Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha is not motivated.

Chapter 916 Who wouldn't want to be close to the little princess?

"This trip was worthwhile, I finally saw a live Naruto!"

Standing atop the tower sealing the dragon veins, Uchiha Gin covered his nose, observing with great interest the golden retriever that was frantically panting at Yamato.

At this point in time, Naruto was still unable to control the power within him, and even from this distance, he could smell the Nine-Tails' pungent odor.

Weren't we supposed to be fighting An Lushan? Why are we treating Chiyo as the boss?

Gin Uchiha raised an eyebrow as his gaze fell upon the solitary, purple-haired older woman.

The Lost Tower dungeon is receiving an epic buff?

"Uh?"

Taking advantage of Naruto's emotional turmoil, Kurama, who had been frantically exploiting the situation, suddenly felt a chill in its groin. It suspiciously stretched out its nose and sniffed the surroundings, its savage beastly eyes now tinged with a human-like confusion.

Why does it have this inexplicable sense of crisis?

Could it be this golden retriever in front of me that hasn't yet become a big threat?

Glancing at Minato beside Naruto, Kurama wasn't sure if it would be sealed again if it showed itself.

After much deliberation, it ultimately chose to endure, grumbling as it retreated. Naruto's pitiful intelligence once again prevailed, and the crimson in his eyes was gradually replaced by azure.

Blinking in bewilderment, Naruto released his grip on Yamato's collar and turned to look at the graceful Chiyo. Remembering that she had not only assaulted the kind-hearted An Lushan but also kidnapped the princess he had sworn to protect, his eyes blazed with fury.

"Centipede, hand over Sara!"

Seeing that the blond boy opposite her was still calling out a strange name, Chiyo's confusion faded, replaced by a faint hint of displeasure.

"Noisy brat."

Too lazy to explain to these unfamiliar Konoha ninjas, Chiyo slightly raised a finger, and the white-robed puppets guarding her immediately swung their swords forward.

"Bah!"

Minato, fiercely protective of his child, hurled two kunai at the menacing puppet, the piercing metallic clang signaling the start of the battle.

"Partial Multiplication Technique!"

"Mushidama!"

Choza Akimichi and Shimi Aburame, naturally, weren't just standing around doing nothing. They consistently demonstrated the basic qualities of good teammates, and while Minato was engaged in combat with the white-robed puppet, the two unleashed a highly coordinated combination attack, aiming to take down Chiyo, the puppet's controller, in one fell swoop.

"Humph!"

Chiyo raised her eyelids and glanced indifferently at the two attacks, a disdainful smile curving her lips.

With a flick of her finger, two scrolls popped out of the bag behind her.

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

With two muffled thuds, two white-robed puppets wearing eerie masks burst out of the ethereal white smoke. The taller puppet on the left, wielding a massive hammer, slammed it down on Choza Akimichi's swollen fist.

"Well!"

The moment the spiked hammer made contact with the bare hand, a look of pain flashed across Choza Akimichi's face.

"Ding Zuo!"

Seeing Akimichi Choza's blood-soaked hand, Aburame Shiki immediately manipulated the Parasitic Insects to swarm towards the two newly appeared puppets. The dark swarm of insects possessed the magical ability to devour the target's chakra, making them one of the puppeteers' recognized nemesis.

If an ordinary puppeteer saw this, they would probably have given up.

But who is Chiyo?

Bunzaemon, the progenitor of Sunagakure puppeteers and also the chief disciple of the Shamon, didn't even consider mere parasitic insects a threat.

She raised her middle finger, and another slender, white-robed puppet suddenly opened its mouth wide.

"Om-!"

The next second, a wave of nauseating ultrasonic waves emanated from the puppet's mouth, causing everyone present to cover their ears in pain.

"My little bug!"

Feeling the frenzied worms writhing wildly inside her body, and experiencing excruciating pain throughout her meridians, Aburame Shiki bled from all seven orifices. Gazing at the swarm of worms killed by the ultrasonic waves not far away, she let out a chilling scream.

These parasites were not only his weapons, but also his companions, whom he nurtured with his lifeblood day and night.

"Wood Release·Mu Chuo!"

Despite the dizziness caused by the ultrasound, Yamato leaped into the air, the intertwined wooden branches coalescing into a giant hammer, which he slammed down on the slender puppet.

Seeing this, Chiyo pulled her finger, and the silent puppet immediately dodged and retreated.

"boom!"

Yamato, having missed his attack, dared not relax for a moment. The wooden mallet in his hand transformed once more into wildly growing, sharp branches, surging towards the seemingly delicate Chiyo.

"Bang!"

Chiyo showed no intention of dodging. Her little finger slightly bent, and another scroll flew out from behind her. A small puppet summoned from it held its arms outstretched in front of her, its blue light shield extending smoothly.

"Machine-Light Shield Seal".

