---Third POV---
Watching helplessly as his puppet army was wiped out like trash, Mukade had no choice but to follow Sasori's plan.
He stretched out his hand and shot a stream of chakra at one of the puppets. Upon receiving the command, the puppet collapsed to the ground. Its parts shifted and rotated, and it astonishingly transformed into a sleek, metallic, hovering convertible sports car!
"This…?" Ryouma realized he had spoken too soon earlier, who said this puppet technique was crude? This was actually incredible.
At that moment, Mukade was still unaware that the transport device he had casually cobbled together had actually earned the approval of Ryouma, who normally didn't think much of puppet techniques.
With surprising agility for someone slightly overweight, he leapt into the driver's seat of the floating sports car. Two deep blue chakra thrusters erupted from the back, propelling him swiftly toward the Ryūmyaku.
"Do you even know how to drive that thing?"
Ryouma pulled a Flying Thunder God kunai from his tool pouch and hurled it forcefully. Then, forming a hand seal with one hand, chakra surged, instantly multiplying the kunai into thousands, speeding like floating turrets in pursuit of Mukade.
Sensing the oppressive force behind him, Mukade immediately activated his second stage transformation, turning into a towering puppet giant over tens of meters tall, with a massive tail.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The wind-enhanced Flying Thunder God kunai rained down nonstop, bombarding Mukade's puppet body and leaving countless pockmarks and craters. But such attacks weren't fatal to him. He had modified his body to connect wirelessly to the Ryūmyaku. As long as his core wasn't completely destroyed, he was essentially immortal.
Energy surged through his puppet body, instantly repairing all the damage.
"You can't kill me! Hahahaha!"
He shouted defiantly, swinging his massive tail to block the remaining kunai, and then fled madly in the direction of the Ryūmyaku.
That place… as long as he could reach that place…
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RUMBLE!
Just as Kakashi had led the remaining citizens of Rōran to the surface, a deafening roar exploded behind them. They turned around to see the once-flat ground split open and shatter. A monstrous puppet burst forth as if breaking through a seal. Its many legs allowed it to move across the uneven ruins with ease, charging straight at his group.
A gust of wind surged forward, kicked up by the creature's movement.
"What is that thing, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto blurted out instinctively.
Kakashi drew his short blade from behind and glanced at Naruto.
"Probably something made by that minister. Seems like we're not its target, we just happen to be in its path. Otherwise, from this range, it would've already attacked us."
"Mukade made that?"
Naruto couldn't recall Mukade having such tricks. Seems like the guy hadn't been slacking during the six years he arrived early.
"So ugly." Rin frowned as she commented. She didn't have a bias against insect appearances, but this chimera-like form was just too much for her to accept.
She had grown up with Ryouma, and under his influence, she deeply believed in his motto: If a boss fails the looks test, they won't survive more than two episodes.
As the puppet monster drew closer, Naruto began rapidly rubbing his palms together, gathering a sharp wind chakra in his hand.
"Watch me smash it with my Rasenshuriken!"
"Rasenshuriken?" Kakashi looked over, surprised. "You actually learned that technique?"
"Yup, but I haven't mastered it yet. I can't throw it like Ryouma-nii can."
"That's too dangerous then. Better let me slice it open with my blade."
"Alright, both of you, step aside." Obito wiped his nose coolly with his thumb, his eyes shifting into Mangekyō form. "Watch me blast it away with Kamui."
"With something that big, your eye won't be able to handle it."
Upon hearing that voice, Kakashi, Naruto, and Obito quickly turned around to look behind them.
"Ryouma!"
Naruto was about to warn Ryouma that Mukade was charging at them, but Ryouma waved him off and said first, "I know what you want to say, but someone's already on it."
In the distance, as Mukade sped forward, he suddenly noticed a small black dot in the sky rapidly closing in.
Rin descended like a heavenly soldier, aiming a full-powered punch straight at the puppet creature.
