I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.
Mukade
Ryuu watched the crowd in silence, his Sharingan staring at the chakra threads connected to them. He'd missed it before, since he hadn't been paying them much mind, or using his Sharingan, but there was no mistaking it this time. He looked down just as Sara, who had run off after a puppet version of her had come out to greet the puppets, emerged from a doorway with Naruto, who had gone after her. Ryuu and Fu followed them, rising from the ground once they reached an enormous pipe where all of the smaller ones running through the city converged.
"Where've you been?" Naruto asked.
"Keeping an eye on things," Ryuu said, holding out Minato's kunai. "Here. Hold onto this in case you get into trouble."
Naruto stared at it before nodding and slipping it into his tool pouch. "We're going down here to check out where all the ley line's energy is being taken."
Ryuu nodded and lifted the grate for the others, which now included one young, plump boy whose father and brother had been taken by Mukade to make weapons, and one woman with a similar story. The two of them left once Sara promised to save their families, and the others all turned to the grate. Once everyone had dropped through, Ryuu followed. They made their way through an air vent for a ways before stopping at another grate, which Ryuu silently popped open by growing and expanding a root in the edge of it. He activated the Transparency Technique, another jutsu he hadn't used in a long time, and dropped into the room below, looking around through the thick mist and steam filling the room. When nothing jumped out to attack him, he nodded to the others and they dropped down with him, Naruto helping Sara down, though she wasn't very quiet about it. However, no one came running, so they moved to a low wall at the edge of the level they were on and looked down.
"What is this?" Sara asked as they watched the captive citizens turning a massive crank, several dozen of them all pushing on wooden spokes sticking out of the sides of it as they walked in a circle, puppets armed with jagged blades on the ends of their arms standing guard around them.
"Their feet and hands are shackled," Ryuu whispered. "When we get them out of here, we'll have to take those off first."
The other two ninja both nodded. Ryuu looked around the rest of the room. There were machines with small windows, all of which glowed with ley line chakra, as did the mist and steam filling the room, there were conveyor belts off to one side with puppet parts running along them, several citizens lined up along the sides of it to check them for defects, and more puppets guarding those citizens.
"Look, puppet soldiers," Naruto said, pointing at the conveyor belts.
"I just can't believe it!" Sara breathed. "Anrokuzan is really using my people to create weapons?"
"Yes," Ryuu said. "What will you do now?"
"What I have to do!" Sara said. "I'm going to stop him!"
After a few moments, Sara raised a hand, pointing down at a small square on the floor with four statues at the corners of it, Ryuu recognizing it as where the seal had been in the future, though it had a complete floor currently.
"I need you to get me down there," Sara said, looking to Naruto. "And quickly, Naruto, please! I can cut off power from the ley line there."
Naruto looked to Ryuu and Fu, who both turned invisible.
"Go," Ryuu said. "We'll deal with the puppets when they attack."
Naruto nodded, picking up Sara. "Alright. Just hang on tight."
He jumped, falling toward the floor with Sara as Ryuu and Fu followed using their wings. After a few moments, Sara knelt beside the small dome and said a quick incantation before a dome of violet energy appeared over the stone one. She lowered it onto it and waves of purple energy raced outward across the seal before the dome shrunk into the floor and closed like an eye, the seal shrinking out of existence. All around them, the ley line energy in the machines faded, the machines all shut down, and the exhaust pipes stopped belching fumes.
"There, it's all shut down," Sara said. "The energy from the ley line flowing into the factory has ceased completely."
"Way to go, Sara," Naruto said. "Okay, now's our chance."
Just then, chakra threads began to streak out of the pipes above them, quickly assembling puppet soldiers and picking up those that had been shut down with the rest of the factory. Ryuu drew a handful of shuriken, but waited.
"Your Majesty," Mukade's voice said from above, everyone turning to him. "This is quite a surprise. What are you doing here?"
He wore an expensive purple robe and cape and a tall purple hat, and he had grown a mustache and beard in the last six years that he'd been there. He stepped up to the edge of the catwalk he was on and smiled pleasantly down at her, only for his eyes to burn with arrogance, malice, and condescension.
"It's Anrokuzan!" Sara gasped.
"That's Anrokuzan?" Naruto asked, Mukade holding his right arm across his large belly and bowing.
"I stopped the flow of the ley line!" Sara said. "I will not allow its power to be used for warfare! As your queen, I order you to stop the production of these puppet soldiers and release all of these unfortunate citizens that you've captured and forced into labor!"
"I see," Mukade said "So you know that much about what I've been doing." He smirked wickedly. "Well if that's the case, Sara, then I cannot allow you to live. A puppet will be a suitable replacement for you. And besides, my puppet army is already complete. I no longer have a need for the ley line's power that you have cut off."
Puppet soldiers began to stomp toward Naruto and Sara from out of the steam.
"Go on, Sara," Naruto said. "Take everyone and get out of here."
"What about you?" Sara asked.
"I'm going to capture this guy," Naruto said. "Go on. Go!"
