Two days later... the Land of Wind.
The barren Gobi was scorching and deathly still. The vast desert showed not a trace of life, and even the once-glorious Ancient Kingdom of Roran had become ruins.
Six afterimages suddenly tore through the windblown sand!
Miki Yūya, Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, Sai, and Konohamaru had just arrived from the Land of Demons.
With no time to rest, they headed straight for the Land of Wind's border.
The closer they drew to the ancient site, the heavier the swirling sand became.
When they broke through the final veil of sand and saw what lay ahead, Sai's heart sank.
The once-grand and solemn Rōran Ruins still held their ruined towers, crumbling walls, and ancient altar, but all traces of their civilization's former splendor were gone.
Mechanical puppets crowded the entire site. Their ocher bodies stood atop the rubble, gears clacking incessantly.
"Mukade has taken complete control of the ruins. There are far more puppets than our intelligence indicated."
Sai's tone was grave. There were too many puppets. This could be troublesome.
"He's set up a death formation specifically to slow us down. We need to hurry."
"Then we'll smash straight through!"
Naruto roared, crimson chakra erupting around him.
Nine-Tails chakra instantly cloaked his entire body as his three-tails form burst into shape, unleashing the scorching, savage pressure of a tailed beast.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Nearly a hundred shadow clones appeared on the battlefield. Numbers? Numbers meant nothing against them.
Before the shadow clones empowered by tailed beast chakra, the sturdy Sunagakure puppets shattered at a touch and crumbled on contact. Crushing everything in their path, Naruto's clones tore open a bloody route forward. Nothing could stop them.
Sakura and Hinata followed the advancing group. Their taijutsu was also exceptionally powerful, clean, and efficient as they