All in all, the reunion between father and son was a happy one.
Minato wasn't surprised by his own death. In fact, from the moment he became a shinobi, he had already accepted the possibility of sacrificing himself for Konoha.
To die saving his son was something he had no regrets about.
Still… would the Nine-Tails really go berserk during Kushina's childbirth?
...
"Who is this…?" Aburame Shibi looked at Sasuke.
That hairstyle, that aura, and the Uchiha crest on his back — it was obvious he was from the Uchiha clan.
"Uchiha Sasuke, the second son of Uchiha Fugaku," Kiyosuke introduced.
"These two are the younger versions of the Akimichi clan head and the Aburame clan head."
"An honor to meet you both."
As the second son of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke's manners were perfectly proper. Fugaku was strict in that regard and had set high standards for him.
"Second son? If I remember correctly, Fugaku's wife only recently became pregnant," Akimichi Chōza said.
"Yeah, there was word about that… but the second child is already this big?"
So Itachi hasn't even been born yet?
Sasuke was taken aback.
While they were speaking, a loud boom erupted nearby, and several figures flew through the air — it was Team 8, led by Kiyosuke.
Shino's swarm of insects devoured the puppets.
Kiba and Akamaru's Fang Over Fang smashed through more of them.
Hinata's chakra blades sliced cleanly through the chakra threads.
Their battle quickly drew everyone's attention.
"That's Hinata and the others!" Naruto's spirits lifted as he shouted.
"Go back them up!"
"Right!"
Sasuke and Naruto rushed out together.
Kiyosuke chuckled and said, "Minato-sensei, did you see that Hyūga girl? She's the Hyūga clan's heiress, and she's liked Naruto since she was a kid. You could say she's your daughter-in-law."
Minato grinned sheepishly.
He hadn't even officially proposed to Kushina yet, and now he already had both a son and a daughter-in-law?
That girl Hinata did seem rather gentle, though.
"Minato, your son's quite capable," Chōza teased.
"Haha, he's doing all right, I suppose."
Not long after, Naruto returned with Hinata and the others.
When Shino saw Aburame Shibi, he froze in shock, but quickly forced himself to accept the reality. Talking with his father wasn't as difficult as he expected.
"I wonder what my own son is doing right now," Chōza muttered when he saw all his teammates' children gathered here.
"Probably at a barbecue shop eating yakiniku," Kiyosuke said.
"You must be Hinata, right?" Minato approached and greeted her.
"Y-Yes, hello, Fourth-sama," Hinata stammered, bowing deeply, her face flushed with nervousness.
"No need to be nervous. I'll be entrusting my son to you."
"Yes!"
Their exchange was rather amusing, and Kiyosuke, watching from the side, was clearly enjoying himself.
"Kiyosuke-san, let's hurry and find Sakura and Captain Yamato. Who knows where they are," Naruto urged.
"No need to worry. They're perfectly safe. But we've got other priorities right now. What matters most is tracking down Mukade. Since we were sent here, that guy must be here too. The puppets you just fought were very similar to his style."
Kiyosuke walked to the edge of the rooftop and gazed down at the crowds and the parade below, his eyes cold.
"A rotting country."
Minato came to his side.
"You've noticed too?"
"Of course. A false nation. So where are the real people of this country?" Kiyosuke asked.
"We're investigating," Minato replied, turning back with an apologetic look.
"Sorry, but we've got other missions to handle. We won't be joining you."
With that, he put on his mask and vanished with his team.
Naruto looked a little disappointed, but quickly regained his spirit.
"Kiyosuke-san, let's hurry and catch Mukade!"
"Yeah. Let's go."
Kiyosuke leapt down, and the others followed, blending into the crowd.
...
"Wh-What is this?!" Naruto exclaimed.
All around them were puppets. Not a single living presence could be felt.
The streets were packed with them, walking stiffly in unison, arms raised as if waving to someone, creating the illusion of a prosperous city.
But it was nothing more than a fake prosperity.
"Just puppets. A scam," Kiyosuke said flatly.
"Stay with them. I want to see the hidden face of this country."
He landed atop one of the floats, watching the stiff puppets shuffle along in one direction.
Hmph.
Looks like Mukade still has a few tricks up his sleeve.
He grabbed one puppet and crushed it with his hand. It crumbled into dirt.
Yes — they were indeed Mukade's puppets.
That meant Mukade was somewhere here, in the ancient kingdom of Rōran of more than ten years ago… and had even secured a foothold.
Otherwise, it would have been impossible to replace this many civilians with puppets.
He was maintaining the illusion of prosperity, and his goal was almost certainly the Dragon Vein.
The Dragon Vein contained vast amounts of chakra.
If Mukade devoured it, he would become unstoppable.
Or at least, that's what he thought. But Kiyosuke sneered — a puppeteer's greatest weakness was still their puppets.
He wasn't impressed.
...
Following the puppets, they arrived beneath a towering structure.
The puppets all raised their heads silently, waving stiffly and eerily, as if welcoming someone.
Kiyosuke also raised his gaze.
On the balcony of the tower stood a red-haired girl in ornate robes, wearing a tall jeweled crown. Surrounded by attendants, she stepped forward, overlooking her "citizens" and waving back at them.
At that moment, a hand suddenly shoved her from behind.
The balcony crumbled, and she plummeted down with a scream.
Naruto darted forward, catching her midair and carrying her away from the collapsing platform.
"This brat… slow-witted as always, yet somehow always attracting girls. Is this what it means to be the Child of Prophecy?" Kiyosuke muttered, shaking his head as he leapt after them.
Naruto set the girl down in a park.
The moment she regained consciousness, she slapped him twice across the face.
"You insolent fool!!!"
"Ow, ow, ow! What the hell?! I saved you!"
"Hmph? Then I should be thanking you."
What is with this woman?
Naruto was baffled.
"Are you the queen here?"
The girl straightened her posture proudly.
"That's right. I am Sara, Queen of Rōran!"
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha. Why did you fall from that tower?"
"That was just an accident!" Sara insisted.
"No, it wasn't," Kiyosuke said as he landed.
"I saw it clearly. Someone pushed you. A hand shoved you off."
Sara's expression instantly darkened.