As Sara turned to run, Ryuu drew his Chakra Blade and pressed it into her hand, Sara taking it and slipping it into her sleeve fluidly, not missing a beat. Ryuu exhaled a Vacuum Blade onto his three Shuriken, which he was holding with Chakra Threads now to keep them in visible while spinning them, then sent them flying through the room, the Vacuum Blades around them slicing all of the Chakra Threads Mukade was using, dropping the puppets.
"What!?" Mukade snarled, just as the shuriken became visible from three separate locations as they spun through the air at him. He leapt out of the way, allowing them to slice through the wall behind him. "So, there's more than one of you!"
"You sure put on some weight Mukade!" Naruto said.
"Leave it to a Hidden Leaf Shinobi to fill the queen's head with noble nonsense," Mukade said, just as the Chakra Threads extended again, animating the puppets yet again. "It's been six years since I saw you all, hasn't it?"
"Not for me!" Naruto called back. "It was only yesterday! I don't know how you got so fat, but as long as you admit that you're Mukade, I'm not letting you get away!"
Mukade leaned forward, beginning to laugh. "Mukade, huh? I put that hoodlum's name behind me long ago." His face curled into a wide deranged smile. "I am now Lord Minister Anrokuzan, and I control this city!"
He raised his hands, Chakra Threads extending from his fingers to the puppets directly. Two of them turned to attack Naruto, only for him to slash both directly with his Chakra Blade, destroying them. Mukade shifted his direct control to a group in front of Sara and Fu blasted them with a Beast Wave Gale Palm, obliterating them. Sara continued to run as more and more puppet soldiers began to march toward them from behind, some of them extending double-edged blades behind their hands.
"I told you my puppet army was complete, and now I'll test it on you!" Mukade cackled, only for Ryuu to blast the floor in front of the group with his own Beast Wave Gale Palm, the debris smashing through the puppets and decimating the group.
"Looks like the army's failing the test!" Ryuu called out, he and Fu still invisible.
"Very well," Mukade said, swiping a hand. "Try this then!"
One of the puppets caught Naruto from behind before disassembling, dragging him into the air as the broken pieces of puppet began to fly into the air, swarming around Naruto and beginning to reshape themselves using ley line chakra, transforming into metal plates that began to stick together rapidly, assembling a massive puppet around Naruto. Ryuu shot up at Mukade instantly, only for a dozen puppets to suddenly appear in his path, slashing. He fell back, fending them off for a moment before swiping his left hand rapidly, a barrage of Beast Wave Palms shredding them.
"Nice try," Mukade said. "But you're not as stealthy as you think. You're fast, but I knew that last time. I worked hard to make puppets that could deal with you."
Ryuu looked up at the massive puppet Naruto was stuck in, seeing it was a massive version of the ones they'd been fighting, though there was a gap in its stomach where Naruto's face was visible.
"You can't escape from there," Mukade said. "Can't muster up any strength? That's because that puppet that you're not trapped in is syphoning off your chakra."
"Please stop this Anrokuzan!" Sara pleaded as Mukade stepped into a lift, which began to descend instantly.
"You know, I must say, I really should thank you, Queen Sara," Mukade said. "You took your late mother's place, and in your role as Queen, you were able to help me bring this grand scheme of mine to fruition. But I'm afraid that now you are no longer useful to me, so the time has come for you to die, just as your mother did!"
"Don't tell me..." Sara's eyes widened. "You're the one who killed my mother!"
"Did you really just now realize the truth, Sara?" Mukade asked. "Well, your mother was a much shrewder queen than you. She saw through me right from the start and completely refused to cooperate with my plan. I couldn't have asked for a more ideal puppet than you, Sara. A puppet virtually asking to be controlled by me. However it's time for me to make the final switch and rule the city myself."
He stepped out of the lift as Sara stared at him, wide eyes and with tears welling up in them, threatening to spill. Mukade grinned wickedly, only for Ryuu and Fu to appear on either side of him. He twitched a finger and a broken puppet's arm shot toward Fu, its blade extended, and Ryuu appeared in the way, slashing it out of the air, only for a complete puppet to appear and punch both, sending them flying.
"Mukade!" Naruto shouted. "I'm your enemy here! Forget her! Sara! Snap out of it!"
Sara fell to her knees, beginning to sob, and Ryuu grit his teeth as he stood.
"Naruto, what are you still doing in that thing?" Ryuu asked. "Sit still and break out of there!"
Naruto blinked in surprise before nodding, closing his eyes.
Mukade raised a hand, Chakra Threads removing the blade from a puppet's arm and moved it to attack Sara, only for Ryuu to appear in front of her, his own chakra threads catching it as he slashed Mukade's with his Vacuum Blade, severing them. Then, he sent the blade speeding toward Mukade. Mukade spun out of the way just as Ryuu's threads attached to his and he yanked them, swinging Mukade across the room at Fu. She met him with a punch and sent him bouncing across the room just as the front of the puppet Naruto was in exploded, Naruto dropping out of it in Sage Mode, complete with a full-length, short-sleeved, red coat with black flames along the bottom. Ryuu liked the coat. It made Naruto look even more like his father.
"Nice coat," Ryuu said.
