---

  Kurenai Yuhi glanced at Hanekawa as they walked, her mind working through the pieces of a puzzle that didn't quite fit.

  She had no concept of time travel—not really—but Tsunade and the others had shown enough doubt to plant seeds of suspicion. The way they looked at that young boy who resembled Hanekawa so closely. The way Tsunade's eyes narrowed when she thought no one was watching.

  Something's wrong with the timeline, Kurenai thought, filing the observation away.

  When they reached the palace, heavy footsteps echoed from every direction. Minato immediately tensed, his hand moving to his kunai pouch. Kurenai and the others fell into formation, ready for combat.

  Then the puppets emerged.

  They came in waves—mechanical, jerky, utterly inhuman. Sarah stepped forward, her voice steady despite the fear in her eyes. "I am the Queen of Loulan! Stand down!"

  The puppets didn't even slow.

  "Mukade!" Sarah's voice cracked. "I know you're here!"

  "Ah, wisdom at last." A figure stepped through the ranks of puppets, and the air itself seemed to grow colder. "Though perhaps a bit too late."

  Sarah's face went pale. "What do you mean?"

  "You truly believed I served you out of loyalty?" Mukade spread his arms, purple chakra swirling around him like a living thing. "How delightfully naive. I want power, Sarah. Only power."

  "Before you die," he continued, his smile turning cruel, "I'll tell you one final secret. Your mother didn't die of illness. I killed her. She tried to stop me from using the dragon veins."

  Sarah staggered backward, disbelief written across her features.

  "How touching," Kurenai said quietly, her eyes narrowing as she studied the figure before them. "You're a centipede."

  Mukade's expression shifted—surprise, then amusement. "Konoha's ninja. I was wondering when you'd arrive. Tell me, where is your third teammate? I was looking forward to repaying him for last time."

  "You want another beating?" Kurenai's voice was ice.

  "Last time?" Mukade laughed, a sound like shattering glass. "That was three days ago for you. I arrived six years earlier. Six years to master the dragon veins' power. Defeating you would be trivial—unifying the entire ninja world would be nothing more than a thought."

  His overconfidence made him careless. He laid his cards bare, no longer bothering with pretense.

  Kurenai's body went rigid. Six years. She turned sharply toward Hanekawa, understanding flooding through her.

  The centipede came early. Which means...

  Her eyes widened. Tsunade and the others. They're from the past.

  "Kurenai, I'll explain later," Hanekawa said, scratching his head with practiced casualness. "Right now—"

  "Call me your sister," Kurenai interrupted, raising an eyebrow. She hadn't given up on being the leader. If she couldn't achieve it in the future, she'd claim it in the past.

  But what about the Hanekawa from her time? Was he—

  She pushed the worry aside. Focus.

  "Enough talking," Mukade declared, waving his hand dismissively. "I'll kill you all and rule the ninja world."

  Tsunade stepped forward without hesitation and threw a punch.

  Six puppets shattered simultaneously, their metal frames crumpling like paper.

  "That's it?" Tsunade's voice dripped with contempt. "You're not even one thousandth as strong as my grandfather. Rule the ninja world? What nonsense."

  Minato and Kurenai moved as one. Minato scattered kunai in a perfect arc around the nearest cluster of puppets, his body becoming a blur of motion. Each time he appeared, another puppet fell, bisected by his Rasengan.

  Kurenai didn't bother with flashy techniques. Her hands flew through seals, and she opened her mouth.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Water Style: Water Breaks Waves.

  A thin line of water erupted from her lips, sharp as any blade. Under her precise control, it cut through puppet after puppet like a sword through silk. One-third of Mukade's forces fell in seconds.

  "Impressive," Mukade said, actually applauding. "Truly worthy of Konoha's reputation."

  But he wasn't panicked. That was the problem.

  Everyone realized it simultaneously. Mukade was too calm. He had a backup plan.

  The dragon veins.

  "Let me show you what a true puppet looks like," Mukade announced, spreading his arms wide.

  His clothes bulged outward, then tore as metal legs pierced through. In seconds, he was no longer human—he'd transformed into a massive puppet spider, purple chakra coiling around him like a living aura.

  "Tailed beast?" Minato's voice carried genuine concern. The power radiating from Mukade rivaled a Jinchūriki.

  "Hanekawa, take Sarah and go," Tsunade commanded, her tone brooking no argument. "Now."

