Mufasa stood calmly as Shinnō charged at him, roaring with all the might his monstrous muscles could muster. Shinnō's chakra-infused punch slammed straight into Mufasa's chest with a loud thud.
Shinnō grinned viciously. "Haha! Now you know what true power feels like!"
But the grin quickly vanished.
Mufasa just stared at him, completely unfazed. The only casualty was a tear in his cloak.
Mufasa tilted his head slightly, grabbed Shinnō by the throat, and then—
Smack!
"Big, tough, muscle power... huh?" Mufasa mocked, slapping Shinnō across the face.
Smack!
"You Saiyan wannabe... right?"
Smack!
"Trying to be a Joestar or something?"
Smack! Smack!
A few more slaps left Shinnō blinking in confusion, his huge frame trembling.
"Why are my big muscles useless?!" he howled in panic.
His mind scrambled for survival. "Alright! I surrender! I give up! Just stop hitting me!"
As he panicked, Shinnō reverted to his frail, hunched old form—bald spots, a hunched back, bones poking under thin skin. A sorry sight.
Mufasa smirked. "There's only so much your cells can take. Maybe spend less time flexing and more time thinking."
"You're right, Kazekage! Absolutely right!" Shinnō groveled, fumbling to open a hidden compartment in a nearby pillar. He pulled out scrolls on physical regeneration and cell activation and handed them over.
Mufasa casually flipped through the scrolls.
Just then, Shinnō slammed another button.
A trapdoor opened beneath him. "Haha! I'll fuse with Zero-Tail and crush you!" he cackled, vanishing into the darkness.
"Tsk." Mufasa simply hooked a finger.
A magnetic force caught Shinnō mid-fall, suspending him in the air like a puppet.
"Huh? W-what's going on?!" Shinnō kicked helplessly.
Another tug from Mufasa pulled him up like a fish on a line.
"With your luck, you'd probably blow up my fortress by accident. You're better off staying put."
Shinnō hung there, slack-jawed and defeated.
"Don't worry. I'll find a nice place for you—food, a bed, work on the side. Forget revenge or uniting the ninja world. You're all washed up. Just focus on living."
Nearby, Naruto and Amaru watched, mouths hanging open.
Naruto pumped his fist. "Whoa, Mufasa-ossan, you're awesome!"
Suddenly, the earth rumbled. Trees split and rocks tumbled as the colossal Sky Fortress broke free, rising with an ear-splitting roar.
Mufasa turned to Amaru. "Your villagers are locked up. Go free them."
"Yes, thank you so much!" Amaru nodded, racing off with Naruto.
Mufasa dropped into the control throne of the fortress. "Alright, Shinnō, how does this hunk of stone fly?"
Shinnō gulped. "Feed chakra into the seat. The patterns on the throne link to the whole fortress. Think about where you want to go, and it obeys."
Mufasa felt chakra flow through the carvings.
Suddenly, he was linked to every part of the fortress. Stone statues lining the walls were actually weapon arrays, ready to fire.
"What powers this thing?" Mufasa muttered.
Shinnō shrugged. "A giant floating stone in the core. It soaks up chakra, makes the fortress float. That's all I know."
"Anti-gravity stone... interesting." Mufasa grinned. "Alright. Time to fly this baby home."
The fortress rose higher, moving toward the Wind Country.
Down below, Shun, Violet, Tabby, Manyo, and the others secured Sky Island's sea base. Later, Mufasa planned to send more people to help run it.
When Naruto and Amaru finished rescuing villagers, Mufasa lowered the fortress so they could hop off near the village ruins.
"Thanks for everything, Naruto!" Amaru waved.
Naruto waved back from the rail, then suddenly froze. "Wait... Sakura... Hinata... I left them behind!"
He bolted up to Mufasa. "Ossan, we gotta turn around!"
Mufasa rolled his eyes. "You think steering this fortress is like turning a boat? This thing eats chakra like a goddamned starved beast. It barely has enough juice to reach Sand Village."
Naruto paled. "Oh man... Sakura's gonna kill me. And Hinata's probably just... staring at me all sad. I'm doomed."
"Quit whining," Mufasa snorted.
"You don't get it!" Naruto pouted, then instantly brightened. "Hey, where are we taking this fortress, anyway?"
"Back to the village," Mufasa said, already plotting.
"Why bring it back? What are we gonna do, park it?" Naruto scratched his head.
