An Old Father's Pride

Purple light flashed from Sara's hand. Then the magic array on the ground lit up, rapidly contracting toward the center before finally vanishing.

The machines in the factory let out a screech like brakes, then all stopped operating. The conveyor belts came to a halt as well, and the Puppets throughout the factory—including those attacking Naruto and the others—collapsed into piles of parts.

After doing all that, Sara stood and said, "That should do it. I've severed the connection between the Dragon Vein and this place."

The people who had been operating the mechanisms finally stopped, collapsing to the ground and gasping for breath.

However, before they could celebrate for long, Chakra Threads suddenly appeared in midair, connecting to the fallen Puppets. The Puppets reassembled and rose to their feet once more.

Then Mukade's voice came from the platform above. "Your Majesty Sara, what are you doing here?"

Sara did not panic. Instead, she stared straight at him and shouted, "Anrokuzan—no, Mukade! In the name of the Queen, I order you to cease the development of Puppet Weapons and release the enslaved people! I will not allow the power of the Dragon Vein to be used for war!"

Mukade's voice turned mocking. "Oh? So you already know that much. Then I can't allow you to remain alive."

Minato stepped in front of Sara, holding a kunai horizontally. "Mukade, stop this. We won't allow you to continue any further!"

Naruto felt that line had absolutely no presence. Why not say, 'Mukade, stop this! The furniture store is full of Jackie Chan!'

Maybe that would actually scare him.

Sure enough, Mukade was not intimidated by Minato at all. "It seems Konoha's ninja have been telling the Queen unnecessary things."

Mukade waved a hand, and the Puppets surrounded them. "Your Majesty Sara, thank you for your contributions thus far. You took the place of your deceased Mother and worked tirelessly to fulfill my grand ambitions. Now, die just like your Mother did!"

"What did you say!?" Sara was stunned. She had always believed her Mother had died in an accident, but from what Mukade was saying, that did not seem to be the case.

"Just as you think. Your Mother was an intelligent Queen. She discovered my intentions long ago and tried to stop me, so I had no choice but to arrange for her accidental death and replace her with an obedient girl like you. Now that the Puppet Army is complete, I no longer need your power to control the Dragon Vein."

Tears streamed down Sara's face uncontrollably. She had trusted the murderer who killed her Mother all this time, and she had even harmed the people of Lou Lan.

Minato handed her a kunai and said, "This isn't the time to cry. Please take these people and leave as quickly as possible. Leave this place to us."

"Mm!" Sara nodded hard, wiped her face, and tried to stop crying. She still had things she needed to do. "Everyone, leave with me! Let's go somewhere safe!"

Hearing their exchange, Naruto casually created several dozen Shadow Clones. "As for escorting people to safety..."

The newly appeared Shadow Clones immediately picked up the second half. "We're pros at that!" n

The Shadow Clones escorted Sara and the laborers away, smashing every Puppet that blocked their path.

"Hey, Minato, is that how Shadow Clones are supposed to be used?" Choza remembered Shadow Clones being used for scouting, or perhaps one or two for luring enemies and assisting attacks. Who casually threw out several dozen and sent them straight into battle?

"I suppose they can be used like that... maybe?" Minato thought of Kushina's Chakra reserves. It seemed Multiple Shadow Clone could indeed be used that way.

"Rather than worrying about that, we should focus on dealing with the enemy." Shibi waved a hand, and a huge swarm of insects flew out, enveloping several Puppets.

These ordinary Puppets did not have much Combat Power to begin with, and the four quickly destroyed them all.

But Mukade was not worried in the slightest. "I told you, the Puppet Army is complete. And in Lou Lan, my power is limitless!"

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of Puppets rushed in through every entrance, charging straight at the four Konoha ninja.

At the same time, Mukade threw open his robe and transformed into a Puppet three meters long and two meters tall. It resembled a spider, except it had only six legs. The tips of its front two legs were sharp blades, and his once round, kindly face had become incredibly ugly.

Judging by looks alone, compared with this guy, Sasori's Puppets really were art.

Mukade bared his fangs and brandished his claws after transforming. "Look! This is my Ultimate Body! With the Dragon Vein, I possess the power to rule the Five Great Nations!"

Why was it always an Ultimate Body? Why was it always ruling the Five Great Nations? You villains really have no creativity at all...

Before Naruto and the others could make a move, Mukade's grandstanding was interrupted. Several of the Puppets that had just entered suddenly exploded with a rumble.

"What?" Mukade stared in shock at the shattered Puppets. "What's going on?"

A White Hair Kid ran in, swiftly weaving through the remaining Puppets and slapping several Exploding Tags onto them. Then he nimbly leaped to a high spot, raised two fingers, and said, "Explode!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! The remaining Puppets were all blasted to pieces.

Minato praised him. "Well done, Kakashi."

Naruto stared intently at the White Hair Kid standing on the wall—teenage Kakashi! He did not have the Sharingan yet! He was not even as tall as Naruto!

Cute. I want to squish him!

Kakashi shuddered. What was with that guy? He looked a lot like Minato-sensei, but why did Kakashi feel like he would get tricked if he got too close? Was it just an illusion?

"Damn it! Konoha ninja, die!" Mukade charged forward like a madman, wildly swinging his Blade Legs.

Then Choza used the Partial Multi-Size Technique and slapped him straight into the wall.

Choza said nothing afterward, but Naruto could read two words on his face: That's it?

Of course, it could not be that simple. Purple Chakra flowed into Mukade's body, rapidly healing his wounds. He flung away the rubble that had fallen from the wall, and his entire body doubled in size, becoming like a giant scorpion.

Mukade controlled his scorpion tail and smashed it down. The four scattered and leaped away, while dozens of kunai shot from his mouth, all of them blocked or evaded.

"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!" Naruto formed hand seals and spat out a high-pressure Water Pillar, cutting off the scorpion's tail and legs, but they quickly grew back.

"Powerful Water Style." Minato praised him, then said, "But perhaps he really is right. As long as the Dragon Vein exists, he won't die."

"I'll test that. Let's smash him apart a little more." Naruto called out to the Nine Tails in the Sealing Space, "Big Fox!"

"Take it!" The Nine Tails gathered Natural Energy far faster than Naruto and casually shoved a ball of it at him.

Naruto swiftly entered Sage Mode, raised one hand over his head, and formed a Rasenshuriken.

So he's adding nature transformation into the Rasengan? He can actually do it to this extent—and this Sage Mode seems even more perfect than Jiraiya-sensei's... Eighteen-year-old Minato unconsciously wore the smile of an Old Father.

"Sage Art: Light Ring Hurricane Blast Arrow!" Naruto deliberately shouted the name Minato had come up with during the Summit War.

Hm? I really like that name! Minato nodded and memorized it. As expected of my son!

Kakashi, who was watching from the outskirts, gave Naruto a Dead Fish Eye when he heard the shout. Could this guy be Minato-sensei's Younger Brother?