Mukade's anger flashed across his face for just a moment, but it was quickly replaced by a look of admiration as he stared at Kagetsu.
His tone sounded sincere, but his eyes were filled with greed.
If he could trap all of them here, he wouldn't just get Kagetsu's body data—he'd also gain a Wood Release test subject and the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
All of them would be major assets to his plan!
But first, he had to defeat Kagetsu right here.
If it had been the Kagetsu from his own timeline, Mukade would've turned and run the moment he saw him.
As a former admirer, he knew all too well how terrifying Kagetsu's record and hidden techniques were.
But in this timeline, Kagetsu still looked a bit young. Mukade believed his chances of winning were high.
Even though his preparations weren't perfect, he wasn't without hidden cards.
As someone who once admired Kagetsu, Mukade wanted to show off his skills. If he could surprise and even embarrass Kagetsu in the process, that would be even better! This content belongs to noᴠelfire.net
Seven puppets suddenly sprang into action with a flick of Mukade's fingers, attacking Kagetsu from all directions.
Three of them formed a formation that resembled the Chinese character "众" (meaning crowd), performed hand signs, and opened their mouths in unison to reveal the hidden characters "佛法僧" (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) inside.
(Three Treasures Suction!)
A powerful gust of wind gathered instantly in front of the trio. A fierce suction force began pulling everything into the center of the puppet technique.
Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!
Layer upon layer of stone walls rose, and chunks of rock fell down, forming both a barrier and cover between Kagetsu and Itachi.
Black threads wrapped around Itachi, pulling him backward and out of range of the puppet technique.
The broken stones were caught in the vortex, continuously grinding and compressing as they were sucked in, then launched backward by the force of the formation.
At that moment, a female puppet wielding twin blades descended from above. Her gleaming blades fell like mercury, slashing down toward where Kagetsu stood.
Her movements were agile, more like a taijutsu expert than a puppet controlled by a single finger.
At the same time she attacked, Kagetsu's shadow moved like a living creature. In an instant, it formed a large web of darkness in front of him, shielding him completely.
When the puppet's blade slashed against the shadow threads, it was like a fish caught in a net — all its strength disappeared.
Then, as the force behind the puppet's strike faded, the shadow threads surged like a crashing wave. They tightly bound the female puppet and forcefully seized control from the one manipulating her.
The threads began to attack anything that entered their domain. Like a spider's web, even the slightest movement would be felt by the one waiting within.
They could also shift and reshape themselves freely, adapting to any situation.
The only limit was the size of Kagetsu's shadow — it couldn't provide a bigger area for them to operate.
When Kagetsu looked again at Mukade, he was already standing in the very center of the underground chamber.
The remnants of the puppets had been swept away by the earlier shockwave from the Sanbō Kyūkai, then compressed and flung behind him.
Now, using a strange, glowing purple energy, Mukade reshaped the remains.
What emerged was a vivid, lifelike creature that looked like a giant raccoon dog.
Shukaku — the One-Tail!
The moment Naruto, Baki, and the others saw it, they immediately recognized the creature.
Especially Baki — for a second, he even suspected Mukade had sneaked back to the village and stolen the sealing jar that held the One-Tail.
But he quickly dismissed that idea.
The One-Tail's sealing jar was personally guarded by the Fourth Kazekage. Besides, during the war with the Hidden Cloud, he had seen the real Shukaku with his own eyes.
The creature in front of him looked very much like the One-Tailed Shukaku, but the pattern and color on its body were different from the Shukaku in his memory.
The real Shukaku had curse mark-like patterns, but this one had something more like veins filled with glowing purple blood.
In the dim underground space, the faint purple light flowed through those vein-like lines that covered its entire body.
Mukade was now standing on top of the creature's head, his body gradually sinking into the puppet Shukaku. As he formed hand seals, the slumbering creature suddenly opened its eyes.
Two brilliant, purple-glowing eyes moved within their sockets before finally locking onto Kagetsu.
Looking at this creation that resembled the One-Tail so closely, Kagetsu couldn't help but feel a flicker of anticipation.
Even though he considered Mukade's thoughts to be a bit mad and obsessive, his puppet mastery was undeniably impressive—even to someone like Kagetsu who hadn't encountered many puppet masters before.
He could tell that this puppet One-Tail wasn't just for show. He had studied real Tailed Beasts up close before, and the energy and pressure coming from this thing… it was even greater than that of the Two-Tails.
In other words, Mukade had really used his skills to create a puppet that rivaled a Tailed Beast in terms of energy.
And the energy core of this puppet was none other than the Ryūmyaku vein hidden beneath the ground!
Even if he had borrowed the power of the Ryūmyaku vein, the fact that Mukade could accomplish something meant he deserved a place among the greatest puppet masters in history.
Fire Style: Ryūmyaku vein Great Fireball!
Unlike the real One-Tail with its wind and sand, this puppet One-Tail clapped its belly in an instant and fired multiple giant purple Fireballs like a rapid cannon.
Baki and the others, who were caught within the range of the Fireballs, felt an overwhelming sense of danger wash over them.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
Yamato immediately stepped in front of Naruto, Sakura, and Sai, shielding them with his body.
His hands moved quickly through hand signs, and a spiraling stream of water rose from the ground, cutting through the earth and forming a rotating wall of water around them for protection.
One of the Fireballs collided with the spinning water wall. Without a sound, it corroded a huge hole into it.
Yamato quickly poured more chakra into the jutsu, boosting its rotation and strength. Strain began to show on his face.
Four stone giants stood in front of Kagetsu, each holding up massive stone shields. The purple Fireballs struck and exploded on contact, shattering the giants into pieces.
The entire underground chamber began to crumble under the puppet One-Tail's relentless assault.
Kagetsu swung his arm in the direction of the puppet One-Tail. As he moved, a massive rocky blade, shaped like a shark's fin, burst from the ground.
It glided quickly along the surface, growing larger as it neared the puppet One-Tail.
The puppet One-Tail's claw caught the incoming rock blade, halting its advance just short of its body. But even with its huge frame, the puppet was forced back two steps from the force.
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