"Super Missile!"
Hundred-Legs let out a roar as countless dark openings appeared across the chest of the giant war machine.
The next moment, a barrage of missiles poured from those openings, raining down on Naruto and Sasuke's Armored Susanoo.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Rolling black smoke from the explosions blotted out the sky.
The shockwaves shook all of Loulan violently. Buildings that Hundred-Legs had not taken control of swayed from side to side before collapsing in an instant.
Fortunately, Rope Tree had already evacuated everyone. Otherwise, Loulan could have been declared destroyed after that one attack.
Minato's figure darted through the collapsing buildings, heading straight for the source of the Dragon Vein.
After thinking it over, Minato had come to a conclusion. Since both sides had been transported here by the Dragon Vein, if he shut down the Dragon Vein, could he send them back?
Ren Kurogane was surprised by Minato's idea.
But he quickly understood.
Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hundred-Legs were all covered by a layer of Dragon Vein chakra.
Since Dragon Vein chakra was everywhere throughout Loulan, Ren Kurogane had not noticed it at first.
Only after Minato pointed it out did he realize that shutting down the Dragon Vein would cut off the source of power sustaining the four of them. Without the Dragon Vein's protection, these time travelers would immediately be corrected by the laws of time.
That was why, in the original story, Naruto and the others were transported back after Minato shut down the Dragon Vein.
However, the Dragon Vein's power filled every street and alley in Loulan, making its source difficult to locate.
Looks like something has caused Hundred-Legs to use the Dragon Vein's power even more recklessly, Ren Kurogane thought.
The building beneath his feet was already swaying dangerously. Ren Kurogane hurriedly reinforced it with Earth Release, preventing it from collapsing like the others.
Wooden dragons weaved through the dust, each carrying several small wooden houses on their backs. Loulan's residents were inside those houses.
After Rope Tree had moved everyone outside Loulan, he turned his gaze toward the two enormous figures battling in the distance.
"These two juniors aren't bad! That chakra giant is almost as strong as my Wood Golem!"
"Yeah. Even if you put the two of them in the future, they could still make it into the fourth tier," Ren Kurogane agreed.
Kakashi, standing beside him, was utterly confused.
"Fourth tier? …Huh?"
Ren Kurogane ignored the little boy's confusion. The battle between Naruto, Sasuke, and Hundred-Legs had already reached its climax.
After Hundred-Legs' missiles had nearly destroyed all of Loulan, Naruto and Sasuke finally began to show their strength.
A flash of purple light appeared in the hand of the golden-and-purple giant, and a long purple blade materialized in its palm.
"Still not enough!" Sasuke said quietly. "Kagutsuchi!"
Whoosh!
Black flames suddenly erupted along the purple blade. The searing heat seemed capable of burning a hole straight through space.
After using the technique, blood tears ran from the corners of Sasuke's eyes.
But that level of injury was insignificant to his current body.
With the enormous amplification from Senjutsu chakra, he could recover almost instantly.
Naruto grinned. "The temperature's gone up quite a bit. But do we really need to enchant the blade against this guy?"
As he spoke, Naruto swung the long blade and brought it crashing down on the giant war machine.
Under the overwhelming strength of the two, the giant war machine was cleaved cleanly in half.
Seeing what was inside, Sasuke frowned.
"Couldn't you aim before cutting?"
The section they had sliced open contained nothing but a mass of puppets. Hundred-Legs was nowhere to be seen.
Naruto scratched his head with a grin.
"Sorry, sorry! Just a little mistake. The next strike will definitely finish him."
"Hmph! If you miss again, I'm taking over."
"OK!"
The puppet on the other side separated the section engulfed in black flames, then fused itself back together.
"Move faster," Sasuke urged.
Naruto's expression turned serious. He brought his hands together, and the giant moved once more.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In an instant, the giant swung its samurai blade repeatedly, purple flashes filling the entire sky.
Before Naruto and Sasuke, the giant war machine was sliced into countless pieces.
Naruto's eyes gleamed.
"How are you going to dodge this final strike?"
With that, the blade came down.
Inside one of the puppet fragments, barely over a meter across, was Hundred-Legs, sliced cleanly in half.
Yet even after being cut in two, Hundred-Legs remained completely calm.
Looking at the two of them, he sneered.
"You two didn't seriously think that all I've done over these eight years is build this giant war machine, did you?"
"Oh?"
Under Naruto and Sasuke's puzzled gazes, Hundred-Legs' severed body fused back together just like a puppet.
"Eight years. With the Dragon Vein's endless power, I transformed myself into a perfect puppet! As long as the Dragon Vein's power continues, I am immortal! Hahahaha!"
