Hearing Naruto's words, Kakashi rolled his eyes again.
What does he mean by "we might not be able to handle Kaede"? If Kaede can't handle it, then there probably isn't anyone in the ninja world who can!
Kakashi looked at Naruto and asked, "What rank ninja are you?"
"Ah… well..." Naruto's expression instantly stiffened. "Um, how do I put this… The Chūnin Exams got interrupted because of some unexpected incident, then a lot happened after that, and I've been training ever since..."
Kakashi gave Naruto a deadpan look and said, "So you're basically still a Genin?"
"Ahem!"
Naruto scratched his head awkwardly, then suddenly thought of something and said, "That doesn't mean anything! I'm really strong. Even a Jōnin isn't a match for me! Anyway, just listen to me, Kaede, you protect Sara. Kakashi-sensei, you come with me to find Mukade."
"..."
Kakashi fell silent for a moment.
Then he turned to Kaede and said, "Big brother, what's the plan?"
He had already decided to ignore Naruto.
Kaede ignored Naruto as well. "We just need to find that Mukade and take him down. Sara, you know where Mukade is, right? Oh, and he goes by the name Anrokuzan now."
Kaede spoke while glancing at Sara.
Sara, who had been vaguely following the exchange between Kakashi and Naruto, suddenly snapped to attention at Kaede's question. Her expression tightened sharply.
"Anrokuzan? No, Anrokuzan can't possibly be that ninja Mukade. Please stop saying things like that!"
Kakashi glanced at Sara and said, "That's just what you believe."
Sara argued back, "Anrokuzan is a distinguished minister who came to this country six years ago. He's now carrying on my mother's legacy, working hard to develop the nation. Compared to him, you all suddenly showing up is far more suspicious!"
As she spoke, her gaze flicked to Kaede. The moment their eyes met, she instinctively looked away and her tone softened a bit.
"Even if you saved me, you can't just recklessly slander Minister Anrokuzan like this!"
Kaede stared at Sara but said nothing.
Silence fell.
He took two steps forward and placed his hand gently on her shoulder.
"Stop lying to yourself," he said softly. "With your intelligence, how could you not have noticed anything suspicious all these years?"
"..."
Sara pressed her lips tightly.
Those words shattered her previous objections in an instant.
After her mother's death, there had indeed been many suspicious details, her mother's death itself was questionable.
But since Anrokuzan was the only person she could rely on afterward, she had been resisting the idea of investigating him.
Kaede watched her for a moment, then let go of her shoulder and walked to the side of the platform.
He pointed down to the crowd below, puppets cheering and singing praises for the queen.
"Want to see how your so-called 'loyal subjects' really look?"
"Huh?"
Sara looked over, puzzled.
Kaede stepped back two paces, then in a flash, appeared beside her.
He grabbed her and together they leapt from the high tower, landing right among the so-called 'subjects.'
Kakashi had been watching Sara closely and muttered quietly to himself.
"This queen…"
"What is it?" Naruto asked curiously.
Kakashi glanced at Naruto and said, "Can't you see it? You've probably never even been in love."
Snap!
It was like a heart pierced by an arrow.
Naruto froze solid, instantly hit hard and felt like he shattered into a million pieces.
Kakashi ignored Naruto and jumped down from the tower as well.
Below them,
Sara was startled when Kaede suddenly brought her down from the tower.
Instinctively, she hugged him.
When they landed, she hurriedly pulled away, about to say, "We're not, "
But then she froze in shock.
She noticed that those 'subjects' who were waving weapons and chanting her name were all, without exception, puppet dolls!
"How could this be…"
Sara's face showed shock.
She pushed several puppets aside, only to find that more puppets stood behind them, none of them real people.
"See for yourself."
Kaede looked at Sara.
"From what I've investigated, Mukade, under the alias Anrokuzan, has been using the power of the Ryūmyaku to create all these puppet soldiers since your mother died. And he's been using your 'subjects' as forced labor."
"How could something like this…"
Sara's gaze trembled as she took a few steps back.
Almost at that moment, nearby puppet dolls suddenly froze.
