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Minato Namikaze said to the man. He watched as the man's expression remained unchanged, then paused and asked, "Are they a relative of yours?"
The man smiled and shook his head. "My older sister."
Minato nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry. I don't know her."
"It's fine," the man said, indifferent.
Minato studied him, his eyes glinting. Something was off. This person, calling himself Ryūka, claimed to be from Rōran, yet he was siblings with a Konoha ninja.
Minato glanced back at Shibi Aburame. Shibi gave him a subtle look in return. A shadow passed through Minato's eyes.
From then on, Minato, Shibi, and Chōza Akimichi formed a triangle, enclosing the man in the center as they advanced deeper into Anrokusan's mansion.
"No one?"
The entire estate was eerily quiet. Not a single soul was in sight. Not even a puppet.
"Something's wrong." Minato's brow furrowed tightly.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
"No!" Minato's face changed.
Shibi and Chōza sensed the danger, too.
"Naruto!" Minato gritted his teeth, urgency flashing in his eyes.
Elsewhere, the tension was thick enough to cut.
Sara hid behind Naruto, watching in terror as Anrokusan's face twisted into a mask of madness. He held his staff, surrounded by a dense army of puppet soldiers.
He stared at Naruto and Sara, his expression distorted and crazed. "In that case, you can die just like your mother!"
Naruto and Sara had exposed Anrokusan's true identity—the man called Mukade. Sara now realized Rōran's prosperity was a complete illusion. Anrokusan controlled the entire nation with puppets, sacrificing his people's lives without a second thought to fulfill his ambitions.
"Watch out!"
Naruto kicked away a puppet lunging for Sara, pulling her by the hand as he retreated. His options were limited. Facing this endless sea of puppets, he had no chance.
Sister Tsuruki said to take down the leader first.
To stop these puppets, he had to defeat Mukade. But Mukade hid behind his army. To even touch him, Naruto had to get through them all.
Getting past the puppets wasn't the problem. The problem was Sara, standing right behind him. He had to protect her.
Was there no way out?
Naruto forced himself to calm down. Sister Tsuruki said the more dangerous the moment, the calmer you must be.
Sara's terrified sobs filled his ears.
An idea sparked in his mind. Naruto's face lit up as he reached for his head.
"Ao!"
How could he forget? He still had Ao!
But his smile froze.
"Oh, crap!"
His jaw dropped. Where was Ao? When did it disappear? Did it even come with him?
A puppet's weapon gleamed, thrusting toward him.
"Chidori!"
Lightning flashed before Naruto's eyes, the crackle of electricity piercing the air. A small figure appeared in front of him. The puppet was pierced by the current, shattering into a pile of scrap.
Naruto stared at the small figure, his jaw hitting the floor. "Ka… Kakashi-sensei?"
He was seeing Kakashi-sensei as a kid!
"Hey! Is now the time to space out?" Kakashi shot him a dead-eyed stare, fending off puppets while muttering in exasperation.
Naruto snapped back to reality just as a puppet's fist flew at his face.
"Rasengan!"
The puppet was blasted away. Naruto left Sara's protection to Kakashi and charged toward Mukade.
"Kurama! Lend me some power!" Naruto weaved through the puppets at blinding speed.
Kurama: …
Given the situation, what else can I do? he thought irritably. Damn it! Where did that shameless snake run off to?!
"Rasengan!"
A massive Rasengan swirled to life in Naruto's hand. Even he was startled. "Whoa—that's huge! Whatever…"
He raised his hand and slammed it down on Mukade.
To obtain more power and withstand the Ryūmyaku, Mukade had long since transformed his own body into a puppet. The Rasengan collided with his steel-hard skin, erupting in a violent shockwave.
The man, arriving just then, sidestepped slightly. The massive form of Chōza Akimichi in front of him took the full brunt of the blast. Such were the privileges of being an "ordinary" person.
"Naruto."
Minato raised a hand to shield his face. Without waiting for the dust to settle, he ran toward the clash. Naruto's body flew backward and was caught by Minato.
Naruto blinked, momentarily stunned. "As long as he has the Ryūmyaku's power, his strength is infinite," he immediately warned Minato.
Minato's expression turned grave. "We need to seal the Ryūmyaku first."
"But we haven't even found where it is!" Naruto's face fell.
The puppet army attacked again, completely tying down Minato and the others.
The man known as Ryūka slowly backed away. He already knew the Ryūmyaku's location. After seizing it, he would take Naruto and Yamato back.
"Wait!" a voice called out. "Where do you think you're going?"
Shibi Aburame's black insects blocked his retreat, forming a dark, buzzing wall.