"Thanks," Naruto said. "It was ruined during my fight with Pein, but Hinata fixed it for me. Sara, you shouldn't cry. You're the queen. You have a job to do. Let us handle this guy."
"Yeah, Ryuu said. "We've got this. You go help your people."
"Just die already!" Mukade snapped.
His Chakra Threads sent a dozen puppets at them, only for Ryuu and Fu to flash around them, destroying them with a Wind Rapier and Water Blade respectively as Naruto exploded forward, drilling a punch into Mukade face, launching him backward. Ryuu watched him as he lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. However, from the way Mukade fell, he could see the shattered half of Mukade's face, which revealed the puppet interior. After a moment, the damage glowed violet and regenerated, Mukade opening his eyes and growling in annoyance.
"While I'm in Loran, my power is infinite!" he said, standing. He animated another couple dozen puppets, but Ryuu flashed around the room, tearing them all apart before returning to Fu just as Mukade began to stand, expanding rapidly as he transformed into a massive ant puppet with pointed teeth and brown hair. "Behold my ultimate body, brimming with endless power!"
"Whoa, no way!" Naruto breathed. "What's with that thing!?"
Mukade laughed, raising his front two legs and reforming its two-clawed feet into sickles. "You and Sara will die here!"
He slashed at Naruto and Fu three times before Naruto shot forward, drilling a punch into the ant body and blasting it wide open as it exploded into the wall again. It lay there for a moment before beginning to regenerate again.
"Really now, Mukade," Ryuu said. "This is just getting ridiculous. You don't have a strong enough puppet to stop us. Give up."
"I am all-powerful in this city!" Mukade seethed. "You will die!"
"If you were all powerful, we wouldn't be able to do this!" Fu said, slamming a Repulsion-Seal-enhanced punch into his side and sent him blasting along the ground.
Just as he stopped tumbling, his mouth opened and a drill shot out on an extending spine-like shaft, stabbing at Sara, only for Naruto to slash it aside with his Chakra Blade, then grab Sara and flee as dozens more puppets began to fall from the ceiling.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Ryuu shouted, hurling four shuriken, each of which formed a Vacuum Blade as they spun before multiplying and shredding the puppets.
Ryuu and Fu both vanished ahead of the rain of debris, and reappeared beside Naruto and Sara off to the side.
"Okay, so, Fu, you and Sara are going to free Sara's people while Naruto and I tear apart Mukade and his toys," Ryuu said.
"Right," Fu nodded.
"Got it," Naruto said.
"Please, be careful Naruto," Sara said.
Ryuu chuckled. "Naruto's the strongest one here."
"Yes, but he's also the dumbest," Sara said.
"Hey!" Naruto whined.
Ryuu and Fu laughed before Ryuu gave Fu a quick kiss. "Let's go, Naruto."
Naruto nodded and they both charged, Naruto keeping pace with Ryuu, as they sped across the room. Then, as they both moved to punch Mukade, Ryuu focused, hardening his right fist into a dark grey. Then, they punched Mukade and he exploded through the wall across from them, bits and pieces of his puppet body flying away from him. Just as Fu and Sara reached the prisoners, quickly beginning to free them, Minato and his two teammates landed around Ryuu and Naruto just as a young boy with a mask covering the lower half of his face and silver hair spiked forward and to the side began to run around the room, placing and detonating paper bombs.
"Looks like you had it under control after all," Minato said, eyeing the pigmentation around Naruto's eyes, as well as his yellow irises with horizontal bar pupils. "You're just full of surprises."
""You don't know the half of it," Ryuu smirked as Mukade began to stand, body slowly regenerating.
"I refuse!" Mukade snarled. "I will not be defeated here! Damn you!'
"Don't let your guards down," Minato said. "We don't know what else he's capable of."
Suddenly, pieces of puppets all around the room began to break down and fly over to Mukade, reforming and attaching to him rapidly, rebuilding his ant body.
"Didn't I tell you that my power here is infinite!?" Mukade demanded.
"You did," Ryuu nodded. "We just don't care."
Naruto vanished suddenly, reappearing over Mukade with a Rasengan the size of his torso. "Giant Rasengan!"
He slammed it down into Mukade's back and it exploded, pieces of Mukade scattering around the room instantly as Minato stared in shock at Naruto, then at his own right hand. More puppet parts began to repair Mukade, and just as he reformed, Ryuu formed Isobu's shell around his right fist and forearm, drilling an uppercut into Mukade, sending him crashing into the wall. A moment later, Choza's expanded right fist exploded into him, crushing him against the wall before Shibi used Ninja Art, Beetle Sphere to begin draining his chakra.
"What is this!?" Mukade shouted, then wailed in fear and dismay as he fell to the ground again.
"Hey Ryuu," Naruto said quietly stepping up beside him. "Is that kid who I think he is?"
He nodded toward the young Kakashi, who was watching from off to the side.
"If you're thinking about a certain pervert who's always reading a certain porn book series, yes," Ryuu nodded.
"I thought so," Naruto nodded.
