Chapter 214: Susano'o!
Tap, tap, tap...
Crisp footsteps echoed through the ornately decorated great hall, drawing closer.
The black-haired boy and the red-haired princess arrived at the residence of Rōran's minister, An Lushan.
As the pillar of Rōran's government, the queen had granted An Lushan the finest accommodations — second only to the royal family itself.
"My dear princess — is there something you need?"
Before they'd even laid eyes on him, a deep, resonant voice filled the cavernous hall.
"An... An Lushan, sir — there's something I need to ask you."
Sara stole a glance at the silent black-haired boy beside her, then summoned her courage.
An Lushan was like family to her. After her mother's death, he'd effectively governed Rōran in her stead while she remained too young to assume the throne.
Beyond that, he'd even made time to tutor her in her studies.
"Oh?"
"And what might that be?"
As the distance closed, both visitors could now see the man clearly.
He sat high upon a throne-like chair, wearing dark robes, his face full and prosperous. Though his appearance had changed somewhat, Sasuke was certain — this was the Mukade they'd been tracking.
His hand drifted to the hilt of his sword without conscious thought.
"An Lushan, sir — please tell me. Are you... a rogue ninja from the Hidden Sand?"
The moment Sara laid eyes on An Lushan, the question tumbled out.
She wanted to prove it — to prove that her minister was nothing like the Sand Village fugitive Sasuke's group had described.
That he was a man worthy of respect, of extraordinary ability — a pillar of Rōran.
"Oh?"
"Princess — why would you say such a thing?"
Toying with a gemstone set into his chair's armrest, the man spoke with an air of authority that brooked no challenge.
He'd been in this timeline for six years now, and in those six years he'd risen to become Rōran's most powerful minister.
Long enough in a seat of power, and even a beggar would develop gravitas. Let alone Mukade.
In terms of sheer presence, Mukade did at least partially live up to his chosen alias.
"It's because—"
"Mukade. Death is staring you in the face, and you still can't see it?"
Steel sang free of its sheath. Sasuke cut Sara off mid-sentence, eyes cold as he leveled his blade at the man on the elevated throne.
"S-Sasuke..."
Sara stared at the boy beside her in disbelief.
"Is it because this stranger of unknown origin said something to you, Your Highness?"
"Have his few idle words truly been enough to make you doubt me?"
Facing Sasuke's drawn weapon, An Lushan — Mukade — was unconcerned.
He now controlled the Dragon Veins. What was one Konoha shinobi?
Let the Hokage of Konoha come!
"No, that's not it!"
Sara looked at An Lushan with anxious eyes, trying to explain herself.
Of course...
She'd known Sasuke for less than a day. And she was doubting a man she'd lived alongside for six years because of him.
Sasuke paid Sara's reaction no mind. It was only human nature.
She was simply a girl who'd been deceived.
"Mukade — you slipped away last time. You won't be so lucky again."
Sasuke's words were ice. He'd been to war, then spent three years being honed.
The Sasuke of today was not the Sasuke of three years ago.
"Your Highness — please step back."
Compared to Sasuke's intensity, Mukade remained perfectly composed.
He extended a broad hand from within his sleeve and, under the watchful eyes of both Sasuke and Sara, snapped his fingers.
The crisp sound echoed through the hall.
And from the darkness surrounding them, countless purple points of light appeared.
Mechanical whirring filled the air as towering humanoid puppets materialized before Sasuke — one after another after another.
A rough count put them at over a hundred.
"I see. So this is what you're relying on?"
Sasuke smirked coldly, utterly unfazed.
With his Sharingan, the instant the puppets had emerged, he'd spotted the dense web of chakra threads descending from the ceiling and connecting to each one.
Cut the threads, and these puppets were nothing but scrap metal.
"Your Highness — please, come to my side."
Mukade spoke again, and Sara flinched.
She looked at the boy beside her one more time, torn — then began walking toward An Lushan.
But a hand settled on her shoulder.
Sasuke stopped her.
"Woman. Get behind me and stay down."
With a cold smile, he charged, blade first.
Mukade's eyes narrowed. He snorted, and every puppet in the hall surged forward at once.
Hundreds of puppets descended on Sasuke in a whirlwind of blades and steel!
What followed was a tempest of flashing steel and crackling lightning as puppet after puppet crashed to the ground.
Sasuke moved through them like a butterfly through a field of flowers — weaving, spinning, each stroke of his blade precisely severing the chakra threads overhead.
A storm of sword-light and the boy's lightning-wreathed body, agile and lethal!
