotated.
The gazes of Naruto and Sasuke across from him instantly became vacant and blank.
Chiya calmly walked up to the two of them and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
Chakra surged into their bodies in an instant.
'No Nine-Tails chakra.
The curse mark on Sasuke is also absent.'
After carefully probing them, Chiya's brow furrowed slightly.
'It seems the events from the original story have not played out here.'
He released his hands.
"Who are your parents?"
Sasuke's expression was blank, and he answered instinctively.
"Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Rinbi."
Naruto followed.
"My dad is Namikaze Minato, and my mom is Uzumaki Sango!"
Chiya's heart jolted.
'It seems everything has changed!'
"Did the Nine-Tails rampage happen?"
Naruto looked completely blank.
"Never heard of it."
'Never heard of it, or it never happened? Or did it happen but get covered up?'
Chiya did not linger on the thought and turned to Sasuke.
"Is the Uchiha Clan still around?"
Thinking of the Uchiha Clan's final fate in the original story, Chiya's heart tightened along with the thought.
'After all the groundwork I've laid, there's no way the clan got wiped out anyway, right?'
"Yes."
"Was the Uchiha Clan massacred? Did Uchiha Itachi become a rogue ninja?"
"Massacred? Rogue ninja? Neither."
Hearing those words, the weight finally lifted from Chiya's heart.
"Are those two under a genjutsu?"
Sara's voice came from beside him.
Chiya turned to look at Sara and found that the queen of Loran was completely stunned, watching him with the kind of look one gives to a monster.
"Those two are not from our time. They come from the future."
"The future?!"
Sara was startled, then pushed the absurd idea out of her mind.
"The future, how is that possible!"
"You don't believe it?"
Sara shook her head.
"Then this is a perfect chance to ask about your own future!"
"Me?"
Sara was taken aback.
"Naruto, just now you mentioned Auntie Sara?"
Chiya had sharply caught the detail in Naruto's words and confirmed it again.
"You've met Sara before?"
"Of course!"
Naruto nodded without hesitation.
"Auntie Sara lives over in the Uchiha clan grounds. She often brings good food for me and Sasuke!"
Sara's face instantly flushed red.
She snuck a glance at Uchiha Chiya beside her, and her heartbeat accelerated beyond her control.
'Isn't this ninja from the Uchiha Clan? And combined with what Naruto called...'
An ambiguous atmosphere immediately spread between the two of them.
Sara.
Chiya gave a light cough, breaking the brief silence, and continued gathering information from Naruto.
"What is your purpose in coming here?"
"We're chasing Mukade!"
"Who is Mukade? I don't seem to know that name."
Sara asked in confusion.
Chiya's gaze flickered.
"He is the one your people call Anrokuzan."
"What?!"
Sara looked as though she had been struck by lightning. Her complexion instantly drained to white.
"That's impossible. Anrokuzan-dono inherited my mother's will. He works tirelessly for this city and has always been dedicated to Loran's development and peace in the ninja world."
The look she directed at Naruto and Sasuke instantly filled with hostility.
Chiya had sharply picked up on the change in Sara's emotions, but he did not explain further.
'Some things cannot be made convincing with words alone. Only seeing it with one's own eyes can break a fixed belief.'
'Facts speak louder than words.'
His gaze swept over the two of them.
Chiya thought about his future self, and his heart began to pound as well.
He took a deep breath.
"What is Uchiha Chiya like now?"
"Chiya-ojisan?"
The words had barely left his mouth when a red gleam flashed through both their eyes.
A shadow of pitch-black flame appeared in the eyes of both Sasuke and Naruto.
Chiya's heart jolted. He sensed danger.
The Mangekyō Sharingan activated. A dark crimson Susano'o formed in an instant and deployed immediately.
Two masses of pitch-black flame burned directly in front of Chiya.
"Amaterasu?"
Bloodshot lines surfaced in Chiya's eyes as he stared at the two of them and froze for a moment.
'Where the hell did this Amaterasu come from?'
'Sasuke having it is one thing, but Naruto got hit with it too?!'
Chiya looked back at Sara, who had gone weak at the knees and was crouched on the ground with terror written all over her face.
Sara.
"It's alright. I'll protect you."
After saying that, Chiya helped her to her feet.
Chiya took a sealing scroll from his chest and sealed the Amaterasu inside it.