Ryuu walked over to the spot Naruto had blasted Mukade with his Rasengan, where Mukade had fallen back to the ground and broken through. Just as he arrived, Chakra Threads began to shoot up out of the hole and pull even more puppet parts down into it. Ryuu sighed.
"He doesn't give up," Ryuu said.
"Not again!" Naruto groaned.
"Witness my ultimate power," Mukade growled. "Boundless, merciless, and thirsty for your blood! My puppet army."
"He's so melodramatic," Ryuu said. "Can't he just say that he's got an amazing power and he's going to crush us with it? Then we can get back to mopping up the floor with him."
Below them, Mukade was growing rapidly, massive curved blades extending from his swollen, round body, which had a head like most of his puppets did, and huge, round arms, as well as a long tail. It reminded Ryuu of the first puppet he sent at them before finding the ley line, except that this one's head was the size of that one's entire body.
"This is now my new flesh and bone!" Mukade said. "I will teach you the true meaning of power!"
They all jumped back as Mukade slammed into the hole from below, cracking and raising the floor before stopping, the floor straining. Steam began to shoot up from around it before he finally broke free. He had a pair of steel pipes extended from the sides of its head and reaching back over its shoulders, three rounded feather-like protrusions reaching up off its head, and its mouth was open, unlike the rest of the puppets which had closed mouths.
"Well, it's a little bigger than I was expecting," Ryuu said, humming thoughtfully as he tried to decide on a method of attack. Shell, Repulsion Seals, or Rasengan.
"We got this," Naruto grinned. "I'll start."
"Don't use the big one," Ryuu said.
"I can do it safely now, though," Naruto said.
"It's not because of that," Ryuu said, inclining his head toward Minato.
"Oh, right," Naruto nodded. "Alright. The fun way it is!"
He leapt at Mukade, who roared in rage and lunged, only for Naruto's fist to explode into the underside of his face, shattering part of it and launching him off the ground into the air. Naruto formed his wings and shot up after him, forming Isobu's shell again, then focusing, the shell darkening considerably.
"What are you doing to my shell?" Isobu asked instantly.
"Testing a theory," Ryuu responded, smiling.
Then, he drilled his fist into the center of Mukade's chest, sending him exploding up through the ground to the surface before he collapsed onto his back. Ryuu and Naruto both landed on the surface as Ryuu let Isobu's shell return to its usual hardness. He was happy he could harden it, but it really wasn't necessary most of the time. As Mukade began to stand, Minato's team landed off to Naruto's left, Naruto being to the left of Ryuu, and Fu landed on Ryuu's right side, letting her wings fade.
"Sara's evacuating the city," Fu said. "So, did he really turn himself into this thing?"
"He sure did," Ryuu nodded, then dropped his voice. "I think I know why the city was a ruin, now."
Fu nodded as Mukade finally managed to break the last blade free of the ground, roaring angrily at them.
"I will not be made a fool of!" Mukade seethed.
"You wouldn't be saying that if you could see yourself in a mirror," Ryuu countered.
Mukade roared angrily, his tail whipping around and shattering the buildings around them before he turned, making his way through the city as the towers collapsed. Ryuu and the others reappeared on the buildings around Mukade as he shouted for Sara to come out of hiding. Ryuu could sense Sara leading her people toward the central square of the city, not evacuating.
"Why'd he so focused on stopping Sara?" Naruto asked.
"You're right," Minato nodded. "There must be a reason."
"Well, if he wants to stop Sara, we just had to keep him busy long enough for her to finish whatever she's doing," Ryuu said. "Fu. Let's go."
Fu nodded and they both flew into the air in front of him, then shot toward him.
"Beast Wave Gale Palm!" both shouted, blasting him in the face and hurling him backward. As he began to fall, Naruto appeared below him, blasting a Sage Art, Giant Rasengan into his back, the explosion hurling him into the air and further from the center of the city.
"Man, these three are good!" Choza said.
"No kidding," Minato said. "Their parents must have been amazing teachers."
"Well, considering that blond one's jutsu, I'd say so," Shibi said.
Mukade roared in rage, picking up a shattered piece of tower, only for Ryuu to appear in front of Mukade's arm, his extended Wind Rapier slicing it off before he reappeared behind Fu, the chunk of tower crashing down on Mukade's head and torso. He roared angrily, exploding forward instantly. Ryuu glanced at Minato and the other three and Minato nodded before they vanished.
"Hey, where are they going!?" Naruto asked.
"It doesn't matter," Ryuu said. "They probably have something they need to do. Either way, we've got this."
The others nodded and turned back to Mukade, only for Ryuu to swear and grab Fu, turning away from the incoming strike, forming Isobu's tails behind himself just before Mukade's tail exploded into them. Ryuu curled Isobu's tails into a ball round himself and Fu, shielding them as they exploded through three towers, then crashed to the ground. He uncurled and retracted them as they stood, looking around and seeing Mukade heading for the city's central square. Off to the side, Naruto sat up, groaning, no longer in Sage Mode.
"You alright?" Ryuu asked.
"Yeah," Naruto said. "I used up my Sage Chakra shielding myself. "You two okay?"
"We're fine," Ryuu said. "Come on."