Everywhere his gaze fell, everywhere he passed — puppets collapsed!
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Lightning! Lightning! Lightning!
Fast! Fast! FAST!
Sara pressed herself behind a pillar, watching the black-haired boy with stunned eyes.
Wreathed in lightning. Blade in hand. Cold as ice. Strikingly handsome.
One boy against hundreds of enemies.
A girl's heart is easily stirred — and hers hammered with a force that surprised even her.
She still believed in Mukade. But in this moment, she couldn't help being drawn to Sasuke.
As the last puppet toppled, the boy stood atop the mountain of mechanical wreckage, twirled his sword in an elegant arc, and sheathed it with a long, ringing note of steel on steel.
The languorous slowness of the sheathing — in sharp contrast to the blinding speed of moments before — drew even a grudging note of admiration from Mukade. What a shinobi.
Crimson eyes faded back to black. His gaze, cold and flat, settled on the still-composed Mukade in the distance.
"If that's all you've got, I alone am more than enough to take you down."
The boy spoke with the quiet self-assurance of absolute confidence in his own strength.
"Heh. You think that's all there is?"
Mukade rose slowly from his seat, eyes fixed on Sasuke.
As his words fell, the puppets that should have been inert — their chakra threads severed — began rising to their feet once more.
Hidden Dragon Vein conduits in the ceiling extended new threads downward, reconnecting every puppet!
Sasuke's brow creased. He flipped backward and landed lightly.
Looking at the puppets raising their blades again, his eyes traveled upward to the ceiling.
The puppets aren't the point. The chakra threads aren't the point. The Dragon Vein conduits hidden in the ceiling are.
Troublesome.
Sasuke sighed internally, then glanced at Sara, still hiding to the side.
"Hey — get out of here. Go find my teammates."
Sara stared at him blankly.
Setting aside the fact that she had no idea where his teammates were — weren't they technically on opposite sides right now?
"Your Highness — please leave."
"Puppets outside will escort you to safety."
Mukade spoke up as well. Regardless of their disagreements, neither Sasuke nor Mukade wanted Sara caught in the crossfire.
What came next would be far more violent.
Sasuke simply wanted to avoid collateral damage.
Mukade needed Sara alive — to die at the right moment, allowing him to assume control of Rōran legitimately.
But that moment was not here, not now.
If word spread that the princess had been killed during a fight between himself and a Konoha shinobi, it would put him under intense scrutiny and attract the attention of Konoha — an entity he couldn't afford to provoke.
He'd partially harnessed the Dragon Veins, but he still needed time.
As the girl departed, Sasuke's eyes turned sharp. The sheathed blade was drawn once more.
"Then — Round Two. BEGIN."
Lightning Release Chakra Mode!
A pillar of dust erupted as a skyscraper slowly collapsed, drawing the girl's attention.
"That's Sasuke's position."
"His chakra activity is extremely high — he's in combat."
"His opponent is using massive Dragon Vein chakra, plus Mukade's own."
Kushina's eyes tracked the destruction, instantly relaying her sensory readings.
Sakura rose to her feet. If Sasuke had already engaged Mukade, there was nothing more to discuss.
Capture Mukade. Explore the Dragon Veins. Those were her objectives.
If possible, she'd like to pack up the Dragon Veins and take them home.
Just then, a powerful chakra fluctuation seized her attention.
Even Naruto — as thick-skinned as they came — could feel it. All three sets of eyes turned toward the Dragon Vein palace ahead of them.
The chakra emanating from within was so intense that even ordinary civilians could sense it.
"Looks like Mukade's been busy these past few years."
Sakura chuckled softly.
And at that very moment — an enormous silhouette rose from the cityscape!
A colossal puppet, easily over seventy meters tall, stood among the skyscrapers.
"Any civilians nearby?"
Sakura looked at Kushina.
Kushina briefly extended her senses, then frowned.
"No. The vast majority of the city's civilians are underground, about fifteen kilometers out — they seem to be working."
"Apart from that, just scattered elderly, women, and children."
Sakura nodded.
"Kushina — you and Naruto evacuate the nearby civilians. I'll handle this."
"No way!"
Before Kushina could respond, Naruto had already cut in.
"How can you expect Sakura to fight that thing alone?!"
Naruto pointed emphatically at the towering puppet currently battling Sasuke in the distance.
?
Sakura looked at Naruto with genuine puzzlement.
Then, as if something occurred to her, she waved a hand with total indifference.
"Oh — in that case, Naruto, you handle it."
"Kushina, let's go evacuate civilians."