  "Yes," Hanekawa replied without hesitation. He knew how to win this. The key was Sarah—only she could find the dragon vein's center.

  He grabbed her hand and ran.

  Behind them, the battle erupted.

  Minato threw kunai casually. Mukade ignored them, accelerating forward. The kunai bounced harmlessly off his armored body.

  Tsunade's fist connected with a sickening crunch. A crater opened in Mukade's side—but only for a moment. Purple chakra flowed, and the wound sealed itself.

  "I am immortal!" Mukade roared, his body fully restored.

  He lunged again, spider legs stabbing outward like spears.

  Water Style: Water Formation Wall!

  Kurenai slammed her palm against the ground. A wall of water erupted—only to be pierced instantly.

  Minato vanished using Flying Thunder God, reappearing behind Mukade with Kurenai and Tsunade. "Together!" Tsunade shouted.

  Her foot came up, chakra gathering with devastating force. The impact tore through Mukade's back.

  Minato leaped, his hand already spinning. "Rasengan!"

  The compressed sphere of chakra drilled through the opening Tsunade had created, piercing clean through.

  Kurenai's hands moved through seals. Water Style: Water Breaks Waves!

  The line of water followed the wound, cutting Mukade nearly in half.

  For a moment, silence.

  Then Mukade stood, completely whole, his aura burning brighter than before.

  "It's just a fatal injury," he laughed.

  ---

  Hanekawa ran, Sarah close behind him. The palace was a maze, but she knew the way.

  "Fifteen minutes," he'd told Minato. "Use Flying Thunder God to find me in fifteen minutes."

  Behind them, puppets gave chase. Hanekawa didn't hesitate. He drew his katana and moved.

  Lightning Chakra activated. His body blazed with electricity, speed and power surging. The blade became a streak of lightning, cutting puppets in half instead of merely wounding them.

  But more kept coming.

  Two puppets sprouted wings and took flight. Hanekawa threw kunai with explosive tags attached. The detonation was massive, but the puppets rose from the dust moments later, still advancing.

  "Sarah!" he called.

  "There!" She pointed ahead.

  Hanekawa formed seals rapidly. Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique. A dragon of water erupted from his hands, engulfing the pursuing puppets.

  Purple chakra arrows pierced through, heading straight for him.

  Body Flicker Technique.

  He vanished, reappearing as the arrows shattered the wall behind him.

  An idea struck. Hanekawa drew his sword again, lightning coating the blade. He leaped, striking downward with all his strength.

  Thunder and Lightning!

  The electricity cascaded down, freezing the puppets in place. Their internal mechanisms seized.

  Then he formed seals. Water Style: Water Chaos!

  He exhaled a torrent of water. When it met the lingering electricity, the reaction was violent. The puppets convulsed, their damaged parts finally giving out.

  Science, baby.

  "Here!" Sarah's voice rang out.

  Body Flicker Technique.

  Hanekawa appeared beside her in an instant, breathing hard. Using that many jutsu in such a short time was exhausting.

  "The dragon vein center is just ahead," Sarah said, relief flooding her voice. "When puppets enter, the dragon vein's chakra disrupts their operation."

  They descended into darkness, and then—

  Hanekawa stopped, genuinely awed.

  The underground chamber was vast, and in its center, a dragon made of pure chakra coiled endlessly, magnificent and terrible. In the original timeline, the dragon vein had been sealed, appearing almost dormant. Now, unsealed, it was breathtaking.

  "Can you seal something that big?" Sarah asked nervously.

  "It's not that big, actually," Hanekawa said, shaking his head. "Maybe the size of a tailed beast. Smaller than the Nine-Tails, definitely smaller than the Divine Tree."

  Sarah's eyes widened. That's the comparison?

  "We wait for Minato-senpai," Hanekawa said, sitting down heavily. His chakra reserves were depleted.

  Minutes passed. Then space itself rippled.

  Minato appeared, his expression grim but determined. When he saw the dragon vein, something in his posture relaxed.

  "Good work," he said, and meant it.

  "How bad is it?" Hanekawa asked.

  "Mukade keeps getting stronger. The more we fight him, the more power he draws from the dragon veins." Minato paused, then smiled. "But now we can end this."

  He raised his hand, already forming the seals for the Seal of the Dragon Veins.

  The battle above would be over soon.