Naruto nodded and they stood leaping from tower to tower quickly as they chased Mukade. As they arrived, he was using Chakra Threads to make Sara strangle herself.
"You nothing but a foolish, weak, puppet princess!" Mukade was saying. "You've outlived your usefulness, now just stay still and die!"
Naruto shot forward, streaming chakra along his Chakra Blade, then slashed the threads, freeing her and catching her before Ryuu and Fu's fists both crashed into Mukade's face from the front, their Repulsion Seals hurling him away, dropping half a dozen towers on top of him.
"Listen to me, you're not just a puppet," Naruto said, holding up the Chakra Blade that had fallen from Sara's sleeve, Sara nodding and accepting it. "Now you go and do what you have to do."
He turned, rejoining Ryuu and Fu as they headed out to continue delaying Mukade. A moment later, Mukade's head emerged from the rubble, beginning to fire off massive blasts of violet chakra. Naruto, Ryuu, and Fu all began to dodge around it, closing in on him quickly.
"Hold still and let me kill you!" Mukade shouted over the explosions.
"No thank you!" Naruto shouted, dropping toward him with another Giant Rasengan, only for Mukade to blast him.
However, as the smoke cleared, Naruto was gone, and another leapt out from between two towers beside Mukade, this one also holding a Giant Rasengan. Mukade shot into motion instantly, avoiding the Rasengan, only for Ryuu and Fu to blade him with a pair of Beast Wave Gale Palms again, sending him crashing through the debris field he'd already created earlier. As they pursued him, he began to launch his fingers at them on massive Chakra Threads as tall as they were. They avoided the fingers, which blasted through any towers they met before retracting. However, after a couple of minutes, Naruto and a clone blasted the ends of a bridge above Mukade, dropping the bridge on him. He grunted in pain, then shot forward, curling around one tower to climb it, then sent out a finger at Ryuu, who leapt out of the way, then vanished as Mukade used the finger to drag himself to that tower instead. As soon as Mukade landed, Fu and Naruto, who Fu had given a set of Repulsion Seals, exploded down on his side, sending Mukade exploding back to the ground, where Ryuu slammed his shell-covered right fist into Mukade's stomach, sending him bouncing and rolling away. As he did, Ryuu fell back to the wall around the central square, landing at the same time as Minato, before both of their teams landed in a line with them.
"Sorry we're late," Minato said.
"Not a problem," Ryuu said. "We were just enjoying killing time anyway. No big deal."
"Naruto!" Sara called out suddenly.
They all turned only to shout in surprise as Sara drove the Chakra Blade into her gut. However, a moment later, the cloth around her waist fell to the ground and she pulled her dress off, throwing it away, showing that she was fine. She cut the cloth skirt still around her legs off at the knees, leaving herself in a short, off-white, tattered skirt and a black top that reached from the skirt to just above her breasts. Then, she tied her hair up and fixed Naruto with a determined stare.
"What'd you do, Naruto?" Ryuu asked.
"Nothing!" Naruto said instantly.
"I know I can protect all of my people if I stop the ley line at its source!" Sara said.
"That's it!" Naruto said. "That's why Mukade wants to stop you so badly!"
"You know the garden where I first saw you?" Sara asked. "The power of the ley line can't reach there, so Anrokuzan won't be able to get to close!"
"That'll work," Choza said.
"Nice one!" Naruto nodded.
"We're going to keep him around here anyway," Ryuu said.
Sara nodded and turned to the people behind her as Ryuu and the others turned back to Mukade, who was nearing the central square.
"Sara, I cannot allow you to live any longer!" Mukade said.
"Get going Sara!" Naruto said.
"Let us take over for a bit," Choza said. "You all go with Sara."
"Why?" Ryuu asked. "We're doing fine against him. We've fought worse. You guys go with her and we'll keep him busy."
Minato looked around before nodding. "Alright. Be careful."
Ryuu nodded and Choza, Minato, and Shibi turned, running after Sara and the others, who had run into an underground tunnel.
"I will never allow you to reach that ley line!" Mukade roared.
"That's not your call!" Ryuu said, he and Fu forming their wings and exploding forward, drilling their fists into him and sending him exploding backward.
He pushed himself up just as Three Naruto Cones slammed Giant Rasengans into him, sending him crashing back even further. Then, a bolt of purple lightning began to crash into Mukade continuously from the top of the tower beside them. Mukade began to laugh, pushing himself up as the blades along his back and the top of his tail grew and fore blades sprung out from the gap between each segment of his tail like propellers, more extending from his wrists and the slits across the middle of of his eyes shining green.
"He's getting serious," Ryuu said.
"Puppet Rotation!" Mukade shouted, rising up on his tail and beginning to spin, speeding toward them and rapidly tearing his way through the city.
"I've got him!" Ryuu said, launching himself forward and focusing, Isobu's shell forming over his entire body, forming him into a miniature Isobu before he curled into a ball and used Shadow Clone Jutsu to form a cloud of himself.
