---Third POV---
With the control granted by the Rikugan, Ryouma quickly formed hand seals with both hands, creating a diamond-shaped mark on his forehead.
Rin exclaimed in surprise, "Is that Tsunade-sensei's Strength of a Hundred Seal? When did you learn that?"
"Oh, this?" Ryouma pointed to his forehead. "I learned it from a scroll Lady Mito left behind in the Senju clan. Remember when I helped replenish your chakra before? If I wasn't familiar with this sealing technique, I wouldn't have charge you so casually."
Unintentionally charming was often the most dangerous, upon hearing Ryouma's words, a blush quickly spread across Rin's cheeks. She clasped her hands behind her back and fidgeted with her fingers. Although she looked adorable like that, unfortunately, Ryouma didn't have the time to appreciate it at the moment.
In a puff of smoke, a large scroll over a meter tall appeared in front of him.
Kakashi and Obito quickly stepped forward to help him unroll it on the ground.
Naruto glanced at the complex formula inscribed on it and immediately felt dizzy. He hurriedly asked, "What is this?"
"This scroll contains chakra I sealed away earlier, just in case."
You could never have too much chakra. Even Sage of Six Paths Naruto, with the Nine-Tails, had times when he ran out, let alone Ryouma. Forming hand seals, he slapped both palms on the scroll. The spiral-like sealing pattern quickly unraveled, and he began absorbing the chakra inside using the Spirit Transformation Technique.
In less than 30 seconds, the diamond mark on his forehead began glowing faintly, indicating the Strength of a Hundred Seal was now fully charged. The efficiency was almost frightening.
He resealed the scroll and released the summoning technique. With a poof, the scroll vanished. Turning to look at Rin, Obito, and Kakashi, Ryouma spoke calmly, "From here, Naruto and I will go seal the Ryūmyaku. The rest of you stay here."
After he "killed" the outer shell of the Ryūmyaku's light pillar, he had immediately used the Rikugan to scan the surroundings. Aside from Sasori at the core of the Ryūmyaku, there were no other enemies nearby.
Obito wanted to go along, but Kakashi stepped forward and spoke firmly, "I understand. We'll leave the rest to you."
"Don't worry." Ryouma gave them a confident smile, then leapt away with Naruto toward the Ryūmyaku's core.
Obito gave Kakashi a sideways glance and, slightly sulking, plopped down on a piece of broken stone nearby.
Kakashi looked at him with his trademark dead-fish eyes. "I thought you were going to pick a fight with me."
"What's the point? I know full well that in my current condition, I'd only be a burden."
"Heh, you've grown up~"
"Say that in that tone again, and I'll hit you, got it?"
---
Tap tap tap~
Two figures, one large and one small, were walking up a spiral staircase.
"Hey, Ryouma-nii."
"What is it?"
Naruto scratched his head awkwardly and asked Ryouma a bit hesitantly.
"Well, I have this friend, and there's this girl who really likes him, but there's also another girl he really likes. So, um, what do you think, who should he choose?"
What kind of ridiculous question is that?
The moment Ryouma heard Naruto say "a friend," he already felt like laughing. But as the older one here, it was clearly time for him to offer some emotional guidance to him.
"This friend of yours, does the girl he likes actually like him back?"
"I think… maybe… probably? Yeah."
Doesn't sound like she likes him at all, Ryouma thought. But on the surface, he kept calmly counseling, "Then what about the girl who likes you? Do you have feelings for her too?"
Naruto pursed his lips and thought hard before finally answering, "I'm not sure. Maybe… kinda. No, wait! I'm talking about my friend, remember?"
"Right, right," Ryouma said with a straight face. "Then tell your friend this, if he has feelings for both girls, then he should go after both of them."
Naruto sucked in a sharp breath.
"But wouldn't that be kind of…"
"All right, enough about love talk. We're here."
Ryouma raised his right hand to signal Naruto to stop. Then he pulled two test tubes from the ninja tool pouch on his back and handed one to Naruto.
Naruto shook the test tube filled with a green liquid and asked, "What's this?"
Ryouma uncorked his own and drank it in one go. "It's a high-efficiency antidote. The enemy we're about to face might use poison, better to be prepared."
Once Naruto drank the antidote, Ryouma took a few steps forward. His eyes flashed as he drew Lostvayne from his waist and slashed through the critical point of the illusion barrier in front of them.
Bang!
The sound of shattering glass echoed, the barrier was dispelled.
In front of the two of them appeared a cylindrical pit, within which surged the powerful energy of the Ryūmyaku. This was the Source of the Ryūmyaku.
Clank clank clank~
Around it, various complex and massive machines roared as they operated simultaneously. These machines had one function only: to use Ryūmyaku's energy from beneath Rōran and convert it into power to drive puppet soldiers.