Once the danger had passed, the Susano'o was then released.
At that moment, on the other side.
The eyes of both Naruto and Sasuke cleared at once. The genjutsu had been forcibly broken.
Naruto shook his head, looking completely bewildered.
'Huh? What just happened?'
Only Sasuke thoughtfully rubbed his chin and looked at Chiya, who was putting away the sealing scroll.
'Just now, did I get caught in a genjutsu?'
'Hm? Chiya-ojisan, what are you doing?'
Naruto, oblivious as ever, did not think too deeply about it and asked with curiosity.
He had no idea at all that this Chiya was not the Chiya he knew.
The corner of Chiya's mouth curved upward.
"I know you're here to catch Mukade."
"This place, Loran, is complicated. I'm here to help you."
Sara's expression grew even more unpleasant hearing those words.
She abruptly let go of Chiya's arm and turned to run out.
"I'm going to find Anrokuzan-dono and get to the bottom of this!"
Chiya was quick-eyed and fast-handed. He flashed in front of Sara in an instant.
The Sharingan activated. Sara's eyes immediately became hazy.
Caught in a genjutsu, she went limp and collapsed.
Chiya slung her over his shoulder, then turned to Naruto and Sasuke and gave the order first.
"Let's go. We're going after that man."
Sasuke gave a single nod. Naruto pumped his fist with excitement.
"Yes! Didn't expect to run into Chiya-ojisan here. With Chiya-ojisan helping, we're definitely catching that guy this time!"
The group moved quickly toward the tall tower at the city's center.
Along the way, Chiya noticed more and more puppets gathering. It was clear that Anrokuzan, or rather Mukade, had already sensed their movements.
"Leave these puppets to me!"
Naruto shouted and rapidly formed hand seals.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
In the puffs of smoke, dozens of Naruto clones appeared and charged toward the puppets swarming from every direction.
Sasuke was not to be outdone either, activating his Sharingan to its full capacity.
The kunai in his hand pierced the core of each puppet with precision.
Chiya carried the unconscious Sara and moved easily through the battlefield.
His gaze was locked onto the top of the tower. A powerfully abnormal chakra signature radiated from up there. That was where the Dragon Vein's core resided.
"Mukade's target is the power of the Dragon Vein."
Chiya said in a low voice.
"We must stop him from controlling it."
"Understood."
Sasuke replied concisely, and with a Body Flicker shot toward the tower.
Naruto's shadow clones held back most of the puppets while his main body kept pace right behind Sasuke.
Chiya glanced at Sara on his shoulder and picked up speed as well.
When they reached the top of the tower, the scene before them shook everyone present.
A thin man wearing glasses was standing at the center of the Dragon Vein seal formation, his hands continuously forming complex seals.
Surrounding him were dozens of far more intricate puppets, each radiating a dangerous aura.
"Mukade!"
Naruto roared.
The man slowly turned around, pushed his glasses up, and revealed a twisted smile.
"I didn't expect you to track me here so quickly. But it's already too late."
His body began to expand. A metallic sheen surfaced beneath his skin.
The power of the Dragon Vein poured into him in a continuous stream, remodeling his body into a terrifying half-human, half-puppet form.
"Hahaha! With the power of the Dragon Vein, I can create an eternal puppet empire! Even if Uchiha Chiya himself came here today, he could not stop my steps!"
Mukade laughed madly, his voice mixed with a mechanical buzzing hum.
Sasuke let out a cold snort.
His hands rapidly formed seals.
"Fire Style, Great Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
A blazing fire dragon roared forward, but was easily blocked by the puppet barrier surrounding Mukade.
Naruto saw this and immediately charged in with a Rasengan, but was knocked back by a massive puppet that suddenly appeared.
Chiya's Mangekyō Sharingan activated. A suffocating pressure radiated from his entire body.
"Mukade, you used the Dragon Vein's power to disrupt time and space. Your crimes are unforgivable."
Chiya's voice was ice cold.
"Now, it's time to end this."
Mukade laughed arrogantly.
But the moment he saw Chiya's face clearly, the laughter cut off abruptly.
The mechanical gleam in his eyes flickered on and off, as though he had seen something that terrified him.
"Mangekyō Sharingan. You are, Uchiha... Chi, Chiya?!!"
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