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"No matter what it takes," Naruto yelled, fists clenched, eyes burning with a stubborn light. "I won't let you take the Ryūmyaku's power!"
He'd promised Sister Heshu. He wouldn't let that power fall into the wrong hands.
"With what? You?" Hanataki's tone wasn't condescending.
He was just stating a fact.
System: "Are you sure?"
Alright. Fine. He was looking down on Naruto.
"You've got us, too." Minato Namikaze's hand settled on Naruto's shoulder, his voice level as he addressed Hanataki.
Behind him stood Shibi Aburame and Chōza Akimichi.
Hanataki: "…"
Looks like showing off was inevitable today.
"I planned to let you go," Hanataki sighed, a familiar golden light beginning to shimmer around his form. "But if you insist on a beating, fine."
His gaze locked onto Naruto. "I'll take the Nine-Tails while I'm at it."
Naruto froze, teeth gritting hard.
Minato's expression shifted sharply, eyes snapping to the boy beside him. So… Naruto was the Jinchūriki? Then… what about Kushina?
Shibi and Chōza moved instantly, placing themselves between Naruto and the threat. Whether it was twenty years ago or now, the Nine-Tails was not a force to be controlled. This man, according to Naruto, had already captured the One-Tail and Seven-Tails. His strength was beyond terrifying.
This was going to be hell.
Their faces were grim.
CRACK!
The palace doors splintered.
"DIE!"
A tide of puppet soldiers poured through the breach, a mindless, screeching wave aimed straight at Hanataki.
The confrontation was abruptly hijacked. The war between Hanataki and Minato's group became a chaotic three-way brawl with Mukade's puppets.
"You worthless scrap!" Mukade's voice boomed from the heart of his puppet army as he strode forward. "Get away from the Dragon Vein!"
His tone dripped with utter disgust, as if Hanataki's mere presence polluted the very air.
Hanataki: "…"
"Still not leaving?" Mukade roared.
He gestured. The puppet swarm surged, a dense, metallic mountain crashing down to bury Hanataki whole.
"Hmph." Mukade smirked, watching the scene. His gaze then shifted to the pulsating heart of the Ryūmyaku, burning with raw, naked hunger.
"Coveting it?"
The voice whispered right in his ear.
Mukade jolted, the hunger vanishing as he tried to turn. Who dared?!
Snap.
Mukade's head hit the floor.
"You… you can't kill me!" Panic flashed, then faded into smug calm. He had the Dragon Vein's power. He was immortal.
"Is that so?"
Hanataki raised a hand. Purple energy—the Ryūmyaku's power—erupted from Mukade's body, from every single puppet, screaming in torrents toward Hanataki's palm.
More power was always better.
A river of violet light flooded into him. The vast chamber echoed with the relentless CLANG-CLASH-BANG of empty puppet shells collapsing. Countless streams of energy, fine as silk threads, wound their way into his core. The light was blinding, surreal, holding everyone in a stunned silence.
"The Dragon Vein!" Naruto cried out, launching himself forward without thought.
Hanataki was now a nexus of swirling purple energy. The source was endless, tied to the earth itself, impossible to fully drain. But what he was taking… it was colossal. It wouldn't be absorbed in an instant.
From within the violet maelstrom, a clone emerged.
It appeared in mid-air, fist already driving into Naruto's gut.
WHAM!
Naruto cratered the stone floor, dust billowing.
"Naruto!" Minato pulled him up, his eyes glacial as they fixed on the clone hovering above.
"All of you. At once," the clone said, golden light coalescing in its hand. "Don't waste my time."
"Arrogant fool!" Chōza bellowed.
"Multi-Size Technique!"
Dust exploded. A gargantuan, fleshy sphere shot from the cloud, reaching the clone in a blink. Flesh and bone would be pulped against that mass.
It didn't happen.
The clone's hand flickered. The colossal sphere that should have crushed it… vanished. Reappeared. Right in front of Minato and Naruto.
Minato's eyes widened a fraction. Then he moved. In a flash of yellow, he and Naruto were gone, reappearing yards away.
BOOOOM!
The meatball smashed into the wall. The entire chamber shook.
A titanic fist, faster than sound, hammered toward the clone. The clone didn't flinch.
The fist didn't touch a single thread of its robe. Instead, Shibi Aburame was sent flying, blood spraying from his mouth.
"He can redirect attacks!" Minato called out.
Chōza panted, glaring. Shibi wiped his mouth, leaning heavily on his comrade.
The clone looked down, amusement plain in its eyes.
And the original Hanataki kept drinking in the endless power.
"Xiao Qing! Go!" Naruto shoved the small dragon's head.
Xiao Qing, coiled around a pillar, pretended to be deaf. Master fighting himself is one thing. I'm not getting between them!
Naruto fumed. "Useless!" Did Sister Heshu know her summon was this cowardly?
A yellow flash. Minato appeared behind the original Hanataki, kunai aimed for the neck.
Hanataki's hand shot back, aiming to break the wrist. It closed on empty air.
Minato was already in front of him, kunai thrusting forward—only to be stopped cold by a shimmering golden barrier.
Minato's eyes hardened. He pushed. Nothing.
As golden light lanced from Hanataki's hand toward him, he vanished again.
Clone Hanataki: "…"
The Flying Thunder God was such a pain!
Wasn't the original done yet?
He was sick of this fight!
Seeing Minato reappear beside Naruto, the clone took a deep breath.
Fine. End it all at once.
System: "Is it possible the original isn't actually trying to kill them?"
Clone Hanataki (mentally screaming): "THEN LET HIM FIGHT!"