"That useless Mukade... I was right not to expect anything from him."
Sasori descended slowly from the only high platform in the area. His posture was elegant, as if he hadn't even noticed Ryouma and Naruto's presence, like victory was already his.
Naruto frowned and looked at him. "You're the queen? Doesn't look like it."
Judging from his appearance and outfit, he honestly thought the person in front of him looked way more like a guy. But misjudging someone's gender wasn't new for him, he was used to it by now.
"Ridiculous."
Sasori immediately recognized Naruto as a simpleton and had no intention of paying him any mind. Instead, he stared straight at Ryouma and said in a low voice, "You're the one who broke the outer shell of the Ryūmyaku, right? How does it feel being turned into a child?"
Ryouma ignored him and turned to explain to Naruto: "This guy is Mukade's partner. His name is Sasori."
Then he pointed to a girl kneeling not far behind Sasori, right at the Source of the Ryūmyaku.
"As for the queen you mentioned, she's over there, unconscious."
When Naruto saw the red-haired girl that Ryouma was pointing at, he immediately remembered.
Wasn't this queen the same girl he had met when he first arrived in this timeline, the one who had been singing inside the ruined tower?
"Her appearance…"
"Yeah, it's a little strange. She might be under some kind of jutsu, but it doesn't really look like that either. It's also possible she's being threatened."
"Sigh, I thought she was just some evil queen or something."
"That's why you need to think things through more before you act. Don't jump to conclusions so quickly."
---
Seeing Ryouma and Naruto casually chatting as if no one else were around, Sasori's gaze gradually grew more dangerous.
"You two... are you underestimating me?"
Hearing Sasori's voice filled with anger, Ryouma paused his lecture and turned to him with a puzzled look.
"Underestimating you? Do you have anything worth overestimating? Your fragile puppet body? Or that boring poison gas you've spread around here?"
"Oh? So you noticed? Looks like you did your homework."
Sasori had been wondering why the two had said so much yet still hadn't collapsed from the poison, turns out they had figured it out beforehand. Not that he had pinned all his hopes of defeating the Leaf's Gale on just that poison anyway.
"Since you've taken on the form of a child, you should understand this, even if you can neutralize the poison, with your current chakra levels, you still won't be able to defeat me. Witness my art!"
As he spoke, he pulled out a storage scroll from his back. In a swirl of smoke, the human puppet of the Third Kazekage was summoned. At that same moment, countless fine grains of iron sand gathered from all directions like a raging flood, surging toward the air above.
They clustered together rapidly, forming hundreds, if not thousands, of pitch-black, razor-sharp iron spikes of various shapes. Arranged in the sky like dark storm clouds, they gleamed with a chilling light.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The iron spikes rained down like a torrential storm, dense and violent, forming a black curtain as they came crashing down at terrifying speed and force. The very air was torn apart with piercing whistles as they fell. The once seemingly spacious area below was instantly filled with countless iron spikes, leaving no room to dodge.
"Naruto, get closer."
Ryouma gave a brief warning, then swung Lostvayne horizontally. The invisible domain of Full Counter expanded rapidly, reflecting all the sharp iron spikes back with double the force, a perfect counterattack.
Boom boom boom!
The previously rock-solid walls shattered instantly under the overwhelming impact. With a deafening roar, the walls collapsed completely. Countless chunks of debris fell like rain, scattering everywhere. The intricate instruments that had been placed around were smashed to pieces in the blink of an eye, parts and fragments flying in all directions, leaving the place in total ruin.
Sasori ignored the expensive instruments. Calmly, he controlled the iron sand to form a circle of black shields around him, blocking all the reflected spikes aimed at him.
"I didn't expect you to have mastered such a rebound ninjutsu at your age. Looks like the intel was right, this might really be your bloodline limit."
That was the downside of being famous. Intelligence about high-level ninjas like Ryouma was always a hot commodity on the black market. In fact, if he wanted to, he could make a fortune selling his own intel there, enough to bring tears of envy to Kakuzu.
As for Sasori, now that he had confirmed Ryouma's capabilities through that earlier exchange, he had a clearer grasp of the situation. At the very least, until he could significantly drain Ryouma's chakra, he couldn't afford to use Magnet Release so casually.
With that in mind, he suddenly flicked his chakra strings, controlling the Third Kazekage puppet to morph its hands into blades and swing them at his enemy.
This body... while it's limiting my physical capabilities, it might actually be the perfect opportunity to test something.
The Unyielding Foundation he'd gained was something that required pressure, damage, and brushes with death to unlock its true potential. His adult body had been too powerful, but this child's form, provided the perfect testing ground.
He charged forward with just his natural speed. The Third Kazekage puppet's blade came slicing toward his torso.
