Their suspicion was right.
Kakashi took charge, quickly throwing a kunai to cut the threads that connected to their backs.
The puppets, now without any power, seemed like they would fall to the ground. But then, a powerful surge of chakra burst out from the tall Towers nearby.
Lines of chakra stretched out from the towers and reconnected to the puppets.
"Each of these Towers is like a chakra relay station..."
Namikaze Minato, with his amazing ability to sense things, immediately shouted, "We need to get past them and find where the power is coming from!"
The source of this power was, of course, the main villain of this mission, Mukade.
Now under attack, the puppets followed their programming and immediately focused on Kakashi.
Thwack!
A sharp, three-pronged claw shot out, trying to stab Kakashi.
He barely managed to dodge it.
Another puppet behind him turned its palm into a dark, empty space, with a glowing purple chakra building up inside.
Boom!
With a loud explosion, a stream of purple light blasted from its wrist.
Kakashi jumped back quickly, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the attacker.
But then, in an instant, all the puppets launched many small blades from a device in their waists, like a burst of missiles.
Purple chakra trailed behind them, making unpredictable, graceful paths in the air.
"What's going on with these things!"
Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise.
He had fought against Puppet Masters from Sunagakure before.
But those puppets were predictable and moved in ways he understood.
However, these puppets not only seemed to be controlled by no one, but their weapons were far more advanced than anything he had seen before.
Just as Kakashi was about to be overwhelmed by the countless small blades, a gust of wind rushed past, and a thunderous sound exploded in his ears.
"Crushing Palm Strike!"
Sarutobi Ryo struck out with his palm, causing an incredibly powerful impact.
The air seemed to burst open, and the overwhelming force shattered the flying blades in mid-air!
The steel projectiles broke into countless pieces under the immense pressure...
Kakashi was left speechless by the scene.
Namikaze Minato, Aburame Shibi, and Akimichi Choza also looked on with astonishment.
"Is that...Young Master Sarutobi Ryo's Body Art?" Aburame Shibi, as the second-in-command of the Aburame Clan--the current Clan Head being his older brother... the legendary bug master, Aburame Shiku--was capable of being a substitute Clan Head.
From a strength perspective, Aburame Shibi could be seen as a substitute Clan Head.
Once Aburame Shiku retired or something happened to him, he would be the next leader.
So, Aburame Shibi had enough knowledge to understand the power behind Sarutobi Ryo's palm strike.
"Just a simple palm strike, and it creates that kind of power..."
Akimichi Choza, who specialized in Yang Release Secret Techniques and Ninja Body Techniques, and who was loyal to the Sarutobi Clan, had seen the Third Hokage's power before, but this was his first time seeing Sarutobi Ryo in action.
The dust settled.
Sarutobi Ryo stepped forward, striking with his palms again and again.
The puppets in front of him shattered like paper, exploding one after another.
Soon, a pile of broken pieces lay on the ground.
Sarutobi Ryo quickly jumped over the walls and entered the city of Roran.
Everyone was amazed by the scene.
Each puppet had a strength equal to a skilled Chunin.
But Young Master Sarutobi Ryo had destroyed them with just a few blows.
The broken puppets could no longer be controlled by the chakra lines from the towers.
"Minato..."
Akimichi Choza glanced at Namikaze Minato.
Minato looked thoughtful.
If we were competing for Hokage, Young Master Ryo would be a very strong competitor.
Akimichi Choza thought, Maybe Shikaku was wrong. Young Master Ryo's potential might be even greater than Minato's.
Well, I'll keep watching during this mission.
Meanwhile, Kakashi, who had been rescued, looked longingly at Sarutobi Ryo.
After all, anyone who had seen such powerful Body Art would want to learn it.
I need to do my best and try to earn Young Master Ryo's approval. Maybe he will teach me...
----
Roran Central Plaza.
Musical instruments played, and the voices of the people were loud.
A red-haired girl stood on the platform of the highest Tower, waving to the people below.
Behind her were puppets, acting as bodyguards and protecting her.
This girl was the current Queen of Roran... Sara.
"..."
Sarutobi Ryo stood in the shadows, watching the scene.
Sara didn't notice him at all.
The countless citizens in the plaza were actually just puppets.
The real citizens had been enslaved by Mukade and were forced to work in sweatshops deep beneath the surface of Roran, constantly making puppet weapons for Mukade's army.
Perhaps out of a twisted sense of humor, Mukade hadn't killed Sara yet.
Instead, he planned to have her die in an accident.
So, the puppet behind her subtly moved its fingers, and Sara, completely unaware, suddenly lost her balance and fell from the platform, which suddenly broke apart.
Falling from hundreds of meters would surely kill her instantly.
Watching Sara scream, Sarutobi Ryo acted quickly and made hand seals.
"Crystal Release..."
Crack, crack, crack!
A black Chinese dragon made of black crystal roared as it flew into the sky.
Sarutobi Ryo controlled it easily, as if it were part of his own body.
"...Crystal Release: Breaking Crystal Dragon!"
The giant black dragon was about six meters long.
Its body was sleek and smooth, and unlike the dragons usually seen, this one had four claws and dragon scales, making it look more like a Chinese dragon.
Chakra is a mix of physical and spiritual power.
Ninjutsu... is a sign of a person's energy and spirit, or their thoughts.
Sarutobi Ryo's subconscious mind believed that dragons should look like this.
So, the image of a Chinese dragon appeared.
The black dragon's body was hollow and very light.
The black dragon flew freely and gently caught Princess Sara as she fell.
When Namikaze Minato and the others arrived, they saw Princess Sara--oh, Queen Sara--lying safely on the back of the black dragon, landing gently against the wind.
"Strange..."
Sarutobi Ryo saved Princess Sara but didn't pay much attention to her. Instead, he looked around, but couldn't find someone.
If this were the original movie version, Uzumaki Naruto should have traveled from the future and saved Princess Sara as well.
Were there some small changes to the story?
"Y-you are..." Sara, still shocked, looked up at the group.
She recognized the symbol quickly, having seen Konoha ninja several times when she was a child.
Her mother always trusted Konoha ninja with important tasks.
"Queen Sara, as you can see, we are Konoha ninja... I am Sarutobi Ryo, son of the Third Hokage."
Sarutobi Ryo revealed his identity, quickly earning Sara's trust.
The fact that he was the son of the Hokage was very helpful at this moment.
"Thank you for saving me," Sara said quickly.
Before she could thank him more, Sarutobi Ryo interrupted her and told her their purpose.
"Your mother, the previous Queen, has already died. The one responsible is your most trusted advisor... that outsider, Mukade... and all the citizens you see in the plaza are actually just Mukade's puppets..."
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[T/N:
Final Total Power Stone Collection : 124 PS
Goal : Reach +50 Total PS = +2 Bonus Chapters next day! 🚀
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]