"No, kid. I'm gonna build a hanging village in the sky. Imagine it—a Sand Ninja city floating over the desert. Safe, cool, and impressive as hell."
Naruto's eyes sparkled. "Whoa! That's awesome!"
To guard against another attack by the Sky Ninja, Konoha sent squads of shinobi toward the coast, their only job to keep their eyes on the skies.
Shino Aburame and Shikamaru Nara stood on a cliffside, both staring at the massive air fortress looming in the distance. It was so big it seemed to blot out the sun. Even Shino, whose expression rarely changed, looked rattled.
Shikamaru sighed. "Hey, Shino... think your bugs can eat that thing?"
Shino adjusted his glasses. "Given time, yes. But it would take... a lot of time."
"Right. Then we better sound the alarm now." Shikamaru pulled out his comms device. "HQ, this is Shikamaru. We've got a colossal air fortress inbound. Everyone to high alert."
Back in the village, Tsunade burst into the control room the moment she got the call, ordering the defensive barriers ready.
Meanwhile, Shino still gazed up at the sky, calculating how he'd even get his insects that high.
Before he could come up with a plan, something sleek shot out from the fortress.
Shino's glasses glinted. "Incoming aircraft."
Shikamaru tensed, ready to unleash his shadows—but then a familiar loud voice echoed down from above.
"Yo! Shikamaru! It's me!"
Naruto swooped down on a glider, a grin plastered across his face. Shino and Shikamaru stared, baffled.
"How the hell... Naruto?" Shikamaru muttered.
Naruto landed, nearly crashing into a tree. He bounced up with a laugh. "Man, you guys should try this. Mufasa let me borrow it."
"Mufasa?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "As in the Kazekage? The one who just somehow snagged an entire Sky Ninja fortress?"
"Yeah, pretty nuts, right?" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Turns out he and Shinnō were going at it up there, and Mufasa basically took the whole fortress for himself."
Shikamaru ran a hand over his face. "Great. Now the Sand Village has a flying fortress. Just what the world needed."
Naruto beamed. "Wanna take the glider for a spin?"
"Pass," Shikamaru groaned. "Let's just go report this to Lady Tsunade. Maybe she can figure out how to handle your insane friends."
Tsunade listened to the report with wide eyes. "So let me get this straight. Mufasa shows up out of nowhere, beats the Sky Ninja, steals their fortress, and now he's just... parking it over my grandfather's face?"
Sure enough, by late afternoon, the enormous air fortress was hovering directly over the Hokage Rock, casting a cool shadow over the village.
Naruto and Tsunade met Mufasa on the upper levels.
Tsunade folded her arms. "Really? On my grandpa's head?"
Mufasa shrugged with a playful grin. "What can I say? The view up here is excellent. Plus, fewer houses to accidentally squish."
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "You are unbelievable."
Below them, crowds of Konoha villagers filled rooftops and streets, gawking up at the spectacle.
Kids pointed, merchants abandoned their stalls, and even grumpy elders had to admit it was a sight.
"You're lucky," Tsunade admitted with a sigh. "That thing is impressive. I bet it could flatten a village if you wanted."
Mufasa scratched his chin. "It looks cool, sure. But you wouldn't believe how much chakra this sucker eats up. Flying it here nearly knocked me out. I'll have to tinker with it—maybe run it on a hybrid chakra-oil system."
Tsunade smirked. "You know, as a doctor, I should really offer to treat you for chakra exhaustion. Maybe in exchange you could forgive Danzo's debt?"
Mufasa laughed. "Nice try, but business is business."
Meanwhile, Danzo was sweating bullets. His entire fishing fleet, piers, and fancy seaport had been annihilated by the Sky Ninja.
Worse, he still owed Sand Village a mountain of ryo.
He tried whining to Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, everything I built was for Konoha's prosperity! Now I have nothing left—surely you won't let a hero like me go bankrupt?"
Tsunade pinched her brow. "Danzo, don't get dramatic. Your harbor did slow them down. That matters. But about Root... we can support you with funding if you accept oversight. No more secret ops. I'll send in my own managers."
Danzo looked like he bit into a lemon. "Let me... think about it."
As Danzo slunk away, Mufasa burst out laughing. "That old snake thought he could wheedle out of paying us back. Wait till my debt collectors pay him a visit. He'll be running to you to beg for help."