The Rising Storm (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

At that moment, countless thoughts surged through Gengetsu's mind, followed by a sudden sense of relief, as though he had cast off a heavy set of shackles.

I'm a transmigrator. How can I live like some native?

A smile appeared beneath his mask. Looking at Naruto standing alone in the distance, Gengetsu poked Kakashi beside him with a finger, then pointed at Naruto.

Kakashi looked puzzled. "Gengetsu, our mission is to protect the Queen of Roran. Finding her is more important!"

"Trust me. If we follow him, we'll have good luck!"

Gengetsu smiled and set off after him.

"Hey, Gengetsu?"

Kakashi reached out but failed to stop him, so he could only follow while sighing helplessly. "This guy really is..."

Gengetsu and Kakashi were like two peeping toms, cautiously trailing behind Naruto as they watched him catch Sara after she fell from the tower.

Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!

The four slaps rang out sharp and clear. Seeing the two palm prints on Naruto's face, Gengetsu could not help but laugh. "Tsk, tsk, what romantic luck..."

Cold sweat trickled down Kakashi's face. "This guy's twisted sense of humor really is..."

"Hey, our mission is to protect the Queen of Roran!"

Kakashi reminded him quietly.

"Kakashi, you're way too boring!"

Without turning around, Gengetsu pointed at Sara. "There, that's her!"

"Her?"

Kakashi froze, then listened closely. Sure enough, he vaguely heard Sara introducing herself.

"How did you know?"

Kakashi asked doubtfully.

"Secret!"

Gengetsu chuckled, then made a hand signal and followed Minato and the others, who had already appeared.

Hidden in the shadows, Gengetsu listened to the conversation in the corridor, his gaze sharpening. Looks like Brother Minato did become the Fourth Hokage in the future. But if I change Sister Kushina's and Brother Minato's fates someday, then how do I explain everything happening today?

Or does that mean I can't change the future, no matter what I do?

This further confirmation of the future made his expression grave. However, the conversation in the corridor ended quickly, leaving him no time to think further. He hurriedly followed after them with Kakashi.

A short while later, Naruto rescued Sara from the hands of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran's civilians once again and reached the side of the parade procession. As an observer, Gengetsu recalled even more details. Looking at the enormous procession outside, he then raised his gaze toward the sky. I remember now. Puppet Master Hyakuzu, the man who disguised himself as Anrokuzan, enslaved the people of the Country of Roran, and used the Dragon Vein's power to manufacture puppet weapons. He replaced all the civilians with puppets outright. What a madman!

Gengetsu poked Kakashi and pointed at the inconspicuous pipes in the air. "Kakashi, those pipes should be how Hyakuzu controls the puppet weapons. Following them should lead us to the energy transfer point!"

"Hm?"

Kakashi looked up at the pipes. At that moment, Naruto had already discovered that the people marching outside were all puppets. He used his Chakra Blade to sever the chakra threads of three puppets, then used the puppets to trace the chakra-thread network in the sky in reverse. The chakra threads, which had originally been invisible to the naked eye, immediately emerged clearly.

"This is insane!"

Kakashi looked shocked. "But this chakra is far too astonishing. It covers the entire city!"

Just wait. You'll see something even more astonishing!

Gengetsu laughed inwardly. He glanced at Naruto and the others as they began to leave, then motioned for Kakashi to go on ahead. They stealthily followed the pipes. Without ordinary people slowing them down, the two quickly reached the underground puppet weapon factory before Naruto's group, where they also found the distinctive Dragon Vein Seal Site that Gengetsu remembered.

"Kakashi, place these Exploding Tags around the factory. I'll cut off the factory's energy supply first. We can't let Hyakuzu keep producing puppet weapons!"

Gengetsu took out a stack of Exploding Tags and handed them to Kakashi.

Kakashi looked at the puppet weapons patrolling below, said, "Be careful," and immediately vanished.

"Wind, begin blowing from here!"

Muttering under his breath, Gengetsu sprang up, weaving past the puppet weapons and arriving at the Dragon Vein Seal Site. The seal here was not truly the place where the Dragon Vein was sealed, but merely an energy transfer node for the Dragon Vein. In the original story, Sara sealed this place and cut off the Dragon Vein Energy supply, causing the factory to stop operating.