Then, several puppets shattered into pieces that quickly recombined into a larger puppet, wielding a massive scythe, which swung fiercely toward her.
Crash!
Kaede's expression remained calm as he stepped forward.
His left hand crackled with entwined lightning.
With a casual sweep, he smashed the scythe and the puppet behind it into countless fragments.
"Clear enough now?"
Kaede said to the dodging Sara.
Sara bit her lip.
Though she still found it hard to believe, the evidence before her left no room for doubt.
A wave of confusion and helplessness surged inside her.
At that moment, Kaede placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Tell me where the source of the Ryūmyaku's power is, and I'll help you."
Sara's body trembled slightly.
She looked up at Kaede.
The trembling in her eyes slowly steadied, replaced by a faint glimmer of hope.
"…Okay."
She took a deep breath, resolutely.
She threw off her queen's scarf, shed her coat, ripped apart her long skirt, and clenched her fists.
"I'll take you there!"
Kakashi stood not far away, watching them and sighed.
"Great, another woman with feelings for Big Brother. And this time a queen… What a headache."
Just as Kakashi sighed,
Crack! Crack!
Suddenly, the ground rumbled and cracked open.
A huge number of puppets surged from beneath the earth.
Kakashi's expression changed, and he took a few steps back.
Focusing, he saw Anrokuzan, dressed like a minister, stepping out from underground while standing atop a puppet.
"Konoha's ninjas really won't quit… But my plan is complete. I've already gained the Ryūmyaku's power. You can't stop me now! Hahahahaha!"
Kaede sighed.
"Guys like you usually don't last more than two episodes."
Anrokuzan raised an eyebrow, not understanding what Kaede meant.
Just as he was about to attack, Sara suddenly stepped forward, glaring at him.
"Anrokuzan! Stop right now! What are you trying to do?"
Seeing this,
Anrokuzan gave a wicked sneer.
"I appreciate your past help, but now you're useless. Go join your mother in death!"
Sara's heart jolted violently.
She had always doubted the circumstances of her mother's death.
Anrokuzan's words confirmed the terrifying truth she had dared not face.
She took two shaky steps back.
"Could it be that you… killed Mom…"
"You finally figured it out."
Anrokuzan chuckled darkly.
"Your mother was a, "
Crash!
He never finished.
A streak of lightning instantly sliced through him, shattering Anrokuzan into pieces.
"I'm done listening to your nonsense."
Kaede slowly lowered his left hand.
Crack! Crack!
The shattered pieces of Anrokuzan, blasted by Kaede's Moon Flash, suddenly glowed with purple chakra.
They gathered together, reforming.
He spread his hands wide, face twisted into a triumphant, maniacal grin.
"I have the power of the Ryūmyaku! Here, my strength is limitless. I am immortal!"
Rumble!
With Anrokuzan's movement,
Countless puppets erupted from the nearby ground and buildings.
They swarmed across the entire plaza, forming a massive puppet army.
In sheer numbers, they far outnumbered Chiyo's Chikamatsu Ten and even Sasori's Puppet Master army.
This was the power of the Ryūmyaku, beyond what any puppeteer alone could achieve.
"This many…"
Kakashi's face darkened.
Naruto, standing beside Kaede, also looked grim.
"How can there be so many? How do we even fight this? And that guy doesn't seem killable… This is bad!"
Usually, defeating a puppeteer meant destroying all their puppets at once.
But now, the puppeteer himself couldn't be killed.
And there were only three of them here, far too few to face this overwhelming number!
Things were looking grim.
Sara's face paled as well.
She hadn't expected Anrokuzan to harness the Ryūmyaku's power to create such a massive puppet army.
And he seemed fused with that power, becoming immortal.
She looked at Kaede helplessly.
"It really is a problem."
Kaede scanned the surroundings and fixed his gaze on Anrokuzan's real body.
Slowly, he drew out the Kusanagi sword.
Lightning flickered along the blade's edge.
He said to Sara,
"Tell me the location of the Ryūmyaku's source, Sara."
"Otherwise… I can't guarantee I won't damage the environment here."
==========
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