Time seemed to slow as his Rikugan tracked every detail of the incoming attack. The sight painted a clear picture of the blade's trajectory and the exact moment of impact. But instead of dodging completely, he made a small adjustment, shifting just enough so the blade would pierce through his side rather than his heart.
Just before impact, his hand flicked forward, sending a marked kunai spinning through the air to embed itself in the wall behind puppet.
The blade pierced deep into his torso. Pain flared through his body, but he felt something else entirely... It was this strange resonance deep within his bones and muscles, as if his body was responding to the damage.
"Ryouma-nii!" Naruto shouted in alarm.
The Third Kazekage puppet began to twist its blade, attempting to cause maximum internal damage. But in that instant, Ryouma vanished in a flash.
He reappeared by his marked kunai, the sudden displacement causing the puppet's blade to slide free from his wound.
He didn't hesitate. He quickly released his Yin Seal and transformed his chakra into lightning. Accompanied by a crackling buzz, he activated the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
He burst forward with explosive speed, his right fist drawn back. For just a moment, he attempted to use Armament Haki on his whole arm.
The strain was immediate and intense. His current body simply wasn't developed enough to handle the full power of Armament Haki, it felt like trying to channel an ocean through a straw. Invisible energy flickered around his fist for barely two seconds before sharp pain shot through his arm, forcing him to stop covering it with Haki.
Ah, so this is what it feels like in reality if one's body is too weak for Armament Haki, he thought as he flickered away using a basic Body Flicker Technique, putting distance between himself and the puppet. His side was bleeding steadily, but something was happening.
Activating the Mystical Palm Technique, he placed his glowing hand over the wound. The healing process that should have taken several minutes was completed in mere seconds. His enhanced metabolism was working overtime, converting the stored chakra and nutrients in his body into raw healing power at an incredible rate.
The wound sealed itself completely, leaving only unmarked skin behind.
But the most interesting part was what he felt afterward, a subtle but unmistakable increase in his body's resilience. His muscles felt denser, his bones harder. The Unyielding Foundation had activated, using the damage and recovery cycle to forge his physical form into something stronger.
Incredible. But...
A sudden pang of hunger hit him like a wave. His enhanced metabolism had burned through a significant portion of his energy reserves to fuel that rapid healing. He'd need to eat soon, and a lot.
The Third Kazekage puppet lunged forward again, this time with both hands transformed into spinning drill-bits aimed at Ryouma's head and heart simultaneously.
This time, Ryouma didn't hold back. Lightning Release Chakra Mode flared to life around him in full force. Facing a frontal assault from the Third Kazekage puppet, he pushed off with his legs, sparking with electricity as he agilely dodged backward. At the same time, his eyes glowed slightly, and Lostvayne was drawn and ready.
Naruto seized the opportunity and formed a Rasengan with one hand, charging straight toward Sasori's real body. Back during the mission to chase Mukade, Kakashi had taught him: a puppet master's greatest weakness is their real body.
"Rasengan!"
Sasori glanced up at the oncoming Naruto and flicked his left hand, launching several chakra threads that latched onto Naruto, bringing his charge to a sudden halt.
"Eh?! My body!"
Under Sasori's control, Naruto raised his right hand and smashed the Rasengan into his own chest.
Boom!
A cloud of smoke burst out, it was just a shadow clone that had launched the attack. Being Kakashi's student, leading with a shadow clone was practically second nature by now.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A new wave of smoke erupted, and hundreds of Narutos appeared simultaneously.
"Alright! Let's see how you deal with this! Go!"
"Right!"
Naruto and his army of shadow clones responded in unison, each forming a Rasengan as they launched a full-scale charge toward Sasori's real body.
Sasori snorted coldly. With his free left hand, he extended it from his wide sleeve, revealing a black cannon barrel in his palm.
A torrent of scorching, concentrated flames erupted from the cannon, moving at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, it hit the leading Naruto clones. The flames then fanned out, shifting from a beam to a sweeping area-of-effect attack.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One by one, Naruto's shadow clones were incinerated.
Meanwhile, Ryouma seized a moment when the Third Kazekage puppet froze for a beat, swiftly closing the gap. He slashed through several of the puppet's critical points.
The Third Kazekage puppet immediately broke apart, its parts scattering across the ground.
From afar, Sasori, still releasing fire, frowned deeply. His right hand moved swiftly, shooting out more chakra threads to reconnect with the fallen puppet parts, attempting to reassemble it.
"What's going on?"
He could feel his chakra threads had clearly made contact. But the components of the Third Kazekage puppet felt like lifeless stones, they weren't responding to his chakra signals at all. Still, this was a battle. He didn't have time to figure out what was wrong with the puppet parts.
Withdrawing the fire attack from his left hand, he pulled out another scroll from his back.
"I don't know what method you used to destroy that masterpiece, but let's see how you handle this next technique."