Mukade's vision was far too shallow.
If he truly understood how terrifying this world was, he would never entertain such delusions.
Kaede Kitahara knew that better than anyone.
Even now, with the strength to contend against Kage Level fighters, he still chose to keep a low profile.
Because he understood exactly how deep the waters ran.
Kage Level was rely the threshold of true power, and the lowest tier at that.
In the later stages, anyone below Kage Level barely counted as anything. Even Super Kage Level was considered ordinary. The real protagonists of that era started at Super Kage Level before even reaching adulthood, and Six Paths Level fighters were everywhere.
"These things are endless!"
Uzumaki Naruto slashed at the puppet strings with a chakra blade, but no matter how many he cut, more kept pouring in.
Mukade had spent years hiding in Roran, doing nothing but manufacturing puppets. With the Dragon Vein's power, he could control not just a hundred, but a thousand simultaneously.
If they kept fighting the puppets, they would be stuck here forever.
"We can't get bogged down. We go straight through," Kaede said sharply.
Namikaze Minato nodded and imdiately hurled a kunai. It pierced through the dense wall of puppets ahead.
In the next instant, his figure vanished and reappeared deep within the palace.
Kaede disappeared as well.
Both of them used Flying Thunder God to jump through space.
"Wait, you can do that?" Naruto shouted in surprise.
Mukade, waiting in the palace's depths, was equally stunned.
He had barely processed what was happening before Kaede and Minato appeared right in front of him.
With Flying Thunder God, the speed was overwhelming.
"How is that possible?"
Before he could react, Kaede was already upon him.
"Chidori!"
Lightning crackled violently around Kaede's hand. In a flash, he pierced straight through Mukade's body.
Fast. Precise. Ruthless.
Mukade collapsed instantly.
But the next second, his body reford.
"In Roran, my power is infinite!" he laughed.
"You turned yourself into a puppet," Minato said calmly, instantly understanding.
"And fused yourself with the Dragon Vein. As long as it flows, you regenerate."
Now he understood why Kaede had described Mukade the way he did.
Mukade himself was nothing special. The real problem was that he had modified his body into a puppet and tied his existence to the Dragon Vein.
He was practically immortal here.
"Gaaah!"
Mukade's form twisted grotesquely, transforming into a monstrous, multi-limbed puppet body.
"Tch. Annoying."
Good thing Sara was already moving to sever his link to the Dragon Vein.
Kaede vanished again.
"Rasengan!"
He slamd a Rasengan down, smashing Mukade into the ground and blasting a crater into his puppet body.
But Kaede didn't relax.
As long as the Dragon Vein remained under Mukade's control, he would keep resurrecting.
Sure enough, shattered puppets were drawn toward Mukade's body, fusing together into an even larger monstrosity.
"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"
Naruto's voice rang out from a distance.
Kaede glanced over.
Naruto had entered Tailed Beast cloak form. A chakra arm extended from the cloak, gripping a massive Rasenshuriken before hurling it forward.
"Boom!"
Mukade was hit head-on.
The enormous puppet body exploded apart, shattered into countless fragnts that rained down across the palace.
Purple Dragon Vein chakra surged wildly among the debris, gathering back toward him.
The remaining puppets inside the palace also rushed toward Mukade's position.
Kaede clicked his tongue.
Mukade wasn't difficult to defeat.
The problem was that inside this ancient city, he was nearly unkillable.
"Buy ti," Kaede said imdiately, turning and sprinting toward the palace exterior.
Minato and Naruto understood instantly and followed.
Mukade, enraged, crashed after them.
"I'll kill you! You filthy outsiders!"
"The Five Great Nations will kneel to !"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
His massive form tore through the palace, smashing pillars and collapsing structures as he charged.
The three of them did not engage directly.
Not because they couldn't fight him.
Because they couldn't kill him.
And for Kaede especially, this wasn't the only battle ahead. He still had Kakuzu waiting back in his own tiline. He needed to conserve chakra.
After resting earlier, his chakra had returned to full.
He had no intention of wasting it on Mukade.
They lured him across the city.
Buildings collapsed in their wake.
Then, after a long chase, Mukade's expression suddenly twisted in agony.
The endless Dragon Vein chakra feeding him was cut off.
"What's happening?!"
He finally realized sothing was wrong.
Kaede, Minato, and Naruto stopped running.
"Finally," Kaede said.
"Counterattack!"
Naruto roared.
He created a shadow clone, both of them forming a Wind Release: Rasenshuriken together.
The giant shuriken spun violently as it was hurled forward.
It struck Mukade squarely.
"Gaaah!"
This ti, there was no miracle.
Without the Dragon Vein's support, his puppet body was shredded inch by inch by the Rasenshuriken's microscopic wind blades.
No regeneration.
No revival.
Mukade was destroyed completely.
"The Dragon Vein's been severed," Minato said quietly.
"Looks like it," Kaede replied. "Next we seal it. Then those of us who don't belong in this era can return to our own tis."
Minato and Naruto both fell silent.
Sadness flickered across their faces.
Still, they headed back toward the Dragon Vein chamber beneath the palace.
When they arrived, the area had already beco a battlefield. Puppet debris was scattered everywhere, destroyed by Abura Shibi and Akimichi Choza. Yamato and a younger Hatake Kakashi had also arrived.
At the center, Sara had just finished sealing the Dragon Vein.
The mont she saw Kaede, hope filled her eyes.
"Is he dead?"
"He's gone," Kaede said with a faint smile. "Naruto reduced him to pieces."
"Your mother's revenge has been avenged."
Sara collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down her face.
It didn't matter that she hadn't struck the final blow herself.
It was enough.
"Now I'll seal the Dragon Vein completely," Minato said.
He took out a Flying Thunder God kunai and placed it into the sealing chanism. A massive barrier spread outward.
Once the seal was complete, those who did not belong to this era began to glow.
Kaede. Uzumaki Naruto. Yamato.
"All right. I'll seal your mories," Minato said gently. "We can't risk altering the future."
"Not ," Kaede said quickly. "I'm not from your tiline. No need."
Minato considered it and nodded.
He did not insist.
The others, however, had to undergo the seal.
"Sealing techniques really are convenient," Kaede muttered.
"If that's the case, I have sothing for you," Minato said suddenly.
He pulled out a notebook from his pouch.
"These are sealing notes Kushina wrote for . I've already studied them. You can have them."
Kaede froze.
That was an incredibly valuable gift.
Sealing techniques were top-secret in every village. Only high-ranking shinobi could even access them.
"You let my son and et. You showed the future. I don't know how else to thank you."
Kaede accepted the notebook carefully.
"Thank you, Namikaze Jonin."
"You're welco."
"Dad… I want to stay with you longer," Naruto said softly.
For the first ti in his life, he knew what it ant to have a father.
Warm. Handso. Strong. The future Fourth Hokage.
He didn't want to leave.
Minato stepped forward and placed a hand on Naruto's head.
"Naruto, having a son like you makes proud."
His voice was steady, but his eyes were gentle.
"Even if we part now, I believe we'll et again."
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