"Pfft! Pfft! Crack—!"

Sharp wooden branches struck the light shield, producing a series of cracking sounds. Seeing that his attack had not had the desired effect, Yamato's face did not show discouragement, but rather a smile of satisfaction that his plan had succeeded.

"Naruto, now's the time!"

"Buzz!"

Chiyo couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as she watched the blond boy leap high behind Yamato, wielding a buzzing blue chakra dumpling.

The Wood Release technique was actually a feint.

After Naruto forcefully channeled his chakra into a regular Rasengan, a thick layer of chakra enveloped the blue ball, giving it immense destructive power.

"Otama Rasengan!"

"That's interesting."

Chiyo nodded almost imperceptibly, then suddenly tugged three fingers of her right hand. The puppet that was fighting Minato and the others seemed to be summoned, and swiftly retreated to land in front of Chiyo.

"Puppet Technique: Three Treasures Absorption and Collapse".

Besides the short puppet holding the shield, the other three puppets stood in a triangular formation with their arms raised. At Chiyo's command, a terrifying suction force instantly disrupted Naruto's attack rhythm in mid-air.

"Ah~~~ Watch out, Golden Retriever!"

Naruto, whose body was out of control, swayed from side to side in the air. Minato immediately rushed to his rescue, but overlooked the increasingly unstable Giant Rasengan in his son's hand.

"boom!"

By the time Naruto's warning was heard, it was too late. The Rasengan is a ninjutsu that requires extremely high control; without the user's control, the expanding chakra is like a lit powder keg.

Once the terrifying energy is detonated, not only Naruto, but everyone present will be affected.

"Get out of the way! I can't control myself!"

Seeing that the giant Rasengan in his hand was about to explode, a resolute look flashed in Naruto's eyes. With all his might, he charged towards Chiyo with the Rasengan, which had expanded to an extremely exaggerated size.

"I'm a Middle Eastern Naruto."

Seeing this, Uchiha Gin couldn't help but feel worried for Chiyo. As expected of the officially recognized No. 1 ninja in terms of unpredictability, she quietly unlocked the local unique attribute skills as soon as she arrived in the desert.

"Naruto!"

Seeing his eldest son deliberately deviating from his rescue plan, Minato clenched his fists, his eyes sharp, and a faint golden aura emanated from his body.

"Oh? So you were already proficient in using the Flying Thunder God Technique at this point~"

Uchiha Gin gazed thoughtfully at the golden flash tearing through space below, and stroked his chin.

In the original movie, Minato didn't use the Flying Thunder God Technique, but he gave Naruto the Sword of Love. Minato assumed Naruto wasn't proficient enough and therefore didn't use it.

It now seems that this meticulous future fourth-generation leader deliberately kept a secret, just in case.

"Boom!"

Watching helplessly as Naruto's figure was engulfed by the expanding Rasengan, Yamato's face was filled with deep despair.

Naruto is dead, Konoha is doomed.

But there was no time for him to mourn the fallen Naruto. The violent shockwave from the explosion swept over them. Yamato rallied his spirits and slammed his hands into the ground.

"Tu Dun·Tu Liubi!"

A thick earthen wall rose from the ground, blocking his way and Akimichi Choza, who was supporting Aburame Shimi.

"Crack. Crack." As the aftershocks subsided, the crumbling earthen wall collapsed with a roar, revealing three people covered in dust.

"Watergate."

Akimichi Choza frowned as he stared at the massive crater before him, marveling at the destructive power of Naruto's jutsu while searching for Minato, who had suddenly disappeared just before the explosion. He couldn't believe that this renowned young talent of the village would perish in such a place.

"Tsk tsk tsk~ This destructive power is actually comparable to the Tailed Beast Ball of the stupid tanuki."

Just then, a graceful figure emerged slowly from the hazy smoke and dust, clicking her tongue in amazement. The three disheveled individuals stared at Chiyo, whose clothes were slightly dirty at the center of the explosion, their pupils suddenly contracting.

"how is this possible?"

"With such childish ninjutsu, you think you can hurt me? You're a million years too early!"

Behind Chiyo, there were scattered puppet fragments on the ground. They could be vaguely seen as the four puppets with different shapes from before. It seemed that the four puppets had burned themselves out to protect their master.

"Shh!"

Suddenly, a dazzling golden light flashed by, and two blond-haired figures, one large and one small, landed on the ground. Chiyo stopped and looked at Minato, whose face was slightly pale, with great interest.

This timeline is quite interesting. First there was the beggar's version of Wood Release, and now a brat using Mr. Silver's Flying Thunder God Technique has appeared.

"Ugh!"

The moment his feet touched the ground, Naruto, his face turning blue, collapsed and began vomiting violently. It seems that even a Jinchuriki with a physique far exceeding that of an ordinary person can feel dizzy when experiencing the Flying Thunder God Technique for the first time.