"What are you doing?" Naruto saw Shibi target the man and immediately came to his defense. "He's just an ordinary person! Of course he's scared!"
Naruto assumed the man was running away, which seemed perfectly normal. They were fighting a puppet army and couldn't protect him, so of course he should flee.
Shibi's mouth twitched. "He's no ordinary person!"
With that, the dark swarm of insects enveloped the man.
The man: …
I just wanted a head start.
"Ryūka!"
The man was engulfed in a black cocoon. Naruto's face paled, and he moved to help.
But before he could get close—
Golden flames erupted. The air turned scorching. The black insects incinerated into ash, and the man vanished from the spot.
"Ryūka…"
Naruto froze. Then he remembered. The one who attacked Konoha. Golden flames!
His face darkened.
Minato noted the change. "You know him?"
Naruto nodded grimly. "He's a notorious rogue ninja. He captured the One-Tail and Seven-Tails, and killed the Five-Tails."
The expressions on Minato and the others changed drastically. Tailed Beasts were a taboo topic among the great villages. A single one was enough to destroy a nation. Yet someone existed who could single-handedly deal with so many?
Before they could process it, Mukade's puppet army surged forward again.
"This is no good! We have to find the Ryūmyaku first!" Shibi yelled, his strength diminished from the loss of his insects.
Naruto thought of the Ryūmyaku, and for once, his mind, usually slow with schemes, made a connection. "That guy knows where it is!"
If the man hadn't attacked them, he must have been after something more important. Besides the Ryūmyaku, Naruto couldn't think of anything more valuable than the Nine-Tails.
Kurama: …
Minato declared, "We follow him!"
Naruto paused. "How? He has the same teleportation ability as Sister Tsuruki. We can't keep up."
Minato smiled slightly. "His clothes have my Flying Thunder God mark on them."
Naruto: …
So experience really does count. Sister Tsuruki wasn't lying.
The man appeared in a silent, underground chamber. A massive pillar of purple light pierced through its center, from floor to ceiling. Coiled around it was a dragon, looking utterly content.
The man: …
Naruto was fighting for his life up above, and Ao was down here, guarding the Ryūmyaku by taking a nap on it.
"Ahem." He couldn't stand it and cleared his throat.
Ao lifted an eyelid. Its golden, slitted pupils reflected the man's form. The imprint on its soul flared to life, and it recognized its master in an instant. Taking in its master's expression, Ao obediently retracted its claws, stretched its long neck, and nuzzled his shoulder.
"Heh heh." A laugh utterly unbefitting its majestic form escaped it, its dragon face a mask of fawning.
"Get down." The man shot a sidelong glance at the dragon's head. Its whiskers brushed against his neck.
Used to being scorned, Ao was unfazed and slid down from the Ryūmyaku of its own accord. Its tail swished as it looked from the energy source to its master.
"This… is good stuff…" Ao said, its eyes full of longing.
The man knew the snake too well. It wanted him to take the Ryūmyaku back to use as its new bed.
He refused outright. "Don't even think about it."
This snake's brain was simple. It knew it had only one master. It didn't understand why its master had two bodies, but it respected the fact. Sometimes, seeing its master fight himself was a bit confusing, but it knew better than to talk too much. More talk meant more mistakes. And a mistake could get it skinned alive.
Naruto and Minato arrived just in time to see Ao fawning over the mysterious man.
Naruto's face went from shock to furious betrayal. He looked at Ao with utter disappointment. "Ao! You actually sided with the enemy? How could you betray Sister Tsuruki like this?"
Minato paused. Sister Tsuruki? Was the person Naruto mentioned the same Tsuruki this ninja had spoken of?
Ao's draconic body stiffened. It peeked at its master and, sure enough, saw the familiar threat in his eyes. With a swish of its tail, it returned to Naruto's side. It curled its massive body and rubbed its huge head against Naruto, its eyes wide with feigned innocence.
Lord Ao… fawning? This was a treatment only Sister Tsuruki ever received back in Konoha!
Naruto coughed twice, puffing out his chest. "Seeing as you're so sincere with your apology, I won't tell on you to Sister Tsuruki when we get back."
Ao: …
As if you need to.
"I'm telling you, don't even think about getting the Ryūmyaku's power!" Naruto shouted fiercely at the man.
The man couldn't help but laugh. "Naruto Uzumaki, do you have any idea who you're talking to?"
Naruto faltered, the realization hitting him. He was facing the man no one in the shinobi world could handle… except Sister Tsuruki. He'd gotten so used to running his mouth that he'd forgotten to hold back.
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