They all exploded into Mukade, shattering his propellers, only to be sent crashing backward all across the city, the clones all exploding into smoke. Ryuu stood from the tower directly behind Fu and Naruto just as Mukade leapt at him. Both exploded forward, Fu with a Beast Wave Gale Palm around her fist, a Repulsion Seal on the face of the Jutsu's fist, and Naruto with a Giant Rasengan. However, when their jutsus exploded into his chest, they blasted his arms and most of the front of his torso off, only for Mukade to continue, exploding down through the ground just as his body regenerated rapidly. Ryuu swore, appearing below him and drilling a shell-encased, Repulsion-Seal-enhanced fist into his face, but instead of Mukade flying back out of the hole, the ley line's chakra rebounded the force and sent him exploding into the ground, cracks spiderwebbing across his entire right arm, though they began to seal instantly.
"Shit," Ryuu said, laying there for a moment before pushing himself up as Fu and Naruto landed beside him. "Naruto, get to Sara. She's heading for the room where Mukade opened the ley line in our time."
Naruto nodded and took off, Ryuu and Fu turning back to Mukade. They both took off instantly, moving at Fu's top speed and blasting into Mukade with their Rasengan over and over. Mukade roared and thrashed, struggling to land a hit for several minutes before finally smashing Ryuu through a wall into the same massive room with the spiraling stairs they'd flown down before. He flipped, landing beside Minato just as Naruto arrived, and a moment later, Fu landed beside him. They were both breathing hard after using so many Rasengans so fast, but Mukade seemed fine. He pulled himself through the hole, one arm bracing himself in the hole, along with his tail, and the other against the tower in the center of the room.
"What do we do?" Shibi asked.
"Keep going," Minato ordered. "Protect the queen!"
Shibi and Choza both nodded, continuing to run with Sara and her people.
"He's absorbed so much chakra it's starting to reflect damage," Ryuu said.
"Even with infinite chakra, there's always a weakness," Minato said, drawing a pair of kunai. "We just have to find it." He hurled them both as Wind Style Chakra began to stream over them. "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The two kunai multiplied into hundreds, all of them with glowing green Wind Style chakra flowing over them as they slammed into Mukade like a hard rain. Mukade roared in rage and annoyance, rearing back as bits of his body began to fall away. As they faded, and the dust they'd kicked up thinned, they all saw that Mukade's body had chunks missing, one particularly large one in the chest revealing Mukade's ant body, partially exposed and glaring at them from about where the heart would be.
"Found it," Minato said. "There. That's his weak spot."
Just then, purple lightning began to explode down through the roof of the chamber, flowing over Mukade's body as he began to regenerate rapidly.
"He regenerates so fast!" Minato said.
Mukade shouted in effort, hurling himself at them all in a blur, only for them all to vanish, reappearing further down the spiral staircase with Ryuu holding Fu bridal style and Minato holding Naruto under his arm. Mukade glared at them and Ryuu glanced at Naruto.
"Go on, Naruto," Ryuu said. "Go back up Shibi and Choza. Once you hit the bottom, find a place safe from falling puppets and rocks and sit still."
Naruto nodded and turned, sprinting down the wall after Sara and the others. Ryuu and the other two turned back toward Mukade before Ryuu hurled several shuriken, Vacuum Blades forming on them mid-flight.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Ryuu shouted.
The shuriken all multiplied as they flew, shredding through Mukade rapidly and he roared and shouted in rage as his body was ripped apart. However, just as the dust settled, Mukade shot out of it, once again glowing with ley line chakra. The three of them avoided him again, only for Mukade's fist to flash around, crashing into Ryuu and sending him and Fu streaking toward the floor. Ryuu flipped, forming and beating his wings, slowing enough to crater the ground when he landed with Fu in his arms but not break his legs. Then, as Mukade shot downward, Minato slammed a Rasengan almost as large as Naruto's Giant Rasengan into Mukade's side, blasting him into the wall before dropping down beside Ryuu and Fu.
"Go on Sara!" Naruto said from off to the side, Sara running down the tunnel toward the ley line. "Looks like I'm not going to get the chance to sit still after all."
"We'll manage," Ryuu said. "I still have my ace up my sleeve."
"You'd collapse this whole room on us," Fu said. "Should have used it on the surface.
"What is your ace?" Choza asked as he and Shibi stepped up beside them.
"My Mangekyo Sharingan," Ryuu said.
"Save it then," Minato said. "We don't need it."
Ryuu nodded.
"Ley Line Great Dragon Fire!" Mukade shouted suddenly as the cannon in his mouth suddenly spewed a massive sea of violet flames at them.
"Fire Style, Majestic Demolisher Flame!" Ryuu shouted.
"Wind Style, Pressure Damage!" Fu shouted.
Their jutsus combined and blasted through Mukade's, exploding against him and sending him blasting backward into the wall, shattering it exactly where Ryuu remembered it being shattered in the future, only for ley line chakra to begin shining over him instantly. His own blast restarted instantly, blasting through their still-firing jutsus before exploding into them all, hurling them away. Ryuu flipped, landing behind Fu and caught her, both panting.
"This isn't looking too good," Choza said.
"Every time we hit him, he just absorbs more chakra to hit back even harder," Shibi said.