Half-kneeling before the white hemisphere split into two halves, Gengetsu took a deep breath and rapidly formed hand seals. After completing a series of seals, he pressed both hands against it. "Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, seal!"

Tadpole-like black symbols spread from his palms, covering the entire white hemisphere in the blink of an eye. They then seeped deep into the core of the Dragon Vein Energy transfer point and came into contact with the Dragon Vein Energy flowing within. Like eight chains, they pierced into it and began crazily absorbing the Dragon Vein Energy.

Brilliant purple light reflected off Gengetsu's face. An endless stream of Dragon Vein Energy poured into his body through his hands, then flooded into the area around his navel, the core of the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style.

The Eight Trigrams Sealing Style was a more powerful Sealing Technique Minato had developed based on the Four Symbols Sealing. Its strength was not only reflected in its formidable sealing power, but also in its greater precision and flexibility.

Moreover, the energy required for its seal did not come from the caster, but from the target. The caster merely served as a guide. This was also why it could seal the Nine-Tails' Yang half so completely that it could not move.

Enormous amounts of Dragon Vein Energy poured out. The originally brilliant purple light gradually changed, deepening into dark purple before beginning to shift toward a dark red.

"Not good!"

Gengetsu suddenly sensed that something was wrong. The Dragon Vein Energy was not only massive in quantity, but it was also not ordinary chakra. His hands had already begun to mutate—his nails turned metallic, like sharp blades, and he could even feel the bones in his fingers gradually petrifying.

"So the Dragon Vein Energy really is a type of Natural Energy!"

Gengetsu was both horrified and somewhat delighted. He quickly withdrew his hands and struggled to press them together. "Seal!"

The symbols contracted from his hands toward his abdomen, taking the Dragon Vein Energy that had invaded his hands with them. Gengetsu's mutated hands gradually returned to normal.

However, Gengetsu's expression changed again. He did not relax, instead forming hand seals once more before pressing one hand against his abdomen. "Five Elements Sealing, seal!"

Another layer of sealing completely stabilized the Dragon Vein Energy and cut off its connection to the outside world.

"Hey, who are you?"

Naruto's voice suddenly came from behind him.

Gengetsu let out a long breath, removed his mask, and turned around. "Queen Sara, Uzumaki Naruto, I'm Gengetsu, a Konoha ninja!"

"Huh, just a kid?"

Naruto stared blankly at Gengetsu, never expecting him to be a kid even younger than himself.

Not cute at all. I'm definitely going to smack your butt hard someday!

Gengetsu's face twitched. He put his mask back on and gave a light snort. "Come to think of it, you should be calling me senior at the very least. But this isn't the time for that. I tried sealing the energy transfer point here, but it's difficult. Do you have a way?"

"I can do it!"

Sara immediately said.

"Then hurry. I just cut off the energy flow and stopped the factory from running. Mukade hiding in the shadows has probably noticed by now!"

Gengetsu stepped aside.

"Yes!"

Sara hurried forward, knelt on both knees, and clasped her hands together. "In the name of the queen, I command you: sever the power of the Dragon Vein and suppress its strength!"

"By law, swiftly obey!"

Purple light flared up again as Sara pressed her hands down.

Gengetsu couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye. That 'by law, swiftly obey' came out of nowhere. The genre just changed way too fast—I wasn't ready for that!

"Why does this Sage Art seem like it came from my old homeland in China? Could there have been a transmigrator here before me?"

Gengetsu grumbled inwardly. Then he watched as the Dragon Vein seal closed like an eye, and the puppet weapons factory, which had started operating again, came to a halt once more.

"That should take care of it. The Dragon Vein flow used by the factory has been completely cut off!"

Sara said as she looked at Naruto approaching.

"Great! Then while we have the chance, let's—"

"Watch out!"

Gengetsu shouted. In a flash, he moved to shield Sara's side. Naruto's expression changed as he looked up.

"Your Majesty the Queen, what are you doing here?"

Anrokuzan—or rather, Mukade—made his official appearance, looking down at the three of them.