Mukade realized what he was trying to do and roared, controlling the giant puppet to intercept him. But Uchiha Makoto was too fast, and with the crow puppets holding the enemy back at any cost, he forced his way through the defenses and charged into the tower's top floor!
It was a vast, circular chamber. At its center stood a constantly rotating pillar of light that radiated terrifying purple energy—the Ryūmyaku Core!
The raging energy was almost tangible, blasting so fiercely that he could barely keep his eyes open.
Without hesitation, Uchiha Makoto aimed the sealing disk in his hand at the Ryūmyaku Core and poured chakra into it, following the activation method that had just flooded his mind, perfected through "manifestation"!
Hummm-!
The runes on the sealing disk lit up one after another, and the black crystal at its center unleashed a powerful suction!
The immense, seemingly inexhaustible energy of the Dragon Vein surged madly into the tiny disk like countless rivers flowing into the sea!
The disk trembled slightly. As energy poured into it, the rough marks on its surface seemed to be reforged, becoming smooth and finely textured.
Outside, deprived of the Dragon Vein's energy, the giant puppet instantly froze. The purple light in its eyes rapidly dimmed, leaving it a genuine heap of scrap metal. The pressure on Kakashi and Harada Yuichi, who had been fighting desperately, dropped sharply.
"Did it work?!" Princess Sara looked toward the tower in delighted surprise.
Naruto also breathed a sigh of relief. But then he saw a figure that made his hair stand on end silently appear at the edge of the tower's top floor.
Orochimaru.
No one knew when he had appeared there. His pale, long hair whipped through the raging currents of energy, while his golden, slit-pupiled eyes