"That's fine," Minato said. "We're just playing keep away right now anyway."
"Ley Line Great Dragon Fire!" Mukade shouted again, violet flames suddenly filling the tunnel.
They all turned instantly, Minato and Ryuu grabbing the others and vanishing, reappearing on the bridge inside the room with the ley line's source just as Sara closed the doors. Then, Ryuu appeared behind her, grabbing her and reappearing at the ley line's source just before the doors exploded inward in a massive blast of purple flames.
"Hurry, Sara," Ryuu said, returning to the others.
"Sara!" Mukade roared. "Get away from there!"
"Take a hike!" Choza shouted, swallowing a green pill and expanding to the same size as Mukade, tackling him back into the tunnel before shoving him back through it slowly, one hand holding Mukade's tail to keep him from stabbing him with the blades on the end.
"Naruto, can you target his weak point when he gets back using your Giant Rasengan?" Ryuu asked.
"I don't have enough chakra left for another one of those," Naruto said.
"I'll give you some of mine," Minato said.
Naruto hesitated before nodding. "Alright."
He held his hand out and Minato held his hands over it, a Rasengan forming instantly. Then, Minato formed a Rasengan of his own, his tinted mint green. Minato held his out and slowly spread his hands, both of their Rasengans growing quickly.
"No way!" Naruto gaped. "How're you doing that?"
"When similar chakra natures merge, they strengthen each other," Minato said. "And when that happens, the end result is...an Ultimate Supreme Rasengan!"
He and Naruto pressed their Rasengans into each other and they fused instantly, reforming as an unstable vortex of chakra that they were holding over their heads, a massive tornado of blue and green chakra raging around them.
"What the hell!?" Naruto asked.
"Be ready, Naruto," Ryuu said, drawing several shuriken with each hand. "It'll be about where his heart should be."
"Right!" Naruto nodded just as Mukade exploded back into the room, his tail flinging Choza into Shibi, Choza alive but unconscious.
"Whatever that jutsu is, I'll still blast you straight to Hell!" Mukade shouted.
Just then, a bolt of lightning so thick with chakra that it was black crashed into Mukade, his power skyrocketing before he slumped forward for a moment.
"Now I shall reveal to you my most powerful jutsu!" Mukade shouted, a metal depression in his abdomen that had a hole in the center and so far had done nothing suddenly beginning to shine with ley line chakra. "Ley Line Ultimate Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
A massive beam of ley line chakra exploded out of the cannon, flashing toward them, only for Minato to vanish with Naruto, then return for Choza and Shibi as Ryuu took Fu to the bridge where he'd dropped off Naruto.
"What!?" Mukade shouted, turning toward the bridge.
Just as he did, Ryuu hurled a half-dozen shuriken, Minato hurled a pair of kunai, and Fu hurled a half-dozen standard kunai, all three using Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu. The various blades exploded into Mukade's chest relentlessly for several seconds before stopping, leaving a gaping hole all the way through his chest with his Ant body just barely still attached inside of it. Just as they did, the ley line chakra that had still been flowing over him faded and his body stopped, seeming to lock up.
"Regeneration Jutsu!" Mukade said, sounding like even speaking was hard.
"Naruto, go!" Minato shouted.
"What have you done, Sara!?" Mukade demanded.
"I trust you to finish this up!" Minato shouted, leaping out of the way.
Ryuu and Fu followed him and Naruto charged.
"No!" Mukade shouted, his puppet's arms swinging forward. "I won't let you!"
Ryuu and Fu exploded down on Mukade's elbows, smashing his arms to bits from mid-bicep to mid-forearm before both again moved out of Naruto's way as Mukade shouted in fear and dismay. Out of desperation, Mukade fired his Ley Line Ultimate Dragon Fire Jutsu again, but the chakra spiraling around Naruto effortlessly drilled through it. Then, the blast ended and Naruto grinned.
"Supreme Rasengan!" Naruto shouted.
Mukade sent his tail at Naruto, but the Rasengan blasted through it like a fire hose through fog. Then, the Rasengan slammed into Mukade's ant body and Mukade wailed in pain. As the Rasengan exploded, most of Mukade's upper body was blasted into dust and Naruto spun, landing on his feet behind the massive puppet, sighing. Mukade, however, had managed to move out of the way, mostly, and had a little more than half his ant body left.
"My plan...the Five Great Nations..." Mukade said as his massive puppet's remains began to flail about. "I was...going to rewrite history! I won't...let it end like this!"
He began to head for the small round platform where Sara was still kneeling.
"If I fall then so will you!" Mukade seethed. "All of you will perish along with the ley line!"
Then, his ant body exploded. The massive purple blast filled almost half the room, but when it cleared, his massive puppet was still thrashing around, only to fall into the dark purple liquid chakra of the ley line below them. An even larger explosion erupted out of it instantly before the ley line began to turn blood red with swirls of black. Red energy began to flow through the empty archways lining the walls, and the ground began to shake.
"That's not good!" Minato said. "The ley line's going out of control!"
"Sara, quick, run!" Naruto shouted.
