Spell Machine Gun

So bold?

Uchiha Aoba thought he had misheard.

Honestly, so many years had passed that, aside from the meeting between father and son Namikaze Minato and Naruto Uzumaki, he had long since forgotten every other detail regarding the plot of the Lost Tower.

Therefore, he was now quite curious about how the other party would prevent Mukade from using the Dragon Vein to mass-produce puppets.

He watched as Sara's gaze scanned the interior of the tower. Once she spotted something, her eyes lit up, and she pointed downward. "Konoha ninjas, please, take me to the seal down there."

Namikaze Minato followed the direction of Sara's finger and observed, "It looks a bit like a sealing formation."

"Yes, as long as I reach that position, I can cut off the power of the Dragon Vein."

Sara explained urgently, "So please, hurry."

"I understand." Namikaze Minato nodded, then turned to Uchiha Aoba and ordered, "Aoba, I'll leave it to you. Take Her Majesty to cut off the Dragon Vein, and be careful not to be discovered by the patrolling puppets."

"Understood. Your Majesty, you'd better hold on tight."

As he spoke, Uchiha Aoba scooped Sara up by the waist and reached the base of the tower in just a few leaps.

Then, under the observation of his Sharingan, he carefully avoided the puppets and quickly arrived beside the seal.

As soon as he set Sara down, he heard her say, "Please step back a little; I am about to activate the formation."

Uchiha Aoba nodded and retreated a few paces, then looked up at Namikaze Minato and the others still above, signaling them to provide immediate support if anything went wrong.

Sara walked slowly to the center of the formation, crouched down in front of a protruding device, pressed her palms together in a prayer-like gesture, and chanted, "In the name of the Queen, I command you!"

"You, sever the torrent of the Dragon Vein and suppress your power! Obey this decree!"

???

Uchiha Aoba felt that when he put up a question mark, it wasn't because he had a problem, but because she did.

Since when did the ninja world have such incantations for seals?

However, what happened next left him no time to dwell on such trivial matters.

As Sara's command was issued, a purple ring of light appeared in her hands. As the ring merged into the protruding device below, the entire seal glowed purple before fading into the ground.

At almost the same moment, the Dragon Vein energy that had been circulating through the tower came to a direct halt.

"That should do it. I have successfully cut off the Dragon Vein."

Sara stood up and said happily.

Uchiha Aoba really wanted to give her a thumbs-up, but the appearance of the puppet army made his eyes light up as he assumed a combat stance—the opportunity to increase his fusion rate had arrived once again.

Likewise, Namikaze Minato and the others above also prepared for battle.

Just as they were about to move.

A voice drifted down from the top of the tower.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing in a place like this?"

Sara looked up, and upon seeing the newcomer, she immediately gritted her teeth and shouted, "Anrokuzan!"

"Oh? So this guy is Mukade?"

The tomoe in Uchiha Aoba's Sharingan spun as he considered taking down the leader first.

He was very curious to see how much fusion rate this primary mission target was worth.

At this moment, Sara was still trying to exercise her royal authority: "Anrokuzan, I order you to stop the development of puppet weapons immediately and release the subjects you have enslaved."

"Ah, so you already know that much."

Mukade's expression turned grim as he looked down at the two from above: "Then I cannot let you continue to live."

"And this one beside you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the moment Mukade locked eyes with Uchiha Aoba.

"Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique!"

A flash of red light flickered in Uchiha Aoba's pupils, and the genjutsu was activated.

Mukade felt his entire body stiffen, as if two massive iron spikes had pinned him in place, rendering him unable to move.

"Tch, daring to act tough in front of me?"

"And you even dared to lock eyes with me!?"

Uchiha Aoba mocked as he leaped into the air, his long blade already unsheathed, slashing directly toward Mukade's head.

At the same time.

Namikaze Minato also used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Mukade, driving his custom kunai straight into the target's heart.

Yet, facing such a pincer attack.

Mukade's expression remained incredibly calm; even as the kunai struck his body, he remained indifferent.

"This feeling... something is wrong!"

Namikaze Minato frowned; the feedback from the kunai in his hand told him that he hadn't struck flesh.

Just as Uchiha Aoba sliced off Mukade's head a second too late.

"A puppet substitute, of all things."

"Hahaha!"

The severed head of Mukade on the ground laughed mockingly: "Namikaze Minato, the world-renowned Yellow Flash, and a brat from the Uchiha Clan. Did you really think I didn't know you were in Rōran?"

"I've been prepared for you. My puppet army will be sure to entertain you properly."

Bang!

Uchiha Aoba kicked Mukade's puppet head off the high platform.

"Eat dirt."

He looked down at the puppets beginning to move and closing in on Sara.

Choza Akimichi and Naruto Uzumaki immediately appeared to guard her front and back.

Uchiha Aoba and Namikaze Minato exchanged a glance and began to move, leaping across the area. The puppets controlled by chakra threads lost control one after another, collapsing in heaps across the floor.

"It seems ordinary puppets are of no use against you."

Hidden in the shadows, Mukade sensed everything: "In that case, let me show you my true power. Don't be too frightened!"

"Hm?"

Uchiha Aoba, who was having a blast, noticed the puppets that had been swarming him suddenly disperse.

The next second.

All the puppets reassembled, transforming into a giant puppet about twenty meters tall.

"Damn it! Picking on me because I haven't awakened my Mangekyō yet."

Uchiha Aoba cursed under his breath and decisively retreated.

In contrast.

Namikaze Minato advanced instead of retreating, throwing a special kunai from his hand while rapidly forming hand seals.

"Ninja Art! Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."

The kunai in mid-air multiplied rapidly, instantly shrouding the entire giant puppet.

A brief moment of silence.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A series of explosions rang out inside the tower. The kunai struck the giant puppet relentlessly, and when the jutsu ended, the puppet had been turned into a giant sieve.

This scene nearly made Uchiha Aoba's eyes pop out of his head.

You're telling me this is the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique?

Did it mutate?

It wasn't just Uchiha Aoba who was shocked; Mukade, hiding in the shadows, was also taken aback by Namikaze Minato's display.

However, Mukade's methods went far beyond this.

Once he regained his composure, he looked at the downed giant puppet and the puppet army that had been mostly wiped out.

Mukade roared, ready to unleash his most formidable skill.

With a tearing sound, his body transformed directly into a Puppet Centipede.

He chose to stop being human.