Whoosh!
Another piercing arrow shot through Hundred-Legs' body.
The next instant, he recovered completely.
"Still don't understand? The me standing before you now is an invincible existence!"
Centipede, invincible.
"Is that so? Even Uncle Ren doesn't dare call himself invincible. And you, someone who's only borrowed a fraction of the Dragon Vein's power, actually have the nerve to boast like that!" Naruto said with a faint smile.
"Oh? Our strongest combination can't do anything to me, and you still have another trick?"
The next moment, Naruto and Sasuke dispelled their chakra constructs.
"We can't beat you, but that doesn't mean nobody else can."
A black figure suddenly descended from the sky and landed on one knee.
A textbook heroic entrance.
"You brats! Get out of here as fast as you can! Because this place is about to become a basin!"
Rope Tree raised his head and looked excitedly at the giant war machine before him.
"A basin? Wait! No way!"
Sasuke's expression changed dramatically. His voice was filled with disbelief.
Naruto and Sakura beside him were no better. Both stared at Rope Tree in horror.
For the record, Sakura had been inside the abdomen of the chakra giant just moments ago.
"Uncle Rope Tree… Are you really going to fight alone?" Naruto asked uncertainly.
"Of course. If those two join me, the Land of Wind will disappear!"
Rope Tree said it with absolute swagger.
"Gasp…"
Hearing the sound behind him, Rope Tree was immensely satisfied.
That was exactly the reaction he wanted.
He continued, "All right, get out of here. I won't have time to protect you later. Or, if you're not afraid of heights, you can stay right where you are!"
The three of them were still confused when Rope Tree suddenly brought his hands together and shouted:
"Sage Art! Wood Release! True Several Thousand Hands!"
Rumble!
Terrifying chakra erupted from Rope Tree's body, instantly blowing the hair of the three people behind him straight back.
Then golden-glowing wood rose beneath their feet.
The next instant, their field of vision seemed to rise endlessly, carrying them straight through the clouds.
Naruto stiffly turned his head.
What he saw was an endless sea of enormous wooden hands stretching beyond the limits of sight.
Rope Tree's body was trembling slightly.
I awakened Wood Release and have trained in Senjutsu for all these years. Finally! I can finally unleash my full strength without holding back! This feels incredible!
He screamed inside.
On the outside, however, he had to keep his composure. He couldn't let his juniors see him make a fool of himself.
Hundred-Legs was also staring blankly at the enormous figure whose end he could not see.
Then—
He laughed.
"Heh… Hahaha! Hahahahaha!"
Cracks spread across the giant puppet, and even part of its outer layer began to peel away.
"So that's how it is. There are no Five Great Nations. They're nothing more than four ants playing house with a god…"
"Oh? Have you lost the will to fight and given up resisting?" Rope Tree murmured. "Even if you surrender, it won't help. My fists are already starving for a fight!"
Hundred-Legs was a ruthless man.
After only a brief moment of shock, he went completely wild.
"Hahahaha! To fight someone as powerful as you is my good fortune! Come! Let me witness the legendary power of Wood Release! Let's see whether your attacks are stronger, or the Dragon Vein can repair me faster!"
"Not bad, kid! You've got some guts!" Rope Tree laughed. "Then have it your way. Wood Release Secret Technique: Deep Forest Emergence!"
"True Several Thousand Hands! Top Transformed Buddha!"
Dong!
A deep, resonant bell-like sound struck straight into the soul.
Countless enormous hands formed by the True Several Thousand Hands clenched into fists and came crashing down toward Hundred-Legs below.
"Oh, this Loulan is going to become history," Ren Kurogane muttered.
He grabbed Kakashi, who had completely stopped thinking, and leapt away, disappearing beyond Loulan's borders.
"Good thing I planned ahead and had my Wood Clone set up a barrier around the area. Otherwise, after today, there might not be Five Great Nations left in the world."
The instant Ren Kurogane left, endless explosions rang across the heavens and earth.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Countless golden wooden fists smashed into Hundred-Legs' giant war machine.
In an instant, the entire machine was reduced to pieces.
Inside, Hundred-Legs looked utterly deranged. Chakra threads shot from every pore of his body, frantically pulling the surrounding puppet fragments back onto himself.
As for Sara—
Sorry, he no longer had time to bother with someone so insignificant.
And Sara did not need his help anyway.
A ring of purple light appeared around Sara, and she vanished from the battlefield in an instant.
Even though Sara had completely stopped thinking just like Kakashi, the Dragon Vein instinctively used its power to protect her, allowing her to survive.