"Minato, I knew you'd be alright."

Choza and Akimichi looked at the perfectly intact Minato with delight.

"Surrender, Centipede."

Minato glanced at the shattered puppet fragments behind Chiyo, then drew a kunai with a backhand stroke and spoke with a serious expression.

A puppeteer's skills all come from puppets. Now that Chiyo's puppets are all destroyed, her strength will inevitably be greatly reduced.

"What do you intend to do to my prime minister?"

Just as the group of Konoha ninjas tightly surrounded the composed Chiyo, Queen Sana arrived with a large entourage of guards, glaring angrily at the group of people who didn't look like good people.

"Your Majesty, you have been deceived by this pervert. Her name is not Bandai at all, but a traitor from Sunagakure named Hyakuzu."

To avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, Minato helped his unsteady-footed eldest son to his feet and explained to him with a serious expression,

"I've known Bandai for so many years, how could I not know what kind of person she is?"

The Queen would not listen to the one-sided story of a group of foreigners who were disrupting the country's order.

"Please believe us, Sarah was kidnapped by her, as was that chubby uncle."

Naruto, being rather impatient, saw Queen Sara approaching the "evil" Centipede and showering him with concern. He immediately spilled the beans about Sara and An Lushan's capture.

"Huh? You kidnapped Sarah?"

The Queen blinked, looking bewildered, then looked at Chiyo with a strange expression.

"Although I really want to be close to little Sarah, I can't bring myself to do anything like forced play."

Chiyo shrugged and replied in an ambiguous tone.

"But I think I know who's behind this."

Naruto mentioned Anrokusan in addition to Sara, so the answer is obvious.

You mean...

"Hehe~ Hehe~ I've finally waited for this perfect opportunity."

With a sinister laugh, everyone present raised their heads in unison, looking at the other "Chiyo" in the center of the tower above.

"Huh? How come there are two of you?"

The Queen looked back and forth several times with a blank expression, her mature and pretty face bearing a hint of girlish innocence.

"Mother, stay away from that old hag!"

Behind Chiyo, Sara, tightly bound by ropes, struggled to warn her.

However, as soon as she finished speaking, everyone felt a chilling aura emanating from the depths of hell; the temperature, which had been scorching hot just a moment ago, instantly plummeted to freezing.

Naruto instinctively shivered, tightened his collar, and looked bewildered.

"Phew, why is it suddenly so cold?"

"Little Sarah, haven't I told you to call me 'older sister'?"

gudu~

Looking at Chiyo's frosty face, Minato swallowed hard and earnestly admonished his son.

"Naruto, remember to call any woman you meet, no matter how old she is, 'older sister'."

"Oh? Grandma Tsunade wants some too?"

"."

After an eerie silence, Minato turned to look at Yamato, who was clutching his forehead, his eyes brimming with intense curiosity.

"How did this child survive until now?"

"Maybe it's because he has a good constitution."

Yamato managed to steady his twitching lips and replied in a strange tone,

After all, he was a survivor of the Uzumaki clan, and with the added advantage of being a Jinchūriki, it was natural that he was difficult to kill.

"An Lushan, think of a solution quickly! Don't you claim to be the greatest strategist of Loulan?"

Terrified by Chiyo's tone, Sara quickly turned around and looked at An Lushan, who was also tied up. She was worried that she might suffer torture worse than death.

"Even this old minister is powerless to help."

An Lushan gave Chiyo, who exuded a chilling aura, a deep look, and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"unless."

"Unless something happens, I'm willing to do anything to defeat this old hag!"

Recalling the horrific scene of being suffocated by Chiyo when she was a child, Sarah, known as the Princess Taiping of Loulan, nodded frantically with a look of terror on her face.

“Unless you can break the seal on the dragon vein, I believe this evil fellow is no match for the great dragon vein.”

Seeing that the time was ripe, An Lushan, whose voice contained a hint of illusion, began to earnestly guide Sara, who was stunned by Chiyo's actions.

"A dragon vein? Really? But look at me now."

Sarah was startled when she heard this, and then looked at the ropes tightly binding her body and shook her head helplessly. With Chiyo's puppet in front of her, how could the two of them break free from these restraints?

"Whoosh!"

The next second, a look of surprise flashed in An Lushan's eyes. He flicked his fingers behind his back, and the puppet, just like Chiyo's, leaped down, throwing the two of them onto the top of the tower.

"His!"

An Lushan took the opportunity to sever the ropes binding him, which were merely for show, and stepped forward to tear off Sarah's restraints.

An Lushan, you

"This old minister has been waiting for this opportunity!"

Looking at the adorable Sarah, An Lushan stroked his goatee with a smug grin.

"Otherwise, where do you think the title of Loulan's greatest strategist came from?" (End of Chapter)