Sakura's attitude did a complete 180. Naruto was caught off guard but quickly recovered, cracking his knuckles.
"Yeah!"
"Watch me show you what I've got, Sakura!"
I already know exactly what you've got.
Counting your original body — fifteen minutes as a real fighter?
Without further comment, Sakura pulled a signal flare from her equipment pouch and fired it skyward.
As the flare burst, Sasuke — still locked in combat with the massive puppet — noticed immediately and began subtly steering Mukade's construct in their direction.
"Kushina, let's move."
Seeing the puppet heading their way, Sakura grabbed Kushina and left without discussion.
"Wait—!"
"Are you really okay leaving Naruto alone?!"
Kushina spoke up urgently.
Sakura glanced back at Naruto, who was forming Shadow Clones to gather Sage chakra on the spot.
"Don't worry. Besides us, Naruto's father is also here."
"And besides — it's time Naruto learned a lesson."
Kushina looked at Sakura with confusion, not understanding.
But Sakura was already walking toward Kushina's indicated direction, not looking back.
"Wanting to shield your friends from everything is an admirable quality."
"But you also have to know your limits. Ignoring the gap between yourself and the enemy and charging in recklessly — that's not heroism. That's ego."
"Naruto needs to learn when to accept his limitations and cooperate with his teammates."
Naruto knew how strong Sakura was. And he'd still done this.
Sakura didn't know what was going through his head. But in the original story, Naruto had always scraped through by the skin of his teeth. Here, though—
"Original story"? What original story?
And honestly — look at how many times Naruto had died across the various movie arcs. Every single time, he'd been saved by sheer dumb luck.
In situations like this, Naruto's reckless streak needed a bit of filing down.
With both Sakura and Minato present as safety nets, now was the perfect time for a lesson.
But Sakura wouldn't always be around.
"Is that so?"
Kushina watched Sakura's back as the anxiety on her face gradually eased.
"Sakura really does care about Naruto."
Pinky glanced back at Kushina with a look of mild annoyance.
"I care about Kushina just as much. And Ino, Sasuke, Kakashi, the old man, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Elder Homura, Mei, Mirai, Asuma, Anko, Hinata, Tenten, and on and on and on."
"I care about everyone equally."
"Oh — right. And that troublemaker Uchiha Hikaru."
Kushina's mouth twitched.
If Sakura were a man...
She'd probably be what they call a "central heating system" — warming everyone indiscriminately.
Definitely labeled as a playboy...
"Yeah, yeah — I get it. Let's go."
Kushina pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed.
But just then, Kushina's expression changed — something strange.
"What is it?"
Noticing the shift, Sakura turned.
"Someone is already evacuating civilians. And this chakra... it feels like Kakashi-senpai?"
Kushina sounded uncertain.
The chakra signature was extremely similar, but it lacked the distinctive aura of melancholy that permeated the Kakashi she knew.
This person felt like... just a normal boy.
"Ah, right."
Sakura rubbed her chin, remembering that in The Lost Tower movie, a young Kakashi had appeared near the end.
"Well, that saves us the trouble. Leave it to him. Let's find a spot to watch how Naruto and Sasuke deal with Mukade."
With someone else handling the evacuation, Sakura was happy to delegate.
"Sage Art — Giant Rasengan Barrage!"
Naruto vaulted into the air, each hand carrying a basketball-sized Rasengan, and slammed them into the towering Dragon Vein puppet!
The power was immense — the puppet's body was blown open in an instant, a gaping hole revealing Mukade himself hidden within. But in mere moments, the rail network threading through all of Rōran pulsed with seemingly infinite chakra, and the puppet regenerated!
"Give up. Within Rōran, I am invincible."
A deep voice rumbled from inside the puppet, and Naruto ground his teeth.
Third time!
Every time was the same! He could breach the armor, he could see Mukade — but every single time, that bottomless chakra restored the puppet instantly.
"Sasuke!"
"You okay?!"
Naruto looked toward Sasuke, who'd been swatted away while protecting him.
But before Sasuke could answer, a crushing impact from the puppet sent Naruto flying!
"Naruto!"
Sasuke shoved aside the rubble pinning him down, alarmed.
"Where's Sakura?!"
Naruto hit the ground hard but bounced back to his feet — tough as nails, as always.
"I told Sakura to go evacuate civilians!"
???
Are you KIDDING me?
You sent SAKURA to evacuate CIVILIANS?
Do you have your priorities backward?
Are YOU the Hokage or is SHE?
In this moment, Sasuke wanted to scream.
No choice, then.