After Sara disappeared, Hundred-Legs' body continued to be destroyed and reconstructed.
After being shattered an unknown number of times, only his mouth remained.
He shouted, "Who are you? What's your name?"
"Senju Rope Tree!"
The next moment, the last remnants of Hundred-Legs' body were completely destroyed.
By then, all of Loulan had been overturned.
Endless shockwaves surged outward, crashing against an invisible wall without causing even the slightest ripple.
Several people stood beside Ren Kurogane.
Sara, who had just been transported out by the Dragon Vein. Kakashi, still dazed. Pakura, her expression complicated. And countless residents of Loulan.
Inside the barrier, heaven and earth were still shaking.
Yet the people standing just a meter outside it could not feel the slightest disturbance. There was not even a breeze.
Their feelings were complicated.
Especially Pakura.
If Ren Kurogane had not casually brought her out just now, there probably would not even be a trace of her left.
Looking at him with a complicated expression, Pakura thought:
He saved me again… Why? Aren't we supposed to be enemies?
Ninja from different villages were enemies not only because of wars between nations. Their missions were another reason.
For example, if I'm protecting a group of people and you're trying to kill those people, then the moment we meet, we're enemies.
Over time, even without being on a mission, shinobi from different villages would instinctively become wary whenever they encountered one another.
Yet Ren Kurogane had actually saved her.
After some time, the turmoil inside the barrier gradually subsided.
The sand still filled the sky, but Rope Tree's attack was over.
The earth stopped trembling. Only the raging sandstorm remained, venting what seemed like the fury of the earth.
Even that fury looked laughable before a single enormous hand.
A giant wooden hand swept across the sky, its gusts carving a path through the dust and revealing the true form of the Wooden Golem.
The Wooden Golem then swung its arms repeatedly, scattering the sandstorm across the sky.
After that, it dispelled itself, and four figures descended to the ground.
Feeling that the barrier had stopped shaking, Ren Kurogane dispelled it and walked inside with the others.
Loulan, once filled with towering buildings, had completely disappeared.
There was not even a trace of what it had once looked like.
The entire Land of Loulan had become a gigantic basin.
At its very center, a layer of white fragments resembling shattered jade could be seen.
Seeing the scene with their own eyes, everyone was shocked once again.
"Hehe! Master! I didn't embarrass you, did I?"
Rope Tree ran over with a grin.
Ren Kurogane smiled.
"Not bad. When it comes to chakra, there aren't many people in this world stronger than you."
Rope Tree was even more pleased.
He looked around but could not find Minato.
"That guy Minato still hasn't finished? He's taking forever…"
The next moment, Minato appeared behind Rope Tree with a light laugh.
"Sorry. Rope Tree's movements were so destructive that I didn't rush to shut down the Dragon Vein. But I've already set up the sealing formula. The Dragon Vein's power is now declining."
Minato looked at Sara.
"As for whether we should shut it down completely, that depends on what the Queen of Loulan wants."
Sara pointed at herself uncertainly.
"Me?"
Her voice was full of disbelief.
She felt that these Konoha shinobi were already so powerful, so why would they care about the opinion of a mere queen like her?
Even if they seized the Dragon Vein right now, who in the shinobi world would dare say a word?
Tomorrow, they might as well be watching Top Transformed Buddha.
"Of course. You're the queen here, after all."
With that, Minato took out several specially prepared soldier pills and handed them to the three people behind him, who looked completely drained.
After using Top Transformed Buddha, Rope Tree had also felt completely exhausted, so he borrowed some chakra from the three people behind him.
That was why all three looked as though they had just overindulged themselves.
"Th… thank you…"
After thanking him, the three swallowed the soldier pills, and their complexions improved somewhat.
They were still dazed, though.
They had thought that their attempts to conceal their strength were already outrageous.
Yet they had never expected that Rope Tree, who spent every day doing nothing, had possessed such terrifying power at roughly their age.
Then several new questions appeared in their minds.
"Why does someone as powerful as Rope Tree spend every day slacking off?"
"How did the Fourth Hokage, who spends all day sitting in his office processing documents, manage to take the Hokage position from someone as powerful as Rope Tree? Is he even stronger?"
"Why hasn't Konoha, with this kind of power, unified the shinobi world?"
"And finally, just what kind of terrifying powerhouse is Uncle Ren, who looks so casual yet commands the respect of both the Fourth Hokage and Rope Tree?"
One question after another arose.
White light began to appear over the three of them.
Minato said, "Looks like your journey through time is coming to an end."