Sara began to run away from the platform, only for the bridge to begin breaking apart beneath her feet. Naruto and Minato rushed to help, their side of the bridge beginning to break up as well. Then, just as Sara fell, Naruto dove for her, catching her hand and grunting in effort, pulling her back up. However, less than a second before she was on the bridge, the entirety of it crumbled.
"Naruto!" Fu shouted, extending her wings.
Ryuu beat her to it, using his Teleportation Ninjutsu to catch all three before setting them on the central platform again.
"Ryuu!" Naruto smiled in relief as Kakashi leapt off the ledge around the outside of the room and hurled a kunai into the ceiling, swinging over with the attached wire.
Ryuu returned to Fu just as Kakashi landed.
"Everyone!" Sara smiled, staring at her people, who were gathered by the door, along with Shibi and Choza.
"So, now Lord Fourth Hokage just needs to seal the ley line, and the timeline will reset and everything will go back to normal," Ryuu said.
Fu nodded, slipping her hand into his. "And then it's off to the port for a cruise to an island where we'll be able to get you using Isobu's chakra and shell properly."
"Right," Ryuu nodded.
Bits of the ceiling began to break free and fall into the ley line as Minato moved to begin sealing the ley line. He drove the kunai into the eye-like dome and it shone green, the ley line's square of seal script reappearing and shining green before dulling back to black, green light spreading over the ley line's chakra before fading, taking the chakra with it and leaving the same bottomless pit as they had seen in their own time. Suddenly, Ryuu and Fu began to glow white, as did Naruto.
"Time to go," Fu smiled.
"Looks like it," Ryuu nodded, looking over to Minato and the others, just as he spread a seal under them. Ryuu raised an eyebrow. "That's a memory erasing seal."
"Really?" Fu asked.
"Yeah," Ryuu nodded.
Minato looked over at Ryuu and smiled, nodding, then turned back to the front just as Ryuu's vision began to flare white. He felt Fu squeeze his hand and he squeezed back. Then, it was over. They were being shaken awake by Tayuya and Kabuto.
"Fuck, my head," Ryuu groaned. "That's the last time I keep my Sharingan active while my vision flares white."
"What happened?" Kabuto asked.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked. "My head feels weird. I can't remember a thing."
"Well, we were just caught in the ley line's chakra," Fu said.
"We were?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah," Ryuu said. "You went charging in and me and Fu got caught trying to stop you."
"But, what happened to Mukade?" Tayuya asked. "And the seal's fine, even though he tried to absorb it."
"I'm sure we don't need to worry about him," Ryuu said, pushing himself up and pulling Fu to her feet. "Come on. Let's get out of this hole."
The others all nodded and they headed back outside.
"So, Mukade just disappeared?" Naruto asked. "You never found him?"
"Would we have asked about him if we did!?" Tayuya snapped.
"I guess not," Naruto said, only to stop as they all got outside, seeing someone walking toward them.
Ryuu's eyes widened. She looked almost exactly like Sara, except that her hair was the light pink, rather than red. She also had Ryuu's Chakra Blade slung at her side with a rope through the end of the hilt then running diagonally across her torso. He smiled. She could keep it. He didn't need it, want it, and it was now rusted and beaten to hell form aging for twenty years.
"Hello," the girl smiled. "I was just passing by and sensed a disturbance in the ley line and thought I'd come check it out."
"You sensed it?" Naruto asked.
"A long time ago, my mother was the queen here and ruled over Loran," the girl said. "I inherited a little of her ability to sense the ley line, although I need this to do it." She held up Ryuu's Chakra Blade and Ryuu ignored the knowing look Fu gave him.
Naruto stared at it, reaching back and gripping his, then looking around, eyes finding Ryuu's empty sheath. "Hey, Ryuu, where's your Chakra Blade?"
Ryuu shrugged. "Probably got blown away in that explosion you made me run into."
"Oh come on!" Naruto groaned. "I told you, that was an accident!"
Sara's daughter laughed. "Do you recognize these?"
"That sword is a Hidden Leaf Chakra Blade," Naruto said.
"It's my mother's most precious keepsake," Sara's daughter said, clutching it to her chest. "She once told me that a great hero appeared in a dream and gave it to her."
Ryuu grimaced subtly as Fu scowled at him.
"You mean your mother, the queen?" Naruto asked.
"That's right," the girl nodded. "Loran was ravaged by war, and the whole city was destroyed, but thanks, in large part, to the efforts of my mother, our people managed to survive. I intend to carry on her will and live among the people like she did. Anyway, sorry I took up so much of your time."
She bowed to them each.
"Oh, sure," Naruto said distractedly.
"If you'll excuse me," she said, then turned, walking away.
"It's strange," Naruto said. "I feel like I know that girl from somewhere."
"I think the only girl you should be thinking about is the one waiting to go with you to an island very far away from her family."
Naruto looked at him in confusion before his eyes widened and his face turned scarlet.
Tayuya and Fu began to laugh instantly, Fu covering her mouth to stifle herself, and Kabuto smiled, shaking his head as Ryuu turned, walking away from the ruins, the others following as they began to tease Naruto.
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