Hm? Not Ryouma.
A simple punch like that trying to stop him? Ridiculous. Mukade casually swung a fist at the seemingly overconfident girl approaching him.
The puppet's iron fist, wrapped in a fierce gale, clashed directly with Rin's fist.
BOOM!
A violent shockwave of dust and air erupted. But instead of overwhelming Rin, his massive iron fist shattered inch by inch under the impact.
The towering puppet, dozens of meters tall, was blasted backwards by what seemed to be just a simple but forceful punch, crashing into the outer wall of a tall tower behind it with a loud bang.
Clap clap clap~
At this ill-timed moment, the sound of clapping rang out. Ryouma stood there clapping proudly as he looked at Kakashi and the others.
"Well? Rin is amazing, isn't she?"
Kakashi and Obito both widened their eyes in astonishment and nodded unconsciously. Ever since they went to the Kumo battlefield, they hadn't been on a mission with Rin. They knew she had trained under Tsunade, but this kind of strength was almost absurd.
After sending Mukade flying, Rin gently pushed off with her legs, leaping lightly a few times to land back at Ryouma's side.
"That was a beautiful punch," Ryouma praised her immediately.
"Eh? Really? Was it a bit too violent?"
The situation had been urgent just now, and Rin hadn't noticed Ryouma arriving. If she had, she wouldn't have rushed out like that.
Zzzzzzz!
The deep blue energy of the Ryūmyaku once again flowed through Mukade's puppet body, not only repairing the damage but even increasing its size.
"This guy regenerates so fast! What do we do now?"
Naruto and Obito, as if sharing a single mind, spoke in unison.
Kakashi glanced at the two of them in confusion. Ever since meeting Naruto, he'd noticed that besides their appearances, Naruto and Obito were practically like brothers, in personality, behavior, and even their reactions.
Ryouma squinted his eyes, pretending to think for a moment, then laid out the plan he had already prepared.
"The puppet form Mukade's using has a core of its own. In a moment, I'll immobilize him and force the core out. When that happens, you guys destroy it."
"Got it! Leave it to me!" Naruto answered confidently with his fists clenched.
Shukaku glanced at Ryouma suspiciously. In its opinion, its partner clearly could've dealt with the puppet anytime, why go through all this trouble?
Sensing Shukaku's gaze, Ryouma reached out and patted its head, smiling without saying a word.
He certainly could easily resolve everything on his own. With his combination of Rikugan, and Breath of All Things alone, he could perceive Mukade's vital essence and sever the fundamental connections sustaining his puppet body with just two precise strikes. But if he did that, there would be no point in taking Kakashi and the others on a mission.
Participation was important. He didn't want to grow old one day, reminiscing with friends about the past, only to remember scenes where he fought alone and enjoyed all the glory by himself, that would be meaningless.
Seeing that Kakashi and the others were fully ready, he gave the command, "Alright, let's begin!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Kakashi and the others swiftly moved toward Mukade's location.
Ryouma remained in place, quickly forming hand seals before slamming his palm onto the ground.
A large amount of chakra, long prepared in advance, was infused into the ground. It formed countless grains of yellow sand that, under his control, flowed together to form four massive hands. They firmly restrained the puppet monster that Mukade had become.
With the first control strike hitting its mark, Shukaku used Sand Buckshot to follow up with damage.
As the chakra's nature shifted, thousands of sand bullets suddenly condensed mid-air and rained down on Mukade in a frenzied barrage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Under the powerful impacts, Mukade's true body, hidden in the puppet's left chest, was inevitably exposed. He realized that his weakness had been revealed, but with sand stuffed throughout his puppet body, he couldn't move at all.
"Don't think I'll go down that easily!"
Ryūmyaku's chakra flared up again as Mukade focused all of it on repairing the armor over his core.
Clack clack clack!
In less than a second, the puppet's exposed core was once again sealed beneath armor.
