Several days later, within a vast underground palace, the air was filled with the sounds of laboring citizens. The echo of lifeless puppets cracking whips across the backs of men reverberated through the space. Every male laborer from the Kingdom of Roran had been forced into servitude, extracting the power of the Ryūmyaku under the threat of violence.
When Sāra saw this horrifying scene, she froze, her whole body rigid with shock. She couldn't believe that such a nightmarish reality existed beneath the kingdom's glamorous surface.
Kakuzu and Hidan, however, remained as composed as ever, standing on a high platform, calmly smoking. They were only waiting for Anrokuzan—no, for Mukade—to show up so they could kill him.
"Hey, what's with you lately?" Hidan finally asked, furrowing his brow at Kakuzu. "You've been brooding for days. Did you find something suspicious? If you did, you should've told me earlier. I'd have killed them for you."
Kakuzu shot Hidan a disinterested glance. "Shut up. There's no point explaining to someone with your level of intelligence."
"What?! You bastard, I'm going to kill you!" Hidan shouted, raising his scythe.
Before he could rant further, a loud rumble echoed from the distance. Mukade had arrived.
Mukade's eyes burned with hatred as he locked onto Kakuzu and Hidan. He knew they had come to disrupt his plans, and now that things had escalated this far, there was no need for pretenses. Most of the Ryūmyaku's power was already his.
"You fools want to die? I'll grant your wish!" Mukade roared. His hands rapidly formed seals, activating his most formidable puppet technique. A towering, ten-meter metal colossus appeared behind him.
Kakuzu remained motionless, but Hidan immediately drew his massive scythe with a manic grin.
"Yoo-hoo!" he howled in excitement as he charged at Mukade.
"Kakuzu, you good here?" Sāra called out anxiously from below.
Kakuzu gave her a small, reassuring wave. "Go. Take your remaining people and free the captives. Don't worry about things here."
His calm yet firm tone was like an anchor in Sāra's storm of fear. She nodded and led her group to rescue the enslaved men being whipped by the puppets.
Meanwhile, Kakuzu turned his attention back to the battlefield. Mukade's puppet technique might be considered high-level by shinobi standards, but it was far from the best. However, the fact that Mukade could hold his own against Hidan suggested he had absorbed a significant amount of power from the Ryūmyaku.
The Ryūmyaku was similar to the Hero's Water—a limitless source of energy with no apparent side effects. That made it all the more desirable for Mukade.
True to his nature, Kakuzu had no intention of teaming up. He turned his gaze to other parts of the underground space.
Is the Ryūmyaku the only power in this place? The thought nagged at him. In the original timeline, Mukade had entered first, followed by Minato Namikaze and his team. Eventually, Naruto, Yamato, and others arrived, all converging in this strange timeline.
When they left, Naruto encountered Sara's descendant in the present timeline. This tangled web of timelines and people was perplexing. What force could unify these distortions into a single timeline?
Space-time power.
Perhaps those living in this timeline couldn't sense the distortions, but every outsider who entered caused shifts in time and space. This realization sparked a sudden epiphany in Kakuzu.
"Hidan, come back," Kakuzu called out.
Before Hidan could respond, a figure appeared behind Kakuzu. The man's hands were clasped in a seal, and a cruel smile stretched across his face. It was a smile of revenge, excitement, and malicious satisfaction.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"
Countless sharp iron sand particles materialized behind Kakuzu and shot toward him at blinding speed. Kakuzu glanced back with a calm smile as the iron sand collided against his hardened steel body, producing a cacophony of clanging sounds.
Seeing his attack fail, Saburo quickly retreated, putting several meters between himself and Kakuzu.
Kakuzu turned slowly, his eyes gleaming with interest. "So, you've entered this timeline as well, disrupting the course of events."
As Kakuzu suspected, Saburo had arrived before them and altered the timeline's flow.
"What are you doing here?" Kakuzu asked.
Saburo's expression darkened. "What else? To gain strength."
During the Second Shinobi War, Kakuzu had ravaged Sunagakure. Now, with Kakuzu targeting the Kingdom of Rōran, Saburo felt an even greater sense of impending doom. Desperate for power, he had entered this secret realm despite the risks.
"Enough talk, Kakuzu. Now that we've met here, I won't let you leave alive!" Saburo declared.
Kakuzu chuckled. "Brave words, coming from a former Kage. But a defeated opponent has no right to challenge me."
With a flick of his wrist, Kakuzu extended a thread-bound hand backward, yanking Hidan out of his battle with Mukade.
"Kakuzu! What the hell?" Hidan growled, furious at being interrupted.
Kakuzu pointed to Saburo. "There. A Kage-level opponent. You wanted one, didn't you? Use his blood to appease your god."
Hidan's eyes lit up with glee. "Hey, are you really a Kage? What are you, the Hokage? Mizukage? Or maybe the Raikage?"
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
Fanfic is finished on Patreon (262 chapters in total.)
Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)