The System wisely shut up.
Minato noticed it first. Golden barriers shot up around them—north, south, east, west—forming a perfect, inescapable cage.
"Don't worry, Naruto." Minato's hand was steady on the boy's shoulder. Naruto's frantic energy eased slightly.
Light flashed in Minato's eyes. He flicked his wrist. A Flying Thunder God kunai appeared.
The seal glowed. Nothing happened.
They didn't move.
"Nani?!" Naruto stared at his hands and feet. The golden light still pulsed around them.
Minato's surprise was brief, replaced by sharp understanding. "A space-locking jutsu," he said, voice grave. They were trapped. Truly trapped.
"No way!" Naruto gritted his teeth, fire returning to his eyes. "I'll break it!"
Minato looked at him, really looked. This boy… he always had that unyielding resolve. His own eyes softened, then grew firm. "You're right." He stared toward the clone. "There's nothing in this world that can't be broken. Except for bonds."
He turned to Naruto, his gaze holding a depth of emotion the boy couldn't fully grasp.
The Rasengan in Naruto's hand… changed.
He felt a pull.
His eyes met Minato's.
Minato smiled, a warmth there Naruto had never seen before. Chakra swirled in his own palm.
Like calls to like.
The two spheres of chakra drifted, drawn together, merging, swelling. In their shared gaze, a warm current flowed.
"I can use the Rasengan too," Minato said softly.
Naruto's lips curved up, just a little.
The Rasengan grew. And grew.
"Twin Rasengan!"
Light—blinding, pure—filled the underground palace.
Cracks spider-webbed across the golden cage.
BOOM!
The explosion faded. The spot was empty.
Behind Hanataki, two figures materialized without a sound.
Hanataki: "…"
Father-Son Rasengan. Of course.
The power of familial bonds. Always so dramatic.
A golden net descended from above, snaring Minato and Naruto before they could move.
The hope that had sparked in Chōza and Shibi's eyes died. If even the Yellow Flash was outmatched… who could win?
"Xiao Qing!" Naruto shouted, struggling. "Now! Do something! Xiao Qing!"
Minato and Naruto stood back-to-back. Naruto's eyes darted, searching for the little dragon.
"It… seems to have left," Minato said gently, having noted the creature's silent disappearance earlier.
"NANI?!" Naruto's eyes went wide. "That coward!"
He'd make sure Sister Heshu gave it a good scolding when they got back to Konoha…
If they got back.
The light in his eyes dimmed, just a little.
"Is Xiao Qing your summon?" Minato asked. He wanted to know. The time was slipping away too fast. He wanted to know about this boy he would never get to raise.
"No," Naruto mumbled. "He's Sister Heshu's summon."
Heshu. That name again.
"Wait!" Naruto jolted, the net constricting and forcing him back into a crouch. But the defeat was gone, replaced by sudden, blazing hope. "Sister Heshu will come! She'll save us!"
Xiao Qing must have gone for help!
Minato pressed. "Who is Heshu?"
"Sister Heshu is the Hokage!" Naruto declared, pride swelling his voice. "She's the strongest! The best in the whole world!"
The words carried a weight of implications. Minato buried his shock, a bittersweet smile touching his lips. "She might not make it in time." They were caught. Konoha was far from Rōran.
"She will! She'll come!" Naruto's faith was absolute, stubborn, a bedrock of trust. This wasn't just village admiration for a Hokage. This was personal.
"Waiting for Heshu to save you?"
The clone's voice was right in front of them now.
"Impossible."
Golden light erupted from its palm.
Too fast. Even for Minato.
"NARUTO!" Minato's world froze. His blood turned to ice.
"NARUTO!" A deeper, rougher voice echoed in the chamber—the Nine-Tails, laced with urgency.
"Kurama…" Naruto whispered.
The golden point of death filled his vision.
"Naruto."
The voice was calm. Steady.
Familiar. Warm.
Why… were his eyes stinging?
"Sister… Heshu…"
The sense of safety enveloped him completely.
The clone recoiled instantly, putting distance between them.
A flash of purple silk entered Minato's view first. Silver hair, long and flowing. An elegant purple robe. A face of refined, almost ethereal beauty—young, yet carrying an ageless air. Minato searched his memory. He'd never seen this person before.
"Naruto. Are you hurt?" Heshu's zanpakutō, Shinsō, had already pierced the golden net. His eyes scanned the boy.
"Sister Heshu! I'm okay!" Naruto's grin was back, brilliant as the sun.
Heshu nodded, satisfied.
He felt a gaze upon him. He looked over. It was the young Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Heshu recognized him but said nothing, offering only a slight, polite nod.
Minato blinked, surprised by the subdued reaction.
"Sister Heshu, how did you get here?" Naruto's eyes were sparkling with stars again, full of worship. If he came through the Ryūmyaku… how did she?
Heshu ruffled Naruto's hair. "Not now." Xiao Qing was his summon. With Hanataki absorbing the Ryūmyaku's power, he could use that connection and the dragon as an anchor to teleport. No time to explain.
He turned his gaze to the clone. It was icy. "So you set your sights on the Dragon Vein?"
The clone smirked. "Limitless chakra. Who wouldn't? You Konoha fools, sealing it away… what a waste."
As it spoke, it edged subtly closer to the original, still bathed in fading violet light.
"He's almost finished," Minato warned. The light around the original Hanataki was thinning. A flash of purple gleamed in his eyes.
Heshu moved. One moment he was there, the next he stood between the clone and the original.
Shinsō left its sheath.
A silver streak aimed straight for the original Hanataki's heart.
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