"I'll handle this!" Obito shouted, forming hand seals and puffing up his chest. A second later, a fierce orange-red fire dragon shot from his mouth.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Under the intense scorching heat, the hastily and crudely repaired armor melted instantly on contact.
"Crap! Save me! Sasori!" Sensing death approaching, Mukade began to babble nonsense.
He knew full well that his relationship with Sasori was purely one of mutual use. Neither had ever seen the other as a true companion, so there was no chance Sasori would come save him.
"Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!" Naruto shouted as he formed a massive blue orb. Alongside Kakashi's Lightning Cutter and Rin's punch, they simultaneously struck Mukade's core at close range.
BOOM!
A tremendous explosion erupted. Half of Mukade's puppet body, along with the core, was blown apart under the combined assault.
As the group landed on the ground and waited a few seconds, they saw that the puppet no longer attempted any auto-repair and finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least shouting the names of those techniques hadn't been for nothing.
Seeing they had successfully destroyed Mukade's core, Ryouma quickly formed hand seals again, gathering the scattered sand from the explosion and enclosing the remaining puppet body into a pyramid. Black sealing patterns spread from the surface of the sand, interlocking tightly in the end.
He had already achieved his goal of creating good memories, so there was no need to give Mukade another chance.
"We did it!" Naruto waved as he ran up to Ryouma.
"Mm, nice work." Ryouma smiled and praised him.
"Hehe." Naruto turned and shouted loudly to the Rōran citizens who had escaped, "We've defeated Mukade, ah, wait…"
He suddenly remembered that Mukade had changed his name after coming here, so he paused and corrected himself.
"We've defeated Anrokuzan! From now on, you can all live in peace with your families!"
His voice was loud, and the civilians who had been kneeling and praying upon seeing the giant puppet monster all heard him clearly.
But their faces showed little joy.
"What's going on? Why do you all still look like that?" Obito walked over and patted Shiho on the shoulder, asking.
Shiho stood up, his head lowered, and timidly said, "Anrokuzan may be defeated, but the Queen is still in power… and Anrokuzan was acting under her orders…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone present understood what he meant.
Rin softly said, "So Anrokuzan and the Queen are in cahoots… She's the one behind all of this?"
"Damn it." Naruto had never met this Queen before, but he could already imagine what kind of evil monarch she must be.
Ryouma saw their guesses going further and further off track and was about to correct them, when a tremor in the ground cut him off.
Whoosh, whoosh...
A violent gale, filled with dust and smoke, surged outward from the center of Rōran, turning the whole scene into something straight out of an apocalypse.
"Look over there." Kakashi pointed toward a flickering light inside the sandstorm.
Everyone looked in that direction and saw the flickering light grow brighter and brighter, until, in the next second, a deep blue torrent of light shot straight into the sky. The overwhelming energy radiating from it wove together, merging into a series of dazzling halos that gracefully circled the massive pillar of light stretching from earth to sky.
"This must be our punishment for escaping from the factory!"
"I don't want to die! The Konoha ninja were the ones who brought me out, ahhh!"
"Let death come, then. Living's pointless anyway… haha… hahaha…"
The Rōran citizens began to mutter madly, panic and despair warping their words.
Hearing this, Kakashi reached down and shook Shiho, who had once again dropped to his knees to pray the moment the light appeared.
"Hey, do you know what that thing is?"
Startled by Kakashi's sudden touch, he fell straight onto his butt, but his face remained frozen in terror. He didn't respond at all.
Out of options, Obito grabbed him by the shoulders and shouted the question again, adding a bit of threat this time. "If you don't want to die right now, then hurry up and tell us, what's that light pillar all about!?"
"I don't want to die, I'll tell you now!" Shiho seemed like a switch had been flipped. He immediately screamed in panic.
At this point, Obito felt like he was finally starting to understand Shiho's "user manual." With a personality like his, it was no wonder people kept pushing him around.
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40+ advance chapters!
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