Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 364 On the Eve of the Clash

"You just used Wind Release? I didn't see you form any hand seals, was it a no-hand seal ninjutsu?"

"It's Wind Release. None of my Five Elements Techniques require hand seals."

"Huh? You can do that? Is there a trick to it? The Flying Thunder God Technique requires a fast enough ninjutsu to work with. Right now, the Rasengan is the only one that I can use well."

"Well... I haven't taught anyone this yet, but I have already taught one person the Rasengan."

"So you've learned the Rasengan after all. Did I teach you? How long did it take you to learn?"

"...about a month."

"Oh~ When I left, Jiraiya-sensei told me that he learned the Rasengan in just three months. I wish I could go back and brag about it."

Naruto paused slightly; a moment of distraction makes one vulnerable. A puppet's kunai missed its mark, but it was still attached to chakra threads. A slashing motion aimed to sever Naruto's neck. However, not only did the threads break, but the kunai itself shattered on the spot. Naruto's hasty swing left a huge gash in the wall.

This startled the civilians who were trying to save them a second time, just like when they broke down the gate and rushed in. Seeing several people about to run into the puppet horde in a panic, Naruto decided to stop holding back and floated up, sweeping away all the puppets in one go.

"Please don't panic, we're here to rescue you. Your families have already been moved to a safe zone outside the city, and you'll be able to reunite with them soon." Minato quickly grabbed the few stray people and brought them back, calming the restless crowd. Then he turned to Naruto, who was slowly landing, and said, "I'll teleport these people. You've already used up a lot of energy."

Naruto wanted to say "It's alright," but faced with pairs of eyes that looked like startled birds, he could only stand a short distance away and nod.

As fewer and fewer people arrived, the place returned to being occupied by only two people.

"Naruto, you're much better than I expected." Minato's first words were full of praise, and it was impossible not to. He even suspected that Naruto had already surpassed him by incorporating nature transformation into the Rasengan, allowing the technique that he had failed to complete to shine.

"Really? Just how much more powerful are you now?" Naruto knew that Minato's praise was heartfelt and intended to ease the prejudice of the common people against him and to take care of his feelings, so he played along with the joke.

Would he really care about such a trivial emotion? If his father were still alive, his childhood certainly wouldn't have been so difficult. But there are no "what ifs" in life. Without those experiences, he would definitely have become another "Naruto".

Minato actually thought carefully for a while at this crucial moment and said, "I have a strange feeling that you are already omnipotent. You have already surpassed my future self."

"Pfft, hahahaha..." Naruto was genuinely amused. How come he hadn't realized that his father was such an interesting person? Although he hadn't fought at full strength for a very long time, even disregarding physical reasons, his various abilities were enough to give any Kage-level powerhouse a headache. He really couldn't guarantee whether his father in his prime could defeat him.

"We haven't even made a move yet, so we don't know anything about it."

The father and son, separated by time, didn't have much time for "friendly" communication. Before they had even finished dealing with the arsenal, the shadow clone beside the Queen issued a call to assemble.

"Queen Sara seems to have found the Centipede's lair."

"So fast? I asked Kakashi to investigate before, I wonder where he is now. Oh, Kakashi is mine..."

“Disciple. I know him. He’s still my teacher.” Naruto tried again to find something familiar in the chaos, but failed. “If only my senses could still work, I would definitely be able to find him.”

"Don't worry about that, we can 'fly' directly to his side, but we need to make it clear that he can't know your identity."

"...Then what should I call you?"

"Watergate. I'm more used to calling it that."

After saying that, Minato grabbed his shoulder and flew away with him.

Kakashi's method of finding the lair was similar to Sara's, except that Queen Sara had the advantage of bloodline, which allowed her to directly sense the energy flow inside the pipes, and she was also more familiar with Loulan, so she arrived at the central hub of various pipes first.

Since there are only three of them, two of whom are women with virtually no combat ability, only Naruto and Sara were able to infiltrate. The Queen's special ability is crucial to this battle; cutting off the enemy's energy source is the only way to fundamentally solve the problem.

The puppets' intelligence was limited; they had all managed to reach the edge of the array connecting to the dragon vein without being detected. Sarah saw her people, exhausted to the point of collapse, which strengthened her resolve to end it all. Her courage lay in protecting her people; no matter how afraid she was, she would stand within the empty array, where she could be discovered at any moment, to sever the dragon vein's power.

Even while the formation was closed, Naruto didn't stop observing. Unfortunately, his clone's senses weren't very precise; he could only confirm that Sara could indeed resonate with the dragon vein, which was probably why she had the ability to control it. With the energy pillar gone, it inevitably meant the Queen had personally descended. With nowhere to run, the centipede finally stepped forward and greeted them with an air of confidence.

The future Centipede was as thin as a stick, dressed in tattered rags, his face almost a skeleton. But now? This guy is much rounder, dressed like a human, even his chakra has changed, Naruto almost didn't recognize him.

The unassembled puppet parts automatically assembled as the centipede emerged, and the power of the dragon vein had permeated every corner of the city. It was clear that severing such a formation could not solve the problem.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing in such a place?" Centipede bowed hypocritically.

"An Lushan! I have stopped the flow of the dragon vein, and I will not allow you to use this power for the sake of war! As the queen, I order you to stop the development of puppet weapons and immediately release the people who are serving hard labor!" Sarah's command was very forceful and had the demeanor of a queen. However, power usually needs to be tied to strength, and she was still just a child.

Upon hearing these words, Centipede finally dropped his pretense and revealed his fangs. This treacherous subject had never truly obeyed the Queen; everything he did was for his ultimate dream of world domination. Now that he was powerful enough, he had long since mastered how to control the power of the dragon veins and had solved the problem of the human body's inability to bear more power. The Queen had become a stumbling block to his grand ambition.

Because this woman can truly make the dragon vein sleep forever!