Sasuke gritted his teeth and looked up at the colossal puppet.
He knew the Mangekyō's side effects from Kakashi's warnings. But it seemed he had no alternative.
Yet spending precious ocular power on this thing — Sasuke felt a surge of reluctance.
The Dragon Vein puppet was nothing special except for its overwhelming regeneration and brute force.
But that regeneration was simply too strong!
Even Naruto's Sage Art Giant Rasengan couldn't outpace it.
And his own Mangekyō abilities — Amatsukami and Kotoamatsukami — were too unpredictable. Those were suited for use against people...
What if he used Kotoamatsukami on Mukade and the Dragon Vein chakra he was channeling exploded?
They'd all be dead.
Naruto!
You OWE me for this!
Sasuke steadied himself, then stepped forward to face the Dragon Vein puppet alone.
"Sasuke!"
Naruto arrived at his side, expression grim as he stared up at the behemoth.
"I'm casting a jutsu. Watch for an opening."
Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan merged — transforming into a seven-pointed Mangekyō!
Susano'o!
Blazing white chakra flames erupted across Sasuke's entire body, then rapidly expanded outward!
Like an enormous bonfire engulfing the street!
Sasuke felt his ocular power draining at a visible rate and roared!
A colossal skeleton encased both Sasuke and Naruto!
Then muscle. Then skin. Then heavy armor!
In an instant — a blazing white half-body giant stood upon the battlefield!
Clad in thick armor, wielding a pure white spear wreathed in roaring flames, twin golden fire-eyes blazing from the slits of its helmet!
Like the invincible!
Like a god descended!
Like an emperor who ruled the world!
"What... IS that?!"
Naruto stared at the titan surrounding him in disbelief.
Sasuke had been hiding power at this level?!
"Get ready. I can't maintain this for long."
Sasuke's eyes were shot through with red veins. Twin trails of blood tears traced down his cheeks.
"Right!"
Naruto nodded hard.
Sasuke wasted no more time. He drove Susano'o forward, straight at the Dragon Vein puppet!
The streets crumbled beneath its footsteps — cracking, collapsing, disintegrating!
"What IS that?!"
Not just Naruto — even Minato, hidden and observing from the shadows, was stunned beyond words.
He'd never seen anything like this in the shinobi world!
An all-encompassing defensive technique — one even he would have no answer for.
And judging by its sheer size, the destructive power had to be extraordinary!
The ultimate defense and the ultimate offense, fused into a single technique!
Mukade, facing Susano'o head-on, felt his scalp prickle the instant it appeared.
What in the—
"Dragon Vein Inferno!"
The puppet's mouth opened wide, unleashing a torrent of purple flame at the blazing white titan.
But—
The purple fire washed over the armored giant's surface without leaving so much as a scratch!
A blinding white flash filled every line of sight — and a colossal puppet head went sailing through the air!
WHAT—!
Mukade's eyes bulged with fury.
He hadn't even seen the strike. One sweep of the white spear, and the puppet's head was gone!
Before Mukade could react, the giant swung again — carving a vast, gleaming arc of white through the air. Countless components, steel plates, and wooden beams exploded outward from the puppet's torso!
And there — Mukade's body was exposed!
"NARUTO!"
Sasuke roared!
"SASUKE!"
Naruto appeared in the sky above — seemingly out of nowhere!
The Rasengan in his hands blazed with impossible brilliance under Susano'o's white glow!
"THIS is what Sasuke and I can do together, YOU BASTARD!"
"Sage Art — GIANT RASENGAN!"
The gash Susano'o had torn was simply too massive — the regeneration couldn't keep pace!
"It's over."
Sakura appeared at Minato's side at some point, watching Naruto's Rasengan connect squarely with Mukade.
"I expected you to intervene."
"That technique places an enormous burden on that boy."
Minato spoke gravely.
"Naruto needs to grow. And Sasuke's concerns have already been addressed by someone else."
Sakura's expression didn't change.
As the Rasengan struck Mukade's body, the entire Dragon Vein puppet disintegrated. Countless components rained down across the ruins.
Mukade himself lay crumpled amid the wreckage.
Sasuke immediately released Susano'o. The searing pain in his eyes made them nearly impossible to open, and the catastrophic chakra drain brought him to one knee.
Sakura was at his side in an instant, assessing his condition.
She placed her hand gently over his eyes. Instead of the usual emerald glow, a brilliant golden chakra light shone forth. Sasuke felt the stabbing pain recede like a tide — and even the ocular power he'd just burned through was...
Yang Release — Medical Ninjutsu.
☆☆☆
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